The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Chapter Nineteen: Battle Above the City

~Chapter Nineteen: Battle Above the City~

The second the screech ends and the creature shoots across the open water above the city towards the group of Mer far over my head, there is coordinated panic. No one really seems to know what to do now that they are faced with what has to be some sort of sea monster, but when Nero starts giving them orders that I cannot understand, they follow. And that is probably why they do not immediately die when the thing reaches them with its many sharp teeth and colossal size.

When they scatter like tadpoles fleeing the shadow of a bird, however, they seem to lose all of their coordination, even if it seems like a practiced maneuver. I kick off the roof to get a better view as they disappear into the city ruins, likely to hide. Only Nero does not immediately disappear, and that is because he swims right for me and-

My eyes widen, and I just barely manage to grab onto my mask before Nero slams into me, dragging me along with his magic-fueled rush into a broken house, out of sight of the giant thing with teeth. He then none-too-nicely shoves me against the furthest wall from the opening we entered through while I try to catch my breath.

Nero motions for me to stay still before warily swimming towards a still-intact window to peek out. He must not see anything too concerning, though, since he takes a deep breath before turning to me. "You know creatures, right? Do you have any idea what that is?" He asks, though I am not sure why he thinks that, as my knowledge of things is mostly limited to the beings I have met.

And I'm pretty sure I'd remember meetin' somethin' like that.

Up until this point, I had no interest - no, in fact, I still have no interest - in the things that go bump under the sea, so it is not like I have been doing research on giant things with teeth and weird tails. At most, I can call upon my knowledge of fictional beasts from the books I have read, but that thing hardly looks like a giant squid turned Kraken, and it does not have enough heads to be a weird sea hydra.

"Loch Ness Monster reject?" I suggest, because that is kind of what it looks like. It has the Loch Ness-like long neck, even if it is a lot thicker and shorter than the usual depictions of Nessie, and a smooth, scaleless body. However, the thing also has bendable arms that it uses to move faster, not flippers. It still does not have hands, as the arms end in weird webbed fin-like extremities. And then the body just kind of turns into a long tail from the waist down. "Or, you know, the unholy offspring of a t-rex, a dragon, and a megalodon."

The flat look Nero gives me is probably warranted,. I probably should not be making jokes of the thing that is probably going to eat us and likely already ate at least a couple members of Nero's team. But then again...when will I get a chance like this?

"Could also be, like, a mutated seal."

His glare only lasts for a second because the mutated seal lets out another ear-piercing screech. "Stay here," the Mer barks, and then he leaves the house.

I immediately swim over to the nearest window, watching him swim off towards the thing as it spins in a circle above the city before he shouts at it and darts away, the thing following closely behind. My nails bite into my palms, and I hiss in frustration, caught between the urge of wanting to help and the knowledge that I have no feasible way to do so. I do not, after all, have a high-powered tail that propels me through the water at speeds no being with two seperate legs could hope to reach. At best, I would be a liability, and at worst, I would be eaten. And though it is really hard to kill a wendigo, I am pretty sure I could not survive being digested.

Which means I'm worthless right now.

After a moment of silence, the thing returns within my field of vision from the window, and my heart makes an impressive attempt at stopping when I realize what its return could mean so soon after it left to chase Nero. I would like to think that I would have heard if Nero died, but if it just ate him, then I would have no way of knowing. And the fact that another Mer swims forward to grab the thing's attention does little to ease my concern.