《The Ants》 Prologue + Chapter 1 Prologue: The fuck? Earth 2027 They came without warning. Creatures from the blackest reaches of space descended on the planet intent on devouring everything. The insectoid-cyborg amalgamations decimated Earth with sheer force of numbers. They clawed their way through cities eating everything, a horde of metal and cruelty. ''The Hive'' that was the name given to them by the precious few survivors. Of these survivors were the ''Army Ants'', a UN special forces group tasked with keeping the peace in Central Africa prior to the arrival. The ''Army Ants'' were part of a group of scavengers numbering approximately 70, that had made a home in the jungles of Cameroon, staying out of the onslaught of ''The Hive'', but despite their impressive training their number had dropped to 2. ¡°Feels like we''re just babysittin'' civvies Jack¡± Whispered Larkin, the night air was cold and the pitch black jungle was unnaturally quiet. ¡°We''re the goddamn ants, we should be out there fighting¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up¡± Snarled Jack glaring into the darkness, something wasn''t right, sure the jungle was usually quiet, but silent? Something was definitely coming. ¡°Weapons hot¡± He stared down the sights of his AK, an oldie but there has never been a more reliable gun to him. At the order Larkin tensed up for a moment before taking up a firing position and scanning the landscape. The dense brush obscured them and the darkness cloaked them but they felt exposed, leaves were pretty useless at stopping bullets after all. The silence that seemed ever-lasting was broken by the sound of stomping feet and voracious snarls. Jack and Larkin both knew what this meant, ''The Hive'' was upon them. Larkin peered out of cover and saw them, the 8 foot monstrosities looked almost humanoid in shape, their chests and legs were almost entirely mechanical with bits of grey flesh poking through and their 4 arms were all systematically ripping at the foliage around them and greedily stuffing it in their mandibles. To them nothing wasn''t food. Larkin grimaced at the sight of them and his body trembled in fear. ¡°Fuck it...you go back and tell the group to get moving¡± grunted Jack reaching over and snatching Larkin''s gun from his trembling hands, ¡°I''ll wait 30 secs and light em up¡± ¡°Ants don''t fight alone¡± murmured Larkin, his voice betraying his now steadfast body, as he grabbed his gun back. ¡°Them pricks''ll run soon as we start shooting anyway.¡± Jack smiled, if he was going to die anyway, he was glad to do it with his last remaining comrade. ¡°Sergeant Gary Larkin... let''s see who can kill more¡± he laughed taking aim. ¡°Captain Jack Eden, it''ll be my pleasure to beat you one last time¡± Smirked Larkin glaring at the ever increasing horde. Jack squeezed the trigger, a pair of bullets sped through the air before embedding themselves in the fleshy part of the target. Black blood squirted from its wounds before it fell to the ground. Larkin opened fire, sending a hail of bullets towards the ghastly creatures. As the insects hit the ground they were dragged back to be devoured by the rest of them, and larger stronger ones took their place. These bigger ones were almost all metal. A testament to their combat prowess as they were still living after replacing parts lost in prior battles. These hulking versions merely shrugged off the 7.62mm rounds bouncing off their armour and raised their own weapons. They possessed various alien firepower, ray guns and the like, but these clutched hulking Earth weapons ripped from vehicles. The one at the forefront, tanking the bullets, held a Gatling gun which began to spin up. The noise as it fired was monstrous, countless bullets tore through trees and the undergrowth before finally finding their mark in the 2 humans. Larkin fell before Jack, his face had become a mangled mess of blood and gore, Jack then fell, he couldn''t count the number of bullets that had torn his chest apart but he looked up at the night sky as he lay losing consciousness. His view of the stars was obscured by the blurry silhouette of the hulking creature that had killed him, but as his life drifted away he felt at peace, happy that his struggles were now over. Suddenly light filled Jack''s eyes, blinding light and deafening sounds filled his ears. After several moments of squinting and trying to get his mind straight his vision cleared. A large man was holding him and joyously laughing, proclaiming ¡°A boy! It''s a boy!