Two down. Keep going.
One more. Don’t stop.
I fought. I let myself go completely and defended my small claim. It wasn’t much, but it was mine and the only place I had felt safe in since I’d arrived here, and these bugs, however horrifying, were trespassing. I had nothing to give and I fought. I was overwhelmed at every corner, but I fought. If I stood, and kept swinging, then there as still the chance to get out of this. I hadn’t been defeated yet. I hadn’t lost. I wouldn’t go out just giving up, I couldn’t.
My weapons, claimed from one of the beasts trying to kill me, proved beyond effective at doling out death to their owners. I had never been in this level of fighting, and my earlier attempts with the spear had been effective, and saved my life. But it hadn’t felt too comfortable in my hands. It felt too disconnected from me, too far away. These mandibles however, felt like an extension of my will. They were part of me, they were always where I needed them to be.
Years of meal prep in the kitchen and some camping excursions had made me familiar with knives. But this was different. Barely different but it was noticeable. And the longer I fought with them, the stronger the connection grew.
The bugs were terrifying, and their numbers, though likely only counted in dozens, seemed endless to me. But I couldn’t give up. I wouldn’t. I had promises to keep, and now that I knew I was alive, I wanted to stay that way.
One down. Then two. A third. Two more back to back in quick succession. When I slew the 6th my body was filled with warmth. While grateful for the feeling, I didn’t have time to acknowledge its source. I was a man possessed and I wasn’t aware of anything except the next foe.
They kept coming and I kept fighting back. At times I was a cornered cat, striking at everything that moved near, at other times I was a charging bull, plowing through their numbers with abandon, squashing, stabbing, and slicing in a blind fury. Despite the danger they presented, they were still just bugs, and if I kept moving, I was able to finish them quickly.
More. I could do more. And more came. Their numbers were bolstered as fast as I could exterminate them. Once again my body was overwhelmed with warmth, much stronger than the feeling before, but I had no time to acknowledge it. To stop was to die.
They would change their tactics and I would adapt. I kept changing my approach, and they would falter but then adapt accordingly. Our battle was a dangerous dance of blades and evolution. One man and one swarm. They were only bugs. But bugs with the benefit of seeing how I had killed each one before.
Slowly, the balance shifted. As the bodies piled up, my advantage faltered. They began to fall much slower, and approached me with hesitancy and caution. Slowly, I was the one who was pushed back. No longer was I keeping them at the opening, now they were able to enter with impunity. The fire at my back was now in front of me. I took a few more with the blades in my hands but they moved as one now, a wall of blades slowly cornering me. I began to realize how exhausted I was and panic returned.
I can’t do this. They are literally endless. Despite my earlier fervor the impossibility of the situation was catching up. There was pain in my side and along my arms. I looked briefly and noticed all the blades that had slipped past my defenses. There were shallow slices all along my arms and legs which all bled in various amounts. Worse, there was an entire mandible sticking out of my hip, it hadn’t penetrated deep, but deep enough to stick. Had these been the origins for the warmth I had felt rush through me? Not warmth, but shock?
I become aware of the dead bugs filling the clearing. I had kept kicking them to the side to make room for my feet, and a circle had formed at the entrance where I had been . Even without the wall now pushing me back, I had caged myself in, and given time I would’ve buried myself in gore.
They almost had me backed completely to the wall. The corners of my vision were darkening, whether from exhaustion or the shadowy beetles themselves I couldn’t tell. I lashed out desperately at any who still approached. One more. Then another. They were careful now, and I was beginning to falter. My arms were lead, and the still-sharp mandibles I was swinging were now slick with sweat and blood in my hands, and felt heavier with each swing.
A beetle to my right took a snap at me and I swung with everything I had. It lay dead a moment later.
One more. It was all I could do.
Another approached from my left and leaped at me, my left arm struck, screaming and trembling with pain and exhaustion. The beetle rested dead in the air for a moment, held in place by my improvised dagger. Then it dropped to the ground at my feet. The wall remained thick, and the shadows in my vision grew inward.
One more. If I could get one more, I could rest.
Two came, and I slashed with fury, drawing from deep within, fighting my exhaustion, fighting the pain to deliver those two strikes. Two fell dead.
