Chapter Fifty Two: There’s a Blind Man Looking For a Shadow of a Doubt

April 16, 2010

Table Rock Lake, MO

“Everyone freeze!” Marc commanded.

The giant boar was less than fifty feet away. If it charged, it would be on top of them in seconds.

In the other world, he wouldn’t have been so concerned. In fact, King Orc was a favorite ingredient of his. They weren’t that difficult to deal with if you knew their habits and weaknesses.

Unfortunately, given his current abilities, and the overall situation, Marc knew very well how bad the situation had just become.

Unlike regular Orcs, which usually hunted in groups, A King Orc appeared when a drove leader reached a very high level. This happened sometimes, after they hit more than eighty years of life, and had consumed a very large number of Mana Crystals.

In their old age, they lose their social instincts and start to hunt and eat constantly. The first victims were usually its own drove-mates. A new King Orc would slaughter and devour its own kin to try to satisfy its ravenous hunger. Then, it would continue to hunt and gorge on anything it could find.

Its rapid intake of Mana could even result in a Mana Panic. A rupture of the Mana crystal that would turn the beast into an extremely dangerous cataclysm, capable of destroying entire cities.

While it was rare, the risk was high enough that King Orcs were aggressively hunted if spotted. Marc had participated in several such hunts, and even managed to take one out single-handedly, of course, that had been when he was at the peak of understanding of his Traveler abilities.

King Orcs are incredibly strong. They could be many times larger, stronger, and faster than an ordinary Orc, with giant jaws that would rival the largest great white shark in the world, and six sharp tusks that could cut a commercial airliner open like a can of tuna.

Their thick coat of fur grew so strong and dense that sustained fire from a 50mm cannon would be little more than a light tap on the shoulder.

In other words, that was a monster that was orders of magnitude stronger and more lethal than Marc was now. None of the weapons that he had in his truck could even leave a scratch on this beast, and they were all locked up, miles away.

All he did have was a cellphone, and a team of frightened team members who would all be little more than a light snack for the monster that was staring them down.

Marc hadn’t lost a single memory from his life in the other world. Unlike his recollection of things that happened in his current world, every moment of that life was as easy to recall as if it were printed onto the inside of his skull.

He could remember exactly how terrifyingly strong, fast, and deadly a King Orc was.

He could also remember their weaknesses.

Orcs were well known for having poor eyesight. King Orcs inherited this failing, and sometimes, as they got older, they could be practically blind. They also had one other well-known weakness. King Orcs were stupid.

Most hunting strategies were devised to take advantage of both of these vulnerabilities. Marc had just a moment to come up with a plan to save himself and his friends, but thankfully, this wasn’t his first time in such a predicament. He had been taught never to use Magic as a crutch. Now, hopefully, that training would pay off.

He knew the team would be looking to him to lead them out of this situation, and he leaned into that belief.

Slowly but deliberately, he put his finger to his lips. Then he slowly pointed back down the path towards the parking area.

He hoped that it was dark enough that it would be hard for the beast to see them all. He could tell that this King Orc was on the young side; despite its poor vision, its strong senses of smell and hearing would compensate, and it wouldn’t be long before the beast attacked. Marc only needed a couple of seconds, though.

Marc caught Ryan’s eye. It appeared that the former national guardsman had caught on to Marc’s intention. Head back to the RV. Be quiet and move slowly.

Ryan nodded, then slowly started backing away, down the path they had come up.

Now for the second part of Marc’s plan.

He suddenly screamed and waved his arms, and as he did, he ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

As plans go, this wasn’t one of his better ones. It did, however, have the desired effect. As the team watched helplessly, Marc disappeared into a grove of trees, and seconds later, the ground shook as the elephant-sized beast chased after him with terrifying speed.

Even after Marc and the beast disappeared into the forest, no one dared to move for several seconds.

Finally, Ryan snapped out of the shock and, remembering the non-verbal command from this friend, quickly corralled everyone back down the path as fast as they could move as silently as possible.

Marc’s simple plan had worked, at least temporarily.

