This chapter's purely Alicia's POV.

Enjoy, and for all those rooting for Alicia, be proud; she's one hell of a survivor.


The force exerted by the serpent was so immense that it threw Alicia a few feet away. She gave a sharp cry of pain as her head hit the ground, a sharp stone cutting her forehead, drawing blood. Rolling to a stop, she quickly turned around and started sprinting. No time to waste. The gargantuan serpent was still trying to slither out of its confinements, which means she has less than a minute head start.

Powered by adrenaline, anger and disappointment at Hazard for giving her the mutt, she ran full speed ahead, never looking back. Her mind whirred furiously as she tried to think up of a plan to outsmart the serpent and kill it. But this was Daedalus' creation. Killing it won't be so easy.

She heard the trunks of countless trees snapping like twigs under the weight of the serpent. Would hiding be any good? No, it'll probably smell her blood trickling from the countless cuts and track her down. She heaved in huge gulps of air, her body quickly using up what little energy she had, though never slowing down. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer, but in her current state, flight seemed like a better option than fight.

At that moment, the serpent gave a bloodcurdling roar, and gave a powerful flick of its tail. Alicia didn't expect this at all, and had no time to dodge the attack. The scaly tail connected with her body and before she could say anything, she found herself flying and crashing into a tree. Coughing out spurts of blood, she felt around her body to check how bad her injuries are. Her hand sent a wave of agony when it came into contact with her ribs, and she shrieked, not caring that she sounded like a weakling. Pain tore through her like a series of toxic explosions, and she was tempted to flee into darkness. No, that won't do. She'll surely die if she was to pass out now.

Her ribs were definitely broken. Grabbing hold of a low-hanging branch, she heaved herself up. It felt like a billion pounds of dynamite exploded in her ribs.

Harden up.

Alicia fought to steady her breathing, black spots already dancing in her vision. It won't be long before the serpent caught up to her now. Head still spinning, she decided she would climb the tree (no matter how agonizing), and jump onto the serpent's back when the time's right. She just hoped she still had her rodeo skills with her. Then again, she trained using bull dummies with Zeus, not a 50 feet serpent.

The climb was torturous. It felt like living metal staples were running through her insides, pricking and scratching with their little sharp points. She gave up after a while, trying to convince herself that she was high enough anyway. Now all she had to do was hide and wait for the serpent.

As if on cue, the serpent came lumbering about. Alicia got a good look of the serpent for the first time since she released it, and boy, was she disgusted. It was black and yellow in colour, covered in scales. It left a trail of green slime behind it, and judging from the wilted plants that was unlucky enough to have crossed path with it, the substance was far from good. Several spikes jutted out from its upper side, so big and sharp it would have skewered a cow. And then there was its swollen head that was slightly too big for its body. Red eyes, huge jaws, countless fangs. What disturbed her most were its ears. Floppy and mud brown in colour, it looked like the ears of a beagle, except these were covered with scales instead of fur.

Alicia shuddered, as the serpent neared, inspecting its surroundings with those bulging red eyes. "Well, it's now or never."

With a determined cry, she jumped, falling through thin air. The serpent made a strangled sound of surprise; clearly, it wasn't expecting a bloody flying girl. Distracted, it didn't react until Alicia landed right at the top of its head, gripping onto its ears for dear life. The far-from-smooth landing had sent new pain blossoming in her ribs again, fresh and raw. She bit her tongue hard, stopping herself from crying out. She mustn't show weakness at a time like this.

The serpent wasn't happy to have its ears pinched. It flailed about, even tried rolling around (though the spikes prevented it from doing so; thankfully for Alicia, or she would've been crushed for sure), but no matter what it did, Alicia wouldn't let go. Frustrated, it stopped its attempts and sat silently for a while, clearly trying to decide what to do with the little rascal.

Alicia herself was having a hard time. The scales were slick and slippery, as if they were coated with oil. Her feet couldn't find a good grip (they kept slipping), so she had no choice but to hold on real tight to the floppy beagle-ears. She couldn't take her knives, as she didn't want to risk letting go of the ear and falling down. If she was to hold up her entire weight, she was going to need both her hands. What would she do with the knife once she got it anyway? A mere stab won't kill it. The only thing left to do now was hope the serpent would send her nicely to Savannah.

After contemplating the pros and cons of sending Alicia to Savannah, the serpent decided to do it. Anything to get the girl off it. It travelled fast, but it wasn't very careful. Several times Alicia almost hit her head against branches, not to mention the bruises and cuts she got from the twigs.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached a clearing. In the middle of it stood the same type of white box that held the mutt, though this time, it was filled with supplies and weapons. Savannah must have been here. Where she was now, Alicia didn't know, but that was the least of her worries. The serpent had stopped, making short, high-pitched hisses, as if telling her to hurry up and get off it already. Should she try jumping down? The impact might worsen her rib's condition, but what else can she do? Sliding off would be too dangerous, as it involved going near the serpent's jaws; it looked ready to eat her up.

Well, she guessed she could try stretching out her hand to reach a nearby branch or something. Her eyes darted from side to side. The nearest branch is to her left, around 3 feet away. "I'll try jumping. If I fall and die, then so be it."

So be it.

Connecting her feet with the back of the serpent's head, much to it's annoyance, she pushed hard, gaining momentum. She let go of the ears and stretched out her hands. Her fingertips had just grazed the side of the branch when gravity started acting on her. Frantically, she reached out and grabbed hold of the branch with her right hand. Unfortunately, it started cracking, unable to support her weight. With a kick, she swung herself hurriedly to another thicker branch, just when the branch snapped into two and fell to the ground.

Alicia looked up, only to be greeted with one of the serpent's bulging red eyes, staring her down.


(A/N)

I'm having troubles deciding who should be crowned victor.

Who are you voting for? Savannah or Alicia?

Do tell me your choice. A pm or a review would be fine.