Vera stared at Naren with a puzzled expression.
"What's conviction?"
Naren pursed his lips, trying to keep from laughing but failed anyways.
"Pfftt..Hahaha."
The puzzled Vera was even more so, this time a bit more annoyance creeping in. Muttering to herself: "I think he's crazy."
"I'm not crazy...haha...You're just real funny y'know."
Vera raised her eyebrows, wondering if she spoke too loud again. Did she forget how to whisper?
Naren finally straightened up as Vera was second guessing her control over her words.
"Shrimpy."
She grew annoyed.
"I have a name."
"I'll take you home."
Naren held out his hand, as if expecting a handshake, with a slight smile on his face.
"In exchange you lead me there, shrimpy."
Vera's eyes held Naren's. Trying to make out how truthful his words were.
"How do I know you're not lying?"
Naren took Vera's hand, and slapped it with his own, like high five.
"Guess you won't know, Vera."
He leaned in.
"Be careful in here, whisper if you need me."
Naren picked himself and walked over to the Sergeant muttering to himself: "I wonder what that hissing could be."
The Sergeant who was discussing something with his private, Bolka. Boris sitting nearby, stirring a pot of what looked like barf over the fire.
The cavernous stomach tilted, the ground rumbling. The pot spilled all over the ground, a bit of the boiling liquid splashing onto Boris.
The Sergeant watched in indifference.
Naren turned back, watching Boris struggle with trying to clean himself as he walked to the Sergeant.
"Woah, unlucky."
"Don't just look. Help me, whoever you are."
Naren didn't bother responding to the old man. Instead playfully sticking his tongue out. Until another voice caught him.
"Hello, uhm, I'm sorry I don't think I got your name?"
Naren turned to look at the Sergeant, a little tinge of disappointment showing on his face.
"Don't worry about it, Sergeant. I'm quitting the army."
Naren took a half-hearted bow, with a salute.
"Thank you for all the great times we shared together."
The Sergeant stood there silent at first. Dumbfounded by what was happening.
"Wait, private, you're trying to quit?"
Naren straightened up.
"Pretty much."
The Sergeant brushed his hair back, blinking rapidly and opening his mouth slightly, while looking back, as if thinking about how he should respond. Then he turned back to Naren, trying to keep a smile on his face.
"I'm sorry if I failed to mention...but Aspirant's aren't allowed to leave once they joined."
Naren covered his mouth with one hand, rubbing his face.
"Mmmm, that's something...Well I'm sure you can take care of that."
The sound that Naren's been hearing. The one that sound like metal grinding on stone. The low pitched hissing like a locomotive engine. The one that hit deep in his bones grew louder. Just loud enough for Naren to realize it wasn't metal on stone, but scales on stone.
"And where will you be going instead. How will you enter a Marchen without our help."
"Atlas."
The Sergeant's eyes reflected a look of terror. He shifted, uneasiness slithering through his neck as he forced himself to speak.
"You're going to hell—"
Naren cut him off, pointing back at Vera.
"Shrimpy's takin me."
The Sergeant pursed his lips, completely forgetting his previous fear. Looking up at the ceiling, as if to contain his anger.
"Private, you've done nothing wrong, that's why I wanted to help you. You're nothing more than an innocent soldier. But..."
He clenched his fists. His shaking hands pointing to a body skewered by a stray metal rod, an obvious prisoner of their ship, still shackled. The Sergeant's voice grew shaky with anger.
"That man...he sold children to the dark market...under the guise of an orphanage."
Then he pointed to another prisoner floating lifelessly in the acidic waters, half his face already degraded. The Sergeant's voice grew more angry and louder.
"The shit stain floating. He raped women."
Then to Boris, who was trying to tend to his burns.
"This bastard killed his wife and children after getting high!"
Then the Sergeant's finger landed on Vera, who had come just in time to hear her own part. Her eyes this time, were not filled with hatred. Instead, they were scared. Scared of a secret getting out.
"And her. That stain is a witch! Her very existence kills people, but she lives on anyways. After killing my own son, she decides she has the right to live!"
The Sergeant was breathing erratically, his rage barely contained. Naren stared at him, yawning.
"So shrimpy's a witch?"
The Sergeant, took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"Don't you get it...private. She's the enemy of mankind. All these prisoners are. They're nothing but subhuman insects bringing nothing of value. But...But the army, we're here to help people. We condemn evil. We make sure that.. that—"
Naren whispered. Something so quiet the Sergeant barely heard him.
"Yeah, but I don't like your face."
The Sergeant, caught his breath. Staring at Vera and Boris. Both of which were trembling looking at him. But wait, they weren't looking at him. They were looking at something behind him. He turned his gaze to Naren, tilting his head.
"Pardon?"
"Sorry, It always irked me."
A large mouth bit off half of the Sergeant's body. A scaly body swallowed the half in whole. Thick as a tree trunk and as large as three. The giant snake-like creature was a dirty shade of green. It's scales formed like patchwork, irregular and repulsive to look at.
