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Ellie stood atop her levistone, the vehicle floating high up near the ceiling of Et Serpentium. The artificial sky might’ve been bright enough to light up the land of reptilians, but it wasn’t hot, the air near the ceiling the same temperature as the air near the ground. After hearing the prophecy involving Sam, Ellie had the brilliant idea of purchasing another human pet that looked identical to Sam, so if anyone came asking for Sam, she could give them the scapegoat, taking the heat off of her real pet. Unfortunately, before she could finish browsing through the whole pet store, the grayling attendants there did the unthinkable and attacked the shopping reptilians while freeing the captive humans. Thus, there was only one thing Ellie could do: run away. She was a responsible human owner after all; if she died, who would take care of Sam?
Ellie stared down at the streets of Et Serpentium. From her vantage point, she could see the graylings’ movements clearly. They were all heading in the same direction, but she couldn’t see their final destination, not without driving over. As for the reptilians, some of them were attacking the graylings while others waited around like bystanders; no doubt, they were unsure and confused, the unprecedented situation paralyzing their thoughts. If they attacked graylings that didn’t belong to them, would they have to pay compensation later? Since the graylings only seemed to be attacking those who got in their way, standing aside seemed to be the better choice: it was safer and more invested reptilians would deal with the problem eventually.
Ellie frowned. If the graylings all over Et Serpentium were acting like this, then the grayling she had at home was probably the same, but she wasn’t worried about that. Her mom was more than strong enough to defeat a grayling; she was worried about Sam. If she couldn’t figure out a way to fake his death or kidnapping, the reptilians who believed they could break the great seer’s prophecy would take him away. To prevent that from happening, she needed a scapegoat, and since there were quite a few humans who had been freed by the graylings, if she searched hard enough, she could find a decent look-alike.
“Ellie!”
Ellie blinked and turned her head. Had someone called her name just now?
“Ellie, come down here, right now!”
It wasn’t just her imagination! Ellie crouched down and leaned over, her head poking over the side of her levistone. What was her mom doing down there? If she was down there, then who was watching Sam? Ellie tapped her toes against the floor of her levistone, and it descended towards the ground. It hovered above the street beside her mother. “Mommy?” Ellie asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to find you,” Ellie’s mother said. “The graylings are acting strange. Come home; it’s dangerous outside.”
“But I haven’t found a substitute!” Ellie said.
“Substitute?”
“You know,” Ellie said before leaning in and whispering, “for Sam.”
“We don’t need to find one at all,” Ellie’s mother said. “If anyone asks about Sam, we’ll say the grayling in our house freed him, and he’s missing now.”
Ellie blinked. “Great idea!” she said after a second. Her mom really did have the answer to everything. “Let’s go.” She stepped on the levistone a few times, and the vehicle expanded, the bench growing enough room for her mother to sit beside her. When her mother got on, Ellie stomped on the floor of the vehicle before letting out an awkward laugh as she raised her foot. Then, the small reptilian gently placed her foot down, and the levistone floated forward, going slightly faster than a turtle could walk.
Ellie’s mother didn’t say anything. She nodded at Ellie’s driving skills and looked off to the side where a group of reptilians were standing around, watching graylings walk off into the distance. Ellie turned her head to look at the graylings. “Mommy, where are they going?”
“Keep your eyes on the road,” Ellie’s mother said.
Ellie rolled her eyes while turning her body to face the direction the levistone was traveling. “Is this related to the great seer’s prophecy?” the small reptilian asked.
“I don’t know,” Ellie’s mother said, “but if it isn’t, then it’s a pretty big coincidence.” She turned her head to the side to observe the graylings. “Fly higher, and go a little faster.”
“Go faster?” Ellie asked, her eyes brightening. She knew her plan of driving slower than her mother could tolerate would allow her to speed. Her foot slapped the floor of the levistone as she said, “Okay!”
Like a rocket, the levistone shot into the air, and Ellie’s mother nearly tumbled off the bench, barely avoiding a tumble from sky to ground. As for why levistones weren’t designed more safely, well, some reptilians didn’t believe in safety, and why shouldn’t their voices be heard when it came to designing vehicles? They were reptilians too. Ellie’s mother righted herself and glared at her daughter before turning her head back in the direction the graylings were traveling. Although Ellie was speeding and breaking the law, the view was better. “That’s odd.”
“What is?” Ellie asked, turning her head to the side. Her eyes widening upon seeing a large glowing sphere in the air. It was white, bright like a sun compared to Et Serpentium’s orange illumination. “Wow! What’s that?”
“The Gray Master Core,” Ellie’s mother said. “This is a disaster.”
“Quick, film it!” Ellie said.
“What?” Ellie’s mother asked, turning her head to look at her daughter. When she saw how the driver wasn’t paying attention to where they were going and how close they were flying to the ceiling, she placed her hand on Ellie’s head and twisted it to look ahead. In response, Ellie steered the levistone towards the floating orb in the air, accelerating towards it. Ellie’s mother twisted Ellie’s head the other way, and the levistone spun around in the air. “Stop messing around.”
