Chapter 6 - Inside The Speed Force Part III

The First Velociraptor attacked with a ferocity that shook Axxel to his core. He almost stood at attention to offer his neck to the creature, but at the last second, he dipped low, grabbing the creature by the base of its neck and lower stomach, tossing it over his shoulder and nearly twenty feet away – directly into the ocean.

There was a moment of silence, albeit the splashing in the water was rather loud.

Judging by the way the First Velociraptor struggled to remain above the water, it was obvious the creature could not swim. Axxel almost felt a bit bad for his would-be attacker; after all, drowning was not a nice experience – he had, of course, experienced such a thing before.

Still, Axxel didn't have time to enjoy the minor victory.

He was blindsided and rammed into the ground by the Second Velociraptor, which was much wilder in comparison to the first. The white froth bubbling from the creature's mouth was possibly the origin of all the rabies variants that would ever exist.

Axxel knew a frightened animal was a dangerous animal, but this particular Velociraptor acted as if it had died once before, and was unwilling to return to the depths of hell. He resolved to kill the Second Velociraptor first.

Better to get rid of such a dangerous enemy.

Just as Axxel was about to regain his balance enough to push himself up from the ground, the Third Velociraptor leaped into the battle, opening its maw in preparation to take a chunk out of his head.

Actually, the creature's maw was so large that it would take a bite out of Axxel and a chunk of the ground. Luckily, he was quick to raise his arm, blocking the attack to his neck, but instead, the Third Velociraptor sunk its teeth into his humerus bone.

"Ahhhhrggghhhh!"

Spittle flew in all directions as Axxel shouted to the heavens in pain, shaking his arm relentlessly to get the creature to loosen its maw, but it never did. Perhaps, it wasn't even capable of releasing something it had already bitten.

Thankfully, Axxel's body was tougher than a normal human's so his hand was not ripped off as if it was a chewing toy because that's definitely how the Velociraptor was treating it.

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

Until now, Axxel was relatively calm in the face of danger, but the wild appearance of the Velociraptors invoked a primal sense of dread in his heart. He could fight Soldiers with flinching… he could fight gods without flinching… he could fight super-humans without flinching.

But fighting cybernetic Dinosaurs inside The Speed Force just felt a bit out of his comfort zone. Axxel grew desperate, using his free arm to punch the Third Velociraptor over and over again, not letting up even as his hand bled.

When the punches did little to convince the creature to release his arm, Axxel gouged into its eye sockets, sinking his fingers as deep as they could go. It was a savage battle of rage and might, and as deep as Axxel's fingers sunk, it obviously wasn't deep enough.

The creatures didn't die… they simply became even wilder.

The Third Velociraptor clung to Axxel's arm like a dog to a bone, magnet to a piece of metal, and, quite literally, a dinosaur to its prey. And soon, the Second Velociraptor joined the fray and attacked Axxel's free arm, sinking its teeth into his flesh with determination to never let go.

This was a coordinated attack, only moving in for the kill when the creatures were sure Axxel would not retaliate – not fast enough, anyway.

Despite the razor-like teeth that had sunk into his arms, Axxel was most concerned about keeping his feet in perfect condition since it was the greatest asset a Speedster could possess, even if he wasn't a Speed Force Speedster as yet.

It was bound to happen at some point… right?

When both of Axxel's arms were preoccupied, the Fourth Velociraptor made its opportunistic appearance, dashing forward with the single-minded intent to take a chunk out of his legs. Thankfully, Axxel was prepared.

Even as his arms were being clenched in the jaw of predators and his swollen back was being banged into the ground repeatedly, Axxel leveraged his position to wrap his legs around the Fourth Velociraptor's neck and twisted, breaking the neck of the Fourth attacker before the other two could realize what had happened.

It was a simple battle tactic – a quick kill would always place the ball in a combatant's court.

