A humid setting with scant sunlight. All that could be heard were the nearby animals' sounds and cautious walks on the dry leaves. Gideon was standing there, cautiously moving and surveying the area.
But he was distracted by a definite sound coming from his stomach. He instinctively jumped, but when he realized where the sound was coming from, he laughed quietly. He looked around, his palm rubbing his stomach.
"Perhaps it's already time for lunch," he mumbled before continuing to walk in the same direction.
The search for food took a few minutes of navigating through the thick woodland. He could not hunt because he was prey to the creatures around him and had not found any vegetation or animals that he was positive he could eat. He stopped exactly beneath a large tree that was growing fruits he was accustomed to.
He rubbed the back of his neck while gazing at the tree. Fruits the size of a bowling ball and green, they hung from its branches and resembled pears. A typical tree in the forest of Etveya. Several of them had already passed by Gideon, who had been preoccupied with trying to survive the perils around him until he realized he was hungry.
Before attempting to climb up, he took a moment to look around. He then reached out to the tree's branches and used them as a base to stand on. The huge fruit was pulled away from its branch by his hand as he dragged it toward him. He raised the unusually large fruit while sitting on the branch. He looked at it with a curious eye.
"This is one big ass pear," his stomach growled, and he shrugged. "If it tastes suspicious, I'll just spit it out," he exhaled twice before closing his eyes and opening his mouth to bite into the unknown fruit he had discovered.
The sap of the fruit reached his tongue with his very first bite.
Gideon fixed his gaze on the fruit he was holding. "It has no taste," he murmured. "It has no taste." And ravaged the unknown fruit due to his hunger.
A typical fruit with a taste that few people enjoyed and sap that was sticky. but in this specific instance. The fruit was a lifesaver in Gideon's eyes. The fruit of Ilagina.
No matter how many he ate, the fruit's sap would not make him thirst-free, but it would provide some relief. However, he still needed water to survive; else, he wouldn't.
Gideon continued his journey with a contented look on his face after remaining on top of the tree for several minutes and eating a few of the fruits. Resuming his travel posture, he walked slowly while keeping as quiet as possible. He lowered his back and kept his eyes darting around the area.
However, many of the predators in Etveya's forest were not howling; rather, they were waiting in silence for their prey to come.
Regardless of Gideon's continuous survey of his surroundings. His eyes missed them since he couldn't even imagine that these creatures might exist in the wild. A green vine around the width of a typical human arm that was so well-camouflaged that its target did not see it. The vine was simply waiting for any approaching victim.
The vine's end was capped by a huge flower bud that was taller than Gideon. Its massive trunk, large enough to contain a full bear, and its blossom bud, large enough to swallow a full person, were both dark green with only a few streaks of scarlet where the flower's mouth was. When it was time to eat, it would only then reopen. And the opening was imminent. The Vile Devourer, a carnivorous plant.
Once the prey has been sufficiently close. The Vile Devourer's vine movement becomes considerably more pronounced but precise than previously.
Gideon, on the other hand, re-examined the entire area. Despite hearing loud noises, he was unable to locate anything. Because where he was standing, Gideon's foe was concealed beneath the leaves. When it did, the evil plant seized Gideon's right foot. While the plant vine was encircling his body, Gideon yelled. At an alarming rate, it moved up from his foot to his back and neck. The assault happened so swiftly that he didn't have time to respond. He was dragged to the ground on the opposite side of the forest by a strong vine, and all he could do was struggle.
He pulled on the vine that resembled a rope and was tugging him, but his natural strength was not strong enough to even stir the vine. His battle was ended when he stumbled to the lower ground, groaning in pain as he landed on the sharp white stones strewn about. The hope on his face disappeared when he realized what lay ahead. The enormous flower bud slowly turned its head to face him. Its enormous flower mouth opened when he got there, displaying a crimson mouth dripping with yellow sticky substance. He could easily fit through the mouth's central orifice, which was quite large. To welcome the coming of its visitor, it lowered its head.
Gideon let go of the vine he was trying to tear from his body and screamed, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He clung onto the ground to keep the vine from pulling him toward his death. He reached out and seized the nearest large stone, gripping it so firmly that the vine had to increase its pulling force in order to drag him.
Gideon's struggle, however, did not solve his problem; it only postponed the inevitable. The vine wrapped around his body and pulled him again. Gideon's eyes welled up with tears as the stone he was holding, his last hope, was dragged with him. With his lifeless eyes, he stared at the stone that was supposed to be anchoring him. He looked at the Vile Devourer, which was waiting for him.
"I don't want to die!" Rather than pulling himself which was proven futile. He sat up and raised the massive stone he was holding, pointed side down, staring at the vine that connected him to the giant carnivorous plant. "You fucking shit!" he yelled, slamming the stone into the vine. One strike was insufficient to put an end to it. However, the unexpected surge of adrenaline gave him momentary strength. He smashed the vine once more... and again while screaming his lungs out. He kept attacking until the vine slowed and eventually stopped. He smashed it two more times until the vine was severed from its body and he was free.
When Gideon was freed, he got to his feet and looked about, seeing additional vines crawling toward him. They all came from the same plant, but they came from various directions, and they just turned around to capture him.
With trembling eyes, Gideon held up the stone he was holding and turned to face the enormous flower in front of him.
"Choke on this, You fucking twat!" he screamed before hurling the stone into the carnivorous flower's massive mouth. The boulder landed directly in the middle of the Vile Devourer's mouth.
Before the other vines could catch up to him, Gideon sprinted away. leaving the enormous predator famished.