“One more” I said to myself over and over. “Lift your arm once more, slice one more, after this they will leave”. I highly doubted this, but it was all I could do. I would keep swinging, stabbing, and squashing. Using every advantage I had or could think of. I wasn’t going to just die. I refused.
Another approached, leaping straight at me, going for my stomach with its bladed mandibles stretched. I crouched and brought my blades together in front of me, then sliced forward with all I had, my blades cutting the beetle into 3 pieces.
A warmth unlike any before blazed through my entire body. It gave me energy, but my body was spent. I remained crouched, my legs trembling with exhaustion. They refused to respond. The warmth continued to blaze through me. My whole body was on fire.
I couldn’t move, so I finally relented. I could at least sate my curiosity and I needed help. The beetles were closing in, perhaps the UI had something that would get me out of this. I opened my Skills menu then quickly switched to Quests, thinking the words as I gasped for air. And there it was, a quest I had completely forgotten about in the melee, but had since completed. There was a slight change from when I had looked at it last however.
COMBAT QUESTS (1)
DEFEAT 10 COMBATANTS. (40/10). [COMPLETE]
REWARD: ONE COMBAT SKILL OR ITEM. (DEPENDENT ON PERFORMANCE AND NEED).
HIDDEN OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT 20 COMBATANTS BEFORE CLAIMING REWARD. [COMPLETE]
REWARD UPGRADED TO ELITE RANK
HIDDEN OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT 40 COMBATANTS BEFORE CLAIMING REWARD. [COMPLETE]
REWARD UPGRADED TO APEX RANK. [CLAIM]
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
I didn’t have time to consider the implications of hidden objectives. I’d worry about the rewards I might’ve already missed out on later. I claimed the quest with a thought and switched to my Skill screen when an item wasn’t offered, swinging my arms in front of me to keep the burgeoning beetles at bay.
Please be something good.
BLOODLUST (APEX)
ONE MORE. ONE MORE. ONE MORE...
SUCCESSIVE ENEMIES KILLED IN A SHORT PERIOD WILL BOOST YOUR STATS BY 1% UP TO A MAXIMUM OF
20% FOR A SHORT PERIOD AND PROVIDE YOU WITH A SMALL BOOST IN ENERGY. THIS BOOST WILL BE
REFRESHED WITH EACH SUCCESSIVE KILL WITHIN THAT SHORT PERIOD. THE TEMPORARY ENERGY BOOST AND
STAT BOOST WILL QUICKLY FADE IF NO ENEMIES ARE SLAIN WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD. BOOST LASTS LONGER IF
ENEMIES ARE OF THE SAME TYPE.
“Killed.” I had no idea why, but for some reason reading it in the description made my actions become more real. Never mind that I couldn’t tell my blood from the Beetle’s blood on my arms in the dim light, never mind the piles of corpses near the entrance of my grove. Reading it gave me pause. I didn’t want to be a killer. I wasn’t supposed to be a killer. I wanted to help people, not end them. These things were just bugs, but did that make it okay for me?
The answer, unfortunately, was not one I would have time to reach through thoughtful consideration, as I felt a searing pain in my leg. One of the beetles to my right had gotten past my wild swinging and sliced the side of my still crouched leg. It had come in a little shallow to get under my arms so the sand and my pants got the brunt of it, but I wounldn’t get that lucky again. I didn’t have time to consider my actions or what they said about me. I didn’t have that luxury right now. All I could do was decide if it was going to be me or them.
I will not die here. I’m coming home Kate.
I brought my right hand down hard on the beetles exposed head, driving my blade cleanly through its carapace. Immediately, a small burst of energy filled my body, like a splash of water. It brought clarity to my muddled brain and vision and reinvigorated my spent muscles. But it was truly just a burst. Like a single chest compression, it pushed energy through my body, but it was fading fast. I couldn’t let this chance slip from my fingers. I needed to act.
A beetle to my left had launched itself forward, trying to get under my swings. Unlike its comrade, its hit didn’t land. I had strength again. I had energy again. My left arm swung, slicing it along its length and launching it back to the wall of its friends. Another burst of energy. The focus grew, my strength grow. The beetles were moving every so slightly slower. I felt the spark from before reignite and my entire body needed to act. I needed more.
One more. I need one more.
I swung faster than before, catching another by surprise. Power. I was on my feet and squashed another beneath my feet. Speed. I caught a leaping one midair with my blade through its head. Focus.
