Stampede
Gazing at the lifeless creature before him, Varis began to dissect it.
Sqwelp!
"Ugh, disgusting," he grumbled, as its blood splattered across his face. Yet, despite the gruesome spectacle before him, Varis continued without hesitation.
As he continued his work, something caught his attention. The creature's leg was lodged firmly in the wall. Observing its razor-sharp nature, a thought struck him.
'Its legs are incredibly sharp. They could serve as formidable throwing weapons,' Varis mused, recognizing the unique potential of his find.
Positioning his knife towards the creature's leg, he struck with force.
Clang!
Having never butchered a living being before, he hit the creature's leg directly. The leg, harder and tougher than the knife, shattered it into pieces.
'Thank f*ck there are a few more knives here', Varis thought, relieved at the sight of several knives lined up on a counter.
Grabbing another knife from the counter, Varis learned from his previous mistake.
This time, he carefully aimed for its joints, managing to separate the leg from the creature.
Elated by his success, he decided to test his newfound weapon.
With a swift motion, he threw it towards a nearby shelf, puncturing a significantly large hole.
'Huff.... my f*cking god that's deadly', Varis thought, his eyes lighting up with the same wonder and excitement a child shows upon seeing a cool car.
Confirming the effectiveness of the weapon, he stored it in his bag.
Not willing to get sidetracked any longer, Varis returned to his task.
Refocusing, Varis once again positioned his knife at its joint. But just as he was poised to make the cut, a distinct sound abruptly halted his motion.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
The loud metallic sounds ringing from outside the store instantly drew his attention.
'I should check it out', he thought, his survival instincts kicking in, reminding him to stay alert to any potential dangers in this unforgiving world.
With cautious haste, Varis navigated through the store. Stepping outside, he was greeted by the sight of a vast storm gathering on the horizon.
'Oh, it's just a storm', he thought.
'However, something's off... Why the metallic sounds? And this storm... it seems almost sentient,' he pondered, catching a subtle yet crucial anomaly.
Varis scrutinized the storm again, this time with a sharper eye, trying to understand the exact events transpiring within it.
"Holy mother of..." he cursed under his breath, his eyes widening in disbelief as he spotted thousands of creatures akin to the one he had previously slain.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Varis decided he wanted no part of it. With no hesitation, he whirled around and sprinted away from the approaching storm.
'I'm not sure how long I have before they catch up. They're slightly slower than my top speed, but I can't maintain a sprint indefinitely,' he thought, his mind racing as fast as his feet.
As Varis weaved through the city, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place—the devastated buildings and the strewn corpses now made a chilling sense. But something caught his attention.
"This place... why does it seem so familiar?" Varis thought, scanning his surroundings with a growing sense of déjà vu.
But, with death looming ever so close, Varis forced himself to get back to reality.
By this point the stampede was closing in on him and he had to act fast or face a gruesome end.
Spotting a huge dome in the distance while darting through the broken city, he pondered,
'Either I reach there and bet on my luck, or I die horribly here.'
Varis ran toward the dome, his heart pounded in his chest and the sounds of the stampede echoed in his ears.
The journey seemed endless, each step fueled by sheer survival instinct amidst the chaos.
The city surrounding him had become a labyrinth of ruin, with every area touched by the creatures disintegrating into dust.
Buildings that once stood proud were now nothing but crumbling facades, their interiors exposed and desolate.
Huff! huff!
Varis pushed his body beyond its limits, the final stretch to the dome felt like an eternity.
Each labored breath was a battle against exhaustion, his muscles screaming in protest with every desperate stride.
The monstrous stampede behind him, a terrifying mass of otherworldly creatures, seemed to gain momentum, their eerie cries and the thunderous pounding of their feet a constant reminder of the peril nipping at his heels.
With the dome now just a few hundred meters away, Varis summoned the last reserves of his strength, driven by a primal fear and determination to survive.
The creatures behind him, mirror images of the beast he had slain, were a blur of ferocity and untamed power, their intent to overrun everything in their path crystal clear.
He didn't know if he would survive in there, but at least he could hide in there, betting on his last chance at survival.
The creatures were now only a few kilometers away and Varis' exhaustion was taking over. It didn't seem like he would survive.
Run! Run! RUN! RUN!
Varis screamed internally, forcing his body to go beyond what he's capable of. The dome, a monolithic structure that seemed both alien and sanctuary-like, grew larger with every ounce of effort he put forth.
He was around 100 meters away from the dome, but due to him slowing down, right behind him,, at around 300 meters were the creatures.
