(A/N) not getting as many reviews as I've gotten before makes me sad. I know you all have more to say and it makes me happy when you do. In any case I hope you all are still enjoying this.

Chapter 11

Jungle Guardian

It was amazing how differently the air changed when she stepped through the door, going from cold and sharp against her skin to thick and heavy with warm moisture. Around her Tina looked at patternless row after row of trees, dark and shadowed and lit dimly by a fading sunlight.

"Are we out?" She asked not really sure if she could take her eyes off the trees. Beside her Raven had run ahead and cupped a red flower between her hands breathing in its scent. Her eyes were bright with pure joy when she opened it. Santana's voice crushed her.

"Nah, it's another trial. Britt just fell asleep." She looked to Raven who had dropped the flower and her shoulders slumped, "What happened to her in that other room? She looks scared of me."

"A story for another time." Raven mumbled returning to a standing position. "we need to find this trial."

"What do you mean find it?" Tina asked reaching out and touching Raven's shoulder. She blinked a few times as if in thought. "I thought that being in the room was the trial."

"Yes, but something has to happen for us to pass it doesn't it?" She sighed, "Every room is a trap and the only way to get out is-"

"Is to spring the trap." Tina nodded finishing her sentence for her. "Do you want to lead us?"

No sooner had she asked the question Santana strode ahead of the both of them. She walked with her arms crossed over her chest, moving them only to brush aside a branch that scratched against her cheerios uniform. The white of her clothes stood out against the darkness. She walked seamlessly, as if she knew exactly where she was going, though they knew differently.

They just walked, their path straight – or at least they hoped it was – through the thick jungle. There was no sign of the trees ending. The only sign that time had even passed was the sun, hidden behind the trees, continued to sink behind the unseen horizon leaving the small group in ever worsening darkness.

Through it all Tina noted little signs that this was just an illusion of the house, not an actual jungle. The trees, though they grew without pattern were too uniform, the branches between the trees too similar. The flowers and grasses were not diverse enough for a real jungle. The warm air that clung to Tina's skin was unnaturally still. Not once did she hear the sound of birdsong or any other animal for that matter.

Then Santana stopped, she had heard a sound. Raven's hands balled into tight fists in preparation. Her violet eyes widened and Tina noted cat-like slits in her pupils. Tina flinched from the unnatural sight. The sound was soft, but it did not come from the three of them meaning it was a threat. It was a soft sound and dry, like skin drifting over skin. A shadow moved behind one of the trees.

"Who's there?" Santana called into the dark, taking a step back. She was answered with silence. Raven pulled her hood over her head and muttered something Tina didn't think was English.

Then behind them they heard a rattle. Santana turned quickly towards it, her black hair flying, and took another step back. "No. way." She whispered shaking her head slightly.

"I'd say we found our trap." Raven said. Tina looked towards her, but with her black hood and cloak covering her she was nothing but a shadow in the darkness, almost invisible.

"Santana . . . " Tina watched as the Latina continued to try to back away from the sound, stopping only when her back hit a tree. Her eyes were clouded with tears and she shook her head every few moments. She screamed when a shadow beside her, one Tina had mistaken for another tree or a bush, hissed.

The shadow snapped at her, a move that happened faster than Tina had even noticed. If Santana wasn't already running away then she would have been hit by the long fangs that gleamed in the dim light. The beast shifted its position, letting a shaft of pale red-orange light fall onto it.

What stood before them was a beast, a snake whose body was as thick as a tree, if not more. Its body was patterned with light blue, dark blue, and red. It held its bright red head high above the three of them, flicking out its long forked tongue and watching them with black lifeless eyes. The sides of its face were round and wide from the poison in its fangs. It slowly weaved its head back and forth from side to side.

"Run!" Santana commanded and did. She stumbled over small foliage as she did, all confidence she had before lost at the sight of the serpent. The sound and action alerted the beast and it moved, snapping its great head towards her, fangs bared. Raven leapt tackling the beast just below its head as it passed with inhuman reflexes. That alone saved Santana from it.

Tina raced ahead of the snake's head, trying to reach Santana. She had stopped, her path blocked by what looked like a fallen tree. But when she touched it with her fingertips it flinched away from her touch. Behind her the snake hissed.

"How big is this thing?" Tina thought out loud following the body with her eyes. The body itself formed a ring, disappearing in the shadows and appearing again further along, around the three girls, the tail ending close to its head. The ring tightened every few moments bringing them closer to its thrashing head. It whipped from side to side trying to free itself from the body that clung to its neck. It could not reach her with its fangs where she stuck just be low its head.

