Beast of The Subterranean

Beasts of The Subterranean


Part 1


By Enemene S. Okishima

It was a vicious night in the dangerous World of Felarya. The borrowed sky was filled

with the dark rainclouds, drenching the Forest below in rain. All the wildlife retreated back into

their shelters in an attempt to escape the elements. In spite of the conditions, one

unfortunate soul was unable to retreat to a safety of a shelter. She was a young Naga with

long brown hair that reached slightly past her shoulder blades. She also had a pair of

mismatched eyes that aimlessly looked around her location in hopes of finding some sort of

shelter before she became ill from the cold rain. The young earth Naga was a relatively new

face in the cruel world of Felarya. Her name was Aurora, the last of her kind and the heart

and soul of her people. She has been struggling to survive, ever since she was chased away

from her burrow by the swarm of Spine Beetles that were currently using her burrow for

breeding. The frightened naga wandered, soaked by the unforgiving weather, shivering in

the cold stormy air. She knew she had to find some sort of shelter before the elements begin

to take a toll on her body. She could already feel the cold creeping through her bones and

knew that it wasn’t much longer till the elements would start to get to her. Desperation turned

into panic as she frantically dashed through the thicket, hoping to find some sort of

salvation,. She was in such panic she didn’t even know where she was going. The rain

combined with the night, blurring her vision, and the cold rain made her unique green eye

unable to use heat to see.


Suddenly, something caught her eye. A large tree out in the distance, though the tree

wasn’t what she was focusing on. At the roots of the tree was a small opening, something

she could squeeze into so she can escape the rain. Her mismatched eyes lit up as she

slithered as fast as she could towards the opening, carelessly smashing though the bushes

that just happened to be in her way. When she reached the tree, she peered through the

roots into the opening; it was far deeper than she expected.


“…H…hello…is…there anyone in there?...” the shivering naga said into the hole, seeing

if there was already someone inhabiting it. She heard her voice echo a few times, revealing

that the hole was far deeper than its outer appearance. This filled her heart with unease,

unsure on what could possibly be down there, but suddenly a loud thunderclap completely

filled the area and caused the frightened naga to quickly bolt into the hole, into the darkness.


The young Naga staggered aimlessly through the dark cave till her body gave in to the

stain and she collapsed onto the floor. She looked back at the distance she just traveled,

realizing that she just over-reacted when the lightning struck. Aurora let out a deep breath as

she hoisted her aching body up and began to look around the dark cave, making sure she had

her purple eye closed so she could see perfectly in the dark. The cavern she was in seemed

spacious for her to sleep in for the night, just wide enough for her sit upright on her tail

without bumping her head on the ceiling. She noticed a small opening near the back of the

small cavern. She slithered over to it and peered inside, seeing a huge cavern system that

seemed to lead down into an endless abyss. The young Naga slowly slithered away from the

tiny opening. She didn’t really pay much mind to it, as the opening to the pit wasn’t really

large enough for anything that could threaten her to come out of. Feeling that the cave was

good enough to sleep in, the young Naga slowly slithered up into a small ball, using her tail to

keep her warm. She smiled to herself, finally being able to sleep. She was beginning to think

that she would never be able to have a good nights rest, always having to be on the move in

order to survive. Slowly her eyes began to feel heavier as the tip of her tail rubbed against

the cold soil. Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.


A few hours past as Aurora slept in comfort, dreaming about the life she used to have

with her adopted Mother, Thanh. Playing games with the woman who took her in when she

really needed someone to love her. Spending time with her friend Tiffany, even if the

friendship wasn’t formed like a typical friendship was. She felt happy, knowing that even if

she was no longer living that life, that she could at least still relive her memories in her dreams

whenever she got the chance to sleep.


But suddenly, a loud crashing sound entered her dream, almost as if a lightning bolt had

struck down. Aurora’s eyes were flung open from the sudden loud burst. She looked around

quickly to figure out what exactly made the loud sound.


“…wh…what’s going on” the terrified Naga whispered to herself. A moment later, she

felt water drops fall on top of her head, and soon many water drops began to fall.


“…it’s raining?...how does that make sense…I’m inside a cave” she said to herself. She

then heard another loud cracking sound, this time it was right above her. She looked up to

see what it was. Her eyes widened, as she saw the ceiling above her was beginning to crack

and water was dripping down from the many cracks that branched like a tree from the center.

Little that Aurora knew, the rainstorm on the surface has caused a flash flood, eroding the

cave’s surface to the point of nearly shattering, and now only has a few seconds left to hold

up the water that has built up on the surface.


