The Counterfeit

twelve

A part of Jasmine was surprised as to how Susan - or rather the snekcrat - was managing to rampage across the ice without completely smashing it to smithereens. But she scarcely had time to think.

Her heart was pounding so hard she thought that for a second it may leap right out of her chest. Her lungs were endeavouring to keep up with her feet as she skidded and sprinted across the slippery ice.

Jasmine peered over her shoulder, her hair blowing to the opposite side of her head, to see her friends scattered behind her; Blue clinging onto Cavan as best as she could.

The snekcrat released an ear-splitting hiss causing Jasmine to speed up. She didn't think it was possible to run faster.

"Where are we going?!" Izzabeth shouted from behind. A shock of panic coursed through Jasmine's nerves. Where were they going?

Jasmine didn't respond and continued running. Her life depended on it. She looked over her shoulder again. The snekcrat was nearing with every step she took.

All of a sudden, a shriek shot through Jasmine's ears. She immediately skidded to a halt when she witnessed Hannah fearfully trying to scramble away from the vicious monster. She'd slipped.

Without a second thought, Jasmine took off towards her, being careful not to slip herself. Hannah's entire face was as white as a ghost as she repeatedly attempted to stand up, but failed everytime due to how slippery the ice was.

"Jasmine!" Adam cried as she raced past him and Izzabeth in the opposite direction, determination standing sturdy beside her.

She reached Hannah in no time and was able to grab her arm to aid her in standing. However, the snekcrat had easily advanced on the pair and sharply struck its leatherhead through the ice only a metre away.

Jasmine jumped in astonishment and was forced backwards at the impact. She landed with a thud on her butt. It didn't take long for her to react though; Jasmine crawled back over to Hannah, shielding her with her own body, and withdrew her knife.

The snekcrat went to strike again, but this time Jasmine raised her blade and sliced through the mutant's jaw. The knife stuck. A hot, deep green liquid oozed out of the snekcrat's jaw as it screeched in agony and flailed its scaly head around.

This gave Jasmine time to help Hannah up and move foward.
"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked desperately, catching Hannah's eyes. She nodded.

After aiding her a few feet away from the snekcrat, which was still violently throwing its head around and hissing in pain, Jasmine and Hannah separated, joining the others who were watching the scene with horrified expressions.
"Nice shot." Adam murmured uneasily. The snekcrat emitted a shrill screech. It was agitated.
"I think we should go. Before we lose our heads."

Then, as if on cue, a voice sounded to the right of Jasmine. A figure, in the shape of a female, was angrily charging towards them.
"You! There you are! It's about time you showed your pathetic faces out here! Ready to die now?"

Jasmine gave all her might not to let her jaw drop at the sight of Trixie. She looked a little blue and her hair was puffier than usual, her expression was something Jasmine couldn't ever describe though. She looked angrier than the snekcrat that she'd just stuck a knife through, but she also appeared triumphant. Had she seriously been out here trying to find them for the past few hours? Why didn't she just go to another realm? She seemed capable of doing so.

Trixie was not fazed at all by the snekcrat. In fact, it was like they were joining forces on them. Jasmine instinctively tapped Adam as a direction to move left. He got the message immediately and took off, everyone almost instantly following.

Jasmine sped ahead, frequently snapping her head around to view their two threats and they were remarkably close behind. Trixie was screaming at the group, but nothing reached Jasmine's ears as a whole. The snekcrat easily outspoke Trixie with its somewhat deformed but menacing hisses. It was off-the-scale angry.

Jasmine ran and ran and ran, her ears ringing, until she had no land to continue. She skidded to a halt just in time. Her breath heavy; Her heart thumping. She gulped and peered over the crack in the ice she'd very nearly fallen to her death in. It couldn't have been less than a hundred metre drop into sharp ice and rapidly flowing water.

She'd reached the crevasse.

The others caught up in mere seconds. Trixie and the snekcrat were closing in on them.

"This is it." Blue spoke. Jasmine shot her a desperate look.
"What? You expect us to jump down there?"
"We'll be impaled!" Adam added fearfully. No one was ready to fall to their deaths. Not like this.
"Do want to get out alive?" Blue retorted.
"There has to be another way-"

"Looks like you're at a dead end." Trixie tormented, pulling out a knife. But instead of aiming it at Jasmine, she threw it directly at the snekcrat's head, slicing it deep enough for the monster to release an ear-piercing cry and collapse in a puddle of its hot green blood without another sound. Not necessarily dead. Unconscious for sure.

"You're sick. Why do you want to kill us?" That's a child's question, Jasmine thought to herself. But she couldn't find anything else to confront Trixie with. She forced herself to move in front of her friends, like a mother does when protecting their child.
"I'm not sick. I don't want to kill them," She paused. "I'm trying to do them a favour by killing you."

"Well that's a pretty stupid favour if you ask me." Hannah spoke up, her voice crystal clear. Trixie ignored her.
"You, Jasmine, aren't meant to be here. Don't you see it? You're an outsider, you don't belong here. You're weak. You're pathetic and all you'll ever do is make everyone's lives a living hell. You hear me? You're dead to this world."

Jasmine didn't know what to do in that moment. She felt nothing. No guilt. No pain. No nothing. Is that how it feels a split second after being stabbed in the chest? Do you feel nothing because it hits you so quick that there's no pain to feel?

She couldn't answer her questions. Metaphorically and literally because Trixie didn't waste another minute to charge at Jasmine. The impact of the collision was so strong that it caused everyone behind Jasmine to fall too. All at once.

Screams and cries filled the whooshing air as they plummeted through the crevasse. It was a blur to Jasmine. Deep and light shades of sparkling blue and white. Her friends at different heights, fighting to remain in a stable position. Her empty stomach which she'd left on the surface of the ice. Her brown hair flying in all different directions.

Until finally, it all stopped.