Chapter 2 (Dreaded happenings)

For a day, an encounter with such a beastly animal was enough to freak out the little girl. But the horror of hearing a voice, that's very much not yours, inside of your head is like a detour to paranoia. "HELLO, MY CHILD", spoke a rumbling and almost primordial voice.



That stopped the little girl dead in her tracks as she was trying to run away from the malignant creature. Slowly she turned around to look at the same boa constrictor from the kitchen before, raised above the ground and staring down at her.



"DONOT BE AFRAID, CAUSE I ONLY SEEK THYNE HELP", the boa moved forward as if in a way to approach, but the little girl stumbled backwards as trepidation danced in her face and her eyes turned a darker shade of green.



Hesitantly, as if the boa might strike her the minute she opened her mouth, she asked, "M-m-me?". The snake now almost towering a feet above the little girl, dipped its head as if in an attempt to show approval as well as if she's distinguished.



"I'M AJAX, THE PROTECTOR OF THE SNAKE FEDERATION OF NAINE. AS THEIR CURRENT LEADER I SEEK THYNE HELP TO RESCUE A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY, WHO UNFORTUNATELY HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY THE VILE NEANDERTHALS". The snake spoke in a very articulate way, the little girl perplexed, asked, "W-wait, how can you speak and why can I hear you inside my head? And you need m-my help? But I'm a little girl, how can I be able to help you?"



The snake bared it's fangs, and the little girl flinched then fell backwards. Upon seeing this reaction, a sense of almost shame and a fleeting mask of regret passed the snake's motionless face. It lowered itself to the ground and spoke in a supposedly calm and placid voice," PLEASE, I'LL ANSWER THYNE EVERY QUESTION BUT BEFORE THAT WE MUST SAVE MY COMRADE, YOU MUST COME WITH ME".



The sky was almost clear again with deep puddles of mud forming everywhere. A hint of orange tinged the almost blue sky now with heavy clouds still hanging round the corners. The petrichor of rain washed over the entire hill, with the calls of the birds at a distance, perched on top of the trees and the end of the branches, splayed their beautiful feathers and wings as if showing gratitude and pleasing the sky for the pleasant rain.



As if in an altercation, the little girl wondered to herself, what if all of this is just a dream and I'm already killed and eaten up by the snake?, what if it's lying to me just so it can lure me and take me to it's friends to feast upon me?, those worries tangoed in her head as a frown tugged the corner of her mouth.



With caution she assured the boa and questioned, "okay I'll come with you but.........what's in it for me if I help you?"



"ANSWERS, I ASSURE TO TELL THEE ABOUT A WORLD WHERE YOU WILL BE WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS AND WHERE 'YOUR' KIND IS WORSHIPPED ".



It sounded all too thrilling and dangerous for a little girl to handle but nonetheless she wondered, what does she even got to lose?



"Fine, I'll accept but I have no idea how I'll be of help to you other than as a bait".



Together they continued West downhill, where only a small part of land was inhabited by people. It was a small village where the village head and other bit well to do people resided at. Her house was situated on the outskirts of the village with lots of tall spruce trees almost shielding the house from the entire village. Little kids played with their toys and wheelies made from firewood and raw lac. A huge amount of glee and laughter surrounded them. Women went around doing their daily chores, collecting firewood, shopping for dinner, etc. All the men sat in a pub enjoying their liquor and some crispy briskets. The aromas of hog stuffed with rosemary getting roasted, wafted into the entire village giving it a merry-day touch.



As the little girl and Ajax, following closely behind her reached the tall trees, completely hidden from all the people and life playing before them, they came to an abrupt stop as she spun around, "Now, will you tell me what I'm supposed to do to help your little friend?". A hint of frustration splayed on her little face as she confronted him.



The snake seemed to completely ignore her confrontation but at the same time seemed quite alarmed. His eyes spanned the entire area as if they just entered an enemie's lair.



His eyes zoomed and fixed onto a couple of kids at a distance, who seemed not more than ten or twelve, one of them held a little jar, so small that it was impossible to make out what was stored in it. A fierce hiss escaped his mouth as his tongue flicked the air as if tasting it's next meal.



