《The Gamma Grid Chronicles》 Prologue 1/3: An Unexpected Gift I didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Well?¡± my mother asked, an excited grin resting on her face as she sat in the overstuffed sofa chair cradling her coffee; old coffee stains could be seen in the couch¡¯s suede material covering even older stains from when it belonged to her parents A hand poked my knee and l looked to my younger sister, Kate, as she signed hesitantly with her small hands. Kate could hear just fine, it was the talking she struggled with. She had only made the decision to learn sign language recently and, despite learning it quite rapidly, was still picking it up. She also had to hold herself back because Mom and I were also beginners in understanding so she couldn¡¯t use complex phrases. ¡°Do you like it?¡±. I remained silent. Not because I didn¡¯t like it, and not because I didn¡¯t know how to sign back, Neither of those reasons kept me from answering. I wanted more than anything to jump up and shout in excitement, I wanted to hug both of them fiercely and thank them and not think about the how. I just wanted to be excited. But.. ¡°Mom¡­¡± I started slowly before she interrupted. ¡°No. No William. I know what you¡¯re going to say and I¡¯m not having it. We¡¯ll be fine, we are fine. Don¡¯t worry about any of that. All that matters is do you like it?¡± Of course. What a stupid question - I thought. I might as well be holding a golden ticket to Wonka¡¯s factory for how excited I was. It didn¡¯t seem real. It couldn¡¯t be real. Something must be wrong, there¡¯s no way we could afford this. I spoke again. ¡°Mom..I just don¡¯t know. I mean, there¡¯s no way. Someone else should go. I¡¯m sure we could transfer this or sell it.¡± Again, she cut me off, her tone sharper, a hint of desperation to her voice and a sternness in her almond-brown eyes. ¡°NO! William. We are not selling it, we are not transferring it. It¡¯s all non-refundable anyway. If you cancel we¡¯ll just lose the money we spent on it. It¡¯s okay William. You¡¯ve worked so hard. You deserve it. You¡¯ve always wanted to go and you may not have the option later.¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself, ¡°Mom, what about school? What about work? What about¡­¡± Now she had really had enough of me. I could tell because her French accent got much thicker. She had never pushed Kate or I to learn French, much to her parent¡¯s frustration, but her English would gradually get trickier to understand when she was upset or particularly passionate about something. Though the latter seemed to appear less and less in recent years. ¡°It¡¯s scheduled for your spring break. It¡¯s only a week, so you might not be able to see everything, but you can see some of those buildings you¡¯ve always wanted to see. You can do some of your drawings for Katie and me. Stop being so stubborn!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not being stubborn Mom. We just can¡¯t afford this. I can¡¯t afford this. I have to work during that break, and I¡¯ll probably have projects Mom! I can¡¯t just leave whenever I want. I have responsibilities Mom!.¡± I was getting angry now as well. Why was I angry? ¡°I know. You don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know William?! Of course I know all about your responsibilities. But we¡¯ll be fine. Your grandparents chipped in. I¡¯ve saved up some money. I spoke to your professors to be sure you¡¯d have time, I explained the importance of this. I spoke to your work, they¡¯re fine with it. Mark knows what this trip means to you and was more than happy to move your shifts around.¡± She was speaking faster and faster, trying desperately to console my every fear. Yet, each reassurance was a dagger. My professors? What would they think of me? Needing to have my own mother ask for a break like I was a little kid? I was fuming as these thoughts raced through me as fast as my mother could speak. I tried to keep them contained, but they burst forth. ¡°How could you give up my spring break shifts Mom?! I need those shifts. You know I can¡¯t work as much at the end of the semester with final projects and finals. I need those shifts to get me through then. It¡¯s not that easy Mom! I¡¯m sure you think¡­.¡± I was interrupted from saying some truly nasty things by a small hand tapping my knee, breaking me out of my tirade.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I looked down from my own chair at Kate, who had scooched closer on the floor and was now rapidly trying to sign something. I couldn¡¯t keep up though, she was signing too fast. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kate, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re trying to say.¡± much of my anger was lost as I tried to calmly speak to my younger sister. ¡°Try again, you¡¯ll have to slow down for me. I¡¯m still learning¡±. This time I signed in return, a habit I was still trying to form. It was tricky when she understood me fine either way, but it did help with my own comprehension. Her rapid hand movements slowed down and the meaning became clear after a few seconds. ¡°You don¡¯t like it? I thought you would like it?¡± I could see a shimmer in her brown eyes, the closest she came to crying these days, and I knew I had really messed up. Why am I such an idiot? I took a breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t love it Kate..It¡¯s just that, well, we can¡¯t afford it.¡± Her response was to point at the package in front of me then slowly sign ¡°we already have it..so we can afford it¡±. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple Kate¡­¡± I tried to object. ¡°No, it is. You are wrong. You are being a pig¡± She had found great delight in using animals to describe people instead of using adjectives as they were much easier to remember. And they would often confuse people and make her laugh. Which was a win-win for her. She had quickly gotten into the habit of using all kinds of animals to describe what mood I was in. Pig was a recent one. It meant I was being stubborn. I scoffed and responded, signing along ¡°I am not being a..wait show me pig again..ahh, I am not being a pig¡± I annunciated this last part by making a face and snorting as I rested my hand under my chin in the sign for pig. She giggled and I truly lost my steam. I looked over at my mom and she too seemed to have cooled down and was smiling at Kate and I, her reddened eyes the only sign of our heated encounter. I took a breath in, and looked back down at the envelope in my hands. It didn¡¯t seem real, and everytime I looked I was convinced they were fake, or this was some joke. But they seemed real. Round trip tickets to London. I had even checked to see if maybe they were actually round trip tickets to London, Ontario which would¡¯ve made more sense. But no, they said Heathrow on them, and I was fairly certain there wasn¡¯t a Heathrow in Ontario. ¡°How? This doesn¡¯t make sense..¡± ¡°I told you, I¡¯ve been saving, I had wanted to give you a gift when you had graduated high school, but¡­¡± She didn¡¯t need to say anything further. My high school graduation, now almost 3 years past, had occurred at the same time that Da..that Andy had given up. There had been larger priorities than grad gifts. Priorities none of us enjoyed talking about. ¡°Anyway, I had some from there, and I¡¯ve been setting aside a bit every month. And then your grandparents helped out a bit as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to owe them..¡± ¡°I know, I know honey. This was a gift. They hadn¡¯t gotten you anything for your graduation either and then they wrapped it into a Christmas gift.¡± I wasn¡¯t too convinced but that did console me a bit more. They weren¡¯t doing too much better than us. Plus, I didn¡¯t want to owe them any money. I had borrowed money once and regretted it every time I saw them until I had paid it back. ¡°Ok, well I¡¯ll have to look into places to stay, I think I can save a bit by then.¡± I said with some resignation as I continued to look over the tickets, checking every angle for signs of subterfuge. ¡°All taken care of. If you had read the rest of the card I have the information for the hostel we booked for you. It¡¯s not the Ritz, but it seems safe and has decent reviews.¡± As if I would be staying at the Ritz anyway. I hadn¡¯t read the card yet, I had been so surprised by the tickets that I hadn¡¯t read further. There was a moment of silence as I read through. Along with an organized itinerary there were two personal notes written on the card. One from Kate and one from my mom. I remained there for some time just staring at what they had written. It was beautiful. It was supportive. I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to respond. ¡°I know it¡¯s not the big trip you used to talk about. But, it¡¯s a start to see if you like it. And¡­.¡± ¡°I love it¡± I interrupted, finally allowing myself to say what I had been feeling but had been too scared to admit. I could barely get out the rest ¡°thank you mom, thank you Kate¡±. I couldn¡¯t even look at them. I just stared at the tickets, afraid they¡¯d vanish if I looked away. ¡°You love it?¡± Kate signed to me. I nodded, eyes burning. ¡°Thank you¡± I let out the breath I had been holding and grabbed Kate in a big bear hug, completely encapsulating her in my arms. She let out a few giggles, and my heart broke all over again. Any sound from her was a small triumph, and one of joy was especially wonderful. ¡°Thank you Kate¡± I whispered, ¡°thank you.¡± She just tapped my back in response. I let her go and snuck around the cramped space around the coffee table to wrap my mom in a big hug as well. ¡°Thank you mom¡± I could barely get the words out. I knew what that money could have done, I knew how much it would¡¯ve helped in so many times. I was almost angry that she had saved it. We could¡¯ve used that so many times. But, she had saved it for me. I had no idea how to put that into words. I just hoped she knew. ¡°It¡¯s okay William¡± I realized I was sobbing, my shoulders heaving in small shudders. She reached up and stroked the back of my head while she held me. It had been years since she was taller than me, but in that moment I was once again a small kid being consoled by his mother. For that moment, school, work, debt, bills, food, rent, Kate¡¯s therapy, the last few years, all of it just faded away and it was just me. This moment felt like it could just be for me. Prologue 2/3: No Doubt A small knock at my door. Unmistakable. ¡°I¡¯ll be out for dinner in a second Kate, just finishing up my planning¡± The first day back after winter break was tomorrow and I wanted to have my daily schedule established before I started getting homework piled. I also needed to figure out time to work more, get and pay for supplies, and plan out my itinerary for London. Even if it doesn¡¯t happen, it¡¯s still fun to plan. I argued, continuing my ongoing mental battle against the cynical disbelief that plagued my mind since Mom and Kate had gotten me that gift. Another knock. ¡°Yeah, Kate I heard you, I¡¯ll be right up¡±. Had she not heard me? I knew her hearing worked fine, too fine sometimes. Many people, mom included, underestimated how much she saw and heard because she was so quiet. It used to be that her stutter kept her from speaking up, now though, she had gone completely quiet. I hope that new therapist is making progress. She had been seeing a speech therapist off and on for a few years after it became clear the stutter wasn¡¯t a phase. But when she had stopped talking altogether, the visits had increased. She had gone to a few different ones that specialized in selective mutism until clicking with her current one. A third set of knocks. ¡°Kate?¡± I finally got up and answered the door. ¡°What is it..¡± Kate¡¯s small figure rushed into my arms and hugged me fiercely, her arms clasped around my stomach and her head buried in my chest. ¡°Whoa, whoa, what happened? Are you okay?¡± I rested my arms around her as her body shook against mine. When no answer came, I shut the door behind and walked us over to sit on the edge of my bed. She resisted for a moment, but I was eventually able to pry her hands from around me and sit her down so I could look at her. She had been crying. ¡°Kate. What¡¯s wrong¡± I rested my hand on her shoulder, my schedules and fears for the semester momentarily forgotten as I beheld her shimmering, bloodshot eyes. She sniffled a few times, but no sound escaped her lips as she sat there looking down at the floor. I asked her again what was wrong but she remained silent. We sat there for a time as she continued to sniffle but still refused to answer me despite my occasional proddings. So I changed tactics, time to ask her about something else. I had noticed something was different about her when we sat down, but took a closer look now to confirm. Yes, I was correct. Her brown pixie-cut hair, which was already short enough to almost match my similarly short-cut brown hair, looked to have gotten even shorter. ¡°Kate?¡± I asked slowly, ¡°have you been cutting your hair again?¡±, her small form stopped shuddering for a second as she froze in place. ¡°Mom¡¯s gonna kill you when she finds out¡±, she sniffed loudly, her nose crinkling up as she did. ¡°I must say, you are getting better though, as long as you style it up she might not even notice¡± This finally broke through. Kate and her hair. I chuckled inwardly. Her hands rose and made a series of gestures, slower than she usually signed for my benefit. Still though, it took me a second to piece the signs into the concepts they represented. I laughed when I finally understood the meaning. ¡°Yeah, I suppose shorter cuts is a smarter way of doing it. These are definitely shorter than your last attempts. I still think Mom might notice unless you style it a bit¡± I pulled at the shorter sections, comparing them to the parts she hadn¡¯t cut yet. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, you did only take a bit off. It looks pretty good honestly.¡± She smiled broadly, not as broad as she used to, but better than recent years. ¡°You know if you cut it any shorter, you could give yourself a mohawk. That might look good¡± I said, now pulling at the centre sections of her hair to visualize my suggestion. My hands were promptly swatted away, and her broad smile was replaced with a scowl. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding. Genuinely, it looks really good. I¡¯m excited to see how good you get as you keep practicing. Maybe I¡¯ll let you cut my hair before I leave.¡± At this her eyes raised in excitement, but then immediately dropped. Ah, that¡¯s what¡¯s bugging her. ¡°So, you¡¯re not too excited about me going to London?¡± There was a moment of panic now in her eyes and she frantically began to sign. No, I want you to go. It was my idea. I want you to go. ¡°Okay okay.¡± I chuckled softly. ¡°So if you want me to go, and you¡¯re happy with your hair cut, then what¡¯s eating you?¡± I signed along now. I really needed the practice and the therapist had said she would talk more if she felt like she was being accepted, regardless of her form of communication. She took a moment. ¡°Come on Katie, you can tell me.¡± Indignation masked her face. She hated being called Katie and I usually respected that wish. Unless I was trying to get on her nerves, or get her out of her shell. Since this was the latter, I attempted to mollify her with a wavy hand gesture under my chin. ¡°Come on Katie, you can tell Brother Pig.¡± I accompanied my gestures with a few snorts to emphasize how much of a pig I was. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Her anger broke and she made the same symbol for me. Then signed further. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯ll only speak to Brother Pig. Brother Will is being a jerk.¡± Fair enough, I earned that one. I kept my hand under my chin, waving my fingers up and down and periodically snorting and chuffing, which elicited a broad smile and a few soundless laughs from her, which took the form of closed eyes and bouncing shoulders. I considered tickling her, but dared not. I had finally gotten her this far, tickling her and potentially making her actually laugh would undue all of it. So I contented myself with the joy I was bringing and waited for her to finally tell me what was going on. After her laughing stopped, she signed. ¡°I want you to go. But I¡¯m afraid¡± ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± ¡°What if you stay away or don¡¯t come back?¡± ¡°Why would I stay away? Of course I¡¯m coming back Kate¡± ¡°Dad didn¡¯t¡± ¡­..Rage. Betrayal. Anger¡­. I took a breath and buried these emotions. Now was not the time. ¡°That was different Kate.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You know why.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll decide to stay away as well, maybe..¡± ¡°I¡¯m not him! I¡¯d never do that?¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I just won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can you tell me how you know?¡± Because I wasn¡¯t a coward. I wasn¡¯t going to take the easy way out. Because I actually gave a shit about my family. Because I could never do that to anyone. Because I hated him so much that I didn¡¯t want to do anything he did. I wanted to have nothing in common with him. ¡°I just know, Kate,¡± was all I said. ¡°Why won¡¯t you tell me? Why won¡¯t you talk about it?¡± ¡°You first.¡± I regretted it immediately. It was a dumb thing to say. Kate took a minute to respond after that, organizing her thoughts. ¡°I want to.¡± This was new. ¡°But..I can¡¯t¡±. That wasn¡¯t. Whenever asked, Kate simply said she couldn¡¯t talk because she couldn¡¯t. It was incredibly frustrating, but getting frustrated about it only made her lock down even more, to the point that she wouldn¡¯t even sign. I cleared my throat and sat up straight, Kate¡¯s mutism wasn¡¯t what we were talking about. ¡°Kate. I promise I¡¯m coming back, no matter what. I promise to always come back, no matter how far away I am, even if we¡¯re a world apart, I¡¯m coming back.¡± ¡°World¡± was a new one, and I had to spell it, but otherwise I signed as I spoke. ¡°Da..¡± I couldn¡¯t say it, he lost that title when he left. ¡°He can¡¯t come back, he made his choice, but I¡¯m not him. I¡¯ve made my choice as well, and my choice is to be here whenever I can, and race back when I¡¯m away.¡± Kate¡¯s eyes were watery but solemn as she asked, ¡°you promise?¡±. I put one hand under my chin and signed the rest with the other, ¡°Brother Pig promises¡±. Her arms wrapped around me again, and she cried softly for a few seconds. I thought I heard actual sobs, but I may have imagined it. As I held my little sister I glanced over at my planner and schedule notes. It probably won¡¯t happen anyway, Kate. And if it does? If it does? If it does then it will be over before she knows it, and I¡¯ll be home again. As much as I might wish to go on adventures and see the world, I couldn¡¯t. Even if this happened, it was a one-off. I knew it. It would be years before I could afford to do any kind of trip again, not only had that asshole left us alone, he had left us with debt. The fact Mom had managed to keep this amount aside was nothing short of a miracle. But, miracles only happen once. This would be my one shot at an adventure, and it would be over before I knew it. So don¡¯t worry Kate. I meant what I said. For better or worse. I¡¯m not going anywhere. ¡ª-- Adez pressed forward. In a land without light Adez fought against the inhospitable environment and nightmarish residents. It mattered not what Adez faced; Adez¡¯s progress was unyielding. So close. Adez¡¯s journey, an impossible endeavor, was almost at its end. Adez¡¯s titanic zeal had seen Adez through everything. From the completely mundane worlds to lands that defied imagination. When Adez had faced the false gods, it was their empty faith, not Adez¡¯s, that hade been found wanting. Adez had not been surprised. Adez¡¯s master was eternal, and the gods had only served themselves. The beings of this land, an amalgamation of cosmic horrors and evolutionary nightmares had largely left Adez alone. For their part, they had had the surreal experience of finding a being even stranger than them. They had stared on from the above, from the below, and from all around as Adez: First Among the Unbeings and Wielder of the Empty Mantle, strode past their twisting and chaotic roosts, nests, caves, and dens. Adez cared not for their gazes, Adez had faced them before. All that mattered to Adez was the purpose, the purpose that Adez had taken from master. Adez¡¯s master was eternal and planned eternally, they had grown used to an eternity of torment. But not Adez. Adez could not bear it. So close. Soon. Soon Adez could end master¡¯s torment. Emptiness. A concept that could not be mistaken for anything else. This being was a void in a land of nearly-complete existence. And they were getting closer and closer to its core. Far away, beyond the nebulaic mountains and the Endless Ocean a horrifying creature with innumerable heads observed. Oo-shi, known as EverWatcher, had 500 of her heads observing Adez¡¯s descent. She-Who-Saw-All had watched his journey as the decades had turned into centuries. She hadn¡¯t noticed him at first because of his composition. Or rather his lack of composition. ¡°Emptiness¡± she mused. For if Adez was anything, it was the lack of the thing. She-whose-gaze-pierced-the-horizon was familiar with the concept. Unlike the others of her homeland, she could see beyond its shores. She could see beyond to the islands that floated adrift in seas of nothingness, only the feeble strings of attraction keeping them connected. A few of her hands looked to the Islands of the Gods, the first islands she had seen due to their proximity to each other and to her home. To think the Godkings and GodQueens had such a glaring weakness. To be defeated so soundly. Truly remarkable. Could no one stop this Empty Unbeing? Oo-shi had guessed at Adez¡¯s ultimate goal over the years, but now that the Unbeing had gotten this far and still continued deeper, she needed to guess no longer. If Adez sought the depths, there was only one thing they could be after. Should she intervene? Perhaps, but it was not her place nor her purpose. Furthermore, Balance had not been upset, to act would be to upset Balance. She returned to her eternal vigil. The 500 heads trained on Adez were reduced to only 50, the remainder looking beyond the endless shores, past the impassable horizon, to the islands beyond. She took in the compact Archipelagos of the Gods, the close groupings of the Fluxal, the loose isles of the Ethereal, and finally, the scattered rocks of the Material, with such vast separation between each harbor that she once again wondered at their ability to stay connected. There was always more to see. More mysteries to solve. If they were all to be erased soon, she wished to take in as much as she could before there was nothing left to watch. Prologue 3/3: A Beginning and an End The next few months were a blur as I recommitted myself to my studies, my projects, and work. I was in my 3rd year of architecture and the workload seemed to only increase each year. But, I was so excited for spring break to come that I applied myself fiercely to stay on top of everything. If I did end up missing this trip, it was not going to be because I was behind on studies. Any spare change I could come across I saved. I already barely ate out as it was just too expensive long-term, but now even less. Any time I wanted something quick to eat, I just imagined not being able to try something in London because I had spent money now and that set me straight. The downside of this maddening pace was that my already abysmal social life dropped even further. The friends I had made understood though, as many were also just struggling to stay afloat in the wash of ever-present deadlines and increasingly larger projects. When I wasn¡¯t studying, at school, or asleep, I was working. I did maintenance at one of the larger hotels in my town and worked the evening into night shift. If I was quick and the night was quiet I often had a few hours to work on homework. But, there were also the shifts where I¡¯d spend all night fixing the cable in rooms, unclogging toilets, replacing lights, and whatever else was on the fritz. I was very underqualified when I started there a few years ago. But Mark was the maintenance lead and was an old family friend. His training and help had brought me up to speed, and also made it easier to ignore his interest in mom. He was relatively shy and had only brought it up once. For all that I appreciated him for, that had been the only time I had gotten mad at Mark. It was an overreaction and I had apologized later, but he, thankfully, had never brought it up again. I wanted to spend more time with Kate and mom than I was, but there was never enough time to do everything. Most days all I got was a few minutes to eat breakfast with them before heading out. I didn¡¯t have time to do movie nights with Kate like she enjoyed, which was my biggest regret during the busy months. I knew she liked movies because no one expected her to talk; everyone was supposed to be quiet. I could relate as I liked the quiet recesses of the library for similar reasons. Didn¡¯t have to worry about how my presence was affecting anyone. When the week finally came I was wracked with anxiety. Not for the trip, but that somehow it wouldn¡¯t work out. I had made a few itineraries for the trip but had also made one for my week if it was all some cruel joke and I didn¡¯t end up going. I kept that one in my wallet; a useless act because I also had it memorized. If it came down to it I was completely ready to laugh it off and pretend that I knew it was never real. As the days turned into hours that piece of paper got heavier and heavier. Please. Please let this be real. I threw my bags in the car, and it was still real. I hugged Kate and Mom, and promised Mom that I would call if I needed anything and I could call collect if needed. It¡¯d be fine. But it was still real. I waved goodbye as I walked into the airport alone, Mom and Kate both a little misty-eyed as they waved back from the loading zone and drove off in our aging Sedan. I had no emotions, I was still scared. It seemed real. I passed through security, still real. I double and triple-checked my flight time and gate. Still real. I went up to the attendants at the desk and confirmed I was in the right place, they confirmed my name and everything. Still real. I boarded the plane. Still real. Then the plane took off. ¡­.This was real. I was going to London. Something might happen to the plane, but it would happen while I was on my way to London. London! I leaned back and months of anxiety and fear turned into overwhelming excitement, I wanted to jump and run up and down the aisle. I wanted to talk to each person on that plane and hear their story and talk about how excited we all were to go to London. To London! I took my notebook out and reviewed my plans for the first day, then checked the rest of the days. Then I just kept re-reading the plans I had made, smiling bigger and bigger each reread. I knew I needed sleep, but I could hardly imagine turning my brain off at this point. I decided to take the Gravol Mom had given me, chose a cozy movie I idly thought Kate would¡¯ve enjoyed to watch with me, and finally tucked in for the long flight ahead of me. The last thing I did was take out that piece of paper in my wallet and cross out the other itinerary, the one I had written for when this ended up being a joke. This wasn¡¯t a joke. I was going on this trip. I was going on an adventure. My very own adventure. There weren''t bills or school or work or family to worry about. It was just me. For the first time in years all I had to think about was what I wanted to do. Sleep took me surprisingly fast once my body was finally allowed to relax. My last thoughts were of them as I drifted off to sleep. Thanks Mom. