The two flanking guards jabbed spear tips at him, menacing him. The third reached into his sack and produced a snake coiled around the lizard man’s arm. It licked the air, tasting it, searching.
Peter knew this wasn’t good, whatever it was for. The lizard man extended its arm towards Peter, and the snake stretched in his direction, its eyes glinting red in the crystalline light, flicking its tongue in and out of its mouth.
Peter wondered if it was a test. He decided not to flinch. His only option, flanked by sharp spear tips, was to remain still and calm. The snake hovered its face in front of Peter’s, touching Peter’s nose with its tongue, drinking in his barely concealed fear. Faster than Peter’s mind could process, the snake lunged at his face and sank its fangs into his left cheek.
Peter instinctively grabbed the snake with both hands, but the toxin worked fast. His vision quickly blurred and his head swam. His muscles went limp, and he dropped to the floor, his head hitting the stone hard. Yet, he felt no pain.
The serpent handler placed the snake back into the bag and left the cell. The other two picked Peter up and followed the third, dragging Peter’s legs across the hard ground. Peter was helpless as they dragged him out of the dungeon block. He felt nothing, which led him to believe that he had been anesthetized.
They brought him to another cold, dark room and lay him on a stone slab. It looked to Peter like an altar, and his mind raced with terrible notions of sacrifice. He lay face-up as the guards backed away. Another lizard man stepped forward, palming a small blue orb. Peter felt this being enter his mind, only this time there was no communication, no wordless voice.
Rather, this time it felt as if this creature was accessing his thoughts, more specifically his memories. Peter tried to resist, but he had no access to his muscles for fight or flight. He tried to control his thoughts, directing this lizard being away from anything sensitive, but to no avail. He felt it access his thoughts about the orbs that resided in his chest, his intentions regarding the lizard man race, as well as his feelings for the Umazoa, Mary, and even Tracey. He felt the creature probe his deepest secrets, specifically the plan to evacuate the Umazoan village should he not return. The reptilian inquisitor then toggled through more memories and impressions, settling on Peter’s memory of the vision of the ape race. The reptile probed deeper. To Peter, it felt as if someone was scraping around the inside of his skull with a sharp implement.
At last, the reptilian inquisitor released Peter’s mind. It motioned to the guards to take him away. Peter knew he’d served his purpose, whatever it was, and he wasn’t going to like whatever came next. He immediately pondered his two possibilities. He could tap into the death orb and wipe all those out around him, but then he’d be left lying on the ground, paralyzed while more would surely come and kill him where he lay helpless. His other option was to heal himself quietly so when he took further action, he’d be strong enough to run.
He decided to heal himself, tapping his life orb within his chest. Unfortunately, it caused his chest to illuminate more. Worse yet, it pulsated as he healed, but he hadn’t any other options.
He was dragged quite a distance through tunnels and eventually laid to rest on a crude raft made of long branches lashed together. Other lizard beings emerged all around him. Some appeared to be females, as apparent by their curvier appearances and the shape of breasts underneath their crude tunics.
As Peter pondered the perplexing juxtaposition of mammalian traits in the reptilian creatures, they arranged skulls and bones around him on the raft. The more he focused on what they were doing, the more his healing suffered from interruption, as the ability required intense concentration.
He decided to close his eyes and block out everything going on around him. He used all of his focus to expel the snake toxin from his body. His chest grew in warmth as he reached deep, tapping the power of the life orb. He felt his body’s cells metabolize the toxin, gradually restoring agency over his own muscles.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes, he was blinded by sunlight. He felt every muscle of his body once again, and he felt the island breeze on his skin. He felt sweat trickle down his right temple, and he heard the burbling of running water. As he squinted and his eyes adjusted to sunlight, he processed the scene enfolding around him.
The thinking lizard from before loomed above him in some ceremonial garment, hands extended out, and it was making strange throaty sounds. Others stood around it, watching the thinking lizard. Peter wanted to lift his head to see what was at his feet, but to do so would have been to reveal his restoration.
Instead, he closed his eyes once more, this time tapping into the death orb inside his chest. He hadn’t wanted to consider using this power, but he now felt as if he had no choice. If he didn’t kill them, they’d kill him. At least he was outside, where he could make a break for it before reinforcements arrived.
It was his first time attempting to tap into this dark energy, so he was uncertain of how to proceed. He reached out and sensed their lifeforces. Their heartbeats, slower than those of humans,
