Pausing behind the overturned car, Ryan strained his newly enhanced senses, smelling, listening and looking for any possible threat. The ambush parties attacking the monsters had retreated to their respective compounds hours ago and he was sneaking through the suburb, approaching his first target with the utmost care. Miguel had stayed on the ridge and was scoping out any possible complications barring Ryan’s route to the little mall where a gunshop had been previously located.
The cloyingly putrid scent of rotten refuse, intermingled with the metallic tang of spilled blood and acrid smoke is prevalent down here in the wide open streets. The harsh crackling and popping of smouldering fires masks other sounds. Sight cannot be relied on either, smoke wafting through the streets, the flickering of the fires making the dark shadows dance and caper. Still, not detecting any possible threat, Ryan slowly stalked to the next opportunistic cover. Carefully and slowly he made his way, sticking to cover, pausing ever so often to take in his surroundings, scanning for threats.
Ryan felt the tension of the situation getting to him, noticed that his movements became more skittish. The calm voice of Miguel outlining the next part of his route lessened the oppressive atmosphere markedly. It didn’t take much longer before Ryan approached the entrance to the mall, the dark entrance with the shattered windows looming like the maw of a massive predator. Not a single sound issued from its cavernous depths and hesitantly Ryan approached it at an angle, refusing to silhouette himself against the lighter surroundings.
Once his eyes acclimatised to the darkness within he cautiously approached the gunshop, immediately spotting its broken doors, hoping against hope that the strong-room hadn’t been breached. They weren’t that lucky, the armoured door was listlessly leaning to the side, the hinges smashed out of the reinforced concrete walls, the shelves and gun-racks empty. Reporting his findings to Miguel Ryan stalked out of the mall, making his way to the road running towards the hiking trail running up the next mountain ridge. He should reach the top without difficulties and from up there he could observe the rest of the town, hopefully spotting the Ascension Obelisk with ease, he doubted that it would be inconspicuous.
The ascent proved easy, the relative lack of scents and sounds along the trail lending him a greater feeling of security, his senses peeled for any abnormalities. Once Ryan crested the rise he paused in awe, there wasn’t any need to search for the Obelisk. A massive obsidian menhir glowing a subdued blue was parked in the Zoopark close to the middle of the central business district. The thing couldn’t be missed and his Bifröst was sending a plethora of confusing sensations, Ryan could see the subliminal vibrations the object was giving off, hear the tether of twisted space howling from its tip into the high heavens, smell that its weight far exceeded any possible weight that an object this size and density could possibly have. He felt the slight gravitational pull it exerted, the dent it made in the surrounding space-time continuum. It was unreal, out of this world.
Ryan tried to convey his observation to Miguel and eventually issued an eloquent “Ungh, hnnn, Obelisk, found it.” Miguel must have been so perplexed by this momentous piece of information that he had to confirm and sent back a short query. “Ryan, can you confirm that you have found the Obelisk?” to which Ryan’s answer was an obvious yes. Turning away from the fascinating phenomenon Ryan noticed that the sky was showing the first hints of the approaching dawn and that he would need to hurry to make it out of town before daylight found him exposed.
By the time Ryan joined Miguel the sun was peeping over the eastern horizon. He felt way to exposed on his way up the mountain, but Miguel’s commentary on the activities within the two compounds reassured him that it was unlikely that he had been spotted. Miguel handed him a piping hot cup of coffee, brewed in the little nook between the rocks. The elixir of life revived his flagging spirits before they got doused again by Miguel’s barrage of questions: “What took you so long? Was the Obelisk difficult to find? Why didn’t you answer my communications earlier? Were you at risk?” Somewhat confused he asked Miguel what the meaning of the questions was, after a short back and forth he determined that his short glance at the Obelisk had taken in excess of two hours during which he had been incommunicado. “I only looked at it for a moment.” Ryan complained and explained his experiences to Miguel while they got their packs ready for the trip back to the fortress. They had planned on staying at their hideout for the rest of day but decided that it would be safer to retreat through the mountains during the day after Ryan’s possible exposure to observers during the early dawn ascent, it would also allow them to better get rid of their tracks and any traces of their presence. By the time they hit their cached bikes it was already lunch and they continued on their way, informing the group that they would be back within the next hour or two, barring any unforeseen hostile encounters.
They nearly missed it. Cycling along the tar road towards the mine the section of demolished fence on both sides of the road nearly didn’t register in Ryan’s mind before he slammed the brakes, startling Miguel who continued on for a short moment. Ryan turned around and approached the shoulder of the road, intently peering at the flattened game fence. Massive tracks approached the road and then continued on the other side. As large as they were, nearly the diameter of the bikes wheels, their origin was clear to Ryan. A Rhino had crossed the road here, and judging from the size of the tracks, it was the size of a house.
