Nope. Nope. Nope.
I let the lid I was holding slam back down as I yanked my arm out fast as I could. The stone came crashing down on the bony white wrist, shattering the yellowed bones.
Big ass bugs? Okay. Giant rats? I’ll deal. But moving skeletons? They just rubbed me wrong. Mostly because this was clear evidence I wasn’t on Earth any more. Scientists had grown plenty of weird things in recent years. It was possible for them to create the things I’d seen in the laboratory, but this was different. That thing was clearly long dead. And yet it moved. It had no muscles, no digestive track. Even if it could get the energy from somewhere else it had no muscles to use them. It shouldn’t have been able to move at all! It made little sense to me, and that’s what frightened me most.
Until now I’d been able to pretend I’d just been dropped off in some exotic part of Earth, or maybe a theme park in one of the habitation bubbles on Mars. But this was direct evidence to the contrary. No laws of science I’d ever heard could explain this. There were different forces at play here than those Newton and his ilk came up with.
Though the idea of a moving skeleton... that wasn’t new to me, oddly enough. Necromancers were common place in many of my favorite video games. As were all other sorts of magic. An idea struck me that cut through my downcast mood. Instead of treating this like I did in real life, I should think about it more like a video game! How many times had I been dumped in a strange, exotic land that followed different natural rules? In real life, never. But in video games I did it all the time!
Suddenly that skeleton was just a low-ranking mob. Given its physical strength, I should be able to squash it. Especially since I was the one on the outside, and the only one who could open the sarcophagus. That meant I could face the undead on my terms.
I scanned the surrounding area, looking for tools. All I found were some rocks. I had to pick stuff small enough to lift with just my right arm, since my left would be out of commission for a while. Still, it was heavy enough to do the job. When I was ready I pushed the lid of the sarcophagus end-wise to expose just the skeletons head. Immediately it squirmed to get free. Apparently, I’d awoken it from a long period of dormancy. It didn’t pretend to be dead like the first time I’d opened it. Unfortunately for it, the gap I’d given it was too small for it to easily wriggle out of.
Or at least that’s what I thought. It turns out that with no muscles and ligaments to tear undead are amazingly flexible. It twisted its arms around like writhing snakes and wormed them through the opening. It was about to use its grip to pull its ribcage through, but I made my move before it could do so.
I brought the big stone crashing down on the undead’s skull, smashing it into a million pieces. It was easy with gravity doing most of the work. As I’d guessed, the monster collapsed into a pile of bones once I smashed the skull. A dim red glow illuminated its eye sockets for a moment before fading.
“Now to loot the corpse!” I whispered to myself. That was always the best part of beating a mob.
Enemy defeated. Resources have been added to your inventory. 8 points awarded.
Previously, I hadn’t seen the resource acquisition happen with my own eyes, but this time I saw a white-ish light seep out of my body and surround something buried in the skull fragments, glowing with an inherent light.
I sifted my fingers through the fragments for the source of the light. It was an irregular glass bead about the size of a pea. It had a sinister look to it and was black rimmed with crimson. As soon as I touched it I was greeted with another message.
Resource acquisition manually overridden.
If game economics had taught me anything, gemstones were valuable in a medieval society. I didn’t know what this was, but I was willing to guess it was magical in nature, and was probably worth something. I’d need items like this to trade if I came into contact with the locals. With a shrug I dropped the little jewel into my pocket.
Then I dove in and collected the real prize. The bronze dagger. I perused the rest of the remains looking for anything else useful but came up empty. The little bit of cloth that was intact was so small it would only be of use as a sewing patch or a bandage. I realized either of those might come in handy, so I tucked it into the strap of my underwear, which was my most intact remaining clothing.
The sheath for the dagger unfortunately was unsalvageable, so I wrapped some scrap cloth around it and stuffed it into my pocket along with the bead.
