Opening his eyes, Marvin saw a blue sky filled with white clouds, how long was he unconscious was the second question he asked himself after asking himself if he was in paradise before feeling the pain coming from his body.
Recalling all the events, he thought that he was seriously blessed to still be alive.
He thought that the beetle would eat him when he saw it before losing consciousness but it did not seem to be the case; turning his head left then right he did not see the beetle and thought that maybe, it left.
Laughing at the fact that he was not dead even with the danger present everywhere in the forest, he tried to sit up but he could only stay down as he felt the pain coming from his leg getting worse and with his body seemingly lethargic, the effects of the snake venom might still not have dissipated.
Thinking of it, how was he still alive? Should not have the venom kill him?
He recalled that he felt something cold cleansing his mind before being able to see again and when he regained his sight, he then saw the beetle in front of him so he could assume that the beetle was responsible for healing him; but why?
No answer could be gain right now as he could not even move; this forest was dangerous and the fact that he was not eaten by some random beast could only be attributed to his luck.
Even, if he supposes that no beast could get to him since he was present in the beetle territory, the simple fact that the snake could chase after him inside the beetle territory did not reassure him a single bit and could only hope that he would get better fast enough so that he could go back to the beach.
At least there, nothing tried to eat him or threatened his wellbeing, not yet at least.
A few hours later, he could move his body a little bit even with the pain coming from all over his body, he suspected that his body metabolism got better since it did not make sense that someone who was almost constricted by a giant snake could just walk out of it with just a numb body; he was a little hungry so he planned to go and get the fruits he hid before.
Turning around to check what might be the correct way to the location, he saw the cow size beetle 20 meters away from him.
Stunned at the sight of the beast, he almost screamed but covered his mouth with his hands immediately; observing the beast, it was showing him its backside so Marvin thought that it did not notice him.
Hoping to get away from here without any troubles, Marvin was thinking of sneaking out of here when he noticed that some cold air was coming from the beetle body and was even freezing the ground beneath the beast; his assumption was right that the beast was responsible for him being alive since it could produce cold air.
Making a thankful nod to the beetle, Marvin started moving away from the beetle while looking at it; as thankful as he was, that beetle could kill the snake that was much stronger than he was. So being wary of the beetle might not be a bad idea.
But even the best plans might not always succeed; indeed while moving backward, his stomach started grumbling and the noise it made was so loud that the beast that he thought to be asleep turned its head around and looked straight at Marvin who was trembling like a guitar string that had been plucked.
Stumbling down, Marvin watched as the beetle came in front of him and looked at him with its big eyes for a good minute before going in front of a tree, digging the soil and picking something with its pincers before coming back in front of him and dropped a round thing before him and watched him.
Marvin, looking at what was dropped saw something in the shape of a watermelon covered in soil and dry leaves, he was surprised when he noticed that it was the strange fruit he picked before; thinking that the beetle wanted him to eat, he picked the fruit and cleaned it before turning it around.
Cutting around the peduncle, Marvin was then scared that the beetle was like the witch in Hansel and Gretel and wanted to fatten him up before eating him but just like the siblings in the story, he does not have much of a choice at the moment so he could only eat. At least, he will not be hungry.
Removing the peduncle he then saw the red nectar and this time too he had the impulse to just drink the precious liquid but the compulsion this time was less strong so he could appreciate the taste of the red nectar and indeed it was delicious tasting just like raspberry with a tinge of alcohol inside.
While drinking, Marvin did not notice that the wound on his left leg started healing and the numbness from his body was going away; inside his body the sequels left by the wounds he suffered from the snake who could not get better from his natural healing ability were also disappearing of his body as if they were never there.
Finishing drinking, he noticed his skin turning green and felt his hair standing up, looking up he saw black plumes coming out of his hair; a few moments later he was filled with energy and black goo covered his body.
The beetle unpleased by the scent coming from him picked him with its pincers and advanced in the forest; Marvin surprised by its action tried to get away from its grasp but ineffective was his act.
Approximatively 200 meters west from the beetle's place, Marvin saw a pond in the middle of the forest; its location was strange as it was located in the hollow part of a rock that seemed to be obsidian and the beetle most likely wanted to bring him there.
Arriving in front of the pond, the beetle threw Marvin in the water but the refreshing sensation he was expecting was not what he felt; the water was cold; as cold as Antarctica was in winter. Marvin was trying to get out of the water but his movements were so rigid that he looked like a puppet while flinging his arms around; the cold started to get inside him as he felt cold in his stomach so he immediately did his best to get out of the water.
Finally out of the pond Marvin was shivering while lying on the ground being in a fetus position, thinking that he was going to die from being frozen instead of being constricted by a snake he thought that it was funny that he was appreciating one kind of death over the other.
But the beetle had other plans for him, has it approached him and opened its mouth while sucking the air in front of it; Marvin felt the cold in his body being sucked out from his body and could see that the beetle's actions were beneficial to him.
A minute later, Marvin was sitting in front of the beetle aware that it saved him again, nodding his head as thanks, he stood up while examining his body for any signs of frostbite.
Looking at the beetle in front of him that was staring at him as if it was checking if he was fine. Its actions were kind of ridiculous since it was responsible for him being almost frozen to death, a thought surprisingly came to him; was he that beast pet?
It brought him food, tossed him in a pond because he was smelly and saved him when he was gonna kick the bucket now it was even appreciating his actions as a dog owner would watch his dog.
Shocked by his own thoughts, Marvin woke from his stupor as the beetle was leaving; looking back at the pond that almost caused his death, he memorized the location so that he could examine the place later on.
Following the beetle, Marvin watched the surroundings as he walked; this place was not that far from the beetle home but it was different from the rest forest that he had seen. He did not notice before since the beetle carried him but the air here was gloomy, there was a kind of lack of vitality in this part the forest; the trees were still green, there were plenty of strange flowers, mushrooms and moss grew everywhere but that was it; he could not hear a single animal sound it was as if the place was a sacred place that was sullied.
Back at the beetle's place, Marvin watched it as it went back to its sleeping spot, blew cold air on the ground then started dozing off. He gathered his courage and said to the beetle "I don't know if you can understand me but thank you for saving my life and feeding me but I have to leave now. I'll come to see you when I have time."
Strangely, the beetle pulled his head from the ground and looked at him as if to acquiesce. After saying good-bye, Marvin went back to the beach. Difficult as the trip was since he had to avoid any beasts he could see and minding his steps so as to not make any noise that could direct some beasts attention towards him, Marvin manage to pick some fruits he was certain were edible before finally falling on his make-up bed.
Thinking back to the strange journey he had, Marvin started crying.