Pale dove out of the way right as the Amalgamation's claws came crashing down where she'd been standing just a moment ago. Without a moment's pause, Pale rolled onto her back, flicking her rifle's selector to fully automatic, and laid on the trigger. Heavy 6.8mm rounds impacted against the creature, but to Pale's dismay, its skin seemed to harden as each of the bullets struck; all her efforts got her was the occasional puff of blood as a stray round managed to sneak in through whatever natural armor the Amalgamation had underneath its skin.

Finally, Pale's rifle clicked empty, and she slid it to the side, drawing her pistol in the same motion. Her first thought was to go for the creature's eyes, but she didn't get a chance to before a bolt of lightning came streaking towards it from the underbrush. Pale winced as the lightning made impact right in front of her, the sudden pulse of light causing spots to flash in her vision. The Amalgamation reeled back from the lightning, its body smoking as a low growl came rumbling up from its throat.

To Pale's surprise, the Amalgamation didn't press the attack, and instead turned and began to retreat deeper into the blood-red forest. It didn't take her long to figure out why; Kayla came running around the corner a few seconds later, her eyes widening when she saw Pale lying on the forest floor.

"Pale!" she shouted, running over to her.

"I'm fine," Pale insisted as she picked herself up. Her bruised ribs screamed at her as she moved, and she couldn't help but wince with every stray motion, though she was quick to stand up straight regardless.

Kayla watched her try to straighten herself out for a moment, wincing the entire time, before finally shaking her head and stepping over to her.

"Here, lean on me," Kayla urged, throwing Pale's arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Kayla," Pale repeated.

"No, you're not," Kayla told her. "Come on, let's find somewhere safer than this."

"We can't," Pale said. "That thing is going to be hunting us now."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. I suspect that it only stopped attacking me because it didn't like its odds of facing both of us at the same time." Pale looked down at her empty rifle, still slung across her front, and scowled. "My gun was useless against it. It's got some kind of natural sub-dermal armor… definitely the apex predator down here; that would explain why we haven't seen any other animals nearby."

"What does that all mean?"

"It means that its body can naturally stop bullets," Pale spat. "I'm lucky you came along when you did, otherwise I'd probably have died back there."

Kayla went white at that. She swallowed nervously before looking back to Pale. "...Thank the gods that didn't happen."

"Gods or not, the fact is, that thing's still out there, and I'd be very surprised if it isn't still watching us," Pale emphasized. "We managed to drive it off easily enough, but that just means that we're its biggest threat right now. It's going to try and take us out again at some point, the only question is when."

Kayla bit her lip before giving her a small nod of understanding. "How do we stop it?"

The two of them began to walk, Kayla continuing to support her as they moved. After a moment, Pale let out a grunt, then shook her head.

"I don't know, Kayla," she answered. "I really don't know."

XXX

It took them roughly twenty minutes of slow, tense walking, but eventually, the two of them managed to find a small cave dug into the base of one of the stone walls nearby. Kayla helped her inside, and Pale gently lowered herself to the ground, wincing as she did so.

"You should use some of your medicine now," Kayla urged.

"I'm debating it," Pale admitted. "The only thing keeping me from actually doing it is the knowledge that if I use a syringe now, it's one less that I'll have for later."

"No offense, but from what I can see, your injuries are actively hindering you. If we're to have a chance of killing whatever that thing is, then we'll both need to be in tip-top shape."

Pale's brow furrowed, but after a moment, she nodded in agreement. "...You make a good point," she admitted.

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After taking a moment to unsling her assault rifle and set it aside, Pale reached into her IFAK for another syringe, then uncapped it and jabbed the needle into her arm. A wave of relief passed through her the instant she depressed the plunger with her thumb, and a small, content sigh escaped from her throat as the painkillers went to work on her ribs.

Idly, Pale realized that Kayla was staring at her. She turned towards her, a confused look on her face.

"Yes?" Pale asked.

"How does it work?" Kayla questioned.

"What, the medicine?" That earned her a nod, and she pursed her lips in thought. "...Not that I don't know how it works, more like I can't think of how to properly explain it."

"Try your best," Kayla said as she peered out the cave, staring out across the forest outside. "I need something to take my mind off the knowledge that we're currently being hunted like rats."

"Alright," Pale conceded. "I don't know how advanced medical science is on this world-"

"We use healing magic for everything serious, and basic home remedies and medicine for everything else."

"Of course…" Pale shook her head. "You all at least realize that you need to wash your hands to prevent the spread of disease, don't you?"

"We do," Kayla answered, still looking out the mouth of the cave.

"Well, to put it simply, your body is made up of things called cells – essentially, tiny microscopic organisms that keep you running on a mechanical level. Are you following along with this?"

