Earl was thinking how to survive this ordeal. Side by side he also picked up a black rock on the floor beside him. Just in time. A loud hiss filled the air above him.
The serpent was coming closer. It was huge, 10 feet long, all muscle and black scales like shiny stones. Its head was wide with sharp teeth, eyes like red fire coals. Red lines like hot lava ran under its skin. It guarded this deep hole, a test from old gods. Fresh food. "Me!!",Earl thought. His heart beat like a drum in his chest.
No sword. No shield. No ability. Only the anger and the resilience of staying alive in him. He jumped up, holding the black rock tight like a lucky charm. The serpent attacked.
It was fast, like a shadow of death. Its mouth opened wide, big enough to eat a cow. Earl jumped left. The wind from its strike cut his cheek. Blood came hot. He hit the ground and rolled, then stood low. The tail swung hard. It broke big rocks into small pieces that flew like stones. One hit his shoulder, tore skin. But Earl did not yell. Yelling meant give up.
He ran straight at it, crazy and brave. The serpent stood tall, its neck spread wide like a fan. Poison dropped from teeth, burning the floor with smoke. Earl faked right, then jumped on a broken rock spike. He used it to leap high. He aimed for the soft belly under the scales.
The rock stabbed in with a wet sound. Black blood sprayed out, hot and stinky. The serpent shook hard, its roar made rocks fall from the roof. Earl pushed the rock deeper. He felt the insides move. The heart beat fast under his hand. The beast hit the wall, trying to smash him flat. Earl pulled out and fell, rolled away. The tail missed him again.
The serpent curled up, hurt but alive. Then, the healing started.
It was ugly to watch. Scales grew back like magic thread. Black blood turned to skin. Steam rose with a hiss. But it got worse. The snake grew bigger. Muscles got thick. Sharp bones stuck out on its back like thorns. Eyes burned more red. The air felt heavy, like bad air pushing on Earl's chest. He breathed short and fast. It was stronger now, quicker. Moves like a poison wind.
"One hit done." Earl said in his head, wiping blood from eyes. "How many more?" The serpent struck again, tight like a spring. Teeth missed his neck by a hair. He felt the pull as they closed. The floor broke where he was a second ago. He swung the rock at the eye, cut a line that leaked dark stuff. But the beast knew now. Its tail hit him in the air, threw him like trash.
He smashed into the wall. Ribs broke with cracks like sticks. His eyes went blurry with red pain. Hurt shot through him like fire. But he bit his lip, pushed up on shaking arms. The serpent came slow this time, enjoying the chase. Its tongue flicked, tasting his scared sweat. Earl's brain ran fast. "Can't kill it yet. It heals and gets strong. Must tire it, hurt it without stop."
Just then a bush beside the serpent shaked. Earl taking this as a advantage, ran up to the serpent's body. His fingers dug into scales like claws. He climbed, using the snake's wild shakes to go higher.
Up the long body he went, heart beating louder than the hisses. It bucked like a mad horse, thorns cut his arms to blood lines. But he held on. He reached the neck, where big veins jumped like rivers. With a loud yell, he punched the soft spot under the jaw. Not to kill, but to break inside. He smelled its bad breath, felt poison burn his skin a little.
The serpent screamed, a sound that hurt ears like knives. It fell in a twist of body. Healing came like a storm. Skin bubbled, bones cracked and changed. It stood again, a real monster now: forty feet of hard shell terror, thorns whipping like sticks. Power came off it like heat from fire. Air twisted, rocks split under its weight. Earl fell off, landed in a bloody pile. His body begged to stop...lungs on fire, legs heavy like rocks. But his eyes fixed on the middle. There, through the mess, a heart showed. Small as a fist, covered in clear scale, beating wild like a trapped animal.
"That's the key. My chance to stay alive." The serpent ran at him, ground shaking like an earthquake. Thorns grew long like spears. Earl rolled under the rush, grabbed the black rock again. Edge was chipped but sharp. He ran between the coils, like a bug on a giant. Dodged poison spit that melted rocks to goo. One thorn hit his leg, tore meat deep. He fell sideways, yelled angry as blood made the floor wet.
The beast curled for the end strike, neck covering the light. But Earl guessed it. He acted weak, then jumped up in a last wild leap. He stabbed the rock not in the heart, but next to it. Cut the big tubes in a clean slice like a cook. Black blood shot out like a fountain, endless and dark. But the heart stayed whole, open and weak, still beating; a bad drum in the chest.
The serpent twisted in pain, healing stopped. It got weak, body loose. But it lived, tough and mad. Earl, breathing hard, world going small to that beating thing, crawled close on bloody knees. His hands, cut and shaking, went into the open skin. Fingers grabbed the clear scale cover. With a hard pull he pulled the scale off; not dead, not quiet, but alive.
The serpent's eyes went narrow, last hiss came weak as body froze. But the beat kept going;*thump-thump, thump-thump*, the serpent was going to die and heart is going to stop. Earl looked at it, the thing wet and warm. Not hunger for bread, but for strength so that something like this never happens, filled him. It beat over the hurt. He lowered his mouth to the heart and dug deep into them. He bit.
The first bite was sour like old metal, the second a rush of hot fire down his throat. It burned his blood like lightning. He ate it all raw, heart juice bursting in his mouth. Each chew was like thunder in his chest. The serpent watched, no power left, as Earl ate his heart out. Not with big weapons or abilities, but with the hard will to live.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!" Earl scream with agony.
His whole body was burning like a sun. He could literally see his skin burn. His toes and fingers were melting like lava. He started vomiting black blood, his hair...all of them fell off. His muscle start enlarging, burst out of the skin. Earl could bare it anymore, he wanted to let go, he didn't need to face this agony.
"Don't stay out too late, little rascal."
Huh? Ma?...Yes, I have to go home or else she would beat the shit out of me. I am coming, Ma! I am coming home!!!
"Aaaaraaaaaaaghhhhhhhh!!!!" Earl screamed again but this was not because of agony but because of he wanted to go home.