The Chase

File log, number 202410002. I am Percil Best, Agent number 305, codenamed 'Agent Best.'

Dark clouds hung low in the night sky as I stood at the entrance of the apartment complex. The air was filled with an unsettling aura, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. The Apocalypse Prevention Enterprise (The A.P.E), dispatched me to investigate the strange occurrences that had been reported in the area.

          As I stepped into the dimly lit hallway, the eerie ambiance weighed heavily on my senses. Whispers of unsettling noises echoed throughout the building—scratching, rustling, and a sound that was foreign to my ears. It was like the mournful wail of a long-forgotten beast. Its shrieks haunting and inexplicable, raising the hairs on my skin. I tightly gripped the hilt of my weapon and advanced cautiously, senses on high alert.

          The source of the disturbance led me to an upper-level apartment. The door hung ajar, slightly revealing the scene of a nightmare. Pale moonlight spilled through a shattered window, casting an otherworldly glow on the horror that unfolded within.

My lungs froze as I viewed the ghastly sight— a lanky, horned creature with ashen skin, devouring its victim's face. The monster's crimson eyes glinted with malevolence as it tore into the helpless body, its inhumanly long limbs contorting with unnatural grace.

          Without hesitation, I exploded into action. The creature's grotesque feast was interrupted as it turned its attention toward me, its lipless mouth stretching into a macabre grin. With a bone-chilling hiss, it launched itself toward the window, crashing through the glass in a shower of shards.

          I lunged forward, my enhanced strength propelling my body through the opening in pursuit of the creature. The cold night air rushed past me as I landed firmly on the rooftop. The chase was on, a hunt between predator and prey in the sprawling urban jungle.

The creature's movements were a blur of agility, each leap and bound sending it soaring across rooftops. I pursued with determination, my muscles coiling like springs as I effortlessly cleared gaps and obstacles between rooftops. The distance between us closed further and further, and as my focus narrowed. All I heard was the rhythmic pounding of our footsteps echoing through the night.

          Through the maze of buildings, we weaved—across alleys, over ledges. The creature's unnatural athleticism kept it a hair's length ahead, tantalizingly close yet frustratingly out of reach. It was then that the creature came to an abrupt, unearthly halt, as if its momentum had been snatched by an invisible force.

          The creature’s lanky arm swung out, its razor-sharp claws slicing through the air as I dodged with a last-second twist, narrowly avoiding the deadly attack. The sudden maneuver caused my balance to falter, and my momentum propelled me crashing into the fragile glass of a nearby skylight.

          With a deafening shatter, I fell through the opening, the rush of wind whipping past me as I hurtled towards the ground below. Instinctually, I reached out, my fingertips grazing the jagged edge of the skylight. In a desperate attempt to save myself I managed to grasp onto the edge. The strength of my grip was painfully bolstered by the glass fragments embedding into my palm, providing an unexpected anchor as I dangled perilously from the edge.

I hauled myself back onto the rooftop, only to find the creature standing before me. Its towering, lanky form loomed ominously, its true height now strikingly apparent. Horns, elongated and curved like those of a ram, had grown even longer within the brief span of our encounter. What manner of abomination was this, I pondered in disbelief.

          The creature's towering presence momentarily eclipsed the searing pain radiating from my right hand. Clutching it tightly, the agony surged back into my consciousness. How could I possibly confront this creature with only one functional arm? I questioned whether I stood a chance against it even with both arms at my disposal.

          The grotesque abomination swung its unnaturally long limb toward me, now on the offensive with erratic and unnatural fluidity. Its movements seemed to contort its body in unexpected ways. I managed to parry the first swing with my uninjured arm, but in a sudden burst of speed, the creature spun and backhanded me directly in the chest. The impact sent me hurtling into nearby air conditioning condensers.

          After the creature's backhand struck me, a searing pain shot through my chest, knocking the wind out of me. As I collided with the air conditioning condensers, sharp pains radiated from my ribs. I struggled to catch my breath, each inhale feeling like fire in my lungs. Bruising already began to bloom where the creature's blow landed. Every movement sent waves of discomfort rippling through my body, but fueled by adrenaline, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain.

          "Sophia, inject seven milligrams of morphine!" I called upon S.O.P.H.I.A, an indispensable artificial intelligence that guided agents through their missions. The program, which stood for Strategic Operations Program for Hidden Individuals and Agents, could be easily accessed from a high-tech device worn on my wrist.

I braced myself for the second round of our intense encounter, determined to showcase the power of my enhanced capabilities. As I stood, the rooftop succumbed to the force of my superhuman strength, crumbling beneath my fingertips. Rising steadily, I unleashed the full extent of my power, propelling myself into a sprint towards the formidable beast. Each stride left deep gouges in the rooftop's surface as I closed the distance, ready to confront the creature head-on.

          The creature remained seemingly unfazed by the imminent assault. Summoning the entirety of my strength, I launched my fist towards its abdomen with all the force I could muster. A shockwave rippled across the rooftop, clearing away debris and rubble left from our initial clash. The creature staggered backward from the impact, but I quickly seized its lanky arm, redirecting its trajectory back towards me.

