I spun on my heels and sprinted into the alien woods, my reusable water bottle bouncing wildly on my belt. I didn't run with any kind of strategy, only with the desperate, lung-burning energy of a prey animal. Behind me, a sound like a landslide gave chase.

  Cardio… I really should have done more cardio. The thought flashing through my mind as I ducked and dodged through the underbrush.

  I risked a glance over my shoulder. The massive beast was gaining due to the sheer size of its stride. I veered sharply, ducking behind the trunks of a small copse of thin willowy trees. The beast either didn't bother to go around or because of its momentum, couldn’t. It smashed into the small trees with the force of a battering ram, their trunks exploding into splinters.

  I thought that thing was about to die before but it’s not even slowing down, I thought, my desperation rising. This wasn't a movie monster, where the dumb creature could just be outsmarted by the spunky human. This beast was a logic defying nightmare. Each time I tried to slow it down or lead it into something that would trip it up, the damn thing just smashed through the obstacle like it was barely an inconvenience.

  I saw a mossy boulder roughly the size of my Caravan. Just trying to gain a second of leeway, I ducked around it but the boar bear hit the stone with what sounded like an explosion right behind me. I didn’t look back to see what happened but shards of rock went flying past my head. Several pieces tearing through my shirt and pants, leaving small, stinging cuts. But I kept running, the adrenaline keeping me from focusing on the little wounds. Stopping wasn’t an option.

  It was obvious at this point I wasn’t going to escape this thing by running. I needed to think of a plan of action quickly. The beast was bleeding heavily from the arrows and wounds Lyren's and her companions had inflicted. It was unstable on its feet and probably disoriented from blood loss and crashing through so many trees but its stride was at least five of my own.

  Luckily, as I ran I saw the ground to the right dropped away sharply into a darker, steeper section of the forest.

  I skidded to a halt at the edge of the slope, turning to face the charging nightmare. Seeing the massive snarling monster crashing towards me in a four limbed, gorilla style gallop was nearly enough to make me soil myself. Take a deep breath. I told myself. Doing my best to play up the whole deer in headlights thing a bit. It wasn’t really a hard thing to pretend after all.

  I grabbed the heavy flashlight from my back pocket, the overpowered beast I’d ordered on a camping website flash sale. You know the kind you aren’t supposed to point at aircraft because you might blind the pilot. Probably untrue but still the thing was a 6000 lumen spotlight when turned up to its highest setting.

  I flipped it on. Under the darkened canopy mixed with the spore clouds in the air, the concentrated beam looked like a solid bar of white fire. I aimed it straight into the monster’s small, red eyes just as it prepared to lunge.

  It roared in pain, blinded instantly. Its momentum carried it forward towards the slope as it frantically scratched at its own eyes.The plan was to dodge to the side at the last second, then the huge creature would tumble down the incline while I stayed safely at the top. Unfortunately, I misjudged its speed and let the beast get too close before blinding it. I wasn’t going to be able to get clear of the creature in time so I did the only thing I could, I dove over the edge of the incline at an angle. The boar beast went sailing over the top of me, its landing barely missing my legs as I slid slowly down the steep slope. It tumbled down the incline in a chaotic mass of limbs and fur, smashing through brush and bouncing off the massive gray barked tree trunks on its way down.

  My slide was much more controlled but there was no way I was going to be able to stop myself and go back up. The steep hill had me surfing on a miniature landslide of moss and loose dirt. I knew that no matter what shape the creature was in when I reached the bottom I had to make another desperate run the second I hit the bottom to put distance between us while it was disoriented.

  Near the bottom, I could see the beast was thrashing about, still clawing at its own eyes. When I came to a stop I clicked the light on again. The beam bored into its beady eyes for another couple of seconds, ensuring it stayed blind, while I scanned my surroundings.

  I spotted a large rock formation, like the tips of two enormous spikes of stone jutting from the ground and crushed against each other, creating a narrow, dark cave just wide enough for me to squeeze into. I thought about trying to run again but I was spent and the beast was going to be on its feet any second. The best chance I had was to try and hide. If that didn’t work I just hoped the rock formation was strong enough to keep the seemingly unstoppable creature out.

  From the entrance to the pitch black cave I couldn’t tell how deep it was but based on the size of the leaning stones it probably wasn’t more than twenty feet deep. Who knows if there are other monsters inside let alone if there is a back way out. I thought, but the situation was too desperate for another second of thought. I crawled inside on my hands and knees.

  Cozy, I thought as I squeezed inside. If by 'cozy' you mean 'panic inducing claustrophobia'.

  My sneakers slipped on the slick moss covered stones almost causing me to bash my head on the rocks. I slinked as far back into the rocks as I could given my size and not a second too soon. Just as I righted myself, leaning back against the wall, the damn monster smashed into the outside of the cave with enough force to shift the enormous stones ever so slightly and send dust and gravel tumbling into my face. Coughing I pressed back as far back as I could, my hand accidentally pushing through some loose dirt to reveal a hole that let in light.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I was ecstatic to see that there was a way out of the back of the rock formation though I wasn’t sure I would fit through it. The boar couldn’t fit inside the cave but its red eyes were locked on me despite how dark it was. It snarled as it tried to reach inside with its massive clawed arm but as grotesquely long as the limb was it couldn’t reach me.