After a few minutes of hesitation, I grabbed one of the skeleton’s femurs. It would make a good club. Still, it was a bit of a grizzly weapon, even for me. I shook my head to clear it.
“It’s just a monster. You loot things like this all the time.”
Yeah, in video games.
But beggars can’t be choosers. I grabbed the femur and pulled it free with a jerk. It had a good feel to it in my hands. Good weight with a solid ball of bone on the end for striking. It would make a better weapon than the pincers I’d used before, though I wouldn’t be able to stab anything with a club.
Next priority find water.
My stomach growled.
And then after that, fire and dinner.
***
An hour later I finally found an exit. There had been more sarcophagi, but they had all been broken open long before and looted of anything worthwhile. The skeletons inside had also been smashed to bits by someone. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who dealt with these undead creatures by bashing in the skulls.
The blinding light of the noonday sun made me squint as I left the shade of the tunnels. The heat made me feel every bit of grime and dirt that had soaked into my clothes and on my body. Bits of rat and bug blood had splashed all over me and mixed with dirt. I felt disgusting but dealing with that would have to wait until I had something to drink. I had broken a sweat during those three fights and lost precious fluid. In this heat I wouldn’t last two days without a water source.
Why was the sun putting off so damn much heat? Oh, that’s why. The sky above me portrayed a very unusual scene. When I looked up at the sky, I was used to seeing a sun, maybe a moon or some stars depending on the time of day. If you were lucky, you might have been able to spot Mars or Venus.
This sky was different. For starters, there were way, way more celestial bodies than there should have been. Some of them were orange or gray, but many others were blue and green, like lots of little earths scattered throughout the sky. There must have been thousands of Earth-like planets out there.
Those celestial bodies were secondary though, compared to the gigantic monster of a… thing in the sky overhead. The sun was massive in the sky, but it had some sort of shell around it. Like a partially built Dyson sphere. It looked like the Dyson sphere lowered the amount of light that could get to this planet from the sun, and that was likely the only thing that kept this place from becoming like the surface of Mercury, judging by how close the local star seemed to be.
Well that settled it. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
The surrounding area was abundant with wildlife. I couldn’t name anything, but it was recognizable. The trees looked like a cross between pine, oak, and maple, and the grass separated into three strands at the tip, but it was close enough to what I was familiar with that I could call it something.
Then I heard the gurgling sound of flowing a flowing stream and broke into a smile. Water! Just what I needed. I followed my ears until I reached the source of the sound. It was a small creek about as wide as I was tall. The water was crystal clear and flowing, which was a good sign.
Still, I’d heard about how many parasites there were in unsanitized water. I’d better build a fire, or a sand filter. I discarded the fire idea because I didn’t think I’d be able to get anything lit with no tools and one arm. Not without a lot of hard work and proper materials. I tried using the small strip of cloth I’d taken from the skeleton wrapped around some sand to make a crude filter, but the water ended up dirtier than if I’d just taken a mouthful strait from the
source. After a few minutes of screwing around I gave up and decided to just risk drinking the water. It would be too stupid to die of dehydration right next to a creek because I was too afraid to drink.
I cupped my hands and scooped up a bit of water. I’d sip a little and then wait. Hopefully that way I wouldn’t screw myself over too badly if the water would make me sick.
That plan lasted until the moment the water touched my lips. Instantly my entire body felt a hundred times better. I was still smelly, dirty, and covered in bug and rat juices, but I felt like my mouth and throat felt like they’d been basking in the nectar of the gods for a week.
Was this really water? It was tasteless, but drinking it felt so good. I cupped my hands again for another mouthful. When that method wouldn’t allow me to drink fast enough I lowered my head into the water like an animal and sipped from the stream.
I stuffed myself on water from the creek. It took the edge off my growing hunger and dealt with my thirst. After basking in the amazing feeling of drinking the water I washed up. I took the time to unwind my pants from my forearm and wash the wound in the creek water. The stream water was less likely to give me an infection than the rat spit that was already in it.
