Egg

Malik could not stop himself from running. What little reserve he had mustered from his inner depths vanished. There was no bravery left for him to tap into. So, he ran, candle bobbing in front of him. The light it provided barely had any use at all. He ran with no direction or thought. He had to get out of the cave and that was all his mind was set to do. 

When he reached the edge of the clear path, he ran on his tiptoes, trying to land in only open areas. He stumbled twice, almost impaling himself on the upward spikes. He did not stop to check if Mollie and Khris had followed him. If they had, he would be happy to see them on the outside of the cave. If they had stayed to fight the creature over an egg, then there was nothing he could do to save them from their own stupidity. 

Malik heard the roar again. He had no way of knowing where it came from and the echoes of the cave made it difficult to judge distance. He just focused on running away. If he could just get to the outside of the cave, with the sunlight, he knew everything would be fine. 

He stumbled again, and behind him he heard a grunt. He paused, knowing the noise had come from Mollie. He cursed himself for his stupid sense of empathy. He should have just continued to run, but he righted himself with the help of a jutting rock and turned to see Khris helping Mollie to her feet. 

“We have to keep going,” Malik said, as if anyone planned on having a picnic with the creature behind them. 

“You just run, don’t worry about us,” Khris said with sarcasm. 

Malik opened his mouth to argue and tell Khris that he had stopped to see if Mollie had been alright, but Mollie spoke first. “We can argue if we make it out of here alive.” 

Malik focused on her for a moment, seeing that she still carried the egg in the crook of her arm. He wished she would drop it. Maybe that had a slight chance to save them. He did not argue with her though. He knew from experience he would not win, and it would only take up precious time. 

He turned back toward the cave entrance and started off again, as quickly as the crowded path would allow him. From time to time, Malik glanced over his shoulder to see if the other two followed. Each time he saw the determined eyes of Mollie and the look of hope on Khris’ face. He thought they were both pushing forward for dramatically different reasons, but they were both pushing forward. 

Malik heard the roar three more times before he finally saw the light to the entrance of the chamber. He did not slow with the prospect of escape so close to him. With only minor scrapes, bruises, and sore calves, Malik pushed through the small crevice in the ravine wall. When he felt the warmth of the sun on his skin, he thanked every Saint he could remember and fell to the ground, taking big gulps of air. 

Mollie was the second to exit the cave, egg still in tow. Khris pushed himself out last, dropping to the ground beside Malik. Only Mollie stayed on her feet, looking at the crack in the wall. 

“I think we should keep going,” she said, panic finally coating her voice. 

“Now that we are free from the cave you are ready to be scared?” Malik threw the words at her like ice. 

She did not take the time to reprimand him. “Let’s just at least get to the trees,” she said, starting off toward them. 

Khris pushed himself to one knee and was ready to follow. Malik tried to force his body to listen to his commands, but he was tired, scared, and stressed. He did not see the problem of sitting here a moment longer. 

At least until he saw the claw poke from the crevice’s lip. That was enough to make his body listen. He was on his feet and racing for the trees in less than a breath. Khris fell off behind him and he pulled even with a running Mollie. She trailed back behind him, clearly laboring under the added weight she had carried throughout the cave. Malik hated himself for this and if he would have thought further, he would have just thrown the egg away, but he reached out grabbing it and tucked it into his chest. Mollie looked relieved. Malik felt the actual weight of the egg and knew that the creature took up every inch. 

Without the extra weight, Mollie got to the trees shortly before Malik, followed by Khris. She instantly turned to Malik, taking the egg from his hands. Malik wondered if she could tell he thought about tossing it back to the beast. 

Malik turned toward the clearing, wondering how close the beast had come. It was standing in the middle of the clearing, roaring toward the trees, but not coming any closer. Its claws dug into the earth, ripping up large divots, tossing the dirt through the air in their direction. Nothing came even close to hitting them. Malik was not sure how long they sat there watching the creature, but finally Mollie put her hand on his shoulder. 

“Let’s get out of this ravine,” she said. 

Malik agreed with her. There was no use standing here, waiting for the creature to gather up its nerve to attack them even in the fruit trees. 

