I felt my heart pounding in my chest as the Endoran landed on top of me. It growled a deep, terrible sound as its claws dug into my arm, slashing through my skin and scraping my bone. I screamed when the shadows that made up its body ripped apart to reveal hundreds of glowing green teeth within unhinged jaws. One thousand different thoughts raced by too quickly to comprehend what they were, and I swung my hatchet at it, sinking it into the side of the creature's neck. It flailed and growled a deep, unsettling rumble as it jumped off me. I ripped the hatchet from its skin, and it lurched back, crouching into a position with all four eyes targeting me. The green twisted as if it was focused and raced towards me. I thrust my fist at it, missing, and it tackled me to the ground, attempting to rip my head off with its terrifying jaws, gnashing at me. It grunted and huffed; its breath smelled of nothing, but I felt it blow against my face, uncomfortably close.

I trusted the weapon at it again, this time, hitting it in the head, right between the eyes. It yelled a painful deep cry before jumping away and scuttling onto a tree. I clutched my arm and sat up quickly. Before I could stand, the creature plummeted onto me, knocking the small axe from my hands and allowing it to skid off the ledge. I screamed when the beast sunk its many teeth into my back. Determination overcame me, and that bitter taste hit my tongue again. This time I watched as deep purple smoke poured onto the ground. I screamed again as the creature dug its claws into my leg. Suddenly, as the purple smoke began to rise, I heard a shriek from the Endoran. I felt the weight lift off of me, and it unravelled as I turned to look. I crawled away swiftly, groaning in pain.

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The strands of black faded away into the night like a black mist. I heaved, still terrified. I remembered killing one of those before when I was much younger. I had the same hatchet, but it seemed like a battleaxe to me back then.

I crawled over to my dwindling fire and passed out; my gaze settled on a floating ember.

I gasped, feeling my heart suddenly start to pound. I sat up, my hand clutching my chest as blood began to rush to my face and into my ears. It was a terrifying feeling I had just experienced, the sinking pressure and fading vitality of a moment ago. The stars were still out, however matte and dim. The sky was starting to gain its light again, yet I felt bewildered, not safe. I looked down at my arm and saw the terrible wound that had been inflicted wasn't bleeding. It looked like a deep scar, still very red and often even seeming purple. The pain from my wounds was muted and numb, similar to the bruises I had woken up to. Come to think, those bruises had disappeared, and the other injuries looked like scars. How much time had passed? Had it been a few hours? A few days? Had that been a memory of earlier in my life? I must have fallen asleep by the fire after eating. Maybe my dreams were just accurate.

"What a terrible feeling," I thought, "It was as if my life was fading away just before I woke."