Looking ahead in the direction of the clearing I didn’t see any animal trails or paths to take.
“Guess I have to bushwack it.”
Using my improvised spear I ineffectively beat the leaves and branches out of my way trying to get through. After maybe 100 feet my choice of brute force came and bit me in the ass. The only warning I received was a high-pitched chittering from above and then a small squirrel/chipmunk creature dropped unceremoniously on my head.
From the brief flash of it that I saw it was a tiny squirrel with a chipmunk's coloration. What made this creature stand out was its serrated fangs and green eyes. After it landed on me it used its claws to steady itself on my scalp digging into my skin and causing bleeding and major pain.
“Argh, freaking demon squirrel!”
Acting on pure instinct I whipped my stick spear over my head to try and swat it off before it bit me. Doing this one-handed wasn't easy but my lack of aim provided an unexpected benefit as it dodged I was able to clip it on the side and tossed it further away from me. Spinning around to see where the little devil had gone.
I saw it dash into the brush and disappear making angry chitters. Gingerly touching my scalp I winced as I felt the myriad of scratches left behind by the creature. Feeling blood begin to drip down the sides of my head I firmed my resolve and started to push faster towards my destination.
Making my way through the unfamiliar wilderness looking for any clues to help me is one thing. Doing so with blood running down your head and face and cuts on your head that seem to hit every stray branch is a whole other ball game. I hadn't been stealthy before but now I was even less so as every yard or so I would hiss in pain or curse about demon squirrels and my situation as a whole.
After 15 more minutes of walking and feeling that my destination was close, I heard the chittering again. Frantically looking around I thought I saw movement several times in the trees and the surrounding brush. Not wanting to wait for another attack I swung my spear at the next bit of movement I saw.
A squeak of pain let me know I had the least hit my target but before I could check the chittering went silent. Looking around I saw something that made my blood run cold. I had assumed it was the same creature that had attacked me earlier but looking back I saw several pairs of those green eyes looking at me from the shadows.
Turning, I ran for the clearing hoping it was close enough that I could make it before the demon squirrels caught up with me. The sound of chittering renewed with a fearsome intensity but I didn't look back to see if they were following me. I’m pretty sure I knew the answer was yes.
Beating aside one last branch I saw my goal. A small ghost town was nestled into the forest and seemed to have been taken back by it if the trees and grass growing throughout it were any indications. Many were rotted out and falling apart but a few looked like I could barricade myself inside for a bit if need be. Choosing the closest one that fit the bill I turned to it.
It was some pub if I had to guess from the moldy-looking beer stein sign. Just as I was within reach of the door and praying to whoever would listen that it wouldn’t be locked I felt A sharp pain in my lower calf. Falling to the ground I twisted and saw one of the squirrels had sunk those wicked fangs into me and was beginning to gnaw on me.
The pain from those teeth was so intense I cried out a sound that was not very becoming of a man. Swinging my spear at it did nothing but hurt me even more as it refused to let go and every time I hit the little thing it only sunk its teeth deeper.
I could see more getting closer out of the corner of my vision and decided a little pain now was so much better than dying to a hoard of demon squirrels. Tightening my grip on the spear I thrust as hard as I could at the offending animal over and over again. The pain was nearly unbearable but my fear of death won out. On my third strike, I hit its eye and it released in to cry out, my fourth strike rammed the spear down its open mouth, shattering the teeth and spitting the thing on the end of my spear.
Dragging myself the last few feet towards the awaiting door I reached up and pushed at it to open it. Lady luck must have taken some pity on me as it swung open with a little more force.
Dragging my body inside with one good arm and one good leg was hard but just as I made it in with my spear and closed the door and leaned myself against it to stop anything from following.
I could hear those freaking things chittering and scratching at the door but the fact that I didn't see or hear any coming in was a good sign at least.
[Demonic Squirrel Killed]
[50 exp awarded]
“What?! that's all I get!”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
After cursing the stupid screen for its meager reward after running for my life from a pack of demonic squirrels for a few minutes I turned my attention to more important matters. The scratching at the door seemed to have stopped and I couldn't hear any more activity beyond it. Looking down at my leg I hag to suppress a gag.
“That looks bad,” I said to myself after seeing the torn and mutilated flesh of my calf. It was still bleeding pretty heavily so I ripped a section of my shirt off to wrap around it as best as I could manage.
After taking care of that I looked around the room I was in. The tables and chairs were all old and dust-covered. Some even had collapsed from wood rot. Picking up my spear I noticed that the demon squirrel carcass was still on the end leaking blood. Smiling at the fact that I had at least gotten revenge for what happened to my leg I used the spear to help get myself up on my good leg.