It looked much better than I thought it would. In fact, by the time I washed the blood away it looked like the wound had happened days ago instead of hours ago. First I could throw rocks at supernatural speeds and now I was healing extraordinarily fast. Something strange was going on.
I cleaned off my pants and continued using it as a bandage, though I wrapped it looser now that I wasn’t worried about bleeding to death.
After a few minutes of internal debate, I walked upriver, following the creek. It stood to reason that I’d find a small pond or reservoir at some point, which might have fish in it. I fancied my odds at catching fish for dinner more than testing my hunting skills.
***
As I walked, I kept an eye out for a good spear shaft. Eventually I found one and went to work with my worn bronze knife and soon had it shaved down to a point. Then I split the point twice more to make a four-pronged tip. It was a common design I’d seen for fish spears and I planned to put it to the test. Already I’d seen little minnows swimming in the shallows of the creek, but they were too small to catch without a very fine net. And even if I did I doubt they’d have made much of a meal. But little splashes and the darting forms of startled fish showed there were larger predators in the creek.
I stopped to drink water several more times as I walked. It kept my belly full, though slowly a gnawing hunger developed that water couldn’t quench. The water was still as refreshing as before, but my gut would soon demand something more substantial.
I came to a small waterfall, and I grew eager. The water itself only fell from about head height, and there wasn’t much force behind it, but its presence suggested a more massive body of water behind.
Sure enough, just passed the waterfall was a pond. And inside that pond schools of hand-sized fish were floating about.
“Fire or fish...” I mumbled to myself as I debated what to work on first. Eh, screw it. Raw bug or rat meat was one thing, but people payed good money to buy sushi made with fresh raw fish. I’d just have to inspect the meat for any parasites or signs of disease before I ate, though considering how well all the water I’d drank had gone down, I suspected that this river was sanitary.
That was odd, but I wasn’t about to question it. A sign of magical influence it may be, but it sure was a more welcome one than undead skeletons.
Spearing a fish proved harder than I thought. Refraction caused my aim to be just off, and I had to learn to aim above my target to even get close to spearing a fish. Twice I broke off several of my spear points, and my tool was growing shorter with every mistake. Eventually though I got lucky and speared a fish.
“Got you! Dinner time!” I’d never caught my own food before, but I realized why people enjoyed the process. It was an exhilarating feeling. Human encroachment had wiped out most game animals anywhere outside of reservations back on Earth, and hunting wasn’t something you could do unless you could afford a large amount of land or had membership in an expensive club. Needless to say, I’d had neither.
It was much larger than the average fish, which probably played into why I could hit it. It was a big flat creature, the width of two hands and twice as wide. It looked like a silver scaled rectangle flopping about on the end of my spear. When I lifted it out of the water its weight caused it to slide off the bent and abused prongs of my fish spear. I wasn’t about to let my prize drift away on me and so I reached after it. The chunk of soil I was on gave way and sent me tumbling into the mud. Apparently, the lake bed wasn’t as solid as it looked. What seemed to be water only three feet deep was actually shallow water with a four-foot layer of mud and sediment interspersed with tall, jagged rocks. I was lucky I didn’t skewer myself in my fall. I’d be picking a better fishing spot in the future.
I just barely grabbed my fish, though my fish spear fell from my grasp and drifted off down the water fall. Oh well, I wouldn’t need another one until I got hungry again. I crawled out of the mud, prize in hand and went about the work of filleting the fish. Luckily I’d already removed my bronze knife after converting the traditional spear to a fish spear, so losing a stick was a small loss when there were plenty around.
I knew enough about fish that you wanted to cut the gills. This bleed them out quickly, which served both to keep the fish from suffering and from souring the meat with the chemicals it would excrete in a prolonged fight for its life.