As Marc ran through the trees as fast as he could, he knew that there was no way he could outrun the King Orc. He could keep ahead of it for a little while, however. That should be enough time for the rest of the team to get back to the road, he hoped.

Every fifty feet or so, Marc would make a 90-degree turn. Cutting back and forth, he was able to gain a bit of space.

While the beast was much faster than the man, it had a horrible turn radius. Knowing this, Marc kept cutting back and forth, snaking a path through the trees. This gave Marc a slight advantage in speed, but the beast had much more strength and stamina, and it was only a matter of time before it caught up.

Also, once engaged with a specific target, the King Orc would be loathe to give up on its planned next meal. It would keep following Marc until it caught him.

He had made it almost a mile before Marc saw what he was looking for. A lake appeared beyond the tree line.

Table Rock Lake was a somewhat unique freshwater lake. Renowned for its pristine shoreline, it was more like a network of hundreds of small and medium-sized lakes, all connected.

At least it was close enough for Marc to reach it before the beast caught up. As soon as he got near, Marc turned a final time and ran straight for the water, reaching a small rock outcropping that extended over a drop off into the lake.

Just steps ahead of the beast, Marc dove into the water, hoping it was deep enough he wouldn’t hit the bottom. He angled his dive to be as shallow as possible before leaping off the rock.

Without the least bit of fear, the King Orc jumped into the water after Marc, ready to chase down the annoying prey that had thus far eluded it.

Marc was already swimming away as quickly as he could, getting as far away from the shore as he could. He heard and felt the giant splash as his pursuer hit the water.

Most mammals have a certain amount of buoyancy that makes it possible for them to swim. Orcs are well known for being proficient swimmers, and any Orc could easily outswim any unenhanced human.

King Orcs, however, have gone through a type of body transformation. The massive increase in size, required some significant changes in both muscle and bone density. In the case of the beast following Marc, this presented a big problem.

The magical increase in density made it heavier. A lot heavier. So heavy in fact, that it was not even a little bit buoyant. A King Orc was about as buoyant as a military tank. The problem was that it thought it could still swim.

The other great weakness of a King Orc is that they are stupid. They live to eat and lack even the instincts and guile of orcs. They were known to wade into rivers looking for more food, never to be seen again. This one was in a hurry. It jumped off the rock, creating a huge wave that pushed Marc back.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The water was deep, but the size of the beast was enormous. Its head was still above water, and so it continued its pursuit.

Marc continued to tread water as the beast’s head slowly sunk below the water. Soon, the large brown furry rock of the beast’s back started to twitch and jerk. A minute later, the new island had settled into its new home, just a dozen feet off the shore.

“Marc! You’re al- wet.”

Selina ran over to him as he approached the RV. The rest of the party was behind. Jess was awkwardly carrying a shotgun, while Ryan had a pistol in a holster on this side.

The guns made Marc more nervous than anything else. They wouldn’t have done a thing against the King Orc, but a clumsy shot could easily make a bad situation worse. He thought it might be a good idea to do some kind of self-defense workshop for the team. These dimensional incursions were increasing in number and intensity. For their own safety, they should be better prepared as they continue to hunt in rural areas.

Marc cringed at the irony of that thought. He himself had wandered into the woods without so much as a pocket knife. He went through all the trouble of bringing arms with him on this trip, only to leave it all behind in the truck.

He had even done this intentionally, so as to keep the situation from escalating with Chad…

As his team gathered around him, Marc scanned around for the cameraman. He was relieved to see that the man was loitering outside the RV with a sour look on his face. Of course, they were miles from any sign of civilization. Where could he go?

Marc was glad that everyone had enough sense to put the problems of the contest aside when real danger was in front of them. Now that the crisis was over, he didn’t look forward to dealing with a traitor in their midst.

“I’m fine. Managed to outrun that monster, and it’s run off in another direction. We should probably notify the authorities.”

He didn’t want to waste everyone’s time with a search for a dead beast, but he also didn’t want to explain how he had taken care of it, either. At least not yet.

“I already called the local police. They are sending a car and animal control as well. Now, look at you! I’ve got towels in the RV. Why are you soaked? What happened?” Jess eyed him suspiciously.

