Skyborne Raider

I don’t know how long this magical potion will last, but the idea that even a droplet could paralyze my pain receptors is amazing.

My to-do list expands slightly.

I need more bottles.

But first I need to carefully handle this one.

Cork stopper is not on a trusted materials list, handling with acid strong like that. I carefully put it on top and press it down with my sneaker.

The leftover acid on the bottle body must be wiped out.

To both, test the bottle and clean the surface, I kick and roll it gently in the sand with my feet.

The bottle seems to be okay and so does the cork on top. It’s not leaking at all, but I notice it got soaked.

I definitely need to avoid touching that thing.

A lot comes through my mind. Now I would love to simply sit or lay down and think, but the party is almost again near my position.

Gosh, I can’t wait for the night.

Every day something new happens, that changes my schedule and forms my thoughts. And there's that Pocco summon awaiting us, well at least for me, if Astrid didn't cheat already.

“Look.” I raise up the bottle carefully, holding it with two fingers as far as possible from the cork top.

“I’ve managed to harvest some of the acid. It seems to be completely disabling every single pain receptor in my body.

Don’t know for how long, but...” I raise my hand and show them the damage.

Astrid looks me in the eye.

“I’ve never felt that refreshed since we are here together,” says the girl lying in Harald’s arms.

Mike hands her her socks and shoes, which have already dried out under the heat.

“Can you please put me down? I need to cover these with socks.”

He gently puts her on the ground. Mike stands and looks.

“Don’t look at this!”

We all turn our sights away. She rolls her socks over the stumps.

“Harald, will you?” she asks.

He crouches to lift her up.

“No, I mean, to finish it off.”

Mike drops his mouth, I open my eyes wide too.

“What are you talking about?” he says as he raises her back up.

“I am the burden for all of you.” Worried face, sad eyes.

Mike steps into this and starts to whisper to her closely.

“Don’t say such things. Don’t waste a life because of this. I’ll carry you.”

They talk quietly for a moment, I hide the acid bottle carefully in my inventory in the meantime.

Mike strongly insists on taking her from Harald and is adamant, even though he's physically weaker than both Harald and me.

Logic says I should be the one holding her, but we all know that wouldn’t be a good idea.

He carefully inserts his hands underneath her and holds her. She puts her arms over his neck and locks in place.

I see he struggles a bit. Despite being small, and now even lighter because of missing limbs, this will drain him very fast.

“Harald, you were talking about seatbelts, which we can use as shield handles. Can’t you make something for Astrid to carry her?” I ask carefully. Mike does not give any reaction to this.

“We can work something out.”

He winks and proceeds to walk toward the car area.

He gives a stare at the creature carcass meanwhile.

“I think we can hunt these, if there are any more of them. That acid is precious.” I explain to him eagerly, gesticulating.

“Imagine how it could help with the training. Body regenerates after death anyway. But not being distracted by any pain anymore? Just imagine!” I continue.

He still shakes his head a little.

“Feeling no pain is not a gift. That’s a curse, Markus.”

We arrive at the car crash area and Harald crouches down.

He pats the car roof and starts to uncover more of it.

“Need a hand?” Mike offers his help.

The old man nods, and Mike carefully puts Astrid down in a comfortable position.

They start to rake the sand out of the way.

The more the roof is uncovered, the bigger it gets, two roof racks on top are uncovered with the process.

Astrid crawls onto the site and starts raking too with her skinny arms.

They both let her continue as she insists.

I stand there and gaze. Not helping.

Thinking.

“Guys, could you stop and move aside a little bit?” I ask while touching my chin.

“What is it now, Markus?” Harald asks, not surprised at all.

I take out my hammer and grab it tight.

“Hey, wait! What are you...?”

“Ssh,”

I hush them and show them to move away a bit.

I feel the tension in my arms as I raise the hammer, but not any pain.

If this doesn’t work, it will be awkward as hell.

