Prey

I ran, crashing through the undergrowth while the monstrous ants quivered in fear, before fleeing to wherever their nest was, as an even more monstrous Direwolf chased after me.

Initially choosing the places that I was going to run through, soon, I gave up all thoughts of such mundane acts as I focussed more on keeping the snapping jaws of the Direwolf away from my juicy body and on keeping myself alive.

Rolling forward and narrowly avoiding the sharp claws of the wolf as it raked the air behind me, I gasped out as I kept running.

However, I began noticing that every time I approached an invisible line, the Direwolf would flash past me, and force me to run the other way.

This kept going on for nearly an hour as my warforce slowly drained away, but as time went by, I began to be more and more sure that what I was thinking was correct.

Calmer now, I tried testing out the theory in my mind, by choosing another direction, and lo-and-behold, the Direwolf would again flash ahead of me and force me to run in a different direction.

Cursing now, and growing angry, I realized that the Baling Direwolf was just playing with me.

Skidding to a stop, I watched as the claws of the Direwolf raked the air before coming to a stop a hair's breadth away from my armor.

Sucking in deep breaths, I looked at the Direwolf and spoke, "If you can understand me, then let's work out a deal,"

The Direwolf regarded me for a moment, before with disdain in its eyes, its claws shot forth again.

I grunted as I threw myself back, but still my chest armor was scored by multiple lines as the claws scraped fragments of it away.

Cursing at the Direwolf and its ancestors, I tumbled backward and came up with my arms crossed as the direwolf slammed into me, and sent me flying like a ball.

Slamming into a tree heavily, I slid down, while the direwolf playfully licked its claws clean of my armor scraps.

Struggling to my feet, I winced and spat out blood, before grimly wiping it away and looking at the beast that was toying with me much like it would toy with food.

But I suppose I was food for the baling thing.

Sucking in a deep breath, I held out my hand and summoned a vial of the potion of thorns.

Downing it in one gulp, and feeling my heart begin to beat powerfully, I summoned my sword, and raised it, pointing its tip at the Direwolf.

Then, I growled at the Direwolf and in response; the Direwolf howled to the sky, and we charged at each other.

Exchanging furious blows, we fought on and on as the sun slowly set.

Panting after the latest exchange of blows; I looked at my tattered armor, and then at the Direwolf who was practically unscathed, and bitterly cried out in my mind, "How is this Baling thing so fast?"

Then, raising the sword again, I charged the Direwolf as I screamed out in my heart, "Faster….Faster….Faster!!!"

Only to be repeatedly slashed by the claws as the Direwolf easily dodged my sword blows while flashing past me.

Falling to one knee, I gasped as my blood stained the ground red.

My vision swam, and my heart was beating frantically while a light seemed to be illuminating me.

Wait, a light?

Looking toward the source, I froze before I cursed as loudly as I could and, in unison with the Direwolf; we vacated the area as fast as we could.

Because there was a Baling fiery object falling toward us from the sky.

Idly thinking of the sheer number of times that I had baling been cursing in the last few hours, I cursed once more as the object hit the ground and the earth shook, sending me flying into the air.

Crashing down and tumbling for a distance, I slowly got to my feet, only to wince as my bones creaked alarmingly.

Looking around, I saw that the Direwolf seemed to be dazed too as it whimpered loudly.

Then, squinting at the object, I saw it was a…. rock. A rock that was on fire.

The area surrounding it was completely engulfed in flames and the vegetation that existed was no longer present, having been vaporized by the flaming rock.

Looking at the new clearing, and then looking at the Direwolf, I cautiously moved.

Only to stiffen up as the Direwolf growled at me threateningly.

Caught in a strange stalemate, I stood where I was as the fire slowly burnt itself out.

Then, the Direwolf flashed toward the rock, and I flashed forward too… because as the flames died down, we could see something gleaming gold within its hollows.

Treasure.

I hoped.

I don't know what the Direwolf hoped it was, but it sure wasn't giving up on it and neither was I.

Exchanging blows as we fought around the still burning rock, I grunted as the Direwolf slammed into me again, sending me flying.

Twisting around, I only had time to think, "oh no," before I crashed into the rock, and my armor began tightening in the places where it had touched the fiery rock.

Thanking the leather armor for being leather armor, I stood a foot away from the rock as I dodged the Direwolf's jaws again and again as it snapped at me.

Trying to impale it with my sword didn't work either, as it jerked its head away every time, and so, we were caught in a strange stalemate again.

Then the Direwolf changed tactics, and began pacing forward, forcing me to dodge closer and closer to the still burning rock.

As my back began touching the rock, and the armor began curling; I started panicking.

Then, the panic changed to grim resolve as I thought about how this Direwolf had played around with me and humiliated me for the past few hours.

I stumbled as though I was tired, and the Direwolf - sensing weakness - snapped its large mouth at me unerringly.

Dropping my sword, I grabbed the beast by the head, and then began pulling it toward me as I dug my feet into the ground.

As the Direwolf shook its head and tried to shake off my grip, I gritted my teeth even more as I screamed out for strength! More Strength! More!

Slowly, the Direwolf began moving one small inch at a time toward me as my muscles bulged and an inhuman yell ripped free of my throat.

An even more bestial growl was heard from the Direwolf as it desperately struggled against my pull.

Then I had its head… barely an inch away from me, and twisting, I shoved the beast's head into the rock.

As it howled in agony, I held the head there viciously as blood began leaking from the sides of my mouth.

But I didn't loosen my grip.

I strained with every fiber of my being as I screamed for more strength, and I held the beast's head to the flaming rock as the smell of seared flesh began streaming into the air, along with the howls of a tortured Direwolf.

Baring my teeth as fiercely as the Direwolf, I added my howls to the cacophony of madness and pain as the Direwolf's tail slammed into my body, throwing me against the flaming rock too while its claws thrust at me again and again.

As my armor curled even further, it slowly began to smoke, obscuring the hideous visage of the Direwolf as half of its face melted off.

Soon I was on fire, and so was the Direwolf's face as we both held each other to the flaming rock as I screamed and the Direwolf howled.

But it struggled on, and I grimly held on as I screamed yet again for more strength.

Then, the horn of valor appeared, and it blew resoundingly, and strength, more strength than I had ever felt in my arms filled me, and with a roar, I pulled the Direwolf's head back and slammed it into the rock again, and again.

After a long time, I stopped as the Direwolf slumped to the ground, its head a gory mess and throwing its corpse aside, I stepped forward, aflame as I was.

Shrugging off my flaming armor as quickly as I could, I stopped, frozen in shock, as I saw my skin underneath.

It was peeling off like flakes. But underneath it was bright new skin that was red and rapidly turning white.

Then I moaned, as the agony that was coursing through me turned into a comfortable feeling just like I had while bathing.

Throwing the rest of the flaming armor off, I watched in disbelief as the skin that had burnt under the fire sloughed off bit by bit as I touched it.

Then the world spun, and I quickly summoned a blue vial and downed it.

Steadying myself and sinking down beside the Direwolf's corpse, I stayed there as I tried to calm myself down and make sense of things.

But barely a few moments later, my heart again beat erratically and my vision began blurring again.

Downing another vial quickly… I waited with bated breath, but a few moments later, again the pain came back.

Panicking now, I summoned three potions and drank them one after the other.

Only for my heart to jolt, and my vision to blur.

Falling to the ground, my hands scrabbled at the scorched earth before falling limply.

Then, beside a Direwolf's corpse, I collapsed, and I knew no more.