Tales of the Elias #1 The Black Mothra, Part 3

Tales of the Elias #1 The Black Mothra

Chapter Three - An Eventful Stroll

The light of day shined over the Elias Valley. Battra now found himself waiting patiently among his classmates as the group stood in front of the wooden gates that served as the main entrance to the Village. The Virgo lightly hovered above them and addressed them all.

“Now listen up younglings,” she began. “According to Senator Aries’ ‘Youthfully Strong Program’, it is customary that you larvae be given some outer world experience before you grow into adult Mothra. So, we’ll be taking a short expedition through the paths of the jungle.” The larvae began to murmur with excitement. It was incredible; they were taking a field trip outside of the Valley, for the first time ever. “Quiet; settle down now. I’m sure some of you may have some concerns regarding the dangers outside the Valley. Rest assured, according to the Sagittarius, these paths are safe and don’t frequent too many predators. But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. I want each and every one of you to stay together as a group. Hopefully, the presence of an Adult will ward off any predator that tries to get wise. So here are a few ground rules; 1 – no fighting amongst each other; 2 – no going off on your own; 3 – never leave anyone behind. This is just going to be a quick stroll and we’ll be back before sunset. Understood?”

“Understood!” the group answered uniformly and simultaneously. Battra was still nervous. Being raised by a Virgo, he was taught to respect the Jungle beyond – not just for the dangerous predators that lived in there…but for the Jungle itself. He would often climb a tree to find solace only to look out over the boundary of the front gate, to see the Jungle. It was dark even at midday, and was menacing every moment. And the more times Battra caught himself staring at the vast untapped green expanse beyond…the more he started to believe that it was itself truly alive.

“Good,” the Virgo said. She turned around and cawed up above. A pair of Gemini twins who were sitting on opposite ends of the wooden gate now hovered from their perches. They were towing a pair of ropes, snaked through a system of wheels. As they rose, so did the gate. Soon it was opened. “Now let’s move out! Remember – stay together,” the Virgo said. She moved forward slowly and the Larva began following her.

The group soon found themselves on a dirt path. It forked off in two directions. The Virgo led them down the left. The path hugged the wall of the entrance to the village at first, but before long, it took them through the woods. They found themselves surrounded on all sides by trees. The path continued like this for a time.

Battra, as well as several of the other young larvae were on edge. Every time a leaf moved or something was heard squawking in the distance made Battra flinch. Of course, he didn’t want to be seen as a coward. He especially didn’t want to be the first one to say it. And luckily, he didn’t have to be.

“I don’t like this jungle,” a female larva spoke up. Battra gave a quiet sigh, relieved that someone finally said something. “It’s kinda creepy,” she continued. One of her friends was about to lightly nuzzle her to calm her down, when suddenly he was pushed aside when Skelt forced himself between them.

“Nah – it’s not that scary,” Skelt said. “You don’t need to worry much. My father tells me a lot about this jungle. There’s not much to be afraid of.” But suddenly Skelt’s tone changed, to depict an eerie and threatening voice. “Except for the giant super-predators who love to eat tiny Larva!”

“That’s enough Skelt,” the Virgo snapped at him from the head of the group. Skelt was immediately silenced. Battra couldn’t help but chuckle hearing Skelt get scolded. Skelt looked back at Battra and sneered at him. But Battra was happy for a moment. And during this content feeling that came over him, he looked about the scenery again. For the first time since they came out here, the jungle didn’t seem so frightening anymore.

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes under some of the trees nearby. He stopped for a moment. He didn’t know why he just froze, but that peaceful feeling he had vanished instantly. He was once again alarmed. He of course expected so many things out in the jungle would be moving, but this was different. This was too close to the path. Battra was beginning to get frightened as he stared at the bush to see if it would move again.

