That Which Devours

Alex climbed up and out of the hatch, while I remained standing for about three seconds before I needed to sit back down. My head spun, and I forced myself to breathe shallowly to resist passing out. Pain from my thigh and the cut on my side stabbed at me, along with the new burn on my shoulder.

I should have tried to unlock a healing ability of some kind. All I had was the basic increase to a Common Body, and it wasn’t doing a lot for me at the moment. It wasn’t like my class was good for actual fighting, so it hadn’t seemed important at the time. When class selection had come for most of us, during the aggressive de-orbit, I’d taken Fighter Pilot. At that point, it hadn’t been like any of us had known what the hell was going on, or what these choices might mean. These days, I knew just how much I'd screwed myself over by taking that class, but I couldn't focus on that.

The bigger issue was that I’d sent Alex to hike through the jungle to the Compound and retrieve a crystal. Fixing the only link we had to other settlements was more important than my so-called class. I only hoped Alex would make it.

A sigh escaped my lips.

“I can’t just sit here,” I muttered. Still, I sat, waiting for the pain to recede. I leaned my head back against the wall and wondered if I’d sent Alex to die. All of us had thought she’d died in the crash. After I found the tube, Dad was the only one who’d focused on getting it open. None of us had believed that she lived. Now, I’d sent her into the jungle to potentially die. Dad was going to kill me when he found out. Then again, Dad’s training could get any of us through this situation if anything could. If I could stand up for more than ten minutes I would have gone myself, but I knew I wouldn’t make it. My thigh hurt too much, plus I didn't have the same survival skills as she had developed over the last couple of months. Not to mention her talents with the spear.

I needed to believe what the others said. She had survival skills, the hunt went well even without her unlocking a class. Now, Alex had one. It would make a difference. Heck, by the time she got back, who knew what level she’d be at. At least dad’s concerns about Xander's exceptional interest in Alex could settle down. Now, she had a class like everyone else.

Finally, I felt like I could move again and I opened my eyes. The hole in the window mocked me. That was something I’d need to figure out how to fix later on. For now, the shuttle had other problems. For one, the broken crystal needed to be removed and there were literal holes to be dealt with in the body of the small craft. That all should be easy.

The glass would be harder, and I’d need to level up my Engineering skills to have a chance. My profession was the one reason I’d gotten to the level I was at. Level 14, and almost all of it from working on the shuttle. Early on, I’d gotten levels from flying the shuttle, but the only time I’d gotten anything really good was when the Flier had attacked the shuttle.

Three whole levels I’d gotten for that. It’d been glorious.

Plus, it’d unlocked skills for camouflaging the ship. If only I had an actual weapons system to use, I could do some real damage to the fliers, like when we’d been back home. Instead, I’d been forced to fly when they weren’t in the skies, because all I could do in an attack was try to out maneuver them.

Thinking about that wasn’t going to help me, either. I pulled myself up and hobbled toward the cargo hold. The two golf-ball sized holes could be first. Then, I could take a break to deal with the broken crystal. That might be a fun project, and I’d get to test out my crystal-shaping skills. All of my tools were currently stuffed in the cargo crate I’d taken the supplies out of.

My thoughts went back to Alex.

“Please, just get to the compound…” I whispered. The guys there were rough, but the shuttle provided most of their supplies. They’d want to help get it fixed sooner rather than later. I could count on Hawk coming to the rescue, as long as he truly believed we had a shot of fixing the ship.

“First step, the hole in the ceiling…”

Alex had stuffed it full of cloth, which was a smart move. I yanked out the dangling cloth and studied the damage. It wouldn’t take long to fix with my metal smoothing ability. I could strengthen the armored shield on the outside as well.

The only problem was, I wasn’t tall enough. I yanked out one of my ladders and set it up under the hole. Climbing it was a problem. Pain raced down my leg as soon as I tried to take a step up while bending my knee.

That wasn’t going to help.

I’d already yanked the cloth out and needed to close the hole. Once it was done, I could rest.

That first step up almost killed me. The second would have done me in, except I could reach the hole, resting for a moment. Using my metal smoothing skill, the ripped edges evened out. I added a small piece of metal from the supplies in my tool belt and it joined the edges easily, almost like magic.

My head throbbed from using the skills, but the hole quickly sealed and I let the skill fade. If only I could do that with my wounds.

I stood on the ladder for another moment to regain my breath before I needed to climb back down. Seconds later, I crashed to the floor near the cargo crate, sweat covering my face. My thigh throbbed with pain, and tears came to my eyes. I gasped for breath, hoping the pain would reduce soon. It needed to heal faster.

[Skill Unlocked: You learned a potential skill: Masochist.]

I forced myself not to laugh since it would just add to the pain. That wasn’t what I needed right now, I needed something to help me heal quicker. Still, I found myself opening my sheet and accepting the skill in my only free slot. The pain levels in my body receded and my mind felt clear for the first time since I’d regained awareness.

What the fuck had I done?

Alex was my only hope. Especially since I’d put most of my food and water into her pack. I didn’t like to lie, but in this case, I didn’t have a week's worth of food and water. More like 3 days. I’d need to make things stretch out as much as possible.

And in the meantime, I had to fix this ship.

***

Survivors were good news, though I couldn’t steal the crystal from them, which meant talking to the locals. The only person I could easily reach currently sat in the tree. He had to be in the tree for a reason. He kept using the binoculars, glancing around at the forest, and not at the far distance but at the trees around the compound, peering over the edge of the platform.

Either he knew someone was out here, or something else was.

