MidReal Story
Chasing Shadows
Scenario: A boy running for his life against a monster who is trying to kill him.
Create my version of this story
The monster was chasing me.
I could hear it behind me, its wings flapping and scraping against the walls of the cave as it tried to follow me down the narrow passageway.
I didn’t dare look back—I’d seen what it could do to people.
It had already taken two of my friends.
I wasn’t going to be the third.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins, allowing me to run faster than I ever thought possible.
The fear of being eaten alive was an excellent motivator.
My lungs burned and my legs ached, but I didn’t slow down.
The walls were moving faster than I was, and every few seconds, they were interrupted by the twisted forms of my friends slumped against the wall.
Their lifeless eyes stared at me as I raced past them.
The monster’s growls echoed through the darkness.
They were getting closer.
I pushed myself even harder.
The passageway ahead of me opened up into a large cavern, and I skidded to a stop at the edge of a sheer drop.
I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw it.
The monster was huge, with leathery wings that spanned at least fifteen feet from tip to tip.
It had a long tail that ended in a sharp barb and wickedly sharp teeth that could easily tear through flesh and bone.
Its eyes glowed red in the darkness, and they were fixed on me as it slowly flapped its wings and hovered above the ground, its talons scraping against the stone floor.
It let out an ear-splitting screech before diving at me.
I turned and ran back the way I’d come, hoping that I’d be able to find somewhere to hide before it caught up with me.
My only solace was knowing that at least I hadn’t been stupid enough to try and fight it like Jason had.
He’d been the first one to die.
The passageway twisted and turned, but I didn’t slow down or stop to catch my breath.
In the distance, I could hear the sound of wings and the monster’s growls.
They were getting closer.
I forced my legs to keep moving, even though they felt like lead.
My heart was pounding in my chest so hard that I was sure it would come crashing out of my ribcage at any moment.
I was running out of time.
The passageway opened up into a smaller cavern that was filled with stalactites and stalagmites.
I grabbed a nearby rock and tossed it as hard as I could.
It hit the wall with a hollow clunk before dropping to the ground.
There was nothing there.
The monster’s wings were getting louder.
My only choice was to keep running.
Maybe I’d find a place to hide in one of the other passageways.
Or maybe I’d find another way out of this place and get back to safety.
If I stopped running now, I was as good as dead.
So I ran.
And I ran.
And I prayed that I wouldn’t die.
I don’t know how long I ran for, or how far I went.
I was too consumed by fear to pay attention to anything other than the sound of my feet pounding against the ground and the approaching monster.
Its growls were getting louder, and I could hear the sound of its wings as it flew closer to me.
It was right behind me now.
I could feel its hot breath on the back of my neck as it chased me through the tunnel.
I couldn’t afford to look back to see how close it was—I knew that if I did, it would only slow me down.
So I kept running.
My legs were heavy with exhaustion, but I pushed myself to keep moving.
I had to find a way out of here soon, or I was going to die.
The tunnel stretched on for what felt like forever.
I could see a faint light in the distance, but it was still too far away for me to reach.
I was so close to safety—I just had to make it a little bit further.
The monster let out an angry roar and grabbed at me with its talons, but I ducked out of the way just in time and kept running.
Still, it wasn’t going to give up that easily.
I could see now that I wasn’t going to make it back to my friends in time.
My only chance was to lose the monster in the maze of tunnels and find another way out of this place.
So when I reached a fork in the passageway, I veered to the left and kept going.
The sound of wings flapping and scraping against the walls grew fainter behind me.
The monster let out another roar and changed direction, pursuing me down the new branch of tunnels instead.
It knew what I was doing and wasn’t about to let me get away that easily.
With fresh determination, I forced my legs to move even faster than before.
Every few seconds, I glanced over my shoulder to see if it was still there.
Its eyes glowed in the darkness as they followed my every move, never once blinking or looking away as it chased me down the passageway.
I’d never been so scared in my life.
But I knew that if I lost my nerve now, I’d be dead for sure.
So I ran even faster.
The tunnels were starting to twist and turn more frequently now.
The exit had to be close.
I just had to keep moving forward and not lose my way in all of these side tunnels.
The monster let out another roar behind me.
It was angry now—at being outsmarted by its prey.
Adrenaline surged through my veins once more.
My legs moved even faster than before as I pushed myself to keep running.
I wasn’t going to let it catch me.
I’d come too far to die now.
The light at the end of the tunnel was growing brighter.
I could see it now.
With one final burst of strength, I forced my legs to move even faster than before.
The tunnel opened up into a large cavern that was filled with strange rock formations.
And there—ahead of me—was a hole in the ceiling with a ladder leading up to it.
I was so close now.
The monster let out an angry roar from behind me and flapped its wings as it gave chase once more.
It was so close now that I could feel its breath on my neck.
With fresh determination, I forced my legs to move even faster than before as I hurried up the ladder.
My heart was pounding like a jackhammer inside of my chest.
My hands were slick with sweat as I climbed.
In another moment or two, I would be free!
But then—something sharp jabbed me in the foot—and I lost my grip on the ladder as I fell back down to the ground below!
My entire body hurt as I lay there on the ground.
But I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and tried to get up once more.
There was no time to rest now!
But then—I felt something big brush against me from behind—and I toppled over onto my side as I let out a startled yelp!
I rolled over to see what had touched me—and there it was!
The monster let out an angry roar as it flapped its wings and prepared to strike again!
I didn’t have time to run or even try to get away—so I covered my head with my arms instead as I waited for the blow to fall.
Its sharp claws scraped against my skin as it raked its talons across my arms and shoulders like they were nothing but paper. But then—I reached into my pocket—and pulled out one of those smoke bombs that Dr. Carter had given me!
And then—without waiting for another moment—I hurled it down to the ground between us!
The monster let out an angry roar as it flapped its wings and tried to back away from me—but it was too late now!
Thick black smoke filled the cavern as I held my breath and tried not to inhale any of it as I waited for the bomb to go off!
But then—I heard a loud splash just ahead of me—and felt something wet hit my face!
The monster let out another angry roar from somewhere ahead of me.
It hadn’t been able to see where it was going through all of that smoke, so it had taken a step forward without realizing it—and fallen into a smelly underground stream that ran through this part of the cavern!
I could hear it thrashing around in the stream as it tried to stand back up.
But then—it let out a startled yelp as I heard its wings flapping once more.
It had finally realized what I was doing!
And was trying to fly up above all of this stinky smoke to find me!
But it was too late now!
Because I had already jumped up to my feet—and run ahead to dive headfirst into that smelly underground stream!
The water was cold—and smelled like a thousand rotten eggs all at once.
But I didn’t have time to worry about that right now.
I held my breath as I floated down to the bottom of the stream.
Above me, I could hear the monster thrashing around in the water as it tried to follow my scent.
But then it let out a loud howl as it realized what I had done!
I could see everything happening above me through this clear underground water.
