That Which Devours

I nodded, wondering how quickly the news had spread. There wasn’t much to gossip about, so any little thing that was good news passed along quickly. People liked good news. Though, to be honest, bad news flew pretty fast, too. The community just wasn’t that big.

Benny emptied the bag of small carrots onto the giant stump. “This will be all of them. I had to thin out the row, or the rest won’t grow larger.” He tossed me a small one from the pile, and I chomped down on it.

Fresh, real carrot. It shouldn’t taste so good, but it did. “You are amazing. Where’s Dad?”

Benny motioned toward the community hall, but said nothing about him. Len had gone inside after getting back as well. Hopefully, everything was good. “John is working on the shuttle again, can you make sure he eats tonight before he leaves?”

“I’ll get him,” I replied. John got sucked into work all the time. He’d rather be working on his prized shuttle, or fixing the second, broken one, as much as he could. I was one of the few people who could make him stop working and do things like eat or bathe. “I’ll threaten to eat his stew if he doesn’t show up.”

Benny laughed, shaking his head. “That would do it.”

“Did you hear Cass got the hunter class?” I asked, slyly. I swore the two of them had something going on, though for some reason the Council didn’t encourage that sort of thing. The focus had to be on food, shelter, and survival. Procreation and relationships could come after that, they said, though I thought it was a little silly to try to stop people from forming relationships.

“Really?” He blushed. “I’ll have to congratulate her. I know she wanted that class pretty bad.”

I shook my head as he wandered off.

“You shouldn’t tease him like that,” said Abby. “Young love is precious.”

“Maybe once I unlock a class, I’ll be more interested in it,” I mumbled. Even before the colony ship left Earth, I hadn’t had any time to figure out love. We’d started training three years before the ship left, right after I’d turned eighteen, on the skills we’d need to survive, how to use all the tools and equipment we were taking, and what to expect when we got there. Most of the knowledge was useless now. Or at least, I felt like it was. They didn’t teach us how to survive against dinosaurs in a jungle with some system creating powers and classes and stuff.

I’d wasted that time, and now I needed to focus on learning a whole bunch of new stuff, mostly without any teachers because no one really understood it, and finding my class. My hands stayed focused on the task in front of me while my mind wandered, and it didn’t take long for the pile of cut-up potatoes to be larger than what was left. I shifted to dicing carrots as I ran out of spuds.

Abby started carrying bowlfuls over to the various bubbling pots, dumping the veggies inside. “Once you're done with those carrots, go relax, or have fun…”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Though I had no clue who I’d hang out with. The few folks my age all had classes and hung out according to class. Still, I should put in the effort.

Cass was surrounded by a few others, and I headed in that direction.

“Heard you fought some dinos today,” said Randy with his goofy grin. He still hadn’t earned any leather armor and wore the dirty blue cotton uniform like the rest of us.

I nodded.

“Alex got a hit on the Para,” added Cass.

“Plus two Compys,” I said with a grin. My crystal knife was attached to my belt, and it drew more than one glance. No one in this crowd could attune the crystals, for weapons or for anything else. It made me stand out.

“Man, I wish I could do something like that,” said Randy. “Instead, I’m supposed to be practicing with my bow.” He’d gotten an archery class on that hugely frustrating day weeks ago, but he was still horrible at it. He couldn’t hit the target even three weeks after getting the class. It was clear the rush from getting the class itself had faded, and now he had to put in the work.

“I mean, archery is cool,” I interjected. “Any progress with it?”

Jaxon laughed, joining the group. “I think he’s gotten worse!”

I glared at him, and he shut his mouth. “Well, how about I help you tomorrow? See if maybe I can unlock the category… It might help me figure my class out.”

“You didn’t unlock a class?” asked Jaxon, running his fingers through his reddish hair. He smirked at me.

The urge to punch the guy in the face rushed across me, but I resisted. He was not a person I hung around most of the time. Somehow, despite that, he always showed up and angered me.

“It must be something rare,” said Cass. “Otherwise, Alex would have one already. How many categories are you up to?”

“I think 7, but the section is locked so I can’t tell for sure. I know I can remember 7.” I shrugged and focused on Cass, ignoring Jaxon as he rolled his eyes. “But you’re already level 3, right?”

Cass nodded happily.

“Just because Alex hasn’t gotten a class yet doesn’t mean it will be useful or rare when it does show up,” said Jaxon. He snorted, shaking his head lightly, then added softly. “If only it worked like that.” Tension rose in the air and I had no idea how to respond to that. It was true, I wasn’t guaranteed a useful class, even though so many people hoped I’d unlock something good. Randy wouldn’t look at me and Cass glanced down at the ground.

I just stood there, trying to not let my thoughts show on my face. I couldn’t believe he’d said out loud my biggest fear. He couldn’t have known just how often I’d thought those exact same thoughts in the privacy of my own head.

Jaxon looked between the three of us before asking, “So, anyone have a clue about dinner?”

“Stew and roasted meat. There will be actual carrots in it, along with potatoes.” I couldn’t wait for the stew.