“You’re the one messing with my head!” Ellie said as the levistone came to a halt. “Did you film it?”
“Yes,” Ellie’s mother said. “Let’s go home, pick up your pet, and leave Et Serpentium for a while.”
Ellie blinked. “Leave to where?”
“We’ll camp in the jungle until the rebellion is over,” Ellie’s mother said. She frowned as she stared at the GMC in the distance. It was moving, and as far as she knew, it wasn’t capable of that on its own. Someone or something powerful was transporting the large sphere without even touching it. Ellie’s mother tapped on Ellie’s forehead. “Hurry up.”
***
Sam kept his head down, making sure he wouldn’t make eye contact with any reptilians wandering the streets. He had thought Et Serpentium was neat and orderly; the buildings were always arranged in a grid with the same cubical buildings evenly spaced apart, but now he knew that was only the case in the herb district—not the district’s official name but what Dee had called it. In the carnivorous district, the buildings weren’t neat and orderly, varying in sizes and colors with levistones and other crap strewn about. Sam described the items as crap because he was in a bad mood and had no idea how the stone items were used.
“That looks like a tough human,” a reptilian said from off to the side. “I bet he’d make a good noodle farm. Are you selling him?”
Dee turned her head towards the blue reptilian that had spoken. “He’s for sale, but it’d be a waste to use him to make noodles,” she said, glancing at Sam’s stomach, which was resting on her shoulder because of the way she was carrying him. “He’s worth much more than that.”
Sam wasn’t quite sure how he could be turned into noodles, much less be continuously farmed for them, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. So, he kept his head down and mouth shut.
“Is that so?” the blue reptilian asked. “Then, what do you think he’s good for? Certainly not for eating, not with all those tough muscles, your jaw will be sore before you’re done eating him.”
“Hah.” Dee flashed a smile at the blue reptilian. “I already have a buyer in mind. If you’re that curious, you can ask them after they take him off my hands.”
“Oh, so mysterious,” the blue reptilian said. A second later, there was the sound of a splat, and Sam’s eyes shifted to see what caused the sound. The blue reptilian had its hand inside of a grayling’s chest, fluids dripping to the ground. “Another one?” the blue reptilian asked. “Why don’t they bother someone else?”
Sam’s gaze went back to the ground. The graylings were still causing trouble, but they didn’t seem to be doing much in Sam’s opinion. Wendy had said they were difficult to deal with because they could manipulate time and space, but so far, Sam was unimpressed. There was a splatting sound, and Sam’s brow furrowed as he shifted his gaze to the side once more.
“Another one?” the blue reptilian asked. There was one grayling impaled on its arm. “Why don’t they bother someone else?”
A chill ran down Sam’s spine, and he averted his gaze. There was another splatting sound, and the blue reptilian asked. “Another one? Why don’t they bother someone else?”
Either three graylings had attacked the blue reptilian in the same manner, or one grayling trapped the reptilian with some funky time stuff that Sam couldn’t explain. He had a feeling it was the latter because graylings wouldn’t be dumb enough to attack a reptilian that effortlessly killed its companion, right? Although Sam could’ve asked Dee to explain what was going on with the blue reptilian, he didn’t want to speak lest he draw attention to himself. If Wendy had sharp ears, full-blooded reptilians could probably hear him fart from down the street.
“Well…, that’s awkward,” Dee said, staring at the blue reptilian for a bit before picking up the pace. As for why she wasn’t driving a levistone, Sam suspected the roads were too cluttered to easily navigate, and she’d be much more noticeable if she flew high up in the air. Dee sprinted through the streets, ignoring the looks she was getting, before arriving at a giant, fenced hole with a stone castle inside of it, the ground of Et Serpentium acting as the defensive structure’s outer walls. Without hesitation, Dee climbed over the fence and jumped over into the hole.
Sam’s eyes widened, and he used Toughen, the technique activating a moment before impact with the bottom of the hole. He knew practicing it would save his life one day, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
Dee glanced at Sam, making sure there were no visible wounds before letting out a grunt that sounded more like a hiss. She walked towards the castle gate; before she was halfway there, the stone gate slid open, and two purple reptilians stepped out with their arms crossed in front of their chests, their claws resting against their bulging biceps. One of the reptilians’ eyes lit up upon seeing Dee and the package she was carrying on her shoulder. “Is that a noodle human?” the purple reptilian asked. “You always bring the best ones.”
Sam shuddered, the term noodle human sending chills down his spine. He could tell from the purple reptilian’s vibe that it was truly excited at the prospect of obtaining a so-called noodle human.
“That’s only because you pick the best ones to grow,” Dee said, smiling at the purple reptilian. “But not this time, Abe.” Dee gestured towards Sam with the tip of her tail. “I need to speak to your big brother about this one.”
“Alright,” Abe said, turning his body to the side to let Dee pass. When she walked into the castle, he and the other purple reptilian followed behind her.
