Shadowed Scales

Chapter 20: Don't Talk to The Heart's Silence

_CHAPTER TWENTY_

Don't Talk to The Heart's Silence

Everything happened in a flash.

It was bad enough that Sameer was in a bind with Counsellor Patel. All he could do was prevent the king cobra from striking his neck. Not only that, his friends and the girls were watching in horror.

Except Arthur, which he assumed would be covering his ears.

"You just HAD to snoop around," Counsellor Patel hissed irritably. Sameer dare not to utter out a scream if some parts of his body felt in pain. His carnelian eyes were locked onto his golden ones. "Why couldn't you and your boy scouts stay where you're supposed to be?"

"I'm not letting you devour the girls!" Sameer spats back, his hood flared to its full extend. He opened his mouth, pulling back so that his sharp fangs were revealed. Despite not having any venom, he hoped they are sharp enough to give Counsellor Patel serious wounds.

With his mouth opened, his tongue could pick up things in the air. One of the things were the trembling fear of other campers. He wished he could turn his head to look at them but that would give Counsellor Patel the advantage.

"Beppi, take the girls and Arthur back to camp," he ordered, not taking his eyes off Counsellor Patel. He was grinning in amusement, which irritated Sameer.

As if this whole mission was nothing but a game for him.

"But Sameer, he's going to eat you!"

"Go now!" Sameer turned his head briefly, flashing those intense carnelian eyes at his friend. "Get everyone out of here! Do it or else I will bite all of you!"

He doesn't need sharp hearing to know that the others have ran off while he stalled Counsellor Patel from hunting them down. They're safe, Sameer thought with relief. They can hate me but at least they are alive.

He was thrashing within Counsellor Patel's constricted bind. Despite the king cobra being larger than him, Sameer wanted to tire him out so that he could deliver the finishing blow. All those times reading his favourite horror and history books somewhat prepared him for this.

"You think you're a hero for doing this?" Counsellor Patel taunted, wrestling the young Egyptian cobra to the ground. Although he doesn't have acute hearing, Sameer could hear their own breaths echoing throughout the tunnels.

There was no one except the both of them. Young and adult.

"You're just a weak worm trying to fit into your father's skin!"

Sameer hissed loudly, sinking his teeth into the king cobra's flared hood. It was unnerving that the markings on the back of Counsellor Patel's hood resembled eyes. A sudden gasp escaped the older cobra's throat.

Besides the two punctured wounds he has inflicted, Sameer's mouth felt something dripping from the tips of his fangs. He knew what it was, but his body was trying to survive the ongoing blows.

"I'm not weak!" Sameer shouted; his voice reverberated throughout the tunnels. He began to lift a third of his body off the ground, trying to match up to Counsellor Patel's. The king cobra gazed down at him with a cruel smile.

Both cobras intertwined their bodies together, seeing who comes out on top. As much as Counsellor Patel had the advantage with his fair length, Sameer's speed and his minuscule body bought him time. Sameer wanted nothing more than to take Counsellor Patel down until his last strength.

At this point, the young Egyptian cobra doesn't know what his next plan of attack is.

He had experienced multiple bites from Counsellor Patel, luckily not feeling any effect of the venom. Shaking his head, both of their hoods flared while their clashed bodies tangled each other. One was biting the other as they cling to each other like a knotted rope.

This somehow gave him an idea.

"I'm not my father," Sameer grunted, shoving Counsellor Patel's weight off of him by driving the both of them to a wall. He twisted his body, tail gripping the older snake in a twine. "I may have his eyes and his way of seeing everyone, but it doesn't mean that I'm EXACTLY like him!"

Sameer head-butted Counsellor Patel before he allowed his whole body to pin him down. The king cobra was getting exhausted, hearing his hissed drawn out while the coil between them weakened.

"They will release me when I give my statement," Counsellor Patel spat, struggling to knock Sameer out of his coil.

"Others you have harmed can have their say," he countered, opening the king cobra's mouth so that the last drop of his venom was milked into his body. So far, the Egyptian cobra hasn't felt any sensation except an itch.

"This proves my point on how you are no different than the Judge."

"I'm what I am," Sameer hissed, trying to hold Counsellor Patel down despite his thrashing. "I will use the lessons I have learnt from him and here to be what I want to be. You're about to be judged by the eyes of the court!"

When Sameer announced his sentence, he could hear his own voice bouncing through the tunnel walls. With his fangs reared, he plunged his mouth into Counsellor Patel's neck.

Little by little, the king cobra stopped thrashing.

Sameer recoiled his body, stomach lurching while his heart was thumping at a rapid pace. Slowly, he slithered towards the body of Counsellor Patel, placing the tip of his tail on his neck.

A faint pulse was felt.

This made him confused. He stopped Counsellor Patel from pursuing the other campers and yet, he felt guilty if he had died. What's worst was the feeling of relief when he realised that Counsellor Patel was alive but barely.

Does this make him no different than this monster?

Sameer felt his heart slowing down. Was this how most of the characters in his horror stories felt when their end was near? The stories made it looked easy compared to the reality of the situation.

The Egyptian cobra didn't want to think. He doesn't care about what his family would think of him fighting an adult and disobeying the counsellors. Everyone at Gryphon Cross would see him differently.

Not as an extension of his father but what they had thought of the minute he attacked Arthur:

A savage carnivore.

He knew that herbivores were told to be alert the minute they're born because they feared that carnivores might attack and devour without realising. Some schools he read had separated herbivores and carnivores into different classes so that they won't fight each other. It was one of the ways to solve the problem.

However, Sameer believed that would cause more problems.

But carnivores can be gentle, kind and noble just as much as herbivores. Their sheer strength can be used to protect, helped others and show how much they care about their loved ones.

This camp had opened his eyes for the first time, and he doesn't want any of the memories to fade.

Sameer can't imagine what his family might say about his situation. With a sigh, he closed his eyes as he felt his body being lifted off the ground.