"Then… what did I just hit?" Triska asked worriedly. She slowly felt along the dagger towards something it had struck. There was a soft clump of hair, and a warm liquid she suspected to be blood. And feeling more to the side she touched what felt like something sticking out of the hair.
"Oh my… it's…" she said softly, feeling along what seemed to be bug antennae with her hand.
"What? What is it?" Alyssa asked, peering around towards Triska's voice.
"It’s an… an ant girl. I just killed an ant girl," Triska said as she felt the head of the monster she struck, the blade of her dagger having pierced right through the eye.
"What? You… killed one?" Alyssa asked with surprise. She searched around franticly, only seeing darkness around her.
"Yeah, I did. Holy shit, I got her right in the eye. I… I didn't even know she was there, she didn't even make a sound," Triska said, pulling her dagger out of the fallen monster. She felt the side of creature's head and then down along the body, running across a dirtied tunic that had a few rips in it. However when she got to the waist she felt something different.
"What… what the hell?" she said.
"What is it?" Alyssa asked.
"I'm… not sure. But… this isn't right. Her legs…" Triska said shaking her head. Alyssa slowly made her way over and knelt down next to her. She slowly reached her hands down towards the human girl's and touched the waist of the monster. The skin seemed to shift into a bony exoskeleton, and feeling downward more they noticed it had long insect legs.
"This… isn't an ant girl," Alyssa said cautiously. Triska felt the body of the strange monster and shook her head.
"You're right. The ant girls had human looking legs. This feels… more like…" she said worriedly. Alyssa counted six insect legs on the creature’s lower body, then quickly felt upward again and ran her hands along the upper body up to the neck. She examined the feel of the creature, trying to picture its appearance. From the waist up it seemed to be an ant girl, however below the waist it was certainly not like what an ant girl looks like.
"Six legs… she's an insect type, but… she's not an ant girl," Alyssa said confused.
"Then what the hell did I just kill?" Triska asked puzzled.
"I'm not sure; I can't even see it clearly like this. But whatever it is, it's not one of the monsters that took Daniel," Alyssa said worriedly. She tried to lean in closer to the corpse to see anything. Suddenly a red glow lit up the corridor and the witch came face to face with the fallen monster. The creature had its remaining eye wide open, the blue iris being small while its mouth was open wide, either in shock or from preparing to bite down on the unsuspecting girls in the darkness. Inside her mouth were dozens of teeth in rows, all of them appearing to be razor sharp. The jaw seemed to be unhinged as its mouth was opened extremely wide, with two large pincers sticking from the sides. Alyssa screamed and backed up as Triska looked over to see two ant girls standing near them, with one of them holding a torch. Both were staring at the fallen monster with surprise, their eyes wide as their mouths were opened slightly and quivering.
"What-" Triska said before she looked down, her eyes widening as she saw the monster. She saw the six insect like legs and the lower half of the monster that was a bony exoskeleton. It had a large abdomen behind it while the monster wore ragged dark blue clothing similar to the ant girls.
"What… what the hell is that?" Triska shouted while scrambling back up to her feet.
"Oh my god… you killed an ant-lioness," Alyssa said in wonder.
"An ant… lioness?" Triska said looking to the fallen beast. The two ant girls walked up towards it cautiously, with one slowly kicking it to make sure it was dead. They then backed up a bit from it in fear as they stared with wide eyes.
"They're just like their insect counterparts; they feed off of ant girls by burying inside the dirt and ensnaring them as they walk past. I can't believe it, you managed to run into one while it was above ground and actually kill it… with a dagger… while blind," Alyssa said looking to Triska with disbelief. The human just looked at the fallen monster with shock then to her dagger in her hand. It was only by a lucky strike that she managed to kill the monster before it attacked them. She then looked to seeing the ant girls staring at the body of the fallen predator with wonder.
"Um… yay?" Triska said unsurely. The two ant girls looked at the dead corpse then to Triska with wonder. One of them took a step closer to her before she screamed with a screeching sound, her foot being dragged downward as the dirt below shifted around. The other ant girl watched with horror as her partner was pulled downward into the ground.
