Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 12

     Blitz slowly got to his feet, groaning as his damaged body screamed in protest. But there was no time to recover; the Gumon was getting away. Ori tumbled to the ground from Blitz's lap, mewling in protest. But the little spirit eventually got to his own feet and followed behind Blitz. Blitz stumbled through the chamber, around the corpse of the tyrant worm. The Gumon's eyes widened with fear and he dashed away, but he didn't cackle. It seemed he was finally taking the situation seriously.

     Blitz chased the Gumon out of the tunnel and back into the main cavern, falling far behind as his injuries slowed him down. Ori, on the other hand, was practically nipping at the Gumon's heels. The little spirit was fueled by anger. The Gumon had tried to kill them, more than once! And it had stolen the water vein for absolutely no reason!

     But as they reentered the cavern, the Gumon dashed over the wooden pontoons spanning the underground lake, and leapt up to the lintel above a particularly tall tunnel entrance, quickly gripping into it and clambering up it. He bounded upwards towards another opening, higher on the cave wall. He gripped the sill, hauling himself up and into the opening. Then, he dashed away into the tunnel, disappearing.

     Ori ran after him, trying to leap up to the lintel as well, but he wasn't nearly close enough. The opening was simply too high. He looked to the sides of the opening, wondering if he could leap onto the jamb and wall jump upwards to the opening the Gumon had disappeared into. Ori stepped over to the edge of the wooden pontoon, glancing down at the putrid waters with a hint of hesitation. He recalled how the water had stung when he touched it. Ori took a deep breath, and leapt from the catwalk to the jamb. "Ori, don't!" Blitz and Sein shouted, but they were too late. Ori had already leapt off of the pontoon.

     But the distance was simply too great. Ori plunged into the putrid, purple waters just short of the jamb. He felt an intense stinging sensation over all of his body, as if he had dived into a vat of acid. Ori resurfaced, desperately flailing his limbs in the putrid water in an attempt to swim. He screamed in pain and fear as he flailed helplessly, unable to swim properly in his panic. He felt something else dive into the water and swim up to him. He felt a hand, Blitz's hand, tightly grip his arm and hoist him out of the liquid. Most of the liquid sloughed off his body, but several clumps still stuck to his fur, steaming and sizzling.

     As Blitz tossed Ori out of the water and back onto the pontoon, Ori landed on the wood with a hard thump and writhed in pain. Though he was out of the liquid, the clumps that remained on his body were still stinging. Ori screamed again, tears in his eyes from the unbearable pain. He felt Sein float close to him, whispering words of comfort. The wisp levitated close to the clumps of decayed water, and the water instantly evaporated as she got near. As the wisp evaporated the clumps of putrid, stinging liquid from Ori's fur, the pain faded away. Then, Sein floated over and rested upon Ori's back. Small trickles of light leaked out of the wisp, and were absorbed into Ori's body. The light acted as a pain reliever, relieving Ori's agony enough to keep him from passing out.

     As the pain ceased clouding Ori's mind, the little spirit slowly opened his eyes, wheezing panting. He saw Blitz climb out of the water and back onto the pontoon. The liquid quickly sloughed off of his body, not a single droplet sticking to his suit. Blitz quickly ran to Ori's side, kneeling next to him. Though his face was obscured by his helmet, he was certainly concerned for his little friend's well-being. As Blitz stroked Ori's fur in an attempt to comfort him, he felt patches of bare, burnt skin where the clumps of decayed liquid had stuck. Blitz felt a pang of pity. His gaze turned up to Sein, who was still on Ori's back but no longer leaking out light energy. "Is he okay?" Blitz asked with a worried tone.

     "He will be fine," Sein answered with certainty. "A little shaken, but fine."

     In response, Ori lifted his head. His tail and ears were limp and drooping, and his body shook in fear, but the little spirit had a brave face on. "I'm... okay," Ori piped up in a shaky voice. The spirit shakily and unsteadily got to his feet. "We need to get up there," Ori said after a beat, his body and voice slowly calming down. He gestured up to the opening above the tunnel entrance at ground level. "The Gumon went that way."