*Mosquito Buzzing*

Strong humid smell with hints of rotten leaves and branches filled my lungs with each breath. Mother Earth has been kind to shower now and then Without any warning whatsoever.

*Slap* Blood splattered on my palm with the remains of a lady mosquito. All this sweating is making me itchy, and mosquitoes’ scourge is just making it much, much worse!

It felt like I was sitting in a preheated earthen oven. The mosquitoes are suspicious; I wonder if they started taking steroids! Lately, the bites stung!

I kept scratching my neck to oblivion, I can feel skin under my nail, but it felt good.

Sigh~

This is all my fault. I mean, who forgets to bring an insect repellant kit in monsoon. The sage bush was doing just fine, but the last batch I foraged had already burned to cinders; the rest are dripping wet.

It’s already late. I munched on some trail mix, hoping the sweets will melt the moments down. Hope it rains tonight; it’s unbearably hot in the tent.

The last few days have been in vain. Sure, I do love camping, but monsoon is not the time I enjoy! True, nature looks livelier, more elegant, and fresher after each shower, but the humidity is no joke!

It’s decided then; I’m leaving tomorrow before dusk. I dozed off, tired.

*Btzzz* *Btzzz*

Is it morning already? I reached out to my phone to check, but rather than turning off the reminder; I stared at the notification. ‘Gues’ wat day is it!’

Yeah, how can I forget! After all, We’ve been married for over 20 years. My bad- ‘had been’!

Has it been two years already! A wave of nostalgia and regrets hit me where it hurt. We didn’t talk much since then. Twenty years spent just like that. Man, do I miss her! Should I call! Nah, she didn’t even apologize. It was her fault to begin with. She should’ve just told me, though I was partially at fault too, but hey, I did apologize! But she wasn’t the same. She wasn’t the Sandy I knew! Is it just me, or does she miss me too? Oh GOD, it’s been two whole fucking years, but it’s just me who couldn’t settle down!

What am I even doing? How many girls and hookers did I sleep within just the last two years, yet still! Still, I can’t get over her!

I’m a wreck! I dozed off again, thinking all sorts of nonsense.

*Thunderclaps*

I jerked awake, ears ringing, vision whitened. The inside of the tent was much cooler now, thankfully. By the time my vision came back, I quickly checked the phone. It was 4 in the morning, the network is nay, battery too, running low. My ear was still ringing, and it felt like a bad hangover. I guess the heat got in the brain!

The inside of the tent felt perfect to black myself out, and I was sleeping like a kid!

Before I knew it was almost 8 in the morning, and I was wide awake. Getting out of the tents, I felt relieved a bit, guess it didn’t rain as heavy as I thought.

I filled my lungs with a whiff of the late morning breeze, heavy with lingering scents of petrichor. Ah! I love this scent. This brings back a lot of memories from the good old days.

Setting up the campfire, served me a cup of instant noodles and coffee. Perfection!

Time to check the perimeter. Hope I’ll pocket a lot of extra cash this time. As minutes passed, my mood worsened. I just have no fucking idea how the fuck my tent was still standing. A broken stub there, branches, and even toppled trees. The traps were all destroyed. And the cameras; sigh~

So much for making extra cash. Man, I don’t even wanna recover the rest of the eight cameras. The closest two were in such a bad shape, I promise; my heart skipped few beats, I hardly stopped my tears.

*Fake sob*

One of the cameras miraculously had its lens intact. As for the 9th camera, it made me halt. I couldn’t even recognize that it was a camera. This one was set on the far northern side of the forest. Something really had the best time of its life. Who chews a camera like this!

A honey-badger! No, even they are not this savage, and not to mention its condition, there were some droplets of blood and paw marks. I guess it left trying to chew on the lens.

Judging from the paw and claw marks, it’s a wolf. Which literally doesn’t make sense, a new breed? Cuz, it’s two times larger than normal ones. I took some quick shots on my phone.

What’s even more puzzling is that there was no wolf activity on this side of the forest. A lone wolf? Maybe! But the depth of claws is just too much, and the paw size is no joke either. Luckily the memory card was still readable, I guess. Hope it left something good.

