(I Died and got Reincarnated) My New Life as a Saltwater Crocodile Begins

CH•26 - "A Trip Down Icy Lane"

Grrr..... This torrent is grueling. It's like that time I got dragged around by the boat in the ocean. There's nothing I can do but wait until I reach calmer waters. But, how long till then? As of this moment, I keep on bumping into rocks that are sticking up like pillars underwater. I can't keep this up forever. This passage has got to lead to an open space somewhere. I just need to hold out until I get there. But, what if I can't? What if this passage just repeats itself and goes around in a circle? What if I had already been strayed away from the main path and stuck in a loop right now? I can't swim against the current since it's too strong, which means I can't turn back. What should I do then?

I... I need to calm down first. There'll be no do-overs if I mess something up because I panicked. Baby snake is still inside my mouth. The life of another all rests in me, I can't fall now. That said, things aren't going smoothly on our end. We'll need to resurface soon before we run out of air. The space doesn't have to be wide, so long as there's enough room for us to breathe. Like an air pocket or something. Heh, wouldn't that be convenient.

The current continues to drag my back against the rocks, battering my body here and there. This isn't good. I'm starting to feel dizzy. Then, for a moment, my jaws start to loosen. Immediately, I bite down, clamping my jaws firmly shut and denying the overwhelming pressure of water threatening to rush in. But, I couldn't block it all in time. I can feel my mouth half-empty with water. I can also feel baby snake clinging to one of my teeth. It's kind of irritating having something stuck in your teeth, it's making me want to flick it off with my tongue, but I really shouldn't. I'm using my tongue to block my throat so I don't swallow the snake. I can't afford to move it now.

Me aside, I don't know how long the baby snake can hold out without air. We have to speed up this torrential transportation somehow. I don't really think this is enough to make ourselves move faster, but I'm doing it anyway. Facing front, I tilt my body towards the edge of the passage, and upon arriving at the wall, I kick on its surface, pushing myself forward. I repeat this process until I noticed the waterflow starting to slow down. We're almost there. Just a little more. And then... after a few more kicks, we finally arrive at our destination.

Bursting out of the water, I immediately gasp for air right away. Baby snake did the same and exited out of my mouth as soon as I opened it. Finally, an open space with breathable air.

I spend the first few minutes floating on water and smelling the air in the cave. It's rather cold here. Icy cold, in fact. It was only just now that I realized we were surrounded by ice crystals. I was too out of breath to notice them sooner. I didn't even notice the area around here is brighter. Is that why it's so cold here? Maybe what awaits us outside is a frozen winterland. I sure hope not. Baby snake and me are cold-blooded reptiles, which makes us weak to cold. I don't want to feel like hibernating after finally getting out of this cave.

With the icy chill slowly seeping into me the longer I stay in the water, I took this chance to walk out and step into dry land. The surface still feels cold to the touch, but not as cold as the water I was in. I decided to rest for a while so I flop in place. This is the second time I got washed away by a powerful stream of current. Though this one was longer than the first and I kept crashing into pillars of rock from time to time. Not to mention having to protect the baby snake the whole way.

I'll just stay put here and focus on recovering my energy. I don't know if it's because of the cold or the fatigue but I feel so lethargic right now. Maybe I'll feel energized again after I catch a few z's. Yeah, that sounds good... I'll think about everything else later... too tired to keep eyes open... huh...? Baby snake...? Wha-... what are you.....

Then, baby snake proceeded to bonk me awake with his own head.

Huh? What are you doing? Did the cold drive you crazy? I'm trying to sleep here. Wait, why are you opening your mouth? Why does it look like you're about to bite me?? Agh! Stop!! I'll get up, I'll get up!

The instant I immediately stood on all fours, a quick shadow casts over us. Out of reflex, I secure baby snake in my mouth and move out of the way, but I couldn't move as fast as I normally would and I got struck from behind. I then turn around and see... a bear? What's a bear doing here? Is this its home? So we ended up in a bear's den? One problem after another... I just want to take a break for once.

It tried to aim its claws at my face. Was it targeting me or the baby snake? Well either way, it looks like I'll have to bring down this bear if I want my rest. The cold is slowing me down. I'll need to end this quick and find a warm spot to sleep in. I'm way too tired for this, why does this have to happen?

My back feels numb. Those claws look razor sharp. Where did this bear even come from? It must've been hibernating or something and we woke it up. Well sorry for disturbing your deep slumber, but if you could just let this one slide and leave us be, we won't do anything to you.

The bear then responds by standing upright and roars at me. Apparently, my heartfelt message didn't go through to him.

From the looks of it, it's a little slightly over two meters. Not even half my size, huh. No. I shouldn't let my guard down. I may be bigger, but size isn't everything. Baby snake's mom taught me that. Besides, I'm still exhausted from that river ride just now.

I open my mouth slightly, letting the baby snake crawl out and slither away in a hurry. The bear doesn't seem to have noticed yet. It continues to hold its ground, not daring to get any closer even after trying to make itself look bigger. Looks like it distanced itself after I became aware of it. It knows it's dead when it gets near my jaw. But unfortunately for you, it's not my bite that you should worry about.

I take the first move and lunge at the bear's general direction. Of course, since it previously distanced itself, it saw my jump coming from a mile away, and fairly easily stepped back to avoid me. It then tried to claw at my face, but I caught its hand with my mouth and instantly snapped it shut. The bear cries in pain but that short span of a few seconds gave me enough chance to chomp at its feet and trip it down. And yet, even after all that, it's still thrashing around.

Then, baby snake comes in and bites the bear's eye. Youch. I mean, that's what I intended from the start, but still... that is gonna hurt big time. Now let's just sit back and wait for the venom to spread till it's dead.