Chapter 36: Dual Tensions

  The sun began to set over the savanna, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red. Roan ran desperately from a charging rhinoceros coming at full speed, its horn aimed directly at him like a spear.

  Right before impact, Roan lunged to the side, rolling several times before stopping at the foot of an acacia tree. The rhino tried to slow its momentum, its massive body struggling to turn.

  Fuck, I've tried everything with this thing. It just keeps denying whatever I try to do. If I had my guns, I would have been done ages ago.

  As the rhino prepared to charge again, Roan's face lit up. "Wait, I've got an idea!"

  He ran up the tree, his armor clanking with each movement. Once at the top, he looked out at the remnants of the orange sky stretching over the landscape, then back down at the rhinoceros.

  The night is about to fall. This would be the perfect chance to get a good hit on him. He already seems to struggle to find me when I'm far away. If I drop my armor, I could move around more freely. Although if I get caught, I'm most definitely going to die right then and there.

  The rhino slammed into the tree, making it vibrate violently. Roan shook so hard he nearly fell, clutching desperately at the branch beneath him. As he got used to the vibrations, he slowly pulled off his upper half armor, trying not to make noise, then threw it far behind the rhino. It landed with a loud thud.

  The rhino immediately went after it.

  Roan removed his lower half armor and threw it to his left, catching the rhino's attention.

  He smirked and muttered, "Looks like he took the bait."

  He carefully climbed down the tree. Now I only need to drop silently and... He landed softly on the ground. "All right. The night is in my favor."

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  He moved silently toward his upper half armor, crouching to muffle any sounds. When he reached it, he tapped loudly on the metal to catch the rhino's attention. The creature charged blindly at the noise. Roan moved out of the way just before it arrived, then headed silently toward his lower half armor.

  As he reached it, he whispered, "Now I only need to—"

  CRACK

  He accidentally stepped on a dry branch. The sound echoed across the savanna.

  The rhino turned its body in the direction of the noise and charged.

  "Well, no time to escape this time."

  Roan grabbed his lower half armor. As the rhino grazed his left shoulder, he used the momentum to strike the creature from below, lifting it slightly off the ground. He positioned himself underneath and used his legs to throw the rhino up into the air. He quickly jumped after it, grabbed the rhino's head—making sure the horn was facing down—and executed three full spins at high speed before striking the rhino with the legs of his armor at full strength, screaming with effort.

  The rhino crashed down into a cloud of dust and smoke.

  As Roan landed and the smoke slowly cleared, moonlight revealed the rhino on its back, horn stuck in the ground, making distressed sounds as it tried to get unstuck. The creature grew redder and redder until it suddenly exploded into bits of flesh.

  Roan's eyes widened, and he let out a surprised laugh. "Oh ho, shit! That's what you get, horny!"

  He sat down, looking at the moon. "Now what?"

  Ravine was fighting her third polar bear. The other two had already been thrown into the giant glacier and disappeared. She dodged an incoming strike from the polar bear, which dug its claws deep into the ice.

  "I managed to get the other two, but something's weird about this one. It's like it's waiting for me to do something and reacting in turn."

  She jumped backward, gaining distance. Did it learn from the other two?

  She sprinted at incredible speed toward the bear, jumped over it, and grabbed its small tail, trying to throw it away. But as she looked back, she gasped. The bear's claws were dug deep into the ice, its body balled up defensively.

  "What the hell is this?" she muttered, pulling harder. "It won't budge!"

  As she continued pulling, the bear's skin slowly turned red, and its fur became slightly spikier.

  She jumped backward several times, creating distance. As the wind blew harder, the bear slowly turned around, already growling, saliva drooling from its mouth in thick strands.

  Ravine sighed. "Looks like I'm still going to be here a while, huh?"

  She raised her arms in a fighting stance. "Come and get me."