The man jogged through an ocean of yellow and greenish plants unfolding in front of him, the glowing cube always sticking close to his shoulder. The strange, light-starved forest around him grew eerier with every step. Long, fleshy vines littered the ground, coiling and twisting like snakes. Sickly yellow grass swayed gently, giving off an almost putrid scent. Tall trees loomed overhead, their thick, dark leaves blotting out what little light managed to penetrate the canopy. The air was heavy and oppressive, every breath tasted like a mix of copper and gras.
He was partially correct in his suspicion that there would be light after a certain amount of time, although he had expected it to come from above and be very bright. Instead, the world was bathed in a faint orange glow that seemed to come from the air itself. It was impressive how he had predicted this without any clues. Could he have some sort of clairvoyance? The shitty kind, that didn’t warn him when he was about to blind himself.
After a while, the man burst out of the woods and looked down on the scene unfolding in front of him. A boy, not older than 16, was running from a huge, furry mass of flesh and muscles, spanning at least six feet in height and fifteen in length. On four trunk-like paws the beast propelled itself forward, its claws causing small explosions of earth with each step. The beast had completely red fur that was striped with orange lines, everywhere on its body but its face. Its face consisted of three things. Two giant, lidless eyes sat on either side, reminiscent of some kind of insect. Blackish ooze drenched its face, dripping off with every step and leaving small, smoking spots wherever it touched the ground. But most terrifying of all was its gaping mouth, each jaw lined with teeth the size of the man's forearm. Ignoring its face the thing looked like an oversized tiger, with its ferociousness pumped up to eleven.
The man blew the air throught his teeth, making a whistling noise. That boy was, scientifically speaking, screwed. His skin was as pale as the moon—whatever that was. He wore only a loincloth and a green scarf wrapped around his neck and head. His clothes bounced with every step he took, and he moved with incredible speed, leaping several feet at a time. Unfortunately for the boy the beast was even faster. Only a couple more feet like this and the giant maw of the bear that was littered with bluish-white-glowing teeth, would tear him to shreds.
The man smacked his lips. Technically, this had nothing to do with him. Only a fool would draw such a beast's attention, especially considering he couldn’t match half the boy's speed. On the other hand, having someone who knew this place owe him a favor could be useful, provided the boy even spoke the same language and was willing to reciprocate. And what if the boy didn't know anything useful? All of this assumed he could actually save the boy and not end up as bear food himself. There was simply too much that could go wrong.
While the man pondered his options, the boy stumbled. The giant tiger lunged forward, its maw closing around the boy's head. With a hasty roll, the boy managed to escape certain death by the skin of his teeth. Black ooze splashed everywhere, reducing the hit ground to steaming sludge.
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Seeing this, the man shot out of the bush and waved his arms. “Hey!” he shouted. “Over here! Come over here!” The heads turned to him in unison. Both seemed too surprised to act for a split second, then the boy shot towards the man, the bear following right behind. This was stupid, the man thought as he turned and ran back into the thicket.
A plan had already formed in the man's mind the moment he had seen the beast's features. The only problem was that it was shit. Every plan that started with Step 1 - make the big scary thing that wants to kill stuff notice you - was nothing but shit. The biggest risk was that he might not be able to perform the little trick he learned yesterday and the beast would just settle for the slower of the two running meals. . He shot a quick glance over his shoulder, ensuring the glowing cuboid was still following him. He could have done without seeing the gaping maw just a few feet behind, but at least it spurred him to run even faster. In the next instant, the boy caught up to him.
“Eyes close!” He shouted. Already feeling the sickly warm breath on his back, the man shut his eyes and, without confirming if the boy had done the same, forced the thought that had crossed his mind yesterday back into his head. He needed the cube to shine as brightly as possible. An overwhelming light burst out of the cube, slamming against his eyelids showed him that he succeeded. He lunged towards where the boy should be, arms outstretched, colliding with him and using his momentum to push them both off the path they had been running. For a moment, he half expected the massive creature to crush them under its weight, but an angry growl followed by a loud, sliding thud indicated that his plan had worked.
Joy spread through him for just a second before he and the boy slammed into the ground and his shoulder cracked dangerously. Pain spread from his shoulder up his neck like a bolt of lightning, whatever that was, as they slid over ther ground.
“Run,” the man whispered as he struggled to his feet, but the boy was already on his way, darting through the underbrush. A thank you would’ve been nice, the man thought, sprinting after him. He tried to keep up, but after only a few steps, the boy had already vanished into the scrub obscuring his view.
A terrifying roar from behind him ripped through the forest, followed by the sound of snapping trees and shattered stones. If nothing else, his maneuver had succeeded in making the beast very angry.
The man ran and ran, leaving the more and more agitated shouting behind. After a while he realised the cube following was following him again like a docile pet. Now that he didn’t need it to see, the thing kept its light to a minimum, emitting only a soft glow that was barely brigthern than the flickering lights he had seen the night before.
As he sped past a massive tree, its sprawling branches adorned with pink blossoms, a hand suddenly shot out from behind the trunk, yanking him into its cover. Once he regained his balance, the man pointed an accusatory finger at the boy who stood in front of him. "No Problem," he started, his voice laced with both relief and frustration.