He launched himself from the wall, arms stretched out like a desperate, angry monkey, fingers clawing for the cords.

His palms smacked against one with a wet slap. The cord bucked violently under his weight, the whole cocoon shuddering as if it were alive.

He had made it.

Now he just had to destroy it.

Clinging with his arms and legs wrapped tight around the cord, Finn yanked down with all his weight. Nothing. He began to wriggle like a worm, jerking his body in every direction to make the cord shift.

The cord pulsed faster, expanding and contracting like a panicked lung. The cocoon beat wildly, like a drum in his ears.

Snarling, he dug his nails into it, trying to tear it open—but the skin was slick, rubbery, and unyielding. His fingers just slid off.

'Damn it… come on!'

Then the world lurched. The chamber tilted so hard his stomach flipped, almost tearing him free of the cord. Talons burst through the wall of the throat again, jagged claws scraping in and out, blindly stabbing at him. The entire chamber rattled like a dying engine.

Finn clamped his legs tighter, face pressed against the pulsing cord. He felt like he was on a mechanical bull—except this bull was made of meat, wanted him dead, and if he fell there weren't padded mats waiting, only claws.

Sweat and slime dripped down his face. His arms burned. The pulsing under his fingers grew faster and louder, like a racing heartbeat.

"Come on, Finn," he muttered through gritted teeth, "hang on or you're meat paste…"

The claws ripped through the chamber wall with more force, shaking the fleshy prison like a blender on high. Explosions rattled from outside, smaller pops mixing with bone-shaking blasts. The whole creature lurched like a drunken giant trying to keep its balance.

Finn gritted his teeth, hugging the cord tighter. "Come on bitch—this is nothing!"

He kicked at the cord furiously, heels slamming into the pulsing tube. With each strike it convulsed harder, the cocoon hammering in rhythm like a panicked drum. His legs flailed like a man drowning.

And then—

SNAP!

The cord tore free with a sound like ripping tendon. Finn and the cord both dropped. Acting on pure panic, he twisted in midair and slammed into the cocoon.

BLOOP.

The sack squished like a bouncy castle filled with pudding, half-swallowing him before belching slime back out. Finn scrambled upright with a gag.

"Oh my GOD—it's like stepping on a giant zit!" he wailed, wiping goo from his face as he crawled across the quivering surface.

The cocoon pulsed faster now, strings flaring and collapsing in rapid bursts like arteries about to burst. Finn latched onto the second last big cord, slimy hands slipping every other second.

The chamber swung wildly, tossing him side to side like a ragdoll on a carnival ride. His legs whipped around uncontrollably as he shrieked,

"THIS IS SO FUCKING GROSS—HAAAAH!"

The cord stretched, slick, and alive in his grip. It pulsed under his body like it had its own heartbeat, resisting every tug.

But Finn wasn't letting go.

Not after coming this far.

Tugging hard, Finn yelled at the top of his lungs for the cord to snap. In a desperate fit of rage, he bit down on it—immediately regretting it as he gagged and barfed all over himself. It tasted like rotten eggs and spoiled milk mashed together inside wet bread.

"OH, THAT'S DISGUSTING!" he screamed, shuddering.

Fueled by equal parts fury and nausea, he growled and started punching the cord over and over. "JUST DIE ALREADY!" His fists slipped with each strike, splattering slime everywhere.

The cocoon rattled again, the sudden jolt making him lose his grip. He fell, but managed to wrap his legs around the cord at the last second—only for his back to slam painfully against the wet, rubbery surface.

"Damn it!" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Then—BOOM!—more explosions shook the chamber, rattling the cord violently. Finn slid down toward the pulsing cocoon below, flailing like a man on a greased fire pole.

"CAN YOU GUYS STOP SHOOTING CRAP AT THIS THING?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

And as if the universe had heard him, the claws below turned upward. They curled and stabbed into the chamber wall, tearing chunks away as they reached for him.

Finn's eyes went wide with horror. He scrambled upward, hands and feet slipping against the slimy cord as the claw surged closer. It stabbed again, this time piercing straight through the wall right beside him. Light flooded in through the hole, blinding him for a moment—

—before another explosion blasted in. Fire and sparks spewed through the opening, the heat scorching upward and blasting against Finn like he was some turkey roasting on a spit.

"IDIOTS! THAT SHIT IS HOT!" he shrieked, his arms flailing as smoke curled around him.

Panting heavily, sweat poured down Finn's face and neck, soaking his clothes further until they clung to him tighter. His head spun; the heat was unbearable, suffocating. He felt like he was about to pass out—like he'd been shoved into some nightmarish sauna run by Satan himself.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the creature roared once more like dying whale. It yanked its talons out of its own throat and clawed over the hole where the fire had came through—sealing it shut.

Now he was really being cooked alive. The cords he clung to began to smolder under his palms, the slime hissing where the heat touched it.

"Too much," he rasped, his voice cracking.

Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, Finn yanked harder on the cord in desperation. And then—rip!—he heard it tear.

A sudden gust of cool air blasted against his face. It felt so good, so impossibly refreshing, that for a split second he wanted to just collapse and let it wash over him.

But there was no time.

Jamming his fingers into the torn section, he ripped at it again and again until the cord split apart completely.

And just like that, the support he clung too was gone.

Finn's stomach dropped as he plummeted, tumbling helplessly into the smoky, flaming abyss below.

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