Heroes to Hunted

Thousands of kilograms of pressure. That's how heavy the beast's glare felt on my skin.

It emitted a killer's aura with such intensity it could probably stop a man's heart if he were weak-willed enough. Though it was trying to kill us before, that was likely just a territorial or hunger matter.

Now, however… now it was personal.

There was no charge, no roar, not even a growl; the beast simply began a wary march to where we'd been hiding. I guess after being defeated once, it wouldn't rush in recklessly anymore.

Luckily, death had still been quite far away, so we had some time to plan…or panic.

"N-No way, "Ayame said with a twitchy expression. "What do we do about that?" She raised a hand to point out the obvious danger.

"Hey…Conman, "Takagi said somberly, "why don't you go r-reason with it." He finished with a weak cackle.

"That's not funny, Takagi," Agawa scolded out of irritation and panic. Seeing the bear growing closer, she began backing away from the roots to distance herself from the beast as much as possible.

Takagi had been right, though. Between him and Sato being immobilized, there was little to nothing left we could do. Our only option left was the use of harsh words.

"We just need to stay here, right?" Though Ayame kept pressuring Nakamura's wounds, she gestured to the knotted roots. "Those will keep that thing out, so we'll be fine!"

ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) "Don't be stupid, "Takagi insulted, "you think some glorified plant fiber is going to keep 'that' out forever?" He pointed to the 400-kilogram killing machine. "We gotta kill the damn thing, or we'll never get out of here!"

"And how did that work out for you?!" Agawa sneered. "We need to lure it away and run!"

"Ohhhh, and are you volunteering?" Takagi taunted.

"Absolutely!" Agawa retorted back. "I'm the fastest here, so I'll bait it away!"

'That's a fantastic idea!' I looked at Agawa with renewed hope. She was undeniably the fastest in our group, so she could no doubt escape that beast's clutches!

"We can't run!" Ayame shouted. "What about Nakamura?! He's too injured to be moved!"

Takagi glanced at Nakamura with a pained expression, before returning his gaze to Agawa. "Besides," he added, "you saw what that thing can do. Even you wouldn't be able to get away…."

My hopes were ripped to shreds when I realized they were both right. Nakamura's bleeding was too profuse to be subjected to something like a mad dash on someone's back. Not only that, but the beast had unknown capabilities, meaning Agawa likely wouldn't escape unscathed.

Like what you'd expect from a group falling apart by the threat of death, a mass argument broke out between Agawa, Takagi, and Ayame. Each was trying to figure out how best to survive this ordeal in their own way.please visit panda-:)ɴᴏᴠᴇ1.co)m

During our internal breakdown, the beast had already closed the distance by several meters. It was only a few more before it would collide with the roots we were hiding underneath.

After observing its powerful jaws and claws, there was no way our meager protection would hold against a continued assault.

Though we might have been safe for the time being, there was no telling just what that creature was capable of. If we remained here without taking action, we'd surely have our innards become our "outards" eventually.

There was little time to decide. As far as we could see, there were no other exits, so we'd be trapped like rats once the bear was upon the roots. We'd be limited to hoping against the beast's strength when it started shaving away at our haven of protection.

Our fate rapidly approached the point of no return, which stirred Hikari into a hysterical sob.

"Why is this happening to us?! Why aren't we back home right now?!" She stood away from Takagi and screamed while clutching her face tightly, tears leaking through the cracks of her fingers. "None of this makes any sense! NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE!"

Seeing these kids' agony, I felt wildly disappointed in myself. Though I had never been a fighter, my duty was still to uphold my boss' ideals. One of which was to maintain the image of an honor-bound warrior. Though we were criminals, my boss wanted to imitate the samurai of old, and a samurai would never abandon kids in need, let alone rely on them.

But what was I to do? I couldn't stay here and hope against death. I couldn't fight and kill the beast, not when I couldn't even throw a simple rock properly. I couldn't run and distract it; my stamina and speed were abysmal.

'What the hell can you do then?!' I bit my lower lip in frustration, tearing a bit of skin off with my teeth. The blood that streamed out filled my mouth with the flavor of salted metal.

Looking around me, I noticed we were caged by more than just the roots of an oversized pine tree. We were locked within ourselves, despairing and struggling against the shitty reality we found ourselves in.

Agawa had been preparing for her reckless run toward death, all while arguing with a furious Takagi.

Hikari was still inconsolable. She'd been bawling like a frantic child with a steady stream of tears sliding down her stained cheeks.

Ayame, the big sister she was, tried comforting Hikari, but she couldn't leave the man who needed her most. She couldn't abandon Nakamura. She had to pressure the wounds of the one who'd been reduced to being a grizzly's chew toy.

I glanced at Sato and grimaced. 'Why… Why won't you wake up? If only you'd wake up….'

Sadly, I'll admit that I felt slightly bitter. Bitter at the fact that the most capable of us had just been resting all this time, napping.

I knew I owed him my life. I knew I owed him the respect of defending him, even though he'd become a complete burden. But... 'Why the hell won't you just wake up and save us?!'

I clenched my teeth and faced away from him, only to see our slowly approaching demise. "Wake up, please," I whispered under my breath, praying that Sato would help us survive this.

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