Monti is alone with the mother. He had one minute. Maybe less. He looked at the water around him. Dark. Murky. Perfect.
The water will muffle the vibrations, he thought. She won't sense my crocodiles if they move slow and quiet. No slime in the water.
He summoned one claw. Low to the water. It moved slowly, barely rippling the surface. It crept toward the mother's body.
She didn't react. She was huddled close to her eggs.
Another claw. A jaw. They all moved through the water, silent as shadows.
Now.
The first claw bit into her side. She hissed, twisting. But before she could strike, the tail wrapped around her body. The jaw clamped down on her tentacle. Then he summoned the whole croc right next to her. It moved, splashing the water as it bit down on her.
She thrashed. Water splashed everywhere. But more crocodile parts appeared—from the water, from the darkness. They bit and held and pulled.
The mother screamed.
Monti kept summoning. Claws, tails, jaws—dozens of them. They swarmed her like piranhas. She couldn't fight all of them at once.
She tried to call out. A high-pitched screech. A signal to her children.
Monti heard it echo down the tunnels.
"Shit, hurry up and die," said Monti.
They're coming back, he realized. She's calling them.
But he had the best opportunity he'd had in a long time.
He waited. Listening. The screeches of her children echoed closer. They were rushing back.
Then he saw them. A wave of skinny snake-creatures flooding through the tunnels toward the mother. The water moved like a wave with their speed.
Monti waited until they were all in the chamber. Then he acted. He unsummoned all his crocodile parts at once.
The mother collapsed, bleeding, weakened. The smaller creatures froze, confused.
Monti ran.
He charged toward the mother, leaping over the smaller creatures. His muscles bulged, purple smoke rising from his body. He drove his fist into her head.
She went still.
The smaller creatures shrieked. They surged toward him.
Monti was already running. He dove into the water, swimming faster than he ever had before. The tunnel ahead was narrow—too narrow for them to follow in a group.
---
Jes – Still Stuck
Jes was still pinned. The gravity held her down, but she'd managed to do something.
She'd used her telekinesis.
The slime around her—the green liquid that was holding her—she'd pushed it back. It floated above her in a circle, suspended by her will. She couldn't move her body, but she could move the slime.
She closed her eyes. Focused. The creature that had created the slime—the one in front of her—was still there. Its gravity field pressed down on her, keeping her pinned.
The slime floating around me is still moving, she thought. But they're not. Not even the gravity is moving.
She pushed harder. The slime in the air began to glow. Her hands twitched.
She just needed a few more seconds. Few seconds and she would've figured out how to get out.
Jes coughed. Then covered her mouth. The slime around her was still floating, suspended by her telekinesis. She looked up.
The creature in front of her—the one controlling the gravity—jumped back in surprise.
That's when she realized.
She was free.
The gravity was gone.
She didn't question it. She acted.
She shot into the sky, soaring upward. Her hands raised. A small fireball formed in her palm—dense, bright, perfect. She threw it.
The fireball hit the creature square in the chest. It didn't scream. It didn't have time. It burned alive, green slime sizzling and popping as the flames consumed it.
Jes landed. Her feet touched the ground. The other four creatures—the ones that had been watching—tried to shoot their slime at her.
She dodged. Left. Right. Spun. The slime flew past her, hitting the walls and floor. She was faster. She always had been when she could move.
She raised her hands again. Fireballs formed. Four of them. One for each creature.
She threw them.
All four hit their targets. The creatures burned. Their bodies crumpled and turned to ash.
Jes stood in the middle of the street. Breathing hard. Her hands were shaking. But she was alive. She was free.
Monti, she thought. Where is he?
She closed her eyes. Focused. Paradox energy—faint, but still there. Monti's energy. It was below her. In the sewers.
She dove down. Through the grate. Into the darkness. Water splashed as she hit the surface. She flew through the tunnels, fast and low.
Then she saw him.
Monti was running. Limping. Behind him, a swarm of small snake-creatures slithered through the water, chasing him.
Jes didn't slow down.
She dove into the water, grabbed Monti's arm, and pulled him upward. He gasped as she lifted him out of the water.
She flew up. High. Toward the surface. The creatures jumped after them, their bodies twisting through the air.
Jes opened her mouth. A burst of fire erupted from her throat—hot, bright, concentrated. It engulfed the creatures below. They burned. All of them.
Silence.
Jes landed on the street, still holding Monti. She dropped to her knees, coughing. Monti lay beside her, gasping for air.
"You... you okay?" he managed.
Jes nodded. Her voice was hoarse. "Yeah. You?"
Monti looked at his burned arm. His bruised ribs. His missing shirt. "I've been better."
She laughed. Weak. Tired. "Same."
They lay there for a moment. Just breathing. The night sky was above them. The street was quiet.
Then Jes spoke.
"Let's go home."
Monti nodded.
They stood. Limped. Walked.
Jes and Monti limped down the street. The night air was cold against their skin. Monti was shivering—still in just his underwear, bruised and burned.
Jes glanced at him. Then looked down. Then looked away quickly.
"Where's your pants?" she asked.
Monti froze. He looked down at himself. His bare legs. His underwear.
"Oh shit," he muttered. "The sewers... they were sensing me because of the slime. It was on my clothes, so I—I took them off. I left them down there."
He stuttered, his face turning red. "I was just trying to—I didn't think—"
Jes held up a hand. "Stop."
She sighed. Then she turned around and flew back toward the grate. In seconds, she was gone.
Monti stood there. Alone. In his underwear. On a street. At night.
"This is fine," he said to himself. "This is completely fine."
A few seconds passed. Then Jes reappeared, holding a bundle of wet, slimy clothes. She dropped them at his feet.
"Your pants," she said. "And your wallet. And your phone. And your keys."
Monti stared. "You found all that?"
"You left them in a pile. It wasn't hard." She turned away. "Put your pants on. I'm not looking."
He quickly pulled on his pants. They were wet and cold, but they were pants. He zipped them up.
"Okay," he said. "I'm decent."
Jes turned back. She looked at him. Her face was serious, but there was a small smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Don't do that again," she said.
"Take my pants off in a sewer?"
"Almost die. Alone. Without me."
Monti nodded. "Deal."
"Kinda hard to be in a situation where you need your pants off in the sewers again," said Jes.
"Trust me, I'll try not to make it a habit," said Monti, both of them giggling.
They started walking again. Slower this time. The night was quiet. The street was empty. Above them, the stars were hidden behind clouds.
Jes spoke first.
"Your crocodiles worked well down there."
Monti nodded. "Yeah. The water helped. Muffled the vibrations. They couldn't sense my attacks until it was too late."
Jes looked at him. "You figured that out on your own?"
"I had time to think. A lot of time." He glanced at her. "They're blind, you know. The creatures. They sense vibrations through the slime."
Jes absorbed that. "That's why they could see my fireballs. The heat created vibrations."
Monti nodded. "Probably. I didn't get that far."
They walked in silence.
Then Jes spoke again.
"After all this is over," she said, "I'm buying you dinner."
Monti blinked. "What?"
"Food. For surviving." She smiled. "You earned it."
He laughed. Tired, but genuine.
"Okay," he said. "Deal."