Anakin would have given words for his lightsabre, but alas, the strange creature Rehope had eluded him long before. As he grimaced in pain, he felt his blood trickling down into the monster's gullet. He knew he had to act fast; the smell of his blood would surely pique this monstrosity's interest in him.
Anakin tried to harness the energy of the Force against the beast that held him between its powerful jaws, but he could not clear his mind of the searing pain. It took all his might just to keep from collapsing from the sensation of torn flesh. He could not concentrate.
An image rose unbidden into the Padawan's mind. A face, a woman - no, an angel. How many years had it been since he had seen Padmé? Nearly ten, he figured. But her countenance was still crystal clear in the young Jedi's memory.
She smiled at him, sweetly, reassuringly, and suddenly, the pain was diminishing. Her warmth, her courage, flowed into him and filled him with new strength. He had to live, because he had to see her again.
A brilliant burst of blue light illuminated the walls as the surge of sudden energy rocked the terrifying creature. Staggering back, dazed, it opened its mouth wide in an earsplitting roar of pain and dropped the Jedi. As Anakin tumbled ten meters toward the floor, he called upon the Force, binding himself to the air molecules in perfect harmony so that he drifted gently onto the stones.
The creature lunged toward him and Anakin ducked aside as those double sets of snapping jaws struck at where he had just been. He remembered the words of his master: "Remember, Anakin, a Jedi is never without a weapon." Thinking quickly, he understood what he must do.
Sinking down, Anakin pressed himself to the floor and kept as still as possible. The creature seemed to have lost track of him. Its two noses sniffed vigorously while four eyes probed the darkness. At last, they all came to rest upon them and the monster pounced toward him.
The Jedi exploded from the wall with all his strength, covering the length of the chamber in just a few short bounds and running as hard as he could up the opposite wall. His momentum and the Force carried him higher and higher. He was running ten meters above the chamber floor, now twenty, now thirty. Finally, he reached the dizzyingly high peak of the rocky, stalagtited ceiling. Drawing himself upward and crouching low to the ceiling, Anakin pushed off with his powerful legs, inertia and gravity pulling him downward.
Anakin shot toward the floor at a breathtaking speed. His legs were fully extended, his arms stretched out in front of him, making him perfectly aerodynamic. He curved his arms slightly, being swept toward the wall until he straightened them again. He was speeding toward the creature - exactly where he wanted to be.
Calling upon the Force to help him, he inverted his body so that his head was once again higher than his feet. And then, he was almost at the creature's level. The Jedi hit the beast hard, landing so that he was straddling one of its snouts. He was facing back toward its body. He kicked out ferociously, and one of its great saucer-sized eyes was dripping blood.
The monster howled in pain. The unharmed right head swung around, its cruel teeth snapping at the Jedi. But Anakin had already dropped to the stone floor below, so the creature's right head came away with a little flesh from the left nose proboscis hanging from its teeth.
The two-headed monstrosity snorted in anger and discuss, pivoting on its back four limbs. Finding its assailant was not hard, as the Padawan was running full-out away from the side of the cavern through which he had entered. The creature bounded after him, powerful legs throwing it toward him with ever-increasing speed. Each time one of its massive limbs struck the ground, the cavern rocked and more stone tumbled from the ceiling.
In no time, the beast was upon him. Both mouths grabbed at him, double sets of teeth opening him up again, and for a moment he thought it was going to tear him in half. Certainly, he would die soon; he had little blood left to spill.
Much to his surprise, instead of ripping his body in two, the creature flung him hard against the wall and began to lumber after him again. Anakin gave up with a resigned sigh. It was simply not worth the struggle. He should be spending these precious few moments meditating and preparing to meet his end with dignity, to become one with the Force, to let his life energies flow into all things.
As the creature's feet thudded onto the stone ground again, it flung Anakin up into the air. His head struck hard and he lay very still - but not because he was unconscious. Holding his breath, the Jedi listened.
Cool air licked caressed his battered body, a refreshing change from the stifling heat of the cavern. And, not far away, he could faintly hear the babble of voices speaking in many tongues and the sound of hundreds of scurrying feet. That was what gave him the drive to pull himself back to his punctured feet and steady his shaking legs, the idea that salvation was so near. Turning slowly around, he saw that the cavern terminated in a vast gulf, many meters across. It looked all but impassible, but on the other side... A city. People. Hope.
Anakin was bounding for the chasm, even though with each stride he became more convinced that his throbbing left leg was broken. The creature was right behind him, too. The Jedi could feel its hot breath on his back, and a growl rumbling in its throat.
He closed his eyes and leapt, air whistling beneath him. At the peak of his jump, his eyes slowly opened again. Staring down into the void beneath him, he saw a little ribbon of fire - a stream of molten lava. The gulf must extend clear down through the planet's crust! And, with a little shudder of horror, he realized that he was not quite halfway across. He wouldn't make it.
The monster was bellowing in frustration at having lost its prey, but Anakin hardly noticed. His eyes were fixed upon the opposite lip of the great crack above which he was sailing - though by now he was flying less than falling.
As he noticed that the canyon wall was a sheer drop with no outcroppings onto which he could cling, Anakin realized the inevitability of his death. A great calm descended upon him, and for the first time since he had left his mother, he was utterly at piece. His spirit felt light as a feather.
His eyes were closed, so he had no visual explanation for the cessation of the whistling wind in his ears. And, as his body drifted gently to rest on the edge of the side of the gap upon which the city was located, his lack of blood caused him to lose consciousness utterly.
