I was startled awake as I heard and felt an absolutely massive roar rip through the air. It reverberated off the walls of the cavern and caused dust to fill the air. All of the wolves shot up, growls and grumbles resounding as they all started pacing worriedly. Confusion rocked through me and I looked around quickly, taking stock of my situation now that I had woken up. It looks like I had finally regrown back my body, but unfortunately, when I tried to wriggle my leg, I realized they were stuck. Fuck, those same damned massive dire wolves that had been fucking me up this whole time were scared, and I was stuck in this little crevasse that my head had been tossed into! I cursed and tried to wiggle about, but fuck me my leg was absolutely smashed into the crack. I should have known better! I shouldn’t have passed out! I should have just muscled through the pain! Fuck!

I struggled to move, tearing and yanking at the leg with my free hands. I desperately tried to at least shift something, even if that meant ripping my newly healed skin off. That roar… I had never heard anything like it. Not the wolves, and not even any of the prey that they sometimes brought back, still living. No… It was something much, much larger. As I struggled, I desperately watched as the wolves below mobilized. A few of the adults raced in after a few moments, barking at the pups and pregnant mothers and lashing out in their hurry. It was obviously something really bad, because I swear that was the fastest I’d ever seen any of the pups and teenagers move. In only a few moments, I watched as the adults corralled all of the pups out of the den, and every mother wolf and teenager raced out right behind them, Fear roiled through the air behind them, and I groaned again.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! I finally managed to get an empty cave, ripe for an escape opportunity, and I was fucking stuck! I frowned down at the empty cave again. It really was an odd sight to say the least. For the whole year I had been there, the den had always been so full of noise. So full of things. So full of life. Even during the winter, when the pack didn’t go out as often, there were little pups running around their mothers legs, and teenagers wrestling with each other. Somehow, it always seemed like there were always at least one or two expectant mother pups, and even when I was being ripped apart, it was a nice space for the other wolves and adults to hang out and rest in.

Now though… there was nothing. No little pups. No tired mothers. No wrestling teenagers. Not even a single slacking hunter. Just the remnants of my last regeneration, half eaten and strewn everywhere and… silence. I felt pale as all the blood rushed from my head. Nope, there was no way this was good news. I needed to do something fast, like now. The wolves would never have evacuated that quickly, this was their home. Their territory. I’d seen them rip apart a massive moose with fangs and horns dripping with acid. They’d never leave unless there was an unbelievably good reason. I yanked hard, and then froze again as another massive roar permeated the building, moving the rock that surrounded me and crushing my limbs even more. Fuuuuck! I screamed at the sudden increase in pressure and coughed up blood. A good reason… just like that… Fuck me!

I tore, pulled, and yanked, struggling to move even a little bit. I felt my skin rip and tear, and I cursed as I felt blood flow from the new wound in my legs. Fuck me, maybe it could lubricate the rock crushing my thighs and I could try to wriggle even more. I growled and winced as the tear in my leg ripped even wider. Damn this runner’s body and its massive calves… wait… what was that about runner’s body? My eyes widened and I frantically tried to grasp onto that memory, but… damn it, it was gone. Damned memories, fuck!

I sighed and stared down at my legs again. Well… I guess there was no other choice. Hopefully I could regenerate the lost limb before whatever beast that was out there found me. I growled and pulled at the edge of the rock, scraping my fingers so hard that they bled. I growled and punched the rock, before narrowing my eyes and focusing on the area that was stuck again. My thigh was able to move, just slightly, but right at my shin… there! I pursed my lips together and thought it over. I needed to break my leg at that joint… and then, maybe, just maybe… I could try to push my chest off the edge and the extra weight on the joint would just… rip it off… Fucking damn it, this was going to be a real bitch of an experience.

