The bright lights may have stung no more than the annoying bite of flies or parasites on its stony hide, but the harsh flash it exuded left the serpent’s giant pupils contracting painfully as it cowered back below the water to shelter its sensitive eyes. Pulling its long spiny fins that sat behind its head against its sleek body, the giant serpent sped through the water like a torpedo in order to find and eat this annoying little fly that dared to come between it and its prey.

The momentum it had built behind it threw the top of its heavy body out of the water in a giant spray that churned much of the lake and hit the solid stone ledge its attacker stood upon like a torrential rain. There, its wide and thorny head rose to Claude’s level as it opened its mouth in anticipation for the feed.

Phantom spots from the harsh light still marred his vision, but what little sense of smell the serpent still had from its long, black tongue helped to focus his striking range. There was very little of Claude and very much of the monster; the margin of error was quite wide as he took in another thunderous breath of oxygen. The stench of death and decay buffeted the poor man with every breath of air it blew out. It was a creature of the sea, but the monster of legend still made use of rudimentary lungs from time to time. They could not sustain it indefinitely, but catching prey on land never took long.

Allowing no more time and opportunity to be blinded again, the serpent made its guess and lunged for Claude with a hair-raising shriek.