Jaxon rolled his eyes again at my excitement. “Ugh, rabbit food, who needs it.”

“How’s your leveling going, anyway?” I asked Jaxon. He had gotten a boxing class, which was pretty useless at the moment. The Council even actively discouraged folks from trying to learn it from him. It would be pretty hard for him to level if he couldn’t practice. Plus, what was he going to do, punch a dinosaur?

“Still trying to figure out what profession I want,” he snapped.

I grinned, knowing I’d scored a point, though it felt like a low blow.

As Jaxon growled back about his profession, I forced myself to keep a blank look on my face. Professions were the one saving grace if you got a class you didn’t click with. Like, John was an engineer, and Benny was a biochemist. It was a way to level without using your class, though it seemed to be slower. Randy still hadn’t decided on his, and last I knew Jaxon hadn’t either. Given how much of a tough guy Jaxon tried to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to go with something that worked with his boxer class. Since leadership practically forbade him from working on it, I kind of understood his reluctance. What would I do if I got a class that I couldn’t use?

The sound of Felix pulling out his fiddle drew everyone's attention. No one could believe it the first time he’d played it after the crash. It had survived in storage within its hard case. Now, it was one of those things that everyone looked forward to. A few married couples moved toward the firelight and danced to the lively tune. Felix’s class was a bit of a mystery, but whatever it was, it worked for him. He hadn’t even tried to explain it to me when I’d asked if I could learn it. Instead, he’d just said the music wasn’t in my veins.

I stepped back from Jaxon and Randy with a grin on my face, nodding to the music. I needed to calm down and stop needling Jaxon. If we got into a fight, we’d both be punished by the council, and, worse, I’d have to explain it to dad. Randy broke off as well, disappearing into the crowd, muttering something about bows. Benny rescued Cass from Jaxon, approaching with a smile and then pulling her toward the couples dancing around the fire. This finally proved they had a thing going, and I was right with my guess. Maybe he’d just been waiting until she had her class figured out before going public. Hopefully, they’d be happy together.

I glanced around to see if any of the leaders were about, but they all must still be inside the community hall discussing the hunt. Jugs of cold water and wooden mugs were placed on a nearby table and I headed in that direction. I picked one up, still amazed that some of the colonists could carve things out of wood. Obviously, it was possible, but back on Earth that hadn’t been something anyone I knew would have done. Wood was just so expensive.

Here, it was required for dishes, since wood was plentiful and plastic was nonexistent. There was talk we might even have clay on the shore of the lake, but so far no one had skills or experience with it. Maybe that was something I could learn, how to make dishes and such. At least it’d be useful. I filled a mug with cold water and took a sip. It was refreshing.

Mary marched my way with two sticks of roasted meat. She held one out to me like a peace offering. A smile danced on her face, and her curls bounced around trying to get free from her hair tie. She still wore her armor from earlier.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it from her hand. I wouldn’t turn down food, no matter the source. The first bite was amazing, and it didn’t take long until the wooden stick was clean.

“I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job today out on the hunt, even if you didn’t unlock the hunter class.” She paused, watching my face. “I’d be willing to be your buddy even without that.”

I couldn’t believe her offer. Basically, I could be a hunter without the class, learning the hard way how to do things. It would keep me busy. “That would be amazing. Are you sure Len is okay with that?” I couldn’t accept the offer without making sure it was fine with leadership. They were all that was holding the Colony together, though given Len’s comments it seemed maybe the Council itself wasn’t holding together as much as I’d always thought.

She snorted. “Len wouldn’t care, and we both see that you are good with that spear. That’s what matters, not your class. We didn’t have classes back on Earth, it just means you’d be doing things the old-fashioned way.”

I nodded, thinking about it. “I’d like that.” I paused, and then just asked my question. “What was that skill you used, Invisible Passage?” I hadn’t spent much time with Mary, and this was a perfect time to learn something.

“So far I’m the only one with it.” Her eyes lit up. “It lets me erase scent trails, so the smell of the blood, and then us going down the trail – Poof! Completely gone. I think I got it because I focus more on the stealth side. It helps me remain hidden.”

“Woah.” I let the admiration show in my voice. “But how does it work?”

“I think it dissolves the scent in the air,” she said with an intense look on her face. “But I’m just glad that I earned the skill, no matter how it works. It's made getting our catch back to the colony so much safer.” Mary smiled brightly. “No injuries at all today. That’s a first!”

The wistfulness in her voice warmed me. I got it. It was a sign that just maybe we could survive on this planet, and maybe even thrive. We’d lost so many people when the drop happened that we weren’t even sure if we had enough people left. The only ones who knew were the scientists, and they only spoke to the Council through messages.

Mary clapped me on the shoulder, shaking away those thoughts. “Well, enjoy the gathering, and the food. I’m going to see if Jas wants to dance.” Mary headed off into the crowd searching for her partner.

The music trailed off and people stopped moving. Most turned to face the entrance to the community hall, tension rising in the air. I couldn’t see what was going on, but not everyone looked happy. I turned and watched, eager to find out what had kept our illustrious leaders busy so long.