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the entrance to the den. My freedom was finally in reach… All I needed to do was this one last thing. Just a little casual dismemberment, how hard was that? Haha… I’ve had to deal with that for the last year every single goddamn day… this wasn’t going to be anything new really. I ground my teeth together so hard that my jaw hurt, and quickly twisted to the side, wrenching as hard as I could. I could feel my skin rub against the rough rock, and the roughness grated off the top layer instantly, widening the tear that I had already made in my skin. Blood didn’t even get the chance to start pooling before I felt the skin struggle to regenerate, but for a wound that large, it was sluggish. I wrenched again, and ripped off even more skin, causing me to curse loudly again. I squeezed my eyes shut and panted, but now I could feel that I was in the right position, with my heel in one direction and my knee in the other. A little while longer of wriggling, and I took a deep inhale. Okay, perfect positioning now, all I had to do now was… the last part. I took in a deep breath and punched the side of the rock again. Alright… don’t even think about it, just do it right… now! With a wild scream, I gripped the edge of the rock and heaved myself fully over the edge.

It wasn’t like I had just taken a simple jump off of an edge, and was sailing towards the water, but still, for a brief moment, I felt weightless. Peaceful. Blissful. For a short moment at least. Then I felt my free leg slide out of the rock as well, and the rest of my body slid out, before suddenly being yanked back as my ankle and shin screamed at me as they took the full brunt of my body. I roared in agony, and my vision went red as I felt the bones and joints in my leg crack, and then with a sickening snap, I was free. For another inch, and then I was screaming once more. I could feel the shattered bones of my femur slicing and stabbing into each other and they carved up the inside of my leg until it was mincemeat. I had definitely broken my leg but… I was still stuck. Still stuck in this damned crevice, argh! Tears raced down my cheeks as I almost blacked out from the agonizing pain, but I forced myself to stay awake. No, I had to be aware for this. I needed to get out of this god's damned shit hole!

But the rage swelled up inside of me, and my vision went red with anger, “Oh gods… why in the name of… Ahhhh!”

I screamed again, and slammed my forehead into the side of the rock wall. I felt my skull crack, but I didn’t care. Again… this shit was happening again! I roared and slammed my fists into the wall, feeling the skin split and the blood begin to pour out. I punched again and again, my vision going red. FUCK!!! AHHHH!!! I WAS JUST STUCK IN THIS STUPID SHITHOLE!!! FOREVER!!! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!

I roared and slammed my fists, and my forehead, and even my foot into the rock. My skin split, blood ran down the wall, and pain ruled supreme. Then… within my writhing and rage fueled tantrums, I felt it. The bones that had been in my shin, stabbing and slicing and carving, they finally broke through the skin, ripping it just enough that… I fell. I finally fell, sailing through the air in a shower of blood and gore, a dark red grin lighting up my face. I watched as the ground raced up towards me, but right before I slammed into it, I thankfully blacked out.

When I awoke, I could feel my leg pulsing in pain, but… I was free. I grinned and glanced at my knuckles. All healed, good. I must have only been out for a while. I sat up and cracked my neck. Oh it was going to be a good day! I felt another feral grin come over my face and I looked down at my leg. It was covered in blood, so I could see how far my leg had regenerated. I had about… ten minutes until my foot could grow back. Then I’d activate ‘sprint’ and get out of this hellhole, once and for all. Then… well… I guess…

I frowned, and rubbed my chin. Wait, what was I going to do? I had been in this cave for so long… but what was I doing before? I remember the names of Halfi… and Cylkia… my rage still burned whenever I thought of them, but was there anything else? What was I doing before this? Was I with someone? Hmm…

A sudden roar shot through the air again and I paled. Oh… that was right. I was in the middle of trying to escape from whatever had made that noise and scared off the dire wolves. I glared down at my slowly regenerating foot, willing it to heal faster. Ah… This was taking a ridiculous amount of time, I really needed to get moving before…

A loud thud thrummed through the air, and I felt it shake my bones. Oh no… There was another loud thud, and then another and I realized those weren’t thuds from something falling, they were footsteps. My face paled and I looked around for somewhere I could hide. Whatever that thing was… I was not in any shape to face it right now. I noticed a large boulder on the side of the den, and scrambled over to it, squeezing myself behind it and poking my head out of the other side so I could see whatever it was when it came closer.

