Back at the Vipers' base, most of the new recruits were lounging in the common room reserved for lower-ranked members. It wasn't unusual—rookies often stuck together, bound by shared uncertainty.
But today, something was different. They were deep in a conversation that had everyone's attention.
"They won't last till nightfall," one of them muttered.
"It's already noon. No sign of them. They're probably dead," another said flatly.
"Bumi wouldn't kill them, idiot," someone cut in.
"Idiot? You wanna run your mouth again?"
"You? Please. Don't make me laugh." The two squared off, voices rising above the chatter, while the rest of the recruits formed a loose circle around them, chanting and jeering like vultures waiting for a kill.
In the far corner, away from the noise, a smaller group watched with lazy disinterest.
"What do you think?" the boy with bright blond hair asked, his tone quiet but probing. His eyes never left the chaos.
"I think Pio would fold Fay in half," the girl replied with a sharp laugh. He sighed.
"I meant about Chuck. He's your rival, isn't he?"
"Oh, him?" Her wild grin revealed a single pointed canine. "He's boring now. I'm more interested in the girl who beat them. She'd make a far better rival." The short black hair framing her face caught the dim light, her red hairclip barely holding the mess together, a few rebellious strands slipping free.
"You really are stupid."
"Gina! Trevor! Little help before these two actually kill each other!" someone yelled over the roar of the crowd.
Gina's grin spread like wildfire, a spark lighting in her eyes. With a bark of laughter, she shot from her seat and cut through the circle, Trevor following close behind.
***
Leaves hissed in protest as frantic footsteps tore through them.
"I thought you said you had it handled, Jay!" Flu barked, chest heaving as he ran full tilt.
"I did!" Jay shot back, breath sharp with anger. "Not my fault they multiplied—that's on Chuck!"
"What?!" Chuck's voice cracked with outrage. "I was trying to save you, genius! Ring any bells? 'Ah, Chuck, help me, help me!'"
They'd started with a dozen snakes. Cut one, and it split into two. Kill twelve, and suddenly there were fifty.
With no end in sight, they'd made the only choice left—run. They kept running deeper into the forest—into parts they hadn't even searched yet—praying they wouldn't stumble into more snakes. If they did, they were finished.
They'd barely made it a few meters when, all at once, the snakes halted. Then, as if obeying some silent command, they slithered back the way they came, abandoning the chase.
Chuck frowned. Just seconds ago, those things had been relentless. So what had changed?
The trio finally stopped, chests heaving. Every muscle ached—not just from the sprint through the forest, but from the punishment their bodies had taken in yesterday's training.
"Damn it! How are we supposed to find the damned man if his snakes keep getting in the way?" Chuck snapped. He looked the least winded, but his eyes told a different story.
Mentally, he was fraying; every plan he thought of to get through this trial had fallen apart before it even began.
"Maybe that's the test," Flu suggested.
"Kill enough of those blue-tongued devils and they'll lead us to Captain Bumi."
"That's a weird name for a snake," Jay muttered.
"They have blue tongues," Flu replied flatly. Chuck and Jay exchanged a look, surprised Flu had noticed something so specific in the chaos.
"Could be poison," Chuck said, pushing himself to his feet. "Another reason not to get bitten."
They'd rested long enough—any longer and they'd be begging for another ambush.
"Captain Bumi wouldn't use anything lethal on us… right?" Jay stayed sprawled on the ground, too tired to move. Silence.
The other two were already walking. Jay groaned, dragging himself upright.
"Yeah, great, thanks for the reassurance," he muttered under his breath as he stumbled after them.
"I don't think we've been here before," Flu said, scanning the dense trees around them. For most of the day they'd been circling the same ground, and he'd memorized a few landmarks along the way. None of them were here.
Chuck's eyes roamed the area as well. There had to be a reason the snakes had turned back earlier. The thought gnawed at him, leaving a knot in his gut. Still, the mission came first—they needed to find Bumi.
They fanned out, each taking a different angle but never straying too far from the others.
The forest was quiet, almost heavy, as though it were holding its breath.
Chuck crouched low, scanning the ground for any sign of footprints. It was unlikely Bumi would leave something so obvious, but… you never know.
Jay examined the tree trunks one by one, searching for any clue that might lead them to Bumi. Scratches, marks, footprints—anything. But the bark told him nothing.
Up above, Flu balanced on a thick branch, scanning the forest from a higher vantage point. The decision to send him up had come after a lengthy argument. None of them liked the idea—being stuck in a tree felt like asking to get ambushed.
In the end, Flu had been "volunteered" for the job. His teleportation made him the safest choice, or so Chuck had insisted. Flu, of course, had argued the loudest… right up until he lost.
After scouring the area from both ground and canopy and turning up nothing, they regrouped. Their movements had slowed, shoulders sagging—exhaustion was beginning to win.
"Nothing…" Jay muttered. They'd been searching for over twenty minutes and still hadn't found a single clue.
"For a big man, he sure can hide," Flu said, hands on his hips. "There's gotta be a reason those snakes turned back," Chuck replied, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "If we can figure that out, maybe we can find him."
The other two mirrored his posture, as if crossing their arms would somehow help them think harder. For a long moment, the trio stood there in complete silence, each trying to connect the scattered pieces of the puzzle.
Jay was the first to crack. With a frustrated sigh, he tilted his head back and stared up at the canopy of trees above.
"Hey, guys… are snakes territorial?" Jay's voice was barely above a whisper, the kind you use when you don't want something to hear you.
Flu scowled. "What? That's what you've been thinking about?"
"It would explain why the others turned back, but…" Chuck's voice trailed off. Something about Jay's tone was wrong.
Then Chuck noticed it—Jay's shoulders, locked stiff. His fingers, trembling slightly at his sides. His breathing, shallow.
"Jay…" Chuck stepped closer, his own voice dropping. "What did you find?"
Jay didn't answer. Didn't blink. His eyes stayed locked on something above them.
The forest seemed to grow quieter. Even the faint rustle of leaves stopped. Jay slowly lifted a hand—his arm stiff like it weighed a hundred pounds—and pointed upward.
Chuck's pulse quickened as he followed the gesture. Flu did the same. At first, all they saw were tangled branches and patches of sunlight. Then… something shifted.
The "branch" they were looking at blinked. Coiled high in the canopy was a massive white snake, its pale scales blending with the light until it was almost invisible. It didn't move. It didn't need to. It simply watched them, unblinking, like it had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The snake was enormous—easily the height of a grown man in both length and girth. Sunlight slipped through the canopy, glinting off its pearl-white scales, while its eyes shimmered faintly with a green, predatory glow.
It didn't strike. It didn't even twitch. Coiled high in the branches, it simply watched them, every slow breath making its body expand and contract like the winding of a spring.
On the forest floor, the three boys stood rooted in place. Not a word passed between them. Not a muscle twitched. Their eyes never left the snake's—yet in the silence, each of them felt the same thing. It was waiting.
"Let's see how you handle this." Bumi sat cross-legged in the shadows of an unknown place, lips curling into a slow, satisfied smile.
His eyes stayed shut, but he didn't need them. Through the green-tinged haze of his other sight, the world unfolded before him. He saw the forest canopy swaying gently, the shafts of sunlight cutting through the leaves… and beneath it, three boys frozen like prey that had just realized it was prey.
From high above, their faces were tiny, pale ovals. Every twitch of their muscles, every shiver of fear, pulsed into him through the coiled body he inhabited. The snake's vision tilted slightly, its tongue flicking out — tasting their fear.
Bumi's smile widened into something predatory.
"Run."