"What the hell?" Triska yelled with surprise. The struggling ant girl squeaked franticly and thrashed around before its lower body went underground, the monster then shaking around as she coughed out blood while dirt and dust flew up around her.
"It's another ant-lioness, it's pulling her under!" Alyssa called out. The ant girl thrashed around then went limp as the body was pulled underground, with the other ant girl staring with fear at where her partner was pulled under to her death. She trembled while she held the torch as Triska looked around with shock, getting good view of what was around the tunnel from the torch’s light.
"Oh my god…" she said softly. Alyssa slowly looked around the corridor, trembling nervously as she too saw what was all around the ground near them. There were dozens of pincers sticking up from the ground, each one twitching slightly.
"Are those…" Triska asked slowly.
"Ant-lionesses. My god, this tunnel is filled with them," Alyssa said in shock. The remaining ant girl looked around with fright then down to her feet, seeing a pair of pincers a few inches from her foot. Triska looked around then towards the edge of the tunnel.
"They're not buried close to the edge of the tunnel, that must be how we made it this far. Who knows how many of them we passed while we were close to the wall like that," she said softly. She and Alyssa darted over and hugged against the wall, looking around to seeing the pincers sticking up all over in the middle of the tunnel.
"What do we do now?" Triska asked with fright. Alyssa looked around then to the ant girl who was frozen in fear.
"Hey," she called out in a hushed tone. The ant girl slowly looked over to them, sheer fright seen in her eyes.
"Get over here, hurry," Alyssa said motioning over to them.
"Why are you helping her? She's the enemy here," Triska asked with disbelief.
"She's also got our light, if she goes down we could walk right into another one of those things," Alyssa said with a cautious tone. Triska blinked then looked to the ant girl holding the torch. If she went down the torch would too, then the two girls would be blind while inside the tunnel filled with the underground predators.
"Dammit. Fine. Hey, get over here, c'mon," she said reluctantly. The ant girl just looked at them with wide eyes then down at the ground again. The pincers below her twitched a bit as the ant girl watched with fright.
"Hey, get over here where it's safe," Alyssa pleaded. The ant girl glanced to them then down to the pincers that belonged to an ant-lioness buried right below her.
"Don't touch it, just get over here fast. Hey," Triska called out. The ant girl squeaked quietly, her eyes watching the pincers as she was frozen in fear. Triska growled then slowly stepped out from the edge of the corridor, looking down at another pair of pincers a few inches to her left. She slowly stepped over the area and closer to the ant girl while Alyssa looked around worriedly. The ant girl glanced to her as the teen held her hand out, the human having her feet spread apart as she tried to reach for the frightened monster.
"C'mon, you can make it. Just take my hand," Triska said worriedly. The ant girl trembled and looked back down to the pincers below her, the pair twitching a bit causing her to squeak in fear. She shook her head and looked back to the human with fright.
"It'll be ok, just take my hand. We'll get out of here," Triska pleaded as she tried to reach for the ant girl.
>
"Triska," Alyssa said with wide eyes. Triska blinked then looked down, seeing the dirt under her shifting away to reveal an open mouth, the pincers of the monster extending out to the sides. It had appeared between Triska's legs, the human and ant girl staring at it with fear. Inside the mouth a few scraps of flesh could be seen from the recent kill. The human gulped then looked to the ant girl, the monster slowly looking back up to her with terror.
"Please, take my hand if you want to live," Triska said softly. The ant girl trembled and looked back down to the ant-lioness that had just devoured her comrade. She shakily held out a hand towards the human, the teen watching her with pleading eyes while Alyssa glanced from the underground predator to the two girls with worry. The ant girl reached out towards the human, pausing as she glanced to the dagger on her hip. Triska looked to it then back to the ant girl, shaking her head with a worried smile.
"I promise I'm not going to kill you, just take my hand, and we'll get out of this deathtrap together," she reassured gently. The ant girl looked around at all the ant-lionesses that were buried nearby then to the human. Triska motioned for her to move with her hand while having a pleading expression. Slowly the ant girl reached out and took her hand, the teen nodding then looking down at the predators.
