"Real friends fail you in one thing and one thing only; when you demand that they leave you alone. Now, I dearly wish I had a single one who refused my venomous words."

- Notes on the Shattering, Unknown

It took a few moments before I realized the strangeness in my eyes was due to the fact that everything was actually still. At least, everything I could see from under the pool table. Not to mention the fact that, after all the noise outside, the silence was deafening.

"It stopped." I said suddenly. 

Zych clamored out from under the table. "Wake Ace up." He said to me. "I'll look outside."

"How did he even fall asleep?" I shook my head but already knew better when it came to Ace. My hand found his shoulder and instead of a small nudge, I jerked his shoulder back and forth.

"You know the man can sleep through anything." Zych whispered. "But this? Holy shit." Zych was a slimmer, flexible guy, he was probably the most comfortable under the table, but that didn't stop him from getting out from under it as fast as he could. That meant he was first to the window. "Plants?"

"What?" Ace said blearily. "What!" He said, getting pissy. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"Wake up!" I hissed, shaking him. "It stopped. Everything's stopped." I let go once I saw his eyes focus and the anger leaving them.

"Fuck." He said. And immediately, he knocked his head against the bottom of the pool table. "Ow."

The rubble on top shifted loudly. There must have been a huge portion of the ceiling now on our pool table, at least judging from the rest of the debris scattered around the floor. Chips of concrete, more powder than anything, but occasionally, large chunks of the stuff. There was a slab of it on the pool table when it had fallen earlier we nearly all had a heart attack, luckily the table held strong.

"Idiot." I shot him, climbing up to my feet.

"Guys. Quiet." Zych's voice traveled the air with a sense of urgency.

"What is-" I began. But then I caught him frozen at the window. He turned back to me and put his finger to his lips. The sign of absolute silence. His look alone froze me, I hadn't ever seen Zych like that since...

I crouched down. "Ace, quiet." I said. The taller man only nodded, rubbing his head and getting on his feet.

I came up to the basement window. It was near to the ceiling which was at ground level. But that also meant it was the perfect peephole. I stared outside worming my way beside Zych, what used to be an alleyway was now fresh, earthy dirt. Grass even, too healthy and vibrant to have any business in a desert suburb.

What in the hell-

Then I heard something. Scuffling. Sniffling. Some throaty sounds. Itching. Then a green foot descended right in front the window. The shock of it only inches from my face jerked both Zych and I. 

I sucked in a breath, and held it. Zych copied me, sparing me a glance.

We held our breath. Whatever the hell it was, it didn't look like any animal I'd know. Long toenails, three toes. It almost blended in with the grass if it wasn't so discolored. And the smell was something else. I could almost imagine seeing scales. A reptile?

Another foot joined the first. The toes scrunched up the grass, the creature shifted its weight and turned, its feet pointing away from the window. I pulled one of my short swords from my leg holster. Zych, seeing me, kept his eye on the window, but crouched down to grab his bow and quiver. 

Ace was staring at the monitors. Now so was I.

We only had a view of the wall of my house, in what should've been my alley. Instead, it looked like grass and shrubbery, vines crawled up and down my wall. Normally, I'd be able to make out my basement window. After one particular interval of time that sounded like a hurricane, we thought some greenery had just happened to fall in front of our window. It turned out we were actually concealed by vines, vines that were most definitely not there before.

There were four of them. Green, short, and ugly. My cameras were top of the line and presented a perfectly clear picture. Their hands were just like their feet, some held sharp sticks. They garbled at each other, more spit and gurgle than any language I'd ever heard. Some stood high, others walked on four limbs, some on three.

Ace caught my eye. "What the fuck?" He mouthed. His words mimicked my thoughts. What in the hell was happening?

I looked passed him. A shadow across one of the monitors. The one facing jungle, the backyard.

We were all frozen. Then something large impacted our wall of vines with the sound of gore. Zych and I felt the vibration against the wall. Then there were screams. I was watching a massacre through the monitors, not two feet away from the real thing. The sharp scent of iron filtered into my nose. A dark brown figure, on all fours. Its maw was already as bloody as its limbs.

