Lahnthean Aria

7

Kiran couldn't move.

Her eyes remained fixed at the amber orbs floating in the darkness. Her luck was terrible. She risked her life and braved her fears to climb down a series of treacherous steps only to be devoured by a monster.

No. Surely there was still a way for her to survive the situation.

Judging by the sheet that she had been sitting on, the monster hiding in the darkness was likely a giant snake. What did she learn about snakes in books and documentaries? Some snakes had venom, and some didn't. Those that weren't venomous killed preys by constricting them.

Recalling her knowledge of snakes eased her anxiety, taking the petrifying tension in her veins down a few notches until she could clearly think.

Snakes usually had poor eyesight. They used their tongue to better sense their surroundings. The monster didn't seem like it had moved yet after opening its eyes, so it might not have noticed her presence. She still had to be sure about it though.

Kiran's fingers slowly felt the ground for a rock and thankfully found a few scattered around her. She gingerly held one in her right hand and quickly threw it across from her, hoping that it would bounce against a wall in a thump.

The amber orbs snapped to the direction of the rock.

The cave grumbled; the ground shivering underneath Kiran. The sensation triggered a sudden recollection of the events that sent her to the meadow. She desperately bit back a whimper, but failed to stop the tears from trailing down her cheeks. The monster clearly responded to sound so she should remain quiet if she wanted to live.

Kiran glanced at the edge of the cliff, forcing her attention at a possible means of escape. She could crawl out of the cave while the monster was distracted, provided that it didn't stick it's tongue out to sense her.

Was the monster even really just a giant snake? She was in an entirely different world after all. How sure was she that the animals on Earth were similar to the animals in the new world she was in?

A hiss echoed from her right, a gust of wind that stank of rotten eggs sending chills up her spine. She had to move. She had to escape but her limbs weren't responding.

"Move!" she scolded herself.

She visualized what she had to do inside her head and forced her trembling limbs to respond accordingly. Her cold, trembling hand moved to her pocket, fishing out the empty flask. She then held it at her side, aiming for a spot somewhere deeper into the darkness. She counted to three inside her head hoping it would help her gather the strength to throw the flask, but she ended up gripping the container tighter in her shivering fingers instead.

Kiran cursed under her breath. "Just throw the flask already!" she inwardly scolded.

She squinted her eyes, snapped them open, and finally threw the flask away with all the strength that her trembling body could muster. It landed in a soft thump somewhere in the dark.

A sharp deafening shriek erupted from the monster.

Kiran gasped, realizing that she must have hit the monster's body instead of the cave wall. She immediately crawled toward the stone step, feeling the ground shake vigorously underneath her with the sound of rattling scales.

The scent of rotten eggs filled the air and made her gag as she stumbled toward the edge of the stone step. She glanced back and found a giant snake mouth wide open behind her. It's fangs were laced with luminous green slime and its forked tongue slinked toward her direction, poised to catch her.

Kiran was sure she was about to meet her end when a white light slashed against the giant serpent's tongue, chopping it off.

Mr. Kidnapper gracefully landed in front of the cave like a cat that had been leaping effortlessly in the air. He held his sword in one hand. Its crystal blade shimmered a shade of blinding white against the darkness. The severed forked tongue flailed as it flew toward a stone step, bouncing off of its side before finally falling over the cliff.

Kiran watched the appendage disappear into the clouds, reminding her of how far she would fall if she lost her grip on the edge of the stone step she was perched on. She glanced behind her again and found Mr. Kidnapper charging at the monster and slashing his sword against its fangs, seemingly determined to steer the monster back into its cave.

"M-mister!" Kiran choked out before a strong gust of icy wind blew her way and pushed her weakened body closer to the edge of the stone step. Another deafening shriek erupted from the cave which was likely the monster yelping in pain from Mr. Kidnapper's attacks. It brought with it another gust of stinky wind that fully pushed Kiran's crouched form over the cliff.

She gasped as she fell back-first over the precipice.

Her tear-glazed eyes took in the blurry image of the starry night sky, the whisps of white clouds, and the cold stone steps that she managed to scale in an effort to stay alive. The feeling of weightlessness was immediately replaced by the suffocating feeling of falling to her death.

Kiran didn't even see her life flash before her eyes. She just watched the world zoom past her as her body succumbed to the pull of gravity.