Chapter Six

The Stitch Beast’s body wasn’t there.

Virginia was sure that this is where its body had been, the massive puddle of ichor from when it had split apart still wet and sticky on the forest floor. As soon as she realized, Virginia brought the harpoon up in front of her, looking around wildly. If the Stitch Beast had somehow pulled itself back together after she’d thought she’d killed it last time and come back for more, she swore she’d chop it into bits this time. When she wasn’t jumped by anything after a few seconds, she relaxed marginally.

Walking over to the puddle of gore slowly, Virginia squinted at it in the darkness. She wasn’t a hunter or a wilderness expert, but as near as she could tell, it didn’t look like the body had been dragged off either. If nothing else, she figured that would have left a trail of black ichor behind. The Stitch Beast was simply gone.

Even so, Virginia didn’t completely relax, which was why she was able to jump back out of the way as a thin green line split the air right next to where she was standing. As she scrambled back, bringing the harpoon up, the glowing green line split the air to the ground, and then widened, revealing a black and featureless void.

“Analyze!” Virginia barked out, her voice hoarse and tense, as she stared at the glowing split in the air in front of her.

Depths Door: This is a portal used by those who are fully incorporated into the Depths System. Open portals may be freely used by any individual who has incorporated the minimum amount of Depths corruption. Closed portals may only be used by designated individuals, or those fully incorporated into the Depths System.

This portal is: Closed.

Virginia swallowed heavily. Looks pretty open to me. Virginia pointed the harpoon at the Depths Door, then scrambled back even further as a hand stretched out of the portal, then just kept stretching, heavy grey fingers spreading and reaching out for her face as the arm reached several feet across the clearing. Before she could bring up the harpoon to bat the hand back and away, it stopped a few inches short of her face. The fingers strained as if trying to push those last few inches, then relaxed, the hand pulling back slightly.

“No. Not hostile. Interrogative.” A deep and raspy voice echoed out of the portal, it’s inflection and tone oddly flat. Out of the portal a massive figure appeared, craning its head to step through the seven foot tall portal. Covered in the same dull grey skin as its hand, the figure that appeared only appeared human for the briefest of glances. Even setting aside their stature and unnatural skin tone, a second pair of long and spindly arms worked busily under a long and tattered coat, hands with too many fingers dipping in and out of pockets, moving small objects that Virginia couldn’t make out between them, in a constant state of small and delicate motions. The upper pair of arms were bigger, covered in dense muscle and in a surprisingly off-putting detail that Virginia only now noticed, reversed, the palms facing outwards away from each other. The one that was stretched out for her slowly shrank back to a more normal length, crossing over the creature’s chest. Its chest was bare, revealing more of the of its pale grey skin, a long incision stitched together with familiar black thread running directly down the center, from the base of its neck all the way down to hem of the strange skirt the creature wore that hung down to just above its bare feet.

The creature’s face was surprisingly normal. The same grey skin tone as the rest of its body, but a bizarrely normal human pair of blue eyes regarding her, over a mouth with lips that were pursed in what looked like annoyance.

“The System misreads. Hostilities currently…” The figure paused mid-sentence to take in an unnaturally deep breath of air, it’s chest visibly bulging out, skin distending over a massive pair of lungs. “…impossible. The rules do not allow.” The figure continued to stare at Virginia, as the smaller hands produced and combined several components in rapid succession, quickly assembling a small but complex looking device.

Virginia nervously took another step back, the figure continuing to watch her impassively as it adjusted something on the device it had cobbled together. “Analyze.” She said quietly, making sure to keep the point of the harpoon between her and the creature, no matter what it said.

Analyze failed. You do not have sufficient corruption.

Instead of the usual blue Depths screen, this message was delivered in that same ominous shade of red that had briefly popped up when she analyzed the Stitch Beast. At the same time, the slight pressure behind her eyes blossomed into a spike of pain that dug back into her skull, making her double over briefly, before unsteadily and quickly forcing herself and the harpoon back up. The grey-skinned creature looked at her impassively as she did.

“Commendable. Pain is inconsequential in the pursuit of knowledge. Whether it is…” The creature paused to suck in another deep breath. “…yours, or anyone else’s.”

Virginia stared back at it, ignoring the warm trickle of blood from her nose that had started when she tried to Analyze him.

“Are you a Ravager?” She’d seen that word twice now, once on the same red Depths screen that had briefly appeared when she Analyzed the Stitch Beast, and once on one of the effects she’d had on her sheet since she’d first seen her sheet.

Grace Period: You stand at the precipice. The Depths yawns open before you, but you have not yet fallen into them. Monsters will not spawn in your presence while in this state. Ravagers may not initiate hostile actions against you while you are in this state.

“You are, aren’t you?” What the creature had said, about the ‘rules’ making hostility to be impossible had to be referring to the Grace Period’s effect.

“Yes.” The creature’s response was quick, and delivered in the same off-putting monotone that every word it had spoken had been delivered in. Virginia swallowed. She had no idea how the Grace Period effect worked, or when it would disappear, but until then she left herself relax slightly. Very slightly.