“The water looked great. Went for a swim,” Marc deflected, poorly.

“Seriously! Marc! That thing was the size of a house. What the hell happened?”

“Look… I’ll explain later. For now, about those towels?”

Jess handed Ryan the shotgun and then ran into the RV.

A few minutes later, a large group of vehicles approached. Marc was surprised that it wasn’t the police, but was actually the bus and the rest of their vehicles.

Jess had contacted the logistics team as soon as they had confirmed that the route to Eureka Springs was the only one that had been compromised. The northern and Eastern routes had been checked by some contractors and were mostly clear of other player groups. Chad had indeed been the mole.

They had quickly mobilized enough people to get things moving again. The sponsors were making a fortune already, and if they actually made it to the finals, the real payoff was projected to be in the millions. No expense was being spared right now, but that put the pressure on. They would need to be operational as soon as possible.

The Beast, Marc, and Ryan’s vehicles, and the equipment van were joined by two rental minivans, each carrying a couple of men in back wearing dark outfits.

Without a word, Jess went into the Beast. She reemerged a minute later with a hikers backpack.

She walked over to Chad and threw the bag down at his feet.

“That’s your clothes and toiletries.”

“Jess! I don’t know what-“

“Shut up! I’m not interested in listening to a word you say, you piece of shit.”

“I didn’t-“

“I said, shut up!”

Chad might have put up more of a fight, but the appearance of the giant elephant boar had likely spooked him out of his prepared defense.

“Listen to me. I don’t care what you have to say. I don’t care what you know. You are a rat and worthless piece of shit.”

Jess was a foot shorter than the cameraman, but she stepped forward with such ferocity that the man cowered away from her.

“You are done. Not with us. You are done, period. We are going to sue you so hard your ancestors are going to be wondering where all their shit went after we repossess your entire existence. Your career, life as you know it. It’s over. Nothing you say is going to stop that.”

She motioned for a large, bald man to come over.

“This is Frank. His job is to return the rental van to the airport. He likes to take the scenic route, though, so we’ll probably drive around the forest a bit on the way. You can either walk back from here, if you follow the highway, you should get to somewhere with a payphone by sunset, or you can try to hitch a ride with Frank. You’ll have to entertain him with some interesting stories, though. The thing he hates the most is a boring driving companion. If he is not amused, he is likely to just drop you off on the side of the road.”

Chad looked around at the trees.

“You can’t just leave me here.”

“You can always wait for the cops. They should be here in half an hour or so.”

Marc was surprised by the ice in the woman’s voice as she spoke. She had been betrayed and embarrassed by the cameraman. There was no doubt what had happened. He had either reached out or been contacted by a group supporting one of the other big teams. They probably offered him a lot of money for information, and he took them up on it.

Marc felt a bit of pity for him. It must have been a lot of money, and after all, it’s just a video game. No one was put in danger. Chad was an untrustworthy, greedy lout, but as moral dilemmas go, it was a pretty tame one. Still, he had no reason to defend the man either. He let Jess continue with her onslaught.

“Can I at least get my gear?”

“No.”

“Huh? Those are all mine.”

“After our lawyers are done with you, your tighty-whiteys will be mine. Be glad I’m not collecting on them now.

With that, Jess started to walk toward the Beast.

Chad reached out and took a step forward, but in a flash, Frank grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and tossed him onto the ground several feet in the opposite direction.

He sat there on the ground, more stunned than injured. Then Frank picked up the bag off the ground and tossed it on top of Chad. Then he leaned down and grinned menacingly inches from Chad’s face.

“My team is pulling out of here in three minutes. You have that long to convince me not to leave you here.”

Four men came up to Jess, who gave them some quick instructions. They ran off to the other vehicles and got in. One man jumped into the driver’s seat of Jess’s RV.

“Aren’t we going to wait for the police?” Marc asked.

“And spend the rest of the day here? We’ve already lost over half the day here. How many more raids are we going to give up on? Marc, we either go now, or give up and go home.”

