Thump

          Thump… Thump… Thump…

          Macklin’s heartbeat was strong yet slowing. His blood was seeping out of his newly amputated leg, draining away the last bit of fight left in his body. The only chance he had to survive was to scratch his way up and out of the pit and escape the monstrous beast below.

          Thump… Thump… Thump…

          He listened as the monster devoured the flesh from his detached leg and gnawed the bone fifteen feet below him. He reached out into the darkness and pulled himself up the incline a few feet. The dirt and rocks crumbled below his remaining leg and he slid once again. He knew that when the creature finished the meal, it would be looking for more. And there was a trail of blood for the creature to follow.

          Thump… Thump… Thump…

          Macklin cannot remember falling into the ditch, but remembered waking to a nightmare. The large hairy beast drooled over his body as it growled. The teeth were sharp and showed from under its mammoth lips. ‘Oh God, those teeth’ Macklin fixated. The black hair covered its face and the moonlit darkness hid its eyes. He never saw the claws, but felt them as they shredded his leg from his body.

          Thump… Thump…

          Macklin’s heartbeat grew weaker. He clawed feverously toward the lip of the crater. He had a hiking bag with a weapon, medical supplies, and a signal flare. ‘I got a chance,’ he thought as he slipped down another foot. Macklin was an experienced climber, but his handicap was too much to overcome. A moment later, the air became silent. The monster had finished his feast, and was now coming for the banquet. The hulking beast made its way to the incline on which Macklin struggled. The silence was replaced by the intense sniffing from the beast searching for its prey’s scent.

          Thump… Thump…

          The heartbeat quickened with anxiety. Macklin hoped the mere size of the beast would slow its convergence. Macklin finally turned to meet his horror. It had climbed about half way to where Macklin now sat. Macklin turned and looked up, clawing his way toward the edge. With one last push, he heaved himself over the lip and at the same time peeked down to see the monster’s advancement. It was too close.

          Thump… Thump…

          He quickly scoured the area for his bag. It was gone. It was not where he thought it would be. Shock and hysteria overwhelmed him as he imagined the dreadfulness he now faces. Fear rose in Macklin as the monster’s head and shoulders rose out of the crater. As the creature's claw ripped into Macklin’s midsection, he saw that his bag was a few hundred feet away. He just climbed the wrong side.

          Thump…