The sun sat high above the forest, Its light beating down through the trees, yet a chill hung in the air. Samuel grew impatient, or perhaps rather, Uneasy. His restlessness grew every minute he spent examining the area around the cave. He found nothing, No tracks, no signs of life anywhere. Yet the knot in his stomach grew tighter. Armed soldiers watched the stillness of the forest, they listened to the eery silence, begging it to reach out to them. The pine needles brushing in the cool air provided the only other visible life. The motion detectors sat north and south of the perimeter, silent and unwavering. The forest was calm. Samuel looked closely at the claw markings on the walls of the den, they were deep and high off the ground. Whatever made them would've been three, maybe four times the size of a bear. They were around six, maybe seven inches deep, and thirteen feet off the ground. Samuel could hear water dripping, echoing deeper within the cave. His examination was nearly complete, and as he left the cave's entrance, he felt prying eyes latch onto him. Samuel searched the area, but couldn't find anyone. Yet he felt a deep and longing stare, a gaze he'd known before. It was the gaze of a predator, watching its prey. He continued slowly back to camp, it was less than a minute's walk away from the cave, but it began to feel longer as he stepped. As the morning had become noon, Samuel's desire to leave grew with every passing moment. He paused outside the massive burlap shelter, and wondered if what they were doing out here was truly worth it. He didn't know exactly what they were doing, but he had seen that body, that corpse mutilated and torn to shreds. Questions rose to the back of his mind, gnawing at him. He looked at his hands, he thought they should've been shaking, but they were stilled by the cold. He watched Cynthia's shadow pace in the tent, he heard her familiar raspy bellow. As he prepared to face her, he heard another voice. It was the voice of a man, he sounded agitated, even furious.
"Why are you just sitting there?" He asked.
"Because we don't know what kind of defenses it has." Cynthia replied.
"It, is an animal. If my head of security can't handle capturing it, then we're in deeper water than I thought."
Cynthia stammered. Samuel could recognize the nervousness in her voice.
"How can we guarantee my men's safety?" She said, "I can't ask them to risk this much, they could lose everything."
"They signed on to be here, same as you."
"But they don't know what's out here. I just think it's safer to remain outside the-"
"We will NOT lose out on 4.3 Million dollars, and half a decades worth of research because our head of security is too COWARDLY to do what needs to be done!" He shouted over her.
There was silence for a moment, the man's rage had frightened even Samuel.
"Yes sir." Cynthia finally said.
The man cleared his throat, "I apologize for shouting, dear. You must understand, If success doesn't come to you, you go to success. Are we clear?" He said.
"Yes sir." Cynthia replied, defeated.
Samuel heard the click of the call ending, still he waited outside. He listened closely, He heard the thunk of a wooden box being sat on the table, the clasp of it being opened, and the metallic click of a revolver being loaded. Cynthia huffed, and charged out of the tent.
"All ears on me." She announced, her call echoing through the forest. "We're going in. I need two of you to stay here and keep watch outside the cave."
"I'll stay!" Samuel quickly volunteered.
"I appreciate your willingness, but that's no dice." Cynthia said "You're unarmed, and besides that, I need you with me.
Samuel nodded.
"So? Who's it going to be?" She turned to the others.
The group went quiet, each surveying the others, trying to weed out the cowardice among them.
"Alright fine," Cynthia decided, impatiently, "Goodwin, Sholtz, you stay."
The two nodded, and unwillingly, Samuel and the others headed toward the cave.
Samuel looked above his head, as the sky vanished behind the stone and dirt ceiling of the cave. Roots of the trees above hung in suspension, creaking as the trees above bent to the wind. The ground beneath their feet was wet, muddy even. The deeper they went, the colder and damper the world around them grew. Sunlight began to vanish in the veil of darkness. Samuel watched as everyone around him clicked their flashlights on, spots of light filled the cave, which began to grow larger as they traversed it. Thirty, forty foot high it grew. Deeper, and farther under the earth.
"This thing is mad creepy." Andre said
Samuel agreed, though he didn't say that. The claw marks continued on the ceilings, no matter how high they grew.
Samuel scanned the stone with his flashlight, "Hey," Samuel said, "Look." He pointed to a small trail of scrapes along the wall of the cave.
