Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Monster Hunter, only how the story goes. The characters and world of Monster Hunter belongs to Capcom. The only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I do apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: I know that the title of the chapter may be a bit confusing, but you'll find out why as you read along.
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Chapter Four: Not One Near Brush With Death, But Twice
Jacob panted as he came up the slope and soon found himself once again in the forest. He stopped at the edge of the cave and took a moment to catch his breath. But he wasn't able to relax long as he heard some familiar screeching coming from above. Slowly looking up, he saw another pack of them big lizards looking down at him and screeching their heads off. Jacob would have whipped out the journal to see where exactly he was, but looking through some trees he noticed a familiar looking opening to him. Jacob quickly deduced that he wasn't too far from where the boat was sitting. Looking to his right he saw a path that could take him right to the opening. He heard a familiar roar down the tunnel behind him and figured that the purple theropod was coming. Acting fast and keeping the lizards within his sight, Jacob held the axe to them as he quickly made his way around the path and towards the opening. The lizards didn't do anything but screech at him as the teen got closer and closer to the exit. He became nervous when some of them started coming down from the trees. Jacob didn't turn his back on them when he was but a few inches from the opening. When all of the reptiles started to tense up, Jacob knew that something was up and guessed that it must have been the creature tailing after him. Quickly turning he dashed through the opening and came to the familiar fork in the road. Turning down the path that led to the tall grass, Jacob said to himself, "There's no place like home! Even if it's just a boat! There's no place like home! Even if it's just a boat!
"There's no place like home! Even if it's just a boat!" He said again as he ran through the opening to the cliff. Jacob made it to the cliffside before holding the axe with one arm and made his way down.
Jacob managed to make it back to the boat mostly in one piece. He set the bag and the axe down next to the stairs and moved to the counter stool. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the adrenaline wore off and he felt the stinging from his wounds. Gently rolling up his sleeve a little, Jacob hissed in pain from the cloth touching the scratches. From what he was seeing, they were looking pretty nasty to him. Suddenly remembering the potion and what the journal told him about it, Jacob got up from the counter stool and made his way to the bag. Kneeling down next to it, he opened it up and pulled out the green vial. He opened the top with a pop and stuck a finger into the substance. It felt a little odd to the touch, and he was starting to wonder if it would work.
Deciding to put it to the test, he placed the substance onto one of his scratches. He scrunched his eyes and gritted his teeth from touching the scratch. Opening his eyes again, he was amazed by what he was seeing. Though a little slowly, he could see that the wound was starting to close. Jacob glanced down at the vial in his hand and said, "Man, this is some pretty powerful stuff.
"Must be the kinds of plants that grow around here or something." He guessed as he applied more of the potion to his arm.
When he finished he put the stopper back in place before putting the vial back into the bag. Deciding to consult the journal for more information about this world Jacob pulled it out of the bag. He moved over to the couch and began to look through it again. He glanced out the window to once again see the purple theropod standing on the cliff looking down at the boat. Deciding to ignore it for now, Jacob turned his attention back to the book in his hands.
After turning to a certain page found that the plant practically grew all around the place. Not only that, but he saw that there were other plants that were very beneficial to have around. A blue one could be used in case one was poisoned. There were plants to look out for, such as a poisonous looking bulb that grew in specific parts of the areas. The journal held information about different kinds of mushrooms, seeds and other things that could be useful too. Flipping through the pages of the book, he came upon the maps again and looked over that of the forest again. Looking to what looked like a higher level of the area, he found a fourth camp nestled high in the large tree.
Not really wanting to climbing that high for the time being, Jacob continued looking over the map. He narrowly missed something when he looked to the lower levels. In a spot that was close to the second camp that he visited, Jacob saw something looked curiously interesting to him. There was a spot on the map that he couldn't quite make out. He didn't think about going out again at the moment since the day was starting to drag on and thought to go much later. For now he just planned to read up on the journal for a bit.
He flipped through the book again and found himself looking at the section about the monsters. Jacob soon came upon the entry about the purple theropod and looked over the page and right where he believed to be the creature's name. He again wondered about the odd dialect that it was written in until he tilted the book a little. His eyes widened when he saw that it wasn't some odd language, it was just written in an odd way. Jacob tried to sound out the name of the purple theropod, "Anja- Anjnth?
