Chapter 9

Death by Weakest Baby Human

-Andrew-

I screamed, swinging my hand holding the wooden cudgel upwards as I dove forward. Wood met flesh causing the creature to reel back, clutching at his face with both clawed hands. My back slammed against the counter opposite of where I was previously hiding, sending paralyzing pain throughout my torso. Tears began to well in my eyes as a result and I blinked them frantically away.

“Aaargh! I’ll eat you alive for that!” The creature screamed.

I brought the cudgel in front of me, grasping with both hands and pointing it towards the creature. Green, dirt-caked fingers moved down its face and a pair of dull red eyes met mine. A wicked smile crept onto the creature’s face revealing a set of black and yellow crooked teeth. I began to tremble, only able to watch as a boil-covered hand moved down its leather-clad body towards the hilt of a jagged and evil looking dagger. The creature’s other hand gripped the edge of the counter, legs poised to launch it towards me. It slid the dagger from its sheath, a look of pure joy plastered to its face as it let the jagged blade rest against its forearm.

“Yeeesss! Pekx loves his food scared.” He said, bringing his blade arm in front of his face, leaving only his pale red eyes uncovered.

The sense of danger reached deep into my chest with an unseen hand, gripping my heart and sending cold waves of fear through my arms and down to my legs. The cudgel began to twitch in all directions; my hands shaking as I fought to remain in control. The ugly green creature laughed as it pushed its legs upwards, sending it flying to cover the short distance between us in a moment. A bright wall of white-domed magic appeared for a moment, causing it to slam into thin air.

You have learned a new spell: Minor Shield

It hissed as its back slammed into the counter in front of me causing various objects to clatter from the shelf to the floor. I blinked my eyes rapidly, attempting to clear the message so I could see the creature again. As it leapt towards me again, it brought its dagger forward, slamming it a foot in front of me as the bright domed shield snapped into focus once again. He growled, holding the dagger pressed against the light, now shimmering with effort. An exhaustion rapidly spread throughout my body and I continued to think about nothing but keeping the foul-smelling creature as far away from me as possible. He leaned into the shield, snarling as he brought his other hand to the hilt to reinforce his efforts. The white dome began to dim with strain, creating a fizzling sound as It flickered.

Each flicker of the shield brought a wave of renewed panic as I expected it to disappear any moment. The tired feeling spread through the rest of my body, numbness beginning to set in as my vision blurred. The shield cracked and flew apart, sounding like shattered glass. The monster cried out with glee, using the sudden disappearance of the shield and forward momentum to his advantage. He quickly flicked the dagger point straight towards me as he fell; his black and yellow teeth growing much larger as he came closer. I made a feeble attempt to move my cudgel in his path, but it was slammed against our chests as we came together.

Ice entered my stomach and spread through my limbs like lightning, radiating from my stomach. I looked down in shock, seeing only the hilt of the dagger that disappeared into my stomach. Tears fell freely, blurring the ugly green face that inched closer to mine.

“Sssstuck like a pig!” he hissed, licking his lips.

Strength faded from my arms and I mentally let go of the wooden cudgel, causing it to disappear. I grasped pitifully at the green arm holding the buried dagger in my stomach, my mouth moving open and closed as I tried to understand what had happened. My body began to turn numb as a wetness plastered my t-shit to my body. A sharp pain in my stomach brought my focus back sharply, beckoning me to look down once more. My eyes widened as the dagger was ripped away and drew back for another plunge. Time seemed to move at a snail’s pace as the creature cackled, plunging his arm towards me, again.

I looked into the face of the ugly green monster as a feeling of calm took over me, pushing the pain aside. Red eyes met mine, widening in shock. I watched, confused, as his mouth turned from a snarl to a gaping hole. Expecting another sharp pain, my eyes wandered over to the creature’s frozen arm, hovering in mid-air. I looked back up to his face and my mouth hung open in shock with his. A small blade protruding from his throat caused him to gurgle as blood trickled down his lips. The blade disappeared quickly and he reeled back, clutching his throat. A small head bobbed up from his left shoulder carrying a smiling face with it.

“I win!” James announced.

