His breath hitched and his muscle locked. The scent of decay surrounded him. He turned to flee. His legs shook in place, paralysed in fear. "Run!" The word filled his mind. The monstrosity, a nine-foot-tall toad, its coarse, grey, pus-coated flesh covered in dirt and warts, rose up, scattering soil and grass as its mass made itself visible. Three large, void black eyes focused on him. It pulled itself free from its resting place and landed with a heavy thud, shaking the ground beneath it. Horror gripped him. He stumbled back, heart racing. The beast lumbered closer, each step heavy and deliberate. Felix wanted to scream as it loomed over him, its loose, brown flesh jiggling with each step, the air filling with a putrid stench of damp earth and death. He quickly scrambled to his feet, his blood pulsing in his ears. He turned on his heel and took off, running faster than he had in years. His body flooded with adrenaline, smothering his fear. Quickly, he found he was outrunning the monstrosity, Its heavy steps slowly quieting behind him. He refused to look back, fear banishing any desire to confirm it was gone.

  He kept running, his breath coming in ragged, laboured bursts and then the sluggish strides came to an abrupt stop. Against his better judgement, he slowed, heart hammering. "Did it...?" As he turned, relief washed over him. About half a mile across the grassy expanse he saw the beast, staring at him. "Oh thank.." he was cut off when the creature convulsed, then inflated like a balloon. All relief vanished. A deep, guttural roar-like croak, thick globs of mucus spraying out as it shook the earth, reverberating through his bones. He looked on in abject horror. Then, it shot into the air. Gaining little height but covering ground much quicker than its sluggish stride, it landed like a whale hitting concrete with a loud, fleshy boom. A strange purple miasma leaked from its back. His shoulders slumped as he tried to catch his breath "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." Then he was off. His face grimacing from the pain, his own pace much slower as the fatigue returned tenfold. He felt his muscles burning, begging for rest, but there was no time. He grit his teeth and let out a noise resembling a growl, burning willpower as fuel "Come on!" he bellowed. The desire to survive his only weapon. The explosions echoed behind him, engulfing the area with the beast's presence.

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  His mostly flat ground beneath him began to taper upwards. The incline steepened with each step. "Where is it?" A quick glance back showed him the monster was quickly gaining, and within minutes it would, quite literally, be on top of him. Tearing his eyes away he searched frantically for an escape. All he could see was the slope beneath him as it stretched well past his head, almost perpendicular to him now .As he took high, exhausted steps, the perilous thought of giving up clawed its way back into his mind. Then, he reached the crest of the hill. His legs buckled like wet paper and he stumbled. The ground gave way beneath him as he plummeted down into a valley, previously hidden from view. Sure of his imminent death, he closed his eyes, resigned.

  Memories whirled. He couldn't make sense of them. Like hundreds of movies playing at once. Snippets focused on his tired mind: his aunt taking him to school, wrestling with his uncle, his little brother's mischievous grin, his sister's comforting hand...years of stacking shelves. Then, they evaporated, a final jolt of pain, and darkness settled in.