¡± Jack tilted his head down and saw his tiny arms, his pudgy little belly and pale useless legs. He looked over at a woman laying in a bed, panting and sweating profusely, his gaze then turned back to the man holding him. He was a portly man with a long beard and beady little eyes, his hands were adorned with expensive looking rings that scratched at Jack''s bare skin, this man was obviously rich. The strangest thing to Jack however was the blood-red seagull perched atop the man''s head glaring down at him. ¡°The Priestess...get the Priestess¡± Barked the large man. A slender elderly lady approached, closely followed by a regal looking cat and she snatched Jack from the man''s hands. Her bony hands were worse than the rings but Jack was just too confused to care, his eyes darted back and forth between the man and the old lady. ¡°What''s his spirit? Is it something good?¡± The old lady glared at Jack, her stare penetrating his very soul. She sighed and turned to the man, ¡°I''m afraid it¡¯s bad news, it appears that his spirit is an ant, you have my sincerest condolences, Lord Irons.¡± At this the man roared in anger, the woman on the bed burst into tears and the servants and doctors lining the room gasped in shock. ¡°A child of the Irons family with an ant!?¡± Bellowed Lord Orric Irons at Jack, ¡°PREPOSTEROUS! He is no Irons, he is nought more than a failure. Esme! He is yours to do with as you will, he is a bug like you!¡± At this one of the servants hurriedly rushed forward and took Jack from the old lady''s arms.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Yes my Lord¡± Esme answered, ¡°What is his name? My lord¡± ¡°A failure like him deserves no name from me¡± Spat Irons. Jack looked at the large man spitting insults at him and at the quiet young woman holding him tenderly, caressing his head. ''What. The. Fuck?'' he thought. Chapter 1. ¡°Shep! Dinner time!¡± roared Esme, her colossal voice betrayed her small frame. She stood in the doorway to the small wooden servants shack located at the bottom of the Irons estate''s garden. Jack looked up from his prone position, this woman had served as his mother in this new land and had decided on the name Shepherd for him. He decided to never tell her of the life he had before his untimely death at the hands of the Hive, nor the fact that his mind was that of a 27 year old man. 2 years prior, at the tender age of 9, he had begun training his body, sculpting it into the machine-like warrior he had been before his death. 2 years of constant special forces training and he was nearing the limits of his 11 year old body. As sweat poured down his face he clamoured to his feet and wandered towards the beaming Esme. ¡°Why do you do that boy?¡± ¡°If i''m gonna make it in life Esme, i''ll need a strong body cos this ant''s gonna do nothing to help¡± Shep replied pointing at the black ant perched on his shoulder. ¡°Call. Me. Mum!¡± Esme ordered slapping the back of his head. Shep smiled warmly and squeezed his way past her into the small room. It was a bland place, 4 basic wood walls, a dirt floor, 2 straw filled scratchy beds and a rickety table with 2 sets of tin plates set upon it. Esme was a lowly ''between maid'' of the Irons'' household staff, this was due to her spirit being that of a centipede, which was currently coiled around her neck eyeing Shep as he knelt on the dirt in front of the table. Esme joined him and began picking at the meal of cold potatoes and crusty bread, as she ate her spirit scuttled onto the table and ran toward Shep. He was wolfing down the pitiful meal with gusto, after more than 10 years of eating this crap he was used to it. His ant crawled down his arm and leapt onto the table before making it''s way over to the centipede and crawling onto its back. After he had gulped down the last bites Shep remained to watch the two creatures coexisting harmoniously, he had been shocked by many things in this world but none more than the existence of spirits which dictated one''s place in the society. Shep believed he had a good understanding of it and a good understanding of his own shitty situation. Spirit''s were divided into several different classes, the greatest were the ''Ruler'' class spirits, these creatures were possessed by the multitude of Kings and Emperors existing on this planet. In the Kingdom in which he resided, Alderin, the King owned a spirit called ''Mountain Tortoise'' which was said to carry the palace upon it''s back. The class below this was referred to as the ''Divine'' spirit class, made up of legendary creatures said to have power akin to Gods, Shep knew only of one who had a spirit of this class: the eldest son of Orric Irons, Owen Irons possessing a Pheonix. Shep had never met his elder brother as he had been given the title Duke because of his divine status, but Orric had often mentioned him when berating Shep''s lack of status. The final