CHAPTER 6: FINALE!
THE HEART OF DARKNESS
Lucas pushed himself up against the rock and inspected his feet. The swelling had gone down and the wounds had scabbed over. They were healing unnaturally fast. His medical knowledge was not great, but he felt certain that the infection should have killed him before it healed. Everything in this world seemed to happen on an accelerated time frame. As he mustered the energy to leave his alcove, the skittering heralded the return of the monster. The fight or flight response had turned into it’s own fresh torture, forcing his body to burn energy reserves it could not spare. His muscles felt like frayed ropes on the brink of snapping. His heart shuddered and thrashed in his chest like an engine overheating. He could not think straight until the skittering passed but, once it did, he knew it would be hunting aboveground for several hours.
Lucas climbed down to the cave floor, wincing as his feet hit the rock. He opened his Map, but quickly had to leave familiar territory. After nearly slipping into a gap of unknown depth, he began crawling on all fours. At every turn, Lucas could clearly hear which branch would lead closer to water. He ran his arms along the surface of whatever was in reach, watching the detail come to life on his Map.
The echoing resonance of his shuffling sounds gave Lucas the impression he’d entered into a wide open chamber. The sound of water rang clearly here. He was working his way along one wall, adding detail to his Map, when a familiar scratching sound came from deeper in the cave. It was only a fraction of the skittering avalanche that had passed by his alcove, but unmistakably related. Lucas flattened himself against the rock wall and activated Stealth. His Aura contracted under his skin, going invisible, and he went as perfectly still as the stone around him. A large bulbous Aura came into sight soon after. It was moving erratically, pausing for long moments only to break into bursts of speed. Lucas was hesitant to use Analyse, afraid it would cause a reaction, but decided it was worth the risk. He had to know.
[https://i.imgur.com/yWdZxb4.jpg]
Lucas’ stomach dropped. This was the worst possible thing he could have found. He was trapped in a cave with a nest of massive spiders. The creature broke into a flurry of movement after he used Analyse, but didn’t come near him. Instead, it made for the side of the cavern from which Lucas had entered. He read through the Stat Sheet while he had the chance. A complex coordinated pattern of attack and defence sounded a bit like a martial art. No wonder the Slavers didn't want to come in here, judging by the sound they made under his alcove there could be hundreds of these spiders.
It paused at the same entrance Lucas had used, bobbed up and down slightly, then started skittering back and forth.
‘O no, what are you doing?’
The Arach came up against the wall Lucas had been map-tracing and pressed itself closer to the ground. With bone-chilling clarity he realised his feet were bleeding. The wounds had opened up while he was moving. He would curse himself later for being an idiot, now he had precious seconds to think; If it saw him and started quad-wielding chitin scythes he wouldn't stand a chance. If it signalled the others somehow he was dead. One bite and he was also dead. His Stealth ability was apparently enough to fool its senses, but he couldn't move. It was going to track his bleeding feet right to him, and he would get only one moment to act before he lost control of the situation.
Lucas wished he could see it, but all he could see was the nebulous energy of its Aura in the darkness. The patterns in its Aura were giving off a mixture of curiosity, predatory malice, and some alien spider-brain impressions that felt so nasty it made his mind flinch. Apparently having picked up his scent, it started skittering along the wall towards him, quickly building momentum. His heart thundered, pounding spikes of adrenaline through his body. Just as the Arach was about to crash right into him, Lucas moved into action. In a smooth sudden motion he crouched and launched directly at it, willing a Porcupine Quill into his hand mid leap. He grasped the Quill tightly and plunged it towards the centre of the Auras shape.
The Arach attempted to stop, its senses suddenly bombarded as Lucas’s Stealth broke, but it was heavy and its inertia carried it forward. The sharp tips of its bone scythes scratched along smooth stone without finding purchase as it scrambled to halt its momentum. Lucas felt the tip of his quill hit a hard surface, scrape along it, then lodge into a gap or joint. The force of his lunge, and the forward momentum of the Arach, resulted in the Quil plunging half a metre into the creature's body.
Lucas let go and leaped back immediately, but the sharp scythes still scratched his face and shoulder as the creature thrashed at the air. A moment later it’s Aura exploded into whipping energy that made Lucas cover his face.
[https://i.imgur.com/c6UdMUo.jpg]
‘Yeaaa, sneak attack!’
Lucas sat back on the stone, breathing hard. He was so sure he was going to die, that he found himself chuckling in the dark. It was definitely luck, but that was fine, he’d had his fair share of bad luck too. Getting no loot was a little disappointing. He knew what he was up against now; a nest of giant spiders. Most of them left to hunt outside the cave, he figured, but apparently not all of them. This one had come from deeper in. The others would begin to return before long, so he focused on the sound of water echoing around the chamber.
Venturing into the centre, his searching hand landed on wet stone and a little stream ran over his fingers. A stalactite or stalagmite or something, high school lessons seemed far away. Lucas leaned in to taste the stingingly cold flow, drinking only a little despite his desperate thirst. It had a mineral tanginess to it, but seemed fresh. His body rewarded him with a big serotonin hit that sent tingles throughout his body, but the dehydration didn’t abate. He leaned on the mineral spike, letting the cool flow soften dry blood that had grafted the shirt to his back. Grinning to himself as he took tiny sips and waited for his glass bottles to fill.
