THE EAR ARCHER Part 1 (Completed) #wattys2022

candles in the night

Rutherford wasn't thinking, all he wanted to do was high tail home. Fortunately, Gob was. If they kept running,  at some point,  it would catch up.
"we've got to fight it" Gob yelled.
"what? "Rutherford screamed in horror
"if you have a better idea,pray tell. "
Both men stood their ground against their foe. They had ran quite a distance but they weren't tired, not with a sixteen feet reptile few meters away.

Slowly, sefth drew his broad sword. With much effort he forced his fingers to stop trembling. Looking at one of the largest members of the cat family wasn't the most romantic thing in the world.
The digitigrade moved gracefully towards its target. It's whiskers was straight and it's almost beautiful face expressionless, an indication that he had done this dozens of times.

The boa measured them up.  Rutherford was in a frenzy, Gob knew he had to take control,  as frightening as the reptile was they had the advantage of numbers.
Both drew their swords. Gob urged Rutherford to space out but the later was so frightened he kept himself glued to Gob. Even when Gob tried to move away he still followed him.
Without warning, the reptile launched itself at them.
Sweat ran down sefth's as the tiger approached. He was terrified but he knew he had to hold firm. With a slight frown the cat limped, prompting Sefth to swing his blade.  The blow caught the beast on the lower jaw. 

The beast fell and rolled on its side absorbing the pain.  It straightened as fresh blood poured from his face. It launched again at Sefth. But this time anticipating Sefth's move. With its forelimbs, it knocked the blade out of sefths grip. And with its weight pinned Sefth to the ground. With o e swift move, dug it's claws into his ribs.

Both Gob and Rutherford kissed the dirt as the reptile flew above them.  The monster recoiled and with its tail delivered a powerful blow to Rutherford flinging him three feet above the ground and isolating Gob.
Gob was bewildered, he tried to scare the reptile off by swinging his blade wildly. The reptile launched at him. With the tip of his blade he inserted the entire sword into the reptile's stomach.
But the weight of the snake and his fright of it sent him to the ground with the undead snake untop of him.
It coiled around him and began to constrict him.

Gob had felt his heart try to burst before, every time Yart made him do those senseless training his heart always had a sensation of bursting.  But none of it felt like this.
With his other good side, sefth delivered a desperate blow to the bloody face of the tiger, prompting the beast to dig deeper into his ribs. Sefth roared in pain and with both arms painfully pushed the beast away.
Without wasting a second, the beast attacked Sefth again but the solider prepared for the assault, caught both his jaws.
The reptile tightened it's grip on Gob a bit more than usual as a result of the pain it was suffering from Gob's blade.
Gob knew it was the end. Blood started oozing from his ears,  eyes and mouth. Suddenly, the reptiles grip relented. The last thing Gob saw before passing out was the snake attacking Rutherford.

Sefth tried tried to tear the tigers mouth apart but it was almost impossible considering his weakened state. With ever ounce of strength he had left Sefth rolled himself and the animal atop him down the slope.
Gob's eyes flew open when something hard hit him. He felt something slimy against his feet. On top of him laid an unconscious Rutherford obviously knocked out by the reptile. The snake was trying to swallow them both.