Homework and Monsters

Chapter 13

Leon gently rests Paige's head on the floor. She is still breathing but is losing too much blood and fast. He needs to find a way to get her help, coupled with Mrs Mitch holding Rosie and Ollie hostage, his options are limited. The crowds that had filled the yard moments ago have now evacuated and gathered outside the entrance. He can hear sirens starting to arrive as well, hoping some of them are ambulances.

He looks at the snake creature holding Rosie and Ollie, they are both unconscious but also seem to be in pain. The scaly tail wrapped around Ollie tightens, squeezing him. Leon clenches his fist's tight, as he racks his brain trying to come up with a way to get them away from it. His heart pounds in his chest and he is hesitant to make a decision fearing the safety of his friends. One wrong move could cost them their lives, yet if he takes too long Paige could end up bleeding out.

His decision is suddenly made for him, as Mrs Mitch throws Rosie and Ollie aside like ragdolls and slithers her way towards Leon at an incredible speed with her jaws wide baring her fangs. Before Leon even has a chance to aim his gun, she coils her tail around his arm, stretching it outward and bounds onto him wrapping around his body. Using her clawed hands, she starts to swipe at his chest in a furious rage, sparks fly all around from the contact with his armour. Leon tries to summon his other gun, but the snake creature grabs his helmet either side and smashes her head into his, breaking his concentration and knocking him off his feet.

She straddles Leon, pinning his head to the ground, then stretches his arm out with her tail. Leon yells and grits his teeth as her tail tightens and pulls, then with a violent jerk and a loud crack, breaks his arm. He drops his weapon and screams in agony as she lets his arm flop to the ground, then wraps her tail around his waist. Leon had never broken a bone before, he had had some bad sprains and bruises, but this was unlike anything he had experienced. The sharp surges of pain and numbing made his stomach turn. She stands up and raises Leon's body off the floor.

"If you think that hurts, you're in for an unpleasant surprise!" She hisses and wastes no time charging off towards the school. She slams him into a wall with tremendous force, shattering the bricks and showering them with fragments of cement and rubble. The impact knocks the air out of Leon's lungs winding him. Mrs Mitch unravels her tail and takes a step back leaving him imbedded in the wall and chuckles to herself. Desperately trying to correct his breathing, his focus shifting between himself and seeing Paige, Ollie and Rosie in the distance, he tries to wriggle himself free.

Then he feels it. Something new. A warm rush within him.

A clarity in his mind sweeps over as a burst of adrenaline kick-starts his energy. His armour shifts and changes shape on its own around his broken arm. It thickens, adding more metallic plates and reinforces the break. He clenches his fist and manages to pry himself free launching into a flurry of punches, bombarding into her chest, each punch sending a shockwave of air pressure away from them. Mrs Mitch staggers back, unable to keep up with the sudden burst of speed. The adrenaline coursing through Leon numbed the pain in his arm enough for him to keep up his attacks, whatever stings that remained simply fueled him even more. A burst of air pressure explodes from the wrist of his armour, enabling him to land a powerful right hook that shatters her cheekbone. He throws in his left fist guided by the momentum, but she blocks his following punch. Her cheekbone snaps back to realignment as she tuts sarcastically. She grabs hold of the front of his helmet and slams him back into the wall. Her head slinks forward bringing her face close to his.

"This is going to hurt." She sneers, licking her forked tongue up the side of his helmet. With a forceful thrust, she crashes him through the wall, shattering the bricks creating a gaping hole and starts charging through the school.