Gales POV
[Self Preservation] activated
[Self Preservation] activated
[Self Preservation] activated
As the system constantly displayed the skill window, I could feel every part of my body screaming at me to turn and leave, and could feel the skill trying to force me to stop, but I continued toward. I bit the inside of my cheek as I ran and ignored my body's warning, grabbed one of the rifles that were left nearby, quickly knelt, wedged the back end of the rifle into a slight opening under the rock, grabbed a small rock nearby and created a lever, and attempted to lift the rock just enough for Ashes to crawl out.
"Try and move!" I yelled at Ashes.
"H-huh? O-ok," stammered Ashes as she attempted to pull her legs out.
I kept trying to lift the rock as I heard Lucas on the ship's intercom saying, "You moron! Stop wasting your time! We have to leave!"
I ignored the call and kept trying to lift the rock as the sounds of Rekka's attacks grew more intense against the creature and her laugh became more maniacal. I began to hear my heartbeat in my ears, and sweat began dripping down my forehead as I struggled to apply more force with my small body, and soon multiple thoughts began to swim around in my head.
'You idiot, why did you come back for her? You could have gotten away from this place! Why risk everything for one person! You remember the last time you helped someone, do you really want history to repeat itself?!"
Despite these thoughts, I kept trying to lift the rock the best I could, and suddenly the rock began to move as I continued to push the rifle down. Through everything, I also heard the sound of an engine starting and moving away, and I bit my lip as I listened and continued with what I was doing. Eventually, I was able to lift it just enough for Ashes to crawl out, and as she made her way out, I let the rock drop, began to lament my decision, and looked back at the ship.
As I turned toward the ship, I saw what I already knew. The ship was already gone, already up in the air, quickly moving away from the island, but I also saw something take its place. In its place was a large metal capsule, smaller than the ship, with an engine in the back.
It was the escape pod.
I quickly turned to Ashes and said: "Can you run?"
"I-I think so." Replied Ashes as she slowly began to stand up.
As soon as she stood up, I grabbed her hand, and we ran towards the escape pod with all our might. As we made it, I saw a door on the side with a metal wheel and went to open it and asked Ashes for help in turning the wheel, and together we managed to turn the wheel and open the door and made our way into the capsule and saw two seats next to each other and facing a small console. We quickly took our seats. Although I didn't fully understand the technology, I used the knowledge I gained from watching Lucas and Max work on the ship and somehow managed to get the escape pod working. As the pod started up, the glass showing the outside of the pod also appeared. As this happened, I could see Rekka continuing her attack and growing tired from the constant attacks, but she kept laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Come on, you big bastard, don't tell me you can't fight back?!"
I could see the creature's head was covered in smoke from the constant explosions. Soon after taking all those attacks, the creature moved its head, and I could see it clear as day. Nothing. After all that, there was not. a single scorch mark on the creature's head, and I realized that attention was never focused on Rekka, and it looked as though it was searching for something. As it continued to look, another fireball came towards its head and hit a few of its eyes as Rekka yelled: "HOW DARE YOU FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ELSEWHERE, YOU PATHETIC CRE-!"
Rekka couldn't finish her sentence as the large creature lifted its claw almost impossibly fast for a creature its size and brought it down on Rekka and completely crushed her. As soon as I saw this, I refocused on the console and managed to start the engine. Using what I knew, I got the pod off the ground and into the air, and began to move away from the island, although a little awkwardly.
As I did this, for a moment I could see the creature turn its head toward our pod in the air, and I inwardly cursed my luck and prayed in my head.
'Please don't follow us. Please go back to wherever you came from.'
As I thought this, I also looked towards what seemed to be a radar and saw a large red blip behind us slowly get farther away. I heard something massive dive into the ocean, and soon that red blip began to follow us.
"Oh come on!" I yelled
It was clear Ashes began to panic as she realized this titanic creature began to follow us for whatever reason, and I did my best to raise the pod higher and move slightly faster, just in time as well. As I moved away from our previous altitude, I could hear the creature jump out of the water, attempt to bite our pod, then fall back into the water. There was no doubt about it now. This creature, for whatever reason, wanted us.
I raised ourselves higher and away from the creature, and soon Ashes leaned towards the console and pressed a button. Before I could ask what she was doing, I saw a small screen appear in the glass in front of me, displaying an image of everything behind us.
"Sorry, I saw it said camera, and I thought we could use it," said Ashes.
"You can read?" I asked the dragon girl.
"H-huh? Yes, I can read." Ashes replied.
We couldn't continue our conversation because I saw on the camera that the creature began to build up speed, and I could see its back beginning to expand. Soon, two massive wings burst from its back, and the creature flew from the ocean, continuing its chase.
I could see the rest of the creature now, and it was far more massive than I could imagine. Its body reminded me of a dragon, but it had webs on its feet, and I could now see its fins on its back and on its arms and legs. It had a long, serpentine tail with a fin at the end, and I could see its body was covered in large scars.
I couldn't keep looking at the creature as I moved the pod away and tried to lose it as it kept flying after us. I knew we had no chance of outrunning the creature as it slowly caught up to us, and I tried to think of a solution. As I continued flying the pod, I had an idea and asked Ashes, "Can you find anything that will speed us up?"
"M-me? I don't know if I ca-"
"I CAN'T READ ANYTHING! I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GET OUT OF THIS! SO UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE THEN FOCUS!"
Ashes flinched and stared at me with tears beginning to form, and soon I took a breath and softened my tone and said, " I need you to look at the console and see if there is anything that can speed us up or distract the creature. You can do this."
Ashes took a moment as she looked at me, and when I said that last part, I saw her eyes slightly light up, and she soon had a fierce determination, and she quickly began to read the console's various labels. As she did this, I continued to dodge the creature that continued to bite at our pod, with each bite being closer than the last.
I kept doing my best, but I knew we didn't have much time left. Ashes continued to read the labels, but I could see she was starting to panic as the creature drew far too close to the pod, and I realized the next bite would be on ours. As I silently prepared myself, I heard Ashes yell out, "There's a button under the console that says Emergency boost!"
As she said this, I saw a small button covered by a glass case, kicked it open, and pressed the button. Once I did this, I felt the pod begin to vibrate, and a red screen appeared on the glass in front of us. I could see the creature begin to open its jaw, and Ashes leaned toward the console and pressed another button. In an instant, I felt my body fly back into my seat as the pod sped up and left the creature behind as we flew to parts unknown.