It was unbelievable what this creature could do. It swarmed around us in an overwhelming shroud of darkness. It's deep set glowing red eyes watching every single move we made. Sometimes I wondered if it possessed intelligence, and sometimes I wondered if it would let us go. It had slimy scales colored in many earthy hues. They were sharp too! We tried out best not to get too close, but it seemed to squirm often enough to poke one of us in the side now and then. The creature breathed upon us – a stench so foul, and it made a mixture of growls and hissing sounds. It reminded me of the pet snake I had at home, except this one was much larger, if it even were a snake at all.
“Jerry,” I whispered to my closest friend.
“What,” he whispered back.
“What do you think we should do?”
Jerry paused for a few minutes before he answered. No doubt asking himself a hundred questions all at once. I would be surprised either because that was exactly what I was doing too. Who knows why this creature was here. I mean it appeared out of nothingness and instantly shrouded us. Just moments before we were on our way out of the edge of the Coiling Forest, and on our way to the Great Market.
“I honestly don't know,” Jerry finally replied. At first it was unsettling to hear because Jerry was the guy that solved problems. He was the person who always seemed to find a way out. The pit of my stomach curled around and upside down. It was a tight feeling I didn't like, but couldn't help to avoid. Hopefully this creature would soon leave us alone, but of course that wouldn't happen.
The creature began to coil itself in tighter, as Jerry and I moved in closer together to avoid its scales. So this is what it is like to be in a mechanical compactor I thought to myself. The look on Jerry's face told me he was thinking the same thing. The pit of my stomach squeezed tighter. Seeing Jerry's scared face made everything that much more unsettling. We needed to do something soon though. There had to be a way out of this.
“Jerry?”
“What?”
“Do you think this thing is afraid of fire?”
Jerry gave me an incredulous look before responding, “You mean to tell me you had fire this whole time.”
I didn't know what to say to him really. The thought never crossed my mind until now, and quite frankly I was stunned by this event more than he were. The last thing I would remember is having a piece of flint and steel in my day pack.
“I forgot Jerry.”
“Give me your stupid pack,” he waved his hands slightly towards himself.
Jerry took the flint and steel from my bag and started clacking them against each other. At this point he was rushing it because the creature began coiling tighter once again. Its steely scales barely grazing my soft skin. I tried not to make a squealing noise, but that didn't stop the tremors running from up and down my spine.
Jerry got the torch lit and began to wave it near the creature's scales. It writhed around a bit without sliding in closer. Which was a good thing considering we only had two steps between each other at this point. The creature's scales seemed to get red hot and it let out a screeching noise that shrilled through my ears. I covered my ears and Jerry kept on roasting the scales. The creature seemed to be angry, but it didn't retaliate. I couldn't help but wonder why. Most creatures that are harmed retaliate in a blood fury, but this one didn't.
“I think that it is loosening,” Jerry shouted to me over the loud screeching of the creature. The scaled began to turn black and smoked as if it were burning. Yet the creature still didn't move away. What was it waiting for? This was so weird.
Then all of a sudden we were back in the forest. The sun was high in the sky, and it threw us off for a loop. We were in that coiling creature for hours, yet the sun never moved. We both looked at each other with surprised and quizzical looks on our faces. Where had the creature gone? Was it just our imaginations? We didn't exchange questions or words at all for that matter. Jerry and I simply gathered out bearings and walked for the Great Market. Till this day we never understood what happened in that forest, and till this day we never spoke of it again.
“What,” he whispered back.
“What do you think we should do?”
Jerry paused for a few minutes before he answered. No doubt asking himself a hundred questions all at once. I would be surprised either because that was exactly what I was doing too. Who knows why this creature was here. I mean it appeared out of nothingness and instantly shrouded us. Just moments before we were on our way out of the edge of the Coiling Forest, and on our way to the Great Market.
“I honestly don't know,” Jerry finally replied. At first it was unsettling to hear because Jerry was the guy that solved problems. He was the person who always seemed to find a way out. The pit of my stomach curled around and upside down. It was a tight feeling I didn't like, but couldn't help to avoid. Hopefully this creature would soon leave us alone, but of course that wouldn't happen.
The creature began to coil itself in tighter, as Jerry and I moved in closer together to avoid its scales. So this is what it is like to be in a mechanical compactor I thought to myself. The look on Jerry's face told me he was thinking the same thing. The pit of my stomach squeezed tighter. Seeing Jerry's scared face made everything that much more unsettling. We needed to do something soon though. There had to be a way out of this.
“Jerry?”
“What?”
“Do you think this thing is afraid of fire?”
Jerry gave me an incredulous look before responding, “You mean to tell me you had fire this whole time.”
I didn't know what to say to him really. The thought never crossed my mind until now, and quite frankly I was stunned by this event more than he were. The last thing I would remember is having a piece of flint and steel in my day pack.
“I forgot Jerry.”
“Give me your stupid pack,” he waved his hands slightly towards himself.
Jerry took the flint and steel from my bag and started clacking them against each other. At this point he was rushing it because the creature began coiling tighter once again. Its steely scales barely grazing my soft skin. I tried not to make a squealing noise, but that didn't stop the tremors running from up and down my spine.
Jerry got the torch lit and began to wave it near the creature's scales. It writhed around a bit without sliding in closer. Which was a good thing considering we only had two steps between each other at this point. The creature's scales seemed to get red hot and it let out a screeching noise that shrilled through my ears. I covered my ears and Jerry kept on roasting the scales. The creature seemed to be angry, but it didn't retaliate. I couldn't help but wonder why. Most creatures that are harmed retaliate in a blood fury, but this one didn't.
“I think that it is loosening,” Jerry shouted to me over the loud screeching of the creature. The scaled began to turn black and smoked as if it were burning. Yet the creature still didn't move away. What was it waiting for? This was so weird.
Then all of a sudden we were back in the forest. The sun was high in the sky, and it threw us off for a loop. We were in that coiling creature for hours, yet the sun never moved. We both looked at each other with surprised and quizzical looks on our faces. Where had the creature gone? Was it just our imaginations? We didn't exchange questions or words at all for that matter. Jerry and I simply gathered out bearings and walked for the Great Market. Till this day we never understood what happened in that forest, and till this day we never spoke of it again.