Tug of war

The theropod charged at Joji, thrusting fangs at it. Joji saw the rows of daggers and jaws; they came as wild blurs, and he instinctively swung his hand.

He hit it at the side of its head with the stick of his damaged spear and knocked its head away, but it instantly turned back and snapped its fangs at him but Joji jumped to safety just in time for it to narrowly miss him.

They stared at each other, joji misty black hair fell over his face, they stuck to his skin, glued by his sweats, leaves and sand stuck to him too. He was panting heavily and the sun reflected off his sweaty brown skin.

The therapist growled at him and Joji screamed at it too. He clenched the staff with both hands as they watched each other. It was a primal standoff, one to decide who was most fit to survive.

The theropod scratched its claws on the ground, sharpening them like blades. Its breath out a misty puff of rotten odor; Joji squeezed his face and held his breath, waiting for it to pass.

He could tell the monster was ready; any moment now, it would strike. Joji looked at the checkpoint; the light flashed brightly; even by this time of the day, its light was still exceptionally brilliant.

Not taking his eye off the beast he calculated his steps to the checkpoint. That's too many, he thought. If I get an opening, It will be two long steps and a leap to the light, but these things are too fast; it'll be in my ass the moment I make a move for it. Think Joji, how do you get out of this? Wait. I got it.

Joji clenched the stick, he held it like a staff now with both hands. He felt his blood pump like crazy; his whole body felt like a supercharged machine, ready to burst through anything; he could barely contain himself.

The theropod took the first step; its claws cut through the sand as it threw itself at Joji. Joji tightened his grip on the staff and his eyes burned a faint green. As it came in for him, he sidestepped and swung the staff like a cane, with his left hand crashing it against the side of the theropod's head, the cane shattering to pieces.

The monster shut its eyes as a result of the impact. That's it! Joji thought. The theropod instantly reacted; it turned its head and bites at Joji. It thought it had him beaten, but for a second, it had its eyes shut; Joji had capitalized.

It seemed surprising, but then I realized Joji had moved; he was just three feet away from his jaws, and he was by his torso. "I saw this in a sports game once"

Joji charged in with his shoulder and hit the ribs of the theropod with his whole weight behind it, "that's a tackle, " Joji said."

The theropod falls from the force of the body, checked by Joji. I did it! He thought then he quickly ran after the checkpoint. He got close to it, but the beast was already on its feet, it took off like a bullet, and Joji dived in for the light.

His hand touched it and he felt a strong pull from within the light drawing him into it. Then it sinks in; he screams in pain as the fangs sink into his skin.

Therapod had made it in time, it gnawed on his leg and pulled him back from the light. Joji quickly became the center of a tug-of-war between the raptor and the pull of the light.

He felt like a cat's toy being pulled and chewed on; the pain shook his brain with thundering fury. He felt like the beast was trying to pull off his flesh as if it was a shock or something.

He swung the rest of the staff he still held onto but he couldn't reach it. It seemed the beast was winning; it had all but destroyed Joji's leg, and only a bit of his hand remained in the light and moment now; he feared he'd find himself crashing to the ground.

"Damn it," Joji screamed; he looked at the ferocious monster; hatred burned in Joji as he stared at the mindless creature gnawing at his leg. He saw its eyes and realized he still had one advantage.

It seemed a helpless situation, but Joji had one plan left: it all hinged on it, or he'd get eaten alive and be one life closer to a game over, one life closer to an actual death.

He aimed for the eye of the beast, and when he saw he had a clear shot, he threw the broken staff like a spear, and with its end broken and riddled with its many splinters, it sank into the eye of the beast.

"Yeah that's right, eat a d**k!"

The beast growled and let go of Joji's shattered leg to cry, and instantly Joji was sucked into the light, and instantly he woke up; he quickly took off the goggles without thinking and grabbed his leg; he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

He saw his leg was pale and boring, and he breathed a sigh of relief; he rubbed the sweat off his forehead and cried into his hand.

"I can't believe I'm back, I can't believe I made it back."

He looked at the time, and it was one in the morning. Then he looked at the date, and his eyes widened; he couldn't believe it; it made no sense to him.

It's been three days; I lived there for three days, so why is it still today? Have I only been gone for three hours? Joji grabbed his hair and sank his fingers into it as he thought it over; he pulled his hair, "No, it can't be; time runs differently there, no, no, no!" He screamed.

Images of the raptors and sand pit, the cannibals, the snakes, the aftermath and the volcanos, the theropod, they all filled his mind like a terror picture show.

"All that madness. All that death, all in three hours, how long would they keep us in this game? We could play for centuries, and I'll only be a year."

Tears rolled down his cheek as he realized the fullest extent of the horror he was stuck in.

"And I got Amy into this mess too. You dumb ass!" Joji screamed. He punched himself in the face and then again and again, and then he lay on the ground crying.

The morning sun poked through the holes in his curtain; Joji was still lying on the ground; his mental exhaustion was too much. His alarm blared until it fell off the table, but Joni didn't move an inch.

Later that morning, he gets a call that wakes him up, Amy! He thought, but it was Bass; he picked up, but all that came through static; what was going on?

Joji got up and prepared for work; it was nine am, and he didn't care if he was late, not anymore. He put on his clothes and as he stepped out the door bass called again,

"Joji, Joji!" It sounded choppy

"Yeah, bass, how are you!"

"I...ed…. Help my little bro.."

"Is he okay?"

"Joji… in the game… he's still in the game!"