“Are you alright with getting a bit wet?” Luke asked, as he joined me near the exit of the cave.
“I don’t mind. You ready?” Luke looked a little green.
“Yeah… it’s just. I didn’t even leave my apartment very often back home. I’ll be fine.”
Balor went first, to check if there was anything dangerous waiting for us. King excitedly crawled through next and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Stella was holding on for dear life to my now empty pack. When Luke and I made it out, King was running in circles around us. I stopped him and did a quick pulse. Nothing dangerous nearby.
“Alright, King.” I said to him. “First goal for the day, take us to where you found that gemstone.” He barked and ran off, stopping just a few yards away, looking back at us. We followed. King was obviously itching to run and was holding himself back from just sprinting ahead. The rain had arrived shortly before King stopped. It was a light drizzle. We scanned the area to try to find a source of the gem. To our surprise, laying in the middle of the crevice was a pair of legs.
The legs were human. Where the torso would be was… meat. Flesh and bone torn into shreds. Aged by a day in the sun, it was graying. The stench hit me hard, and I nearly vomited. Luke wasn’t so lucky. What the hell killed this guy? Most of the torso was gone, but plenty of meat was left behind. Lying about a yard from the corpse was a pack just like Luke and I’s. It was open, laying in the dust which was slowly melting into mud. King was pointing directly at it, tail wagging. The sight of the mangled corpse reminded me of how close I’d come to a similar fate more times than I could count. This poor bastard hadn’t been so lucky. I felt a flicker of rage—maybe it was empathy, maybe just fury at the reminder of what we were sent to do here: die.
Doing my best to hold my breath, I quickly dragged it away. I briefly considered if I should take his belongings, but soon threw aside my concerns. This wasn’t a place to be squeamish. I could feel it still held potential treasures. With a POP, Stella suddenly appeared next to the corpse.
“Wait, no DON’T-” I was too late. Stella then dove face first into the mass of meat and started to feast. I was really going to throw up this time. No, no. I held it in. God, that is disgusting. Spurned on by his younger sibling, King dove into the carrion as well. I decided it would be easiest to just let them be. Besides, feeding the planet is the best funeral one can receive. I knew no other way to honor this stranger.
“Ugh, sorry.” Luke wiped his mouth. “Should… we let them eat that? Shouldn’t we, like, bury it or something?”
“I don’t know. I figure… animals know what they can and can’t eat. I don’t really know what to feed Stella anyway. They seem happy enough. As for burying it… if you want to. My people return our dead to the world. This is close enough.” I realized I didn’t know where Luke came from. What sort of world. A newly explored one like mine, a long established civilized planet, some sort of mining world? I would have to ask him about it later.
I turned my attention to the pack. Inside was a treasure trove. A knife, finally, was strapped to its side. There was also one ENMS, a glass tube which held three pills inside, and what looked like a tablet computer. The pills were identical to the one Balor forced me to swallow. Healing pills.
The tablet was new. It was like a personal tablet, but instead of a glass or plastic screen, the screen was the shining silver of nexocite. I touched it. It tingled under my finger tips. Then, text appeared.
YOU ARE NOT ADAPTED TO THIS DEVICE. ADAPTION POSSIBLE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADAPT TO THIS DEVICE?
Before I made a decision one way or the other, I handed it to Luke to look at. Nothing appeared for him. Well, what the hell? Why not? I took it back and confirmed. Immediately I felt little sparks of energy behind my eyes. They didn’t hurt, not much anyway, but it was deeply uncomfortable. My vision blurred, then refocused. Not just my vision, but all of my senses. The increasing sound of rain, the scent of dust and petrichor, even my sense of balance. All faded and returned. I nearly fell over, but Luke caught me.
“Woah, you alright?”
“Yeah… that was weird. It was like when I bonded King, but less intense.” Then I noticed the tablet. Hovering above the metal plate was a holographic screen. Connected to that was two other screens. They were folded out like multiple monitors or like a take out menu. The far left screen was blank except for “ACTIVE QUESTS” printed at the top. The center screen had “AVAILABLE QUESTS” at the top. Beneath it was a list of… requests? These were requests like: “Monster capable of destroying a small village in one day.”, “Monster capable of rendering a single target dead without being discovered.”, “One full grown Pulse Hound.”, or “One fully trained water-based weapon.”. Each of these had a rank of one to five stars.
