Oath of the Survivor

Okay, Kyle learned his lesson.  The worst that could happen was him getting chased around by four dog-sized beetles and scrambling for his life.  Each beetle felt less threatening individually than the last large beetle he fought, but they were proving to be much stronger as a collective than he expected.  Kyle threw a stone at one of the nearby beetles hoping they would come one at a time, but instead found himself pressed by all four beetles that charged at the same time. 

Kyle was prepared for their approach, getting into a comfortable stance with his staff in a comfortable grip.  He tracked the approach of the leading beetle, and with a rotation of his hips and a swing of the rebar he caught the beetle square in its head.  It was blasted back and slammed into a nearby tree, but the reverberation through his arms took him by surprise.  This cost him precious time as the three remaining beetles closed on him, lunging at him with mandibles clicking angrily. 

Kyle jumped back to create space as quickly as he could, but he still took a nasty cut on his left arm as he peeled back.  He looked for opportunities to reset his stance and prepare for another strike, but realized that against multiple opponents the opportunities just weren’t there.  Worse still, the beetle he’d originally hit and smashed into the tree had recovered and was slowly making its way towards him as well. 

Kyle continued dodging as best he could, but he was losing the war of attrition.  He was accumulating small cuts, but wasn’t able to return more decisive blows on the beetles.  Kyle cursed his arrogance and stupidity – just because he learned how to swing a piece of rebar he thought he could handle himself in a scrap like this.  Stupid, stupid, stupid he thought.  To make matters even worse, C.H.A.D.D. was giving nonstop diagnoses of his poor technique and reminding him that he was bleeding every time he made a misstep. 

If for no other reason than to stop the commentary, Kyle’s mind worked furiously to come up with a solution.  He was currently using the trees to break up their attack pattern and reduce the pressure he was feeling, and as he did an idea formed.  Kyle made a point to start angling towards the beetle he had injured earlier. 

It cost him another set of cuts on his leg as he strafed too close to another’s attack pattern, but he was able to close the gap.  Rather than trying to strike it again with his staff, he grabbed it and used it as a shield against one of the other pursuing beetles.  He was knocked back by the momentum of the collision, but was able to disengage with the two entangled beetles as the third and fourth approached.  This time, Kyle took a steadying breath and entered his stance, grip once again tight on the cool metal. 

As the nearest beetle closed the distance Kyle tracked the approach, exhaled, and took a swing.  He was prepared for the vibration through his arms this time, and tightened his grip at the moment of impact.  The beetle’s carapace crunched as its head collapsed, and from what Kyle could tell it was dead on impact.  He didn’t have time to revel in his victory, however, as the fourth beetle closed within his reach and barreled into his chest.  The other two had gotten disentangled, and Kyle knew he was in for a fight.

Cursing silently, he dropped his weapon and grabbed onto the beetle that was tearing into his chest, knowing that he didn’t have much time.  With his silent curse growing into a roar, he tore it off, taking some of his flesh with it.  He smashed this beetle into a nearby tree as he passed by, once again relying on the forest to help him maintain some distance.  While the bugs were able to scuttle quickly from place to place, their turns were relatively slower. 

This gave him enough space to place a hand over his injury and channel a quick HEAL to stop the bleeding and give him some room to breathe.  With two opponents with various degrees of injury, managing the flow of the fight became much easier.  As Kyle danced between the trees he made a slow circle back to where he’d discarded his weapon, missing it on the first pass but managing to pick it up on the second. 

He wouldn’t have a lot of time, but he rounded a corner and took aim, managing a half-cocked swing as the fastest remaining beetle circled around the tree.  Unfortunately, his timing was a bit off, and with the hasty stance he was in Kyle found that the damage was superficial.  Still, it was something.  He knew C.H.A.D.D. had offered a helpful comment, but in his focused state he didn’t catch the specifics. 

In fact, Kyle found himself in a state of focus he’d seldom experienced before, the only thought in his mind his own survival.   He continued his frantic dodging and weaving until he was able to repeat the process again, finally landing a fatal blow against one of the remaining injured beetles. 

By this point, however, exhaustion was beginning to catch up to him.  His body was flagging, each step becoming more and more laborious than the last.  Kyle knew he didn’t have it in him to continue to outrun his opponents, and he also knew that if he were to lose his footing and fall it would all be over for him.  As he came up to a small clearing between two trees, Kyle came to a decision. 

Instead of strafing left or right to find cover behind one of them.  He abruptly stopped, turning to face his pursuers.  He hefted his staff in two hands, rotated his body with all the force he could muster and swung.  The beetles for their part noticed the shift in their prey’s movement and had lunged in for the kill.  One was caught by the brunt of the swing and knocked off course into its partner.  The impact wasn’t enough to be fatal on its own, but it stopped their momentum. 

The opening was all Kyle needed, ending the lives of the last two beetles with savage downward swings.  Kyle limped over towards where C.H.A.D.D. was hovering and slumped down against a nearby tree, his breath coming in ragged gasps as his adrenaline faded. 

“You know, you’re more than welcome to get in there and help next time something like this happens.”  Kyle grumbled, activating his HEAL skill on the worst of his injuries.  The drone floated closer to Kyle and tilted just slightly off axis before stating

[WORK ORDER RECEIVED, UPON NETWORK CONNECTION EXTERMINATION SERVICES WILL BE NOTIFIED.  IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO BE OF SERVICE?]  Kyle was about to go off about the uselessness of the drone’s commentary before he paused. 

In the years he’d been at the hospital, and even during his residency and schooling, he’d never heard a C.H.A.D.D. use “I” before.  Come to think of it, none of the Central Authority programs had ever used that kind of language.  Was the damage worse than expected?  Is C.H.A.D.D. picking up on my speech patterns and trying to empathize? 

These thoughts and more flowed through Kyle’s head, but unfortunately like during his last two encounters the foreign energy present in his injuries required a lot more focus and attention to heal.  Fix myself first, then worry about my robotic friend.  One step at a time, Kyle. 

“Nothing for now C.H.A.D.D.” 

As he patched himself up, he thought about the challenges that were likely ahead.  He was stronger now than he was before, undoubtedly.  His adoption of a bludgeon was going to add a lot to his ability to survive this wilderness, but on its own it wasn’t enough.  He needed something to help protect him against the bites of these mutated insects, and a LOT more practice with his style to make it more workable.  His eyes closed as he reflected on his survival and the trials ahead, but before he realized it, he’d drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.

~~~

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