PreCursive

  I tried to move through the thick brush quietly, as I made my way deeper into the forest. It was difficult though, as the forest was much thicker in this part. The trees were clether, as were the bushes. That wasn’t eveioning how much more hazardous the actual foliage was. Despite my fairly high-quality clothes, I had still gotten scratched up by all the thorns and burrs. It was like it had a mind of its own, deliberately seeking out any patch of bare skin it could find. I really hoped none of it oisonous.

  It’s not like I could cut the brush in front of me either, even if I wao. I’d tried to cut some of it with my spearhead, and it didn’t even scrate of the thorns. I might be able to cut it with The Stilnt Bde, but I wasn’t willing to cast that much light arou would improve my vision, but it would also alert any monsters arouo my position. Luckily, I was able to gently brush the foliage away from me in order to get through.

  I wasn’t able to creep through it the way that I wao. Preferably, I would be at the very least crouched down in order to minimize my profile, but that wasn’t viable. The scrub was de closer to my legs but thinned out somewhat as it got higher. If I tried to crouch walk through this, I would probably lose an eye.

  The oppressive atmosphere was keeping me on edge. The silence was stifling, frightening. The only hat echoed around me was my own careful movements. I couldn’t help but wince every time I stepped on a branch, and a sharp snapping sound rang out beh me. The reduced light made it hard for me to see my feet in order to avoid them.

  How the hell was I supposed to creep up on something like this? I was more likely to get jumped by a monster instead. And sidering how much strohahe monsters around here were, that robably not good. Even then, how was I going to lead a monster baagnus through all this harsh terrain? If the monster chasing me didn’t kill me, rushing blindly back through this brush would.

  I stopped for a moment, telling myself that it was to catch my breath. Iy, I had to breathe in order to calm my doubts. It didn’t matter all the problems I had with my pn, goddamnit. I didn’t have any other choice. I was either going to make this work somehow, or I was going to die. Either to a monster nus.

  Not that much differeween them, holy.

  Strangely, after about five minutes of making my way through the forest, the foliage began to ge somewhat. The leaves ged not only in shape but color too. They were broader now and an almost red ade all the more ominous by the strange light. Instead of thorns, it seemed like the brush had cruelly shaped hooks instead.

  Suddenly, out of the er of my eye, I noticed movement off to my right. Instinctually, I whipped my head around. Nothing. I held that pose for a few moments, my heart thundering in my ears from the adrenaliill, nothing jumped out at me. Slowly, I started moving again, head still swiveled in the dire I’d seen movement.

  As I was making my way forward, I felt something…unusual under my foot. Looking down, I could see that I was standing on an oddly fleshy vine, covered in barbs and barely visible.

  The vine unduted violently under my foot as if it was alive. In a sudden movement, it rose up violently and threw me off of my feet and onto my back. Before I could even catch my breath, the vine h above me shed down on my prone position. Sinuously, it ed around the leg that had stepped on it, cutting through both my pants and the skih it.

  Before I could even scream, I started to get dragged along the forest floor at incredible speed, as if the vine was a tow lirag. Instinctively, I covered my head with my arms in order to protect my head. Even now, I could feel the hooks of the brush slig into my flesh as I was dragged. I couldn’t even think to cut the vine, I was moving too fast.

  Suddenly, the vihat had been dragging me came to a stop, but it didn’t let go. Cautiously, I moved my arms away from my fa order to see where I’d been taken. I felt my heart drop at what I saw.

  I’d been dragged to a small clearing in the forest, with even less visible light in it than the rest due to the thicker opy. Sitting in the ter of the clearing was a rge…bud of some kind. Dark red in color and made of thick leaves, it was about the size of a dumpster from bae and anchored to the forest floor. Its leaves were ed all around it in a spiral pattern, blog anything from sight. Stretg out from the bud were dozens of vines simir to the oill holding onto me. They traced their way out from the pnt far off into the dista of the clearing, simir in appearao a spider web.

  Yeah, fuck this. I grasped for my spear bde near my belt, hoping I hadn’t lost it during the drag. Thankfully, it was still there. Lurg up, and doing my best to ighe pain radiating off my leg from the hooks, I swung the k the vi a point below my foot. My knife only mao give the vihe equivalent of a paper cut, from which a deep red, sap-like liquid welled up.

  As soon as my knife ected with the vine, every other vine in the clearing shivered simultaneously. But that wasn’t as important as what was happening in the ter of the clearing. Slowly, the leaves surrounding the bud began to unfurl.