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Thanks Kate. ¡ª---------------------------------------- Oo-shi the EverWatcher continued her vigil. The Unbeing was truly tenacious and single-minded in focus. Nothing could stop them - Oo-shi mused. She suspected this to be the case because, as far as she had seen, practically everything had been attempted to halt this being¡¯s descent from beyond the distant islands to the shores of the Prime Nebula; where they now stood. They had remained there for a time, staring into the cataclysmic depths that all of creation had crawled from eons ago. To enter the Prime Nebula meant complete and utter destruction for every being in existence. Well, almost every being. She suspected she could face it if necessary, but did not see a future where that would become necessary. For the Unbeing, this was the final hurdle on their thus-far unstoppable path. Finally, as if triggered by some unseen stimuli, the Unbeing descended. As with all prior obstacles, aside from the barest of hesitations, they overcame this one without much struggle and proceeded to descend into the matter-crushing depths of the Prime Nebula. It won¡¯t be long now - Oo-shi thought as she turned away all but a single head from the Unbeing. There was very little time left to observe and she wished to catch every moment she could, including the final ones. Her existence¡¯s mission would be coming to a close soon, and, in these final days, she wished only to take in the joy of the Sparked. A small wraith completing her first kill. A good hunt. An imp who had finally gotten the courage to bring a shiny gem to the she-imp who had caught his fancy. A good match. A young human traveling to a land he had only dreamed of seeing. A great endeavor. All these final moments of joy she took in and more. As she knew they were measured in days now and soon to be hours. If her prediction held true, the Unbeing had one last challenge to face. Just one more impossibility on his path. Yes. It won¡¯t be long now. She was sure of it. ¡ª---------------------------------------------------- It was my final day in London and it still hardly seemed real. I had barely gotten any sleep this week because I was so determined to see and take in everything. I had a fresh notebook filled with drawings of every piece of architecture that had struck my fancy. I had eventually decided to stop drawing everything when I realized I had only traveled 2 blocks my first day after coming across a Cathedral and drawing every single feature I could see on it until they had closed. It had been ages since I had been able to just sit down and draw for pure enjoyment instead of for school and I was hooked. I had photos as well on my phone but they never seemed to do the wonders I beheld the justice they deserved. My days quickly passed as I filled them with trying new food, drawing new buildings or features of buildings, and visiting museums. Because of my low funds I only got a few souvenirs, a rosary from St. Paul¡¯s for Mom, a scarf I thought Kate might like, and a cool lighter with the Union Jack on it for myself. I knew it was silly, but it would be a fun way to remember this place every time I went camping. It was one of those classic lighters that felt good to light and I kept it with me everywhere I went. I attempted twice to offer a light if I saw a cute girl lighting a smoke. Unfortunately, my flirting was a little rusty and I fumbled lighting it both times. In both cases the cute girl simply lit her own cigarette and continued with her day. Which I was grateful for as, unlike my lighter, my face had gotten red-hot with embarrassment both times. I spent a little bit of time whenever my fingers got cramped from writing, just working on opening and closing the lighter in a quick way and lighting it quickly. ¡°Please, allow me¡± I would say, and with a flourish and a wink I would light the mystery girl¡¯s cigarette. Maybe I should have bought nice matches instead? The charming men in the black and white¡¯s Mom liked always used matches. At home, I was always too busy, too poor, too stressed, and too overworked to even think about girls. But London-me? Still pretty broke and stressed, but it was fun to entertain the notion of having a flirtatious interaction with a beautiful stranger. Maybe I¡¯d come see her again or she would come see me. And we¡¯d travel the world together, or live in the jungle. One could dream. However, before I knew it. My trip was at its end. As the sun began to set on the final day I didn¡¯t want to return to my hostel or go to bed. I had stayed out somewhat late most nights but had promised mom I would be going to bed at a reasonable time each night so I wouldn¡¯t get mugged or stabbed or whatever other awful outcomes she had imagined. Tonight though, I just couldn¡¯t. It was my final night here and I wanted to savor every last second. I wanted to really enjoy the culture and the people. To that end I found myself walking in random directions, taking the Tube to stops I didn¡¯t know, and checking out Pubs I had never been to or heard of before with names I struggled to pronounce. I got myself thoroughly lost, determined to squeeze every last drop out of my trip. It was my final day, and I wanted it to be the most memorable. ¡ª----------------------------------- Adez slowly approached the old stone well. It was the first thing they had come across in this land that looked normal and was therefore completely out of place and completely unmistakeable. A well, in the depths of the Prime Nebula, resting upon a rocky gnoll, upon which sat a wood-paneled cover. Just as he had been told. To remove the covering would return all that had come from the well back to The Source. To do that would end all of known existence. A temporary victory. Eventually, the well would reappear. It always did. And all would return, as it always did. And this¡­ existence¡­.would continue, as it always did. Not this time. From their strange mantle, Adez retrieved a large disc composed of such blackness it made the surrounding mirk appear bright. Adez gently rested the large disc beside the well, it would not do to damage the artifact after carrying it this far. Then, with no hesitation, Adez gripped both sides of the wooden covering firmly, and pulled at it. It resisted for a time, but Adez would not be denied. Finally, with a mighty creaking sound, the covering budged from where it had lain since the beginning of time. Adez pulled the lid completely off and held it in his hands; waiting. A second passed. Another. Then, a force beyond anything Adez had felt erupted from the well only to be withdrawn just as quickly. And so it begins. Everything around the well and beyond began to be pulled down into the infinite depths. It started slow, but like a forming whirlpool it progressed rapidly. Adez watched as the first scraps of existence plunged down the Well, returning to the Source. In his hands the lid was pulled as well, but not to descend down the well, but rather to re-cover it. Left to its own devices the lid would find its place and the collapse would end early. Or Adez could remain and hold it in place until all of reality had collapsed, then the well and lid would simply disappear. Or so his master had said. Both options were unacceptable to Adez. No more. Adez took the wooden cover and, with a mighty swing, broke it into two over his knee. The wood did not creak or snap as it was split, but rather released a thunderous CRACK that seemed to push back the descent of reality for a brief moment. Adez took these two halves in his hands, and as the funneling continued, threw them down the well. The collapse could not be stopped now. But Adez had a greater goal to achieve. Adez lifted the large disc they had set to the ground before and placed it completely over the opening of the well, blocking the opening entirely. The suction did not abate, but continued accelerating as existence continued to fall towards the well. But not to fall down and return to its Source. The disc that now blocked the opening appeared to be absorbing every scrap of existence that approached, disallowing even the smallest particles from descending. No more. Adez stepped back to watch their work. No doubt The Source had built fall-backs into their accursed universe. No doubt Balance would stick their nose in things shortly. But, things were moving quickly. They might not have time for that. And even if they did. What could they do to stop this now? The Universe would be unmade. And it would never return. Chapter 1 - My Last Night in London 4-87-09: Anomaly detected. Running Self-Check. 4-87-19: WARNING: UNIVERSE 25 COLLAPSE TRIGGERED BY UNKNOWN ENTITY. 4-87-20: Unknown Entity Located in Primordial Plane. Protocol: Entity Deletion activated. 4-87-25: WARNING: UNIVERSE COLLAPSE PROGRESSING RAPIDLY. UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~98%. 4-87-26: ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL COMPLETE UNIVERSAL COLLAPSE: 1 Universal Minute 4-87-40: WARNING: UNIVERSE COLLAPSE PROGRESSING RAPIDLY. UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~83% 4-87-54: WARNING: UNIVERSE COLLAPSE PROGRESSING RAPIDLY. UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~69% "I''m such an idiot" I thought frantically as I ran as fast as I possibly could. There was still a runner inside of me, but it was fighting against the sedentary lifestyle of a student. I also didn''t run for my life too often, so my body was just trying to keep up. "Oi twat!! Where do you think you''re goin''?" a slurred voice shouted behind me. "Don''t think you can get away ya fuckin yank!" a gruffer, yet still-slurred voice shouted. I didn''t have the air in my lungs to correct him that I was from Canada and I thought we were supposed to get along better. Also running from their fists and knives was taking precedent. When I went out tonight I had all these plans about what I was going to see and experience as a final hurrah. Running from a bunch of angry, testosterone-fueled morons was not on the list. It had all happened so fast and I could barely believe it had gotten this far so rapidly. But, when I had seen them all ganging up on the one kid who looked to be a few years older than Kate, for some reason my rationality went out the door. I had hoped it was just some roughhousing. When I was bullied that had never been my experience, but this was a different country, maybe the kids were nicer. Then someone threw a punch. And another. Someone else threw one. Then the lone teen was on the ground, and the kicking started. And then the worst part. The laughing. Laughing at the defenseless kid who they were all older than, and therefore had power over. I remembered those laughs. I thought I had moved past those laughs after I had learned to defend myself. Or after Kate had stopped being bullied a few years ago. I had not. Some part of me assumed that having a few years on these kids would instantly solve the issue. I was a university student. I was an adult. Adults always appeared so imposing and so much more in control of the world. I had never felt that way, but hoped I would at least appear that way to them. At least they had left the kid alone I thought, trying to console myself as I squeezed more energy out of my already-exhausted body. I turned sharply around another unfamiliar corner, hoping to find a sign that I recognized, or one of those constables you always see roaming the streets in movies,even a tunnel to the Tube, anywhere with more people. But, as I had intended earlier in the night, I was well and truly lost. The once-inviting streets of London now seemed intentionally confusing, especially in this foreign neighborhood. Another corner. This time I gripped the street post and swung hard to give myself some leverage which allowed me to shoot up the dark street. It gave me a few extra seconds of lead. I saw a park and jumped the iron fence surrounding it. I hoped that my pursuers'' advanced inebriation would make these maneuvers impossible and allow me to slip away. I was a little tipsy myself, but I was capable enough for this. Hopefully, I could just get far enough ahead that they would lose interest and move on. But, I was the foreigner here, and this was their home. They knew where they were going and I very much did not. Even in this small park I got turned around for a second, eventually finding my way to what I hoped was a main road. Somehow, it was an even darker alley than the one before. My luck truly knew no bounds tonight. ¡°How many alleys does this city have??¡± I groaned though heaving breaths. I looked back, they were perhaps half a block or so behind me now. Taking the park had worked in my favor. I took out my phone, continuing to run down the alley. I had gotten a few more seconds ahead, hard won seconds that could turn around in an instant. I needed to get help and figure out where I was. I frantically opened up my map, clinging to my phone to not drop it. It loaded painfully slow. I was using my carrier''s travel plan, but connecting to cell towers and getting data from them was never quick. When it finally did load, nothing looked familiar, but there was a Tube station several blocks from here. I clicked on it and kept running, straining to memorize the directions, and almost running into a wall in my distraction. I side stepped and stumbled before continuing down the tight street. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. They were slowly gaining on me. I could hear their razzing and jibes. That stumble had cost me time, too much time. I found energy within I didn¡¯t know I had and picked up the pace, chest heaving with strain. My sides were aching as I hadn¡¯t had to run this much in years. Had I pissed off the London youth track team? How were these teens keeping up with me? I couldn¡¯t look at directions in this full-out run so I gave up and called 911 instead. I didn¡¯t know the UK specific one and hoped it would just work. The dial tone took a few seconds to even make the call. First ring. There was a tight squeeze ahead of me, some delivery truck blocking the street. Seriously, where was I? I dipped right and flew down a side passage, rushing past garbage and alley doors. Second ring. The alley followed a gentle curve, a curve that went away from the subway tunnel I was aiming for. I needed to go left. Hopefully, it would turn left. Third rings. Really? This number won¡¯t call anyone here? I could probably look up the police number. Hopefully.. Someone picked up. Please be someone helpful. ¡°911. Police, Fire or Ambulance?¡± Relief filled me, energizing me. ¡°Oh thank god! Uh..Police! Please I¡¯m being chased down by some angry teenagers with knives I think¡± I shouted. A beat. ¡°You have the police, where are you?¡± ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m not sure. I was heading for a subway entrance, but I got turned around. I was at a pub and it¡¯s my last night here and I was enjoying the night air and went down a couple side streets and came upon a group of teens beating up another one and I stepped in to stop them and there was a bunch of back and forth and they shoved me and I shoved them back and I didn¡¯t mean to, I never really fight and it just kept escalating and one pulled out a knife and told me to get lost and I told them to leave the kid alone and now they¡¯re chasing me and they have knives and I¡¯m just visiting from Canada and I have no idea where I am.¡± I practically cried out, not even sure what I was saying. I wheezed, still frantically looking ahead for where I should go. ¡°That¡¯s ok, do you see any landmarks, do you remember the name of the pub?¡± I looked around frantically, there were signs, but it was dark, and I was somehow in some industrial area. ¡°Ugh yeah there seems to be some large brick buildings nearby. Factories I think. And I saw some small brick housing back a bit. I was just following the river to see where it would take me. The pub was called¡­I¡¯m so sorry¡± I cried, cursing my memory, I was terrible with names at the best of times. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the name, I think it was just named after the area I was in. But I don¡¯t remember where that is.¡± All I could think of was how to escape, words were slow at hand. There was only action. ¡°It¡¯s okay, keep running, you¡¯ll be okay, we¡¯re getting a trace on your phone''s location and will be sending someone out to find you, tell them the cops are on the way, that may scare them off. Could you also describe them?¡± I turned immediately ¡°HEY! The cops are on their way! They¡¯ll be here any second!!¡± The young buzzcut one shouted ahead "They won¡¯t get ¡®ere in time to save you!¡± his three friends laughed and continued to chase me. Great. I tried to remain focused and decided to describe them ¡°ugh one of them is white, buzzcut, black chain tattoo on his neck, they¡¯re all wearing coats. Ugh the other is..¡± I looked back to check his details and in so doing missed the most important one. The fire escape support in front of me. I struck a pole with the right side of my body. It felt like I had been struck with a gong, and I barely managed to maintain my balance. Horrifyingly, I felt my phone catch on the pole as my arm ran along and in the midst of gathering myself, my phone was ripped from my hands. I heard it clatter to the dark pavement and slide to a stop near a wall. I didn¡¯t have time to stop and retrieve it. I was off, running. Idiot! Now I was really toast. No time to think about that now. I could only focus on escape. I buried my exhaustion and pushed myself, tasting blood in my mouth, from the exertion or the impact I didn¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t have time to care. Why could''ve I have just gone back to my hostel for the night? I¡¯d been here for a week, hadn¡¯t I seen enough? No, I had to be Mr. World Traveler and keep wandering down random streets when I should¡¯ve been in bed. To be fair, up until now the evening had been fantastic. I had found a few old cathedrals I hadn''t seen yet, and even some old ruins in a park that made me wish I hadn¡¯t left my drawing pad in my room. And the food in the pub I had stopped at had been so delicious and comforting I wanted to live in it. The few drinks I had had were pretty good as well, though I still wasn''t a huge fan of Guinness. Saying that out loud had almost gotten me beaten to a pulp there, but they just laughed it off, saying a ¡°Yank wouldn''t know good booze from piss.¡± Why did everyone keep assuming I was American? My mom had wanted me to put a Canadian flag on my bag so people would be nicer to me, or think I was nice, or something. I was never really sure. I wish I had one now. Maybe they would¡¯ve laughed it off, saying something like ¡°silly Canadians, so kind, so friendly¡±. Two pieces of advice that I had ignored that might have saved me. If I got away from these assholes I''d be sure to praise and write down every single thought that woman had for the rest of her life. I just wanted to be with her now, not here, in some dark street, on the other side of the world from any family I had left. Left. Right. Left. Straight. I was completely lost, and the drunk assholes were practically breathing down my neck. I had shouted for help, but it was beyond midnight and I was now deep into some industrial district. Curse my luck. Curse my choices. Every choice in the last hour had been terrible. If I could circle back to my phone, maybe the police would be there. I had gone left last, so maybe if I went left again I¡¯d start looping around. I took a hard left at the next opening. Right into a dead-end. Chapter 2: Dead End 4-87-73 WARNING: ENTITY DELETION INEFFECTIVE. Unknown Entity anchored to Primordial Plane. 4-87-74 ATTEMPTING PROTOCOL: ENTITY AND PLANAR DELETION. UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~50% 4-87-98 WARNING: UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~25% 4-88-15 WARNING: ENTITY AND PLANAR DELETION FAILED. UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~8% A dead-end! Some kind of loading bay with a door that appeared to be very locked. The only other way was a brick wall too high for me to jump, unless I could bust out a 15 ft vertical, but I didn¡¯t see that happening anytime soon. I turned on my heels. Maybe if I was fast I could still get away. But, the 4 men were blocking the exit. Dark shadowy figures, cornering me in a dead-end with nowhere to run. They had me. They knew it. If they had any kindness they would put me out of misery soon, but I could see it in their eyes. They had enjoyed the chase, and enjoyed the capture. There was no one around. No one to judge or look down on. Men bolstered by unfettered power and like-minded individuals are capable of monstrous acts. Adding some alcohol to the mix would only make things worse. "Please, guys, I didn''t mean anything by it, I was just trying to help someone I thought was in trouble, I didn''t mean anything by it. I''m just a tourist from Canada. I''m a student. I just wanted to see your country and saw someone in need. Please, you don''t have to do this." I spoke as fast as I could think, desperately trying to appeal to the compassionate part of these men. Their chuckles were response enough. I knew I hadn¡¯t gotten through. ¡°Listen¡± I said frantically reaching in my pockets for my wallet. ¡°Here¡¯s my wallet, you can take all the money I have left in it.¡± It wasn¡¯t very much, but it was all I had on me. I doubted they would be interested in my hostel key or lighter. Maybe I could light some smokes up for them? I stayed holding it out, hoping they would just take it and go. In the past, when confronted with bullies, I would try and make them laugh to smooth things over. Then things at home had gotten worse, and I had taken it out on one of my bullies. I had gotten suspended and they had never bothered me again. I was so drained from running and so nervous about the outcome that I couldn¡¯t find the words to make them laugh. But, I didn¡¯t like the person I was when I had fought back. Please take the wallet and leave me alone. The man with the buzzcut cleared his throat, having finally caught his breath. ¡°First, you take away our bit of fun we was ¡®avin.¡± His accent was much thicker to my ears than others I had spoken with and I noticed that he was clearly the leader. I also noticed he was the shortest, but I didn¡¯t feel like pointing that out. ¡°Then¡±, he continued, ¡°you embarrass us, and then you make us chase you all over the damn place. So yeah, we¡¯ll take that wallet and anything else you ¡®ave on you. But first, we¡¯re gonna ¡®ave a bit of fun with you¡±. My stomach dropped. I guess it¡¯s option 2. I dropped my wallet. And shakily brought up my fists. ¡°Little fuckin'' Clark Kent wants to protect a stranger. Jus doin'' his duty? Little fuckin'' boy scout eh? D''you s''pose ¡®e¡¯s as tough as Supermans as well eh lads?¡± Buzzcut sneered. The one wearing a Manchester United Jersey answered, ¡°only one to find out.¡± I hoped this was just going to be a beating, but something in their eyes and smiles told me otherwise. In that moment it wasn¡¯t 4 men, but 4 wolves who had cornered me, and were going in for the kill. No time to think right now, I needed to defend myself. This is different than last time. This was self-defense. I wasn¡¯t taking out my frustration on those around me. I wasn¡¯t him. I knew where the line was. I wasn¡¯t a monster. They approached and the expected feeling came. Fear. An unholy, unexplainable fear. A fear that has existed since the first fish decided land might be nicer than getting eaten by the much larger second fish. The fear that belonged to prey. I had been afraid before, and I had even had the fear of the prey before. In the past I had overcome it by getting angry in return or laughing it off. But, this time was more difficult. I couldn¡¯t reach that anger. I was so exhausted by this trip, and by life leading up to this trip. I had been so worn down by the past few years. The main source of my old anger was long gone. I was struck by a brief clarity. Life had been so stressful, so expensive, so confusing. I was busy all the time and never found time for myself anyway. It was unlikely all this work I was doing would mean anything anyway. Maybe this could be a gentle release, maybe it would be over quick. No!! Such simple words, but, to me, they were a mutiny. I knew the coward that suggested those thoughts, I knew him well. He had been with me for years. The coward had struck others down. But not me. Never me. I had fought once before, and I could fight again. This wasn¡¯t the end for me. I wasn¡¯t going out like that. I wouldn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t. Closer still, only a few yards ahead of me now, slowly, wary of my own raised fists. I was ¡­growling? Not impressively. But exhaustion mixed with defiance had finally found its way back to anger. Which escaped as a guttural growl. If I wasn''t so focused I might have been embarrassed. Hopefully, it made me look a little unhinged. I could use that.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. A new clarity suffused me, aligning everything I was into surviving the next few minutes. The stress from life, bills, school, anxiety, and rent faded away. It didn''t matter. What mattered was survival. At that moment, the thought of giving up over something so trivial as stress seemed funny. Why had I been so weighed down these past years? None of that mattered, what mattered was survival, and I wanted to survive. I lurched forward a bit, the purpose filling my body needed an outlet. Whatever was about to happen I wanted to get it over with. Just kill me or let me leave. An insane thought, but I felt a little insane at that moment. My body relaxed and I was ready. Whatever happened next. I was ready. The guy with a nasty neckbeard threw the first punch and I almost jumped into the alley wall. Too ready. But, I dodged the first punch, and then the second one from the final guy wearing a plaid coat. That was all I could manage as I didn''t dodge the kick from Buzzcut. Or the follow-up punch from Manchester U Jersey. A few seconds in and I was already feeling dazed and wanting nothing more than sleep. But, it was my turn to throw some punches. I threw some wild hooks and jabs whenever I got the chance, trying desperately to stay mobile. The only benefit to us all being inebriated is that my body was pretty loose, and took hits better than if I was sober. It quickly got a little blurry as I threw punches and kicks back as fast as I was receiving them, with some of them even connecting. One thing they never show in movies is how much punching and getting punched hurts. If not for the fear and adrenaline I think I would''ve been curled up on the floor crying in pain. Regardless, I was getting to the end of my rope, and a solid right hook launched me into the alley side, through a couple rusty metal pipes. They didn''t soften my fall much, but did break apart as I fell through them. At that point, all I wanted was to stay down. The ground was cold and gritty, but felt like a down-filled mattress. I had hoped that if I put up a good fight, gave them some sport, they would leave. Opening my swollen eye I could see them still there. Laughing. They were laughing. I knew what happened next. I had been here, I had seen this before. The kicking and the ridiculing. They wanted to be sure. I could probably take it. I should probably just take it. Then it would be over. Coward! Tha voice from deep within. It¡¯s not cowardly to know when you¡¯re beaten. Quitter. That one did it. I needed to end this, I was sick of being these jackasses¡¯ punching bag. They were still laughing. I had a second to think, a second more to catch my breath. A broken pipe, just within reach. No time to think. I slowly started to get up, then grabbed the pipe with my right hand and struck as hard as I could with my bleary vision and aching body at Plaid Jacket¡¯s chest. And somehow hit him square in the chest. He fell backward, wheezing for air. Faster! He wouldn¡¯t be down for long. Neckbeard lunged at me while Buzzcut lunged backwards. I struck Neckbeard hard, angling towards his shoulder instead of his large head. Then swung at Buzzcut as Neckbeard fell to the side. Buzzcut was slippery and dodged one swing, then another. Too slow! Too long! I saw his eyes glance behind me and swung wildly without thinking. It was Manchester U Jersey, coming in for a grapple. I didn¡¯t have time to adjust my swing, my pipe was aimed at his head. I could see what would happen before it happened. I could feel the shattering of bones, and the hollow thwock of metal on flesh. I would finish him off and then finish Buzzcut and run to safety. Time slowed and I met his wide, horrified eyes with my own. Those eyes. Horrified eyes begging me to stop, but I had been so angry. Those eyes had haunted my dreams for years, and here they were again. I stopped mid swing, an inch from his horrified face. I couldn¡¯t do it. Then I was tackled to the ground. Buzzcut! Buzzcut had taken his chance to tackle me, knocking my weapon away in the process. I rolled and struggled, but to no avail. Neckbeard and Plaid Coat were also back. The fight was over, they had me, and they knew it. ¡°Pull him up, pull him up!¡± Buzz cut said and I felt arms wrap around mine and lift me to my feet. I struggled, but they had my arms held tight, and I was so tired. My head lolled slightly, exhaustion finally creeping up on me. ¡°Alan. I think he¡¯s had enough, eh? We got him in the end. Let¡¯s call it a night¡± I heard ManU Jersey say. What the? I supposed the prospect of a steel pipe blasting apart his head had sobered him up. ¡°Oh, turning into a little chickenshit now are ya?¡± Buzzcut, or Alan I supposed, yelled at ManU, ¡°I¡¯m pretty certain Bruce and DannyBoy would like to take a piece out of this asshole? Would be pretty rude if we just let them take all the beating and not be allowed to return the favor, don''t you think?¡± Plaid Jacket and NeckBeard grunted their agreements. I don¡¯t know why, but I guessed Neckbeard was Bruce. A plaid jacket seemed like DannyBoy behavior. ¡°Yeah, but what else can you do? Look at him, no fun to be had with this one.¡± ManU Jersey continued. Still didn¡¯t know his name. I didn¡¯t care much, but he was the only one making sense and my last lifeline so he had my full attention. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve got a few ideas,¡± Alan responded. My eyes shot open to the sound of spring-loaded metal scraping filling the loading bay. A switchblade??? I had worried about knives, but to actually see him pull out a knife, especially the human-stabbing kind, put my body into overdrive. I was in trouble. It wasn¡¯t funny anymore, it never had been. This couldn¡¯t be happening. It wasn¡¯t real. ¡°Come on man.¡± my last defendant urged, ¡° you don¡¯t have to do this¡±. ¡°Fuck you!!¡± Alan exploded at ManU Jersey, but kept his eyes on me. This was it. Alan approached with the knife. "Shit, shit, shit," my stomach dropped, trying to get out of the way and I braced for the end. I pulled back to no avail as both men held me firm. The knife approached and time seemed to slow. I waited, expecting my life to flash before my eyes. Thinking of every stupid thing I had done that led me to this moment. I¡¯m sorry Kate, I¡¯m sorry Mom. I¡¯m sorry¡­the knife had now stopped altogether, a mere finger''s width from ending me. Was I dead? The knife hung there, my assailants and I hung there, but I could feel that I wasn¡¯t moving. I was frozen in place and all was frozen around me. Then, beginning in the distance and approaching blindingly fast, an all-consuming blackness enveloped the sky. Then it consumed the buildings around us. Then the street. Then my attackers. And finally me. And all was darkness. Chapter 3: All Dogs Do Not Go To Heaven 4-88-20 WARNING: UNIVERSE REMAINING: ~3% 4-88-21 UNIVERSAL ALERT: FAIL-SAFE PROTOCOL 25-113-GG ACTIVATED. UNIVERSE REMAINING: 2% 4-88-22 UNIVERSAL ALERT: PROTOCOL 25-113-GG ACTIVE. CONCEPTS [TIME] AND [ENTROPY] TEMPORARILY LOCKED. UNIVERSAL COLLAPSE HALTED. UNIVERSE REMAINING: 1% My entire world had gone black. Everything, every sense, was gone except for a vague awareness of my own existence. It was just gone. I was gone, I knew I was alive, but couldn''t feel my body or have any control. When I was younger, I would wake up in the middle of the night and be somewhere between still asleep and awake, a state of sleep paralysis, and the dark figures that had been haunting my dreams would pull themselves from the shadows of my room and torment me, circling closer and closer. And then I would truly wake up and they would retreat in an instance, waiting for another opportunity to revisit. Luckily, it had been years since I had dealt with that. Until now. Stranded in utter darkness with no mobility and no external awareness, I was a kid again, begging for the nightmare to end. The only upside to no external awareness is that if those dark figures had returned, at least I couldn¡¯t see them. However, that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t there, and I definitely had the distinct sensation of being observed. Time to focus on something else. I tried to look around. Then I remembered there was no ¡°around¡± and nothing to look around with. I must''ve died and blocked out the final moment. Or maybe it was a small mercy by God not to have to remember your final momen. Speaking of where, where are they? As far as I knew I was supposed to be facing a guard at the pearly gates or an annoyed demon at an admissions desk. Wasn¡¯t the whole point that there wasn''t infinite blackness and nothingness after death? ¡°Grandma and Grandpa are gonna be pissed¡± I thought, alleviating my stress somewhat. Okay, there is clearly something after death because I¡¯m still here I must be, I was still having original thoughts. At least they felt original. I needed to test that. I like Ice-Cream. No, that doesn''t prove anything. There is no God!!, I mentally shouted into the void, hoping to elicit a reaction. Still nothing, but hardly an original thought, probably pretty common for the recently-deceased. Needed something truly unique. In surprising news, Dolphins living in captivity have found a way to communicate with humans. They have used this newfound communication to request that porn and fish heads be sent to their habitats daily. Okay, that was definitely an original thought. No way the universe is coming up with that one. So whatever I was, I was still me. Now that I had confirmed I was me, a concerning followup thought crossed my mind regarding my tests. ¡°I hope if the God/ Gods are just waiting in the darkness and this is just the waiting room that they only count your thoughts up until you die.