Awakening

Tenny heard a growl coming from the distance he was running from. The monster was getting closer. Now he realized why he did not hear any chasing sound from behind him while running.

"It most likely knew I was headed for a dead-end, and so he calmly pursued me... enjoying the chase, relishing the hunt," Tenny thought aloud.

The fright was enough to make him pass out as he was trembling to the bone. It was all in futility from the very start. He never had any chance. Who was he fooling? He thought that by being a little brave he could fight against his inevitable fate... what a joke.

Even if the Waste Disposal officers were miraculously at the surface, or someone surprisingly decided to take a walk to The Dump... the layer that separated the surface from the underground. The fine boundary of the earth would be over 3 meters. The ceiling was tall, and there was no ventilation. There was no way they would have heard him. He would die here. He closed his eyes and thought of giving in, then Michael's smug expression appeared in his mind.

"Screw him!"

His mom's troubled expression also made him want to live. There was also going to be live footage of the Monster Battle going to occur at Hampshire the day after he had left with Michael, and he did not want to miss it. He was not going to die. He would live to see his mother!

He would not give Michael the satisfaction of him dying, and he would most certainly not miss the Monster battles to occur in a few hours time!

It may be a fantasy, but that was Tenny's specialty anyway. He would survive and-

His hopeful assurances were shattered as the beast appeared before him. It was already so dark, and without the light, Tenny could only see the shadow of the grotesque creature. It seemed to be bending, not standing upright, and yet it was over 7 feet tall.

Its eyes glowed and its body also started emitting light, making its body more visible as it approached. The claws of the beast were at least 10 centimeters in length, and its arms stretched below its knees. It seemed to be muttering intelligible words, but Tenny felt it was grinning in anticipation of its lovely meal.

"Can I actually survive this?" Tenny found himself asking.

He doubted himself, and being realistic his survival chances were less than two digits. He however noticed the monster's approach was slow-paced. He had initially thought it intentionally delayed to savor his despair, but it did not look like a monster that was capable of such a high level of intelligence. Even if it was, it would have by now, seeing him trapped... be satisfied and rush him. But instead, it kept walking slowly toward him, with bloodshot eyes and drooling mouth as though it wanted to eat him on the spot.

Now there was no doubt about it. The monster didn't give chase to him, not because it wouldn't, but because it couldn't... This monster was naturally slow. There was only one way for him to survive. He had to outmaneuver and outpace it, he'd leave the rest to chance or formulate a plan as he moved. Now there was only one thing on his mind, RUN!

After hours of running, Tenny was exhausted. His baggy eyes felt so heavy and he felt his body begging for sleep. He had managed to dodge the monster's attacks and once again run in the opposite direction, leading him to the place where he started from. It had been hours since he had woken up, and he felt too sleepy and worn out to even stand from where he was already seated.

"So much for outlasting it" He chuckled to himself.

He began to hear the footsteps of the monster coming again toward his direction and that roused him from his near slumber.

"Shit! I gotta move" He said and instantly tried to get up, but felt a sharp pain in his legs as they were at their limits.

He was still trying to rise that he did not notice the beast was already in front of him. He tried using his hands to crawl quickly, but the monster's long hands reached him first. Its claws grazed him by the side, scraping some of his flesh, and barely missing his bones and vitals.

" Arghhhhhh" Tenny screamed.

The pain was unimaginable. The instant shock drove away any form of drowsiness and his body was in emergency mode. His legs trembled as he managed to stand, his hands holding his injured side as he started limping away from the enemy.

"No worries, it's slow" He reassured himself.

He suddenly felt wind sweeping past him and saw the monster right in front of him. Before he could react, it gave him a slap that sent him flying toward the wall by the side, and the blow was enough to make him lose consciousness. As his mind was fading away, and as the beast drew closer, he thought " Is this the end?"

After his hours of evading, of running, of hiding... in the end, he was still going to die.

Pitiful! He wished he could hide, disappear, cover himself with a blanket that assured him of protection from the harsh reality he was facing. He always knew he would not live. He just wasn't strong enough to admit it. He thought he could do it... survive, confront Michael... Stop stigmatization, solve world hunger, change the world! But he knew.... he was a coward!

He had dreams, but he did not have the strength to achieve them! He was weak... these thoughts echoed through his head as his mind went blank.

"I'm a coward!"

Suddenly, a blue panel appeared before him, and 'COWARD' was typed before him in the darkness.

"I just wanted to create a better world, a PARADISE..." Before him were spelled the words "COWARD'S PARADISE"

And then once again, everything went dark.

Tenny opened his eyes only to see himself 20 meters from the enemy's location.

"What just happened?" He asked himself, groaning.

His wounds had closed and he was away from the... how did he know the exact distance between himself and the monster?

How did he even escape in the first place? The monster started moving hurriedly toward him. It was dozens of times faster than it was initially. He could not evade this.

Tenny closed his eyes and braced himself, but instead heard a whooshing sound as he was once again exactly 20 meters from the vile creature, who was obviously getting impatient.

[System Alert]

<Congratulations. You Have Awakened>

{Special Ability: Coward's Paradise}

<Good luck>

Seeing the blue system window appear before him, Tenny read its content with shock and amazement, remembering Michael's story.

That was when Tenny realized... He had awakened his special ability, 'COWARD'S PARADISE' and so far, he knew it allowed him to teleport himself far from danger.

He did not know the limits or conditions for his abilities, but he now had a greater chance of surviving.

Forgetting all the pain and weariness, he started moving toward the monster with the intent to kill, however unlike before he knew he would win... and that was because... He was not WEAK anymore!

TO BE CONTINUED...