Records of Rebirth

Chapter 116 - The Thing In The Rain

Typhon woke up early. 

In the cave, his concept of time was shoddy but he always woke up with plenty of time to spare before the others. And today was no exception. 

Moments like this were the only times he got to be on his own. Well, as alone as anyone could be in a cave of 30 sleeping snakes, no make that 31. 

All around him, snakes were sprawled in awkward sleeping positions everywhere, a reminder of the intense training they endured the day before. He even had to push away a snake that was in his way to get up – he had Ophelia to thank for his less than ideal sleeping spot.

But now, as he looked towards his sister, a mild annoyance flitted across in his dark eyes, when he saw that 'she' was nowhere to be seen. 

And here he thought today was going be a quiet day.

The spot was still warm so it couldn't have been long since she left.

He immediately roused Ophelia who appeared even more startled that their leader had left so easily without her noticing.

With all the snakes she'd placed around her as effective barriers, they should have realized something when she slipped away.

But even now, all those snakes were peacefully asleep, not knowing their prisoner had escaped.

[Useless!] Ophelia seethed.

Typhon knew they were in for some trouble when they woke up, and suddenly he felt a sort of excitement that their leader had managed to escape so smoothly. But he kept a neutral expression as he didn't want to become the target of his sister's wrath. 

He watched her pace around, trying to keep a straight face until she came to a decision. 

[We need to go after her now.] 

[I know, but... we don't know where she went.]

This wasn't like the last time she left, the snakes were a lot more organised and could easily survive outside with his guidance. 

[I'll track her] Ophelia insisted. 

His sister already seemed pretty troubled. 

[Alright then.] Typhon reluctantly agreed. He was also curious about their leader's whereabouts and if they could find her, it would be a way to learn more about her. However, if it was too dangerous, he would stop their excursion at once and bring Ophelia back without hesitation. 

On exiting the hive they ran into the first sign of trouble. Rain.

[Can you still pick up the scent?] Typhon asked. 

When they compared their stats, she was actually better than him at this skill. 

[It might be a little difficult.] Ophelia admitted. She prided herself on being meticulous, but even she found it hard to pinpoint a particular scent in the rain. In that mix of chemical traces, the lingering trace of their leader was thin and her [Scent] couldn't filter it all. 

[We should get to higher ground first.] Typhon suggested. 

They would have better luck escaping the flooding, and if they were lucky they might be able to see her from overhead. 

The two began the steady uphill climb, passing the steep tree line. They didn't normally come this way due to the hill being unusually steep and filled with rough stones that were uncomfortable on their scales, but after the training they had endured, the hill didn't seem all that difficult anymore. 

Looking down at the forest from the hilltop, what met them was a scene of chaos.

A nearby river was overflowing and the bottom of the forest was filled with creatures scampering to escape the flood, while the unlucky ones got washed away. 

The flood water had softened the ground a great deal, leading to a lot of the heavier monsters getting stuck in soft soil. 

Typhon spotted a four legged creature with massive horns that was frantically struggling to keep its heads above the water, right before it was hit by a tree trunk, pulling the creature completely under. 

And to make it worse, the areas without flood were teeming with scavenging monsters.

He spotted a pack of dog-like monsters with pointed ears, tearing apart the carcass of a monstrous bird, and across from them, swarms of bottom feeding bugs were out in full force, feasting on all the dead and more daringly, all those creatures whose were powerlessly stuck in the sand. 

It was insane how the rain had changed the situation.

In the distance, Typhon spotted the quickly moving shadowy figure of their leader, completely unaware of the carnage behind her.

Fortunately for her, she had cleared this stretch of forest before the real chaos began and hadn't encountered any danger.

However, Ophelia exclaimed when she spotted another creature following behind her. [She's being followed! We need to warn her..]

Typhon looked towards where she indicated and spotted a vaguely familiar reptile.

