novelzi Chapter 258 – Out of Options
Chapter 258 – Out of Options
Fer stood, arms crossed, brows furrowed, mouth tightly closed, as she watched whatever was happening to the Jungle. The trees had started to tear themselves apart, regrow, then tear apart again. As if whatever Anassa had done to them on the inside had resulted in a rapid cancer that they were trying to forcefully excavate out of themselves. But those trees, Fer did not care about in the slightest. Trees were trees, maybe Iniri would shed tears over them, but Fer had different loyalties.
She listened to the pain wheezing of that giant lion as it collapsed. Whatever Anassa was doing on the inside was having an effect on the Jungle guardians just as much as it did on the Jungle itself. And while she had nothing against hunting and taking lives, Anassa’s sadism had always sat badly with her. Pain was pain, suffering was suffering, they were facts of life. She didn’t feel bad about hunting wild game, but…
She saw the Lion take a step and fall over onto its side. A sandstorm of dust erupted from it as the trees fell like dominos under the container-ship sized beast. That wasn’t hunting wild game though. Fer sighed and watched as she waited for Kassandora to start whatever she was planning, her ears fell flat on her head and her tailed whisked from side to side as she looked around the environment. The Crocodile gave up in the distance, it lay flat in the backing Sun as if it was simply waiting for whatever Anassa was doing to be over. The Vulture squawked from above and crashed into the ground.
Fer jumped heard engines approaching from the south and turned towards the midday Sun. A group of Lemurs were slowly driving up here. Her eyes went to the three Jungle Guardians. She put down members of her pack when they grew ill, or when they damaged limbs beyond repair. But that was putting them down. She didn’t burn them alive, she put them down. Fer looked at the three great beasts. The Crocodile unmoving, the Vulture madly beating its wings into the ground and the Lion breathing heavily as it gave short spasms on the ground.
No. They may have tried to attack her, but if they were going to die, then it would Anassa’s or Olephia’s job to put them down. Fer wasn’t about to stand here and let them be burned to the bone by napalm or slowly torn apart by artillery. If they had a weapon that could incinerate them in one go, then Fer would let it happen, but not like this. It was akin to throwing a lying into a nest of flesh-eater ants. Kassie would be mad, but if Kassie wanted this job done so much, then she should have stayed here and let Fer wrangle Elassa. Fer turned and jumped to the approaching artillery.
Fer landed crashed into the dirt of the approaching Lemur artillery and stood up straight. It was twelve massive trucks, six wheels each, with arms on pistons that would extend into the ground. Rotating turrets on the back, with cannons twice as long as Fer was tall, and Fer stood so tall she didn’t even have to crane her neck to look into the driver’s cabin that had a ladder leading up to it. The first vehicle stopped, the driver looked at her, then rolled his window down. “Goddess Fer.” The driver said as Fer walked over to him.
The Jungle squirmed and started to rip and tear at itself. Vines shot out of the ground, they pierced trees that uprooted themselves and fell. One collapsed, as did another, until they went like dominos. The green leaves, tinged with the crimson glow of sorcery as if they themselves were casting it, started to discolour themselves until they were shining red. The three beasts cried out as the Jungle, flailing in its madness, started to hit them as much as it hit itself. That, Fer didn’t feel bad about. There was needless suffering she could stop, and then there were things she could not. There was no reason to reminisce about the latter. “Are you going to shell them?” Fer asked.
The driver looked to Fer, to the animals, then nodded. “That was the plan.” He sat there, in a green shirt tinged orange with the red dust.
“I’d rather it wasn’t.” Fer said. There was no need for intimidation or harsh tones or threats or appeals to authority. She was Fer. That was enough for men to listen to her. The man sighed, then looked to the other two men in the cabin with him. One of them shrugged, the other didn’t look happy.
“Don’t shell them?” The man asked. Fer nodded. “Then…” He sighed and collapsed into his seat. “The order to shell them came from Goddess Kassandora.” He quickly erupted into fast speech. “And since it’s her, I’m not saying you don’t have authority but-“ Fer reached into the cabin and patted the man’s shoulder.
“Kassie, I’ll handle later. Don’t worry.” She gave them a thumbs up and looked at the three suffering animals. “Thank you.”
Fer soared through the air and felt her phone start to buzz. Who was calling her now? Now? Of all times? About what exactly? She maintained her posture, angling herself so that she would go feet-first into a tree that was being driven mad and fighting its neighbours. Its leaves turning red and dying, some were starting to fall off. That was Anassa’s work alright. Fer smiled to herself as she put one arm forwards, her feet crashed into the bark, a spray of wooden chips exploded around the Goddess as her sheer bulk eviscerated the wood.
Immediately, and the Jungle started to scream and grab her. It wasn’t like the last time she had entered. It was unfocused, as if unaware Fer had once again entered. And the screaming was directed seemingly in all directions, from all directions. A vine hurtled towards Fer’s neck and she quickly jumped again. Fer landed on top of the Lion itself. It had soft fur, almost as soft as her golden locks.
The Goddess saw the animal’s eyes watching her. They were sore. But they weren’t maddened anymore. Nothing like the gaze of the Caretaker. Fer put her hand on the Lion’s nose. Its rumble was as delicate as the buzzing of a bumblebee, and as a loud as an avalanche crashing down. And the Goddess of Beasthood smiled, it truly was just an oversized animal. There were thin traces of sanity in that rumble, as if it was trying to form words. She was about to speak to it, when her phone buzzed again.
Once was just a call. Twice was serious. It could be Kassie.
It wasn’t Kassie.
It was Helenna.