Tabs could not believe that the portal had closed. The sudden shock of its disappearance wrenched at her. She had only just gotten Kyto back after the Dungeon visit to have him disappear again. They had no idea where the portal led and no means to be able to track them. He had taken clothing for the north but had only taken enough food for the day as there had been no plan to stay. She should have known the cursed manner in which the System operated and guessed something like this would happen.
She was sat in the dining area of the barracks. Sniffer and Brandon had both suffered from vomiting and nausea as she had from leaving a party and were currently down in the backyard of the barracks, as close to the ablutions as they could be. Elizabeth had gone to the stall to mix up a tonic, and Crystal was chatting to Marlene. She walked over with a pot of coffee and mugs, placing them on the table by the fire.
“Here,” Crystal said, pouring her sister a drink.
“Thanks.”
“I am sure he will be fine.”
Tabs took a shuddering breath before replying as she had fought back tears, “I hope so.”
“He was alone for a long time before he met you. He knows how to take care of himself.”
“With the way this System operates, I am not so sure.”
“You have to think positively. The System chose the pair of them for a reason- whatever that reason is.”
“I just wish we knew why. I have gone over so many thoughts about what it is trying to achieve, and none of them make any sense. Why Kyto and Tiddles? Is it because of their birthdays?”
“Birthdays?”
“Yes. Kyto told me that his and Tiddles' birthdays are the same. So he thought it may be a reason for the System to have chosen them.”
“That is something we can look into, for sure. If it is a reason, I am unsure what would have caused it to be a certain day.”
“That is the thing. If it is because of that, then why? There are so many unanswered questions; every time I think we have just gotten through something, the next issue happens. The fact he was Chosen, then the incursion and the Dungeon and now this portal. All the while, he has the countdown timer running down to these supposed challenges.”
“I think Sniffer will be a handful with Tiddles missing, too.”
Tabs banged her hand on the table in frustration, spilling her coffee. She stared at the spilt liquid as it began to run to the edge of the table.
“I will get a cloth,” Crystal said.
Tabs suddenly realised she was just staring at it. “No. Sorry, I will.” She stood and walked over to Marlene.
Elizabeth joined them not long after.
“How are they?” Crystal asked with concern.
“They seem to have stopped throwing up now, but both look green still. I hope the tonic takes the edge off the sickness.”
“Kyto’s healing did not stop mine, unfortunately,” Tabs said.
“Are you OK?” Elizabeth asked Tabs.
Tabs turned to look at her, “No. Not really.”
“I know it is not much of a comfort, but if anyone can look after themselves, it is those two. Tiddles with his fighting ability and Kyto with his healing. They are like a perfect match.”
“I know they are, but what if they are not together.”
“We can only hope they are!”
“Kyto asked if we should get married once this is over.”
Both Elizabeth and Crystal turned to stare at Tabs in shock.
“And?” Crystal said excitedly.
“I did not answer him. I couldn’t. I am so uncertain that saying yes would not have felt right. I only wish I had now. At least he would have had a reason and something to look forward to.”
“Oh, Tabs. You poor thing,” Elizabeth said, resting her hand on her arm.
Tabs had been fighting back tears since Kyto disappeared through the portal, and now that she had told them what Kyto had asked her, the floodgates opened.
Crystal came and sat next to her, hugging her and stroking her hair as sobs racked her body. It took Tabs a while to regain control of her heartache, and the women sat silently for a long while.
“We can’t just sit around here feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to be keeping ourselves busy,” Elizabeth said.
“You are right. I think I will go and sort the stall out properly. Since the incursion, we have not been there due to the time spent at the hangar,” Crystal replied.
“Are you coming to Tabs?” Elizabeth asked.
“I will in a while. I just need some time alone.”
Crystal and Elizabeth stood to leave.
“Thank you. Both.” Tabs said. They both smiled at her caringly and left the dining area.
