“Was it always a swamp?” Tao felt something rough brush against her foot, and looked down into the muddy water to see a small crustacean retreating into its shell.
“It was always a shithole,” Ertia kicked, splashing water over the floating corpse of a striped primate.
“Maybe a geyser erupted,” Ravi hypothesized, “or a sinkhole swallowed things up. The wilderness has many strange happenings.”
“Bullshit happenings.”
“Well,” Tao tried to think of how to put a more positive spin on things, “at least most of the chimera in the cave would probably have retreated.”
Ertia gave her an absolutely dumbfounded look. It was true, right? Most of the cave dwellers weren’t able to survive for long underwater, so it stood to reason that the cave would be empty. At least, for a little while.
“Yeah, our lives just got way easier,” Ertia snorted.
“Don’t tease her like that,” Ravi slowed down to match pace with Tao. “Plenty of scavengers and predators would have swam in to feast on the corpses and retreating chimera that were inside. And, oftentimes, the chimera that live underwater are substantially more dangerous than the ones on land.”
Tao hummed in assent.
“What’s your sling going to do underwater, anyway?” Ertia smirked at Tao.
“If the closest cave is flooded, then we’re better off searching another cave nearby,” Ravi finished.
“But I can get rebreathers for us,” Tao offered.
“Cool,” Ertia cut in, “so we’ll be able to breathe, but won’t be able to see. This is a great plan.”
“I can get lights, too.”
“Awesome, so we’ll be pissing on the pile of shit we already cooked up for ourselves.”
Ravi clapped her hands, and gave Ertia and Tao a stern look, “We’re not going to get into another pointless argument here.”
Ertia just rolled her eyes and kept wading forward through the muck.
“I’m just trying to offer some solutions instead of just complaints,” Tao shrugged.
Striking back with a glare, Ertia said, “Here’s a solution, bilge brain — we find another chupacabra and eggs in a different cave instead of swimming around in the dark for a full moon before dying to exposure or another sinkhole or a cave-in. Which sounds better?”
Tao glared back, and waved an arm forward, “Lead the way, then.”
Ertia held her gaze for a few seconds before turning around, “Whatever.”
“Tao…” Ravi tapped her on the shoulder, “Can we talk?”
Taking another breath to calm herself, Tao answered, “Sure. What’s up?”
“I know Ertia doesn’t think before she talks,” Ravi raised an eyebrow, “do you?”
“I was trying to be helpful.”
“I get that, but then you start throwing barbs as soon as you get the chance. Why antagonize her?”
“And she gets a free pass to bully me?”
Ravi shook her head, “She thinks she’s being funny. You’ve never seen her with her brothers but they talk like that to each other all the time. Sarcasm isn’t supposed to be taken as a personal slight.”
Tao pushed some of the hair from her face, “Could’ve fooled me.”
“Believe me, if I thought she was more in the wrong on this, then I’d put her in her place.”
“So, it’s just me then?”
“Tao,” Ravi gestured to her. “What is this you’re wearing?”
Taken aback, Tao just gave Ravi a look of complete bewilderment.
“Tell me what I’m wearing, Tao,” Ravi said. “What do I look like?”
“Well,” Tao took a step back. Ravi had a tight headband pulling her hair back, and wore a necklace woven with string and bone on her neck. Two bands crossed over her chest and held the normally loose overshirt tight to her body — it might have been a hand me down because it was a little worn, and only roughly cut to size. Her trousers were similarly held in place by a series of utility belts that doubled as extra pockets. The rucksack on her back had a slot for her bow and quiver each, and seemed to seamlessly flow with her every movement.
“You look like a hunter,” Tao conceded. She could tell where Ravi was going with this, “And Ertia is a warrior — I get it. We have different ways of thinking and I should consider this more carefully.”
With a helpless smile, Ravi asked, “If you already know, then why not do it.”
Tao looked aside, letting the greenery of the jungle completely devour her attention for a moment. The stench from whatever dregs the water had pulled out of the flooded cave gave the air a heavy odor that was difficult to ignore once you caught wind of it. Death, rot, waste, and blood formed a miasma that seemed to cling to Tao’s nostrils like a leech on her flesh. Her eyes darted down to see a few more shelled crustaceans crawling toward a partially submerged shrub.