One of the green creatures was getting mauled to death. The rest were already sliced in twos and threes. Blood and gore. The screams came in gurgling high pitched whines. But then against all odds the last of the green creatures standing stabbed the larger four-legged beast. It didn't last long after that.

We pressed ourselves against the cold concrete wall. Zych was breathing hard, I could tell that much from the rise and fall of his chest. Nostrils flared, he couldn't have looked any different than I did. Save for the fact I was trying for the life of me to compress myself into the wall. Zych, it seemed, was already successful.

Wide-eyed, nostrils flaring. I beckoned Ace over. If that thing so much as glanced up from its meal it might see him through the vines. Ace paled realizing it no later than I did, not much could ever do that to the man, but now? He was as white as a sheet. Ghostly.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Then he kicked a bucket. One of the ones I'd leave around to catch leaks until I could fix them. It must have fallen from its usual place on top of the metal cabinet. We could've all died right then. Ace quickly darted the remaining distance and I could see the sweat on his brow. The tall man was praying. Ace was not religious.

I saw the creature jerk, staring at the opening that housed three juicy snacks.

Then without a word, it just up and left. It bounded away, too fast, too quick and too quietly. By this point, all our eyes were on the monitors. There was no movement on any of my cameras. The creature simply darted, carrying one of the limp bodies. I dry-heaved, keeping myself quiet.

Was it afraid?

The scent of blood and massacre wafted through the window like a cruel foreshadowing. Nothing, no sounds from any of us or anything for minutes on end. Minutes that felt longer than even the shattering of the world only moments earlier.

None of us trusted that silence. It had heard us. We all knew it. Why would it run?

Zych was the first to speak. "Maybe-"

A maelstrom of teeth and scrabbling claws erupted through the window in a shower of glass. Snarls, beastly and guttural. Bloodthirsty. Spittle flew and we all scrambled backward, nearly falling on our asses. Ace shouted obscenities.

"Fuck!" I tripped backward.

"What the hell!?" Someone screamed. "Stab it! Jake stab the damn thing! Fuck!"

I was on my ass. I hauled myself up, grabbing my sword. And froze.

"Shoot it, Zych!" Ace yelled, his deeper voice unmistakable. "It's stuck!" 

I twitched. The thing managed to turn its head, to the window's great protest, and stare right at me. Concrete cracked, crumbling against its massive force. An arrow clanged against the concrete wall pathetically. Someone cursed. It had gotten its hands through, paws. Claws. It was prying the window open, ripping through fucking concrete. I gulped.

I gripped my sword, pale-knuckled. Could I stab it? Could I even get close? It would kill me.

It stared at me. Its eyes were both pupil and iris. Both black and white. There was a sheen of light glinting off of them, bloodthirsty, dangerous intelligence. It knew I was prey. I was prey. It was the predator.

Ace pepper-sprayed the fucker's eyes.

What followed was the ghastliest keening noise I've ever heard. At points deep bass, at others high whines. It was altogether alien, unearthly. It spasmed uncontrollably, choking itself in the windows narrow passage in its effort to wrench itself away. Its entire body spasmed free, ripping concrete chunks out of the wall and injuring itself in its desperate efforts to alleviate its pain.

It circled itself howling, clawing at its own eyes. Ripping into its own face. The entire window was open now, and more of the wall surrounding that. We were exposed. The creature roared and I felt it in my chest. Suddenly, my body was back, my mind working again. The thing was sprawling out, limbs shooting out in a poor expression of its intense pain. It howled again, the pain in its eyes seemed to debilitate it.

"We need to kill it." Ace gasped. 

"Are you fucking insane?" Zych snapped back. "We need to go upstairs! Leave! Exit out the back!"

I grit my teeth. My basement was wide open. This thing had hunted those four green things. Massacred them. And it waited for us earlier, patiently. The only safe place we knew for this entire thing was pried open like a walnut now. 

