Northstar Vale And nobody owes you now

There was the sound of grumbling, of frustration as the creature clambored forth, and it was with a rising sense of triumph that Mou watched the dirt give way. He could not make out where the creature ended and the earth began, but he saw the rising plume of dirt and felt a deep satisfaction when things began to settle. He closed his eye against the fog of particles, burrowed his snout against the crook of his forelimbs and waited out the cloud.

When things settled, he knew he was safe. It was temporary — a stale victory when one was trapped underground.

There was more shuddering from the dirt when the creature began to investigate the soil, the walls, the place where Mou had escaped to — and the boy realized there was a little more ambient light. Small shafts of light were making their way through somewhere, and it was enough for him to get a look at the creature.

He wished afterwards that he hadn't looked. The bear balanced with its massive paws against the stone wall and rose up to its immense height, putting it so close to Mou that he thought he could feel the warmth of it's breath upon him. He scrurried like a rat through a maze to get away, and missed the reaching arm of the bear as it probed the darkness.

Mou continued like this, because there was nothing else he could do. The earth was all around him and he felt the squeeze of odd angles, tasted the foulness of his own making in the air, and knew deep in his gut that this could become his grave. He felt a stabbing sensation in his haunches that startled him in to pulling forwards with his forelimbs and realized after a shocked moment that the bear had caught him.

Perhaps the creature was just as startled — or maybe Mou was moving faster than he could recognize, because he was soon free of the bear's grabbing fists and clattering like a discarded doll in to an expanse. He was briefly winded, having landed on his chest, but he looked around wildly in case the creature had followed after him.

This place was a death trap, and it took everything he had to stay alive.