“…wh…what’s going on…wh…why is there water coming in!?!” the terrified snake girl

cried out as she slowly slithered backwards. A loud crash filled the silent cave as the ceiling

collapsed and water began to rush into the cave like a powerful waterfall. Before Aurora

could even react, the wall of water engulfed her and washed her down deeper into the

cavern, smashing her against the walls and rocks along the way. Aurora flailed about, trying

to keep herself up and fight against the rapids, but the water was so powerful that no mater

what she did, it still overcame her, dragging her under the surface and muffling her ability to

breath, and before long, everything went white.


“Auntie Thanh…help me!...” Aurora cried out as she drifted down the river towards the

chasm that surrounded the Fairy Kingdom. She could barely even keep her head above the

surface, flailing her tail and arms as she sank. A hand reached out from the surface and

grabbed the drowning naga, lifting her out of the water onto safety. The terrified Nagling fell

limp onto the ground like a long wet sheet of paper, taking deep breaths as tears ran down

her eyes. Above her was Thanh, her mother figure, looking down at the terrified nagaling.


“…Aurora…I told you to be careful when at the bank of the river…it’s very easy to fall

in…” she said to her daughter as she lifted up the limp girl. Aurora pressed herself against

her mother’s chest, being as close to her as she could as she hugged onto her mother tightly.


“…Please…n…no more water…I…I…I want to go home…please take me home…I…I don’t

want to be here anymore…please take me away from the water!...” she cried out. Thanh

remained still, placing her hand onto the back of her Daughters head as she cried against her

chest, shoring her wet brown hair to try to comfort her.


“…shhh shhh…its ok Aurora…I am here for you…I will always be here for you…the

water isn’t going to do anymore bad things…I promise…” she whispered as she began to head

back home.





Aurora’s vision began to return to her, the rapids seemed to have died down as she

drifted against a shallow surface against the soil. All the water was being absorbed into the

soil, leaving the weak and limp Aurora behind. Her eyes felt heavy and her body was in great

pain. She tried to push herself up, but her arms felt like soft rubber. She painfully reached her

arms as far as she could, hoping to have a warn hand take it, to pull her to safety, but there

was only wet soil and water. She buried her fingers into the soil, using what little strength she

had left to pull herself forward, towards the rocky walls that made up the dark chamber she

was in. she crawled through the ground, stumbling from exhaustion like a wounded animal.

Once she reached the wall, she reached up, grabbing hold of the rocky wall and painfully

hoisting herself up, only to lose her strength and plop down into the ground again. She

groaned in pain as she continued to try to hoist herself up, until she finally got herself

upright. She leaned against the walls, holding onto the crevices as she placed her cheek onto

the hard surface. She was panting heavily from utter exhaustion, nearly being killed from

being washed away. The terrified naga began to cry, whimpering to herself in pain and

misery.


“…I…I want to go home…” she whimpered “…I want to go home… and be happy…I…I

just want…to be happy…why is this…all happening to me…”


She buried her face against the wall, tears running down her eyes as she slowly began

to drop from the wall and curled up into a ball with her tail.


“…I…I just want to go home…I just want to go home….I just want to go home…” she

repeated to herself over and over again. She couldn’t handle anything anymore. Everything

seemed as if they were turning against her, that she didn’t belong in this world and it was

trying all that it could to dispose of her. She closed her tearful eyes as she continued to weep

in the corner of the chamber. Eventually, she ran out of tears and she fell asleep from utter

exhaustion without even knowing it.





“…Aurora…are you feeling alright?...” a neera said out from behind a glass, looking at a

young Aurora trembling under the covers of her bed. The naga child didn’t reply to the

concerned mouse girl’s question.


“…Aurora…don’t be that way…why don’t you just tell me what’s going on in the big

dumb head of yours…” the mouse girl replied.


“…Leave me alone Tiffany…” she child said back without lifting up the covers.


“…fine…I’ll be quiet and you can just be all alone and deal with this…whatever by

yourself…” Tiffany replied as she crossed her arms and sat down on her mousewheel. A few

seconds past, but after a bit, young Aurora lifted up her covers, revealing tear-filled eyes.


“…So you decided to change your mind?...” the mouse girl said out as she opened her

arms and leaned back a bit. The child rubbed the tears from her eyes with her tiny hands,

trying her best to calm down.


“…I… almost…*sniff*…I…I was so scared Tiffany…I…I almost drowned…I…I almost

died…I…I never want to go outside ever again!...” she girl cried out before she burst into

tears and hid herself under the covers.


“…What are you talking about?” the neera replied with confusion, standing up from her

mouse wheel and walking over to the glass. “what’s this about…never wanting to leave ever

again?...”


