“What’s this?” Nick moved his body, the hairy plants that Devada had brought had moved wildly around his burly body.
“Dad!” Devada tried to untangle it, but the entanglement seemed to tighten until Nick’s white skin turned blue. The girl took out a penknife from her jacket pocket. The sharp blade swung several times, but was unable to penetrate the mysterious plant. In fact, the sharp object was even broken into two parts.
“Damn it!” gushed Devada. Her blood began to heat up when Nick was no longer able to speak.
Devada looks for a way to untangle her father’s body. The stem of the plant is very difficult to paralyze. Even with her supernatural powers though. It really doesn’t make sense. Whereas, previously she could take it easily. The girl looked furiously at Nick’s face which was getting paler, then she noticed a hairy plant the size of a child’s arm. Reflexively, her hand touched the rough surface.
“Is it alive?” Her mind guessed. It was reinforced by something that made no sense. The winding stops and descends slowly. Curious, she touched it again and what happened was quite astonishing. The living plant fell to the ground and coiled like a snake.
“You are an animal in camouflage,” she said after finding two small spheres which she believed to be the sense of sight. Now, Devada’s eyes turned to Nick. The man’s burly body collapsed while coughing.
“Are you okay?” asked Devada after handing him a bottle of water and letting Nick gulp it down.
“I’m fine. Sorry to bother you!” Nick replied. The look on his face makes it clear that he doesn’t want Dev to feel guilty.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I was careless again.” There was a hint of regret behind her cold voice.
“No, Dev! You didn’t mean to!”
“I just realized that this forest is much more dangerous than I thought,” said Devada. She saw her father’s condition began to improve.
“It’s almost midnight. Come on, Dev!” Anger enveloped as Nick looked at his expensive watch. They ran away from the place with stronger introspection and instincts so that any traps could be bypassed.
Now, they had stepped on the lips of a boiling river. Through eye signals, they must enter the village. The bridge has been damaged and can no longer be used. Devada was forced to use her strength to be able to cross the river of death.
“Now, where are they now?” Nick looked around in all directions with an even expression. The girl just stared at the silence that was there. What Nick said was absolutely true. Where are they? Devada’s instincts could not be wrong. However, they had already checked every hut. As a result, they did not find Masma’s whereabouts.
“Wait!” said Devada at last. She stepped back into one of the huts around them, while Nick followed his daughter’s hasty pace. In the bamboo room, Devada re-observed every object carefully.
“Look, Dad! These incense sticks and candles are still burning.” Devada circled dozens of long sticks of candles and incense that looked like they had just been burned.
“Then?” Nick’s brow furrowed.
“That means, they’re here. All these fires couldn’t have started on their own, could they?”
“But the truth is they’re not here! You’re forgetting one thing, Dev.”
“What?” Devada asked curtly for an answer she wanted.
“They’re a stealth nation. It could all be done by the people of the interior.” Nick assumed.
“Did you see another group here?” Nick shook his head weakly. Suddenly, all this weighed on his head. That group of women with dragon tattoos was truly mysterious. If only Nick had explored Masma more clearly about their identity, regret wouldn’t have tormented him like this.
“Now, what to do?” asked Nick, starting to get frustrated. There was no response, but Devada’s face indicated that her brain had not stopped working. Her fingers touched the circle symbol on a black board surrounded by candles and incense. For a few seconds, misty anxiety filled the expanse with her face. The fruit and mint leaves that were in the container fell down due to the reflex movement.
“What is it?” The grown man there began to notice something unusual about Devada. However, the girl in the big t-shirt remained uneasy, then left the room without a word.
“Deva!” call Nick. He followed his daughter’s direction. The girl stopped at the side of the river with an unchanging expression.
“I heard it!” said Devada. Nick didn’t ask. He had his eardrums plugged in properly. In the few seconds that passed, Nick could hear what Devada had heard. A foreign sentence read over and over again by a group of women.
“That voice is coming from here!” Nick points to the greenish water that stretches out in front of him.
“Could they be in the hot water?” Devada wasn’t so sure. Her instincts and logic really collided.
“Could be, Dev! The river cools at night.” Devada’s eyebrows knit together. The girl hurriedly dipped her index finger. The cold sensation immediately wraps the skin. Nick’s words proved to be true. All of this is amplified by its quiet, non-vaporizing reflection. She was about to leave, but suddenly the reflection of her face floating on the water surface slowly turned into Masma’s very sad face.
“Nick!” Masma’s screams of pain jolted her heart. What happened? Slowly, Masma’s image disappeared, swept away by a fairly large bubble. The originally calm water rippled, then suddenly a snake head appeared and startled them. The head of the snake that sticks out as high as two meters sticks out its tongue. The movement of the large animal’s body made the turbulence of the water hit their bodies. The two humans froze with their mouths agape.
“What kind of goddamn creature is that?” Devada’s lips let out a soft curse.
“It’s even bigger than an anaconda and a titanoboa. Is it a Yacumama?” Nick wondered.
“Yacumama? What is it?” Devada asked back.
“The legendary snake that is famous in America. Ruler of the waters of this forest and will prey on anyone who is in front of the eyes,” explained Nick. The dark colored snake gave an intimidating roar with a terrible hiss. Slowly, they took a step back, then ran as fast as they could towards the settlement.
The settlement that became the catwalk of the giant snake was destroyed. Nick, who only relied on his natural strength as a human, began to stumble. In fact, it bounced a few times.
“Daddy!” Devada screamed as Nick’s body fell hard enough among the scattered wood. Nick groaned with a pale face. Without thinking, Devada took her father down the wooden steps of a hut and hoped the big snake didn’t find them. A small scream escaped from Nick’s mouth when Dev accidentally grabbed his hand.
“What do you feel?” Dev rolls up the sleeves of Nick’s jacket. She was surprised to find her father’s hand swollen with blue patches and bite marks.
“Gosh! You got snake venom and you just kept quiet?” The girl was both panicked and annoyed. She doesn’t know how to deal with snake bites. Armed with a brain and a sense of care, she rushed to suck Nick’s hand using her mouth.
“Stop it, Dev! What are you doing? This poison can enter your body!” Nick tried to push his daughter’s head away, but the cold girl persisted with her recklessness.
“Dev! Argh, stop it!” The moonlight suddenly dimmed. An unusual cold air instantly pierced the skin. Nick’s body stiffened. Something suddenly caught his sight.
“Masma,” she whispered then. One name that managed to stop Devada’s reckless actions. The sharp-eyed girl followed in the footsteps of her father’s eyes. Immediately, she felt a heartbeat that seemed to disappear.