Two weeks they spent living with the orcs, eating their food, helping prepare for winter, meeting Kuruk’s wife and kids, and even picking up some of their language. Novius was keen to learn about their culture and ways, it was all so interesting to him. Orius too was interested but not as intent to learn it all. He felt that the short-term pleasures like food, sex, and the thrill of a fight were all that had any meaning now that he was capable of accomplishing his ultimate goal. The future meant nothing if it wasn’t promised to begin with. Nonetheless, he allowed Novius to relish in the experiences, no longer burdened by the worry of their pasts.

  With the hunt approaching they prepared and explained the plan to Novius. To the east lay a cluster of mountains stretching north to south. Awaiting on the other side was a humid jungle containing the predicted home of the Cyclops. Normally passing a mountain range would be dangerous but their clan had lived among these lands for centuries, they had a fairly direct and easy path planned out. Transitioning from the cold of the mountain to the humid heat of the jungle would be the most annoying part.

  Planning to bring jackets for the trip Novius realized he had no cold-weather apparel. To solve this problem he was lent a large baggy coat intended for a teenage orc slightly bigger than him. The exterior of it was a short-haired dark brown deer skin, the length from the size made it appear more like a trench coat reaching his knees. Inside was a light grayish almost white sheep's wool which overflowed from the folded back cuffs of the sleeves. Throwing on the new winter wear Orius fastened the handcrafted bone buttons at the cuffs. The warmth from it made it unnecessary to button up. This gave a certain bravado to the wide peak lapel leading into the tall upturned collar, both of which were spilling with wool.

  ‘Now THIS is a jacket!’ Orius admired.

  ‘You just like it 'cause now we look like the villain you wish we were,’ Novius jutted.

  ‘The villainous appearance is just a bonus, you gotta admit this thing is rad.’

  “Is good?” Kuruk asked, interested in how it fit.

  Novius couldn't help but smile while adjusting it, “It’s a bit baggy and a tad long in the arms but, yeah it's pretty cool.”

  With everything prepared they left in the morning. Everyone had a backpack with their own shares of food, water containers, and camping gear. From six until noon they trekked across the meadow while keeping in line with the forest. Reaching the base of the mountain they found an old stone with the orc clans insignia carved into it, this showed the entrance to the trail. Hiking through the mountain wasn't all that bad, Kuruk wasn't lying when he said their ancestors had found an easy path. The elevation was slow and steady and the pathway wasn't all that rugged. With such a slow steady climb came a longer trip though, which would end up in them sleeping overnight in the mountains. Before reaching the highest altitude of the mountain Kuruk decided it was best to camp out for the night where they were. Everyone unpacked their gear and some started a fire which everyone soon huddled around.

  Snow gently fell from the sky maintaining a slim coat of white over the surrounding area. Orius dug through his bag excited to have his turn to eat today, 'I bet we got something good to heat up in here to keep us warm.' Digging his hand deep into the bag his fingers reached past the dried jerky that was eaten for lunch and found the bottom of the bag with no food to be found. Orius turned to Kuruk who was chewing on his boar jerky, "We didn't pack anything but jerky?" Kuruk halted his next bite and replied, "No."

  "Why not? We plan on eating jerky the whole way here and back?"

  Kuruk peeled off another chunk of meat with his teeth and answered with his mouth full, "Yes, is easy. Need no prep in emergency." Disappointed by the news Orius reluctantly pulled out the boar jerky from his bag and chewed away. 'Not a big fan of jerky?' Novius inquired. 'Nah I just don't like eating the same thing for two separate meals. There are so many things out there to eat, why limit your palate to the same thing twice in a row?' Novius focused in on the dried meat and felt the flavor on his tongue, 'Yeah I can see what you mean, I'm already kinda tired of it.' Kuruk who had just finished his jerky pulled out a special bottle from his bag, different from the water containers. Everyone seeing this readily put away their meal anticipating what was coming. Kuruk poured the black liquid into a series of small cups before handing them out. Grabbing his Orius felt the warmth of the liquid through the mug, it steamed from the top displaying an inviting sip in the cold dark environment that surrounded them. Orius smelled the liquid and instantly recognized it, 'Booze!' He looked to Kuruk who held out his cup over the fire and said something along the lines of cheers in their language.

