Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter Three: Three-headed Snake and The Sabertooth

Chapter 3

Heavy breathing.

Silver Cassano, despite the fact that his knees are trembling, hands are cold, he still continued walking down a dark alley where he entered . . . after he murdered someone.

He brushed the tears that is trickling on his cheeks. He doesn't want to admit that he was crying. He doesn't want to admit that he was too weak to accept the reality of what was happening. That he was too soft to accept the fact that he was afraid.

He heard a low, fear-inducing hiss around the dark alley. It made him jolt in surprise.

At the back of his mind, however, he unconsciously became alert.

He held the whip tighter as he tried looking at the surrounding despite it being too dark and cold. The fact is, he cannot see anything. He had no idea how big this place he was strolling courageously, nor how safe—or dangerous—is this as he took his step every single time.

He imagined something is staring at him; a pair of eyes, one mouth covered in blood, fangs are ready to bite, claws aiming for a s***h.

He also thought that since this place is cold, and the fact that it was dark, perhaps, this place is a den of a huge reptile that can encircle his body, bite with its poisonous fangs, or be swallowed wholly. Just like what the movies are doing. Perhaps that hiss was from a giant boa or an Anaconda.

He must have laughed with his imaginations. There is no way a giant reptilian can be in this island.

Or is it?

Seeing that wild green woman who almost killed him, is it impossible that his imagined beast won't come to life?

Another hiss.

At the end of this almost infinite dark alley, is a faint source of light. Perhaps that was the end, the safe place. Yet it still looked far. He estimated that he might spend longer and painful hour before reaching the end.

I cannot believe this place is existing on earth. No one told this to the world, he thought.

He heard another hiss. This time however, he felt something slowly moving at his back. When he turned, it was gone.

As if there is nothing that happened, everything went still.

He swallowed. His nape is tingling as the room felt cooler. The temperature dropped—or maybe it was just his own imagination.

It was not a hiss that soon he heard. It was a low howl of a baritone voice, like someone asking for help as he was about to die.

Low howl, as if someone wanting to reach and crunch him.

Low raspy voice, as if the throat were slit and wounded for a hundred time.

Then a shriek. A scream. A voice full of tremor.

Silver’s first instinct is to run. And so he did.

He ran fast as he could, holding the whip he had looted from killing the green woman.

He felt as if something was following him. Something that is huge, long, slimy, scales strong as metals, mouth huge enough to swallow him whole.

As he ran, there were three voices he simultaneously heard: one hissing, one a baritonal howl, one loud scream in soprano.

All of them, they were following after him. After his vulnerable body.

He relied on the whip he's been holding. To track whether something is near his back, ready to jump or assault him, he randomly whipped his weapon at his back.

He felt the whip dug and slashed at something. Blood splattered at his nape. He felt it dripping down to the back of his neck, to his back, to his shirt.

He heard the baritonal voice screaming. Probably, it was the one he had randomly slashed with the use of his whip.

When he reached the exit of the dark alley, light bursted his eyes. He squinted and covered it with his hands.

But, he still continued running. He was afraid that the beasts of the dark alley might still follow him.

When he thought his eyes finally adjusted from the light, he opened it.

The first thing that reflected his eyesight is a woman. She was holding something. A weapon. A bow. Her face is beautiful, yet the look is fierce; strong; lusty of blood.

“No!” Silver screamed. He ducked his head, let his knees meet the ground, and kiss the sand as he saw that the woman is aiming a shot towards him.

‘Don't kill me,’ he thought.

He knew that this place is where a pandemonium of death and cruelty are colliding. Yet, he secretly hoped that the woman will spare him from that.

That he could be saved.

A shriek bursted in his ears. He took a look at where it came from. It was at his back.

Looking at the creature, he screamed in terror again. More than how he screamed when he met the green woman or kill the first man he met in the island.

“What are you doing there?! Get up! You don't want to get killed by that creature!”

He looked at the woman who yelled at him. She was aiming her bow to the creature at his back.

He then realized that the woman is not after to kill him. She was after to save him. That she was trying to protect him from the creature.

But why would a player will save her?

It is unlikely for someone to save him, knowing that he can be a potential threat on her life.

Or maybe, this girl was saving him so that he could be used; that he can be treacherously killed by this woman just to have her reach the next level.

Yet, even though panicking, he decided to set it aside. He then ran towards the woman.

“Stay put, I will kill this one,” the woman said.

Finally, Silver has the complete chance to take a better look at the creature.

It was a snake. Just like what he had imagined, it was a gigantic snake with hard, black scales, long sinewy body moving in wavy motion. Its head is c****d towards them, hissing angrily.

The only problem, that snake is too far from being normal.

No, it could never be.

In front of them is a three-headed snake. One a head of a usual gigantic king cobra, one a head of a mythical creature—a one-eyed man called cyclops, and one a face of a frightening woman with a stiff smile painting her lips.

“The hell is that creature?” he unconsciously whispered.

“I don't know. But I know it could help us be in safety for a longer period of time.”

“Safety?”

The woman released the string of her bow. Silver realized that it was not loaded with any arrows.

Yet, when the cyclopic head of the snake screamed in a low, trembling voice, making the only eye he have to burst in blood, Silver felt fascinated.

“Y-You're bow,” said the flustered Silver.

“It has no arrow. But the pressure of the air made this weapon fatal. It's called Airbow.”

“A-Air bow?” repeated silver.

The woman released the strings again she had tucked as she talk with Silver.

The air flew at the smiling-woman head of the snake. Then, it screamed tremendously to the point that they have to cover their ears to suppress the noise.

The heads of the snake simultaneously attacked them.

“Get out!” screamed Silver as she dragged the girl towards where he think the snake could reach them with their attack.