" YOU MUST GO TO THOSE B*STARDS AND RESCUE MY FRIEND ". A look of confusion passed over the little girl as she looked back and as horror struck her face she realized, in that little jar something as thick as a jute hemp rope was coiled tightly with bits of blood staining the glass. It was the snake she's supposed to rescue, but can she take on all those boys alone?



"But how will I do that? I have no power and I'm not even strong to beat them up, how can I save your friend?". Tears pulled at the bottom of her eyes as she realized her helplessness.



" YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE, MY CHILD. YOU WOULDN'T NEED PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO DEFEAT THOSE PUNY KIDS. BUT YOU HAVE THE MOST COVETED GIFT OF THEM ALL - THE POWER OF SUMMONING. RIGHT NOW, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TILL THE TIME COMES, BUT IT MUST BE YOU, WHO COMPLETES THIS TASK AND RESCUES MY FRIEND. SO PLEASE HELP ME, MY CHILD."



The power of summoning? That was something the little girl had never heard of in her entire life but after listening to Ajax trying to comfort her, she discovered her new found strength. She wondered if her mother ever talked so tenderly to her...........it's been some time since she left home, was her mother searching for her?

Will her mother even notice, if one day she disappeared completely and never returned?



The little girl overwhelmed with emotions, grabbed a long spikey wood from the ground which was almost too heavy for her to carry and rushed forward.



Around three to four kids squatted on the ground, eyeing the injured or probably dead snake with curiosity and malice as one of them opened the lid and they all started throwing pebbles at the unmoving bloodied snake coiled inside.



With a heavy grunt, the little girl swung the stick which struck a little boy across his head and he stumbled back and fell down. As he layed their motionless, horror struck all of the kids. For a moment, it was completely silent, until a boy probably the oldest of them all threw a rock, the size of a fist at the little girl. As she tried to duck, the rock flew across her face, tearing apart her delicate skin as something warm gushed over her face.



The boy on the ground started squirming and stood up too quickly that he almost fell back on the ground. Anger circled his black eyes as he tackled the little girl to the ground and a painful shriek filled the air.



Her ankle was twisted at such a horrible angle that it was impossible not be broken. Her eyes searching for Ajax or someone she could ask for help as tears trickled down her eyes and onto her throat. The pain was excruciating and with the boy's weight on top of her tackling her to the ground, it was almost unbearable.



The boy on top of her raised his hand into a fist, she closed her eyes in fear and all she saw at the back of her mind was her mother going farther and farther away from her, when he was about to strike her nose, an eerie feeling settled over and almost like instantly the ground started rumbling as from a distant, hundreds of ropes of all sizes slithered towards them.



The kids screamed at the top of their lungs and scurried down to her homes. The kid on top of the little girl was too caught off guard, when without realizing it, with all of her remaining force, she headbutted the boy as blood trickled from his forehead onto her face.



A ghastly white settled over his face, as he stumbled forward, a hand on his forehead and ran at the top of his speed.



The little girl after finally defeating those kids, sat up as if all her gashes and injuries suddenly vanished and crawled towards the little jar.



The snake almost unmoving, but when she tried to touch it, she felt it writhing under her calloused tips. She took it out, it looked almost dead when she saw those kids messing around but now as she took a closer look, the wounds of the snake were slowly healing. On it's own!

As if ..............Magic!



The thought disappeared as soon as it occurred when she took a look at her surrounding. There was no hint of the boys now. The sky was turning crimson as night slowly settled upon the hill. A huge number of snake's surrounded the little girl, as if she was their prey. All of them hissing but bever attacking as if in .....confusion. She wondered to herself that, at least on that note they were similar.



And suddenly all of it came rushing as if she was hit by a lorry. How she almost caused a concussion, her broken ankle, blood spilling out of her cheeks and her completely drowning in blood ( that freaked her out even more as she wasn't sure if it was her blood or the boy's), her mother not searching for her, everything........it all felt surreal.



She went back to sleep so if it's all a dream, she wished for it to end sooner....... or maybe not.

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