90 DEADLY DAYS (WEEKLY UPDATES RETURNING THIS DECEMBER)

Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

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All I can do is dodge, duck, and leap out of harm's way, dreading the moment when darkness will finally come to snatch what remains of my life. Nebula called it "rolling with the punches."

Staring into the eyes of the soulless creature, I know I'm facing one of those dark hours. The time when the line between death and life couldn't be more blurred. Both sides war for the win. The irises of the monster, the size of a man's hand, reflect this war in their ambiguous gaze, a gaze that leaves me thinking perhaps it will show me mercy.

But their teeth, glowing in murky light, as sharp and as long as icicles, remind me of how close death is.

I writhe before the creature, clawing for air. I made a stupid mistake inhaling underwater and now it's time to pay.

The water pulls me deeper into its depths. It grows shadowier the farther I sink, but the horrifying eyes of my enemy still glow bright. The beast follows my descent. Intermittently its dagger teeth shine, languidly revealing themselves. I've gone almost twenty seconds without air now. The water waxes dimmer but I know it's only because I'm fading. In just a few more moments Xaro will have another prize.

Another fallen child.

The creature suddenly lunges forward, coming so close I notice my hands could fit in its flaring nostrils. My heart pumps faster, bunting back and forth in fear. The beast nuzzles my front. The skin reminds me of an alligator's scales.

The steely hardness of a tooth brushes my leg.

The light is almost gone.

I'll be forever lost.

What is after death?

I've never been told.

In the midst of all the panic and pain, a force abruptly shoves me upward. I go flying towards the surface's light. Halfway there, I'm bunted up again. This time I see who does it. Scales of the creature slither against my bare feet, moving away and returning with sudden force—enough to bring me to the surface.

For a brief second my head breaches the top of the water, long enough for me to draw a breath and hold it. Then I sink once more.

Despite the evident dangers, I manage a smile at the thing I once thought ugly. The soulless eyes even seem kind. Who would have thought? The very thing that Xaro thought would kill me has turned against them.

Why am I always so quick to judge?

Give some things a chance, Phoenix.

I'm bunted upward again, taking a second breath from the surface.

Underwater, I tentatively offer my hand for the creature to sniff. When it does a flurry of bubbles bloom in the water and the creature lets out a satisfied yowl. I grin, daring to pet its scales.

My tracker breaks through watery silence, beeping abruptly. It flashes red, warning of danger. Confusion clouds my forehead, but as soon as it came, the beeping dies away. My focus returns to the water mystery before me.

The creature's eyes shift to a red shade.

The change is too closely timed with the tracker, too mechanical to be coincidence.

Spear-like teeth unveil themselves. The monster dives at my chest. I roll aside, curling my body out of reach. A body of scaly armor passes, propelled forward by sharp-clawed feet. I try rolling further, barely hanging onto my last breath trapped inside. The creature's rocky tail swings back too fast, whipping my face and sending me deeper into murky hell.