Chapter 19 - Mantises

Tin shouted and wiggled upon Achren touching her.

Clarese cursed beside Mill and Mishka who was lying still on the ground cursed at them.

“Fuck! You just have to attract it.” Mishka jumped to her feet as the Mantis barreled to the hut’s direction, who she happened to be in between.

She then swung her sword to the coming mantis making it back out.

“Help me!” She shouted at them.

“We should help her,” Mill suggested urgently but he did not stand up from where he was sitting as he didn’t know what to help her. He looked at the others.

Tin was still struggling at Deveno’s hold while Achren was trying to calm her with Klein beside her trying to help Deveno hold Tin down.

Clarese shook her head at Mill. “But how? And— she’s also… a Dabomen.”

“Clarese!” Mill snapped at her. He thought Clarese would be the first one to suggest helping Mishka. He took a breath and calmly said, “If she dies from it, the mantis will then attack us.”

“But how?!” Clarese scratched her scalp hard.

“ —tack its back container!” Mishka shouted out of nowhere.

Mill stood up and came out from behind the hut, “What back?”

“What did she say?!” Clarese asked

“Attack its back!” Mishka repeated.

Mishka jumped from the ground again with a blue water covering her feet and slashed at the mantis. The mantis hopped back and met the sword with its limb, making a clanging sound.

Mill picked a rock on the ground and aimed it at the mantis’ back. He missed, and immediately picked another stone in the ground and threw it again.

Mill looked at the confused Clarese beside him. “Attack the bulge in its back!*

Clarese followed and started throwing stones too.

Mill finally hit the mantis back on his third throw causing the mantis to look in his direction. It hissed and chittered at him.

Mishka took this distraction and slashed her sword to the Mantis head. The mantis' attention went to Mishka and fought her back.

He and Clarese threw another volley of fist size rocks they picked on the ground, and with what felt like their tenth attempt, as if they were coordinated, they hit the mantis' back at the same time.

The mantis screeched and jumped towards their direction, but Mishka did not let it and attacked its neck again.

The mantis screeched and protected its neck. It slashed monotonously at Mishka after but with noticeable less force making it easy for her to parry it.

Somehow it was being affected when something hit its back which fuelled Mill and Clarese to throw more rocks at it.

But out of its back, a strip of brown ribbon came out and darted towards their direction.

Mill grabbed Clarese’s arm and dived to the ground. The brown ribbon missed them but hit the wall of earth behind them and made a small crater at it. The brown ribbon moved again and went in their direction.

They scrambled to their feet and ran behind the hut, towards the other four who were still keeping Tin from moving.

“Run,” Mill screamed at them and pushed them to move forward.

This nudged Deveno who was holding Tin causing him to loosen his hold on her.

Tin screamed and then ran towards Mishka's direction. Deveno followed her.

Mill stumbled to the ground and the ribbon whipped over his head and wrapped towards Klein who was in front of him.

The brown ribbon lengthened then wrapped itself more in Klein's torso.

Klein pulled it with his might while shouting at others with help. Mill stood up to help him but when his hands grabbed the brown ribbon, he felt countless sharp tiny objects stung on his palm.

He let go and discovered the brown ribbon was full of thorns. Hearing Klein's continued struggle with it, he went back pulling at it again, enduring the pain. Clarese and Achren helped and tried pulling it too.

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But then another strip of leaf ribbon appeared behind them and Mill felt something sharp wrapped towards his torso.

He had no choice but to let go of Klein and pulled the ribbon whose started coiling itself on his chest

The four of them struggled to get the ribbon out of both him and Klein, then Clarese looked behind them and shouted.

“There’s another one!”

A whipping sound and then another brown ribbon flashed before them and wrapped itself on Achren’s left arm. Achren then went screaming in panic

Then out of nowhere, another scream went out but it was not out of pain and not from the four of them. It was coming from Tin.

“Tin!” Deveno shouted. He was a few meters away from them and he was shouting at Tin who was now riding at the back of the mantis and clawing her arms towards the bag in its back. She was slashing at it with her arms as if she was a cat.

The ribbon around them slacken and they took the chance to pull it out of themselves.

Achren was the first to unwrap it but before he and Klein could unwrap themselves, the ribbon suddenly went taut and retracted towards the mantis, pulling Mill and Klein who was still caught in it.

Achren kneeled to the ground and gasped while Clarese went after him and Klein.

Mill felt his body slammed to the hut’s wall as he was pulled by the mantis and before he could take a breath, the mantis pulled again, dragging him and Klein out from behind the hut.

He saw the sight of Mishka hacking at the mantis who was now moving erratically and shaking all around, slashing in different directions with the screaming Tin behind it.