"I suppose," Kayla said. "I know better than to doubt you when it comes to things like this anyway…"

Pale nodded. "Good. Anyway, these cells each serve a specific function for the body. Some of them are responsible for healing you when you're injured." She held up the empty syringe. "What this medicine does is speed up that process dramatically. Don't ask me how the medicine itself actually works – that explanation would be far too complex."

"I believe you."

"Good, because that was a few thousand years of medical advancement, right there." Pale reached for her rifle and swapped magazines, smacking the bolt release to chamber a round before putting the weapon on safe and slinging it across her front once more.

"Truly?" Kayla asked, looking over to her in surprise. "Assuming that's all true – and I have no reason to believe it isn't – then I have to wonder why the people of my world never discovered it for themselves."

"That's the wrong question to ask," Pale pointed out. "You'd all have no way of knowing about this without inventing the microscope. I mean, if I were to approach a random person on the street and tell them what I just told you, they'd think I was crazy."

"They would," Kayla confirmed.

"Exactly. It's not a theory someone would seriously consider unless they saw it for themselves first. Even among my creators, cell theory is still relatively new, all things considered; it's only about six-hundred years old. Meanwhile, the microscope was invented a few hundred years before then." Pale shook her head. "What I want to know is why this world hasn't industrialized in several thousand years."

"Industrialize?"

"Yeah. It seems natural for people to want to automate their lives, even if only on a basic, rudimentary level. I can't help but wonder why this world has been stuck in, essentially, the equivalent of my creators' medieval period for so long."

"Perhaps magic has something to do with it?" Kayla wondered.

"Possibly," Pale answered with a nod. "But then again, while magic is ubiquitous here, I can't see a rational explanation for why it would preclude technological advancement in that manner. It's almost like a permanent Dark Age has settled over your world, for whatever reason…" She shook her head. "Anyway, I suppose that's not important now."

Pale stood up, stretching out as she did so. Her ribs didn't cry out at her as she moved, which was good. After a moment spent testing her range of motion and confirming that nothing hurt anymore, Pale stepped over to where Kayla was standing and looked out into the forest as well.

"See anything?" she asked.

"Nothing…" Kayla muttered. "Wherever it is, I can't see it."

"I'm not surprised. A creature like that is going to be incredibly difficult to track."

"What is it, anyway?"

"Some kind of amalgamation of multiple different animals into one," Pale specified. "That's what I've taken to calling it, at least – an Amalgamation. No idea if it's magical in nature or not, but given that sub-dermal armor, I wouldn't be surprised."

"You think someone might have made that thing?"

"It's possible, at least." Pale looked up at the ceiling, taking note of the fact that the sunlight was no longer shining through the thin opening that ran throughout it. "Looks like night's fallen. I say we take some time to recover and try to think of a proper plan for how to deal with that thing when we encounter it again."

"Don't tell me," Kayla began, "you'll take the first watch?"

"I have a reason for it this time," Pale insisted. Kayla glared at her. "I mean it, Kayla."

"Alright, let's hear it."

"My weapons didn't do anything to it," Pale pointed out. "But it turned tail and ran the moment you hit it with lightning. I have no idea if that means anything beyond it being like most living creatures and preferring not to be hit with 300 million volts of electricity, but either way, it shows me that we're going to need you at peak condition if we're going to have a chance of killing it."

Kayla blinked, then nodded. "Makes sense," she conceded. "But I don't like it."

"I didn't think you would." Pale shouldered her rifle, taking a look through the magnifier mounted behind the holographic sight. After a moment spent scanning the treeline, she let out a slow exhale, then lowered her weapon. "We're going to have a time and a half trying to lure the Amalgamation out. It's not going to show itself to both of us at once; rather, I suspect it's going to try and ambush us one at a time. That or try to draw us out by going after some of the others."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Kayla asked.

"Right now? There's nothing we can do. If we go out looking for it directly, we're just going to get ourselves killed. If we wait, more initiates are going to be hunted down by it. I hate to say it, but we're really between a rock and a hard place with this one."

Kayla's expression narrowed, but she didn't say anything. After a moment, Pale let out a sigh, then motioned with her head for Kayla to move back.

"Get some rest," Pale told her. "I'll keep watch."

Again, Kayla stayed silent, though she did as Pale asked, stepping back into the cave and retrieving the bedroll from her pack. Pale paid her no mind as she set the bedroll out, instead continuing to watch the treeline from the front of the cave.

Up above, through the crack in the ceiling, there was a far-off rumble of thunder. A few seconds later, a flash of lightning lit up a small part of the underground, though it wasn't enough for Pale to make anything out through the bright glow of the red trees. She let out a frustrated grunt before going back to watching the trees, the whole time hoping that the Amalgamation would give them at least a few more hours to come up with a plan.