¡± Everything after death has to be free right? I''m a perfect soul now or whatever, I can''t be held accountable for that one Why are dolphins so horny? Focus. Focus. That one was free as well, but no more. So assuming that the Dolphin Thought Test is irrevocable evidence, a modern rendition of ¡°I think therefore I am¡±; what now? I had no idea how long I had been this way as the only measure of time I had was the pace of my thoughts, which was hardly accurate with no other sources of stimuli. It didn''t feel like I was in the blackness for long, but it was impossible to tell. I might have been there for seconds or years when, piercing the darkness, a warm feminine voice appeared, it reminded me of memories I had of an old neighbor who used to babysit us when my mom was at work. She had let us watch cartoons and eat oreos. She had passed years ago so it was comforting to hear her voice again. The content was less comforting and very confusing. ¡°Balance achieved. Standby for Re-Entry to Grid¡± "I''m sorry, what?" It was the best I could do under the circumstances, and I was pleased that I could hear my voice. Though it did sound like I was underwater. The voice repeated what she had said, but this time a translucent screen with the words written on it appeared in front of me as well. Or at least I became aware of a screen. I was still missing my body, a realization shuffled to the back of my head before it overwhelmed me. "I''m sorry, I don''t understand. What grid? I¡¯ve never been to a grid? Am I dead? Is this heaven?" The questions poured out. I had more but my mind suddenly felt slowed and I was unable to form further questions. Another thought I promptly shoved right back with the " I have no-apparent-body" thoughts. That''s better. Stay in your corner with the other existential crisis¡¯. "Balance has been achieved. Test Grid: Gamma has been successfully reformed from matter, energy, ether, and flux from consolidated planes. You will be returned to your original relative location.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Warning: original location contains high probability of fatality. Special Circumstances granted. Location: Outlands available." I tried to ask the questions in my mind and voice how none of this made sense, but I was still locked down. ¡°Choose between Outlands and Original Location. Warning: Original Location will result in immediate fatality.¡± It seemed that the only response the voice was going to allow was an answer to its question. It was really spoiling me with choices. Geez, should I go to some random place I¡¯ve never heard of after being in total darkness for who knows how long? Or do I go and get stabbed again?¡±. This was definitely Hell, which was devastating. And I would¡¯ve felt more devastated, but once again, my thoughts and responses seemed pretty restricted to thoughts regarding the voice¡¯s question. Didn¡¯t want to deal with mopey dead people I supposed. Fair enough. If those were the two options, the choice was clear. ¡°Outlands¡± I responded, my voice finally being unlocked. I tried to add more but my voice cut off as soon as my choice had been made. "Original point of Entry refused. Occupant has accepted the Outlands opportunity.¡± Occupant? Opportunity? Could this voice start making sense? At this point all I wanted to know was whether I was going to the fiery place or the cloudy place. But, it seemed like I had to go prove myself more? Was this one of those afterlives where I had to relive all my mistakes and see if I would make different choices? I really hoped not. I¡¯d rather spend some time on a demonic rack than have to relive some of my life¡¯s ¡°highlights¡±. Thinking about it, maybe I had been to a place called the ¡°Outlands¡± before? Wasn¡¯t that that Aussie themed steakhouse grandpa had taken us to? I might¡¯ve been 6 or 7 then. Kate hadn¡¯t been born yet. I could do a steakhouse. Maybe this wouldn¡¯t be so bad. At this point the voice spoke again, and offered some very confusing and concerning information. "Occupant. Balance has been satisfied. Opportunity: Outlands will contain similar risk of fatality. Either be slain or rise above.¡± What? ¡°If successful, paths to power and sovereignty await. If you fail, there is only one path, the all-consuming Void. ¡° WHAT!? ¡°Standby for Entry to the Outlands. Reach the Singularity." I still had so many questions I wished to ask, and tried to ask to no avail. Suddenly, I could feel my body again. It was like the blinds had been pulled back to reveal the light, but instead of light it was the feeling of physical existence. It was almost euphoric. Which was good, because the next sensation was not. My body was unceremoniously shot and squeezed through what felt like a cosmic toothpaste tube. With my body fully returned, I could now speak without restrain. Which I took advantage of immediately to scream senselessly as it pressure unlike anything I had ever felt. My existence had gone from complete absence of feeling to only the presence of pain. Then, suddenly, it was over. And my world of pain and darkness was entirely replaced with one of warmth and light.And a great deal of both. I was standing wherever I was and immediately began to sweat. It was hot. Oppressively hot. My eyes hadn¡¯t adjusted yet, but I could feel the sun beating down on me, mercilessly. I raised my hands to shield my eyes. It felt so nice to have hands again. As before, it was hard to tell how long I had been in that blackness, but my gut told me it had been a while. Perhaps this was Judgement Day and I was being un-raptured or something. Or maybe it was actually this bright the whole time and I couldn¡¯t handle it until now. This could be angelic light, I tried to console myself. If this was heavenly light then I must¡¯ve appeared practically underneath the source. Yeah, that¡¯s what¡¯s going on. This is definitely angelic light, as opposed to demonic fire. My vision had adapted to the bright light somewhat and I glanced up to see which afterlife I had shone up in. I expected to see either some multi-winged angelic being, or some red horned fellow. Taking a quick glance it turned out to be neither. Rather it was something far more concerning. A second sun. When faced with the incongruous, the wise and philosophical can often find a collection of words that perfectly sum up their perplexity. Even great adventurers will declare their purpose mightily or sum up the momentousness of the occasion. I, being not particularly wise and barely scholarly in the philosophical arts, and not having too great of an adventurous streak, did my best to mark the occasion. "Huh?!" It was the same "huh" I had used after Kelly, a cute front desk attendant, had invited me to hang out with a bunch of her close friends, only for me to realize upon arriving that it was a multi-level marketing party for overpriced, cheaply made yoga pants. I was fairly surprised, I was very disappointed, but mostly I was confused because I didn''t realize Kelly was an idiot. However, while those pants did end up being pretty comfortable, seeing a second sun was not. Two suns. ¡°I guess the afterlife has 2 suns. Maybe there is some deeper metaphysical meaning to two suns? But why is it a desert?¡± I had begun to look around me now and was struck with the increasing alienness of this place. I was standing partway up a shallow sand-dune. I was in a slight depression surrounded by other chest-high sand dunes. I walked to the top of the small dune and tried to situate myself. In my immediate area were a few more of those shallow sand-dunes with occasional patches of scrabbly grass. Looking around there seemed to be only more shallow sand dunes for kilometres in every direction. Beyond the dunes things changed, but it was different for each direction. There seemed to be a large collection of trees, maybe palms, in the north, perhaps an oasis of some kind? It was impossible to tell if it was north or if there was a north, but I decided to call it north for now because it was the direction I was facing when I apparead here. As good a system as any. Well beyond the trees far on the horizon was some ominous looking dark mountains blanketed with black smoky clouds. They appeared to have a slight red glow to them. ¡°Alright, if I find a gold cursed ring I know where to take it.¡± I muttered, now turning to the east, or what I was calling east. The sand dunes seemed to give way in this direction to an endless plain with a long dark shadow cutting through it in the distance. A river perhaps? It was too far to tell. The small sand dunes gave away to the west as well, but to much larger sand dunes. Looking west I could only see so far as there seemed to be a dark and dusty storm going on deep in the west. Some kind of sandstorm? Seemed like a safe bet since there was sand and a storm. ¡°Is every storm in a desert a sandstorm?¡± I said, turning around to see what was to the south, before stopping dead in my tracks. Not too far to the south, 10 kilometers maybe, was a breath-taking range of red-rock monument-style mountains. He''d seen pictures of mountains like it on his grandparents refrigerator from a road trip they took to Arizona years ago. Where those had been standalone structures there were aligned and overlapped into one large range creating an imposing labyrinthian wall. Truly it was an inspiring sight. However, this was not the view that had frozen me in place. Cresting the hill a few dunes from mine was the largest bug I had ever seen. Chapter 4: Meeting The Locals 4-88-22 (2) Universal Reboot Initiated. Warning: Insufficient Matter to Perform Big Crunch. Warning: Insufficient Particle Density to Perform Big Bang. Universal Reboot Failed. 4-88-22(3) Attempting Universal Collapse Protocols Commencing Universal Collapse Protocol 1/15,761. It was difficult to tell but it looked to be the size of a border collie. It seemed to be some kind of beetle, though its features seemed hazy, except for the 6 or so vibrant red dots covering its black shell. A mirage? In the movies the mirages were always beautiful women or water, not some demonic hellspawn. I could feel my heart racing and slowly backed up. It hadn¡¯t seemed to notice me yet so I dropped below the lip of my dune, keeping my head just above the top. Life hadn¡¯t been easy, I was certainly more lucky than some, but suffice it to say, I didn¡¯t have a lot of irrational fears left over, except one. Bugs. I hated bugs. I would squish them for mom or Kate and act all brave, but inside I was terrified they were about to pounce before I got them with the napkin, or that they were going to crawl up my arm. Irrational? Absolutely. Were there any harmful bugs in Canada? A case could be made of mosquitos, black flies, wasps, and deer flies in the summer, but overall, no. Regardless, I couldn¡¯t stand them. The usual ones I was used to, I wouldn''t be able to get anything done in the summer if I couldn¡¯t, but any of the creepy crawly ones¡­ The impossibly large beetle mirage lifted its wing shell parts and fluttered them in the sun, making a soft chittering scuffling noise as it did so. I almost puked. My entire body, moments ago sweating from heat, was now covered in a cold sweat of dread. I had seen enough. I began to shuffle back along the sand, losing sight of the beetle as my head dropped below the peak and I began to army crawl between the small sandy dunes. I didn¡¯t have a clue where I should go, but aimed for the trees I had seen, simply to get away from that beetle. ¡°That decides it,¡± I muttered as I continued to army crawl through the hot sand, ¡°I¡¯m definitely in Hell. That or Purgatory.¡± I looked up, seeing if my blasphemy had evoked any strong reactions from the sky. The suns continued to beat down, but otherwise the sky remained normal, if not slightly yellow-tinged. Maybe from the heat? I didn''t think I had lived a life deserving of Purgatory or Hell, but some versions of God were pretty ruthless. Maybe this was a test or a sick joke. Maybe they didn¡¯t care? Who knows. I had guessed the Oasis to be a few kilometers away, so I couldn¡¯t crawl there. After about 5 minutes of playing in the sand I finally got the courage to get up again. Like a gopher I popped my head up, looked left and right, then behind me. Dropped down for a few seconds, then popped back up again and repeated the action a few more times. If this is some sick joke or game, hopefully making a fool of myself is entertaining enough. Frankly, as long as they don¡¯t send more bugs I¡¯ll put on clown makeup and make balloon animals. Finally satisfied, I stood up, dusted off my pants. Then set off to the trees at a brisk walk. I didn¡¯t know if that beetle was alone and the suns were getting pretty hot. The dread began to fade as the minutes passed, and if not for the two suns above creating a slightly distorted shadow I could have just been in Texas or something. "Two suns isn¡¯t that weird, right?¡± I consoled myself, ¡°no reason to freak out, this will all be fine." If my voice hadn¡¯t cracked on fine I might¡¯ve believed it too. It probably wasn¡¯t going to be fine. But, it was fine right now, which would have to do. So I walked and I pretended the double shadows were normal; and I tried not to think about getting stabbed what felt like 15 minutes ago. I tried not to think about being dead. Or maybe I wasn¡¯t dead? Checking my neck I still had a pulse. My skin still felt warm and soft to the touch. A little pudgy even. "Alright Will, how about we keep the insecurities to one at a time please? You can choose between the dread of being dead or for being a size larger than you¡¯d like; you don''t get both.¡± If I had known I would be facing some post-death purgatory challenge I would¡¯ve used the hotel¡¯s gym more. Oh well, next time I suppose. I began to wonder about how my death might affect Kate and Mom, and how they would make ends meet. Then decided that was more than enough dismal thinking and began to jog to the trees. No time like the present to get in shape. Once I began periodically jogging it took me about 30 mins to get to the trees. My guess had been correct, it was an oasis, though I had drastically underestimated the size. I had imagined a body of water no larger than a pond, but was faced with a pretty sizable lake. A kilometer or two wide and a few kilometers long. The trees I had seen in the distance seemed to be some form of palm tree, though unlike any I had ever seen. In addition to the usual palm fronds there was also large spikes sticking out from the head of the tree, making it look like a bunch of leafy maces dotted the landscape. There were also bush versions of these spiky palms dotting the hilly dunes surrounding the oasis. Aside from spiky plants, the oasis looked exactly how I had imagined it. Blue pristine waters, rolling sandy hills, all I needed was a drink with an umbrella and I could''ve been on vacation. I was just glad to be near water though, jogging had kept my thoughts from taking a deep dive, but had also exhausted me and made me sweat out most of my water. Not my smartest plan, I needed to be smarter than that. I couldn¡¯t be so reactive. I didn¡¯t know what would happen if I died a second time, but I really didn¡¯t feel like finding out what afterlife version 2 would bring. As I approached the water I realized how dangerously close to exhaustion I had come. I hadn¡¯t felt it until stepping into the oasis, but I had a headache that was to the point it was causing my ears to ring. I must have been much more dehydrated than I thought. It was to the point that I could barely hear the ambient sounds of the desert by the time I kneeled down to get a drink due to how aggressively my ears were ringing. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. There didn''t seem to be any insects or anything gross swimming around in the lake, and I briefly considered the danger of parasites or something. "If I''m dead then this water probably can''t hurt me more¡± I argued. And what if I¡¯m not dead? It was a thought I had mostly dismissed, of course I was dead, I was just too much of a coward to remember the final moment. Since I¡¯m such a coward anyway, if I¡¯m not dead, if there is anything in this water, hopefully it¡¯s lethal. I brought my cupped hands to my mouth, and my dark thoughts were erased as the most refreshing water I had ever tasted filled my mouth. It tasted like I had sipped it right from a green leaf in a rainstorm in some jungle where humans had never existed. My headache remained, but my aches and pains rapidly vanished. I was just leaning down to dunk my whole head in the water when I heard the faintest scuffle behind him, barely a scratch in the sand. If my day hadn''t been so awful, and if I hadn¡¯t been listening for giant bugs for the last 30 minutes, I probably wouldn''t have heard anything. But my day had been awful, and I had been listening for giant bugs, so my nerves were piano-string tight. That small scuffle was enough to launch me to the side and onto my feet. With my revitalized muscles, that water truly was amazing, my dodge to the side was successful as I felt something sharp barely graze my rolling shoulder as it flew by and landed in the shallow water. I steadied himself, shoulder burning slightly from the surface scratch. My heart was immediately racing, and I already felt like I couldn''t get enough breath. I looked up at my attacker, expecting to see the giant beetle I had been running from, but instead found a cat-sized green monkey? ¡°What the shit is this now?¡± On closer inspection it wasn¡¯t a monkey at all, I didn¡¯t know what it was, but it had the lanky body of a monkey, the head of a lizard or iguana, soft scales running down its entire body, and 2 pairs of red angled eyes. These eyes were locked on me now as it bared its sharp canines, one of which was dripping a small drop of red blood. My blood. It seemed to be more cautious now, taking me in even as I was taking it in. But that caution passed quickly and it prepared to pounce again, raising its scaled hips as it got low to build power for the leap. As for me, I was fighting a potent internal conflict between fear, confusion, shock, and fear again. Discovering that my body could produce two versions of fear was doing nothing for me and I wrestled to do something, anything. Too slow. The monkey-lizard leaped, fangs bared, scaled arms outstretched as it knocked into me with surprising force, knocking the both of us to the ground while it attempted to tear out my throat. If I hadn''t been stabbed an hour ago, I might have died then and there, still trying to figure out if I was scared or shocked. Luckily, or unluckily, that was not the case, I may have gone down stunned, but this was not my first life-or-death encounter in the last hour. My throat was an inch from being ripped out when I finally kicked into action. My hands shot forward to hold the creature¡¯s snapping jaws at bay. Once it realized my throat was out of reach it pivoted its head and bit down into the next closest thing; my left arm. Unlike the knife, I felt this one. Its teeth weren''t long enough to pierce all the way through, but they drew a great deal of blood and the sensation of teeth piercing my skin almost knocked me out as a scream of pain and horror erupted from my throat. The small, tenacious monkey-lizard tore at my arm, and fought to get a good grip on the thing with my right arm. Finally gaining a firm hold I flung the beast to the side, rolling with it. My arm was still held firmly in the things mouth and I felt more pain as my arm was pulled in painful directions. I rolled until I was on top and tried to use my elbow to collapse its windpipe. Unfortunately, my elbow slid past the things surprisingly muscular neck and instead slammed into its jaw. The pressure on my left arm released as its jaw slackened which allowed me to quickly pull it free. The struggle continued for a few more tense moments until I found a rock with my right hand and brought it down hard on the creatures head over and over again until it stopped moving. Even then I kept striking the head until it had completely caved in and my arm had grown sore from the impacts. Shakily extracting myself from the massacre, I stared at the gore-encrusted rock in my white-knuckled grip, then down at the nightmare that I had destroyed with it. "What the hell? ¡­..What the hell? What-the-hell, what-the-hell, what-the-hell?" was all I could muster before I dropped to my knees and promptly vomited. It felt like I expelled everything I had eaten and drank in the last week as my situation collapsed onto me, the sounds of retching into the dry sand punctuated by gasping sobs my only companions. My vision was growing black at the edges, and I could feel the world closing in on me. Was the entire world about to vanish again like it had in the alleyway? At least I had stayed conscious for the kill this time. But this wasn¡¯t that. I knew these symptoms, I''d fainted once before when life had become too overwhelming and I hadn¡¯t dealt with it. I just needed to control my breathing. I had finally stopped vomiting but was rapidly hyperventilating myself to a blackout. I forced myself to take large gasping breaths. I looked around, frantically trying to assure myself that I wasn¡¯t in danger. There weren''t more of these abominations in the trees. I was safe, I just needed to breathe. Looking at those trees, I counted them, trying to take my mind off of the panic it was soaked in. Gradually, painfully, my breathing slowed down and my heart stopped trying to burrow out of my chest. My stomach ached with pain from such rapid evacuation, but at least I was calming down. No sooner had my stomach and lungs relaxed than my head began pounding with a potent headache accompanied by a crescendoing ringing in my ears. "Fuck me, can everything just chill for like 5 minutes?!" I cried into the ground as I held my head in my hands, attempting to soothe the rising pounding between my ears. Was I dying all over again? Was my mind finally fracturing? Maybe the true torment of Hell was to abandon you in a desert, give you no answers, and then send demon monkeys to break you? What did it say about me that it only took 1 for me to break? The ringing and the pounding rose and rose. I had closed my eyes now, once again in a universe void of light and only consisting of pain. I returned to that place where time seems meaningless and prayed for it to end. I had no idea how long I lay there, I was vaguely aware that I was completely exposed, but with my head splitting in half I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care. I counted seconds, I recited architectural terms, I listed every movie I had ever seen, I did anything I could think of to take me away from that awful pain. It hardly helped. I could have been there for hours or minutes, time had no meaning. Then suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, the ringing and pain rushed out of my head and spread through my whole body as a cool refreshing breeze. It was like something had been building up in my head and had finally had enough power to blast through whatever barrier it was up against. The pain was gone and the ringing had completely stopped. I panted with relief into the sand, feeling small puffs of grit bounce against my face with each breath. When I finally opened my eyes to look at the sand below me I was met not by the pool of saliva I expected to be there, but, for the 2nd time that day, by a translucent screen floating in my vision. I jerked upwards and it followed, remaining locked in my sight line, appearing as a ghostly piece of parchment in the bright, desert light. It appeared blank save for a title at the top of the parchment that read ¡°Universal Interface¡± and a few bold lines in the centre. Congratulations. Sufficient Experience Earned from Gained Achievements. Universal System of Progression Unlocked. Universal Interface Unlocked. Occupant, Welcome to the GammaGrid. Chapter 5 - Please be in a Headset… Somehow, like some sort of divine joke or comedy, I had been stabbed, I had died, I had met a great being (or at least listened to them), woke up in a double-sunned desert, ran from a giant beetle, and fought a mutant lizard, all in the matter of a few hours, and yet somehow this was still the most ridiculous thing to happen today. Floating in front of me, locked in place, there was a large holographic piece of parchment with odd stylized markings along the edges. It took up a decent amount of my vision, but shrunk as I observed its excessive size. ¡°Sure. Why not? It''s already a floating screen in a desert, why not respond to my thoughts?¡± I reached my hand out to check and- yep, my hand passed right through. Though I did feel a slight vibration as it did so, similar to when I would touch my phone. ¡°Okay, this is fine.¡± I reassured myself. Actually, upon further thought, this was more than fine. This was potentially great! ¡°I¡¯m asleep!¡± Or I fell asleep in a super futuristic VR headset and forgot I was wearing and I¡¯ve been having a night terror this whole time! I never thought I would be so excited to be experiencing a night terror, but suddenly I saw a way out. My life wasn¡¯t gone, I was just in some crazy lucid dream. Maybe someone had slipped some acid into my beer? Maybe London was a dream? Who knew? Who cared? The nightmare was ending. Feeling much better, I straightened up and reached up to my ears to feel for the headset. ¡°Alright, gotta be around here somewhere, a-ha! Oh, no, that''s just dried blood.¡± I guess some of my blood had gotten into my hair. The bite in my arm had been bleeding pretty good. It still appeared to be bleeding, albeit at a more sedate pace as the heat and the sand had begun drying it out. ¡°No worries Will, hyper-realistic VR headsets are equipped with pain sensors or something. You¡¯re fine, just need to take off the headset and you can leave.¡± I continued to search around my head, checking my neck in case it was a Matrix-style connection. The screen continued to float there, congratulating me while I crouched there, covered in blood, gore, and sand, feeling around my head for a headset I was begging to be there. Eventually, the pain in my arm was getting too great to ignore and I was getting blood literally everywhere. The only reason I had been ignoring it was because I was actively denying it was real. ¡°The pain-sensors are just really really good.¡± I grimaced as I walked to the water to begin cleaning out my wound. As before, the water was miraculously soothing, and the shaking in my left arm stopped as relief poured through me. I cleaned out all the grime I could get at and hoped that that little monster didn¡¯t have rabies. It would explain why it was so vicious. While I washed out my wound I continued to try and wake myself up. The sooner I was awake the faster this pain would end. I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths, really trying to focus my senses to feel for the pressure I was certain should be somewhere on my head. When that yielded nothing, I worked through my senses one at a time, desperately reaching for some sensation that would let me wake up from this awful dream. My desperation to sense something finally yielded a result, but not from my own body. Perhaps 50 feet away from me, I could see a dense stand of the spiky palm trees surrounded by a patch of palm bushes. Somewhere in those bushes I could hear something rustling around, it sounded large, maybe slightly larger than the creature I had just faced, and I had no interest in facing another one of those or anything worse. I would have to continue to break out of this nightmare later. I pulled back from the water and began to sneak away, taking a quick look at the bludgeoned remains of the monkey-lizard to see if I had missed anything. Also for fear that it might come back to life. This was a nightmare after all, zombie monkey-lizards wouldn¡¯t be unexpected. As my gaze lingered on it my ears again rang slightly, much quieter, but still similar to the feeling I had had right after killing it. I hesitated, unsure if I was about to be ambushed again. Maybe my movement was triggering something else odd? The screen was still floating in front of me, I had mostly ignored its existence while trying to break out, but it had moved with my line of sight and was now resting above the dead monkey-lizard. It seemed to be pulsing ever so slightly; just a rhythmic whitening of the outside edges of the ethereal parchment paper. Honestly, if I wasn''t on such a high alert I might not have even noticed it. Did it want something? Did I need to sign some terms and services agreement? What is it boy? Did Timmy fall down the well? The screen did not respond to any of that so I guess it couldn''t sense all of my thoughts? Or maybe it just chose to ignore the dumb ones. The rustling hadn''t gotten closer or louder, so I chanced it and moved back to the body. When moving my head side to side the parchment only pulsed slightly when hovering over the dead creature. "What do you want?" I hissed to the screen. Did it want me to bury the corpse? Did I need to devour it and gain its strength? Do you want me to roll around in it to hide my smell? Why do all my suggestions sound like a dog made them? I was glad the screen didn''t seem interested in responding to every inane thought I had. Do you want me to do something? Is there something I should learn or gain from this experience that I''ve missed? Do you have some sort of mission or quest for me? It was this thought process that finally seemed to have an effect. The words that had been there this whole time faded away and were replaced with a different page of text, with a large title at the top that read "Quests". Quests? Sure, why not? I quickly felt for a headset again, almost sure this was some kind of a joke. Still nothing, but I did take my focus off the screen to listen for the rustling in the grass. It didn''t seem to be moving closer, and paying more attention I could hear the sounds of bugs now in addition to the slight rustling around and the gentle lapping of the oasis water. If not for the bloody sand, dead creature, floating screen, recent death, and still very-injured arm and stinging shoulder it would probably be very relaxing here. I wasn¡¯t interested in adding any more wounds and refocused on the screen, comfortably convinced I had enough time to read it all before more danger found me.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Quests

