"I told you this was a horrible idea!" Kat shouted. She felt like a professional hurdler with all of the massive cats she had to dodge over and around. Gen was having a substantially worse time of it, what with the small army of agitated beasts at his back and closing. The skunk-grass had bought them some time, but they weren't doing quite so well, now. They seemed especially furious- probably on account of Gen's new feline fur "shoes" and her own leather wrap. That fury was a saving grace, really.

They were not anywhere near as stupid- or catlike, actually- as she had estimated. They had hoped that the 'catbeasts' wouldn't be quite so organized, but despite their ordinarily solitary nature, they seemed to actually be pack animals. Pack animals! Between that, and the snouts, maybe they were better suited to be 'dogbeasts'? It was dumb luck that they still had their limbs after all of the mistakes they made in the past few hours, let alone made it this far. The night hadn't quite gone as they hoped. The trouble started after she finished treating Gen.

The General had been a bit too eager to challenge literal animals to a duel for his stolen property. It took the agony of setting his hand back right and the bitter taste one of the few of the plants she had identified to call him out of his fury. Even when "Gen" was back, though, it became very clear to him- and her- that he wouldn't just let the weapon go. That knife was buried deep in its thigh, thankfully, so short of a concerted effort by two or three of the creatures, it was going to take it back to its nest. They could come back for it, whether it was dead or alive, and fight it- two on one. Far less risky, but it was still dangerous.

It was getting late, and to be out in the open at night seemed quite dangerous, so the quest for safe shelter began. When Kat had been at the temple, she had seen creatures move about in the distance, ones distinctly unlike those that came out in the day. She didn't want to see even one of them up close and personal, and she had told Gen as much. They had journeyed miles out from the two mountains and their relative safety, and they would be hard-pressed to even find the jungle temple short of retracing their every step, so the only place to search for shelter was onwards.

The trees had all grown to a relatively even height, but eventually Kat found one that had a decent view over the canopy. She looked for clearings, finding none, and signs of life, finding none. The infinite green sea was starting to look less adventurous and more monotonous, and she found herself getting dizzy just sweeping her eyes about. Everything was so colorful, but so very much the same. She had been on a trip to Montana with her family, with a scenic flight over the "Chinese Wall" (the one in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana), and the sea of trees had been just as never-ending there as they were here. Little Catarina had resolved to never get lost in the woods, especially if they were so big and scary. Whoops.

A sudden plume of smoke in the distance distracted her from her descent. She stopped, foot dangling, staring in awe. They weren't alone in the woods, someone else was out there, and they had enough fire to send up so much smoke. Kat practically rolled her way down the trunk. Seeing Gen surprised for once was a pleasant reward, and when he heard about the fire, his jaw dropped. They didn't really think things through. They just ran, and ran, towards that place off in the distance. By the time they found their destination, it was night.

They didn't find people. More precisely, they didn't find humans. The fire was coming from a small village of sorts. It was fortified, with three-meter-tall wooden barricades and little guard towers, and they could make out a few gates even from a distance. As they approached, they got a better view of the inside. Little huts, a few larger longhouse-esque structures, and a fire pit. The inhabitants were celebrating about the firepit, apparently unconcerned about the risk of hostiles or animals sneaking in. To be fair, they hadn't spotted any catbeasts or even Dragon tracks this far out, so it wasn't like they had no reason to be so confident.

When they reached the nearest gate, they started to realize that things weren't quite right. First, unless there was some trippy optical illusion going on, the people sitting and dancing and drinking around the fire were four feet tall at most. The second was that the roast over the fire was huge, and even as burnt as it was, it didn't look very much like a beast. If anything, it was more like a human, what with how long and lanky it was. That was when they started to hear the sobbing. Just as they stepped past the gate, the sobbing started. It was unlike anything Kat had ever heard, a sort of crying that even her mother had never mustered when she did something mean or dangerous.

Gen reacted first. He yanked on her shoulder, hurrying back and dodging as out of sight as fast as he could. One of the residents noticed them, though, and turned. They chittered. The little fiends didn't speak any language they had known of, heard of, or thought to even imagine. It was a clicking and chittering language and when the one who noticed them pointed their way, the rest all snapped to attention. In their hurry to find somewhere for the night, they had walked right into an encampment of little people eaters.