One more. I need one more.
I launched forward, swinging wildly but with precision. The ache in my arms was gone. The blades once again felt comfortable in my grip, a natural part of me. The wall stood against me, a mass of shadowy forms and clicking mandibles. A nightmare. But I was waking up. And I was going to quash this nightmare before the night was done.
With each swing, another died. They were fast, and before I had barely held the edge. Now though, with my energy reserves being refilled with each death? And my speed, strength, and focus increasing by the second? Now I firmly held the edge. And I would make them bleed with it.
One more. One more.
Forgotten was my pain and exhaustion. I lost myself to a world of shadows and blood. Each shadow slain rewarded me with more blood. Blood was good, it meant one less shadow, it meant the power to slay another, to get more blood. It meant the light would come soon.
The blood sustained me. As long as I kept slaying them, the wounds I accumulated, and continued to accumulate, couldn’t stop me.
One more. One more.
My head was clearer now, but my mantra continued. It had become a lighthouse, a beacon in the night, carrying me to safety. It was all I could focus on. The boost felt like it should’ve been clearing and refocusing me, but I was so mentally drained by this point, that even a 20% increase was just keeping me moving.
Minutes passed, feeling like hours, but racing like seconds. They were endless. The wall I had faced were long dead, far underneath their slain brethren. The ground was drenched in blood, mostly green, but enough red to horrify a sensible mind.My mind had faded far from sensibility, there was only survival.
At some point I discovered the effect that fire had on the bugs, they feared it once they saw how it could devour them as easily as I could. I’d kick them into the fire, and their bodies would light surprisingly quickly, the fire would spread in patches, taking as many with as I was slaying. It seemed to delight in consuming the shadows, even more than I.
My gruesome work continued. One more. Endlessly. One more. My arms were machines at this point, moving without direction. One more. My feet were on a constant move, kicking, crushing, running. One more…
And then, with a final savage swing through the head of a beetle, there was only silence. I swung about me wildly, continuing to swing at the beetles I was sure should be there. But it was only me. Finally convinced, I stopped and stood there in my sandstone cliff and tree lined clearing, alone, surrounded by the carcasses of nearly a hundred beetles, piled haphazardly as their green blood leaked and soaked the sand. A few of the beetles had spears sticking from them, some part of my vaguely recalled grabbing them in my fury to kill them. The last vestiges of flames burned in patches around me, it hadn’t reached the trees yet, but some of the piles of beetles had been thoroughly blackened with fire.
My chest heaved, struggling to refill the air I had consumed, My arms lay slack at my side, slick with red and green blood and sweat, gripping my impromptu weapons so tightly my knuckles were white. My clothes, or what was left of them, were completely drenched with exertion and gore.
In between gasping breaths, my teeth chattered as I champed them, my lips twitching in and out of a snarl. My vision focused in and out as I scanned in quick, jerking moments, looking for my next quarry and fighting off exhaustion. The dying fires were casting multiple shadows throughout my camp in every which way, and each shadow felt like another foe, another trespasser, another knife in the night that I needed to be ready for. I paced in place looking around, searching each dark corner for the nightmare I was sure was there. But they never came, and with each corner my racing heart threatened to overwhelm me, my muscles had begun to quiver, I felt so incredibly weak. But I couldn’t give up now, not when I still felt so in danger. I scanned the bodies, I lifted the piles, I stabbed any I was unsure of, I stomped as many heads as I could, until at last I felt satisfied. Satisfied that each had been slain. Or at least the ones in my clearing and the ones that had come for me.
I could barely comprehend there being more, but I looked out to the darkness, praying that there wasn’t any. Praying that at last, I could rest. I could sleep.
And once again, my prayers remained unanswered. Despite now knowing that I wasn’t dead, I was convinced this must be hell. And my time on the rack seemed to be a little longer.
Walking in the night was one final shadow, one final set of crimson spots, bloody marks on the tranquility of the oasis. Only one set, but this set was distinctly larger than any I had seen thus far. And the scuttling I heard was much slower, but produced audible thumps as it moved along. It’s form was still indistinct in the shadowy gloom, but I could see that this creature was much larger than the ones I had fought thus far. Nearing the size of an elephant. Sand flowed off of its hard carapace as it moved.
One more.
It seems I had one more nightmare to face before I could rest.