“…I was outside with Auntie near the river…and *sniff*…I fell in…I was so scared…I…I

almost died…never again…I’m no going out there not ever ever ever!...” the child cried out.

Tiffany stared at the bulge that was over he bed where Aurora was hiding. She could sense

the trauma that the young girl must have went through.


“…oh don’t say that Aurora…I know how much you hate being stuck here all the time…I

am sure you don’t really mean that you don’t want to go outside anymore…” the mouse girl

said through the glass walls that surrounded her. There was no reply from Aurora, just a

long, awkward silence that filled the room.


“…Aurora…just talk to me…don’t just try to hide away from everything…I just want to

help…” Tiffany continued, trying to get her words through the traumatized snake girl.


“…You weren’t there, Tiffany…you weren’t the one under the water…sinking…

drowning...I made up my mind…never again!...” Aurora cred back, burying her face deeper

into the covers, staining it wet with her tears. Tiffany sighed deeply to herself as she placed

her hand on he glass of the cage.


“…When I was tinier…just a wee little chu scampering about with all my brother and

sisters…we were in a tree…just minding our own business…I remember I was playing tag with

my brothers…but…suddenly a Harpy came out of nowhere…and scooped up some of us with

her talons…including me…and she flew off…high in the air…all I could remember…was looking

down at the forest far below us…with my brothers and sisters screaming…crying…struggling

to get free…but I was frozen… couldn’t move or anything…I just stared down a the forest

floor…terrified out of my mind…it wasn’t till a sudden gust of wind blew against the harpy…

making her lose her flying ability and she staggered in the air…dropping me and my siblings

from her talon…and we plummeted into the trees…fortunately landing in the leaves to break

our fall…but the Harpy still made off with the rest of my siblings who weren’t lucky like us…”

Tiffany said out with a quiet voice. She stood the silently for a bit, staring at the floor of the

cage. “and ever since…I was afraid of going high into the trees…every time I am I am in a

high area…and look down…that…that horrible time just goes back into my mind…Torturing…

sometimes I could even hear my siblings crying…”


Silence filled the room again, both the snake girl and the neera made no sound after she

said her story, but after a bit, Aurora peeked her head out from beneath the covers, looking

over at Tiffany.


“…y…you are afraid of heights?...” Aurora said softly. Tiffany nodded her head slowly

before turning away.


“…I swore to never to go up into the trees…ever again…I…I couldn’t even go back with

my siblings to where I used to live…I…I just couldn’t get myself to climb up it…so…so I had to

leave…leave my family…leave my friends…because I couldn’t bring myself to go back up…”

Tiffany replied. She let out a big sigh before looking back over at Aurora. “…Aurora…I don’t

want you to do the same thing I did…go through the rest of your days suffering…being afraid

of doing something…because at the end…it just rips your heart apart…”


Aurora wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded her head slowly.


“…ok Tiffany…I…I’ll try…ok…” she said softly.





Aurora’s eyes opened up slowly. She just realized she was dreaming, dreaming up her

memories of her lost life that she used to have. Instead of waking up in a warm bed with a

friend, she was alone in the dark cavern she was washed away in. Her body was still in great

pain, aching from ramming into so many obstacles that were in her way while being washed

down the cavern, bust she knew that she had to move and try to find a way out of the dark

cave. She began to try to hoist herself up, grabbing onto the crevasses on the walls to pull

her weak body up. Her muscles strained to lift herself up, but she managed to get fully

upright. She wobbled a bit, but she stabilized her balance, holding onto the wall to make sure

she didn’t fall over. She began to look around he cave, using her green eye to make the

darkness go away from her vision. She saw two paths branching from the chamber she was

in…one that was leading downwards, deeper into the cave, and another that was leading up,

but it was higher up with a steep drop to where Aurora was.


“...that…must be where…where I came from…” Arora though t herself, slowly and

painfully slithering over to it. She looked up, seeing that the cliff wasn’t too high.


“…maybe I can…climb…back up…” she whispered. She grabbed hold of some crevasses

and began to try to pull herself up. Her muscles strained as she slowly climbed up the steep

ledge, letting out short yelps of pain when her aches acted up. She felt the strain getting

greater and greater as she slowly got higher, and soon, her strength gave away and she fell

back, landing right on her back. She cried out in pain as she lied on her back, trying to flip

herself over so she could hoist herself up. She moved slowly and painfully, but managed to

get back upright, holding her arm against her bruised shoulder, somewhat hunched over.


“…I…I…I don’t have the strength to…to get back up there…” she said to herself as she

looked back up at the ledge. “…and…I…I doubt I can…even dig my way out…th…there has to

be another way out of here…”