A Jagged Adventure

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Shark felt something long and slimy trail across his fur. He shuddered awake and looked up to see a Lagombi bathing him with its tongue. His eyes became saucers.

I think he lives!

Of course he lives, anti-insomnia. It was his shield that took the brunt of that freak Palamute.

He's not a freak! He's the One!

I thought so too, but... I think maybe-

"WHAT THE DEVILJHO IS GOING ON HERE?!" Shark screamed.

The elderly Palamute scrambled back and cowered in a tiny niche in the ice cavern wall. The Lagombi, the Great Baggi and the Aknosom he'd seen cornering Red were now turning on him. He realized as stone pressed against his spine that he should have run: he was pinned!

Deviljho! The Lagombi howled with laughter. Get it? The Humans say Devil when they are startled, but we say-

Shut up, Hops. Now is not the time. The Aknosom pecked Hops on the head, and it flinched and stepped back a few paces, whimpering.

Shark stared around wildly, his heart pounding. He tried to find an escape. Maybe he could think of a distraction. But as the seconds ticked on, his eyes grew dull and glassy. This was an impossible circumstance.

"If you're going to eat me, may I ask that you at least return my skull to Kamura Village?" Shark, giving up hope, slunk out of the niche and walked right up to the Aknosom. "I've seen many hunting parties end this way, and I know I am no match for your speed and strength, and I am completely outnumbered. Please... Just make it quick. I am an old Palamute, and just like my master, I fear death."

Hops and the Great Baggi gasped as Shark lay down, belly exposed to the Aknosom. The bird wyvern looked too stunned to move, and simply poked at Shark with a curved claw.

Shark lay motionless. Only his twitching hind feet and the occasional soft cry gave away how frightened he was.

You're just going to give up? The Aknosom asked finally. Just like that? Don't you have something to live for?

Hops snorted. Hunters and their suicidal ideations. You guys really should live alongside us for a change. We don't have that problem because we're not haunted by our murderous and sadistic lifestyle choices!

The Aknosom wacked Hops with a wing. Don't be rude, Hops! The Great Baggi chuckled before moaning and going quiet. Shark noticed a faint souring smell hanging in the air, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

"I have everything to live for." Shark growled impatiently as his nerves began to rise. "But do you really think I have a chance, any chance, to escape the fate Beanie and Red have left me in?"

Red? Is that the Palamute? The Aknosom narrowed his eyes. I think that Palamute lied to us. He said he was the O-

"Shut up for a second," Shark snapped. He sat up and sniffed the air frantically. Something didn't feel right. It was almost like his nose was warning him of some impending doom. He'd smelled it once before, when one of the hunters suffered an on-the-hunt injury and convulsed like a fish out of water.

Shark noticed that the Great Baggi was not focusing on anything, and stumbled to the side even though it was standing perfectly still.

"Is that Great Baggi okay?" Shark demanded.

But before anybody could answer, Shark's instincts took over. He barely knew what had come over him. Maybe he had protected Old Ivory's fragile form one too many times, and so his body instinctively knew what to do. Either way, he bounded forward, ran up beside the Great Baggi and pushed against the large monster. He didn't really expect his efforts to do much, but the beast was so gone that it allowed the elderly Palamute to guide it away from the jutting rocks and icy waters and over to a safer area next to Hops and the Aknosom. The two monsters watched in pure disbelief as the Great Baggi let out a squeal and fell over, convulsing just like that hunter had those many months ago. The monster's legs flailed, decking Shark in the rear. Its head bounced among the rocks, and froth dribbled from blue lips that began turning even darker.