by Pirateaba
Stab. Stabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstab—
Erin swung her chair and knocked three Goblins senseless. She kicked out and sent another one flying, and then punched one so hard he fell over unconscious. She didn’t know how, but she was suddenly a fighting machine. But the Goblin kept coming and their knives went in and she didn’t feel a thing.
Two more Goblins went down to Erin’s punches before she toppled over. It wasn’t that she’d tripped. She just fell down and saw the blood pooling. Erin wanted to reach out and touch it, but her arms wouldn’t move.
The big Goblin was standing over her. When had he gotten to his feet? He had the short sword in his hand and he was raising it. He snarled around his broken nose. Then his head fell off.
Klbkch beheaded the large Goblin with one sweep of his swords. He stepped forward to shield Erin as his swords scythed out and cut two more Goblins apart. He addressed the other Antinium by his side, the Worker holding the pieces of paper in his hands.
“I must save Erin. Cover me.”
The Worker nodded and dropped its pieces of paper. It charged at the Goblins who scattered before this unknown threat. Erin looked up and tried to wave at Klbkch as the ant-man knelt swiftly beside her.
“Stay awake Erin. I have a potion. Stay alive for a few seconds longer.”
“Another p-potion?”
Erin laughed weakly. She wanted to say ‘you shouldn’t have’, but her mouth stopped working. Klbkch’s hands were a blur as they dove into the pouch at his waist. He uncorked the bottle and splashed half of it over Erin’s legs. The other half he made her drink. He had to hold her mouth open because she couldn’t open it.
She felt the noxious liquid go down and something happened in her body. But Erin wasn’t paying attention. She felt like a spectator, a ghost who wasn’t really attached to the thing Klbkch was cradling in her arms. She saw the Worker fighting as the Goblins recovered from their shock. She saw him dying.
The Worker had no weapons. He only had bits of paper. But he charged into the mass of Goblins, striking them with his four hands, biting, hitting them. Like how a child fights.
The Goblins fell back at first from the ferocity of the assault. But as soon as the Worker found himself in the midst of them they closed in.
One second the Worker was grabbing at Goblin, the next, they covered him. Countless Goblins piled onto the Worker, stabbing, hitting any part of his body they could reach. The Worker fell to the ground, but seized one Goblin by the leg. His mandibles opened and he bit.
The Goblin screamed and stabbed him in the eye. The other Goblins stabbed and clubbed him and then left the broken, crushed shell of the Worker on the ground. They swarmed away from him except for one Goblin which still screamed in agony as it tugged at its leg. It came away with a sickly snap as the leg and flesh ripped from the Worker’s jaws to reveal yellow bone.
Erin blew out a bubble of blood, and then coughed. Something warm was flowing up from her cold legs. She could feel them again and—pain. But she could feel them.
As the Goblins spread out around the human and Antinium, Klbkch stood up from Erin’s side. He drew both swords and daggers and faced the forty-odd Goblins.
“Come.”
The Goblins didn’t wait. They charged, howling with blood and fury. Klbkch waited for them and attacked with all four arms at once. His swords cut arcs in the air as they lopped off limbs and heads while his lower arms stabbed out with his knives. The first few Goblins who approached him died before they could take a step.
But—so many. Klbkch stepped back as the Goblins kept coming. He spun left and shredded two Goblins with his swords as his lower two arms stabbed a Goblin in the neck with his daggers. One sprinted under his guard and raked his legs with a dagger, but only managed to cut into his exoskeleton. Klbkch beheaded him, but more Goblins jumped on his back. He shook himself like a dog and cut them off of him.
Erin watched through lidded eyes. The potion was coursing through her, but the drowsiness was making her sleepy. She couldn’t stay awake. It was like her mind was shutting down every few moments.
She kept blinking. Her eyes would close, and then her head would snap back up. Each time she opened her eyes more Goblins lay in pieces around her. Blood stained the ground and her clothes. And Klbkch. But his blood was green. And there was a lot of it.
