by Jake Daniel
I caught the look in the first chimp’s grey eyes and immediately recognized that he was under the influence of a potion. Unfortunately, he was hellbent on killing me. Although, I wasn’t sure he even knew what he was doing. The others rushed forward and I swung my arm forward, sinking my knife blade deep inside the first monkey to reach me. As my blade sunk down into its temple, its eyes went wide and it fell motionless to the ground.
A second monkey’s spear pierced my calf, but that was the last hit I allowed them to land on me. The pain that shot through my body sent me into a rage. I closed my eyes and trusted my instincts. I could see the neon glowing outlines of the surrounding creatures, allowing me to calculate my attacks. When I focused on each of the attacking chimp’s outlines, their cores lit brightly in the center of each of their chests, acting as a perfect guide for my blade.
I’d already taken out three of the attackers, avoiding their sharp claws and powerful jaws. The tip of my boot landed directly under one of the beast’s chin and smashed its jaw. It howled in pain as it retreated. While it fled, I launched the spear I’d picked up earlier in its direction. It soared through the air and met its mark, sinking deep inside the chimp’s back. A warm tingling sensation rose throughout my body as I absorbed all of its remaining spirit.
I pulled the spear out and took out over ten beasts in succession. A familiar voice rose as I made my way across the large room. “Logan! Over here!”
I spun and spotted Isobel locked in a small cage at the base of the largest tree. I waved a dead chimp’s spear in a wide arc in front of me to push my attackers back and made my way over toward the wolf-girl. I jammed the spear down at each of the attacking chimps, landing direct strikes on their cores and became stronger with each kill as I absorbed even more of their spirit.
By the time I’d reached Isobel, I’d taken care of the remaining monkeys. I pulled on the cage door, knowing it would be locked, but I hoped that I’d somehow have enough spirit built up in my core where I’d be able to rip it from its hinges. I tried several times, but to no avail.
Isobel scanned the area as I worked on the door. “There’s another, he’s their leader. He has the key.”
“Okay, hang tight. Where...” I froze as I felt the ground rumble under my feet. I turned slowly and held my knife at the ready. A giant ape with silvery fur towered above me. He pounded on his chest several times and let out a massive roar.
He lowered down onto all fours and rushed forward. He smelled like shit and vinegar with a splash of dog vomit. I activated my Charge and met him in mid-air. I sunk my knife deep into his shoulder and pulled it out as I spun forward.
My small win was quickly erased as he grabbed the back of my armor and threw me into the nearest wall. I hit with a thud and smacked the back of my head. I felt my warm blood rush to the open wound. “Alright cocksucker, that one was free.”
I circled around the giant beast as he roared. He picked up a boulder and hurled it my way, missing me and shattering it on the wall behind me. He roared again, and picked up another boulder, rising it high over his head. He was about to bring it down on top of me as I rushed forward, but I spun and jammed my knife deep into his chest before he could. He staggered backwards and tripped over a mossy log on the ground. As he fell, he lost his grip on his boulder and it landed directly on his face with a sickening crunch.
“Logan, the key is inside of him.” Isobel yelled from behind.
The enraged, but wounded ape tried to get to his feet but failed, scraping hopelessly at the ground as blood rose to the corners of his mouth. I closed my eyes and inspected the beast. I saw the outline of the key only a few inches from the blade of my knife. I pulled the knife out, and much as I had done with the sandbox in the gauntlet, I pointed my fingers and slammed them deep inside the open wound. I felt around and finally gripped the key. I pulled it out sideways, bringing a chunk of the beast’s heart with it. It let out a half-hearted roar as I pulled the bloody key from his body and he fell to the ground, twitching wildly.
I was covered in blood, but other than the spear wound in my calf, I was practically unscathed. I rushed over to Isobel with the key, quickly unlocked her cage, and swung the door open. I pulled her out and held her in my arms. “Are you injured?”