Santana watched as the wide ring around them came closer together, backing away when it came too close to her. She cried something Tina couldn't understand and, after swallowing very hard, ran towards the thick body and tried to leap over it. Her jump was well for any other circumstance. It landed her on the back of the beast, but before she could roll to fall off the other end to flee it moved. The thick body moved like lightning. Tina had made the mistake of blinking and had missed what exactly happened, but when she looked Santana was trapped. The snakes thick body coiled around her tightly just like she had seen them do to mice. She cried out as it tightened its grip on her. Tina wedged her fingers as best she could between the reptile and the cheerleader in an attempt to separate them, but she might as well have tried to push a mountain.

Behind the two glee clubbers the snake had twisted so the flat roof of its head was facing the ground and slammed down with enough force to shake the ground. Raven, crushed between earth and serpent fell limply off it and lay still on the ground. The snake hissed in a way that sounded like laughter.

"No," Santana whispered, her voice getting louder as the head came closer. "Get away from me. Don't. Don't come near me. Go away." It stopped a few feet away and flicked out its tongue, one of the forks brushing against the side of her face. She shuddered and made a sound almost like whimpering.

"Now, Sssssssantana" The snake opened its mouth and showed her his fangs, each as long as an arm, "you die."

Slowly, very slowly, it touched a fang to her shoulder. She squirmed and he tightened his hold on her. Tina tried again to pull him away and he tightened his hold on her. The more they resisted the more he constricted against her thin frame. Tina backed away when she heard a crack from within the body of the snake accompanied by a painful scream. When there was no more room for her to wriggle – or she had simply had run out of strength to fight – it put a fang back to her exposed skin. Finally the tears of fear and pain she had been holding back for so long fell down the sides of her face.

It bit, the fang piercing her shoulder like a sword. She did not scream, only cried muttering in Spanish as she began to feel drops of poison enter her system. Just hearing her voice, so hurt, so lost in pain and fear and regret, Tina had to cover her ears for they made her want to cry as well. Long moments passed and the snake did not release her, keeping his fang imbedded in her flesh. His other fang hung over the air beside her. Drops of pale yellow-green poison dripped from it every few moments to land steaming on his scales. Behind them Raven weakly raised her head.

Then Santana breathed deeply, composing herself as best she could. She looked at the snake, twisting her head painfully and looking up at his chin. "You'll . . . have," She struggled to speak, "to do . . . better. I'm not . . . I'm not afraid of you."

The snake retracted his fang and his head then thrust it forward so his nose was less than an inch from Santana's. He watched her with his black eyes, studying her. Santana returned his gaze, unwavering. His grip on her tightened, her bones continued to crack and she would wince painfully when they did. But she never looked away from the beast. Tina stepped to her, but Raven gripped her wrist and shook her head then looked back to the serpent.

The two continued to stare for several moments more and then the snake began to fade. With it gone Santana fell limply to the ground gasping for air. Raven went to her side then healing her injuries with her touch as she had done so many times before. Tina had lost track of how many times she had come to their aid when they were hurt. She imagined the trials would be infinitely more difficult if she was not there. Behind them they heard the sound of the glee club, newly awoken, searching for them.

"What happened? Why didn't the snake kill her?" Tina asked

"Because she wasn't afraid of it."

"Yeah, I heard that, but why?"

"The trial is based off of the fear you felt worst when you slept last. Since then you've found something you fear even more. What is it?"

"Brittany." Santana averted her gaze from the other two girls, "She was so scared. So scared of me. She wouldn't let me . . . let me touch her."

"Puck's trial was hard for her," Raven explained, "She'll tell you all that happened when she's ready."

"Does this mean I have another trial?"

"No, you've faced yours and won. That doesn't mean you're safe. Here, move so I can fix your shoulder or the poison will still kill you." The cheerleader obeyed as the others came into sight. Tina jumped at the feel of hands on her shoulders, fear that quickly turned to relief when she saw Mike behind her. The two held each other just glad they were safe. Mike had gone through his trial, she didn't worry so much about him, but she hadn't and that thought alone scared her a little.

Santana had found Brittany and attempted to hold her as well, but the taller cheerleader shied away from her friend and sat on Artie's lap. Santana did not advance, but her shoulders and gaze dropped with heartbreak. Raven offered the only comfort by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"So . . . Raven," Mr. Schue brought their attention away, "Is it time for us to go?"

Raven nodded and looked over the group. So many had faced their trial and somehow survived. Kurt, Quinn, Rachel, Puck, and now Santana. To Tina who had slept through them all it had felt like little more than a far away dream. But to those like Finn, Sam, and Mrs. Pillsbury who had walked through several it was a painful nightmare. And there were so many more left to come.

Raven walked through the jungle until they came to the door where Santana promptly said, "Why couldn't you just bring us here in the first place?"

"I never know where to go until the trial ends," She said and opened it. They stepped into a world, once more outside but so very different. The ground was stone and the trees were gone. The night sky, sparsely lit with stars, was bright above them. Tina did not let herself believe so easily this time though that they were freed. A belief she found correct as she fell back into Mike's waiting arms and the two began to sleep.

(A/N) you know the drill. Review and stuff.