Year : 771
A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game
It was now completely dark. 17 and Ruri walked with difficulty through the forest, as they could hardly see anything. It was also difficult for them not to make noise. Even Ruri, who was used to being discreet, found it very difficult to keep quiet.
But it didn't really matter. The objective was to capture the snake. Normally, when faced with such a dangerous animal, Ruri would have done everything to avoid contact. With 17 around, however, she could afford to take more risks. Rather than spending hours looking for him, it was easier to let him come to them. Still, not being able to see anything put them in a position of significant vulnerability. The attack could come at any time, from anywhere.
Both of them were therefore extremely focused, and Ruri made sure to stay close to 17, walking right in front of him. This was the safest position, as predatory animals tend to attack their prey from behind.
The plan was pretty basic: locate the snake, approach him, and inject him with the tranquilizer. Pretty simple.
For indeed, despite the noise they were making, the snake still did not show itself. And yet... 17 and Ruri had been feeling for some time the same sensation they had had when they had discovered the corpse of the giant bird: the impression of being followed, observed. From time to time they heard strange noises. Ruri then began to speak, as quietly as possible:
- I really think he is following us, 17...
- Yes," he replied, whispering.
- Can you hear how the noise moves from right to left?
- Yes.
- In any case he knows we are here, and he is close by...
- Why doesn't he attack?
- Either he is intrigued by us, or... and this is more likely, he is waiting for the right moment.
- And what is the right moment?
- Most animals avoid humans. They know that we are dangerous to them. Even monsters are wary. He is observing us, but above all, he is trying to make us tired. We walk, we walk... and we will be exhausted at the end. And when he will see signs that we are no longer able to defend ourselves, he will attack.
- Yes, but I never get tired.
- Lucky you! This is our master card. He doesn't know about your generator thing...
- Unlimited energy generator.
- Yes, that's what I said.
They walked for a few more minutes. The strange noises were getting closer and closer, although they were very faint. For such a seemingly large animal, this snake was indeed very quiet. 17 was thinking. Ruri was probably right, everything suggested that he was there, but that he was in a waiting posture.
Even though he couldn't see much in the forest, with the trees blocking out much of the light, 17 knew that Ruri was indeed getting tired. She had been walking all day, it was quite logical. Staying in this situation seemed to him more and more risky for her. As far as he was concerned, he knew that this animal, as big and powerful as he was, could not be a threat to him. But for the young woman, it was different. And although he was there, with such darkness he feared he would be embarrassed and not see the attack coming.
- Ruri," he murmured, placing his hand on her right shoulder.
- What?
- I don't think we should continue like this...
- What do you mean?
- We can't see anything. It's dangerous to stay and wait for him to attack, I'm not sure where he's going to come from, at least not fast enough to protect you...
- By the way, I was just wondering, with all the electronic stuff you have in your body, none of it can detect movement? Don't you have a thing that helps to detect the presence of a living creature?
- No.
- That sucks. I mean, it would have been a very practical feature. The guy who ... well, he wasn't that smart after all! I would have put one on you. Clearly.
- ... yes, well, anyway. We're not going to go on like this, are we?
- You're right. If I were alone I would never suggest this, but with you I think we can try something.
- I'm listening.
- We will provoke the attack. He makes almost no noise, in the complete darkness we are deprived of our senses. That sucks. We will stop walking, to make him believe that we are tired. Then, I count to 3. At 3, you catch me, and you fly away. To run away is like becoming a prey. So I think he will attack. We have to get him out of the forest. When we will return to the plain, the moon will light us up a bit, it will be better than total darkness. The only worry is that by going straight ahead, we risk to take trees in the face. It would be a bit... difficult. Especially for me. What do you think?
- Got it. I'll take care of the rest.
- Okay. Let's stop.
17 and Ruri stopped walking. The strange noises also stopped immediately. Ruri took advantage of this brief moment to get her pistol and to load the 4 doses of sedative. She cocked it, so that she was ready to shoot at any moment.
Then, when she felt that 17 had placed his hands on her and was ready, she began to count.
- 1, 2 …. 3 !
What happened next went very quickly. 17 sprang into action. He threw a ball of energy straight ahead, clearing a straight path through the forest. The next moment he grabbed the young woman and charged forward. He heard clearly behind him that, as Ruri had assumed, the animal that had been stalking them was coming after them. This time, discretion was out of the question. The snake was now moving at full speed, crushing the vegetation with a crash. He was now emitting a kind of raging hiss as he was trying to catch up with them.
