I had already gotten close to punching Hawk this morning, and right now I had to fight to hold back yet again. It was easier when I reminded myself he could punch me back, and it would hurt given his level and stats. Alex was worth it.

Somehow, I had landed during the storm after flying up the river and spotting the Carnitor. A fight broke out between it and a river monster. I hadn’t spotted Alex, which worried me.

Still, I had faith she knew what she was doing.

Hawk didn’t.

“We need to get Denver to a doctor tonight. We can leave the fence unlocked. If Alex shows up, she can crash here.” He stood behind me out in the open. "We will be back tomorrow after dropping Denver off. We can leave a note."

The last time I’d left a note, Alex had needed to come rescue me, but that wasn't the problem. I twisted about the open ramp and tried not to shout, but failed. “I’m not leaving until Alex shows up.” I kept my voice firm, almost sounding like Dad.

“That kid…”

“That kid made it through the jungle with a crystal on a sled, alone.” I stepped closer to Hawk. “You wouldn’t even help her!” I pointed my finger at his chest, careful to keep the crystal in my other hand loose. I didn’t need to slice my hand open for stupid reasons.

“We already talked about this. We are down two guys, one of whom might die if we don’t get him help.” Hawk shook his head and turned back toward the dropship. "Hellion's freakin’ kids…"

I headed back up the ramp and grabbed the tool I had been looking for, before heading back down the ramp and toward the stubby right wing of the shuttle. My ladder stood under the wing, and the edges now had areas covered in solid crystal. They glittered in the sunlight.

Alex had given me the idea, and I’d run with it, especially after seeing the flier that kept passing overhead. We couldn’t leave until nightfall with it so close to the compound, and I prayed Alex would be here by then. I didn’t want to fight with Hawk, plus Denver did look like shit. He needed a real doctor, soon. The medical supplies on the shuttle didn't include the antibiotics he needed, and Doc was past the end of his field medicine. The mines were the closest place that could help; they at least had antibiotics last time I’d checked.

I climbed back up the ladder and placed the crystal in the next gap, covering the tip of the wing. Using one of my skills, the crystal became malleable and I hammered it into place, connecting it with the others. I needed to keep faith – Alex would appear.

***

I kept the dropship between me and the shuttle, listening to the conversation taking place. I understood both sides of the argument. Hawk was worried Denver would die while waiting for me to show up, John was worried about me. Thankfully, waiting for me wouldn’t be a problem anymore, though I needed to use a shower.

I waved at Hawk as he stomped toward the stool sitting next to the dropship door. The large protective crystal was still ensconced near him, protecting the area.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” he muttered, holding out a hand.

I shook it. “Less cat and more Carnitor.”

His eyes went wide as he studied me, and I could tell he tried to see my level. I ignored the itchy feeling. “You’ve gained some levels.” His lips tightened into a thin line, then the look vanished. “Your brother will be happy to see you.” The sound of something being hammered came from that direction. “Yo, John, you got a visitor!”

I’d almost caught up to him in levels and I wondered if I was now faster than him.

The pounding stopped and something hit the ground. John raced around the edge of the dropship into view. “Alex! Took you long enough!” He yanked me into a hug and then pulled away. I ignored the fact that he still felt like prey. “You reek.”

“Well, fighting will do that to you.”

“What the heck, man? You gained another couple of levels!” John sounded shocked.

“I told you I’d deal with the dino, though I’m glad to see you made it. The lights over the river helped.”

Hawk watched this with narrowed eyes. “Are you telling me you took down a Carnitor by yourself?”

I pulled a claw out of my inventory using both my hands and dropped it to the dirt. Both guys stepped closer. “It was pretty beat up by the time I took it on. A river monster had taken a chunk out of it, and I struck while it was trying to recover.” I didn’t want them to get the wrong impression. Especially Hawk. I could see him wanting to send me after that flier nearby. I wasn’t going to do that on my own. With back up though? Yes, please. I wondered how it tasted.

“Still…” Hawk touched the claw with a look of wonder. His eyes snapped up. “What else did you take?”

I leaned down and yanked the claw back into my inventory. “I got the skin, teeth, and claws, plus some meat.”

Hawk glanced at John, who still looked shocked. “I take it we’re leaving tonight?”

John quickly nodded. “Yeah, we can move Denver to the mines.”

“Then I have some time to work on some armor for you…” He went back to studying me. “You're a fighter, and you deserve to look like one. Plus, what you’re wearing is almost as useful as a good loincloth.”