“Battra – don’t fall behind,” the Virgo called back to him when she noticed he’d stopped. Battra was snapped out of his stare-down of the bush and looked back at the group, and noticed that he’d fallen far behind the back of the class. “C’mon now; don’t dawdle,” she continued. Battra took one last look at the bush before moving on. He quickened his pace to catch up, and didn’t stop until he was in the middle of the class.

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The group continued on the path for the next few hours. It seemed to be about noon now. The group stayed on the path. The foliage thickened greatly – now it seemed like the class was surrounded on both sides by jungle. They couldn’t see far into the trees. It grew darker and more foreboding. And all the while, Battra couldn’t shake the feeling that rustling bush gave him. He didn’t like being out here. And worst of all, the class and the Virgo were being so silent, that all he could listen to were the distant sounds in the jungle; they were driving him mad, that he desperately wanted something to break the silence.

“OUCH!” a young male Larva exclaimed as his tail suddenly smacked against his head. The group turned and looked at him to see that he had just barely missed swatting a large mosquito. “Darn Blood-Sucker. Get away,” he shooed. “Go get Sapped!”

“Aw, she just took a little nip to feed her eggs,” the Virgo said flying over him and lightly comforting him. “It’s just the cycle of life young one. Oh wait…hold on young ones; observe,” she said. The larva all gave their attention to her.

They watched as the Mosquito flew away and eventually landed on a rather brightly colored flower. Suddenly, the petals sprang up and closed around the Mosquito, forming a pod. The Larva flinched when they saw it. “Ah yes…truly a shame,” the Virgo said. “Deeper in the jungle, you have to be more cautious. Not only are there bigger predators, but also animated, carnivorous plants; there are some that are MUCH larger than this. A lesson for the future children – be cautious. Sometimes the most beautiful, most attractive plants, the ones you want to drink from, can be the most dangerous.”

“I’m not afraid,” Skelt spoke up. Battra sighed; it had been a while since Skelt started boasting, so it seemed inevitable. “I’ve got Sagittarius blood. My father tells me a lot about carnivorous plants, so I can avoid them. Yup – I feel right at home in this Jungle.”

“Yes and we’re all VERY impressed,” another smaller Male larva said, mocking Skelt. Everyone in the group began chuckling, even Battra. The Virgo began leading the young larva down the path again. The Children were still happily giggling at Skelt’s humiliation.

While the group moved along, something in the jungle – alarmingly close to the path – ran parallel alongside them. It quickly rushed through the bushes, exposing itself only for a moment in the gap between two trees. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, making a rustling in the bushes, much like the sound before. Seeing the movement out of the corner of his eye, Battra snapped his head towards it. He turned in enough time to see the tip of a tail disappear into the thicket, followed by the rustling sound. Battra was very alarmed now. His tail began nervously tingling; he sensed danger.He kept moving forward to stay in the middle of the group as much as possible. He looked forward and saw that he was very close to Pala. He rushed forward more to crawl along side her. She smiled seeing him, but he had yet to turn toward her. He leaned in close to her and said, “There’s something out there.”

Pala was already nervous being in the Jungle as well. She thought Battra was just trying to scare her, but her voice betrayed her fear. “Right – very funny Battra,” she said.

“I’m serious,” Battra followed, still watching the jungle. He slowly turned to look at her in the eyes, to convey his seriousness. “We’re being watched.”

Pala went pale when she heard that. “B-B-Battra…if something out there is watching us…and following us,” she said. “…Then that means.”

“I know,” Battra interrupted her. He looked out toward the Jungle. “We’re being hunted.”

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It was a few hours later that the path led the Larva back to the wall of the Mountain. It began to rise up onto a steep mountain face. The larva followed her as she hovered ahead of them. It wasn’t long before the jungle was far beneath them. But they were only halfway up the mountains. There were still cliffs and plateaus above them, and higher peeks above that. The path they were on was narrow, and the group tried to stay as a tight unit to keep from falling off.

“It’s very steep here children – be careful and no shoving,” the Virgo ordered. She then gestured to the wall of rock that they were walking against. “As you can see, the mountain range forms a natural defense around the valley, creating a nearly impregnable wall around the village. This keeps the predators from coming in.”