“That means you can’t hurt me, then. Right? That’s what it says what it means when you say you may not initiate hostile actions against me?”

“Yes.” Once again, the response was immediate and emotionless, although after a moment, the creature, the Ravager, continued. “Among other things.”

Virginia frowned, her gaze flicking back and forth between its impassive face and the device it continued to fiddle with. “What does that mean? What other things?” The fingers paused in their fiddling for a moment.

“Some of the others. What they will do to you will not hurt.” It resumed fiddling, twisting a dial on the side of the device, and then tapping it experimentally. “In Spiral, there is no pain. Malice will make being hurt…” The Ravager inhaled heavily, “…not hurt, to the point that you will crave it. Tryn does not need to hurt you to do you great harm.” It paused again, and for the first time, Virginia thought she saw the barest hint of an expression on its face, a slight tightening at the corner of its eyes and lips. “But he will do so anyway.”

“Are those other Ravagers? Is that what Tryn is?” Virginia asked. The creature held up its device and inspected it critically before nodding once.

“Yes. Tryn is the Herald.” The creature took another deep breath, one of its many-fingered hands producing a small piece of metal from one of its pockets and slotting it into the device it held.

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“I don’t know what that means.” Virginia shook her head. “What does that mean? What is the Herald? What is a Ravager for that matter?”

The creature had resumed watching her, its hands still adjusting the device it held. “The Herald is the one that comes first. The one who welcomes all into the Depths. The Herald is a Ravager.” The creature sucked in more air before concluding. “But only one Ravager is the Herald.”

Twisting another dial, the device in the creature’s hands let out a soft whir, and a green light on the end lit up. Nodding, the creature raised it up and pointed it at Virginia. “Ravagers are those who have incorporated a significant level of corruption from the Depths system and are now part of it.” Caught off guard by the nonchalant way it did so, Virginia didn’t immediately react when the device was pointed at her, and it let out a shrill whine, the light at the end flickering blue briefly, then back to green. She quickly stepped to the side, bringing the harpoon back up from where she’d relaxed it to point it at the creature.

“What was that!? What did you just do?” The creature ignored her, bringing the device up close to its face and studying it, tapping the side intermittently with one thin finger.

“Ah… a Story. An acknowledged potential outcome, although odds against were favorable in this location based on data available.” The creature nodded, sucking in more air while stashing the device back in one of its pockets. “Your story featured interesting specimens.” The Ravager turned, stepping toward the still open portal it had come from.

“Wait!” Virginia cried out after it, stepping closer. She wasn’t sure she really wanted this thing to stick around, but it seemed indifferent to answering at least some of her questions.

“No.” The creature started to step through the portal, and then paused, twisting back towards her, its torso rotating on its hips to an unnatural degree, so it was facing her even as its lower body still faced the portal.

“How did you kill the collection unit?” It asked her. From its pocket, it produced what looked like a small pot or vase absolutely dripping with black ichor, a jagged crack running down one side.

“The what?” Virginia frowned, then looked down at the puddle of gore on the ground next to them. “Do you mean the Stitch Beast? Was that thing yours?”

“Yes.” The Ravager stared at her with the same impassive expression. Virginia hesitated, then shrugged. Telling this thing about her abilities or Blood Drinker’s Bane seemed like a bad idea. While it didn’t give off the same feeling of barely hidden sadism as Tryn, its first action had been to try and attack her, no matter what it claimed, and it had only stopped because Grace Period currently prevented it from doing so.

“I guess I just got lucky.” She answered semi-truthfully. The creature stared at her in response, then twisted its body back around and strode through the portal, the green outline snapping shut a moment later and the green light disappearing, plunging the woods back into darkness.

***

Virginia was lost in thought as she once again made her way along the dirt path in the woods, to the point where she didn’t realize the woods had abruptly ended until she took another few steps. She stumbled to a stop as her mind caught up to her surroundings. Directly in front of her, the dirt gave way to thicker grass, dipping down into a wide ditch, and on the other side, an abandoned stretch of road, black asphalt running off into the distance to both her left and her right. On the other side of the road, the woods resumed just as abruptly. Virginia planted the butt of the harpoon on the ground and leaned on it, considering.

Okay. This is better, right? Better than the dark woods full of Stitch Beasts, Ravagers, and ankle grabbing tree roots? Probably. Running on asphalt sounded more appealing than running over uneven ground while dodging trees. That just left which ways to follow the road. She glanced in both directions again, squinting into the distance to try and catch sight of a sign or a hint of light in either direction, but saw nothing. With no indication of which way was more likely to lead to good things like showers, real pants, and no more monsters, Virginia decided that her best bet was to play to her strengths.

Jumping over the ditch and walking up to the edge of the road, she pulled Blood Drinker’s Bane out of the pocket on her vest she’d stashed it back in and crouched down. Setting the knife down on the asphalt, she spun it by the hilt, watching it twirl unsteadily.