Erin opened her eyes and saw Klbkch stagger as a Goblin stabbed him in the back with the short sword. The Antinium turned and beheaded the Goblin, but two more struck him glancing blows from his other side. Even as he turned more lunged forward. He swept his blades to keep them away, but he couldn’t guard every angle.
Why didn’t he run? He was surrounded. If he had his back to the wall he could fend them off.
Oh. Right. He was defending her. And that meant he couldn’t watch his back.
Erin’s head lowered. The darkness closed in. Then she opened her eyes and saw Klbkch lying on the ground. No—not lying. Fallen. He was on his knees. He still had his blades, but he couldn’t stand up. Green blood dripped from the wounds on his body. So many.
But he’d taken vengeance for his injuries. Erin looked around and saw dead bodies everywhere. Pieces of Goblins. Heads. Limbs. Blood coated everything, including her.
Nine Goblins spread out around Klbkch in a wary circle. They didn’t dare approach the Antinium, for all he was fallen. Erin wondered what they were doing. Oh. They were waiting for him to die.
“Miss Solstice.”
It was rasping whisper. Erin looked at Klbkch. The Antinium didn’t move, but spoke to the ground as he used one sword to keep himself upright.
“You must flee. I will buy you a moment.”
She stared at him.
“No.”
“Can you not move?”
“I can feel my legs. Sort of.”
“Then go. Once you are in sight of the city you will be safe.”
“No.”
He clicked his mandibles together.
“I cannot slay the rest. Nine Goblins are too many—I am a failure.”
“No.”
Erin said it automatically. Her brain still wasn’t working.
“No. There aren’t nine. There are thirteen.”
Klbkch looked up. He saw the four Goblins as they swarmed out of the grass. The other Goblins hesitated, afraid to turn away from Klbkch and in that moment the small band of Goblins struck them from behind.
The four Goblins worked together. Two grabbed one Goblin and held him down and Rags stabbed him in the face while the forth kept the other eight at bay. He was armed with a large stick and covered his friends from the enemy Goblins. They would have rushed him, but Klbkch was on their other side and he shifted whenever they moved.
Rags and the other three Goblins moved from the dead Goblin to flank the other Goblins. They feinted as Klbkch guarded Erin and the other Goblins turned their attention to them. In an instant, Klbkch threw one of his swords and speared a Goblin through the chest.
As the seven remaining enemy Goblins turned their attention to Klbkch, Rags and the three Goblins rushed forwards and repeatedly stabbed another Goblin in the back. They fled backwards even as the other Goblins sliced at them.
Tactics.
The seven Goblins backed up. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. They had come to kill a lone human however dangerous she might be, not fight deadly insect-monsters and their own kind.
They edged away from the wounded Antinium. It was clear that he couldn’t move, and wounded as they were, they still outnumbered Rags and her friends. Rags and her comrades retreated until they had the inn at their backs. But it was still two-to-one.
The Goblin that had picked up the short sword pointed at Rags and screeched a command. The seven Goblins turned away. And one of them collapsed with a knife in the back of his head.
Erin blinked down at her hand. She’d picked it up and thrown it without thinking. And it had hit its target. The Goblins turned in shock and looked at
Erin.
She stood up and hit the closest Goblin with an uppercut that snapped his head backwards. Her legs felt like jelly. But they were whole. She kicked, and another Goblin flew and smashed into a wall.
Two more would have rushed her, but this time Klbkch threw. He missed with his daggers, but his sword hit one of the Goblins vertically and lodged in his head. He fell down and Erin hit the other Goblin and knocked him down.
She turned for the other three, but they were already dead. Two Goblins held the last one down as he screamed while Rags stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. He convulsed and died.
Erin breathed out shakily. She lowered her fists. She didn’t even notice the two Goblins she’d hit getting to their feet and running. Rags and her Goblins raced after them, screaming their high-pitched war cry.
Slowly, Erin looked around. The Goblins were dead. Their blood covered everything. Her breathing was ragged; she felt like there wasn’t enough air in the world. The world grew dark and she staggered. She would have sat down and passed out, but then something moved.
