CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

A PARTY OF THREE

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Theo

Things went smoothly after that. Dane was entirely on board now, but he had a new condition. In exchange for all the guns and ammo he had, he got to come, too.

I wasn’t sure he realized just how dangerous this whole situation was. I felt generally obligated to at least attempt to discourage him from following us, but my efforts were somewhat half-hearted. It wasn’t selfishness but a pure desire for more members. I was still considering calling my brother. Perhaps I would, but time was of the essence at this point.

Seok and Narae might also be options, but I thought they would decline, considering they had daughters. I hoped Narae managed to get her guns soon. Perhaps later, they’d be interested. Everybody wanted superpowers, right?

Dane was here, and he wanted in. If I were in his shoes, I was pretty sure I would, too.

I shuddered as I remembered the feeling of fireballs burning me and redoubled my efforts to discourage him, to no success. He’d learn, I supposed.

When we reached his house, I used my Gripping Vines as a bit of added proof to bury an old tire lying in his yard for half a century. It hadn’t been necessary as Rio’s Phase had already done a lot to convince him of the truth, but it did dispel any lingering doubts that we were fucking with him.

Unfortunately, we still didn’t have a better idea for getting back into the cave than teleporting to the waypoint and killing things until I found a portal stone. I didn’t think that would be very reliable, since I didn’t have a great grasp on how portal stones worked. Did they always return to my home? If so, we’d certainly have some questions to answer.

The best idea I could come up with was to find where they’d taken Todd down, and we could assume that entrance was between Todd’s house and Dowell’s. According to Dane, Todd had a car but usually biked to work, claiming the exercise was good cardio training.

Unfortunately, that must’ve been how he’d been attacked. Desperate calls from the boy's mother had led Dane to discover that Todd’s bike had been found by the cops near a small bridge over a creek that ran through the outskirts of town.

That tracked with what Rio knew. Todd had told her that the imps had shot an arrow into his tires, and he’d crashed. I didn’t think the imps were smart enough to remove evidence of an attack like that, but if that was true, the arrow’s discovery hadn’t trickled through the grapevine to Dane.

If there was an entrance somewhere around that creek, I thought I might be able to find it.

“People are going to start thinking we’re the kidnapper if we keep creeping around like this,” Rio said. “Do you really think we can find a way in here, Theo? The guards will start asking for us if we don’t get back soon, and I figure we have a pretty damn good chance of running into a cop or two out here. What if there are search parties or something?”

The neighborhood was purely residential. The uniformity of the houses confirmed the presence of a homeowners association, too. They allowed a bit of flair and didn’t seem too rough on their residents, considering some of the lawns were unmowed, but for the most part, the neighborhood seemed nice.

“I think it’s worth a shot, though I hope you’re wrong,” I replied. “There’s no way we’d be able to explain away the amount of guns you brought, Dane.”

He shrugged. “It’s only four. Could easily be going to the range. You know, for an ex-military guy, you’re a bit gunshy.”

“Less, so by the day,” I said as we parked at the sidewalk's edge near where the residential area ended and the creek began. The creek ran behind many of the homes, and several backyards had access to the water, and I dearly hoped we didn’t have to traipse up and down the creek to find it.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Fortunately, the idea paid off almost immediately.

The moment I stepped onto the bridge, I felt a sort of blankness in the life around me. My healing aura couldn’t detect where others were, but there was a steady hum in the background whenever I had the aura on that told me of life in the area. It was usually ninety percent bugs but there were often cats, dogs, squirrels, or plenty of other creatures that I could detect.

A strange dip in the amount of life surrounding me was a sure sign that something wasn’t right.

“There’s something here,” I said, stepping onto the grass surrounding the bridge. Rio and Dane blinked in surprise.

“That easy?”

My radius was only about five yards, though I was sure it had increased by a few inches with every level. I couldn’t confirm it, but the denseness of life increased slightly with each level. When I’d been in the dungeon, that sensation had mostly evaporated.

There was a hint of that deadness here. I played a strange sort of “warmer and colder” game, trying to feel that dim sensation. Each time the feeling got stronger, I continued forward, which led me down beneath the bridge.

I quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

There it was. Plain as day. Right there.

A doorway with slipshod steps leading downward was cut into the concrete in a way that couldn’t possibly be natural. It almost looked like it had been hacked out of the cement, dirt, and rock that had long since covered the bridge’s foundation. It was covered in caution tape, similar to the type I saw on Rio’s true crime shows. The cops had walled it off.

“What the hell…?” Dane murmured.

“The cops. They… couldn’t possibly have missed this, could they?” Rio asked fearfully.

“I doubt it,” I said. “Seems like they put up the caution tape. That begs the question, what did they do when they found it?”

There weren’t any imps here. They usually announced themselves with their annoying little noises and shuffling. Every step toward that crypt left me more and more certain that it was our target.

I turned to look at Rio. “Are you sure you want to do this? We don’t have to go back down there again. The feds are involved, and it seems like the cops are too. Maybe they really were doing more than we thought?”

To her credit, Rio thought about it. She thought for almost a full minute while Dane and I watched her. Dane was grinning like a loon, fingering the grip of the gun he’d decided to use with excitement.

I wasn’t surprised when she shook her head before looking at me with determination.

“I left them down there, Teddy. I… I didn’t have any better options, but I abandoned them all the same. I have to try. You don’t have to come, though. You could go throw off the guards at the house, or watch our exit out–!”

I rolled my eyes before interrupting. “You’re not going down there without me. Not a chance.”

After a while, she nodded.

“Thanks,” she said.

I nodded back and turned toward the entrance, thinking that would be the end of it.

“While we’re telling each other what we can and can’t do, I want to see your shapeshift. Do it,” she commanded.

I blinked. “Huh?”

“Your shapeshift ability. You took it to defend me, right? I want to know what you turn into! Here seems like a good enough place to test it out, and we need to know how effective it will be if we’re relying on it down there.”

“Wait, you can shapeshift?” Dane said. “Into what!?”

“A large creature,” Rio replied for me. “We’re not sure what, though. I don’t know if he can choose or if it's random. We need to know.”

“I was going to use it in the dungeon!” I said. “What if I rip all my clothes changing!?”

“Well, then the cops will have two reasons to book you!” she grinned.

I rolled my eyes again but chuckled.

I thought of a bear. A big, burly grizzly bear. One that could run on all fours or stand on two legs to fight. When I thought I had the image right in my mind, I started sinking mana into the process.

I’d gotten some experience with using skills now, and by this point, spending mana on various abilities had become second nature. The mana expenditure was horrendous, leaving me with one-third of my remaining pool in one go.

I shrunk and fell forward onto my hands. My neck shortened and widened in a horrifying way even as I felt something begin to sprout out of the top of my head. Ears, I realized, as my hearing suddenly increased tenfold.

My back grew longer, legs shortened even as my arms also adapted, transforming into short, but incredibly powerful claws.

In almost no time at all, I was a fucking bear.

I marveled, trying and failing to stare down at my claws. Lifting them when walking on all fours felt unnatural, but I could do it. I wasn't clumsy. I knew how to move and act in this body, strange as that was.

Dane was freaking out, pure excitement overtaking him, and Rio's eyes were as wide as I'd ever seen them.

I was about to try to stand on my hind legs and shrug since words were beyond me when I heard the very familiar click.

Coming up from within the cave was a cop wearing his full uniform. He was barely visible, just inside the shadow of the crypt’s entrance, but all of us were more than familiar with the sound of a gun.

“Who the fuck are you people?” he snapped, gun aimed straight at the biggest threat he could see.

Me.

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