class reserved for the wealthy and powerful was referred too as the ''Mythic'' class, the rest of the Irons family possessed spirits of this group. Orric Irons and his firebird (which to Shep still just looked like a red seagull, but was apparently a lesser form of Pheonix), Maryanne Irons, Shep''s blood mother and her ''Orgax'' (a black-scaled fish that supposedly allowed her to breath underwater) that always floated beside her, Orion Irons, Shep''s detestable elder brother, who possessed a ''King Lion'' (Just that, a large lion that the brat rode like a steed) and Mytha Irons, Orion''s twin who possessed a ''King Tiger'' (a white tiger that she also rode). After these classes came the class of ''Common Spirits'' these were the general populace, individuals with spirits of aggressive animals such as bears or wolves would generally take up a position focussing on violence, like mercenary, bandit or guard, those with spirits of other animals filled in the rest of the jobs. Below ''Common Spirits'' was the final class, the people within this class were not usually seen as human, rather they were little more than beasts or slaves. This was the ''Dirt class'', which was reserved for either those with bug spirits or the ''souless'' (those who through some foul magic had had their spirits torn away from them, becoming little more than emotionless husks). Shep and Esme were both ''dirt class'', this was why Shep had been forbidden by his true father from showing hisself in company or ever leaving the estate, lest his silver hair give away his noble birth and embarrass the Irons family. It was for this reason, among others, that Shep abhorred the Irons family, his siblings regularly beat him and with his position he was unable to even dream of retaliating, Orric, his father, had encouraged his other children when they attacked him and had even swung for him on occasion, but the worst of the lot was Maryanne, when Shep was a defenceless infant she had ordered the captain of the guard to bring her his head, the wretch of a man would have gladly done it too had Orric not stopped him. Esme cleaned the dishes in a bucket of cold water, occasionally looking back at Shep focussed on the 2 spirits. ¡°Lord Orric has told me to tell you to prepare for an expedition to the nearby forest¡± she stated, ¡°You leave tonight and will be carrying whatever he hunts.¡± Shep sighed, ¡°Again? We only did one last week and that old fool never catches anything, he''s too fat and too slow.¡± ¡°SHEP! Don''t ever speak of Lord Orric like that¡± Esme shouted hurriedly, ¡°He is a Lord, we are alive at his pleasure, don''t ever forget that!¡± ¡°Sorry Esme.¡± Shep grinned, he loved Esme but she had a massive inferiority complex, ''maybe thats just the way of this fucked up world'' he thought. He reached to the table and held his hand next to his ant, it scurried on and ran up to its designated spot on his left shoulder. ¡°Come on Anthony, let¡¯s go hunt for whatever elusive thing Orric''s got his eye on now.¡± ¡°Goodbye Shep, be careful you don''t get lost in those woods.¡± Esme said, kissing Shep on the cheek before ruffling his hair and kicking him out into the garden. Shep smiled and sprinted off across the pristine garden towards the back of the mansion house. As he approached the cobbled exterior of the majestic building, he spied Orric''s portly frame struggling to mount a large white stallion. As the fat man settled into the saddle, his red bird that had been circling descended and perched itself atop his head. The party for the hunt was only three men, the large Lord Orric and two household guards atop their own horses, their two spirit dogs awaiting orders beneath. Orric saw Shep approaching and smirked, ¡°Ah, Failure, you finally showed up now we can leave.¡± ¡°Yes My Lord, I''m ready to carry the creature you fell today sire¡± replied Shep, struggling to hide his laughter. ''As if this loud-mouthed bastard could even come within range of a prey.'' ¡°With the Failure being here, my lord let us be away¡± smiled one of the guards. ¡°Yes, you''re right let''s go, try and keep up Failure.¡± replied Orric spurring his horse forward. The 3 horses trotted toward the forest quickly and Shep jogged behind. The forest bordered the east side of Orric''s estate and was accessible through a rusted iron gate guarded by an elderly man with a grey beard dangling to his knees. This man was Reginald, the oldest man in service to the Irons household, a 94 year old guard, positioned here due his feeble nature. ¡°Greetings Reginald, we''re off on a hunt so stand aside while Failure opens the gates.¡± ¡°Yes My Lord.¡± Wheezed the elderly man, stepping out of the path, ¡°Best of fortunes to you sire.