  Clanking their cups together everyone downed the slick liquid and felt the warmth of it in their toes. Orc booze was stronger than normal alcohol because they were so much bigger they needed more to feel the effect. Along with the increased alcohol content, it was also tradition to down the first cup in one shot to speed up the intoxication process. From there every cup after was drunk at a normal pace, maintaining the buzz. With the warmth kicking in everyone began to loosen up, the cold no longer had its tight grip around them. Shoulders relaxed downwards, chests opened up, deeper breaths were being taken, and most importantly stories were shared between the lot. Kuruk shared about past combat experiences, Novius spoke on funny escapades with his renown, and another orc described weird noises he heard while in the jungle they're heading to right now. He said it sounded like a creature with thousands of legs clicking its way through the trees. The Titanoboa was another Myth that was mentioned, a giant snake that ate anyone it laid eyes on.

  This brought up another discussion, one about the lamb and the wolf. Most civilizations had some telling of the old story but many were the same. In death, they visit you, no matter who you were. Good? Evil? To them, you were just another death. What truly matters to them is how you accept death, or the lack of such. After some time most were satisfied with their discussion and were consumed by sleep. Kuruk and Novius were now left alone and admittedly had a bit much to drink. Not wanting to pass out just yet they stayed up, keeping the fire alive all the while.

  Jokes were made and good times were shared between the two and the flames joined the conversation, licking at the cold air with its tongue. Curiously Orius asked Kuruk, “Y’know I never asked, why are the chief and your kid grey but no one else is?” Kuruk was silent for a second and stared at the fire as he answered, “I glad you bring up,” He began, “Green orc and black orc very different. Green big… strong, black orc short, good for sneak, agile, fast. Big problem though, size difference make it hard for child, baby die before birth. You see wife is black orc and I green, we aware of risk but we no care. I love wife, and she love me.” Kuruk stopped again as he choked up a bit, “Wife and I try many times for baby… many fails. Eventually, we get lucky and have my boy, he grey because of mix skin. Same happened with chief parents long ago. Grey orc very rare, and special too. Mix of traits give strength, grey skin good for sneak, not as big as green but close, and almost as strong too. Lean and agile, it make very good orc… the best.”

  Kuruk was silent and Novius decided to say something, “I’m sorry to hear how hard it was-” Kuruk interrupted not wanting him to feel sorry for them, “When my boy fall from wall… I thought-” his eyes began to water, “I thought we lose him. After try so hard for so long… he die. Wife and I understand he miracle, we would never get another. I could never thank enough for what you did Novius.” Neither Orius or Novius knew how to respond, and before they could Kuruk grabbed them pulling them in for a hug as he broke out into tears. Orius hugged Kuruk back to ease his sadness, “A real friend doesn’t watch as the other suffers, he intervenes.” Novius looked at the ground as he said this, watching the snow slowly pile higher.

  Pulling himself together Kuruk apologized and decided he’d had enough to drink and went to bed. Figuring they should follow the two did the same. In their sleeping bag, jacket still on, they stayed warm pulling the fabric up over their eyebrows. With everyone fast asleep the mountain once again stood still. It gently kissed its visitors goodnight with a light snowflake on each of their foreheads and put out the fire with a swift cold breeze so not to disturb them.

  With sunlight washing over the mountain top the cold became slightly more tolerable. Crawling out of their bags to stretch the party greeted each other and strapped up for another day of travel. Checking for all their necessities Orius patted his hips feeling for his blades and strapped his bottle to his bag. Ready to go he instinctively ran his hand through their hair to realize it had frozen over in its usual slicked-back form. ‘Hey that's pretty neat, it feels kinda cool actually,’ Novius observed. Checking their eyebrows weren’t frozen too Orius added, ‘Yeah now we don’t need to worry about our hair getting in our face.’