Realising he'd seen this very creature before, he wondered if that was true. It seemed to be following their leader, as if looking for an opportunity to pounce, but to him it looked more like it was playing. 

Yet, Ophelia saw the same thing and chose to panic.

Typhon sighed. [Aren't you underestimating her too much? She doesn't need our help. I also don't believe it's an enemy.] 

And soon enough, Ophelia watched as the reptile get repelled, and then smothered in a hug that made her twinge with envy. What exactly was their relationship? 

[I've seen them together before. I think they know each other.] 

Typhon laughed when he saw the look of rage on his sister's face. He was also astonished that their leader could be so friendly towards another creature when she was always so strict with them. 

Ophelia didn't seem to care though and they both watched their leader interact with the lizard with Ophelia expressing many fits of envy. Typhon was thoroughly amused at her worked up state, until he heard the sounds of leaves rustling behind them.

Both snakes snapped to attention and turned to face the darkness. A familiar voice yelled out and the spaded snake came crashing down in front of them from up in a tree. 

It seemed she had been eavesdropping on them when the branch she crawled over snapped from her weight, and they both scowled.

Ophelia spoke first. [What's the use of [Stealth] if you're just going to make an entrance. Anyone could spot you a mile away.] 

[Yet you didn't notice until now.] The spaded snake retorted.

[What are you doing here?] Typhon asked her. 

[Isn't it obvious? I'm here to find out whatever evil thing she's doing and report back to the others.] 

Typhon signed in exasperation.

[This again?] Ophelia frowned. [We've been over this.]

Sensing they were about to break into an argument, Typhon hushed both of them. 

It was careless to argue here, and their leader was already on the move with the reptilian creature.

The spaded snake gasped in fright as she looked ahead. [W-What is that?]

Typhon hushed her again. [It's a lizard.] 

If they were to continue following their leader, it was best to move now. But as they were about to leave, they heard more rustling from the trees. 

[Don't tell me someone else followed you.] Ophelia scowled.

The spaded snake ignored her. [It doesn't look like a lizard.] Her voice had a ring of fear as she asked again. [What is that?]

Typhon looked down and saw their leader and the lizard were gone. 

In their place were hordes of milky white creatures with fleshy skin that glistened wetly in the rain. They stood on two legs with large claws much like a raptor, with an extended curved tail like a scorpion, ending in a large three pronged stinger that looked like bone. 

They had no eyes, only a jagged opening for a mouth that was crammed full of irregular needle-like teeth. Even without eyes they seemed to have supreme senses and their movements were a blur as they sped through the forest in large groups, filling the air with their high pitched cries.

It was such an eerie looking creature that Typhon took a sharp breath and turned back to the spaded snake...[Were you followed?] 

[No.] she shook her head and retreated from the edge, about to enter the shade of the trees when Typhon stopped her.

He heard the rustling in the trees again. 

It didn't sound like a snake's slither either. He could make out the distinctive padding of feet followed by the sound of something sharp scraping on stone. 

Ophelia soon caught on to his distress.

The leaves parted, revealing the bony white head of a three pronged stinger with two ominous black holes in the front that looked like dead eyes. They heard the creature's low growl, followed shortly by its drooling maw filled with needle-like teeth. 

It was alone but Typhon had already seen them move in packs. This one had probably strayed from the others to hunt some naïve snakes and they couldn't afford to make any noise to attract more. 

The creature's large claws clinked on the stone as it stalked towards them, its ominous curved tail twisting flexibly as it moved with its pronged stingers raised. 

Of the three prongs, the shortest one in the middle was the real stinger, it looked extremely sharp while the two on its sides acted like pincers to hold down their target.

The three snakes were spread wide apart, but the creature rushed towards the nearest snake without warning, grabbing Typhon as he pushed the spaded snake away from harm. 

Its two prongs held him down firmly while the central stinger extended outwards like a needle dripping poison, ready to stab him in the throat.