Ren kept running, Thorn and Lilith sticking close behind him.
The ground thudded under their feet as they sprinted through the dense jungle, branches snapping and vines whipping across their faces.
They couldn't afford to stop moving. Not now when they'd verified that it was in fact, unsafe.
Above them, the trees shook.
Loud hoots echoed through the thick canopy, sounding deep, guttural, and angry. The sound built in volume, overlapping, echoing from every direction like the pounding of war drums as the monsters got closer and closer.
They were everywhere. Their shapes swung through the trees.
Orange fur, long limbs, glowing yellow eyes. The jungle's guardians had revealed themselves.
"Orangutans?" Thorn gasped as one swung from branch to branch in the distance before them. "Since when are monkeys allowed to have murder in their eyes?!"
"These aren't monkeys." Ren muttered grimly under his breath. "They're monsters. Nothing more, nothing less."