Grid Quests (1)

Area Quests (1)

Tutorial Quests (1)

¡°What the hell?¡± I muttered, taking in the strange screen before me. My new theory was that I was in some white room somewhere, being spoon-fed grey mush and clearly watching way too many gaming videos. "Alright, when in Rome" I muttered to myself and decided to play ball with this madness. The source of the rhythmic pulsing seemed to be ¡°Tutorial Quests¡±, so I touched that one, which I realized was foolish because I''d been operating the screen so far with just thought. But, with a slight vibration the category expanded. ¡°Interesting, apparently physical interaction would work as well.¡± Good, almost looked like an idiot standing in the desert poking at floating screens. I should probably drink some water soon, just in case all of this is a mirage and I am actually that idiot. I knew this was insane, of course it was. I was interacting with a floating screen for Pete''s sake. But, I was down the rabbit hole now, and despite being filled with fear and confusion, my curiosity was getting the better of me. That, and the joy of discovery was also slowly supplanting my misgivings. I was almost having a bit of fun. It might all be in my head, but if it was, I wanted to see what sort of world my head had conjured up.

Tutorial Quests

¡°I don¡¯t know what Minor Wound Ointment is, but I¡¯m fairly certain I could use some¡± I said, eyeballing my still throbbing arm and stinging shoulder. The water had done wonders for pain management and cleanup, but the effects passed as soon as I removed my arm from it. If I just sat in it I wouldn¡¯t feel anything, but I didn¡¯t see that as a viable option. However, my eyes were drawn to the Quest that was crossed and greyed out. Apparently, I had already received this reward. Even as I acknowledged it, the greyed out quest vanished, leaving only the ¡°Spoils of Battle¡± quest behind. I also felt another refreshing feeling pass through my body, akin to when the screen had first appeared. As grateful as I was for the cooling sensation, one thought did concern me. Am I being Pavlov-ed? Was I being trained and broken in like a new puppy? Given treats when I was good? What happens when I¡¯m bad? I glanced at the bushes, still rustling occasionally. I guess I¡¯ll just try to avoid that option. I had only looked at the completed quest for a moment before it disappeared, but I do remember there being a reward. Though I wasn¡¯t too sure what a ¡°combat proficiency¡± was. And I wasn¡¯t even sure where to check such a thing. I have a Quest screen, do I also have a Proficiency or Skills screen? The screen flashed and the parchment now showed a completely different screen. This one was slightly different from the Quest screen though. Instead of having one large title it had 3 running along the side, though only the final title had an entry.

Abilities (0/5)

Skills (0)

Proficiencies (1)

Natural Weapon (W)

Class: Combat, General

Sticks and Stones can still break bones. Swords aren''t necessary.

Measures Proficiency with Natural Weapons (Sticks, Stones, Claws, Bones)

Lvl 1: Natural Weapons (Sticks, Stones, Claws, Bones, etc.) will be slightly sturdier and resist breaking in combat. Slightly Increased damage output when using Natural Weapons.

I glanced over to the rock I had used to bludgeon the creature to death with, suppressing a shudder while the events ran through my head. I turned my head away and refocused on the screen. "Fair enough, you got me there, screen. I guess the combat proficiency is tied to how I went about it. Good to know, I¡¯ll have to use a less horrific weapon next time. Skills and Abilities were both empty, so I decided to return to Quests to see what the pulsing entry had been. ¡°Quests¡± I whispered, also thinking of the word. As far as I could tell, thinking was all that was necessary, but something about speaking it was more comfortable. It also helped me feel less like a lab rat or game piece. The screen seemed to switch either way, so spoken commands seemed to be just as effective. Good for my sanity. And who knows? Maybe there will be a situation where I have to speak it, I couldn¡¯t imagine what that situation would be but any knowledge was good knowledge. Now back in the ¡°Quests¡± screen, I stared at the remaining entry. That ¡°Minor Healing Ointment¡± could be life-saving. The quest name itself did indicate what it might want, but it was when I focused further on it that the entry expanded and showed the actual requirements. Glad my instincts had been correct on that one. Spoils of Battle

Survival is tough and resources can be slim. Every advantage helps.

Harvest the remains of a slain enemy to gain resources.

Reward: 1 Minor Healing Ointment

"You''re kidding? Right?" I exhaled after reading the expanded description. I really didn''t want to start rooting around in that dead creature''s body. I had gone fishing before and my grandpa had shown me how to gut a fish, and I¡¯d dissected a rat once in high school, but that had been a few years ago, and this thing was much larger than a rat and much different than a fish. ¡°I don¡¯t even have anything to harvest it with!¡± I muttered, louder than I meant and my eyes flashed to the bushes as I held my breath. The bushes didn¡¯t seem to move more or less, so I hoped whatever was in there didn¡¯t care. When I had gutted the fish my grandpa had been there. In high school I had a diagram showing what was what and I had a scalpel. Now, it was just me, in the desert, no tools but a hope and prayer, wearing the same pants, shoes, and shirt I had been wearing since that morning in London. Which was odd now that I thought about it, I would''ve thought dead me would be wearing a white robe or something, but it got thrown in with the pile of odd things to figure out later. My eyes were still on the bushes. I hadn''t quite figured out what to do, but I had already dallied way too long. I needed to make a decision. The rustling could appear any second as another bloodthirsty monkey, or something worse, and I didn''t like my chances right now. ¡°Screw it.¡± I quickly grabbed another drink of water, grabbed the dead monkey-lizard - holding its limp, scaly body under my arm, and carefully retreated away from the sound. Chapter 6: The Perks of Being a Lab Rat "Oh I''m gonna be sick" I groaned as I stuck my hands into the monkey in a repeated attempt to complete this "Quest". Even though I still hadn''t encountered anyone yet, I knew that there had to be some kind of higher power orchestrating this. But, that didn¡¯t mean it was a nice higher power. No, this higher power was the kind that got some sick enjoyment from watching confused humans root around in dead bodies like a racoon in the trash. Or a crow digging through a junk pile looking for something shiny. That¡¯s how I felt right now, like some trash animal searching for a gold coin. The only thing getting me through this was the hope that this would follow typical game tropes and that at the end of this disgusting tunnel there was a Potion of Healing or a Fire Sword or something cool. Though just getting the promised ointment and not dying from infection would be good enough for me. In the video games I had played, typically the heroes just tapped the dead creature and items would appear. Or maybe it would cut to a quick skinning animation and then you would walk away with a pelt. Easy right? Unfortunately, that was not the case so far. After finding a safe hollow behind some trees that backed up to a tall sandstone wall I had tapped, poked, and prodded every part of the creature I could think of. I even hit it with a rock a few more times to see if that would do anything. Despite my efforts, I still had not received any ¡°loot¡± and still had a very incomplete quest. My arm had been really stinging at that point, and my shoulder didn¡¯t feel too hot either, even though it was such a minor graze. I was close enough to the water to clean it as much as I wanted; but, as before, the refreshing effects of the water were fleeting. Shortly after walking away from the water the pain would return. By this point, I had had enough. ¡°Screw it¡±. I had found a flat pointed rock and sharpened it further by hitting it with another stone until I got a sharp, albeit jagged, edge. With this in hand I had steeled myself and began to ¡°harvest the remains¡±. Its scales were tough, but grew softer near its underbelly so I was able to pierce it with my impromptu knife. I had slowly cut it open, expecting a loot box or something equally ridiculous to spawn. That was not the case. What did spawn was guts, curdled blood, and a great deal of dry heaving. That last one was me, the monkey was still dead and pretty incapable of puking. To be fair, currently so was I, hence the dry heaving; there was a nice pile of vomit sitting a kilometre from here that contained all the bile and food my body could produce without more food. Which brought me to where I was now, rummaging around in a dead animal like a psycho.Some fun things I quickly learned. Freshly killed animals are still very warm, even warmer in the desert sun. The blood didn¡¯t flow like mine had when cut, rather it moved slowly, like slowly-drying paint. I became very familiar with this sensation as I ran my hands inside, desperately looking for the reward that I hoped was there. "Come on screen! I''m doing the thing! Look! I''m looting the dead thing! Where''s my sword or coins?" I shouted to the blue sky, realizing after the fact that shouting to the air about not finding a sword in a corpse wasn''t helping my image of not being a psycho. The Quest screen was still up. I had figured out how to hide the whole damn thing while searching for a place to regroup. Like everything else I just had to think for it hide. There had been a few moments of panic where I was worried I wouldn¡¯t be able to get it back up; but as before, saying or thinking ¡°Quest¡± or ¡°Skills¡± brought up the relevant screens. Looking closer at the quest I reviewed the wording and came to a realization. In my haste I had read the description and just used the words "loot" in my head, but it said "harvest". I exhaled slowly, trying to calm down my mounting annoyance and rage. ¡°YOU WANT ME TO SKIN AND FIELD DRESS A LIZARD-MONKEY!!!¡± I screamed at the sky. Calmly of course. I groaned and had to consciously stop myself from rubbing my head with my bloodied hands to alleviate the sharp headache my day had been. ¡°Screw it¡± I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. The floating screen wanted me to harvest a lizard-monkey. Sure, why the hell not? I need that medical ointment, I didn¡¯t want to lose my arm to infection or something worse. But I couldn¡¯t do it with my sort-of-sharp rock. I would need a better knife and maybe some sticks to hang the whole thing on. I looked around my small clearing I had set up in, I was tucked close to a wall of hardened sandstone with a dense patch of palm trees and a large red boulder creating a mostly blocked-off clearing. It hadn¡¯t appeared to be inhabited when I found it, and the shade from the trees was helping me think clearer; despite what my current actions might suggest. There wasn''t much for loose sticks, but I found some palm leaves that were sturdy enough. I might go look later for some sturdier sticks or branches, but could make do with what I had. Just beyond my clearing there was a small bench of shale that I had taken my first ¡°knife¡± from. With a bit of searching I was able to find a sharper one there. I still wasn''t sure what the screen wanted from me, but I wasn''t playing games this time. I pulled my shirt up around my nose and mouth, squinted my eyes for extra safety and dissected that creature for everything I could think of and find in it. I was happy to discover that the organs and everything seemed more or less in the same structure as my limited dissecting experience had prepared me for. I removed all the organs I knew were bad, being very careful not to nick any of them, one of the few lessons I remembered from fishing with my grandpa. I also decided to toss everything else that didn''t look like edible meat in the pile I was affectionately calling ¡°gross shit¡±. Once most of the fleshy bits had been removed I finished skinning the thing. Which was unsurprisingly very slow with only a sharp rock for a knife. It sliced better than I had thought, but lacked the refinement a knife had. Regardless, the skin and scales were incredibly durable and seemed fairly forgiving of my shoddy skinning, though I still removed it in pieces. I had been hoping to have a full pelt. Damn it. Once that was done I removed what remaining meat I had missed, both from the removed skins and the remaining bones of the creature. I took this and the meat I had already collected and laid it on some palm leaves to dry out, I put the skins there as well. ¡°That seems correct,¡± I said, looking sideways at my collection of gore. I checked the floating screen, no change. ¡°What? Really? Ugh, you¡¯re really going to make me remove all of it?¡± I guess I wasn¡¯t done yet. The issue was I didn¡¯t know what else to remove. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I looked at the creature''s hands and feet, not much for claws, but his teeth were jagged and sharp, and I knew from personal experience the damage they could do. Feeling truly foolish, and a little grave-robbery I removed all of its teeth, using a pointed rock and another rock to hammer them out, I set those aside and checked the quest again, still no change. ¡°Seriously? What else do you want?¡± I looked at the creatures bones, they were sturdy, and the rib cage bones could maybe be wrapped around an arm or something to protect against other bites? Maybe? I was really just shooting in the dark at this point. I remembered learning in school about the Cree and Blackfoot and other nations of people that used to roam the continent. Times were tough, and they had to be resourceful, so they used everything from every kill. I knew there were plenty of parts to use from every creature, but I didn''t think anyone used every single part these days. But, we had houses and grocery stores and running water now so there wasn¡¯t much point. ¡°I don¡¯t have those things though¡± I reflected. I would need to be more resourceful, just doing the bare minimum wouldn¡¯t be enough. Was that why the screen wouldn¡¯t let me just be done? It needed me to use everything to my advantage and go beyond? Whatever the reason, I still hadn¡¯t received my reward so I slumped my shoulders, but got back to it. I began removing the bones and setting them aside one by one with absolutely no idea how I was going to use any of them. I sorted them from smallest to largest, trying to keep all the curved ones facing the same direction and stacking the straight ones in nice little piles where I could. Once I was finally finished separating all the bones I had a pile of guts and gross parts I couldn''t identify, a couple small pieces of meat and an assortment of skin pieces sitting on the palm leaves in the sun, and I had a pile of various bones. I felt a slight shift within when placing that final bone in its pile, that gentle humming in my head had returned. It was so soft, so subtle, but with literally zero distractions it was noticeable. I smiled expectantly, and was pleased to see that I had finally gotten the last quest to change to [Complete]. "Hah! Take that screen!" I yelled triumphantly, pointing at it with my blood-caked hand. Thoughts of disgust or reproach at my own situation were lost in that macabre moment of joy. The quest disappeared as the other one had, but was then replaced with another message. Inventory unavailable. [Claim Reward] I paused for a second, unsure of what it meant that my inventory was unavailable. Do I have an inventory? I thought and said ¡°inventory¡± a few times to test this, the screen remained unchanged. ¡°It said inventory unavailable moron, that means you don¡¯t have one.¡± I scolded myself, then selected the [Claim Reward] with my finger and was rewarded with a small refreshing feeling rushing through my body. Nothing like a reminder that you¡¯re definitely a lab rat. I thought grimly to myself. This time though, instead of another menu popping up, a small image showed up beside the completed quest. An image of a metal tin with a First Aid plus on it. I clicked the image and it grew to take up the whole screen, now with words above it that read [Claim Medical Ointment]. I clicked again, but this did nothing, except giving me an unpleasant vibration in return. ¡°Claim¡± I thought to myself to see if that would work. Nothing. "Claim Medical Ointment" I said out loud. Still nothing. Getting a little pissed off now honestly. I reached out to grab at it, mostly out of frustration, and was surprised when my hands closed around cold metal, exactly where the image was. I almost dropped it in surprise, having never had an image become 3D and physical in the blink of an eye before, but this day was full of surprises and I was slowly starting to roll with the punches. I dismissed the screen and opened the tin, bewildered but grateful at the medical-smelling goo that was inside. I made my way back to the water, checking my peripheral all the while, washed off my wounds as best I could, reveling in the cooling sensation, then applied the ointment. I thought about wrapping my arm in a palm leaf to act like a bandaid but decided against it for now, worried I''d just make the healing worse. The areas I applied began to itch almost immediately, but that was quickly replaced with a potent cooling sensation, much deeper and more effective than the lake water had been. As I walked back to where I had dissected the creature, I could visibly see the skin begin to seal itself, stopping the flow of blood completely. ¡°Miraculous¡± I gawked at my arm, amazed at the speed the bite marks were healing at. Once the wounds were sealed, the rapid healing levelled out, seemingly only concerned with open wounds. I guess the scars will heal in their own time, though I¡¯m sure the ointment would speed that up. I still had about a third of the small tin left, but I wouldn¡¯t be using it for something as superficial as scar repair. Who knows what strange creature will pop up next to take a bite of me. I took the pile of guts I wouldn''t be using some distance away from my camp and buried them. Not deep, just deep enough that I couldn''t smell it. The sand, luckily was incredibly easy to work, and a few minutes with one of my sturdy palm leaf stalks and I was done. With that quest complete, I took some time to sit down and rest, allowing the healing to continue unabated. That healing ointment was doing wonders, the throbbing in my arm had completely passed and most of the open bleeding had been reduced to small red scars. I checked the position of the sun, suns - kept forgetting that. I thought 2 suns might mean a longer day, but my earlier thought of a binary star system seemed to be accurate, they had stayed together throughout the afternoon, and looked like they would set in a few hours. I knew deserts could get dreadfully cold at night, so now that I had a moment of respite, I needed to think ahead. I had food; there was the meat I had harvested and I had noticed coconuts on the ground and in some of the trees. So I didn''t think I would starve to death tonight. For supplies I had a t-shirt, a long-sleeve button-up that I had kept open, some light pants, my sneakers, a necklace, and a bracelet. Additionally, I seemed to have kept the contents of my pockets, which may have been my biggest boon so far. The lighter I had been practicing with my entire trip was still with me. I gave it a flick and it lit right up. Perfect. It wouldn''t last forever, but the striker would work indefinitely. No sitting on a beach trying to rub wood together until it lit. Luckily, I could avoid that survival movie trop. Maybe I could still have a sporting-goods sidekick though, the day is young. Other than that, I had a few coins and my hotel key which consisted of a key ring, a key card and a real key for the pool. Not sure how any of that would be useful here. Once again I cursed myself for dropping my phone. On the off chance I wasn''t dead it would''ve been nice to try and get a signal, despite the likely futility of that. It didn''t matter anyway. For the time, I was content with my pitiful inventory of gear. I sat down and confronted the strange new piece of equipment I had with me. The floating screen. It still had some quests for me and, hopefully, some answers as well. Chapter 7: The Quest Screen Quests