The way to the tent was uneventful. Pulling out the equipment, I started checking the footage. Everything seems okay, a group of herbivores, a green tree python…

After fast-forwarding to evening, nothing disturbed the camera. After two hours of fast-forwarding, a curious feline stared at the lens. Curious as they are! It decided to check, nudging the camera a few times, it got bored. I hope it had a successful dinner. Fast forward… nothing… nothing. Few rumbles and crackles, and it started pouring. The camera soon lost its clarity; heavy rain made it like a dense coat of fog.

The camera lost its position, and there it goes ass over tits! A branch tried to stab the lens but didn’t make it due to the wind.

Ok! I’m seriously freaking out! How the fuck is my tent still standing!

The rain stopped almost two and a half-hour later. The camera had a perfect view of the predawn sky; there were still some stars left—a streak of white in a still grey sky. Suddenly the footage got dark. For a moment, I thought it blacked out, lucky for it to faint before its session with a sadist.

But the thought died down as the footage spun and shook violently. The camera tipped over. Unfortunately, the sadist took all the pleasure it could without getting caught in 4k!

It was hard to watch getting its ass whopped single-handedly. I calmed my tits, waiting expectantly. The moment came finally. Whoever the sadist was; walloped, the camera darted away and crashed against a stump. Colliding for a moment, the camera settled at a slope. Unfortunately, it was trashed so badly that it hardly filmed anything, but it was enough to catch the perpetrator red-handed.

My breath halted. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. A pair of venta-black pupils intensified with red iris bore on my soul. My gaze fixated on it. It had a paralyzing effect. I startled a step back, finally getting out of the stupor.

I’m very affirmative that this was why I am here. But that would mean either I’m crazy or an animal extinct for over millennia just resurfaced. I pushed that thought away from my head. It’s much more plausible to be a new breed!

Man, I promise, I will screw that wildlife photographer after all this shit is over. It was precisely a month ago when a no-name wildlife photographer decided to make use of internet. It was just another day to work, and suddenly I started getting a flood of calls from the ministry.

I thought I did something, drunk! But I felt my hangover cure from stress as I learned the news ‘Survived a dire-wolf sighting!’.

I mean, sure, it was far bigger than average wolves, somewhere close to an Alaskan malamute. Though I totally believed it to be manipulated somehow. Cuz’ how the hell it survived in a tropical deciduous forest with such dense fur coat?

Anyway, people in positions can be a pain in the ass. And to further investigate the facts, I, the head of ‘Environment and Wildlife Preservation Association’, was tasked to fulfill such a pressing matter.

Although I was still optimistic about thinking it was just another overgrown breed, now I was convinced that there was no photo manipulation involved.

I pulled out the old maps and the recent ones with all the animal habitats charted. I was sure that there was no pack in the northern parts. But for a lone-wolf, this spot could be heaven. The northern part was more slopped with numerous hillocks and verdant foliage. And one of the major hotspots for many mammals and crawlers.

Though I doubt a wolf of that size can survive with a rabbit a day. After sending the footage to the forest and agriculture ministry, I geared up.

Taking all the necessary scouting stuff and safety gear, I headed to the site. I camped about a hundred meters from the site. Setting up the camp and trapping the surroundings, I set to work.

I checked the drone car one final time, safely following the paw print with it, slowly securing as much detail as possible. Things were proceeding smoothly when the paw prints literally disappeared without a trace! It was one and half a kilometer west from the site.

It was a downward slope. It was dense in grass coat which was the apparent reason for not finding any paw prints. But the surrounding areas were still muddy, yet there were no prints. There was no cave nor creeks. However, many tall trees are old enough to have one or two shelters under their root possibly. Unfortunately, there was nothing. I scouted another two kilos keeping that place as the epicenter, making a detailed chart.

I retrieved the drone car. This just doesn’t make any sense. First of all, there’s a bear-sized wolf; second, its trail vanished like it never existed; and third, I keep hearing the coffin dance playing in my subconscious mind!

I soooo have a terrible feeling regarding this!

Time to scout aerially. Another half-hour later, it was done. There was no clue nor any plausible explanation of the situation. I checked my phone; there was still no network. I hope it will get fixed soon.