“I’d appreciate it.” I pulled out the Carnitor skin and Hawk eagerly took it before heading inside the dropship, muttering to himself something that sounded like Hellion.

“That’s one way to deal with him,” muttered John.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. You need to clean up, and then I could use your help.” He started heading toward the shuttle. “You gave me a great idea for some additional protection on this thing.”

I quickly followed him around the corner, and then spotted what he was talking about. The wing on this side of the shuttle almost glowed in the sunlight. “What did you do?”

“Covered it with crystal shards. I have enough wire to connect them to the current wiring, which leads to the dashboard, where I can then infuse them with power.” He started talking faster. "It means I'll need to concentrate more when flying, but we will have two weapons, one on either wing, if we’re attacked."

“So you can cut into a flier…” I added, thinking about the uses.

“That’s the goal. I just need to finish the other wingtip." He motioned in the other direction. "Eventually, I'll want to add strips to the roof as well, so if they try to slash at it, it will hurt.”

“This is thinking out of the box.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“I can’t let you show me up, I’m older," he said with a smirk.

I chuckled. “Do you know if there’s a shower here, or something?”

“No showers, but you can use the jug of water you gave me. There should be one more shirt..." He looked at my pants with a frown. "Though those pants need to be cleaned. And replaced.”

I narrowed my eyes at the no shower comment. Hawk had offered me a shower last time I was here, and I needed to cash in. “Yeah, I don’t want to end up at the mines looking like shit.”

John shrugged. “I just don’t want to smell you all the way there.”

I’d have tossed something at him if I could. Instead, I headed up the ramp and toward the open cargo containers. It didn’t take long for me to find a shirt and then head into the dropship to find Hawk.

He sat at the table with the skin of the Carnitor out in front of him, along with several tools.

“You mentioned a shower last time, can I get one of those?”

Hawk nodded and pointed toward the open doorway. “It’s the room next to the bunk room. You can’t miss it. Try not to take too long, the heat comes from black containers on the roof, so once the water’s gone, it’s gone.”

“I appreciate it,” I said with a thumbs up as I headed down the hall. Cleaning in the rain had helped a little, but an actual shower would be amazing. I found the room just like he said. The large shower room had several stalls, but only one that looked like it could be used. I closed the door behind me and quickly stripped. I spotted some kind of body wash and turned the water on. From there it was the quickest scrub with soap possible, then I snagged my pants and shirt and soaping them up as well. I ignored the dark water going down the drain. Once the dirt was cleaned, I stood under the hot water just letting it fall on my shoulders and rinsed out my clothes before tossing them on a nearby hook.

It didn’t take long for the water to just stop. I turned the handle off and used a folded towel to dry off as best I could before putting on the clean shirt and the pair of pants that was way too big. I rolled up the legs before stuffing them in my boots. My belt kept them up, but it was uncomfortable.

I rang out the decently cleaned wet clothes and stuffed them into my inventory. Then I stopped in front of the mirror in the bathroom. I almost didn’t recognize myself. I’d grown taller by at least an inch, and my shoulders were broader. My arms now showed off well-defined muscles. Something about my eyes was different as well. The dark brown almost glowed in the limited light.

My wet hair hung limply and I brushed my fingers through it as best as I could before I headed back to the common room.

Hawk still sat at the table, but several frames now stretched large pieces of leather out on one wall.

“I have a few things to hang up outside to dry, but I snagged some eggs from a nest on my way here. I bet I could cook those over the fire for an afternoon snack before we leave.” I wanted to make sure my stomach was full before getting into the shuttle with everyone else.

Hawks eyes grew wide and he smiled. “That’d be awesome. I don’t think any of us have had eggs in a long time.”

I nodded and headed back outside. The bright sunlight hit me hard and I took a moment to breathe before walking toward the shuttle. I tossed the damp clothing over the far wing that John wasn’t working on before pulling out the cloak. I brushed off as much dirt as possible before tossing it into the inventory crystal.

I took a moment to glance over my stat sheet to figure out what I wanted to do with the free stat points I’d gathered. That’s when I noticed my skills showed 9/10 which included the potential skill Claw Strike. Up until now, I hadn't thought about whether I wanted to ignore it or what. I knew now what would happen if I got a skill and didn’t have a slot for it. When I’d accepted the Venomous Bite, I'd grown glands to produce a poison in my saliva. Honestly, I had no idea if it worked, but I assumed it did something. The only time I’d intentionally used it was on the cat, and it might have slowed it down while chasing me, or that might have been the deep wound in its shoulder. I really had no way of knowing.