  Continuing with their walk they planned to be in the jungle around mid-afternoon to make a basecamp and do some short scouting. Rounding the back of the mountain they got close to the most dangerous part of the journey. A ninety-degree straight drop into the jungle threatened them on their journey. It was the only way to descend the mountain, as long as no one did anything stupid no one would fall off. On this part of the path, Novius looked at the jungle from so high up in awe. Dense forestry could be seen through thick misty rain clouds that permanently hung over the humid cesspool teaming with life. Seeing it like this made you realize how amazing it is for a place like this to have its own isolated ecosystem. The mountain range surrounded the biome, leaving the jungle in a massive valley with a large lake in the middle, creating a humid atmosphere.

  ‘I can’t wait to go down there,’ Novius said with a hint of excitement.

  Orius wasn’t as excited for the humid air, ‘Well be there soon enough, let's enjoy the cold air for now before the heat has its go at us.’

  Still affixed on the landscape to their right they walked on without paying much attention. Suddenly a hand grabbed their collar and yanked them backward with a large jerk. Now on the ground behind Kuruk who had thrown them, a large boulder-like object rolled where they had previously been stood. What made it different than a normal rock was the fact it screeched to a halt right before rolling off the cliff. Grasping his large spear Kuruk stood ready as the other orcs also rushed forward weapons in hand. The situation grew even more confusing as the boulder unraveled itself revealing its softer fleshy interior. Now standing on two legs, the long-snouted mammal exposed its sharpened knife-like fingers attached to its lanky arms, intending to threaten its opponents. Unbothered by this display the orcs sized up the tall yellow creature, its entire back was a hard rock-like formation used for defense and occasionally offense.

  Standing up Orius rested his hands on the blades at his hips ready for a fight. Wanting to draw all of their attention the creature slashed at the ground with its claws, scarring the earth and throwing up some dirt. Ready to assist in the encounter Orius took a step forward when another boulder slammed into him from the left, breaking his arm, shoulder, and a couple of ribs in one shot. Hearing the impact Kuruk and a few orcs turned their head to see what happened only to see Novius flying straight off the cliff carried by the momentum of the collision. Kuruk cursed in their language out of frustration and was nearly ambushed by the first creature's claws. A fellow orc blocked the attack giving Kuruk the moment to take in the situation. Deciding they couldn’t help Novius now they had to deal with this situation first. As the second boulder creature unraveled, Kuruk barked orders at the other orcs now ready for a fight.

  The speed from the collision carried Novius through the air as he recovered from the destructive blow. Orius ignored the pain and opened his eyes to see the mountain far out in front of them. Gravity overcame their momentum and began to drag him down, “Holy shiiiiit!” Orius reacted feeling their stomach in their throat. He looked down to see the jungle approaching fast to their feet. Now in free fall and panicking not a single ounce of pain was felt as adrenaline flooded their system. “What do we do?! No way this doesn’t kill us!” Novius asked hastily in desperation. Orius wasted no time in making a decision, “Look for a tree! Not big enough to have thick branches but not small enough where it won't break our fall!”

  “It’s a jungle, there are trees everywhere! We can barely see through the leaves down there!”

  Orius darted their eyes around while spreading his arms and legs to catch as much air as possible to slow their descent, “Do you have a better idea? Just look for a medium-sized looking tree!”

  Listening to him Novius assisted, “There!”

