Red

Red’s legs buckled as he hit the ground with a loud crunch. His right knee slammed into a rock, and he ended up on his back, but...he was okay. The impact didn’t hurt that bad, surprisingly. He hadn’t even had the air knocked out of him. But there was a crunch. Had he broken something? He looked around, the darkness only held at bay by his headlamp. Below him fragments of brown centipede exoskeleton lay in a pile of purple blood. Convenient.

“Reggie? You, okay?”

Static blared over the speakers in his helmet.

“Reggie!”

The speaker in Red’s helmet popped and cracked for a few seconds before Reggie finally responded. “Let’s never do that again.”

Red hurried to his feet. The movement and dropping adrenaline reawakened the pain of the wound in his shoulder. But he was up, and he was alive. “How about you never drag me to a den of angry centipedes? Now can your fat ass move? Anything broken?” Red found his sword on the ground and picked it up. He removed the rope tied to it and scanned for any incoming murder millipedes, but nothing was close, yet. The heat in his suit was becoming unbearable, all originating from the gaping tear in the shoulder. Sweat covered his face and body. The burn in his shoulder felt like he was too close to a campfire.

“Sorry, but I have bills to pay too and it's not like I can turn down a direct request from Aruna, she’s one of my best clients and a spiteful wizard to boot.”

Something wriggled from the edge of Red’s light. With the base of the massive crystal they had just slid down behind them, numerous centipedes started gathering around them. “Find the lantern, Reggie. We are being surrounded.” Each turn of Red’s headlamp twisted his neck and jolts of pain shot up from his shoulder.

Reggie’s headlamp started to scan the area around them. “What do you think I’ve been doing? But I can’t find it.”

“This is about to get really ugly, really fast. Do you have anything to defend yourself with?”

“Yes Red, I’m not an idiot, but just like the rope and everything else, it’s in the haul bag! I just need to find it. It should be around here somewhere.”

This is why Red worked alone. Depending on anyone always led to situations like this. Now he’d have to protect Reggie too. Did he though? "Damn it, Reggie. Screw the bag. My shoulder’s ripped open. I’m burning up in here and we’re about to get overrun. We need to just cut a path out of here. Now! Which way to do we go?”

An enormous centipede, almost twice the size of the other ones approached from the left. Its pincers clacked menacingly as it scrabbled forward. Two more normal sized centipedes flanked it on each side.

Reggie said in full a full panic, “We can’t leave the bag. All our gear is in there.”

Red slashed his sword at the big centipede slowing its approach. “Reggie we’re about to become centipede food! Which way is out?”

“Oh...but...we just can’t...I...I need it.”

A quick scan left and right with the light revealed several more centipedes edging closer. They were getting braver. "You want to get the bag and die? Be my guest. Just tell me the way out of here.”

“Fine. But this is yet another reason I don’t like you, Red. There’s a passage behind a cluster of four crystals sprouting from the floor...there, to the left.”

Sure enough, behind the large centipede threatening them, four crystals sprouted up from the ground in front of an outcropping of rock. Only about twenty centipedes in total between them and the exit...wonderful.

Alright, they could do this assuming the centipedes didn’t think to attack in unison; Red could carve their way through them. “I’m going to try—” The large centipede lunged. Red slashed downward splitting its head in two. Purple blood sprayed the ground. Its legs quivered erratically. It stopped moving.

The two flanking centipedes, not bothered by their mate's fate, also lunged. Sword fighting instincts long since dormant kicked in. Red lunged forward into the left centipede slicing it in two as he went and dodging the centipede from the right. With a quick pivot back to the right he swiped downward on the right centipede dividing it in two before it could strike again.

“Red!” Reggie squealed rushing towards him as four centipedes pursued him.

They weren’t going to make it. Already two more centipedes replaced the three he had killed. All around them the circle of safety closed as their enemy moved closer. Red’s head hurt. His heart pounded in his chest. The heat from his suit was too much. He could feel the early stages of heat exhaustion setting in. He sheathed the sword.

Reggie screamed, “What are you doing?”

“We’re not making it out of here with just a sword.” Red grabbed the tear in his suit and pulled ripping it open further. The heat poured in like someone had opened a furnace door. He twisted his wounded arm free of the suit ignoring the excruciating pain. The ESH crackled inside as he released an enormous blast of telekinetic energy towards his prey. Centipedes flew back smashing into the cave walls.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Behind you!” Reggie yelled.

Red rotated sending shockwaves of energy in every direction. Waves of bugs flew back like so much dust in the wind. Their bodies smashed against the cave walls in the distance, too far away and dark to see.

Vibrations shook the floor punctuated by large thumps. More thumps. Something hit Red in the shoulder. A crystal the size of an elephant crashed down to their left. Red had hit the cave with too much energy. It was collapsing. He turned to run to the passageway when something crashed into his helmet. Everything went black.

Evan

Evan looked around but didn’t see or hear anything. Zarg was tense. A low grumble started to build in his chest. Evan didn’t trust her, but then again, if something was spooking Zarg it probably wasn’t good. “Come on, Zargy.” Evan tugged on his collar towards the oval opening. After another tug Zarg let out a muffled grunt but acquiesced and went into the oval with Evan right behind him.

