A beast

The mysterious beast plunge at Desia and knock him down, pinning him to the ground. The foul beast let out a horrible shriek as it snaps its maw at Desia. He struggles and tries to retaliate. But Desia found himself unable to get out of the creature tight grip.

The creature looks vaguely like a large wild dog with shaggy fur, but its long tail is smooth with not a single hair on it.

"Chamnan! Strike the side of its head! use a rock! Do it!".

Desia shouted. He wrestles the beast and tries to save himself from the creature maw. Chamnan frantically looks around and grabs a nearby rock. He then swings that rock at the side of the creature head, knocking it off Desia body.

The creature falls on its side, which allows Desia to get back up. He rushes to get on top of the beast and press his knee on the creature ribcage, pinning it down and disrupting its breath. Desia lift the rock with both hands. Then he smashes the creature head with all his force.

The rock digs into the creature broken skull, immediately killing the foul creature.

Blood and brain matter splatter on Desia body and stain his hand. He stops to catch some breath. Then Chamnan remarks

"Whoa! That is gruesome. Good thing I'm not creeped out too much by this kind of thing. But this is still gruesome.".

Desia get off the creature and says

"Well, We can't expect a clean kill when our only tool is a rock, can we? But it seems we got our dinner for tonight. I hope this thing is edible.".

Chamnan kneels at the spot and inspects the creature. He sees that it has rat-like teeth along with smaller sharper teeth. Its have thumbs on its front feet, unexpected from a creature of this shape.

"This... is not a dog... This is a giant rat. We don't have anything like this on the mainland.".

Chamnan remarked. Then Desia replies

"Let's call it wolf-rat. I have never seen any creatures like these either. But the good thing is that my usual technique does work on them.".

Desia then heads toward the pond to wash. But Chamnan quickly stop him and says

"Wait, no. Don't wash in that pond. This pond is the only source of clear water we know of at this moment. Don't taint it!".

Desia raise his hands and says

"Sorry! I forgot that we are dealing with unfamiliar territory here. I'm going to wait until we go back to the beach.".

Chamnan nods in approval. Then they stare at the dead wolf-rat.

"We should go back and regroup with Adrin. We shouldn't let him be all by himself like that. I'm going to pick more berries while you carry that wolf-rat body. I'm sure if we cook it well, it's probably won't make us sick.".

Desia pick up the wolf-rat body, then he says

"I will keep an eye out more seriously from now on, now that we know there are dangerous animals on this island. I hope we get some bamboo poles soon. Once I have a bamboo spear with me, I can confidently say that I can take out most beast.".

Chamnan then replies

"That's great. I'm going to pick as much as my pocket can hold, then we regroup with Adrin...".

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Some minute has passed. Chamnan and Desia trace their path back to Adrin. They arrive at the spot to see that all the bamboo were cut and poles lie on the ground, scattered.

There, they see Adrin sitting on the ground, with his back leaning on a tree. Adrin cloth is stained with blood.

On the ground around him is another dead wolf-rat which is also very bloody, and next to the dead creature is a broken machete-like knife.

"Adrin! Adrin! Are you okay!?"

Chamnan said. As he immediately rushes to check on Adrin.

"Ahhh, I'm still doing fine. That thing scratches my side, but the wound isn't deep. I cut all the bamboo in this area, but our only knife broke during the fight. I'm very sorry....".

Chamnan tell him

"No, It's okay. We are glad that you are still alive. We got attacked by these wolf-rats too. Let's head back to the beach and let me take a look at your wound.".

Desia then check on the dead body of the second wolf-rat and says

"Wow, It seems clear now that this island is full of critters like these. Chamnan, you should help Adrin carry the bamboos. I will carry all the meats.".

Adrin slowly stands up. Then he says

"Don't worry about me. I can carry the bamboo just fine. I was just catching my breath.".

Chamnan help Adrin get up. They then pick up all the bamboo poles.

"So... now we have around sixteen bamboo poles, and we just lose our machete. We have to make all these bamboo poles count.".

Chamnan said while he's picking up threes bamboos pole in each of his arms. Adrin then says

"I'm sorry for messing up our only machete. That thing attacks me from the side and snaps the blade. I have to take it out with a broken knife. I think it's still sharp enough to use as a knife, but not in the right shape for a machete.".

Desia picks up the two pieces of the broken knife. He says

"This lower part can still be used as a knife. for it. And if we add handle to the broken blade, we might be able to use that part too. You don't have to feel sorry about that.".

Adrin picks up the rest of the bamboos. Then he replies

"Thank you, Desia. I'm glad that none of you is mad at me for ruining our only tool. Now let us head back to the beach and set up a campfire.

Adrin then asks them if they found anything from exploring the area. The three walks back toward the beach while Chamnan explains what they found in the jungles...

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