17 continued to fly as fast as he could to reach the plain at the edge of the island. Only when he had reached it, he could turn around. The light was better and 17 and Ruri could clearly see the silhouette of their pursuer.
Yes, it was a snake. A gigantic snake.
- Great ! Great ! exclaimed Ruri. It is indeed a titanoboa ! He is huge !
- You'll go into ecstasies later, ok?" replied 17, focused on the monster's attitude.
On the plain, the advantage was that it was easier to see the snake. But the disadvantage was that the snake had more freedom of movement. From that moment on, he did not stop attacking, charging at 17 with his mouth wide open.
- He's hungry 17, it's abnormal to attack like that. Be careful, it makes him even more dangerous!
- I know.
17's speed allowed him to easily dodge attacks, although it was more difficult for him to move with Ruri in his arms. He couldn't move as fast as he wanted and had to be careful to avoid sudden movements.
- Ruri, he finally said after dodging another blow, we have to change tactics. I'm going to drop you, and attack him in turn. I need to have my hands free to immobilize him, and then you'll give him your injections.
- It's less safe 17, if you continue what you're doing now you'll end up tiring him out, and we'll be able to sting him quietly. Your endurance is a valuable asset. It's going to be daylight soon, we'll be able to see much better in a short time.
- Yes, but I might make too abrupt a move and hurt you. If I drop you, it's only a matter of seconds.
- ...okay, let's try that, if you think it's better.
- Okay.
17 then suddenly accelerated to move away a little, and gently put Ruri on the ground.
- Stay here, I'll bring him back to you," he said, before leaving at once in the direction of the snake.
"Now it's just the two of us," he thought.
The very first rays of the rising sun were beginning to dawn, allowing 17 to see the monster even better. It was a snake similar to those he had seen in the wild, but much larger. His skin was quite dark. However, he could see lighter areas, like spots.
Seeing 17 now alone, the animal suddenly changed its attitude. He stopped moving forward and stood still for a moment. 17 did the same, in order to gauge his opponent of the day.
Slowly, the snake began to move again, circling around 17, never taking his eyes off him. He formed a circle around him, as if he wanted to cut off his escape route. Inwardly, 17 laughed. He could see the purpose of the maneuver.
"Good idea, but you can't hold me back by cutting me off, I'm not a banal human..." he said to himself, confidently.
17 stayed a few seconds to observe, thinking about the best way to act to allow Ruri to put the monster to sleep, without hurting him. But with the still imperfect visibility of the dawning dawn, he did not notice at once that the snake, which did not leave him of the eyes, described circles with the diameter increasingly broad, approaching very discreetly of Ruri.
When he realized it, it was too late. With a leap, the snake turned around, and charged at the young woman, its huge mouth wide open.
"Damn! What an idiot!"
17 also rushed to stop him. Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
His great speed allowed him to overtake the snake, which was itself very fast, and to be in front of Ruri in an instant. Instinctively, 17 threw a ball of energy in the direction of the monster, which recoiled with a howl of pain.
At the same time, 17 took Ruri in his arms and moved away as quickly as possible. In his haste, he forgot to measure his strength, and understood from her cry that he had just hurt her, probably by squeezing her too hard.
- Sorry, I'm sorry, are you okay?" he asked her, dropping her off a few dozen meters away.
- Ouch, yes, yes, I'm fine. My ribs hurt a little bit, but nothing bad. I... didn't see anything, what the...
- I'm an idiot, that's what happened.
From the tone of his voice, Ruri knew that something was wrong. 17 sounded angry, annoyed, and ... worried. She could see his face now. He was looking at her with an anxious look. In the distance, the snake was flailing around, still screaming in pain.
Ruri was just beginning to understand what had just happened. She was about to answer 17 when suddenly her phone started to vibrate. Surprised, she picked up the phone to hear Iris' voice.
- Iris ? Is everything ok? What? Yes, that's him you've just heard. But where are you? Huh? Ah, okay. Yes, we'll take care of it. Can you hold them off? Yes, I see... ok, no problem, we'll manage. Thanks for the heads up.
Then she hung up, and sighed.
- What is it?" asked 17.