Sam blinked as the ground shifted from stone to a silken, red carpet. Upon closer inspection, the floor was still made or stone, but it was made of one glossy enough to fool one’s eye—either that, or whatever illusion the hunting human school had was also applied here. He wanted to raise his head to observe his surroundings, but he didn’t want to provoke the two purple reptilians. They were meat eaters, and if he caused trouble, Sam didn’t think they’d care about being gentle when getting him to shut up.
Dee walked through the halls, the floor looking more like blood than stone in Sam’s eyes. Eventually, they stopped in front of an already-opened wall which led to a room with a metallic throne. There was a purple reptilian sitting atop the lustrous material, and on stone table in front of it, there was a rectangular stone tile standing upright. Beside the tile, there was a bowl. The seated reptilian leaned to the side to get a better view of its visitor. “Dee,” the reptilian said. “I see you brought a noodle human.”
If Sam ever failed as a show human or hunting human, apparently, he could rely on becoming a noodle human to survive seeing how everyone seemed to recognize him as one.
“Not a noodle human, Butch,” Dee said, “but you could use it as one if you really wanted to.” She pointed at the tile. “You heard the great seer’s prophecy about Sam?”
The purple reptilian named Butch nodded at Dee and leaned forward to pick up the bowl beside the rectangular tile. The contents of the bowl wriggled. “You’re saying this human is Sam?”
“It’s a human named Sam,” Dee said, “and I can’t prove it, but I’m certain he’s the subject of the great seer’s prophecy.”
“I see,” Butch said and picked up a long wormlike creature. The reptilian put the worm into its mouth and slurped on it, chewing before swallowing. “There’s an easy way to see if your human’s the one from the prophecy.” The purple reptilian looked past Dee, making eye contact with Abe. “Kill him.”
“What?” Dee asked, leaping to the side, bringing Sam with her as she repositioned herself in a more favorable position if the three purple reptilians decided to attack her all at once. “You can’t damage my merchandise before paying.”
“Don’t worry,” Butch said while standing. “If this human’s really the one from the prophecy, he won’t die no matter what we do to him. The great seer is never wrong.”
Sam raised his head. Since the reptilians were already planning on killing him, it didn’t matter if he offended them by making eye contact with them. The first thing he noticed was the bowl of wriggling worms held by Butch. He had a feeling being a noodle human was related to those living creatures, but he didn’t want to piece it together. His gaze shifted onto the reptilians, and he swallowed. They were taller than average reptilians, and Sam didn’t like his chances against one of them in a fight, much less all three.
“Hey!” Dee said. “Pay me first, and if you succeed in killing him, I’ll refund you. How does that sound?”
The three purple reptilians exchanged glances with each other. “Sure,” Butch said after they made a decision. “How much?”
“Let’s say … eight hundred thousand?” Dee asked. Upon seeing the three reptilians’ reactions, she added, “That’s a pretty cheap price for deciding the fate of Et Serpentium.”
“Eight hundred thousand?” Butch asked and frowned. “How much will you refund us if he isn’t the prophesized one?”
“Seven hundred thousand,” Dee said.
Butch narrowed his eyes. “Seven seventy.”
“Deal,” Dee said. After all, she was confident that Sam was the subject of the prophecy. Also, even if she was completely wrong, she was still getting the average price for a noodle human. She held out her token, and Butch pointed a green crystal rod at it. Then, Dee tossed Sam towards the three reptilians, and he bounced while rolling along the ground, coming to a halt by the three reptilians’ feet.
“So, what’s so special about you?” Butch asked and stepped on Sam’s back, preventing him from standing. The tips of the reptilian’s claws dug into Sam’s skin, drawing blood. Cracking sounds echoed out of Sam’s back as the purple reptilian leaned forward and bent down to get a better view, resting most of its weight against Sam’s spine.
“It can’t even decide its own fate,” Abe said from the side. “How can it be the human from the prophecy?”
The three reptilians turned to look at Dee, and she shrugged. “If you think you can kill it, then kill it. I already got paid, so I don’t care what happens to it.” The white reptilian walked around towards the crystalline throne, stopping to view what was on the rectangular tile. Nothing could be seen on it, but Dee was obviously tuning into something, a serious expression appearing on her face. “So…, you might want to see this.”
“See what?” Butch asked, standing up straight and turning to look at the tile while keeping his foot on Sam. A puzzled expression appeared on the reptilian’s face. “Is that the Gray Master Core?”
“Yes,” the third purple reptilian said. “And it’s heading this way.”
Butch glanced at Sam before glaring at Dee. “Explain!”
“What’s there to explain?” Dee asked. “If anything can affect the fate of Et Serpentium, it’s the Gray Master Core, and if it’s heading this way, then I think Sam really is the prophesized individual. On that note, I’ll be taking my leave.” Dee ran towards the exit. “It was a pleasure doing business with you as always!”
“What do we do?” Abe asked.
A smile appeared on Butch’s face. “You don’t know?” the reptilian asked as he bent over and lifted Sam, picking him up by his right shoulder, not caring about the tips of its claws digging into Sam’s flesh. “We’re going to use this human here to decide the fate of Et Serpentium.”