11 Chapter 11-Land of Nod/Adah

She'd sampled her blood several times as she bit the inside of her cheeks from chewing too hard, but all she tasted was metallic iron, never spicy and sweet.

And something happened to her as she drank its blood; there was a feeling of fire, the warmth that flowed through her veins, her vision was blurred, and she seemed overheated; her strength was folding a hundred times over.

The creature was shocked, seeing that the wound on her arm could be seen to close on its own and the burning cool to a dull ache. The remaining blood on her arm was glowing bright, so bright that she wanted to close her eyes, but she dare not! She felt the power within her blossom faster.

The fire, the anger, the pain, the sadness, and the darkness inside her light up. And suddenly, she felt reborn.

Sean's frightened face in the distance was beyond surprising. He was hiding in the snowy rock, trying not to come into contact with the creature.A moment passed, maybe more, and the only thought that kept battering through his brain was, No! He has to help her. But out of shock, his mind would even let his feet run towards her.

The Lamia Aegeus snaps out of its stupor and snatches its wrist from her mouth. In that second, it backhands Catherine across her face. Catherine's head was whipped to the side and the smack echoed around them. A little blood flies from her lips from the split the creature just gave her.

But she didn't feel any pain at all. Catherine instead roars. It kicked her in the belly. Then the creature jumps off her with the grace of a dancer and lands a kick again in Catherine's gut.

She clenched over in surprise, grasping her stomach, willing it to stop as it felt like a pat. It surprised her even more.

It stepped back, stunned, as Catherine didn't struggle to get it back. She treads on towards the creature. Now she realises that it was a half-woman, half-snake, as its hidden face earlier was evident to her now. It walked back, agitated, and a look of shock was clear in its eyes. The creature looked alarmed at that moment. Catherine reaches down and pushes it as hard as she can with both trembling hands.The creature stumbled, pain obvious in its face as Catherine reached down, gripping it by the throat and holding it in midair.

Again, Catherine would have been amazed by her surprise strength if she wasn't in mid-air as well. Then they both dropped to the ground. They were stunned as it compelled her to stand up. Catherine felt the darkness blurring her eyesight.

The creature spoke in a trembling voice. It looked at her and stiffened, "Forgive me, a descendant of Mark, for I was mistaken. I will eternally be your guardian." When remorse wracks the creature, it will do anything to make amends. That's when the creatures find it and tell Catherine it regrets. It could be more, it could be better, it could even walk in Catherine's way if she demands it.

Yet, Catherine was having difficulty understanding its words as the blackness crept around the edge of her vision. She took huge mouthfuls of air into her lungs, while Sean ran towards her.

The creature then said. "Spare me, I will give you the prophecy coin and I will serve you." The creature adds with hope. Handing her the ancient prophecy gold coin, just like in her dream, the coin is archaic-looking, yet it gave her a sense of connection.

As she took it and laid it in her pocket, she leaned up a little to her right as Sean held her trembling body. She then looks into the creature's teary eyes. Catching her breath, Catherine checked the punctures on his arm. She then commands it to close, and it is closed.

Impossible. Catherine thought. How in the world did that happen? There was something in her propelling her to touch it, as she took the coin in her outstretched hand. An image flashes back to her biting the creature and drinking its blood, then she shook it off in desperation to live. She cringed at that vision.

"I am bound to you, offspring of Mark." It said in a powerless voice, then added, "Just call my name whenever you are in danger; my name is Lamia Aegeus Adah, the keeper of the first prophecy coin." The creature knew it had done something more than dreadful when it had to bite so hard to justify its anger. The more demanding its subconscious reparations, the worse it realized it was.

Catherine stared at it. She couldn't even fathom it. The creature was gone. It vanished without a single sound. She glanced up at Sean standing there, keeping most of her weight off her ankle. It's time to go out of here before she passes out. Once on her feet, she felt it. Her heart thumps hard on her chest. The pain is unnatural, almost otherworldly, bringing her to her knees.

Sean panicked, "Are you okay?" He asked, helping her stand once more, "Do you even know how to get out? Do you realise how to wake up?"

"No!" He answered, but he looked confused. His confusion was simply anxiety in a different cloak. It was when his brain defocused in an attempt to allow the shocking event through.

"You mean, to return to the actual world?"

"Yes," she responded while trying to stay awake.

"No!" squeezing his views out of embarrassment.

Okay, just picture yourself in your bed, in your room, visualise something familiar, then close your mind. You'll be there. Sean, I couldn't hold it any longer. I'm drained. I need to go back. " Gathering the courage to speak up.

Mumbling like she doesn't have enough time to do what she needs to do. Her words were crowded together and some were missing. Her sentences were shattered and her thoughts seemed to jump from one thing to another. Sean feared for her safety as she was beyond pain. Her face was red and her eyes bloodshot. She took one step toward him and fell on the floor, trembling, not controlling her mind or body.

"I'm sorry, Catherine, I couldn't help you sooner." He knew he was so confused, yet it was when his fear scattered his thoughts that promoted the likelihood of a subconscious solution finding its way through survival advantage.

"I'm still shocked right now. I don't know what to do. What happened earlier was beyond me!" Embarrassed. Gone was the man from earlier. His mind was still coping with the fact of her fighting with something out of his nightmare. He was shocked and the more he contemplated it, the more his brain became a spinning top, always finding more questions than answers. The strange part was that there was a familiarity to it, he just couldn't shake it. It was not a memory per se, but echoed that call to his reasoning.

"I understand Sean. Don't worry; you can do it." The burning of her chest rises to an unbearable level as she screams and withers on the ground.

Sean looked at her in surprise as she was gone, vanished! He glances upward, his mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. Yet, his veins feel like they're about to burst, then he visualises his bed and his room as advised.

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