As if creatures were psychically linked, the moment the Fourth Velociraptor died, the Second and Third Velociraptors bashed Axxel into the ground harder than ever before, but instead of pressing their advantage, the creatures backed away.

"Fuck!" Axxel cursed and rolled into a semi-kneeling position, flexing his bleeding arms to check if he could still fight the good fight… and the answer was yes.

Axxel's eyes trailed from the Second velociraptor to the Third Velociraptor and finally landed on the Alpha Velociraptor, hiding at the back.

'Three remaining,' Axxel counted, eyeing the Alpha Velociraptor particularly. "It's still too calm despite everything."

Blood dripped from between Axxel's fingertips, and his breathing became rough and thick with exhaustion, but he still persisted and stood on his feet, albeit shakily so. Carefully, Axxel retreated to the shoreline, digging his fingers into the sand until the sensation of a particularly sharp rock drew his interest.

Now, he had a weapon.

The entire time, Axxel's darting eyes did not leave the circling Velociraptors for more than a nanosecond at a time. He knew that even a moment of distraction would provide an opportunity for his throat to be ripped out.

'At least it would be a quick death.'

Blood continued to flow down his arms, and Axxel could feel his body growing weaker by the second. On the bright side, Axxel was finally able to confirm that he was not human because a human could not lose this much blood without dying.

"You learn something new every day," He joked, trying to brighten his mood, but the reality of the situation was rapidly approaching.

It was becoming hopeless, and the fact that Axxel was losing so much blood meant that his chances of victory were dwindling by the second. But there was still a chance, and that meant, he couldn't give up the fight just yet.

Axxel slashed randomly with the sharp stone in his hand, hoping to provoke the Velociraptors into an uncoordinated attack, but the creatures didn't break formation. Compared to when they first attacked, this was a completely different level.

It was a game of cat and mouse.

When Axxel slashed left, a Velociraptor on his right took the opportunity to slash across his back, and when he slashed right, a Velociraptor on his left would strike at his ankles. Each sneak blow left nasty scars on Axxel, but he managed to avoid attacks on vital areas.

SLASH

SLASH

RIP

RIP

A stalemate reigned for a couple of minutes as Axxel and the Velociraptors carved chunks out of each other in a battle that he was infinitely close to losing. He feigned a wide swing at the Velociraptors and spun around, bear-hugging the Second Velociraptor when the Third had created some distance from the feign.

With the creature in his arms, Axxel used the sharp stone to slash and stab as randomly and recklessly as he possibly could, getting as many blows into the creature's head as possible. It was a very brutal affair that made the velociraptors even more careful to attack.

There was no technique…

No breathing control…

Neither happiness nor anger… just the plain will to survive.

Axxel stabbed and stabbed, even managing to tear out an eye of the Second Velociraptor, but the Third Velociraptor knocked him off-balance before a fatal blow could be struck upon its comrade.

The Third Velociraptor attempted a retreat but slipped at a crucial moment. Axxel, of course, did not let the moment pass unpunished, leaping forward and drilling his sharp stone into the neck of the Third Velociraptor.

By now, the stone was chipped and a bit duller, but the strength behind Axxel's blow made all the difference, puncturing an important artery that killed the Velociraptor in a matter of seconds. Blood spurted in the air like a three-second geyser.

The Second Velociraptor squealed in pain and rammed into Axxel from behind, raising him into the air as it tried to open its jaw and swallow him whole. He would probably be a lot to swallow in one bite, but the creature could hardly care at the moment.

Axxel barely managed to spin out of the way and get both hands in front of his face as he came back down, smashing into the ground with enough force to kill an elephant. Something definitely broke.

The Second Velociraptor raised its foot, ready to stomp down on Axxel's head, but he rotated into a kneeling position, grabbed the foot of the creature, and hopped to his feet. Everything was done in one fluid motion that seemed as if a blur.

With a pulling motion made with his entire body, Axxel proceeded to rip the leg off the Second Velociraptor, reverse their positions, and then he stabbed and stabbed until the creature stopped squirming altogether.