The world was full of death. Everything was striving to survive amidst the chaos. Tao leaned on her back leg, subconsciously feeling for the bar of soap she had stashed in a pouch on her hip, and took a breath to try and focus.
“It’s because she pushes all the wrong buttons for me, Ravi,” Tao admitted. “And I can’t help but react before I even think to think. But, you’re right, I could… I should think before I act.”
Ravi nodded along, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Tao gave her an exasperated look.
Ravi laughed, “Sorry, I just had to say it.”
As the two began to wade forward once more, they noticed Ertia was standing in a ready stance, the tip of her spear barely hovering over the surface of the water. Following Ertia’s line of sight, Tao noticed something large and dark that was nestled in a pile of leaves covered in blood.
She mentally berated herself for not thinking of the blood before. All the other corpses they had passed had been partially eaten, or were already starting to become ridden with parasites and decomposition, so they had a different smell. A large chimera this close must have either snuck up on them, or else…
With a grace that surprised and mesmerized Tao, Ertia flowed through the water like a leaf on the wind. There was a remarkable deftness and certainty to her steps that somehow betrayed no sound of movement, and the point of her spear stayed just above the water’s surface. At Tao’s side, Ravi already had an arrow nocked, and simply watched with an unblinking focus.
Fortunately for them, the chimera must have been sleeping, and quite soundly, for it showed absolutely no signs of movement that Tao could tell. Only now did Tao notice that it was an ursa. If the situation had been reversed, then one of them would likely have been seriously wounded before it would tear into them like a storm of tooth and claw. Even that was discounting whatever innate ability the ursa likely had, like breathing fire or hypnosis.
Telegraphed with a slight crouch, Ertia suddenly sprang forward with her spear. Immediately after her bone spear punched through the ursa’s head, an arrow pierced through one of its still closed eyes. The creature shuddered for a few seconds before going still once more. The law of the jungle in action.
“Check the perimeter for cubs,” Ravi instructed.
Tao looked around, but didn’t see anything that stood out.
Ertia wrested her spear from the chimera’s corpse, and began to carefully examine the surrounding trees.
Ravi had another arrow nocked, but didn’t draw, and her eyes were also searching through the area.
Not wanting to feel like dead weight, Tao opted to pay attention to the water. Even being little more than ankle deep, there was still plenty of chimera and critters that moved about the former jungle floor. Gliding along the surface was a bright blue araneae that Tao only noticed after glancing down. A camouflaged salientia sat amidst a floating bit of detritus, with its bulbous eyes carefully watching the bright blue araneae steadily approach it. With a burst of movement, its tongue lashed out, and it was suddenly munching on a bright blue snack.
“We’re clear,” Ertia called out.
Broken from her reverie, Tao looked around once more, and didn’t see anything that stood out.
“It must have struggled out of the flooding cave and been too tired to move very far after,” Ravi suggested.
“Meat’s meat,” Ertia poked the corpse of the ursa. “Want me to help?”
“I’d never turn down an extra set of hands,” Ravi replaced her bow and arrow, and pulled free another set of knives from one of her pouches.
Tao looked overhead, and could see the sun was still rising. The chimera would rise with it. And the ones in the cave would be tired, but those surrounding it would be desperately searching for a new home. A new home in places that were already otherwise occupied by competing chimera.
“We should hurry to another cave,” Tao instructed.
The girls looked at Tao.
“If this ursa was sleeping and undisturbed,” Tao explained, “then the other chimera must have gone far from here to try and build a new home. They would’ve disrupted the other chimera’s territories and probably upset whatever equilibrium was established. We can take advantage of the fact that they’re probably feuding or tired from defending their territory.”
Ravi looked thoughtful, but Ertia simply gestured to the dead chimera in front of them, “Meat!”
“No, she’s right,” Ravi put away her equipment. “The chupacabra are solitary and dislike confrontation, but desperation might push one to attack another. They’re nocturnal, too, so they’ll be especially tired.”
Giving another longing look at the ursa’s corpse, Ertia finally stood up, “I guess.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I think if we head toward the rising sun we’ll find another cave not far from here,” Ravi gestured.
“Lead the way, please,” Tao said.
