The forest was eerily quiet as Zayan made his way along the river with quiet and cautious steps. The distant sound of flowing water was a helpful guide. His eyes were constantly scanning the trees and bushes for any movement, his mind constantly repeating: Stay calm. Always stay calm.

But then, just as the river curved ahead, he froze mid-step. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes landed on something up ahead, lying right in his path.

A creature.

It was massive—the size of an elephant. Its form was feline, but its body was unlike any normal animal. Its skin gleamed in the sparse sunlight that passed through the canopy of leaves far above as if made entirely of plated steel. Thick, overlapping plates of dark metallic sheen armored its body from head to tail, and Zayan could see its chest expanding and contracting rhythmically, signaling that it was merely sleeping. Zayan was still around 58 meters away from the creature. It seemed the creature was hidden by one of the giant trees around Zayan.

Zayan’s heart pounded as he stood motionless, staring at the creature in disbelief and fear realizing that the wolf-like creature was only a small creature in this new world. The thing lay there, sprawled out across the only way forward. It blocked the path Zayan was walking completely. He couldn’t move. His mind screamed at him to act, but the sheer size and unnatural nature of the beast rooted him to the spot.

His thoughts raced: What if it wakes up? What if it sees me? What might this thing be capable of?

He tried to remember the survival strategies he’d memorized over and over—but at this moment, none of it seemed to apply. The massive beast with its armor-like skin, fit into his categories of fantasy animals but its sheer presence paralyzed him.

Zayan’s body was trembling, his legs felt so weak that he thought he might fall. How could he have been prepared for something like this? His mind had played out countless survival scenarios—fantasy worlds and mystical creatures—but the steel-plated beast in front of him was real, unlike anything he’d ever imagined. “Is this what they feel in those stories?” he thought, realizing the gap between imagination and reality.

A few seconds passed, but to Zayan, it felt like minutes. He could feel his chest tightening. His heartbeat was loud in his ears. His breaths were shallow, each one quieter than the last. He felt as though the slightest of sounds would wake the sleeping giant and he would be devoured.

“Stay calm... stay calm... always stay calm”, he repeated, but the words felt empty. He couldn’t stay calm with that thing in front of him.

Finally, after an entire minute, he managed to calm down taking long and quiet breaths. The creature remained in deep slumber, the regular rise and fall of its breathing almost inducing peace. Zayan’s eyes darted around, analyzing his surroundings. He needed to get around this thing, but there was no way to go forward without crossing just beside it. The risk was too great.

Taking another deep breath, Zayan made his decision. “I will just detour around it. I can’t provoke it. It’s too dangerous.”

He crouched low, moving slowly into the cover of trees beside the path he was taking. His eyes never left the creature as he began to circle it, each step taken with care.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Suddenly, the creature shifted slightly. Its massive steel-plated tail scraped against the ground causing some soil to be dug up. It exhaled a deep, echoing breath. Zayan’s body had gone stiff and his heart was hammering so hard in his chest that he feared it might reveal his position. Zayan remained frozen in place, barely daring to breathe. His eyes remained locked on the beast. Its thick claws were each as long as his forearm and Zayan could only imagine his own outcome had he been attacked. He didn’t have to imagine much as the conclusion was simple: He wouldn’t stand a chance.

Zayan thought that the beast had woken up. “It woke up. What do I do? What do I do? I need to run. I need to run… ” Zayan wanted to run but felt as if he was glued in place. Instead of the fight or flight reaction. He had the freeze reaction.

Zayan waited for the beast to wake up. It didn’t. It was sleeping, peacefully, unbothered by the world. Zayan was staring at the beast with his eyes wide open. After being frozen for 60 breaths of time Zayan could finally move.

Seeing that the creature was still asleep, Zayan faintly felt of safe—for now. He was about halfway around the creature at the time still keeping a wide distance. Zayan began his march again, now being even more alert than before.

Zayan didn’t know that this beast, despite its intimidating appearance, was an herbivore. If it had seen him, it would have ignored him entirely, sensing no threat from the lone human creeping past it. But Zayan had no way of knowing this, and so he remained cautious, treating the creature like the potential danger it looked like.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zayan reached the other side. He stopped for a moment. His body was tense, still watching the beast. It continued to sleep peacefully without being disturbed by his presence.

Zayan glanced at the beast one last time before turning his focus back onto the river. He still had a long way to go, but the encounter had shaken him more than he wanted to admit. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, especially when the forest contained such dangers. There was no telling what other dangers lay ahead in this strange world that had only shown him danger.

With his heart still pounding vigorously, Zayan—determined to keep following the river—walked on. The sound of the flowing water kept him on track and he moved with more caution now that he had seen the threats present. However, the forest around him seemed to shift a little. It was very subtle at first, but then he noticed it. The trees were becoming sparser. The canopy above was thinning, allowing more sunlight to filter through the branches.

His steps quickened as he realized what this might mean: the forest was beginning to clear. He might finally be nearing its edge. But he was still vigilant hoping that he wouldn’t meet anything else.

Zayan paused momentarily to look around. The dense vegetation that was slowing him down earlier receded. They were replaced by shorter bushes and open patches of grass. The river felt like a guide, leading him out of the wild.

Hope ignited in his chest. “Have I finally found the exit? I can leave now, right.”

But even as the excitement bubbled within him, Zayan remained cautious. He couldn’t allow himself to be careless. There was still the unknown to consider—what lay beyond the forest? Was the world outside safer or not?

His mind thought back at the creature he had just passed. It had been sleeping peacefully, but its presence was a blunt reminder of the threats this world held. Even if he reached the edge of the forest, he knew he would need to stay alert for whatever might come at him next.

Zayan took out one of the apple-like fruits he had gathered and ate it feeling hungry after having walked for so long. He glimpsed toward the thinning tree line one more time and resumed walking while silently chewing on the fruit. His heart was set on reaching the forest’s edge by the time the light had taken its leave.

Zayan knew it wouldn’t be long before he exited the wilderness. Yet, he couldn’t help but fear the new dangers that might appear after he was out of there.

Zayan couldn’t help but ask himself an ominous question: “Is that truly the exit and if it is, Is it any safer outside ?”