"No." Jacob shook his head, thinking that it sounded stupid. Taking it slowly he said, "Anjanath.
"I wonder who came up with that kind of name?" He wondered when he glanced up to the ceiling. Taking a chance he glanced outside again and saw that the Anjanath was laying down and seemed to be keeping a look out. Deciding to keep reading, he turned back to the book and read the entry about the creature, "A belligerent beast that will attack anything without hesitation. Be wary when the throat of the Anjanath starts to turn red, it's a sign that it is about to unleash a flame-based attack. It mostly inhabits the Ancient Forest but is known to be spotted in the Wildspire Wastes.
"What else does this say?" Jacob questioned as he continued to flip through the book. He found the one of snake-squirrel, tilted the book again and squinted when he read "Tobi-Kadachi, a Fanged Wyvern that flies among the trees of the Ancient Forest. It builds up a charge of static electricity by brushing against the ground and trees. Only ever seen in the Ancient Forest.
"Jagras." He found another entry about the lizards. He read to himself, "Small lizard-like Fanged Wyverns that hunt together in packs. They follow after the Great Jagras and will abandon a battle upon seeing one of their own perish.
"Great Jagras, leader of Jagras packs. Its stomach will greatly inflate after swallowing its prey whole." He read. Shuddering at the sight of the memory he said, "Yeah, witnessed that one and nearly got crushed afterward."
He continued to flip through the journal at the other entries about the creatures. He saw other theropod-like creatures, more draconic ones, those that dwelled within the water, bug-types and a lot more. Feeling a bit hungry at the moment, Jacob got up from the couch and went to see what there was to eat.
He found some bread and wondered if there was any peanut butter and jelly to make a sandwich. He sighed when he said, "Why can't there ever be waffles when you need them?"
Jacob found some peanut butter but unfortunately there was no jelly or anything that could make a good sandwich. So deciding to scrape some peanut butter onto it, he then poured a small glass of milk into a cup. Jacob tried to enjoy his small breakfast as best as he could, but he started to think about his parents and the others of his family and wondered if they were really starting to worry about him. The teen wished that he could call them just once to tell them that he was alright.
Jacob could only hope that he would one day find his way back to them. He finish his small breakfast and put the cup away in the sink. The human looked out the window and saw that the Anjanath was still sitting there. Figuring that it wasn't going anywhere any time soon, Jacob decided to take himself a little nap. Jacob laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.
…
A few hours had past when he woke up again when nature called. Getting up, Jacob walked to the bathroom of the boat to take care of business. With a shake of his head he closed the door behind him, "Some things never change."
It didn't take him long as he came back out a few minutes later. Moving to the window again, Jacob saw that the Anjanath was gone. He didn't know how much time that he had, Jacob decided to try and go take a look at that spot not too far from the second camp. Quickly rounding up his things he made his way back up the stairs. Jacob came onto the deck of the boat and looked around to see if there was anything before going to the rope ladder. He made his way down before going across the path to the cliff. The human climbed up and looked around to make sure that nothing was lurking past the paths of stone. Jacob pulled himself up before quickly making his way down and taking a right. Remembering his ordeal from this morning, Jacob carefully held the axe at the ready as he walked by the slope before coming to the root that lead up to the shaded part of the forest. He glanced about before going in and quietly made his way through the trees. Seeing the wall of vines that led up to the camp not too far, Jacob thought that it might be a good idea to go up there. When he reached the wall of vines, Jacob placed the handle of the axe between his teeth before climbing up.
When he made it to the top, Jacob looked about and didn't see anything. He walked to the other end of the camp and managed to notice another exit. Jacob looked beyond it to see if the Anjanath or another of the other creatures were out and about. Not seeing anything, Jacob looked down and found another wall of vines that led down to a root that twisted around the camp's base. Holding the axe under one arm, Jacob made his way down. When his feet touched the root, teen made his way down the root and onto the path again. Jacob cautiously made his way under the shade of the trees before coming out into the sun again. This area was much different than the last one he had been in. For one thing, there were tall flowers that looked like an awful lot like dandelions. There was also a cliff with more of the climbable vines on it and some vines that were hanging over head. Jacob then noticed that there were a few plants and remembered from the journal that they contained a poisonous substance. Keeping his distance from them, he held the axe under one arm while pulling journal to see if he was close to what he saw earlier. However, he was unaware of something lurking on the small cliff.