“Stay frosty,” Ravi kept her bow readied. Ertia spared a glance at Tao, and then rested her spear across her shoulders. Getting the feel of being on a hunt, Tao unlimbered her sling. Seeing a small nod of approval from Ertia, Tao returned a small smile. The three girls began trekking through the jungle-turned-swamp.
Once again, the smell was strong, but Tao knew that would only get worse as the day wore on. Another benefit of moving more quickly would be to avoid the all-pervasive stench that was sure to reek like a cesspool once the corpses really began to rot. Though there was minimal dialogue, beyond pointing out small pitfalls, or chimera staring at them from their overnight meals, Tao felt like the girls were building up a good synchronicity that they didn’t have before.
Camaraderie. That was the word. Iroh often said that a person wasn’t a person alone. That people were meant to be individuals in a community, and that a single human by themselves was as good as broken. Tao could see that, though she wouldn’t consider herself helpless, she would be much worse off without Ravi and Ertia. She also couldn’t help but consider how genuinely full of danger the wilderness was since the flooding seemed to have drowned a considerable number of primates.
What were they doing in a cave, anyway? She thought primates stuck to trees to stay safe from predators. That idea was quietly put to rest when she saw an ophidia slither down from a tree to begin swimming in the water. The chimera was making its way toward their party before Ertia exploded with a sense of bloodlust that made Tao catch her breath. Faster than she would’ve thought, the ophidia swam the other way.
When Tao inquired as to why Ertia didn’t leap at the chance for free meat, she’d answered, “Too much hassle. Snakes are annoying.”
That wasn’t the proper term for them. Chimera weren’t like the animals of old. Sure, some of them did fit into the molds and classifications that were in the old records, but most species evolved or were wiped out so quickly that keeping a name to any of them was a waste of effort. Chimera were instead sorted into their general categories, and then described further by their innate abilities. Of course, some earned themselves a moniker due to the frequency of their interactions with humans, like the chupacabra and the cat.
Even so, these weren’t a practical way to describe the chimera. They were liable to be wiped extinct or replaced with a more exotic version of themselves, so the same word for a chimera could mean a totally different creature from one generation to the next. It just so happened that the chupacabra’s survival strategy let it survive as long as it did, and so the name stuck.
“Huh,” Ravi clucked her tongue, “that’s interesting.”
The cave wasn’t far from them — just past a short jog through a bit of shrubbery — and it seemed to gently glow from inside. Every few seconds, the walls breathed a phosphorescent blue light.
“Luji look well watered,” Ertia smirked. “Good news for us.”
“I don’t see any corpses,” Ravi’s head swiveled back and forth.
“That just means they’ve already eaten,” Ertia’s eyes shined. “They’ll be fat and sleeping, for sure.”
“Still seems a little strange for there to be so much luji,” Ravi still looked suspicious.
“That just means the chimera that fought here went all out,” Ertia began to walk toward the cave entrance. “Whatever survived will be tired, just like Tao said. This hunt will be easy.”
Ravi pulled out a small headband, with a single lens on the front. She clicked it once, and it shined with the power of a thousand lumens. Tao didn’t know exactly what a lumen was, but knew that the lights they had for exploration like this were always described as such. Iroh said that it was an arbitrary measurement, anyway. Ravi dug into another pouch on her thigh, and handed Tao a small rod flashlight. Ertia declined any lights, and opted to take point in their hunting party. Ravi readied her khukri, and Tao gripped her sling.
Once past the entrance, the cavern air quickly replaced the putrefied stench of the partially flooded jungle. Its scent was practically fresh to Tao’s nose, and the noise from outside was quickly muffled as they wound their way inside. Skittering along the walls were different myriapoda feasting upon the luji growing along the walls. The different glowing patterns of the luji made it relatively easier to navigate the cave.
Luji were considered a type of fungus that both fed on, and created, qi. The more qi was in an area, then the more luji you would find cloistered around it. Though not to her taste, Tao knew that luji could serve as a capable meal if enough was gathered at once. Seeing Ertia scrape some from the cavern walls and eat it made Tao’s stomach turn. Of course, Ertia insisted it was fine. Ravi, at least, shared Tao’s doubts. Even if luji were generally free of disease, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t have something considering the amount of bloodshed the girls had hypothesized took place overnight here.