A hard battle had been won, but the war was ongoing.

Axxel panted and knelt, exhausted thoroughly enough to kill a human a thousand times over. His body could no longer cooperate with what his mind wanted, and though his arms were healing, they still hung limply at his sides.

For a moment, everything seemed hopeless.

Even with determination and the will of a demon, sometimes victory was just not in the cards for a fight.

BANG

BANG

BANG

The Alpha Velociraptor, which had been hiding in the back until now, took advantage of Axxel's defenseless state to mount an attack, slamming the aspiring Speedster into the ground three times before he could even react.

Axxel felt like Loki being swung around by The Hulk in the Stark Tower – didn't seem as funny now. The Alpha Velociraptor was absolutely brutal, ripping chunks out of Axxel's legs, and dashing away without any hesitation.

'This one is smarter, and knows Guerrilla tactics.'

Axxel's mind blanked for a couple of seconds, and when he regained consciousness, he could tell that the Alpha Velociraptor had ceased its attack entirely. Without his squeals of pain for the creature to verify that he was alive, the Alpha Velociraptor grew confused, wondering if the battle had ended already.

'Maybe not as smart as I initially thought.'

Axxel remained motionless on the ground, not moving a muscle, waiting for the Alpha Velociraptor to let down its guard.

One Seconds…

Two Seconds…

Three Seconds…

At the three-second mark, Axxel felt the Alpha Velociraptor relax just a tiny bit, and he capitalized on that opportunity. He leaped into action, directing a powerful kick at the creature's head in a blur of motion.

However, the Alpha Velociraptor sensed the incoming attack, opening its maw wide, and tearing a big chunk out of Axxel's incoming left leg.

"AAAAAWWWWWWWGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Axxel spasmed and yelled in pain, jerking on the ground like a fish without water. His attack had fallen short.

The Alpha Velociraptor obviously had Ultra Instinct or something. Blood spilled on the shore, attracting the noses of many creatures lurking in the jungle. The battle between man and monster was about to become a royal rumble of exotic Speed Force creatures.

The Alpha Velociraptor sensed the other creatures growing restless, and knew it was time to end the battle. The Velociraptor hopped thirty feet in the air, sharpening its cybernetic tail into a blade that made Axxel's eyes bulge.

The blade even glowed a bit blue. There was little doubt in Axxel's mind that he was about to die. The reach of the tail-blade was too wide, and he was not in the peak condition to attempt a dodge. Axxel closed his eyes, hoping his body could take the attack head-on.

After all, if you could not dodge, then the best way was to go through.

---TWWWRRRRPPPP---

Just as the Axxel was inches away from Axxel's head, a White Disk flashed into existence, shielding his body from the blow and reducing the Alpha Velociraptor to dust. It happened instantaneously, seemingly like an ethereal dream.

It made Axxel think that he had died and gone to Heaven for the second time. But Heaven didn't have pain, and all Axxel could currently feel was pain, missing flesh, and more pain. His mind was so fuzzy that he couldn't tell what was real and what was fake anymore.

"Ugh… ugh…" Axxel coughed two mouthfuls of blood, and then a bloody smile crawled into his face. "I knew that White Disk was useful for something."

He didn't know whether he should thank Zatana or curse her guts… without the white Disk, he would be dead, but with the White Disk, he was kept barely alive to experience all the pain. Axxel lay on the shore, slowly bleeding to death.

At least, until he felt a pair of hands brace his body, dragging him into the jungle. He was aware that there was one human settlement in Savage World, but with his luck, it was probably an ape dragging him to a cave to feed on his soul.

"I am not an ape, and your soul is not as delicious as you think it is," A womanly voice giggled and addressed the concerns rummaging through Axxel's mind.

'Shit… can she read my mind?'

"Yes… Yes, I can… but it's more like impressions, instead of mind-reading,"

Just like that, Axxel was dragged away; his fate unknown.