Khris guided them back to the stairway that led to the top of the ravine. It was much harder going up than it was going down. It did not help Malik’s body was sore from head to toe. Malik was not out of shape and he was used to walking, even through terrain, but he was not used to climbing, cave exploring, and running for his life. All of that combined had a way of wearing a person down. 

At the top of the ravine, Malik paused to take one more glance back toward the valley. There, still in the clearing, was the monster staring up at them. He could not see its face from this distance, but he imagined it grimaced with anger. 

Mollie moved off the ledge a little and then took a seat under a small tree. She was clearly breathing just as heavy as Malik was. Khris fared no better. All of them took a seat, saying nothing for several minutes. 

Malik could not grasp a thought to express to the others. He had a lot to say but did not know how to say any of it without sounding like a whining child, or a scared fool. So, he stayed quiet, waiting for his nerves to calm. 

It was Khris who, after several more minutes, broke the silence between them. “Can I see the egg?” 

Mollie had been running her fingers over the shell since they had sat down. Malik could not tell exactly what she thought, but the egg fascinated her. She looked up at Khris with questioning eyes. 

“I don’t know if we can show this to your village,” she answered the unspoken question. 

Khris let his hands drop back into his lap. “If they could just see the egg, then they would believe me. They would not call me crazy or think I was making things up anymore,” he said. 

Mollie chewed on her bottom lip. “I just don’t think they would give it back if they saw it. They would want it and I can’t let them have it.” 

Malik saw in her the mother hen again. She caressed the egg as if it were a child she had reared. 

“Is the creature even still alive?” Malik asked, pointing toward the unmoving claw at the top of the egg. 

It looked as though the creature had cracked the egg, but something had stopped it mid-hatch. Malik figured it may have died before completing the process. 

Mollie looked down at the claw, not moving her hands away from the sides. 

“I can feel it moving the rest of its body in there,” she said. “Its legs are kicking, and the egg is warm.” 

Malik felt uncomfortable knowing that the creature still tried to work its way out. Khris looked greedily toward Mollie. Malik wondered if he would try to force his hand with the egg. The sword on Mollie’s back would probably go a long way in deterring him. 

“What are we going to do with it?” Malik asked. 

He wanted the answer to be ‘chuck it away, far away.’ He had no delusions Mollie had carried it this far to do that though. 

Mollie was silent, while her eyes roamed over every inch of the egg. 

“Khris said there was a man who would know where the Crystal Dragon was.” Mollie turned to Khris. 

Khris snapped out of wherever his mind had taken him. “That is what the book says.”

“Good, that means he should be able to tell us more about these creatures. I think if he sees we have one, then he will be more apt to listen to us.” 

“You really sent us into a cave just to get evidence for an old man we don’t even know exists?” Malik ran low on stability. He felt like he teetered on the edge. There was something completely wrong with what had happened the last few days, even longer if events were thrown back to the day he met Mollie. 

“We were lucky enough to find this egg.” Mollie was back to caressing the shell. 

“Lucky? We almost died. All we got was this stupid egg, this was completely pointless, and we risked our lives for it,” Malik yelled. He did not know when he had started yelling, but once he started it was hard to stop. “Not to mention we have a friend out there with Sweet Tongue and who knows who else from the Tempre Warriors. He could be dead, dying, or being tortured and we are sitting here cave exploring with a village boy.” Malik took a deep breath. 

“Are you done?” Mollie asked, calmly. 

Malik had nothing else to say. “No, I am not done,” he said but added nothing. 

Mollie let the silence hang for a few more tense moments. “Well then,” she started. “If you have it all out of you, then you can listen to the process I thought of. We cannot beat Sweet Tongue, the mercenaries, and whatever other Tempre Warriors show up without some help. We have nothing to offer anyone for help. You remember how well that turned out for us the last time in the Green Markets?” 

Malik did not feel like answering. He knew all of this. It still did not warrant running blindly into a dark, monster filled cavern. 

“This time we have an egg to offer as proof. Anyone who does not listen to us can see the egg and they will know we are not telling a lie.” 

