Oath of the Survivor

Kyle jumped to his feet at the revelation, panic gripping his heart. How the hell did something sneak up on us? How long was I out? He spun quickly, looking for the creature that had been stalking him. The ruins of flattened buildings surrounded him, dust still forming clouds around some of the largest debris. Still, he couldn’t see any sign of a pursuing insect. There! Kyle’s Auric Perception once again picked up faint pulses behind him, and he whirled while jumping back, sure he evaded an attack. When he saw only air, the panic rose. Can this thing turn invisible? What the hell is it? Feeling another pulse behind him, Kyle turned once again, finding nothing in the space where he felt the presence.

[DR. MAYHEW, WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE DOING, I DON’T THINK IT’S TERRIBLY PRODUCTIVE.]

“Not now, C.H.A.D.D.! Unless you have a way to see invisible things, I need to focus.”

There. Kyle felt the pulse again, rapidly turning and striking where he’d felt it. His palm struck empty space, and his panic was well on the way to morphing into full-blown fear. He’d confronted a variety of monsters, and had given considerable thought to the different matches he may run into. Big, slow, physically powerful enemies were a great match, worst case he could run away. Casters like the Infernal were much trickier, but could be managed if they were more physically delicate. But the matchup he was the most concerned with was what he suspected he was against now. Fast, stealthy, hard-hitting types were his worst nightmare. Too quick to easily evade, and striking too hard to effectively heal, he could quickly find himself overwhelmed.

Another pulse was met with another quick turn, fists flying harmlessly through the air as Kyle attempted to attack his pursuer. His eyes drifted longingly to the fallen body of the Wall. There was so much he could do with the incredibly strong carapace, but it wasn’t worth dying over. With a breath of resignation, Kyle fully activated HASTE before running in the direction of the cliff he’d climbed to get to this small town. As he ran, the sense of wrongness and fear grew. Whatever this thing was, it was easily keeping pace with him. He pushed more mana into the skill, and felt a cold sweat as the pulses continued behind him, not gaining any distance. His mind went into overdrive. I can’t find it. I can’t outrun it. Think, dammit. What can you do? An idea blossomed, though he had little confidence it would work.

He veered away from the cliff, running instead at his top speed towards one of the clouds of dust still lingering in the air. The quick turn caused an audible crack as C.H.A.D.D. shifted dramatically inside the C.H.A.D.D.pack.

“Sorry about that!”

Running through the cloud, Kyle watched the dust closely. He saw it ripple and swirl where he passed through, and hoped to see a similar trail near him. Nothing was there. Slowing, Kyle noticed that the pulse of mana skipped a beat. Then two. Well, crap. Whatever it was, it could control its mana, too. That only left one option.

Steeling himself, Kyle took his stance and waited. When he felt claws bite into him, he’d know where the creature was. Then all that would be left was hoping his healing would hold out long enough to kill it before he died. He hunkered his head down and raised his shoulders to better cover his neck, eyes darting from side to side. Nothing happened.

[DR. MAYHEW, WHY ARE YOU STANDING STILL?]

He didn’t want to lose focus, but the waiting was fraying his nerves.

“I’m waiting for whatever was following us to attack. I can’t sense it, I can’t find it, and I can’t outrun it. This is the best option I’ve got.”

[THAT WON’T BE AN ISSUE, DR. MAYHEW. THE INSECT THAT WAS GIVING OUT THE PULSES IS DEAD.]

“I think I’d know if I killed it, C.H.A.D.D.”

[YOU CERTAINLY WOULD, DR. MAYHEW, EXCEPT IN THIS CASE YOU DIDN’T KILL IT. I DID.]

“WHAT?”

[TO BE MORE PRECISE, YOUR JOSTLING AND TURNING HELPED ME TO KILL IT. BUT IT IS DEAD, AND I DESERVE THE CREDIT. IT ALSO RELEASED A STRANGE ORB, HOW INTERESTING –]

“C.H.A.D.D. DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

Kyle’s outburst and shock at what the drone said caused him to shake, and his heart fell at the next words from the drone.

[YOU REPEATEDLY BUMPED ME INTO IT, AND… OH MY, THAT’S… UNEXPEC….TED] The drone’s voice trailed off.

Kyle threw caution to the wind, kneeling down as he unslung the C.H.A.D.D.pack. It took a moment for him to undo the various clasps and to untie the rope, and as he finally peered inside, he saw remnants of a familiar red energy flowing into the drone. C.H.A.D.D. was completely inert, just as Kyle had been each time he’d absorbed the crimson essence. He also saw the crushed body of a small insect caught between C.H.A.D.D.’s metallic hull and the carapace lining of the pack. Gingerly, he took it between his fingers and held it up to the light.

The creature was a bit larger than most insects he’d come across, though barely. It was a mottled brown in color, about the size of the palm of his hand. The legs were almost cartoonishly thin for the plump body, and its head had two bulbous compound eyes. The most bizarre feature was the proboscis sticking out of its face, almost looking like the trunk of an elephant, but with two thin antennae sticking out on each side of the protrusion. Its thin chitin was cracked, the creature having been smashed during Kyle’s quick movements.

Kyle looked at the dead body of the strange little bug as a sense of unease built in him. All of the heavily mutated insects he’d encountered had some sort of specialty. There was something familiar about the sense he was getting from the creature, and his mind went back to his confrontation with the fly. Suddenly, it clicked. The strange behavior from all the mutated creatures was in some ways reminiscent of the odd swarm of beetles he’d faced in Albaum those months ago. As he focused on it, he could sense a barely perceptible aura still coming off the corpse of the strange insect.

It wasn’t a pulse of mana, nor was it necessarily a scent. Pheromones. Now that he placed it, he could detect the lingering presence all across the destroyed town. This thing was using the Wall to crush other insects. Kyle’s realization was simple, but profound. This little thing didn’t have the ability to hunt or fight on its own, so it used what it was good at. It would pick a strong ally, stir up other creatures to fight, and then profit off the carnage, likely even absorbing essence that it scavenged. With the Wall dead, it came over to the next best thing – me.

It was unfortunate for the small creature that he hadn’t made a more form-fitting accommodation for C.H.A.D.D., it might have survived a bit longer. Speaking of… he looked back into the pack as he discarded the body of the creature, examining his companion for movement. If he focused his Auric Perception, he could tell that there was familiar energy moving inside the drone, so he figured it would just be a matter of time before it recovered. Hang in there, little guy.

Kyle’s head snapped up as his focused sense picked up some faint, but persistent disruptions. Securing C.H.A.D.D. inside the pack and hoisting it back onto his shoulders, he got clear of the plumes of dust to get a better view. The sensation grew stronger, and his eyes confirmed what he’d suspected. Three different groups of insects were approaching; a large swarm of weak creatures from the north, a handful of shambling horse-sized beetles from the west, and a single fast-moving wasp with a thin body and dangerous-looking stinger from the east.

Nothing came from the south, at least that he could detect. If he chose to retreat that way, he’d also be getting closer to Albaum. It was the safest decision. Probably the right decision. He looked longingly at the body of the Wall, still in the same place Kyle left it. Armor made from its chitin would be a massive benefit. C.H.A.D.D. would be better protected. Military-grade rifles wouldn’t pose a meaningful threat against it. Anything short of high explosives would probably struggle to substantially damage it. I fought too hard to leave the damn thing here. With a sigh, Kyle turned to the fast-approaching wasp. You first.

~~~

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