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It was impossible to accurately measure the passage of time, and he didn't want to risk being exposed when the other Arachs returned, so he only waited for two of his three bottles to fill. Before setting out, he walked over to the dead Arach. Would they start hunting for him when they found it? He was curious to give it a closer inspection, so he grabbed one of its legs and started dragging it back with him. The path he had taken was recorded on his map, making the return trip far simpler. The Arach was heavy and its leg was covered in spiny hair, but Lucas’s 4 Strength was up to the task. The thing was mostly solid carapace so it bumped and scraped along the rock like a sled. He got it back to his hideout without incident, but pulling it up into the alcove was awkward. Eventually he managed to haul it up, and settled into his hidey spot with a huge dead spider sitting next to him. He was immediately assaulted with hunger, as if his body had been putting off the demand until he had water and shelter. He pulled out the Badger carcass. All the best parts had been picked off by now but, just like a BBQ chicken, there was always more to be found if you kept picking through it.
Having all his basic needs met put him in a jubilant mood. It was a pity he had nobody to share it with, except this dead spider. On closer inspection it really was a spider. It had eight legs that seemed inclined to curl up under itself and a huge chest plate with a relatively small abdomen in the rear. Lucas traced the outline of its face in the dark. It had two large eyes with smooth lenses the size of saucers, surrounded by a cluster of small ones. One lens was scratched where his Quill had made impact then slid to the side, sinking into the edge of its eye socket. He really had gotten lucky, there weren't many places on the creature that his Quill could have penetrated. The Quill was still there, wedged between the glassy lens and the hard carapace. He put a foot on either side and pulled it out, storing it back in his inventory. Continuing his investigation, Lucas found two massive bulges under its face that were tipped with fangs. He didn’t consider himself especially Arachnophobic, but being so close to a giant spider's face made him feel deeply uneasy. He pushed it to the other side of the alcove but he still had trouble ignoring it, imagining those massive glassy eyes staring at him in the darkness. He was regretting bringing it into his alcove but it was too late to get rid of it.
The other Arachs began skittering past, done with their hunt. Lucas held his breath in anticipation but they didn't pause. Judging by the sound, they dragged some massive beast with them. A mutilated corpse being dragged down the tunnels would probably mask the scent of his bleeding feet. Lucas knew he was just imagining it, but he could swear he saw the dead Arach in the corner of his alcove moving. Phantom shadows in the darkness played at the edges of its form, as if it was crawling towards him. He felt compelled to poke at it with his foot, just to be sure it was still where he left it. While the Arachs skittered underneath, he passed the time thumbing the point of his dagger and fantasising about stabbing Slavers with sneak attacks.
It wasn't long until his thoughts went to his family and what would be happening back home. He had been gone for a while now, they must have panicked when they realised they couldn't contact him. His mom would be calling the university and his real estate, grilling them ruthlessly. For some reason her face didn't come to mind. He couldn't remember what she looked like, or what she sounded like, no matter how hard he tried. Most disturbingly of all, he felt no reaction to her memory. He knew he loved her, and she loved him, but the knowledge was empty, stripped of the emotions that should be there.
He sat up sharply. His family… he couldn't remember their names, their faces. They were silhouettes, visible only as the outline of their absence. There should be love there, the pain of missing them, worrying about them, but it was all gone.
Was this some kind of coping mechanism? A defence to keep him focused on surviving?
That made some sense, but it didn't feel right. The absence was too clean and artificial. Not a trace remained, as if everyone he cared about had been surgically removed from his soul.
It was the same feeling that had assailed him when he first arrived in this world, but he had been too busy trying to survive to understand it. Something, someone, had robbed him. An empty void within him now echoed with nothing but deep loneliness. Sadness of incomprehensible magnitude pressed down on him, threatening to snuff out the resolve that had kept him alive for so long. He felt weak and alone, helpless and pitiful. But only for a moment. From some hidden corner of his spirit an indomitable pride flared to life, disgusted at his own weakness. He could not tolerate feeling that way, and he didn't have to. There was another way; he had not really lost anything, he had been robbed.
Hot rage lit up in his veins, making his whole body rigid. Pain twisted into hate, and he embraced it. This whole world was rotten to the core with remorseless evil. Caleb’s words rang in his mind;
‘Weak means I do what I want with you and there is nothing you can do about it…’
Wrathful indignation surged into him, misery turned into strength and pain into determination. Sorrow waned before the promise of vengeance being forged in the fire of his soul. It hardened into a steel strong enough to keep him standing no matter what he had to endure. Caleb thought he was safe because Lucas was weak, but he was wrong. Lucas would get his hands on power, somehow, then lay his judgement upon this world.
The utter darkness became like a canvas for his imagination as Lucas immersed himself in fantasies of vengeance. Like an orchestrator of chaos and destruction, he wove cosmic forces into instruments of righteous war. Back in the cave his arms shot out as he contorted like a mad dancer in his hole in the rock, but in his mind's eye the heavens filled with ominous lights as he wove together forces to obliterate a rotten world. Like insects exposed from an overturned rock, his enemies squirmed in panic. They begged and they pleaded, they dug and they fled, they raged and they fought, but it was all futile, merely the writhing of insects under the hammer of his justice. Only after having saturated his rage with imaginary vindication did he realise how worked up he had become, his body drenched in sweat and his breathing laboured.
As the powerful emotions ebbed away, the emptiness returned. The loneliness. He had brushed up against the spider that shared his tiny space. He reached out and touched it’s face. Somehow the large eye plates felt sympathetic. It was stupid, but he let himself believe. There was no one here to judge. He had nobody in either world who could judge him now, who could tell him it was wrong. He leaned over and nestled himself next to the dead spider. It seemed to speak with its silence; ‘Together, we will find a way.’