The snake opened its mouth slightly, hissing and coiling to strike, when a pair of hands gripped both parts of its open jaw and started forcing them apart.
Gregor had been waiting for this moment. He had hung onto one of the snakes teeth so as not to be swallowed, biding his time until the snake next opened its mouth. As soon as it did, he seized his opportunity, and began prying its mouth open. It was slow progress but Gregor could see buildings and pavement, he was home.
With renewed vigor, Gregor braced his hands against the roof of the snakes mouth and his feet against the base, and began pushing with all his might. The snake continued to try and hold him in, fury in its eyes at the preys defiance, the sound of its bones creaking against the strain.
*CRACK* The jaw snapped open, the lower jaw hanging limply, dislocated. Not expecting the floor to drop out from under him, Gregor fell to the ground, landing on his back. He looked up at the blue sky, not a cloud to be seen. He closed his eyes as he felt the sun on his face and smiled, ready to let the constant exhaustion from the past 3 years take him to a restful sleep.
"THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, GET THE FUCK UP!"
Gregor heard a shout and opened his eyes to see a massive paw coming down towards him. Shocked that his senses didn't pick it up, Gregor quickly rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the strike. He jumped to his feet and let out a quick flurry of hits on the chimera's paw, causing it to recoil in pain. The two stepped back from each other, eyeing the one another warily.
The chimera made the first move, but not to attack. The goat bleated aggressively, and the beasts in the area turned from their current targets and rushed towards Gregor. The military were stunned at this turn of evens, but then elated thinking they had routed the enemy. Cheers went up from the defense line until General Hunt's voice was heard over them.
"IF YOU HAVE TIME TO CHEER YOU HAVE TIME TO FIGHT, OR IS HE THE ONLY MAN HERE WITH SOME BALLS?!"
Hunt stood at over 8 feet tall, well above all of the defenders present. He pointed his maul forwards, where the assembled fighters saw a shaggy naked man fighting the flood. Most creatures were killed in one or two hits, and the larger creatures that couldn't were turned into massive bowling balls. The man seemed invincible at first, but it became clear very quickly that he would not be able to fight all the beasts alone.
General Hunt had hoped that the sight of one man taking on the flood alone would inspire the defenders, but only saw that in a few of his men. Sighing in disappointment, he stepped over the barricade.
"I know that I can't fight that monster," Hunt said, looking at the chimera, "But he can. So before we all die here today, I'm going to give him the opportunity to save us." He turned to glare at the rest of the defenders, "And anyone that doesn't join me better cut their throats or start running, because if we survive I'm coming for you next!"
The coldness in the General's voice sent chills down the spines of most present, as they began to step over the wall, starting with those that had been inspired by Gregor's battle. A few Powered and members of the military joined Hunt past the barricade, also adopting a glare for those still behind it. Once a dam breaks the flood begins, and most defenders gradually joined Hunt past the barricade. The few that remained looked at the ground in shame and anger, but said nothing as they started running the opposite direction. Hunt engraved their faces on his brain, he would be visiting them shortly, assuming they survived.
Hunt and his slimmed down defenders bean moving toward the crowd of beasts surrounding Gregor. They made quick work of the beast that had their backs to them, with only a few casualties by the time they reached the shaggy man. Hunt's men quickly formed a perimeter around him and Gregor while the latter punched the head off an imp.
Gregor looked at Hunt suspiciously. He recognized this man from 3 years ago but did not remember his name. Hunt spoke to him but Gregor ignored him. He looked past the defenders, to the open sky behind them. Freedom was so close he could taste it.
"Can you understand me?"
"What?"
"Oh, so you do speak English."
Gregor looked back at Hunt, who was visibly annoyed at being ignored, but suppressed it for the man that could save them.
"My men can deal with the rest of the creatures here, can you deal with the chimera?"
"Why should I?"
Gregor narrowed his eyes with his reply. 3 years without a single person coming through to rescue or look for him, Gregor had no love for the military or government at the moment. He felt no loyalty or duty to these people, he did not know them or owe them anything.
Hunt similarly narrowed his eyes at Gregor's response. He and his men had just saved Gregor from the flood and he wasn't even the least bit grateful. He would teach this man a lesson once the fight was over.
"If you don't kill that thing Hell Base 1 will be lost, and then we'll have another Gansu province on our hands, only this time it will be at home!" The general was shouting by the end of his sentence, walking right up to Gregor and staring him in the eye.
Gregor did not like this attitude. He had just escaped hell, only for some jackass to try and send him right back in for no reason. He had no idea what a Gansu was and had no desire to take on the chimera, which would still be dangerous even for his advanced body.
He reached up and grabbed Hunt by the collar. Hunt scoffed, thinking that the man was about to throw a tantrum like a child. But before he knew what was happening he was flying though the air, eventually crashing to the ground and tumbling head over foot into a large, warm mass. Hunt looked up to see a large, furry paw, attached to a furry leg, attached to a massive furry body with 3 heads. The goat bleated, the lion roared, while the snake hissed, its jaw mostly recovered at this point.
Hunt tried to stand but was frozen in fear. His mind screamed at him to grab his maul and fight but his body would not listen. Sitting on the ground he felt his body grow colder, as a purple light was cast over the area. A purple mass of energy was being channeled between the goats horns, radiating an intense heat. Finally shaken into action, hunt uneasily rose to his fit and readied his weapon. At the very least he would go down swinging.
He yelled and charge at the chimera, raising his maul high above his head. As he arrived in front of the beast, the true size of it dawned on him. The beast was over 50 feet tall, his maul would barely make a dent in it. Nevertheless, he stuck down with all his might, his maul whistling through the air. Hunt aimed for its nail, hoping to at least cause it some pain, but his face paled at the reverberation that ran up his arms upon contact. The bones in his hands and forearms shattered as he dropped his maul, crying out in pain.
He looked up and saw the three heads grinning at him. Or at least that's what the malice in their eyes suggested. The energy stopped channeling in front of the goat as it looked down at him. Suddenly, the goat's head snapped forward and the energy beam it had been forming shot straight into the back of the lions head. The lion roared briefly before its head disappeared, the beam continuing through several buildings in front of the chimera, turning what it touched to dust.
The chimera began to stumble around as if drunk, the sudden loss of 1/3 its brainpower clearly an issue. It fell listlessly to the side, the two remaining heads swinging around in confusion.
Hunt watched this happen, completely lost. He was a second away from being vaporized, and then the chimera was on the ground missing a head. He could hardly fathom what happened until he saw the same shaggy naked man from before standing in front of him.