I was prepared for something massive, but when I saw the absolutely ridiculously large form that began to block the opening of the den, darkening the whole room, I couldn’t help but gasp. It was as much a bear as a garter snake was an anaconda. It’s humongous form blotted out the entryway, and its loud footfalls reverberated through the den as it walked farther inside. It was easily the size of a large shed, and it moved slowly, but in a way that made it clear it could move much, much faster. Its fur was a dark, matted brown, and sported many silver white scars. Upon its back I saw the broken off hafts of spears and arrows, and I swear I even saw an axe handle in one of its shoulders. The fact that it was able to move at all would normally have baffled me, but I don’t even think it noticed the weapons stuck in its hide.

It sniffed the air as it walked farther in, growling at the leftover remains of the wolves den. It snuffled at one of my leftover limbs from this morning, before opening its massive maw and swallowing it whole, bone and all. I shivered, and wiggled a little farther behind the boulder, trying to calm my wildly beating heart. That… that was not something I could just beat. I needed to get the hell out of here as quickly as I fucking could. I took a deep breath and willed my foot to finally regenerate already, focusing all of my energy on the area instead of my splintered bones and torn skin. I could heal that later, this took priority.

I peered around the side of the boulder again, and sighed in relief. The bear was still sniffing on the far side of the cavern, and I looked from it to the entrance. I wasn’t sure how fast it could move, but I doubted it was as fast as the wolves, who had chased me down everytime I had managed to get close to breaking out of the cavern. I glared down at my foot, and patiently watched as the heel and fore of it healed, making sure to also keep an eye on where the massive bear was. Okay… just the little toes now and I was good. Oh… where to go first? Maybe I’d try and find some water or food? I don’t think I had even eaten anything this last year… huh, weird.

As the rest of my foot healed up, I looked from the bear to the entrance again. Now. Now was the chance I had been waiting for this whole time. I carefully and silently wriggled out from behind the boulder again, and looked towards the opening. I really couldn't believe my luck, I had figured that I was going to be stuck in this fucking shithole for at least another year or so until I could get strong enough to fight off and kill enough wolves that they’d think of me as more trouble than I was worth! A smile came over my face, and I reached deep inside and pulled on the void, activating ‘sprint’ and charging towards the opening.

Freedom! Freedom was finally mine! I grinned and laughed as I pushed as hard as I could off of one leg, sailing through the air as quickly as I could, when I heard a loud roar echo through the cavern. Oh no… it had noticed me! I laughed crazily and picked up my pace, racing even harder towards the opening, abandoning all hope at silence. I’d figured that it would hear me racing towards the entrance, but I had no doubts I could beat it in a race, after all, that thing was fucking massive! The roar came again, and then I heard the sound of its loud footfalls as the beast charged through the den, the walls and ceiling shaking and raining down dust and rubble. I was so so so close, just a little bit farther and I’d be…

FREE!!! I broke out of the mouth of the den for the first time in a year, and tripped over a rock, faceplanting hard into the ground. I groaned, and quickly managed to sit up, wiping off the dirt and rocks that were still embedded in my face. Groggily, I looked around at my surroundings, wincing at the sunlight that was shining down from above. So… this was it? The world outside of that damn den? I sighed and got up, shaking my legs off. It was a pretty big let down if I was being honest.

To my left and right were two more large caves, which I figured were the other wolf dens that I had always assumed were somewhere nearby. I whistled in surprise as I saw that in the middle of the clearing there were several wolf corpses, literally torn in half and strewn around. I felt my face pale at the sight as I remembered what I had just been running from. I needed to get out of here… now! I activated ‘sprint’ and charged off in the direction of the wilderness, not even caring about where exactly I was going to charge off to. Something told me that I would be safe there, if I could get far enough away.

That massive roar raged through the air again, and I glanced behind me just as the massive bear exploded out of the opening of the cave, sending rock and rubble flying everywhere. I groaned inwardly and cursed as it slammed its paws down. Fuck me for thinking that it was going to be slow! Its rage was evident as it gnashed its teeth in the air and looked around itself. I shook my head and poured on the speed, taking another glance behind me to see if it was still chasing me. Weren’t bears supposed to have terrible eyesight? I should be fine, right? The bear's eyes scanned around until they finally landed on me, and my heart stopped for a second. What the fuck was that bullshit!