  Angling the body to the left they directed their fall above the target. Wrapping their arms around their head Novius said, “Protect the head! We just need to survive the fall!” Just before breaching the leaves, Orius shouted excitedly, “Get ready to break some bones!” Atop the still-maturing tree, their body crashed through several small young branches, slightly slowing them down. This of course was nothing in comparison to the speed they built up though. Crack! Their legs slammed into a thick branch dislocating both knees and breaking a shin and an ankle. The recoil from this made them start spinning and smashed their chest into another branch breaking it and their whole rib cage. Bone fragments peppered their lungs causing blood to pool up. Several spinal discs cracked and slipped out of place from this, but on the bright side, it slowed their descent majorly. Nearing the ground now their foot caught in a vine, swinging them into the tree trunk, smashing their body into it.

  Novius stiffly recoiled in pain from the blow slightly curling his back. Opening his eyes he looked downward to see the ground roughly fifteen feet away. The vine snapped from their weight sending them towards the ground head first threatening to break their neck, possibly killing them on impact. To prevent this Orius quickly used their one good arm to stab a blade of theirs into the tree trunk. Gravity however was unrelenting, refusing to let its victim escape its grasp and tore them from the handle. Thankfully Orius never planned to keep the grip in the first place, only to use the momentary grip to shift the fall into leg first.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Finally, they crashed into solid ground breaking their second ankle and turning the first to dust. Lying on the jungle floor Orius wheezed, attempting to breathe through their blood-filled lungs. The noise from their breathing sounded like a dying animal in need of putting down. Their vision was blurred from a detached cornea in their right eye caused by a branch scratching across their whole face. Nonetheless, they stared at the blurry leafy canopy above them amazed they didn’t die. Internal bleeding and organ failure plagued their battered body as it collapsed under the weight of their injuries. Blood flow slowed as their heartbeat struggled to continue and began to give up. Mere moments from death Novius used their renown to revert their body to before the ambush on the mountain. Orius who was in the middle of a raspy breath suddenly gasped, finishing his breath effortlessly. He felt oxygen flood their system from their brand-new lungs. Novius’ fingertips warmed from the returning blood flow and could now see the tree line above them crystal clear.

  “Thank god for adrenaline,” Orius said, breaking the silence.

  Not understanding Novius asked, “How do you mean?”

  “Well because of it we felt barely any pain,” Orius smiled as he finished his sentence, “Without it, we’d have been crying like a couple of babies.” Both of them laughed imagining the scenario while lazily lying on the ground. Novius placed his hand on their chest as Orius took a deep breath, rising their chest up high before deflating it back down with a satisfied sigh. Sitting up they glanced at their surroundings. Roots sprouted from the ground here and there with grass and small plants to fill the gaps. Moss-covered rocks and the base of some trees making the environment prominently green. Standing up Novius removed their coat having felt the overbearing heat. Stuffing it inside his bag Orius placed it at the bottom of the tree they fell from.

  Grabbing a lower hanging branch Orius said, “Let's get our sword back, then we'll plan our next move.” Grasping the chrome handle wrapped in dark grey leather he pulled the sword from its place. He Admired the damascus blade as its stainless steel edge glistened matching its shiny hilt. Dropping back to the jungle floor Novius suggested an idea, “We have a relative idea of where the path exits the mountain into the jungle. Along with that Kuruk and them probably think we’re dead from that kinda fall. With that in mind, they will most likely head to where they suspect the Cyclops is living to continue their hunt.” Orius shook his head in agreement, “We can try and rendezvous with them where the cyclops is expected to be nearest to the path. Since we’re closer now we'll get there before them and just set up camp there since we don’t know the exact location of the path. Good thought process man.”

  Satisfied with their agreed plan Novius began to walk through the humid jungle. Stepping over large protruding roots and keeping away from large brush they pushed forward. Birds chatted with each other and flew from branch to branch. Leaves rustled at the treetops from wind incapable of reaching the dense jungle floor. Contrary to what one would expect the jungle was actually quite peaceful. Not much moved around other than the birds, it almost felt eerie being the only thing walking around.

  “You think Kuruk and the rest are alright?” Novius asked, starting some idle chitchat.

  “I’m sure they’re alright. I doubt it’s the first time they’ve fought whatever those things are. By the way, where do you want to go after we leave the village?”

