“Come in.” Arwenwel heard the voice of her supervisor coming from behind the door.

  “I came as soon as I was informed that you were looking for me.”

  "Take a seat, Arwenwel. We need to talk about this new employee. Chase, was it? No, give me a second... Ah, Chris. That Chris you took on as your apprentice. You know I can't ignore it when my subordinates break protocol."

  “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let him go unprepared. I won’t do….”

  “Shut your mouth and let me finish. I wouldn’t let either of you get away scot free, but those stuck-ups from the higher floors found your little play as master and apprentice entertaining. Now looks like your little friend has become their favorite dark horse of this competition. I’ll let it slide this time, but the next time you do something like this without my approval, I’ll make sure that you’ll lose even this little freedom that you still have.”

  “Thank you, sir, for your kindness.” Arwenwel turned around to leave the room.

  “Where are you going? Take a seat and let’s watch if Chris was worth the trouble.”

  Arwenwel didn’t want to stay a moment longer in this room, but she couldn’t go against his orders. She sat next to him, her gaze jumped to Chris as he ran away from something.

  'I think that I ran enough. There is nothing that I can use as a weapon. It looks like I have to return to my ancestor’s roots, I should make a short spear. First, I should mask my scent and find a safe place for the time being.'

  Chris began rolling in mud and rubbing local plants on his clothes and skin. He looked around to find a cave or a hollow tree where he could hide until he crafted his weapons. He found a cave that seemed uninhabited and set up a rudimentary alarm using old rope and bones that he found scattered around the cave floor. With his alarm system set, he began crafting a short spear.

  He found a suitable rock and began striking it with a piece of antler he’d found in the cave. He couldn't afford to overstay his welcome, not if he wanted to avoid meeting the cave’s real owner. He chipped away at the rock until it resembled a spearhead, then sharpened the edges. Using the straightest stick he could find, he tied the head down securely. The spear was done; his caveman ancestors would’ve been proud. Without wasting time, he moved on to fashion himself a knife.

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  “You really trained him, Arwenwel. Good job, now I’m starting to see why those from above favor him.”

  “I just showed him what to do if he can’t find a weapon in a short time. It's to his credit that he learns quickly.”

  “It seems that trouble found him again, as the homeowner came back.”

  “What do you mean?” Arwenwel was shocked.

  “Let me change the angle of the camera.”

  As the angle changed, Arwenwel realized that Chris had made a huge mistake not leaving after finding all those bones. He was in grave danger and might not make it alive. Chris didn't know what danger lay ahead of him, as he was minding his business, finishing his knife, which was a crude knife made from a sharpened rock and fitted on a small bone.

  'My preparation is finished. I have put Arwenwel’s teachings to good use. I should take my leave now before someone corners me in this cave.'

  A sound coming from the cave entrance attracted his attention; it was his alarm, and someone got in. He wondered what to do; should he attack now or hide and bide his time? He chose the latter and hid behind a big formation of stone. He tried to take a glimpse at his new friend, but what he saw made him fall on his ass. It was a monster resembling a cave lion that he saw at the museum, but it was bigger than those fossils. It was easily three meters tall, and its body length was five meters; it could easily gobble him up. He made the best choice, hiding; he can’t face that creature and live. But now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place; he had no choice but to go further in the cave and hope that there was another exit. The creature smelled the air; it knew that someone had disturbed its lair, but it was too lazy to search further. It just sat down and fell asleep.

  'I might have a chance to live now that it has gone to sleep. I should move slowly further into the cave and find another way to get out.'

  Chris managed to move further away from the sleeping beast, but the cave became darker as he moved further in, and he stepped on an old bone and cracked it. The sound echoed in the cave and reached the creature's ears. It sprang up and gave a deafening roar, which was enhanced by the cave's geography. Chris managed to recover in time and dodge the beast's quick bite. He began running with the beast behind his back; now the geography came to his aid as the beast struggled to maintain its speed.

  'I might get away if the cave has smaller tunnels. Oh, no.'

  Chris stopped running as he came face-to-face with a deep ravine. He had to either scale down the ravine or try to face the beast. He couldn’t make up his mind in time, and the beast chose for him. It attempted to pin him down with its paw, but it only managed to leave deep cuts in his back with its claws and push him into the deep dark.

  His luck finally ran out.

  “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Arwenwel fell on her knees as she saw Chris getting devoured by the dark beyond.

  “Though luck, our dark horse is finished.”