Chapter 144

WARNING: There are some depictions of blood and well… kinda disturbing things. You have been warned.

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Hydrangea scrambled to reach Bastian's gun. She'd not received any of the lessons given by the Viskogornian soldiers, but it couldn't be that hard; aim, light the powder and it shoots.

But the person holding her hair wouldn't let up and she was grimacing in pain and fear as the horrific creature was coming closer.

The warriors were shouting in their language and tossing spears at the massive beast but it was doing nothing and the monster continued to kill them. She watched in horror as two men flopped to the ground, their bodies hissing as they smiled as though they were in absolute bliss.

She gasped and began to fight and claw at the hand holding her. The man was yelling at her but she could tell he was terrified of the beast also.

Finally the man let go and she fell to the jungle floor. Snatching herself up from the damp ground she crawled the few inches to where Bastian lay and pulled out his gun.

Grabbing a charge from his pocket she readied the gun for firing. Her hands luckily didn't shake but her breath and pulse were so rapid she felt faint.

Drip… drip… drip…

Amidst the screams and shouts of terror and fighting she looked to her left, her hands still raised to shoot the gun, and saw rain dripping from the leaves above.

Hearing a hair-raising shriek she looked back at where the creature was, it's eight legs were clacking as they connected with the dirt. The glistening hairs on its abdomen were hissing from the rain drops falling in the toxic bristles.

The rain began to pour down on top of them, the drops as big as coins and falling like stones. Few men were still standing, others were injured or trying to throw spears at the beast.

One of the men charged for the beast and the large creature spun and impaled the man with one of its front legs. Hydrangea gasped.

The monster threw the man into the trees, landing next to her with his face set in a gruesome fear. She unwittingly let out a shriek at the thud of the body.

A startling clicking and hissing came from across her position and she gulped upon seeing the horrific creature standing there. Its black eyes level with hers. The other men had either ran off or been killed.

She raised the gun and levelled it with the beast. Her heart froze in her chest when she realized that the powder was wet from the rain.

With frantic hands she began searching Bastian's body for the powder bag. The creature shrieked and began scuttling towards her, its poisonous hair hissing from the cool rain.

She whimpered in desperation when she still hadn't found it. The rain echoed on the leaves but it couldn't block out the sound of her impending death.

She gasped in relief when she found the small sack. She fumbled to get it open. Her breath caught in her throat when she found that it was empty.

The shrieking grew louder. She looked up to see it was only a few metres from her, it's beady black eyes narrowed at her and it's mouth frothing with venom.

In a split second she grabbed a spear next to her and held it in the direction of the beast. She ducked her head, expecting it to hit her.

A horrible squealing and crunching followed and a heavy weight was placed on the spear.

Her arms strained under the weight. She peeked out from behind her wet hair and saw that the spider was suspended on the tip of the spear. It's legs were curled around the spear shaft. She let go of it and stood, wincing as her fingers brushed some of its brown hairs.

Hydrangea blinked, feeling the world begin to spin. She reached out to grab something to hold her steady but only found her world tilting and her hands landing on the ground. She miraculously raised herself to her feet and began walking to the scene of the battle.

She stared at the warriors who lay sprawled on the leaf littered jungle floor. Craning her head back she looked up at the spinning trees, the warm raindrops hitting her unfeeling skin.

Lowering her eyes they scanned the dead faces of the warriors again. They were covered with blood and dirt. The blood dyed their green clothes like paint on a canvas. She watched their disturbing smiles, their eyes glazed over in happiness. One of them was laughing, spitting out blood that dribbled down his chin.

She sat down, the jungle spinning around her.

"Hydrangea!"

She stared at the body of a man, his body was convulsing and he was smiling while his face was soaked with blood.

"Hydrangea. You've got to stop doing this, fighting beasts never really ends well… does it? Hydrangea?"

She blinked and looked at the person in front of her. Bastian. There was no blood on him, except on his right temple.

"Hydrangea?"

"Why are they smiling?" She muttered, her face confused as the world began to spin even more. She felt ill.

Bastian kept speaking but she couldn't understand a word of it.

She swallowed back some bile that threatened to rise as Bastian wiped her hands with a cloth.

"Why are they smiling?"

He answered her but she could only watch his lips move. Something was suddenly placed on her lips and she tried to get away from it but she couldn't. A horrible, foul tasting liquid entered her mouth and she wanted to spit it out.

"You have to swallow it, Hydrangea." She blinked and looked around, trying to find Bastian but everything was so bright and spinning. Everything kept spinning. But she swallowed it, the bitter flavour making her feel sick.

The object left her lips and she landed on her hands and knees, her body shaking and her stomach churning nauseatingly. She began to retch, her back was stroked but it offered minimal comfort to the acid scalding her throat and mouth.

Once she'd finished she sat back on her heels and blinked as she observed Bastian next to her.

"Here, drink this." He offered up a bowl and she could see water in it. He brought it to her lips and she swallowed the soothing water gratefully.

Setting the empty bowl down he wiped her chin and lips with a cloth.

"You feel better?" He asked and she looked up at him. He was worried, but calm.

She nodded, she didn't feel as dizzy or as… awful as she had before.

She looked around and shivered upon seeing that the bodies were still there. She was abruptly pulled into an embrace and her eyes were covered.

"Don't look at them. You're fine."

She nodded, wishing that she could forget those bodies, the blood and smiles. But they were forever ingrained in her mind.