If the ones inside the dropship were injured, something must have happened to the compound, like a beast bigger than normal. Something more than the meteor shower. That acidic smell still hung around, but was less strong near the crystal-lined path. I wished the crater had just been off to one side, but these people weren’t that lucky. Some of the small crystals were humming softly, but not many, and the repelling field wasn’t very strong. I wasn’t sure how much protection the remaining crystals would give against anything big. A Compy wouldn’t go near grounded crystals, even this small, but they were a pretty minor threat.

I eyed the distance I needed to go to travel to the bottom of the tall tree. The climb wouldn’t be hard. It was mostly branches, though in a few places someone had tied rope around the trunk to close some of the gaps. The base of the trunk had been cleared so there wasn’t anything for me to hide in; I’d need to cross the last twenty feet without cover.

Taking a moment, I steadied myself, closing my eyes and breathing deeply. I focused on the sounds surrounding me, but all that came to me were birds and the wind in the leaves. With a sudden jerk, I snapped my eyes open and tucked my knife into its place. This was the time to focus on speed and climbing. Maybe dodging if needed. I hoped it wouldn’t be needed.

I launched myself into the twenty-foot gap and stood at the base of the tree before I knew it. The dirt was solid under my feet and up I went. Each branch was worn smooth by the number of times people had climbed up. After about ten feet, I relaxed a little but kept up a frantic pace. The tree went on forever. After climbing for what seemed like fifteen minutes, I figured I had to be about halfway up, but I wasn’t even a third when I stopped to check. So, I continued, not stopping again until the midpoint. There was a small half sign carved into the bark just off one of the branches, so it didn’t cut into your hand. There was also a small wooden platform that gave a tired climber a place to sit and pause. I took a moment to glance down below me.

Nothing moved as far as I could tell. The edges of the jungle looked the same, and I couldn’t spot anything at the base of the tree. The same went for the fence, and the compound as a whole. From what I could see, and the sight lines were pretty clear, my presence hadn’t changed a thing. That was good. I pulled out my canteen and took a few refreshing sips of water.

Looking up, I could see a hole in the platform above me, and a man staring down at me, then at the canteen. When he saw I was looking, he made the hushing hand sign with a finger to his lips.

I tried something new. This time, while looking at him I thought about wanting more info.

[Jimmy, Level 15.]

The info appeared over his head for a moment, then vanished. I'd completely forgotten, I'd gotten Insight as a skill right in the beginning, when I’d unlocked my class. On my stat sheet, it was under skills. It was the first item, but still, I kept forgetting it was there.

I nodded. So something was out there. Nothing came from my right shoulder, but I didn’t dare whisper to Noseen any questions. I put away the water and started back up the tree. Once past the point of the canopy, the sun hit my cloak and warmed me quickly. Sweat started dripping down my forehead and down my back under my shirt. I resisted tossing the cloak into my inventory, despite the heat. It was the only armor I had.

When I finally reached the platform, I was higher above the canopy than I’d ever been before, not counting flying in the shuttle. The guy wasn’t looking out the hole anymore and I pulled myself up. A large crystal sat in the crook of the tree above the platform, drawing my attention. It hummed louder than I’d ever heard one hum before. The guy had given me space, sitting crouched down in the far corner. I could smell him from here. Stale sweat and fear.

“Who are you?” he asked with a whisper. His voice cracked and he lowered a dark green hood, but his hands shook. His hair was greasy, and sweat trails rolled down his face. Dark eyes stared at me. He looked to be around my dad’s age. Old enough to have children, but young enough to still have strength.

“Alex; I was on the shuttle. We crashed some ways back,” I answered, not sure how honest I should be with this guy. Still, I didn’t have much to lose, and it looked like he needed help. “John is still with the shuttle. He injured his thigh.”

The man’s face relaxed at the mention of John. “Good guy, I hope he’s okay,” he mumbled. “I saw the crash two nights ago, tracking your journey toward us when those damn rocks fell from the sky. Been stuck up here ever since ‘cause of the damn cats. Name’s Jimmy.” He paused and shook his head. “You don’t got any extra water, do ya?”

He had seen me drink from my canteen down below, so I quickly pulled it out of my inventory crystal and handed it over. He carefully took a sip, and waited before taking another. “Do you need a ration bar?” I asked. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with dehydration, and I guessed his level to be higher than 10.

He nodded, while very slowly working on the water.

I yanked three ration bars out, hoping they would help. I still had plenty of meat for myself, and the ration bars were a last resort as far as I was concerned. Especially with how off they now tasted to me. However, I wondered how John’s supply of food was going. I didn’t want to give over all the food I had that wasn’t raw.

I forced myself to be patient as Jimmy sipped on the water, before slowly eating a ration bar. After one bite, he stopped, before tossing the bars in a box I hadn’t noticed on one of the higher branches that he reached by standing up.

“You mentioned cats? Is that the smell?” I asked, thinking of the acidic wind that almost lingered on my cloak.

“It’s a pack.” He shivered. “They blend into the ferns and strike when you can’t see them.” He motioned toward the fence. “The tree took out part of the fence, enough that the crystals on that side aren’t grounded. That let them in.”

A crystal grounded in as little as an hour, but they needed to stay in a specific position. As it grounded, the crystal would slowly start to give off the hum, helping keep away beasts. Normally, to be fully charged a crystal would take a day, depending on its size. At that point, beasts wouldn’t come near it, even the bigger ones if the crystal was of decent size.

“And the path to the tree is broken as well,” I added, thinking of the shattered crystals on the path.

“Yeah, we used scraps for it. It works decent enough, but those fucking meteors…” He leaned forward, almost growling out the last word. I caught sight of a bow over his shoulder, but he didn’t have many arrows left.

“Are you the only one left?” I knew he wasn’t, but I needed to see if he was going to lie to me. It might change how the rest of the day went, and I hoped he wouldn’t make trouble.