The Thean Tale

/2

CAIN

There's no less embarrassing way for me to put this, but allow me to say that I'm doing my best to keep my pants dry and pee-less, though I'm not sure how long I can keep it up.

You know how sometimes random lessons get drilled into our heads after they're repeated at suitable moments? Well, one such lesson for me is "respect fear". Honestly speaking, I find it almost stupid. But I guess we need fear. How else do we understand the lessons heroes teach us? How else would we be able to realise what courage truly gives us? How else would we be able to recognise bravery? It teaches us things, and for people like me, anything that can impart some sort of knowledge is worthy of respect.

So when I saw Al's shocked face and her signal for me to look behind, I willingly obliged because that is what respect for fear conditions us to do – face the unknown.

That was also the exact moment I lost every shred of the aforementioned respect along with pretty much the entirety of my masculinity. With my scream's pitch, I probably would've put half the performers in an opera out of business. What the fresh hell is that thing?

It trudges out of the shadows with unevenly timed deep thumping sounds that resonate within the walls of the Arena. It's a good four feet taller than me, probably more. But I can still tell that the beast is – for a lack of better word – ugly. I look up as far as my neck will allow, but getting a glimpse of its head is not an easy task, owing to its impressive height. It bends suddenly and comes into the light. Cue second incredibly high-pitched scream. See, this is why 'ugly' wasn't a good enough word. I guess I'll go with something like 'bloody repulsive' for now.

Jeez, why is only one head never good enough for these things? This one's got two (ah, standard issue) lizard-like ones. The one on the left froths at the mouth, dripping thick, yellow liquid in large, repulsive globules. The other snaps its jaw in an almost impatient, hungry manner and whenever its mouth opens wide enough, I'm able to see an orange glow close to the back of its throat. The two heads extend from an elongated neck in a Y-shape. The neck, in turn, is connected to a pale green, reptilian body that balances on its hind legs like a raptor.

Apprehension and fright bubble in the pit of my stomach, gnawing at its walls like acid. It snarls and moans in an eerie two-part harmony that easily coaxes a squeak from my lips. And when a hand suddenly takes hold of my elbow, the squeak turns into the third, cowardly scream I've let out in the past few minutes. It's cut short, though, when another hand is effectively placed on my mouth. Both hands turn me around and my eyes meet Al's mismatched ones.

"Yeah, stopping with the scream fest would probably be in our best interests," she whispers, smirking to cover her shock at the sight of the thing.

I nod in agreement, still unable to speak because of all the shock.

"Well, I could do with some speech, but at least you're not agitating it anymore."

"It's agitated? Wha – How can you tell?"

She rolls her eyes. "Wow, I've met pre-schoolers smarter than you. Watch it carefully. It's doing that shifty thing with its feet and it can't stop looking around."

I eye it cautiously. She was right. "Right. I totally knew that."

"Oh, of course you did." So apparently she enjoys delivering deadpanned statements to people who are incredibly close to dying.

"Do we have a plan of action?"

"I am currently formulating one with my impressive mind."

"Well, if it's your mind, then we might have a problem."