Lair

by Carl Stubblefield

  He had done what little he could. For the remainder of the night, he kept his back to the wall of the alcove, his eyes wide, anticipating something out there in the blackness.

  Gus strained to hear anything amiss in the environment, but his breath and the soft clicking as the crabs crawled over each other in the visor were all that he could perceive. Nothing else had approached when his night vision started to become blurry. Gus toggled it off, and saw the gradual approach of dawn had made it easier to see with ambient light instead of night vision. He immediately set off to find some semblance of civilization.

  He refilled his coco-canteens at his watering hole and looked around. He filled the visor with some water to cook the crab. Despite his lack of regular eating, he did not feel hungry, his stomach knotted from stress. He cut down a large bamboo plant, wondering if bamboo was a tree.

  “It is technically a grass,” Nick instructed.

  Gus nodded and cut a small segment, then split it lengthwise. He did this again and made greaves and vambraces out of the hard bamboo. He first tried using Razorback to make holes but made a mess and splintered the bamboo. Activating Wreck-It-Gus resulted in much more smoothly defined holes to run his ties through. They made him feel sweaty in the already balmy heat. A message popped up:

  Vambrace for it…

  You have crafted a unique item: Bamboo Vambrace.

  +50% reduction in damage to forearms.

  You have crafted a unique item: Bamboo Greaves.

  +50% reduction in damage to shins.

  You should sell these; you’d be sure to bamboozle some noobs!

  Gus grimaced. At least give me some XP for tolerating those puns! Not seeing how he could manipulate the bamboo to protect anything else, he continued on, determined to make some distance.

  Carrying his visor bucket full of crabs was slightly awkward, but he adopted a gait that kept him from spilling water. In no time, the trek got boring. Something fell on Gus from above and he quickly looked up, squinting to see what was in the tree. He felt the jolt of adrenaline as he looked; Wreck-ognize activated and he saw the following information on the display:

  Species: Falcataria moluccana

  Falcataria moluccana is cultivated throughout the wet tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

  Uses: Providing shade for other crops, especially coffee; providing a soft-wood timber, whole trees can be used to carve canoes in some regions of the world.

  Gus was startled to see the ability activate. He looked around and saw a thin brown seed pod nearby, which must have been what had fallen. Hearing birds and bugs chitter, he allowed himself to relax. Like a kid with a new toy, he began examining everything around him. He really didn’t learn anything useful, but he did find that one of the coconuts he had gathered had gone rotten. He couldn’t see it in his pack, but if he was aware of something in his possession, he could examine it. Otherwise he had to do a squint and focus to access Wreck-ognize.

  He took a hiking break and removed the coconut in question from his pack. Cracking it open to check, he found the inside meat was slimy, with gray spots that peppered the usually bright white meat. He checked his remaining eggs and they were all good.

  He continued following the stream and found another patch of bamboo. Finding and cutting a suitable bamboo pole, he made a slit along the edge. Removing the foam putty handle, he slid the blade into this and bound the slit sides tight with cords, praying that there was enough pressure with three-fourths of Razorback’s blade wedged into the bamboo to hold it in place in a clutch situation. With what Nick had said, slashing was going to do no real damage to these creatures. Piercing the brain was the way to go.

  *Chime*

  You have crafted a new weapon: Razorback Prime!

  Slashing damage (+10%) transferred to Piercing damage (+20% currently)

  Pleased with his work, but a little disappointed he didn’t get any XP out of the accomplishment, Gus continued onward, hiking uphill along the river. He used Razorback Prime like a trekking pole and reminisced of those times he played D&D as a mage with his fellow henchmen friends, during down time. Damn, I miss those guys. Dave has definitely got some comeuppance headed his way with all the pranks he’s pulled on all of us. Maybe I’ll keep my powers hidden for a little while he gets a taste of his own medicine. Gus brainstormed ways to troll his friend as he progressed higher and higher.