I groaned and looked back at the trees, stretching out my sore and screaming legs. Could I get there in time? For how big the bear was, I probably could evade it if I made it there right? I raced forward, hearing the thuds of its footfalls as it chased after me, fully locked on to me. Oh shit! I dashed over a fallen boulder and dodged around tree after tree as I finally reached the edge of the forest. A relieved smile came over my face as I heard that enraged roar again. Okay, that bear was way too big to try and chase me through the woods, I just needed to get far enough away that the wolves couldn’t track me down again. I was NOT becoming their free meal again! At least, not if I had anything to say about it!

I heard a loud tearing noise, and I frowned. What… what was that? I looked behind me, and paled again. The bear had been forced to stop at the edge of the forest, but it hadn’t even lasted a moment before it just smashed the offending trees out of its way, cracking them in half or just straight up ripping them out of the ground. It roared again and bulldozed forward, its massive claws tearing up large chunks of earth as it ignored every obstacle in its way, intent on getting to me. I felt my stomach drop, and turned around, picking up the pace and jumping over a small creek.

Okay… That was absolutely ridiculous! What had I even done to piss off the bear? I had just been running out of the cave! It hadn’t even chased the wolves, why was it coming after me now!? I heard the rampaging bear behind me get even louder, and I cursed, my eyes darting around, looking for somewhere to hide or escape the bear. There was nothing I could see and I let out a sigh. That thing, even though it was forced to slow down as it knocked aside trees, was rapidly catching up to me. I could almost feel its breath on my neck, even as I poured on more and more speed. I roared and slammed my fist into a tree trunk. Oh man… I really was fucked! FUCK! Alright… well I guess if I couldn’t just escape the bastard, I might as well face it, right? It didn’t know about my regeneration, as long as it ate most of me and left enough for me to regenerate, I should be okay, right?

I changed my direction, and started looking for a good spot to make a good stand. No, not the river… hmm probably not that clearing either… Maybe the large rock formation over there? Yeah… that’ll do. I dashed over to it, only briefly pausing as I started looking for something to fight with. It wasn’t going to do anything of course, but maybe I could get at least a couple solid scratches in before it ate me. I swallowed hard and shook my head as I remembered how it had eaten my old arm whole. Oh damn it… would I even be able to regenerate from that? A massive roar exploded through the air and I whipped around as the Dire Bear exploded into the small clearing, foaming at the mouth. Damn it… well now wasn’t really the time to worry too much about that at least.

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I bared my teeth at the bear and laughed at it, “Ha! You really like the taste of me that much!? Unfortunately for you, I’m sick and tired of being somethings neverending buffet, FUCK YOU!”

I roared and charged forward, shocking the bear slightly. Not much though, and it quickly acted, batting its huge paw at me. I fell to the ground, narrowly dodging it. One of its claws grazed my back though, and I felt a long gash open up in my back. I laughed and rolled forward, getting up on my feet and darting around it to the left. It turned its head as it followed me, its eyes watching my every move, almost as if it was trying to map out my patterns. Fucking creepy! I spat at it, which pissed it off just like I was hoping, and I smirked as it roared and charged forward, smashing its paw around, uprooting a tree and slowing it for a brief moment. I grinned and turned around, charging it straight on, just barely dodging the uprooted tree and its massive paw. The bear opened its massive jaws and snapped them at me, but I wasn’t aiming for its head. I dropped and rolled again, Gripping the sharp rock I had found and slashing around, activating sword slash. It was about as effective as I was expecting, but I saw a few of its hairs fall to the ground as the Dire bear jumped back and snapped at me again.

I activated ‘sprint’ again and dashed around the bears left. This time it was really pissed, and it swung its massive paws at me, forcing me to stay wide so that I wasn’t hit. I reached down and grabbed anything I could, whipping it through the air at the beast. It obviously wasn’t going to hurt it, but I wanted it pissed. There was only one way I was winning this, and as I felt my back finish healing I spat at the bear again. It raged forward, ripping out several trees, but its eyes never left me, even as its paws tore up massive patches of the ground. I laughed and threw another rock at it. Good, I needed it to be only focused on me. I turned and raced towards the massive rock wall, not even having to check behind me as I heard it roaring and crashing through the forest, snapping and breaking everything in its way.