That was the last thing Kat put together. The creatures reminded her of Gremlins, with their floppy elephantine ears and angry mugs and sharp, sharp teeth. More and more of the things poured out of the huts, joining the 'party' and the thick swarm of midget-monsters staring at them. They had practically tossed themselves on the menu. The two of them started to run, full tilt. That was the first time they had to run for their lives that night, but certainly not the last. Sharp, claw-tipped spears whizzed past their ears, and a small army of the Gremlins ran after them.

There were traps, Kat realized. Ones they hadn't seen on the way in. Neither of them had been paying nearly enough attention on the way in. She could only barely get Gen away from the first pitfall in time, but he got the idea. He started paying less attention to the shoddily thrown spears and a lot more onto his footfalls and the ground ahead, speeding his pace. He had improved a lot over the past day, she noted. Why wasn't he sore? Shouldn't he be tired? She shook her head. It didn't matter right now.

In any case, they had to shake the creatures, or they'd be running all night. She steered Gen towards a thicket, pointing to a particular tree. It would be a blindspot, and if they played it right, the army would stamp right past. The climb was rough. With some help, Gen made it to the branch- and just in time. The Gremlins were intent on catching them, hurrying past to wherever they had 'gone'. Kat started to sigh, to say how happy she was that the plan had worked, but Gen clamped her mouth shut. With his horribly mangled mummy-wrapped hand, he "pointed" towards his ear. She got the message, nodding, and he pulled his hand away.

They had gotten away from those creatures, but what about whoever- whatever- they had trapped in there? That they were roasting on spits? The party wouldn't just end because they had lost some intruders. If anything, the effort would make them hungry. She couldn't say anything, though, so she just sat and stared. Gen was set to staring, too, and it dawned on her that they were a bit uncomfortably close, tucked on the branch like this. Life and death or not, it was just awkward, was all. She definitely wasn't being self-conscious at all. Finally, Gen broke the silence, with a bout of swearing.

The captives and their fate bothered him as much as it bothered her. Maybe even more, really. He seemed to have some obsession with gathering more troops that went a bit beyond 'saving fellow human beings', and it came out in full force whenever his fight or flight did- like after running from a bunch of midgets with spears and hoods and those sharp teeth. She shivered, hoping she'd never get a crash course on how sharp they really were. And so they started to talk. To plan. They got as far as two sentences in before she saw it. It was the first thing she had seen above the canopy since they had left the mountains. Kat couldn't make out its features, a pitch-black shadow weaving it way through branch after branch, but she could tell it was headed straight for them.

It was a nocturnal predator. Not one of the few she had seen before, either. This one was different. Something about it gave her the creeps, more than usual. It was like it permeated the air with wave after wave of nastiness, a sort of pressure like humidity weighing on her skin. It was strange, to say the least, and Gen felt it before he could see it. She hurried down the tree, yelling back to him to hurry down. The black 'worm' had sped up, and it lashed itself around the trunk of the tree they had just been on. Gen, thankfully, slipped just below its grasp. They started to run, but a sound like a tea-kettle caught their attention. The worm bloated and shifted in the darkness, something within it moving about, and the tree was screaming. That was the best way they could describe it. The bark that it threw itself around glittered in the dim light of the waning moon.

The 'screaming' stopped. The tree had been turned into a crystalline sculpture of its old self, a jewel of such caliber and scale that it could start wars back home, and despite that, the creature hissed in evident dissatisfaction. It swirled up and down the tree, and the jewel started to melt like a Popsicle, a puddle of viscus liquid pooling at the base. It was around this time that they both started to run, once more. The second time they ran that night.

Kat made the mistake of looking back. They had gained some distance, but she could still make out the creature. Rather than the impossible dim canopy-arrested light of the rest of the rainforest, the creature was now situated in the gap it had just made. It finished slurping up the fluid, and as it turned to look for its actual prey, it really unfurled. She had taken it to be about the size of a catbeast and just as long when it was approaching, but she was dead wrong.

It was insectoid. Its head wasn't especially unusual, except for its sheer size. It was most like mosquitos, built for liquid consumption. That made sense, considering what they had just seen. From the head down, though, all bets were off. It was perched like a cobra, staring down at the two as they fled. Kat got a good look at the upper-body, the 'thorax' or something or another, and it was terrifying. It was covered in constantly fluctuating tentacles, a mane of disgusting flagellums flickering about. They were still dripping with a strange, red liquid, quite possibly the thing that had petrified the tree so thoroughly. As it bent down, the four-meter-long tentacles all furled back, like a water bird preparing for a dive. It started to chase them, a black tide of multi-jointed legs fluttering and clawing at the dirt as it chased after them. If it was like a snake in the trees, it was more like a missile on the ground, a testament to aerodynamics, the impressive efficiency of night-predators, and of how fucked up mother nature is.

