The creature moved.
One heartbeat it stood several meters away.
The next…
It exploded forward.
Its body remained low to the ground, all four limbs working together with terrifying speed. Long forelegs ended in curved black claws that dug effortlessly into stone and soil alike, launching it forward with every bound. Its hind legs bent at unnatural angles, allowing it to leap farther than anything that size should have been capable of.
Its grey hide clung tightly to layers of wiry muscle.
Scars crossed its body like pale cracks, evidence that it had survived countless hunts.
Its mouth stretched impossibly wide as it charged.
Rows upon rows of thin, needle-like teeth glistened beneath strands of thick black saliva that dripped onto the trail below.
Its yellow eyes never blinked.
They simply locked onto the nearest prey.
Someone screamed.
The monster crashed into the front of the refugee line.
A man thrust a crude wooden spear toward its chest.
The sharpened tip struck.
