“Damn all of you!!”

The same fish from before leaped out of the water and ferociously bit at Klaus’s posterior. They wriggled relentlessly, trying to tear through the fabric of his long pants.

Klaus barely rolled onto the other side when the beast’s roar cut off, followed by a loud splash. He also looked behind and saw it jumping across the river, the fish showing no discrimination.

“Ah, shit, shit, shit,” Klaus realized and hurriedly scrambled, clawing his hands through the dirt to stand up and cursing the fish stuck to him.

Boom!

“Eeek! Stop!”

Klaus’s ears rang as he dashed forward, his eyes racing in all directions to see where he could hide. His body trembled. Sweat began to pour down his nose as he realized that he could die. He had not taken this beast very seriously since he first saw him, but now that it was a contest in speed, he was sure he would lose. Sure, he would die. Be eaten. His guts sprawled across the dirt as the beast mercilessly tore into him. His body limped. His mind is empty. And his eyes backward.

“No, no, no, that won’t happen,” he muttered, slapping his cheek. Suddenly, a loud whine entered his ears. He winced and covered his ears. After a moment, the sound disappeared, and he slowly uncovered his ears before–

Whine..!

Again. This time, he plummeted to the floor and smacked his ears. As the sound faded, he opened his eyes and saw that he hadn’t moved. The beast struggled around him, clawing at the fish stuck to it.

“Wh-what?” Klaus’s eyes widened.

“I haven’t moved at all.”

He cautiously stood up and noticed the fish still stuck to him. Were they...dead?

“They didn’t turn into dust.” He thought, pulling the two fish off his posterior.

Eyeing the beast, he aimed the two fish and launched them at it. Midair, the fish opened their mouths and clung to the beast’s hide.

Whine!

Stolen story; please report.

“Ow, ow! That’s loud. But it worked,” he thought as he watched the beast flail even harder, blood dripping from its wounds. Hope filled up in his chest.

He kept an eye on the beast as he backed up from it. Suddenly, the beast’s hide gleamed a light red as it uttered a brutal roar. The fish flung off, and its wounds were closed. Its eyes snapped to Klaus, and it gritted its teeth. Ah, shit.

Dash!

The beast sprinted faster than ever, its heavy paws leaving indents in the ground. It was furious.

Noticing the speed, Klaus…gave up.

“No way I outrun that.”

He sighed and closed his eyes, a tear escaping.

Clomp, clomp, clomp!

“Emma, I’m sorry. So sorry. I can’t be there for you anymore. I…we are so sorry for youuuuuuuuuu.”

A deep voice interrupted his thoughts. A hint of mockery seeped through it.

“Weak, weak, weakkkkkkkkkkk"

It paused.

"Too early to give up, upppppppppppppp”

As the voice said that, the beast stopped moving, the wind stopped blowing, and the trees stopped shaking; everything ceased to move. Klaus was lifted by force, and he saw the forest shift to the side and become replaced with a replica in its wake.

After a few seconds, he was thrown into the fields of flowers he had been before. He rolled and stumbled on the ground before eventually stopping.

He panted. Rising, he found himself in the exact spot where he had spawned previously. Then, the flower fields cleared a path for him again.

“Huh? No, no, no, that doesn’t make sense.” His mind was filled with questions.

Wasn’t he about to die? Who was that? How did they do that? Stopping time? Switching forests? Why was their voice so creepy? How was he thrown so precisely? More importantly, why did they save him?

“Too early to give up? Bah! That was the perfect time to give up. What else am I gonna do?!”

He clutched his head. “Fight whatever the hell that was?! And get mauled?! Yeah, right.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Whatever. I have a second chance somehow. I just hope Emma gets one too. It still isn’t over.”

He stood up and wiped off his clothes. Now determined, he ruffled his hair and began to walk into the forest. As he did, he heard a squeal.

“Not this time, idiot,” he said, blindly grabbing the squirrel from behind and launching it elsewhere into the fields rather than killing it.

Continuing to walk, he brainstormed ideas on how to overcome the beast. Don’t enter the cabin this time. Hide?

He shook his head. “Pretty sure it was watching me the whole time. But how can such a giant thing be so quiet? Surely, I would’ve heard something…”

Ruffle!

The same squirrel from before roared and lunged at Klaus. He gripped it midair, thinking whether or not to kill it.

“Let’s not do the same thing as last time.”

The squirrel whined as he threw it back into its bush and continued in the forest. Suddenly, a question arose in his head: Why were there squirrels? It didn't fit with the mood or practicality of the forest; hell, besides those two, he didn't hear or see anymore. But if there were more, maybe they had gotten eaten earlier by the fish--

"Hell no, who am I kidding? I just saw the forest get replaced. It must be targeting me, for whatever reason...and last time I checked, squirrels don't roar."