Jacob found that what he was looking for was near the edge of the area and to his right. But before he could make his move, he heard a gurgling sound come from above. Jacob gasped when a new creature appeared up on the cliff. He remembered reading about it in the journal and that it was called Pukei-Pukei. Quickly putting the journal away, he readied the axe. The Bird Wyvern gave a gurgled roar before jumping off of the small cliff. Jacob backed away when it landed and it started swishing its long tongue back and forth. The human didn't know much about this creature other than it could shoot poison from its mouth and the tip of its tail.
Jacob swung the axe when the Pukei-Pukei lashed out its tongue. But the Bird Wyvern surprisingly managed to move the slimy appendage out of the way when he swung his weapon. Jacob jumped out of the way when it tried to rush at him and rolled back onto his feet. The Pukei-Pukei growled and turned around to face the human. Lashing out the sharp edge of the axe at the creature, Jacob tried to stand his ground. He was knocked off his feet when the Pukei-Pukei smacked its tail into him and made the boy fall onto his back. Jacob scrambled to get back up onto his feet when he was knocked down again by the creature's tongue this time. Jacob lifted one of his legs before coming down hard the Bird Wyvern's tongue. The Pukei-Pukei gave a pained screech for its now sore appendage and it gave Jacob the time he needed to get back up again. Quickly picking up the axe again, he prepared to face whatever the creature would try to throw at him. He was not prepared when the Pukei-Pukei lifted its tail and a purple cloud suddenly exploded out of it.
Jacob quickly placed his shirt over his nose and mouth to try and avoid breathing in the toxic fumes, but it left his guard down. The Pukei-Pukei took advantage of this by lashing out its long tongue and snagging the boy's ankle. Jacob cried out as he was yanked off his feet. And in doing so his shirt fell from the protective position and his eyes widened when the purple mist came down on him. Not knowing how long he would have, Jacob wildly swung the axe and managed to cut the Pukei-Pukei's tongue. The Bird Wyvern cried out in pain from the wound it received to its appendage and the tongue flailed wildly. Jacob started to wheeze as he watched the Pukei-Pukei give another roar before looking down at him, clearly angry with him now.
Shakily getting back to his feet, Jacob could feel his vision starting to become fuzzy from the toxins in his system. He knew that he needed to get out of there and fast. The Pukei-Pukei didn't seem to be merciful as it came at him and lashed out its tongue. Taking a chance, Jacob swung the axe upward and it managed to slice through the side of the slimy appendage. While not having cleaved the tongue there was a sizable gap. The Pukei-Pukei roared in pain from the new wound and it allowed Jacob to quickly follow up with another attack. He swung the broadside of the axe and it connected with the Bird Wyvern's head pretty hard. The blow caused the axe head to snap off and the piece of metal clattered to the ground. The blows it received to its tongue and head seemed to be enough to dissuade the noxious creature from attacking again. It gave another gurgled roar and seemed to wince from the pain from its tongue. With a slight ruffling of its feathers, the Pukei-Pukei quickly dashed off into the forest.
Knowing that he couldn't celebrate, Jacob started looking around for something that could cure the poison in his body. The boy started to cough pretty heavily from the toxins and felt like he was going to throw up. He remembered the blue plant from the journal and thought that there might be some down the path that he had come. Dropping the handle of the ruined axe, the teen started stumbling into the shady part of the forest and coughed as he continued walking. Jacob was relieved when he saw the plant he was looking for not too far ahead of him. His footsteps starting to become a little uncoordinated, Jacob shakily raised his hand at the blue plant. He didn't think he was going to make it as his vision started to get much worse. He stumbled to the side and wound up against the wall. Deciding to use the wall for support, Jacob continued walking towards the herbal plant. Even with blurry vision, Jacob felt his hand brush up against the herb and managed to snap some off the stem. Lifting the herb to his mouth, he started to chew on it and could feel the juices flowing before swallowing it.
Having a feeling that it could take a moment to really work, Jacob stumbled over to the other wall and used it to find that opening that led to the second camp. When he reached an opening, Jacob fell forward and crashed against the ground. Using his hands to guide him, he found what felt like a root and pulled himself onto it. When he could feel his legs against the plant, he carefully pulled himself to stand. Jacob then started walking up the plant to at least get to a safe spot.
