Chapter 4: 004

When Henry opened his eyes, the sharp gaze of the sun greeted him. He lifted his head and looked around. It was still only him in the cave. He sniffed the air, crumpling his face as he caught the putrid scent. Everything was the same as when he went to sleep nothing changed, save for time. It was mildly warm when he had dozed off but now it was cold. It wasn’t raining and the sun was bright, unhindered by the densely packed trees. It was morning, or so he judged. He glanced down at his hands, they were still forelimbs of a Dragon’s. 

He sighed in defeat, finally accepting his reality as a whole. None of this was a dream after all, despite the faint hope he held close to his heart. This was truly his life now. Now that he was relatively calm, he realized he could see in the dark. Save for the few strands of light that spilt into the cave, it was dark for most parts but Henry didn’t have any problems making the details out. It was a relatively minor perk but Henry couldn’t help to feel slightly proud of himself. He stretched his limbs and body as he yawned. The actions came naturally despite having a Dragon’s body as if he had known how for a long time.

Is this what they call instincts?

Another thing that came as a surprise was the absence of pain on his back. He bent his neck and glanced at his back, only to see the wounds from yesterday caused by the centipede had healed but the scales were still missing. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the rough scales scratching against each other. It didn’t feel as good as he expected.

Setting aside the trivial matters, he veered his focus to the imminent issues. Food and water were one of them. His stomach grumbled at that thought and his throat began to feel parched. It was about time they did. The only way he could find food and water was to leave this cave. The rabbit from yesterday surfaced in his mind. He looked to the entrance but he didn’t see the rabbit. He walked closer. He half-expected to find the rabbit still lingering about in the glade but to his relief, the rabbit was no longer there. The tracks on the ground told Henry how long the rabbit had lingered and considering the tracks covered the entirety of the glade, the rabbit had lingered for a very long time.

Is it truly gone?

Henry asked himself. He took a whiff of the air but all the smell was the urine. Strangely enough, he was no longer bothered by the smell. Not that he longer found it unpleasant but merely he no longer found it fearful. He didn’t think much of it. The first step was always the hardest and the steps after that tend to be significantly easier. This was how one could overcome their primal fears but taking the first step wasn’t as easy as it sounded. While thinking such thoughts, he noticed something was off. The carcass of the Flying Devil was no longer there and there were bloody drag marks that led into the dense vegetation. The drag marks were larger than the Flying Devil. Then he noticed grey fur scattered around the drag marks.

 A shiver went down his spine. A new foe had entered the scene, Henry surmised. While he was asleep, something came and dragged the rabbit off along with the dead Flying Devil. It was truly a jungle out here. There was always a bigger fish.

I can’t stay here.

He knew. It would only be a matter of time before a creature, fiercer and stronger than the one marked this cave appeared. Henry knew he couldn’t always rely on their primal fears. Nature was unpredictable. He needed to find a place that could physically fend off the creatures, not just mental intimidation. Much like how clown fishes live in anemones, he needed to find his anemone. But what was his anemone?

I need to move now, while the sun is up.

Henry picked a stone by his feet and threw it across the glade. The stone bounced a few times before coming to a stop. He waited for a while but nothing happened. Just as he deemed the coast clear, something sprang from the dense vegetation. Henry quickly retreated back inside the cave.

Monkeys?

The creature that had sprung out from its hiding place was a monkey but not just one there was two. The monkeys were around a size bigger than the rabbit. To be precise, they were baboons. They looked like the baboons he knew from earth but as one of them screeched, it spanned its mouth wide, revealing the rows of serrated teeth. No baboons he knew had such teeth. Judging by how the bushes were quivering, Henry wagered there were more of these baboons lying in wait.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

All alarms went off in his head. Fresh blood was still dripping from their teeth, presumably the rabbit’s blood. He drew a blank as to what he should do. He couldn’t fight. They were out of his abilities. He couldn’t run either. He was cornered. The fear in his body turned cold.

More and more baboons came out of hiding. They looked confused at the sound they heard. They looked around to check their surroundings. The way they moved their head vertically was so still that the motion looked mechanical. Then, one of the baboons looked in Henry's way. It immediately started jumping and shouting while pointing at the cave. Henry’s caution was proven true when more baboons emerged from the trees and bushes. A single glance of estimate landed around a hundred and more of these baboons. Henry scrambled his way deeper into the cave as the baboons started charging towards him.

Henry ran until the end of the cave, which wasn’t far from the entrance. He could still see the baboons and the baboons could still see him. Back off, Henry wanted to shout but only a low growl came out of his mouth. The baboons’ expressions lit up when they saw what Henry was. A strange glint of curiosity appeared in each of their gazes as if they were looking at some exotic food. They were curious and excited. Henry instantly understood the characteristics of these baboons. 