Khris jumped at his opportunity. “Starting with my village?” 

Mollie grimaced. Malik could tell she would not let Khris take the egg to his friends and family. 

“That is a little different, Khris,” Mollie said. She sounded sorry. 

“How is this different?” Khris asked, desperation painted across his face. 

Mollie sighed. “Your family, your friends, the others in your village are not soldiers or warriors.”

Khris looked dejected. “They can still help,” he said, but did not sound confident they would help. 

“If they are smart, they would not even want to see the egg. This thing will be more trouble that it is worth,” Malik said. 

He meant every word of the statement. He felt the egg would bring them all kinds of bad omens. Starting with the mother monster who would want her baby back. 

“It will help us, Malik, I feel that something about this egg will be the key to getting Abrie back and killing the Tempre Warriors who hurt our families.” Mollie sounded like she believed every word of her own statement. 

Malik wanted to believe with her. He wanted to believe deep down that they had some chance, but he had seen Sweet Tongue’s mercenary friends. He knew Sweet Tongue had more friends in the Tempre Warriors. 

“Your plan is to kill the Tempre then?” Khris asked. 

Malik hated hearing those words out of other people’s mouths. They reminded him how reckless and futile the mission sounded. Malik imagined Abrie had seen this exact image every time Malik had mentioned killing the Tempre. He had seen a young boy, with no experience talking of killing an elite group of mercenaries. 

Malik laughed, now he could understand all the teaching Abrie tried to give to him. 

“Is that not what you said?” Khris asked, thinking Malik was laughed at his expense. 

Malik continued to laugh but held up his hand to stop Khris from furthering the question. “It is what we had said. However, when you say it, I realize now how funny that sounds.” 

Malik looked to Mollie, who did not share in his reverie. 

“Do you really think we can defeat any of the Tempre?” Malik asked her. 

Mollie looked down from his eyes, back to the egg on her lap. “I believe we can with the assistance of this egg. We will talk to the old man, gather his knowledge, and then use the egg to gather people to our cause. It will work. This was a lucky day.” 

Malik stopped laughing. Mollie really believed in the plan she had formulated in her mind. For some reason, Malik latched on to the belief. 

“If we will die anyhow, we may as well die trying to do what is best,” Malik said. 

“Khris can you guide us back into the village. We will gather the mules and be on our way,” Malik said. 

Khris had been listening to them, but Malik noticed that his full attention was elsewhere. “Sorry,” Khris said, coming back to reality. 

“Just to the village, if you would,” Malik reiterated. 

Khris nodded his head. “Sure, then we can get the book before you go.” 

Malik nodded his head. “Yeah, that would be great.” 

Malik got to his feet, turning to reach out to help Mollie, but Mollie’s eyes widened and downcast toward the egg. 

Malik slid his eyes down her to the black egg in her lap. His eyes too fell wide. The egg cracked all along the white circle on the top. The claw, that had been dormant, moved across the cracks. The claw’s tapping made a small clicking should on the shell followed by several snapping sounds. 

“Is it hatching?” Khris sounded nervous now, too. 

“I think it is,” Mollie said. Mollie’s eyes were huge, but unlike Khris and Malik, she looked like she was expecting something grand. 

“Do you think you should hold it? Malik asked. 

He knew what he thought the answer was. They should leave the creature right there under the tree and make a beeline back for the village. If they gathered their mules quickly, they could be out of the village before nightfall was on them. Then they could travel far as they could, getting away from that mother monster and her child. 

Mollie was not so eager to follow through with his plan. 

“Oddly, I am not afraid of this baby creature,” she said. 

Malik thought the word oddly was very appropriate here. Nothing about this was normal. 

“Are you sure we can’t just dump it and run,” Malik urged. “What will we even do with it once it hatches? What if it tries to eat us?” Malik did not notice it, but he had been pacing while he threw the questions at Mollie. 

Mollie had not noticed it either, because her eyes, like Khris’ glued to the hatching egg. 