"What of it?" Cynthia asked.
"These are different than the others, smaller." Samuel replied.
"So what?" Andre asked, unimpressed.
"Look close at the spacings between the fingers, they're fundamentally different than the ones from earlier."
"So they were made by another animal." Bernadette said.
"Well no, There are no other known animals with that kind of strength or height."
"So?"
"So, it's the same species."
"You're saying big beasties a momma?" Dylan chimed.
"Impossible." Cynthia replied.
"Why's that impossible?" Samuel asked.
Cynthia stared at them as though she'd made a mistake, "Because it's not." She barked, "Just keep moving."
And keep moving they did, arriving in a massive circular area, a nest of sorts. Behind it, the cave began to split in multiple directions, pathways leading deep into the earth.
"This is incredible," Samuel marveled, "It's dug multiple pathways, like an ant."
"Little bigger than an ant, dont'cha think?" Andre said.
"If the size of these caves are any indication, this thing is going to be the new largest mammal on earth."
A sickening odor hung in the air, it was almost sweet. The smell hung in the air, stagnant. It burned Samuels nostrils with each breath. He tried to ignore it, and instead looked down. The ground beneath his feet was littered with dead foliage, crunching and crackling as they walked. tree branches had been intertwined with hay, moss, and garbage.
"Look," Samuel said, gesturing to it, "It's... like a nest."
Mounds of dirt surrounded the nest in a near twenty-foot-wide circle. Samuel knelt down and felt the nest, He began examining the area around and within it, it was intricately woven together, he'd never seen anything like it.
"Animals this large don't build nests, this doesn't make any sense." He said, "This... This isn't just a new species, But a whole new type of animal altogether. It displays the characteristics of a bird, but also that of a bear, and it-"
Samuel was interrupted by a soft crunch beneath his feet. He glanced down to see off white flecks beneath his feet, small chips of something larger. He knelt down and picked a large chunk of it up, It was a familiar soft texture.
"Well," Samuel said, "This proves my theory."
"What do you mean?" Dylan asked.
"These are eggshells, or at least, what remains of them." Samuel replied.
"Probably something it ate." Cynthia said
Samuel nodded, and resigned himself in the hopes of not stirring any more conflict. He continued to search the area, shying away from the rest of the group. he surveyed the ceiling, which seemed to rest higher above him than he thought. Around twenty feet high, he theorized. He followed the dripping sound, tracing it to the back wall. As his light found it, his stomach turned in place. Before him laid a carcass, he hoped it was an animal. He couldn't really tell. It was torn inside out, and had decayed beyond recognition. The flesh had gone gray and pale, and its bones had been shattered.
"This is brutal," Samuel whispered under his breath, "Not even lions do this kind of damage."
He tried to look away, but he was frozen in place, almost hypnotized. Dylan approached from behind and tapped his shoulder.
"Woah, Gnarly." He said staring at the corpse.
They watched in silence, their eyes unwavering, perhaps willing the motionless and formless body to move, yet it lay dead. As they began to relax, they heard it. The sound of a droplet hitting the ground echoed throughout the cave. They watched as another fell, smacking the jagged stone floor beneath it. It was a pale crimson liquid, Samuel knew immediately what it was. Blood, which had begun to form a small puddle as it dripped from the ceiling. Samuel traced his light up the wall and into the top corner of the cave. There, sat something unlike anything they'd ever seen. It was eating the head of a deer, turning it and ripping its flesh off the bone. It was around five feet long, and stood on long legs that bent backward at the knee, like a spiders. Its body was covered in patches of scales and fur. Its snout was long and thin, teeth protruding from its mouth as it gnawed on its prey.
"Oh my God" Samuel gasped. It was not only a new species, but clearly a predator.
"It's huge." Dylan said, perhaps a bit too loud.
The creature looked up, and glared at them. Its eyes a piercing yellow, yet they felt almost comforting, familiar. It never blinked, watching them closely as it dropped its dinner and began to slowly descend the wall. It scraped the cave as it crawled, almost human-like paws dug into the stone wall with massive talons. It was eye level with them now, staring them in the face from no more than five feet away. Samuel held his breath, he didn't know this creature's intentions any more than it knew his. It tilted its head slowly, watching them. A forked tongue escaped its mouth, rubbing against the creature's eyes.
