Fear

"A reptilian tail…"

'What the f****…' Thought Alan.

No one else saw it. The scaly tail of a reptilian animal flashed through the thick undergrowth. It was huge, as big as a child's waist. Moreover, Alan had the feeling that what he saw was just the tip of the iceberg.

If the tip of the tail was that thick, how big would its actual body be? Alan was startled by the revelation. Never had he seen something like that after transmigrating to this world. All he had ever seen was images and videos of mutant animals on television and other media. It always felt surreal for Alan.

But seeing the mutant so close and alive was frightening.

Was this thing a monster?

Everyone was wide awake now. The eyes of the researchers were laced with fear and anxiety. Nothing could express the way they were feeling now. Although they knew about the dangers, they never even imagined that something like this would happen to them. Even the specialized guards of Life Corps were helpless before the animal. They knew they were in a predicament.

They were like a couple of fishes on a chopping board. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't trek through the thick jungle to leave. That would be like serving themselves on a silver platter.

All they could do was to wait for the remaining guards from the main camp to reach them with reinforcement.

While others were fearful about the encounter with the beast. The old senior and the young lady in the group was excited. The sighting of the animal meant something more to them. She secretly made up her mind to get a sample.

Alan slowly made his way towards the inner part of the camp to sit down. The near-death experience had frozen him to the core.

'There is no time to relax… I don't know when it will attack again. It isn't here for food, it's hunting for sport and we are just trophies in its eyes. I have to be more careful.' Alan frowned upon thinking about the death of the guard.

The guards who kept a close eye on, saw him frowning and were ready to take action in case of an unexpected incident. Last time they failed to do their job and lost a brother. They were not willing to make that same mistake again. Now that they knew of the capabilities of the animal. It is their time to show their skill.

Even if it meant their life, they were ready to protect their team. Unknowingly Alan had become a pivotal member in their eyes. As someone with honed senses, the guards knew the importance of finding the enemy before it finds them. And somehow Alan could do that before they could. They could clearly remember how he turned to look behind them even before they could make out what happened.

'Is he a mutant? Does he have some superpower?'

Although they had their doubts, they could clearly see Alan's ability to sense the animal. It doesn't matter how he does it. It was a discovery that could save lives, so they closely watched Alan for his reaction.

At first, they didn't understand why a young and inexperienced guide was assigned to them, wasn't the old one enough. They also remembered how the farm manager said Alan was apt for the job. Now, they finally believed the words of Mr Johnson.

Actually, the manager was making Alan's life miserable by sending him together with the research team. How could guards know that?

"I need a gun!" The usually quiet Alan was the one to break the silence. His mild but calm voice spread to everyone. Anyone who heard could feel the firm determination in the voice.

Before he could say anything, the guard captain came before him and handed over a pistol to Alan. Although pistol shooting with a pistol would be like shooting an elephant with a toothpick, this action calmed down Alan allowing him better concentrate.

"Do you have experience using it?" The guard captain asked with no change in his expression.

"No…"

"You should unlock the safety like this and steady your hands, point and shoot anything that moves. But never point it towards people." The guard captain handed over the gun with a short demonstration. It seems his trust in Alan increased to new bounds.

He looked at Alan seriously before moving away.

"I too need a gun…" One of the young researchers voiced his demand.

"No." But his request was shut down before it could leave his lips.

"Why can he have the gun and not us. I know how to use a gun. Giving us the gun would be more useful." His friend came to the other guy's support and scowled at Alan.

"You can't expect us to…" Before the first guy could complete his word.

"click…. Bang…Bang…."

"Growl….gr…." A pained sound of the animal.

With his increased physical strength and reaction time before anyone could react. Alan unlocked the gun safety and shot into the woods. There was no delay in his action. Hearing the sudden sound of gunshot scared the heck out of everyone.

But hearing the pained sound of the beast woke them up from their daze. They were almost ambushed once again!

The guards followed Alan and shot at the moving bush in the forest…

"Growl…."

The screams of the beast and the explosive sound of gunshot infected the calmness of the forest.

They were sure that whatever it was, it was injured and panicked. The team's confidence was boosted seeing this. Taking out assault rifles, the guards sprayed bullets into the darkness until no sound came from there. They became assured that the beast had died.

'After all, nothing could take on hundreds of bullets and still be alive, right?'

But still, Alan felt something off about the situation. Although it seemed like the beast is injured. His senses screamed danger when he thought about going into the forest.

"Don't go into the forest…" Said Alan solemnly.

But Alan's statement evoked an opposite reaction from what he expected.

"When did you become our leader. Just a handyman… what right do you have to stop us." Leering at Alan, the researcher who asked for a gun trotted forward? After how the guard captain treated Alan better than him. He felt like his authority has been challenged.

So, to show his courage and manliness in front of the one he admired. He walked even faster towards the forest.

Poor guy!

Before he could wash away the smug smile on his face everything went blank for him.

A mouth wide enough to fit a man inside came from the forest and bit on his head.

One more life was lost.