As they wound their way through tunnels, Ravi dropping a glow stick at nearly every fork in their path, leaving a trail of color in their wake. Besides a few chimera skittering away from the light, they had yet to face anything that could be a problem. Tao began to wonder if the cave was actually barren. Ertia didn’t comment, but Ravi said everything must be hiding or asleep at this hour. Even so, Tao figured there must be some evidence of a fight or struggle for territory in the cave. Unless the chimera from the first cave didn’t make it here.
Ertia claimed they were killed in here, and then their bodies were dragged deeper in, where the dens for most chimera were. She tapped the moist luji along the walls and said that the chimera must have had a small war and feeding frenzy. The conversation died down as the girls continued trekking deeper into the unknown, and Tao felt this growing sense of gloom. The corridors became tighter, and every time she brushed against the moist luji Tao felt disgusting.
The smell of fresh air was a surprise to Tao, but a welcome one. Moments later, the familiar sound of rushing water echoed along the walls. Ravi ordered the girls to stop but, after a minute, they continued forward. They came upon a chamber with a pool of water, with stalactites overhead, spilled out a small rushing river that ran deeper into the cave. Shining her small flashlight into the water, Tao gasped as piles of bones were revealed.
Pointing with her spear, Ertia said, “Feeding frenzy.”
Tao just nodded in answer.
“But why dump the bones here?” Ravi asked. “Does something collect them, or what?”
“The chimera probably feed one of their buddies so they don’t get eaten themselves,” Ertia shrugged.
Ravi gave her a bewildered look.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter,” Ertia pointed downstream with her spear. “Chupacabra is going to be down there for sure.”
“They like to make nests near water,” Tao said. “It’s so they can ambush prey while it’s drinking.”
Ertia just waved away Tao’s comments, “Yeah, yeah. Point is — we’re going into a fight for sure. Tao, can you fight in a cave like this?”
Without a hint of sarcasm on her face or in her voice, Ertia seemed to be asking Tao an honest question.
The cave was pretty tight, so her sling would have next to no real use for throwing. Even so, she could recall either a flash bomb or foam bath to try and disable the chimera. Considering that they already had their hunt extended due to a cave-in, Tao thought it wisest to try a foam bath. She pictured the small handheld in her mind for a few seconds, and felt the rush of qi around her.
“Whoa…” someone whispered.
Tao opened her eyes to find the foam bath in hand. Ravi and Ertia both pointed behind Tao. All along the walls, the luji were now alternating between a brilliant cerulean blue and seafoam green. Tao couldn’t help but be entranced by the display. Was this how luji always responded to qi?
Splashing echoed along the walls.
Turning on her heel, Tao saw Ravi already had her bow out and an arrow at the ready, and Ertia was crouched low with her spear high.
A silhouette was running along the river towards them.
Ready to throw the foam bath at any moment, Tao was surprised to hear Ertia shout, “Stand aside!”
Tao and Ravi both moved away from the river. Now that it was closer, Tao realized it was the chupacabra! Perfect!
However, instead of leaping at the creature, Ertia just let it rush past her.
The chupacabra dove into the pool of water and disappeared in its depths.
Before Tao could question her, Ertia said, “We should run.”
That feeling of gloom from before suddenly intensified into stark dread.
“Fuck, you feel that…?” Ertia whispered.
Tao watched the blood drain from Ravi’s face.
“Something very bad,” Tao agreed. “Go back to the entrance. I’ll throw the foam bath behind us.”
The other two girls immediately began running for the exit.
Tao placed the handheld canister on her sling, and swung. The foam bath sailed to the spot where the river met the pool, and burst open. A white, bulbous cloud of sticky goo exploded into the space and rapidly congealed.
Just as Tao turned to run, another wave of dread washed over her.
The entire cave began to quake, and Tao fought desperately to keep her footing while also protecting her head from the rocks and stalactites crashing down. She could see Ertia looking back every now and again to make sure she wasn’t too far behind. The light from Ravi’s headlamp was impossible to miss in the near total darkness, but its movement was erratic. Tao remembered there being more light before but she couldn’t remember why. She couldn’t think straight.