"What's it doing?" Dylan whispered.
"Moistening its eyes so it doesn't have to blink," Samuel guessed, though he knew that wasn't what Dylan meant. He took a deep breath. "Sizing us up, I think." He said.
Dylan took a shaky breath.
The creature leaned in closer, sniffing the air. It lowered its head. Narrowing its pupils to slits, then widening them again. It tilted its head and made a hollow chirping sound.
Dylan slowly reached back, unclipping the holster of his gun.
The pop of the button frightened the creature, it reeled back, letting loose a terrible bellowing screech. It lurched forward, tossing Samuel through the air and smacking him against the wall to the left. It latched onto Dylan's shoulders, sinking its teeth into his neck. It began ripping the skin off his body, furiously digging into him. He fired two shots into the air, neither hitting the creature. Samuel scurried to his feet, and began to run. The dark surrounded him, the echoes of screams vanished behind him. They were replaced by the thumping of paws against stone, racing up behind him. He didn't know where he was going, his light lay in the cave behind him. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, he saw the others not far away.
"We have to go!" he shouted, "We have to leave now!"
They turned and stared at him, though all he could see was their lights. Cynthia caught him as he tried to run past.
"Please, you don't understand, it's right behind me!" He begged, out of breath.
"What's right behind you?" Cynthia asked, trying to hold him still.
It crawled from the shadows fast, before disappearing into the surrounding darkness.
"There!" Cynthia shouted, firing into the inky black.
"It's trying to surround us," Samuel said with a shaky breath, "There must be more than one."
The soldiers began scanning the ceiling with their lights, and guns at the ready. Save for Samuel's heavy breathing, it was dead silent. They watched, waited, but nothing came. Finally, a light vanished from the group. With a scream, Bernadette's flashlight clattered against the floor.
"Everybody group up!" Cynthia shouted, "We're sitting ducks spread out like this."
Another light vanished, Arin howled in pain and began firing blindly.
Cynthia's eyes grew wide, over half the team she'd brought had vanished. Slowly she stepped back, releasing Samuel. "Run," She said, watching the dark, "RUN!"
The group began to sprint for the exit, it looked like a pinhole of light. As it grew closer, as did the sound of the creatures behind them. Samuel heard at least three sets of paws racing toward them. In front of them, two silhouettes descended into the cave. It was Goodwin and Sholtz.
"Is everything alright?" Michael asked, running toward them, "We heard gunfire."
Samuel motioned for them to run in the opposite direction, Michael turned and began running, but Grace stood frozen still.
"Move!" Cynthia shouted, but Grace did nothing. Cynthia grabbed her hand as they passed her, forcing her to move. She stumbled and tripped, but began to run in time with the others.
"What are those things?!" She pleaded, but no one had an answer.
As they neared the exit, the creatures behind them began to slow, and stop, returning to the depths of the cave. The group continued to run, however, into the daylight. As the outside light washed over him, Samuel froze in place. the others bumped into the young man, who stood motionless, holding his breath. In front of them landed the body of a cow, six-inch holes ripped in its torso, teeth marks. Samuel gazed up at the creature. It had to be twenty-five feet tall, at least. staring at them, mouth wide open. Its jagged teeth doused in the blood of the animal it had slain. It was just like the others, but much larger. It stared at them with narrow eyes, the same piercing yellow eyes Samuel had seen moments ago.
"Open fire!" Cynthia screamed. "Hit it in the eyes!"