          Seizing the moment, I grabbed the creature's horns and drove my knee into its face with all my strength. The clash of bone against bone reverberated across the rooftop, accompanied by a sickening crunch as the creature's own horns amplified the impact, driving my knee deeper into its flesh. The monster recoiled in agony, its features contorting in pain as I harnessed its own weaponry against it.

          The mournful wail of the long-forgotten beast pierced the night once more, its eerie cries clawing at the edges of my consciousness. "Alert, alert!" my wrist device blared suddenly and repeatedly. "Entity analysis complete!" S.O.P.H.I.A.'s voice echoed in my ear. "Tier 8-B, urban level entity detected." 

          "English, S.O.P.H.I.A," I barked. "Tier 8-B entities are capable of destroying urban city blocks or equivalent areas of space. Your current tier level is 9-B, wall level. Entities with this ranking can destroy or significantly damage extremely resistant materials such as stone, metal, or steel." 

          "That's an entire rank class above me!" I gasped, realizing the significant disparity in strength between the creature and myself. 

          "Less than 2% chance of survival detected, do not engage. Initiating request for immediate extraction. Extraction in T-minus 60 seconds," S.O.P.H.I.A.'s urgent voice blared through my device, emphasizing the perilous situation.

I watched the wailing creature with a new sense of insecurity in my own ability. If this creature was truly powerful enough to level an entire city block, then it must have been simply toying with me before. There was no doubt in my mind that after my previous assault, it would no longer be in the mood to play.

          55 seconds. The creature’s mournful wail transformed into a vengeful roar, its jaw elongating to unnatural depths as if to accommodate the cacophony of noise emanating from its mouth. Its lanky limbs thrashed around, crashing into the roof’s surface and completely obliterating the concrete beneath it. The entire building began to shake under the force of the creature’s tantrum.

          45 seconds. A sense of dread enveloped my body as I stood on the crumbling rooftop, the creature's vengeful roar reverberating through the air. With each passing second, the intensity of its fury seemed to grow, threatening to consume everything in its path. Without hesitation, I made a split-second decision, my instincts driving me to leap off the edge of the rooftop. The wind rushed past me as I plummeted towards the ground below, the distant glow of streetlights illuminating my descent. With a deafening crash, I smashed through the window of a nearby apartment, shards of glass raining down around me. 

          35 seconds. The momentum sent me crashing into the kitchen counter, the sharp edges of the granite digging into my side. Groaning from the impact, I muttered, "I'm getting too old for this." Suddenly, a malevolent aura rushed behind me, triggering my instincts. With a swift motion, I pushed myself out of harm's way, drawing my laser pistol in one fluid movement. I aimed it at the spot I had just vacated by the kitchen counter. In that split second, the creature exploded through the wall, its monstrous form filling the room with a bone-chilling presence. I unleashed a barrage of laser fire, the beams piercing through the air as they collided with the creature's grotesque body.

          25 seconds. As the debris cleared to reveal the monster completely unharmed by the attack, my breaths became shallow and rapid. My heart pounded uncontrollably as the disparity in our strength became more and more evident. Any laser weapon issued by the A.P.E would rip completely through my flesh, and here it was, completely ineffective against my opponent. It seemed that the angrier it grew, the stronger it became.

          15 seconds. Before I could react, the creature lunged towards me with its erratic and unnatural movement. One lash of its elongated arm sunk my body into the brick wall behind me. I felt the cracking of my ribs break through the veil of morphine that had previously sheltered me from the pains of this encounter. Blood erupted from my mouth as the pain seared through my body. As if to further toy with my insignificance, the creature pinned my body onto the wall with its elongated arms. With all the force I had left, I drove my fist into the beast's ribs, causing several shockwaves throughout the apartment.

          10 seconds. As the shockwaves from my punches reverberated throughout the apartment, the creature retaliated with terrifying force. Violently seizing my left arm, it crushed the bones effortlessly. A gut-wrenching crunch pierced through the monster’s roars, and I cried out in agony. Amidst the pain, its jaw opened to an unnatural depth, revealing a black abyss that seemed to beckon the afterlife. Was this the end? I thought, paralyzed with fear, as the creature prepared to devour my head.

          Five Seconds. "S.O.P.H.I.A!" I screamed in desperation, "Inject two doses of adrenaline!" Within moments, the artificial intelligence embedded in the device on my forearm responded, plunging the adrenaline directly into my radial artery. The rush was immediate, painfully coursing through my veins like a raging river. With dilated pupils and muscles twitching like a sprinter eager to break out of the starting blocks, I broke free of the monster's grip. Summoning every ounce of strength, I drove my fist with such force into the side of its head that the bones in my arm broke upon impact. The explosive force propelled the monster through the brick wall, and it plummeted to the streets below.

          Zero seconds. I collapsed to the floor in a pool of my own blood. The adrenaline that only just fueled my most powerful attack now spilled onto the floor around me. My vision faded to black as I heard the muffled mournful wail of the long-forgotten creature projecting from the street below. A familiar warmth showered my body, unmistakable. Despite my faded vision, I could still slightly perceive the bright blue glow of the extraction portal as it enveloped my body. For the first time in this horrifying encounter, I felt a wave of relief. And as my consciousness faded, the last words I heard were the comforting words of S.O.P.H.I.A, “extraction complete.”