Thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciate the advice and feedback :). I will allow no spoilers for this chapter, so, on that note I stop talking.
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or its characters. (Do I need a disclaimer in every single chapter?)
Chapter 2: "Utopia" Doesn't Mean "Paradise"
Jericho warily lifted his head from the ground, shaking away the dirt that had managed to embed themselves in his hair. His vision was slightly blurred from his watering eyes, as the dirt and mud stung at them every time he blinked. He rolled his eyes with irritation and lifted his shaky arm to rub his eyes. He looked up once again, and saw that he was surrounded by unfamiliar plants and insects. Jericho squinted to get a better view of them.
Jericho let out a silent sigh and decided to pick himself up off the ground, he got hold of a nearby tree and wobbly stood on the large roots that seemed to pop out of the ground. Very suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head and closed his eyes tight. He moved one hand from the tree and grabbed his head where it hurt, as if it would make the pain stop.
He opened his eyes, and with a pained look took a step forward, only for the same unbearable pain to instantaneously run through his leg. He gasped and bit his lip. Then, taking a deep breath, he swallowed his pain and kept walking. Or, in this case, limping.
After a few moments, his leg got used to the pressure and the pain gradually stopped. He was able to walk normally once again, and he let out a sigh of relief. He started to get a better look at his surroundings, the plants were rather large, as were the insects, and the air was quite humid, almost giving a tropical feel to it. He had yet to see any signs of civilization, nor any signs of animals.
Jericho couldn't help but wonder why Herald sent him here, of all places. There were no people or any space suitable for living, not even temporarily. He was sure there was a reason Herald had decided he would be better off here, while his beloved home in the mountains was under attack. The memory of the attack made Jericho worry about Herald's well being. He couldn't be able to live with himself if something had happened to Herald while protecting him.
Jericho shook the thought from his head, of course Herald was alright, he's Herald! He could easily defend himself in any situation, and he could stop a worm-like creature just as swiftly, he has taken down far worse than that.
While Jericho was lost in his own thoughts, he was subconsciously slowing his pace, allowing him to observe his surroundings more carefully. He saw that the insects were not only unfamiliar, but quite bizarre. Jericho was awestruck at the beautiful, multi-colored flowers. He was so enchanted by this beautiful world that he failed to see the vines right in front of him. Startled, he closed his eyes tight and thrashed his arms around, as if trying to scare away a supposed threat.
He cautiously opened his eyes, and saw that the object he was afraid of was a mere plant, covered in white Hawaiian-looking flowers. He smiled softly at the grace of the plant as the vines danced in the humid air. Jericho gently plucked one of the flowers from the vine and it greeted him with the savory smell of delicious honey, he inhaled it's sweet scent. He put the flower in his golden belt, giving him a glimpse of hope.
As he walked, he noticed the trail that had been treading was starting to get more narrow with every step. Jericho didn't know if the path would last for much longer, as it was starting to become littered with with dead leaves, and the remains of squished bugs.
At this point the path was barely visible, the pile of dead leaves was becoming deeper, like heavy winter snow. Jericho took wide steps as he treaded over the ever-growing mounds of leaves, tripping over every one. As he crushed leaves and twigs under him, he heard a faint sound to his left. He stilled and cupped his left ear. Making a face, Jericho tried to identify the sound, then his lips curled into a small smile. The sound he had been hearing in the distance was running water.
Jericho didn't hesitate, he ran toward the sound of the tantalizing water that would satisfy his dry throat. Narrowly dodging trees and flying insects, he ignored the sharp pain that returned to his legs due to running. Between the thick trees, he saw a glimpse of shining blue, and seemed like it was moving. His smile widened at the sight, and he ran harder and faster.
Jericho became oblivious to the world around him because he was too entirely focused on the thought of refreshing, cool water, that he scraped his torso on a low branch of one of the trees. He fell to his knees on impact. He winced in pain, then looked down at his scraped chest. Jericho's eyes widened at the sight, surprised to find the branch had cut through both his tunic and shirt. The now peeled skin on his chest clung to the lightly bleeding scrape that trickled down the rest of his tunic.
He let out a silent groan of annoyance, then looked up to what was in front of him. He saw the crystal clear water of a running stream, barely a yard away. Jericho smiled, clumsily standing up and darted toward the fresh water creek. He looked down to see his reflection smiling like a mad man.
He didn't even use his hands, he stuck his head in the pristine water, gulping it down as if he hadn't drank in days. The water tingled as it cooled his face. Jericho shot his head out of the water, taking deep breaths as he shook the water from his wet hair.