¡± Orric replied by merely raising his arm triumphantly and trotted forward before dismounting his horse and gathering his gear. ''No wonder he''s so fat'' thought Shep, ''riding a horse for 5 minutes rather than walking is ridiculous.'' He approached Orric as the portly man removed an ornate bow and quiver of arrows from his saddle, before tossing them into Shep''s outstretched arms, grunting and disappeared into the thick foliage through the gate. The two guards pushed past Shep, their dogs nipping at their heels, and vanished into the brush, Shep looked back at Reginald and beamed ¡°BYE REG.¡± The old man returned the smile at the boy who followed the party before gingerly closing the gates and returning to his post. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Shep pushed his way through the dense brush, the hunting party had been on an overgrown path for several hours and were approaching the camp set up prior to setting off. One of the guards was leading the way, tentatively pushing branches off the path so that Orric could pass unhindered, he was sweating profusely and cursing as he scrambled on. ¡°For fuck sake, how far away from the camp are we Simon?¡± Orric spat. ¡°About a quarter of a mile, my lord. We will get there in about 20 minutes.¡± Spoke the guard quickly. ¡°Hurry up Failure, bring the Lord a drink.¡± Shep placed the bundles of arrows against a tree and rushed to Orric¡¯s side, the fat man was panting and leaning against a tree. The man snatched the waterskin from Shep¡¯s hands and greedily gulped down the liquid, after he had refreshed himself, he dropped the skin to the ground and turned back to Simon. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going Simon, there¡¯s ale and meat at the camp.¡± Orric grinned toothily, he turned back to Shep who was picking up the dropped waterskin, ¡°Try to keep up Wretch.¡± The guards immediately burst into fits of laughter and started complimenting Orric on calling Shep a wretch. ¡°Haha¡­ My Lord, you come up with the most ingenious names.¡± Chortled Simon before picking himself up and proceeding down the path. Orric followed behind quickly running out of breath, through his wheezing the party heard a far off roar and immediately jumped to attention. ¡°Just a blade wolf, sounds like its coming from across the river, my Lord, they don¡¯t venture across into this forest.¡± The other guard still appeared uneasy, his dog spirit was quietly whining, but Orric puffed his chest out and his Fire-Bird spirit screeched into the forest surrounding them. ¡°HOW DARE YOU MAKE SUCH A NOISE IN MY PRESENCE!!¡± Orric bellowed into the trees copying his spirit. The guard smiled, his composure returned with the loud laughter coming from Orric. Shep couldn¡¯t help but smile, he may have hated the man, but he was good with the underlings that he cared about. Orric obviously had noticed the second guard¡¯s unease and had instantly alleviated it with his outrageous act of shouting at an absent Blade wolf. The Lord¡¯s physical form may have been more resembling a walrus, but his ability to lead, his ability to think was top tier. The party continued onward, and after several more rest-stops reached the clearing in which the camp was set. The sun was sinking low and after arrival Orric immediately began wolfing down the dried deer meat left for them. The two guards started hurrying around after him, laughing at his jokes and joining him in the partaking of the ale, only Shep was left to gather firewood and prepare Orric¡¯s sleeping quarters, a large hammock nestled between two smaller ones (the guards¡¯). ¡°Failure, are you done?¡± Spat Simon, pushing him aside, ¡°The Lord wants to sleep.¡± As Shep nodded the portly silhouette of Orric appeared behind Simon. Orric was obviously drunk and he merely grunted before collapsing into his hammock. Simon glanced around before falling into his own and the 2nd guard did a quick perimeter check before following suit. Shep wandered over to the fire where the 3 men had been eating and drinking and tossed a few branches onto the blaze, he reached into his pack and retrieved some crusty bread and a small waterskin that Esme had packed for him. As the darkness enveloped the clearing and the moon started to rise, Shep heard another far-off roar from some ferocious unknown animal, and with that he curled up near the fire and closed his eyes. The morning light pierced the sleep Shep was in and he bolted up, the embers of the night¡¯s fire were still warm and he used this to heat up a brass kettle for Orric¡¯s morning coffee. As the water was heating he ventured out of the clearing to gather more firewood for when they returned after the first hunt. He stacked it near the fire-pit and then moved to wake up the rest. He stood over Simon and prodded him until he woke. The guard grunted at him before waking the 2nd guard and then finally waking Orric.