Welcome to Gaia! ::

I don't know why I was there. It was dark; it was very dark, much too dark to see. All I could hear was a faint drip, drip from somewhere nearby. I assumed it was the small dribbles of water that you usually hear caves have dripping from the ceiling to the floor, but I could hear heavy breathing. I hoped it wasn't saliva from a massive hungry jaw and the heavy breathing came from me. There was a light source, I was standing in it. It shone down upon me from a crack in the rock, somewhere far above me I couldn't reach. It didn't help that when you are standing in light, your eyes can't adjust to the dark, which at the moment was my surrounding environment.

I could barely see the golden-red eyes of my attacker before he struck. Fortunately I was more intelligent then those people you see on TV or in the movies, the ones who scream as the monster comes but don't actually move. It flew over me as I fell backwards onto my back, its bestial frame coming to light for a moment as it passed through the column of light that was my temporary prison. I shuddered as I saw the outstretched claws, which could've easily succeeded at tearing me to shreds if I didn't drop when I did.

The first thing I did after it moved past was to roll to my feet on the 'side' facing toward the creature. 'Side' isn't really the right word when addressing a cylinder, but I had no time to think of such things. After I had regained my feeting I had the fortune to notice a conveniently placed stick on the ground right outside the light source. I'd say it was about four feet long, maybe two to three inches thick, with a slight point at the end. I grasped it immediately, wielding it interchangeably like a bat/spear.

It lunged at me again. Even though I had an improvised weapon it didn't seem to matter much as it splintered on its head as I gave it a good swing. Thankfully it stunned it, either I was amazingly strong, it had a soft head, or I was amazingly lucky. Either way, it gave me enough time to find a nicely balanced rock over at another part of the cave. It was a good solid rock, kind of look like it had traces of granite within the make, not too round or flat. Anyways, it was enough to deliver a punishing blow to the stunned animal.

Now, one should not put one's guard down because something looks unconscious, as I was about to learn. The thing pounced onto my back as I was not looking. At the time I was trying to find my way out and tending to my small cuts and bruises from the fall and the splintering stick. Anyways it hurt as I was smashed onto my stomach by a very heavy creature that was now on my back. I tried to roll out from under it, just to turn my face into his teeth. The luck kept coming as my hands were quick enough to catch the beast's jaw. My muscles strained as I tried to keep this toothy mouth from ripping chunks out of my flesh.

We struggled with each other for some time, but we were both beginning to tire from this struggle and I knew that it could outlast me. As a last resort I gave it a swift kick in the lower stomach, something I wish I could've done before, but was held for a while from doing so as I tried to squirm into a better position. The momentary shock of the blow I dealt it was just enough to roll us over to one side. Before it had enough time to recover for another try at biting me, one of my hands, gambling with time, left the jaws to the other hand. Lady Luck smiled upon me that last time as the hand found one of the splintered pieces of wood from the earlier stick escapade. The beast screeched as I stabbed the splinter deep into its eye socket, spearing its brain, assuming it had a brain. I managed to get away from the thrashing of its dying body with a few more scratches before it stopped moving. I took no chances this time. I found my blood soaked rock and caved its head in with one great blow.

Panting I collapsed on the dusty ground. It took me several hours to rest and finally escape that hellhole, so now I can tell this story.