The claw turned into two claws, each longer than Malik’s fingers. Mollie reached down pulling at the shell near the holes, her hands came back slimy from the goop on the inside of the egg. She lifted the egg, placing it on the ground, but still hovering over it. Another claw protruded from the hole Mollie’s fingers had made. 

She reached down, pulling more of the shell away in a large chunk. The membrane of the egg pulled away in long oozing strings. 

“That is disgusting,” Malik said. 

Mollie did not hear him or ignored him. She pulled more of the egg away with her bare hands. The entire arm of the creature shot through the new opening. It was long and black. Across its claws were the white stripes prevalent on the older monsters. Mollie pulled another chunk away; a bigger one this time and Malik could see down into the egg from his vantage point. His stomach roiled at the thought of this creature pouncing from the egg and latching onto Mollie’s face for a food source. 

The creature’s actual body was no bigger than a common house cat, but its two legs were spindly, and as long as Malik’s forearm. Its head tilted, tracing the goo across its eyes, which popped open showing stark white pupils, surrounded by black. Mollie reached her hands into the egg, touching the creature in a reassuring manner. 

“You do realize this thing will try to kill us,” Malik reminded her. 

Malik turned to Khris for some back up, but the process had stunned Khris into silence. 

“I don’t think it will hurt us,” Mollie said. 

“Oh yeah? What gave you that impression? The other three times we met one they were not exactly huggable,” Malik said, trying to jog Mollie’s memory. 

“This one is just a baby still,” Mollie said, as if that made all the difference in the world. 

“A baby will still want to eat, and we are still an excellent source of food,” Malik argued. 

Mollie wrapped her hands around the creature’s body and lifted it gently from the rest of the shell. She placed it on the ground beside her. The creature did not bite or attack Mollie. It was busy using its black tongue to lick the rest of the membrane from its body. 

“What does it feel like?” Khris finally broke his silence to ask. 

Mollie glanced up at him. “Almost like the hide of a horse.” 

Khris moved toward Mollie and the creature. The creature was still not paying attention to anyone nearby. Malik decided he would keep his distance. If the creature attacked both Khris and Mollie, maybe he could still provide assistance. Malik looked around for a sharp rock or a heavy stick to fend it off with when things turned for the worse. He found neither of them. He would just have to use his hands and hope the creature was weak from birth. 

“Can I touch it?” Khris bent next to Mollie now. 

Mollie looked at the creature and then at Khris. “Gently.” 

Malik felt like she talked about a dog and not a man-eating beast. 

Khris reached out tentatively; when his fingers met the little monster, the creature stopped its incessant licking and looked up. 

Malik noted that its eyes were huge, much too big for its face. If Malik did not know what it would grow up to look like and that it would eat him, he may have even believed it to be a cute creature. 

“It feels exactly like a horse,” Khris confirmed. 

The creature used its long arms, topped off with long-clawed fingers to push itself to its feet. Standing tall, it was nearly as high as Malik’s knee. Its arms hung down to its feet, and the claws scraped the ground. Power, speed, or accuracy would not be a companion of the creature at this stage in life. The beast walked two steps and fell into Mollie’s outstretched arms. It latched onto Mollie’s forearm with its hands, holding on for dear life. Mollie picked it up and stood to her own feet. The creature nuzzled into the nook of her arm and closed its eyes. 

“I don’t think it wants to hurt us,” Mollie said. 

“It will when he gets older,” Malik replied. 

Mollie shook her head, “I don’t know about that.” 

“What are we going to do with a miniature monster attached to your arm?” Malik asked. “There is not a real big chance of hiding that or talking it away.” 

Mollie looked back down at the creature. “Well then I guess there is a change of plans. We will use this creature to gather people to help us. If they can see the creature maybe they will listen to us.” 

Mollie turned to Khris, “I guess we can see how your village reacts first.” 

Khris’ eyes lit up like he was just given the world on a silver platter. 

“Let’s go,” he said, urging Mollie forward with a hand on her shoulder. 

Mollie did not give protest and followed along with Khris. Malik looked at the shambles of the egg on the ground and then to Mollie and Khris. He gave a last sigh, resigned himself, and took off after them.