The feeling of doom nearly broke her spirit, but Tao felt herself reinvigorated with qi. Ravi was shouting now, “Ancestors shelter us. Pelinal protect us. Andraste anchor—”
Her voice was cut off as water shot out of the walls, drenching them immediately, and scattering black luji in their faces. The light was suddenly so faint, that Tao nearly lost track of the others. Slipping and sliding along the rocky ground, Tao managed to grip the edge of the walls and hold herself still. She could only hear the roaring of water echoing up and down the cave, and the sound of someone sobbing.
They were going to die here.
Blue light began to fill the tunnel.
A memory danced across her mind.
Pain lanced through her chest, and bile and blood poured from her mouth.
The water was nearly up to her waist, and she could feel debris beating against her legs as she tried to hold herself upright.
Tao closed her eyes and tried to remember. There was an artifact in Ur that could save them. She had to concentrate. She couldn’t remember exactly what it did — but she knew what it looked like.
Her hands grasped something, and twisted.
A wave of nausea knocked away any sense of direction, and she felt a pushing and a pulling from all around.
Water and stone splashed around her, and Tao smacked into the ground with a hollow thud. She looked around and saw coniferous trees surrounding them. They were on a metal platform. The center of a disc. A pillar curled from the edge of the platform toward them like a finger ending with a spiky point.
“She’s broken!” Ertia cried out. “Tao, I think she’s broken!”
“It’s okay,” Tao instinctively replied. “It’ll be okay. She has plenty of stuff in her packs. Let’s see where she’s hurt.”
“She’s not hurt like that, Tao, she’s…” Ertia looked at Tao in horror. “You’re bleeding. Tao, you’re bleeding.”
Looking down at herself, the first thing Tao noticed was that she was naked, which was a weird thought considering she also noticed that her chest looked like it had been repeatedly hammered with a cleaver. Tao very carefully took a slow breath.
“That doesn’t change the fact we have to look inside her pack for anything we can use,” Tao kept her voice steady. “Help me look, Ertia.”
Once her hands were moving, Ertia didn’t stop pulling things out of Ravi’s rucksack. Tao was grateful they were able to focus on something else instead of just panicking. The trees were completely unlike the jungle near Ur, which was good and bad. Regardless, all that mattered was they were nowhere near the jungle, and far away from whatever was trying to kill them.
“Biofoam!” Ertia breathed a sigh of relief.
Ertia began to spray the biofoam on Tao’s injuries, and Tao lifted her arms overhead as it seemed like she had the same injuries all around her trunk and back. They worked together to bandage her up quickly before shifting their attention to Ravi.
She was catatonic. Those waves of dread were attacks. They must have been disrupting the qi in their bodies. As Ertia and Tao looked over Ravi’s unmoving body, they found no signs of physical injury. That was it, then. It was a qi attack by something they’d never encountered before.
Tao tried to rack her brain remembering if there was anything in the old records, anything in the stories, anything Iroh had told her — but all the energy she had gotten from the frantic struggle to escape suddenly drained out of her. She felt bone tired, worn, and hurt. Her chest stung like a thousand wasps were pricking her again and again.
“Tao??” Ertia quickly pulled her into a hug, “Tao, talk to me.”
“I’m fine,” Tao clenched her teeth. “The pain just caught up to me.”
“Hold on, I thought I saw…” Ertia dug through more of the utility packs that were once strapped to Ravi’s thighs. “Here, take two of these.”
Tao felt Ertia drop two pills in her hand, followed by a canteen in the other. Tao dropped the pills in her mouth, and took a drink from the canteen. She had to cover her mouth as she nearly coughed it up again, but managed to push it down with another sip. Whatever they were, she hoped they worked fast.
“Thanks,” Tao handed the canteen back. “Can you move?”
“Yeah,” Ertia’s eyes were wide and unblinking.
“Can you take a quick look around?” Tao suggested. “Maybe gather some firewood, if there’s nothing else near. I’ll try to think of something to recall that will help us, alright?”
“Secure the perimeter,” Ertia used her spear to push herself to her feet. “I can do that.”
After Ertia began sweeping the area, Tao focused inward. If her qi had been disrupted, then she had to restore it.
Even taking just a moment to rest her mind helped Tao gather her thoughts. Or maybe the pills actually worked as fast as she’d hoped. Even so, she continued her meditation.