As they began firing on it, the creature reeled back, snatching Andre in its claws and flinging him into the jagged stone, he landed with a hard crack. His body sat motionless in a puddle of his own blood. The creature swung itself around wildly, too fast to hit. It snatched private Michael off the ground, and bit into him with a loud crunch, and ripping the young man in half. Samuel rushed toward the tent, not far from where they stood. "If I can just reach that." He thought. The creature banged itself into the trees, causing some to snap, and fall. Its howling echoed throughout the forest. It lurched forward, digging its claws into Grace's chest, and pulling her ten feet into the air. It flung her off, where she landed with a thud. It placed its back leg against her and crushed the remaining life out of the young woman. Samuel Hunched down in the tent, listening for any sign of hope, but he heard... nothing. No gunfire, no beast, silence. He stood slowly, and on the burlap canvas of the tent saw the silhouette of the creature, holding a corpse in its arms, devouring it slowly. Samuel ducked back down, and took a shaky breath. He saw a small green wooden box under the table. He quietly opened it, and inside sat a large silver revolver. He picked it up slowly, and opened the cylinder, it was fully loaded with six bullets. He held it close to his chest, and began to pray. He could hear his heart pounding, feel the thumping of fear in his chest. When a single gunshot broke the silence. Someone else was alive. Samuel peeked outside to see Cynthia staring the creature down, her rifle in hand, clicking to let her know she was out of ammo. She got down low, staring the creature down. The creature slowly reeled back, watching her closely. It began to lower itself, mimicking her. Samuel had seen this type of mimicry before. In snakes, before they struck. Cynthia looked at Samuel, and mouthed a single word.
"Run."
Samuel wanted so badly to listen, but he couldn't. He held up the revolver, his hands trembling. "HEY!" he shouted, pointing the gun at the creature's head. It whipped itself around, and let out another bellowing roar. Samuel fired a single shot, which flew through the creature's left eye. It howled, and screeched, it was the loudest thing Samuel had ever heard, his ears began to bleed and ring. He held himself up as the creature began swinging itself violently around, Slamming into the trees and stones. It tore the tent off the ground and flung it into the air. Samuel fell backward in an attempt to get away from the charging beast. "Hey!" Cynthia called. The creature whipped itself around again, digging it's paws into the surrounding dirt. It began to charge toward Cynthia, who dove out of the way, rolling into the grass. It raised its head again, letting loose another mighty roar. From flat on his back, Samuel fired another shot into its head, through its right eye. It blindly slammed into the world around it, stomping and howling in pain. It smashed its head into the stone around the cave and collapsed. It laid motionless in front of the enterance.
Cynthia sat up quickly and got to her feet, "You... You killed it!" She exclaimed.
Samuel fell to his knees, his heart was pounding out of his chest. He touched his face, his hand returned a thick sticky red. He knew this blood wasn't his own, but it made him queasy nonetheless. He began to weep. Cynthia walked toward him and put her hand on his shoulder, it was comforting, but not to the effect she'd wanted. She took the gun from his hands, and approached the creature slowly. It laid motionless, but she held the muzzle of the gun to it anyway. She held her ear against its chest.
"I don't believe it," She murmured, "It's still alive."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Samuel managed through his sobbing, "Kill it."
Cynthia pressed the gun against its head. She mustered all her courage, and began to squeeze the trigger, Yet she hesitated. She pulled back, and holstered the weapon.
"What are you doing?" Samuel said.
Cynthia pulled the walkie-talkie out of her pack, and turned it on, "This is Sargent Barnes here, I've apprehended the creature, pinging you my location, we need an extraction team at Coordinates 35.252174, -83.957756. We were a team of eight, we have six down."
"You can't just give that thing to Clintax!" Samuel argued, "it's too dangerous!"
Cynthia ignored him completely, and began typing away on a small, phone-like device.
Samuel sighed, and stood. "Clintax did this, Didn't they?" He asked.
Cynthia stopped for a moment, "That's not a road you wanna go down, Kid." She answered.
"No," Samuel said, "There's no way this is naturally occurring no way something this large went unseen for that long. They cooked it up in that lab, didn't they?"
Cynthia sighed deeply, "That's above your pay grade, Now drop it!" She shouted.
"This is what they've been doing out here, isn't it?" Samuel pried
"Stop."
"We have to tell people about this Cynthia! People could get hurt, People have been hurt!"
"You signed the non-disclosure agreement!" Cynthia shouted.
"Forget that! This is bigger than me." Samuel said. He stepped toward the creature, and snapped its picture. "The whole world needs to see this."
"No one's going to believe you." Cynthia said.
"It's grounds for investigation, though." Samuel replied, "And if I'm right, Who knows what they'll find."
Samuel turned to walk away, he had collected his evidence.
"Your mind is made up then?" Cynthia asked.
Samuel stopped, "It is." He said. Before he could take another step,
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