He continued to breath deeply and put a hand on his chest, forgetting about his previous wound. He grimaced, quickly removing his hand from his scraped chest. He looked down at the blood on his hand, then at his chest. The blood seeped through his tunic, though there wasn't much of it. Jericho sighed silently, then bending over to get some water from the stream. After many attempts to get a handful, he splashed some water on his wound. It hurt at first, but eventually gave him relief of the pain, and cleaned the blood from his tunic and chest.
Then, Jericho heard and unfamiliar noise, it almost sounded like a hiss. He looked around suspiciously, then shrugged it off and continued to clean his wound. His head snapped up when he heard the noise once more, but it sounded closer this time, almost right behind him. His heart pounded, he wondered what was making the wretched hiss. His head flew in all directions, trying to locate the source; but while the sound was heard again no being was there to claim it.
But this time, instead of a hiss, he heard a small beeping sound. Jericho looked down at his belt, then was shocked to see his communicator still in his belt. He pondered on how he couldn't have noticed it before, then pulled it from his belt and flipped it open. He smiled warmly when he saw Herald appear on the screen.
"Jericho, you okay?" Herald asked the blonde musician.
Jericho nodded, relieved to see Herald was alright.
"Sorry for pushing' you earlier."
Jericho waved it off, implying he didn't mind.
"Good. So, did you find-" In a flash, the communicator was whipped out of his hand and it flew over into the stream. It shorted out upon contact with the water. Jericho watched helplessly as he watched the soaked communicator floated down the riverbed.
He was stricken with horror when he heard the hissing sound he had been hearing before. This time, feeling a hot breath down his neck, accompanied with the stench of rotting flesh. He turned slowly, and looked up to see a massive reptile looking down at him with blood thirsty, yellow eyes.
He stared up in awe at the reptile's face with his mouth agape, his gaze never leaving it's yellow eyes. The creature before him was unlike anything he had ever seen, it was taller than any normal reptile, being at least two feet tall than him. It's rough scales could be mistaken for coasters. The long claws shooting out of it's fingers could rip through forests.
The reptile growled, hunger gleaming in it's eyes. It snarled at him, showing it's rather large teeth, it's rotten breath stinging his scent. Jericho grimaced in disgust, trying to remember the savory scent of honey that came off the flower he had put in his belt.
The reptile hissed it's trademark hiss at Jericho; not only interrupting him from his thoughts, but also made him realize the danger he was truly in. His heart started beating rapidly, his breaths became shallow.
It hissed once more, then with one swing of it's tail, Jericho was knocked into the cold river. He resurfaced gasping for breath, then stared at the reptile with wide eyes. It hissed forcefully, blowing Jericho's blonde hair back. With a mighty leap, the reptile jump into the river, and was once again face-to-face with the mute teen.
Jericho froze, looking over his shoulder at the edge of the riverbank, a mere two feet away. Taking the risk, Jericho looked back up at the reptile, then darted for the edge of the river. He stumbled onto the edge, but when he looked up, he looked straight in the eyes of the reptile. Confused, Jericho looked back, and saw the reptile from before charging right at him. His eyes widened, knowing he was now just a mere tug-of-war toy for two dinosaurs.
He saw the dinosaur flashing it's teeth, a low growl forming in the back of it's throat. It's jaws opened wide, hissing before slowly sinking it's sharp teeth into Jericho's shoulder.
Jericho let out a silent, pained scream. He closed his eyes tightly as the dinosaur thrashed it's head violently, almost ripping Jericho's flesh right off his shoulder. He heard a cracking sound, and felt an agonizing pain spread all throughout his right arm. He started thrashing his arms, and started hitting the dinosaur in it's large nose. This only aggravated the dinosaur even more, it sunk it's teeth even deeper into his flesh.
Suddenly, the same agony filled his lower torso. He closed his eyes even tighter, he whimpered. Looking down at his stomach region, he saw that the dinosaur from before had finally caught up with him, and was seething with rage. It thrashed brutally, trying to tear him apart. Blood flowed through the river, he knew he was loosing blood rapidly, and he would eventually dry out.
He felt the other dinosaur drag him out of the river, hissing at the dinosaur nipping at his lower body region, who hissed back. One pulled on Jericho's arm, pulling him toward the vast amount of trees. The other sunk it's teeth into his leg and dragged back over to the ice cold river. Back and forth, one pulled him to a different side.
Jericho's vision was fading, black spots appeared in his vision. He felt weaker as his breaths became slower. Tears of anguish blurred his vision, as the pain became unbearable, he felt himself going numb. Jericho never thought he would end up alone in an unknown world, being ripped apart piece by piece by an exotic animal.
He kept telling himself he wouldn't survive, loosing any hope of escaping the reptiles' grasp.
But, as he drifted out of consciousness, he saw something pink lunge at the one of the dinosaurs.
I don't write good near-death scenes DX
R&R Please
