“Their scent glands,” he says quietly. “Now, can I take my hand away?” I nod and reassure him that I’m zipping my mouth shut.
Around the corner, we undoubtedly do not find popcorn. Instead, there’s a group of a dozen creatures I’ve never seen before. The creatures look like those cat-sized dumpster diver animals, but they’re missing their masks and have razor-sharp whiskers. They have low, wide, muscular bodies that definitely look like my little sais won’t penetrate through. Their dark, shaggy coats cover them from head to toe, but at the tip of their fur, there seems to be some type of dark liquid that looks to have an endless supply that drips off of them. One of them shakes, sending black beads flying across the ground, and hissing can be heard as it hits some of the foliage.Was that acid?Their tails remind me of an anteaters, but their snouts are like Chester’s lemur.I’ve never seen anything like this in Purgatory. Are they from Earth?I haven’t read about these in my studies. They have to be strictly from Hell.
“What are those?” I ask in wonder, keeping my voice down as their low, stocky bodies shuffle around.
“Those…look like Binturongs, but I’ve never seen them like this,” Chester admits.
“What do you mean?” I whisper.
Before he answers, one of the Binturongs’ bright red tails shoots up in the sky, straight as an arrow, and he lunges at another animal, snapping his jaw. This causes a chain reaction as the entire group gets involved. We get our first look at how dangerous these creatures are. Their whiskers go flying into one another, and they replenish as if they have an endless supply.Their claws barely penetrate through their thick coats, but that doesn’t stop them from trying.
I look down at my sais and back up at Chester.
“I don’t know how well my boom will work on them. I’m not sure how helpful these will be either,” I say honestly. Gone is the confidence I had a moment ago, and I take in a shaky breath, wishing Rez or JP was here. Chester glances in my direction, nibbling on his bottom lip before taking a deep breath as if making up his mind. He backs up from the edge and hands me his weapon.
“What are you doing?” I hold his Guandao in front of me, not sure what to do with it.
“Here, I need you to take care of my items. I’m shifting to take care of you,” he explains, and I scowl.
“Chester. You’re crazy. There’s nothing in there to climb,” I say hurriedly, trying to plead my case as I quickly shove his clothes in his bag along with his weapon. I rethink shoving his glasses in his bag, and put those in my S.I.N. box. He gives me a small, crooked smile.
“Who said I was changing into my lemur? Get ready to ride, baby,” he says as he drops to his knees.
I flutter to the side to watch his transformation, and within seconds, my jaw drops.
Holy butterbees! Now, this is the way to travel!
CHAPTER 21
Level Three- He Came in Like a Wrecking Ball
JP
As I take in my bleak surroundings, I guess the only positive thing I can find is the fact that I can feel Moni.
“Well, I guess this is the next trial,” Knots calls out as his wings bristle within the thick fog.
Oh, and Levi and Knots are alive and well, so that’s another positive.I don’t know where everyone else is at, but we seem to be unharmed, which is a good thing, even though, at times, I wish I could strangle Knots myself. Being so attuned to Rez, I easily pick up her thoughts and understand where she’s coming from, and I wish I could just magic away this whole mess. On the other hand, Knots hasn’t been himself to the point that he’s been letting his shield down, and his thoughts have been projecting like he’s yelling, which isn’t like him at all.
As a man who wants to protect his loved ones, I can see where he’s coming from, but I have to admit, I think he’s in thewrong. And if he’s not careful, the only thing he will get out of this family is a friendly bond while we continue to grow without him. He will sit back and watch from the outside. But until then, he’s still family and one of us. He’s just a very lost and stubborn one of us that will have to do a lot of sucking up if he wants Rez back and to stay on our good sides.
First thing first, we need to find and reunite with our family in this hell hole before that can happen.
“Moni is this way.” I point and start heading in that direction, but Levi grabs my arm, giving me a sharp look.
“How do you know?”
Shrugging off his hold, I purse my lips before pulling my bag back onto my shoulder. “It’s a gift from Dad,” I tell him before flashing him my brand on my forearm. “I can feel her when I activate it. It was the first thing I did when I brushed myself off and realized she wasn’t with us.”
Levi, pleased with my answer, nods and moves out of my way as I take point. Stepping forward, I furrow my brows as I observe the empty field before us. The thick white fog doesn’t allow my vision to penetrate much, but I can vaguely make out shadows in the distance of the leftover plant material over the ground from the last harvest.
“She’s this way,” I call over my shoulder as I step deeper into the fog. Knots and Levi quickly catch up with me as we make our way through the field and into the tall stalks of corn.
“Ahh,” Levi calls out from my left, grabbing for his shoulder.
“What’s wrong,” I shout, turning to face him.
“What are these things?” He glares at the green stalk between us as he checks over his outfit.
