Chapter 65

My daggers were in my hands as I rushed the towering gorilla. Quill had warned us this could happen. Yet I’d gotten complacent. I’d thought surely, surely, there was no way it could avoid that wooden spear. A trap that should have skewered it completely through. But as the gorilla ripped the trap from the ropes that strained to hold it off the ground, I pushed away my confusion, my surprise, and leaned on my training.

The others were just as quick to adapt. It was understandable, really. We’d trained, sure, but seeing something like this in person, well it was bound to catch a Climber off guard. Training didn’t make us perfect. What it did do though, was ensure we could react and recover in an appropriate time.

Arrows impacted heavily into the right arm of the gorilla, and from the corner of my eye I could see Lyn, bow drawn, taking aim for another shot. On the other side, I heard movement, and assumed Alax was rushing towards the gorilla. Then there was Quill, who had begun firing his arrows the moment the gorilla had grabbed hold of the trap. Had the trap had multiple purposes? Sure, it would have been grand if it ended the fight instantly. But more than that, the creature having to focus on stopping it, and occupying itself with the massive skewer, opened it up for attacks from the others. A trap, within a trap.

Nyle was at my side as we advanced on the gorilla. It was looking about, roaring in rage, as it heaved the now useless trap to the side. The massive, sharpened log crashed against the trees to its right, forcing Lyn to take cover as she let out a surprised scream. I kept my focus on our prey, knowing it would take more than a chucked log to take Lyn down.

The gorilla turned its focus to us just in time to be attacked. Nyle, at my left, darted under a swinging arm, his rapier stabbing underneath the gorilla’s armpit. The thin, sharp blade pierced slightly, before it began to bend, unable to further puncture the monster’s thick hide and muscle. Nyle cursed and retreated, fire blazing in his hand as he drew the gorilla’s attention.

With its eyes looking down at Nyle, the firelight reflecting in its dark pupils, I made my move. The gorilla’s forearms were bleeding and injured, sure, but this close to it I could see the corded muscle, and the dense fur that covered its body like natural armor. This creature was sturdy, extremely so. Piercing weapons, Nyle had just proven, weren’t the most effective on it. And my daggers, well, I highly doubted they’d be able to do much to cut into the fur.

However, that didn’t mean there weren’t ample targets to focus on. It’s stomach bulged as it moved, less muscled, and with hardly any fur covering it. It looked like a possible sensitive spot. Then there were the back legs, where they joined near its groin area. Tendons and vital parts that if severed, could severely injure the creature.

In a split second I made up my mind. Nyle threw his flames at the gorilla, forcing it to raise a shaggy arm over its face to protect it from the flames. With its vision temporarily obscured, and more arrows peppering it, I ran underneath the creature, sliding down to my knees as I did. My momentum drove me forward, and with a heavy, downward cut I drove Fang deep into the creature’s stomach. There was resistance, sure, but with my increased momentum, and I had a feeling the increased properties of the weapon compared to the basic weapons the rest of my team was using, Fang dug in. It sliced open a small line in the stomach of the creature, before I had to yank it free, lest it be ripped from my grip.

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The gorilla bellowed and reached down, clutching blindly towards me with one hand, its other being forced to continue protecting its face from the onslaught of arrows and another fireball. I avoided it, twisting as I did, to cut with Claw. It was a wild swing, as I was on my knees, practically underneath the gorilla, in a precarious position as it moved about. I felt the curved blade cut into flesh but could tell it was shallow. How shallow though, I had no idea of knowing. Still, the stench from the creature’s wound on its stomach told me, at the very least, one of my attacks had done its job.

There was only one problem as I took in the situation. The gorilla was injured. It was surrounded, and it was severely outnumbered. It was also, extremely pissed off. And, it seemed to have had enough of standing around, roaring and taking damage. The second arm, the one it had been protecting itself with, dropped down, and with both arms freed, the creature grabbed hold of my shoulder. It’s grip caused bone to crack. It lifted me like I was a child. Less than that. Like it was picking up a toy. It held me up to eye level, its eyes locked on mine, as its other arm grabbed my other shoulder. Another crack, and I felt my arm pop out of the socket. The gorilla smiled.

Still I held onto my weapons, knowing that every second it focused on me, my teammates were working to bring it down. I looked around, saw the grim determination on Lyn’s face as she took aim. The creature was using me to shield itself now, holding me in a way that protected its face, its vitals, from her. Even Quill, somewhere in the trees behind me, would have a hard time getting a clear shot. Nyle was trying to stab the creature in the gut, but every time he moved in to attack, the gorilla shifted my body, putting me in the way. It was treating me like a toy, and casually using me to shield itself.

Everything may be a construct of the Tower, but in that moment, my opinion of the gorilla within the Tower shifted. All my previous feelings, about how alive they seemed, how peaceful and happy, vanished. This creature was enjoying my pain and suffering. It knew, likely, that it wasn’t going to escape. And so, it was reveling in having me as its trophy. Holding my life, literally, in its hands.

And then, the piece that caused my blood to boil even more intensely than the joy the gorilla seemed to be having, was what I saw from the corner of my right eye. Alax, standing ideally by, watching my suffering with a twisted smirk on his face. With his spear he could easily reach a vital spot on the creature. Had he joined the fray, he could have ensured we took the gorilla down without this predicament. Sure, I’d been reckless. I knew that, and I acknowledged that. But if Alax had been helping, if he’d been there at the creature’s other side, it wouldn’t have had the opportunity to grab hold of me so.

His grudge, it seemed, was so deep that he’d rather watch me die, force me to respawn and rejoin the team, costing me essence, than to help. Anger flared, and then, on top of it, something else. Sorrow, perhaps? Did I pity Alax for his revenge? I did.

“Shadow, now.” Quill’s voice pulled me from the haze of pain and musings. There was a howl, and a dark furred blur sprang from the bushes behind the gorilla. In the creature’s blind spot, the dog leapt onto the gorilla’s massive silver-furred back. Its fangs bit hard at the nape of the gorilla’s neck, and I heard an intense crunch. Blood sprayed as Shadow ripped fur, flesh, muscle, and spine from the base of the creature’s skull. Instantly its movements froze, its grip on me released, as Shadow’s attack ensured what Alax refused to. A successful takedown, with no deaths.