Bebegigs
Chapter 17's

"Don't..." Ragnala begged as he reached out to hug his daughter.

But the girl immediately retreated to the wall of the cave, and uttered the verse of the two poems out of her head:

"Sanggeus raat cihujan.. mangsana halimun midang. Kade Bebegig, Anaking! Kade Bebegig's!"

After the rain subsides.it's time for the fog to appear, move in a march, clustered on the body of the mountain. Watch out for the scarecrow, my boy! Watch out for free scarecrows!

"Okay, Orange! Nay! Nay! No!" Ragnala. He put both hands to his cheeks, and again screeched. "Oh, no! No!"

The orange turned towards the scarecrow, and saw his round face begin to crack.

The tendrils crept out on the face and arms of his robe, like vines growing in an instant. His black eyes lit up like burning paper from the center, then widened to form a fire pit.

His wooden body pulsated forming muscle tissue and a series of veins. The head of the shell split open and fell on the floor of the cave. The arms of the twigs were released, changing into black tendrils that crept out like new shoots that continued to expand into muscular branches.

Slowly his real face began to appear under the veil covering his head. Slowly his body began to form perfectly like a human body.

The orange stared at him without blinking. And screamed loudly.

A monster!

A terrible root monster.

It turns out that my mom didn't lie. The one trapped inside the scarecrow was indeed a monster. Not dad. Not dad. But monstrosities.gruesome monsters!

Its head and body are formed from the roots and tendrils of black-colored plants. His red eyes seemed flaming on his head that resembled the head of a snake-haired Medusa-head human, the difference between the hair of the root monster was formed from the tendrils of a plant. And his forked tongue protruded from his mouth full of pointed teeth.

"Ouch! Ow hell! Ouch!" Ragnala was still squealing while sticking his hands to his cheeks. Tears wet his cheeks.

Oh, my God, what am I doing? Orange wailed in his heart.

The monster looked up and laughed out loud. He picked up an ancient book of poetry relics of the Orange grandmother with his hands that had black fingers similar to cemani chicken claws, thick scaly and sharp nails. He threw the book into the abyss. "It's your turn!" he shouted with a blaring voice.

"Don't-don't!" Orange begs. He grabbed his mother's shoulder and pulled her away from the edge of the abyss.

They moved backwards until they docked into the cave wall.

"Good plunge" the root monster growled.

"But I've saved you!" Orange exclaims. "So this is what I got in return? Thrown into a ravine?"

The root monster nodded. Then grimaced wide, so that his pointy teeth seemed more and more clear. "Yes. Here's your reward." He lifted the body of the orange with one hand and squeezed the waist of the girl. His grip was so tight that the orange could not breathe.

With one more hand he lifted up his mother. They both lifted him up high. The monster groaned loudly. Straighten his hand forward. And let the two women in his clutches hang over the gaping chasm far below.

The monster gripped them with its powerful hands.

The orange looked down. The bottom of the abyss covered in fog seemed so steep.

But beyond the expectations of Orange, the monster did not throw them. He instead pulled his hand and released the two women in the courtyard.

"Huh?" The orange squealed in surprise.

The monster looked up at the mountain slope.

Ragnala and Orange no longer cared about him.

The orange tried to catch its breath, then followed its direction. And he saw what made the monster surprised. Look at what saved their lives.

A motorcade!

The parade of scarecrows. All the scarecrows from the village. All lined up and walked towards the sacred cave. Their robes and red sheaths fluttered in the wind. Their thin, dry arms seemed to swing crazily while they climbed the mountain slope.

"A—what the hell is this?" Orange stuttering. The girl grabbed her mother's hand.

Without blinking they watched the line approach.

"They came to help the monster" whispered Ragnala. "We're going to get fucked, Orange. We're gonna be fucked."

The line of scarecrows was down the courtyard covered in thin fog. Their footsteps grew louder as they approached. Go along like a club. Sounds like a large group of people who are racing pounding rice with pestle in a mortar. The sound bounced from the top of the mountain, giving the impression that there were a thousand scarecrows ready to attack them.

The orange and Ragnala inched backwards up to the cave wall. They can't run anywhere. They're trapped.

The line of scarecrows is getting closer.

Getting close.

The orange could see the anger reflected in their round and black eyes. Scratches that swerved like snakes on their cheeks were also clearly visible.

Orange and Ragnala are completely trapped.

They raised their hands as shields. But then they were astonished, for the line had passed before them.

All the scarecrows continued to move forward, approaching the root monster.

Their arms swayed, their eyes blazing.

They urged the monster who looked shocked. And pushing.

Pushing him to the edge of the abyss.

The root monster roared while raising his head. But the roar was interrupted when one scarecrow soared towards the monster and charged at him.

Orange and Ragnala were stunned when the monster was mobbed by scarecrows.

The root monster was now pushed to the edge of the abyss.

Orange and Ragnala saw his hands waving helplessly. And then it disappeared from their sight.

The root monster disappeared behind a line of scarecrows that charged at him like a flood. All the scarecrows were charging and urging him. Noiseless. Like a silent bat.

And when they finally retreated, the monster stood frozen with arms outstretched, as if about to attack.

But he didn't move.

It slid into the mouth of the ravine. Floating down with a fluttering robe, like a bat struck by a bolt of lightning. The line of scarecrows had pushed him into the canyon.

Orange and Ragnala were still standing beside the mouth of the cave. Both of them were shaking, and holding hands. Their legs feel like they are made of rubber because of their weakness.

Suddenly everything suddenly looked bright.

"Who brought all those scarecrows here?" Orange asked his mother. "Yes, who called them?"

Ragnala shook his head. His eyes were wide in surprise. "It wasn't Mama who brought them here, Orange," he said slowly. "What Mama said was real. My mother has no magical powers. Your grandmother's father was a witch. But Mama's not."

"How come, who told them to go up the mountain to get us?" ask Orange.

"Me!" a voice answered the question of Orange.

Orange turned towards the courtyard and saw Empu Brajasena standing there with one hand holding a petromax lamp. His gray hair was messy by the wind blowing fiercely. The white wolf stood beside him.

Ragnala looked at Empu Brajasena while squinting. Suddenly he was surprised. "You!"