1831
*ANOTHER DAY OF THE Z-CANDIDATE TRAINING*
The teenage Coco stood and watch as Teela threw a rope down into a hole in the ground where Tzal, Coval, and Mars were trapped in. "Just grab onto it."
"You sure you can pull the rope alone?" Mars questioned as he held the rope.
Teela turned to look at Coco. "A little help please?" The dark-haired boy groaned before walking up to her. He held the rope and they both start to pull Mars up.
Just when they were a few moments away from pulling him out, Mars turned his head to his right. He cussed as the head of a snake crept out of the darkness. "Just a moment guys," he shouted before reaching for his gun in his back pocket.
"We can't hold all day!" Teela barked.
Mars took out his gun and aimed it at the snake's head. "Hold on a few seconds." A smile formed on his lips as he aimed the gun. As his hand slide up to press the trigger, a stinger appeared above the snake's head.
Mars got scared and pulled the trigger. He let go of the rope, letting himself fall to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Tzal queried.
Mars' chest pounds as he pointed at the snake and the stinger. The creature crawled the rest of the way to the light, revealing its entire body. It had the body and head of a snake but with a scorpion stinger as its tail and eight legs, just like that of a tarantula.
Tzal and Coval also pulled out their guns, aiming them at the creature. "What the hell," Tzal uttered.
The dark-haired boy pulled out his gun and aimed it down as he bent down to look at what the three were gazing upon. "What's wrong guys?" Teela probed.
Coval shot at the creature but it skillfully dodged all the shots. It let out a loud screech before charging forward on all eight. Five others plunged out of the darkness at immense speed.
The three turned and began to run in the opposite direction, going further into the darkness. A lot more of the creatures emerged and crawled after the three. One of the creatures stopped in its track and twist its head to look at Teela who let out a low scream before placing her hands over her mouth.
Coco shoots the creature but it dodged the attack. It charged toward the two, making a loud screech that drew the attention of some of the other creatures. The dark-haired boy grabbed Teela's hand and they both ran away from the hole.
The teenage Coco shot some more at the spider-snake-scorpion creature. The lasers hit some of them while others dodged the shot. One of the creatures jumped off the ground, it continuously lunged its stinger forward, aiming to stab Teela but the dark-haired boy knocked it away with the back of his gun.
Teela took out a grenade from her bag and tossed it at the creatures. The grenade exploded, creating an electric shock that held the creatures still.
They both continued running before the stun ended.
"The lab," Teela yelled, pointing ahead at a large building that was surrounded by other smaller buildings.
The peacock they fought earlier appeared in the air. It grabbed onto the duo's shoulder, digging its claws into them. The peacock flew far from the lab with them before hurling the two to the ground. It turned and launched itself at the two. They both managed to jump out of its way, evading the attack.
The peacock flew up a few feet and bolt down, lunging its spiky wings at the dark-haired boy who stumbled back, falling with his back to the ground, a misstep that saved his life.
The creature run towards the teenage Coco who could only crawl backward. It spread out its tail to shoot its spike out but Teela threw a grenade that exploded on the creature's head. She quickly grabbed the teenage Coco and they both hid behind a large boulder.
Teela exhaled deeply. "We have to find the others."
"With that many snake-y creatures that chase after them, I doubt they are alive," the dark-haired boy countered.
The peacock let out a loud screech that forced the two to place their hands over their ears. It stopped and began to growl, taking small steps around the place as it searched for the two.
"They are alive, and we'll find them and head to the lab together!" The brown-haired girl yelled silently.
The teenage Coco looked down at Teela with an unshifting eye. She raised her head and meet his eyes. They stayed that way for a few seconds before she furrowed. "Why are you looking at me that way?"
"I have a plan."
"Really? What is it?" She asked.
"I want you to run that way as fast as you can. Draw the peacock's attention to yourself and I'll take away its second eye…"
"You want me to be the bait, I don't think I can do it?"