"We've got to swerve!" She shouted, pointing for a different catbeast's tracks. "It's gaining on us!"

Gen nodded, tailing her. The monstrosity barreled past- too close for comfort- and erupted into a hiss. It hardly missed a beat, though, and suddenly, it was charging at them again. Kat had to force herself to focus less on the way that tree had just melted and more on which path to take, where the thorny bushes or the thick growth that would slow them down was, and how to find her way out…

"Find the freshest tracks!" He shouted, "Kill with a borrowed sword!" Kat had no idea what that second bit even meant, but she could sort of guess what he wanted to do. "That's absolutely crazy! Now really isn't the time to get your dagger back!" She said, heaving from the effort. Running and talking really wasn't fun, especially when you had to manage 90 degree turns every few hundred meters. She followed orders, anyway. For some reason the guy seemed so confident things would turn out right when any and all civility and fun floated away.

She had never seen the catbeasts sleep. The sight of nearly a hundred of them, a colony of "solitary predators" on every tree-branch, patch of green, or comfortable enough rock was either unnerving or awe-inspiring. The sight of said colony all shooting to their feet at once? That was just plain eerie. Scary, even. They weren't the scariest thing she had seen anymore, but they were still dangerous, and they had a vendetta for them both. Kat could actually spot the one with the knife wound, the only one of the pack to take a moment to right itself.

They had been this close to an actual nest of catbeasts. Could this night get any worse? The catbeasts charged them, surging through the trees to try to encapsulate them. It was only when Gen shouted "split up" and dodged to the side that their two parties of would-be murderers ran into each-other. To her surprise, the Gorgon Bug (she had have a name for it before Gen got a word in) was the one to flee. When they collided, it reared up, sweeping about with its fully-extended tentacles. The cats all retreated, growling, and the Gorgon Bug just started moving in reverse, without even turning. It disappeared into the night before she could even make sense of the strange wiggling of its legs as it retreated. Stupid bugs.

That wasn't quite the outcome they had hoped for. The catbeasts refocused on them, and for the first time all night, they had actually started running before their adversaries got a leg up on them. Third time's the charm.

The mad dash was entirely based on Kat's sense of direction. Back home she had never really been able to keep track, but she found that her recall, despite all the mad dashing, was working. She had the gist, at least, of where their destination had been. The "plan", before their interruption, had been to wait for daytime, and drag catbeasts one-by-one into the village of Gremlins. Needless to say, that wouldn't be happening, but they could at least try to use it to shake off the catbeasts. If she was wrong, though? They didn't have a chance.

And so they ran.

The only reason they made it any distance was a lucky find- Kat spotted some grass that looked a bit like the skunkgrass planted all about the temple. It wasn't super rare, but there had been no guarantee they'd get ahold of any. She snagged handfuls, scattering some about her as she stumbled. The fastest of the beasts, quite possibly the 'Alpha' cats, recoiled in evident disgust. They had gone from nipping at her heels to a few meters away in an instant. They were out for blood, though, and when she got back to running, they caught up- at a distance. She could tell that the grass wouldn't be enough of a repellent the moment the smell started fading, though.

It was a long run. It wasn't one you would prefer to make, either. They had to veer off every so often to dodge thorny brambles and the odd rock or hill. They made it, though. The Gremlin village was in sight. The gates were still up, but guards had been assigned to the little guard posts. They howled and pointed and howled some more, panicking. It was strange to see the vicious little beasts so terrified, but with what was behind them, it only made sense. The gates started slamming shut, one by one, and by the time they reached the little wall, all of them were shut.

Did she mention that it was just a little wall? It wasn't even smoothed. Stupid creatures probably only used it for animals, at best. She hooked her hands in the bindings, heaving herself up, and she flipped over it in one motion. Gen was significantly less graceful. Actually, she had been afraid he had snapped his neck for a moment, but he sprung to his feet relatively fast, all things considered. Now it was just them, and the army of furious Gremlins pointing weapons at them. Gen started to laugh. It was maniacal, and that was generous. She didn't get the joke.

Neither did the Gremlins. They stopped approaching; suddenly wary of the meal that was making such strange noises. They stopped and pointed and nothing happened. The thing was just a waste of time. They would have their meal yet.