UI Quests (1)

Grid Quests (1)

Combat Quests (1)

Area Quests (1)

I had 4 quests to look through. My screen had stopped pulsing and there wasn''t any pressure in my head, which I thought meant that none of the quests were urgent, though I couldn''t be sure. The first quest was under a category called UI Quests. ¡°UI? Like user interface? Oh, I¡¯m an idiot, universal interface. That makes more sense, probably a better name than screen¡± I mused. I was happy to find upon opening it that it was ready to be completed.

UI Quests (1)

Basic Tutorial (Complete)

Complete 2 Tutorial Quests.

Reward: 1 Universal Skill [Claim]

Who doesn''t love easy quests? I claimed it and waited expectantly for the rush of wellness that I had gotten used to. This time however there was nothing. Odd. Maybe the screen, or the UI, thought I had been rewarded enough. Well whatever. I checked my skills real quick and a new heading had formed labelled "Universal Skills" which had 1 entry below it. Comprehend Speech

You can understand the comprehensible components of any language from any Spark-bearing being who is using a language format your form could comprehend.

¡°Huh.¡± Admittedly it was a dope skill, but holy fine-print batman. Sounded like I could now understand any language from someone who spoke their languages, and if that someone was a "Spark-Bearer?". Was that supposed to be the soul or something? Or the flash of life? I guess I''d figure it out as it became important. I wonder if I''d be able to understand everything Kate signed now? I wouldn¡¯t be able to sign back, but her hearing worked just fine. ¡°As if it matters. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m seeing her anytime soon,¡± I muttered as I continued to read the screen. Being dead sucks. "One Skill done, what else do you have for me, UI? You know, I think I like Screen better." I knew it was probably only for petty reasons, but for now Screen was staying.

Grid Quests (1)

Find the Singularity.

Reward: ???

"Hmm, ominous and confusing." I muttered, I was fairly certain singularities were black holes, but why did the Screen want me to find one? Or the one? I was under the impression that because of their tendency to absorb light and all matter, they were fairly tricky to find. Maybe it would be really obvious at night and I''d get a gold star, or a cool character skin or something. Seemed like a silly enough reward for a quest asking me to do a thing that entire Space Agencies spent millions trying to do. ¡°I¡¯ll get right on that Screen, would you like me to split an atom while I¡¯m at it?¡± Stupid screen. Stupid quest. Was there a way to hide that quest so I didn''t have to see it? Again, just as I was thinking it, a new header opened at the bottom of the screen, not just below the last header, but at the very bottom. It was labelled "Archived Quests" and now had a (1) beside it, and my Grid Quest header had vanished. ¡°So you can do basic customization,? I wonder¡­ Can I change the background or add custom wallpapers?¡± There wasn''t any immediate change, so I assumed not. Though after a little more mental prodding it did invert the colours. "Heh, dark mode, very cool". Anyway, moving on.

Combat Quests (1)

Defeat 10 combatants. (1/10).

Reward: One Combat Skill or Item. (Dependent on Performance and Need).

Ok, this was a return to what I had expected. Defeat 10 slimes, get a +1 sword. That I could wrap my head around. It seemed like it counted the monkey as a combatant, so I guess anything hostile counted. I looked around me for a few seconds and spotted a fly buzzing nearby. After a minute of swatting I managed to hit it to the ground. I squashed it with my foot and looked back at the screen, hopeful for loopholes. Defeat 10 combatants. (1/10) ¡°I guess you won¡¯t let me cheese it then?¡± Got it. What was next?

Area Quests (1)

Node Warden

Conquer and Defend your local node: CrimsonEye Oasis

Defeat any contenders for CrimsonEye Node and defend for 1 day.

Rewards: Unlock Land Claim Quests, Unlock Sovereignty Progression System

"Alright, defeat all the local monkey-lizards and whatever other nightmares are hiding in the area. Got it. I''ll hop right on that, I''m already dead, what''s some localized genocide?" As far as I could tell, the Screen wanted me to defeat enemies, claim some land, speak strange languages, and maybe find a black hole. ¡°What a weird mixed bag of nonsense. Well, I have my own series of quests, so you¡¯ll just have to wait. Mine might not sound as cool as finding a blackhole, but they are much more important¡±. I needed to think about long-term survival now, and next steps if I was going to last in this land. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I couldn¡¯t help but think of my backpack that I¡¯d left beside my bed back in my hostel. It had all my drawing books and supplies as well as my planner. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I have had my backpack with me that last night? I could¡¯ve had something to write notes in..¡± My breath caught as the Screen switched to a blank screen labelled "Notes". Interesting. But surely it wouldn''t have¡­tabs? At the side of the screen 2 tabs showed up, colour-coded, with the 2nd tab being bolded, I''m assuming to show that it was the active one. And I definitely couldn''t rename these tags and reorganize them? I thought, my heart beating faster. The tabs both gained arbitrary names based on some quick assigning, and I switched their order back and forth. And what if I wanted to add additional pages.. The numbers 1 and 2 appeared at the bottom of the screen. "Oh mama¡­" Did I say that out loud? Alright scree..ahem UI, I can work with this.¡± I held back my excitement as I began writing - thinking? - a to-do list to organize myself. I quickly came up with a much better Quest list. Notes

Will''s Quests

I crossed out my final note as I was writing it, deciding that now wasn¡¯t the time to ruminate on such things. That sounded like Future-Will''s problem, that guy was great at that sort of thing. Probably, never actually met the guy, but this is definitely in his wheelhouse. Current Will however was armed with a virtual list in that I could edit on the fly and didn''t have to remember. I didn''t even try to see if I could change fonts or make things bold or..¡±ahem, focus Will, put it back in your pants and do some work.¡± First; a weapon. So far it had just been the murder monkey and a bug. Also, I think I saw a fish splash in the lake, innocuous perhaps but I didn''t trust it. Either way, what was that old addage? Where there''s one Murder Monkey-Lizard there is always 2? Or maybe a murder bird, there could be all kinds of murder things out there. What about me, here in a desert talking to a screen, was I a murder thing now? Alright, going to put that thought in the Future Will''s pile as well. Poor guy, he''s got some big issues to deal with. While I was doing my best to avoid having a breakdown and pretend everything was fine, I had gotten to work. I thought a lot when I worked, but it was better than just sitting and thinking, at least it felt like progress. I had a few ideas for weapons. I had always enjoyed watching the Survivor shows or various crafting videos that would show up about making knives and spears from things found in the forest. It was a great distraction from homework, too good sometimes. I also had some practical knowledge from the camping trips and scouting trips I had gone on growing up. I knew many of the basics and a good number of the intermediate skills. But that had all been in Canadian forests. I wasn¡¯t sure how well that would translate to desert survival, but I didn¡¯t have much choice. Everything else would be instinct and trying to mimic what I had seen the various people in those videos do. No time like the present. My immediate first issue in making a weapon came when I realized I still didn''t have any decent sticks, and palm stalks don''t sharpen well. I had seen some bamboo stalks a ways back but that was near where I had come across the monkey-lizard, and didn¡¯t wish to face another one of those. When first approaching, the palm trees appeared to have large spikes protruding from their leafy heads, but I couldn¡¯t reach any of those, and all the ones that I could find on the ground appeared to just be leaves rolled into a tube shape, which completely lacked any of the sturdiness I was hoping for in a weapon. After looking for a bit and weighing my options, I settled on what I am tentatively calling the "pain stick". ¡°What''s the pain stick?¡± I narrated to myself amidst some choice cursing as I once again poked myself. Well it''s a pain to make that''s for sure. To make it I took the sturdiest palm stalk I could find (I hit it against a tree a few times just to be sure it could take a beating). I was selective, as I wanted it to be dry enough to be sturdy, but not so dry it would snap. I was glad the dried palm stalks were relatively hollow, and I cleaned it out a bit more to get it ready for what I had in mind. After some prep work and cleaning, I know had a long mostly hollow tube. I took the wide end of the tube and began to insert the teeth I had harvested into the tube mouth, then pushing them through the leafy flesh so they protruded outward, I repeated this until I had a ring of teeth pushing out from the stalk. The teeth of the monkey-lizard were triangular so they wouldn¡¯t push all the way through. For the second row I switched to bone splinters, partly because I had run out of teeth, but also bone splinters stuck out much further and were a little easier to push through. After I had created a few rows of spiky protrusions from the stalk, I took a large bone of similar circumference and pushed it into the hollow cavity to lock the bones and teeth in place. This also gave it some weight for when I swung it at things. At this point, I would¡¯ve liked to have secured it all with duct tape or glue or string. I had none of that. I considered tearing my button up shirt into strips and using it, I still had the t-shirt underneath. But, I really didn¡¯t want to lose my shirt to this cause, I had very little faith in this weapon, and would rather wait to use it for something else. And I had a better idea anyway. Well, another idea. My grandpa had once shown me how to make rope by weaving together smaller strings into thicker strands, and you could repeat this until it got to the thickness needed. I didn¡¯t have strings, but I did have the stringy fur that grew at the bottom of the palm trees. It came off in small lengths and looked like wiry pieces of hair. I tried to independently braid them for a few minutes before realizing it would be faster to just grow my own hair to the length I needed instead of braiding it. Then I switched to another method he had shown me and just worked on rolling them together. This method was almost immediately successful and I actually just stopped and stared at the small length of string I had created from rolling these fibres together. I pulled on it lightly and it held together fairly well, the abrasiveness of the small palm fibres resisting better than I had expected. I added more fibres, overjoyed at my success and continued rolling them, excitement mounting as the strand continued in length. After I worked at it for an hour, I had created a decent amount of usable string. My first few lengths I had created had no consistency in terms of thickness, but then I had found my groove and most of the string I had now was consistent in thickness and quality. I would need to make a lot more if I wished to make rope strong enough to hold anything heavy, but this would do for securing the head of the ¡°Pain Stick¡±. Finally, after hours of rolling string and searching for and preparing the palm stalk I had my first weapon¡­.a dry stalk with sharpish bones at the end. Despite myself, I was elated. Would this actually be useful in combat? Maybe? Could it hurt anything? Also maybe, anything was possible. But I didn¡¯t care about any of that. Today had been horrible, and I had been on the brink of being completely overwhelmed for hours. But somehow, crafting a weapon, as ineffective as it might be, fought back against those overwhelming feelings. By making this, I had committed to fighting back, to overcoming what lay in my way. Whatever horrors I had yet to face, Pain Stick and I were ready for them. So overcome with joy was I in that moment, that I almost missed the tell-tale warmth rushing through me that meant I had done something the UI was rewarding me for. I opened the screen and scanned through until I found the likely culprit, or culprits, in the Skills screen. Somehow, I had gained 2 new proficiencies. Chapter 8: New Proficiencies Natural Crafting (Basic)

You have gained a basic proficiency in crafting from the natural materials around you.

Items you craft will maintain their integrity longer and you will inherently know their durability.

You have a low chance to gain insight into uses for foraged or harvested materials.

+10% Agility when Crafting with Natural Materials.

Natural Weapon Crafting (Basic)

You have gained a basic proficiency in crafting weapons from the natural materials around you.

Weapons you craft will be sturdier than other weapons of the same quality when you use them and you will inherently know their durability.

Your crafted weapons have a low chance to gain a bonus effect upon completion. Dependent on

materials used in crafting.