  Novius was surprised by the sudden question, “Leave the village? Why would we do that? We have it pretty good here. Even you feel at peace around them.”

  “Well we can’t stay forever… if-” loud rustling could be heard to their right in the distance grabbing both of their attention. It continued to move closer and closer. Orius unsheathed his swords, holding one in reverse grip. Louder the sound grew as bushes rustled, putting both on edge. Every tree, bush, and leaf made a sound, feeling as though the entire jungle itself was rushing them down. As soon as the sound reached them it just as quickly surrounded them. Raindrops poured from the sky filling every square inch of open air with water.

  Orius relaxed and looked up towards the treetops. He closed their eyes and stuck his arms out to his side. Still holding the blades he laughed as they got soaking wet.

  “Scared of everything huh?” Novius quipped.

  “Ahhh you got spooked too, don’t act tough,” Orius gleamed.

  Opening their mouth to catch some water Novius replied internally, ‘Damn rain sounded like one of those boulder creatures was rushing us down again.’ Looking back down Novius touched his left forearm with his right hand and rubbed the water between his fingertips, “Even the rain is warm, we’re not going to get any relief from this heat huh?”

  “I suppose not,” Orius began, “Oh?” Looking around them now the jungle came alive. Ants the size of quarters climbed trees to get away from the wet ground, beetles crawled to different plants for food, and tarantulas and snakes alike hunted any smaller prey. In front of Novius, a large tree root stood from the ground opening its yellow eyes. It was a large brown crocodile that adapted to look similar to the tree roots.

  Unaware of what Novius was it decided to leave him alone, moving elsewhere for another nap. Everywhere you looked things crawled, moved, darted, flew, jumped, attacked, and ran. Focusing in on the ants covering the tree Novius watched one ant in specific.

  Climbing the rough bark terrain the ant carried his share of food for the hive. All climbing in sync they made their way towards their queen, who rested within the tree while laying larvae. All ants like this one were required to bring a share of food for the queen, if not they were shunned. Shut out from their home they were banished to the dangers of the jungle all alone. Such an extreme punishment worried all the ants but was also understood. Bringing food was their job and as a colony, they all had to do their part. If one could not do such a simple task as this then they were dead weight, just another mouth to feed.

  Tweaking his head to the side the ant looked at the large, strange, bipedal, creature watching them. He’d never seen an animal like this one before and wondered if it would prove to be a threat to his colony. Meanwhile, up ahead a hungry spiked beetle disrupted the flow of climbing. It consumed one of the worker ants while the rest stopped in place watching the threat. Having not been paying attention our ant walked right into the rear end of his fellow worker in front of him. This caused him to drop the leaf he had been carrying overhead and he watched in panic as it floated down to the bottom of the tree.

  None of the other ants paid his misfortune any mind while they watched the security detail ants swarm the yellow and black beetle. In need of something to bring to the hive he scoured his mind for options, he couldn’t ask another ant to split their food for it would be giving away his uselessness. His only option was to retrieve his dropped sustenance before the rain stopped. Turning back he looked to the far, wet, jungle floor, there was only one option if he were to make it in time. Thrusting away from the tree he jumped, sending his small ant body soaring through the air.

  Luckily for him, an ants' terminal velocity can’t kill them, meaning our daredevil isn’t dancing with death. Falling past all his fellow insect companions he landed at the bottom of the towering tree. The leaf had drifted some ways away before the rain brought it down to its resting place. Intending on continuing his risky excursion our hero marched onward through the mud all alone. His sense of responsibility and determination to be a good worker drove him closer to his goal.

  Massive raindrops splashed onto the ground next to him making the danger of the war zone all the more real. To his right, a tarantula scurried towards him causing him to duck in fear. Ignoring the small prey the spider ran directly overhead, overshadowing him completely. The furry spider pounced on a green and red lizard, digging its fangs into its spine paralyzing it. Ignoring the predator busy wrapping its food in webbing he continued towards his ticket home. Over halfway there the ant's worst fear was realized right in front of him. A brown wart-covered toad watched with wide beady eyes under a bush to the left. Hungry for the lonesome ant it hopped from its cover exposing itself.

