Jeff's ribs screamed on the third stride.
Each breath dragged across them like a rasp on green wood, and the pain sat low on the right side, where the branch had punched him during the jump.
A cracked rib? Maybe a bruise, with that, he filed the question away since questions could wait until the lizard behind him stopped breathing.
Behind him, the Megalania crashed through a stand of young bamboo the stalks snapped with sharp wet pops one after another, like a string of firecrackers going off at a fiesta nobody wanted to attend.
"Ten meters," Jeff muttered to himself as he ran, "keep it at ten."
With that, he vaulted a mossy log and landed on the far side, letting his knees take the shock, while his left forearm throbbed under the old scar.
Three days ago, back on Day 4, this same animal had opened that arm with one lazy swipe, and today it had a spear hole in its ribs, a gash in its belly, and a lump on its face the size of a coconut, so it was a fair trade so far.
