NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Run
ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR
THUMP THUMP
A roar that froze everyone shook the walls of the cave. They all knew the source of the roar.
" T- That beast, it woke up!! What are we going to do now? " Riham shouted, since there was no point in staying quiet now, not with that loud rumbling.
" All we can do is wait. Only if the gate opens before the beast arrives here, then we will be safe. Otherwise... " Azhar spoke. All of them had been cornered with nowhere to run.
All nine of them had their gazes locked onto the door that was slowly rising. Dust and debris flew around, and the walls of the cave kept shaking lightly.
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The sound of the footsteps was slowly getting closer. Each step made the teenagers shiver. The growling of the beast was like a thunder that struck the ground again and again.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR
By the time the door had opened by just over 10 cm, the shadow of the raptor towering over thirteen feet was cast over the wall.
The nine attendants looked in horror. The giant creature was slowly dragging its body towards its prey. The cave was fairly lit with no place to hide. The door was yet to open, and the giant Raptor was approaching from the other entrance.
Screeching sound reverberated as the claw of the beast came into view, gripping the edge of the wall.
A low growl sounded.
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Finally, the figure of the large beast was visible. The teenagers were frozen by the sheer sight.
Both of its wings were greatly damaged. Its scales were dry and ruptured. The Raptor seemed as if it hadn't eaten anything in a long time. Even its steps were unsteady.
Normally, beasts are driven because of their hunger, which is the main reason why they hunt. But if those beasts obtain some level of intelligence, then more than the food itself, they start to enjoy the hunts.
The 4th Gate Raptor barely had any awareness of its surroundings. The hunger had brought him close to death to the point that he no longer even had the urge to eat. Instead, it was moving purely based on instincts... to hunt.
Several screams rang out. Even the weakened beast was extremely dangerous. The nine teenagers had their backs pressed against the door, but it just wouldn't open.
In its right hand, the Raptor was holding an axe-like weapon, which was quite large. Its blade alone was more than a metre long.
" R- Run to your right. " No one knew who shouted, but a loud voice rang out, and all of them, without thinking, ran with all their might.
THUMP THUMP THUMP
SWOOSH
BANG
The Raptor suddenly took long strides and swung its axe with both arms, aiming at the place where the group stood moments ago.
Most of the members barely dodged the rough blade as they stumbled and fell.
But, Harris, who was helping Riham to carry Azhar, was a moment too late. He kept running and didn't even notice as the blade struck his body and tore a large piece of meat from his back.
Harris only felt as if something had tapped on his back. Something wet and warm fell over his legs, but the adrenaline made him unable to feel anything.
COUGH COUGH
Until he felt something rushing up into his mouth. He stumbled and hit his head against the ground and coughed out blood.
His face was full of shock and horror. Before he knew it, life had disappeared from his eyes. Even in his last moments, he was trying his best to survive.
Gasp
Several screams and gasps sounded as the remaining teenagers looked at the back of the boy who was walking along then just a few minutes ago.
Almost his entire back was ripped away. His bones and internal organs had turned into a mush, blood forming a red pool around his dead body.
The Raptor paid no attention to the dead attendant. Instead, it charged towards eight teenagers who had all barely managed to balance themselves on their feet.
The one who was in the worst condition was Azhar, whose leg was injured and it was impossible for him to even stand straight, let alone walk.
After Harris had died, Azhar almost fell down and his entire body weight came onto Riham, who was desperately trying to run away from the giant beast.
RUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Raptor released a deafening roar, while swinging the axe in a horizontal line. The group of eight had no choice but to divide, half of them jumped towards their right while the rest towards the left.
Vritra, Azhar, Rihan, and Sana now stood in front of the beast as they moved away from the door.
And the Raptor stood between them and their way towards safety. While, Jackal, one girl, and two other boys had ended up behind the beast and near the door which would soon open enough to let them roll inside.
Had it not been for the slower movements of the beast, all of them would have already been turned into meat paste.
Tsk, it's impossible to control the direction of our movement while dodging, I have to move closer to the door.
As the beast paused for a brief moment, Vritra decided to execute his plan to buy some time.
" Riham, you are doing great, just stay in the group." While speaking, Vritra clenched the knife he was given in the Sanctum tightly.
Although it was as usual as holding onto a plant in front of a tornado, it was still better than nothing.
The panting young boy who was covered in cold sweat seemed to realise something, he was so startled and afraid that he could only think about dodging the attacks.
He didn't even realise that he was still carrying Azhar around, and Vritra's word brought a not-so-distant memory back.
' The beasts are attracted towards larger groups and they are also attracted towards running prey... ' just as this thought came into his mind, Riham pushed Azhar onto the ground and with slow steps began to move back while maintaining his shaky gaze on the 4th Gate Slug Winged Raptor.
Because of the urgency of the situation, he had no time to doubt those words.
THUD
"Aghhhh! " Azhar released a sound of surprise and pain as he looked in horror at how Riham was slowly moving away from them; his intentions were clear.
Sana's eyes were filled with tears, and she was shivering as she fearfully stood behind him.
Vritra looked at Azhar and Riham; they were only here to buy a few more seconds for him, but his heart seemed to have stopped as he felt a sudden pressure weighing down on him from the beast, making his hair stand on end.
Although he didn't know exactly what it was, Vritra knew that he was the target of the next attack.
The Raptor raised the axe above its head, holding it with both hands, and in the next instant, he brought it down exactly over Vritra as it tore through the air.
WHOOSH
Unlike before, Vritra didn't freeze, but even the slowed Raptor was a lot faster than him. He raised both his instinctively, placing the right above the left, while holding the knife in his right hand.
At the same time, he pushed himself back with all his strength; his heart was about to explode while every cell of his body was filled with adrenaline rush.
BANG
The large axe came into contact with the knife first, and without any resistance, it broke in half as the axe continued to descend at the same speed.
THUD CLINK
Blood splattered as Vritra's shivered hand and the front part of the knife hit the ground.
He fell back, his left hand torn from his wrist.
A sudden wave of pain almost made Vritra scream, but biting his lips, he stopped himself and maintained his gaze on the Raptor.
" Kyaaaaaa!! Y- Your hand... " Sana screamed in horror as she saw Vritra's torn hand; she lost all the strength in her leg and fell down.
The Raptor's attention was instantly on her; it released another thundering roar and was ready to launch another deadly blow.
Sana was too close to him; if the giant beast really struck, then Vritra would have no time to dodge and would be caught in the attack.
Pressing the top of his left hand into his chest to reduce the blood loss, Vritra looked back at Riham who had nearly walked close to the turn he was almost in the safe zone for now.
Gritting his teeth, Vritra raised his right hand.
He was still holding the broken knife in his hand; Vritra had learned to never let go of his weapon under any circumstances.
Gathering all his strength, he threw the knife towards Riham whose entire mind was focussed on Raptor, so he didn't even see the action.
SHOOO
The knife shot towards Riham and struck his thigh, burying two to three centimetres deep into his flesh.
" Aaaaaaaaah W- What was that? Ugghhhh " Riham fell down to his knees at the sudden wave of pain, a scream coming out of his lips unconsciously.
!!!
Fsssshh fssssshhh
The heavily breathing Raptor who was almost ready to launch another attack suddenly halted; the beast glanced towards Riham and didn't move for a second.
THUMP THUMP
Riham's heart was beating like drums; he could feel a strong pressure from the 4th Gate creature that made his belly churn, his throat began to burn and only one thought remained in his mind.
RUN!!