[Chrono Trigger Novel - Episode 67] Over the Empty Shell
A light flickered at the dead end.
Marle saw it over Lucca's shoulder. She thought it was a reflection in the ice, but it stayed in place after they stopped. The path had led them out of the cave and around the rocks to this wall. Turning back meant returning to the creature they had just killed.
Lucca removed a glove. Blood marked the bandage on her hand. She felt around the tiny light. Ice fell away, and a small piece of rock shifted inward.
A low rumble passed through their soles.
Snow collapsed from a cleft behind them, revealing another entrance. Magus turned. As he stooped, Marle kept a hand against the bundle on his back to prevent it from striking the rock. The shoulder beneath the cloth did not move.
Inside, sheltered from the wind, they stopped to share dry food. Chewing, Marle discovered a cut in her mouth. Her tongue hurt whenever it brushed the spot. Her hands resisted the water bottle, so Lucca held it for her.
“Eat yours too.”
Lucca put down the bottle and picked up her bread. Magus watched the entrance. Marle offered him a piece. She was about to withdraw it when a black-gloved hand reached forward. He ate standing.
Lucca tightened the loosened straps. Gray light waited at the far end of the second cave. Beyond its mouth, a broad stretch of snow lay strangely smooth and low, though wind blew farther off.
Spines rose from its center.
This time Marle did not retreat. She took out her bow and stayed near the wall. Lucca lowered her muzzle when she saw the shell. Magus placed the doll behind a large rock. They spread to either side, keeping the creature's line of attack away from it.
The mouth lifted. Cold vapor spilled close to the ground.
Lucca fired once. The bullet struck the edge of the mouth. Nothing stirred among the spines. Marle breathed out. The same rule held here.
As Lucca extended her arm again, vapor curled around her face.
Her glasses clouded. She reached to wipe them, then let her hand fall. The gun sank. When Marle called her name, she looked up with heavy eyelids. One knee settled into the snow.
Marle ran to catch the gun. A long breath escaped Lucca. Shaking her shoulder did not wake her.
Magus stepped in front of the mouth, moving his blade parallel to the shell. When the head turned, he moved with it. He passed up a chance to strike deeply. He was keeping it from looking toward Lucca.
Marle tapped her friend's cheek.
“Wake up.”
No answer. Fire burst behind them and scorched Magus's cloak. Marle struck harder. A red mark appeared. Lucca drew a sharp breath.
“I'm sorry. You have to wake up.”
Lucca opened her eyes, looked at Marle, then searched for her gun. Marle returned it grip first. Instead of standing, Lucca raised one knee and took aim.
“Don't breathe that mist.”
Before she finished, the creature shook. Something white shot toward Marle. She turned too late; it struck her temple. The snowfield tilted sideways.
She nocked an arrow. A dark shape moved ahead. Another spined body seemed to be coming toward her. She swung the bow, and a hand appeared in front of its point.
Magus.
He pressed the bow down. Marle tried to pull free. She blinked. The shaft of the scythe separated from the black cloak. The doll was behind the rock. Whatever she thought she had seen would not fit together now.
“That way,” he said.
She took three short breaths and turned. This time she saw the mouth. Lucca's shot rang out toward it. Marle watched the direction of the vapor and moved one step aside. The string left her fingers.
The arrow entered wet flesh. Lucca sent fire into the same spot. As the mouth contracted, Magus hooked his blade deep. He twisted the shaft without touching the shell. The jaws opened and released it. He stepped back as the creature collapsed.
This shell cracked too. Fragments slid down the slope. Marle waited with one hand raised, then slowly lowered it.
She did not recover the arrow. Ten remained.
Lucca examined her temple. The hand on her forehead was warm. Marle was relieved she had not aimed her bow at that hand. Then she remembered whom she had aimed at.
Magus was fastening the doll onto his back again.
“Just now—”
“Watch the path ahead.”
She let the words go. She was not certain whether she had meant to thank him or apologize.
*
The second blue doll waited before a narrow snowy ledge.
“Careful. It's slippery. Fall, and you'll have to climb back up.”
Marle looked below. The slope curved far around before meeting the path they had already climbed. The wind would not wait while they retraced it. Ahead, the ledge was barely wide enough for her feet side by side.
Lucca brought out the rope. They all held it, spaced far enough apart not to pull at one another. Marle went first. Looking down made her body lean that way, so she watched only the places where her feet would go.