+5% Damage done by Natural Weapons

"Odd.¡± I didn''t recall getting a quest for making weapons, so where had these come from? I hopped over to the quest page and I didn''t see any complete quests there. With some coaxing I was able to bring up my completed quests, and there wasn''t any Quest there either that gave me the Basic Weapon Crafting skill. "Hmm, it appears that I can gain skills outside of Quests." This could prove very useful. Those effects were very basic at the moment, but the ability to be able to add my own skills could be life-saving. But what counted as a skill? And what was just existing? I''d been breathing an awful lot and hadn''t gained Basic Breathing skill or a Basic Calm in the face of the Absurd skill. I thought back to my inner monologue about crafting a Pain Stick and decided that maybe that skill would come later. I probably hadn''t earned it yet. I looked down at the Pain Stick I had just crafted. No screen appeared, but I could tell that it had low durability. That wasn¡¯t surprising, but it was a surprising sensation to be looking at something I had regarded with praise mere moments ago and to now see how flimsy it was. I looked at my small pile of baseball size rocks and made a mental note to add more to that pile. ¡°Wait, I have a literal mental note feature now¡± I promptly opened up my Notes page and added a few more entries to ¡°My Quests¡± list. Looking at my personal quests I realized something was missing. ¡°My other quests have rewards, I should give myself rewards¡± I added a few indulgent rewards like ¡°sit down for 25 minutes¡± and ¡°let myself wallow in fear and sadness for 15 minutes¡±. Right now I desperately wanted to do both, which made them perfect rewards. I went and gathered a few more rocks to add to the pile. I couldn¡¯t tell the durability of the rocks I grabbed or the ones I had already piled. Smearing my own blood on them by accident didn¡¯t count as crafting evidently, but I still guessed that they would fare better than Pain Stick. With my rock pile sufficiently restocked I felt a little more prepared and decided to set about with making a shelter. It looked to be late afternoon now and I didn''t want to be caught out exposed. I had no idea what night might bring. Unlike weapons, palm tree fronds and stalks make excellent shelters. I wanted to minimize the walls that were made of fronds, so I chose a nice area tucked up to the sandstone wall and behind a particularly large tree. I liked it because the tree and wall met in such a way that anything large would need to go through the entrance I would craft. This way I would only need to cover my front if more of those lizard-monkeys showed up. At least, that was the plan. I started by propping a few of the large leaves over the space I wanted as a shelter at an angle, forming a lean-to. There were enough large leaves that my lean-to wall ended up having many layers of leaves. No hope of keeping anything determined out, but it gave me comfort. With that complete I turned to adding an internal framework for support. I had all these great plans of making supports from woven palm stalks, but quickly ran into one issue. Turns out that palm fronds are not ¡°palm-friendly¡±. The damn stalks and leaves kept cutting my hands, just small little nicks mind you, but it was starting to get to me. I had only managed to get one decently sturdy support woven before finally having enough. ¡°OW!!!!¡± I couldn¡¯t even grab another leaf without my hands stinging. The stupid things were almost more dangerous than the supposed "weapons" I had crafted. After holding my hands away so they weren¡¯t touching anything, I eventually had to make my way to the water¡¯s edge to soak away the small smears of blood. Once again, the cooling sensation and dulling of pain was instantaneous. I groaned with relief, kneeling at the water¡¯s edge. ¡°If there is one bright point to this place, it¡¯s this lake¡±. I had some more medicinal ointment, but didn¡¯t want to waste it on this, hopefully the lake¡¯s effects would last longer this time. The supports for my shelter would have to wait. Until I built up stronger calluses, I wouldn¡¯t be doing any weaving of those serrated leaves. I added another to-do to my list. I didn¡¯t wish to walk back to the stand right now, it wasn¡¯t far, only 30 minutes or so, but the day had been long enough, it was all I could do to keep myself motivated to build a shelter. The lean-to I had formed would have to suffice for the time being, though it still needed a door. Once the stinging in my hands had mostly stopped I walked back to the shelter and carefully wove a bunch of the leaves together to create a passable door. It took a while as I really didn¡¯t want more cuts, but the end result was worth it. A bit tougher than the palms on their own, it remained rigid when put over the opening. With some strategic placements of my homemade crappy-string, the lean-to was complete, I''d have to spend some time getting better at making that, having rope would make so many things much easier.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. For a few seconds, looking at my small little lean-to with its leafy door, I almost got to feel like I had wanted to be here. Like I was just on a camp trip and was using my architectural and backwoods skills to make a little shelter. I stared at my creation for a few minutes, content. No artificial good feelings washed over me from the UI, guess it didn¡¯t think it was that good. I was happy with it though. I then moved on to firewood, gathering more palm fronds as well as some bark pulled from the massive palm trees. The stringy fibres in the palm tree bark I was using to make string should help it light up really well. While out collecting I began seeing more life. I saw some little brown chunky birds that looked like Quail, a few more of those lizard-monkeys - at a distance thankfully - , and an odd brown lizard that bolted when I walked near it. I even saw what I think was a jackrabbit, but it bolted so fast I couldn¡¯t be sure. I had Pain Stick with me just in case, keeping a firm hold after seeing the lizard-monkeys but didn''t have to use it. I returned with some fire fuel, and added it to a decent pile I was getting near my shelter. Once again, I was grateful that this little hovel I had found was well shaded, dry heat is mostly dissipated by shade, and collecting firewood, even in the late afternoon sun, was sweltering. I was in high spirits though as I had stumbled upon what appeared to be coconuts while collecting firewood, although the green shell was a bit spikier than I thought it would be, and looked forward to having some food aside from the Lizard-Monkey meat. With that, my list was completed, I even managed to not die again, so big wins there. Night would be here soon, and I needed to do a bit more securing of my area. I laid down some dry palms across the entrance to my small clearing, hoping it would alert me of any invaders. I then set about making a fire, fairly easy with a lighter, palm fibers, and dry fronds. Seriously, those things were everywhere. Once that was going I set up the small amount of meat I had taken from the lizard-monkey on a nice flat piece of shale above the coals I was forming and let that begin to fry. While that was frying, I found one of my better pointed shale knives I had made, and held it sharp side up between my legs, then used it to tear open a few coconuts by slamming them down against the sharpened end as I had seen them opened this way in movies. The spikes on the shell made it tricky, and slamming a coconut down that close to my groin had me nervous, but aside from a very bruised thigh, I eventually pierced it and got access to the flesh and liquid inside, which I was very happy to discover looked and smelled like coconut. The coconut water would take some getting used to. To its credit it tasted like what water strained through an entire tree and left to sit inside of a nut for a few weeks would taste like, so I couldn¡¯t fault it. Beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers, and I was just happy to have another source of water and food. The coconut flesh was tasty enough, and would go well with the meat I hoped. I just finished making my dinner as the suns were setting. Fried coconut monkey-lizard. I didn''t have any spices but it was pretty decent on its own and tasted somewhat like tougher chicken. For a moment, in the setting sun of the desert, I actually forgot how messed up the whole day had been. I was so exhausted by this point, I hadn''t slept in, what felt to me like 2 full days, and I knew I needed to be vigilant, but with some food and water in me, a warm fire nearby, and a bunch of leaves to sleep on, it was a struggle to stay upright. I enjoyed the comfortable sounds of the crackling fire and the background chirping of insects as the suns dipped below the distant horizon. Then, quite suddenly, the suns had set. Firstly, I didn''t know this, but when the sun does finally set in a desert, it gets dark, like ¡°I can''t see anything¡± dark. This usually isn''t a problem because the stars come out, But that was the second thing. No stars. It wasn''t cloudy, the sun had truly set, and there wasn''t a single star in sight. My fire was the only source of light as far as I could tell. And I realized it was now the only source of sound. It was as if the entire world had agreed to completely shut down at a certain hour. No stars, no sound, just myself, my fire, and the darkness. It should have been terrifying, and to an extent it was. But it was also¡­peaceful? I had spent the day in a different world running from different things and just trying to survive and not think too hard. Now, in absolute darkness with the strange world completely hidden from me, I could pretend that it wasn¡¯t there. I could pretend that I was somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Somewhere familiar. I could almost picture Mom and Kate at the corners of my vision as I stared intently at the crackling fire. Those weren¡¯t wavy shadows, those were my family. ¡°I miss you Mom¡­.I miss you Kate¡± I said to the shadows. I had said I could sit in sadness for a bit if I got everything done. I was so worn out, so exhausted, but I couldn¡¯t find the will to get up and go lay down. So I remained in that endless nothingness, sitting on a rock I had found, just me and the fire, and the wetness upon my cheek. This moment, equally terrifying and beautiful, felt like a representation of the world I was in. If I focused only on the fear, I''d miss these moments of beauty. Gradually, the quiet ended. That hush was slowly replaced with the familiar sounds of the night. The gentle lapping of water could now be heard, the basal humming of bugs, the sounds of sharp palm leaves scraping against each other in a gentle breeze. Still no stars, but the sounds were familiar, and allowed me to think of other things. My thoughts wandered to my Archived Quest "Seek the Singularity". A part of me had been na?ve enough to think that would be easy. That perhaps I could just stay up and spot it amongst the stars like a game of ¡°I Spy¡±. Even if there was a black hole chilling within visible distance, which I truly hoped there wasn''t for so many reasons, I doubted I¡¯d be able to see it anyways. As fire crackled, I was still unable to let my mind and body quiet enough to rest so I started making a spear by tying a jagged rock chip into the end of one of the palm stalks, and getting rid of the sharper bristles with another sharp rock. Once I finished one spear I began to make another, rolling more fibers into string as I ran out. I was better at that, not great but I''d gone from essentially 1-ply toilet paper and was now making something that looked like yarn. By the third spear I could feel my body finally calming down and becoming truly relaxed. Each spear I had made wasn¡¯t anything special, and was fairly low durability, but the act of crafting them and doing something was slowly winding down my anxiety. I sat like that for almost an hour, crafting spears. I had 4 by this point, when a moon rose over the horizon and finally broke the darkness. I say a moon and not The Moon because it was about a third the size of the one I was used to, and distinctly red-tinged. Not the red of blood, but how Mars looks in photos, like it''s covered in rust. I stared at it in awe, my spear-making forgotten for a brief moment before I continued crafting in the red light. 20 minutes passed and I had finally convinced myself I was tired enough to sleep when a second moon rose. This one was white like I was used to, but also distinctly smaller than my Moon. I had barely taken this one when a third rose, then 5 minutes later a 4th, then a 5th. Within 20 more minutes there were 9 moons dotting the sky on the east horizon, coming from the distant flat lands that I had thought was dominated by a large dark line I thought was a lake when I had seen it. Most were the size of the first that had risen with a few very small ones, and one that appeared to be double the size of the Moon I was used to. The sight was so breathtaking I had stopped crafting altogether, my 7th spear only partially finished in my hands. Once again, I was struck with a moment of awe as I took in the sky. Not a single star, but 9 unique moons filled the night. Each with their own unique hues and features. This day had been awful, but this¡­ this was lovely. Maybe this world would be alright. Maybe I would be alright. Then the hissing started. Chapter 9: What Goes Bump in the Night Forgotten was the tranquility of the moons. All thoughts of camaraderie and enjoyment were equally abandoned. Replacing it was a fear, a fear built one brick at a time until it was a massive wall in my mind. A fear that told me that, even though there was no way for me to know what that specific hissing was - in this new land it could literally be from anything, I knew exactly what it was. But, I waited. Hesitantly. Hopefully. Foolishly. Partly from fear locking me in place as I prayed to whatever god had placed me in this funhouse of a desert to let me out. I pleaded, I bargained, I promised anything and everything to that absent god while I was locked in place. My once cozy clearing I had found and set up for myself as a place of safety and shelter now proved itself to be something far more sinister. A dead-end. A trap. The hissing continued, but some small part of my brain, the rational part I reasoned, urged me to stay calm. I still didn¡¯t know, it could be anything. It could be the wind, I gaslighted myself. It could be anything, you don¡¯t know that it¡¯s¡­. Skittering. Many small hard things touching other hard things. Like the sands of an hourglass clinking as the end draws near. The soft unwanted touch. The bump in the night. Bugs. There were bugs out there. But what about all the buzzing I had been hearing all night? Those were friendly bugs, those were the bugs you brushed off your shoulder with a slight jump and exclamation of ¡°ew!¡±, or a bug that made you laugh when it leaped out of the way giving you a jump. Gross? Sure. Nightmare abominations? Kind of, but small ones so it was fine. This was different. Without even seeing them I knew. Without any confirmation I knew. These were not those. These were big bugs, very big. Like the one I had run from in my first moments in this desert. The one I had hoped to not see again. And there they were. I could see them now. Dozens of large domes scuttling around in the washed out tones of moonlight. Their shadows showed some variety of shapes, but they were on the other side of the water from me, so I couldn¡¯t tell. But something told me I soon would be able to. The ones across the water were too far to be making the sound I was hearing. Every piece of foreign material touching my skin became the enemy, it felt like they were already upon me. I looked at my measly stack of spears, mere moments ago a great victory of the day. Now, a pathetic attempt, a failure. Maybe enough to impale myself on. My fire, once a mighty bonfire, now barely a candle to comfort myself with. Movement at the edge of the firelight. A shadow of such darkness that it seemed to soak the moonlight in. The shadow slowly clarified into a dark scuttling figure the size of a dog, but much wider and lower to the ground. It seemed to be sniffing about in that way that bugs do. Its antennae were touching everything as it methodically explored the edge of my clearing. ¡°Please just go¡± I begged internally, trying to stay as silent and still as possible. Once again, the universe seemed to care little for my wants and it edged closer. The very shadows of night pushed into the light of my clearing, materializing as sleek, armored carapace. The jittery movements were even more unnerving in the light as it continued to sniff and search. Like the one I had seen before, it appeared to be some sort of beetle. But that had been far away and I hadn¡¯t looked long. With this one so close I was able to make out more of its features. It was black as midnight, and much more angular up close than the dome-ish shadows I could see behind it, and it stared right at me, with black unknowable eyes. Why I had ever been scared of a bunch of young brats in London with knives was beyond me. What I was facing now was horror incarnate. And it kept getting closer to me. Sniffing, chittering as it seemed to taste the air and sand. At some point I had moved and was now standing behind the fire. It kept its eyes on me, but didn¡¯t leap at me as the monkey-lizard had. It mostly seemed to just be interested in the area. I fiercely gripped the spear I had been working on and tried to focus, to think, and most of all to remain calm. What was it looking for? What did it want? If it wanted me it might have attacked, but maybe it didn¡¯t like its odds. Maybe it was hungry? I looked behind me where I had left the remainder of my food drying to eat tomorrow. I had gotten so comfortable that I had convinced myselfI was just at a little camping spot and that I could leave my food out. Stupid. This world was dangerous, and this little mistake had brought a nightmare to my doorstep. The food was just behind me, maybe if I threw it, the beetle would just take it and leave. Gently, I took a step back and reached behind me. It froze in its movements and chittered. I could see its large hooked mouth pieces closing and opening. Warningly? Was it warning me? I stuck to my guns and grabbed my leftover coconut and monkey meat and I tossed it behind the beetle, to its right. It side-stepped my throw, rearing its backend up slightly as it backed closer to my lean-to. ¡°Oh oh, don¡¯t hit that, ah you hit it¡±, I said to the Beetle as its back end rubbed up against my shelter and collapsed it slightly. ¡°That¡¯s fine, honestly I needed to burn everything in the immediate area down anyway so it¡¯s fine.¡± I kept making what I thought was comforting noises. Whether I was trying to comfort the beetle or myself I didn¡¯t know. I stayed motionless as it investigated the bundle of leftovers I had tossed. Its large mandibles begin rooting around, surprising me with the dexterity it contained. And then it scooped it up, surrounding sand and everything, chewed on it for a bit and then seemed to swallow it. ¡°Oh, good huh? That¡¯s a good nightmare beetle¡±. After swallowing the food, it dug around in the sand a bit more to see if it had missed anything. Then it looked up and regarded me for a second, staring at me with its eerie black globes. ¡°That¡¯s it, I don¡¯t have anymore¡± I said, a noticeable tremor in my voice. I held up my hands to indicate I was all out of food. It looked down at the sand and sniffed around it some more, even digging down a little bit, which it accomplished with its mandibles and front legs. Seeing no more, it regarded me again, and chirped in a low tone that almost sounded annoyed. I still remained silent and still, not trusting myself to speak without crying out in horror and fear. My hands were trembling. When did that happen? Finally, it left out the way it came, blending back into the shadowy landscape of moving carapaces. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I stayed still for a moment longer, trying to be sure it was gone. Then I calmly walked a few steps back towards the sandstone face, leaned back against it, and promptly turned to the side and puked. My whole body had shut down while that beetle was here, and had been in a state of primal fear for too long, it couldn¡¯t take it. With only the small amount I had eated for dinner in my stomach, I didn¡¯t puke much. I leaned against the wall once I was done, and breathed. ¡°You¡¯re okay, you¡¯re okay, you¡¯re okay¡±. Where was that peace and acceptance I had found 10 minutes ago? ¡°Find that peace Will, look at the moons, see how pretty they are, let¡¯s count the craters on each of them.¡± I began counting craters on the moon, doing anything to keep my mind from completely collapsing in on itself. What might actually be my worst nightmare had walked up to me out of the dark, eaten my leftovers, and left. I was glad of the outcome, but my mind was really struggling to keep the focus on anything positive while I could see more of them scurrying around in the dark. How long until another comes to explore? ¡°You¡¯re okay, it seemed friendly, just big. Think of Princess.¡± Princess was my Aunt Shirley¡¯s Pitbull and was basically a hamster born in a lion¡¯s body. She was the friendliest, most timid dog you¡¯d ever meet. But she was humongous and got nervous around new people, so everyone thought she was some terrifying creature. She was one of my favourite animals in the whole world, but was terrifying to everyone else. ¡°The Beetle is just like Princess. Princess Beetle. Princess Beetle, PrincessBeetlePrincessBeetlePrincessBeetle¡±. I kept repeating this, desperately trying to will my body and brain out of the all-consuming dread and panic I was barely keeping at bay. Slowly, after a few minutes of breathing, it worked. I calmed, or at least stopped shaking which was good enough for now. Finally, I slid down the wall and sat down, my crafted spear resting to my side. I stared at the fire and the shadowy entrance to my impromptu camping site. I noticed more shapes passing by, but none seemed interested in my area at the moment. I sat there for some time, just watching the movements in the dark, focusing on controlling my breathing and trying not to puke again. The beetles in the night seemed to mostly just be looking for food, and moved along at a sedate pace. After some time, I was even beginning to find the scurrying movements calming to watch. Until I began noticing a few of the shapes had red murky spots on their shells. These spots only appeared when they were in the moonlight, but then stayed highlighted upon re-entering the shadows, almost like they were glow-in -the-dark or something. These new shapes were scurrying with more urgency. There weren¡¯t as many of them dotting the shadowy landscape, but they were easy to spot in the gloom. And for the second time that night, a large shadowy creature entered my campsite, this time bearing those crimson luminescent spots. And then a second one appeared, and a third, and a forth. These. These looked like the one I had seen on my first day. My body had already been squeezed dry of fear, and I was exhausted. Perhaps they smelled the vomit and wanted to eat it. Well they were welcome to it. I got up slowly, grabbed my spear and shifted to my left, trying to leave a good gap between me and my puke. ¡°There you go guys, it¡¯s not much, but that¡¯s probably what you were smelling.¡± I was so tired. So worn out by the day. Their eyes remained on me, actually their eyes had remained fixed on me since they entered, they hadn¡¯t even acknowledged where I had been sick. I spoke again, some hesitancy entering my voice, ¡°It¡¯s right over there guys, sorry I don¡¯t have any more food, you probably noticed there isn¡¯t a ton, you kind of have to take what you can get..