I ran as hard as I could, signing in relief as I saw the rock wall around the next few trees. I continued at my dead sprint, running as hard as I could, feeling my muscle fibers exploding and tearing apart at the immense amount of power that I was demanding from them. I couldn’t, no, wouldn’t slow down at all, and I begged my regeneration ability to do its best to hold me together, even if it was only for a few more moments.

My Unending Vitality grudgingly acquiesced, and as I flew forward, I laughed as I jumped forward, running head first into the rock wall that I had been aiming for. I could feel my skull shatter along with half the bones in my chest, and I slumped to the ground screaming and coughing up blood. Agony and pain reigned supreme as I felt my body slowly begin the healing process, my Unending Vitality struggling with where and how to even start. I could feel the effects of the severe brain injury I had just given myself, and as my vision went to static and alternative black and red flashes, I had no idea how I was actually still able to think. Still, I needed to see what happened next, even if I could barely see. I wriggled around, wincing at the feeling of shards of bones ripping apart my innards. Still, I tried my best to turn around to see the bear.

I hadn’t even realized how close the bear had gotten to me, and just as I managed to turn myself backwards to see if my plan had worked, I watched as it barreled into the rock wall, just like I had. The dire bear's raging, furious roars that had been shaking the very air, were suddenly cut short and I watched as a massive cloud of dust and rock exploded outward from the impact. I heard the sound of a loud crack and then half of the rock wall bent and fell down, slamming down on top of the bear with a resounding thud. I smirked as I watched its form go limp, and dusted the dirt off of me. Good, good… that should give me just enough time to get the fuck out of here.

I groaned and struggled to stand up, my vision going double and blurring. I had this feeling that even with a thousand pounds of rubble and rock on top of that thing, it wouldn't be enough to stop the bear permanently. I really needed to get the hell out of here, before the damned thing woke up and realized what I had done. I hobbled forward, agony sparking through my head and chest with each step. Fuck me… Hopefully my body would be able to heal soon, I could already feel my bones struggling to rearrange themselves and put themselves together. I had purposefully run head first into the rockwall in order to protect my legs, so that I could get out of here as quickly as possible. I just needed to activate ‘sprint’ and then I could get the hell out of here…

I groaned and took another agonizing step forward, when I heard an even louder rage filled roar explode through the air, freezing me and my heart. I screamed in anger and despair and glared behind me. There was no fucking way that thing was still fine! Did the couple thousand pounds of rock even do anything at all to that damned thing!? I staggered forth a few more steps, and looked behind me, expecting the bear to still be near the rock wall, probably still trying to figure out where I was.

Unfortunately, I was not that lucky. All I saw was a huge mass of pissed off fur, claws, and roaring, slavering fangs and rage barreling straight at me, knocking aside trees like they were nothing. I didn’t even get the chance to really curse before its massive paws lashed out, and slammed into my side, pulverizing me like wet paper. I roared in agony as I felt my barely healed bones shatter again, and was sent flying through the air, spinning wildly like a boneless ragdoll. I slammed into the side of a tree trunk and gasped as all of my air was knocked out of my lungs, and for a brief moment all I saw was darkness. I flopped to the ground again and rolled over, groaning. What the hell did that thing eat that it could move around like that? I needed to figure out its workout routine because damn…

I laughed and took account of my body. Yeah… everything was broken, I couldn't feel my legs because my spine was snapped, and I’m pretty sure I was currently full of blood from all of my punctured organs. A small part of me wondered how I was still conscious, but a larger part of me just groaned in agony. I struggled to move my hands, or even just a single finger, but nothing even budged. I coughed up a wad of blood and groaned. I wonder how much time I have left? I peered in the direction of the loud crashes, and saw the bear ripping up every single tree and boulder in its area, throwing them around and destroying the nearby wilderness. Poor thing… I guess I couldn’t blame it, that had probably hurt a shit ton, even for a beast like that. I looked to where the rock wall was… well had… been, and felt my eyes widen in surprise.