A tunnel of the same packed dirt material, barely wider than Evan’s shoulders, led away from the wide tunnel they had just been in. As with all tunnels in this world, no lights. Thankfully Evan still had his flashlight.

Tozi pointed behind Evan. “Hurry, close the tunnel.”

Evan turned hoping to see a door or hatch, but there was nothing except a pile of dirt he had stepped over. Damn. He’d need magic to close the door. “Uh...you better do it.”

Tozi narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know how to close a dirt door?” She pushed past Evan, her breasts brushed against his chest in the confined space. It immediately became hot and humid in that cozy space causing his heart to thump just a bit faster. She put her hand against the side of the opening and the dirt on the ground filled the opening and sealed the way behind them.

“Who are we hiding from?”

She turned to Evan, her untrusting eyes, sharp chin and puffy red lips inches from his. “No Manches! You really aren’t Cuāuhtlian, are you? The aguilas.”

“I...”

Tozi put her fingers against his lips. “Shh! And don’t move.” She closed her eyes and put her ear against the newly formed dirt door, her hand not leaving Evan’s lips. Kind of odd and gross and... exciting? She was cute. But also, a little pushy and had attempted to steal Zarg, but very easy to look at, especially this close. Evan let out an annoyed huff. Was he supposed to just sit here in silence with her finger on his lips? For how long? She didn’t move but maintained her focus on listening to the door.

He had to know what was going on. With the finger over his mouth he whispered, "What are you—”

The finger pressed tightly on his mouth. Okay...he was supposed to stay still and say nothing...probably.

After what felt like an eternity in this weird situation she opened her eyes. She pulled her finger down his lower lip causing it to make a silly pop sound. She smirked. Slightly irritating was another thing to add to her list of annoying traits.

“Well? Go on,” she said, waving her hand towards the open end of the tunnel.

“Okay...” Evan turned and headed down the small tunnel. Should he ask what an aguilas is? It could blow his cover. Better to play it cool.

“So, you're a topsider huh? American, right?”

American? But he had tattoos, okay, fake tattoos hand drawn with a marker, but still. He kept walking forward not sure what to say. Maybe stalling would work. “What...do you mean?” There had to be a way out of a way out of this conversation trap.

The tunnel opened into a wide rectangular room covered with troughs of wrinkled brown mushrooms that stretched well past the range of Evan’s flashlight. A narrow path ran down the center of the room and off into the distance. Brown tubes ran along the ceiling over each trough. Maybe a watering system? The room had an earthy smell, that surprisingly hadn’t existed in the large tunnel he had just come from.

Tozi said, “You don’t know how to close a dirt door. Like who doesn’t know how to do that?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t know how. I’m just really tired. You know...low blood sugar.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Tozi pushed past Evan, not as close as before since he now stood in the wide room, but she still bumped into him. She walked up to Zarg and started to stroke his head. Zarg seemed at ease. That was at least a good sign.

“Uh...are these your morels?” Evan said, trying to change the subject.

“No. They’re someone else’s.” Tozi shook her head in feigned disgust. “Of course they are.” Her voice pitched higher as obvious pride filled her words. “This is my family's special varietal. We’ve been working on these for several years now. They apparently taste just like chicken. Not that I would know, but they’re very good.”

Zarg’s ears perked up. Ah hell, there was no longer any doubt. He knew the word ‘chicken’.

“Wait. You’ve never tasted chicken?”

Tozi creased her brows, and a hint of anger filled her words. “What? Are you some stuck up Pipil?” She looked him up and down. “I should’ve known. You have a dog and those clothes. Those are all topside clothes. And to think I saved you from the aguilas. Your parents are probably all friends with them.”

Evan instinctively grabbed the hem of his shirt. What the hell was a Pipil? “No, I’m not...that. I told you I was in a hunting party and got lost. We came across a house, from the surface. I found all these clothes there. And this.” He held up the purse. “This is all the stuff I found that I could carry.” Evan stuck his chin out hoping to sell the lies he had made up.

She turned her head to the side keeping her eyes trained on him. “So, what about this?” She held Evan’s pulse pistol in her hand.

“Hey! Give that back.”

She twisted her lip. “Hmm...no. You have to tell me where you’re from first.”

“I told you. I got lost from my hunting party.”

She shook her head and plopped down next to Zarg. “Fine, if you’re not a topsider, then where are you from? You know if you’re a Suddy I’ll have to report you.”

So being a Suddy wasn’t an option, whatever the hell that was. “No, I’m not a Suddy,” Evan said forcefully. If you’re going to lie, you have to lean into it.

She scratched Zarg under his collar. The attached tags clinked and Zarg grunted in delight. “Oh, and what is this?” She held a tag closer to read it. “Let me see that light?”

Uh oh. Evan pointed the light down. “Not until you give me that pulse pistol back.”

"Going to be difficult, huh?” Her finger started to glow. Why does everyone have magic but him? Crap, his cover was officially blown. “Now what does it say here? Interesting. It says Zarg here...” She scratched him even more vigorously. His lips stretched back in a face of ridiculous delight as he lost himself to this evil temptress’ affection. “...lives in Houston, Texas. So, American. Just like I said.” She looked up at Evan and an annoyingly cute smile spread across her face.