- We have some visitors. I texted Iris about our whereabouts, and she told the farmer. When he heard we were going to flush out the snake, he abruptly left, so she went with him. He brought other farmers and hired hands, and they're on the island right across the street. Look, you can see lights over there.
- Why did they come?
- To kill the snake. That was their goal all along. They poisoned the water to kill him, but their brilliant plan failed. They called on us to put him out of action so they could finish him off.
- I won't let them.
Ruri didn't answer, and looked at 17, right in the eyes. He looked so disturbed, it was unusual for him to have so much expression in his eyes. He was angry. Clearly.
- I know," she said, gently. I know. You're the best 17, with you by my side, we'll all be fine. Those big idiots don't even know what they got themselves into hahaha!
But 17 did not laugh. Not at all. His eyes darkened again, before he spoke again.
- No, I'm not. I'm a jerk. Just like I always was. Like I used to be.
- Why do you say that?
- I didn't listen to you. I acted stupidly. Because I thought my strength was so great that nothing could happen.
- Yes, you should have listened to me, idiot !
Ruri tried to play down the situation. But it didn't work. 17 turned to her and looked at her. His eyes were filled with a kind of distress that she couldn't explain. Then she put her hand on 17's arm.
- I'm fine, you know that right?
- I hurt you.
- No. You grabbed me a little hard, okay, and then I was mostly surprised actually, that's why I screamed. But I'm okay.
- What about him? I promised you I wouldn't hurt an animal.
The snake's howls could still be heard quite clearly, even though they were gradually diminishing.
- I also told you that you had the right to do it if my life was in danger," Ruri continued.
- It's my fault if you were. If I had listened to you instead of always thinking I am invincible...
- We don't know that, 17. You can't be sure of what would have happened if you had done otherwise.
- I have learned nothing... nothing has changed since ...
- Since what?
17 did not answer, but just looked at her. Ruri felt such pain in his eyes that she felt as if someone was stabbing her through and through. He finally looked away, watching the snake. At that moment, Ruri received a message on her phone from Iris. The farmers were landing on the island, a little further away. They had seen that the monster had been wounded, and were planning to seize the opportunity.
The young woman took a few seconds, thinking. Several thoughts were mixing in her head. What should they do? What was the best solution? And above all, what could put 17 in such a state? She tried to remember all the information he had given her during their many morning conversations.
She moved forward, and placed herself in front of him.
- Look at me, and listen to me carefully, okay?
17 complied, without a word.
- So," she said, "I don't know what's causing you so much pain. You never tell me anything of all that could have happened to you. And it is your right, I respect that. But listen to me carefully. You haven't done anything wrong. Maybe jusy an error of judgement...
- But ...
- Shh, I don't want to hear anything more. Let me finish. He is hurt, but not dead. I'll take care of him, trust me. And I'm fine. So this mistake is of no consequence. But the farmers are coming. So answer me: do you want them to kill this animal?
17 looked away for a moment to observe the giant snake. What a magnificent animal. As the day dawned, he could see it perfectly now. His streamlined body, shining under the first rays of the sun, all the power that came out of him... He had attacked them, but Ruri herself had said that he was starving. He was living a peaceful life on his island, before stupid humans came and destroyed everything, just to satisfy their selfish needs.
- He doesn't deserve to die, he didn't do anything, he was just living his life, free, before ...
- Indeed," interrupted Ruri. It's not fair. And if you weren't here, we would be in danger. Him, Iris and me.
- Why you two?
- They are not allowed to poison the water. It's not allowed. So my guess is that they will want to kill the snake, and get rid of us, making it look like he killed us. Alone, I could do absolutely nothing. But with you by my side, we can get through this, and protect him. He's just a victim of human greed.
She paused for a moment, then resumed:
- You once told me about a friend of yours who loves animals. If you tell him that you let such a beautiful and rare animal be killed, he won't be happy, will he? So help me save him. Only you can do that. Your power is great 17, enough to save the three of us.
16. What would that idiot do if he were here? The mere mention of his name was so painful for him... But 17 knew what he would do.
- He ... wouldn't have let it happen.
- Say, your friend, he's dead, isn't he? Did Cell kill him?
- How?" replied 17, dumbfounded.
- Your eyes get so dark when you talk about it. And you didn't use the present tense. So by inference...
17 looked at her again. How smart she was, this little human. She was definitely reading him like a book.