She shook her head. “No, they drugged us, and when I woke Mona was locking me in this cage. I can’t believe I let them trick me.” Anger flared across her eyes.
“You and me both. Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Do you know where the others are?”
“I heard Amos say something about a river close to here. I imagine that’s where we’ll find at least one of them. If we can even get out of here. I looked at every bit of this room for a way out, but the only option seems to be up through the trees.”
I walked over to a thick vine that hung down from above. “Follow me, I have an idea.” I gripped onto the vine and hoisted myself up, climbing hand over hand high over the room. I grabbed onto a branch and motioned for Isobel to follow. She made it up with incredible speed, pulling herself up as if she’d practiced it before. I gave her a small smile as she joined me. “I never knew wolves were such good climbers.”
She pulled herself up on a branch effortlessly and shrugged. “When you live in a forest your entire life, you learn how to navigate through all sorts of terrain.”
We hurried across the top branches, which were nearly as thick as most trees’ trunks back home. After several seconds, we found a branch that curved down over a wall below us. It was much too steep to walk down. It formed a massive slide and as I ran my hand along the inside of it; I realized it was as smooth as one, as well. I sat inside the branch at the top of the curve and Isobel moved in behind me. Her legs were warm as they rested at my sides. I ran my hands along each one before trapping them at my sides. “Here we go, you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She squeezed her legs tightly against me and wrapped her arms around my chest.
I gripped tightly to her legs and scooted forward enough to start our descent, bringing her along with me. We crested the curve of the slide and within a second were rushing full speed toward the bottom. I sensed danger as we moved closer to the ground and trusted my instincts as I rolled out of the slide at the last possible moment, keeping my grip on Isobel and taking her with me. We rolled to a stop and were both covered in mud.
I flung the mud off my face and turned to Isobel, who was doing the same. “Sorry about that, but I’m pretty sure I just saved our lives.”
She furrowed her brow and walked up to the slide. At the bottom facing up was a razor sharp spike that, if we had stayed on the slide, would’ve impaled both of us.
Isobel held her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Amateurs.”
Chapter Twenty
We had arrived at a river which I figured extended out from the training river that I faced in the gauntlet. We followed the bank for several minutes before reaching a massive tree. Isobel searched the area and met my eyes. “Why are we stopped here?”
I patted the hulking tree and nodded. “I can almost guarantee they have either Dahlia or Gwen inside here.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s almost identical to the gauntlet, and I can sense their presence.”
“Gauntlet? Am I missing something?”
I nodded. “No time to explain. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”
I dove into the water and looked around for any sign of a way through. I closed my eyes and a tunnel glowed brightly before my eyes. I kicked my legs and sent myself down toward the path. I got a little nervous as my lungs burned and I hadn’t even reached the entrance yet. Kicking my legs faster, I pushed harder and reached a place of no return.
Something heavy smashed into me and I nearly lost my breath. I pulled out my knife and spun to see a strange shelled animal propelling itself forward and curling up into a ball as it approached. It slammed into me again, forcing some air out of my lungs. I struggled to gather my bearings and not take
in any water. The creature hit me again, slicing open my arm. As it reared back for another strike, I grabbed it by its leg and smashed it against the tunnel wall. I slammed it several times before it died and floated away harmlessly.
I turned back down and saw the curve of the tunnel which led back up, presumably to the large tree next to the water. I started upward and several more creatures as they bounced off the walls and smashed into me as if I were smack dab in the world’s first game of underwater bumper cars. I felt the bruises rising to my flesh and finally wasn’t able to hold my breath any longer. I let out my remaining air and before I knew it, they completely covered my body, and were dragging me back down toward the bottom.
I closed my eyes and focused on the area above me. My skin crawled and felt insanely uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure what exactly was happening, but I imagined the feeling was like what having millions of maggots crawling under your skin would feel like. I was about to take a breath, bringing in a mouthful of water, when a beam of bright light burst from my chest. Several additional beams followed, and within seconds the light had repelled each of the creatures that had clamped onto me and I could breathe. I found myself surrounded by a globe of spirit and was floating up toward the top of the water as if I were weightless. I burst out through the top of the water and realized I was inside the tree. Hadn’t learned that in the gauntlet.
