Dust to Dust: Monster 06

Prowl

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A miniature freight train of reinforced stone barreled through the woods, trampling everything unlucky enough to be in its way. It's engine churning through the green fuel it is so enamored with, lightning up its clay skeleton with bountiful energy.

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The unfortunate creatures that dared stand in its way were either trampled by the razor claws, or concussed by the stone plate affixed to the monster's head. This ferocious beast had vague memories of being something smaller, something similar to those he was trampling, but that didn't matter now. What mattered now was the new discoveries that materialized when the animals he killed disappeared.

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In every flash of light and sparks that came after a creature's death, an item would appear in the brightly colored vortex. Sometimes they dropped flesh or bone, and sometimes they dropped chunks of metal. Flesh and bone was ground together in the golem's mouth, forming a pink paste. A secondary internal storage compartment was carved in the torso of the rock dog, and the pink paste was stored there. When tested it proved to hold barely any more energy than the green paste, but many extra nutrients were found inside it. Until a means to process it into a usable state was found the golem was forced to ignore it.

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The chunks of metal were the true prize. All copper of various sizes, they had been used to reinforce the golem's core, allowing his inner heat to grow farther in intensity. The brighter and clearer his energy, the faster and stronger his body responded to him. Foxes were nothing to him now, mere roadkill.

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Odd, though. He had only found roadkill in his week-long rampage celebrating his new body. There were bigger creatures in this forest, he was sure of it. Dim memories of wolves and larger, unknown beings stole through his consciousness, reminding him that while much improved, he wasn't the king of the forest.

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Yet.

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Wolves were quantifiable. They seemed to be simply larger foxes, canines only improved in size.

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So when the rock dog spotted a wolf crouched in the brush in his immediate vicinity, he thought nothing of it and attacked. The stone plate on his forehead rang against the wolf's hard skull, barely pushing forwards after impact. Sending sensory heat to his headplate, the golem sensed hairline fractures riddling his head protection. Rearing onto his hind legs and lashing out with his weaponized paws, the rock dog launched a furious offensive on the wolf's stunned face.

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Simple narrow cuts, barely drawing blood, now riddled the wolf's face just as the fractures riddled the dog's.

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The flesh was tougher than wood, the bone harder than copper, the eyes sharper than a blade. He had gravely underestimated the strength of the wolf.

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As he was soon to find out, he had underestimate the wolf on a number of counts. On top of being more resilient and stronger than expected, its behavior was also quite different. It was a pack hunter. In his rabbit life he had never noticed more than one wolf since they spread out over a larger area, but once he lashed out at the wolf in front of him in his current form, the enemy's comrades rush to attack.

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From the underbrush leapt three other wolves, pouncing on the terrified golem and tackling him to the ground. Their silver and brown fir on their graceful bodies was glorious, magnificent, truly befitting the great forest. Even in such a fearful moment, the golem was able to spare a moment of admiration for animals so beautifully and naturally realized, unlike himself.

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Flailing his armored and weaponized limbs in vain, the rock dog analyzed the current situation. Three wolves holding him down with their weight, silver-brown fur. One wolf skulking in the brush, and as it walked out, its matted black fur was revealed. There was no beauty, no grace in this wolf. Only death. Fur stuck together with blood, scars torn down its back, and new lines drawn across its face in crimson. This was an Alpha.

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Gauging the strength of the smaller wolves pinning him down, the golem was confident that he could fight them if it were a one on one fight; however this was not the case.

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Not today.

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The heat that connected his plates to his body was released, allowing him to slip out of the armor being held down by his foes. Mud was gouged out in great swipes by the wolves giving pursuit, but they couldn't keep up with him. They didn't know how to run like a rabbit. His hind feet lost their height and gainedhe explosive power of a hare, made possible due to his current mud body and experience with self-modification. Leaving the snarling wolves in the distance, the mud dog took shelter under the roots of a particularly large tree.

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As thunder crashed through the treetops and rain began to patter against the canopy's leaves, great howls could be heard in all directions. Anger, pain, hunger, vengeance. Universal messages that the dumbest of creatures had etched into their instincts.

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The golem had to prepare itself, for the wolves were going on the prowl.

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Hey guys! Rough day at work today (did some demo work with a lot of insulation) so I'm only putting out one chapter.

I don't have work on Saturday or Sunday though, so expect extras!