The monster seemed to have picked up a faint scent of something around Jacob. The group of them slowly stomped over towards him, sniffing the air above where he laid. A low growl escaped from its jaws. It brought its snout closer and closer to where Jacob’s face was hidden behind snow. Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to fight or run away, but he decided to trust Slimo and stay as still as he could.

Suddenly, a loud bang rang somewhere deeper in the mountains. All three creatures poked their head up in the direction it came from. After a few howls, they zipped away, travelling further into the mountain range.

No one dared to move a muscle until Slimo gave the signal to tell them it was safe.

"It should be all clear now. Let’s hurry up and get the hell out of here."

Jacob slowly sat up and spit out the snow in his mouth that was almost completely melted. He breathed heavily for a few moments trying to reorient himself with his surroundings. It looked like the only reason he wasn’t mauled to shreds was out of pure luck.

"What the hell were those things?"

Slimo looked over at Jacob.

"There’s not really a name for creatures like those."

"Why?"

"Because with monsters like that, no one survives to be able to name them."

Lidia sat up and patted the snow off her clothes.

"Why did you make us put the snow in our mouth? That tasted awful."

"When you exhale in the cold, steam leaves your mouth, revealing where you are through scent or sight. If you put snow in your mouth, it helps keep everything suppressed enough to prevent that."

Maria walked over to Doc and helped him up.

"I think we should leave. There’s no telling when those things will be back."

"Maria’s right. We should pick up our pace a bit. I’m sure you are all aware by now, but those snow beasts are not the only monsters that may be living here."

Jacob didn’t show it, but the altercation he just witnessed was shaking him to his core. Those snow creatures could have easily tore through this entire group, even with Slimo as their guide. What if something they didn’t know how to avoid decided to attack them? Would they be so lucky? What kinds of horrors were waiting beyond this vast mountain range for them to face?

Maria noticed something was wrong with Jacob and walked over to him. She grabbed his face and lightly kissed his cheek. This seemed to bring some sense back into him. He looked at her with surprise.

"I’m glad you are okay, but we don’t have time to be freaked out. Let’s hop in the cart, okay?"

Jacob nodded his head.

"Okay."

All of them hopped in the cart once more with Lidia and Slimo getting into their positions at the front. Instead of the normal walk they were doing, both Lidia and Slimo increased their pace to a light jog. Because of this, the cart was a bit bumpier during their travel.

They seemed to travel for miles before running into a different area. Instead of snow, the ground was a rocky surface with large ridges that reached into the sky for miles. They all seemed to curve inward as they got closer to touching the clouds. Slimo seemed to be on edge entering the area.

"Something isn’t right."

Lidia looked over at him with curiosity.

"What is it?"

"Why isn’t this are covered with snow? And is it just me, or are any of you getting hot?"

Slimo was right. It was getting hotter... much hotter. They all stopped and took off the thick wool clothes they were wearing. He looked around the area suspiciously, but there was nothing to be seen except the vast expanse of rock.

"Are you familiar with this area? Is it normally this hot?"

"It’s been years, but it wasn’t this hot last time I came here. I only remember going through a vast landscape of snow."

Far ahead of them, there was small crack in one of the large ridges of rock. There was a faint glow emanating from the inside of it. The group walked towards it to investigate the strange light. They let the cart come to a rest before studying the crevice. What Slimo saw made him want to pass out.

Inside the ridge was molten lava flowing downward into the ground.

"What? How is this possible? Are we standing on a volcano?"

Lidia looked in the crack and saw the same warm glow.

"What’s a volcano?"

Slimo grabbed her hand and rushed her back to the cart.

"Nothing we want to be nearby if this area is unstable. It seems the geothermal activity underneath this mountain grew in recent years."

Lidia blushed when Slimo grabbed her hand and let him guide her back towards the cart.

A low rumble sounded underneath them. Beads of sweat started falling down Slimo’s face.

"We have to get out of here! I don’t like the feeling of this!"

Just then, the ground seemed to come alive. Another massive rumble echoed right below everyone. Slimo didn’t have time to communicate the urgency of the situation and threw Lidia in the cart. Lidia was utterly shocked to be thrown so easily and tried to sit back up in the cart.

"Ow. What was that for?!"

Slimo didn’t respond. He got under the arms of the cart and dashed forward with all his might. The cart accelerated so fast that everyone was thrown towards the back of the cart into their large pile of food. The wind pounded their faces as they raced down the stone surface, when suddenly...

BOOM!

The area they were just in was completely eaten whole by a giant worm-like creature. It’s size and scale were incalculable. Jacob felt like it could swallow the entire top of a mountain whole if it so wished. A deafening roar came from its maw as it breached the surface. Its skin seemed to be dark black and festering like it contained a strange disease.

Everyone got chills down their spine watching it fly though the air and tunnel itself back underground when it hit the surface from where it came. Magma seemed to shoot out from the holes it left behind.

"This can’t be real. This can’t be really happening. What is our luck? First a gang of monsters, and now a leviathan?"

Slimo ran with all his might, towing the cart close behind him. Suddenly, another rumble echoed under them. Slimo looked back at everyone on the cart.

"We have to ditch the cart! I think it can sense the vibrations coming from it!"

"What?! How are we supposed to escape?!"

"Everyone, grab hold of somebody!"

Lidia grabbed on to Maria while Jacob grabbed on to Doc. Slimo let go of the handles on the cart and jumped back to meet the group. He grabbed Jacob and Doc while leaning forward.

"Lidia, we need to jump as far as we possibly can. Can you do that?"

"Give me a slap in the face first."

"What?! Why would I-"

"Just do it! Quickly!"

Slimo slapped Lidia hard across the face, denting it inward slightly.

"Much better."

Lidia’s legs started to glow a dark orange while she bent her knees forward. Slimo locked arms with her.

"Jump!"

The two of them pushed off the cart with all their might and soared through the air. As soon as they left the cart, the leviathan broke through the ground once more, completely tearing it to pieces. All of their food rations, as well as their cooking pot, were completely wiped out in an instant.

They all flew through the sky at insane speeds, flying as far away from the stone slopes as possible. After around three minutes of flight time, they slowly started their descent back towards the ground. As they fell, Lidia started to panic.

"That was a great plan to escape, Slimo. Now how exactly do we land?!"

Slimo seemed to panic as well.

"I never thought that far ahead!"

"Shit."

They all started barreling down towards the earth. The wind was flying through their hair, making it a mess. Jacob had a crazy idea, but it would be testing the limits of his power beyond anything he’s tried before. Lidia held on to Maria tight, preparing to brace for the impact. Slimo held on to Doc and tried pulling Jacob closer. However, Jacob stared at the approaching ground ahead of them, where there were random trees sprouted across the land.

’This is crazy. I think I’ve lost it.’

He held out his hands in front of one of the trees and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"CATCH US!!"

Almost immediately, there seemed to be a reaction within the tree. Its roots shot through the earth and zipped towards the group. As it reached them, it seemed to wrap itself around all of them and push against their fall. Right before hitting the ground, they miraculously came to a stop. Slimo’s head was inches above the ground, sweating profusely.

The group had successfully escaped from the mountains.