That Which Devours

“Na, some of the guys are holed up in the dropship. They peek out now and again, but I know they got hit bad. Food and water have to be running low. We were gonna trade with you guys once you landed for some supplies.” He handed back the canteen, which was much lighter, though I didn’t begrudge him the water, or the food. He was in a much worse way than I was.

“I only brought enough to hike here and back to the shuttle.” I scratched the back of my head. “Trading supplies are still on the ship.”

“Back? Out there? How far?”

“A ways, but I made it here, so I can make it back. We have a broken crystal and hope you have a spare.” A weird sensation washed over me, like someone was staring at my forehead. “It took me two days to hike here, but I was slow, sneaking and carving a trail to find my way back.”

“I can’t believe it. People think we’re crazy, but you aren’t even level ten.” He must have used Insight to see my level. Thankfully, he couldn’t see my class. “No one survives overnight in the jungle without a partner.”

“Well, I made it here, didn’t I?” I asked, feeling proud of myself. I’d spent a night in the jungle, without a known trail, with a new class, and I’d gained several levels doing it.

He added nothing about that as he motioned to the dropship below. “Well, you're gonna need to talk to them about a larger crystal. I don’t know what shape they’re in.”

I glanced at the crystal over my head. “Have you heard anything from the colony or the mines?” I hadn’t thought about anything but the shuttle and the compound until now.

“Eh, well, the mines watched the shower. It was widespread, reaching as far as the colony from what they could tell.”

My mouth dropped a little at that. I hadn’t a clue if that was normal. That meant the whole jungle area between the three spots could be in complete chaos. “Woah, I hope they’re okay.” I thought of my dad, but pushed the worry away. The joke was he would survive the apocalypse and save the rest of us while he was at it. I was pretty sure it wasn’t really a joke.

“No clue,” he said with a shrug. “I haven’t heard a word, even after sending a message last night. Nothing from the area of their watch tower.”

My dad could handle himself. “Tell me more about these cats?” Now that I sat in the tree, I felt pretty sure I’d run into them at some point.

“Armored backs, almost like a bug that can change color. Big claws that leave an infection. They move fast, and you don’t spot them until they attack.” His fingers tapped on the wooden platform. “All are between levels 12 and 16. At least four of them, maybe more if any are the same level. It’s the only way I can tell them apart.”

I was only level five. There wasn’t a chance I could go directly at a pack of creatures more than twice my level.

Jimmy stared out into the jungle holding the binoculars up to his face. “I keep trying to spot them, but they love the twilight hours. Though, the first time they attacked it was late afternoon.”

I needed to climb out of this tree before it got dark, then. Not to mention, John expected me to get back within three to four days. Today was day two, and it was clear this wasn’t going to be as simple as grabbing a crystal and taking off into the jungle with someone else to help me.

“Alright, so I gotta talk to everyone in the dropship is what it sounds like,” I said with a frown, trying to think of the best way to do this. The hot sun still streamed overhead, and there wasn’t much shade this high up.

“Yep, and I’m not moving out of this tree.”

I didn’t need to hear that. “Fine, what supplies do you have?”

“Rations bars and an empty canteen.”

I didn’t want to do this. I really didn’t. Still, it was the right thing to do, and Dad always said to do the right thing, even if it hurt. “Give me the canteen.”

He stood up and pulled it out of the box. I carefully yanked my backup jug of water and filled the canteen 3/4’s of the way full. Then I refilled my own, emptying the jug out before putting both back into my inventory crystal. “That should last you a few days if you change your mind.”

“You really think you're gonna make it back to the shuttle, with a crystal intact.” He sounded like I thought I was crazy. Yet, I wasn’t the one huddled in a tree not willing to come down.

“I don’t have a choice. My brother is out there, waiting on me. The colony, mines, and even you lot here need that shuttle running.” Those were the facts. I could hide from them, but it wouldn’t change anything.

He blinked and his mouth gapped. “I’ll work on making more arrows, but I am not leaving my spot.”

“That’s up to you.” I hoped someone else in the dropship had other ideas about going into the jungle. This place wouldn’t survive if someone didn’t leave the fence regularly to hunt or get water.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he just shook his head.

