14 CHPT 14: I haven’t won yet!
Ursula helped Warren up off the dirty forest floor and the pair made their way to the visibly shaken Claude.
During Claudes fear induced paralysis, the snake fully emerged from the cave and began to slither towards him, tearing up the grass and anything else that went under its rough heavily muscled underbelly. Despite seeing this Claude felt like he couldn't will himself to move. His legs felt like they didn't even belong to him.
"Am I going to die on my first real mission? Am I that weak? Was all Claude could think as time seemed to slow and everything seemed to go silent, like this mother snake was death itself and Claude was waiting to be consumed by it.
"CLAUDE!!?? I KNOW WE HAD A BAD START BUT WE CAN STILL CATCH UP....YOU CAN STILL PROVE YOUR NOT WEAK!"
Claude was partially snapped back into reality after hearing Ursulas determined strained voice. Her message reminded him why he was trying so hard in this forest...in the academy. "She's right I can't die because I haven't won yet...I haven't proved myself!" He thought.
After his purpose was restored he realized if he didn't move right now, not only would he die but so would the rest of his team.
The realization of being the cause of death to his team members sent a fresh rush of adrenaline coursing through Claudes veins.
After Ursula yelled to Claude hoping it was what he needed to hear she saw him jump a little like he was knocked out of a daze and then he turned around with a look of pure terror on his face saying, "NO, TURN AROUND AND GET THE PROFESSOR...RUN!!!"
Claude could feel the wind brushing past his face as his adrenaline fueled limbs took him away from the snake and towards his team. The rest of the students must have lost their fear and traveled deeper into the forest since....much deeper in he couldn't hear anything but the snake and his team.
Claude strained his vision and hearing for any people nearby and all he heard was the trees in the wind and his teammates labored breaths. All he saw for hundreds of feet were....plated snake corpses.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me." He thought.
Claude realized the giant mother snake was going to blame the first people it saw for the death of its children and that happened to be his team...the only ones with no snake kills....ironic. This understanding made Claudes knees weak and his heart race.
"Claude what's out there man?" Warren asked shakily as he looked all around in paranoia.
Before Claude could answer the giant mother snake burst out of the brush at impressive speeds for its size letting out a cool low rumble instead of a hiss.
"RMBRRMBRRMBRRMBR"
The noise it made seemed to shake them to their core, everyone stood completely still just long enough to take in its monstrous appearance.
Claude realized they couldn't outrun the snake since it was able to cover enough ground to reach them, so Claude decided to send the most likely to run out to get the professor.
"Warren, go get the professor..NOW" Claude yelled snapping Warren out of his paralysis.
***
All Claude heard was Warren running over the forest floor, nothing else...there wasn't even a breeze, almost as if nature itself stopped to marvel at this terrifying creature.
"Hey, I understand if you run I just knew for sure Warren would so I sent him off with a purpose inst—" Before Claude could finish Ursula interrupted saying,
"Nope, I'm not going anywhere...plus imagine what we'd get for gutting this sucker!"
Claude felt a new level of admiration for Ursula...but also began to question her sanity.
Claude and Ursula readied themselves for battle—Ursula bringing up her twin axes and crouching down low with her thick and powerful legs tensed. Claude tossed his shield realizing it would do nothing in this fight and brought his chipped and worn shortsword up holding it confidently in one hand as if it were Excalibur itself.
The snake raised its head and its eyes seemed to enlarge with excitement at the realization that its food didn't plan on running.
Ursula looked at Claude and then at the snake in an attempt to say she was ready to charge and Claude understood.
They both blasted from their current spots at impressive speeds, due to Claude being faster the snake attacked him first by swinging its massive horned head at him.
Claude stopped his dash and changed direction missing the horns by a hair of an inch, he could feel the wind they generated blow past his face with a satisfying "WOOSH".
During this time Ursula reached the snake shortly after Claude and swung her axe at the snakes critical point causing a semi deep gash that leaked black from its side.
Claude and Ursula both jumped back to their starting positions as the snake swung its head wildly and let out a terrifying angry rumble in pain.
"RMBRRMBRRMBRRMBRRMBR!!!"
"Ursula, I think if we keep doing this we can kill it with minimal injury."
"Yea but what if it catches onto our gameplan?" Ursula asked.
"Try not to think about that, just focus on putting power behind those axe swings when I give you openings." Claude said sternly.
After their brief mid battle exchange they prepared to go back in, but Claude noticed something odd.
The giant snake raised its tail, it was thicker at the end like there was extra armor plating there. The pyramid shape at the end of the dark purple tail seemed to glow under the sunlight that broke through the trees.
CRACK
Out of nowhere the snake swung its tail at a nearby redwood tree with such ferocity and power that it broke through and sent giant spear-like splinters at Ursula.
"NOOOO!"
Claude yelled as he dashed toward Ursula. He somehow reached her and shoved her out of the way just in time, but he couldn't save himself from being grazed in multiple places and stabbed in the left arm by the wood splinters.
***
Ursula saw the snake raise its tail and watched as it sent the splintered wood pieces toward her at incredible speed, then in those final moments when she thought the pieces would slice and stab her she felt a shove and a slight pain that brought her back to reality as soon as she left it.
***
Blood, dirt and decay was all Ursula could smell from where she lay with a long jagged piece of wood in her leg. All she knew was whatever hit her had saved her life.
"God dammit...huff..huff..I coulda swore I got you outta the way, I'm so sorry Ursula are you alright?" Claude asked in between hard breaths.
"Y-yes."
Ursula responded with a shaky shock filled voice. She looked at Claude in surprise as she realized he just traveled 15 feet at incredible speeds to save her life and was still standing with cuts all over his body.
His legs were cut so bad that blood covered the bit of his pants that weren't ripped and slowly dripped onto the forest floor. His shirt fell off from being cut in the spots that held it over his body, revealing his lean muscled frame, he was battered and bruised and covered in deep nasty cuts all over his shoulders and the outsides of his arms. When she looked up at his face she began to cry, his ear was missing a chunk on the outside the way some rats do and his cheek had a cut with a couple wood splinters in it. He was breathing incredibly—hard probably fighting to stay awake and despite his tired looking eyes he still wore his signature scowl which seemed to fit the situation.
"Why are you apologizing?" Ursula asked while tears streamed down her freckled face.
"RMBRRMBRRMBRRMBR"
Before Ursula could speak any longer he turned away and faced the snake, "HES STILL FIGHTING??" She thought in awe as she watched him move. He looked back at her and said, "I'm really sorry." Before he turned back to the snake. She could've sworn she saw his eyes flash a bright emerald green.
