Thanks for your comments. I tried to think about them in this chapter.
Chapter 2- The Beast and an Old Opponent
“I won’t be able to take any more after this, seven will be enough food,” She said, holding up her sharp blades. “I’ll just kill you now. The kids prefer live food, but I can’t take any more people struggling like these three.”
Liat instantly panicked. “I can’t die now!” He thought “I have to take this thing out!”
“Time to show her who she’s dealing with!” Tor thought “Here we go!”
“I may prefer healing others over battling,” Cerulea thought “But when I must fight, I will fight!”
“Don’t worry, Cerulea,” Crystal thought “I won’t let you down.”
With that, the battle began.
Tor struck first, hitting the “woman” with a blast of wind. She only moved back an inch or two before Liat swung his pole at her, hitting her square on her chest. She hastily dove under the acid, and silence suddenly penetrated the scene.
This silence went on only for a few seconds before the best struck list with the side of her scimitar. Liat was thrown back into a tree, causing a sharp crack to interrupt the scene. But the others had not paid much attention to this. Perhaps, should one of them had rushed to his aid, our story would turn out differently. But nobody did, and Cerulea opened a long container that fit snug around her waist. Water burst out, striking the fiend. Crystal immediately took the opportunity to strike the beast into the air, tangling her tentacles in the tree’s many long branches. After about thirty seconds, she seemingly melted into the acid water that filled the river.
“What was that thing?” Cerulea asked, still unaware of Liat’s apparent injury.
“I remember these things,” Crystal said “They’re called Serpentines. They turn into acid waste when they are removed from liquid. It was a great war between the Elementians and the Serpentines that caused so much of our planet to turn into wasteland. Only plants and Serpentines are able to survive on this strange chemical, and they thrive on it. Elementians die on contact. Tor likely didn’t die because the acid in the river was mixed with normal water, causing it to not have such a powerful affect. But we should look out now that she made it more potent.”
“Liat!” Tor screamed, running up to him when Crystal was done speaking. Liat lay there, unmoving.
“I’ve got some bandages!” Cerulea shouted as she hastily wrapped them around the injured boy’s head. But the focus on Liat was interrupted when the three children that were trapped in the fiend’s tentacles fell to the ground. They awakened almost instantly.
“What happened?” The girl said, rubbing her head. Her long, brown hair was filled with twigs and moss.
“Rhys, this is exactly why you shouldn’t be here. We would be dead if those people didn’t take out that thing!” The older of the two boys said, glaring at the younger boy, who appeared to be about ten years old.
“Well sorry for trying to stop you from getting yourself killed!” Rhys said, getting up to his feet.
“Ignore them,” The girl said “They get into so many arguments, it’s insane.”
“Understood.” Crystal said as Tor and Cerulea continued to make sure Liat was okay.
“I’m Viti, and that’s my twin brother, Tenion. The younger one is my other brother, Rhys.
“Nice to meet you guys.” Crystal said before introducing the group to them. Rhys, Tenion, and Viti came over to the injured Liat.
“I think it would be best if we just set up some shelter around Liat and just hung out here.” Viti said, kneeling down.
“But we won’t be able to make it back to the entrance quickly if we stall!” Cerulea said, looking her straight in the eye.
“We still have tomorrow to return there. Here, I’ll make that shelter now.
She closed her eyes, and vines slowly crept out of the ground. They mixed between one another, forming a water tight dome around the tree.
“I can order these vines down after he recovers. He should be fine tomorrow morning.” Viti said.
“Actually,” Tenion said, squinting his eyes. “I could burn them down.”
“No, Tenion.”
“Darn it!”
And so a period of rest began. It turned out that, with all the confusion when Cerulea and Crystal met Liat and Tor, Cerulea had completely forgotten her enchanted water case, which provided an infinite supply of water. She had, luckily, remembered it during the fight so she could use it. The group was very eager to have some of the pure water that it created. The group soon fell peacefully to sleep. Just before falling asleep, Rhys whispered into Liat’s ear.
“You saved my life, and soon, I’m going to save yours.” He said. He was the last to fall asleep.
___
The six uninjured figures woke up while the sun was still barely over the horizon.
“Wait a second,” Tenion thought, jolting up “Why are the vines gone-“
A figure stood in front of the group, glaring at them.
“Ah, good, you’re awake,” The familiar voice said “I need to clarify something with you.” She walked closer as she continued “Being frozen in a block of ice isn’t fun. Prepare yourselves to die.”
Crystal’s eyes widened when she realized who it was.
It was the girl who attacked them the previous day.