90 meters!
280 meters!
50 meters!
180 meters!
At this critical juncture, Varis quickly identified a small entrance on the side of the dome, barely noticeable among the vast, imposing structure.
His heart racing, he pushed his exhausted body towards it, fully aware that this might be his only chance at survival.
The sounds of the stampede were deafening, a relentless roar that seemed to shake the very ground beneath his feet.
The creatures were closing in fast, their monstrous forms a terrifying sight as they thundered across the broken cityscape, mere moments from overtaking him.
20 meters!
The entrance to the dome was just right in front of him.
Varis, driven by a surge of adrenaline, mustered every last bit of his strength for a final sprint.
His lungs burned, and his legs felt like they were made of lead, but the thought of being engulfed by the stampede propelled him forward with a desperate burst of speed.
10 meters!
5 meters!
4 meters!
3 meters!
2 meters!
1 meter!
In the nick of time, with the creatures' breath hot on his neck, Varis lunged through the entrance of the dome.
Krunch!
He could feel the whoosh of air as the creature's teeth snapped shut, missing him by mere inches.
The momentum of his desperate dive carried him forward, tumbling into the safety of the dome's interior.
He lay there for a moment, on the cold, hard surface, gasping for breath, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.
'Holy sh*t! I thought I was going to die'.
GRRRRR!
'F*ck they're trying to come in'
Varis tried to move but his body was too exhausted, he crawled as far as he could but it was insignificant.
'I guess I'm just going to end up dying. Well, it doesn't seem too bad, I've never had anything to begin with'
The creatures a vicious force that nothing could possibly stop came to a sudden halt. They looked hesitant, regardless they tried to make their way through the small gap although very slowly and meticulously as of wary not bring upon the ire of something lurking in the shadows.
Observing the creatures still striving to infiltrate, Varis reached a point of surrender. Completely sapped of energy, he found himself reminiscing about his past, his gaze fixed on the relentless advance.
Varis was an orphan, with no memories of his parents or knowledge of his origins. His life had always been a puzzle with missing pieces, a narrative penned without an introduction. The only figure of familial resemblance he recalled was his director, the closest semblance to family he had ever known. Yet, even this connection bore the stain of betrayal.
At the tender age of ten, Varis faced deception from the one person he believed in. He found himself in an underground market, coerced into laboring for minimal pay and negligible rights. His liberation came five years later, at fifteen, through a police raid that freed him from his physical confines. However, the mental and emotional bonds were not as easily shattered.
The ordeal indelibly marked him, hardening his heart and muting his voice. He swore never to place his trust in anyone again. But freedom's initial taste led Varis down a tumultuous path of drugs and petty crimes, a desperate attempt to navigate the chaos of his new reality. It was a phase marked by darkness until, by sheer force of will, he pulled himself from the mire.
Subsequently, Varis took on odd jobs, surviving on the fringes. Despite the absence of formal education or training during his formative years, he demonstrated an exceptional ability to learn and adapt. His innate instincts and sharp intellect allowed him to eke out a living, proving his resilience and capacity for self-reinvention.
At twenty-four, driven by an unyielding desire to reshape his fate, Varis made a pivotal decision to normalize his life and embarked on a journey of self-improvement by enrolling in college. However, the scars of his past ran deep. Engaging with others, making eye contact, or even initiating conversation became insurmountable challenges, underscoring the profound impacts of his early experiences.
And, just as he was about to graduate and move on with life-
"GET THEM!!!!!" a voice roared, jolting Varis back to the harsh reality.
'Who the f*ck is shouting? Let me die in peace' Varis thought, laboriously turning his head towards the source of the voice.
While Varis was having his flashback, the creatures outside had entered one by one, and by now there were about 15 of them inside.
And just as one was about to sink it's fangs into Varis
Boom! BOOOM!
Bright flashes blinded his eyes and before he knew the creature's head burst, leaving behind a bloody mess.
Splurt!!
Following this, the 14 other monsters which had entered found themselves without heads too.
"WOHOOOOOOOOO! We've got food!!!!!!!!"
"CLOSE THE DOOR! CLOSE THE DOOR!"
Recovering from the blinding light, Varis saw people...
'Are they good or bad?' Varis thought, as he saw them approaching him.
Varis tried to make sense of the situation he was in, but clearly overcome with exhaustion his eyes closed as he heard them conversing.
"What should we do with this one?"
"We've got to take him, no?"
"No! We should let..."
"We can't just..."
.
.
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