One foot slipped. She bent her knees until the tip of her bow touched snow. Behind her, the rope tightened and eased. Lucca held steady instead of jerking it back. Staying low, Marle returned her foot to the path.
Wind struck her side.
She stopped. Even their uneven breathing seemed briefly quiet. Behind her, the end of Magus's scythe shaft scratched ice. Once the gust had passed, she moved again.
Where the path widened, Lucca released the rope. It had cut a thin line across her palm. Marle adjusted her own gloves. She began to straighten, thinking they were through, when the snow above them moved.
Round creatures came hurtling down the slope.
Magus extended an arm across their path. They stood still. One dark body swept past Marle's feet and rolled onto the lower trail. The others followed. She did not move until the last sound had receded. This time they had not needed to fight.
A third doll stood beside a rock.
“Move the empty shell. Climb over it.”
Lucca stopped. Marle glanced back. They had left no usable shell behind them. The little doll repeated itself.
A stone fell from above.
All three looked up. A ledge stood at the top of the incline, high enough that no outstretched hand could reach it. In front of it, one final spined back moved.
Marle considered leaving the egg behind a rock, then closed her clothes over it. She was used to moving with it against her now. She helped Lucca lay the other doll in a low rock's shelter, face upward beneath its cloth.
The creature's mouth pointed downhill.
Magus moved sideways. On this incline, an upward strike could catch the shell. He circled farther until he stood level with the mouth. Below him, Lucca knelt and tilted her gun to check that the spines were clear of her aim.
Marle extended a hand. Cold gathered narrowly at the mouth's edge. The creature shook its head, scattering ice. Lucca fired through the opening.
The mouth suddenly gaped wider.
Thin shapes flashed. Marle covered her face, and hot pain stabbed her glove. The bandage on her shoulder grew wet again. Lucca fell sideways and caught herself on an elbow.
“We didn't hit the shell!”
Marle had seen it too. The shell's spines were still. The needles had come from the mouth.
The vulnerable part could attack as well.
She pulled a small spine from her glove. Two fingers would scarcely bend. Laying one hand over the other, she gathered warmth. Once Lucca stood, Marle reached toward her shoulder. There was no time to remain until every wound had closed.
A ball of fire shot down the slope. Magus withdrew his scythe and stepped back. Snow melted beneath his boots. As he slipped, the head thrust toward him. Lucca fired, turning the open mouth aside. He pulled his foot free and found another stone.
For a moment his knees bent. Marle remembered him on the palace floor, unable to rise. This time he braced against the shaft and stood by himself.
“Once more,” Lucca said.
Marle drew an arrow. Pulling the string reopened the puncture in her hand. The mouth was turning toward Lucca. If she waited, her friend would be struck.
She released.
Lucca ducked. The arrow passed over her head and lodged inside the mouth. The creature lifted its head. Magus approached from the side instead of charging forward. His curved blade entered beneath the flesh.
Lucca cast a tightly gathered flame. Marle had imagined fire engulfing the whole creature. Instead, a small blaze lit only the inside of its mouth. Something gave way within it.
The jaws sank to the ground. Magus drew his blade clear. A great shudder passed through the body. Then only the shell remained.
This time, it did not break apart.
Nine arrows. Marle touched her quiver and lowered her bow. Lucca approached the shell, tapping the ground with the end of her gun before laying a hand on it. Nothing responded.
Magus pushed from behind. The shell shifted, scraping stones beneath the snow. Marle flinched at the sound. No needles followed. She placed her hands against a smooth patch on its side.
Together, they pushed.
The incline forced them to change their grip repeatedly. Lucca guided it. Magus took the weight. Marle cleared stones caught underneath. When it met the base of the ledge, it would go no farther.
They lifted the doll first. Lucca climbed over the front of the shell and took the rope tied to the bundle. Magus pushed from below. Marle watched until the covered body had disappeared over the ledge.
When her turn came, it took a long time to choose a handhold. This thing had been attacking them a moment ago. She placed a hand between the spines and stepped into the hollow at its front. Lucca caught her wrist. She dragged herself onto the ledge on her stomach.
Magus came up last.
The air above was unexpectedly clear. No blown snow struck Marle's face. She stood. There were no higher rocks to climb. A single tree waited a short distance away.
She took the bundle from inside her clothes. The cloth was damp with sweat.
The egg inside was still whole.
댓글
댓글 쓰기