Kyle braced himself, inhaling sharply before breaking into a full sprint. His footsteps thundered heavily against the cave floor, echoing through the shadowy cavern like warning drums. If there was one thing Lana had said that stuck, it was that the beast relied on vibration. So Kyle gave it vibration. Lots of it.
The spider-like beast responded almost instantly. Two sharp spikes launched from its back with a sickening hiss. They sliced through the air toward him, deadly fast. Kyle froze for just a split second, panic threatening to paralyze him. But instinct kicked in. He dropped to his knees and rolled to the side, the first spike narrowly missing his shoulder and embedding itself deep into the stone wall behind him. The second whizzed past his head so close that he felt the heat from its friction kiss his skin.
"What the hell!" he shouted, rolling back to his feet. "Lana didn't say anything about being shot at!"
He didn't have time to be pissed. The moment he regained his balance, he sprang to the side again, zigzagging and pounding the ground hard to keep the creature's attention locked onto him. There was no time to think, no time to calculate. Thinking too long in this game meant dying, and Kyle had no intention of dying today.
As he skidded behind a jagged rock, he stomped hard again. The beast shrieked in frustration—a sharp, high-pitched clicking sound that rang in Kyle's ears—and fired another spike. But that was the moment Lana moved. From the edge of Kyle's vision, she dashed forward like a shadow in motion, her body low and swift.
The beast hadn't seen her.
Its spiked tail raised, focused solely on Kyle.
Then Lana struck.
She leapt into the air and brought her spear down on the creature's carapace with all her strength, aiming for the middle of its arched back. A loud snap echoed through the cavern.
Her spear had broken in two.
The beast didn't even flinch. Its outer shell was too hard, tougher than she had expected. Lana's eyes widened in disbelief. In that moment of hesitation, the creature turned and swung one of its thick, muscular legs. It collided with her body like a bat smacking a baseball.
She was airborne in an instant.
Kyle watched in horror as Lana's body flipped through the air before crashing hard into the cavern floor, tumbling a few meters before she lay still. The second spear she had held slipped from her grasp and rolled toward Kyle.
"LANA!" he screamed.
No answer.
She wasn't getting up.
Kyle felt dread pour over him. Lana had been their only chance. The beast clicked angrily and turned toward him. With Lana out of commission, it had a new target. Him.
"This is bad," he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling.
Running would be stupid. He didn't know the layout of the tunnels, and the creature could probably shoot those spikes through rock if it wanted. He looked down.
Lana's remaining spear was within reach.
Kyle snatched it up and held it tightly, the wooden shaft rough in his sweating hands. His legs trembled but he locked them in place.
"Now or never," he whispered. "Kill the beast, become the hero. Kill the beast, maybe get some money."
He exhaled slowly. Then, with a defiant yell, he surged forward into the battle.
Kyle reached the beast, muscles taut, adrenaline coursing through his veins, and without a moment's hesitation, he swung the spear in his hand with all the force he could muster. As his feet left the ground, he leapt high into the air. For a fleeting second, he felt weightless, untouchable—as though he could do anything. The air rushed around him in slow motion. In that instant, he felt powerful, invincible. He gritted his teeth and drove the tip of the spear down with every ounce of strength he had.
BOOOOM!!
The sound was deafening, but not because of impact against the creature—it was the sound of reality crashing into his chest.
In an instant, the force that hit him rebounded with such ferocity that it felt like he had slammed into a moving truck. The beast hadn't just blocked his attack—it had countered it with its massive armored body. Kyle's strike had been nothing to it.
He was airborne again, but not by choice. The beast had flung him backward like a rag doll. His body spun as he tumbled through the air, the wind knocked violently from his lungs. He hit the ground with a loud, thudding crash, rolling painfully until his body stopped just beside Lana's unconscious form. He groaned, coughing, pain blossoming in his ribs, shoulder, and back like fire licking at every nerve.
His vision blurred for a second. He blinked rapidly, but all he could see was white light and vague shadows. It felt like the world was turning on its side. His ears rang, and his thoughts felt slow, like they were struggling through sludge. He didn't know where he was for a moment—not the forest, not the game, not the tunnel. He was just… floating in agony.
But then, cutting through the daze like a razor, he heard it.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
The beast let out a shriek so sharp it made Kyle's teeth clench. The sound seemed to come from all around him, echoing off the tunnel walls, shaking the very air. It was the screech of a predator, hungry, furious, and now—focused on him.
It snapped him out of his trance. His lungs screamed as he forced air back into them. He rolled to his side, spitting out a glob of blood and dirt. He swore, loudly and angrily.
"Goddamn these pain receptors," he muttered, dragging himself up slowly. "Who the hell thought that was a good idea?!"
He staggered to his feet, and the first thing he did was check on Lana. She was still out cold, her chest rising and falling steadily, but unmoving. He grit his teeth.
He couldn't let that thing get to her.
Kyle's eyes darted around, searching frantically until they landed on the spear. It was behind the beast now, on the dirt floor. Of course. The damn thing had knocked it right out of his hands.
But the beast wasn't just sitting still. It was already charging toward him, thundering across the ground with terrifying speed. Kyle's heart jumped into his throat, but his legs moved before his brain caught up. He dashed forward, running directly toward the creature.
