Chapter 3 The momentum

• The shark didn't spare a second and directly charged towards Tim, its nose jerked straight forward and its tail flapping from left to the right; portraying a fearless approach.
• This was a terrible situation to be found in, the enemy wasn't actually tremendously huge, but still had to be at least 2 meters long! In this case, size raged as a prime problem. Because the little stingray didn't stand a chance of keeping up a long lasting battle!
• Unwilling to just wait for the shark to come and rip him to shreds with a single bite, he decided to swim directly downwards! The aim became to find refuge in the sand, it was the base portion of the plan at least.
• Such a move was good enough to buy himself a few seconds of life because the shark just continued forward, with its built up, fast-pacing momentum. The enemy swam a few meters forward before realizing what was going on here.
• Number-wise, it gave Timmy around 12 seconds to pick the next idea that will help aid survival against this developing attack.
• After thinking through the options he had, the prime plan became to dig deep in the sand and hope that the shark would become blind for a little while, long enough for this situation to descend in severity. But a new solution revealed itself in the midst of this chaos!
• There was a little hole just about 10 meters away, and it stretched just about 20 centimeters in width. Its size was just a rough guess but in this case it can help serve a purpose.
• Without warning for any other opportunity or problem to reveal itself, the little boy charged directly forward and aimed for this hole ~ the goal was to hide in it and find shelter from this massive enemy.
• Within a second he heard the tail flaps coming from the shark, pushing through the water left and right. This could only signify that the enemy was getting dangerously close.
• The situation forced into unfavourable circumstances once the enemy took a significant dive down! A foreign momentum came thanks to that move, which only forced the little stingray to adapt with it.
• What came out as bizarre in this situation, was how his barb actually found a way to slide through the surface of the enemy's belly. It was a short lasting glory, because he was tail slapped right after; which had forced the boy tad out of orientation. But in another way, closer towards that hole.
• Although that break of momentum was uncomfortable, the worst part was already over. So he continued swimming forward with piled up might, all of the speed that a 29 day old stingray could build up. Such work resulted to finally having the hole just a meter away!
• But along with this success came a realization that he had underestimated the enemy! It had already made a shift turn and now was just a few feet away, putting pressure on the left side. It's teeth could be heard clapping and urging to bite through flesh.
• Bam!
• What just happened in a split second while he wasn't paying enough attention, was enough to shake any man down to the very bottom of one's soul.
• A strange head had poked out of that very hole of which the young one tried so desperately to get in. This strange head had super charged forward, and even managed to dig its teeth against the rushing shark!
• The momentum from both of these seemingly bigger species, started pushing the little boy around like a ragdoll. He had no orientation whatsoever for a few short moments, even felt his spine touching the shark's back!
• Such contact had poked instinctive thoughts. Therefore he hurried that little barb up and down, stabbing the enemy quite a few times before trying to make a dash for it.
• Panicking through and through, Tim also started moving his jaws up and down, over and over again: trying with his utmost abilities to at least fight back this situation!
• Unsurprisingly, his jaws met flesh. They dug through the shark's tail before getting slapped by the very same tail once more!
• [Short-fin mako shark identified, statistics have been saved in your collection]
• [Eating a full-grown shark of this species can grant the following effects...]
• [Effect on health, -45 bars]
• [Effect on hunger, +450 bars]
• [Effect on sleep, non existent]
• [Effect on stamina, non existent]
• Ignoring all of this information, he instead used the opportunity to charge towards the hole and finally achieved the goal of reaching a bit more protection.
• But such comfort came with a price. He was still a tad disoriented and smashed against the hole's side. [Health, -5 bars]
• "Stupid hole! Stupid shark!" The young one complained and then barged in the hole, but this time avoided receiving any more damage.
• [Health bar = 95/100]
• "It's not that bad, it's not that bad..." Timmy murmured, wanting to convince himself with perhaps delusional positivity.
• After a short while, feeling that no one was chasing him, basing that theory from the very momentum and sound of the water here. He poked through the hole and obtained the displeasure of witnessing a couple of species, who were fighting to the death.
• Apparently, an eel had appeared in the scene before. It was taking residence in that very hole that the boy tried so desperately to get in!
• Taking a second to think about this situation, he came up with a rather firm theory and expressed it too. "That eel wanted to eat me, but bit the shark instead."
• [System recommends to swim away, their battle won't last long]
• "Right right." The young one got back to his senses, busted out of the hole and spotted a glowing red coral reef in the near distance. Although in his limited vision it seemed much more like a blur.
• That shark seemed to be winning after all so it might not be the best idea to float around and watch the show. It wasn't quite easy to watch it either as a lot of blood was bursting around along with other more solid pieces.
• The coral reef can grant a lot more advantages when it comes to avoiding big predators. It had small spots to slip in, lots of twists and edges, perfect for hiding.
• Finally reaching the coral reef. He slipped through a bushy like sea plant and swam down further, following a tunnel like way that the reef provided.
• Taking a moment to relax, feeling his body feel at ease as stamina increased for the better. This bizarre situation felt like it was over, so the little one began feeling just a hunch more happier.
• Half a minute later, he could see the same mako-shark poking its nose against that very same bushy sea-plant at the very entrance. Fortunately the enemy couldn't fit in. So its nose had basically become target practice now.
• The shark's mouth was over a foot away from the nose and its body couldn't fit through the coral. It would be a good idea to go and stab it several times if one was revenge oriented, but there still were risk factors as the shark won't stand still for Tim to stab.
• Unwilling to move at the moment since the enemy can't exactly inflict damage in this situation, the little boy took a moment to observe his surroundings. Well the place here was red and carried other shades that this specific colour provided.
• But there also seemed to be a way he could slip through if staying here all day long, suddenly had been ruled out as an option. Thinking it through for just a little bit, he decided to take that route and head towards more safety.
• Taking an effort to move, he felt the fins touch against edges that this hole provided. But this wasn't exactly a problem since a stingray's body was usually squishy and soft. Thankfully he didn't have to squeeze through for a long time because another opening revealed itself. This area felt like a hole but gave in characteristics of a small cave.
• This place was wide, perhaps about 8 feet across and the colour red started to fade away in this section. And instead was replaced with sand, a bit of rock too. I wasn't dark down here, he could see light bursting out of the several bushy and firm sea-plants above, proving as a good ceiling.
• At the very bottom, he spotted a lot of spider-like creatures. Easily visible and didn't exactly seem so dangerous, but all those legs made the young stingray feel a bit nervous.
• Hoping to get something out of this system now, he asked. "Those aren't sea spiders, are they?"
• [They are a species of shrimp, easy to kill but not so fulfilling. Full statistics can't be given before you take a bite of the species. I recommend you kill a few for system points]
• [Each of these shrimps, will grant you 1 system point once killed]
• [This isn't a system given task so you won't get additional points for the first kill]
• [Good luck]