She believed it now. Her home stood no chance against a monster like that. It nearly filled the tunnel and she could feel the weight of it as it lumbered around the corner.


    She wasn’t sure how she felt now. She had finally managed to get around the monster and could recognize the area she was in. Now though, if the monster found her in her home she would be eaten. Her home had only one way in, no way to escape should the monster find her and break the wall. She would need to use everything she had learned to survive now.


    As she padded silently into her home she let the blanket drop. She could at least rest here a while, listening carefully for the noises the monster made. Finding a new place to sleep would be difficult, but maybe that was for the best. Moving every time she needed to sleep would mean the monster couldn’t learn where she was going to be.


    A plan made, she moved quickly over to the Pages and tried to find anything about the monster. She wanted to ask the people in the box, but they made a lot of noise and might not tell her what she wanted to know anyways, so it was best to just look quietly in the Pages rather than risk getting found. It was difficult, the Pages had many shapes in them and she had only caught a glimpse. A large shape, tall as the sky, and big enough to rumble as it walked. Her quick look found nothing that reminded her of the monster. She had seen too little of it to compare with the Pages. If she wanted to know more she would need to see the monster completely, get a better idea of what it looked like.


    If it was going to invade her space she needed to learn as much as possible. Especially if she wanted to stay un-eaten. She stood and made to leave her home once more but hesitated. She had done a lot, she was tired and needed to sleep. Once she had though, it would be time to face her fears and stalk the monster.


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    Getting a good look at the monster was turning into a difficult task.


    She had thought it would be simple to listen for its noises and sneak up and peak around a corner. Once she had a good look she could return to the Pages and find out what exactly it was. And how to deal with it. The noises turned out to be deceptive however. The smaller tunnels where she could easily get away seemed to make them fade quickly, which was dangerous if she misjudged where it was, and the larger tunnels seemed to have multiple monsters in them. It was impossible to sneak up on one when there was another making noise behind her.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    She had managed to catch glimpses of it at a distance, as it appeared to have the same magic as her trinket and pushed back the darkness. Easy to spot something that big when it stood in a pool of light. The problem was that she could never catch it in the smaller tunnels from far enough away to be safe. It seemed to avoid them, or at least preferred the larger tunnels. She could understand that if it was true. It’s bulk making it hard to move around in the small tunnels she would prefer to catch it in.


    Still, she tried over and over again to catch it alone. Every time she slept it was in a different spot. Every time she needed food or water she would go to the far side of her home, away from where she had encountered the first monster. She was there now, a full sleep away from her home. She had found another rain place, somewhere she was sure the monster wouldn’t come. So far from her home and in the small tunnels she felt safer.


    It didn’t help the frustration though. As she relieved the pressure below her stomach, she tried desperately to come up with a plan. A way to maybe lure the monster somewhere it was alone and she could safely run.


    Tried too desperately it seemed.


    She stopped, ceasing all noise.


    The thumping was close. This was the second time her thoughts had made her ears stop working.


    How close was it?


    Could she still make it out of the rain place?


    She began to panic.


    She didn’t have a choice, the rain place had nowhere to hide. The monster may pass but taking that chance was too much. She bolted for the door. Her usual stealth forgotten in favor of speed.


    She wasn’t sure what was louder, the thumping of the monster or the thumping of her heart.


    It was there just outside the rain place. Maybe even close enough for it to reach out and grab her. Rather than find out, she pushed herself more and ran as fast as she could, taking a corner as soon as it appeared and continuing on. The thumping in her ears all the motivation she needed to not stop, even if it seemed to match her heartbeat rather than the monsters steps.


    She felt something rush through her, a feeling she didn’t have words for or understand. She had done it, despite the terror of the situation she had managed to look at the monster.


    Now she just had to survive long enough to disappear and make her way back home.