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Orric groaned before clumsily struggling out of his hammock and staggered to the fire, he looked at Shep who was poking at the ashes with a stick and angrily pointed at an empty iron mug. Shep understood and carefully poured out the contents of the kettle into the mug. ¡°Your coffee, My Lord.¡± Orric gulped down the fluid in one swig, due to his spirit being fire-based it seemed he was immune to the heat of the scalding hot drink. ¡°Come gentleman, let¡¯s hunt.¡± He waddled off to the edge of the clearing, his bird circling above and the 2 guards ran to his side. ¡°Failure. Bring our stuff.¡± Shep sighed, picking up the ornate bow and arrow quiver he sprinted to the 3 men. They started to force their way through the dense brush, periodically stopping to allow the overweight lord a rest. The walk was fairly uneventful, just the usual insults thrown at Shep, the ass-kissing of Orric and his constant boasting of how he¡¯ll ¡®bag a great white stag¡¯ or ¡®kill the Bloodbag Bear¡¯. Aside from the fact that there were no bears on this side of the river (everything dangerous had been eradicated), the ¡®Bloodbag Bear¡¯ was reportedly a 7 meter colossus that had killed both knights seeking valour and hunters seeking fortune, so this old bloated whale had about as much chance killing it as Shep had at sprouting wings and flying. After several hours Simon stopped and raised his arm, the chattering Lord instantly fell silent and started madly gesturing at Shep to give him his bow. Shep obliged and handed the ornamental looking bow over, and then handed over an arrow. Orric nocked the arrow and shunted his way past Simon and glared out towards where the guard was pointing. A lone deer with a magnificent brown pelt was grazing a slight ways away, it raised it¡¯s head and Shep saw it¡¯s large ebony antlers. The fat hunter let the arrow fly but his impatience clearly showed, the projectile arced over the top of the animal, missing it by several meters but alerting the creature. It let out a mournful sounding moan before bolting in the opposite direction. ¡°FUCK. Failure, you made noise¡± Swore Orric, swinging his bow toward Shep¡¯s face. Shep instinctively ducked beneath the swing, but instantly regretted this. The fat man stumbled as he swung and fell back into the dirt, the guards immediately grabbed Shep¡¯s small arms and began to pummel him for not accepting the Lord¡¯s swing. Orric smirked as he saw Shep¡¯s bloody face before ordering the guards to cease. ¡°Thank Lord Orric, boy¡± spat Simon, ¡°If he wasn¡¯t so benevolent, we would beat you to death and leave you to be wolf food.¡± Shep wiped the blood from his face and looked up at Orric, ¡°Thankyou for your kindness, my Lord.¡± He forced through clenched teeth. Orric grinned maliciously and gestured at his bow on the ground, Shep picked it up and re bound it in the cloth he had carried it in. The other 3 men turned their backs on Shep and began to return to camp, there would be no point in hunting any further today. Back at camp the Lord and his guards began their merrymaking, drinking heavily like the night before and devouring more of the meat. Shep sat in the waning sun off to the side and began tending to his wounds. Esme had gifted him some crushed herbs that he rubbed over his bleeding face, the stinging was intense but eventually faded, and by the time the pain had dulled enough for him to sleep, the Lord and the other 2 were fast asleep. The next day was mostly the same, the party moving through the woods in a different direction. The only difference was that the second guard had secreted one of Orric¡¯s arrows away and was now carrying his own bow. Shep understood why he was doing this, the second guard was an amazing shot so he would covertly take the shot at the same time as Orric, allowing the fat old man to believe he had brought down his prey. After several hours of following scat trails and animal paths the hunting party came across another deer, one with pelt of midnight blue but with no antlers. Orric drew his bow and released, unknown to him the second guard followed suit, Orric¡¯s arrow struck a tree before spinning into the brush while the guards aim was true and the projectile thudded into the creatures neck. It fell and began writhing frantically. ¡°YES. DID YOU SEE THAT?!