“I’m your host, Xelander Sukadik, and to be honest, we’ve had a very unsuccessful Second Trial. Only 6% of current contenders took advantage of the rewards being offered.”
The demon gave me a look before shrugging his shoulders and tossing the clipboard he had been reading from behind him. He stood outside the driver’s side door, his voice still echoing inside my mind.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m not offended at all. I expected the slow start from you guys anyways. Since apparently most of you still aren’t up to the challenge, we’ll do something a little different for this next one.”
Xelander gestured at the air around himself and turned back around.
“We have here a variety of beasts. While none may seem too dangerous, to our new contenders they pose a deadly challenge. Before last night, they were closer to beasts themselves. They couldn’t even create their own mana. With the help of the A.M.I., they have been elevated and will be capable of putting up a real fight, showing us what they’re made of. This trial will separate the weak from the strong. Keep your eyes peeled, patrons, for the diamonds in the rough! You never know when you’ll come across the signs of a champion."
Xelander turned and looked me directly in the eye again. He flashed me the same predatory smile as before.
“Now, contenders. Your Third Trial will be an Elimination Trial. Kill or be killed. Each of you will be getting your very own apex predator to face. Beasts your ancestors would have spent their entire lives hunting to extinction so that society could have a chance.”
“The beast will be teleported within a few hours of you giving you time to prepare before the eventual clash. And don’t think you can run away or hide. We’ve messed with each of their minds so that their sole purpose will be consuming you. They will never stop hunting until you or they are dead.”
Xelander pinched his thumb and index finger on both hands together before separating his hands. A familiar glowing thread spread between them. He plucked the thread with his middle finger, and it vibrated like a guitar.
“A thin cord like this will link you to your target, so if you’re feeling adventurous, you can become the hunter instead.”
I squinted at the glowing thread. It looked like mana. I was almost certain it was. I didn’t understand how he had physically touched it though.
“And with that, everything is good to go!”
Xelander flicked his fingers, and the thread faded away after a few seconds. He once again held out his three fingers.
“The Third Trial begins in three.
“Two.
“One.”
Xelander smirked.
“Good luck.”
The demon cleared his throat and walked back through the spatial distortion without sparing me another look. A faint glow appeared on my chest, stretching out into the distance. I swung my hand through it. Nothing happened. Summoning my own mana, I again swiped my hand through it, and my mana curved around the cord.
Mana didn’t exactly stick around like this. It needed a source. I poked and prodded at the thread with my mana with little success until it hit me. It was obvious. I was the source.
Closing my eyes, I focused on where the thread connected to my chest and tried to create mana. Deep inside, where I assumed my heart was, I found a small spot that didn’t respond. I focused on the area and felt the mana already in full production.
Some force I couldn’t perceive was wrapped around the mana cord. I tried to manipulate the cord, but whatever had commandeered that spot in my body was well above my pay grade.
The vague awareness mana provided was still there though. I could sense along the cord, extending far out into the distance. It was like trying to feel something with my pinky toe, but my pinky toe stretched miles away.
I traveled down the cord until I felt the strands split into hundreds, then thousands, and then hundreds of thousands of branches. They fanned out into a mesh, surrounding something. A few promptings popped into my mind.
My perception snapped back to me. My mind raced. I could use this to gather info on the beast, but that was the least of its benefits. I looked down at Aurora on my chest and ran my fingers through her wispy, dark-brown hair.
I’d been relying on the possibility of brute forcing a solution somehow. Ami had already confirmed I didn’t have nearly enough strength to magic Aurora into a contender, but with this I might have a chance—a chance to at least do something.
I sank into my thoughts. I had initially planned to complete the trial as fast as possible before focusing on finding a solution for Aurora, but my plans had changed. The beast was still my top priority, but I would take my time.
If I could capture the beast, then I could study our connection and maybe get some insight into how to make something similar for Aurora. Some way to jimmy rig my Fate Binding skill to still work for me.
I started the car and headed toward town. I considered sticking Aurora in a car seat, but if for some reason I had to make a run for it, it’d be difficult to retrieve her, so I left her on my chest. The roads were deserted, but I still drove slowly.
