Tussle Against a Giant Scorpion

Morton's POV:

The wind was cool the following day, but the sun was relentless, and as Morton and Sr. traveled the rock and dunes, carrying their buckled backpacks on their shells. The thing with Koopas' shells is, not only are they extremely durable and can absorb shock caused by pain, but they are also hollow when a Koopa is not retreated inside, and things can be stored within. Morton and Sr. had nothing in their shells at the time, in case they had to retreat within for protection from an attack, but on most occasions Koopas would store a few valuables inside.

"CAN WE TAKE A BREAK NOW, FATHER? IT'S PAST NOON AND WE HAVEN'T STOPPED YET," blurted Morton.

"Not quite yet," Sr. wheezed. "Once we get to the mountains, we'll stop. But before then…we must make it there before nightfall."

Morton nodded, even though Sr. did not see as he was looking straight ahead, the mountains rising over the horizon. If nightfall came, Morton knew he and Sr. would be in trouble, since only a few Koopas, dubbed "Ice Brothers," could withstand such freezing temperatures.

Father and son continued on, passing clumps of stone, cacti, agave, and more. They spotted critters like lizards and scorpions but stayed clear to avoid trouble, for their only weapons were Morton's knife in his grass shirt's pocket and Sr.'s hammer in his backpack. The wind went from cool to cold and soon the sun was setting. Morton and Sr. were just a football field away from where the mesa rock and sand got sharper, rockier, taller, and much more difficult to traverse—a blockfield, essentially—which led up to the tall marmalade mountains.

"C'mon now, son, hurry up!" called Sr., picking up his pace as he ran for the mountains.

"YOU…SLOW DOWN…" Morton trailed off as he tried to catch up. His legs were feeling like dead lumps hanging from his hips, and his shoulders felt like falling off after supporting his backpack straps all day.

A scuttling sound came from the distance. Morton looked in front of him, where, past some boulders, was a cave in one of the hills in the mountainous area. It was dark and sloped deep down underground. Morton watched the cave with suspicion once he caught up with Sr., and the two clambered over the rock, getting higher and higher.

There was another, much louder scuttling sound, and Morton turned his head to look at the cave that was now below them. He saw a few glowing eyes shining from the darkness, and then a giant, black, bulky scorpion with purple liquid dripping from its stinger revealed itself as the owner of the eyes. The scorpion wasted no time and gripped onto the side of the rock Morton and Sr. were climbing. Morton only had time to yell "FATHER!" before the scorpion was just two feet away from Morton.

Sr. took out his hammer, dropped his backpack, and finally leaped down to Morton, kicking up dust and grit. The scorpion observed them both before running at Morton, claws snapping and tail jabbing. Morton backed up and whipped out his knife, rotating it on his claws like a pro basketball player would with their basketball before swinging it at the scorpion. The knife bounced off the scorpion's claws, which made Morton freeze up in fear for a moment. He'd seen scorpions like this, but only in the distance. Never before had he ever confronted one, and he had been alive for thirteen years living in their habitat.

Morton ducked, letting go of his backpack, narrowly missing a stinger to his heart. Morton retreated into his shell and tossed himself forward. He peeked from his shell to see the scorpion spin towards him and advance, until Sr. slammed the scorpion's tail with his hammer. The scorpion staggered but quickly regained balance and began swinging its claws at Sr., who fought back with his hammer. The attempts were feeble, though, for the scorpion's claws were like titanium and the hammer merely bounced off like Morton's knife.

"NO!" screamed Morton, who came from his shell and ran at the scorpion. Remembering what Sr. had taught him, he aimed for the scorpion's tail, but instead hit the barb sideways. The knife got wedged inside, and the scorpion backed up into Morton, who barely dodged the stinger.

The scorpion turned and locked gazes with Morton, and he stared into its pale eyes, snapping pincers, shaking fangs. It hissed and lunged at Morton, but Morton fell back on purpose and then spun into his shell, ramming the large scorpion in the face.

Sr., seizing the opportunity, bashed the scorpion's barb with his hammer, leaving a dent in it. Morton's knife was freed, and Sr. kicked it towards Morton. It slid under the scorpion and into Morton's hand, for the Koopa had just gotten from his shell. Morton then plunged his knife right into one of the scorpion's eyes.

The scorpion screeched as dark blood splattered onto its lower face, the knife, and Morton's arm. The scorpion retreated a few feet, Morton's knife coming loose and falling onto the ground. Morton scooped it up and pointed it at the scorpion, growling. Sr. came up beside him and raised his hammer, also growling menacingly. The scorpion studied the two Koopas with fear before climbing down the side of the rock, disappearing from sight.

Morton and Sr. put their backpacks back on as the first stars of the night began to shimmer into the sky.

"You good, Morton?" asked Sr., putting a hand on Morton's shoulder.

Morton nodded and gave his dad a quick hug. "I AM GOOD. ARE YOU?"

"I'm fine if you are," said Sr. He smiled.

"I SEE OUR HOUSE OVER THERE." Morton pointed to a shack similar to the one described before, except this one was built into the base of a mountain. There was a lake nearby, with a little millet farm and cactus farm around it.

Sr. smiled. "This lake looks almost full still."

"WELL, WE HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN A WHILE."

"Exactly."

"BEAT YA TO IT!" called Morton, dashing down to their shack.

Sr. felt happy. Not only because his son was alive and well and because they survived that giant scorpion, but because this house, he felt, was the safest of them all, being only targetable from one side since it was built into the mountain, and the only thing exposed was the door. On top of that, lots of large boulders blocked the view of the shack from afar, and only could be seen from a certain angle—one that was present on the rock he and Morton had been climbing.

There was no way something could go wrong here, right?

New references to games in this chapter:

5. Morton Jr.'s and Sr.'s buckled backpacks are the alternate textures for Don't Starve backpacks; Morton's knife looks like the Throwing Knife from Terraria, and Morton Sr.'s hammer is the Boulder Breaker from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

6. The "Ice Brothers" mentioned are the ones from Super Mario

7. The giant black scorpions were mentioned in the previous chapter in the reference section, but for a reminder they are the Sand Poachers from Terraria; the purple goop on the Sand Poacher's stinger was a reference to the Venom effect they inflict