Dawn Of The Dark Dynasty & The New Inhabitant

Chapter Forty-four

Wild Travels and Wild Thoughts

Somewhere in the east within a very dense forest, spotted hopping from place to place in search for food was a certain albino horned hare. The peculiar lagomorph naively roamed the precarious woods, casting one scene of impending doom.

Every so often, the hare's elongated white fluffy ears would abruptly perk up, and then lift up its white head to take hasty sniffs of the air with its pink nose. Those marble crimson eyes would then look around vigilantly, and if nothing looked out of place, it would then continue to skip around, or gnaw at some twigs and leaves it found. However, lurking behind the nearby thick bushes was a watchful predatory presence.

Shawn held his breath whenever the hare lifted its head. After discovering the burrow by chance, he quickly hid behind the nearby mossy bushes and laid in wait. It was actually a tiresome and nervy affair. Tiresome because he had to stay still silent and persevere through the pestering bugs. Nervy because he wasn't sure if that was a rabbit's burrow, or a home for some other bizarre dangerous creature. A snake perhaps! Furthermore, what if something else lurked around and found him still waiting. After all, he was in the wild.

Fortunately, Shawn didn't have to wait long before the hare crawled out. However, its appearance stunned the boy. The unblemished white lagomorph was larger than he had anticipated. Also, what appalled him were the daunting deer antlers sprouting from its head! Was it the famous mythical Jackalope? He wondered in wary. The mere thought caused some hesitation in this hunt.

Shawn was a boy scout back on Earth. So, he had some experience in hunting from the school camp trips they went to in the outskirts of Abadare Forest. Then again, what they hunted lacked in comparison to the creature before him. Those antlers looked like they could gore him to death. Furthermore, a not so distant memory of a stripped raccoon transforming into a bloodthirsty canine was still fresh in his mind.

After some time of deliberation, the boy decided it wasn't worth the risk. This strange world was too treacherous and dangerous. Just then, his breath hitched when the hare abruptly glared at where he was hiding and sniffed. Its ears were perked up so straight and twitching slightly to capture any minute sound. Was he discovered?

That brief tense moment felt like an eternity. Finally, the animal relaxed and lowered back its head. However, without warning, something zipped down from a nearby tree like a blur and ambushed it!

Shawn was caught off guard and could only watch in sheer shock as the hare got attacked by a full-grown leopard! The spotted body was a dead giveaway. Where did it come from? Was it also stalking the hare? Those questions horrified Shawn that his whole body went cold in an instant.

"Fuck this! I am outta here."

He wiped away the cold sweats and quietly withdrew. Fortunately for him, the leopard was completely immersed in its kill. So, with eyes still trained on the cat, he slowly backed away.

Snap!

The abrupt sound of a twig break froze Shawn on the spot. Slowly, he glanced down and gulped. Underneath his leather boot was a broken twig. A low growl followed suit shortly, and the boy swiftly looked up, only for his face to grow pale white at meeting the bloodthirsty glare of the leopard.

"Oh fuck," he muttered.

The leopard pulled back the edges of its blood-stained jaws and snarled. Those dilated yellow cat eyes glared unblinkingly, sizing Shawn up. Then somehow it perceived him as prey and began stalking towards him while growling dangerously. The hare it killed was long forgotten.

"Oh shit...!" The boy began backpedaling in fear.

The leopard crouched low in readiness to pounce. On instinct, Shawn unconsciously blazed his hands and the cat instinctively leapt back. It bared its deadly fangs. Those glaring yellow eyes stared warily at the flames and then at the boy.