Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
The pained shriek of a full grown man roused the entire caravan. The slaves who had been falling asleep due to their weak bodies had their eyes awake and about in moments.
The soldiers, who were farther from the scream, reacted a moment later, removing their swords from their sheaths with vigilant expressions.
At first, they wore looks of confusion, wondering if it was a false alarm, and then—
ROARRRRR
A manic roar tore through the air, followed by the sound of something crashing heavily into the ground right in front of the slaves.
One of the braver slaves took a step forward in order to take a closer look, but a huge silver paw extended out of the darkness, glinting in the faint moonlight as it cleaved the unfortunate man into five pieces.
The slaves reeled, recoiling in horror as blood and viscera splattered to the ground. Their screams had not left their throats when the saw it—
The monster stood at a height of almost 3 meters. It had dirty silver fur and four disproportionate arms that ended with sickle-like claws. Each step it took with its short, stumpy legs sent slight tremors coursing through the snowy ground.
Its four, human-like eyes shone with malice and hunger, indifferent to the terrified gazes of the slaves as they laid their eyes upon the flesh and blood in his gaping maw and dirty fur.
For a moment, everything was silent. The two sides observed each lther—one with hunger and one with pure horror, and then—
Everything exploded in a cacophony of madness.
The monster lunged, crushing two unfortunate souls beneath its feet and turning three others into strips of flesh and blood. The slaves screamed and let out mournful wails as they ran helter skelter, searching for a way to free themselves from the chains that forced them together.
They were quite unlucky, chained to each other even as the monster reaped their lives the same way wheat was harvested. They tried everything, but could only watch helplessly as the monster mowed them down effortlessly.
The slaves cursed relentlessly with tears streaming down their faces. Some even tried to run to the soldiers for help, but we're all killed before they could achieve anything fruitful.
A small distance away from the ongoing carnage, Monroe stood weakly, relying on the chains binding him to the horses to stay on his feet.
His mind, oblivious to the commotion that had erupted not so far from him, swirled with a multitude of unrelated thoughts.
'I was wrong…
'My pride led me to this state…
'I might have been the strongest back on Earth, but I'm just a weak, useless slave now…'
He tried to clench his jaw, but was too weak to do so and could only sigh mentally. 'What a waste.'
Monroe's thoughts were interrupted by the erratic movement of his chains. Startled, he strained to open his puffy eyes as his ears picked up the sound of bestial roars and human screams.
His eyes opened to a bloody sight. Flesh, bone and viscera was scattered across the ground, combining with dim traces of blood to form a morbid picture of carnage and slaughter.
Some of the slaves —still in chains and with panic written on their faces—tried futilely to run away from someone… or something , only for glinting claws to grab them, followed by the sound of vigorous chewing.
Monroe's pale face instantly paled even further, his years of experience kicking in instantly. He didn't try to wrestle his chains off himself the same way the others were doing.
Clenching his jaw, Monroe grabbed his left thumb with his right hand, then he pulled hard. A sickening crack echoed, followed by a wave of pain that threatened to send his mind spiralling overwhelmed him, but he grunted through it.
With his left thumb broken, he pried his hand free of the chains. Taking one last look at the bloody caravan and the trembling soldiers, he took a deep breath and ascended the restless horse he was chained to, grabbing its reins with his right hand.
The horse, restless and frightened by the bestial aura radiating off the creature, took off immediately, the sound of its hooves overshadowed by the screams and wails of the unfortunate slaves.
---
A couple of minutes later, the monster, with its dirty silver fur and glinting claws, walked over a small mound of shredded corpses. Some of the corpses were slightly different, having patches of red cloth and scraps of light metal clinging to their bodies.
As the monster walked, it sniffed the air a few times. Slowly, it turned its hulking frame, a bloodthirsty glint shone in his four eyes as it began to walk—slowly and steadily.
As for its direction, it was the same direction Monroe had escaped in.