A scream.
It came from the forest. It was getting closer.
"Heeeeeelp! Heeeeeeelp!"
Then, he appeared.
Orion burst out of the trees. He was running for his life. He was still holding the wrapped-up fish. And right behind him was a beast.
It was huge, like a dog, but bigger and more muscular. Its eyes glowed with a hungry red light. Saliva dripped from its sharp, yellow teeth. It was a monster.
"Orion, you bastard!" Ivan yelled. "Why did you bring it here?"
"Because I can't fight it alone, dumbass!" Orion screamed back, not slowing down.
The beast was about to pounce on him.
Ivan moved. He tried to untie Romana's hands, but his fingers fumbled with the knots. There was no time.
He shoved her hard toward the mouth of the cave. "Get in!"
Then he leaped at Orion, tackling him to the ground just as the beast lunged. The monster's claws slashed through the empty air where Orion's head had been.
The wrapped-up fish flew from Orion's hand and landed on the dirt.
"Go untie Romana!" Ivan yelled, scrambling to his feet. "I'll distract this shit!"
Orion didn't argue. He scrambled into the cave.
Ivan looked around for a weapon. He saw the sharp branch they had used for fishing. He ran and grabbed it. It felt light and useless in his hand.
He turned to face the beast. As soon as he held up the stick, the monster swiped at him. Its claws were like knives. They hit the branch and shattered it into pieces.
"Are you fucking kidding me!" Ivan yelled, jumping back. He was unarmed.
Just then, Orion and Romana came out of the cave. Romana was rubbing her wrists, her eyes blazing with anger.
"You owe me for this, Prince!" she shouted at Ivan.
rubbing the red marks on her wrists. Her eyes were blazing with a mix of anger and adrenaline.
The beast let out a low growl, its glowing red eyes fixing on the new arrivals. It lowered its head, preparing to charge.
"Don't just stand there!" Romana commanded, her voice cutting through their fear. "It's big, but it's stupid. Keep it turning! Don't let it focus!"
She didn't wait for them to agree. She became a blur.
She sprinted, not away from the beast, but directly toward the steep rock face of the cave. She ran up the wall two, three steps, using her momentum to launch herself sideways. She kicked off a tree trunk, twisting in mid-air like a cat, and landed silently on a high boulder behind the beast.
The monster, confused by the sudden movement, spun around to face her.
"Hey, ugly!" she yelled. She had already picked up a sharp, flat rock. She threw it like a knife. It spun through the air and hit the beast square on its wet, black nose.
YELP!
The beast roared in pain and fury. It charged at the boulder she was on.
Romana was already moving. She leaped from the boulder, landing lightly on the ground. As the beast crashed into the rock, sending chips of stone flying, she slid on the dirt, right between its powerful legs. It was an insane, suicidal move.
As she passed under its belly, she used another sharp rock in her other hand to slash a deep cut across its softer underbelly.
The monster howled, a sound of pure agony. It spun around wildly, trying to bite her, but she was already ten feet away, her eyes narrowed, looking for her next opening.
'she is actually hunting him' ivan thought
"Don't just stand there, you idiots!" Romana screamed at them, not taking her eyes off the beast. "Move! Make noise!"
That broke their trance. Ivan and Orion started running in opposite directions, yelling and waving their arms, trying to pull the beast's attention.
"Hey! Over here, you stupid dog!" Orion shouted, his voice cracking with fear.
The beast was getting frustrated. It was bleeding. It was angry. It would charge at Romana, then turn to chase Orion, then get annoyed by Ivan. It was fast and powerful, but its movements were clumsy with rage.
Ivan forced himself to stop panicking and think. He watched its feet. He watched its shoulders. 'It always swipes with its right paw first,' he realized. 'It puts all its weight on its left leg before it attacks. Always.'
"It favors its right side!" he yelled to Romana. "Its left is its blind spot!"
Romana's eyes flickered toward him for a split second. A nod. She understood.
The next time the beast charged at her, she didn't dodge right. She dodged left. She moved so close to the monster that its claws barely missed her. She was now in its blind spot.
She jumped, grabbing onto the thick, matted fur on its back. She climbed it like a living mountain.
The beast thrashed and bucked, trying to throw her off. But Romana held on tight. She started stabbing the back of its neck with her sharp rock, again and again.
But the beast was too strong. With a final, furious roar, it threw itself sideways, slamming its own body against a large tree.
Romana was crushed between the beast and the trunk. She let out a sharp cry of pain and fell to the ground, her body limp.
The beast, free at last, turned on her. It saw she was injured. It saw she was weak. It ignored Ivan and Orion completely. It stalked toward her, its red eyes full of anger. It lowered its head, its massive jaws opening, ready to finish her.
Ivan and Orion were too far away. They ran toward her, but they knew they would be too late.
'This is it,' Ivan thought, his heart sinking into a cold pit of dread. 'We're dead.'
Then, a calm, arrogant voice cut through the air. A voice he hated.
"I was wondering where my breakfast was."
They all looked.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, looking bored, was Marcus. He had three of his friends with him. He wasn't looking at the beast. He was looking straight at Ivan, a disappointed frown on his face.
In his hands, he held a thick, heavy piece of wood. It looked like a bat. And he had hammered long, rusty nails all the way through it.
'Never thought I'd be happy to see you,' Ivan thought.