Mill clasped his hand to the hut's pillar and it helped him stop his motion towards the mantis. But not a second later the mantis pulled abruptly and he lost his grip from the hut. He was then pulled by the mantis who was now ten meters away from him and he watched with fear as the mantis’ blade waved around it dangerously.

Fearing that it might slash him when he was pulled in its vicinity, he immediately stood up and braced his two feet to the ground and pulled the ribbon even if it hurt his hands so much.

Klein followed suit and pulled too. Clarese reached them, went between them, and with her two arms, she helped them pull the brown ribbons as well.

They were only able to hold out for a moment and then their feet started skidding in the ground.

Mishka was still fighting the mantis. She sliced her sword to the mantis and hit its head with a clang. At that moment, Mill felt the ribbon’s hold on them weakened and he thought of an idea.

“Klein!” Mill shouted. “When I say run, pull yourself and your ribbon to that side.” He pointed to the left side of the clearing.

“What do you mean?”

“Just pull it and don’t slack it off, and run to it.”

Mill felt the pull went harder and he pulled more.

He looked at Clarese beside him, “Help him pull Clarese.”

Clareses looked reluctant but she nodded.

Mill observed Mishka who was still evading the mantis rampage and the grunting Tin who were now holding on the back of the mantis, trying not to fall while still scratching it occasionally.

The mantis turned to the side and wiggled to remove Tin behind its back. Mishka stood for a second and blue water film covered her feet and then she jumped swiftly towards the mantis’ neck.

“Now” Mill shouted and ran counterclockwise from the mantis. He felt the pull of the ribbon slacken as he saw Mishka’s sword hit the mantis near its neck area, but it did not injured the mantis.

Klein and Clarese followed suit and ran towards the other way.

“Pull” Mill shouted, and pulled while running towards the right corner of the clearing.

“Stop at the rock,” he shouted towards the still running Klein and Clarese.

They reached the rock and then as if they knew what to do, they pulled.

Probably guessing what they were doing, Deveno that was behind him came to him and helped him pull the ribbon.

The mantis were pulled from both sides and for a second it was held in place.

Mill was about to shout to Mishka, but Mishka already took the chance and then jumped and slashed at the mantis neck the second it stopped moving.

Her hands were covered with blue water film and then the sword flashed so fast and went into the mantis neck, cleanly cutting its head.

Mill felt the hold of the ribbon slacken then it fell to the ground lifeless. He unraveled it and it easily came off from his body.

He slacken to the floor and panted. He did not believe it worked that easily.

He did hope that it would give Mishka the time and opportunity to attack the mantis. But even if not, he hoped that either Mishka’s sword and the mantis blade would hit any of the ribbons, possibly freeing any one of them.

He also hoped that if it was Klein’s ribbon that was cut then they would help him. His plans had faults, especially if the mantis' ribbon lengthened or if one of the ribbons were cut and one of them were pulled to the mantis reach. But in the end it worked out well.

“Thank you,” Mill said breathlessly to Mishka.

Mishka only dropped to the ground, and laid on it while breathing hard. She did not reply to him.

Tin stood up from the mantis back, looking unscathed. How she climbed the mantis back was still a wonder for Mill. She bowed down then grabbed the bag of the mantis and tried to pull it.

“Stop!” Mishka shouted at Tin, causing her to jump backwards. She looked at Mishka warily.

“Motah!” Mishka cussed in her language. “Don’t fucking grab that! I have enough!”

She then went to the mantis side and sat on the ground below it and looked at Tin with narrow eyes.

Deveno went near Tin, grabbed her arm and murmured something to her, pointing to Mill’s direction.

Tin nodded then both of them went to where Mill was. Clarese and Klein followed behind them, eyeing Mishka as they passed.

The four of them reached Mill and Deveno nodded at Mill then took Tin who was in his arms towards the back of the hut, which was shadowed by Mishka’s light.

Mill also saw Achren on the back, lying on the ground.

“Are you okay Mill?” Clarese asked, then kneeled beside him and checked for his injuries.

He had some injuries and a lot of bruises on his body from when he escaped the plateau, but nothing serious. His hands were kind of raw from the ribbon but they were only surface wounds and he could still bear it.

Like him, everyone looked worse than they really were. Clarese checked all of them and though they had some wounds and lacerations, they were all fine.

Mill looked at the glowing Mishka who leaned on the mantis body and thought of what to do with his situation.

He could still feel the danger coming towards him and even if his senses were still weakening as time went by, he could still feel eleven of them coming towards him from all directions and they were coming towards him fast.