Over an hour later, I reached the edge of town. I slowed as I passed crashed cars and dead bodies. I occasionally caught a flicker of movement inside the partially boarded-up houses. It was eerie how fast everything resembled a zombie apocalypse movie.
Several shots rang out in the distance, and screams echoed through the streets. I slowed the car to a stop.
A handful more shots popped. My hands shook at the thought of running to the rescue. I looked at the chef knife and swallowed the guilt inside of me. I couldn’t help anyone with what I had. I eased up on the brakes and continued toward my destination. Turning onto Main Street, I stopped the car.
Two pickup trucks blocked the road. Each truck’s bed held a man with a rifle. Scenes from every apocalypse movie flashed through my mind. I shifted the car into reverse but stopped when I noticed the two gunmen hadn’t spared me more than a glance. Their eyes were locked onto the edge of the road. Along the sides of the street and at the foot of the blockade, dozens of gremlins and several larger creatures lay shot to death.
I chuckled and cleared my throat. I was being paranoid. These were just people. People in the same position I was in. Continuing down the road, a man I hadn’t noticed signaled me to stop a dozen yards before the blockade.
He gestured with his rifle. “Who’s there?”
I squinted, struggling to recall the man’s name. We’d spoken briefly a few times over the years, as one does when living in a small town. He was a balding older gentleman whose kids had already left home. I wanted to say it was John, but that seemed too generic.
I rolled down the window and waved. “It’s me, Dan Atkins. I live about twenty minutes out of town. Just here for some supplies.”
John’s tense features relaxed at my name. He turned and called back toward the rifleman. “He’s clear. Let him in.” One of the guards jumped from their vehicle, climbed into their truck, and backed up to clear the way.
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John lowered his rifle and approached the driver’s side window. “It’s good to see you, Dan. I’m glad you made it. Sorry about the holdup, but we had an incident with a looter from out of town earlier today.” He got a faraway look in his eyes as the grief and exhaustion he could barely restrain bled through. He cleared his throat and glanced inside the car. “Just you?”
My words caught in my throat, as if saying them out loud would make them more real than they already were. I swallowed and rubbed the top of Aurora’s exposed head. “Yeah, just us.” Moisture gathered at the corners of my eyes.
We sat there for a moment until a honk broke the silence. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” John said as he backed away.
“Yeah... me too,” I whispered to myself. I wiped my eyes and pulled forward past the trucks. Behind the barricade were an empty road and mostly clear parking lots. Down each street, was a similar setup with trucks and armed men. A dozen blocks down, another set of trucks blocked the main road.
It was a good place to hole up. Several grocery stores and food joints lined the street. At the far end was the police station, and halfway down was my destination, Frank’s Yard Supplies. It was a locally owned hardware store that offered a variety of generic outdoor gear.
I considered trying to get myself a gun, but finding someone willing to part with one seemed unlikely. It didn’t synergize with my class either. What I wanted was the three-foot machete I knew Frank’s had. Jordan had spent ten minutes swinging it around like a sword the last time we went shopping until a near miss forced me to confiscate it. I was sure my class wanted a sword of some sort, but this was the closest I could find.
I turned off the main road and parked out front of Frank’s. I leaned over to grab the chef knife but stopped and took a deep breath.
I left the knife and headed inside. A jingle from the bell above the door announced my entrance. Careful not to scare any on-edge, gun-wielding shop owners, I called out into the store. “Dan here, looking to buy some gear.”
“I’m back here.” An arrogant, youthful voice yelled back.
I made my way down the aisles toward the back. Several of the shelves had been toppled, and beneath them the familiar black goo of dried gremlin blood streaked across the floor. I searched the back until I found the office door ajar. I rapped on the door twice with my knuckles before swinging it open.
A teenage boy lounged in an armchair, feet propped on the desk, a pistol in his lap. Two girls about his same age sat on a sofa across from the desk. One clutched her knees to her chest and stared wide-eyed at nothing. The other scrolled on her phone.
I looked back at the unfamiliar boy. “Where’s Frank?” While I wouldn’t say we were friends, I knew Frank pretty well. This was probably the place we visited the most that wasn’t food-related.
