Pov – Samuel García
Blood spurted.
The sharp bronze tip pierced through the serpent's scales, and its body shut down. Samuel had to press his foot against the creature's head just to yank the weapon free, still buried in its flesh.
When he turned around, the scene was pure carnage. Wherever he looked, the forest was painted red. Honestly, this wasn't what he imagined when he left for school just hours ago. He never thought fate would drag him into a sea of blood.
His team was in pieces, but no one had been bitten. No venom to worry about.
That didn't make the scene any less traumatizing. Over ten bodies scattered on the forest floor, and none of them were human. His team was panting, hurt, exhausted, but not broken.
"They're tougher than I expected," his mind quietly noted as he scanned each of the young fighters in front of him.
Now that everything had settled a bit, this nest of snakes actually looked… beautiful.
Sunlight filtered through the treetops, pouring over the leaves and branches like a painting. A high contrast between roots and dead leaves below. The top was vibrant, full of life. The base... dying to feed the growth of the strongest. A perfect cycle.
"Team! Grab some meat and let's head back to the clearing."
As his senses came back, he realized something was wrong. His command had fallen on deaf ears or worse, it hadn't even been heard.
There was no one else there. Just the lifeless snake corpses… and rays of sunlight.
"What the fuck is going on?" he shouted, confused.
His senses snapped into high alert, and he barely dodged in time as an arrow flew past his head and buried itself in the tree behind him.
"You... niccce reflexessss."
From behind one of the trees, a creature emerged something that should only exist in twisted fairy tales.
"From the waist down, human legs.", from the waist up, a serpent's torso with two scaly arms.
"Oh angel... what the hell is that thing?"
And it only got worse as more of them stepped out from behind the trees.
"Six... all armed."
"Sssurrender. We will devour you."
"You seriously want me to just surrender like that?"
"Not a fucking chance!"
Samuel gathered every bit of strength he had left and... ran.
He bolted through the trees, his hunters chasing after him at full speed.
Running through a forest isn't easy, but when you're being hunted by six humanoid snakes, it becomes a hell of a lot easier than you'd think.
Of course, it wasn't going to work for long. And he was proven right when one of their bronze spears flew toward him, aiming straight for his right shoulder.
He was forced to stop and raise his spear to defend himself.
Boom!
The hit was manageable, and it gave him an opening.
Two spears now and a clear path to the damn archer who kept firing bolts at him nonstop.
He tightened his grip, copied the javelin throw stance he remembered from the Olympics, and hurled it.
The air vibrated as his spear flew between roots and branches, straight toward the snake archer's chest.
Sssssssssssss!
That hiss was all the confirmation he needed that it hit.
He grabbed the spear thrown at him just in time to brace himself for the storm of attacks that followed.
"Damn these snakes... Now I get why Oliver hates these bastards so much."
His body was covered in cuts and punctures. By pure instinct, he'd protected his vital organs, but within seconds, those five blades almost finished him off.
Blood trickled down his skin. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer. Spotting a break in the snake-men's formation, he lunged forward.
The bastard didn't expect that. His spear went right into its jugular. The thing collapsed, clutching its neck, choking on its own blood. Then it died.
With that one down, a gap opened in their line and Samuel saw the perfect opportunity to... run.
"There's no way I can keep fighting. There are too many. My team's gone. The blood's already drawing in more snakes, and I doubt they'll see their humanoid brothers as off-limits."
He started sprinting toward the clearing again, spears whizzing past, hisses echoing behind him like a horror movie soundtrack. If anything went wrong now, he was done for.
And of course, it did.
His vision blurred. His body started to go numb. He and his team had already crossed so much ground, and that massacre was just one of several. They'd wiped those creatures out like exterminators clearing pests and now it looked like someone had done the same to them.
"No. There's no way they killed or captured my entire team without making a sound. They must've used some magic or trick to distract us just long enough to split us up."
And then it happened. His leg gave out just as one of the snake-hybrids lunged in for the kill.
"You human... so foolish. Hehehehehe."
The bastard even had the nerve to mock him while raising its blade, bronze glinting in the sunlight. It sent a deep chill down Samuel's spine.
"Bronze... reflects light."
His brain worked faster than he could think. His instincts kicked in.
He raised his spear toward a beam of sunlight, angling it right into the snake's slit eyes.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Samuel planted a hand on the ground and kicked the thing in the stomach.
Whether it had ultra-sensitive eyes or just reacted like any person would when blinded by sunlight, only the angel knew…
He managed to stand up awkwardly, the creature still reeling.
With no hesitation, he rammed his spear straight through its throat, ending it, at least, that's what he hoped.
Sssssssssssss! Sssssssssssss! Sssssssssssss!
The hisses still echoed deep in the forest, bouncing from every direction.
Grabbing whatever strength he had left and leaning on his spear like a crutch, he ran.
This time, the hiss chorus began to fade as he got farther.
"Looks like those bastards finally gave up on me."
"Now… where the hell did my team go?"