The entire top half of it had toppled and fallen down, which is probably what that massive thud from earlier meant. There was a large crack running through what was left of the wall, and the bear itself was bleeding, flinging blood everywhere as it rampaged in the middle of the clearing. I let out a low groan as I felt my skull finally heal, and the huge headache vanished. Alright… I still had a chance, however slim, to get out of here. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to outrun the dire bear, but maybe I could sneak away while it was rampaging? It didn’t seem to even know where I had been flung, which was a massive plus. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation of my body healing. I could feel it working on my shoulders and chest, but I needed my legs in order to be able to move. I redirected the healing flow, first focusing it all on healing my spine. The sounds of my spine cracking and creaking reverberated through the air, and I gasped as it was forcefully realigned. Pain exploded up my back again, and I gasped in surprise, but joy. Good, good… alright just needed to heal the viciously bleeding wounds, and my legs, and I’d be okay.

I opened my eyes, and glanced over in the direction of the still rampaging bear. Damn, I really had pissed off the poor thing. I couldn’t really blame it though… That was a huge ass boulder that had fallen down on its head. I sighed as I felt my bones and muscles slowly begin to pop back into place, and fix themselves. Hopefully I can get out of here safely, and then… Well, I guess I didn’t exactly know what I was going to do. Make myself a little hut and live out here? No… that didn’t sit right. Maybe I could track down the pieces of shit that had just left me to die? No… I had this feeling that I was nowhere near strong enough to face them. I needed to get stronger first… I glanced at the dire bear, and narrowed my eyes. Yes… stronger.

A smile came over my face as a crazy thought occurred to me. I needed to kill that damn bear. I laughed and flexed my fingers, amusement at the crazy idea coursing through me. The higher the leveled creature, the more experience I’d get right? I bet that was the highest level kid on the block, if not the entire forest. If I killed that bastard, I’d get a shitload of experience and levels! I grinned and cracked my knuckles, finally standing up again, pain still coursing through my legs. Sure I would be able to survive if I ran now, but what was the point in doing that if I was always doing that? How was I ever going to get my vengeance if I was always just running away? I laughed and twisted around, feeling my muscles stretch and groan. It was time to really put myself to the test… I chuckled and jogged over towards the rampaging bear, keeping my footfalls light as I kept an eye out for anything I could use for a… weapon. Damn, what I wouldn’t do for a… blade… wait a second… I looked at its back again and grinned. Why the hell was I throwing rocks at a beast that had a sea of weapons strewn all over its back? All I had to do… was get up there, and tear one out.

I frowned, and slowed down to a stop. How the hell was I going to get up there? I doubted I could just jump onto its back while it was… wait why couldn’t I? I felt that same feral grin come over my face. The beast was able to knock aside trees, but those trees were taller than it still. All I had to do was just crawl up the trunk of one, and then when its rampage brought it close, I just needed to jump off and onto its back! Grab a blade, rip it out, and then kill it! Boom bada bam!

I chuckled and then took a deep breath, carefully making my way forward. I doubted that it was able to even hear anything over the sound of its raging tantrum, but I still didn’t want to risk it. I’d already made that mistake with its eyesight after all. I held my breath as I pulled myself up branch by branch, higher into a nearby tree. It was taller and thicker than its surrounding brothers and sisters, but I still had no doubt that the bear could easily tear it apart. I kept an eye out of the corner of my eye, and chuckled as I saw it knock down three trees in one massive swipe. I couldn’t believe that much rage could even exist in a living being, but it was impressive to say the least. It ripped up tree after tree, and its vicious claws carved out huge furrows in the earth. It had even seemingly forgotten about me, which confused me to no end. How did something that was so obviously incensed by what I had done to it, just forget about that same existence? It wasn’t even trying to smell or look for me…

I sighed and shook my head. Oh well, I would just have to take advantage of it I guess! I perched on the edge of a branch, carefully shuffling to the side as I watched the bear's rampage slowly get closer and closer. Not now… no not yet… I watched as it roared and ripped up a nearby tree and a grin spread over my face. NOW! I leaped from the branch, aiming for the haft of a spear stuck in the beast's shoulder, and for a moment as I sailed through the air, I felt free and confident for the first time.

I laughed as my body slammed into the backside of the beast, and I gripped the handle as the dire bear reared back and roared, somehow sounding even more pissed off than before! I laughed as the bear bucked and jumped up and down, trying to dislodge me. It slammed me into trees and then the same broken rock wall it had run into earlier, but I just kept on holding on, feeling my back and legs being shredded and torn apart. Damn!