Klbkch. He collapsed in a pool of green ichor that mixed with the red around him. Suddenly Erin’s body was full of electricity and panic. She ran over to him. He was trying to get up, but his exoskeleton was full of holes. He was leaking.
“Oh god. Oh god no.”
Klbkch clicked at her.
“Erin Solstice. You are safe? Good. My Queen will send—her soldiers will come. You will be safe.”
He tried to reach for her. Erin grabbed his hand and then released it. She helplessly held her hands over the oozing gaps in his body, but his blood ran over her fingers. Klbkch touched at her hair and let his hand fall away.
“Beautiful.”
“I can’t—how do I stop the bleeding?”
He didn’t answer her. Klbkch only sighed. He stared up at the sky.
“I will die free.”
He fell silent and still. Erin couldn’t tell if he was breathing. She put her hand next to his mandibles, but she could feel nothing. Nothing.
She stared down at Klbkch. He was bleeding. She had to stop it. She had to heal him. But he’d used her potion.
She needed help. She needed Relc, or Pisces.
“Someone!”
Erin looked around and shouted. But there were only the dead Goblins.
“Help. Help me.”
Erin whispered. She looked at Klbkch. He wasn’t moving. He’d curled up into a ball. He was still bleeding.
She had to get help. She had to.
Erin shook. She didn’t know what to do. But she had to—she had to—
Erin slapped herself. She hit herself so hard in the face that the world turned back for a moment. But she’d stopped shaking. She grabbed Klbkch and hauled him up.
Fireman’s carry. She’d learned how to do that in class. It didn’t work the same way with Klbkch because he was bulkier in places. Still, she got him onto her shoulders. He was light. Was it the lost blood?
Run. Erin was already running. She dashed down the hill with Klbkch on her back. Blood ran down her shoulders and soaked her clothing. Blood. She couldn’t feel anything from the burden she carried on her back. No heartbeat, no breathing. Only blood.
Erin ran and ran. Her heart was bursting out of her lungs, and each breath was fire. She felt the muscles tearing in her legs. But she ran on. And she felt the blood as it slowly dripped down her body and onto the grass.
—-
Below Liscor, the Queen of the Antinium stirs. She looks up through dirt and bedrock. She knows. Already her soldiers march towards the surface at her command. But they are too late to stop what is happening. She feels it.
“Klbkchhzeim?”
1.26
Silence. Erin walked in it. It was the numbing static in her head. It was the sound of tears falling in her heart. It was everything.
She walked in the darkness. Short, narrow walls of dirt enclosed her. She followed a massive shape as it led her through the tunnels.
Noise. Erin still heard it echoing in her memories.
“Klbkch? Summon the Captain! Get a [Healer], now!”
“—Not breathing. Contact his hive! Get the human out of the way!”
“Klb? Buddy? Speak to me.”
“—Human. What have you done?”
Erin looked up. She was standing in a massive cavernous room. Across from her, something sat in the shadows. The Queen of the Antinium under Liscor.
The gargantuan figure moved. Erin couldn’t see. It was so dark. But she caught a glimpse of a massive, bloated body and bulbous backside. The massive Queen of the Antinium was so huge she couldn’t move from her spot.
The Queen raised one massive foreleg. She wasn’t like her subjects who looked vaguely humanoid. The Queen was completely insectile, and her wide, faceted eyes glowed with dim orange-red light as they focused on the human before her.
“Your name is Erin Solstice. I have summoned you to explain the death of my subject to me.”
Erin looked at the Queen. She didn’t know what to say. Her chest was hurting, but her heart was already broken. They’d taken his body away. She felt like she was still dying. She couldn’t feel the pain, it was so great.
The Queen gestured behind Erin. She pointed to the two silent giants flanking the doors.
“Do not fear my soldiers. They will cause you no harm.”
Erin glanced over her shoulder. She’d been grabbed in the midst of the confusion. A group of giant Antinium had swept her out of the guard barracks against her will and the protests of the other guards. Now, they silently watched her.
