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.