About a hundred meters away, Shad glimpsed the vague silhouette of the beast through the fog. Its outline was strange: part bear, part rhino. He squinted, trying to make sense of it. Damn… where am I? Nobody ever told me Earth had creatures like this. Unless… I'm not on Earth anymore. The thought was absurd, yet it gnawed at him.
"Maybe this is just one of those unexplored regions," he whispered, though the words did little to calm him.
The creature advanced with deliberate steps, like a predator savoring the chase. As it drew nearer, Shad saw its form more clearly: a bear's massive body, rhino-like limbs, and two horns jutting from its forehead one short, one long, the lower nearly three centimeters longer. Standing nearly seven feet tall and five feet long, it was a grotesque hybrid, its dark brown hide rippling with muscle.
Shad's emotions tangled fear, awe, confusion. For a moment he wondered if this was all a dream, or some elaborate illusion crafted by his organization. Nothing made sense. Is this real? Or am I trapped in some mind game?
The beast was now eighty meters away. Shad's heart raced, but he forced himself to think. Run. But to where? Then he remembered the massive tree he had passed earlier. Though seventy meters distant, its towering trunk seemed closer through the fog, as if beckoning him.
Without hesitation, Shad sprinted toward it. The creature roared a disturbing, amplified howl that nearly knocked him off his feet. The sound was so ferocious it rattled his bones. But Shad was fast, faster than any sprinter on Earth. Years of shadow agent training had honed him into one of the organization's finest. He was not the strongest, nor the smartest, but he was balanced skilled in every discipline, a man of equilibrium.
Within seconds, he reached the tree and began to climb. The beast lunged, crashing into the trunk with bone-shaking force. Yet the tree stood unmoved, impervious to the impact. Shad climbed higher, shocked by both the creature's speed and the tree's resilience.
Forty meters above the ground, he finally paused. Looking down, he saw the beast glaring up at him, madness burning in its blood-red eyes. A chill ran through him, and he quickly looked away.
Breathing deeply, Shad tried to calm himself. He meditated, steadying his heartbeat, forcing his mind into clarity. The forest around him seemed darker still, its leaves tinted with unnatural hues. Below, the creature prowled restlessly, roaring in frustration.
"Am I dreaming? Or is this some top-secret experiment?" he whispered. Nothing added up. He felt lost, cornered, and powerless.
Hours passed. At some point, exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted into sleep upon a wide branch. When he awoke, the forest had grown colder, the light dimmer evening had fallen. The beast still lingered below, lying in wait.
"Damn it," Shad muttered. "Why won't it leave me alone? Am I its only source of food in this cursed forest?"
Resigned, he realized this was no illusion. Everything he had seen and felt was real. The question now was why. Why had he been brought here? What purpose did this forest serve?
Determined, Shad whispered, "It doesn't matter. I'll find the answers myself." Yet his immediate problem remained: the beast. Escape seemed impossible. Fighting it was unthinkable. For the first time in his career, survival felt like a one-percent chance.
In frustration, he snapped a twig and tossed it down. The creature barely reacted, glancing up before returning to its rest. Shad whistled softly. "I'll be damned."
Closing his eyes, he returned to meditation deeper this time. His soul, mind, and body sank into tranquility. His heartbeat slowed, his breath stilled. Then, something stirred within him. A subtle flow, a strange energy coursing through his being.
Shad's eyes flew open. "What was that just now?" he whispered, shocked yet intrigued.