Evaluations of the Tribe : Prossia Book 0 - Act 3

Chapter 13.2

Glani got her body's controls again and did as told along with Requai. The three fired relentlessly, but the creature's skin was thick and hard as stone. Before they knew it, the beast leapt right in front of Requai and Glani. Both girls shrieked before the creature knocked Requai away with its head, leaving what it already knew was the weakest link. Its jaws snapped around Glani's left thigh before she had enough time to run away. It squeezed her leg like shears snapping a twig.

Glani's holler was beyond crazed. Catty froze as she watched the creature try to bite off more than it could even chew, its appetite showing by the saliva splotching across the tree limbs. Still, it was strong enough to pull and jerk Glani's body around, positioning her so it was right on top of her. The creature crushed her thigh even harder.

Glani stopped screaming and fainted from the shock. It took every bit of Catty's mind to keep calm. She inhaled and aimed. Unlike the shots she usually made in sparring, the next beam she fired flew insanely fast, bright, and shrieked loudly, indicating its lethal intent.

The creature's cry would've made the hairs on the Goolian's skin rise if she had any. When Catty's beam struck, the animal's left mandible blew off where the hard substance met pure muscle. It then spat out the still quiet Glani, realizing it wouldn't be able to enjoy its food unless it fended off the stronger opponent first.

Catty looked over to Requai. Knocked out. She then searched for Aly, who was sharpening the tips to one of her sparring sticks with a rock. That only left her to deal with the odd animal. She shot the creature in the mouth when it ran in to take a chomp out of her.

The beast paused momentarily and charged again with the remainder of its mouth closed. Catty somersaulted up to a tree and ran, already figuring the creature was made to kill anywhere it needed to.

"Hey!" Aly went after the two. "We best stay together, fool!"

"Then, I beg, give me a hand prior to its taking my head!" Catty yipped when she heard the animal take a chomp at her. "Ideas? For I truly struggle to think as I run on my toes!"

Aly swore when the two switched their course. "Then this one has not been put under enough pressure."

"Just hold your tongue and make yourself of use!"

Aly climbed up an extra level to get a better view. From what she could tell, Catty was now making the creature go in circles, up and down. She'd never seen the creature before in her life, but she couldn't imagine it not knowing what irritation was until then.

"Try and keep the same pattern, very good?"

"Less talk and more action would be preferred greatly, Aly, my thanks!"

She found the rhythm, her eyes locked on. She was the predator now, the strange beast the prey. Aly dropped off the edge of the branch she stood on. She shut her eyes so the twigs wouldn't cut them as much as her face. Closing in on the unexpected target was a rush as Aly heard its hisses and Catty's shrieks near.

And when the moment came, she flipped over, tightened her legs, straightened her body like an arrow, and slammed her heels into the creature's back when it passed underneath her. Her momentum made the branch break, and both bodies plummeted. Still, Aly tumble-rolled off the beast like a ball when it crashed into the ground.

She got up, dusted herself off, and walked right up to the dead creature. She twirled her sharpened stick over the body, and thrust it in the center. Kill confirmed.

Catty landed in front of her, sweating and panting. She bent over and placed her hands on her knees. "Whew! Better."

Aly grinned. "Why, this one made this all seem so difficult. Truly, it was easy enough for me."