"Would you rather be the one attacking the monster?" He frowned.
Teela let out a worried sigh. "Fine fine, I'll do it. But will you be okay?"
He dropped his bag on the ground and carried the last grenade he had. He slipped it into his back pocket and held a dagger in his left hand. "Don't look back when you run, just run."
Teela shoots him a smile before running out of hiding in the direction he asked her to. She let out a maniacal shout as she ran. Fortunately, the beast chased after her, giving the dark-haired boy the opportunity he needed. He slipped the dagger into his belt and began towards the opposite direction Teela and the monstrous peacock took.
The brown-haired girl tilt her head back and caught a glimpse of the teenage Coco running in the opposite direction, her cry to draw the peacock instantly turned into a scream as she thought he was leaving her.
The teenage Coco grabbed one of the fallen spikes from the creature and started towards the Peacock. The peacock spread its wings about to take flight to the sky but the dark-haired boy tossed a grenade at it, causing the peacock to stumble back down. He caught up to the creature and jumped on its back, thrusting his weapon at the neck.
Just as he was a few seconds away from meeting his target, the peacock moved its head and the young Coco's hand flew past the creature. He managed to hold onto the genetically engineered animal's neck feathers as it flew up with him.
He dragged himself up on the creature's back again and drove the spike into the back of its neck. The creature screamed and began to shoot out lasers in every direction from its mouth.
The teenage Coco stabbed his dagger in its last eye before jumping off its back. The peacock brushes his abdomen with its claws before he hits the ground.
The peacock's feathers turned dark grey before it hits the ground with a loud thud. Coco dragged himself to rest his back on a boulder and used his hand to try and slow the bleeding.
Teela rushed up to him. "You are hurt, lemme see," she said, ripping his shirt to get a better look at the wound. She took out a bandage from her bag to wrap around the wound.
"I thought you were gonna run and leave me with that creature, I was scared for my life," Teela smiled as she wrapped the bandage.
She finished wrapping it around the wound and slowly sat on the ground next to the dark-haired boy. "Thank you."
"For what?"
Teela smiled and exhaled. "I don't know either. I guess because you saved my life, a lot of times." She turned to look at him with a bit more seriousness in her eyes. "You never told us your name."
The dark-haired boy meets her eyes. He was shocked that she was genuinely asking. In all his life, he had never met someone who was this interested in anything about him.
"My name is…"
"Look who's finally talking." The duo turned back to see their comrade. "We were gone for what? Ten minutes and you just assumed us dead?"
Teela stood up from the ground and threw herself at Tzal, hugging him tight. "Uh, okay. You've been completely forgiven," Tzal smiled and patted her back with his hands.
"I'm so glad you are all alive," Teela stated as she pulled back. "How did you escape all those… things?"
Coval walked forward, showing the creature that was chasing after them a few moments ago in his hand. "We didn't."
Teela jumped back and quickly pulled out her gun.
"Whoa, calm down Teela. They don't bite," Coval revealed as he rubbed down the back of the creature. "See."
"They are like the domesticated animal in this place," Tzal stated. "They only attack if they feel threatened, so put down that gun before it attacks you," he warned.
The creature spreads its legs and screeched loudly. Teela shoved her gun back into her belt and put her hands up.
"You guys are weird. How can you hold that thing without passing out?" Mars shook his head. "It's like all my nightmares combined as one creature. It's not like, it's all my nightmares combined as one creature, ugh."
"He hates insects," Tzal chuckled mischievously.
"Holy… shit!" Coval gasped. He took some steps forward and stopped in front of the dead peacock. "You guys killed it."
"It was all him." Teela pointed at Coco who was still in distress from the wound in his abdomen. "He risked his life to save us both."
The dark-haired boy shook his head disagreeably. "That's not true. We did it together."
"Are you okay?" Tzal queried. "You're sweating excessively in a cold weather, that's not normal."
"I… I feel sick…"
…
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