One of the baboons took a step into the cave but it flinched away hopping after touching a single step. As curious as they were, they still couldn’t defy their instincts, for now. More and more baboons gave a try and all ended in the same result. However, Henry did not feel safe at all, not that anyone could with a bunch of bloodshot eyes hovering around the entrance like a wall of eyes. The constant screeching of the baboons was enough to drive anyone mad.

The cold fear in Henry slowly turned warm. His back was literally and figuratively against a wall. He was afraid but more than that, rage began to bubble. The rage seemed to be caused by the baboons’ perspective of him. They were belittling him. He realized most of the screeching was laughter. A few took a dump right at the entrance and threw it at Henry. It landed halfway into the cave but that was enough to raise Henry’s ire. They were mocking him. Soon, they started throwing rocks. They weren’t strong but it would still hurt to get hit by a stone. 

The warmth within him began to sear, his fear gradually dissipating.

One of the monkeys pushed one of their own into the cave out of jest. The one that got pushed screeched and flapped around frantically as if it was on fire but little by little, the monkey stopped flailing. Its peers stood and watched with bated breaths. The monkey realised nothing actually happened to it and stood up. The monkey cried triumphantly at its kin. Soon, the others started to enter the cave step by step. Initially, their instincts pushed them away but they were pushed back by their kin behind them. Thus, they came pouring into the cave.

Oh, fuck…

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 There was nowhere left for Henry to run. The monkeys did not rush. They approached him slowly. They laughed and chuckled, seemingly enjoying Henry’s cornered situation. Some were still shitting themselves but not out of fear. They were showing their faeces-covered rear to Henry. He even saw some of them had a hard-on. He didn’t know what they were thinking but he didn’t want to. He could tell it wouldn’t be anything worth knowing over his mental well-being.

One of the monkeys lunged forward. It seemed overly excited with the way it hopped hastily towards Henry. It pounced but Henry easily swiped the monkey out of the air. Without giving it a chance to recover, he sunk his fangs into the fallen monkey’s throat while glaring at the rest of the monkeys. The taste of foetid blood spread across his tongue. He forced himself to tolerate the taste and smell. He couldn’t afford to look weak now. He thought his action would deter the monkeys but it only fueled their excitement. They were excited over the fact that Henry put up a fight. Their reaction made Henry’s stomach curl.

A drop of dung nearly went over his head, nearly hitting him square in the face. The monkeys cheered and laughed. Spurred by the one who threw the dung, they began throwing dung and also stones straight at Henry. They had done it as mocking spite at first but now they were doing it with the intent to hurt him.

The searing warmth within Henry came to a boil. The disrespect from the monkeys infuriated him to no end. He felt his throat burning with rage. He didn’t know if this was due to how he was when he was a human or simply his pride as a Dragon, he didn’t care. He was angry and he wanted to see these monkeys pay.

Henry shouted at the clamouring monkeys. His roar did not shut the monkeys up but what came after did. A thin stream of flame spewed out from his mouth. The monkeys immediately fell silent at the wonder. Fear was written in all of their faces. Their shoulders were trembling, their teeth chattering. Regardless of their origin, fear was still an innate fear of most animals.

Seeing the monkeys standing still without a hint of motion, Henry roared again, unleashing a small torrent of fire. The monkeys start clamouring in a frightened manner. Some wanted to attack but some wanted to retreat. The dispute ended up with the monkeys crashing into one another. Henry unleashed his fire breath again and this time, the fire latched onto one of the monkeys’ backs. The burning monkey screeched and flailed recklessly, hitting its own kin in the process. One of the monkeys shoved the burning monkey away and it fell onto a small pile of dung.

It happened so fast. Henry thought he should have expected this but at that time, he did not think of it. Why would he? A combustion akin to a mini-explosion ensued as his fire came into contact with the monkey’s dung. The flames from the spontaneous combustion spread to the other dung in the area, chaining the combustion. As Henry was stuck at the end of the cave, he had nowhere to run but through the fire. However, the combustion grew into one huge explosion. The explosion consumed Henry along with more than half of the monkeys that poured into the cave.

Henry shut his eyes and screamed as the fierce blaze enveloped his body. He cursed himself for his recklessness and his oversight even though he couldn’t think of it. It was just something too absurd to even think of. Still, he blamed himself. He wasn’t sure if it would kill him but he rather that it would. If it wouldn’t, he would definitely be left a cripple. He bit his lips to endure the pain and braced himself for the agony but… no pain nor agony ever came. He opened his eyes. He was still enveloped in the flames of the explosion. He could feel how hot the flames were but curiously, he wasn’t harmed by it. 

That’s right… I’m a Dragon. Fire cannot harm a Dragon, a staple feature across almost all fictions of Dragons.

Henry began to laugh at the discovery. There were screams and throes of agony. Those belonged to the monkeys. Hearing their suffering, Henry laughed even louder.

Burn! He growled.

Perish in these flames of mind! Hahahaha! He roared and laughed.