“Miguel, what do you think? Should we track the beast? Its heading east, and depending where it crosses the mountains, might hit the fortress. We should probably warn the others just to be safe.” “I don’t know,” Miguel answered, “it’s bound to be a high level and I don’t feel confident with just us two. I’d rather get back to the fortress instead of risking encountering that.” Miguel couldn’t be budged and Ryan failed to convince him to follow the tracks so they agreed to split up after informing the group. He carried the bike of the road and hid it in some bushes, together with his pack. Miguel was already disappearing in the distance when Ryan started on the tracks, carrying his bow with an arrow knocked.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The humongous beast just smashed straight through any obstacles in its way, the trail of devastation so blatant that Ryan could probably have followed it at a jog in the dark of a moonless night. The tracks were fresh, the sandy edges of the imprints still crisp and clear, not eroded by the slight wind blowing in his face. The broken stumps of branches and trees holding traces of moisture, not yet dried by the sun. Ryan carefully jogged along the tracks, confident that he would hear the beast way before it would detect his comparatively stealthy approach. Ryan knew that rhino’s had horrendous sight, relying on sound and smell to detect threats, of which there were few to the fully grown animal. He was downwind of the beast and moving silently but swiftly up its rear, it should be a piece of cake to approach close enough to stalk it properly.
He stopped momentarily at a pungent patch of urine the size of a table top. The liquid had soaked into the loose sandy soil and testing with his finger, he found it to be warm. He was close, to close considering he couldn’t hear the sounds he was expecting. He was expecting and listening for the sounds of cracking branches, the sound of a massive animal laying a trail of devastation through the thick bush. The ominous silence reigning over the surroundings was oppressive and now slowly eroding his composure. The animal had stopped its wanton threshing of the vegetation for one reason or another before Ryan could detect its location and it worried him.
Hemmed in by the thick bush around him wasn’t an ideal position to be in either and so he scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that might grant a bit of elevation so that he could try and spot the beast. All in vain, as there wasn’t a single tree or little hillock within any reasonable distance that would allow him to climb, spot the beast and place Hunter’s Mark on it. Gritting his teeth, hypervigilant and all his senses straining for any sign of his opponent, he kept his head on a swivel and continued along the tracks. The first indication that he was in deep trouble was a soft snort originating from somewhere behind him. As he turned around he could hear the inevitable sounds of a massive shape charging at him through the bush, approaching closer by the second, still strangely muffled. The massive mountain of flesh breaching through the wall of bush like a titan rising from the seas didn’t allow for any time to aim, releasing his arrow in the general direction of the beast was futile, the front of the behemoth heavily armoured in overlapping and thick leathery plates. In the split second before Ryan Shifted to the side of the charging beast he applied Hunter’s Mark.
The momentum of the charge carried the Level 14 Armoured Rhino away through the bushes, leaving a trail of smushed vegetation behind. Ryan could feel it circling back around and hunted for a suitable spot to face the incoming charge to no avail. He had only enough Energy to allow for one more use of Dimensional Shift and he would have to make it count. With the Rhino once again near on top of him Ryan sprinted to the side, hoping that the massive animal would be to slow to adjust the direction of its charge.
It swiped at him with its horn, missing him by only centimetres. Ice cold, he fully drew the bow in a movement as quick as thought and released the arrow into the side of the charging animal, no time or need to aim, he was so close to the wall of flesh passing him by. He felt the hitch in the beasts stride through the sole of his feet, the pounding rhythm of the Rhino quartering away had changed to a slightly less even beat. It circled around again, lining up another charge and Ryan once more set himself to receive it. Knocking and drawing, preparing to dodge to the side, he waited for the charge.
It was slower, more measured, but still approaching at a speed Ryan couldn’t hope to match with his fastest sprint. As the lowered point of the horn threatened to gore him he jumped to the side, releasing the arrow mid jump, angling to hit its vital organs. The broadhead sliced through the animals hide, the fletching disappearing in the animals body, before bright arterial spray decorated the surrounding bushes. Elation rose, jeopardising his carefully maintained concentration. The Rhino was circling again, slower this time, the sounds more laboured. Even mortally wounded it refused to give up, ponderously charging through the bush, trying to take him down. Again he dodged, this time slightly too late. He got clipped by the animals charging shoulder, lowered as it turned in his direction, and smashed through the bushes at his back by the freight train passing by. He could feel the bones in his shoulder splinter, the agony near beyond what he could bear. Disoriented, he got to his feet, moaning in pain.
The beast was charging again, slower and slower, but still approaching way quicker than anything that size had a right to be. He had dropped his bow somewhere and with his left arm hanging limply from his torso Ryan fumbled for his revolver with his right hand. He managed to grab it just before the animal reached him and so he Shifted to the side, raised the firearm and pumped three rounds into the beast. It was a waste of ammunition, the bullets flattened against the Rhino’s defences, failing to penetrate where his arrow had cut through easily and once more the beast was past.
The animal circled again and Ryan despaired, he wasn’t certain if he had another dodge in him, and with his left arm useless, couldn’t further damage the animal to speed up its demise. Not giving up, he set himself again, crouching down and preparing to jump. He could feel it approaching, crashing through the bushes in reckless abandon, charging straight at the insignificant flea that had hurt it so. As he jumped, it tried to swipe at him with its obsidian horn, and stumbled. Ploughing a deep trench into the sandy ground at full speed the Rhino came to a rest some distance away from Ryan under a huge cloud of dust. Ryan stayed wary, watching for any movement, not willing to approach. As the dust slowly settled his Hunter’s Mark faded from his awareness and to his great relief, an Experience notification pinged in his awareness. Shaking and panting, the adrenalin slowly subsiding, gritting his teeth at the pain of his mutilated shoulder, Ryan closed his eyes and slowly sank to the ground. “That was way to close.”