“Six had slipped past me.” TJ explained, his tone regretful. “I wasn’t paying as much attention as I’d thought. They’re damn hard to see, and I wasn’t careful enough. Stanton took three out before they could get close enough, but while he was able to make sure that none of their next attacks were lethal, they still got him good. I tried to get back to him, but the coyotes kept attacking me, so he got stuck a couple more times as he fended them off and more came to kill him. I used most of my MP to kill the coyotes and cut off the pukwudgies from killing him, but then I was surrounded by 20 enemies with an injured man.
“I did the only thing I could do, I carried him through them, going as fast as I could. With my Agility and everything, I was able to get through, but we were both attacked a couple times. My scales kept me mostly safe, but it was bad for Stanton and he passed out. After we broke through, they followed us for a little while, but eventually they just stopped chasing. That was maybe half a mile outside of town. Then, I got here.” TJ finished, shrugging his shoulders.
When he’d mentioned the level 5 Skill and how much he’d been able to do with it, the strangers had looked at each other with no small measure of fear. TJ was too tired to care.
“You’re pretty tough, then.” The fiery-headed woman broke the uncomfortable silence. “We could use you on the hunt.”
“Sure, I’ll join in tomorrow.” TJ agreed. “The more we kill the less we’ll have to defend from.”
“You said you’re a Neophyte?” The hunter man asked as soon as TJ responded. TJ nodded in response as he Appraised the two hunters he could see.
Acolyte, 4
Neophyte, 3
“You are too?” TJ couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the younger man’s small amount of information. “What can you transform into?”
“Nothing. Or, not really nothing, but nothing really.”
“That means nothing.” TJ replied. “And by the way, what are your names?”
“Call me Zig.” The redheaded woman answered.
“And I’m Charlie.” The man said, stretching out a hand.
“TJ. And can’t you turn into whatever animal your Bloodline comes from? Or something like that?”
“I don’t know what snake god birthed you, but Loki was mostly a person, so far as I know. I have the Skill Divine Transformation like all Neophytes, but it’s a bit different. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
“Sounds good, I’m exhausted.” TJ nodded. “Zig, you have any other questions, or can I go to bed?”
“Oh tons.” She responded. “They can wait for morning as well, though. You have anything to eat yet?”
“No. All our food was in the backpacks we lost, and I don’t have hands while I’m a snake. Lost everything we had–aww dammit!”
At his declaration, every person perked up, fear obvious in their movement.
“No, it’s nothing to worry about. I just had something special in my backpack that I don’t want to lose. And in Stanton’s. Shit, his is really important.” TJ’s mind raced, and though he wanted the coyote pelt that had been curing, he felt like the lifebloom was something that could be lifechanging for people here in town. Could they ever find something like that again, when going into the forest was a potentially deadly action? It hadn’t been that long, so would it be worth it to try to go back?
TJ consulted his MP. Only 6/240. He couldn’t really do anything with that. But he was faster than the coyotes and with his toughness–he made the decision.
“I’ll be back soon. I need to get Stanton’s pack. It’s got a magical plant in it, and I don’t know what it can do but it might save someone sometime.” Then, without another word and disregarding everything the people from Pine said, TJ transformed into a coatl and dashed out the door.
Less than a minute later, he was up the hill, following the road towards the ambush. Less than a minute after that, TJ was regretting everything. Really? Was a plant worth his life? Was a stupid pelt? Of course not. But he’d made the decision and the declaration, and he didn’t want to walk it back. So, cursing himself, he still sprinted forward. At his speed, the mile or so to the ambush point would take him less than four minutes to get to. It’d only been maybe thirty minutes since the ambush, so maybe they were still there. If the backpacks were abandoned, he’d try to grab both and retreat. If they were there and tended, he’d try to just take Stanton’s. If they were gone, he’d retreat.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Perfect. A plan. A stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless.
The minutes passed by quickly, and TJ found himself making the turn into the bend where they’d been attacked. He subconsciously slowed himself, his senses peeled for any creature lurking in the trees’ cover. If they couldn’t ambush him, he’d be able to escape their grasp, he was sure. There wasn’t any obvious movement, and TJ couldn’t smell or taste any nearby, so he made the turn to the ambush point.
Nothing moved, but the signs of the fight remained. Bloodstains, fur, and bodies patterned the pavement. The pukwudgie corpses had been left where they’d fallen, but the coyotes’ were taken away. The unfortunate reality remained as well. Two tattered backpacks’ corpses lay in the middle of the road, torn apart to leave nothing inside. All the food had been taken away as well as the lifebloom and Anubis-blessed coyote hide. Though he couldn’t say if the pukwudgies knew what was inside of the cans, they’d been taken as well, and all that remained was nylon straps and torn fabric.
