Ball of Nothing - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The shellfish was resilient, I must admit .
The awful sound has been going on for a long time now but the shellfish didn't give in . The shell remained tightly shut and I wondered how long the attacker would persist . Would the mysterious enemy continue his barrage when the water comes in?
The answer was clear . The attacker paused in his strange onslaught and for a moment I enjoyed peace . However, the shellfish wasn't as lucky . Not long after the sound ended, I felt a familiar feeling . It was similar to the feeling of falling with the space rock but instead of travelling downwards at an insane speed, we were going upwards slowly .
From within the shell I heard another sound from outside . It was a dull sound that sent powerful jolts of movements as we went upwards . It was faster after the sound and when it slowed, the sound would return once more . Sometimes it swerved to the sides before returning upright . I actually found this feeling enjoyable . If only I could take a peek at what was happening outside . . .
***
We finally landed . I don't know where we are but surely the shellfish must be panicking by now . We don't seem to be near sea any longer as I can no longer hear the sound of water . The attacker walked around a lot and seemed restless . However there were no more direct attacks on the tough outer shell . Was it trying to wait it out? My respect for the unknown creature increased . It certainly was smart .
On the other hand, I continued to absorb the shellfish and all the water inside . Once it runs out of water, it wouldn't be long before it has to open again . At that time, I would take the chance to make my escape by clinging onto the attacker .
***
The opportunity came sooner than I expected . Slowly as the shellfish opened, I squinted to try and catch a glimpse of the mysterious hunter without avail . However, I did notice that it was already night . Also, there was a strange smell . Yes, I could smell it even without a physical form . That was how much I've advanced by absorbing part of the shellfish .
It's not something I was familiar with . The background sounds became much clearer once the shellfish opened . It was rather peaceful sounding and I liked it . We remained like this for a while, I absorbed whatever I could (which mainly was the shellfish) and tried to spot the attacker .
Occassionally there was wind and from what I gathered, we were probably up in a high place because I could hear things move from below us . It was the first time I saw so much going on during the night . The shellfish wasn't all that impressed unfortunately . It continued to squirm pitifully in its shell from the lack of water . It only eased its struggling when the mist appeared . At that time, I was happily absorbing the mist that passed by . It felt similar to water but it was much less tiring to take in .
Sunrise came and as the sun rose higher and higher, the mist became thinner and thinner till it disappeared completely . By now the sounds had completely changed . From something peaceful, it turned into something chaotic . However, to me it was still beautiful .
What I didn't expect was for the shellfish to be attacked on a splendid day . The attacker came so swiftly, the shellfish didn't have time to react . Before we knew it, the attacker's very sharp beak was already inside the shell, so close to stabbing the tender insides of my host . The shell was slammed shut but the intruder's beak was tough . Not even the shellfish's full strenth could break it or make it retreat . They were stuck at a stalemate .
However I was happy . With both the shellfish and mysterious bird creature within my reach, I started absorbing . Since the bird was bigger than the shellfish and my host was dying without water, I decided to start off by absorbing the bird .
Previously, whatever I could absorb was small enough and I easily absorbed them whole . The water and shellfish were the only ones I didn't manage to absorb in one go . However, once I touched the beak of the bird, a thought came to me . What will happen if I absorbed the part in contact with the shell and the bird escapes? That won't do .
So the genius in me decided to try absorbing the whole bird in one go . It was by no means easy but I had the confidence to go through with it .
With a big inhale and lots of willpower, I sucked the bird in as much as I could, stretching my reach to the point of breaking . To my surprise, I could reach a lot further and even three times the size of the shellfish . The more I absorbed the further I could extend the range .
However, the downside was how I became more tired as I absorbed . Fighting against fatigue for the first time, I resolved to completely devour the bird and rest in the shellfish's protection afterwards . What I failed to calculate for was for the bird to screech in pain and eventually overcome the shellfish's power .
Once it broke the shell, it was free to pick at the tender insides of the shellfish . As I was a package deal with my host, I too disappeared into the bird's beak and left the daylight behind me .
Oh dear .