Darian had no sense of how long he’d been encased in stone. All he knew was that he was ravenous, irritable, and waking far sooner than he was prepared for. His eyes flickered open, but the stone chrysalis encasing him blurred his vision. He could make out only vague shadows and a flickering series of colorful lights coming from somewhere within the feeding chamber. It was mesmerizing; the only sights he’d known recently were damp, dark corridors, decaying meat, and the occasional insect skittering across the fleshy floor. He’d seen brief glimpses of memories from another life: a bright blue sky, human structures, blood-soaked battles. He had to admit, the blur of colors was a pleasant experience for his new eyes. He tried to move, feeling the stone shell around him start to give, but he knew breaking free would take time.
While he was trapped, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to take stock of the changes made so far, though his first priority was identifying what was in his hive. Focusing inward, he delved into his tremor sense and felt two distinct sets of footsteps. They were both equally light, though one appeared to have more mass behind every step, despite their graceful movements. It was a little disappointing that he couldn’t glean further information from their movements. With a little struggle and even less to show for it, he was still stuck and decided to watch a little longer while he tested the durability of his rocky chrysalis.
Darian calmed his growing anxiety, or was it excitement? He could tell right away that his transformation into a more human-based creature was an overall success. His limbs were longer, that was obvious, as was the fact that his eyes were set into his skull rather than bulging out. On top of that, his carapace had diminished, or more accurately it had compacted. His form was sleek and mobile, he assumed it was mobile anyway, for now, it was quite the opposite which caused him to struggle yet again, this time he could feel cracks forming around his face.
He could still feel his mandibles, but they had retracted a fair way into his head, the tips flush with his jawline, forming a barely noticeable ridge that could launch out and grasp if needed. His hands ached to be put to use, the once effective clawed grippers were now the peak of evolutionary success. Darian was doubtful that there was anything he couldn’t manipulate with them now. Other than that, he felt more or less the same.
The eggs surrounding Darian trembled, an almost unnoticeable ripple of vibration streaming toward him. His beautiful new drones were straining to break free, as if ready to heed the call of their King. As his children reached out to him he swelled with pride that only grew ever more as he felt a comforting presence behind him—likely Caretaker, who had sworn to keep him safe.
When the strangers came close–one daring so much as to place a hand on him, Darian focused, directing his energy upward toward the cracks that had begun to form. The stone around his head cracked further, revealing one glowing purple eye.
“The hell is that?” Ranger stumbled back, removing his hand from the statue but unable to look away from the piercing purple light. “Take this,” he muttered, thrusting the torch into Fayne’s hands while fumbling for his dagger. With his weapon finally in hand, he pointed it toward the statue. “We’re leaving. I don’t know what that thing can do and am not about ready to find out.” Grabbing Fayne by the arm, he began pushing her back toward the entrance.
The faint tearing of a fleshy membrane and the soft skittering of claws echoed through the chamber. Another piece of stone crumbled from the statue, unveiling a second eye that was now fixed on them with an unsettling curiosity. As the crumbling stone-like material fell to the floor, its sounds combined with the ominous skittering that bounced off the chamber walls, the source of where these creatures were became impossible to pinpoint.
Another chunk fell from the face of the statue, exposing a jagged, unnervingly wide smile filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth which only hastened their escape.
Movement flickered in Ranger’s peripheral. Three shadowy shapes scuttled about the fleshy floor, disappearing into the darkness beyond the torchlight that was dimming with every step. In pure single-minded determination, Fayne had not looked behind her to check on her friend, trusting he could take care of himself far better than she could take care of herself.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Ranger, however, seemed to be uncharacteristically overwhelmed by everything happening all at once, slowing his retreat as he sought out his ambushers. As they both knew, he was too curious for his own good. His curiosity did have a limit though, and that limit had been reached.
“Hell no, hell no, hell no!” Ranger chanted, turning to Fayne and launching into a sprint. “Run!” he shouted, pulling out his dagger while barreling after her. If he wasn’t pumped full of adrenaline he might have felt a little hurt at just how quickly she had left him behind. He knew she said she would, but it was different seeing it happen in real-time.
Just a few strides in, something incredibly dense struck the back of his knee, sending him sprawling across the sponge-like floor, his blade sinking into the ground causing it to shudder and recoil. He looked around in a daze, noticing a rather large crustacean-like creature charging forward. It was shelled like a horse-shoe crab, with slots cut out of the front sides for two hammer-like arms as well as some other limbs it wasn’t revealing. Behind it, the only other thing visible in the growing darkness was the statue, now shedding more of its stone shell, its glowing purple eyes watching him intently.
He tried to stand, but his knee throbbed, protesting against his every attempt. A quick glance toward the exit told him Fayne had already reached the corridor leading out. If he was going to stand a chance, he would need to at least try and fight.
My dagger!
In all of the panic and chaos, he had forgotten about his only close-range weapon, and his bow would be useless in this situation. With all the effort he could muster, he pulled himself toward the blade, reaching out to pull it from whatever that disgusting stuff was that it was stuck in. To his horror, the strange hostile monster thwacked the back of his knees again causing him to scream out in pain as his tendons tore and left his legs limp and searing in pain. Driven by sheer strength of will he grabbed the dagger just as the drone extended a second set of gripping claws and grasped him by the ankles, dragging him back toward the statue he only just created distance from.
Hearing the commotion, Fayne turned to see Ranger struggling and her heart sank. She hesitated, but quickly snapped out of it, raising her staff and focusing her energy, sending a healing spell toward him. Light surged forth, illuminating the grotesque, organic chamber, blinding light spilling throughout the cavern. She watched in horror as Ranger was dragged off, but reflexively turned to check the exit. The light from the healing bolt was fading from where she stood, but the lingering rays had revealed two massive, crab-like creatures near the archway, actively blocking her escape. They were motionless, their spiked legs jutting from beneath hardened shells that gleamed in the holy light.
The spell connected, filling Ranger with warmth as torn muscles and ligaments mended. Though fatigued by the effort, Fayne watched as her friend kicked at the monster before rising up, still sliding on his ass as the monster drug him away. With his dagger in his hand, he slashed at the beast and managed to cut into the small exposed manipulation claws, causing them to release him and scurry off into the darkness. He tentatively rose to his feet, his knees resisting as they still throbbed with pain, but as they rapidly healed he found more secure footing and started back toward her.
Fayne stood in shock, waiting for her friend to get closer, unable to assist him in combat, but he stopped in place after taking no more than two steps. Ranger’s gaze met Fayne, pleading helplessly as he began to rise into the air. She could barely identify the sharp claws gripping Ranger by the back of his neck, twisting him around to face the beast that had him in its clutches. As Ranger flailed about, Fayne briefly noticed the glowing purple eyes behind him.
Staring deep into Ranger’s eyes, Darian tilted his head to the side inquisitively. He pulled Ranger closer and inhaled deeply, taking in his scent, remembering every aroma, every hormone coursing through his body. Ranger immediately began striking Darian in the face with his dagger, each blow sliding off of his carapace. He tried to pull the beast's hand from his neck, but nothing budged. Darian showed no signs of flinching, merely responding with a dissatisfied glare.
When the blade grazed Darian’s eye, he immediately tightened his grip before pulling another hand up and pressing the tips of his free hand’s claws under the man's chin. In one swift motion, Darian pierced the man’s brain and pulled his hand back toward him, ripping Ranger’s jaw and most of his face clean off, killing him instantly and dropping his lifeless corpse to the floor.