Evan's Perspective
Evan was exhausted. He'd been running for hours in the hot sun when he saw a place with lots of black sand and lifeless trees where the sun oddly couldn't penetrate. He ran there and it was cold, the day was supposed to be a hundred degrees but it was about sixty at most here. He went over to a gnarled tree and sat under it. He heard a creak and the root of the tree grabbed his left leg.
"What the?" Evan said.
The branch of the tree grabbed his throat and lifted him above the ground. Three young women in golden dresses with brown hair and gold eyes appeared under the tree out of nowhere.
"Men." one of them laughed. "He'll make a perfect apple."
A few of golden buds appeared on the tree while Evan could barely breath.
"When the last time a man was near the tree again, sisters?" another of of them asked.
"Centuries ago." the last one sighed. "Oh how we've aged."
A low hiss was coming from the east.
"Oh no." the second sister said.
"He's always ruining everything!" the first one exclaimed.
"Zelia, Pren. Command the trees." the last sister said.
Two of them disappeared in a flash of gold light and the tree loosened around Evan's neck enough for him to barely breath
"Don't get too used to it." the sister that was still there said. "When my sisters deal with that monster, you'll be made into our youth supply."
"I don't think so." a male voice said.
A man with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a black mamba slithered under the trees. He had black snakes for hair that was pulled into a pony tail, yellow eyes with black slits, long silver claws and fangs, scales dotting his arms, body markings on his chest, and a shoulder pad that connected all the way to a cuff on his left arm.
"Get away from here, Dolleno!" the woman said.
"Why would I let you kill this innocent boy?" Dolleno asked as his tail coiled. "Especially when I hate you Hesperides so much."
"Because we will kill you." the Hesperide said without conviction.
"Like last time?" Dolleno asked.
"Kill the gorgon!" the Hesperide yelled.
The trees in the forest moved around but Dolleno's tail tightened and when it loossened up he was sailing through the air and he landed on a tree branch with his eight foot tail wrapped around it. He sank his claws into the tree bark and all three Hesperides appeared, reeling in pain. Dolleno went to where Evan was being held and he cut the tree's branch off. Evan fell and the branch let go of him. Dolleno looked at the Hesperides and they turned to stone and Dolleno picked Evan up as he wound away from the tree garden faster than a cheetah.