¡± They moved forward while I spoke, not where I had been pointing, but at me. Now that they were completely in the firelight I could see their features in greater detail. Aside from the spots, they shared one other distinction from the first beetle I had met. Their mandibles were thinner, and longer, so much so that in the flickering firelight they almost looked like knives. Knives that were very much pointed at me. Four of them, in a dead-ended corner at night. With no one nearby to help. It was just me. If I wasn¡¯t so fried I might¡¯ve laughed. But I didn¡¯t laugh. I didn¡¯t cry either. I don¡¯t know if it was getting sick or the panic attack I just had, but I couldn¡¯t have done anything even if I wanted to. There was nothing left in me. I had nothing to give the world. I was completely empty inside at that moment, hollow. The 4 beetles lowered themselves and continued to scuttle forward, fanning out as they approached. And I did nothing, I didn¡¯t care. Why should I care? And even if I did, what would it matter? They closed in, bringing the shadows of night with them. Their red spots let me know that this was the end. What could I do? I looked at them, and looked at the spear in my hand. It was hopeless, I was going to die. Again. Guess I wouldn¡¯t get to cross off that item after all. I just hoped that my world would fade to black again like it had in that alley. The only high point in coming here was not having any memory of being stabbed to death. My grip on my spear began to loosen. It was a pathetic excuse for a spear anyways, it wouldn¡¯t hold up against that armor. As the spear slowly edged closer to my fingertips, I watched it roll, transfixed by the fire¡¯s reflection off the knobby shaft, it was beautiful too. For a second it wasn¡¯t a shoddy spear, but a grand tower with the morning sun splashing against the contours expertly crafted in it. People lived in camaraderie and felt at home in this beautiful tower, its sides flowing skyward with the imperfect waves of a tree, but also the same sense of strength and comfort. A dream, a stupid dream. A dream to give everyone and anyone a place to feel safe. A place that was as beautiful and majestic as a tree in fall. The ones you couldn¡¯t take your eyes off of because you feared you¡¯d miss it. A dead dream. Like me. My hand moved out to drop the spear completely, and the firelight moved from the spear up my hand and settled at my wrist. On my bracelet. Years ago, when our world had ended, Kate had made me this bracelet. It had plastic and glass beads in it and was completely replaceable. But I had repaired it whenever it broke. She had stopped speaking at that point, and that bracelet was one of the first forms of real communication she had done. I¡¯m sorry Kate. The beetles, perhaps noticing I had given up, hissed at each other, at first separately, but then overlapping, seeming to work themselves into a frenzy of chittering and hissing. All the while, they approached. They were so close I could swing my spear and I¡¯d probably hit one. I¡¯m sorry Kate. I said I¡¯d come back, but I died before I could. I don¡¯t think I can come back from this. I wanted to fight these creatures. Some part of me wanted to live, or keep existing in this place despite how I loathed it. The same part of me who had decided to fight in that alley was still in me. But, it hadn¡¯t worked in the alley had it? I had come close, but I had still been stabbed. It frustrated me that I couldn¡¯t remember the end. It seemed truly terrifying to die, and I must¡¯ve been so scared I blocked it out. That seemed like me. I guess I was a coward too. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was weak Kate, I¡¯m sorry I am weak, I¡¯m sorry I was scared. I¡¯m sorry I was afraid, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m still afraid.¡± The beetles paused at my words, unsure it seemed, I barely registered them anymore. 4 more nightmares to add to the day that had already been a nightmare. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t come back to you. I¡¯m sorry I left you alone. I¡¯m sorry I failed you. I¡¯m sorry I failed mom.¡± These statements brought hot, painful tears to my eyes. My entire being rebelled at these statements. I had sworn to be better than him, to not give up. To not abandon them. I looked at the bracelet again. If I was to die, I wanted my last thoughts to be of home. I rotated my hand, finding a small measure of peace in the reflection of the firelight off the bracelet and my hand. Despite myself, I chuckled when the firelight caught the scar that ran from my pointer finger to my wrist. Back when things were easier, when there were 4 of us. Kate had tried her hand at helping me cook and prepare food, and the result of that was a nice slice along my right hand. It hadn¡¯t been deep, not even requiring stitches, just some bandaging. Kate had been mortified, but things were easier than and life was lighter, so she had recovered. But that scar had remained, I had always thought it poetic that the bracelet she gave me covered the end of the scar. I was glad that despite having died and being sent to this place I still had that scar to remember¡­ I stopped moving my wrist. ¡°Wait¡­ What?¡± If I truly was dead, why did I still have that scar? Chapter 10: Revival The beetles were terrifyingly close now, the antenna pointed forward and were rubbing against my legs, seeming to sense what I was. The hissing increased, reaching a crescendo, strange. If I wasn¡¯t so lost within myself I might have wondered why they were attacking in packs, that seemed like a distinctly un-beetle thing to do. But like everything else odd I had come across, I had chalked it up to being in some afterlife where nothing made sense. But now that thought was broken. I still had a scar. If I had one scar I should have 2 scars. I hadn¡¯t even checked, the day had been so confusing, and a part of me didn¡¯t want to accept that I had died, that my defiance hadn¡¯t amounted to anything. That the small spark of defiance and courage was ultimately useless. Without even realizing it, accepting my death had broken me a little. I did want to live. But I had felt like a failure. I had accepted this worlds punishment as just. If you die a coward you get sent to a place where you spend most of the time afraid. It made sense to me. But if I hadn¡¯t died? I was almost too nervous to check, but I had to know. With my left hand I lifted my shirt to check where Buzzcut¡¯s knife should have penetrated. Trembling as I pulled back the folds of my filthy shirt. No scar. I felt all around my abdomen. There was no scar, just skin. Was I alive? Not just sort of alive in the afterlife, but alive alive? I needed time to process, but it was time I didn¡¯t have because the beetles had finally had enough. Two of them reared back to strike at my legs, their knife-like mandibles prepared to pierce flesh. I have been here before. Exactly here. And I had thought that my actions had brought me here. But, now I realized that wasn¡¯t true. If I didn¡¯t have a scar, then my actions had meant something, I hadn¡¯t been a coward, too scared to face their own mortality. I had fought until I couldn¡¯t. I hadn¡¯t given up. That spark, so small, the spark within me that had flared up last night. That spark that I thought I had lost completely. That spark revived. That spark wanted to protect others. It wanted to see, to design, and to build beautiful things. It wanted to make people smile like I could make my family smile. Like I could make Kate smile when she couldn¡¯t smile herself. That spark grew. It wanted more. I wanted more. I wasn¡¯t done, I couldn¡¯t be done. I wanted to see more, I wanted to smile again. I wanted to see my sister and mom and tell them about the horrors I had faced so that we could laugh at it together. The spark grew, truly igniting into a fire within. I still had no idea what to do with a weapon. And I was still terrified. But I was also tired. Not tired of existence as I was moments ago, but tired of being terrified. When I was about to be stabbed before, for a final moment I had found a deep clarity. It seemed so strange which is why it stuck out so much. That clarity had allowed me to unleash myself and fight with everything I had. I had hesitated with the pipe. I wouldn¡¯t hesitate now. All my fears and doubts vanished. It was just me vs. the world. And it still was. The beetles struck. And I acted. My spear, almost forgotten, was pivoted in a flash and aimed straight down the gullet of the first striking, while I pivoted my body to avoid the second. It happened so fast there¡¯s no way I could¡¯ve planned it, but I hadn¡¯t planned anything. My body had merely acted on instincts and survival. There were no thoughts, only survival, only the goal of victory. The striking beetle impaled its throat on my spear while the second one collided in front of me with the first. These had been the 2 flanking beetles, the two remaining ones were facing me straight on, and they paused for a second, a second to see what the human might do. A second too long. The human was full of fire and the human acted. My first spear was dead, I released it from my grip once the first beetle had come to a stop. I stomped hard on the 2nd beetles head which was momentarily dazed from the collision. A moment too long. There wasn¡¯t just fire in my veins, but lightning. I needed to move. I needed a new spear. I turned my stomp down into a pivoting leap and launched myself between the grasps of the two in front of me. I could do this. I had to do this. I wouldn¡¯t give up. I had survived then. I had survived. And I would keep surviving. Their heads turned as I slid between them, and despite my aim and speed, their mandibles caught my pants and leg. It didn¡¯t stop me, but I did stumble as my pant leg was ripped up and part of my calf and shin received painful slashes. Those mandibles were sharp, sharper than they looked, and they already looked sharp. Can¡¯t stop, couldn¡¯t stop. I¡¯d fix it later, I had some ointment left. It would be fine. I barely managed to stay on my feet as I tripped and stumbled back to the fire where I had left my small armory. I grabbed the nearest spear. Low durability. I would only get a few hits out of this, more if I was precise and they didn¡¯t break it. The 2 came at me, I thought the beetle who¡¯s head I had stepped on might get up, but my stomp had completely squashed him. Good, 2 down. ¡°They¡¯re just bugs, Will. They¡¯re just bugs.¡± I reassured myself through my sharp breaths. I was already panting, it had only been seconds, but important seconds, and I could feel it. I wasn¡¯t done. I had decided long ago that I wasn¡¯t done. And I couldn¡¯t be done now, not now that I knew I had survived. I¡¯d figure out the implications later though, the 2 remaining beetles were scuttling at me with terrifying speed. I circled the fire, trying to force them to split up. I thought they might want to avoid the fire, and I was correct. They seemed hesitant once close to it, so I stayed close. It was my one ally in this fight, a neutral ally as it could just as easily burn me, but I¡¯d take whatever help I could get. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I kept circling and the one closest to me struck with alarming speed. I brought the spear between me and my foe, again hoping to impale it in a single strike like I had its friend, but my aim was less true this close to the fire, where the shifting shadows of night and the beetle¡¯s midnight shell messed with my depth perception. I still blocked it successfully, diverting it left of me away from the fire, my spear skidding along its shell. I rotated with its movement, pushing the beetle with my spear, keeping it in front of me as I continued rotating to face the 2nd one. I didn¡¯t want them getting behind me. A good thought, as the 2nd struck just as it came into view. I drew back, narrowly avoiding the mandibles snapping in front of me. Then stomped forward before it could withdraw, managing to catch the front of its watermelon sized head with my shoe and blasting it into the sand. I dug my heel into the mushed carapace, ensuring it was dead. Its legs continued to skitter frantically for a moment, but these seemed like death throes and I ignored them. My final quarry was held at bay with my spear, unable to get around the firm stalk, but I could feel its durability giving way. As if detecting it as well, it decided to go through, snipping the spear in two like a twig, the ¡°snikt¡± of its mandibles rubbing against each other was truly unnerving. The spear head had been lodged in the ground when it snipped it, so I couldn¡¯t retrieve it, only retaining the frayed handle. I backtracked around the fire, attempting to get to my remaining spears. It seemed to sense this and circled around to cut me off. It was fast, and seemed properly pissed off and in a frenzy now. Its mandibles snapped in front of it in quick jerking movements that I had to continue to backtrack or sidestep to avoid. Occasionally I got a hit in with my spear shaft, but without a point it was just a weak stick, and did only distracting damage. I kicked forward a few times to attempt to squash its abdomen, but this part was armored, and resisted my attempts. Perhaps if it stayed still I could jump on it and shatter it, but it was too fast for that. And it was careful to not overextend its bites, having seen what happened to 2 of its allies. I had led it away from the fire at this point, and every attempt to return to it was blocked by the quick bug. I couldn¡¯t keep this up, I¡¯d slip up at some point, this one had seen all my tricks so far, and I wasn¡¯t sure what to do. As a hail mary plan I tried to fake it out with a quick feint, leading one way and then sprinting the other. It actually worked, I guess beetles didn¡¯t play much basketball. But, it had been a while for me as well, and sand isn¡¯t as firm as hardwood. My pushing foot lost traction and I slipped to the ground, catching myself with my hands and releasing my stick in the process. The beetle had been momentarily duped, but it immediately struck again, and only a quick roll kept its mandible from skewering me. But I was still on the ground, this was its domain and it knew it. It began chomping at the air rapidly in front of me as I tried to right myself, effectively keeping me on the ground as I kept rolling to avoid it. I managed to get a side kick in, pushing it away, which gave me just enough time to get to my hands and knees before it was on me. I was out of options. So I did the only thing I could and brought my hands forward to hold it back. By some miracle I missed the sharp edges and instead landed at the base of the mandibles, near where they connected to the beetle. It kept snipping at me, trying to get my face in its jaws, the tips of the bladed edges only inches in front of me. There was some saliva leaking from them and coming from its mouth as it snapped and shrieked at me. If I wasn¡¯t trying to not die I might have puked again. It was truly horrifying being this close to a beetle of this size. Everything about them screamed danger and alien. I didn¡¯t know where its weak spots were and didn¡¯t have enough leverage to try to squish its head between my hands. Desperate, I tried a different approach. The base of the beetle''s mandibles weren¡¯t sharp like the ends, so I shifted my grip so I was holding these. The beetle fought back mightily, it was surprisingly strong for its size, but I held with everything I had, able to gain a bit more leverage now that I had actual hand holds. Pushing it back worked only enough to keep it from cutting my face up, so I tried something else. I pulled. I pulled on the grip I held with my right hand, while my left kept the beetle in place. I pulled and pulled, trying to gain the beetle¡¯s potent weapon for myself. It resisted and I pulled. We stayed locked in there, my teeth bared and brow furrowed as I fought with everything I had against a nightmare. Then something finally gave. With a disgusting popping sound, I ripped the mandible I held in my right hand completely out of the beetle¡¯s face. The beetle loosed a pained squeal as the fleshy strands were pulled from its face along with the sharp mandible. It was like the metal of a pencil with no eraser left trying to erase. My whole body shivered, but I wasn¡¯t through yet. I firmed up my grip on my new weapon, then stabbed up and under the beetle, just behind its head into its body, burying its own mandible as deep as I could. Its screams became more frantic, and it tried to pull back, skittering frantically with its back legs. But I had it, I had it by the mandible in its body, and the mandible in my left hand. I pulled with my left hand now, keeping it locked with my right, and after a moment pulled the second mandible from it. With its second mandible in my hand, I ran it along my right arm to the beetle¡¯s neck, then sliced upward with everything I had. It cut terrifyingly easy. The blade went all the way through and out, and the head of my foe stopped squealing and fell in front of me, as a disgusting thick green fluid spilled out onto the sand from its body. Like the others, its legs continued struggling for a minute on their own, but eventually the body stopped moving and came to a rest in my hands. It was dead. But I was still in fight or flight. I stayed there just long enough to confirm it was dead before jumping up to my feet, wary of any other beetles, both mandibles still gripped tightly in my hands. My breath came in sharp intakes, and I couldn¡¯t seem to get enough, but I was standing and I was alive. I did it. I couldn¡¯t believe it. Moments ago I had been dead. But I had fought back and actually beaten the nightmares. Or so I thought. True, the four who had entered were all dead. But the beetle¡¯s squeals had attracted more of its kind, I could see red dotted shapes moving toward the opening to my clearing. Like warning bells in the night, they came. I raced to the fire, standing in front of it this time, I couldn¡¯t have my vision affected by the light, so I kept it at my back. My spears were close, I saw that I had left Pain Stick with them as well, and the mandibles were sharp and held fiercely in my hands. My durability sense didn¡¯t seem to work on the mandibles, I guess yanking them from a body didn¡¯t count as crafting, but they felt solid, there hadn¡¯t been any give when I had impaled their owner. Hopefully they will continue to last. The fire crackled behind me, its calm flickering ambience a sharp contrast to the horrors forming from the shadows in front of me. Shadowy red-spotted beetles materialized from the night into my clearing, encroaching, claiming, trespassing. The light of the moons made their forms even more indistinct, causing strange overlapping shadows, almost bolstering their numbers. My lone shadow stretched out to impede them, deforming near the end until it barely resembled a human. They regarded me, and I regarded them. There seemed to be more than a dozen of them, though the entry to my clearing only permitted 3 to stand side by side. Only one of me. They hissed, and despite myself, I yelled. Nothing coherent, I just yelled and growled to defy the looming horror that waited in the back of my mind. The deep tones of my shouts fought the high-pitches of their chittering hisses. I breathed out, finally catching my breath. My lungs at last catching up with the situation. Promise me you¡¯ll come back. She had said. ¡°I promise, Kate.¡± I growled, the lightning within now a storm. If I could be brought here, then I can leave. The beetles shot forward, skittering forward like the shadows of death. I crouched, arms outstretched, gripping my impromptu weapons fiercely, and let them come. Chapter 11: Bloodlust Two down. Keep going. One more. Don¡¯t stop. I fought. I let myself go completely and defended my small claim. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was mine and the only place I had felt safe in since I¡¯d arrived here, and these bugs, however horrifying, were trespassing. I had nothing to give and I fought. I was overwhelmed at every corner, but I fought. If I stood, and kept swinging, then there as still the chance to get out of this. I hadn¡¯t been defeated yet. I hadn¡¯t lost. I wouldn¡¯t go out just giving up, I couldn¡¯t. My weapons, claimed from one of the beasts trying to kill me, proved beyond effective at doling out death to their owners. I had never been in this level of fighting, and my earlier attempts with the spear had been effective, and saved my life. But it hadn¡¯t felt too comfortable in my hands. It felt too disconnected from me, too far away. These mandibles however, felt like an extension of my will. They were part of me, they were always where I needed them to be. Years of meal prep in the kitchen and some camping excursions had made me familiar with knives. But this was different. Barely different but it was noticeable. And the longer I fought with them, the stronger the connection grew. The bugs were terrifying, and their numbers, though likely only counted in dozens, seemed endless to me. But I couldn¡¯t give up. I wouldn¡¯t. I had promises to keep, and now that I knew I was alive, I wanted to stay that way. One down. Then two. A third. Two more back to back in quick succession. When I slew the 6th my body was filled with warmth. While grateful for the feeling, I didn¡¯t have time to acknowledge its source. I was a man possessed and I wasn¡¯t aware of anything except the next foe. They kept coming and I kept fighting back. At times I was a cornered cat, striking at everything that moved near, at other times I was a charging bull, plowing through their numbers with abandon, squashing, stabbing, and slicing in a blind fury. Despite the danger they presented, they were still just bugs, and if I kept moving, I was able to finish them quickly. More. I could do more. And more came. Their numbers were bolstered as fast as I could exterminate them. Once again my body was overwhelmed with warmth, much stronger than the feeling before, but I had no time to acknowledge it. To stop was to die. They would change their tactics and I would adapt. I kept changing my approach, and they would falter but then adapt accordingly. Our battle was a dangerous dance of blades and evolution. One man and one swarm. They were only bugs. But bugs with the benefit of seeing how I had killed each one before. Slowly, the balance shifted. As the bodies piled up, my advantage faltered. They began to fall much slower, and approached me with hesitancy and caution. Slowly, I was the one who was pushed back. No longer was I keeping them at the opening, now they were able to enter with impunity. The fire at my back was now in front of me. I took a few more with the blades in my hands but they moved as one now, a wall of blades slowly cornering me. I began to realize how exhausted I was and panic returned. I can¡¯t do this. They are literally endless. Despite my earlier fervor the impossibility of the situation was catching up. There was pain in my side and along my arms. I looked briefly and noticed all the blades that had slipped past my defenses. There were shallow slices all along my arms and legs which all bled in various amounts. Worse, there was an entire mandible sticking out of my hip, it hadn¡¯t penetrated deep, but deep enough to stick. Had these been the origins for the warmth I had felt rush through me? Not warmth, but shock? I become aware of the dead bugs filling the clearing. I had kept kicking them to the side to make room for my feet, and a circle had formed at the entrance where I had been . Even without the wall now pushing me back, I had caged myself in, and given time I would¡¯ve buried myself in gore. They almost had me backed completely to the wall. The corners of my vision were darkening, whether from exhaustion or the shadowy beetles themselves I couldn¡¯t tell. I lashed out desperately at any who still approached. One more. Then another. They were careful now, and I was beginning to falter. My arms were lead, and the still-sharp mandibles I was swinging were now slick with sweat and blood in my hands, and felt heavier with each swing. A beetle to my right took a snap at me and I swung with everything I had. It lay dead a moment later. One more. It was all I could do. Another approached from my left and leaped at me, my left arm struck, screaming and trembling with pain and exhaustion. The beetle rested dead in the air for a moment, held in place by my improvised dagger. Then it dropped to the ground at my feet. The wall remained thick, and the shadows in my vision grew inward. One more. If I could get one more, I could rest. Two came, and I slashed with fury, drawing from deep within, fighting my exhaustion, fighting the pain to deliver those two strikes. Two fell dead. ¡°One more¡± I said to myself over and over. ¡°Lift your arm once more, slice one more, after this they will leave¡±. I highly doubted this, but it was all I could do. I would keep swinging, stabbing, and squashing. Using every advantage I had or could think of. I wasn¡¯t going to just die. I refused. Another approached, leaping straight at me, going for my stomach with its bladed mandibles stretched. I crouched and brought my blades together in front of me, then sliced forward with all I had, my blades cutting the beetle into 3 pieces. A warmth unlike any before blazed through my entire body. It gave me energy, but my body was spent. I remained crouched, my legs trembling with exhaustion. They refused to respond. The warmth continued to blaze through me. My whole body was on fire. I couldn¡¯t move, so I finally relented. I could at least sate my curiosity and I needed help. The beetles were closing in, perhaps the UI had something that would get me out of this. I opened my Skills menu then quickly switched to Quests, thinking the words as I gasped for air. And there it was, a quest I had completely forgotten about in the melee, but had since completed. There was a slight change from when I had looked at it last however.

