Chapter 37: Beast Attack
I was dragging Betty around for a moment when I spotted a deep hollow at the base of a higher rock. I walked in, leaned against the rock wall, and gently laid Betty down at the depth of the hollow.
The temperature inside was much warmer than outside; the cold wind couldn’t reach us. The little girl’s face seemed to relax a bit, but there were still no signs of waking up. Her bag was gone, along with that compass or whatever it was, all the food, and a water supply—poof, gone! I needed to figure out how to get her some food.
But what’s even edible around here?
Guess I gotta head out and look.
I thought for a moment and used the surrounding soft sand to half-bury the little girl. I buried her up to her chest and made sure her hands were snugly tucked in, patting down the sand to make it feel like a cozy thick blanket. Good plan, right? Should keep her warm.
After that, I stepped out of the hollow, and the cold wind hit my face again, a refreshing chill, but I knew that was just nice for me. Soon it would get colder, perhaps dropping to freezing. I needed to find something to start a fire.
I had some dry grass and flint in my bag, so all I had to do was find some burnable stuff. Not too tough, considering the path here was littered with wilting scrub branches and tumbleweeds. Both could burn—well, tumbleweeds were said to produce toxic smoke when burned, so who knows if that applied here too? Better safe than sorry. Let me just grab some twigs instead.
With that in mind, I started wandering around the rocks. Soon enough, I spotted a bunch of scattered dry branches, probably blown over from some sandy whirlwind. I went over to pick some up when suddenly, I heard a rustling noise from the left.
What’s digging in the sand…?
Is it food!?
I quickly dropped the twigs and cautiously edged toward the sound, straining my ears. It came from just behind a nearby rock—small noises, maybe a little lizard or something…
But that little critter was sharp; it must have sensed me because the rustling stopped all of a sudden. Oh no, I thought, and immediately tapped into my Moon Step, darting behind the rock, peering around for a bit but only spotting a tiny hole in the sand about two fingers wide. It was already closing up under the soft sand, and I hadn’t even seen what it was.
It’s run away…
I stomped my foot lightly in frustration.
Fine, fine, it’s gone…
Time to look elsewhere.
But searching around took ages—almost half an hour! I roamed around the rocky area but found nothing edible. No birds, no bugs… well, I did find a nest of those creepy, icky bugs that nobody would touch even if they were the last food on Earth. No way.
After two trips back with dry twigs, and still nothing edible to show for my efforts, I began to get impatient. My impatience turned to thirst. I had water but didn’t want to drink it all. I contemplated digging a deep sand pit for a water source when suddenly I remembered something.
What am I looking for water for…?
My Frost Order is back up and running, isn’t it?!
Seriously, I was about to cry from my own stupidity…
I felt a mix of humor and annoyance. Even though my Power of Order was just restored, I hadn’t thought of it until now; I struggled with water all the way here and had my brain trapped in a rut. Realizing this was like a slap to the forehead from my own ridiculousness.
Getting back to my senses, I quickly summoned my power, conjuring a small patch of thin ice in my palm and popped it into my mouth. The ice was delightfully crunchy—maybe due to my thirst, I even tasted a hint of sweetness. The cool liquid slid down my throat, pure bliss!
I couldn’t help but chew on a few more pieces, and once my thirst was down to manageable levels, I thought, why not toss some ice cubes into my water bag? Let it melt into water slowly. Just as I opened my bag, I suddenly recalled the temperature issue.
Those ice cubes are too cold; filling my bag with them would make my water colder too! And with my power, I might just freeze the whole bag into one giant ice block. That could take a while to melt…
At least not tonight.
If that happened, Betty would be completely out of water.
Bad idea…
Looks like I’d better eat the ice myself. The water stays for Betty. I couldn’t find food, so I’d just head back and start a fire. If I waited too long, the little girl might just freeze in here…
I zipped my bag back up and turned to head for the hollow when suddenly, a loud scream pierced the night.
“Ahhh!”
“Help! Don’t come near me!”
“Si-sister!”
…That was Betty’s voice!
She’s awake!
Boom—
As soon as my brain registered that, I launched into my Moon Step and shot up high into the air, ice platforms forming beneath my feet like a launching pad fulfilling my dreams of being a superhero. Just a couple of seconds later, I was soaring above the high rock, scanning the hollow below. Lo and behold, a massive shadow lurked by the cave entrance, clawing and scratching as if trying to stick its head inside!
I froze for a second.
Then I couldn’t help but chuckle out loud: “Ah-ha!”
What is this creature…?
The food I’d been searching like a madman for showed up on my doorstep!
“Betty—”
I yelled her name from mid-air, flipped around, and dove down towards the beast. The wind roared around me. Luckily, I wasn’t too far; I landed right above that shadow.
Zing—
The crisp sound of a blade sang through the air as I drew my Dragon Claw from my waist, its icy sharpness glinting in the moonlight, and with a swift jab, I plunged it into the creature’s head before it could even look up and register what was happening.
Thud!
The blade pierced right through the creature’s forehead as I landed atop it. The foul, furry thing let out a yowl and began thrashing wildly.
In the bright moonlight, I could vaguely make out that it resembled a cat but with a thick layer of scales on its back, a long slender body, and six claws! It thrashed around, kicking up sand and dirt everywhere. But then the frost spread across its forehead.
Wow, this creature really has a hard head; it’s still not dead…
“Stay still!” I hissed, my voice soft yet somehow echoing with a mighty dragon’s authority that rippled outwards. The beast froze mid-struggle, its body trembling as if it suddenly realized its mistake.
Huh…
Is Big White helping me out with this voice? An animal intimidation technique because dragons are the apex predators or something…?
That thought flickered through my mind, and I took a firm grip on my short sword, pulling it back out and spinning it in my palm, wrapping it in an even fiercer frost before driving it into the creature’s heart.
Crack, crack, crack—
Dark red bl**d sprayed out, quickly freezing into countless shards. The beast shivered a few times, and then, with a loud thud, it collapsed, lying still.