Later that afternoon, Tabs joined them at the stall. Crystal was busy talking to a couple of patrons as she approached. She felt a little better now and was trying to think positively about the experiences and the potential for the future.
“So, who is he?” one of the patrons said.
“I have already told you. I am not talking about Kyto,” Crystal replied, her usual charismatic charm replaced by anger. “Now, if you are not here to purchase anything, can you please leave?”
“Why should we leave? We are only asking questions about these strange happenings, and you and your kind seem to have more information than the rest of us,” the other patron responded.
Tabs saw red, “Your kind? What do you mean by that?” she snapped as she reached the stall.
The two men turned and looked at her, taken aback by her angry expression. “You and your Enlightened friends,” one of them replied.
“Kyto may be Enlightened, but he is no different to any other Risen. He is not a monster or something to be talked about as a specific kind.”
“You are not serious, right? He can heal people without touching them, and that beast bursts into flames,” the other man replied.
“It was not his fault he was chosen by the System.”
“I bet he was placed here by the System,” one muttered.
“Placed here? I have been with him for twelve months nearly, and he went through the same if not more pain than the rest of us since he was Chosen. You do know what happened to them in the Dungeon, right? They all died horrific deaths multiple times. All to prevent this township from being attacked and to keep you all safe, and you come here to where we work and start questioning us and who we are and classing us as a different type of people. I suggest you leave now before I start to lose my temper,” Tabs shouted.
Crystal walked around the stall and placed her hand on Tabs' arm. Tabs pulled away and stepped forward towards the men. “I said leave.”
The two men looked at each other before starting to back away from the stall. “And don’t ever come back here,” she called after them.
The men walked away, muttering between themselves, and Tabs did not take her eyes from them until they were out of sight.
“I would have handled it sis. There was no need to let them get to you,” Crystal said.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I know. It is nice to get rid of some of my anger, though,” Tabs replied, smiling weakly.
“I think you may have scared off any other patrons for now. Maybe we should close up and start afresh in the morning?”
Tabs looked at her sister. She had always been the strong one out of the two of them and the one with the short temper, but today, she had shown her temper was just as fiery when pushed.
“It makes a change, you being the one to scare people away,” Crystal chuckled.
Tabs glared at her, frowning.
“Where is Elizabeth?”
“She went back to the house with Sniffer and Brandon. They still are not good.”
“Let’s close up and go and find them. I want to be around friends who I can trust and do not gossip about us.”
They spent some time clearing the stall and packing away before they returned to the house.
Josie had seen the interaction with the two men from where she had been pretending to browse at one of the nearby stalls. This group were going to be interesting to find out about. She thought the older sister looked vaguely familiar but could not place where she might have seen her before. She could do with getting to the house where they stayed to look around, but she knew that with it being in the compound and without Cooper being in town, she would not get permission. She would have to find out what she could while they were here. The comment about multiple deaths had intrigued her and she needed to discover more about this Dungeon they had visited.
The younger of the two men she had seen earlier that day may be an option for her. He did not seem to be attached to any of them directly, and she had started to form a plan as to how she may try to infiltrate their friendship group. She would wait until they were next in town. She watched as they closed the stall and left the hangar, slowly following at a distance before they turned towards the compound.
It was only late afternoon, and she had time to spare, so she decided to visit the medical hangar. The rumours in the bar were that the group had been heavily involved, not just due to the man but their own healing abilities. She needed to gather as much information as possible before returning to the fuel depot.
∆∆∆
The river cut through the forest, sweeping curves surrounded by the densely packed trees on both sides. There appeared to be no break in the landscape. He had seen several Wild Ones flying across the river but nothing in its murky depths. He was not venturing too close to the edge and staying back, picking his way through the smaller sapling roots which tried to trip him at every step. The going was very slow, and he was unsure if he was even going in the right direction to find Tiddles. The only bonus he had was the map showing where he had been. He stumbled over another root when he saw a shape in the river. At first, he thought it was a log or tree that had fallen into the water when he noticed a slight ripple and movement against the river’s flow.