TJ turned to leave the disappointing discovery behind, angrily cursing himself as well as the pukwudgies’ intelligence and avarice. He whapped his tail across one of the bags and heard a quiet clatter from inside. After a moment attempting to open it with his snout, TJ transformed back into his human form and, with hurried movements, found the source of the sound.
The can of tobacco had been dented and damaged by the pukwudgies’ rough dismantling of the bads, but still it held whatever remained of the chew inside. With a scoff, TJ transformed himself back into a coatl, gently placed the can in his mouth, and then rushed back towards Pine.
A quiet rustling of branches seemed to follow his every step, or slither, as the case may be, back to town, but nothing approached him as he rushed down the center of the highway. As he crested the hill to descend back into town, TJ saw three people waiting for his return. Both the hunters he’d met, Zig and Charlie, as well as another person he wasn’t sure if he’d seen before who stood on the roof of an empty home. The soft sound of his scales on the ground betrayed his approach in the dark, and he transformed back into his human body as he made his way into town. He pulled the can out of his mouth and placed it in his pocket as he walked forward with both hands held high above his head.
“Just me.” TJ called as he walked slowly forward. “Didn’t get anything. Sorry for running off like that.”
“You’re not much of a thinker, are you?” asked Zig.
“Can’t say it was my finest moment.” TJ allowed, though he still felt the surge of anger at his poked pride from her tone. “Even so, I feel like finding that lifebloom sooner rather than later would be good.”
“Maybe.” shrugged Charlie. “Laura had some people go to get you and Stanton some grub, so eat up and rest well. See you in the morning. Glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah. Next time, I’d appreciate a little more heads-up. That said, I’m the only other hunter who’s hit level 5 in my Class, so you’re probably strong enough to take care of yourself.” Zig allowed before turning to walk back into the house. Charlie nodded his goodnight while the other sentry remained at his post. TJ walked up to the ground under him and waved.
“I’m TJ. You?”
“Farid.” The man was wearing dark clothes, and against the black stone shingles, he blended in remarkably well. TJ Appraised him and wasn’t too surprised by what he saw.
Acolyte, 2
“Thanks for keeping an eye out, Farid. Have there been any attacks the past couple nights?”
“Not here.” He answered, his eyes roving their surroundings. “Might have come in without attacking anyone, though.”
“Sweet. Thanks. What time is my watch?”
“We already have it scheduled out for tonight, so you and your friend should get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll plan for you to join in.” The man’s voice was a pleasant tenor, with the faintest hint of an accent TJ struggled to place. “Thanks for offering.”
With those last words, Farid was obviously done talking to TJ, so he raised a hand as he said goodbye. In the house where Stanton had set up camp, a paper plate sat in the middle of the table. Maybe two eggs’ worth of scrambled eggs with three strips of bacon sat on it, and though they were cold when TJ held them to his mouth, his stomach gurgled happily as he ate voraciously. Faster than he’d hoped, the food was gone, and he unashamedly licked the plate clean.
Stanton was curled on the couch in front of the fireplace, his boots on the ground in front of him. Curled under a knit quilt, he looked much frailer than ever before and TJ remembered the look of panic on the old man’s face as he’d called for help. In his recounting of the story, TJ had glossed over many of the worst feelings he’d been struck with that evening. For a while, he’d been convinced Stanton was dead and he was merely carrying a corpse as he fled, and he remembered the helplessness he’d felt when he’d gotten that call about Mari.
She’d always loved riding her bike, and was as safe as she could be–helmet, lights, high-vis stripes on her jacket. That day, she’d said that they needed some carrots for dinner and wouldn’t be long. He was tired, and didn’t insist on driving. He enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with Junior while she was out. It was late. Walmart wasn’t far, but it was far enough. The driver didn’t see her, or didn’t care, or didn’t react fast enough. By the time anyone talked to him, he was a blubbering mess that could only remember that he didn’t remember.
TJ felt himself beginning to hyperventilate and react to the delayed fear. Stanton had nearly died. He put on a brave face after being healed, but his face was sallow and his meal half-eaten. His breaths came quickly, with a slight rattle. Laura insisted that he’d been healed, but the doctors swore that while Mari needed emergency surgery, she’d pull through. Could he trust the magic?
Just like with the System, TJ could only trust. After all, if it didn’t work, then Stanton would die, and what could he do about that? If he completed the Tutorial and still couldn’t see Junior, how could he do anything about that?
He realized he was spiraling, and stood. Taking deep breaths, TJ centered himself enough to go to a bedroom, pull off the mattress from the bedspring, and drag it nearer to the fire. Then, after stoking the fire up high, he fought to find sleep while the sight of Stanton impaled on half a dozen spears taunted him.