In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall) novel Chapter 642

A reactionary creature like this was even more fearful when it sprang into action.

It’s going to get Tessa! I hastily picked up the branch I’d spotted earlier on the ground and jabbed its sharp side at the snake.

Thankfully, that single thrust pierced through the snake’s mid-section and successfully pinned it down.

Its head and tail, however, remained wriggling furiously.

Tessa was still recovering from her fright. Anger and shock coursed through her, forming a volatile mix of emotions.

She picked up the stone that Tabitha had flung away earlier, then brought it crashing firmly down on the snake’s head.

Its head thus maimed; the snake seemed to be caught in a daze. Without hesitation, Tessa vehemently crushed it with a few successive blows.

Blood splattered everywhere. Tessa only stopped, satisfied, when the snake had been utterly reduced to bits of mangled flesh.

The other girls looking on turned a sickly pale. Nora gulped, then quickly said, “Let’s go. It’s getting late, and we should get moving.”

As we slowly forged our way forward, we managed to pick quite a lot of mushrooms. The forested mountain was ancient and teeming with rich, bountiful wildlife.

Whenever we stumbled upon the occasional spring, we’d settle down to eat and drink. No matter what else happened to us, at least we knew we wouldn’t go hungry.

After half a day’s journey, we spotted a red fruit, resembling an apple, growing on a tree a few steps ahead.

“Are those apples?” Nora panted. The near-constant rate of trekking had left her face flushed and dripping with perspiration.

Tabitha quickly scaled the tree and tossed a few down. “It’s grown in the wild. It’s not very sweet, but it’s edible. We can pick them all and bring them along for something to eat.”

It sounded like a good plan. We quickly ascended the tree after Tabitha. Tessa, however, sat a little way off fiddling with her own belongings. She’d eaten quite a lot of mushrooms along the way and was no longer as concerned about getting food as the rest of us were.

Laurel gave it her best shot. Being rather plump and short, however, climbing naturally posed a rather insurmountable challenge for her.

She clumsily made a few attempts but gave up after a while. Laurel was resigned to waiting on the ground below, picking up the fruits we lobbed her way.

Nora perched leisurely on the branches. She greedily ate any fruits she’d managed to pluck, blissfully indulging in the fruits of her labor.