The moons were still high in the sky, so I couldn’t count on daybreak saving me. I rallied myself, or attempted to, my body was truly feeling the strain of the massacre, I could barely stay standing, and it was getting worse by the minute. This fight couldn’t last long. I’d have to end it quickly. I bounced in place on the balls of my feet, trying to encourage my body to stay ready, I’d come so far, one more and I’d be done.

“Just one more, just one more”. I realized I’d been whispering it out loud unconsciously, perhaps for a while now. Let the giant bastard come, let me face him, and let me sleep.

But the giant bastard didn’t seem to have an interest in coming closer. I could see what I thought was the shadow of its head scanning my clearing from the shadows, taking in the loss of its kind. And it backed up further into the night.

Had I scared it off? Maybe it would just leave. It seemed to want nothing to do with me, which was fine by me. Sure it might come back another night, but I could be rested by then. My weariness began to return, seeing a possibility to finally rest. But, I stayed ready. Something wasn’t right.

The Crimson Beetle had backed up further into the night, but then had remained there, watching me as I watched it. Did it want me to come face it? Fat chance of that.

“Come on then! Come and face me like your lackeys. I’ll squash you just like I squashed them.” I shouted at the shadowy form. It didn’t react. I began to shout some more, but my voice caught. Too dry. I looked for my coconut water stores but they had likely been buried in the melee. I was truly beginning to feel the weight of battle now. I’d probably pass out any sec…..and it hit me.

The Beetle didn’t have to come face me. It could see how worn out I was. Why fight me when it could just wait a minute for me to fall over from exhaustion and then come devour me at its leisure?

And I was running out of time. The ache in my muscles was back. Each wound was beginning to sting more and more. Soon I might not even be able to stand.

It remained there watching, patiently waiting for my time to run out. I couldn’t wait for it, if I had time and energy maybe I could hole up somewhere, but it seemed made for digging as I noticed its front legs and mandible both seemed much chunkier than the grunts I had faced. I couldn’t hide from it, I couldn’t wait for it, that only left…. “Damn it!”

I didn’t have much time, I took a couple quick breaths in an attempt to psych myself up, then walked forward, passing beyond the circle of light my campfire offered and into the thick darkness of night. The large beetle didn’t move, perhaps content for its meal to come to it.

Each step in the night threatened to be my last as the weight of shadows pulled me down into the sand. The edges of my vision were black, whether from darkness or exhaustion I didn’t know, it didn’t matter.

“One more, One more” my mantra continued. One more step in front of the other. One more second of consciousness. One more final attempt to defy fate. One more enemy to slay. One more chance at life. One more. One more.

10 feet in front of me the beetle gathered itself to its full height. The moonlight shied away from its hide, seeming to bend around it. Although, my entire vision was swimming, so that might have just been my exhaustion. But I could see enough.

My observation that it seemed designed for digging seemed correct. It did not have the sharp cutting mandibles of the others, or the quick legs and lithe form. This one was built more like a tank. Sturdy and unsurpassable. Its mandibles and legs were much chunkier and seemed made for shoveling, scooping, and crushing the dirt and sand it lived in. I could see deep scrapes in its carapace, perhaps previous fights for dominance or sharp obstacles it had scraped itself on, but that’s not what concerned me. What got my attention was the presence of more carapace beneath these scrapes. The armoring on its head was also significantly more extensive, forming bulky plates that extended from its large head, leaving only 2 eye holes for sight and a large opening for its mouth.

I can’t cut through that. Every strategy I had deployed on the others was useless against this behemoth. There was no way my small blades could pierce any part of it in a meaningful way before my body gave out, or it finished me.

What was I supposed to do? No where on its body was weak to my blades. Well, I’m sure there was somewhere not protected from my blades, but to get there I’d have to…

An idea struck. A final hail mary on how to deal with this beast. A ridiculously stupid plan that I only entertained because my brain was too foggy and too desperate to think of anything else. Were there better options? Definitely, but this was the only thing I might be physically capable of. Time was my enemy though, I needed to act fast. So I gathered my courage, took a deep breath in to clear my head…and collapsed to one knee.

Silence. Save for the gentle rustling of sharp palm leaves and the soft lapping of water on the sand, all was silent in the moonlit night. The sand was soft below me, and my body wanted so desperately to sleep, even in this kneeling stance. But I only needed a bit more time, so I continued to stave off exhaustion and just sat there, trying to look as pathetic as possible. Which, admittedly, was the easiest part of this whole plan and appeared to be working.

