Matthew threw himself to the ground. The stone wall behind his head shattered, raining bits of stones over him.
He stood, glancing at what the monster had shot at him.
A grey, extendable claw emerged from a dark hole in space. Judging its trajectory, he estimated where the creature's body was—judging how close it was from the center of the trap.
As the arm retracted, Matthew grabbed a piece of rock and flung it at the center of the trap.
He missed and had to throw himself back at the wall, as the arm shot at him again.
Gritting his teeth, he snatched another stone and hurled it again.
A blinding flash of light erupted. Heat blasted outward in a wave.
Matthew grabbed his bag, shut his eyes, and bolted as the trap incinerated the invisible monster.
There was a strange cry that shook his bones as he escaped. The heat and light receded, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the charred beast.
The invisible monster was about six feet tall and had two mismatched arms. One was longer and for shooting at prey, while the other was shorter with more threatening claws.
The creature stumbled out of the circle, falling to the ground, its strange arched legs writhed around as it cried out in pain.
Its smaller arm reached about looking for something. Then it stood and let out a painful roar.
The monster began to bound after him, it tried to stretch its longer arm after him. The arm fell apart destroyed by the fire.
The relentless beast decided to chase on foot.
Matthew didn't dare look back as he barrelling down the path to the tunnel. The scraping sounds of the creature's arms haunted him.
If it can fire out the longer arm. Then I won't even know how I died.
It kept drawing closer, its pained growl and hungry breath sharper. Matthew glanced at his right where the gaping gouge called him and the right where a sheer cliff towered over him.
He looked ahead and saw that the edge of the path was getting closer. He would have to slow down, but the monster would catch up and rip him apart.
A sharp thought cut through the panic. He pulled out his knife and ran harder.
The edge grew closer as the warm, disgusting breath of the monster danced over his neck.
At the last second, he dove, narrowly avoiding the reaching claw. He slid across the ground and flung himself over the cliff's edge.
His knife bit into the cliffside. Agony shot through his arm as he dangled, a pained scream escaped his throat as he held on for dear life.
A shadow passed over him, a maddened roar echoing as it descended. He looked down just as the creature slammed against the jagged bottom of the cliff. The blunt sound of bones breaking and blood splattering across the ground.
He exhaled, looking down at the climb. It took ten minutes of slow descent before he could crumple down against the ground. He let out a ragged breath as he laid against the ground.
It blamed me for the fire trap, instead of retreating to recuperate, it wanted revenge.
He shivered at the fact that a monster could hold a grudge.
He stood and examined the dead body of the beast. It was bipedal and had a skinny body with long and alien limbs.
Its face was mostly destroyed, however, it had no eyes and a gaping mouth with rows of curved teeth.
Matthew cut meat from its biceps and thighs, then he dislodged all of the terrifying claws on its smaller arms.
He took one last look at the beast and smiled if not just a little.
——
Matthew groaned internally. Of course, the duct tape was still there. It had proved invaluable.
He'd passed a few of those rolling bugs. It had taken all of his willpower to be calm while walking.
Hunger and fear twisted in his gut. He resisted the urge to eat. Any sound might draw predators.
Instead, he crouched in a crevice, running a stick along the cracks. Hoping to find a wish coin or something useful to distract him.
The masks had already been paying dividends, so he was hoping to get more armament.
He walked carefully as this tunnel's ground seemed more uneven, but smooth. In some places the ground shone with flowstone, it was glossy and near invisible.
He took time to break and collect sharp pieces of the flowstone. It would be useful in a trap, but also he had to secure a safe way to retreat in case.
Matthew found it a bit boring walking down another tunnel, but he was a bit glad to be alone.
The growing cold of the tunnel was reassuring. He was getting closer and growing excited.
He could hear the wind which was strange, he wondered if this was the exit.
It wasn't, he was still underground. This was more baffling.
The dark cavern was a hidden world behind white fog, hidden waterfalls plummeting from a displaced underground lake high above, cascaded with thunderous crashes.
Their roars echoing even from afar before vanishing into the dense mist.
Gargantuan roots extended from the ceiling slick with moisture, colossal and twist, mist rolled around it like a living thing, swallowing the ceiling so completely it might have been the breath of a dead god.
Flying creatures darted in and out, swooping down onto the forest-like terrain below to snatch prey. Massive insects crawled across the roots, their forms unnervingly large. The place was a chaotic mix of smells.
