It was strange being in the Howling Wood again. They only traveled about halfway to the old outpost before stopping. Chuck had heard the team sent out had not found any sign of the giant spiders even though they had gone all the way to the remains of the outpost. He didn’t know if they planned on rebuilding it or not. He had talked with Torj and Kyt about hunting in this world the previous week, and as he thought they strictly hunted insect like creatures. He had come to understand that the creatures people talked about were all insects and all giant sized. There didn’t seem to be any small insects and the giant sized ones were not as numerous as the small ones on Earth fortunately.
Chuck didn’t know if there were any actual animals in this new world besides the aquatic kind but he had yet to see any. He hadn’t seen any birds or rodents. When he asked around he got puzzled looks and no one knew what he was talking about. Chuck could only assume all the products and meats came from insects or the sea. He rubbed the leather like holster between his fingers, wondering what kind of bug or fish it had come from. He had taken his rifle with him just in case but wouldn’t be hunting with it because it made too much noise. Everyone else was using a bow.
They traveled into the forest the first day without seeing anything and made camp. Chuck was still not used to the unnaturally quiet woods during the daytime. They took turns on guard duty that night but nothing happened even though howling and roaring echoed throughout the forest. He abstained from any nighttime activities while they were on the hunting trip even though Tess kept trying to seduce him. She seemed to have fun changing into different forms to entice him but he just smiled and hugged her tight.
The second day they started seeing activity both on the ground and in the air. Giant flying insects that ranged in size between a basketball and a refrigerator were flying overhead. Luckily they didn’t seem interested in the hunters. Torj said the only one they needed to watch out for was something called a Death Stinger which sounded like a huge wasp. From the name and description, he hoped they didn’t run into any. On the ground they started seeing forest ants which were the size of cats and grasshoppers the size of large dogs. They took turns shooting them and a flying insect that looked similar to a dragonfly. Torj and Kyt showed them how to harvest the useable parts which got placed into sacks.
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It was decided they would hunt while moving toward the ruins shown on the map. Chuck wasn’t sure what to expect when they got there but he was enjoying hunting so far. It was much different than the hunting he was used to. The game was more plentiful and the bugs ignored them which almost made it too easy. There were a few larger beetles that appeared and tried attacking but they were easily taken care of. His laser like weapon had no trouble punching through the insects. During the second night they were attacked by two centipede looking bugs.
Chuck was asleep when it happened and was jolted awake by a yell of warning from Torj who was on watch. They didn’t use a fire because it would draw in the insects but the amount of stars in the sky illuminated the clearing they were camping in. The beast kin had good night vision as well. Torj had already shot the first centipede through the head before Chuck got to his feet and grabbed his gun. The second one slithered toward him on its multiple legs. It was about as long as a bus and quite fast. He pulled the trigger and shot it through the middle then threw himself to the side.
The hole in it didn’t seem to slow it down much and it quickly changed direction after missing him. Chuck fired again and this time managed to hit its head before it could find another target. It toppled to the ground. Kyt approached it carefully and verified it wasn’t getting back up. Chuck breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t think he was going to sleep for a while after that excitement. Tess hugged him tightly and made sure he wasn’t injured. Raz and Maz helped Torj deal with the first one. They quickly harvested the bodies and then buried the remains to prevent more predators from showing up. It sounded like they should be able to reach the ruins the next day. Chuck wanted to explore the ruins and then head home. Things were starting to get a little too dangerous for his liking.