The Jagmaw slammed its head into the base of the tree. The plant shook harder than before, freeing the loose branch from its entanglement. It turned vertically, sliding down the side of the tree and tearing through the thin branches and leaves.

"Watch out!" Itzel cried as she positioned her body away from the tumbling debris. Janus did the same, standing as far he could on his footing without falling off. The broken branch missed the pair and fell straight down on top of the Jagmaw. The Essencima grunted and began to toss and turn to free itself from the pressure of branch.

"I think this is our chance!" Janus shouted as he watched the Essencima squirm. Itzel looked down, bent her knees and in an elegant motion leapt from the tree and landed on the ground with both feet. Once grounded, she stared up at the physicist.

"If I can make it, so can you!"

With trembling arms, Janus let go of the tree trunk. He let one foot dangle off and hesitantly leapt with the other. His fall wasn't as graceful, falling straight down like a stone through water. Janus grunted once he hit the forest floor, rolling to the side and covering half of his body in mud.

"Told you." Itzel ran to Janus' side and picked him up by his clean arm. Janus staggered a bit but soon set himself upright. "Can you still run?"

"Yes. I'll manage."

Both turned around to look at the Jagmaw. It remained pinned underneath the fallen branch, but the upper half of its body managed to extend past the bulk of the weight of the wooden debris. It flailed its mouth around haphazardly, snapping towards the two Exterminators. Itzel tossed another Serrated Gale that hit the creature in the center of its open mouth, making cough and wheeze.

"Try not to trip this time." Itzel tugged on Janus' arm, leading him further towards the swamp. As the pair ran, they kept their attention on the path ahead and used the sound of the Essencima's roars to gauge their distance from the creature.

"I can't hear it anymore," Janus said after taking in a deep breath. "Think we lost it?"

"You can't be... too sure..." Itzel continued to run but her pace lowered. She rested her one hand against a tree and hunched over with her other hand pressing against her leg. "Just a bit of a breather. Then we're going to keep running."

Janus looked back and stared into the dense trees. "What's next?" Janus asked. "Do we just keep running?"

"You've got any better ideas?"

"Maybe it's hurt now. I'm surprised it survived having a branch of that size fall on it. At the very least it should be wounded."

Itzel pointed away from the murky swamp and back in the direction of the Jagmaw. "If you want to go back finish it off, be my guest. But I'm here to find Gurk, not to grind for some credits."

"You don't think it's going to keep chasing us? If we don't take it out now, it'll just keep being a problem for us."

Itzel stood upright and gave Janus a look with a raised eyebrow. "Since when did you become such a confident fighter, huh?"

"I guess my survival instinct kicked in."

"That fight or flight you were talking about?"

"Yeah."

"I'm thinking flight is the best option right now. I don't want to risk getting hurt fighting an Essencima when Mag and his kid are even more dangerous."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Janus leaned on the same tree and took in a deep breath. "Fine. That makes sense now that I think about it."

"Good. I'm glad that you decided to agree with me." Itzel tapped Janus on the forehead. "It's a lot easier to get you to listen than Gurk."

"Gurk. What I wouldn't give to see him right now."

"Tell me about it." Itzel confidence disappeared. She sighed and frowned.

"You think he's all right?"

"He has to be, Janus." She looked him right in the eyes. "I've known him my entire life. There's no way he would just let a couple of entitled lunatics be the end of him. I know it! Not after all we've been through!"

Janus couldn't resist cracking a smile. "You know what Itzel?"

"What? Why are you grinning like that?"

"Something tells me you're right." He wiped away some mud from his shoulder and started to walk towards the mud. "Gurk's got everything he needs to survive."

"Yeah," Itzel's head bobbed up and down slowly. "He's probably roaming around looking for us," she said as she followed Janus.

They continued to venture further into the mud, taking a jagged path among the trees that dotted throughout the swamp. The only sound was the soft squishing of their feet pushing down mud. Janus stole glances behind him to see if the Jagmaw was in pursuit. With every check, the coast appeared clear.

"I think we've lost it. For real this time," Janus whispered.

"Let's just hope we don't run into an—" Itzel stuck her hand out, stopping Janus cold.

"What is it?" he muttered. Itzel made a silent shush with her lips and scanned the trees above. Janus went silent as well and listened closely. Among the ambient sounds was an unnatural buzzing.

"Get down!" Itzel grabbed Janus by the shoulder and pulled him beneath the mud. As they fell into the swamp, a bullet flew the air and pierced into the solid wooden trunk beside them. Itzel forced Janus to stay down and dragged him around to the other side of the tree.

Both rose to the surface simultaneously, grasping for air.

"What was that?" Janus said.

Itzel pulled Janus further against the tree, making sure that both were completely protected by its cover. "I heard a radio. It's got to be Mag or Sheila."

Janus' eyes widened. "What?"

"They're on the other side. If we stay here, we might be safe. For another minute."

"Any suggestions on how to deal with gun fire?" Janus replied.

"Don't get shot."

"Sage advice." Janus took his glasses off and wiped off as much as he could with the slim spot on the underside of his jacket that wasn't coated in mud. With a trembling hand, he positioned the lens so that it poked out past the tree. He squinted towards the clean section of glass, peering into the reflection.

"Good idea," Itzel whispered. "You see anything?"

"Just trees." He squinted harder and moved his head in closer. "Maybe if I—"

There was another gunshot. In the next instant, Janus' glasses burst into small bits of glass and metal. The physicist let out a shriek as he dropped what remained of the frame and clutched his hand next to his chest.

"Janus!" Itzel put a hand on his shoulder. "Did you get shot."

"Ack... I don't know..." He kept his eyes closed as he leaned forward. Janus slowly moved his hand in front of his face. All his fingers remained.

"You look fine to me."

"Yeah. It still stings though." Janus shook out the pain in his hand and pressed himself against the tree again. "But I don't know what we're going to do now. The moment we step past this tree, we're dead!"

Itzel slumped forward and shook her head. Tears started to escape from her eyes. "I know, Janus. I know."

Silence filled the swamp. Both Janus and Itzel stared somberly straight ahead with looks of dread on their face. Itzel was the first to break from the stupor to address the situation. "Well. I'd rather go out fighting than die being target practice for the Grani family."

"That sounds like a good idea," Janus said quietly. "But Mag's aim is on point. You saw how he picked off my glasses!"

Itzel paused. "You think that Gravity Well Technique of yours can stop a bullet?"

"No clue."

"Think it's worth a shot?" Itzel's lips quivered. "No, no. Don't risk it."

"It's better than nothing."

"But you've only tried the Technique once. And you'll have to put yourself out there for you to use. And even then, it's a big if whether or not it'll actually work."

"It's like what you said before, Itzel. We either go down fighting or we die as bullseyes." Janus inhaled and looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to give it a try."

Janus tried to get up, but Itzel pulled him back into the mud before any part of his body could extend past their cover. "You're not thinking straight! Why don't you use that educated head of yours to come up with an alternative idea before risking getting your guts blown out?"

Janus opened his mouth only to have his words linger on his lips. A familiar roar came from the trees to their left. Itzel turned around and slammed both fists in the mud when she noticed what was approaching. "Of course!" she screamed. "And I thought things couldn't get any worse!"