It wasn’t really necessary considering my wooden spear tip had already pierced straight through it, but this was my first time actually preparing a live fish, so I’d be doing it by the book, if only just this once.
The dorsal fin of the fish was a bright teal color, blending in smoothly with the pale underbelly. It had some teeth on it, so it was likely this fish was a predator. I called the things ‘white fin river fish’, if only to give them a name. They had white fins, and I’d found them in the stream after all.
I knew the theory behind lighting a fire but doing so in reality was a lot harder. First I tried rubbing two sticks together, but my left arm was still too hurt for that. I might have the book knowledge of how a caveman might start a fire, but I still lacked the technique. Eventually I settled on gutting and cleaning the fish and washing the meat off as best I could with water from the stream.
Then I opened my mouth and dropped the raw fish meat in. The texture was terrible. Squishy and slimy and not at all like sushi, let alone a good plate of salmon. But there was something else to it that made my mouth water with hunger. Like a nutrient I’d been craving all my life, and only now did my body recognize its desperate need.
It was like the water, only a thousand times more powerful. My mouth tingled the strange sensation was so strong. I had to have more.
Within minutes I’d eaten the entire fish. Physically I was stuffed, and yet my body demanded I catch another. I gave myself a moment to relax as I went through the process of finding and crafting a better fish spear. It had been a long day, and I wanted to give myself a chance to set up a long-term plan. I’d need to think about shelter and better tools and eventually satisfying the needs of Mac and figuring out this interface the wizard had given me. I wasn’t sure how much reserve power was left in that thing, but Mac wouldn’t be able to function indefinitely. Especially with his fixation on keeping things spotlessly clean.
There was a lot I could do here. For one, building fish traps and crab traps would make getting food effortless. I also considered building a shelter. A camp of sorts would go a long way towards making me more comfortable, and I couldn’t constantly be making trips down to stay with Mac if it would eat deep into my working hours. Plus, I had no intention of braving through those skeletons, giant rats, and massive centipedes daily.
I’d also need some proper weapons. I could turn the bronze dagger into a decent bronze-tipped spear,
but if there were worse threats than what I’d faced that might not be enough. I’d want some clothes too. Already the only intact piece of my wardrobe was my underwear. That was nice and comfortable considering the heat, but running around nearly nearly naked wasn’t a good idea when fighting monsters.
I would not be weaving linen any time soon, but if I could make some string I could probably craft some primitive armor. Just walking around barefoot would probably give me blisters sooner rather than later, so making shoes was a must.
CHAPTER FOUR
I spent the next week setting up a respectable camp. I managed to scrape together some dead branches from something that resembled a pine tree and set up a lean-to. I needn’t have bothered. In the end the bed I made was damp and smelly and much less pleasant than simply sleeping out in the open air.
One comforting discovery I found was that nighttime was much brighter on this world than it was back on Earth. With thousands of celestial bodies floating through the sky, there was more surface area to reflect sunlight. That meant I could see fine once I had some time to adjust my vision to the dark.
This place was a tropical paradise. With no mosquitoes to boot, I imagined people would pay quite a bit of good money to vacation here. I bet Sam and Dean partied it up while they were waiting for me. They probably waited months. My mood turned darker as I remembered I was alone.
On the seventh day, I finally managed to get a fire going. I’d like to say my hard work and dedication was what lent me success, but really it was luck. I managed to get a particularly dry bit of moss smoldering, while the wind blew in just the right way to light up some nearby leaves.
Regardless, I managed to get a fire lit. I hadn’t had any intestinal problems thus far, but I decided not to push my luck and started cooking my food from then on, carefully nursing the fire so it never went completely out. Now that I could cook things, I started branching out from just the white fin river fish to more adventurous foods. As good as the fish was, I craved some variety. I found something that looked a little bit like a crayfish with three arms while digging around in the water and took to roasting them on a hot rock, but they were more trouble to eat than they were worth.
Zeal of the Mind and Flesh Page 5