Chapter Three
JULIO’S HEART LEAPT for joy and fearlessly, he called out to her, screamed in fact.
But he realized what this momentary delay cost him. The distance between had increased rapidly. She still moved at the same pace, but he knew that every moment he spent watching her was time enough to lose her again.
Against all his instincts, he hurried through the grass, the blades patting him from all sides and producing nicks in his skin that looked like inks of blood. He did not mind it for even one bit. He was thinking that she might have passed this way many times, but he thought it was very unusual for there was no actual path. A trail in the grass should have been worn down with frequent walking, but there was none of that. It would have taken an inner compass to be able to venture through the thickness without getting lost.
He picked up his pace. From what he had seen outside, he could easily walked for ten to fifteen minutes and he wasn’t sure he would reach the edge of the grassy expanse. It ended in another area that was littered with great big trees. The trees did not seem as dense as where he had been the previous summer, but the grass would still give him problems before he got there.
With his left hand in front to shield his face, Julio finally accepted the fact that she was no ordinary woman. He had been fighting it for a long time. He remembered her standing in front of him, beautiful yet undeniably human. But the more he thought about it, with all the eccentricities of the whole ordeal, he had to believe that she might be humanlike, but not human.
Gone was the idea that he just happened upon the world of the Magaram after getting lost trying to pursue her the first time. He suddenly had the strong feeling that today, as he ran after her through this thick grassland towards an unknown place, that he was beginning another Magaram adventure.
But....
He liked the idea.
He could not easily explain it, but he easily knew how he felt about it. There was nothing he would love more than for this to be true. Considering that all things supernatural were as hard to explain as people’s faith in an absent deity, this evidence was as good as any.
The woman was one of the Magaram!
The realization was hardly a revelation but it brought a surge of energy that slammed Julio’s heart to the walls of his chest and made that biggest pulse be felt through every vein in his body. He became increasingly aware of his surroundings, the direction in which the wind was blowing, the sun’s position, and each and every goings-on within him. If he was to deal with the legendary race spoken of only in folk stories and in jest, he had to be aware. Very aware.
No sooner than this was when he noticed something very unsettling.
There was still the faint rustling of the blades of grass as the soft breeze caressed them.
But that was not what he noticed.
He heard and felt a slow, sure, and steady movement somewhere in his vicinity. The sound was very subtle, that if not for his new found focus, he would have entirely missed it.
The sound came in regular long intervals marked with a slight pause. It conveyed heaviness that was not only heard but subtly felt on the ground through his slippers.
Julio listened some more. It seemed like the sound was slowly gaining permanence, like it was coming to life. Moreover, if it had been a small animal, he would not have felt it on the ground. And the sound would not be as constant as it was.
This struck fear into him that he had not felt since his encounter with the great bird. Julio turned around. It was hard to see through the eye level grass but he needed to know. He had to know!
He was silent, his eyes darting back and forth, scouring the expanse. If the creature was as big as he thought it was, he would be able to observe something.
And he did.
His entire being screamed, a sound not heard but he felt to his very core. It was still far, whatever it was that was still invisible, still not taking physical appearance but already has a shape. It multiplied the fear that immobilized him for the moment. The tops of grass were being pushed to the side creating a void in between. It was not only the width of that void that struck fear into his heart, but also the length! The width could have easily been a meter long. That in itself was already a cause for great concern. The length of this discernible indentation among the grass was not so easily estimated because of its arrangement -- it zigzagged across the field!
It was large and it was serpentine!
Julio’s vision turned black and white with fear. His hairs stood on end. He felt like his heart had stopped and finally, his body obeyed the will of his mind, and ran!
Unlike the encounter with the great bird where he had seen how deadly it was from the very beginning, this even bigger creature was still unknown to him. And even if he knew, Julio thought, he would not stand a chance. If he was right and this was a snake or anything remotely snakelike, it would have already gotten a whiff of his smell. He knew he was doomed!
Julio’s feet sped through the entire grassy landscape in a few breaths. There was no time for his body to complain. His entire body cooperated with his effort to preserve his life.
Before long, he found himself where the trees were. And he almost lost his nerve.
The view from the earlier pathway exit tricked him into believing that the tall grass extended way into the trees. But the more he moved forward, the shorter the grass became. The grass now was just standing a mere few inches from the ground, touching his ankles. As if it weren’t enough, the trees were also not as thickly distributed as he imagined they would be. He would surely be spotted before he found a suitable hiding place.
He frantically scanned the area for a tree large enough to hide under. Finding none, he continued running. The dragging sound behind him was becoming more and more evident. The serpentine creature was closing the gap between them while it was taking him forever to find a suitable cover.
Sheer terror gripped him as he realized that he may not get out of this encounter alive.
But Julio was prepared to fight with whatever he had.