¡± Orric screamed triumphantly rushing to the creature. Shep joined him, Orric beamed proudly at ¡®his¡¯ accomplishment before the moment was soured by the animal¡¯s gargled death throes. He frustratedly gestured to Shep, and the boy pushed a knife into the creatures heart. The beautiful creature now lay motionless and Orric turned his back on it, ¡°Bring it to camp, Failure.¡± Shep nodded and hoisted the thing onto his back and began trudging after the party who had already left him behind. At least the 2nd guard was holding the rest of the equipment, Orric¡¯s bow, his quiver and the waterskin. The load was fairly heavy and equally awkward to carry through the dense thicket, but Shep never fell too far behind, what with Orric¡¯s constant need for rest. They reached the camp as night fell and the other men fell into their routine of drinking heavily before falling asleep. Shep moved the deceased deer into the moonlight and stroked its soft fur. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ animals killing something this cool.¡± He growled, he turned away and headed too his spot by the fire as he settled down he noticed his ant spirit was absent and looking back observed it sat watching the deer. He thought nothing of it and closed his eyes. With a successful hunt the party returned to the manor, Shep shouldered the blue deer and the 3 men laughed and joked ahead of him. The terrain grew more forgiving the closer they got to the manor grounds and before long the party burst from the treeline outside the rusted old eastern gate. Reginald stood guard and greeted the gentlemen individually as they approached, commenting on the beautiful kill Orris had achieved. Shep wandered up to him after placing the creature on the back of Orric¡¯s waiting mare. ¡°Heya Reg, how¡¯s the place been since I¡¯ve been gone¡± Laughed Shep, ecstatic to finally be back home, to be away from Orric and his goons. Reginald noticed the scabbed injuries on Shep¡¯s face and frowned, ¡°Listen Shepherd, something has happened, and you need to take a seat.¡± Shep, seeing the seriousness on Reginald¡¯s usually jovial face, sat on the grass in front of him, ¡°Esme¡­She¡¯s¡­ Esme¡¯s dead.¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 ¡°So¡­how¡¯d it happen?¡± Shep was sat at the rickety wooden table in the centre of his shack. Anthony was perched on the surface, impatiently clicking his fangs at the multitude of spirit creatures surrounding it. ¡°The young master Orion killed her, she disobeyed him so he killed her¡± spoke the elderly head butler matter-of-factly. Shep looked up at the old man, his voice was as curt as usual but the tear falling down his face betrayed him. ¡°Where¡¯s she buried? The cemetery past the eastern gate?¡± At this the old lady beside him began sobbing uncontrollably, ¡°She¡­ she¡­ she wasn¡¯t buried, Orion fed her body to Sapphire, his lion.¡± The old lady was inconsolable, the rabbit spirit sat on her lap similarly buried its head. The old butler stood silently, he was watching Anthony and the other spirits when he saw the small ant grow to twice it¡¯s size and change colour to red for the briefest of moments, before returning to its original appearance. In the history of the Alderin kingdom he had never heard of a spirit that could change, but that didn¡¯t matter, the boy was more important right now. Shep, hate and rage filling every fibre in his being, asked the people to leave, and as the last of them exited he slammed the door shut and sat back at his table. ¡°Fucking asshole¡­I¡¯ll kill the prick¡­ I¡¯ll kill all of them.¡± 6 months later. Shep never had anything against Orric, he didn¡¯t want the old man dead, only the old man¡¯s son had to die. That all changed when Shep overheard Orric and Orion talking in the study. He was quietly cleaning the hall when he heard the voices of the two men discussing him, so he silently moved to the door and cracked it open, listening to the hushed voices. ¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you kill that failure, father?¡± ¡°He is an embarrassment to the Irons family, that much is true, but he shares our blood, does he not? Tell me Orion, do you remember the stories of ¡®The Mages of the Blackheart Isles¡¯?¡± ¡°Old men who can cure any ailment, if I remember correctly.¡± ¡°Correct, however they need body parts from a member of the family of the one that needs to be cured. That is why I let that miserable wretch live, that is why I give it food.