At first the beetle had remained where it was, uncertain at the strange development. Eventually, it seemed to decide I was truly exhausted and approached me, its body grinding and clicking as its armored plates rubbed against each other. I stared at the ground in between us as it approached. Then, it was right there. I could feel its antenna begin to prod me, perhaps trying to bait out any last attempts. Despite my exhaustion and resolve, I barely avoiding cringing away from its touch. I only had 1 shot, and it wasn’t this moment. If I didn’t remain still, I was surely dead.

“One more, one more, one more..” my voice barely a whisper, my dry throat and cracked lips barely forming the words. One more movement. One more push. Then I would be done.

The gigantic beetle seemed satisfied, and made a hissing sound I was all too familiar with by now. The first 4 had made it right before they struck, it had emenated from within their mouths, and was only made when their mouths were completely open. It had been made dozens of times in the last hour. I had learned to dodge whenever I heard it. This time though, my reaction needed to be different. I looked up, glaring down the black, horrifying gullet of the beetle. I could see strange protrusions and multiple small feelers within, and I could make out the strong muscles circling its throat. Again, my revulsion was barely contained, but I held firm. This had been the biggest gamble, but a quick scan confirmed what I had been hoping to see. I had stared down the mouths of dozens of these creatures all night and was pleased to see that this large one shared one similar trait with the rest. No teeth.

The beetle struck forward. Its maw stretched to devour me in a single bite. I was ready. The illusion of resting was no longer needed. I pushed forward off my feet which had been tensed since I collapsed and launched forward, arms and blades in front of me, straight into the beetle’s maw and complete darkness.

Between the beetle’s strike and my leap, I had pushed past its strong crushing mandibles and right into its throat. Being crushed by those large weapons had been the next biggest risk, I needed to be in one piece to execute the rest of this.

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And so far I was.

No sooner was I down the monster's gullet than I felt its powerful muscles and mouthparts begin to crush my human body, and a foul-smelling slime began to fill the space I was in. I didn’t have long and responded immediately, doing what I had been doing all night.

I sliced.

I stabbed.

I ripped.

I tore, at anything and everything within reach.

The Beetle’s exterior was impossible for me to penetrate, I knew it at a glance, but would it be just as impenetrable from within? The beetle’s frantic screams around me indicated it was not. I could feel its muscles tighten further, working to crush my body before I could do any further damage. Any time one part of my body began to feel too crushed I would struggle to bring my blades to that area of the throat. It was incredibly tight and I felt like I was fighting inside of a sleeping bag with a sumo wrestler laying on me. But it was either this or die.

One more. One more.

One more second of defiance. One more slice. One more stab. I could go one more second. My head was heavy and fuzzy. My ears were ringing. My chest couldn’t expand to catch a breath of what little air had not been replaced by the strange slime and green blood.

One more. One more. I sliced, I cut long tears in the beetle's throat, desperately trying to relieve the pressure crushing me. I was attacking with abandon, anything my blades touched I sliced. It was a wonder I didn’t cut myself.

One more. One more.

Slowly, painfully slowly, the pressure lessened. And I cut more. The screams lessened. I kept slicing. The movements around me lessened. And I stabbed over and over again.

One more. One more.

Then, all was still. The pressure lessened entirely, there was no will behind the remaining force. There were no more movements, no more screams.

The beetle was dead. Somehow, I had done it. But I hadn’t won yet. My small air supply was now completely exhausted, and there wasn’t any fresh air to be found here in the dark remains. The slime and blood were hot on my exposed skin, and I could feel a burning sensation now that I wasn’t fighting for my life. The slime. It was slowly digesting me. I didn’t have time. I guessed a direction, and began slicing and burrowing with every last ounce of energy I had.

Like some vicious parasite I burrowed through the beetles body in what I hoped was the direction of its underside. The armor there had been strong, but had looked thinner, and was my best shot at freedom. My body was fighting off the early spasms that come with oxygen deprivation. My skin was on fire, it felt like armies of fire-ants were swarming over every exposed inch of flesh.

One more. One more.

I could go one more second. That was it. One more second. That’s all I had in me. My blades kept burrowing and pushed forward with everything I had. One more second than it would be over. One more second and I could rest. Rest would be so nice. I could feel the warmth of rest replacing the feelings of pain. One more second. One more second. My whole body was no longer being consumed by ants, but by warmth. I wasn’t in a beetle but a warm bed, and I was so tired. Any problems could wait until morning. One more…one more sec.. My blades found hard shell, I roused slightly. I was a moment from sleep. One more act that’s all I could do. One more. I took hold of the blade in my right hand with both hands, releasing the one in my left, and I thrust against the shell, pouring everything I had into my strike.