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

Level 2 Cleric

“Wha-“ I stammered weakly.

“I got him, Andy! We’re wi-oh!”

The small green creature fell backwards, taking James with it. James struggled for a moment before finally wriggling out from underneath the now still body. He paused, seeing my stomach covered in blood.

“Andy, did he get you? Are you going to lose?”

“He got me.” I agreed. “I’m scared James; I don’t want to di-lose.”

My chest tightened as panic announced its arrival, sending waves of pain through my body. My thoughts became sluggish and my head drooped, stopping as my chin rested on my chest.

“What do we do, Andy?” James asked.

I didn’t have the strength to respond, thinking only of sleep as the rest of my body began to numb. My mind wandered as the stiflingly calm feeling spread. I struggled to think, wondering how to activate my healing abilities.

“Heal.” I said weakly

A small green light enveloped my hands and spread through my arms, stopping just short of the pain in my stomach. My hands returned to normal and I couldn’t tell if I felt any better or just more tired.

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“Heal.” I said, again.

The small green light returned, growing further and taking away some of the numbness with it. As the green light faded again, I grew frustrated. I could feel the pain in my back disappearing slowly but I didn’t care about any of my other pains, only my stomach. I moved my hand from my wound, letting it drop to the floor as blood continued to pool. I focused on my stomach, trying to push all of my other aches and pains aside.

“Heeeeal.” I said, hoarsely.

You have gained a new spell: Heal Wounds

The green light was stronger this time, illuminating the floor and shelves below the counter as it spread rapidly towards my stomach. I felt the pain lessen with each passing second as I held my attention on my wound. Skin began to grow back together, carrying relief with it. I thought about how much I didn’t want the healing to stop until I felt better. The light grew brighter, acting as a lantern in the dark room. Pain washed away from my body, replaced with an exhaustion I had never felt. As the skin finished closing, my hands returned to normal, taking the light with it. A wave of exhaustion spread over me causing my vision to darken as I gave into sleep.

*****

I opened my eyes slowly, darkness still enveloping the room. Movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I glanced to my right to see James sitting against the wall, mumbling to himself.

“Hide...” He whispered

I gasped as the darkness of the room crawled towards James, only stopping once he was covered.

“aaaaaand seek.” I heard from darkness where James sat only a moment ago.

James reappeared, concentration plastered to his face.

“Hide…” He said to himself. “Aaaand seek.”

James faded from my view and returned a moment later. I grasped my stomach where pain once emanated, panicking at what I would find. Relief flooded through me at finding nothing but pink flesh where the knife wound once was.

“You’re awake!” James called from the shadows.

The area he sat became visible once more as he leaned forward to crawl toward me.

“You’ve been sleeping foreeeeever!” He said excitedly.

“Hi James.” I said, relishing in my relief.

“Hi Andy! I’ve been practicing my hide and seek. Wanna see?”

“I watched you, James. That was...unexpected.”

“I used my hide and seek to kill that monster. Pretty cool, huh? You were about to lose!”

Tears returned to my eyes as I remembered just how close I came to dying.

“Thank you James. You are better at this game than me.” I said, leaning my head against the counter behind me to relieve my aching neck.

“I got this really cool knife from him!” He said, holding up the cruel looking blade.

“That’s awesome.” I said, still lost in the feeling of relief.

“I was hungry, so I found us food in the store over there.” James pointed.

“You did what?!”

“It’s ok, Andy! I was hiding the whole time.” He said as he handed me a piece of bread.

I reached out and took the bread, my eyes widening in horror at the thought of James going anywhere near the fighting.

“James you can’t just leave!”

“Why? I can hide and I was hungry. ‘Sides, I know it’s a game now and I’m not scared.”

I shook my head, still unsure if lying to him was the right choice. On the one hand, he saved my life. On the other, he was clearly going to get us into trouble.

“If we aren’t together for too long, we lose. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“Nooo…”

“Well, I’m telling you now. You can’t just leave by yourself. We have to stay together or mom and dad are going to be mad at us.”

“Ok. Don’t tell mom.”

“I won’t. Just don’t leave me again.”