After a minute of walking up the walkable root, Jacob wondered if the blue herb was working because it didn't feel like it to him. Another fit of coughs overtook him and he dropped down to his knees. He was thinking that it was the end as he clutched his pained chest. Jacob fell onto his side and he said, "I didn't think that it would end like this.
"I'm sorry, everyone back home. I love you all." Jacob uttered as his eyes closed. But unbeknownst to him, he was being watched over by a guardian angel of sorts as a short-robbed figure with a straw hat covering his head came down the root.
…
Jacob didn't know how long he was out for when he started coming to. He scrunched up his eyes before he started to open them. The boy moaned from the feeling of having nearly died from the poison and rubbed his face. Slowly sitting up, Jacob propped himself onto his elbows and took a look at his surroundings. The teen found himself at the second camp and within the safety of the walls of brush surrounding him. He took a deep breath and felt to see if anything felt broken to him. Jacob looked around and wondered how he managed to get here. He knew that he hadn't had the strength to walk all the way up here. He thought he wasn't truly alone when he called out, "Hello?! Is anyone there?"
His voice echoed and the only replies were the sounds of nature from the different world he was what he heard. Jacob shakily started to stand up and found that he could truly move again. He felt as if the poison that the Pukei-Pukei had spewed was completely gone from him. Jacob then wondered if he should try again to go to that odd spot, but felt a little discouraged after his encounter. Deciding to head back to the boat, Jacob looked down and saw his bag sitting at his feet. He stooped down to pick it up and slung it over his shoulders.
The human carefully made his way down the wall of vines and then walked through the shaded area. Jacob kept an ear out in case he was to hear something coming and then made his way down the root bridge that would allow him to get to the boat fairly quickly. He looked about to see if the Great Jagras, Anjanath or anything else were out and about. Seeing that he was in the clear, Jacob made his way to the tall grass. He turned down one of the paths that led to the cliff. But when he was but a few feet from the turn, he froze when he heard the sound of growling. Jacob had a feeling of who the growl belonged to. Moving to where he was pressed up against the rock wall that separated the two paths and carefully and quietly moved down the path. Once he had reached the end, Jacob slowly looked around the corner and saw the Anjanath once again sitting on the cliff.
It didn't seem to know that he was there, or if it did it didn't show it. He slowly backed away and kept his breathing soft and shallow to avoid drawing attention to himself. Trying to come up with a plan to get it away from the edge, Jacob thought of that red fruit he had picked up earlier. Carefully removing it from his pouch, Jacob then aimed the thing down the path before flinging it. The red fruit tumbled against the stone hard ground before rolling through the tall grass. It seemed to do the trick as he heard the Anjanath getting up and turning to go back down the path. Jacob once again carefully looked around the corner to see the creature's tail disappear from sight. The human made sure to quietly tiptoe along the passage and looked to see the Anjanath quickly making its way into the tall grass. Not wasting anytime, Jacob quickly started climbing down and onto the path. After a quick glance to see if the Anjanath had returned, Jacob quickly made his way towards the boat.
Jaco climbed his way back onto the deck of the boat and was about to head inside when he heard the sound of something at the head of the boat. He gently placed his bag down on the floor of the boat and unsheathed his dagger before making his way around the cabin. He came around the corner and he became very startled when he saw a large crab creature standing on the bow of his uncle's boat. Jacob couldn't recall seeing anything like it in the journal nor did he process his brain to try for what he was watching it do. The crab monster was trying to use its large pincers to try and burrow its way into the boat. Jacob gasped when the crab creature started making dents into the deck of the boat. He stepped out of hiding and shouted, "No!"
It was enough to make the crab monster stop what it was doing and it screeched at the human teen. With a yell, Jacob rushed forward with his blade at the ready. He swung the dagger and the crab moved back to avoid it. It lashed out its claw and knocked Jacob off his feet. Starting to get tired of being pushed around by things bigger than him, Jacob lashed out his foot and managed to kick the crab creature in the face. The crab creature screeched as it moved back a little, but it didn't stay back long as it grabbed Jacob by his ankle and started applying pressure to it. Jacob let loose a pained cry as he felt like the pressure from the crab's grip made it feel like it was about to break it. The human lashed out with his other leg to get the crab monster to let go and after a few kicks it worked.