  Reaching the top of the gradual incline, Gus broke from his reverie. The forest opened up on a large meadow. A mountain rose up on the left, and Gus could tell from this closer vantage that it must be the vestige of a dormant volcano. Small plants and bushes could be seen covering its outside surface, but Gus could see no telltale emissions coming from the apex. As he pulled his gaze away from the impressive monolithic rock formation, Gus saw something that was even more breathtaking than the volcano.

  A manmade structure could be seen peeking from the side of a mountain range to the right. Jutting out of the black rock was a semicircular white section high over the edge of the field, five-hundred feet above the fluffy grass. The jungle continued underneath the structure, so it was unclear whether more was hidden or if there was some type of lift to access the overlook.

  Dark oval windows that spanned from top to bottom of the hockey-puck shaped building were lined up side by side along the entire circumference. Gus hesitated at the forest’s edge and wondered if there was someone looking back behind the comfort of the tinted glass. He got goosebumps despite the heat, imagining the building full of zombies just waiting to get out.

  “We should investigate to ascertain if this is related to the source of the bio-stasis field,” Nick suggested.

  “At the very least, it will beat sleeping out in the elements. But what if it’s full of zombies? Or if whoever is there has weaponized zombie sentries?” Gus added.

  “True, perhaps caution should be the watchword of the day until we know more,” Nick conceded.

  Keeping within the tree line, he skirted around until he came to the area below the overlook. The steep rock was impassable and offered no easy access to the structure above. Gus did not trust himself in trying to climb either the rocky cliff or the foliage to attempt to enter from the outside. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he had a healthy dose of realism when it came to evaluating his skills in the climbing department.

  Following the cliff wall, he circled to the other side of the clearing. From here a cultivated path could be seen. Strange knobby plants formed a ground cover along a yard-wide path from the field up toward the structure. The soft springiness of the plants was a welcome relief to the uneven and rocky terrain Gus had covered so far. He stayed among the bushes and saw carefully-maintained grounds. The sight confirmed to him that he was not alone.

  Chapter Twelve

  Some Guys Have All the Luck

  Day 3 1:55 PM

  11:23:41 remaining

  Gus watched the area for about an hour. The time felt much longer, however, as he fidgeted and tried to find a comfortable position to hide in the bushes. No one entered or left the manor.

  Ok, I don’t have time to sit here waiting, he thought as he checked his watch for the hundredth time. Gus glanced up at the countdown on his display, and he could almost hear the seconds ticking away like the Tell-Tale Heart. I have to do something productive. I’m not built for stakeouts. How do people manage that?

  He walked a bit back into the trees and noticed a large rocky wall under part of the building above. Who knew how many entrances there were to this place, and it’d be stupid to get attacked from behind from someone coming out the back door. Gus walked along the steep rock, and was able to notice mostly basalt, with some scoria and something called gabbro using his Wreck-ognize as he trailed along the wall. He kept following the rocky wall, using the Wreck-ognize ability on any plant, tree or bug as he went, hiking for a couple hours.

  The trees began to thin and Gus heard the sound of crashing waves in the distance, which hinted that he was getting clo
ser to the ocean. As he finally broke out of the trees, he saw dark clouds on the horizon, heading straight for the island.

  Crap.

  He sped up his pace and started jogging along the cliff, trying not to splash water out of his crab pot, hoping to find a cave of some sort. The wind began to pick up as the sky darkened. Still the rock wall was solid, offering no form of shelter.

  With the storm quickly approaching, Gus doubted he could make anything significant with palm fronds. There were far fewer on this rockier part of the island, so he wouldn’t have any materials even if he wanted. The wind beat more strongly on this side of the island as well, and Gus had to squint to keep sand out of his eyes.

  As he turned around another curve, Gus saw something promising. Basalt columns framed a passageway into the cliff face; the bottom was filled with seawater, connected by a small inlet, but there were sufficient areas on the sides that Gus should be sheltered from most of the storm. The wind had increased to the point that Gus began to get a slight chill through his well-ventilated clothes.

