His eyes never left the dark opening. He hoped that if he stayed hidden, the problem would disappear. He didn’t really have any choice other than to wait and hope that nothing bad would happen to him. He stood still with his back pressed against the uneven cave wall behind him. His unblinking eyes kept staring at the dark exit from the cavern. He could hear the unknown creature snorting, but couldn’t see it yet.

The waiting was getting on his nerves. He wished the creature would hurry up and show itself already. But the mysterious creature was still somewhere outside the cavern as if hiding in the darkness on purpose. Remaining in the dark, it snorted every now and then.

Even though the cavern had lots of glowing mushrooms growing all over it, the light they emitted was dim, and there were plenty of pockets of darkness in the room. Jack stood quietly in one of them, hoping that the creature couldn’t see him just like he couldn’t see it.

Seconds seemed to stretch out into minutes, and minutes into eternity. For a little while, nothing happened. The snorting of the unknown creature was the only sound in the cave. That is, excluding the thumping of Jack’s heart, which was so loud he couldn’t help but wonder how come the creature hadn’t heard it yet.

He stayed completely still for some more time. Then, after nothing scary happened, he got a little bolder and dared to sweep his gaze around the cave one more time. Here and they, rock outcroppings protruded from the cave floor. Hoping his movements would go unnoticed, he turned his head left and right, looking for something he could use as a weapon. He hoped that the creature wouldn’t notice him. But if push came to shove, he wanted to be ready to defend himself against the creature.

He spotted a few large rocks lying on the ground not far from his position. He judged the distance and came to the conclusion that he would be able to spring the distance and get to the rocks in two leaps. It was anybody’s guess whether a rock would be of any use against the creature he still didn’t know anything about. Knowing nothing about the creature, it was impossible to tell what it would take to bring the creature down in a fight.

Another thought came to his mind. If the creature entered the cavern and made it to its center, he could try to run around it and bolt for the exit instead of taking on the enemy. The creature would surely give chase, but he might be able to give it the slip.

However, since he didn’t know anything about the layout of the cave, it would be too risky to mindlessly run around this place. What if while running away from one creature, he would run into a bunch of other similar creatures or, worse yet, stumble across a lair full of them?

Sweat trickled down his face, but he didn’t dare to wipe it away. He had no idea what he should do, so he just stood still, hoping as hell that the creature wouldn’t notice him.

The snorting sounds reached his ears again. He then heard footsteps and immediately tensed. His gaze was fixed on the dark opening across the cavern. The dim bluish light coming from the mushrooms didn’t reach the exit, so the opening was so dark that it looked like a black hole, on the other side of which lay a terrifying unknown.

Peering into the dark opening, Jack thought he spotted a movement. It was so light and elusive at first that he even questioned himself whether he’d actually seen something or just imagined it. He kept staring into the darkness of the opening until he caught a glimpse of the movement again. Something was slowly coming out of the dark.

He could now see the outline of the creature in the darkness as it slowly walked forward. He pressed his back against the wall as if hoping that he would be able to phase through it like a ghost.

His gaze kept bearing into the creature, which was slowly but steadily coming out of the dark. It took its time. It seemed unaware of Jack’s presence in the cavern. The creature emitted snorting sounds from time to time, but they sounded quiet and peaceful. The creature didn’t seem to be aggressive. At least, for now.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Suddenly, the creature froze for some reason. It didn’t get out of the darkness of the opening. It stood inside it, leisurely looking around the cavern before it. Jack didn’t dare to move. While the creature examined the cave, he tried to get a better look at it. But he couldn’t. Since the creature was still inside the dark opening, it was impossible to make out any specific details.

All he could tell was that the creature was the size of a large dog. It had four legs, an elongated head, and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a long tail. While the creature had a large body, its legs were kind of short, and its torso stayed close to the ground. Moreover, something seemed to grow from the creature’s back, but he couldn’t determine what it was exactly. Aside from all that, he couldn’t tell anything else about the strange creature.

It continued to stand still, slowly turning its elongated head this way, then that. Jack calmed down a bit. The creature obviously didn’t see him, otherwise, it would already have shown some reaction. Looked like he’d gotten himself all worked up for nothing—

His line of thought crashed to a halt when the creature snorted and turned its elongated head to look directly at the pocket of darkness where he was hiding. Jack tensed again, staring at the creature, which seemed to stare right back at him now.

Did it notice me? he thought. Can it see me?

It was hard to tell if the creature actually saw him. It stood so still its body seemed to merge with the darkness of the opening it was in. The creature blended into the dark so well that if he hadn’t already seen the creature, he would never have been able to discern the creature in the dark. It was a good thing because it meant that Jack, who also stood completely still in a pocket of darkness at the wall opposite the opening, should be almost invisible to the creature too.

So maybe it can’t see me then? he thought with hope.

As soon as that thought formed in his mind, the creature moved again. It took a few more steps forward and came to a halt again. In the darkness could now be seen a pair of small evil eyes, which seemed to glare right at him. Except for the monster’s red eyes, all of the other parts of its body were still shrouded in darkness.

It seemed like the monster could see in the dark somewhat better than him. The creature could obviously tell that something was hiding in the darkness at the wall opposite the entrance, but the creature couldn’t tell for sure what it was.

The monster stood still, its red eyes fixed on the spot where Jack was hiding. The creature didn’t emit snorting sounds anymore. It seemed to be as tense now as he was.

For a long minute, they stared at each other, not quite able to make out any particular details. Then the monster took a tentative step forward. The creature was wary and seemed unnerved. It was a good sign. It meant that the creature wasn’t a fearless, bloodthirsty apex predator. This creature clearly wasn’t at the top of the food chain of this place.

At least, he hoped so.

The monster then took a few more small steps forward and stopped right at the edge where light and darkness met, intentionally staying out of sight. The sinister red eyes kept staring at him without blinking.

Jack was on the verge of succumbing to panic. If the monster took another step forward, he would bolt for the rocks, which he’d spotted a few minutes before, and attack the creature with them.

Maybe it was what he had to do right now. The creature seemed just as afraid as him. Maybe the creature wasn’t completely harmless, but it obviously wasn’t all that dangerous either. So, if he yelled at the top of his lungs in rage and charged at the creature, brandishing a large rock in his hands, the creature might lose it and bolt away from him in panic.

Still, Jack decided not to do anything ill-conceived. It was much better to just stay hidden to see how things would play out.

Another minute passed, which seemed like an eternity to him, and then something surprising happened. The tense situation must have gotten on the creature’s last nerve, because it snorted, then made a one-eighty and bolted away, scuffing its clawed feet against the cave floor. The creature disappeared from sight in no time flat.

Jack didn’t dare leave his hiding spot. Heart thumping against ribs, he stood still, listening to the creature’s receding footfalls. He kept listening to the creature running away until complete silence settled in the cave again.

Only then did Jack let out a breath he only now realized he’d been holding for the past half a minute.

It seemed like he was finally out of the woods.