That was when the first of the Prowl leaped over the barricade. The kin-killers could not hope to escape them with such a paltry obstruction, especially not when they were so well rested and righteous. It was time to get vengeance. When Sveral, the great one, joined his pack's fastest runners, he was surprised. The kin-killers had reinforcements! It was a whole cluster of servants, not unlike his very own pack. His people were strong, mighty, true killers. These piddly little things could not stop them. They would have their revenge- no matter the cost.

Kat had never seen anything like it. Cat after cat flew over their head, Gen holding her to the wall, and the fighting. The Gremlins were gnashing and stabbing and the catbeats were ripping and tearing and the blood was everywhere. When the flow of cats finally slowed, Gen finally let go of her. It had only been moments, but it felt like forever. A gaggle of cats, flying through the sky. If said gaggle of felines wasn't currently trying to murder them, she might have sat and marveled at the view she had just seen. Kat needed to get a camera the moment they found real civilization; with crazy things like this happening, she could be the next David Attenborough.

They both moved in unison to the building- the cage- where they had heard the sobbing. It was empty, as far as they could tell. The whole attempt would have been for nothing. They had to get out. To her surprise, Gen stayed longer, distraught. Suddenly, he shrieked- quite uncharacteristically, she might add- and fell backwards. The noise caught the attention of the quarreling tribes, promptly. Kat saw why he had shrieked, though. All of the sudden, a girl had pressed her face to the bars, bone-thin and with terrible, white hair. She was like a ghost in the night, barely lit by the bonfire, and her face was pale and blurred with tears. Most importantly, she was human. Well, Kat hoped so, at least. She helped Gen up, cognizant of the monsters swarming towards them, and pushed him towards the nearest opposite wall. They needed to add some distance; give their enemies another reason to fight.

Also, Gen was afraid of ghosts. Cripplingly so. Duly noted.

She shushed the terrified girl in the cage, and they ran, making much better time than their adversaries who were still locked in combat even as they tried to chase them, but even as they prepared to scale the wall, a looming shape hauled itself to its apex. The Gorgon Bug had quite simply never left. It let out a bone-shattering shriek, waving its tentacles about wildly. They had another distraction! Hurray!

Pros: Big scary monster all three groups hated already. Probably killed the rest of the catbeasts they would have had to fight outside.

Cons: It was going to turn them all to soup and drink them.

Evidently, it had no problem starting with them. It tucked the tentacles once more, slamming its head and thorax over the wall, writhing like a worm to pull the bulk of its body to the other side. It was even more unnerving by the bonfire light, flickering flames revealing trails of blood and goo that had long since seeped into its thick exoskeleton. The tentacles weren't even as smooth as she had thought, but covered in an infinite array of little bristles that whipped about. Dwelling on it too long would get her killed, though, especially since it was currently hurtling at them.

She dodged to the side, Gen following suit, and the massive insect rammed the forefront of their other enemies. The three sides faced off, tentacles writhing, spears waving, and claws unsheathed, and the carnage began. One Gremlin in particular had taken a spear from one of his dead comrades, stabbing at a particularly large catbeast, managing to lodge one in its eye. The injury wasn't light, and the big cat tried to shake it out, to no avail. It lunged for the Gremlin, and even he stabbed it through with another spear, it ripped out his throat. The Gorgon Bug swept down, plucking up the catbeast with its many tentacles, and the big cat thrashed. Finally, it stopped moving, and started to petrify. Other cats lunged at the bug, long mouths ripping chunks from its tentacles or legs, and the Gorgon Bug dropped the big cat. It shattered into bits, and the furious pack swarmed it. The Gremlins stabbed and stabbed, hoping to take advantage of their distraction to slaughter them both.

Both Kat and Gen had been swallowed by the grandeur of it, their first taste of war. She suspected Gen wasn't fascinated as much by the 'nature documentary' qualities as much as the carnage itself. He almost seemed happy to see it, as though he was concealing a grin. She hadn't run off and vomited, so she certainly wasn't "normal", but she really hoped she never got that far gone. They couldn't stay there and watch forever, as tempting as it was to just get lost in the violence. Whoever was left would probably want to kill them.

They couldn't forget their objective, though. For the first time since they had been taken and dropped in that stupid cave in that god-forsaken mountain, they had seen another human. A human who wasn't from their group, who was alive- if a bit traumatized.

They had a damsel to rescue.