  The depths of the cave were enshrouded in darkness, made worse by the gloom of the storm. Gus made his way across the uneven basalt floor, the columns all at different levels. The width of the columns shrunk as he delved farther in, and the air became dank and chill. The cave made a dogleg to the left and got significantly darker. Gus changed his display and saw the area level out. Some debris littered the cave floor, from when water levels must have been higher.

  Gus worried about what he would do if it was low tide and his little area was going to be flooded. His back ached from carrying the pack, so he slid it to the ground and shivered as the swirling, cold air hit his exposed, sweaty back. The wind was whipping more intensely now, occasionally making a resonance as it blew across the cave opening. It was an ominous sound, like the death wails of a large animal.

  Pulling some of the wood and dried vines that had accumulated at the water’s edge, Gus pulled the drier bits into a pile and lit it. The warmth was a welcome respite, even though the air kept circulating around him, ripping away what little heat he regained with indifference. Thunder began to crack, and he heard rain began to fall. Gus added more items to the fire from the mass of wood, seaweed and other things he’d collected. Some were slightly wet and began to smoke.

  The annoying, constant wind did manage to pull the smoke away for the most part. However, it thwarted Gus’ attempt to move to a spot downwind, so he finally just picked a spot with the wall of the cave behind him and masked his mouth and nose. Staring at the large fire, Gus listened to the storm growing ever more intense. Thunder hit, closer now, and lightning flashed, slightly bleaching his display.

  Gus rubbed the back of his neck and stretched. His eyes itched and burned, his fatigue finally setting in now that he had sat down. He tugged his backpack over and pulled out the putty mat and spread it out. It rolled over a small rounded rock which, thanks to the putty’s cushion, became a decent pillow.

  Gus lay there gazing into the fire as it crackled and popped. He set his visor pot on the coals when the fire settled a little bit. He didn’t know exactly how long to cook the things but he figured better to let them cook for a while than risk raw food. As he watched the water stubbornly refuse to boil, he struggled to keep his eyes open but exhaustion soon overtook him.

  A loud crack startled Gus out of his sleep. His campfire had burned down somewhat, and Gus moved to check how the crabs were cooking. The water was at a low boil, but Gus felt he should give it a bit more time. He added some more wood to keep the fire burning, and had almost lain down again when he noticed two yellow eyes peering out at him from the darkness. Gus tried his filters again, but the brightness of the fire washed out any detail from the dark. He blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took another look.

  Yes, they are still there! The eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, and a chuff followed by a low rolling chirrup chased away any drowsiness Gus had held on to. The eyes moved to the left then right, pacing. Whatever it was, it seemed reluctant to approach with the flames. SO glad I stayed on this side of the fire.

  The wind kicked in again, whipping and almost shrieking as it tore around the island outside. How long has it been staring at me? Gus gulped, trying to choke down some saliva. He took a quick look at his fuel, and the lion’s share of what remained were dried vines and minor detritus.

  Can’t stay here forever. Maybe not even all night. A quick peek at his watch confirmed it was 11:21 PM. Gus groaned internally; this thing liked to hunt at night. When he was adding to the fire, he saw he had dropped a medium sized branch, half in and half out of the pit, just beginning to light.

  Using Razorback Prime, he lifted the free end toward him enough to drag it away from the fire. One end was relatively unburned, the other smoked as it was removed. He waved it a bit and it began to burn in earnest.

  Gus kicked some vines into the fire, and it flared to life briefly, giving Gus a peek at the creature. It was difficult to see, as it crouched defensively with the flash of light, but it looked to be the size of a panther. The brief light reflected on something that resembled scales, and there was definitely a greenish tinge to it.

  The chirrup began again, and Gus felt a single drop of sweat track down his spine. It was so unsettling. A loud *ba-boom* echoed in the cave, accompanied with a simultaneous flash.