¡± At this Shep turned and left, he finally understood why the old man didn¡¯t just kill him, he was a fucking organ bank for the rest of the family. Fuck this whole family, he would make them suffer for what they had done. He wandered out of the estate and back to his shack, he reached under Esme¡¯s old bed and picked up his hunting knife and a scratchy blanket. Shep then ran to the Eastern gate and snuck past old Reg and into the forest. He ventured further than he ever had before, past the campsite and even approached the river that separated the dangerous area from the safe hunting place used frequently by Orric. He sat on the river side and glared across at a large blade wolf drinking from the water. It was a five meter goliath of a creature, its fur shined silver and reflected the noon sun, after it finished drinking it looked up, it¡¯s eyes met Shep¡¯s briefly before it turned on its heel and disappeared into the brush. Shep sighed and turned back, wandering back he eventually reached a familiar location, the place where Orric had ¡®killed¡¯ a midnight blue deer several months before. He looked around the area carefully, relying on his tracking abilities he had gained in his previous life and found a trail obviously frequently used by the local wildlife. Shep dug a pit out on the trail, covered it with leaf litter and then used his knife to saw a long, relatively straight branch from a tree before proceeding to sharpen it into a long spear. Shep crawled behind a nearby bush downwind of the trail and wrapped himself in the scratchy blanket. He remained motionless for several hours, bugs and all manner of insects crawled across him but he remained stationary. After the sun had set and the pale glow of moonlight illuminated the forest, the first of the night creatures emerged. A pure white stag carefully trod the trail, nervously sniffing at the air, after several minutes it moved forward before stepping onto the trap and letting out a moan as it fell. The fall was not far, Shep knew it wouldn¡¯t even be injured, just temporarily stunned, so he rushed over to the pit and drove his spear into its head. The beast fell silent. It took the entire night to drag the carcass through the forest and then to skirt around the estate¡¯s walls to emerge outside the town nearby. Shep had never been in the town, he had never left the estate alone, so he smeared mud into his conspicuous silver hair and left the body of the creature in the forest under his blanket. He ventured onto the streets and as the morning sun rose so did the town, he wandered into a random shop and approached the counter. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Begone kid, I don¡¯t do handouts.¡± ¡°Where can I sell a stag I killed?¡± Shep asked. ¡°What? You killed a stag? The butcher¡¯ll buy it, if its any good.¡± Shep thanked the man and left, he wandered down the street again, it was slowly filling with people, none of whom even looked at him. He eventually saw a sign with what looked like sausages on it, so he assumed it was the local butcher. He stepped through the door and saw a burly man wearing an apron slathered with blood. ¡°You the butcher?¡± He asked. ¡°Fuck ¡®chu think? Piss off I don¡¯t give out scraps to beggars.¡± The man replied, looking Shep up and down, his eyes lingering on the muddy hair and his hands encrusted with brown, dried blood. ¡°Got meat to sell, you willing to buy?¡± The man¡¯s eyes widened momentarily, ¡°What you sellin¡¯?¡± Shep smiled, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go fetch it.¡± ¡°You expect my entire fuckin¡¯ shop to shift while you fetch something.¡± The butcher laughed, ¡°Hurry up though, sooner I get it, fresher it is, more I¡¯ll buy it for.¡± Shep back tracked through the town and back to his kill, he hoisted the large stag onto his shoulders and then walked back to the butcher¡¯s store. His trip this time garnered many looks from onlookers, staring at an eleven year old dragging a majestic white stag over 3 times his size down a busy street. He pulled it through the butcher¡¯s doorway and smirked at the large man as he stood in awe. ¡°How much for this then?¡± Shep grinned. ¡°Its¡­It¡¯s a pearlescent.¡± The butcher said, shock filling his face. ¡°Boy¡­if you can hunt these¡­ this is the start of a beautiful friendship¡± He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a bag of coins, his dog spirit yapped happily, mirroring the emotions of its master. ¡°Stay a few hours while I dissect it, after im done, take its horns to the apothecary across the street and the skin to the tanner next door, we split the money 50/50, sound good?¡± Shep looked up confused, ¡°Didn¡¯t I just sell it you? Why split more money with me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pearlescent boy¡­ the meat is worth about 3 times more than what I gave you for it, its pelt and horns are worth far more, I would usually just take you for a shmuck and cheat you outta some money but¡­ these things are notoriously hard to kill, if you can hunt one, we can be in business.