Clean air dotted with a metallic tang and something sweet and fresh
They're unrealistically big, and the forest itself is unreasonable. Those leaves look as big as me... Matthew's gaze followed the water as it wound through the dark forest, weaving between the roots before crashing against the black cavern walls.
The tunnel seems endless and huge. It's shaped like a cylinder so I can see the limit of the walls even though they are so far, but the end is unimaginably far.
Did an earthquake destroy the ground, then how did the tunnel not collapse... Exploring those lower areas will be a nightmare.
The ground itself was uneven, cracked into giant circular tiers — massive strata formed like forgotten altars.
To move forward was to climb or descend treacherous cliffs slick with moss and humidity, each one thirty meters or more of sheer, crumbling rock.
The moss clinging to the roots and stone was an unnatural white, its cold light falling like tunnels of light through the mist.
It painted the forest in stark shadows, where the black of the tree trunks looked bottomless, and the earth shimmered like polished ash.
After scouting he found a small cave under a rocky overhang, well hidden from the creatures that ruled this place.
He began digging a hole, lining it with moss and powdered wall-dust. After several attempts, he sparked a fire.
He scraped off the charred bits of monster meat and began to cook it. The smell made his mouth water and tap his leg impatiently.
He took his time cooking it well, then a sound jolted him.
He stood, moving away from the fire, drawing his two knives and scanned the dark cave.
There was a figure moving towards him, it was human in shape. A strange gurgling sound filled the small cave. The jarring smell of blood scratched his nose with its iron scent.
"Who are you?" He tried to ask, he peeled off the mask and took off the tape before asking again. "Hey! Stop there, who are you?"
His voice was weaker than he had expected after being quiet for two hours. The man stumbled forward entering the light.
"Oh my, that's disgusting." Matthew said evenly
The boy was tall and lanky, with dark, messy hair. His hands and forearms were covered in scratches, but there weren't many other visible injuries.
Matthew barely held back a shiver as the light cast across the corpse's disfigured face. The skin was impossibly pale, and a gaping hole in his right cheek revealed something emerging—a root, or at least something that resembled one.
It was red and slimy, with a pure white flower blooming from its stem.
He backpedalled slowly, hoping the creature couldn't see. The zombie-like creature's head whipped forward. The whites of its eyes were dyed with blood, each pointing in a different direction.
It gurgled as its mouth shook uncontrollably, black blood leaking from its mouth. The root came alive instantly.
The boy's pale flesh swelled as black veins pulsed across his skin. His arms and legs twitched unnaturally, his body convulsing. With a sickening, wet tear the root in his cheek ripped itself free, flailing wildly in the air. Its stem was no longer soft but sharp—threatening. He stumbled on his feet, convulsing horribly, his body jerking as if electrocuted. His eyes rolled in their sockets, rapid and unnatural, as though something pulled them hard in different directions.
Matthew began running, escaped to the flat, stony plane, looking for where to even hide. He pulled out his bag of sharper flowstone, pouring over a drop in the ground.
He led the creature to the trap, staying away from the red, slimy root. The body stumbled around blindly into the drop, it growled even louder as the sharp flowstone tore his feet apart then just ignored the grievous injuries.
"You've gotta be kidding…" Matthew stopped in his tracks, hunger gnawing at his gut. "I'm starving. Just die already."
The root lashed out with a sharp thorn at the center of the white flower. He weaved past it and drove the knife into the man's gut.
He danced away from the pale arms of the monster, then slipped past the thorn flower trying to stab him in the back.
He used the shadow of the flower to avoid it, focusing on killing the main body. He stabbed his second knife through its throat and rolled away.
The parasite monster, however, didn't think much of the knives in its stomach and neck.
It continued attacking, its vitality rather harrowing. He ducked under the whipping root, then realised what was happening.
It was the root in charge.
Matthew growled, pushing himself hard to sidestep the flower slicing through the air. He grabbed the knife in the boy's neck, ripping it out.
He batted away the reaching arm, sliding behind the corpse. He pulled the corpse in front of him as a shield. Once the flower stabbed into its host, he slashed into the root in the boy's cheek.
The root was surprisingly tough, so was the host. The creature pushed roughly against him, its muscle flexing like steel.
Matthew kicked it in the back of the knee, pushing down the blade even harder. The thorn flower freed itself from the body and shot at his head.
The solid root finally cut all the way through.
The thorned flower fell just at his feet as he let out laboured breath. He spat on the flower, walking away.
"Can't even get a second to rest in this hell," He muttered as he returned to the cave.