A Game Called Resolve
an excerpt

He ran through the forest, the trees snagging at his clothes, mud in his hair. His breathe came in shallow gasps, stinging his nose and his throat. The animal was gaining on him, he could almost feel its hot breath on the bag of his legs, feel its whiskers tickle his skin, its sharp teeth pierce his flesh. He ran through the night, for fear of being caught by the large beast. The one time hunter had become the hunted, being chased by a living bullet. Racing through the trees, he held his arm tight to his side, stumbling through the forest until he felt he could run no longer. Soon, the terrible beast was upon him, its teeth bearing into the arm he held up to defend himself, it’s claws digging into his stomach where it pushed itself upon him, eager to kill him, to destroy him, to taste his blood. Hitting his nose against the root of a tree, he heard a crunch, and tasted the salty flavour of his own blood as it oozed down in a steady stream from his nose, covering his mouth and chin in a red splash. This made the beast more eager, more determined to taste the human essence, to fill its mouth with that which would in turn make it more powerful. With a thrash of its powerful tail, baring its large teeth, a rapid display of emotion from that which knows no fear. A roar, and a desperate slash at the boy’s arm with its claws, before it let out an exasperated moan. Another bite, this time at the boy’s leg, and another searing pain shot through his body. A great flash of light, and the great beast was startled, taken by surprise. The animal didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop. It licked at the wound on his leg. Tasting his blood, his unnatural blood, it let out a growl at the imitation of human life. Disgusted, it turned its back on him and stalked away. Relieved, hanging onto his last thread of consciousness, he watched its spotted back moving through the trees as it retreated from its prey, before slipping into a world of dark dreams and hidden fears.