He stopped, watching the shape. It appeared to be very slowly cruising against the current. It was midstream about fifty feet from where he now stood. At the distance he was, he could not tell its exact size, but it was large. It had an elongated body like that of a snake with rough-surfaced skin. He then noticed a slight reflection of what he guessed was its eye. Its body suddenly disappeared under the water. Kyto stood in shallow water as he worked through the twisted tree roots and had no idea where the Wild One had gone. He did not fancy it coming near where he stood, so he cautiously made his way behind the trees rather than in the open in front of them. His heart was hammering at the unknown.
He got behind the tree and stood perfectly still, not moving. He had moved as slowly as he could so as not to make a sound as he stepped into the shallow water. He was frozen to the spot when he heard a splashing sound from the river. It was not close, so he chanced a glance around the tree.
The Wild One had caught some large swimming Wild One in its jaws, and he watched in awe as the creature's snout appeared from the depths. Its huge, broad, flat head reminded him of the Gaterthon but dwarfed it by its size. Its jaws must have been ten feet long. The massive struggling fish that Kyto now realised was flailing in its jaws to get free, but it would not happen with its long, sharp teeth penetrating through its body. The Wild One threw its head back, casting the fish into the air before it fell back down flapping, and as it did, it snapped its jaws shut, cutting the fish in two. The fish was larger than Kyto, and he shivered, considering what it would have done to him.
His display triggered. The Codex icon was flashing, and he selected it. Inside, the pages were flooded, and a new entry appeared.
Camenanic - Reptilean.
Camenanic originated from the Black Caiman. They have evolved to grow up to five times their original size and will mainly stay in water to support their massive forms. Their diet consists of anything that comes within their grasp. Their jaws have enough power to crush and break most bones as they snap closed. They will occasionally venture onto land, but usually only during mating season.
He moved from the river's edge and slowly moved further into the treeline. He did not fancy staying anywhere near it. As he moved away, he heard a familiar sound. It was the trumpet of a Keefir. He stopped in his tracks and turned back, looking at the river. Down from the Wild One, two other huge forms had now appeared. Their massive heads were grey and looked like they had whiskers. The heads of the Wild Ones were easily as large as Tiddles, never mind the bodies still submerged. He watched as the Camenanic turned from where it had been devouring the fish and began to swim up the river away from them.
His Codex triggered again.
Manataeliak - Mammalian.
Manataeliak are the largest mammalian creatures to live in the rainforest's rivers. They are herbivores and feed on the abundant vegetation in the rivers. They live in large groups and will protect lesser Wild Ones. They are known as the River Angels.
The new Codex updates were amazing, and he suddenly felt more secure now that he could find out further details of the Wild Ones. He quickly skimmed through the Codex but could not find an entry for the centipede or large insect he had seen or the fish Wild One he had just seen. He did not understand why this could be, but at least the reptiles and mammals were being shown.
He slowly ventured back towards the water's edge. The two huge heads of the Manataeliak were sweeping the river's edges. It appeared as though they were looking for something. He leaned forward to peer around the tree as they swam out of his vision, and the branch he lent against gave way, throwing him forward into the shallow water at its base.
His already sweat-drenched clothing was now soaked with the river's cool water. He spluttered and stood upright, spitting out a mouthful of the brown, murky water. As he stood, the two huge forms had stopped, and one of them had started approaching where he was. Having read the Codex description, he was not concerned about it attacking him, and he watched as it swam straight towards him. It stopped some distance away and tilted its head, trumpeting towards him.
He frowned, looking at the Wild One, which seemed to be trying to communicate with him. It again tilted its head, pointing with a massive flipper further down the river, the way he had been travelling. He stood looking at the creature, its huge whiskers on its face as long as his arms. It could not be trying to communicate it was just a Wild One. Then again, so was Tiddles. He was heading in the direction it appeared to indicate, so he continued along the riverside, glancing occasionally into the river to see the two creatures paralleling him. The river was gradually widening, and from shore to shore, it was probably at least three hundred feet apart now, and he was not going to even attempt to enter the water after seeing the Camenanic.