Using a weird hop step I was able to make my way to the bar counter and look behind it. Nothing bust some old bottles and useless instruments. Abandoning that I headed to the only other door to what I assumed was a kitchen. It had those old western saloon doors that had seen better days and looking inside I saw a few rusty knives and shelves with old foodstuff in them. Entering I began to poke my head into various cabinets looking for anything that I could use. After 10 minutes of searching and several curses after hitting my leg on things, I found a few good things I could use.
Some flint and steel, a less rusty kitchen knife, and some rags that had managed to escape mildew were all of the goods I could find that were still useful in the kitchen. There might be more elsewhere in the building but I didn't have the energy for that night now. My leg and arms were killing me and my stomach had started to rumble from hunger pains.
Taking the demon squirrel off of my spear I laid it on the counter. Taking a closer look at it, it was a truly scary creature. The claws were an inch long and impossible to break with my fingers. Its tail was long and muscled so I assumed it was prehensile to some extent. Using my knife I tried to skin it to the best of my ability.
I had never skinned something before and didn't know how to go about it. My first few cuts were messy and imprecise with the dull knife leaving tears in the skin and cutting chunks out of the meat. After about 5 minutes of this, that screen came up again telling me I had earned a new skill.
[Skill learned: Skinning]
Blinking the message away I went back to the grizzly task. This time I moved with a surety I had before and while I still made mistakes it was leagues better than what I was doing.
I decided to ignore the fact that whatever was happening was able to implant knowledge and instincts into me without my say-so. If I focused on that too long I might break and as it was I was painfully close to a nervous breakdown.
Looking down at the skinned animal I could help but notice how similar it looked to like beef. Hobbling back out into the main room I gathered some of the dilapidated chairs and brought them back to the kitchen area.
Using the flint and steel I try making a fire. I was expecting to have to try a few times and thought I would get a skill to help me but it seemed I already knew what to do. I lit the fire on my second attempt and blew on it to help catch. Thinking about why I could do that I figured it must have something to do with [Basic Cooking].
Grabbing the butchered squirrel and putting it back on my spear I held it over the fire. I had put the fire in what I assumed to be a basic sink so that it was down low. I then was able to lean the spear so that the meat was just barely being licked by flame. Rotating it now and then when I felt a twinge from the skill I had a fully cooked squirrel in about 15 minutes.
The smell was starting to get to me and my stomach was cramping but the tempting aroma. Blowing on it to let it cool down I took my first bite into my meal.
I spent the next few minutes gagging at the taste of soap and tar stuck to my tongue. While smelling nice the taste of it was as horrid as the squirrel was in life. I didn't feel sick from eating it and felt a little better once I swallowed it but that taste was horrendous.
Unfortunately, my stomach was still grumbling at being teased by the small portion that I had swallowed. Gathering my courage I took another bite and swallowed before I had a chance to taste it.
It took me a good half hour but I managed to finish the whole thing and felt full but also extreme nausea from the taste.
[Recipe learned: Roasted Demon Squirrel]
[15 exp awarded]
[Roasted Demon Squirrel - While having a terrible taste this food item allows for accelerated healing during digestion]
Standing up I realized that my leg and arms were already feeling better.
“At least something is going my way.”
Feeling tired I made my way back it the main area and behind the counter. All of the adrenaline from today as well as having a full stomach had taken it out of me. Closing my eyes I was ready to go to sleep and hoped to wake up from this nightmare.
I knew I had jinxed myself for my earlier statement when I heard a woman's voice from above me.
“What ya doing?”
The sing-song way it was said did not make me any less startled. Whipping my head to look above my prone form was a woman's faded silhouette in black and white and mostly transparent.
Even I knew what it was despite never having seen one before. The ghost looked at me with a smile and spoke again.
“Hi, I'm Izzy.”
That was the last thing I heard as the weirdness became too much for me and I passed out on the floor.
------------------------------
I looked down at the strange man laying on the floor of my bar. Well, my former bar if we were being technical about it. It had been Centuries since I last saw someone and could talk to them and I was excited. I hadn’t noticed him earlier but after hearing a fire going I found him in the kitchen. Watching him from the wall I was first weary but after seeing him cook and eat one of those disgusting squirrel things I almost laughed and gave myself away.
Before he went to sleep I wanted to introduce myself but didn't expect him to pass out on me, wimp. Shrugging I floated closer to him and waited for him to wake up. I can't wait to talk to him again.