Fantastic Beasts and the One that Got Away

5. Fantastic Beasts and the World Within the Leather

Traveling further into the case, Newt passed numerous creatures that he cared for. He had given his life to protect these so called "monsters," and seeing them thriving always made him happy. In this situation, he needed that. He saw the Occamy eggs in their nest, the Erumpent he chased through New York City, and the Arizona climate that once housed the Thunderbird. As he ran, the Billywig flew circles around his head, chasing him as if it were a game.

Newt kept going until he reached the habitat that contained the creature he needed to save Alex: the Nundu. Nundus were known as the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world for their toxic breath, able to kill an entire village with disease. The beast was known for only being subdued by a group of one hundred wizards working in harmony. This Nundu, though, was a different case. It had been owned by Eldon Elsrickle, a famous robber,  who procured him during a voyage in Africa. He was able to "tame" it by using a Stunning Spell on it every day. The one day he forgot, he did not survive to see the next day. Since then, the beast had been easier to tame because of it's weakend state. Newt was able to bring it into the case and, against all odds, gain it's trust. Keeping his distance, while still keeping it alive and cared for had kept it from attacking him. Newt saw no problem with getting to the beast. What scared him was breaking the Nundu's trust. He may not survive its attacks if it turned on him. It would not be pretty.

Crouched behind a large boulder, Newt was able to see the creature sleeping on the ground several feet away. The Nundu resembled a leopard, with black spot contrasting its yellow fur. From his view point, Newt could see the rise and fall of the creatures breath. With each inhale, its throat grew like a balloon before deflating back to it's normal size. Newt had never been afraid of the spindly spikes that protruded from every inch of the creatures body. That was, until he needed to get close to them. Now, he saw each one as another chance that he would not be able to save Alex.

Newt was broken out of his stupor by a pressure on his hand. He looked down to see his trusty Bowtruckle, Pickett, staring up at him with glistening brown eyes. Pickett began to point at the sleeping Nundu, shaking his head in protest.

"I know, Pickett, I know. But I have to. It's the only way I can save Alex. You know better then any human what she means to me. She's like a sister to me. I can't let her die." Newt's voice broke. He looked away from his little friend and back to the beast. He knew what he had to do. But could he do it?

"Alright, Pickett. You stay here. I can't have you getting hurt too."

He set Pickett down on the boulder and gathered himself. There was no good way to go about this. Not much was known about this deadly creature, so it was all he could do to prepare.

Still crouching, Newt began to inch towards the creature. Not a second later, a crack came from below his shoe. He looked down to see a broken stick beneath his foot. It's always a stick.

His head snapped back to the beast when he heard the sound of its spikes drag along the dirt covered ground. He had been noticed. Newt paused to judge its next move. The Nundu seemed to do the same. Since Newt had never tried to approach it, the Nundu seemed to back down. Their trust was strong. New was about to break that trust.

Aware of how little time Alex had left, he moved forward. About 3 feet from the beast, the Nundu looked up again. This time, it saw Newt as a potential threat. Lifting itself to all fours, the creature began to crouch defensively. Newt paused. He was making a big mistake. But, there was no turning back now.

He waited for the Nundu to make the first move. After several nervewracking moments, the creature hadn't moved. Here goese nothing, Newt thought.

Stepping forward with his body folded in submission, Newt tested the waters. It was the wrong move.

The Nundu leapt forwards to close the distance. In a moment of fear, Newt pulled his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!" The creature was blown backwards into a pile of rocks with a crash. Newt had promused himself that he would never harm this creature in the same manner as Eldon Elsrickle. It was inhumane and he knew that it was unjustifiable. It hurt his heart to see the creatures he cared about hurt by his own hand.

That sorrow was short lived. Less than a minute later, the beast began to stir. It wasn't weakend by the torture it had once recieved like he thought.

Shaking off the effects of the spell, the Nundu whiped its head back towards Newt and roared. The sound was deafening as its throat swelled up to resemble a lion's mane. It released a puff of deadly green gas. A second later, it began to run towards Newt at lightning speed. He turned around to run before feeling the unmistakable pressure of talons swipe at his right leg.  He heeard the sound of metal being torn into and the back of his coat tore apart. Newt swiped his wand aimlessly before he rolled to the ground and scrambled towards a rock with a small opening beneath it.

The cave was large enough for Newt but small enough to keep the beast at a distance. Newt scooted himself to the far end of the small cavern and whispered, "Lumos." The tip of his wand illuminated the small space. He could see the tattered pant leg that the beast created...and the blood beneath it. The Nundu's talons had cut his leg, but the rush of adrenaline kept the pain at a bearable level. He took off his coat and saw that the container for his oxygen had been sliced open. It was now inoperable. He had no protection from the beast's toxic breath. But he didn't have time to worry about himself. He had to get what he had come for before it was too late.

The beast had retreated a few feet, circling the rock that Newt had hidden beneath. Once the beast's back was turned, Newt threw a rock across the open area to distract him. It worked better than Newt thought it would. The Nundu pounced on the bush that the rock had landed in and roared. Newt crawled out from the small cave and ran to the right.

Hearing his movements, the creature turned towards Newt and gave another angry roar before bolting towards Newt's small figure. In a last effort to stop the Nundu without hurting him, Newt brought his wand forward and yelled, "Impedimenta!" The spell was used to freeze someone advancing towards you - and it did not disappoint.

The Nundu was frozen midleap, fangs and talons poised to tear at Newt in an instant. The creature's sharply pointed tail was curled, ready to strike Newt down where he stood. Once again, the silence was deafening. Newt heard his heart pounding rapidly from the fear that the spell would not be quick enough against this beast, but it did its job.

Newt walked cautiously towards the creature. He had never been so close to it. Their trust only went so far, but now he could see every spike and every drop of slobber falling from its open mouth. The set up could not have been more perfect for what Newt had to do. He took one of the vials out of his pocket and gathered some saliva from the beast's open mouth. That was the easy part.

After a moments hesitation, Newt switch his used vial for a new one. To his surprise, the next step was easier than he had hoped. The last ingredient for his concoction was the hardest for him to gather, simply because he couldn't bear to hurt one of his precious creatures. He needed the blood of the animal. In a stroke of good luck, the beast seemed to have been hurt previously. There was a scrape on it's front leg that was bleeding a small stream of black blood. Newt took his chance and quickly finished up. He made a mental note to return later and bandage the Nundu's minor wound - once he found a new protective coat to wear.

Newt stepped back, surprised at his luck. He almost went as far as to congratulate himself before he saw the piercing black eye's whip towards Newt with a murderous gaze.

He took that as his cue to leave.