¡± Shep smiled and nodded, he then wandered to a small chair in the corner of the room and watched while the butcher began to work, deftly skinning the creature and peeling it¡¯s magnificent pelt from its body, plucking out its organs and placing them in a bucket and finally sawing its majestic horns off. He wrapped the pelt in twine and handed it to Shep who took it silently and went to the tanner¡¯s next door. After several minutes he returned with a larger bag of coins which he emptied onto the counter and began counting it out. ¡°20 gold and 18 silver, he offered me 30 gold but I¡¯m getting him to teach me how to tan hides, you can have it all if you teach me how to skin ¡®n prepare corpses.¡± Shep said as the butcher peered over. ¡°Sure, be nice to have a helper¡± grinned the butcher, ¡°Name¡¯s Bart, you?¡± ¡°Shep, nice to meet you¡­boss, I¡¯m gonna do the same at the apothecary, that all right.¡± ¡°That weirdo won¡¯t teach you, he¡¯ll just give you some books.¡± Shep smiled, ¡°That¡¯s better than I wanted, with books I can learn at home.¡± He picked up the horns and ran across the street to the dark store. It was almost pitch black inside, the walls were adorned with various plants and vials containing swirling liquids, thick black curtains covered the doorway which Shep had to push his way through and a gnarled man sat at the counter. ¡°Poisons¡­tonics and potions¡± he smiled through gold teeth maliciously, ¡°A poison to make your enemies die in agony, a potion to make you stronger, I have them all.¡± ¡°Not buying, old man, selling pearlescent stag horns, interested?¡± ¡°Pearlescent you say¡± The man chuckled, ¡°I am indeed interested, and of that quality and size, how¡¯s 50 gold sound.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take 25 and for you to teach me how to make potions and poisons, how¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Ha, interesting, here¡¯s 30 gold, and wait here.¡± The man threw a money pouch at Shep before disappearing into the backroom, he re-emerged moments later clutching 2 leather-bound tomes, ¡°Read these, and memorize them, come back when you¡¯re done with them and I¡¯ll lend you the next 2.¡± Shep grinned and nodded happily, he then ran back to Bart¡¯s place and picked up the blanket he had left there. ¡°See you Bart, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± He then ran back through the town, stopping only at a street vendor and buying some cooked meat for the return journey. He disappeared into the forest and hugging the wall of the estate ran back to the eastern gate. Carefully he snuck past Reginald and back onto the Irons estate¡¯s grounds, he returned to his shack and sat on Esme¡¯s bed, throwing his knife and blanket under it he then began to chew on the meat he bought, pulling pieces apart and handing it to Anthony on his shoulder, whilst simultaneously leafing through his new books. After reading the books well into the night, he finally decided to sleep, he curled up on the old bed and fell asleep. The forest was dark, Shep lay in the dirt, his AK47 pushed against his shoulder and he glared down the sights. The silence was deafening, Shep could hear nothing but his own breath and thumping heart. It felt like an eternity before he finally heard something, the clicking of an insect creature and the mechanical whiz punctuated the night. He immediately knew what it was, ¡®The Hive¡¯ was here, down range the brush was pushed aside and a mechanical behemoth forced it¡¯s way through. ¡°No¡­oh god NOO!¡± Shep screamed, the creature was the same one that had killed him, its eyes held the same cold, empty gaze it had when it had fired numerous bullets into his body. As his scream echoed through the forest he awoke with a start, he was in his scratchy straw bed dripping with sweat, shaking uncontrollably. He gazed around the room, looking for Anthony or anything familiar in the pitch dark room. As his eyes adjusted he saw it, in the corner, its colossal form crooked as it bent beneath the ceiling, even if Shep couldn¡¯t make out the shape, it¡¯s empty, cold eyes were unmistakable. The Hive behemoth loomed over him, Shep began to shake uncontrollably, his lower half was wet as he pissed himself in fear and he began backing up slowly, he was as silent as the grave, fear had bolted his mouth shut, and he felt light-headed. The creature stepped toward him, slowly approaching, step by step, it reached out, its mechanical claw brushing Shep¡¯s quivering face and as it did the creatures form began to melt away. It melted away quickly, its metal parts and its flesh turning to liquid which vanished before hitting the floor, and after a few seconds all that was left of it was a small ant impatiently clicking its fangs at a bewildered Shep ¡°¡­Anthony?¡±