The beast leapt into the air, fangs bared, spikes twitching, an apex predator mid-flight.
And Kyle dropped to his knees.
He skidded across the dirt, bracing his arms and legs as he slid directly under the beast's belly. He barely scraped past the creature, dirt and wind roaring in his ears. But he looked up for a moment—just a second—and saw something.
Under the belly of the creature, near the center, was a small glowing patch. Faint, but different from the armored scales around it. He had no idea what it was, but something told him that mattered.
He didn't have time to think about it. The beast was already landing behind him with a crash.
Kyle rolled hard across the ground, smacking his arm against the dirt as he dove for the spear. His hand wrapped around it just in time.
"We go again," he muttered.
His knuckles whitened as he gripped the spear tightly. There was no backing down. Not now.
He faced the beast, breathing heavily. Its body tensed, and it skittered a few paces side to side. It was searching for him again.
Kyle stood still. Not a single footstep. No movement. Not even a breath louder than a whisper.
The beast stopped. Its spikes rose slightly. Its entire frame vibrated, ever so subtly. Like a machine scanning for sound.
Kyle's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, everything clicked.
The creature didn't see.
It sensed.
Not sight. Not smell.
Vibration.
Movement.
It relied entirely on that to know where its prey was.
Kyle swallowed hard, but a new light gleamed in his eyes. A spark that hadn't been there before. He had a plan now. It was risky. Insane, even. But it was better than swinging wildly and hoping it dropped dead.
He pressed the spear lightly to the ground to keep balance but didn't move his feet. He waited.
The creature hesitated, confused by the silence.
And then Kyle whispered, so softly that only he could hear it:
"Welcome to my world."
Kyle suddenly smacked the shaft of the spear against the wall and immediately stepped back, careful not to make another sound. The sharp crack echoed in the tunnel like a starter's pistol, and the spider-like beast spun toward it with terrifying speed. Its movements were too fluid for something so large, and it hurled itself straight at the point of impact.
But it found nothing there. Just the rough, grey surface of the cave wall.
BAM!
The creature crashed into the wall with a loud, fleshy thud, chunks of dust and rock falling around its legs. That was Kyle's moment.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward and drove the spear into the side of the beast's torso. The wooden tip cracked a bit, but it dug in enough to make the creature let out another one of its horrible, guttural screeches. Kyle didn't wait to see if it was effective. He yanked the spear free and rolled out of the way as the beast spun, its legs lashing out wildly.
He needed to keep moving. Needed to stay alive.
"Alright," Kyle breathed, backing away into the shadows again. "This is working."
He smashed the spear against a pile of loose rocks this time and scurried sideways. Again, the beast lunged, confused by the source of the sound. It collided with a pillar of stone, splintering part of it, and stumbled.
Kyle moved in again. Another stab, this time into one of its hind legs. He had learned now—don't aim for its thick armored carapace. Go for the joints. Go for where it flexes.
It screeched louder this time and spun wildly in place, its back legs kicking at the empty air.
Two hits in. Not bad.
He crouched and crawled backward, wiped sweat off his brow. He was bleeding, scraped up from earlier, ribs aching from the impact when he had been flung beside Lana. But adrenaline kept him standing.
One more time.
He smacked the flat side of the spear on the metal piece of his boot. The click echoed differently—sharper. The beast paused, tilted its head, then bolted again, but Kyle had already repositioned himself to the side. As the monster slammed into another rock formation, he ran at it and plunged the spear under its leg. This time, he hit something important. Black ichor sprayed out, warm and sticky against his face.
"Yes!" Kyle shouted, pulling the spear back.
But something shifted.
The beast suddenly stopped moving. It didn't charge. It didn't screech. It just stood there.
Kyle froze too, narrowing his eyes.
The creature tilted its head. Its body rippled unnaturally, legs twitching. Something about the way it moved… it wasn't random anymore. It was deliberate.
"Oh no…" Kyle muttered.
The monster suddenly raised its body off the ground and let out a low clicking hum. The sound vibrated against the walls like sonar.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Kyle said.
It had started mapping its surroundings. It was figuring out where Kyle wasn't—which meant it could isolate where he was.
Then it leapt.
Kyle barely rolled out of the way in time, landing hard on his back. Before he could scramble up, the beast was already in front of him. One leg lashed out and smashed him into the wall.
His head rang like a bell.
He coughed hard, tasting iron. His vision doubled for a moment. "Aren't these things supposed to be dumb!?" he spat, dragging himself up.
Another strike. He flew through the air and rolled along the ground like a ragdoll, the spear tumbling out of his hand. He reached for it, but a sharp jab caught him in the ribs, sending him spinning again.
The pain was unreal. Every movement sent jolts of agony through his chest. The beast towered over him now, positioning itself as if lining up a final shot.
The barbs on its back rattled.
It was going to shoot. It was going to impale him.
Kyle groaned, trying to lift an arm in defense. It was pointless. The spikes were already aiming, the beast screeching triumphantly.
And then—
CRACK!
A stone whizzed through the air and slammed into the side of the beast's head.
"Come here, fucker!" Lana shouted from behind.
The beast's entire body jerked in surprise, and its head snapped toward her voice.
To be continued…
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