The echo of a battle penetrated the thick walls of reinforced steel that kept Grey imprisoned, sending a chill down his spine.
'What is happening? Are they attacking?'
Grey tried again to move his body, but the movement was still too limited to do much.
His arms were chained and pulling in opposite directions. His feet were shackled, each connected to a third chain around his neck.
The movement allowed was only one meter. His cage was apparently large, but he couldn't tell as the veil of darkness prevented him from distinguishing anything.
'Calm down, think. What can I do with this range of movement? The chains around my neck are dangerous; I need to find a way to free myself...'
As he contemplated a way to free himself from the chains, the echo of the battle outside his steel cage grew closer, louder, more deafening, and more terrifying.
Grey moved his arms, legs, and body from side to side, searching for the best position in case a creature found him.
After a minute, the rumbling of the metal floor beneath his feet grew stronger, alarming Grey.
His muscles tensed as he moved his arms and body frenetically from side to side.
*BOOOM*
With horror in his dilated eyes and his forehead sweating coldly, Grey saw ten sharp claws pierce his reinforced steel cage.
These powerful claws exerted great effort as the muscles in those arms tensed and strained, opening a hole large enough for a one-meter head to fit through.
A shiver ran down his spine as he saw the eyeless creature with a toothed jaw of small blades frantically enter his confinement.
'No!'
Grey quickly looked around, now faintly illuminated by the light from outside that came through the hole made by the creature.
'What to do! What to do!'
Grey quickly pulled on the chains to move to one side, dodging the monster's charge and causing it to bite the chains that bound his right arm.
Its jaws closed inches from his forearm, and a slight tremor instantly ran through Grey's body.
'Dangerous!'
Now with his arms free, he made a great leap that caused him to crash against the hard metal wall, causing a great pain in his forehead.
The beast reacted quickly again and lunged with its jaws wide open, ready to swallow the small human.
Fortunately for Grey, his clumsy fall made the beast's jaws close above his body.
'Damn it!'
His heart raced and his breathing was heavy, adrenaline at its peak, making his body stronger and his mind work at full speed.
He quickly looked at the long chain hanging from his left arm, and with a swift movement, wrapped it around the beast's battered head to get close to its neck.
The beast, somewhat dazed from the impact against the steel wall, had no time to react, and its neck was wrapped by a metal chain.
When the beast sensed the danger posed by the small human, it tried to pull its head out of the steel cage and attack again.
Unfortunately for the creature, the opening it had made to insert its head had large pointed areas that pierced deeply into its skin as it tried to pull its head out.
A guttural and bestial scream escaped from its disgusting mouth, threatening to rupture Grey's eardrums.
"AAHH!"
Unable to endure the pain piercing his eardrums, Grey released the chains around the creature's neck and covered his ears.
The entire cage began to levitate, but it was actually being lifted by the strong legs of the creature in an attempt to escape its cage.
Grey was shaken from side to side while curling up to avoid injuring his vital organs.
When he regained his senses, his situation was dire.
'I have to kill that thing or it will kill me!'
He looked at his left arm and the long chain hanging from it once more, a crazy and suicidal idea entering his head.
'PLEASE WORK!'
Grey moved, narrowly avoiding being impaled by one of the steel spikes piercing the creature's skin, and, dodging a headbutt from the monster, reached its neck.
He threw the chain over his shoulder and, risking being crushed, dove and rolled underneath the muscular neck of the creature.
The chain fell on the other side, and Grey grabbed it while quickly moving out of the danger zone.
The creature was staggering, making it difficult for Grey to maintain his grip around its neck.
The cage moved frenetically with the beast's bestial screams, banging Grey against the metal walls and ceiling, but tenaciously clinging to life, Grey held his grip firm.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but it certainly felt like a lot for Grey. The beast fell dead, but Grey wasn't much better off.
The spell whispered in his head:
[You have killed an awakened beast: Subterranean Roamer]
His back was injured and bruised from the heavy blows dealt by the beast against the steel and the friction against the metal spikes.
As consciousness slipped away, Grey looked at the hole made by the beast and noticed some human figures walking toward him.
'Survive...'
After that final thought, his consciousness faded into the gentle embrace of a dreamless sleep.
***
Any feedback on the chapter? Suggestions? And give me some power stones! That would really help, thanks for reading.