The third screen had what appeared to be buttons. HELP, TURN IN, and REQUEST REWARDS. I tapped HELP.
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE NEXOCITE COLLECTION PROGRAM. ACCEPT A QUEST TO BEGIN. QUESTS CAN BE COMPLETED IN ANY ORDER WITHIN THE TIME LIMIT PRESENTED. WHEN YOU HAVE CAPTURED OR SUBDUED YOUR BOUNTY, SELECT TURN IN AND AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM WILL COME TO RETRIEVE THE BOUNTY. DEPENDING ON THE BOUNTIES DIFFICULTY, YOU WILL RECEIVE A REWARD IN THE FORM OF A NEXO-BOX. THE HIGHER TIER OF BOUNTY, THE GREATER CAPACITY YOUR NEXO-BOX WILL HAVE TO CREATE TOOLS TO HELP YOU CAPTURE MORE BOUNTIES. FOR EVERY TIER OF BOUNTY, ONE DAY WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR SENTENCE. GOOD LUCK CAPTURING, VOLUNTEER.
I read it to Luke.
“Ah HA. I knew it. We were sent here to create weapons. Those quests, something that can destroy a village? That is so blatantly black market shit. Goddamn monsters. Do they really think we’re just... tools in their little arms race?” His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath. “We’re not just gonna give them what they want, right?”
“No… I’m not too keen on sending weapons to anyone. We’d have to take a closer look. Maybe some of these are for like, building things or just guard animals. Ethical stuff, I guess. I want to know though, why didn’t we get these tablets?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they made a deal. Or maybe they just wanted people like us dead, so we weren’t allowed the memo.” Stella was laying on her back in bliss, small stomach bulging outwards. King was also finished eating. We decided we would take a closer look at this quest system back at camp. For now, we needed to move on.
The rain started to pick up as we skulked through the chasms. Luke seemed nervous. I didn’t blame him. Every now and again I would have King pulse, just to make sure nothing would surprise us. Finally, Luke guided us to a thin exit from these winding crevices. It was like a stone archway with a thin passage. I could smell the bite of sea air as we approached. We slipped through with ease. King barely fit, but he deftly jumped through. Beyond it was a small, hidden cove. It was like a crescent of stone walls that protected a pool from the rest of the world. Small fish drifted in the turbulent water.
“The tide washes fish into this cove, as well as those monster bits you used to make Balors new toys. Just around that wall, if you hug it, it leads to a longer beach. That’s where the monsters hang out.”
“Alright. So, what’s the plan.” He looked at me like I was crazy.
“Plan? I thought you had the plan. You are the macho fighting type. I’m more of a… behind-the-scenes kind of guy. Not that I can’t pull my weight, but you’ve got the experience here.”
“Behind-the- YOU are the one who needs to bond one of these. I am full up.”
“Right. Right, I knew that. Fuck. Alright.” He paused to think. “So, what’s the plan?” I rolled my eyes.
“Here, watch Stella. Balor, back me up. King, guard Luke.” I handed the pack containing a snoozing Stella to Luke. Balor griped his make shift kamas and followed. Quietly, I skirted around the corner.
As we crept along the rocky beach, I noticed a strange charge in the air, like the world was holding its breath. The sky above was darkening, thick clouds gathering like an oncoming wave. I brushed it off as the approaching storm. But something felt… off. The way it moved. It didn’t seem natural.
Around the corner was a treacherous stretch of rock meeting water. Then, it opened into a beach. Monsters littered the stretch of beach. They looked like large sea turtles. Their shells were ragged and rough, but had hints of metal at the edges. The topmost scale on the shell was pure silver. In place of fins, their extremities were the same blade-like object we had made our weapons out of. The back side of the turtles were flat and extended upwards. Floating in the water were silver Nexocite eggs, no doubt connected to some plant beneath. Two of the turtle monsters were in a duel of some sort. They both sat back on their shells and were swinging, jabbing, and striking with their four blade-like limbs. In the middle of the fight, one retracted a limb. Moments later, it reappeared. This time, it looked like a small arm with a hammer at the end, which was immediately used as a bludgeon. Interesting. Smaller versions of these monsters also crawled around. Juveniles. I noted there were actually more juveniles than fully grown.