I bet I acted too cool for what I’m just going to test.

I brace myself with the hammer and prepare for a fast attack.

*Swoosh*

I see nothing.

I bet no one sees anything. It must’ve worked, definitely. There’s a ton of sand in the air.

If only the wind were blowing, it would help clear the air, so I wait a bit and finally stop squinting.

*Cough, cough*

“I’m well surprised, Markus,” Harald notes while covering his face with a sleeve.

With just one swing, I blew off the same amount of sand I could rake manually in a few minutes.

“I will help with big chunks first, but I can’t go any closer as I could easily damage the car.” I explain to them that this job will not be done just by me.

*Swoosh*

Another fast and powerful swoosh, and I blow away about the same portion as before.

Analyzing the strain on my arms again after a few blows I can see that my poor skin is even more disgusting now. I need to lower the power amount!

Bet these will hurt like hell, but due to the magical acid, I’m more than fit.

“Astrid, Markus. You can get easily dehydrated and pass out due to heat. Remember, you don’t have your body’s limit warning gauge—the pain.” Harald lectures us.

“I promise, this is the last job for today.” I look in the distance, inhale deeply, and try to both enjoy and wait for some wind to help me with the blow.

*Swoosh*

It finally starts to blow and in the desired direction.

I do a few more of them until it’s done.

“Wow, so yellow hummer, after all?”

I’m not the only one surprised.

“Is this what security uses these days?” Mike asks him.

“Not an ordinary one. Special, private one. That I hired.”

“Hired?” say Astrid and I at the same time. I raise my eyebrows and wait for the answers.

“Yes, to start searching for a missing person. But that’s more than I’m willing to tell you now. Sorry.” He ends the debate bluntly.

I nod at him, signaling that my part of digging is done. And so is asking further questions.

Mike dives near the car headfirst and starts to rake.

“Stop, Mike. I appreciate your zeal, but...”

He raises his fingers and dangles a keychain.

“Let’s give it a chance to dig itself out.”

He meticulously presses himself through the small crack of the barely opened door.

“Now, the moment of truth,” he says, muffled through the car window.

*Repeating engine starting sounds*

I bet he is praying now.

The more he tries, the higher the chance the battery will die.

Mike leans into the hole, looking at him through the window, and gently knocks on the glass.

“How much gas do you even have? Is it worth it?” He starts asking.

“More than half.”

“What a fucking waste,” he angrily slaps the steering wheel after another unsuccessful try.

*Wrooom*

Guess luck is on his side today.

Zero damage taken, and the goal for today reached. Now I want to see this monstrosity climb out of a sand pit.

A smile appears on my face as I can hear some cheering muffled by the engine revving as the old man must be celebrating on his own.

“You think this will work?” Mike asks me.

“I doubt it, but let’s see.” Astrid crawls a little farther away, and we also back out.

The engine revs, and the car starts throwing piles of sand. It moves forward but not significantly.

"I want Harald to enjoy his moment."

As the hummer makes a huge mess, flinging sand everywhere, I slip behind it, unnoticed by Harald in his side-view mirrors.

My control of my power is harder to focus on now but I feel that I need to do this.

I crouch under the car, hook my arms underneath, and push up.

I can see the stitches on my pants are about to burst.

The muscle mass expands uncontrollably.

"Aaaaaargh!" I yell with the last push.

This is enough to push it up and forward, burying myself in the sand.

The car revs in the distance as Harald drives through the desert.

I can’t see it, but from the cheers of Astrid and Mike, I know it has been successful.

“I need a hand here!” I yell out of the hole jokingly, being about two meters under the surface.

“And I need a leg! Maybe two,” adds Astrid.

This makes me blow all of the sand out of my mouth.

God, I thought I was the only one with such dark humor.

Mike quickly hops in and pulls me up.

The car and the noise slowly disappear into the distance.

We look at each other with raised eyebrows.

“No. It can’t be. Right?”