"You okay Sarg?"
Naren grimaced watching the bottom half of the Sergeant fall flat on the ground. His eyes followed the scaly body to meet the pale yellow bestial eyes of the snake. The bulbs were bulging out, like they didn't fit in the skull, the vertical slits erratically looking around for it's next prey. A bright red jewel was etched into its forehead. Bleeding slightly.
A voice entered Naren's head. He was sitting in that dark horizon once more, the same one where his sister had spoken to him. This time, however, the water was only up to his ankles. There was also another guest beside Naren and his sister. The Basilisk towered over him, speaking into his mind like a sharp blade.
'Food. Bring me the witch.'
A shackled arm, bruised and battered, reached from the shadows, caressing the Basilisk's body. When the serpent turned to look at it, it burst into blood and organs.
Naren blinked and he was back, the real Basilisk staring at him with those vertical slits. Enraged.
The private right next to him attacked. Waving his sword in his face. Naren leaned back dodging the strike, placing his hands on the ground for support, he kicked up with his left leg, sending the private staggering back.
"Woah man, I didn't kill your Sergeant."
Bolka looked at Naren with empty eyes. His pupils already gone. Just then, the Basilisk swatted Naren away with it's tail, sending him flying down below.
Vera ran after Naren, to the edge, before Boris grabbed her. She looked down to where Naren had fallen. Various loose debris falling from the impact, pinning him under at an immense weight.
"Vera we need to run."
Vera swatted Boris' hands away.
"But Naren. He told me he would-"
"Vera, who are you talking about."
Vera had a confused look in the mix of terror.
"The guy who was just here"
Boris grabbed Vera.
"Vera, there was never anyone here."
She wriggled out of his grip, backing up in confusion.
But Boris lunged and grabbed her, holding her tighter. Vera struggled in his grip, biting his hands to try to break free. But even as skin broke and blood poured out Boris, didn't budge. Vera looked up at his face, his eyes completely white without an iris.
"B-Boris."
The serpent unhinged it's jaw, but just as Boris crept closer, he slowly stopped. Biting down on his own lips drawing blood. Tears fell from his eyes, as he could croak out two words.
"Sorry...honey."
He let go of Vera, running into the Serpent's jaws by himself. Swallowed whole.
Vera lingered, but the sword of Bolka, slashed at her. She barely fell back avoiding it. He sliced downward, but Vera rolled out of the way. Her body trembling as she pushed herself up.
A single image flew through her mind: The smile of her mother, as she pushed Vera away. Right before the ground under her mother completely crumbled and fell through.
She dove at the private herself, before he could pull his blade out of the ground. Knocking him down. Picking up the sword which wriggled free from the force, she wobbled a bit at first. It was heavy.
After exerting herself to hold it upright Vera pointed at the soldier, before moving it towards the giant serpent before her.
Her body trembled as her eyes shook in their sockets. A voice cutting through her head.
'Come, witch.'
Vera, looked at the gaping mouth of the Serpent, the uvula dangling inside. She made up her mind. She wouldn't die here.
Vera dashed inside the mouth, but before she could slash at the uvula, the private dove in behind her, pushing her to the ground of the mouth. The sword, still clutched in her hand, but Vera had no way of getting up as the private stood on top of her.
As the Basilisk's mouth shut, so did Vera's eyes. Holding back tears from fear, she whispered.
"Help me...Naren."
The sword reflected the glimmer of the bioluminescent walls of the stomach. Bare feet, stepping atop it that wasn't there before.
The mouth of the Basilisk closed completely, Bolka's body kicked at the teeth right as it happened being chewed up.
"I'm glad I swiped these."
A small match lit with a dim light. Then it fell gracefully onto the ground in front of Vera, finally breaking the fear of darkness. She stared at it, hoping so desperately for it to stay lit, even if it did nothing to save her.
The feet on top of the sword disappeared. Now on the left side on the serpent, perpendicular to the wall of the snakes inside. Then on the right, then left, then right, then top, then sword.
As the match burned on, the inside of the serpent shook violently. Like a bullet ricocheting inside a balloon. Over and over impacts from each and every surface.
KRRK
KRRK
KRRK
The Basilisk, shifted in pain, banging it's body, sending Vera inside flying around.
But the ricocheting just kept getting more and more violent, as the match continued to burn. The wet insides of the serpent glistened reflectively.
KRRK
KRRK
KRRK
Until it finally ripped. Like a balloon, the Basilisk ripped. A vertical tear running down the length of neck, blood and stomach acid pouring out. Vera tumbled out hitting the ground, soaked in blood. A ragged crimson scarf landing right next to her.
A bloodied hand picked up the scarf.
Vera looked at Naren, as she breathed heavily. A look of disgust was on his face as he wiped the blood and gore off him.
"Why the hell'd you whisper in there."
He wrapped the scarf around his neck, before setting his glimmering golden eyes on Vera.
"You ready to go to Atlas, you shrimpy witch?"