The next morning, the group gathered around their small camp and decided that simply waiting for danger to find them was no longer an option. They needed food, shelter, weapons, and a better understanding of the strange world they had been thrown into. Abhimanyu divided everyone into smaller groups. Ravi, Karan, and Li Wei volunteered to search the surrounding forest for anything edible, while Samar, Javier, Mateo, and Manan focused on gathering branches and making simple weapons. Aditya, Aarav, and a few others began strengthening the camp with thicker logs and vines. Riya, IShita, Yuna, Hana, and Aanya helped organize the supplies and search the nearby area for clean water. Nobody knew how long they would remain there, so every task mattered.
The work continued throughout the day. Some people sharpened wooden spears against stones, while others built a rough shelter beneath the trees. Abhimanyu constantly moved between the groups, checking their progress and reminding everyone to stay together whenever they ventured too far. They were still ordinary humans in a world filled with creatures they could barely understand. They had no weapons from Earth, no technology, and no idea what waited beyond the trees. Yet slowly, they were beginning to adapt. By sunset, their miserable little camp had started to look more like a place where they could actually survive.
Three days passed.
The group settled into a routine.
Morning meant gathering food and water. Afternoon was spent improving the camp and making weapons. At night, several people remained awake in shifts while the others slept.
But on the third afternoon, Nikita wandered farther from the camp than she was supposed to.
She pushed through a cluster of bushes, humming quietly to herself.
"Maybe there's something edible here..."
She stopped when she noticed a thick bush blocking her path.
"Seriously?"
Nikita sighed and kicked the bush aside.
"Aaah!"
A strange scream came from beneath it.
Nikita froze.
Her eyes widened.
"...What?"
She slowly looked down.
Nothing.
Then something wet dropped onto the ground beside her.
Plop.
Nikita's eyes moved upward.
A gigantic tongue was hanging above her.
It was impossibly long, thin, and sharp at the end.
Nikita's entire body went rigid.
The tongue suddenly moved.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"AAAAAH!"
She turned and ran.
Branches slapped against her face as she sprinted through the jungle.
Behind her came a horrifying sound.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The ground shook with every step.
Nikita glanced backward.
Her face went pale.
"RUN!"
A gigantic creature was tearing through the trees behind her.
It was nearly seven metres tall when standing upright.
Its body vaguely resembled an enormous anteater, but everything about it was wrong.
Its head was long and narrow, filled with rows of unusually long, blade-like teeth. Its tongue was ridiculously long and thin, almost like a living spear. Huge claws extended from its front limbs, each one resembling sharpened steel.
Its enormous back legs were built like those of a kangaroo, allowing it to stand upright.
Its tail was long and bushy, but beneath the fur were overlapping plates of hard, scale-like armour.
Nikita didn't stop.
She could hear the monster gaining on her.
"HELP!"
The camp finally came into view.
"NIKITA!"
Riya spotted her first.
"She's running!"
Everyone immediately stood.
Nikita stumbled into the clearing, gasping for air.
"Monster..." she managed.
"What happened?" Samar asked.
"Behind me!"
Then they heard it.
THUD.
Everyone became silent.
THUD.
The jungle trembled.
Branches snapped.
Birds flew from the trees.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive figure emerged from the jungle.
Everyone froze.
The creature slowly raised itself onto its enormous back legs.
Samar stared at it.
"That..."
He swallowed.
"It looks like an anteater."
He narrowed his eyes.
"But... a completely different version."
The monster opened its mouth.
Rows of narrow teeth were revealed.
Ravi slowly stepped backward.
"That's one ugly anteater."
"Ravi," Manan muttered.
"What?"
"Not the time."
The creature suddenly lunged.
"SCATTER!"
Everyone jumped in different directions.
Its enormous claw slammed into the ground where several of them had been standing.
BOOM!
Soil and leaves exploded into the air.
Aditya grabbed Nikita's arm and pulled her behind a tree.
"Stay down!"
The monster turned toward them.
Its long tongue suddenly shot forward.
SWOOSH!
Aditya pushed Nikita aside.
The tongue struck the tree.
CRACK!
The impact shook the trunk.
"That thing's tongue can hit from that far?!" Javier shouted.
Samar grabbed a spear.
"Don't get close to its mouth!"
The group began attacking from different directions.
Samar and Mateo threw their spears toward its legs.
One struck the creature's side.
It barely reacted.
Another bounced off its thick scales.
"That didn't even hurt it!" Mateo shouted.
"Then aim for the gaps!" Samar yelled.
Javier and Li Wei moved toward the creature's flank.
Javier waited for the monster to swing its claw before rushing forward and driving his spear into the softer area beneath its arm.
The beast roared.
"It worked!"
"Move!"
Javier barely escaped as the creature swung its enormous arm.
Meanwhile, Manan and Karan threw stones toward its head, trying to distract it.
"Hey! Over here!"
The monster turned.
Manan immediately regretted his decision.
"Oh."
The creature charged.
"RUN!"
Manan sprinted.
The monster chased him, each step shaking the ground.
"WHY DID I DO THAT?!"
Ravi burst out laughing.
"Because you're stupid!"
"HELP ME!"
Ravi's laughter stopped.
"Oh."
He looked at the charging beast.
"Right."
Ravi grabbed a spear and rushed sideways, striking the creature's leg as it passed.
The beast stumbled for half a second.
That was enough.
"NOW!"
Aditya and Samar attacked together.
Their spears struck the same weakened area.
The monster roared and swung its tail.
WHAM!
Both were thrown several metres away.
"ADITYA!"
Aanya ran toward them, but Aarav stopped her.
"Don't! It's baiting us!"
Aarav's eyes remained fixed on the creature.
He was watching its movements.
"Every time it attacks, it leaves its right side exposed."
Abhimanyu immediately understood.
"Everyone!"
The group looked toward him.
"Keep it turning!"
Riya and IShita moved left.
Javier and Li Wei moved right.
Manan began throwing stones from behind.
The monster spun repeatedly, trying to keep track of everyone.
Its movements became slower.
It was getting tired.
"Now!" Abhimanyu shouted.
Aditya charged.
Samar followed.
Javier attacked from the opposite side.
The monster raised its claw—
—and Abhimanyu rushed straight toward it.
"Abhimanyu!" Aarav shouted.
The creature's tongue shot forward.
Abhimanyu dropped beneath it.
The tongue passed over his head.
He rolled across the ground and drove his spear into the creature's lower leg.
The monster roared.
Its balance broke.
For one terrifying moment, the seven-metre creature swayed.
Then it crashed onto the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire clearing shook.
Nobody moved.
Everyone stared at the fallen beast.
It was still breathing.
Still alive.
Then its eyes opened.
A strange blue glow began spreading beneath its scales.
Aarav's expression changed.
"Everyone..."
The blue energy grew brighter.
"The monster is gathering energy."
Abhimanyu slowly stood.
"What?"
Aarav didn't answer immediately.
The creature's body began vibrating.
The air around them became heavy.
Then the monster opened its mouth.
A blue sphere of energy formed inside it.
Aarav's eyes widened.
"Whatever it is..."
He stepped backward.
"...it's not good."
The creature suddenly roared.
A violent wave of blue energy erupted from its mouth.
BOOOOOOM!