The cliff had been quite high, and it took the group far too long to make their way from the high ground down to the forest below. By now, it was painfully clear that the monstrous fiend was coming for them.
Due to its immense size, it still seemed to be moving relatively slowly, and even though they were low enough that, from Frost's perspective, some of the greenery was already shielding them from its piercing, dreadful gaze, he didn't know why he kept looking up while running. God knows how he hadn't tripped yet.
His heart was practically beating out of his ears.
For some reason, Jennifer was much faster than he was, already far ahead with the vanguard of the group, while Frost was still somewhere near the middle. He had never been particularly athletic, but he wouldn't say his stamina was horrible either. If he had to put himself somewhere, he was probably around what the average person was capable of.
Looking behind him once again, for a reason he couldn't quite explain, he wasn't surprised to see that roughly a quarter of the group had fallen behind, with five or so hopeless cases still dragging their feet down the winding path.
As terrible as his stamina was, apparently, some people were just worse.
Four girls and one guy.
Unfortunately, everyone was far more concerned with their own wellbeing to pay attention to anyone else, and as cruel as it was, that was simply how human instinct worked when faced with dire circumstances.
However, none of them were prepared for the scene that unfolded next.
The hundred-tentacled octopus was still high in the sky, held aloft by some mysterious force as it drifted lower and lower with dreadful leisure. The same tentacles that had been moving as if in slow motion suddenly stretched downward with terrifying speed.
Three of them, to be specific.
They snapped downward like enormous whips before crashing into the very cliff they had been standing on.
BOOM!
The impact was like a crack of thunder as two of the tentacles slammed into the rocky surface, sending chunks of stone and dirt flying into the air.
The third, however, locked onto the very last girl still making her way down the path.
She froze.
A look of pure horror appeared on her face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she refused to even look back despite the sudden shaking beneath her feet and the deafening noise behind her.
Then something wrapped around her waist.
The sensation of suddenly being grabbed by a fleshy tentacle silenced her scream, if only for a single second.
By now, everyone had stopped running to look back.
They watched in frozen horror as the girl was suddenly yanked into the sky by the slimy, tubular appendage, her scream finally tearing free from her throat.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
The piercing shriek echoed through the forest, making everyone shiver in terror as they watched her disappear into the distant sky, her scream slowly fading into the distance.
Then all hell broke loose.
Terrified screams erupted as people scrambled in every direction, Frost included, but another snap rang out, followed by another body being violently yanked into the sky.
Then another.
And just like that, three of their classmates were gone, devoured by the great horror above them.
One was fortunate enough to have a tree block one of the monstrous tentacles from grabbing him, only to be thrown forward by the shockwave.
His momentum sent him crashing into a sharp, broken stump directly ahead of him, the jagged wood piercing through his neck and lodging itself inside.
He died on the spot.
Frost's stomach twisted.
'Heavens, no! I don't want to die here today!'
Frost thought as he watched the boy who had been running alongside them moments ago gurgle helplessly, streams of red blood flowing from his mouth and staining the front of his clothes.
Surely this damned trial didn't send them here just to die as food for this beast!?
He wanted so badly to believe that.
But he watched with dread as more bodies were yanked into the sky behind him. There were a little over ten people behind him, so maybe he had a few more moments until the beast was done with them.
If they could just find somewhere within the forest to hide before then, like a cave or something, then maybe...
Crack!
Yoink!
"Ahhhhh... help me, please!"
A girl running just beside him was suddenly pulled into the sky, screaming as she flailed wildly.
The funny part was that she was looking directly at him while crying out for help, as if Frost had any idea what he was supposed to do.
But that was not what Frost was focused on.
The thought that he was safe just because there were ten people behind him had been thrown straight out the window!
The cover of the forest didn't seem to be working at all!
The damned bastard just threw its tentacles straight through the canopy of the massive forest trees without any hesitation!
And now, it was hovering directly above the forest, slowly drifting toward them, as if to say, You can't escape my clutches.