107. Bass-Ackward
Amy decides that the more cautious approach would be the backwards mirror. “After all,” she reasons, “there's no reason I can't show the mirror to the medusa if things go badly, and this way I can actually use the mirror to see where I'm going.” She points her back toward the sound she heard a few moments before and, keeping her eyes on the mirror as she walks backward, scans for any sign of the gorgon. She pulls the dagger she acquired in the portrait gallery out of her backpack, then leaves the backpack on the ground. “Better not to have anything weighing me down,” she thinks.
She bites her lip nervously as she contemplates the dagger now in her hand. She's never used a blade for combat. Or engaged in combat at all, really, before tonight. After a few moments spent worrying, she remembers the advice given in one of her favorite fantasy novels: stick them with the pointy end. Amy smiles to herself, takes a deep breath, and prepares for battle.
Amy's attention is quickly drawn to a rustling in the bushes. Fighting the urge to turn her head and look, she moves the mirror to reveal her opponent, a fearsome woman covered in green scales and wearing a white tunic. The beast has writhing snakes for hair. The gorgon flies toward Amy swinging her clawed hands menacingly. Amy notes that each individual claw is about the size of her dagger.
The medusa charges. Perhaps it's the years of easy prey being turned to stone without a fight, but she's caught off guard when Amy plunges her knife backward at the on-rushing gorgon. What the medusa has forgotten about hand-to-hand combat, however, Amy has never learned. Her aim is low, and she embeds the knife in the beast's right thigh.
The medusa howls in pain and anger, causing Amy to let go of the dagger's handle and jolt forward. She stumbles to the ground, dropping the mirror. The medusa, for her part, grabs the dagger and pulls it from her thigh, then throws it away. Amy recovers the mirror and scrambles to her feet. Once up, she repositions the mirror to find her opponent once again, who looks at her with undisguised rage.
Amy decides she needs a new weapon, and fast. She starts running, scanning around for anything she might use while keeping track of the medusa in her rear-view mirror. As she runs she notes the statues growing a little more diverse. She sees some glass statues, some plastic, some wax, some marble, some gold. She starts wondering whether medusa is alone out here or if she might have some friends.
Amy is awoken from her reverie by the medusa's hiss. The snake creature is gaining on her and is now almost in striking distance. Continuing her run, Amy notices something shining out of the corner of her eye. A gold statue of a naked woman wearing a crown stands ahead and to the right. In its hand is a rather large scepter, probably three feet, with a big round ball at the end. “That might be useful in a fight,” thinks Amy. But in the opposite direction, she notes a marble statue of what looks, from the physique, to be a warrior woman with a long sword in its hand. The sword is slightly tarnished, but sturdy enough.
“Better make a decision quick!” Amy thinks, as she feels the wind from a swipe of the medusa's claws.
What should Amy do?