Dead Men Tell The Best Tales

As Lucas turned around, his heart nearly stopped. A white cheetah had stepped out from the glowing circle. Its fur was completely white, almost unnatural, and its red eyes glowed faintly.

The cheetah looked around, confused and lost, as if searching for something.

Slowly, it seemed to remember. It had been attacked by a lion while protecting its cubs.

But now, there were no cubs in sight.

The cheetah glanced around, still searching.

It suddenly let out a deep, echoing roar. "Where are my cubs? My cubs!"

Lucas, nearly 125 meters away, heard the terrifying roar.

"ROOOAAARRR!"

A cold shiver ran through his whole body.

"Oh, come on! It's a fucking cheetah?! God, at least send something less vicious to punish me!"

Lucas's voice was filled with fear and panic, his breath heavy as he ran at a full speed.

"I'm sorry! I won't chase any spiders again! "Godddddd…!" He screamed.

Lucas passed between the trees, trying to get deeper into the forest to avoid the cheetah.

The cheetah's glowing red eyes burnt with rage.

"ROAAAR!"

It let out another roar before it started chasing after him.

Lucas had made it deep into the forest, he thought he had finally lost the cheetah.

But when he glanced back, shock hit him. The cheetah was still chasing him, moving quickly through the trees, getting closer with every second.

He knew he couldn't outrun the fastest animal.

"If I can't outrun you, then I'll fight you as the smartest creature in the world," he shouted.

Then, he looked around for something to fight back with and saw a sharp stone to his left, near a tree.

Lucas rushed toward the stone and grabbed it, holding it tightly, ready to fight back.

The cheetah was now only ten meters away. Lucas turned towards it, raising the sharp stone.

"Alright, you oversized cat! Bring it on!" he shouted, his voice echoing.

"You think humans are weak? I'll show you why we're at the top of the food chain! I'll kill you and eat your meat like my ancestors did!"

The cheetah wasn't scared by Lucas's shouting or the stone in his hand. It let out a low, rumbling

"grrrr"

Its glowing red eyes narrowing with caution.

This strange white two-legged creature... It looks just like those beings who sometimes wander through my territory in some strange animal. My mother warned me never to mess with them. They carry dangerous things. Even the lions avoid them...

But they've never attacked me before... Then who else could have brought me here? They must have my cubs too...

"ROOOAAARRR!"

"Where... are... my... babies?"

Lucas had no clue what it was saying, nor did he care.

"Stop growling and fight me already!" Lucas shouted in frustration, charging forward with the stone raised high.

The cheetah froze, confused by the sudden attack.

It lowered itself, ready to strike back. But when it tried to extend its claws, it saw that its paws were smooth, white, and clawless.

Only then did it notice its entire body was white, just like the strange creature in front of it.

Lucas saw the hesitation and took his chance. He gripped the stone tighter and threw it with all his strength, aiming for the cheetah's head.

Crack!

The stone hit its skull. The cheetah collapsed for a brief moment and was dazed from the impact.

It let out a pained roar.

"Graaahh!"

A visible crack formed on its head, but no blood came out.

Lucas noticed, eyes widening.

What the hell? No blood?

Without wasting time, he turned around. "Time to run, baby!"

But in just a few seconds, the cheetah came out of its dizziness.

With a furious roar, the cheetah charged at Lucas, who had already started running. It quickly closed the distance and jumped onto him, knocking him to the ground.

Its teeth sank deep into his neck.

A sharp pain tore through Lucas's body as he struggled. He tried to fight back, desperately reaching for the cheetah's eyes, but the beast held him down firmly.

If I hadn't turned around... if I'd kept fighting... maybe I could've hurt it more...

That was his last thought as his vision blurred.

The cheetah bites down harder, tearing through most of Lucas's neck with a quick, deadly attack.

Lucas let out a scream.

"Ahhhhh!"

The light fading from his eyes.

The beast struggles to stand, as if it might fall too, due to the wound on his head.

But then, slowly, the wound on its head began to close, the white flesh healing on its own at fast speed.

The cheetah stood over Lucas's lifeless body, breathing heavily, still searching for its cubs.

Suddenly, Lucas's lifeless body began to break apart, falling like fragile paper & blown away by the wind.

The cheetah backed away in deep confusion.

Then it roared again, louder this time in frustration, anger, & sadness.

---

Lucas opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

He touched his neck where the cheetah had bitten him. The skin was smooth no wound, no pain.

"I'm... still alive?" He whispered, his voice shaky.

The memory of the pain was still fresh. "Damn that cheetah," he complained under his breath.

Looking around carefully, he checked for the cheetah. The area looked almost the same blue sky, glowing sun, tall trees, soft grass.

His body was still white, like it had been before.

Did I just... respawn? he thought, frowning. Or Am I stuck in some kind of time loop? Or is this a simulation?

If I respawned... His heart raced. Does that mean the cheetah is nearby too?