WilburWoods
patreon
Chapter 11 - Reunion
🕑 Added 2023-08-29 19:09:21 +0000 UTCConsidering Logan’s fourteen hours of preparation, the combat was over almost anticlimactically fast.
Tumor’s time calculation was accurate down to the last second. When it told Logan the time was up, the creatures immediately charged in, scythes extended. Hoarse screeches filled the room. The three slick and lithe creatures scrambled against the spears. One of them broke and lodged between a monster’s ribs.
Without hesitation Logan threw the Boomerang. It whizzed through the air and cut one of the creatures straight down, decapitating it. The weapon slowed and wobbled, but cut another creature in its scythed arm on its way back. Logan caught it smoothly on its return, just like he had practiced. By then the two wounded creatures were already past the barricade of spears. Logan threw the scythe-rang again. This time the monster at the front dodged. Logan backpedaled, his body flushing with sweat and adrenaline.
When the Boomerang was coming back, it struck the one with the wounded rib in its back. With a blood-curdling screech it fell, Logan’s weapon sticking up from its spine. The creature twitched and snarled, but couldn’t get up.
There was no time to cheer. The last creature, with a wounded arm, came at him. It rose to its hindlegs, towering over Logan at easily over seven feet. It struck down with both of its scythes.
“Shield!” Logan yelled. A translucent, blue umbrella formed around his arm. It pushed the creature back. Logan picked up his javelin and struck the monster in its abdomen. A bright blue explosion combusted and the creature screeched, its head snapping backwards. The monster sliced a nasty cut on Logan’s shoulder as it swung its scythes around in pain.
Logan gasped and fell, clutching his shoulder. The monster was hurt and sluggish, but it screeched and swung again. It sprayed black blood all over Logan as it swung around. The stench was wretched.
Logan rolled on the ground to dodge and kicked a leg from under the creature. It stumbled, Logan got up and ran to the monster which had fallen on its stomach. Ignoring the slicing pain in his shoulder, Logan yanked out the scythe-boomerang.
[E-grade Numacraft Boomerang, 60%]
“Well enough, Logan muttered. “Suck on this!”
Logan roared as he hurled the boomerang at the screeching foe, made of teeth and blades. There was no grace or technique in the throw. None was needed. The weapon had an aim-assist enchantment and the distance was maybe four yards. The monster turned, and let out a final horrible screech, slick spittle flying from its mouth as it rattled at Logan. The blade struck it straight in its featureless, faceless head. It went limp and fell over.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Marksmanship level 5]
Logan toppled down and let out a groan. He wasn’t tired. He was exhausted. He had been working nonstop for fourteen hours with only two hours of rest. All the anxiety, all the fear of death had left him. Now he just lay on the ground, with eyes closed and breathed in the sweet sweet air. Well, it smelled like oily monster blood, but it was still good.
The cut on his shoulder hurt. He could feel a trickle of blood trailing along his arm, but it wasn’t enough to warrant worry.
Logan considered getting up and sealing the door with an enchantment. Then he tried moving his head.
Yeah, no. I don’t care if Levemoth itself is going to barrel in. I’m not getting up…
“Tumor, wake me up in… whatever…”
*
Logan was happy to find out that he had not in fact been eaten by a horrible monster in his sleep. Instead he woke up in the dark room with only the blue christmas light ropes giving it light. The stench was overwhelming. The creatures must have been marinating for quite a while.
“How long was I lights out?”
[8 hours and 14 minutes.]
Logan got up, stretched and yawned.
“Yeah, feels like it,” he said, smacking his mouth idly. “I’m hungry, let's get back out there.”
Logan completed the gruesome task of stuffing his hand in the black gooey head heads of the scythe creatures. Above their mouth, where any reasonable creature would have a face, the skin and tissue was relatively soft. It took some wiggling with the scythe-boomerang and his hands, but he managed to fish out three [E-grade Numa Crystals, 100%].
It was hard work, and not only because of the sticky oily blood which smelled rancid, but also because of his shoulder wound. Where the cat had done nothing but scratches, these monsters really packed a punch. Logan did his best to shrug it off.
I’m just lucky to be alive.
After he was one with the monsters, he drained the last light out of the floating E-grade construct with [Funnel], filling most of his dimmed crystals with the soft blue light of Numa.
With that, Logan left the stinking room. He crept along the dark corridors clutching his weapon and a scythed arm from the biggest monster. He had made the executive decision of detaching the head from the javelin, pocketing it and ripping up another blue-edged blade. If he needed more javelins, he was sure wood was easier to find than idle monster bits.
When Logan stumbled out of the dungeon or catacombs or whatever the hell it was, he was mentally hobbled by the fact that a soft evening sun made him shield his eyes as it idly glared at him over the canopies.
“Tumor, what time is it? Okay, dumb question, scratch that. How long was I down there?
[Reconfiguring Neural Matrix… 20% Completion]
[a little under 25 hours.]
“I’m starting to like these answers of yours.”
[This one is learning to adjust to your personal needs.]
“You can use my senses, right?”
[That is correct. That is my primary way of collecting data. The secondary way of collecting data is processing what you tell me, but that data source is—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Logan snorted. “Screw you too.”
Logan walked around, watching this way and that, feeling uneasy.
“Just let me know if you see monsters or green cats, that I glance over.”
[Is there a percentage probability over which you would like to be notified that you might get attacked?]
