Daniel Hayes woke up before the sound.

  Years of military training had conditioned his body to react before his mind fully understood what was happening.

  His eyes opened slowly in the darkness of the cave.

  For a brief second he didn’t move.

  He listened.

  The forest outside was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Then he heard it.

  A faint noise.

  Stone scraping against stone.

  Hayes’ hand instantly moved toward the sword resting beside him.

  His grip tightened.

  The sound came again.

  This time louder.

  Something had touched the crude barricade he had built at the cave entrance.

  Hayes remained completely still.

  His breathing slowed.

  His mind shifted into the cold, focused state he knew so well.

  Analyze the situation.

  Unknown creature.

  Close proximity.

  Limited weapons.

  The sword felt heavy in his hand.

  Too slow for tight spaces.

  The dagger might be better.

  Hayes carefully set the sword aside and drew the short dagger instead.

  Outside, something sniffed the air.

  A low, animalistic growl echoed through the entrance.

  Hayes’ muscles tightened.

  Not the massive creature from yesterday.

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  Too small.

  Too quiet.

  But that didn’t mean harmless.

  The barricade shifted again.

  A branch snapped.

  Then something squeezed through the entrance.

  Hayes watched from the shadows.

  The creature moved cautiously into the cave.

  At first glance, it looked like a dog.

  But only at first glance.

  It was larger than any dog Hayes had ever seen—about the size of a small wolf.

  Its skin was dark and thick, almost like hardened leather.

  Long claws scraped against the cave floor as it stepped forward.

  But the most disturbing feature was its back.

  Three long, jagged spikes grew from its spine, like sharp stone blades.

  The creature sniffed the air again.

  Its nose twitched.

  Then its eyes locked onto Hayes.

  Yellow.

  Predatory.

  The creature snarled.

  Hayes didn’t move.

  Direct combat would be a bad idea.

  Those claws alone could open his stomach in seconds.

  And that thick hide would make a clean kill difficult.

  He needed an advantage.

  The creature stepped forward.

  Slowly.

  Carefully.

  Hayes’ brain worked rapidly.

  Terrain.

  Distance.

  Objects.

  Options.

  His eyes briefly shifted toward the pile of loose stones near the cave wall.

  An idea formed.

  The creature lunged.

  Hayes moved instantly.

  He rolled sideways just as the beast’s claws slashed the ground where he had been sitting.

  The impact sent dust and small stones flying.

  Hayes grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it toward the cave wall.

  The stone struck with a loud crack.

  The creature’s head snapped toward the sound.

  That moment of distraction was enough.

  Hayes surged forward.

  The dagger plunged into the creature’s neck where the armor-like skin was thinner.

  The beast screamed.

  A horrible, choking sound.

  It thrashed violently, claws tearing at the ground.

  Hayes twisted the blade deeper.

  Then pulled away quickly before the creature’s claws could reach him.

  The beast staggered.

  Collapsed.

  And finally stopped moving.

  Silence returned to the cave.

  Hayes stood there, breathing slowly.

  “Okay,” he muttered.

  “That worked.”

  But the victory lasted only a few seconds.

  A growl came from outside.

  Then another.

  Hayes’ head slowly turned toward the cave entrance.

  Two more creatures stepped into view.

  Same species.

  Same jagged spikes.

  They stared at the dead body on the ground.

  Then at Hayes.

  Their lips curled back, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

  Hayes sighed quietly.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Why would it ever be just one?”

  The creatures spread out slightly, instinctively trying to surround him.

  Hayes stepped backward toward the narrow part of the cave.

  His brain was already calculating again.

  Three enemies.

  Confined space.

  Limited weapons.

  But one advantage.

  The entrance.

  If he forced them to attack one at a time…

  He might survive.

  The first creature lunged.

  Hayes kicked a loose stone directly into its face.

  The impact stunned it for half a second.

  That was all he needed.

  The dagger flashed again.

  Blood splattered against the cave wall.

  The second creature hesitated.

  That hesitation killed it.

  Hayes grabbed the broken branch from the barricade and drove it into the creature’s eye as it jumped toward him.

  The beast collapsed instantly.

  The third one snarled.

  Then turned and ran.

  Hayes didn’t chase it.

  He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily.

  His hands were shaking slightly.

  Adrenaline.

  He wiped the dagger clean against the creature’s hide.

  Three monsters.

  Dead.

  He looked down at the bodies.

  “…Great.”

  Then he glanced toward the forest outside.

  Somewhere out there, far worse things were probably waiting.

  Hayes sheathed the dagger slowly.

  “Yeah,” he muttered to himself.

  “This world is going to be a problem.”