My fingers gripped the shaft of the cane tighter as I locked eyes with the beast. A low growl began to emanate from its throat. It lowered its head as its lips snarled up to reveal rows of jagged, sharp teeth. Before I could react to this obvious show of threat, the beast lunged forwards, its thin legs carrying it in a swift dash across the dirt towards me.

  Fear gripped my heart. All I could do was lie motionless on the ground as the dog thing rushed at me. I could feel the vibrations in the dirt caused by its footfalls as it got closer and closer. When it was close enough that I could smell the stink of its unclean flesh, I finally reacted, my body moving more out of instinct than intent.

  My left arm lashed forwards, swinging the makeshift cane with all my might. The weighted end smashed hard into the dog’s head, snapping it to the side and causing the beast to yowl in pain. Unfortunately, the force of the blow had caused the roots holding the cane together to untangle, and the rocks scattered across the dirt. I was left with nothing but the branch. I swung it at the beast once more, smacking it across the snout. It was obvious the impact didn’t do as much damage as before since the dog merely growled louder, its yellow eyes glowing with murderous rage.

  I attacked with the branch several more times but did not hit, the beast snapping its jaws at it whenever it drew near. During one wild swing, the monster managed to clamp its teeth down on the wooden shaft. It snarled and tugged, trying to pull the branch out of my hands. A game of tug-of-war began as we both tried to lay claim to the branch, but with my one arm and more than half of my body gone it was obvious the dog would be the victor. It pulled and managed to drag me along with it across the dirt until my grip finally loosened and the branch was pulled out of my hands.

  The beast tossed the flimsy piece of wood away, then dashed forwards with its jaws opened wide. I held my arm up to shield my face and that was what the dog clamped its teeth onto. Trapping my thin wrist in its slavering maw, the beast began to snarl and shake its head, biting down hard in its attempts to rend the flesh from my bones.

  Strangely enough, try as it might, the dog’s sharp teeth failed to penetrate my pale flesh. Its jaws clamped down even harder and although I could feel the points of its teeth digging into my skin I did not feel any pain.

  I ignored the blue box, forcing it to close with a thought. This was definitely not the time to be getting mysterious messages from out of nowhere. I was fighting for my life here!

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  Despite the inconvenient timing of that box popping up, its words did not lie. Try as it might, the dog-beast’s sharp teeth could not pierce my flesh. Although I felt no pain, the monster’s flailing and chomping was still uncomfortable. I struggled mightily against it, trying to free my trapped limb from its slavering jaws, but my lack of mass and muscle made me relatively weak.

  As the beast snarled and bit, one of its forelimbs jabbed against the ragged, red flesh below my chest, its sharp claws digging into the soft meat. A sensation of indescribable agony shot out throughout my body from that point of contact. It was pain of an immeasurable magnitude. I had never felt, or at least remembered feeling, something so absolutely horrible. It was like a raw nerve had been exposed and a red-hot iron rod had been pressed into it. Terror gripped me along with the pain as I screamed, the inhuman wail from before erupting from my mouth once more.

  The loud shriek seemed to surprise the mutt since it suddenly let go of my arm, backing up while its hackles rose. It was still putting pressure on my ragged flesh with its paw, though the agony lessened a bit as it withdrew. Still reeling, I wildly swung my arm at it, and my palm smacked it solidly on the snout. That caused the dog to jump away, more from surprise than actual pain, and as quickly as it came, the pain disappeared. I stopped my screaming once it did, my throat hoarse and breathing rapid.

  Once the shrill noise ceased, the dog-rat seemed to come back to its focus. It snarled once more at me, then lunged, its foaming mouth once more headed towards me. In my desperate state, I did not see the beast as a threat. No, I was not in fear for my life at that moment, I was more terrified of the horrible agony that had so gripped me just a few seconds ago. I definitely did not wish for it to return. So in my desperation, as I saw the snarling dog lunge, I did the exact same. Some bestial part of my brain suddenly took over, caring not for life or limb but fearing more of the absolute pain from before. I, too, lunged, my teeth bared and snarling as viciously as the dog was.

  It was my jaw which clamped across the monster’s neck first. I viciously bit down, mind not registering that my teeth sank into the dog’s flesh quite easily. The monster flinched and tried to back away, but I was caught in a frenzy. I bit down harder and began to shake my head about as the dog previously did, trying to rend and tear his flesh this time. The beast shrieked in pain and fear, trying his damndest to retreat, but it was all for naught. I had him, and I wasn’t letting go.

  Eventually, all my wild flailings paid off and I managed to tear off a large chunk from the monster’s neck. I pulled, ripping his flesh open, black, disgusting blood spraying all over. The dog, now free, stumbled away before collapsing a few feet away, whining piteously as it bled out. I spat out the rancid meat from my mouth and collapsed onto my back, breaths coming in desperately as the wild frenzy that had taken hold of me slowly faded away.

  The next thing I remember was the bright stars hanging up in the pitch black sky of night. I think I must have passed out for a bit because the dog’s blood, which had been so wet and slick before, now felt dry upon my skin. My breathing was calmer, and, though the memory of that agonizing pain still lingered, my body felt fine and at ease.

  I turned my head to look upon the form of the beast that had attacked me, and saw that it was limp and still. It was dead. I had killed it.

  It was with that thought that the strange blue box from before suddenly appeared, bearing more strange messages from the unknown.

  What?