"The... Seriously?" Alex yelled as he weaved his way through the trees at a sprint.
"If I say no, will they stop chasing me?" Alex yelled, and then ducked as a massive fanged rabbit launched itself at his face, claws extended.
Talons the length of his own hand barely grazed the top of his head as it passed over him, and like an idiot, he turned his head to watch as it tumble out of sight after colliding into a near by tree branch. His hysterical laugh turned into a yelp as his foot struck an exposed root of a tree. His arms rotating like windmills as he tried to keep his balance, before finally pitching forward. Alex brought his hands up at the last second to protect his head and used his momentum to roll once before popping back up to his feet, quickly regaining the speed he lost from his tumble.
Perfect.
Alex resisted the temptation to look behind him, knowing it would only slow him down and risk tripping over the snow-covered roots that were barely visible.
"Fine, I accept!" He veered hard to the right and vaulted over a fallen tree.
A thick branch was sticking up, and he grabbed it, wrenching hard as he passed over the log. The branch cracked at the base but remained attached to the tree by a stubborn strip of thick bark, yanking him off balance and almost making him lose his feet as well as his grip on the branch.
One of the rabbits let out a low roar and a shiver ran down his spine. Rabbits should not be able to roar. With another panicked twist he tore the branch free and brought it up just in time to fend off an airborne rabbit, its beady little eyes glowing red with hunger. Alex swung as hard as he could, but he was still off balance. The force of his swing made him fall backwards and to the right. Despite that, the giant rabbit practically exploded on impact with his makeshift bat.
Alex took off again as the other rabbits closed in, their growls sounding more like panthers than cute bunny rabbits.
"Now's not really the time! Can I loot them later when I am not being chased by killer rabbits?" He asked, continuing to the right, trying to make it back to the clearing.
"Oh, sure. Wait... I have an inventory? Oh yeah, I forgo-."
A window popped up, obscuring his vision and he pitched to the ground with a curse as he tripped over a knotted tree root jutting out of the ground. His limbs flailed gracelessly as he flipped ass over elbows, kicking up snow all around him as he swore angrily. He was still rolling through the powdered drift when one of the rabbits collided with him. The claws from one of its forelegs slashed across his chest, leaving a thick gouge in the protective leather there. Its jaws snapped at his exposed neck, but he brought his makeshift club up just in time, and the rabbit bit down on it viciously. The branch was almost two inches thick, but it splintered, then broke in half like a twig when the rabbit wrenched its head back and forth.
Alex grabbed a handful of fur and loose skin at the base of the Caerbunni's neck and pulled it away from his own neck in a panic, saliva from its mouth hung in thick tendrils and speckled his face. The Caerbunni opened his jaws to snap at him again and without thinking Alex stabbed the broken - but very pointy - end of the branch into its mouth.
Luckily, the makeshift stake pierced all the way through its throat, killing the rabid thing. Dark blood dripping from the jagged wood that was jutting out from the back of its neck.
Unluckily; His hand was fully inside the Caerbunni's mouth, and it had clamped down on his forearm as it died, long needle-like teeth piercing through his thick fur coat and sinking deep into his skin. Carefully, Alex pried the jaws open and pulled his arm free, dropping the carcass on the ground. Red blood stood out starkly in the white snow as a dark pool slowly spread out from the remains. Alex staggered back to his feet, expecting another attack but none came. It seemed like the other Caerbunnies were being a little more cautious.
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Blood splattered from his wounds onto the ground around him in thick splotches as he stumbled forward. His arm throbbed with a deep, burning pain, blood flowing freely from the row of thin but deceptively deep holes that encircled his forearm. He cradled his arm gingerly and stifled a groan, it felt like someone packed the wounds with salt and then wrapped it in fiberglass.
Alex looked down at his arm in shock. The blood flowing from the puncture wounds slowed, and then stopped altogether, even though the wounds were still open. A chill racked his body as the skin around the bite mark turned a light blue, as if he had hypothermia.
In a confused haze, Alex saw that one of his Network windows had popped up. There was a single item displayed that looked like some kind of aerosol can.