Argh~

It’s been a while I did manual scouting. Years to be exact, and I inclined not to. But curiosity took over the best of me. Without contemplating on this issue, I munched on two energy bars and took a few with me.

Before heading out to find the overgrown pup’s location, I double-checked everything.

- Safety vest check!

- Sturdy helmet check!

- Energy bar and canteen check!

- Camera Check!

- Phone check! (Sadly, the battery was running low)

Now to the most crucial stuff; tranquilizers check!!!

- Gun check!

- Extra rounds check!

- Flashlight check! Backup battery check!!

- Ropes check!

All done. Time to put my problem to sleep and get out of this forest. Sniff* I think I’ll miss the mosquitoes.

The trek went safe so far. I double-checked all the caves and creeks. I’m not fond of probabilities! I started to doubt if it was some extremely arduous prank.

I came back to the slope from where the trace vanished. Picked up a stark and sturdy branch and started prodding the ground, slowly at inch intervals.

And my guess was accurate; the branch slid in without much resistance, moments later. I pulled out the stick, carefully making way to a robust tree trunk. Without delaying, I fastened myself with the rope. For all that I know, I don’t wanna fall into thousand feet deep pit cave.

Should’ve brought a shovel! Sigh~

By the time I was done with my antics, I just gawked at the discovery.

There was a whole fucking underground cave system. Insane! Right? The opening had a diameter of about 7 to 8 meters approx. A thin yet durable layer of the grassy crust was formed on a thick entangled root system. And the more baffling fact was the downpour didn’t do shit to it.

The cave was spacious enough to fit more than half a dozen of full-grown elephants. How did nobody report this before?

The depth that I couldn’t discern. I just didn’t have the necessary stuff. So, I threw the makeshift shovel. Which totally didn’t work as expected.

Sure, checking it with the flashlight would work just fine, but too many variables were still left. Gathering some sticks, I threw them one by one. One thing I was sure that it isn’t much deep, and there was no echo, which means there is more than one opening connecting to the cave. And the ground sounded dry.

Tugging the rope a few times, I slowly descended into the cave. The hard ground licked my boots. I landed with a thunk. Stomping the dry ground a few times to make sure this isn’t another crust over another cave like this one. Hopefully, it didn’t crack apart, nor did it crumble. To double sure it, I crouched, gently putting my ear on the plain hard surface, and knocked. Checking few places simultaneously, I got up, reassured!

I was still reluctant to untie the rope. I flashed the surrounding with the torch. Man! Nature is quite an unpredictable artist, molding elements of reality to her unique flair. The roots were loosely filled with corroded limestone and gravel. Some of them even glowed dim blue, most proly some fungus.

I won’t be quite lucky enough to find some ultra-expensive gemstones, right?

I pocketed some glowing stones. Maybe; just maybe!

Taking some quick snacks and sorted out a short map. Don’t blame me if you can’t find a way around this place from the map; I’m no cartographer!

The cave had a gradual downward slope in the east corner. Under low light, you’ll easily miss the tunnel, despite having over a 10 feet long archway. It was entangled and camouflaged by dry vines, which had a very dark and rocky texture, the same as the cave walls.

After getting rid of the veins, the archway looked very unnatural. The edges were smoothened out, and the rocks surrounding it had some sort of pattern. Well, the pattern may be just my paranoia speaking!

But I can’t ignore it, not anymore. I must venture forth. I was always a sucker for mystery and always loved to venture into unknown woods. That was a long time ago, to be honest, more specifically, when I was in my 20s.

I can’t believe that I’ll be 50 next year. Time passes quite fast, huh! I scoffed at that thought. The tunnel stared at me with vain promises. Without thinking twice, I ventured to the unbeknownst of the dark.

Each step echoed in the cave. I sort of started to regret not bringing anything to mark my way in the tunnel. So far, I’ve been walking in a straight line but over 20 mins at a good pace.

…

I think that was a bad idea. The tunnel is crawling with white horror. It looked like a cross between a millipede and a centipede. I had no idea about them till I heard a soft crunch under my foot. To investigate further, I checked the ceiling, and I felt my stomach churning. Millions of white creepers and crawlers writhed and twisted just a few feet above my head, and I was totally oblivious of their presence.