Claw Strike worried me more. My monstrosity level sat at 1%. If I accepted this skill, I had a feeling it would increase, and I didn't know what that meant. Noseen hadn't known either, commenting that it must be a human thing. I hesitated, then went for it. I could always replace it with something else.

As soon as I accepted the potential skill, pain started in my left fingertips, then slowly crawled up my left arm to my elbow. I yanked my sleeve up, shaking. The color of my skin flickered between its normal color and dark green stripes. My knuckles burned and I tightened my fist. Four thick white claws shot out of my knuckles, each about 4 inches in length. I relaxed my fist and the claws sunk back in.

Small white markings looking like scars remained on my knuckles, the only things showing where the claws had been. I touched one with a finger, and it felt hard. I tightened my fist again and realized it was the very tips of the claws, resting on the outside. I let them retract again and checked my stat sheet. Monstrosity had increased to 4%, though I didn't feel any different. I let out a sigh and studied the rest of my skills.

The only ones I hadn’t improved at this point were Insight, Crystal Attunement, and Blades and Polearms. Everything else I’d slowly gained insight on or upgraded. Maybe those would be areas to focus on for the next bit. I’d try to upgrade those skills, since they all seemed useful.

I had 12 free stat points, but I didn’t feel like I should add them to anything in particular until I felt more comfortable with the new skills I’d unlocked. Overall, my stat sheet had shown amazing growth since I’d killed the cat.

Name: Alex

Level: 16

Race: Human

Traits: Survivability, Adaptation, Hangry

Class: Devourer

Stats:

STR: 43(47)

QUICK*: 60(66)

FLEX: 50(57)

TOUGH: 44(48)

INT: 41(45)

FORT: 41(45)

WILL: 41(45)

CHA: 36(40)

FREE:12

Monstrosity: 4%

Titles & Achievements:

Jack-of-all-Trades

Lucky Stars

Badass

Skill: 9/10

Improved Body

Crystal Attunement

Insight

Heightened Senses

Stealthy Camouflage

Blades and Polearms

Free Spirit

Venomous Bite

Claw Strike

Skills Categories: +

Once I finished cleaning up and checking out my stats, I headed back inside to cook up some eggs.

While I’d been out, Doc had joined Hawk at the bench, while Denver still napped on the cot. A frying pan sat on the edge of the table near Doc, along with something that looked like salt. Doc’s head snapped up as I entered.

“I heard you have eggs,” he said. “Mysterious provider of booze and protein.”

I chuckled at the comment and pulled the three large eggs out of my inventory and set them on the table. Doc moved fast, quickly cracking them into the pan, and stirring them up with the salt. He then headed over to the fire before I could say anything.

Hawk smirked. “Doc is a big believer in food.”

“Can he cook?” I asked.

“I can make eggs.”

“John’s the one with access to the rest of the booze,” I added to be clear.

Doc shrugged his shoulders, keeping next to the fire. “Better call him in here if he wants any. This won’t take long.” The utensil moved rapidly in the pan as he scrambled them.

I quickly poked my head out the door. “Yo, John, we have some eggs.”

“Coming!”

I took a seat and it didn’t take long for John to join Hawk and I.

“Where did the eggs come from?” he asked.

“I found them.”

He studied my wet hair but didn’t say anything.

Instead, we all remained patient while Doc cooked, then served us some scrambled eggs in a bowl. “They’d be better with butter or milk, but they’re still eggs,” he grumbled.

[You have devoured an Egg and gained major insight into Improved Body.]

Okay, eggs were something I should track down more often in the jungle. Two asterisks next to Improved Body meant one more and I’d get an increase in the skill. It took only a few minutes for all of us to finish up, then John pushed away from the table.

“I need to get back to work if I want to finish before we leave.” He headed back outside and I quickly followed him.

It didn’t take long before John climbed up his ladder and began hammering another piece of crystal into place.

“How are you doing that?” I asked from below, trying to get a better look.

“I made it malleable instead of brittle. It’s a pretty rare skill, though you can work with crystals as well, so maybe you can learn it, too.” John climbed up onto the wing and motioned me up the ladder.

I quickly climbed up.

The crystal looked strange, like part of it was clay when the half he hadn’t been working on was still sharp and flat like a rock.