Brion's running speed left much to be desired. He wasn't an athlete but now he really wished he was. The trees were also not "helping" that much. They slowed him down as he had to run around them and although he had hoped they would slow down the snake that was on his tail, the giant thing just ploughed through them like it was moving through a field of tall grass.
'I could try and reason with it but I'm not sure it speaks human or any other language that I would know. Maybe speaking snake would work. Doesn't hurt to try it.I'll probably sound dumb as hell'
Brian turned around suddenly and stood his ground. The giant snake stopped as if wondering why its preying wasn't running like it ought to.
"Sss sss sss. Please don't eat me. I'm not sure I would make a good snack."
Brion offered a translation of what he thought he was saying just in case the snake could hear human or wasn't demon language. The snake lifted its head like it was listening.
'It's actually working.'
As Brion was about to repeat the same sequence of hisses the snake lunged at him with more force than it had used in the past.
'With my luck I probably insulted his whole bloodline'
The essence in Brion's hybrid soulcore flowed to his feet for a split second giving him a huge boost in strength. Brion used this strength to jump as far back as he could. Brion, astonished by the amount of force he had used to jump, couldn't quite place what he had done as his instinct had taken control of him.
Before Brion could start figuring how he would land back on the ground comfortably, he crashed into a tree trunk that was in his flight path. Brion felt a sharp pain tear through his head. Then fell back down to the ground. He felt a metallic taste in his mouth as blood slowly accumulated in it. Warm liquid trickled down his neck as it flowed from the back of his head. It took Brion quite a bit effort to stand up as he searched for his pursuer. The giant snake was moving towards him quickly. It would only take it about ten seconds before it would reach him and he would be consumed.
Brion had to find a way to hide or get away from this creature. Brion was very close to unconsciousness, the black patches in his vision and increasing heaviness of his head was a sure confirmation of this. He was also gradually getting more sluggish and the fact that his head was still bleeding added the cherry on top to his grave situation.
"I can't die like this. I've only lived for one day in this world and I'm not about to have some overgrown snake eat me."
He moved his head painfully in search of a place he could hide. Time was not on his side and the snake was almost upon him. At last he found a safe haven, somewhere he could hide. He summoned all his strength and ran with all his might towards a tree larger than most. Halfway up the trunk was a hole like that of a squirrel but much much larger. Luckily for him the hole seemed abandoned.
Brion reached the base of the tree and summoned his strength in order to make one last attempt to save his life. Essence trickled to his feet and with unnatural force he leapt into the air. The snake's head hit the trunk a few feet under him. It then started colling around the trunk as it chased after him.
Brion was fast approaching the hole but with the speed he was moving at he would surely miss it. Brion, in a bid to reduce his speed, placed his palms on the trunk. His arms burned due to the friction and numerous splinters that had entered his arm. It was painful but not life threatening and that's what mattered at the moment.
A second later Brion reached the opening of the hole. The only reason he didn't whiz past it was because he placed his hands on the upper part of the hole painfully stopping his ascent. He then pulled himself into the hole where he fell on the wood with a dull thud. The snake tried to get to him through the hole but was held back by a large to fit.
As Brion was about to utter words of spite his vision started to grow darker. His adrenalin had started to wear off and his concussion combined with the loss of blood, finally started to get the better of him. For the second time Brian again fell into unconsciousness.