Only after a few minutes of respite did Tao slowly begin to feel more like herself. Well, like a naked, severely injured self. Despite feeling like her body was on fire with pain — albeit a dulled fiery pain — Tao shivered as a cool breeze began to eat away her precious body heat.
Her eyes rested on the strange artifact she had called upon earlier. It was a large metal hoop, with a set of overlapping flaps that were pulled down toward a metal base the whole thing stood up on. The whole thing was no bigger than a pillow, and looked just as light and fragile. Tao couldn't see any clear operating mechanism, but the whole thing looked inactive. Something to investigate later.
She looked over at Ravi, who was still sitting in the same upright position they’d left her. Tao pulled the blanket from the rucksack and wrapped it around the two of them.
“Let’s try to keep each other warm until Ertia gets back, okay?”
Ravi’s eyes never drifted from the ground at her feet. Her body was still relatively damp, and Tao cursed herself for not thinking to take off her clothes to dry. While Tao undressed Ravi, she felt the urge to speak her thoughts aloud, “I think we’re pretty far away from Ur. We’re obviously not in the jungle anymore, and it feels much colder. So, either we had a jump in elevation, or are in a totally different location — regardless, we’re far from underground.”
Tao laid Ravi’s clothes out on the metal platform for now, “Don’t worry. Once Ertia comes back with some firewood, we can hang everything to dry, get something in our stomachs, and get some rest.”
No part of Ravi moved that Tao didn’t move herself. “Until we know what’s going on, I’m not sure if I should be pulling any more artifacts from the vault. If that thing is near the village, then they’ll need everything they can get to kill it. Besides, I think if the artifact was able to bring us here, then it might be able to bring us back.”
Tao threw the blanket over the two of them, and huddled close to Ravi, “We’ll get through this, okay? This is just an unexpected setback. Once we get back on our feet, we’ll find our way back. It’s just a matter of time, Ravi. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way,’ right?”
Ravi sat still, with her shoulders slightly hunched forward. Tao wrapped an arm around her, and pulled Ravi’s head to rest on her shoulder. “I know that was a scary thing that happened back there, but we’re tougher than that monster. As long as we’re together, we’re gonna be alright. We just need a night of sleep to get over this whole thing, okay?”
The clattering of sticks hitting the platform made Tao jump.
“Nothing nearby,” Ertia said. “We’ll have to eat her rations for tonight.”
“Right,” Tao answered.
Ertia immediately began sifting through the packs again, looking for something. Tao wasn’t sure, but she thought Ertia might be shivering. Whether it was from the cold or what they just went through, Tao knew just the cure.
“Ertia,” and the girl perked her head up at Tao. “Come here.”
“We’ve gotta get the fire going.”
“Just come here. Leave your spear on the ground there.”
Ertia gave her a puzzled look but moved to sit on the other side of her.
Tao lifted her other arm and pulled Ertia under the blanket with her and Ravi, “Here. Just stay here for a second, okay?”
Ertia didn’t fight. She let Tao pull her head down to rest on her other shoulder. Tao could feel that Ertia’s clothes were still a little damp, but she was also warm from exertion. It was like having her own little furnace. Tao contentedly sighed, “Thank you.”
The sound of the wind bristling against the trees, and the smell of fresh air, calmed Tao’s spirit. It was in one’s darkest moments that they had the opportunity to shine brightest. She had never known what she would do in a crisis. And now she did.
“Can I start on the fire now?” Ertia asked.
“I’ll make a clothes rack,” Tao offered.
The two girls went about setting up their makeshift camp. It was only while working that Tao noticed the sun was approaching the horizon. Wherever the artifact took them must have been further east, then. That was good to know. Although, going from a few hours past morning to a few hours before night wasn’t a great sign. They’d have quite the journey home.
Ertia got the fire going, and the two of them shared a meal together. They couldn't get Ravi to eat, but did manage to get her to drink some water from the canteen. Not wanting to risk so much of their water, Tao still thought it was a shame they had no soup or something softer than jerky. She could have recalled more fruit from the chief’s garden, but she wanted to recover a bit more of her strength first. If Ravi wasn't better by the next morning, then Tao would have to recall a lot more than just fruit.
A full belly and a sky full of stars wasn’t a bad way to end their day. Hopefully the sun would bring a better tomorrow.