"Ok, now, nice and slow," she cautioned as she guided the ant girl off to the side away from the ant-lioness directly below her. The ant girl slowly lifted her leg away from the pincers and stepped off to the side, with Triska slowly moving back as well. Triska then slowly backed up a step and the ant girl followed, both of them moving their feet carefully so not to touch any of the pincers which were sticking out of the ground. Alyssa watched as Triska slowly guided the ant girl back towards the wall, the two then hugging against it quickly. Triska breathed out in relief then looked over to the ant girl, the monster trembling with fear as she pressed against the wall closely. She had her eyes shut tight and was squeaking quietly to herself. Triska watched her tremble then showed a sympathetic expression.
‘She's really scared, just like Alyssa was with those wolves.’
"Hey," she said softly. The ant girl slowly looked to her as Triska held her hand.
"You're safe. Now, slowly move down the hallway. We're right behind you," she said. The ant girl nodded slowly then looked down the tunnel. The three girls then started shuffling along the edge of the corridor while watching out for any nearby pincers, all of them moving slowly and carefully along the predator infested tunnel. They moved along the walls of the corridor as they looked around to seeing more pincers on the ground all around them.
"There's so many," Triska pointed out.
"Just keep moving," Alyssa said as she hugged the wall while looking around carefully.
“How are there so many though, how do they breed if they just stay down here preying on the ant girls?” Triska asked.
“They steal away men that are taken down here by the ant girls. They use them to breed with, and then eat them afterwards,” Alyssa said with a shudder. Triska looked at her with wide eyes then around at the pincer infested tunnel.
They shuffled slowly down the tunnel and came to a T-intersection, with the three girls then running quickly over into the middle of it as the predator pincer field stopped finally. They looked back to the corridor as they saw all the extended mandibles twitching around as silence filled the area.
"That was close," Triska sighed with relief. Alyssa nodded as she held her staff tightly. They then looked to the ant girl who was holding the torch, her eyes looking back down the corridor with fear. She then slowly looked over to them and tilted her head a bit. The ant girl squeaked quietly then took a step away from them, the monster then squeaking loudly as she was dragged down into the dirt at an angle away from them. Triska and Alyssa saw with surprise an ant-lioness grabbing onto her leg with her hands, the monster being mostly buried under the dirt while its arms and head were visible. Her eyes were wide as her mouth was opened all the way, revealing all the rows of teeth in her mouth. The monster pulled her prey downward as the ground below them caved in slightly, with the ant-lioness's head vanishing into the dirt. Triska reached out and grabbed the ant girl's hand, the monster clinging to her for dear life as Alyssa backed up a bit. The witch looked down and quickly grabbed the torch from the ground before it slid down into the ant-lioness's trap, then backed up as Triska struggled to pull the ant girl up.
"Hang on!" Triska shouted as she held onto the ant girl's hand, the monster squeaking wildly as her foot went under the dirt. Dust and sand kicked up from the small indentation in the ground as the ant-lioness kept pulling on her prey. Suddenly the ground below gave away, with Triska now standing on the edge of a steep incline while the ant girl was hanging down it. They looked to see the ant-lioness's head exposed again before digging down deeper, the monster holding onto the ant girl's leg with both hands.
"Triska, what are you doing? We have the torch, why are you still trying to save her?" Alyssa asked with disbelief. Triska looked at the ant girl she was holding, the monster staring at her with fright as she held onto her hand with all her might.
"Let her go, we need to find Daniel," Alyssa said looking at the ant girl. The monster squeaked as she thrashed around, her foot being below the dirt as the predator kept trying to pull her under with great strength. Triska held onto her as her leg started to ache, the dagger wound becoming stressed from trying to save the helpless monster.
"No… I can't…" Triska said shaking her head.