The plan had to be to get to the dropship and figure out what they needed from me in trade for a crystal. One of the ones protecting them, of course. They were the only two crystals big enough. That bottle of booze John had stuck into my inventory would hopefully do it. Otherwise, I didn’t know how else I could help them. Time was ticking. My goal was to leave the compound with a crystal today.

Somehow.

“Can you keep an eye out for any cats as I descend?”

“Yeah, I can do that. You’d better hurry, though. The later in the afternoon it gets, the more likely they are gonna be out there.”

I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants and moved toward the hole in the platform. Anything would be better than sitting up here baking in the sun until I died. Too bad that seemed to be Jimmy’s plan.

I let my feet dangle until I found my footing and then I started back down the way I’d come. For some reason going up was easier. With going down, I needed to keep double-checking my footing and it was slow going. My hands kept getting sweaty and I needed to pause to wipe them off on my pants. Once at the halfway point, I took a seat for a short break. I grabbed out my water and took several long drinks.

The tree trunk blocked the sun from beating down on me, but it was still hot. Whatever breeze there had been earlier had vanished. All I could smell was myself. Nothing moved within or around the fence as I studied it from this angle. The crystal pathway was longer than the clearing around the base of the tall tree. Probably sixty feet of clearing before the gate, which had one side standing open.

Above that open gate glowed a crystal, still grounded. It sparkled in the sunlight. I needed to keep moving, John was counting on me. Hell, so many more were, too, but they hadn’t a clue we’d crashed. It sounded like the settlements were dealing with their own issues, but if we couldn’t get the shuttle running again, it’d be harder on everyone.

My stomach rumbled and I glanced upward to see if Jimmy was watching me. He wasn’t.

“You need to eat something,” buzzed Noseen.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t reply. Instead, I grabbed my knife and pulled out the massive chunk of dino meat. It didn’t smell like it had the day before, but also not like it had been sitting out in the heat, either. Whatever the inventory crystal did, it helped slow down the aging of the meat. I sliced pieces off and tossed them into storage until all of it was cut up. It was drier and created much less of a mess this time. I wiped my hands on a branch, but it didn’t help much with the dried blood that covered them. Finally, I grabbed out a bandage and used that to clean up a little.

Once that was done, I pulled a cut piece out and tossed it in my mouth as carefully as possible. It was good. Not as great as yesterday, but good. Pretty soon, half of what I had left was gone and I felt a lot better.

[You have devoured a parasaurolophus. You’ve gained a major understanding of camouflage.]

[Your stealth skill has improved.]

My head tilted to one side as I opened my stat sheet, getting more information. The description had changed to one that sounded like the skills people in the colony frequently bragged about.

[Stealthy Camouflage: You remain unseen at first glance, especially in the shadows. Your footsteps are almost silent, your feet moving instinctively. Your skin can blend into your surroundings making it harder for you to be spotted. This is especially effective at night.]

I tried to remember what the skill had said when I’d unlocked it. All I remembered was that it had been shorter, and the last word was grow. This should help me, big time. Too bad it only worked with my skin.

“Noseen, how dangerous are these cats?” I whispered.

“You are squishy, and less than half their level.” The buzzing paused, then continued. “Don’t let them touch you.”

We were on the same page, which wasn’t a surprise. Somehow, I needed to climb down the rest of this tree, race across to the gate, then from the gate to the dropship without being seen or attacked.

Maybe luck would be on my side. I’d made it this far after all.

I tried to sniff myself to see if I smelled of the meat, but I couldn’t tell. Instead, I braced myself and continued the climb down. I kept the cloak around me, hoping it would help me blend into the tree trunk, since I was in the shade after all.

I paused again at around ten feet up and tried to glance around from the branch I rested on. Again, nothing moved, and I wished I could tell myself that Jimmy was overreacting. I wouldn’t know until it was too late. While I couldn’t jump from here, I could see exactly the path I would take toward the gate and the inner compound. As soon as I hit the ground, I’d need to move at full speed, careful to not trip.

My gaze moved upward, but I couldn’t see Jimmy from this position. Then I looked back at the path, and resumed the last stage of my descent. Once I was five feet from the ground, I jumped to the dirt below, and rolled.