The man scrambled to his feet and peered into the inky forest behind them. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and thunder rolled in the distance. Only he knew it wasn’t a storm coming for them. “Run!” he shouted over the rumbling.

The woman slowly stood beside him, favoring her bandaged left knee, and stared into the darkness over her left shoulder. The man seized her hand and jerked her into a staggering run behind him, ignoring her cries of pain. The ground now shook violently beneath them as the thunderous din behind intensified. The sounds of splintering trees and snapping limbs joined the thunder. They more stumbled than ran out of the trees and into a rock-strewn clearing.

“What is it?” the woman screamed, making her voice heard over the booms and crashes.

“I don’t know! But I’m sure it’s another nightmare creation of the gods,” the man yelled.

They paused for a moment, and both turned to identify the source of the calamity. Soon they saw the trees parting—the larger ones twisted and bent, the smaller ones snapped and scattered like twigs. The couple stood frozen, no longer even panting from the run. The last line of trees ripped apart, and a monstrous beast appeared. The creature stopped at the edge of the clearing and sniffed the air, its nightmarish head rotating side-to-side. Its head resembled a gray wolf’s, except ten times larger. The eyes glowed red, and its huge, bared teeth glistened in the fading daylight. Its body resembled a giant lizard or dinosaur, with large, scaly plates covering it like armor. Long, curved claws tipped each toe, and a massive tail extended behind it, ending in a spiked ball. The creature stood twelve feet high at its shoulders and was at least thirty feet long.

***

“Your new creation?” Enki asked.

“Indeed, brother. You said it was time to end this quest. It will be over very soon,” Odin replied.

“What is that beast?” Enki asked.

“I call it my wolfosaur,” Odin said

“Mixing a modern animal with a long-extinct one…impressive,” Artemis added.

“Intriguing, but hardly sporting,” Ra interjected.

“We are running out of time for sport. The pair have camped on that mountain for days, and he was not leaving the injured female. They have also proven they are not the ones,” Odin replied.

***

The red eyes landed on the human statues. The head lifted, and the nostrils flared. The couple could discern the saliva oozing between the teeth, over the lips, and splashing onto the ground even in the dim light. The beast emitted an earsplitting sound—beginning as a high-pitched roar and ending in a blood-curdling howl. It lowered its head and then charged. Its claws scattered rocks to both sides, and its mace-like tail whipped in the air behind it.

The man finally sprang to life, turned, and sprinted away from the charging monster. This time, he didn’t try to drag along his companion. She screamed in terror and attempted to follow. Even if she were not injured, she couldn’t have escaped the creature in the open. The beast’s hot, moist, reeking breath enveloped her just before the mouth did. Her screams abruptly ended as the jaws clamped over her, severing her in two at the waist. Her legs continued running for several steps and then toppled forward just as the beast chomped her torso twice and swallowed.

The man knew his partner was gone from the grotesque sounds behind him. He raced toward another patch of forest at the far end of the clearing. The trees offered his only hope of eluding the beast. Suddenly, a rock rolled underneath his right foot, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground. He regained his balance but knew instantly he had lost too much time. He glanced over his shoulder to determine how close death was. The glowing red eyes smoldered like coal embers. Dark streaks, which he knew were blood, smeared the bared white teeth. Something flashed to the left side of the monster. The man turned just in time to see the spiked ball swinging toward him. His heroic leap couldn’t lift him above the spike that proceeded to impale his body. He screamed until the blood turned it into a gurgle.

The monster swung its tail with the skewered prey up to its mouth. Two quick bites picked the spike clean.

***

“One day, you will create something you cannot control,” Enki said.

“Nonsense. We are gods, after all,” Odin replied.

“That thinking is what led to our current…situation. And we cannot even locate a missing human.”

“You worry too much, brother. We will locate and deal with him. Remember, we have all the power—to create and destroy.”

“Unfortunately, we seem more adept at destroying,” Enki said. He turned to Artemis, “Now, who are the next questers?”

“Ah, I think the next group has great potential. I have watched them for some time. They are young, with very diverse personalities, and possess unique skills. They also dislike each other, so they will not have the loyalty of the last pair. We will have to do some work on one of them, but it should not pose an issue.”

“I hope they are good. We are running out of time to find our champion and complete phase one,” Enki replied.

“We will know more after the arena,” Ra said.

“Give them the amulets just in case. And let the quest begin,” Enki said.