\[Elise’s POV\]
I watch in horror as the strange creature in front of me rises higher and higher until it is standing at its full height.
“Fuck.” Marty, who stands behind me, whistles. “That thing…”
He doesn’t finish his words as the creature moves, rushing toward us with the intent to kill.
“Time to move!” He announces, jumping to one side while I jump to the other.
Straightening myself out, I take in the thing's body, trying to find a weak spot, but its scale-like skin seems almost impenetrable.
‘How the hell did they get a hold of this thing?’ I hiss.
‘Who knows.’ Anna responds. ‘But where doesn’t matter.’
She was right. The only thing that mattered in this situation was killing this damn thing, but was that possible?
As this thought hits, the creature whirls around and moves to attack again, but stops as Jose and Warren move, wrapping their teeth around its ankles.
Eyes widening, I watch the beast lift them from the ground and then begin to shake, breaking their hold and sending them crashing to the ground.
Understanding what it has planned, I begin to move, grabbing Jose by the nape while Marty grabs Warren. Together, we pull them out of the way as the creature attempts to stomp on them.
Fuck. This was no good. If we wanted to stand a chance at killing this thing, we needed to get closer to its head and neck.
Releasing Jose, I examine the beast’s tail.
‘That could work.’ I murmur, coming up with a plan.
‘Are you out of your mind?’ Anna demands. ‘What will you do if you’re crushed before you get close?’
‘That is a risk I’m going to have to take.’ I shrug. ‘We can’t continue to let this thing distract us.’
Turning my attention from Anna, I make sure that my father is still unconscious. When I find him still in place, I feel relief rush through me and begin to move.
Tapping into my alpha abilities, I move agilely, dodging the beast's attacks while I make my way to its tail. When I reach it, I leap, landing halfway up, and as the beast moves to try to shake me off, I move. Refusing to be shaken off, I continue to climb higher and higher until I reach the beast's back.
“Elise!” Marty roars from the ground below. “What the hell are you doing?”
What was I doing? Wasn’t it obvious? I was going to take this fucking beast down, even if it killed me. And honestly, it may come down to that. This thing was no joke and far above any of the prey I killed in the past.
“GET YOUR ASS DOWN BEFORE YOU GET YOURSELF KILLED!” He continues.
Ignoring his demand, I begin to move again, heading farther up the beast’s torso until I reach its neck, and when I do, I dig my teeth into its scaly skin, only to find that it is almost impenetrable.
‘Fuck.’ I growl, moving further up the creature's neck. ‘What the fuck is this thing?’
‘What are you planning you suicidal maniac?’ Anna demands. ‘We should really get down instead of going higher.’
What was I planning? That was a damn good question. I didn’t know what the plan was, but I couldn’t continue to let this thing stay alive. My group below was already doing everything they could to try to kill it, but nothing was working.
‘Maybe.’ I murmur, reaching the top of the beast’s head and looking down at its mouth. ‘If we can’t kill it from the outside, we can do it from the inside.’
‘Have you gone crazy?’ Anna gasps, making her disapproval of my idea known. ‘What if you die along the way? What then?’
‘Then I die.’ I snap.
This was the first time in my life that I was actually saying something like this. It didn’t benefit me, but in order to deal with this thing, I was willing to sacrifice my life for the greater good.
Ugh. All these goodie goodies were rubbing off on me. When this was finished, I needed to get away from them, live like I wanted, and not worry about anyone else except me.
Alright. I announce inwardly. No more standing around! Let’s get this done and over with.
Fighting everything in me that screams to go in the opposite direction, I move until I reach the things muzzle, but before I can reach a large brown wolf who I immediately recognize as Marty comes to stand beside me.
Before I can react, he is shoving his body into me, and I’m falling.
With wide eyes, I watch the world around me begin to move in slow motion as he gives me a wink and then dives into the creature's mouth.
When I hit the ground, I attempt to get up, only to be stopped by Warren and Jose. Together, they hold me in place while I stare up at the place where Marty disappeared.
NO! I scream inwardly as if he can hear me. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?
Although I knew exactly what it was that he was doing, I still couldn’t believe it. And with each passing minute, my panic and fear continue to grow.
Was his sacrifice in vain or...
The rest of my thought gets lost as the beast bucks and groans before its body begins to smoke, and as I watch in horror, it erupts into flame, quickly burning to nothing more than a large pile of ash in front of us.
Shifting back into my human form, I move while Jose and Warren try to catch me.
“Marty!” I scream, beginning to sift through the ash. “Marty, where the hell are you?”
This wasn’t some fucking joke, and if he thought it was funny to hide, he had another thing coming. When I found him, I was going to fucking kill him myself.
“MARTY!” I repeat more loudly. “Show yourself now, you bastard!”
Continuing to move, I ignore the remaining embers that burn at my skin. They wouldn’t stop me from finding the crazy bastard that stopped me from taking down the beast.
“Elise!” Jose hisses, grabbing me and attempting to hold me back. “Look at yourself.”
“I don’t care!” I shriek, continuing to fight. “I have to find Marty! He’s hiding in this ash somewhere!”
With each passing minute, I could feel my panic growing more and more, trying to convince me that Marty was gone, but he couldn’t be.
No. I refused to believe that Marty gave his life to stop this thing. He was simply playing a sick joke. But no matter how much I dug, I couldn’t find him.
It was only when my arms, body, and legs were covered in burns and blisters that Jose, now accompanied by Warren, grab me and begin to pull me away.
“LET GO!” I scream, fighting them. “LET GO! I HAVE TO FIND MARTY! MARTY, YOU BASTARD THIS ISN’T FUNNY!”
“This isn’t a joke.” Jose murmurs, causing my heart to drop. “He’s gone, Elise.”