  Running as fast as possible our ant dreaded his doom gaining little to no ground from his predator. Opening its mouth to capture the ant with its tongue the frog's stomach grumbled in anticipation. Cringing at the incoming strike our ant cowered when- BAM! A snake watching from a branch above sunk its teeth into the toad ripping him from the jungle floor up into the air. Dislocating its jaw the reptile consumed the overconfident amphibian.

  Relieved the ant continued with no time to waste, there was no telling when the rain would stop. Grasping his leaf he celebrated internally but immediately despair washed over him, the rain began to slow. It was over, without the rain he would be stuck in the open, free game for any predator nearby. Even if he could make it back without getting spotted he would be banished from his hive. Looking up the bipedal animal from long before it now crouched over top of him watching. Reaching its monkey-like hand out it grabbed the leaf our hero fought so hard to retrieve. Refusing to give up now he didn’t let go getting him pulled into the air high above.

  “Here ya go buddy,” the bipedal monkey said while placing him back on the tree. Planting his feet on the bark behind his fellow ant companions as they all hurried back inside. Without looking back our little risk-taker waltzed inside the hive like nothing happened, proudly carrying his hard fought for food.

  Stepping back from the tree Novius felt the rain stop. Looking around all activity had halted leaving the two perplexed at the bizarre behavior of the animals, “Where did all of that come from?” Orius who felt uneasy from the numerous potential threats said, “Just keep an eye out for predators and try not to touch anything that might be alive.” Stepping forward the snake in the tree from earlier finished consuming its frog and locked eyes with Orius. Anticipating another meal it recoiled its body back and sprung toward them.

  Having seen this coming Orius sidestepped the strike and cut the reptile down in one swift motion. With its head now detached its body went limp which Orius grabbed planning to eat later, “Sorry buddy, not big enough to get me.” Draping the dead animal around his neck he began walking again. Somehow knowing there were creatures hidden all around them but not being able to see them made the jungle even creepier. Along their walk the rain would come and go at roughly twenty-minute intervals, reawakening the jungle activity along with it.

  It took quite some time to reach their agreed rendezvous point and it was now night time. Satisfied at a small fifteen-foot circle clearing they began crafting a campfire similar to how Kuruk had shown them. Finding dry wood for it in such a wet environment was hard but not impossible. To prevent the periodic rain from putting it out they placed it under a half-fallen-over tree which provided a straight line of cover underneath it. As the fire started so did the rain. Movement could be heard in the surrounding area but none of the animals dared to go near the flame.

  Finally resting and at peace Orius began to skin the snake corpse, prepping it for cooking. Soon the rain passed bringing temporary stillness and silence to the jungle. Now sharpening a stick to cook the meat on Novius resumed their chat from earlier, “Why did you think we should leave the village?”

  “We’ve been here long enough as is, Maxith’s soldiers are aware of our presence in the general area. It's only a matter of time before they show up here looking to kill us next. If they find out the orcs are housing a demon they won’t be treated graciously. We’d just be putting them at risk.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Novius replied sadly while starting on another stick, “I guess we could ask them where the nearest city is to the south when we get back to the village.”

  Orius sat by idly while Novius prepped the food, “I’m sure they’ll have a good idea where. Ya know I was thinking about something while you were sleeping the other day.”

  “Hm?” Novius passively inquired.

  “Maybe the eastern continent is a good place to go.”

  “What? Why? It's so different than here.”

  “Well, that's the point,” Orius began, “The east and west isolate themselves from each other. If Maxith has no access to that landmass then we would be free to live there without being hunted down.”