"What? Why not? Have you forgotten what these things did? They took Daniel from us, they're going to drug him up and use him as breeding stock for the rest of his life!" Alyssa cried out. Triska growled as she struggled to pull the ant girl up still, showing a frustrated expression then concern. She saw pure terror in the ant girl’s eyes, the monster holding onto her for dear life as she was being pulled down towards what would be a painful death.
"Alyssa… help me," Triska said as she struggled with her leg wound.
"What? Help you save her? Are you crazy? Let her go, we're here to save Daniel, not these damned monsters," Alyssa said with discontent at the ant girl.
"I can't… you were right before, Alyssa," Triska said shaking her head.
"I was right about what?" Alyssa asked puzzled.
"What you said before, that I only try to start fights with any monster we meet. I can't… I can't keep doing that. I need to try to trust them, like Daniel is doing. I need to give them a chance," Triska said, holding onto the ant girl with all her might. She dropped down to a knee as the ant girl's foot slipped further into the dirt.
"This isn't what I was talking about, Triska, these things kidnapped Daniel!" Alyssa shouted out.
"So did you!" Triska yelled out. Alyssa showed surprise while Triska looked at the ant girl with determination.
"You kidnapped Daniel, and tried to rape him. You acted just like they did, Alyssa. You were… just following your nature. Just like they are," she said looking at the ant girl's fearful expression.
"So?" Alyssa said shaking her head.
"Daniel wouldn't want me to kill innocent monsters, monsters who are only being driven by their nature. He would try to help them, to reason with them. He wouldn't give up on trying to make peace with them," Triska grunted as her wound started to bleed more, the bandage turning a deep red.
"They're not innocent monsters, they kidnapped Daniel and took all our stuff," Alyssa argued.
"They didn't kill us, they could have but they didn't. And you said it yourself, they'll guard Daniel, they'll protect him from harm. They're not malicious," Triska reasoned with as she glanced to the witch.
"That doesn't make them innocent here. Let her go Triska, she's not a monster that can be trusted," Alyssa said shaking her head.
"You wanted me to trust you didn't you?" Triska demanded. Alyssa looked at her with wonder as the teen struggled to keep from falling into the predator’s pit as well.
"Why shouldn't I try to trust her… but stil
l trust you? You're both monsters, what's the difference?" Triska questioned.
"She's an ant girl, do you have any idea how many innocent humans she might have drugged and raped in her time?" Alyssa pointed out expectantly.
"You hexed a fair share in your time didn't you? Don't act like you're an angel here, Alyssa. You're just like her, you were both just following your nature," Triska accused firmly. Alyssa looked at her with wonder then to the ant girl.
"She's not bad. If she was really evil she could have thrown us into those ant-lionesses back there. But look at her; she's scared out of her mind, just like you were with those wolves," Triska said holding onto the ant girl's hand, dropping down lower as the leg of the monster fell further into the dirt.
"But… I'm sure even Daniel wouldn't want to spare this thing's life. They took him away to rape him; they're probably doing that right now!" Alyssa cried out. Triska growled and shook her head.
"He saved you, after you were right about to do the same to him, he refused to let you die alone in the woods," she argued. The ant girl started to cry out of fear as Triska watched her with a frustrated expression.
"Well I'm not going to let this girl die alone; I'll be true to Daniel's beliefs. She may be a monster… but she's not evil!" she yelled out. Alyssa looked at her with wonder then around. From the two other tunnels ant girls were watching with surprise, some standing on the ground while others were hanging from the walls and ceilings.
"Oh god, Triska! We need to get out of here!" Alyssa said looking around quickly. Triska dropped down onto her chest as she held onto the ant girl's hand, the monster’s legs sifting further into the ground below. She squeaked loudly as she held onto Triska's hand tightly.
"I'm not going to let you die, do you hear me?" Triska said loudly. The ant girls all looked to her with wonder as Alyssa glanced back to the human.
"We're not… your enemies. We're not… like these things that try to kill you. We can coexist, we can!" Triska said trying to pull the ant girl up.
‘Daniel wouldn't give up, I know he wouldn't. He believes these monsters can be good; he's willing to risk his life to prove that point. I need to as well.’
chronicles of eden - act I Page 21