The ground made a floppy shaking as the head of the gigantic snake hit the ground, hoping they could eat the two vulnerable players.

“There!” Silver pointed towards something.

They were in the forest. The place is filled with green leaves and brown tree barks.

Towards where Silver pointed, is a cluster of giant vines. Those vines where as fat as the pillars of the houses. Those vines were clustered in one place, twirling and hugging each other, weaving a circular shape, looking like a giant dome.

“Faster!” said Silver.

Just after they entered in the giant dome of vines, the three-headed snake threw their mouth towards them. Luckily, the vines protected them from the sure fatality.

The snake’s mouth and body were more than huge to penetrate from the cluster of vines that was strongly holding each other.

Finally, they were safe.

“Thank you,” said the woman.

Silver looked at her. “It's okay.”

Both of them are panting hard, trying to calm each other from the previous glares death that they faced. Have they not found this dome of vines, it would probably their end.

The snake, however, recoiled at the totality of the giant dome. Its heads were near the entranve, waiting for the time that they decide to take the risk of escaping.

“Great,” said silver, “I think it is waiting for us.”

“And I think it has no plans leaving us until we die here, or we decide to get out. Either way, we’re dying.”

“Not unless if we can kill it,” said Silver.

“Yeah. I hope I could.”

Silver looked at her. “I’m certain you have told me something before we can get in here.”

The woman looked at her. “Uhh… the safety thing?”

“Yeah, that's it. Why did you said it?” Silver asked.

The woman looked at the giant snake. “Basing on the size of that beast, I’m certain it could give us massive amount of loots.”

“Loots?”

The woman returned her look at Silver. “Look,” she said. She showed the embedded screen on her wrist.

“You have that screen as well. You're a player.”

“Yes. But let's set it aside.”

“Why would I?” The suspicion Silver felt earlier has returned to him again. “What if you were planning to kill me?”

Silver held his whip tighter.

The woman immediately shook her head to defend herself. “No! I'm not planning to do that!”

“But then why did you save me? Are you planning to lure me so that you could kill me?”

“No! I didn't-- it's not my intention! I just really wanted to save you and get the loot of that beast!”

The snake hissed, howled, and screamed.

The woman sighed. “Fine. Let's do this: if we can kill that snake, we will get the loots. I’m sure it has massive loots waiting for us. Then, we divide it. Fifty percent of loots will go for you, fifty for me.”

“How would you expect me to agree to that?” Silver scowled.

“Okay, if we both have the loot, we separate each other. No harm, I promise. Just loots. Then, the second time we face each other, if fate let us meet again, then, you can kill me or . . . I can kill you.”

“No, I won't be believing into that.”

“Or just like this. Let's just kill that snake. After killing, no one immediately gets the loot. Let’s kill each other first. Then, whoever remains alive, that one will get the loot. All of it,” said the woman, as if killing was normal to her. Yet, Silver saw the terror in her eyes, as well as the time to time swallowing of her own saliva.

‘She's just as scared as me,’ thought Silver.

He lowered his whip, loosened his tight grip.

“How can you prove me it has that loots?”

The woman, even though bothered, showed her wrist again. The lights displayed at it was read as LEVEL 2.

Then, the woman told with authority, “show loots.”

Hologram images started to float in the air. He saw three items displayed above the light that the woman's screen was emitting.

“You see, I found these items when I accidentally killed a giant tiger. It looks like the extinct sabertooth. Here,” the woman pointed the large image of a tooth, sized like an elephant's horn, and a cloak. “I have this wisdom tooth item and the Tiger's coat.”

The wisdom tooth that the woman pointed were shining in green color, while the tiger's coat was surrounded by orange light.

“And this poison potion, I got it from the plant who tried to eat me as soon as I enter here in level two.”

“That means once we killed a beast or any creature here, there will be loots?” asked Silver, amazement cannot be hidden on his face.

“I think so,” replied the woman. “You see, my cousin loves RPG games. He told me the basics of that game. And I think . . . this was following the same path that those games are orienting to the players. Leveling, loots, monsters, beasts, survival—those things are present at those games. Those things are present too, in this killing game.”

“And the more the items that we have, the greater is our chance to survive.”

“Exactly. And that three-headed snake, I'm sure, stores a lot of wealth inside.”

“And if we killed it, we'll have it. If we have it, I'm not being greedy here, but, we'll have more chances for surviving.”

“Indeed.”

Silver took a glance at the snake again.

“How are we going to kill it?” asked him.

“I—” the woman hesitated, “I don't know. I just realized that the bigger it was, the more trouble it could bring.”

The snake hissed, howled and screamed. The wind blew harder, making the place cooler. The leaves rustled, the giant trees danced.

“What are the functions of your items?” Silver asked, eyeing the items in the hologram.

“I haven't seen yet.” Then, the woman touched the Wisdom tooth item.

The hologram disintegrated, leaving the wisdom tooth item. Instead of a giant tooth to physically appear in their front, a white, tiny hairclip was placed on the woman's hands. The only thing that made it resembling on the tiger’s tooth is its shape and form.

“A hairclip?” she asked.

“Wear it.”

The snake from outside of the dome, continued to circle.

She wore it and tucked near her left ear.

The white clip added ornament to her beautiful face. Her perfect symmetrical shape became more prominent. Her nose, proud and tall, her lips sexy. She is beautiful.

Then, from the clip, lights started to emit. It formed, it lined, it made a shape. It surrounded her eyes, then turned as an eyeglass.

Even Silver found it amazing, for as she look at the eyeglass of light, small set of words and letters are slowly scrolling near the woman's eyes.

The woman smiled mischievously. “I've got a way to kill that beast."