I took a bite of the bread James had given me, thinking of what to do next. James continued his disappearing act, leaving me to my bread. The sounds of fighting had moved further away from us while I was asleep and it brought a bit of comfort. I paused mid-bite as I noticed the dead green creature in front of me. Choking back a disgusted cough, I scooted away as quickly as I could. James, noticing my sudden movement, reappeared and followed my gaze to the corpse.

“It’s ok, Andy. I got him already!”

“Yeah, but it’s gross.”

James moved towards the green pile of unmoving flesh and picked up one of its arms, waving it limply in the air.

“Hiiiii Andy! I’m not scary anymore.” James said with a mocking tone.

“Stop it, James! That’s nasty.” I said, holding back a gag.

“He’s got cool stuff, though! Look!” James said, reaching for the creature’s neck.

James grabbed its head and lifted, removing something around its neck. He turned to me and raised his hand, holding a necklace of fanged teeth that swayed back and forth. I held back another gag as I continued to scoot further away from the looting maniac. James put the teeth in his pocket and grabbed the belt of the creature, fumbling to unfasten it. Finally loosening the clasp, he removed the belt, taking the sheath and pouch attached to it. James stood up, fitting the belt around his waist, leaving far too much strap hanging for his small frame. Once finished with his new belt, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the necklace of fangs, putting them around his own neck.

“Look at me, Andy! I’m a mooonsteeeer!” James said, putting his hands on his hips proudly.

“James, that’s disgusting!” I admonished.

I shook my head, noticing the blinking book at the bottom of my vision as James moved back to the dead creature. Moving my eyes towards the book opened it:

Minor Shield

Minor Healing

Heal Wounds

Stun

Smite

I read each spell slowly, stopping at Smite. Before I could puzzle out what the words meant, an explanation appeared:

Smite: Call upon your divine powers to strike down an enemy.

I pondered how to use the spell, recalling my experience with healing my injury. I recalled the shield that appeared between me and the monster and how I had only wanted it to stay away from me. I thought of the healing I used and how I had voiced my desire for the spell to work. I looked at my hands, causing the spell book to disappear from my view. I thought of the minor healing spell, but before I could say the words, my hands began to glow with a green light. Surprised, I lost focus and the green light faded, releasing the spell. I thought of wanting to heal again, and the green light returned to my hands, bringing a smile to my face.

As I finished my experimenting, I began to wonder how James knew how to use his hide ability. I knew he could barely make out letters, let alone read. I also knew that I could activate a spell by thinking about what I wanted to do. Giving up trying to guess, I looked up to ask James.

“James. How did you know you could hide?” I asked.

James stopped his pilfering of the dead green creature and looked at me over his shoulder, shrugging.

“I dunno. I got scared when I heard those monsters talking and wanted to hide. I didn’t know I was hiding until the ugly one didn’t say anything to me. I’ve practiced while you were sleeping. I’m really good at hiding now.”

I nodded slowly, thinking about my own spells and abilities. I was comforted knowing I could heal us if we got hurt, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to fight if we got into trouble. I remembered how the monster was able to hurt me so easily. Determination set in and I returned my attention to James.

“James can you come here, please? I want to try something.”

James stood up and walked to me, crouching once he reached me. I pushed him out of the way gently, nodding my head towards the creature’s body.

“I don’t know how to fight, James and all I have is this stick. I want to see if I can do anything else.”

“I can kill all of the monsters, Andy!”

“I don’t want us to have to fight James, but I don’t want to be weak if something happens. There has to be something I can do.”

I turned to the body with determination, narrowing my eyes as I raised my hand. I didn't know how much damage the smite spell would have, but I gave it a try.

“Smite.” I said through gritted teeth.

A flash of light brightened the room, blinding us both. A crackling boom shook the counters as a bright white light raced from my outstretched hand towards the body, smashing it into the ground. The creature’s body bounced a couple of feet away from where it had been, smoke snaking from its limbs. The smell protruding from the now charred body was somehow worse. Startled, James and I looked at each other with wide, terrified eyes.

“That’s.. so… cool!” James shouted.

“Shhhh!!!” I hushed, holding both hands up to calm him.