I took massive breaths of the stale air inside the tree as soon as the spirit disappeared. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and my heart leapt as I spotted Dahlia directly across from me. She had her eyes closed and shackles around her wrists, securing her to the wall. The inside of the tree was at least eight feet across and hollowed out to the top. I hurried over to her and kissed her lips. She awoke slowly and blinked a few times as if not believing that I was actually standing in front of her. “Logan?”
I nodded and kissed her again. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“I dreamt that you were coming, and that we were together last night. I even dreamt that I sent spirit out from my core through the water to save you.”
I stepped back and smiled. “You did.” I kissed her again. “Dahlia, I owe you multiple lifetimes. Thank you.”
She blushed and shook her head. “Logan, it’s you that saved me. It’s more than I deserve.”
I pulled on the chains attached to her arms, but they wouldn’t budge. I looked at the clasps around her wrists and met her eyes. “Do you know where the key is?”
She shook her head and looked to the ground. “No, I’m sorry. The last thing I remember was Mona locking me up here.”
I inspected the lock and took a deep breath. I held her wrist in one hand and pointed my index finger on the other. A small thin vine weaved out from the tip of my finger. I focused on it intently and led it into the lock with my mind. Within a few seconds of fishing inside the locking mechanism, I heard a small click. My eyes widened as the clasp fell away. “Holy shit. It worked.”
Dahlia smiled and ran her free hand down my cheek. “I see you’ve been practicing.” She paused and met my eyes. “You may want to use that one again once we get out of this mess.” She gave me a sly smirk and quickly glanced down and blushed.
I still loved how she would get embarrassed when talking dirty. Her innocence only made it that much better. I returned her smile as I concentrated on the second lock. I opened it in about half the time as the first. “I’ve definitely gotten better at controlling these vines. Don’t worry, I plan to show you everything I’ve learned so far at my current rank.” I looked up toward the top of the tree. “See that small light up there at the top?”
Dahlia stepped close to me and followed my gaze. “Yes, I believe so.”
“That’s our way out.”
Dahlia shook her head in disbelief. “But how? There’s no way we will make it out of here. I don’t have enough spirit reserves to create enough vines to get us to the top.”
“Don’t worry. Climb onto my back.”
She looked at me curiously and walked behind me. “Climb onto your back? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” I braced two hands on the pulpy side of the hollowed out tree and waited. “Climb on.”
I felt her push against me and wrap her arms under mine and up to hold my shoulders. I used my nature manipulation to anchor myself to the inside of the tree and started my climb up. I started slowly at first, but quickly gained speed. Dahlia’s sweet breath was warm on my neck and sent a shiver down my back as I climbed. Having her near me gave me a renewed sense of energy, and I reached the top faster than I expected. We exited out the top and I closed my eyes. Not over two hundred yards away, through a few twists and turns, I saw the unmistakable form of Gwen and my heart leapt.
I wasn’t exactly sure how much time I’d spent in the water and inside the tree, but the sun was already on its descent in the sky. I had another hour of daylight left at most. We reached the bottom and Dahlia spotted Isobel and gave her an enormous hug.
Isobel played it off and kept a stoic face. “Good to see you too. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Come, follow me. I know where Gwen is.” I started in the direction I saw the satyr and ran as I hit the opening. The forest disappeared and the tall walls surrounded us in all directions. Everything looked the same, but my connection with Gwen was too strong. It was as if she were the world’s strongest magnet. I could hear her in my head as I continued through the maze. “Closer, I can feel you, my love, you’re so close. You better have wine…”
A smile rose to my face as I moved faster toward her presence. Isobel and Dahlia tried their best to keep up, but I was a man on a mission. I wouldn’t lose them again, but Gwen was so close that I couldn’t contain myself. After several more turns and a few dead ends, we exited out into a wide opening with walls stretched high all around us. Two thick chains bound Gwen to the wall directly in front of me. I started toward her when I heard her voice cut through my thoughts. “Stop Logan, it’s a trap.”