Did I mention I had scolopendrophobia? And their white color just added a new level to that! Luckily, they didn’t react to the flashlight. But I’m sure they are writhing cuz of all the thrumming.

I suffered from indecision, either to go back or to move onward. Time was ticking, and I walked more than 30 mins onward by now. There’s no going back. Steeling my nerves, I march ahead.

Luckily end came to sight faster than I hope. But as I walked out of the tunnel, my spirit died. My hand slumped down. The tunnel opened to a vast cavern, and I could hear the whirring of water. I really didn’t want to go back the way I came!

The cavern was dimly, very dimly lit. Water droplets plinked on stagnant water. The ceiling luckily had stalactites rather than white crawling horrors. There were lots of stalagmites too. But the opening that I hoped for was not here, but there were 13 more tunnels.

13, as in unlucky 13?

Contemplating won’t help. And I need to get out of here, so I decided to check the tunnel one by one. Things on the right always do the charm, so I decided to start from the left.

The 1st tunnel was out of some alien movie. It had glowing moss on both sides of the tunnel wall up to my trunk height, dimly illuming it in the shade of dusty tiffany-blue. Stalactites overhead and small stalagmites. Few steps later, my boot cobbled on wet and loose ground. Checking with the flashlight revealed a large water body. It was hard to conclude if it was an aquifer or not. I walked to the waterside; it looked dark green. The flashlight hardly penetrated it. Turning off the flashlight revealed numerous tiny light sources.

Is it glowing snails grazing on glowing moss? Damn, I wish I got rewarded for naming new species!

I adored snails, but I don’t wanna get poisoned by an unknown glowing snail, plus they were too far. Okay, next!

This tunnel was rather plain. No stalactites! Fuck, fuck, fuck, I frantically checked all around me to discover an abundance of white horrors. Man, I bet I saw some slow, faint red. I rushed out of that one. I think after this trip, I’ll have trouble seeing troglobitic creatures.

Next!

The slithering was audible just after 10 meters. I thought snakes underwent brumation during winter…

‘This… is the ninth tunnel,’ I cursed. I was even afraid of resting. Who knows, something might end up burrowing my ass? I don't want to guess anymore after all the horrible and alien stuff I came across in other tunnels. It felt like I was totally in another world.

Man! I won’t even fret if some weird text popped up in my mind like those novels and manga I read back then. Luckily, there won’t be Truck-kun running after my sorry arse!

The interior was plain, like all the tunnels filled with troglobitic horrors. I lazily checked around me, but the ceiling was smooth, so were the walls. Strange, huh!

I continued deeper. Few minutes passed; it was still plain. I pulled out my knife and started scratching along the tunnel. Just to make sure!

About 10 minutes later, nothing came up. Hopes swelled in me. Maybe this tunnel will lead to an opening outside. With renewed vigor, I walked at a faster pace. But my march came to a halt as I felt a silhouette move few meters ahead of me.

Soon the tunnel revibrated a low guttural growl, totally paralyzing me. I didn’t need to check what was in front of me cuz I already knew.

I couldn’t break the contact, as if the venta-black pupil sucked out my very soul. It approached me slowly. It had the blackest fur I ever saw in my career, and it was humongous, barely fitting in the tunnel.

Its eye glinted greedily. Fuck… I need to get out of this fucking tunnel. I could feel sweat prodding coldly on my neck. I wanted to shout, but it won’t just come out. It was uncomfortably closing the distance. At least, it can’t leap at me. I need to move!

Fuck… fuck… fuck… fucking move!

I felt tang and metal in my mouth. Fuck it! With a mental kick, I jerked, pulling the gun out. *Boom*

A loud bang reverberated, almost deafening me. But I clearly heard a whimper. The huge wolf struggled to turn. Must’ve freaked out by sudden plangent. Yeah! Run! Run for your life! I don’t think it ever got hit by a tranquilizer—just another overgrown pup.

I think it will take a few more shots to kick in. By the time it turned completely, I realized, I missed the shot at nigh point-blank.

Embarrassed, I looked at my right hand which was still shaking like a late-stage Parkinson’s patient. Fuck!