Logan shrugged. “Anything over 60%, I guess. Oh and keep an eye on any berries, water sources or… hell, even mushrooms. I’m really hungry.”
The first body of water Logan stumbled upon was a big pond. He came to it, overlooking it from a cliff with a few yards drop down. There was a stream even higher above, raining a waterfall down on the green and blue pond.
As beautiful as it was, it had nothing on the creature bathing in the water by the shore. Skin amber-touched by carefully planned sun, athletic measurements of function and grace and honey-golden hair, cascading into curls down her slender shoulders.
Logan wasted no time. He jumped down the cliff. “Freya!”
[The water depth is indetermi—]
Logan splashed into the water and swam up laughing as he did. He started paddling towards his girlfriend, with scythes in his hands. She yelped in surprise.
“Logan? Oh my god! LOGAN!”
“Frey!” Logan shouted between breaths. “I knew I’d find you!”
When the water got shallow enough, Logan got his feet in the mud. It was soft and squishy, but his socks (which had also been enchanted with adhesiveness) gave him great speed. But something splashed behind Logan, and it moved even faster.
Something blue and black surged through the water, sending up tall waves behind it. Logan’s eyes widened. He had a good idea what kind of creature this was.
“Frey! Dive!” Logan said as he threw the scythe-boomerang.
For a millisecond, Freya froze to look at Logan, but did as he said. With any less trust between them, a reasonable person would have just run. Logan sighed in relief when Freya’s head dipped underwater.
A great snake, twelve feet in span, covered in black and blue scales surged at the spot where Freya had just been. That was exactly where Logan had aimed his throw. The ugly creature hissed in pain when Logan’s weapon hit it in the side of its head and the blade got lodged in its head. The predatory blue eyes turned to Logan, ablaze with fury.
“Fuck you!” Logan shouted at it and ran through the water towards the monster.” It tossed its large body in the water and attacked Logan, mouth wide open.
“Shield!”
Logan almost lost balance under the weight of the snake’s attack. The Snake was tossed backwards, and for a brief moment it fell on its back in the water. Logan wasted no time.
He scrambled towards the great beast and grabbed the scythe-boomerang on the side of the snake’s head and twisted it. The snake hissed in anger and wrapped itself around Logan’s body, It squeezed hard.
Logan’s shoulders popped forwards and the strain and pain was increasing by the second. He still held onto the blade, but he barely had strength left to twist it. The snake-monster squeezed all the strength out of Logan. He couldn’t breathe and slowly his vision started narrowing…
Suddenly several gunshots struck at the snake. It hissed again and uncoiled around Logan, ready to attack another target. Big mistake. After a hurried breath, Logan roared and pushed his weight against the blade.
“[Empower]!”
It worked. The blade, previously deeply lodged in the skull of the great snake, now cut through it like butter. Half of the monster’s head plopped in the water like a heavy rock. The rest of its mostly erect body heaved and smashed into the water, sending it spraying in all directions.
The water turned black around Logan as he breathed in his victory. His eyes met Freya’s and they rushed towards each other. Logan hugged her fiercely as she buried her face in his neck, the water covering all but her slender shoulders.
“Don’t you ever leave me like that again,” Freya muttered, eyes squeezed shut.
Logan squeezed her shoulder. “I won’t.”
For a moment they just stood there. Logan breathed in Freya’s hair. It smelled like home. Her skin was on goosebumps from fright and cold water. He hugged her tighter.
Logan was done with the hug, but Freya wasn’t letting go. Logan smiled and rested his chin on her head. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw agent Balmer in a tattered suit, looking at Logan with disbelief.
“You,” the agent said coldly when their eyes met.
Logan smirked. “Nice to see you too.”
“How the hell are you alive?” Balmer asked.
“Charm and luck. Something alien to you, I’m sure,” Logan said. “I know you have no social skills, but this is the second time you’ve barged in to get a peek of Frey. Back off.”
“I’m— she was— I saved—” Balmer spluttered, face flushing.
“It was my idea,” Freya said, lifting her head to look up at Logan. ”After we saw that thing in the sky… We lost Mark Cheffield… I wanted protection.”
“Well now you got me to protect,” Logan murmured to her. Then he turned his head back to Balmer. “So you can screw off.”
Agent Balmer glared at Logan, muttered something sounding like ‘you’re welcome’, and stomped off.
Freya untangled herself from Logan, took a step back and looked at him for a long time. On her face played something between a wry smile and a smirk. Eventually she scoffed.
“What?”
“You shouldn’t be rude to him. Especially not anymore.”
Logan sighed. “Guess not. Can’t help it. He is such a tool.”
“He did save your life just now.”
“Bah. I had it covered.”
Freya giggled. “Look at you, all shirtless and primal.”
Logan flexed a bicep. “I know. I’m like Tarzan. But more muscular.”
Freya laughed. Logan couldn’t help but to join her. It felt so good to see her. In the whim of the moment, Logan grabbed her and kissed her. She reciprocated immediately and for a moment, Logan forgot this new ridiculous reality.
Eventually they stopped and were left leaning their foreheads against each other, eyes closed.
“I’m getting cold,” Freya whispered.
“Get out of the water,” Logan said.
“But then I’d have to let go of you.”
Logan scoffed, picked her up in his arms. She yelped, but grabbed Logan tightly and then he carried her out of the water. After placing her on the shore, Logan kissed her on the forehead and turned to retrieve his spoils of war.