  It clawed and scraped, leaving gouges in the moss covered stone but it couldn’t reach me. In frustration it reared back and slammed its massive shoulder into the unyielding rock with the force of a car crash. This time a sickening CRACK echoed through the glade, not the sound of rock, but of bone. The creature squealed, a high pitched sound of pure agony, and reeled back. Its left arm now hung limply, something in its shoulder had clearly snapped. It was crippled and still streaming blood but the monster just wouldn’t go down..

  “Just fucking die already you Dr. Moreau’s island looking piece of shit.”

  It roared, its good arm clawing at the rock, trying to pull its massive frame forward uselessly so I took the opportunity while it was groping blindly inside the cave to take a quick look at the back exit but instantly knew there was no way I’d be able to fit all six foot two of myself through that hole even as skinny as I was.

  I looked back at the monster hoping to see that it was close to giving up, it was then that I saw a flash of red hair behind the beast. Lyren. She had caught up and I think she was trying to save me. Her face ghostly pale, her broken arm was tucked tightly against her side.

  While the beast single mindedly raked at stones inside the cave trying to get to me, she raised her staff. “Scylla!” She screamed, a burst of wind hitting its back and slamming the creature head first into the immovable stones. Dazed, it lay on the ground for a long moment shaking its head.

  At this point I was starting to wonder if this monster could even be killed. Every time I thought it was done it somehow managed to get up and continue fighting. Maybe it had something to do with magic. It felt incredibly strange to think magic could be a legitimate reason for anything , but there was no way the things I had experienced in the last few hours were anything but real. No dream was this realistic nor could it cause this level of fear and pain.

  The beast righted itself, turning towards the wounded elf, seeing the one that had caused it so much suffering before back for more, the boar bear went berserk. It forgot about me completely. Despite one useless arm it attacked with reckless abandon.

  "Get out of here! Run!" I yelled at Lyren, my voice cracking. Everything I’d just been through I’d done to give her a chance to escape, not for her to just rush back into danger again.

  But the stubborn woman ignored me completely. I crawled to the entrance of the cave and saw her jaw set in a grim line of determination. She looked like she could barely stay on her feet but still she stood proud and faced the beast head on. The beast was slowed, crippled, and blinded by its own rage. Seeing the young woman from far closer than I had before, despite all of her injuries, I found her to be breathtakingly beautiful.

  Part of it was probably her being an elf and an attractive one at that. As a lifelong Lord of the Rings nerd, elves had always been epitome of beauty, mystery, and magic to me, but there was also something so indomitable about Lyren’s spirit. Never had I seen someone stand up again and again in the face of certain defeat like she had done against this monster. My world had become such a dark place in the last few years that I couldn’t help but feel that fire burn in my chest again.

  Just as the boar bear reached Lyren a hurricane force gust of wind slammed into it, the magic wind hitting the creature in its injured shoulder, knocking it to the ground where it howled in pain.

  Seeing an opening, I made a mad dash from the cave with my baseball bat in hand.

  “You’ve already almost died a few times today Myles. What’s one more,” I growled to myself. I wasn't going to let this woman that had come to help me face this thing alone.

  Well I reached it the beast was trying to right itself, I brought the aluminum bat down with every ounce of strength I possessed onto the back of its blood soaked knees.

  THUD.

  The creature's leg buckled, and it crumpled back down to the ground under its own enormous weight, roaring in helpless fury.

  I didn't stop. While the beast writhed on the ground, I brought the bat down on the back of both of its legs over and over. THUD. THUD. THUD. The impacts probably hurt my hands as much as they hurt the prone monster but I didn’t let up. It struggled and flailed but it no longer had the strength to get up anymore.

  It swung its good arm wildly and a cracked, jagged claw caught me high on my left forearm, slicing deep into the muscle. The pain was white hot, stealing my breath. I cried out, stumbling backward over a stone and landing hard on my back, losing my bat in the process.

  I winced painfully, having smashed my head onto rough stony ground. There were patches of white floating around in front of my eyes when I looked up but I could see the monster’s eyes locked on me. It couldn’t stand anymore but the bleeding ruin of rage started crawling towards me stabbing the claws of its only good limb into the ground and dragging its body.

  “What the fuck?” I screamed, trying to scramble backwards but I almost immediately ran into a large boulder. There was nowhere left to go. This was it. Well we had a shitty run Garber but at least it’s over now.

  But before it could get any closer Lyren appeared right beside the relentless monster, a blur of red hair and blood stained brown leather. She jammed the end of her staff against its thick, corded neck.

  "Morior!" she said with an almost numb finality.

  Instead of a gust of wind or invisible blades, her magic erupted point-blank. A sound like firing a shotgun into a pond echoed in my ears as a concentrated wind burst shredded the beast’s throat in a horrific spray of black blood and tissue.

  The monster shuddered, a death rattle gurgling from its ruined windpipe. In its final, reflexive spasm, it threw its massive head back, clipping Lyren across the temple. Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

  But it had been the beast's last act. It twitched for a moment, before becoming still, leaving the forest silent once more.

  And stay down, I thought, completely spent. I slumped back against the rock. Seriously though. Stay down.