Un-Evolved

Chapter 2

Charles made a mad dash for the bushes that he came from, and Tanner hit the gas. The car swerved away from the beast, that had begun it's advance. The car sped through the forest. The creature was not far behind. Charles watched from the shrubbery as it chased the Jeep deeper into the forest, and out of sight. Tanner sped through the forest at a slower speed than he would have liked, due to the terrain. The creature was gaining on them. As Tanner drove, Alex crouched in the back seat. "Grab my rifle!" Tanner yelled back. Alex frantically searched through the back seat in search of the promised gun. "Where is it?" he screamed. The animal drew closer, bearing its teeth, ready to chomp down on its next meal. "It's under the seat Alex!" Tanner called back. Alex quickly found the latch, and lifted the seat. Frantically grabbing the rifle from below, he dropped the seat. With the gun in hand, he looked up to see the creature standing over the car, looking down at them. He screamed, putting his hand up to shield himself. The creature leaned down, and bit his arm.

-

Charles sat, hidden in the bushes, traumatized by the events. He suddenly realized that he had no way of returning to the base, without a jeep. Plus, Tanner would likely lead the creature back to base, making it an unsafe location. Charles ran across the clearing, and ducked into the bushes on the other side. He creeped over to the spot where the creature emerged. He found a print from the creature. Taking out his phone, he took a picture of the print, and compared it to the cast. "They're one and the same," he muttered to himself, "Looks like this wild goose chase is done, now we've just got that thing chasing us." Suddenly, a scream tore through the silence of the forest. Charles, believing that the creature had caught Tanner, ran towards the sound, putting his own safety aside to save his friend.

The creature lifted Alex out of the seat, and the gun dropped to the ground. Alex screamed again, and the beast dropped him to the dirt, stepping on his leg. Alex cried out in pain with his broken leg and bloodied arm. Tanner swerved in a new direction, drifting in the mud. The creature pursued. Tanner dodged trees, while attempting to lead the creature away from his uncle. He lost his focus. A tree appeared in front of him, and he was blocked from turning. Tanner slammed on the brakes, but the slick mud and clay beneath the car carried him swiftly toward the tree. Milliseconds away from a certain death, Tanner jumped from the car, into some shrubbery. The car slammed into the trunk of the tree, crumbling into a hunk of smoking metal.

Tanner crawled out from the bush and behind the tree. He felt the footsteps of creature growing louder and closer. He scrambled to cover himself with rocks and leaves, noticing the blood seeping out of the scratches all over his arms, calves, and face.

The creature walked up to the destroyed vehicle, prodding it with its large snout. The beast growled, as it nudged the jeep, and pushed it away from the tree. Satisfied that the car contained nothing of interest, it got down on all fours, and began to sniff the ground. A particular bush had caught its attention. Tanner, partially hidden by stones and shrubbery, could see the creatures nose slowly peering around the corner of the tree.

Tanner froze, and closed his eyes. The creature slowly made its way around the trunk, sniffing the blood on the ground. It spotted Tanner. Walking slowly over, the beast smelled the seemingly lifeless carcass, and exhaled quickly. Tanner flinched. It backed up from the man, and roared, attempting to scare him. Tanner fought not to move. The creature's warm breath smelled of algae and rotten fish. It looked again at Tanner, considering him for a moment. Convinced that Tanner was dead, the creature began to walk away, and headed toward the river. Tanner, hearing the footsteps grow softer, opened his eyes to see the beast as it left.

Its scaly skin had a dark green color at the top, and a lighter yellow on its belly. The two colors were separated by a blue-ish gray and white across the face, torso, and tail. At the top of its head, was a small crest between the eyes. It was a terrifying, but beautiful creature.

Suddenly, a scream tore through the forest. The creature froze, and turned its head, tilting it in a curious manner. "Uncle Alex," Tanner thought to himself. The creature began to calmly walk back towards the road, and towards the screams.

-

Charles sprinted through the forest, and stopped on the edge of a small clearing. A loud roar erupted in the distance. From behind a bush, he could see Alex, curled up in the mud. Blood pooled beneath him, and his leg looked bent out of place. Looking around, there was no sign of the creature, with the exception of some prints in the mud covering the Jeep tracks. Charles ran out to Alex, getting on his knees. Alex groaned. "You alright mate?" Charles asked. Alex opened his glossy brown eyes and groaned again. He reached out his arm and grabbed at Charles' shoulder, then recoiled in pain. Charles saw the tooth marks on his arm.

"Holy s***!" Charles whispered. He quickly undid his own belt, and tore his sleeve from his shirt. Wrapping the cloth around Alex's upper arm, he made a makeshift tourniquet. Charles then moved on to the leg. He felt around for a fracture. It was very clear that his right fibula and tibia were snapped in two, and possibly shattered. "Okay friend," Charles said to Alex, who was slowly becoming more conscious, "this is gonna hurt like mad." Alex made a slight nod. Looking down, Charles carefully shifted the bones back into place with a snap.

Alex screamed in agony, echoing through the forest. Charles took his hands off of Alex's leg. He screamed again. Alex's screaming slowly died down after a moment, and he seemed fatigued. Charles stood, and carefully dragged Alex by the arms to a tree on the edge of the clearing, and propped him up. Alex laid his head against the trunk, and closed his eyes. Charles sat down next to him. "The gun..." Alex muttered. "What?" Charles replied quietly. "The gun... I dropped it... back there." He gestured in behind him, but Charles knew what he meant. "Stay here," he said, "I'll go find it. Don't move." Charles stood and left to retrieve the gun. Alex closed his eyes again, and began to drift off, as the constant rumbling of the ground grew louder, rocking him to sleep.

-

Tanner sneakily followed the creature, staying relatively far behind. The creature was on a direct path towards the screams. As Tanner crept along, he noticed the Jeep tracks at his feet. They were here before. The creature turned slightly, following the tracks more directly, as if it had noticed them. As Tanner followed, he grew closer to the creature. He again admired the beauty of it. He noticed feathers around the creature's elbows and down it's back and tail. As he gazed, he suddenly heard a crunch beneath his feet. He looked down to see a broken stick laying over a small hole. The creature whipped around. Tanner froze, as the creature stared him down.

-

Charles walked down the path swiftly and silently, looking for the promised gun. A trail of speckled blood covered the Jeeps tracks. Soon, he spotted the gun. He picked up the solid black hunting rifle, and cleaned off most of the mud with his shirt. The ground began to rumble beneath him. He stood, looking through the trees. The rumbling grew louder. The luscious green leave of the trees shook in the fresh, humid air. The rumbling grew louder. Charles heard bushes to his left rustle. He lifted the gun, turned off the safety, and took aim. Tanner burst through the bushes, running as fast as he could. Charles lowered his gun. A roar followed Tanner. Charles brought his gun back up, as the creature appeared through the trees. Tanner tripped, and fell into the mud. The creature lunged for him. Charles shot, and the creature recoiled. It ran towards him, ready to bite. Charles took a second shot, that hit directly in the eye. The creature drew back again, and ran into the forest.

Tanner came to his feet, and walked over to Charles. "What... What the h*** just happened?" Tanner said looking back into the trees. "Where's Alex?" he asked. Charles pointed behind him, and said, "He's back aways, he really needs medical attention." "How are we going to get back?" Tanner asked. "The Jeep, I hope." He replied. "Umm, about that..."