- How beautiful you are, Ruri... he murmured.
- What?
He suddenly put his hand on the right cheek of Ruri. The contact of his skin on hers gave the young woman an electric shock that went right through her and froze her in place. Slowly, 17 caressed her face. She saw a new light in his eyes. 17 could no longer look away from Ruri. Suddenly, she was no longer the simple human with whom he had been traveling to relieve his boredom.
He looked at her as a woman. What was the meaning of this strong desire he had to be as close to her as possible? He was not sure to know, but he could not do anything else but to follow his instinct which urged him to continue. With his thumb, he brushed the lips of the young woman, mechanically, without thinking about it. Her mouth was so soft. He was attracted towards her, the need to touch her became irrepressible.
17 stepped forward, slowly. He sensed a slight apprehension in Ruri's eyes. His hand slid slowly towards her chin, which he then held very gently with his fingertips. He then waited a few seconds, waiting to see in the young woman's eyes the authorization to go further. Ruri did not know really what she was doing, but she also felt carried away by a desire so strong that she could not contain it. She closed her eyes and moved forward, hesitantly placing her lips on 17's.
17 let out a murmur of satisfaction. He knew what to do. His body knew what to do. He also closed his eyes. Both of them exchanged a few timid kisses, each one taking the time to savor the delicious impression of heat that each contact of their lips gave them. Then suddenly, 17 seized with his left hand the size of Ruri while his right hand passed behind the neck of the young woman. In response, she placed her arms around 17's neck, letting herself be completely led by him.
- How... do you know... how to do that... she whispered between breaths.
- I don't know... 17 answered.
In an instant, he brought her back to him, sticking her body against his. Their lips opened, their kisses became more intense and more passionate, as the minutes passed as if they were hours. Carried away by the impression to be alone in the world, neither of them could put an end to this divine parenthesis.
Finally, it was 17 who first regained control. Giving Ruri a final kiss, he stepped back slightly, without stopping to hold the young woman in his arms.
They took a few more seconds to savor the moment, then 17 laid his forehead on Ruri's, and said, tenderly:
- Tell me what to do, Ruri, and I will do it. I will protect you. No one will touch a single hair of him, you or your friend.
- Scales.
- What?
- The ... snakes do not have hair, they have scales ...
After a second of surprise, 17 burst out laughing.
- Hahaha! Thank you for that clarification. It was indeed the perfect time to say it.
- Sorry ! replied Ruri, confused.
"But you can not shut up a little you idioooot !" she said to herself immediately, "ruin a moment like that but it is unbelievable !"
17 was laughing. His face was so beautiful, his smile so sincere. He had never looked at Ruri like that, and the young woman couldn't help but laugh in turn.
- Don't worry, you're a scientist, I have to be more precise," continued 17, laughing. So, what do we do, little human?
- I have a plan.
- I don't doubt it for a second.
- You're going back to the snake. You must not leave him any more openings. So you're going to circle around him, touch him, disrupt him, to keep him focused on you. With your speed, you should be able to get away without worrying. And bring him back to me.
- But ...
- Don't worry. I'll stay here and get my rifle ready. I'm at least as good with a rifle as I am with a bow, you know. I'll shift at the last moment to put him to sleep when he attacks me. This time, we take the initiative, we won't let ourselves be surprised anymore.
- ...okay, we'll go with your plan.
- Yes, it's the best," said Ruri, with a wink.
17 nodded, amused. He took a deep breath, then moved towards the snake. As soon as he saw 17, the snake reacted immediately and jumped forward. 17 then did exactly what Ruri had told him. He started to move as fast as he could, successively going to the right and to the left, making the snake mad with rage, so that he didn't pay attention to Ruri at all. He was obsessed by 17, who slowly brought him closer to the young woman.
When he finally saw her, the snake tried again to attack her. But this time, 17 was ready. He gave him a slight shoulder blow to throw him off balance, while Ruri dodged him by placing herself on the snake's side. Concentrated, she managed to shoot the anaesthetic arrows without difficulty, which quickly took effect.
In a few seconds, the snake came to rest, shaking his head, before collapsing, inert.
17 and Ruri joined each other at the level of his head, and the young woman began to examine him. The wound that 17 had caused was in his jaw, but it seemed rather superficial. Nevertheless, she could not help thinking that he was really phenomenally powerful. Indeed, he had clearly not tried to kill him, and yet a simple attack had managed to wound a monster of colossal size.
