I have begun to wonder if this new game just really hates me.  See, I know that every other group of hunters out here is not being slaughtered by rabbits right and left, so why is it that I keep getting mortally wounded by them when I'm exploring?  The people sitting around in the camp weren't complaining about how difficult these things were to fight, and they certainly weren't complaining about being ambushed by them right and left.

Running into two more rabbits while I carry the one stuck in my arm back to camp is reason enough to think that the game hates me.  How else would they find me in a deserted field that I walked through unmolested ten minutes ago?  It's not like I'm making too much noise besides the occasional grunt of pain, and there are enough flattened paths that hunting parties have made.

Even the bit of blood I'm dripping is barely more fresh than the trails the other hunting parties have been making.  If they were homing in on my scent they should have done that when I was passing through here the first time.  That and they should have attacked immediately from the bushes instead of freezing for half a second when we spotted each other.

So why. . .

Dodge to the left

. . .must I be this. . .

Spin and let the second rabbit pass through my legs

. . .damn unlucky with freaking. . .

Dodge the first one again

. . .rabbits!

They rush me at the same time, one high, the other low.

Do I drop the dead rabbit?

One horn grazes my cheek, the other dodges my counter-kick.

Yes, I have to drop it.

This time they spread out toward opposite sides.

Pack hunting tactics, joy of joys.

High and low, once again.

I toss the dead rabbit into the jumper, taking a minor scrape to the leg from the other.  My arm hurts more.

Pounce on top of the downed rabbit.  Its horn is stuck in the dead one.

Snap the neck, harder than it seems with one almost broken arm.

Pain.  Number two stabbed me in the side.

Stand up, face off with the little monster.

Has it been screaming like that this whole time?  Sounds like a horror movie damsel.

Summoning reinforcements?

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Not good for me when I'm losing this much blood.  I'm already a bit unsteady on my feet.

Brace for its jump.  High or low?

It went high.  Their general preference?

Dodge.  Spin. React.

High again.

Dod-what the hell!

Halfway to me, the rabbit gets hit by a yellow shadow leaping out of the tall grass.  The larger animal glances up at me before dragging its prey off into the grass.  No more screaming rabbit.

Is it going to come back?  Maybe.  Better to be on my guard, but I can't just wait around.  Too much blood loss already.  Even if my arm is oozing instead of pouring now, I should pick up my kills and. . .

Well, it looks like the scaled panther didn't just take the one I was still fighting.  Damn.  Now it feels even more likely that its coming for me.  If it's greedy enough to want three rabbits, why not three rabbits and a human?

No more wasting time.  I start jogging bay towards the cathedral in the distance.  If I don't run into more rabbits I could be just fine.

Hissssss.

Behind me.  Yeah, of course some sort of snake or lizard is out to get me.  Can't risk a look back.  Gotta rely on my natural danger sense.  Its track record is a bit spotty though, so I'd say I'm probably 75% dead at this point.

Probably the giant cat from earlier judging by the fact it hasn't eaten me already.  Cats like to play with their food, right?  The fact that I can hear it rustling through the grass and hissing as it comes is a bad sign.

HissssSSSSSSS!

Oh, crap!  It's coming now for sure.  Jumping?  Does everything love to jump around out here for some reason?

I drop to the ground, let it go over my head.

It lands badly, tumbling on its side farther into the grass.  No more hissing, which is probably bad.  Not even rustling from up ahead.  Is it waiting to ambush me?  Don't move, and wait for the attack.

. . .

. . .

Ok, seriously, what's going on?  Did it slink away somewhere?  Better wait a bit longer, just in case, straining my ears.

Light wind, my own labored breathing, the sound of my heart attempting to slowly empty my body of blood.  All usual.  This jumpsuit is pretty much ruined though.  My side is just covered in blood at this point.  Even if the horns are short, they still make holes the size of quarters.

. . .

. . .

Yeah, I need to check what happened up there.  Maybe it fell wrong and broke its neck?  I don't believe that for a second since its some sort of feline, but who knows?

Just carefully, one foot at a time, walk forward.  Silently pass through the rustling grass to find a homicidal lizard-cat.

Which looks. . .asleepish?  It's not moving or breathing through, so it might be dead?  There isn't much blood, mostly on the mouth area where it had been carrying my rabbits.  There is, however, some sort of explanation.  The top half of its head is covered in frost.  Its eyeballs are like cloudy marbles, and the skin is rock-hard.  If this froze suddenly, it probably died in an instant.

Which means that I take the time to fall back on my ass and start breathing again.  That was way too close.

"Hahahaha!  The look on his face!"

I recognize that voice from somewhere.

Off to the left, sitting on the ground are two people.  One is a taller, bulky man and the other is a thin blonde lady.

"Don't be rude, Angie.  Anyone would be confused if they weren't being chased by a pumagator."

Yup, it's those two from the cathedral.

"Yeah, but he waited so long to finally check what happened, and then he had this look of pure confusion on his face!"

Did I?  Probably.  I've played worse jokes on people.  For now, though, I could do with a little nap before I head back to the cathedral.  This has been a very. . .exhausting. . .day so far.

"Wow, now he fainted!  George, can you believe that?"

"Maybe it has to do with the blood smeared all over him?  Something that should probably be looked at instead of laughed at?"

I can hear footsteps as I'm drifting off.

". . .yeah, how did I miss that?"

"Self-absorbed joke-narcissism, perhaps?"

"But it was hilarious!"

"Sure, sure.  I'll put the bandages on and you patch him up."

. . .

Cold!

"Ahh!"

"Oh, he's still awake, George."

. . .