Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 2: The Rescue

She had just a moment to notice the enormous shadow rising behind her before being engulfed in darkness. Only the rumbles of growls, shifting sounds, and wet squelches accompanied her as she attempted to navigate. Her only guess is that she was inside whatever just decided to swallow her. She couldn't see or feel anything around her. All she had was sound, and it confirmed what she already knew. As she tried to move around aimlessly, all she could hear was the gurgling of the creature's stomach. 

In her distress, she pushes her arms out as far as she could. At least she knew that's what she was doing. But with her inability to feel anything, she couldn't realize that the inside of the monster was slowly constricting around her, ready to crush and digest her. She couldn't perceive that the beast was thrashing about, but she did hear its pained cry, and some light seeped into the creature when it opened its maw to roar in rage. It had an elongated maw that split into four sections, lined with dozens of jagged teeth. If someone became trapped between those teeth, they'd be torn to pieces. Was it her peculiar body that saved her from being cleaved in two? She tries to crawl toward the light in those fleeting moments of visibility, but struggles to grasp the fleshy walls. Looking down at whatever she could see of her body, she notices small patches of her form browning and deteriorating. A wave of panic surges through her when the creature closed its mouth, again enveloping Marlina in darkness.

"No! Open your mouth now! Let me out!" Marlina cries out.

While trying to push her arms out again to create some space, the light returned, accompanied by an even more intense roar of pain that followed. A part of the beast's mouth was torn away, the creature thrashing around as mud-colored blood poured down its throat and splattered her. What could have caused that? If Marlina had any sense of smell, the stench of the beast's blood would be overwhelming. 

Marlina pauses to think. 'Sharp... sharp things harm flesh... I need something sharp...' A groan of frustration escaped her. No matter how hard she pushed, the walls closed in tighter. 'But I don't have anything sharp... It's my only way out...' Extending her fingers, she made a small effort to make them 'sharper' to penetrate the constricting walls. 'Please... please be sharp enough... I need you to be sharp!'

As if a prayer had been answered, the beast's blood began to gush from where her hands pressed into its flesh. Shifting her arms as best she could, it seemed she was carving into the creature, and its bellows increased in intensity. Then, the fleshy walls pulse, and a thick liquid rose from deep within the beast. Marlina was then regurgitated through the cut maw and into a muddy puddle in the sand. 

Now able to move, she shifts to get onto her feet and finally took a good look at her bloodied hands. They were no longer her hands; they had transformed into short, stout blades, her fingers nowhere to be seen. 'What... happened to my hands?' However, there was little time to ponder as she was grabbed by her arms and pulled away from the creature.

As she was pulled away, it was to remove her from a creature Marlina had never seen before, which isn't saying much since she had only begun learning about the world a few years ago. Urush was home to a variety of unique creatures that she had encountered during her travels. This one was undoubtedly the most frightful-looking. It was a reptilian creature with a long maw, completely covered in scales, and had four eyes with large, projectile bolts deeply embedded in a couple of them. Its bulky torso gradually narrowed to a long, slender body, and it had only two front claws with curved nails that it used to pull itself across the sandy surface. Marlina looks up at the two people who grabbed her, covered from head to toe in desert traveling gear. With their layers of clothing protecting them from the approaching sandstorm, it was challenging to distinguish their features. As the creature roars once more and uses its claws to chase after them, one of the two suddenly releases Marlina's arm.