- Don't worry," she said after a few minutes, "he'll get over it.
- Really?
- Yes. I promise. You hurt him, but his wound is not serious.
- That's good. I didn't mean to hurt him, not at all.
- I know. You are a very nice person.
"Nice?" thought 17, surprised. He wondered what 18 and 16 would have thought if they had been there, and Ruri had told them he was "nice". This idea made him smile. 18 had called him a lot of things, but never "nice," certainly. And 16 ...
- Ruri?
- Yes?
- When we're done here, I'll tell you.
- What will you tell me?
- Everything.
- You don't have to, Ruri answered him, suddenly very serious.
- I know. But I want to. But I warn you, it's not necessarily very... funny.
- I suspect.
Ruri gave him a tender smile, and 17, as usual, felt immediately appeased.
The sound of Ruri's cell phone vibrating put an end to their discussion. They turned around to find that a few steps away, many vehicles were gathered. The farmer who had welcomed them was there, accompanied by about twenty humans. Iris was there too, and she looked terrified.
17 thought for a second that it was because of him, before seeing that in fact one of the humans was pointing a gun at her.
- 17... Ruri began, the concern clearly perceptible in her voice.
- Give me a minute," he replied, "I'll be right back.
And before she could say anything, 17 had disappeared. He had already reached the humans, who Ruri saw fall, one after the other. In thirty seconds, he had already knocked them all out, except for the farmer. He brought Iris back, who let out a small scream as she flew through the air.
Then, in an instant, he had already returned to the farmer, whom he grabbed by the collar before bringing him to the sleeping snake.
The little chubby man was crying out in fright. 17 placed him a few millimeters away from the monster's mouth, holding him down with a firm hand. Ruri and Iris ran to join him.
- Help me, help me, he's completely crazy ! he shouted when he saw them.
- I think it makes perfect sense, on the contrary!" replied Ruri. You wanted us to solve your problem, didn't you? That's exactly what we're doing. Your problem is that this snake has no food left. If it is fed, it will stop attacking. So I think 17 has the idea to give him a good piece of fat to fill his stomach.
- How dare you little bi... aaaaaaaah!
The farmer could not finish his sentence, because 17 started to press on his shoulder, almost breaking it, causing him terrible pain.
- If I were you, I'd shut my big mouth, you're going to wake him up," 17 said to him in a cold voice. It was you and your whole gang of idiots who caused all this trouble. I think it's only fair that you pay with your life to repair the damage you caused.
- Please, please, no, implored the farmer, I have money, I will give you as much as you want!
- Your money is useless here. I don't care about it. Nothing and nobody will come. You are powerless, because you are weak. Insignificant. We'll wait here for him to get up, and I'll throw you in his stomach.
- Nooooo!
The man was struggling, he was really terrified.
- Come on, that's enough... Ruri finally said. He doesn't deserve more attention...
17 then picked up the farmer, and without letting go, stood in front of him.
- I despise from the depths of my soul beings like you, he said to him. You are like him. You have no respect for the lives of others. Only your goal matters, and you are willing to do so much harm to achieve it. But you see, I am stronger than you. I hope that today you realize that you are nothing. Nothing at all.
- I didn't mean to...
- Yes, you did. But you're lucky. I don't take orders from anyone, and I've got a burning desire to kill you. There are only two people on this planet that I respect enough so they can stop me if they ask me to. And one of them is here and she just saved your life.
The farmer then looked pleadingly at Ruri.
- You will go back home," said the young woman. Iris, 17 and I will stay on this island. We will take care of the snake. I've told one of my teachers, a snake specialist. We'll make sure he doesn't attack your land again.
- How will you do it?
- He can't stay on this island, you've done too much harm. We'll move him somewhere else. You can take over the land, since that's all you care about. But until then, leave us alone.
- Yes, of course...
17 then approached the farmer, and just before releasing him, he whispered:
- If you come back, or do anything... not even Ruri will stop me. Do you understand?
- Understood...
Then 17 freed the farmer, who then ran away as fast as his little legs would allow, soon joined by the humans who accompanied him.
It took a few more days for Ruri's teacher to join them, during which time 17 stayed with the snake, making sure he didn't leave the island.
But this time, they had arrived in time.