The Atlantian System: Creation

A sniffling sound like a pig going through trash rustled as a dark form stomped into view from the other side of the truck.

It was massive, probably the size of a rhinoceros, with long matted fur and large horns on a face that was both bovine and human simultaneously. It looked like someone had tried to turn a person into a cow, and they got stuck halfway.

Its large head had a protruded nose cavity over an unnatural wide mouth, not quite a snout, as if someone had taken someone’s face in Photoshop and pulled the nose and jaw forward. Its mouth was unnaturally wide, with thin but protruding lips that were open as the creature panted, revealing a mouth full of block-like molars the size of car keys throughout its mouth. Though its head and body were covered in thick black fur, she could barely make out human ears that rested higher than usual on the side of its head.

Its shoulders were hunched as it walked on all fours, three fingers on each hand tipped in thick keratin extensions that balanced its hulking body over the rough terrain.

Haunches bigger than tree trunks tapered into completely bovine feet, a thick tail that was oddly cat-like in its proportions whipping behind its body.

Though it snorted loudly, it didn’t seem to smell anything. It pawed at the truck as if trying to see if the car was still alive.

Another wave of pinpricks and pain raced up her body as Leta tried to breathe through the pain of her foot cracking in the right direction.

[Skeletal structure damage repaired. The paralysis effect has been removed. Muscles are severely bruised and healing. Bleeding from superficial wounds has been halted. Healing of superficial wounds. Time until complete recovery is eight minutes, seven seconds.]

Pressing her face into the grass, she could see a body in the other direction that wasn’t moving. It was lying on its side facing away from her, but she recognized the collared shirt with the funny print pattern as what Vigo had been wearing earlier.

‘Oh shit…’ she thought to herself, then turned back as a screeching noise like metal twisting unnaturally nearly had her jumping out of her skin.

She turned back to the Minotaur to see that it had rammed one of its horns into the passenger door and gotten caught. It huffed and chomped at the air, rocking and jolting the truck as it tried to free itself, demonstrating its strength.

Leta blinked through the rain coming down in heavy curtains as she tried to see what it was trying to do.

It kept pacing around the truck, hoofed appendages pawing at the truck bed as if it was rooting around for something but was in no extreme rush to get it immediately.

Motion caught her eye, and she saw Koa’s arm twitch, then barely caught a moan on the breeze as he seemed to be rousing from unconsciousness.

Leta sighed in relief that he was alive, but for how much longer was the question? The Minotaur sniffed around the car’s passenger side, putting itself between her and the vehicle before it snorted and went back to the driver’s side. It stuck its massive snout into the window and gave Koa’s body a wet sniff that had the hair rising on the back of her neck.

A low rumble of agitation like an oncoming train could be felt in the ground beneath her before the monster growled and stalked back to the truck bed. It didn’t like Koa but was more interested in finding something else.

‘What’s its fixation with the bed?’ She thought to herself. ‘Now that I think about it, I wasn’t exactly quiet a moment ago, but he hasn’t come to check out me or Vigo. What does it want with the truck?’

Its head cocked back, and it let out a pleased grunt as it seemed to find whatever it was looking for and started to try and put its unnatural head under the upturned truck bed.

Leta looked back at Koa and saw that his eyes were finally open, but he was holding himself as still as possible as his eyes tracked the monster behind him. He looked up, and their eyes met across the expanse when she peeked to see what the creature was doing.

Slowly, to avoid drawing attention from the Minotaur, Koa raised his hand and made a fist with his thumb and index finger extended in the universal sign for ‘gun.’

Leta turned her head back to the duffel bag nestled haphazardly in the grass, not less than a few meters away but in clear view of the monster.

She turned back to Koa, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her, and gestured to where it was.

He brought a finger up gently to his ear and shook his head slowly before taking his index and thumb and making pinching gestures by his eye with a nod.

‘It can’t hear well, but it has good eyesight,’ Leta gulped, then nodded. It was getting so low that she was genuinely laying flat on the grass and slowly reached one arm out to pull herself out from her cover.

Her eyes were glued to the creature as it struggled to get its horned head under the truck bed, front paws that weren’t meant to grab things trying to dig at whatever it was it was after.

Inch by inch, Leta wormed her way over to the duffel bag. Her movements slowed as the rain made the ground slick and muddy.

She was halfway between the cover and the bag when the Minotaur tried to ram the truck bed with its bony head. The blow’s force was enough to push the bed about a foot at an angle but not enough for the beast to get to its prize.

Huffing, the monster pawed at the ground like a bull about to charge as it took a few steps back before ramming into the vehicle again.

Leta pressed herself into the grass, body locked in stillness like a cornered rabbit as she watched the truck spin with the force of the hit until its engine was facing the hill and away from her.

The hit was enough to catch fire from whatever had been smoking this time near the engine as flames began to flicker and pop in the rain.

“Shit. Shit!” Leta hissed as she watched Koa fumble with his seat belt to escape the now flaming vehicle, uncaring if the creature saw his movements.

He stopped when he felt the truck began to wobble. The new direction meant most of the vehicle’s weight was not at an angle, and the car creaked and cracked as it rolled onto its driver’s side and back right side up.

Koa threw the doors open and rolled away as the engine began to ignite in earnest.

The Minotaur huffed and stomped at the vehicle before going back to digging around for whatever it had been searching for.

Koa ducked against another rocky outcropping as he patted himself for a weapon. Even in the rain, she could see his eyes go wide, and his mouth form the words’ oh no’ as his head slowly turned back to the Minotaur.