I froze in place and held out my arms to hold up the other two girls. I skirted around the wall as I had done when I faced the chimps, curious as to what I’d face next.
A massive shadow appeared on the ground in front of us and grew larger with each second. I barely had time to push the girls out of the way before a fire red snake the size of Amos’s castle appeared before us. Its forked tongue flicked out of its mouth, wildly tasting the air as it showed its incredibly large pointed fangs.
I kept my focus on the snake and called out to the women at my sides. “Dahlia, try to use whatever spirit you have left to keep that thing from moving. Isobel, come with me.”
Dahlia nodded and shot vines out from her wrists as fast as she could. The snake hissed loudly and thick globs of venom dripped from its fangs, landing on the ground with a splash. It struggled to attack, becoming caught up in her vines. By the time the snake broke free and attacked it missed by a wide margin. I activated my Charge and sunk my knife into its enormous eye. Isobel ran forward as I gripped onto my knife, which sank in its eye all the way to the handle. I gripped her arm and pulled her up onto the snake’s head with me. The snake reared back, pulling us both high into the air. It twisted violently to rid himself of us, but I clung to my knife protruding from its neon green eye and Isobel dug her sharp claws into his head.
I felt like we were going to get the upper hand when flames burst from the snake’s skin. The snake twisted violently and threw both Isobel and me violently to the ground. Fortunately we’d both escaped any serious burns, but Isobel fell awkwardly. The sound of her arm snapping echoed around us. She yelled out in pain and the snake spun toward her, presumably to finish what it had started. I activated my Charge again, but I was nearly out of spirit, hitting the snake with about half the force that I was hoping for.
Dahlia brought more vines up around the snake, ensnaring him even further. I took advantage of his current predicament and flanked the beast, moving within range of Gwen. I quickly pulled the cloth away from her bound m
outh. “Took you long enough.” She gave me a wink. “Its weakness is on the bottom side of its mouth. That’s where its core is.”
I spun and ran forward, sinking my knife deep into the side of the snake and pulling myself up in one fluid motion. I clawed my way up his back, pulling my knife out and slamming it back in higher as I worked my way to his head. Isobel did her best with one arm, holding her broken one close to her body as she swiped at the snake with her razor-sharp claws, which had protruded from the tips of her fingers, making them incredibly useful for slashing away at the base of the giant creature.
Dahlia did her best to keep the snake corralled, and I knew that she was going to be running low on spirit soon if she wasn’t already.
I climbed with more urgency, willing myself to the top as the snake twisted and threw its head to buck me off. I dug in and closed my eyes as I reached the top. I could see its core clearly now, spinning and churning inside its head. I pulled my knife up and slammed it into the base of the snake’s skull. It reared back and violently smashed me into the wall behind him. I lost my grip and fell to the ground.
The hit knocked the wind from me and I could only look up at my knife, which was still protruding from the base of the beast’s skull. He whipped his head back and forth as he attempted to free the knife. His hissing grew louder, and he spun to face me. I’d twisted my ankle badly, but I could still put weight on it. I moved along the wall and dodged as the snake shot forward and slammed into the smooth rock only inches from me. I felt the spirit spinning through my body and heading toward my wounds as I worked my way around the beast.
The snake smashed into the wall again and I heard something drop nearby. I scanned the area and spotted my knife laying on the ground a short distance away. I dove for the knife just as the snake darted forward for another attack. This time I wasn’t as lucky as his sharp fang caught my arm. I immediately felt the venom course through my body and my muscles shivered. I wasn’t sure how long I had until the venom completely paralyzed me, so I wanted to finish this snake off as quickly as possible.