"Healing spray?" Alex asked drunkenly. His vision started to swim and he fought to keep his feet.
Without understanding how, the aerosol can appeared in his good hand and he sprayed it over his wounds, not stopping until the can was empty. Slowly, the burning pain of the vicious bite receded, replaced with a dull itching sensation that made the muscles in his arm and fingers twitch.
Alex's vision suddenly cleared and he was steadier on his feet. He stared in amazement as his skin slowly knitted itself back together, the holes shrinking away until his skin was once again flawless. Blood soaked, and tinged slightly blue - but otherwise perfectly healed.
Heat exploded through his forearm, and the color of his skin slowly returned to normal, the last of the pain finally fading away.
Once again Vi's voice filled his head.
< Vasoconstriction has worn off. You have defeated Caerbunni. Would you like to loot Caerbunni?>
"Yes?" Alex said, his voice pitching up at the end, making it a question.
A fizzing sound came from the Caerbunni's corpse like a Maillard reaction from searing meat. Except instead of being cooked, the body was slowly collapsing in on itself.
Rainbow smoke began to curl up from the dissolving corpse, as well as from the blood on his previously injured arm.
Then the smell hit him.
Alex gagged, convulsively retching as he retreated to a safe distance away from the miasma before collapsing to his hands and knees. Apparently, his stomach was empty, because all he did was dry heave violently, discolored strings of sticky bile dripped from his open mouth as he heaved deep breaths.
Fear jolted through Alex filling him with newfound energy, and he took off again, trying to stifle the continuous urge to stop and vomit. Whatever that rainbow mist was, it smelt like death and decay. It was like every foul smell that ever existed combined into a single toxic fragrance. It simultaneously smelled like raw sewage, rotten eggs, burnt hair, and a decaying body that was left to bake in the sun for a month. Then someone trapped all of that into a jar, stored it, and then heated it up in a microwave before uncapping it right under his nose.
Alex gagged again and almost tripped on a tree root. He scooped up a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, sucking on it briefly before spitting it out, Stringy saliva sticking to his chin as he spit. Finally, his stomach settled a little and it helped dull the taste that lingered in his mouth. He continued to run, scooping up handfuls of snow to try and rinse his mouth out.
He could hear the Caerbunnies behind him now and he sped up, having a sudden intuition and hoped he was correct. If not, he was in a lot of trouble. As if in response to his thought, one of the Caerbunnies released a high-pitched, chittering growl.
Fear traced a feathery finger down his back, but before it could get a firm grasp around his spine, he felt a small ray of hope as the intuition crystalized and he accelerated with a burst of speed. If the Caerbunni seemed frustrated, maybe it understood what he was trying to do? He might have been giving the animals too much credit, but regardless, he just needed to get back to the clearing before they caught him.
A loud crack of snapping wood rang out and on pure instinct he ducked, dodging towards the sound.
It was the right choice. The Caerbunni flew over his shoulder, its six-inch claws leaving shallow scrapes across his left shoulder blade that barely broke the skin. If he had dodged to the left, it would have caught him square in the middle of the back. The Caerbunni let out a shrill shriek of frustration as it tumbled out of sight behind the snow-covered brambles on his left. With an insane laugh, Alex pushed harder - this time taking care not to look behind him.
Alex burst into the clearing a few seconds later, not slowing down or looking back until he skid to a stop as he entered the circle of smoking grass. He slipped out of his coat and spun around. It was a stupid idea to try and use his coat as a net to try and trap the Caerbunni in, but he didn't have many options. However, Alex's intuition about the monsters avoiding the clearing proved correct and they were no longer pursuing him. He could see their glowing eyes sticking up out of the brush on the outskirts of the clearing, ears twitching angrily. Low chittering cries of frustration filled the air, but none of them dared to venture into the exposed clearing.
Out of danger for the moment, Alex dropped his coat from shaky hands. He crouched down, taking deep gasping breaths, keeping his eyes on the tree line in case they decide to brave the open space. He was used to running in rough terrain, but the adrenaline left him feeling jittery and jelly legged, now that the immediate danger seems to have given him a temporary reprieve, his body felt like a rung-out rag.