Frozen like a statue, he almost didn't dare to turn. But he had to know, had to see what was there.
There it was – an almost silent hissing sound.
Gods, he had heard that so often already. How much had he been praying not to see them here.
Wu Xie turned as fast as he could, pinning the scaled animal with his light. Hoping to make it turn tail and scurry away. It didn't.
The snake just hung there on the wall of the tunnel. Almost as still as him. Was it not sure what to do? Did it not have instincts to hunt and devour its prey?
It just kept staring at him. Hissing and tongue flicking, it slightly pulled its head back. Then it moved forward again. Spitting a spray of liquid in his direction.
So, fast, that Wu Xie barely had the time to flinch backward, instinctively closing his eyes and hiding his hand. A spitting snake.
Shit. He had no glasses to protect his eyes and already had a bleeding wound where poison could easily enter. Right now he could only hope that –
And again he was hit, with only a slightly cold breeze.
With all his instinctive actions, his brain had not yet realized. What the snake had spit at him, was not the normal jet of poison. No, it was oddly more of a rain of venom droplets. Much shorter and wider in its range.
Not far enough to even reach him. Instead he only stared dumbfounded at the animal for a moment. This – behaviour just didn't make any sense. Poison was a special resource, animals who had it did not even use it if not necessary.
So, why would this snake spray its poison into nothing? And then the odd pattern in the way it did it. Was this one a mutant or was it hurt and healed in a suboptimal way. Or was this normal for this special species?
Throwing all the thoughts out of his head he stumbled backwards. The reality of a snake just spitting venom at him finally getting through to him. Get away.
He had to get away from this snake – this place. Especially in his current condition.
Just when he wanted to run, he noticed it. The snake which was hanging on the rough tunnel walls suddenly flattening its body. He had never seen something like this.
With the snake so close and behaving this oddly he had to keep an eye on it and if only to protect himself.
It is venomous – definitely deadly. And had attacked him twice already, he hadn't even seen it coming. If he wanted to survive this, he had to know where it is, to avoid anything it spat at him.
Fatty, Xi- Qiling he had to warn them, find them – and those mercenaries were still around too.
Wu Xie stared at the snake, the yellow silted eyes that were following him even though he shined his flashlight directly at it. It was flattening further, like it had some hidden folds of skin it stretched out making itself look wider by a lot.
And then it suddenly launched itself at him. Directly from the wall. And it flew through the air. Weaving through it as if it was only swimming – gliding.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
To those who don't already know about them, 'flying' and 'spitting' snakes really exist. I just gave them a personal touch.