Chapter 23: Courage

Chapter 22

Max

“AAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!” The shriek of terror that came from behind me freaked me out so much that the defense and attacks I had prepared fired off prematurely. The electricity wall defense thing that had worked so far snapped into place just as the lightning bolt I fired at the green head of the Hydra shot out. As the shriek turned into a roar of rage the heads loosed their attacks.

As the green head opened its mouth the lightning slammed into its jaw, causing the head to swing towards the other two heads, and it coughed up the acid. The fire hit the lightning wall and...stopped. It billowed out to either side as if it hit a brick wall. The ice-smoke-thing had no problem and rushed past that towards me. I was still shocked from the stopping of the fire that I didn’t move in time. A funnel of water slammed into the ice, freezing and slamming into the ground, quickly beginning to melt again as slammed into the sand.

“Thunder head! Don’t just stand there!” Julie yelled from behind me. I shook out of my shock and bolted in the opposite direction that Duke went. If I understood the plan correctly Duke was supposed to chop a head off and I burn the wound closed with electricity. As I rounded the wall of smoke that was my electricity shield I shot lightning at where I saw the Monster. The roar of outrage from the beast told me I scored a hit. The lack of respond gave me more confidence as I prepared another blast. Then I saw the beast.

The red head of the hydra was lying on the ground, hanging on to its body by quickly disintegrating flesh. From the ruins of the neck two more heads were trying to grow, but being eaten away by the acid. The blue head had splotches that were being eaten away, but other than a big black spot at the base, was unharmed. The green head had what looked like a dislocated jaw. I fired a bolt of lightning at the remains of the read head, cauterizing the wound and preventing the heads from growing. As it sealed the wound the electricity burned away the acid as well.

The blue head breathed on the body, and the remaining acid froze and fell off. The monster shook itself and turned to face me. The green head turned towards me the force of its gaze stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't pay attention to anything but the black eyes with white iris’s that contained so much anger and pain promising doom for what I have done. A little bullet of water slapped me across the face bringing me to my senses. I threw a smile at Julie and threw lightning at the Hydra. It hit the green head, which snapped back, and I continued running to the side.

The blue head was staring at Julie and began to attack her. She was defending herself with waves of water slamming into the frost mist, freezing. She then took the water from the ice that was melting on the ground and sent it back at the Hydra, slamming into it, but the Hydra stood its ground. I was behind it at this point and I saw Duke hiding behind one of the skeleton piles waving his arms at it.

“Max, get the legs!” Julie yelled at me. I didn’t understand what she was talking about until I saw two lumps growing from where the red head had been. Then I understood. The Hydra was distracting us by attacking Julie and letting me run around behind it, all the while its front claw was re-opening the wound so that the two fire heads could regrow. I gathered my power to attack the stump again and molded the forces to what I wanted, then I struck. A blast of lighting flew from the sky, re-burning the would. Then I molded a barrier of electricity around the wound to keep the claw from scratching. As soon as I finished the barrier my legs gave out from under me. I was dead tired. I had no energy to even turn my head away as the green head took a deep breath.

Then a roar of challenge rang out around us, and bone soldiers from the piles of skeletons around us got up and charged the monster.

Chapter 24