The beast materialized in the dark opening of the entrance. It took a few steps into the cavern and stopped, staring at Jack with its red evil eyes. Now that the monster stepped into the section of the cavern that was lit by the glowing mushrooms, Jack could finally see it very well. It was his very first opportunity to examine the beast.
The creature looked like a mix of a rat and a porcupine. It was the size of a large dog. All of the creature’s body, except for the legs, was covered in greasy black fur. The beast’s head didn’t look like that of a rat’s, though. Elongated and ugly, it kind of resembled a crocodile’s head instead. The toes of the monster ended in long, curved claws. From the spine and the tail of the beast protruded bony appendages that resembled a porcupine’s quills. Unlike the latter, they were thicker, and there weren’t as many of them.
Jack remembered that the beast didn’t use its quills when it attacked him in the dark tunnel. Its elongated jaws filled with sharp teeth were its primary weapon. As to its quills, they most likely served as protection against stronger predators. This creature obviously wasn’t an apex predator in this world. Still, the rat-thing was quite dangerous as Jack had learned from bitter experience. His heart hammered in his chest as he stared at the scary animal.
The croc-rat emitted something like a growl and began to walk toward him. Jack felt a pang of fear. However, he forced himself to hold his ground. As he’d already learned, this creature could sense its prey’s fear, so he was determined not to let the dread he felt show. He stood still, watching the beast carefully. His hands were tightly gripping the large rock. He was ready to smash it against the ugly rat-thing as soon as it got within striking distance.
The beast was in no hurry. It seemed wary of him. While it didn’t seem afraid of him, it was cautious. He decided to test out one idea that came to his mind earlier on. Hoping he would be able to scare the beast off, he yelled at the top of his lungs and lurched at the croc-rat, lifting the rock above his head. Sure, the injured ankle prevented him from moving fast, but the lunge still came out quite threatening and aggressive.
The beast froze when it saw its prey move toward it instead of covering in fear or running away. The creature clearly hadn’t expected such a turn of events. However, the croc-rat didn’t retreat as Jack had hoped it would. At least, the creature stopped growling and moving toward him. It seemed unsure of what action to take. Jack was scared, but he didn’t let his fear show. He continued to approach the motionless creature. Every step he took caused a prick of pain in his bitten leg, but he fought through the pain.
Unfortunately, either the beast saw through his bluff or Jack didn’t look as intimidating as he hoped. Whatever the case, the creature didn’t get scared. It growled again and burst toward him. There was no point in retreating. Jack waited for the beast to get closer and then brought the rock down, aiming for the rat’s head. The monster must have noticed the movement because it instinctively jerked its head to the side, and the rock grazed its shoulder instead.
One of the sharp edges of the rock left a scratch across the rat’s body. The wound was shallow but painful. The animal yelped in pain. Encouraged by his first successful attack, Jack brought the rock up again. The beast realized he was about to attack, and it wasn’t keen on being hit again. Before Jack could hit his enemy, the rat jumped to the side.
Jack was already bringing down the rock and though he spotted the monster run away, he couldn’t stop the momentum fast enough. The rock crashed into the empty spot on the cave floor where the rat-thing had been a second before. Quickly recovering, Jack lifted the rock and turned toward the monster. The creature was wounded, which made it angrier and more dangerous. Even though it was bleeding, it wasn’t going to give up and run away from Jack. The beast growled and lurched toward him, opening its mouth wide. The beast was extremely fast. No sooner had he lifted the leg the beat aimed for than its jaws snapped shut on the empty air where his leg had been a moment before.
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Unable to stop its momentum in time, the croc-rat crashed into Jack. Losing his balance, he fell on his back. The rock flew from his grip and hit the floor with a thud somewhere behind him. The sight of its fallen enemy made the rat-thing more confident. Growling, it dashed toward him, ready to bite into his flesh.
Still lying on his back, Jack lifted one leg and kicked the animal in what he assumed was its nose. The creature was taken aback for a second. Before it could recover, Jack kicked it again. This time, the heel of his boot struck the monster in one of its red eyes. The creature shut its eyes and whined pitifully.
Jack rolled onto his belly and got up to all fours. He scrambled to where the rock had landed. As soon as he made it to his improvised weapon, he heard fast footfalls and heavy animal breathing behind him. Jack rolled back on his back just as the beast caught up to him. He tried to kick the animal, but the beast suddenly stopped out of reach and brought up one of its forefeet. Sharp claws ripped open the leg of his pants but, luckily, didn’t get his flesh. Jack grabbed the rock with both hands and lifted it over his head. Upon seeing this, the croc-rat froze. It didn’t want to be hit with that thing again.
His gaze never leaving the creature, Jack attempted to get up. As soon as his enemy saw the movement, it darted toward him and struck him with its claws. This time, they scraped his good leg, leaving long, deep scratches in his flesh. Gnashing his teeth in pain, Jack tried to strike the beast with the rock. The rat-thing jumped back just in time, and the rock went through the empty air just before its nose. The creature growled but didn’t attempt to attack Jack again.
For the next several seconds, the human and the animal just stared at each other. The beast stayed just beyond his reach, so Jack didn’t try to attack it. The crot-rat was clearly afraid of the rock in his hands, so it didn’t attempt to get any closer to him either. Jack tried to get to his feet one more time. As soon as the rat-thing saw him move, it lurched forward. Jack tried to strike the beast, but it immediately stopped outside of striking distance. In an attempt to protect itself, the croc-rat brought up one forefoot, scratching its claws across the surface of the rock, doing no damage to it at all. Frustrated, the beast took a few steps backward.
Jack made another attempt to get up. He was ready to deflect any further attacks, but this time, the monster didn’t lurch at him. His gaze never leaving the beast, Jack stood up from the cave floor. He continued to stare down at the monster. Sweat trickled into his eyes, and he blinked it away, not bothering to wipe perspiration from his forehead. He needed both hands to hold the large rock, and he was afraid to lose sight of his enemy even for a second.
For the next minute, the beast would try to get closer to Jack, but it would immediately retreat when he brought up the rock. Both his legs were throbbing with pain, and his hands were growing weak from handling the large rock for so long. He was barely able to hold it now. He was quickly getting tired. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to go on for much longer. One way or another, it was high time to finish this fight.
Shouting a battle cry, Jack lurched at his enemy, bringing up the rock. He was vaguely aware that he was so tired that even his battlecry came out weak and not threatening at all. Sure enough, the rat-thing didn’t flinch upon seeing him approach and hearing him yell. It held its ground, glaring at him with its evil red eyes. As soon as he got within striking distance, Jack struck. However, due to tiredness, all his movements were slow and sluggish. The croc-rat had no trouble getting out of harm’s way with plenty of time to spare. The rock hit the empty spot on the cave floor where the beast had just been.
Jack tightened his grip around the rock. It had grown so freaking heavy. Before he could lift the rock from the ground, the angry animal attacked.