This was going to take a while to say the least, but I knew I could outlast the damned thing. All I had to do was just hold on for dear life! I squeezed my eyes shut and locked my hands on the haft of the spear, choosing to ignore and sacrifice my legs in the hopes of seeming like an inanimate object to the damned massive furball. That couldn’t take that long, right?

It did in fact, take that long. And by that long, I meant an entire day, night, and then only when the sun had been setting on the second day, had the damned beast finally began to make its way back. I hadn’t really expected it to take the rest of the night and into the next day before the bear finally slowed down, but if I had, I would have just waited around for a while! My arms screamed at me as my body struggled to heal the constant muscle tears in my arms, and somehow they were the best feeling part of my whole body.

Throughout the course of its rampage, I had lost consciousness a few times, but still had managed to hold on tight, even when the bear had suddenly decided that trying to dash me against the rock wall was the best plan of action, and when it had proven not to be… It had decided that it was time for more… serious measures. It had taken to rolling over onto its back, which had smashed me into the forest floor, crushing my entire body under its massive body weight. Honestly, I could handle the feeling of my bones being smashed into paste, but the weight of the bear on top of me? Crushing and smothering me, causing every last bit of air out of my lungs to be squeezed out? Yeah… that was a bit different. For a moment there, I’d even been worried that I might actually let go and the bear would be able to get its free dinner.

Thankfully for me though, the bear didn’t know how close I was to letting go, and ended up rolling over just as I started to black out. Unfortunately, it realized I was still there, and rolled back over and crushed my broken, battered body again. It was brutal, and after the fourth time of the bear doing that, I had gone effectively limp as my bloody, broken body struggled to heal itself, only my upper chest, arms, and head being still intact. I’d thanked all the gods that it had seemed to stop, but I was terrified as it just stood there, for a long, silent moment. No more roars, no more tantrums, and not even any more attempts at killing me happened as it stared at the setting sun, the bear’s unbelievable rage having finally cooled down. At least, slightly. It had huffed, wandering off in the direction of the wolves den once more, not even caring about the extra weight that was dangling behind itself.

Relief had poured through my body, and I had just hung on, a smile slowly dawning on my face. Good gods! Finally, the damned thing had forgotten I existed! HAHA!!! All I had to do now was just wait for it to settle down a little and I could try to tear out a weapon and kill the damn thing! I glanced at the plethora of rusted, and old weapons, sending out a thank you to the poor fools that had come before me. They may not have been able to kill the thing, but they had left behind quite the beautiful gift for me! I’d have to kill this damned bear for them too.

I eyed the axe handle nearby, and flexed my muscles carefully, taking a quick once over of how they felt. I’d been dangling off of the bear for about a whole day now, and it felt like I was almost fully healed… though my legs still seemed a bit too brittle to put too much weight on. I sighed and rubbed my head. Maybe later that night? Ah… I shouldn’t rush something like this. If I did, I might end up just getting myself torn into pieces over and over again, or worse, eaten entirely. I shuddered and shook my head. Even with the wolves tearing me apart and using me as a free meal ticket this last year, I still don’t think that I had been entirely eaten at any point. There had always been at least a solid part of me left behind to grow from, like my head, torso, or even just an arm. But being entirely eaten? No… Not yet.

I shook my head and hummed a little song to myself, letting the noise soothe me. The bear rumbled at me, but it had stopped caring about me a bit ago. It just kept on plodding along towards the wolves old den and I whistled as I looked at all the wanton destruction it had caused while it was chasing me. Damn… I can’t believe it had wanted to eat me that bad, did I really taste that good?