So, whichever way the Blood Drinker’s Bane points, I’ll go that way. She watched it slow to a stop silently, mentally adding that if it pointed into the woods behind her or on the other side, she was going to spin it again. However, it eventually stopped, pointing in a direction that was, at least mostly, to the right. With a shrug, Virginia retrieved the knife and started jogging down the road in the direction indicated.

Her plan seemed to be a success a couple minutes later as she caught sight of a sign on the side of the road as she rounded a curve. As she approached the sign close enough to make out what it said, she reconsidered.

Welcome to Hope Falls! Population: 289.

Virginia paused in front of the sign, debating turning round and trying in the other direction. It was just a name, and she knew it didn’t mean anything, but she couldn’t help but feel like trying to find refuge from monsters in a town called “Hope Falls”, was just asking to be disappointed. And then eaten.

Virginia squinted up at the sign. There was nothing special about it, just block white letters on a green background. She was also sure that the town wasn’t from her movie, since as flat and distant as those memories were, they were all perfectly clear in her mind. Still, there was something about the name that pulled at her. A strange sort of pressure in her chest, like when she activated her abilities.

After considering for another few moments, Virginia resumed jogging, passing the sign with a sidelong glance. If nothing else, hopefully even a town as small as this seemed to be would have pants, and a shower.

And maybe I’ll see a car on the way. I wouldn’t mind getting a ride from someone the rest of the way there. At this rate, I’m going to level up my running skill before I get there.

***

Running has leveled up! Now level 2!

Virginia did see a car, eventually. It was almost half an hour later, just a couple minutes after her Running skill had reached level 2, like she’d predicted. Unfortunately the car in question, a small sedan of a make and model she didn’t recognize, was flipped upside down, half slid at an angle into the ditch at the side of the road. Virginia jogged to a stop, then approached the overturned car slowly, switching her harpoon to a two-handed grip.

“Hey!” Virginia cleared her throat, which had gotten dry enough to be noticeable over the course of her jog here. “Hey! Is anyone there? Are you okay?” She glanced around as she got close to the car. There were no lights on in the car, or on the car, and no one responded to her calling out. As she got closer, she crouched down, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the driver’s side was empty. The driver had probably managed to get out of the flipped car and gone for help. Scanning the inside of the dark car as well as she could, Virginia noticed a mess of what looked like blankets and boxes in the back. She bit her lip, hesitating briefly before moving around to try the upside-down rear door. Hopefully, the car’s owner would understand her looking for anything useful under the circumstances.

Reaching down, she tugged on the door handle. It didn’t open, but it felt more like it was stuck rather than being locked. Leaning the harpoon into the crook of her elbow, Virginia managed to get an awkward grip on the handle with both hands, and planted her feet, getting ready to see if the points she’d allocated into Strength earlier would be enough to wrench the door open. Before she could start pulling, she was startled by a loud smacking noise. Looking down, she saw a pale face pressed against the car window below her, a hand pressed next to it.

“Ahh!” Virginia released the handle and stumbled backwards with a gasping yelp. “What the heck!?” Virginia slid the harpoon back into her hands, holding it up defensively, staring at the face in the window. “What the heck!? Analyze!”

Name: Mark Miller

Race: Human

Age: 14

It’s a kid. A boy with dark hair and scared looking grey eyes, staring at her warily. Taking in a steady breath, Virginia lowered the harpoon, holding up her empty hand placatingly. “Hey, it’s okay.” Crouching down, she leaned closer to the window. “It’s okay.” She glanced down at her bloodied and filthy appearance, hilt of a knife sticking out of a pocket on a tattered vest, harpoon clutched in one hand. “Um, yeah. I know, this is just…” She trailed off, not sure what to tell the kid just what this was. “Are you okay? Where’s the driver for the car?” The kid mouthed something in response, and Virginia leaned closer, practically pressing her ear to the glass of the window trying to hear him.

“Shut up.” The kid said in a whispered hiss. “It’s going to hear you!” Virginia tensed, turning back to stare at him, mouth opening to ask what he meant, and caught sight of his face. The fear in his eyes had blossomed into full-on terror, and he was staring over her shoulder behind her. Virginia’s eyes widened, and she threw herself to the side without even looking over her shoulder, skinning her elbow and knee raw on the asphalt as she landed in a heap.

With a crash, a Stitch Beast slammed face first into the car door where she’d been crouched, metal screeching and glass shattering as it shoved the car further off the road and into the ditch. This one looked different than the one Virginia had killed in the woods, but only in the details. The familiar jumble of mismatched limbs below a vaguely canine shaped head filled with what seemed to be a random assortment of teeth. From inside the car, the boy, Mark, screamed in terror, and Virginia heard another higher pitched scream join in from somewhere behind him in the car.

Oh god, there are more kids in there. Virginia twisted on the ground, looking through the Stitch Beasts twisted assortment of legs into the car, seeing Mark desperately scrambling back from the now shattered window, a barely distinguishable smaller shape being shoved back behind him. The Stitch Beast shoved its head into the window, the metal frame groaning as its shoulders strained against it, trying to force its way deeper into the car.

Shoving herself to her feet, Virginia stepped closer to the beast, yelling as she brandished the harpoon. “Hey! Leave them alone, you freak!”