  “It’s an idea but do you really want to live there? I heard it’s a complete shithole.” Orius didn’t respond, not because he wasn’t interested in doing so but because something alerted him. “What is it?” Novius asked.

  ‘The bushes to our left rustled,’ Orius answered internally.

  Not worried Novius responded, “We’ve heard stuff moving in this place all the time it’s probably a frog or a tarantula.”

  ‘It’s not raining.’

  Looking up from his sharpened stick Novius realized what Orius said was true. The jungle has always been silent without the rain. Now alerted too Novius looked to their right to see two colossal pure white eyes with a slim black line down the middle staring at them. Orius rose to their feet and jumped back immediately only to see the eyes gone. A butterfly flew past them gently and was ignored by the duo as their eyes were peeled for whatever the huge being was.

  “What was that? It was huge!” Novius gasped.

  “It might have been the Titanoboa they told us about,” Orius stated.

  Suddenly a female voice radiated from the air around them, “Ah yes the age-old story of the Titanoboa. An interesting tale indeed.” Panicked by the unknown presence Orius spun them around in circles looking for where the voice was coming from. The direction was impossible to pin down, the air all around them vibrated creating the voice. “A sixty-foot-long snake four feet wide weighing nearly four thousand pounds,” the voice narrowed down to an area on their left seeming to come from behind the brush. Focusing in on it Orius raised his blades prepared for something to leap out. “The orcs gave such an interesting telling… they are good storytellers after all. An apex predator capable and willing to kill and eat anything in sight, not even its own species was safe. Something that big had to maintain its weight somehow, only one could exist in each biome… otherwise they’d starve.”

  It began to rain slightly… but nothing seemed to move like usual. Not wanting to provoke their visitor Novius spoke to Orius internally, ‘Whatever this thing is has everything in the area spooked.’ Appearing from the right now her voice continued and Orius turned to watch, “They nicknamed her Kacieno Uchene, or in your language… Midnights Glow.” Silence filled the darkness while Orius’ eyes were glued straight ahead, waiting in anticipation. Silently from behind a presence appeared from thin air. Raindrops could be heard directly behind their head making a wet pit-pat on smooth scaley skin. Goosebumps raised on their arms as the sound was so close it felt as though scissors were trimming their neck hair. You could tell from the surface area the water was hitting that whatever it is was massive. Alarms rang through their body to run, turn around, just ball up and die, anything to get away from it.

  ‘It’s behind us.’ Orius whispered from within.

  ‘But there were no footsteps… how?’

  ‘We need to turn around.’

  ‘No!’

  Pit-pat pit-pat

  ‘Then run!’

  ‘I can’t!’

  ‘Why!’

  Pit-pat pit-pat

  ‘Well die! I can feel it!’

  ‘We have to do something, doing nothing will kill us too!’

  ‘Then you do it!’ Novius said defiantly, unable to act under such pressure.

  With fear and a slight quiver in his voice, Orius responded, ‘Fine.’ Whatever it was just sat and waited for them to build up the courage. Orius slowly turned their body, twisting their torso without moving their feet. Silently waiting was a scale-covered black and grey snake head nearly twice as large as themselves. Scars covered its face and body from a long life of hunting and traversing the rough jungle terrain. Worst of all was its piercing orange eyes staring right into theirs. Seeing this Orius attempted to back away from the danger out of instinct but tripped up on their twisted-around legs.

  Now sitting on their ass the Titanoboa raised its head high into the trees, supporting itself with its long body from below. Without breaking eye contact it was now far up into the trees displaying its massive form. Her glowing orange eyes pierced the darkness that enshrouded her head. Its underbelly was pale grey and its black back was splotched with grey spots and lines here and there. Completely taken over by fear neither of them could move. They sat there as it reeled its head back and let out a loud aggressive hiss sending saliva flying all over. Tensing its muscles it sent its head flying toward them baring its fangs ready to eat. Flinching on instinct they put their arm over their eyes and turned away from their unstoppable attacker attempting to hide from their impending doom.