The two guards that stood in the back of the massive chamber were giants among Antinium. Unlike Klbkch or the Workers, these Antinium were nearly twice their size, with massive forearms and spiked, sharp gauntlets formed of their exoskeleton.
What was strangest and scariest about them was that they held no weapons. Instead, their four arms were bent and they appeared to be ready at any moment to leap on Erin. Their hands—Erin saw their hands had no real digits, just awkward stumps and tearing barbs. These Antinium were clearly soldiers, built for war.
“Erin Solstice. I hold you accountable for the death of Klbkchhzeim.”
Erin looked back at the Queen. She opened her mouth and didn’t know what to say. There was nothing. The silence in her was too large for words.
But she had to speak.
“I’m sorry. I never meant for it to happen.”
The Queen loomed above her. Her deep voice deepened further.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Erin shook her head.
“I don’t—I can’t say sorry enough. Klbkch—he died protecting me. He was a hero. I’m so sorry.”
The Queen silently watched as Erin wiped at her eyes. She raised a single leg.
“Human. You misunderstand me. Klbkch’s death in itself means little to me. Individuals die in service to the whole. That is natural. But his death was wasted—needless. I am told he perished fighting Goblins. That is what I find unacceptable.”
“…What?”
“Klbkchhezeim was more than a match for a hundred Goblins. If he were by himself and failed thusly I would eliminate his memory from the Hive in an instant. But even so, his foolishness has cost the Antinium living within the city greatly.”
Erin stared at the Queen in shock. In turn, she felt the giant Antinium’s eyes piercing her to the core.
“I am disappointed, Erin Solstice. I had expected better of my Prognugator’s judgment. He spoke highly of you. Klbkch called you a human worthy of emulation. But I see nothing to back up his claims. I see no reason why he would have wasted his life saving you.”
What? Erin’s head felt fuzzy. What was she saying?
The Queen continued. It was hard to discern emotion in her monotone rumble, but there was a definite element of irritation in her voice.
“My Workers play games in their resting periods. They gain useless levels in classes not needed for their
work. Three have already become Aberration. This experiment has created naught but waste. My Prognugator’s judgement has been in error.”
Erin struggled for words.
“He—he was only doing what I asked him to. He was helping. He saved my life.”
She felt the titanic gaze on her. Erin had to look down. She couldn’t meet the Queen’s eyes.
“Nevertheless. Klbkch died a failure.”
Erin’s head rose. She stared at the Queen.
“Take that back.”
The Queen’s presence beat down on Erin, but this time she refused to look away.
“I will not. My Prognugator’s foolishness has cost Liscor and the Antinium this day. He died a failure.”
“He was a hero!”
Erin shouted at the Queen. The guards behind her stirred, but the Queen raised one foreleg.
“He died worthless, against enemies he should easily have overcome. He died a failure.”
“No. He died free.”
The Queen paused. She stared down at Erin.
“Klbkchhzeim said that? Then he is a fool as well as failure. We Antinium are not free.”
Erin stared up at the Queen. The massive insect regarded her, and then looked away. She flicked one foreleg at her.
“You do not understand. You, the creatures of the above world fail to understand all of what is Antinium. Enough. I waste valuable time.”
Erin was shaking. The two Antinium soldiers marched up to her, but she stepped forwards towards the Queen.
“Why’d you summon me then? To tell me how worthless Klbkch was? He wasn’t. You’re wrong.”
The soldiers seized her roughly. The Queen gestured, and they released her.
“You are not what we seek. You cannot understand. Begone from this place, Erin Solstice. I have much to do.”
The Queen slowly turned away towards the far wall. Erin was dragged out of the cavern by the two soldiers. She wanted to say something, anything, to the Queen of the Antinium. But she could think of nothing.
—-
Erin walked out of the entrance to the Antinium tunnels and back into the light of the day. She blinked, shading her eyes. The two Antinium soldiers turned and left without a word. She was alone.
