In Huck's Hands

Chapter 8: UnHuckable

My limbs shook uncontrollably as the unseeing creature sniffed along the cavern floors hunting for me. I had managed to wedge myself into an undersized crevice, beseeching the mildewed cave atmosphere would mask my fragrance. My legs began to cramp from the awkward position of the jagged grotto pit I was sat in yet I didn't dare to even breathe in the musky cave air.

The brief flashing moments when the beast stamped near my hiding spot allowed me to study its hulking frame. Matted dirty fur covered sinewy muscles that ended in black dagger-like claws. Tough scars of old wounds highlighted a coat faded to albino whiteness like it hadn't possibly seen the sun in years. Most bizarre was the radiant cyan tattoo decorating its back. The marketing resembled an Old Buriti shaman tattoo, tendrils of cool liquid seemingly dripping down the beast's fur. Yet no moisture touched the floor.

The symbol almost appeared...alive, rippling with a hidden energy. My mind raced with questions as I finally let out some short bursts of air into my lungs. This creature couldn't be natural, not with that mystical scar. Why would such a monsterous animal share the same marks our the simple native shamans? Water had to be imported or extracted from plants for centuries...Yet with my own shuddering eyes, I watched it cascade down this thing's backside

The Mega-Monkey-esque monster let out another bone-chilling wail that reverberated through the endless tunnels. It was answered by silence. It seemed almost saddened as it waited for another's call. Its painfully ripped and rehealed ears twitched beckoningly into the darkness.

Perhaps the glowing brand had prolonged its life unnaturally. Now it wandered these forsaken caves, alone, confused, and likely in pain from old battle injuries. I did not see any way to approach this with some sort of simple logic but my mind screamed there had to be a tangible answer to its mystifying dim glow.

I felt a surprising pang of sympathy for the once-proud fighter. In its primal screams, I heard the anguish of the last survivor unable to accept extinction. It reminded me of the Vascan dynasty's own struggle against the erosion of time. Both our fates seemed intertwined as if destiny caused us to be here together...Was I to become this beast, wandering the shambled ruins of my own people? The natives were sure to kill my children after my reign--I was to be the only thing that stood between the choking darkness of my genealogy just like this massive yet simple blind cave animal.

The creature suddenly pivoted, fixing its hauntingly white-blinded gaze in my direction. Absolute terror jolted through me anew as the symbol's glow intensified as if detecting a presence. I held my breath, praying the shadows would shield me. My chest and spine earthquake with anxiety as the idea of being ripped apart racked my psyche.

The hulking form began to lumber away seeking its unknown purpose. Once safe, I tried calming my frantic unstable heart. These illuminating caves surely hid more arcane clues about ancient magics now lost to Buriti...what had I fucking stumbled into? Where was this place so vast yet so unexplored, no mention of any lands or beasts beneath the dunes...I must be dreaming.

I knew then my trials here weren't a mere coincidence but the first step on a destined path. Suppose I was lucky enough to survive. In my haste to pursue the enigmatic beast, my billowing robes caught on the rocky outcroppings, sending me sprawling noisily to the ground. My knees painfully fell into rocks that tore into them like broken glass shards.

The creature whipped around at the sudden noise, blank eyes ablaze with horrifying fury. It unleashed an earth-shaking bellow then barreled towards me. I scrambled to my feet and fled into the dark branching tunnels. The thunder of the monster's fists and hand feet at my adrenaline-fueled steps propelled me ever deeper into the oppressive twilight. The gaps between gnarled roots and stone teeth narrowed, forcing me into jaggedly cramped, unknown passageways.