Bloody mess

Luke pondered on his options for a short while before he came to a decision and began walking deeper into the tunnel. While the dangers that lay deeper into the tunnel were unknown to him, he felt it was better than climbing back up only to be surrounded by Boulder beasts that he couldn't even harm, talk more of killing. 

In his opinion, the tunnel may be dangerous, but at least he would have a fighting chance against whatever is hiding here.

Luke moved deeper into the tunnel and planned to cover as much ground as possible with the little light coming from the crack. The tunnel was not tall enough, so he had to hunch as he advanced cautiously.

After a few minutes of walking cautiously, Luke was quick to notice that the tunnel was pretty straightforward. It was simple and led in a certain direction. 

The only abnormal things he came across were a few smaller tunnels located at the sides. Luke guessed that these were the holes dug out by critters like the mole he had just killed.

"I wonder what made this tunnel in the first place," Luke's curiosity grew with each passing moment spent in the tunnel, but since he had no way to get the answer he desired, Luke continued his journey in silence.

At this point, the light penetrating the tunnel was low but had come across a crossroad in the tunnel. The left path was dark, but the right path was a bit lit due to another stretch of cracks located nearby. Without thinking twice, Luke followed the right path.

After a few minutes of walking, he went past the location of the crack and the light had begun to diminish. Soon it was nearly non-existent. The tunnel had gotten dark again, and this time Luke could barely see a thing.

Grrr!

Growls echoed on the walls of the tunnel followed by noises and vibrations were rapid and fierce, which made Luke guess that a fight was going on up ahead.

He silently traced the sound to find its source, only to realize it was coming from a path that led further to the right.

At this point, Luke didn't know if he was meant to be happy or sad by the recent development, because the eerie silence of the tunnel had been driving him crazy.

Regardless, Luke pushed his thoughts aside and began approaching the source of the sound. He made his steps extra light and even went as far as to hold his breath as he approached slowly. 

He was not unfamiliar with such a situation as his plan was simple and a repetition of what he had done numerous times in the past.

He planned to wait till the fight was over, and one of them came out on top, before pouncing on the unlucky victor. 

He was still thinking about the possible outcomes that could occur as he approached when something unusual happened. The sound of the fight stopped abruptly and the eerie silence of the cave returned in an instant.

'No! It can't be. I didn't hear the wail of any beast.' Confusion was written all over Luke's face.

Drowning in confusion, Luke was soon tugged out of his sea of thoughts as he began to hear footsteps rapidly approaching his location. 

Only then did he understand what was going on, the two beasts had stopped fighting and were charging in his direction!

'Oh shit!' 

Before he could turn around to run, the beasts had already emerged from the tunnel, their vicious eyes locked on him.

While light was scarce, Luke could make sense of the beast's features. It was a medium-sized beast with a sleek and muscular body perfectly suited for navigating through dark tunnels and caverns. Its fur was a blend of earthy browns and muted greys.

Luke was quick to notice the large, bat-like ears, which were finely tuned to detect the subtlest of echoes. Its sharp claws seemed perfect for digging through the compacted earth and gripping onto rocky surfaces. This made him suspect these beasts were responsible for the smaller tunnels he came across on his way here. However, it didn't stop him from acknowledging that those claws also served as deadly weapons.

He realized the beast had a streamlined body well-suited for manoeuvring through narrow tunnels and tight spaces. Long whiskers protruded from its muzzle, but what Luke found most disturbing were its small vestigial, and pitch-black eyes. 

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' 

Luke felt his heart racing as he watched the first beast pounce at him. He staggered back and raised his left hand in defence.

Crunch!

Luke bit his lower lips in pain as he felt the razor-sharp teeth of the beast tear into its skin and skin deeper into his flesh. Its weight coupled with the momentum of its pounce dragged to the left and forced him to the ground.

Gritting his teeth while enduring the pain, Luke tightened his grip on his bone weapon and plunged it into the skull of the beast. He felt the beast shiver, but its bite on his hand was still tight. 

Without hesitation, Luke pulled out the weapon, causing its blood to squirt out and some splattered on his face. However, as Luke was done with the first beast, the second beast had already pounced on him and landed on his back.

It stamped it's paws on his shoulder and its claws pierced Luke's skin while its razor-sharp fangs sank into his neck.

"Argh!" Luke gritted his teeth as he struggled to remain on his feet.

With his left hand now free, he reached for the beasts head before driving the bone dagger into one of its eyes.

Keer-reeek!

The beast screamed in agonizing pain as its grip weakened, however Luke's grip on it was still firm.

Ignoring its cries, he pulled out the bone weapon and plunged it back into the skull of the beast repeatedly until its body collapsed to the ground and became unresponsive.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Luke cursed as he held his neck to reduce the rate of bleeding.