The carapace bent below my strike, but held firm. Perhaps another strike?

One more. But I was done. I had nothing more. I…..

ONE MORE!!!!!! I slammed the blade down with everything I had and more. I would get out. I was completely blind and my mind was completely black, narrowed down to a single waning flame of will. A flickering spark of presence trying only to survive and live.

My blade broke through, the carapace around it cracked and broke away in pieces, like a clay pot. My hands broke through, and I pushed forward. Fighting the now escaping fluids for room to get a breath of air. The burning slime and hot blood rushed by my ears and head, but waned as I plugged the hole with my head and finally refilled my lungs. I took great gasping breaths, coughing as I inhaled slime and blood. I sputtered and spit out large wads of blood, and kept breathing.

After taking a few seconds to refill my lungs, I used my blade to dig myself the rest of the way out. My frantic guess had been mostly right, but instead of finding the abdomen below me or its side, I had come out of the underside near the back legs, having burrowed through most of the beetle to reach freedom.

I was a gore-covered mess of burning skin and acrid smells. The moons shone down, illuminating the lake a mere 20 feet in front of me. My skin still burned and my wounds were on fire. Rapidly losing consciousness, I stumbled to the lakes edge, not stopping at the shore by rather walking right into healing waters.

The water was cold, but my body had been covered in hot acid, so I hardly noticed. I laid down on the shores edge, feeling the water washing over my legs and torso. Only my neck and head remained exposed to the night air. The copious amounts of blood and gore quickly polluted the water around me. I could feel the familiar cooling sensation on my wounds, signalling that the lake water’s strange healing properties were working.

Finally, my exhaustion proved too great, and my head collapsed back, on the shore. My eyes flickered shut, and all went black.

—----------------------------

Any other night would have seen my sleep plagued with nightmares after that ordeal. But I had perhaps the deepest sleep of my life. If I wasn’t so exhausted I would’ve returned to my shelter, instead of sleeping out in the open like a snack for the next hungry thing. Luckily, I was mostly undisturbed through the night. Until, just beyond the flickers of consciousness, I felt a tickling sensation on my legs.

BUGS!!!

I shot awake, bleary-eyed in the bright sunlight and confused. Nonetheless, I didn’t think and brought my hands up to fight the beetle that was about to chomp into my legs and struck…air. I was still lying in the water, and judging by how wet my hair felt, I had been partially submerged all night. I felt like I had been asleep for days, but it appeared to only be mid-morning. The sun was high enough that the temperature had risen from the chill of the night back up to a radiant warmth.

“If there wasn’t another beetle, then what..?” I trailed off out loud, now looking down at my still submerged legs. 5 feet or so from my legs, beneath the surface, were 4 brilliantly green fish. To my adjusting eyes they appeared to be long and slender, but as the sleep faded and I readjusted to the bright conditions their forms sharpened to that of very large carps. They hadn’t fled but seemed to be observing me hesitantly. I saw their long whiskers extending from the faces, and realized that must have been what woke me. Then I noticed how clean my legs looked.

“Ah. Sorry” I said to the wary fish. If the Carp wanted to help themselves to all the gore that had covered my body I did not want to interrupt. No harm in that.

I laid back down, my light-headedness and weariness catching back up to me now that my adrenaline had passed. Within a few minutes the Carps returned and continued to nip at all the refuse and detritus covering my body. Aside from the tickling sensation it was quite pleasant, and my heartrate soon returned to normal as I closed my eyes to block the sun, as my hands were currently being picked clean of bug guts.

I didn’t fall back asleep, but I just thought. Last night had been..terrifying. Both the encounters, and how I had responded. I had been cornered before in my life. I didn’t like to fight. I had fought once as a kid, defended myself once. And that had been enough. The looks of horror I had faced had been scarring. I had always thought you should never fight except to defend your life. So when I had fought, I had defended my life. Far too aggressively for an 8 year old I had quickly found out. It was strange. I hadn’t thought of that memory in years. Almost forgotten about it completely. Now it had come up twice in as many days. I had never fought again. Never defended myself again. Not until that alley in London. Which had triggered this whole thing.

My eyes shot back open. “I’m not dead!” A ridiculous statement, but it changed so much for me. I hadn’t died in that alleyway. Something else had happened. Something had happened right before I was supposed to die. And I needed to get to the bottom of it.

I laid back down, closed my eyes and spoke out loud.

“Quests”.

It was time to figure out what the heck was going on, and truly get some answers.