I groaned. "He's fucking right. We have to kill it or It'll come back for us. Look what it fucking did to them!" I pointed to the carnage it was flailing around in. Its wails were reaching a new high, reverberating "Where are we gonna go? My backyard is a fucking jungle! And, news flash Zych, there are fucking floating islands on the horizon!"

"Are we gonna talk about how fucking insane this is? Anyone?" Zych screamed at us. His hair was a mess, he looked terrible. "It actually happened. What the fuck is happening here!?" He said at the end. "No one?"

"How about we try living first, Zych?" Ace yelled, he was moving through the metal cabinet again. "It's life or death right now! You need to get your head on straight. We all do." He wasn't the captain of our old high school basketball team for nothing. "None of you get close, it'll rip us apart. Zych, you need to shoot it in the head."

I began to rummage around. There should be an old fireman's axe around here. My hands were shaking. I tripped through all the broken concrete, literally covering the floor now. I frowned, by body unsteady. Fear? Adrenaline. I couldn't keep still.

"W-what I can't just, shoot it." He snapped back, hesitating. His eyes had already slid to the flailing creature. It was massive, larger than a van. It screamed deadliness, with both claw and teeth. And currently, it was still ripping into its own face. Snarling and sending spittle everywhere. "It's moving too much." He said. It was his way of agreeing.

Its guttural howls were all angry pain.

I found the axe behind an armload of pipes.

"Fine, I'll do it." We already knew.

"Do it." I told him, eyeing the creature cautiously. My arms were shaking. "Try to hit anything vital. The head if you can." I was rambling.

"I know. I know." He said breathing. But in moments, his breath had already calmed and he was sighting down the scope. "I know." He repeated. How was he so calm?

"Jake, you don't have anything else?" He said, looking over his shoulder. The creature was still flailing violently, rubbing everything it could over its face. "Nothing like that bow?" 

"Here you go." I placed the axe firmly in his hand. 

"Huh? What am I supposed to do with this?" His eyes lit up in recognition. It was the same rusty axe we'd throw around in the backyard. Ace was usually the best throw. Strongest too, he'd always chip the log deep. "Really?"

"Really." I told him.

"I'm ready." Zych called to us. "I just need it to hold still. Are you guys good? It might try to fucking kill us once I hit it. You two need to watch it."

"Fuck. Shoot it. All or nothing." I told him.

"We're ready." Ace nodded.

Time slowed down at that moment. I saw Ace holding the axe overhead. Zych's index finger left the bowstring, his middle finger lingering. It was as if he moving through honey. The bowstring snapped back, pounds of force propelling the arrow forward. Zych's eyes were laser-focused like I had never seen them before. Ace. Where before he only held the axe overhead, now he was in motion. Muscles worked for the motion, the sweat of fear and exertion. He lunged forward, as if moving through water, and the axe left his fingers.

Then time slapped me. Everything resumed. An arrow hit the thing's shoulder. It howled, keening, screaming and scrabbling for purchase. Its head jerked one way, facing the direction of the arrow.

I realized it was blind.

Then the axe thunked right between its eyes.

With the sound of wet gore and broken bone, its entire body went limp. The sound suddenly stopped. It didn't even get a chance to realize what had killed it. It just died. There was no resolution to its pain-filled screams and agony. No final crescendo marking its death note. The symphony just ended, ceased.

I heard birds chirping outside.

My sword clattered and I realized I had dropped it. I was sitting on the floor. Zych was trying to control his breath, leaning against the wall. Ace was frozen staring at the body. 

Congratulations on Surviving your First Encounter of Genesis!

For prevailing over your first encounter of your planet's Genesis you have earned rewards fitting the task! By slaying a Forest Stalker, a foe many times more dangerous than you, your rewards will be appropriately adjusted. As the reward of your very first encounter in this new world, you have been given a fortuitous opportunity! Slaying an Unusual creature brings the quality of your reward up to the Unusual rarity! In addition, your reward becomes malleable allowing you to shape its form without bound!

Please conceptualize your reward.

 Then suddenly, we were all staring at something we had forgotten in the chaos.