The river took a sweeping right turn and narrowed again to sixty feet. As he forced his way through the roots and foliage at the edge, he noticed the water's colour change. Over on the right, the river was clearer and did not have the same brown churn as the rest. The Wild Ones had continued to follow him, and he could see their huge yellow cores shining brightly when he caught them above the water's surface.
He continued his path, hoping he was going the right way and he could see the clearer water was coming from a smaller tributary. The river was still too wide for him to attempt to cross. He had passed the entrance to the tributary when one of the massive Wild Ones trumpeted and swam towards where he was heading. It came much closer this time and swam almost within touching distance of the bank in front of where he was heading. Its large form made him feel insignificant in comparison. He could see the deep scars covering the Wild One's face this close. It must have had a run-in with a Camenanic of similar previously. It stared at him, and Kyto stared back. Its eyes looked old and wise, and he bet this creature had stories it could tell.
He went to move forward, and one of its enormous flippers slapped the water and drenched him.
He blinked, wiping water from his face, “What?” he said, looking at it.
The creature again trumpeted and titled its head towards the tributary.
Kyto looked across the river towards where it indicated, then turned back, looking at it again.
“I can’t swim across the river,” he said.
Another trumpet, this time different and not as forceful in sound. The second Wild One had now swam over and turned its large form so it was facing away from the river’s edge. Kyto watched in amazement as it lifted its bulk out of the water so that its huge back was clear. He could easily have lay down on its back with masses of room to spare. Again, he frowned and turned, looking at the first one. “You want me to cross?” he said, confused.
The Wild One trumpeted again.
Besides Tiddles and the cubs, Kyto had never interacted with a Wild One before; this was the strangest experience of his life. Fighting the Dungeons monsters and the Geblex was strange, but this was a Wild One. It was not a monster. The Codex had described them as River Angels, and he thought about what to do.
“On there?” he asked, pointing at the one that had backed to the river's edge.
Another trumpet.
Kyto considered his options. It did not want him to go further down the river. He could walk deeper into the forest away from the river, ignore the Wild Ones and continue down the riverside or hope that these Wild Ones were interacting with him for some reason. He could not understand why but felt he should follow its guidance. Kyto gingerly stepped further into the shallows at the river's edge. The water swirled around his ankles due to the current, and he knew he would not have been able to swim in the river, feeling it pull against him. He gingerly moved towards the massive back of the Wild One, which was looking back over its shoulder towards him. He was now up to his knees, his boots full of water, and he felt the Wild Ones body with his foot under the water.
He picked his foot up and gently placed it down on the creature's back. It did not react to Kyto; he slowly lowered his weight and lifted his other foot. The creature's back was solid compared to the soft earth he had been fighting through at the river’s edge. He moved further onto it until he stood on its back in the river's open water. If he fell from here into the water, he doubted he would get back out. The creature began to move, and very slowly, it began to propel itself across the river. Kyto stumbled slightly and had to correct his footing as he felt the massive muscles of the creature flexing under his boot.
‘Why am I standing on the back of a Wild One crossing a river,’ he thought as he stared ahead. The creature did not head to the bank but to the tributary entrance instead. There was nothing he could do now. He was at the mercy of the creature whom he had placed his trust in. It entered the tributary, and the river flow lessened. Kyto looked over the side at the crystal clear water. It was not as deep here, though still deep and wide enough to drown him. The Wild One continued down the tributary for a couple of hundred feet until it opened into a massive pool ahead. He could see the island in the middle of the pool, and the creature was heading straight to it. He suddenly realised that many more of these Wild Ones were now appearing and showing their presence with the huge heads appearing all around the pool.
He must have looked like a toy to these massive creatures, their bodies so large and powerful. Ahead on the island, he could see a form he recognised.
“Tiddles!” he shouted.