Marc was taken aback. In the face of the contest, the attack of a giant beast was brushed aside. The betrayal of the cameraman was just an inconvenience. He looked around and saw similar looks on the faces of the rest of the team. They could see victory slipping away and were willing to do anything to keep that from happening.

“Fine. Let’s go. How are we going to do this?”

“We need to regroup and come up with a new plan. The Pinkertons are going to drive the vehicles for now as we move on to our new area. We need to plan out a new route in the Beast.”

Within minutes, everyone else was on the bus. Marc had gone over to grab some things from the bed of his truck, while Jess grabbed her laptop and a few things from her RV. As they prepared to board, Jess turned back at the two men who remained behind in the parking lot.

“Thanks, Frank, Seeya around.”

“Name’s not Frank, Ms. Crenshaw.”

“Sure thing, Frank. Have fun with my boy.”

“Oh, sure thing. He looks chatty.”

Less than ten minutes after they pulled into the parking lot, the caravan of vehicles, minus one minivan, was ready to pull out onto the road. Jess came back from the driver’s cab and sat down at the large conference table where everyone except Marc was sitting.

Marc entered the room from the other direction, having changed into dry clothes.

“What about Jon Deere?”

They had all gotten used to calling the man by his full name. Mostly because it was fun to say Jon Deere a lot. The old cowboy just nodded and ignored them.

“I let him know what happened with Chad, and what is going to happen with Chad. I also doubled his pay. I think he’s good.”

Selina coughed as coke exploded from the bottle she was drinking out of.

Marc handed her the towel he had been drying his hair with and sat down beside her.

Jess took charge of the meeting.

Thankfully, as a writer, she had no difficulty coming up with a concise explanation for the team on what had transpired.

It was a lot to take in, but after the events of the day so far, they were still in a state of shock. For now, they simply nodded and waited for it all to sink in later.

“Now, we have to figure out what to do going forward. I doubt this is the last time we are going to have trouble or interference, but hopefully, whoever is doing this will now look to other targets. We’ve already lost more than we gained yesterday, and we can expect to drop out of the top 100 after today.”

They were ready for that, but hearing Jess say it out loud brought the mood down another notch.

“On the plus side, we are increasing the support. I leveraged our success so far, and we are now fully funded. Whatever we need, within reason, will be provided. That includes a security team. They will operate a little differently. Rather than one team that follows us everywhere, I just have to make a call, and we can have an escort for as long as we need, though we’ll keep swapping them out as we continue our route. That brings me to point two. Our old route is obviously compromised. Logistics is working on a new one, and we should get our directions within an hour. For obvious reasons, the route will be constantly updated, and no one outside of myself and a couple of trusted people will have any advance details. Finally, we need a new camera operator. I’d prefer if we could find someone with a personal connection. Does anyone have any ideas?”

After a moment, Selina raised her hand.

“I have a cousin… He’s a film student at UCLA, He should be on summer break now though. He’s not a pro or anything, but he knows a lot about cameras and filming and stuff.”

Jess thought about it for a moment.

“Sounds good. I’m more suspicious of pros now, anyway. Is he trustworthy?”

“Yeah… I guess. He can be a real pendejo sometimes, but he keeps his nose clean, mostly.”

“Fine. Call him. Get him on a plane to Kansas City. We can pick him up at the airport tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Does it look like we have time to mess around? Get him on the next flight here. Sponsors will cover the costs. Here’s what we will pay him for one month of work.”

Jess typed something on her laptop, then pushed it in front of Selina.

“A la máquina! Are you serious?”

“Hey, I promised the sponsors that we WILL make it into the finals. It’s going to be a world of hurt if we come up short. So until then, we do what we have to do. Okay? Give me his name and email, and he’ll have the contract in his inbox in less than an hour. Okay, any burning questions or something else we need to handle before we start looking at raids?”

Marc broke the silence by dropping a large and heavy black duffel onto the middle of the table with a loud metallic noise. It sounded as though the bag was full of metal pipes.

“Yes, I have something I need to tell you all, and something I need you all to do.”

“It’s time I told you about those monsters we’ve been seeing.”