SLAP!
Not the most pleasant way to wake up."why? Ghost."
" you've been asleep for a whole day it's time to wake up, I wanted out of this place weaks ago and I need my new solder fighting all the monsters for me."
"Why would I fight for you?"
"Cause I'm basically the perfect scout and you're going to need my help getting out of this building without becoming monster food. I on the other hand need you to kill all the monsters that spark, burn, or use magic and stuff. I also need you to carry my food." Ghost smiles smugly.
Information is king. With Ghost leading the way we should be able to skirt by most anything that has mutated. While hopefully Cleave, will let me cut through what we can't sneak past. I look at the wall seeing the knife still stuck in it and the foot long gash I created. Looking at the place I stabbed on my arm I'm surprised to find it's been sealed just like all my other cuts? When I focus I can feel a very small amount of energy flowing into the puncture, perfectly holding both halves together, while letting…something flow between them?
"Fine I'll be your soldier and I guess it makes sense the only really person Carrie's the supplies. Just let me get this knife free first."
Ghost clearly doesn't like the implications she's fake but seems happy enough I'm going to do the stuff she wants. Curious I check my parisite book and find my status page has fully regrown. Only one part has changed.
Health-[93%]
Force-[9%]
Conditions-[Emaciated][Cleansed][Concussed-(3:33:47)]
Looks like I have a few hours before I'm no longer concussed? I don't really feel like I have a concussion anymore…maybe that's why there's a timer now? My health has dropped, so there's apparently still consequences to self harm. And the Force stuff has climbed from 2% too 9% since I last looked.
Desumoning the book back to my center I yank the pocket knife free and follow after Ghost.
-
Following Ghost down the stairs I listen as she fills me in on her plan.
"Most of the seventh floor is clear, largely thanks to the mantis eating anything that gets up here. There are a few things i want to grab before we go lower so your definitely gonna have to kill it." Ghost has this calm expression, as if asking me to kill the mantis is completely reasonable and necessary.
"These things are, what exactly?"
"Glad you asked. There's a room stuffed with bags and even a vending machine with food inside, there's a break room containing more clothes so I don't have to keep looking at your ribs, then finally the directors office has something stange inside"
"Strange how?"
"There's a comically large box inside, but when it tried getting close enough to open it the mantis burst through the door and vigorously tried killing me."
Sighing but keep my mouth shut. Killing the matis Will be as good a test as any to show if we can actually fight our way to the bottom.
As im just about to reach the bottom of the stairs I ask a simple question "We're going to ambush it right?"
Ghost opens the door leading to the seventh floor she smirks."not exactly."
A syth bursts through the opening door slipping harmlessly through Ghosts, which i take as my que to run! Practically flying up the stairs. I don't look back as I hear some 'encouraging words'
"Don't worry I'm right behind it! Just keep running!"
Then why is your voice getting quieter!
Bursting through the roof top door I immediately turn round the corner hiding be hind the shed.
CLICK CLICK CLICK! Barreling out of the door the mantis stalls as it fails to piece its prey. The shed is currently behind it in what I hope is a blind spot.
Slowly deliberately the mantis begins stalking the roof top. click click click….click click click…
I trail behind staying in that 'blind spot', knife in hand trying to clam my racing heart. It's big about 5 feet tall, 7 feet long. I can see what looks like stubs on its back, wings? Or what remains of them.
3 feet away. CLICK!
I duck barely dogging it's syth as the matis spins around! Don't hesitate! Attack! Placing one foot forward, while scraping my left arm with the knife to bloody it I lunge. Force jumps from my center to the blades bloody edge.
2 feet away.CLICK!
It lashes out at its eager prey using its second syth. SLICK. A perfect horizontal bisection a cut that will produce oh so much wonderful blood!
1 foot."AHHH!"
It hurts as if my soul is splitting! Yet I I can still feel my lower half even as it falls away, I can feel my blood beginning to flow free of me…"NO!" CLEAVE! Force surges from my center. To join and sever.
An infant syth splits the predators head?
-
I watched with morbid fascination as Fragment gets cut in half by the bug. I'm positive he's dead for a moment at least he still manages to behead the beast before his remind collapse onto its corpses in a heap. Shruging with disappointment I walk away." What use is a soldier that cant fight a single over grown bug against that real monster at the bottom?"
shuffle…
I turn back around, is that bug still alive? "HOLY!"
-
Force! Force it together, hold it in! Rejoin that wich has been separated before the energy runs thin. I can feel more force poring into my center trying to build…something. But I'm burning it as fast as it comes in stealing potential for survival!
2 feet apart, a crude cut has separated me by 2 feet. I I can barely feel my legs, is this the effect of an unwilling separation? A loss of control?
Bit by bit I drag my upper half to my lower. When I finally reach my legs I grasp them like you might a pair of pants and desperately press my two stumps together before it to late…"Please, just JOIN." With an agonizing twist I feel my insides, my spine, intestines, muscles, nerves, blood, vains, and something else wiggle before locking back together.
Panting I lay there as something warm and wet begins pooling around me. My center feeling both full and empty, as I trace a finger along my newest seam. It's jagged and frayed from the syths natural crude edge."I Hate It."
•••Quest issued for aiding dungeon creation- Clear the developing Dungeon of all inhabitants- Reward- H Grade information.
"No."