Henry felt elated in his heart. He couldn’t explain the degree of relief that just washed over him. He had accepted his fate just minutes ago but things took a one-eighty turn in the blink of an eye. He was now the victor and the monkeys were the ones now begging for their lives. But of course, even if they begged, nothing would change. Henry couldn’t just suck up all the flames he spewed but the monkeys didn’t need to know that.

The monkeys scattered and scampered out of the cave. Those that weren’t caught in the explosion too ran away after witnessing the flames that spread everywhere. Right now, the cave was something out of a biblical page, the fiery pits of hell. Henry emerged from the pit unscathed. The monkeys that lingered behind watched him with extreme caution. When Henry snarled at the ones that lingered behind, they quickly scuttled into the trees.

Now that he had dragged himself out of the ordeal, his stomach continued grumbling. His gaze fell on the burnt monkeys scattered across the glade. The ones in the cave were charred into cinders. No way they would taste good but the ones that died running from the flames looked just about right. As Henry took a whiff, he was glad that he wasn’t repulsed by the smell he inhaled. It wasn’t appetizing either but that was a secondary concern.

After making doubly sure the monkeys had retreated, he dragged one of the burnt monkey carcasses to him. He dug out a chunk of meat with his claws and tossed it into his mouth. His face warped unpleasantly at the taste. Blood squeezed onto his tongue as he tore the meat apart with his fangs. It tasted sour and bitter. The texture simply felt odd to his tongue. It didn’t feel like any meat he had ever tasted. There was also an indescribable odour in the meat. All in all, it wasn’t delicious at all but he still swallowed it without spitting back out. It could be worse, he told himself. He was no longer living in the comforts of his old life on earth. Considering the continuous threat he faced, he knew if he didn’t eat now, he would not get another chance to for a while.

He cut himself another chunk of meat but he made sure to squeeze out the blood first before putting it into his mouth. Since the meat was cooked, he couldn’t squeeze out all the blood. Some of the blood had been seared onto the meat. The taste didn’t change much but it was less bitter and sour. He flipped the carcass over and cut a large portion of the unburnt meat. He squeezed out all the blood before cooking it over a fire he made at a whim. As he didn’t have a stove, the meat didn’t turn out nice but at least it was cooked. He put the meat into his mouth and this time, his expression brightened. The meat still tasted sour and bitter but it was significantly less unpleasant than before.

Henry proceeded to gather all the carcasses. He laid them side by side. One by one, he slung the carcasses over a boulder by the cave that let the blood drain by itself. After being drained of blood, he would throw the carcass over a relatively flat rock which he would use as a stove. He breathed fire around the rock and let the heat cook the meat through the rock. He had tried cooking the meat directly with his breath but he always ended up blackening it. It was difficult to control his fire breath. He tried moving while spewing flames but the flames immediately stopped when he moved. For now, it would seem he would need to be stationary when breathing flames. Also, his fire breath would only be effective against creatures around his size as the flames were still small. 

After he had cooked all the carcasses, he moved them all into the cave. He was worried that the meat would be spoiled by the putrid scent of the cave but he didn’t have a choice. If he left them outside, it would surely attract other beasts. Now that his stomach was filled, he began thinking about where he could find water. The only place he knew that had water was the lake before but there was a huge problem with that lake. A giant crocodile lurked within. Despite its size, it was quick in its movements. If the mantis hadn’t been near him, he wondered if the crocodile would have eaten him instead. Moreover, he couldn’t get the image of the crocodile’s bifurcated jaw out of his head. 

But where else would he go if not that lake? He didn’t know any other place that had water. There could be one nearby but there were huge risks in wandering into unknown places especially in such an environment. At least he knew what awaited him at the lake and he could prepare accordingly, not that he knew what to prepare aside from being cautious of the crocodile. The presence of the crocodile in the lake was also an attestation to the water being drinkable, so he didn’t need to worry about the lake being poisonous.

No, Henry told himself. Those reasons were not enough for him to risk going back to that lake. The crocodile itself was too much of a risk factor. He didn’t know how fast the crocodile could move on land but if earth’s biology was anything to go by, he wouldn’t be able to outrun the crocodile with these tiny limbs of his. A shallow pond with small fish was his best bet. If the water is shallow, he could see what lurks inside. If there were fish, it would mean the water was safe to drink. But where would he find a shallow pond?

After some deep thought, he came to a simple idea. He would return to the lake but he would not fetch water from the lake but see if the lake had a river or stream it flowed from or to. He could then follow the river until the shallow parts and fetch his water safely from there. It might take long but he wasn’t pressed for time. He was feeling thirsty, not desperate. He could take his own sweet time. Haste would only result in oversight. With that aim in mind, he set out into the woods. He scratched out a triangle on the trees he passed by in order to mark his path. Ideally, he wished the shallow area to be close. That way, he wouldn’t need to wander far every time he wishes to drink some water.

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