He started cursing for having brought this situation upon himself. Adventure, indeed! Ahead of him, a great thorn tree stood. It brought a small measure of assurance. As he neared, he was able to see how big the tree was, probably would take at least four people holding hands in a circle to completely hug the tree.
With all his strength, he ran for it, and quickly hid behind his chosen spot.
Catching a few quick breaths, he dared to take a peek, only to have the image freeze his blood.
It was still at a distance but was closing in fast, slithering towards him. He could see a portion of its head now and some areas of its long body, but it was more than enough to make him fight not to faint.
The head was huge. It was definitely a big snake. There was a long streak of fiery red covering the center of its head and ran in the middle of its back towards its tail. It was a shade of red that looked alive, while the rest of its body was bathed in white. Its scales had a whiteness that, if not for its fearsome features, almost seemed like it was pure. The area where the head stopped and the body started had a ring of black starting from where the red streak ended and appeared to cover the entire circumference.
Then the dragging sound stopped.
In its place, came a long and loud hiss that sent shivers from one end of his spine to the other. As if that was not enough to terrorize him, series of loud clucking sounds followed. The creature was moving its head from one side to another, and its sound decreased and increased in volume. The serpent raised its head way up, then dropped it low to the ground.
It was looking for him!
Without warning, a sound like an angry moan and a very heavy thud was heard. Julio felt the vibration in the ground. It had dropped to the ground heavily and the dragging sound resumed again, with the pauses in between almost undetectable.
It’s going in for the kill, thought Julio frantically.
He sank down to the ground
as he felt the thorn tree vibrate. The creature was moving faster rate and parts of its body rubbed against the big tree, removing bark in the process. Julio beheld the entire length and width of the serpent passing him.
He was in awe.
He was also in serious trouble.
The red demarcation that ran from its head down to its tail was not a coloring or pigmentation. They were feathers, blood red feathers that were now standing up. The black band on its neck was made of feathers as well, in deep black. The feathers also stood up and formed a shield-like semicircle on both sides. It was definitely enraged and the speed in which it slithered was almost hypnotizing.
But he was able to move. The great feathered serpent was almost touching him and he has to. Where the red feathers ended stood a menacing row of pointed bony spikes that receded as they approached the tail. Some of the spikes came off as it rubbed against the thorny tree and fell to the ground. The serpent did not seem to notice.
It took a long time, even as fast as it was, before the entire length of the gigantic snake’s body passed the tree.
Julio was already at the side of the huge thorn tree by then. His spirit lifted at the possibility of escape. It seemed the creature had locked on to something else. As long as he was cautious, he might be able to get away.
The thought gave him the confidence to move a little faster so that he could hide in the opposite side of the tree this time. But in his hastiness, he stumbled. The back of his foot caught on one of the tree’s gnarled roots that stuck off the ground and he fell on his butt.
All the fear and terror erupted at the surety that he would die, now. In those few seconds as he fell, a vision that another creature was after him came and he screamed.
He fell on his back heavily. A part of him landed on the roots, and he screamed in pain. But it was the least of his worries. The creature had stopped and its huge head was coming around.
Julio froze. And sweated.
The creature’s head circled back some more, licked the air with its forked tongue that appeared like a huge snake by itself. It tasted the air, trying to find the new scent. While it endlessly flicked its tongue in the air, pulling it inside its mouth for short periods. Then he heard the long hissing sound he heard earlier, followed by the loud clucking sounds that reminded Julio of angry roosters.
To Julio, this meant the giant snake was going to attack.
His senses roared into life. He swiftly rolled to the side, got up and hid behind the big tree. The creature gave that angry moan-like sound again. The next were noises that denoted the creature was in motion.
Julio closed his eyes and prayed.
Julio felt the creature bump into the tree behind him. He dropped to the ground on his stomach so quickly, and he was surprised his reflexes could still work at all. When he tried to stand up, he bumped his head into something solid and he fell on his behind again.
Then he looked up and froze.
He was close to getting crushed! He looked up to find the great white feathered serpent had already coiled itself around the tree twice.
Now its head was trained on him while the rest of its body was coiling away at the tree. Bits of bark flew off in many directions as the tree was subjected to the raw power of the creature’s muscles.
With the black feathers on the side of its head standing on end and the red feathers coursing from head to tail doing the same, Julio did not need any encouragement.
As its humongous mouth moved forward, Julio dived, but forward instead of backwards. The creature missed as it snapped its huge head to strike him.
Then Julio made a run for it!
But the speed at which the great serpent repositioned itself in order to pursue its human prey was incredible. With the majority of the snake’s body coiled up in the tree just before he dived forward, Julio thought it would take longer for the serpent to chase him.
It would at least have to turn its head all the way, then uncoil itself before coming after him. Yet there it was. Julio looked back to see just how much progress he had made. Seeing the creature was closer to him than he expected spurred all of his being into action.
But he knew that wasn’t enough.
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