  That one was close! Gus’ ears rang with a high-pitched whine. As he blinked away the effects of the lightning, he saw that the eyes were gone. A sudden vibration commenced, originating outside the cave.

  What now? Gus grabbed Razorback Prime and the branch. He would have to make a break for it while he could. He slung his backpack on and waved the branch a bit to illuminate the cave as he prepared to leave. He sidled forward, leading with the branch, with Razorback clutched in his other hand. He peeked around the corner to look outside, but the creature was out of sight.

  The darkness outside was absolute; only the flashes of lightning revealed the area ahead. Gus’ night-vision was severely limited. The fire made some things washed out and the heavy rain hid things beyond the cave opening. There was also a fog that floated across and made things even harder to see. Gus realized the branch was a beacon for his location and it wouldn’t last long in that rain.

  He looked down at his clothing and realized it was practically no protection at all. He shivered with the drop in temperature, amplified by the massive doses of adrenaline in his system. At least out here he could use the spear a little better; it was cramped in the cave.

  Another flash revealed some kind of turret or tower had pushed its way out of the sand, stretching out of sight upward. As if parting a curtain, the creature crept out of the rain back into the opening of the cave. Gus noticed its smell now that it was closer. It was a pungent scent that reminded him of his uncle’s house who had all sorts of reptiles. Its odd musky smell mingled with the distinctive scent of carrion.

  The creature clicked its teeth together menacingly as it prowled. If that was supposed to be an intimidation technique, it definitely was working on Gus. Gus slid off his backpack and dropped the branch, grabbing the spear with both hands. There would be no fleeing this thing when it finally stopped toying with him and attacked. Gus began feinting with the spear, trying to keep it back and at bay. The glowing eyes just stared at him with indifference. Gus managed to ease his way off the irregular basalt column steps onto the sand of the beach. He wouldn’t have a chance if he didn’t have any decent footing.

  They circled each other and Gus was grateful for his perception filters. He would be unable to see where the monster was if he had to rely solely on the intermittent lightning flashes. Almost without realizing it, the creature had maneuvered Gus away from the cave opening and began advancing toward him. Gus realized that the roiling waves were his only escape.

  With lightning speed, the creature leaped and bit hard on Gus’ arm. He felt the bamboo vambrace compress tightly, but no punctures. He still lost 10 HP and his
arm began to lose circulation, so powerful was the compression. Gus choked up on the spear and tried to stab with the unwieldy weapon. He thought he got a couple hits in, but many scraped against something hard as he tried to hit his enemy.

  At last, one jab punctured something. The mysterious beast flung Gus to the side and the creature retreated. His back crashed against a rock and he lost 89 HP, and incurred a bleeding debuff that was slowly draining his remaining health 2 HP every three seconds.

  Razorback Prime was flung off into the dark in the fracas, lost to the night.

  He could hear the clinking of metal and woozily looked up at the creature clinging to the scaffolding of the tower. A flash of light revealed its insectoid silhouette, backlit against the darkness.

  The chirruping became a higher-pitched frenetic sound. Gus gnawed on his lip as he looked back at the dark jungle. I hope it’s not calling its friends. In the second his gaze was averted, a searing heat and a massive *BOOM* exploded behind Gus. He was thrown forward with such force that the rain-soaked sand felt like a brick as his face was slammed into it.

  Groggy, like he had been punched, he tried to rise up to his knees, but it was too much; he succumbed to the darkness.

  When he awoke, he pulled his face up from the wet sand and spit out salty grit. It was day again, and the storm had passed. Swiping his eyes clear, he saw the blue window again.

  I have a countdown already; I don’t need these doomsday warnings every morning. During his time unconscious, he had regained the majority of his HP, but he still felt bruised.

  The tower had gone, but Gus could see a manhole-sized metal door embedded in rock on the beach. There was no sign of his attacker. He shouldn’t have survived his last confrontation. He shivered again, cold and not a little creeped out at how tenuous life was here. Shake it off Gus, think about what’s next.