Once Jermaine had emerged the forest had changed dramatically. The once vibrant leaves of the forest which had once been various shades of green were not withered grey. The rays of the sun which often gave an aura of warmth and light to the forest were not covered by the grey clouds which loomed over the forest tree tops.
A strong stench overwhelmed Jermaine as he emerged from the underground hideout. The smell made him nauseous and he recognized it immediately. It was blood. Blood mixed with the scent of rotting flesh, traveling through the air currents rapidly. He took a quick glimpse of his surroundings.
It was quiet…Quieter than the forest had ever been. No movements. No sounds.
Absolutely no movements in sight. The creatures of the forest were all missing. Where the animals? The birds? The groundhogs? The rabbits? Even the small buzzing sounds of the insects were suddenly gone. The forest was still. Dead still.
The sooner Jermaine made his escape from this deadly zone the better. As curious as he was to find out where the creatures of the forest had gone he did not want to share their same fate.
According to Master Fung, the closest Xiaolin dragon would be Omi who was traveling through the Middle East helping build the Xiaolin temples. He could not help but think his task would be much easier if Master Fung had given him the Golden Tiger Claws, a Shen Gon Wu capable of transporting him anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, for safety purposes the Shen Gon Wu had been scattered in various temples across the world. Jermaine sighed as he looked down into his satchel which held the least offensive Shen Gon Wu of the bunch.
Despite the shortcomings of the Shen Gon Wu he was still a Xiaolin Dragon. He had to assemble his comrades and beat the evil which threatened the world. His first challenge would be escaping this forest. Jermaine reached into his satchel pulling out a shiny crescent shaped object and placed it over his right eye.
"Falcon's Eye!" Jermaine said aloud.
It had been years since he had used a Shen Gon Wu and even this defensive Shen Gon Wu gave Jermaine a sudden rush of power. The pupil of his right eye expanded immensely and he was able to see farther than he had ever seen before. Objects which would block a normal human being's sight suddenly became transparent and by concentrating even more he was able to see as far as a mile's distance.
Jermaine thoroughly scanned the area. Even looking closely under the bark of trees and the unturned rocks of the forest. Every single small critter or creature had disappeared without a trace. The beetles which made their homes burrowing into the ground had left their nests abandoned.
If the animals of the forest had been killed. Then where were their carasses? No bone, skin, or blood had remained. Only the scent of dead flesh lingering in the air.
Jermaine zoomed in further with the falcon's eye locating the exit of the forest. He had it…If he could just make it to-
"Aaagggggggghhhhhhh!" A loud shriek echoed through the forest interrupting Jermaine's thoughts.
Jermaine spun around quickly seeking the source of the scream with the Falcon's Eye. A quarter of a mile's distance away one of the monks from the temple was running away franticly from a dark figure chasing him closely. Jermaine shifted his eye towards the figure which continuously jumped from branch to branch hovering over the monk, almost as if it were playing with its prey. It clearly had an advantage. Perhaps playing with its food was part of its sadistic nature.
Jermaine reached into his satchel grasping for the shiny coin Master Fung had handed to him. He flipped the Mantis Flip Coin.
Catching the coin in his right hand a powerful rush of energy ran through his veins. His limbs suddenly felt loose and light, like feathers. He quickly shook off the addictive feeling and leaped into the air. A jump that raised him twenty feet of the ground. Jermaine grabbed a branch and began leaping through the trees keeping a close eye on the monk running his way who would soon be dead if he did not hurry.
The dark creature leapt from its branch landing on top of the monk sending him crashing to the ground. The monk detached himself from the creature rolling away. The creature released a loud shriek then charged towards the monk, but Jermaine had reached the monk just in time. Channeling the chi of his elemental dragon he raised his left arm into the air and pointed his right arm towards the dark creature. A loud crack of sound boomed from the skies as a bolt of lightning hit Jermaine channeling through him quickly and being released once more through his right arm directed toward the creature. The bolt of lightning hit the creature midair sending in crashing into a tree stump yards away.
Jermaine attempted to grasp his breath. Having used two Shen Gon Wu and now his element he was quickly running out of energy. The dark creature began to rise again slowly gaining its footing. The bolt of lightning had not been enough to stop the creature, only injure it.
Jermaine's energy began drifting away. Maybe one more lightning bolt, at most two…But that was pushing it. If he attempted to hit the creature again he could not risk falling unconscious in the middle of a fight.
The creature fell to the ground, grunted then evaporated into small dark speckles.
Jermaine released a large sigh of relief quickly thinking of his encounter. If one blow to these creatures was enough to kill them then their only strength must be in sheer numbers. He could still remember the sheer numbers of them at the temple and how they had overpowered all the monks.
This cold fact quickly hit Jermaine. Sheer numbers? If their power emerges with their numbers then they must always remain together. Jermaine stood still. If one of the creatures was here there was no doubt in his mind there were more nearby. How long did he have? It occurred to him how little he knew about these creatures. Did they speak a language? Were they animals of some sort? Did they communicate at all? Through sounds, or maybe telepathy? Was there any organization to these creatures at all? Or were they here to simply kill?
Jermaine began to scan his surroundings but the vision in his right eye faded. The pupil which had previously been enlarged quickly shrinked to its original size and the Falcon's Eye which had once hovered over his right eye slowly fell to the ground. Jermaine's energy had depleted.
Jermaine placed the Shen Gon Wu into his satchel. There was no time to spare, an attack from another creature would cost him his life. But why did he suddenly feel so weak? At the beginning of the fight he had felt fine, enough energy to fight at two or even three of these creatures. Now, a single thunder bolt would render him unconscious. Did the Shen Gon Wu require more energy than he remembered?
He quickly dismissed his questions and turned to the monk who had luckily remain unharmed.
"Are you ok?" Jermaine asked.
"Yes…" The monk said raising his head revealing himself to be Monk Lao. "I think so…"
"It seems like I got to you just in time." A small part of Monk Lao still irked him…The monk did not have a single scratch on him.
"Yes…yes you did." Monk Lao still seemed a little distraught.
"Did you come from the temple?" Jermaine asked wondering what the Monk's reply would be considering if he had, how he had escaped unscathed.
"No…I was delivering a message to the Eastern temple yesterday morning…A smoke signal had been sent at night from our temple and I immediately returned…only to find…No one remaining…"
"We were attacked…" Jermaine glanced at his surroundings again, remembering more of those creatures were likely nearby. "Did you find any survivors at the temple?"
"I did not have time to look…Are you with the rest of the monks?" Monk Lao quickly glanced the area behind Jermaine.
"I was…They asked me to retrieve the Xiaolin dragons…"
"I must rest…Are you able to bring me to them?"
Jermaine pondered this question. If he brought Monk Lao back to the other monks he would be further away from his destination of finally escaping the forest. He did not feel his energy returning and whether his energy would ever return. Backtracking to the hideout and escaping the forest were both immense risks.
"My priority is Master Fung's priority and I must assemble the dragons and bring you to safety." Jermaine replied, pondering if he had made the correct choice. "It'll be easier to leave the forest in our current position. Are you able to walk?"
"Yes…" Monk Lao brought himself to his feet.
"Well have to move rather quickly. I have a strong feeling there will be more."