Two weeks. For two long weeks, they both had to continue their brutal song and dance. It would only be a few hours until the sun would set on the horizon, enough time for the hunter and hunted to confront one another. Alone, the soldier went to his chosen field of battle to deal with the fiend that terrorised the desert. To avenge a squad it had slain by a monster he thought was human.

  The night retreated as a flame of bright red engulfed the world around Ben. He raised the flare high above to declare a challenge to the monster hiding in the cover of darkness before casting it to the side. Ben tightened his grip on his M4. His eyes darted around to see if the creature would take its bait.

  It was November 14th, 2016. The day before the world changed. A day where a tall, hulking man would become something more. An example, a vision of what tomorrow should look like. Everyone knew how he got his powers and where he was during the time of The Cascade. But no one knew the events that turned him into the man he would become. Fewer people questioned the horror or the sacrifices he had to make to fight something he knew little about. How a single battle would turn him into a hero humanity didn’t deserve, but desperately needed.

  Hearing a subtle shift in the sand, Benjamin turned around to fire three shots into the dark, which hit their mark. In doing that, the Jinn hissed and whined before leaping out from the darkness to face the soldier. Its long claws thirsted for the blood of a difficult prey while its cloak of black smoke obscured its figure. Ben ducked under as the monster tried to slash for his head, then he jammed his rifle into its side to fire a few rounds. Managing for the first time in weeks to puncture its thick hide and letting it ooze with black blood.

  With a loud screech from the Jinn, Ben was sent flying away with a backhand. After letting out a pained grunt, he got back onto his feet with his sidearm at the ready. Firing a few rounds prevented the monster from jumping at him again. Keeping it away from him while he reached for a second flare.

  But before he could light it, the Jinn slammed into Ben with its shoulder in an attempt to knock him to the ground for an easy kill. Though Ben managed to keep his footing, the monster made sure that he paid for his retaliation with a slash to his right arm. Cutting deep to incapacitate his limb, but not deep enough to cause serious trouble. The fight continued with Ben engaging the creature uncomfortably close. Yet there was no room to surrender or back down; he had to try to kill the monster.

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  Their nightly melee wasn’t new. Every night since Ben was stuck in a small village, he would go out early in the morning to fight the Jinn to find a way to kill it. Alone, he was able to hold his ground, but he struggled to find any weakness or method to put the creature down. What’s worse was that he was slowing down; the pain and injuries were beginning to catch up to him, while the Jinn were able to heal from their injuries the next day.

  However, it was the only way he could ensure the safety of everyone. No matter how many times the creature cut him, he would always fight so it wouldn’t attack any more of his friends or comrades to prevent any more unnecessary deaths. He accepted that he would die at one point, but he was happy to delay it for just a bit longer.

  Eventually, Ben was able to go on the offensive and attack the monster with his knife. Though the blade barely grazed its thick skin, he was able to push it back a few steps. Giving him enough time to pick up the lit flare to push the monster further back. And as it was about to leap forward to attack him, Ben slammed his knife into the monster's collar before kicking it away.

  The Jinn screamed and howled. It twisted and turned in the dirt as it tried to push the knife out of itself with its hind legs. However, as the sun slowly rose from the horizon, the Jinn gave up the fight and bolted away back into the darkness. Leaving Ben to have an empty victory. One that was consistent with every other night.

  Tired, he collapsed onto his knees to catch his breath. Anyone would typically be excited about holding back a horror they didn’t understand. Yet to Ben, it was just the same thing. They fight, they hurt each other, and the next day they fight again. There was nothing to celebrate on the occasion. He survived to delay and distract the creature for the next day. It would kill him, and he hated it. But there was nothing else to do. He had no other choice.

  Picking himself back up and putting pressure on his right arm to begin the long death march back to the village. The same desert camo uniform he wore for days on end was covered in dirt and drenched in blood. Both his own and the monster’s. He followed the light of the sun to the only safe place in the desert, like in those old western movies.

  A tragedy will say that his fate was sealed tomorrow, like many others who had to go against the Jinn. A comedy will find the humour in his misfortune and how his fight with an ancient monster was pointless and stupid for how wrong he was doing it. But an epic would use that moment to demonstrate how that man would become Iron Star.