  There was another, smaller bud in the ter. But this one wasn’t standing straight upright, rather it looked like it was lying on its side. I paused for a moment in my hag, fused.

  I wasn’t fused for long.

  Gently, two slits oop side of the bulb opened, revealing bright red slit eyes, with bck sclera. They swiveled in my dire, before fog on my position. Gradually, the smaller bulb began to rise up out of its of leaves, revealing a long thieck simir to the vihat was still cmped to my leg, with crimson leaves growing along its length. Only it was much, much rger than the vines. As it rose to its full height, it almost looked like a fucked up snake made of foliage. As if to atuate this, a hood simir to a cobra's opened up on the monster. Moments ter, the bulbous head split nearly pletely in half horizontally in order to reveal a mouth full of thorn-like fangs.

  As I was gaping at the monster in horror, it caught sight of me. Our eyes met. Nothing. I saw nothing in its gaze. Ft ay, it had nard for me at all.

  Instinctively, I tried to Observe the creature. I had the thi shred of hope that, somehow, this monstrous beast wouldn't be as obsely, terrifyingly strong as it seemed.

  NameVermillion Viperthorn (Prime)Level??Age??Species??Abilities??Yeah, those hopes were dashed.

  I was knocked out of my stupor by being bodily whipped into the air by the tentacle that was still dug into my leg. I screamed as I flew up into the air, suspended by the surprisingly strong pnt-like limb. In a blur, I was able to see more tentacles sprouting from the base of the monster and rag to my position. Before I could react, aentacle had grasped my and was helping to hold me upside down in the air.

  The tentacles started to reel me in towards the monster, as if I was a fish caught on a hook.

  Through the blood rushing to my head and the adrenaline c through my veins, I felt a sudden calm e upon me. I had an idea, and I only had one ce at it. Otherwise, I was fertilizer.

  The monster brought me to hover above it, suspended by its hooked appendages. Slowly, I could see the fibrous snake's head open its mouth in preparation of dropping me inside.

  Now.

  The Stilnt Bde.

  At the same time that my dagger burst into wispy rainbow fmes, I lurched upright and sshed at the tentacles holding me upright. My splintered spearhead knife sliced through them ly.

  In the split-sed before I began to fall towards the pnt she creature let out an eerie, high-pitched screech. I whipped my head around to watch as I fell.

  The world slowed to a crawl.

  In a freeze frame, I could see that the monster below me was unduting in surprise. Thankfully, iime it took for me to reach the head, it had closed its mouth. I readied my bde.

  With a thudding sound, I fell right onto the top of the monster's head, c its eyes with my body. The monster let out another scree response and began to whip its head about in an effort to dislodge me. I mao hang on though, by ing my legs around the neck of the monster just below its head and digging my free hand into one of its fist-sized nostrils. That just made the moruggle harder.

  I held on desperately as the creature whipped about. Somehow managing to keep my bearing, I raised my still-shining dagger above my head. Before I could plu down into the snake's head, I felt several of the monsters barbed tentacles sh against my back. I cried out in pain at the teariion, as they cut right through my shirt to cerate me. For the few seds, the monster shed me several more times, as if it was trying to grab me.

  I grit my teeth. I had to do it now. If it mao grab me, I was dead. In one swift movement, I rose up and drove my shimmering spearhead into the top of the monster's head. In fact, I drove it in so far that the bde disappeared from sight.

  If I thought that the monster anicked before, it was nothing pared to now. The snake creature began to fil about wildly. I tried to hang on desperately, while at the same time trying to drive the spear monster into the monster by smming my palm down on the exposed part. I didn’t care that the butt of my ‘knife’ lintered mess from when Magnus had broken it off. I didn’t care that I was just driving splinters into my hand.

  I just wahis thing to die.

  So I told it that.

  “Die!” I screamed hysterically, smming my hand down on the knife over and over. “Die die die die die! Just! Fug! Die!”

  With a screech, the monster finally mao grab hold of me. It ed a tentacle around my right arm as I was bringing it up to sm down again. With a lurch, the monster nearly wrenched my arm out of the socket as it whipped me off of it. As I flew through the air off to the side of the monster, I amehat. Judging by the popping noise my shoulder had given off, it had definitely dislocated my arm.

  I hit one of the trees at the edge of the clearing with a sm, my head boung hard off of the bark. As darkness began to creep into my vision, I had just enough time for o thought.

  Sorry, Azarus. Srey.