The cave smelled like blood.

  Daniel Hayes stood over the three dead creatures, dagger still in his hand.

  The adrenaline from the fight was slowly fading.

  Now the soldier in him took over.

  Assessment.

  Resources.

  Survival.

  He crouched beside the first creature.

  Up close, it looked even stranger.

  The animal resembled a wolf, but its skin was thick and tough—almost like hardened leather.

  Hayes pressed the dagger against it and pushed.

  The blade struggled to pierce through.

  “Damn.”

  He adjusted the angle and applied more pressure.

  This time the blade slipped through between two plates of tougher skin.

  Hayes nodded slightly.

  Weak points.

  Every creature had them.

  He carefully began cutting.

  The smell of blood filled the cave quickly.

  Not pleasant.

  But Hayes had seen far worse during deployments.

  Within a few minutes he managed to peel back part of the hide.

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  Underneath, the muscle looked… normal.

  Dark red.

  Dense.

  Just like any other animal.

  Hayes wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  “Please don’t be poisonous,” he muttered.

  Food.

  That was the real question.

  He hadn’t eaten properly since waking up in this world.

  The dried meat he had taken from the dead soldiers was nearly gone.

  He needed a sustainable food source.

  And these creatures…

  Might be it.

  Hayes sliced a small piece from the muscle.

  He examined it carefully.

  No strange smell.

  No unusual color.

  Still…

  That didn’t mean it was safe.

  He leaned back against the cave wall and thought for a moment.

  Soldiers weren’t survival experts by default.

  But training covered the basics.

  Observation.

  Testing.

  Patience.

  He cut off another small piece and placed it near the cave entrance.

  Then he waited.

  Minutes passed.

  Eventually a small forest bird hopped near the cave entrance.

  It looked at the meat.

  Pecked it once.

  Twice.

  Then swallowed it.

  Hayes watched carefully.

  The bird hopped around for a moment.

  Then flew away.

  Still alive.

  Hayes allowed himself a small smile.

  “Good enough for me.”

  Now came the harder part.

  Fire.

  Without fire, raw meat was dangerous.

  Bacteria.

  Parasites.

  His eyes moved toward the entrance of the cave.

  There were dry branches outside.

  Plenty of them.

  Hayes stood up and stepped outside carefully.

  The morning forest was quiet.

  Sunlight filtered through the trees.

  No monsters in sight.

  For now.

  He quickly gathered several dry branches and returned to the cave.

  The next challenge was ignition.

  Hayes crouched near the cave wall.

  Stone.

  Stone against stone.

  He struck two pieces together.

  Sparks appeared.

  Small ones.

  But enough.

  He built a small nest of dry grass and struck again.

  And again.

  After several attempts, a tiny spark caught.

  Smoke rose slowly.

  Then a small flame appeared.

  Hayes leaned back slightly and exhaled.

  “Alright.”

  Fire.

  One more step toward survival.

  He placed a small piece of meat on a sharpened stick and held it above the flame.

  The smell filled the cave within minutes.

  Strangely familiar.

  Cooked meat.

  Food.

  Real food.

  Hayes took a careful bite.

  The taste was strong.

  Gamey.

  But edible.

  He nodded slowly as he chewed.

  “Not bad.”

  For the first time since arriving in this world, Hayes felt something close to relief.

  He had shelter.

  He had water.

  Now he had food.

  That meant one thing.

  He could survive here.

  At least for now.

  But as Hayes stared at the firelight flickering against the cave walls, another thought slowly formed in his mind.

  If monsters existed in this world…

  Then there were probably bigger ones.

  Much bigger ones.

  And sooner or later…

  He would run into them.

  Hayes sighed quietly and took another bite of the meat.

  “Yeah,” he muttered.

  “This is going to get complicated.”