I looked at the fleeing wolf, which betrayed its canine grace. It certainly had some issues. The space might be a bit cramped, but still, this is the slowest wolf I have ever seen.

Maybe it’s just another wolf but suffering from gigantism or some other health issues! My limbs calmed down. Steadily reloading the gun, I followed after it keeping a safe distance.

This time my hand was much steady, and with marksmen precision, the shot hit square on its left hind leg. This time the whimpering was much louder.

Seconds later, it started limping. Phew! The anesthetic finally started kicking in. Man! I felt like a hunter toying with its prey. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through me.

Minutes later, it still managed to keep the same pace. So, I stopped to reload another shot. With its speed, it can’t go far. With a satisfying click, I was done and continued the hunt.

I misjudged it. It seemed to have gained a bit more momentum. Swiftly closing, I steadied to take another shot but then it took a sharp left. I was about to tag along, and then I realized it was a branched tunnel. And the straight one had… light!

“Many many thanks to the LORD of the Heavens, Earth, and all the existence within,” I stopped, expressing my deepest heartfelt gratitude in years, sighing in relief.

The end was finally in sight. Should’ve started exploring from the right. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Without a second thought, I ran toward my long-awaited freedom.

I can always come back, now that I know where it lives. I sprinted with all that was left in me. The mouth was now totally visible, surrounded by gigantic trees, and there were lots of pteris, moss, worts, grass, and other herbs accompanied by abundant bushes.

I threw the torch; it felt like a dead weight now as I was tired. Only a few meters left.

*CRREEEAAAAAKKKK*

Suddenly the ground beneath me shook, making me stumble forward but I didn’t land on the cave floor. I kept falling and falling into total darkness.

I couldn’t process what was happening. The cave mouth was only a few feet away. Where am I falling? My body flailed helplessly, the air tried to resist my fall, but I was already falling at terminal velocity. The last strands of light passed to my vision, and darkness took over. Utter darkness!

No wonder the big guy avoided this path! It knew, there was a pit cave here. I should have ju… …

My thought scrambled as something hard blared against my neck; something warm filled my mouth and nose as I started retching. My eyes felt heavy. Despite all that I could still feel, I was falling.

“I feel funny! Am I losing blood? I… can’t breathe! Did something pierce… pe…” my consciousness faded for a moment, “l. u. n… gs.”

*THUD & SCRUNCH*

~Ggahh… a short breath irrupted out of my lungs, freezing the world for a moment. I can’t think, can’t feel my body. Panic tried to take over me but nothing happened. I am burning.

A rhythmic voice spoke with staccato. Am I hearing things now? Auditory hallucination?

‘Whe... re.. am... arrggghhhhh’ my head………

I wanted to scream, but I only choked on hot liquid…

…

Huh! I fought against my fleeting senses, 'I ….. want …… to sl…wp'

‘Is it winter again? Why am I feeling so cold?’ I tried to move, but I didn’t even budge, 'What am I drinking lately?'

I chuckled but only heard broken and wet braying.

It’s cold… I’m f…. r.., z…ng!

I… Heard this before. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My losing started to become unsteady. I could hear a low wheezing sound. Wonder where it’s coming from? It’s annoying!

Hosts found.

Multiple hosts are compatible.

You can select a host you desire. If not selected duly, 'The System' will select justly.>

Man! I had the wildest dream! Was I hunting a dire wolf? I chuckled, I should stop watching Netflix!

Host has been found.

‘Dire-wolf’ is chosen.

Race has been finalized.>

Anyway, why can’t I move? And why am I feeling so sleepy? It’s like I’ve not slept for ages!

Why am I suddenly missing Sandy suddenly? Good for her, though! I can see her tomorrow, and for now, I need to sleep. Maybe all these years are gaining on me. I must say I couldn’t ask for a better life!

By the way, what’s this scent? It’s so familiar… the scent of nature, the scent of the earth!

Ahh~ it’s making me feel all fuzzy! I love this scent; I wish I could sleep forever like this. With mother earth beside me, I can sleep forever!!!

An outstanding ‘Achievement’.

Unable to award...>

Link has been redirected.>

Adding ‘H...>

The previous gift has evolved into a new gift.

Adding ‘Earth’s Dearest’.>