Watching the fight was a different turtle monster. This one was larger and seemed older, more tortoise like. It produced smoke from the edges of its red shell. The tips of its shell scales each glowed with heat. It’s arms looked like normal lizard-like arms that one would expect from a tortoise. We inched back the way we came.
“There is a lot of them out there. I think its a nest, like what I found with the skelkies.”
“What should we do? Take one down, then I swoop in at the end?”
“No, that would be too dangerous. I don’t think we could take one down quickly. Not with their shells. An extended fight would draw more of them. I think our best bet is to rush in, grab a small one, and run away.”
“Kidnapping.” Luke gave me a dour look.
I nearly screamed. “What do you want from me?” I said between gritted teeth.
“Ok, fine. I was wanting a juvenile anyway. I think they are easier to bond, looking at your experiences.” I didn’t count on Luke being this much of a coward when I teamed up with him. What kind of guy is fine with imprisoning himself and manipulating his way onto a death planet, but is to scared to fight. Whatever the case, it looked like it was up to me.
“Balor, heres the plan. We will go out there, sneak up to a small one, then I need you to grab one from behind and take it back here. I would do it, but you have the armor. Sound good?” Balor huffed, and shook his head. He placed two arms on my shoulders, and forced me down on the ground. I grunted. That was rude. Balor then went to move around the corner. “You sure? I could back you up.” Balor hissed at me. Fine, then. I let him go.
We waited for a few minutes in silence. Then, there was movement. Something was flying through the air. It came from over the rock wall, then bounced twice, and landed at the edge of the pool. It was a turtle shell, about the side of a turkey platter. Then, four blades protruded from it and it started cutting and spinning like a loose blender. Luke screamed and backed up, waking Stella. She teleported atop my head in fear and gripped my hair painfully tight. King was barking up a storm at the deadly intruder. The sky brightened, and thunder shook the world, only adding to the chaos.
Balors panicked screeching became loud enough to hear. He splashed through water, rushing without a semblance of stealth. Behind him, I heard deep honking noises and the splashing of water. Balor had botched it and had led them right to us. “RUN!” I cried.
“The nexo!” I growled. If I timed it just right… NOW! I kicked the turtle, trying to flip it. Pain flared from my foot. It felt like kicking a bowling ball. But, I put enough momentum in the thing that it righted itself. I gripped it and lifted. Gah, the bastard was heavy. Holding it in front of me like a shield of blades, I moved forward. It was too wide to fit through the entrance.
Balor roared at me. One of the turtle monsters had made it into the cove. It was surprisingly fast for its size, rearing up and slashing at balor with four blades. Balor parried best he could, but a few strikes chipped away at his chitin. King joined him, but was having trouble getting an opening. One of the blades cut him across the nose with a shower of sparks. I struggled with the turtle thing. “KING, to me!” Fuck it, I thought. My arms shaking, I almost dropped the turtle, who was making small honking noises. King moved to my side immediately.
There was a loud splash. Balor had drop kicked the turtle monster, causing it to tip onto its back from the blow. Two more turtle monsters moved in as it struggled to get up. I took a knee, and placed the base of the smaller turtle monster on my leg. Immediately, it got enough purchase to cut my calf, deeply. I cursed, and put my now free hand on Kings head.
“Power up!” I yelled. I felt the strength surge through me. Suddenly, the turtle felt much lighter. I stood, lifted the turtle to my shoulder and threw the juvenile monster like a massive shot put. Just as I threw it, there was a slash and a high pitched squeel of pain. I had forgotten about Stella. Dread filled me, but my throw was true. It went up and over the stone archway, and into the crevice on the other side. “Go!” Luke didn’t need to be told twice. I followed, then King. Balor jumped through after a few more exchanges with the other monsters.