Jacob scooted back to put a little distance between himself and the home wrecker. The crab creature squealed as it came at him. Jacob winced when he rose to his feet and felt like his ankle was on fire. But he didn't let stop him from fighting as the crustacean came right at him. Keeping a firm grip on the blade, Jacob started slashing left and right and it put the crab on the defensive. The dagger lightly grazed the creature's tough skin on its claws and hide. It swung out itself and managed to grab the blade in its claws. Not wanting to lose another weapon, Jacob started kicking the crab where he assumed its chest was. The crab retaliated by using the front legs to push back. The sharp ends of the legs not only nicked Jacob's leg, but one of them managed to gain enough reach to puncture him in the side. Jacob gasped from the great pain he felt in his side and shakily looked down where his wound was. He could feel blood leaking out from it and knew that he couldn't keep fighting like this. With a good push of his arms, Jacob managed to free his dagger from the crab's grip. Then with a yell he slashed again, this time managing to cut right through one of the crab creature's eye stalks. The crab monster squealed in great pain from the loss of its eye and started scuttling about on the deck. Jacob moved out of the way when it came right at him. The crab creature started to stumble as it turned around to face the human. With another holler, Jacob rushed right at the crab monster and rammed into it. The force of his tackle sent him and the crab monster falling over the side of the boat.
They both landed hard on the rocky ground and Jacob felt more pain shoot through his entire body. He groaned as he started to rise onto his feet again and winced in pain when he felt the wound on his side throbbing. Jacob looked over to where the crab monster was laying and saw it pitifully trying to get itself right back up. But Jacob didn't seem to be in a merciful mood at the moment as he raised his dagger before rushing forward again. He jumped onto the over turned crustacean and it flailed its claws and legs to try and get him off. Clutching the dagger with both hands and holding it high, Jacob screamed as he slammed the blade multiple times into his foe. He thought that each stab would make him feel a little better, but he just grew more frustrated with each drop of his dagger.
Only when the crab monster became still is when he stopped. Jacob stumbled backwards off of the dead crustacean and let the dagger fall and clatter to the ground as he panted. He just looked at the crab, almost wondering if it were truly dead. A sudden stab of pain to his side and leg made the teen hiss in pain as he clutched his side. When he removed his hand, Jacob began to really worry when he saw how much blood he could see. Knowing that he needed to get to the healing potion in his supplies, Jacob quickly grabbed the dagger with his less bloodied hand and stumbled back onto the boat. The climb up the ladder made Jacob feel worse with each step he took. Once he was on the deck, he dropped the dagger again and went straight for the bag. He knelt down, opened it up and shifted through the items before pulling the green vial out of it. He quickly opened the top and stuck his finger into the vial. He raised his shirt and grimaced when he saw how bad it was. Jacob raised his head and closed his eyes when he started to apply the healing potion to the wound. He cried out from the stinging feeling of the touch and could practically feel the effects starting. Jacob wondered about how to do his ankle and remembered seeing the diagram of the book showing that the person was drinking it. He raised the vial to his lips and let the green liquid flow down into his body. When it was gone he set the empty vial down and took a deep breath.
Jacob thought of all that had happened today and remembered that it was his second day wherever he was. He had nearly been killed twice on the second day. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of nearly losing his life not once, but twice on the same day. He fell onto his back, placed his hands over his eyes and shouted to the heavens above, "Arrgh!"
His scream echoed throughout the cove and he was sure that just about everything in the Ancient Forest had heard him. But at the moment he didn't really care as he started sobbing at all that had happened within the span of just two days. Jacob turned onto his side and started bawling his eyes out, not caring if anything or anyone would see him. From up on the cliff, the Anjanath had witnessed the whole ordeal between Jacob the crustacean. It didn't make any moves, just watched the human from its spot.
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Author's Note: And I'll stop it right here. I know that it was kind of harsh, but let's be honest, it's not a survival story if everything from encounters to every day activities didn't involve at least a little life or death situations. And like I said, I'm going to go back to finish the finale of Book 2 of Avenging Avatar. Be sure to stay tuned next time for another chapter of Survival. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.