Combat Quests (1)

Defeat 10 combatants. (40/10). [Complete]

Reward: One Combat Skill or Item. (Dependent on Performance and Need).

Hidden Objective: Defeat 20 combatants before claiming reward. [Complete]

Reward upgraded to Elite Rank

Hidden Objective: Defeat 40 combatants before claiming reward. [Complete]

Reward upgraded to Apex Rank. [Claim]

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I didn¡¯t have time to consider the implications of hidden objectives. I¡¯d worry about the rewards I might¡¯ve already missed out on later. I claimed the quest with a thought and switched to my Skill screen when an item wasn¡¯t offered, swinging my arms in front of me to keep the burgeoning beetles at bay. Please be something good. Bloodlust (Apex)

One more. One more. One more...

Successive enemies killed in a short period will boost your stats by 1% up to a maximum of

20% for a short period and provide you with a small boost in energy. This boost will be

refreshed with each successive kill within that short period. The temporary energy boost and

stat boost will quickly fade if no enemies are slain within a short period. Boost lasts longer if

enemies are of the same type.

¡°Killed.¡± I had no idea why, but for some reason reading it in the description made my actions become more real. Never mind that I couldn¡¯t tell my blood from the Beetle¡¯s blood on my arms in the dim light, never mind the piles of corpses near the entrance of my grove. Reading it gave me pause. I didn¡¯t want to be a killer. I wasn¡¯t supposed to be a killer. I wanted to help people, not end them. These things were just bugs, but did that make it okay for me? The answer, unfortunately, was not one I would have time to reach through thoughtful consideration, as I felt a searing pain in my leg. One of the beetles to my right had gotten past my wild swinging and sliced the side of my still crouched leg. It had come in a little shallow to get under my arms so the sand and my pants got the brunt of it, but I wounldn¡¯t get that lucky again. I didn¡¯t have time to consider my actions or what they said about me. I didn¡¯t have that luxury right now. All I could do was decide if it was going to be me or them. I will not die here. I¡¯m coming home Kate. I brought my right hand down hard on the beetles exposed head, driving my blade cleanly through its carapace. Immediately, a small burst of energy filled my body, like a splash of water. It brought clarity to my muddled brain and vision and reinvigorated my spent muscles. But it was truly just a burst. Like a single chest compression, it pushed energy through my body, but it was fading fast. I couldn¡¯t let this chance slip from my fingers. I needed to act. A beetle to my left had launched itself forward, trying to get under my swings. Unlike its comrade, its hit didn¡¯t land. I had strength again. I had energy again. My left arm swung, slicing it along its length and launching it back to the wall of its friends. Another burst of energy. The focus grew, my strength grow. The beetles were moving every so slightly slower. I felt the spark from before reignite and my entire body needed to act. I needed more. One more. I need one more. I swung faster than before, catching another by surprise. Power. I was on my feet and squashed another beneath my feet. Speed. I caught a leaping one midair with my blade through its head. Focus. One more. I need one more. I launched forward, swinging wildly but with precision. The ache in my arms was gone. The blades once again felt comfortable in my grip, a natural part of me. The wall stood against me, a mass of shadowy forms and clicking mandibles. A nightmare. But I was waking up. And I was going to quash this nightmare before the night was done. With each swing, another died. They were fast, and before I had barely held the edge. Now though, with my energy reserves being refilled with each death? And my speed, strength, and focus increasing by the second? Now I firmly held the edge. And I would make them bleed with it. One more. One more. Forgotten was my pain and exhaustion. I lost myself to a world of shadows and blood. Each shadow slain rewarded me with more blood. Blood was good, it meant one less shadow, it meant the power to slay another, to get more blood. It meant the light would come soon. The blood sustained me. As long as I kept slaying them, the wounds I accumulated, and continued to accumulate, couldn¡¯t stop me. One more. One more. My head was clearer now, but my mantra continued. It had become a lighthouse, a beacon in the night, carrying me to safety. It was all I could focus on. The boost felt like it should¡¯ve been clearing and refocusing me, but I was so mentally drained by this point, that even a 20% increase was just keeping me moving. Minutes passed, feeling like hours, but racing like seconds. They were endless. The wall I had faced were long dead, far underneath their slain brethren. The ground was drenched in blood, mostly green, but enough red to horrify a sensible mind.My mind had faded far from sensibility, there was only survival. At some point I discovered the effect that fire had on the bugs, they feared it once they saw how it could devour them as easily as I could. I¡¯d kick them into the fire, and their bodies would light surprisingly quickly, the fire would spread in patches, taking as many with as I was slaying. It seemed to delight in consuming the shadows, even more than I. My gruesome work continued. One more. Endlessly. One more. My arms were machines at this point, moving without direction. One more. My feet were on a constant move, kicking, crushing, running. One more¡­ And then, with a final savage swing through the head of a beetle, there was only silence. I swung about me wildly, continuing to swing at the beetles I was sure should be there. But it was only me. Finally convinced, I stopped and stood there in my sandstone cliff and tree lined clearing, alone, surrounded by the carcasses of nearly a hundred beetles, piled haphazardly as their green blood leaked and soaked the sand. A few of the beetles had spears sticking from them, some part of my vaguely recalled grabbing them in my fury to kill them. The last vestiges of flames burned in patches around me, it hadn¡¯t reached the trees yet, but some of the piles of beetles had been thoroughly blackened with fire. My chest heaved, struggling to refill the air I had consumed, My arms lay slack at my side, slick with red and green blood and sweat, gripping my impromptu weapons so tightly my knuckles were white. My clothes, or what was left of them, were completely drenched with exertion and gore. In between gasping breaths, my teeth chattered as I champed them, my lips twitching in and out of a snarl. My vision focused in and out as I scanned in quick, jerking moments, looking for my next quarry and fighting off exhaustion. The dying fires were casting multiple shadows throughout my camp in every which way, and each shadow felt like another foe, another trespasser, another knife in the night that I needed to be ready for. I paced in place looking around, searching each dark corner for the nightmare I was sure was there. But they never came, and with each corner my racing heart threatened to overwhelm me, my muscles had begun to quiver, I felt so incredibly weak. But I couldn¡¯t give up now, not when I still felt so in danger. I scanned the bodies, I lifted the piles, I stabbed any I was unsure of, I stomped as many heads as I could, until at last I felt satisfied. Satisfied that each had been slain. Or at least the ones in my clearing and the ones that had come for me. I could barely comprehend there being more, but I looked out to the darkness, praying that there wasn¡¯t any. Praying that at last, I could rest. I could sleep. And once again, my prayers remained unanswered. Despite now knowing that I wasn¡¯t dead, I was convinced this must be hell. And my time on the rack seemed to be a little longer. Walking in the night was one final shadow, one final set of crimson spots, bloody marks on the tranquility of the oasis. Only one set, but this set was distinctly larger than any I had seen thus far. And the scuttling I heard was much slower, but produced audible thumps as it moved along. It¡¯s form was still indistinct in the shadowy gloom, but I could see that this creature was much larger than the ones I had fought thus far. Nearing the size of an elephant. Sand flowed off of its hard carapace as it moved. One more. It seems I had one more nightmare to face before I could rest. Chapter 12: One More The moons were still high in the sky, so I couldn¡¯t count on daybreak saving me. I rallied myself, or attempted to, my body was truly feeling the strain of the massacre, I could barely stay standing, and it was getting worse by the minute. This fight couldn¡¯t last long. I¡¯d have to end it quickly. I bounced in place on the balls of my feet, trying to encourage my body to stay ready, I¡¯d come so far, one more and I¡¯d be done. ¡°Just one more, just one more¡±. I realized I¡¯d been whispering it out loud unconsciously, perhaps for a while now. Let the giant bastard come, let me face him, and let me sleep. But the giant bastard didn¡¯t seem to have an interest in coming closer. I could see what I thought was the shadow of its head scanning my clearing from the shadows, taking in the loss of its kind. And it backed up further into the night. Had I scared it off? Maybe it would just leave. It seemed to want nothing to do with me, which was fine by me. Sure it might come back another night, but I could be rested by then. My weariness began to return, seeing a possibility to finally rest. But, I stayed ready. Something wasn¡¯t right. The Crimson Beetle had backed up further into the night, but then had remained there, watching me as I watched it. Did it want me to come face it? Fat chance of that. ¡°Come on then! Come and face me like your lackeys. I¡¯ll squash you just like I squashed them.¡± I shouted at the shadowy form. It didn¡¯t react. I began to shout some more, but my voice caught. Too dry. I looked for my coconut water stores but they had likely been buried in the melee. I was truly beginning to feel the weight of battle now. I¡¯d probably pass out any sec¡­..and it hit me. The Beetle didn¡¯t have to come face me. It could see how worn out I was. Why fight me when it could just wait a minute for me to fall over from exhaustion and then come devour me at its leisure? And I was running out of time. The ache in my muscles was back. Each wound was beginning to sting more and more. Soon I might not even be able to stand. It remained there watching, patiently waiting for my time to run out. I couldn¡¯t wait for it, if I had time and energy maybe I could hole up somewhere, but it seemed made for digging as I noticed its front legs and mandible both seemed much chunkier than the grunts I had faced. I couldn¡¯t hide from it, I couldn¡¯t wait for it, that only left¡­. ¡°Damn it!¡± I didn¡¯t have much time, I took a couple quick breaths in an attempt to psych myself up, then walked forward, passing beyond the circle of light my campfire offered and into the thick darkness of night. The large beetle didn¡¯t move, perhaps content for its meal to come to it. Each step in the night threatened to be my last as the weight of shadows pulled me down into the sand. The edges of my vision were black, whether from darkness or exhaustion I didn¡¯t know, it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°One more, One more¡± my mantra continued. One more step in front of the other. One more second of consciousness. One more final attempt to defy fate. One more enemy to slay. One more chance at life. One more. One more. 10 feet in front of me the beetle gathered itself to its full height. The moonlight shied away from its hide, seeming to bend around it. Although, my entire vision was swimming, so that might have just been my exhaustion. But I could see enough. My observation that it seemed designed for digging seemed correct. It did not have the sharp cutting mandibles of the others, or the quick legs and lithe form. This one was built more like a tank. Sturdy and unsurpassable. Its mandibles and legs were much chunkier and seemed made for shoveling, scooping, and crushing the dirt and sand it lived in. I could see deep scrapes in its carapace, perhaps previous fights for dominance or sharp obstacles it had scraped itself on, but that¡¯s not what concerned me. What got my attention was the presence of more carapace beneath these scrapes. The armoring on its head was also significantly more extensive, forming bulky plates that extended from its large head, leaving only 2 eye holes for sight and a large opening for its mouth. I can¡¯t cut through that. Every strategy I had deployed on the others was useless against this behemoth. There was no way my small blades could pierce any part of it in a meaningful way before my body gave out, or it finished me. What was I supposed to do? No where on its body was weak to my blades. Well, I¡¯m sure there was somewhere not protected from my blades, but to get there I¡¯d have to¡­ An idea struck. A final hail mary on how to deal with this beast. A ridiculously stupid plan that I only entertained because my brain was too foggy and too desperate to think of anything else. Were there better options? Definitely, but this was the only thing I might be physically capable of. Time was my enemy though, I needed to act fast. So I gathered my courage, took a deep breath in to clear my head¡­and collapsed to one knee. Silence. Save for the gentle rustling of sharp palm leaves and the soft lapping of water on the sand, all was silent in the moonlit night. The sand was soft below me, and my body wanted so desperately to sleep, even in this kneeling stance. But I only needed a bit more time, so I continued to stave off exhaustion and just sat there, trying to look as pathetic as possible. Which, admittedly, was the easiest part of this whole plan and appeared to be working. At first the beetle had remained where it was, uncertain at the strange development. Eventually, it seemed to decide I was truly exhausted and approached me, its body grinding and clicking as its armored plates rubbed against each other. I stared at the ground in between us as it approached. Then, it was right there. I could feel its antenna begin to prod me, perhaps trying to bait out any last attempts. Despite my exhaustion and resolve, I barely avoiding cringing away from its touch. I only had 1 shot, and it wasn¡¯t this moment. If I didn¡¯t remain still, I was surely dead. ¡°One more, one more, one more..¡± my voice barely a whisper, my dry throat and cracked lips barely forming the words. One more movement. One more push. Then I would be done. The gigantic beetle seemed satisfied, and made a hissing sound I was all too familiar with by now. The first 4 had made it right before they struck, it had emenated from within their mouths, and was only made when their mouths were completely open. It had been made dozens of times in the last hour. I had learned to dodge whenever I heard it. This time though, my reaction needed to be different. I looked up, glaring down the black, horrifying gullet of the beetle. I could see strange protrusions and multiple small feelers within, and I could make out the strong muscles circling its throat. Again, my revulsion was barely contained, but I held firm. This had been the biggest gamble, but a quick scan confirmed what I had been hoping to see. I had stared down the mouths of dozens of these creatures all night and was pleased to see that this large one shared one similar trait with the rest. No teeth. The beetle struck forward. Its maw stretched to devour me in a single bite. I was ready. The illusion of resting was no longer needed. I pushed forward off my feet which had been tensed since I collapsed and launched forward, arms and blades in front of me, straight into the beetle¡¯s maw and complete darkness. Between the beetle¡¯s strike and my leap, I had pushed past its strong crushing mandibles and right into its throat. Being crushed by those large weapons had been the next biggest risk, I needed to be in one piece to execute the rest of this. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. And so far I was. No sooner was I down the monster''s gullet than I felt its powerful muscles and mouthparts begin to crush my human body, and a foul-smelling slime began to fill the space I was in. I didn¡¯t have long and responded immediately, doing what I had been doing all night. I sliced. I stabbed. I ripped. I tore, at anything and everything within reach. The Beetle¡¯s exterior was impossible for me to penetrate, I knew it at a glance, but would it be just as impenetrable from within? The beetle¡¯s frantic screams around me indicated it was not. I could feel its muscles tighten further, working to crush my body before I could do any further damage. Any time one part of my body began to feel too crushed I would struggle to bring my blades to that area of the throat. It was incredibly tight and I felt like I was fighting inside of a sleeping bag with a sumo wrestler laying on me. But it was either this or die. One more. One more. One more second of defiance. One more slice. One more stab. I could go one more second. My head was heavy and fuzzy. My ears were ringing. My chest couldn¡¯t expand to catch a breath of what little air had not been replaced by the strange slime and green blood. One more. One more. I sliced, I cut long tears in the beetle''s throat, desperately trying to relieve the pressure crushing me. I was attacking with abandon, anything my blades touched I sliced. It was a wonder I didn¡¯t cut myself. One more. One more. Slowly, painfully slowly, the pressure lessened. And I cut more. The screams lessened. I kept slicing. The movements around me lessened. And I stabbed over and over again. One more. One more. Then, all was still. The pressure lessened entirely, there was no will behind the remaining force. There were no more movements, no more screams. The beetle was dead. Somehow, I had done it. But I hadn¡¯t won yet. My small air supply was now completely exhausted, and there wasn¡¯t any fresh air to be found here in the dark remains. The slime and blood were hot on my exposed skin, and I could feel a burning sensation now that I wasn¡¯t fighting for my life. The slime. It was slowly digesting me. I didn¡¯t have time. I guessed a direction, and began slicing and burrowing with every last ounce of energy I had. Like some vicious parasite I burrowed through the beetles body in what I hoped was the direction of its underside. The armor there had been strong, but had looked thinner, and was my best shot at freedom. My body was fighting off the early spasms that come with oxygen deprivation. My skin was on fire, it felt like armies of fire-ants were swarming over every exposed inch of flesh. One more. One more. I could go one more second. That was it. One more second. That¡¯s all I had in me. My blades kept burrowing and pushed forward with everything I had. One more second than it would be over. One more second and I could rest. Rest would be so nice. I could feel the warmth of rest replacing the feelings of pain. One more second. One more second. My whole body was no longer being consumed by ants, but by warmth. I wasn¡¯t in a beetle but a warm bed, and I was so tired. Any problems could wait until morning. One more¡­one more sec.. My blades found hard shell, I roused slightly. I was a moment from sleep. One more act that¡¯s all I could do. One more. I took hold of the blade in my right hand with both hands, releasing the one in my left, and I thrust against the shell, pouring everything I had into my strike. The carapace bent below my strike, but held firm. Perhaps another strike? One more. But I was done. I had nothing more. I¡­.. ONE MORE!!!!!! I slammed the blade down with everything I had and more. I would get out. I was completely blind and my mind was completely black, narrowed down to a single waning flame of will. A flickering spark of presence trying only to survive and live. My blade broke through, the carapace around it cracked and broke away in pieces, like a clay pot. My hands broke through, and I pushed forward. Fighting the now escaping fluids for room to get a breath of air. The burning slime and hot blood rushed by my ears and head, but waned as I plugged the hole with my head and finally refilled my lungs. I took great gasping breaths, coughing as I inhaled slime and blood. I sputtered and spit out large wads of blood, and kept breathing. After taking a few seconds to refill my lungs, I used my blade to dig myself the rest of the way out. My frantic guess had been mostly right, but instead of finding the abdomen below me or its side, I had come out of the underside near the back legs, having burrowed through most of the beetle to reach freedom. I was a gore-covered mess of burning skin and acrid smells. The moons shone down, illuminating the lake a mere 20 feet in front of me. My skin still burned and my wounds were on fire. Rapidly losing consciousness, I stumbled to the lakes edge, not stopping at the shore by rather walking right into healing waters. The water was cold, but my body had been covered in hot acid, so I hardly noticed. I laid down on the shores edge, feeling the water washing over my legs and torso. Only my neck and head remained exposed to the night air. The copious amounts of blood and gore quickly polluted the water around me. I could feel the familiar cooling sensation on my wounds, signalling that the lake water¡¯s strange healing properties were working. Finally, my exhaustion proved too great, and my head collapsed back, on the shore. My eyes flickered shut, and all went black. ¡ª---------------------------- Any other night would have seen my sleep plagued with nightmares after that ordeal. But I had perhaps the deepest sleep of my life. If I wasn¡¯t so exhausted I would¡¯ve returned to my shelter, instead of sleeping out in the open like a snack for the next hungry thing. Luckily, I was mostly undisturbed through the night. Until, just beyond the flickers of consciousness, I felt a tickling sensation on my legs. BUGS!!! I shot awake, bleary-eyed in the bright sunlight and confused. Nonetheless, I didn¡¯t think and brought my hands up to fight the beetle that was about to chomp into my legs and struck¡­air. I was still lying in the water, and judging by how wet my hair felt, I had been partially submerged all night. I felt like I had been asleep for days, but it appeared to only be mid-morning. The sun was high enough that the temperature had risen from the chill of the night back up to a radiant warmth. ¡°If there wasn¡¯t another beetle, then what..?¡± I trailed off out loud, now looking down at my still submerged legs. 5 feet or so from my legs, beneath the surface, were 4 brilliantly green fish. To my adjusting eyes they appeared to be long and slender, but as the sleep faded and I readjusted to the bright conditions their forms sharpened to that of very large carps. They hadn¡¯t fled but seemed to be observing me hesitantly. I saw their long whiskers extending from the faces, and realized that must have been what woke me. Then I noticed how clean my legs looked. ¡°Ah. Sorry¡± I said to the wary fish. If the Carp wanted to help themselves to all the gore that had covered my body I did not want to interrupt. No harm in that. I laid back down, my light-headedness and weariness catching back up to me now that my adrenaline had passed. Within a few minutes the Carps returned and continued to nip at all the refuse and detritus covering my body. Aside from the tickling sensation it was quite pleasant, and my heartrate soon returned to normal as I closed my eyes to block the sun, as my hands were currently being picked clean of bug guts. I didn¡¯t fall back asleep, but I just thought. Last night had been..terrifying. Both the encounters, and how I had responded. I had been cornered before in my life. I didn¡¯t like to fight. I had fought once as a kid, defended myself once. And that had been enough. The looks of horror I had faced had been scarring. I had always thought you should never fight except to defend your life. So when I had fought, I had defended my life. Far too aggressively for an 8 year old I had quickly found out. It was strange. I hadn¡¯t thought of that memory in years. Almost forgotten about it completely. Now it had come up twice in as many days. I had never fought again. Never defended myself again. Not until that alley in London. Which had triggered this whole thing. My eyes shot back open. ¡°I¡¯m not dead!¡± A ridiculous statement, but it changed so much for me. I hadn¡¯t died in that alleyway. Something else had happened. Something had happened right before I was supposed to die. And I needed to get to the bottom of it. I laid back down, closed my eyes and spoke out loud. ¡°Quests¡±. It was time to figure out what the heck was going on, and truly get some answers. Chapter 13: Dealing with Day 2 I was pleased to discover that if I focused, I was still able to see my Quest screen behind my eyelids. Or maybe it was in my mind''s eye? Either way I was pleased. I immediately noticed a few notable changes. Quests Grid Quests (1) Area Quests(1) Tutorial Quests (2) I had 3 new quests. I had only looked at my quests briefly last night in the melee, but I was pretty certain they hadn¡¯t been there then. I had no idea what an Area Quest was, so I checked that one out first. Prospective Node Warden

Claim the land. Defend your territory.

Defeat the current prospective Node Warden [complete]

Defend the Node: CrimsonEye Oasis for 24 hours. [incomplete]

Reward: Unlock Sovereignty Quests, New Rank

I guess the big one had been a Node Warden, whatever that was. I didn¡¯t know what a node was or where it might be, but it sounded like it was linked to this Oasis. I¡¯d just have to keep my eyes out for something that I could defend for 24 hours. I wasn¡¯t pleased to find out the name of my oasis was the CrimsonEye Oasis; mostly because I guessed that it was named for the red-spotted beetles. What if there¡¯s more of them? Of course there would be more, the whole Oasis was named after them. My only saving grace was that they seemed to be nocturnal. I¡¯ll have to beef up my defenses. I had been trying not to think about it too hard, but I was intimately aware of how close to death I had been last night. And how cavalier I had been in jumping down that monster¡¯s throat. Have I gone insane? Surely, it would take longer for insanity to set in than a single day, but jumping down a giant bugs throat was the act of an insane person. An involuntary shudder racked my body as the memories of almost blacking out brought themselves to the surface. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I almost died from asphyxiation..inside of a giant Beetles ass. What a shitty way to go¡± I mumbled, trying to make light of the situation.and briefly opened my eyes. The oasis around me remained quiet. I looked down to where the carp had stopped cleaning and were looking at me. If it was possible for a carp to have pity and judgement in their eyes, these carp had it. They soon resumed picking away at the remaining bits of gore. I guess carp didn¡¯t care for puns. Tough crowd, I thought then closed my eyes to resume my exploration of the UI. It seemed my attempts at trying to make fish laugh had floundered, and I could tell when my attempts at humour were sunk. I didn¡¯t know enough to make a plan for the Node Warden quest, and it sounded like the next step was just waiting anyways. The tutorial quests on the other hand were extremely straight forward. Spoils of War

There is more to be learned from the fallen.

Harvest the remains of 10 slain combatants

Reward: New Proficiency

Naturalist

The world around you is filled with wonders.

Collect 5 Plants Specimens.

Discover 5 crafting components.

Ingest a natural ingredient that changes your status.

Reward: New Proficiency

I was elated to see that both quests appeared to be relatively easy to accomplish, but I would be lying if I didn¡¯t say that I groaned as I read the first quest. It seems I have more harvesting of dead creatures to do. I was grateful that my stomach was still empty after puking last night as the thought of dissecting beetles had filled my body with revulsion. There¡¯s nothing to be done for it, I need every edge I can get. That still didn¡¯t make it easier. But it was true, despite not appearing to have done too much, my current proficiencies; Natural Weapon, Natural Crafting, and Natural Weapon Crafting had undoubtedly helped with my survival last night. I¡¯d need to craft an actual weapon with the beetle mandible blades I had used later so that I could get the benefits from crafting applied to them as well. I left the quest screen to review my skills, and was surprised again to find a change as well. Abilities (0/5) Skills (2) Proficiencies (4)

Get close and personal.

Measures proficiency with weapons that utilize short blades.

(Basic) Increased damage from short blades. While wielding short blades, you will find it much easier to find your enemies, and avoid yourself.

I wonder when that proficiency showed up? Last night was such a blur, and when I checked my skills last night I had stopped as soon as I saw Bloodlust. Either way, I was grateful for the new proficiency, and felt like I had really earned that one. It also helped me rationalize why I had been so effective last night at killing all the bugs. I got a proficiency in it, obviously I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do all that without it. Looking closer at Bloodlust, I wondered at the first line in the description. Bloodlust (Apex)

One more. One more. One more...

I had shouted that a few times last night hadn¡¯t I? It was such a blur, but I did recall holding to that mantra to get me through. It was odd that I had resorted to that mantra in my potential final moments. A nonsense phrase I had used throughout my university years to get me through the tough days. A phrase that I had used to help me get up in the dark times. I couldn¡¯t recall its origin, but it had become a symbol of peace and diligence in my life. But now, now it was a symbol of death and destruction. I was grateful for its skill¡¯s existence and for its timely arrival, but the description and the implications troubled me. Furthermore, why was it a skill and not a proficiency? I guess it didn¡¯t really measure anything, whereas the proficiencies seemed to measure some kind of progress. Additionally, since Bloodlust was listed as an ¡°Apex¡± skill, could I get my proficiencies to that level as well? I didn¡¯t even know what an ability might be, and why they were capped at 5. Hopefully they were powerful. I reread the rest of the Bloodlust skill description with the hopes of gleaning any further information and found myself pondering the 2nd line of text.

Successive enemies killed in a short period will boost your stats by 1% up to a maximum of

20% for a short period and provide you with a small boost in energy.

I hadn¡¯t given to much thought into it, but now I wondered, what are my stats, and what determines them? No sooner had I thought that than I was then brought to a brand-new page I hadn¡¯t visited yet. The page was titled ¡°Status¡±, but had a wealth of information. Status Name William Wolff Origin Earth (5) Race Human (1) Rank -Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Class - Major Discipline - Minor Discipline - Health 95% Stamina 100% Status Healthy Status Effects Lacerated (Minor) Strength 0 Agility 0 Endurance 0 Intelligence 0 Acuity 0 Resilience 0 Perception 0 Favor 15 [2 Stat Points available] Titles Outlander, Earlybird ¡­¡­¡­Once again, a lot of new information to process. Seeing that I was currently ¡°Lacerated¡± wasn¡¯t a surprise as I could still feel the cuts, but being able to see if I was poisoned in the future might be helpful, was there a way to keep this up all the time? I would have to see if I could find more info about that in a second, right now there was one thing that was sitting heavily on my mind. ¡°Zero strength?!¡± I shouted. I know it had been a while since I had hit the gym, but what the heck? I opened my eyes to the blinding sun and sat up to look back at last night¡¯s carnage, just to be sure I hadn¡¯t imagined the whole thing and had just been squashing regular bugs while dancing in my camp shouting like a madman, probably flinging poop as well. Thankfully, the bug corpses still littered the sand with the giant one still resting 20 feet away from me on green-stained sand. ¡°Do you see that UI? How could I do that with zero strength?¡± I shouted to the empty oasis. The Carp seemed annoyed by my movements, but continued with their work despite my outrage. I looked at the carps ¡°you don¡¯t think I have zero strength right?¡±. Neither of them met my eyes, likely because they were carp, but it still felt intentional. Oh yeah, these carp are up to something, it''s written all over their judgy eyes. I laid back down and let them continue their cleaning. Now that I was used to the tickling sensation, it was quite relaxing and I did not want them to stop. ¡°Zero strength, ridiculous¡± I mumbled under my breath while reviewing the rest of the Status page. The rest of my scores were also zero, which stung, so I guess I just completely sucked as opposed to just being weak. Favor was at 15. So I sucked, but I was well-liked? Story of my life. A small victory but I was happy to take it. ¡°Alright, enough whining. Stat points, let¡¯s see what you do.¡± Upon clicking on the available skill points the rest of the menu faded and little plus signs appeared beside each stat, except for Favor. But what was more helpful was the small descriptions that showed up beside each stat. [+] Strength - Physical Strength [+] Agility - Physical Speed [+] Endurance - Physical Endurance [+] Intelligence - Mental Strength [+] Acuity - Mental Speed [+] Resilience- Mental Endurance [+] Perception - Sensory Awareness Favor - Defiance of Fate Well at least I had a way to increase my strength, but with the descriptions honestly all of them seemed useful, depending on the situation. There was a concerning amount of mental traits, which had me worried that there was a mind-controlling ant out there that would just walk me into its lair. I was a bit more informed, but still didn¡¯t feel confident in choosing a direction so I left the 2 stat points for later and returned to the Status screen to review the rest of the info. The system knew my name, which felt concerning, but ultimately that concern was pretty low on the totem pole so I moved past it. My origin and race were both correct, but the number 5 beside Earth and the number 1 beside human were confusing. Earth was the 3rd planet as far as I knew, so maybe that was what it meant? Or maybe there were 4 other Earths out there? Or 4 other planets? Had my screen just confirmed Extra-Terrestrial life for me? Pretty neat if so, but then why the 1 beside humans? I eventually decided to move on as I was just thinking myself in a circle. Hopefully if it was important it would make itself apparent soon. Rank eluded me, at some point I had seen it in the various screens but I couldn¡¯t remember where. I¡¯d find it later. I was beginning to get overwhelmed at everything I was trying to learn. I had no idea what was important and what wasn¡¯t. Worse, I had the sneaking suspicion it was all important and I was dooming myself by not understanding all of it right away. ¡°You didn¡¯t understand most of the concepts you studied either Will,¡± I reassured myself, ¡° it took some time. Just relax, it¡¯ll come to you.¡± I decided to focus on the plus side. It was all very confusing, but also exciting? And a little cool? Yeah, it was really cool. Focus on the cool. The next 3 lines were all blank, but seemed like they could be cool. ¡°Class?¡± I had been in many classes for the last few years in school, but I doubted this was the same. Hopefully, in keeping with the cool focus, it was more akin to game or fantasy classes. ¡°Being a Fire Wizard would be neat, or maybe a Barbarian?¡± I¡¯d played some Dungeons and Dragons in high school and a bit during my Bachelors and I hoped this class was like that one. Then again, the ¡°Major¡± and ¡°Minor Discipline¡± lines actually worked against my theory as they sounded much more like a school term. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve fallen into the Land of Eternal School?¡± I wondered. I liked learning, but to be honest, 5 years of it had worn down that love. And if the experiences thus far were this world¡¯s version of learning I wasn¡¯t too keen on them. I really didn¡¯t want to be crawling out of giant insect butts all for an A+ in biology. Once again, I could do very little but wait and see. Unlike the stats, trying to select these entries didn¡¯t yield more information. Titles on the other hand, did provide more information when selected, and the second entry proved concerning. Titles Outlander - You''ve cheated death, but have reduced the costs of Balance. Increased chance of finding Favor. Earlybird - Be among the first Occupants to Unlock a Progression System Reward: 25% increased chance of Ability, Skill, and Proficiency rewards having synergy. ¡°First Occupants?¡± Was this happening to other people? I had assumed at first that I had died, and then had guessed that it was a unique experience, like getting taken by aliens or something. But what if the kids in that alley had also been sucked up into all of this as well? I immediately sat back up, eyes alert, and reached for my mandible-blade. I scanned the horizon, heart racing. What if there are others nearby? For a second I saw the shadows of last night and of that alley all around me. But then I really thought about it. That would be good, if there were other humans nearby we could join forces. What if it was the teens from the alley? I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯d be able to settle our differences and still join forces, and a lot had happened in a day. I held the weapon in my hand comfortably and was very familiar with its use. Even as I gripped it I could feel soreness in my hands where new calluses were forming to accommodate the grip. I might be able to find other people. I might not be the only one here. If that was the case I needed to be sure that I could defend my location, they might not have had as much luck dealing with the local wildlife and need a safe place to retreat. I glanced back and could see the entrance to my clearing, completely undefended. That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll need walls and traps. I had watched Swiss Family Robinson many times as a kid, and near the end they prepare their island to deal with pirates. I would need to do the same. I jotted some notes down quickly in my notes tab then returned to look at my titles. I was still very lost, but I needed to know all the supposed perks or abilities the UI had given me. Every little boon might be the difference between life and death. On my first read of the Outlander title I took it as getting lucky every now and then. But, if that was the case, why capitalize Favor? Then I remembered that Favor was a stat in my status screen, and the only one I had any amount of. The description of Favor being a ¡°defiance of fate¡± was only so helpful, but regardless, I¡¯m sure more wouldn¡¯t hurt, so this Title would hopefully help me long term. Still sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. It was a lot. I was grateful for the notes screen as I was able to write down my thoughts and ideas down, which was giving me some sanity. But I had just been presented with a wealth of information, and I had no idea how to even begin to make use of it. And what was worse, I had the nagging feeling I was missing something. I just wish there was a guide or menu of some kind. A table of contents to this UI so I could stay organized. Actually, the UI has proved remarkably well organized, I wonder if there is a menu? ¡°Menu¡± I said aloud, and there it was, a screen titled ¡°Menu¡±. ¡°Come on Will, you grew up playing games, you¡¯re better than this, you need to be better than this.¡± Menu -Status -Titles -Quests -Abilities, Skills, Proficiencies -Achievements -Log -Notes Turns out I had missed two entries. I rallied my exhausted mind, took a deep breath and selected the first new one. Achievements.