As soon as I was through, I grabbed Stella from the top of my head. One hand was holding he ear. The tip of it was sliced off. She was scared, bleeding, wet, and crying. I tried my best to soothe her, petting her gently. The turtles could not come through the hole. Well, that could have gone better. I took stock of the group. King was fine, just wet. Luke looked terrified. I was bleeding. Balor… Balor was a beat up. Dozens of chips were missing from his chitin. Some bled. But, he acted stoic. As I sat down, letting the rain wash over me, I felt the adrenaline slowly drain from my body. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Stella, King, Balor—every one of them could have been hurt worse. Or killed. And all for a half-baked plan to snatch one juvenile. How much longer could we survive like this? My mind raced with things I could have done differently. I didn’t pulse to look ahead when I could have. Balor acted alone, with no backup, and I let him. Stella got hurt because I forgot about her. Even I was wounded, a deep cut on my leg. Not the first I have received from being reckless. I’ve never been a planer. Always acted first, thought second. Somehow, I need to change that. Unceremoniously, I sprayed ENMS on my wound.
I looked up, letting the rain run over my face. I nearly fainted from the sudden shock. Above us was a rolling black cloud. Within this cloud, twisting and turning, was a massive serpent. Energy crackled around it as it lazily passed in and out of the cloud. It must have been titanic. It’s face, if it had one, was out of view. Now I wondered, did it follow the storm, or did the storm follow it. Something had disrupted the clouds, leaving a spear like line through the murk. A ship? Luke choked as he saw what I was gaping at. I once again thought to myself, This place is going to kill me.
We found the turtle monster a few yards away. Its shell was cracked open, thick blood seeped from the crack. It gave small honks of pain, but wasn’t moving. I felt like an asshole. I didn’t think about the creature when I threw it. I acted in the moment. I did this to it. I took a deep breath, and cleared my head. I won’t break here. I pulled up its stats.
SAWTIDE
DESIGNATION: N/A
SOUL: Myrmidon
LEVEL: Hatchling 39%
HEALTH: NEAR DEATH
ENERGY: 6
STATUS: Wild
SKILLS:
Re-arm: 8%
Block: 5%
Shell: 26%
ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Density: 3
Energy: 1
Utility: 2
ATTRIBUTES, DERIVED:
Speed: -1
Intelligence: 3
Toughness: 4
Reaction: 3
Luke stepped to my side. “Ah… shit. What do we do? Will spray work? Should I bond it first. Poor guy.”
“Spray might work… but I want to take this opportunity to test something. Don’t bond it yet. You might pass out.” I pulled out the plastic tube of pills, and retrieved a pill. Gently, I placed it in the slightly open beak of the sawtide. After a moment, it swallowed it. It shivered and writhed. I could see silver intermingle with the blood as the nexcite oozed in to close the wounds. The shell was pulled back together, like a stitching job. After a moment, it was like the wound never happened, aside from a fracturing line of silver metal. I wasn’t sure if they would heal our nexos like they did me. I am glad it worked, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to wait until King or Stella was near death to find out how it worked. The sawtooth returned to stable. “Balor, grab it before it recovers fully.” He, reluctantly, obeyed.
With Balor holding the turtle, blade side out, we made our way back to the cave. After a while, the turtle finally gave up trying to cut Balors hands off. With four places to grip, and Balors greater strength than mine, we had a much easier time moving. When arrives to just outside the cave mouth, I had balor set him down.
“OK, just place your hand on the metal scale.” The sawtide was being pressed down by Balor, and he couldn’t get the purchase to attack. I had explained to Luke earlier what to expect with the user interface.
Luke’s fingers hovered above the Sawtide’s shell, trembling. I remembered the pain that surged through me when I bonded with King. It was like my mind was being stretched to fit a new shape. What if it was worse for Luke? What if it went wrong? Just as he was about to touch the metal, he pulled back. “Actually, you know what. Why this one? I only get three so maybe something a bit more…”
“Luke, come on man.” I said with a deadpan face.
“Wait, wait—what if this thing’s got… I don’t know, alien virus? Or maybe it’ll like… hijack my brain, make me walk into the ocean or something?”
“Just… touch the fucking turtle. Please.”
Luke gulped. He reached out, fingers trembling, and touched the sawtide. Nothing happened. Then, after a moment, Luke hummed.
“Woah. WOAH! That’s weird. Like little shocks. Guuuh that’s uncomfortable.” He didn’t fall unconscious, but he did stumble to the ground. Huh, well. That’s good at least. For some reason, that made me feel deeply uneasy. Why did it hit me harder than Luke? I suspected it had something to do with my wound. Did I provide it more… material to work with when I used the spray? So many unanswered questions.