The jungle looked even more ominous from their position above it. The canopy was so thick, that they couldn’t see through it. The only way they could still see the shadowed forest beneath its green roof, was the edge at the base of the cliff. And it was still as dark and menacing as before. And Battra was still incredibly worried about it, that he kept it clear within his peripheral vision.

It happened again; suddenly a body swiftly moved through the foliage exposing itself for a moment. But this time, several more followed it; there was a group of them. Battra snapped his head down when he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw bushes down below rustling once the creatures passed.

Battra was about to warn the Virgo when something else caught his attention. A few pebbles and rocks rolled down the side of the cliff beside the larvae. Battra noticed them and looked up to the top of the cliff above them. He saw an orange body quickly rush across the flat surface above them, followed by many more. As they moved, more pebbles were knocked off the edge. Battra’s eyes widened when he saw them; fear overtook him completely when he realized just what they were…

“RAPTORS!” Battra suddenly shouted. The group of larvae flinched when they heard him. Some followed him and looked up, beginning to panic seeing what he saw. The Virgo also looked upward, and that’s when she spotted them. There was at least a dozen of them – large super-dinosaurs, with orange skin. They were rushing toward the class. The head of the pack suddenly leapt off the cliff, and six more followed suit. The Virgo rushed forward, attempting to shield her charges with her body.

Some of the Raptors landed on her back and immediately began dinging their sharp foot-talons and teeth into her, pulling away mouthfuls. However, despite her efforts, most of the Raptors landed on the larvae. The young creatures were terrified when some landed on top of them. However, before any harm could come to them, the Virgo flapped her wings onto the dinosaurs, knocking them off the Larva.

Seeing the obvious threat she posed, the remaining five raptors leapt off of the cliff, intentionally landing on the Virgo this time. There were so many of them on top of her now that their bites were beginning to take toll. And unfortunately, she was unable to shake them off. Unable to free herself, she began to panic and loose altitude. She couldn’t stay airborne for much longer. She accidentally crashed against the side of the cliff, knocking some of the dinosaurs off. But unfortunately, her impact against the mountain caused the ground they stood on to rumble. The larva looked up and saw that very large boulders had been knocked loose and were rolling toward them.

“ROCK-SLIDE!!!” Pala shouted when she saw the boulders crashing down the cliff face. The group was in a panic; they didn’t know what to do to avoid them. The Virgo suddenly dove back toward the mountain and spread her wings out over the larva. The rocks crashed into her; her wings taking the brunt of the damage. The Raptors were forced to jump off; those that didn’t were crushed. She managed to shield the class from the rocks, unfortunately more rocks came down and she was being dragged down by the weight and the pain she felt in her wings.

“JUMP!” she ordered. The larvae looked down; the slope was steep, but the angle was just enough that the Larva could survive the fall. They did as she ordered and jumped off the cliff. The tumble was a hard one; the larvae went rolling down the hill. Meanwhile, the Virgo tried to fly out, after shaking the boulders from her back. Her wings were bruised but she seemed to be alright. But unfortunately, another boulder tumbled down the cliff. It hit a jagged bump at the right angle and speed, to launch it off the cliff. It traveled straight for her, and it struck her hard in the wings. “AAAARGH!” she exclaimed. The impact was followed by a loud cracking sound from her wing, and it went limp. She fell out of the sky and landed in the jungle nearby. She could see the larva coming down the cliff from where she landed. Her glowing pink eyes were going dark; she blacked out.

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If I am to say one thing about this chapter it would be this; writing this portion ALWAYS gave me goosebumps. The hairs on my arm would stand up. I just loved it; I loved imagining the scenes when the Raptors are rushing alongside the group of larvae, waiting for the moment to strike, while Battra just barely sees them. I hope you guys enjoy it too; and remember some important facts about the Dinosaurs in this world from the Prologue.