The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 21: Attack

So, he practiced the lunges and forms on his own, until his arms hurt. At the very least, he slipped less, the ground had firmed up overnight, and the mud had dried. The day passed quickly, he only fell once on the trail. Jasmine looked back, the fox face blank.

"Weak...you'll need to do better than that Levi." She said softly and he scrambled to his feet, embarrassed.

"Sorry...I'll do better." He murmured before falling silent while they resumed their walk. Things were quiet except for the crunch of their boots and the swish of Levi's sword. He concentrated hard, switching to less lunging moves partly because his legs were burning too much and partly because he was scared of falling in front of Jasmine again. She seems tense. She never snapped at me like that yesterday.

After a while, he remembered that they were probably getting close to Ceda. His stomach had stopped rumbling for a long time now. Even the gnawing pain had left, leaving behind only this deep ache which permeated his gut and made him feel weak. But he could keep moving still. This is nothing compared to what I had to go through after leaving Eastrain. I can do this! Levi took one more practice lunge, swinging the sword way out in front of his body. That's when it hit him.

Whump!

"Help!"

It took him like a wagon, crashing into his side and lifting him in its jaws. The teeth, or perhaps the fangs stabbed into his ribs, side, arm. Agony, hot, terrible agony became Levi's world and the beast, for that was what it must be, the beast which killed the Direwolves, tried to toss him aside so it could get to Jasmine. He watched as she turned as if in slow motion, the surprise on her face to see him in its mouth, the panic showing through the eyeholes of her mask. I...can't let it...

"Levi?" She had time to ask before the beast shook its head to spit Levi out and clear its jaws. This time Levi knew what he had to do. I can't let it get to Jasmine!

"Go! R-Run!" Levi managed to choke out, then he raised the sword which he miraculously still held in a death-grip in his free arm and stabbed it down at the top of the beast's snout. The sword was too long, he couldn't get a good angle from inside its mouth. He tried futilely for a second to penetrate the skin but succeeded in doing nothing but ripping his other arm free of the teeth. Searing pain clouded his brain and everything turned red but he did not falter. I...I'll do whatever it takes! Levi grabbed the sword by the blade with one bloody hand and using both in unison, one on the hilt and one on the blade, finally stabbed down into the beast's snout over and over! It's skin was reptilian, scaly, tough to penetrate. But he was persistent. The creature roared as it tried to spit him out. Every time it tried though, he simply stabbed harder, clinging to its snout.

After what felt like an eternity, where there was nothing but him, the beast, and the fight, the strength faded from his arms. He wasn't sure how many times he stabbed, or if he had even dealt any significant damage, but he was spent. I just hope...Jasmine got away...

"Levi!" Jasmine's voice was close, a surprise. Levi groaned, his lips cold.

"No...you were supposed to leave!" The beast finally spit him out on the ground. He got a look at it for the first time. It was scaly, long. Terrifyingly long, maybe 20 or 30 feet, maybe more, he couldn't tell from where he was. Like a snake almost, but with legs, and these bony nubs on the shoulders of the forelegs. Is that...it's like a dragon. Jasmine didn't bother to grace him with a reply. Instead, she appeared from above, dropping out of a tree. She landed atop the beast's head, and plunged her dagger into one of its eyes. The thing roared, bucking and writhing, trying to get her off but Jasmine rode it with inhuman grace, practically dancing on air as much as its scales. Then she got her knife in its other eye and it went crazy, flinging her off. But it was blind. Like a hunting cat, Jasmine stood back, watching her prey tire itself out, waiting for her chance to strike. Then when the monster was finally still...she pounced.

Thunk!

She buried her knife deep into the back of its skull, once, twice, three times. The thing shivered, undulating side to side in its death throes but when she jumped off, it was well and truly on its way to the underworld. Levi felt like he might shiver like that too soon, it was so cold. Jasmine confirmed the beast was dead then immediately ran over.

"Levi!" She screamed, kneeling down to check him over. She placed his head on her lap but he couldn't see how bad it was, could barely feel anymore. It was so damn cold, he didn't know why. When the Direwolf had bit him, it had been hot. But this wound was so much worse and yet he was so, so very cold. Jasmine's hands searched him. They were frantic, panicky, the grace of a Warrior no longer present, as she reached under his shirt and that, Levi felt. He hissed, the pain intense, hot once more. She gasped as she encountered each puncture hole in his sides, his ribs. Whatever the creature was, it had many, many teeth and though Levi had actually avoided the worst of it by stabbing it and staying lodged in its mouth for as long as he could, he knew it was bad. Jasmine was distraught, "I'm sorry Levi! I'm sorry for calling you weak! You're strong! Strong enough to survive this! Just...just hang tight, I can't do this alone! You hear me? I can't make it to the North alone, stay with me!"

"I'm...I'm cold. You're stronger than me. You'll make it..." Levi said. The world was making him feel sick, his head hurt now, the cold was strong again, but now he felt the pain.

"No no no! You are going to come with me! I don't even know what your sister looks like, I can't be alone again, I can't! You are coming Levi! I am going to get you to a doctor, someone who can help you. Just stay there, stay awake, STAY AWAKE!" Jasmine laid him down on the soft dirt, and he struggled to stay conscious. In the distance, he could hear her doing something, but his breaths were louder. It was hard to stay focused on anything, he just wanted to drift away. But then Jasmine was back. She had something in her hands, long and slender. She raised him up, her incredible strength surprising him. Placed him on it. Grabbed the other end. A sled. She made a sled somehow.

"Just stay with me. We're not that far from Ceda! You can do this Levi! You don't even have to do anything, you hear me? Just don't go!" She lifted him and Levi went to bad places. The pain which he had been ignoring on the ground flared its ugly head and ripped through him and it was worse than when the monster had him in its mouth. Jasmine ripped strips from her shirt and tied him to the sled by his armpits and wrists, keeping him elevated. Then she grabbed the two branches making up the sides of the sled as handles and turned around. When she started walking, he wanted to die. Almost wished it. Almost.

"ARRRRRGGH!" Levi roared, even though making noise meant more pain. He didn't care, he couldn't stay still. Jasmine stopped for a second, but when he stopped screaming, out of breath, she started walking again. He choked on his spit, almost blacking out. This was bad. The worst pain he had ever felt. It made the bite from the Direwolf feel like a little scratch.

"Please, please, please Levi, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Jasmine was so guilty, so polite, it hurt to listen to her. Levi tried to quiet the screams for her. After a time, he didn't know how long, they became groans. He grew numb again, only grunting when Jasmine failed to cushion a step properly and jolted him back into the world. Should have just left me to die. It would have been quicker.

"A little bit further, Levi! I can see it! Ceda is close! We're almost there!" Jasmine exclaimed, and she picked up the pace. Levi was beyond grunting at this point, wherever this point was. His head lolled but he didn't care. Keeping it up cost energy and he just didn't have any to spare. The trees passed by in a blur, everything sloshing together into shades of green, blue, and grey. He was losing it. "Hello?! I need a doctor! Anyone! PLEASE! HELP US!"

Jasmine's voice broke the calm and Levi heard people coming, the crunch of many boots on the ground. Then he blacked out, embracing the warm darkness. Done. I'm done.