I frowned as I considered that, as the bear finally arrived at the wolves old den. Hmmm… maybe I did taste good or something? The wolves hadn’t had to use me as an endless buffet, even if it was the smart thing to do. Huh, I’d have to look into that at some point. The bear sniffed at the corpses out front, but huffed and went inside instead. I guess it didn’t like the taste of wolf? How odd. I simply just waited, humming and thinking to myself as the bear settled down. I even considered taking a nap but… no, I shouldn’t do that. Just because the bear had stopped caring I was on its back, didn’t mean that it wouldn't jump at the chance to eat me if I gave it one. Especially since it didn’t seem to like the taste of the wolf carcasses, I bet it really was hungry…

I decided against letting my guard down in any way. Instead, I simply just hung there as the bear clawed and tore at the ground, making itself a nice soft bed. It curled up and after a short while I heard and felt it slowly fall asleep, its chest rising and falling in a nice steady rhythm. I slowly pulled myself farther up on the pole and eyed the axe handle. Just a little hop, though I wasn’t sure how deep it was in its shoulder. After all, it had remained there for who knows how long, and the whole time the bear was rolling on its back, attempting to crush me into a fine paste. I slowly swung back and forth, trying not to wriggle too much lest I wake the bear up too early. After all, I needed to rip out the axe and then somehow cut off its head or paw or something. Hmm… well actually I didn’t even know where I was going to cut, but the axe had to be pretty damn sharp right? It had managed to stay in the bear all this time after all.

I finally figured out the right swinging motion, and I swung one last time, letting go at the very last moment and flying through the air towards the axe’s handle. I grinned as I felt my palms smack into the handle, and I gripped as tightly as I could, feeling my weight yank down hard on it, causing it to budge, even if it was just a little bit. Of course, that just pissed off the bear and woke it up, which I had been expecting as well.

It roared in pain and annoyance and got up, shaking its pelt. Which of course, was exactly what I needed it to do. I laughed as the shaking caused me to get flung back and forth, causing my weight to yank on the handle of the axe again, and again, budging it even more. I laughed as the bear roared again in annoyance, but I was excited now that I could feel a slight wiggle in the handle. How nice of it! Helping me out in such a way, gosh, I’d really have to put it out of its misery quickly or something!

I didn’t even have to do anything but hold on as the bear just kept on flinging me too and fro, causing the axe to wriggle about in its shoulder and cut up the bear even more, the beats pained and annoyed roars reverberating through the den. It took a while, but then, with a satisfying sucking noise and a roar from the bear that caused the ceiling of the den to shake, I was sent flying through the air, my prize tightly gripped in my hands. I laughed as the bear kept on roaring, and for a moment, I actually felt like everything was going perfectly fine!

Until I crashed into the rock wall, breaking my back again, and losing all the feeling in my finally healed legs. Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me! I screamed in agony and cursed, coughing up wads of my own blood. I groaned as I lay on the ground limp, faintly watching as the bear reared up on its hind legs and roared again. Then, just to really rub salt into the wound, I watched as the bear turned towards me, its eyes locking on me, before it started digging at the ground, waves of rage roiling off of it. It didn’t even roar this time, but even I knew what was coming next.

I let out a long sigh, and I struggled to at least sit up, using the handle of the axe to help me. Oh well… at least I had given it a damn hard try, hadn’t I? I glanced down at my hands, and the bloody axe and smirked. I had done all that work for this damned thing, I might as well check it out eh? My eyes scanned the length of it, and though it wasn’t that spectacular of a looking weapon, and I could see that it was caked with rust, blood, and fur, I couldn’t help but not in appreciation. What I could see told me it must have been magnificent once, and if I had any knowledge or knew of a way to restore it, I felt like it would be an amazing axe. I narrowed my eyes at something I could barely even see carved into the handle. It took me a second to realize, but there was a signature carved there… Huh, if I survived this, maybe I could go find someone who could read it, huh?

Then the bear roared again, this time not in anger or rage, but in triumph, and I was torn from my short reprieve. I smiled, and gripped the handle again, propping myself up on one arm and glaring at the beast, “Oh you poor thing, finally caught your prey eh? I’m not going to just let you eat me ya know, ya filthy, fat, fucker! If you wanna have a bite of me, then you better fucking come on then!”

I could’ve sworn I saw the bear grin, and then it wasted no time, charging forward, its bloody maw wide open. I laughed wildly and cracked my neck. I didn’t really have much room or balance to get a good swing in, but I still whipped the axe around, impacting the side of its jaw as I felt the bears maw close over my head, biting down. I let out one last laugh, and then that was it. Just wet darkness and pain as it bit down, crunching through my bones and sending me to the sweet darkness again.