The boy dragged his thumb across his neck. “Dead.”
I pressed my lips together. “What are you doing here then?”
The boy grabbed a chip from the bag on the desk. “Mr. Simons said I could be in charge of this place since Frank’s gone. You’re welcome to take whatever you want. You just got to let me know what you take. Supposed to make sure nobody takes everything, you know?”
Simons was another name I was vaguely familiar with. He owned a local restaurant chain, The Lodge. It sounded like he was the man in charge, or at least he held some authority at the moment. “Just here to grab a machete, a knife, and maybe a few other things. I’ll let you know.”
“That’s fine. You don’t need to come back. Just don’t take more than two knives and we’ll be good.”
I nodded. “Alright then.” I turned to leave.
“You want the machete for your class, don’t you?”
I paused. “Yes, how’d you know?”
The boy stared back at me with a dumb smile. “Several people have already come by with the same idea. Not sure what’s left out there.” The boy wiped his cheesy fingers on his pants, picked up the pistol, and waved it around. “That’s why I chose Gunslinger. Where are you supposed to get a sword nowadays? And I’m pretty sure we have more bullets than people. Guns are just better than swords. I honestly don’t know what all you guys are thinking.”
“I...” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I’ll think about that.” I took several steps toward the door. The casual way he waved the gun around shot off danger signals in my brain. He was rather relaxed for someone who was being hunted. “Aren’t you nervous about the Third Trial?”
The boy rolled his eyes. “What do you think I’m working my ass off all day for?” He gestured at himself with the gun. “Mr. Simons said he’d handle it for us if I helped out.” He pointed the gun at the girls. “They already got Lexy’s.” I glanced over and could only guess which one was Lexy.
“Well, alright. I’ll be seeing you then.” I left the teenagers and wandered over to where they kept the knives. People must have kept their word, because most of the knives were still there. I looked through the options and settled on an eight-inch Bowie knife with a sheath and belt loops. I was surprised it was still here.
Sliding the sheath onto my belt, I went a few aisles down to where they kept the machetes. I sighed with relief as I grabbed the last one. It wasn’t the three-footer I had hoped for, but its two feet were plenty. It came with a sheath that, unfortunately, lacked belt loops. I then walked through the store, aisle by aisle, seeking inspiration and tools for my plan. I also searched for a shield, but shield-like items weren’t really a thing. There wasn’t a good stand-in like the machete was for the sword.
After loading everything back into the car, I pulled back onto the main road. I doubted I would have had to pay with dollars, but getting things for free hadn’t even entered my mind. I expected some sort of bartering system at least. It would probably get there eventually. The initial chaos was too recent for anyone to make any actual rules, if I had to guess. It had only been a day, after all. I had seriously lucked out.
Next on the list was finding a better car. Something I could take off-road if needed. I drove down the street but didn’t see a dealership inside the blockade.
I passed through the trucks at the opposite end of the barricade and turned into the first neighborhood I came across. At this point, my best bet was to drive around, searching for a Jeep or something similar in a driveway. I’d be able to break in and find the keys. There was a chance I’d get shot by a nervous survivor hiding away in their house, but if I made myself known I should be good.
For the next two hours, I drove around town searching for something that would suit my needs and pondered what I would do about Aurora. I passed several small groups of survivors, and occasionally gunfire would erupt somewhere in the distance. Eventually, I came across a dark-green Jeep Wrangler. Thick mud covered its underside. I pulled in next to the Jeep, parked the car, and approached the front door. Machete and wicker basket lid in hand, I knocked.
A dark smear stained the frosted glass to the right of the door—not a good sign. I knocked again. Something slammed against the door, followed by the familiar gurgles and scratches of a gremlin. I adjusted my grip and looked at the machete. It didn’t have much of a tip. I pursed my lips. Maybe I could do something about that. I summoned a few threads from my hand and stretched them along the blade as far as possible.
The mana only reached about a foot down the blade—nowhere close to the tip. That put a damper on my plan. I glanced at the knife on my hip. It had a better tip to puncture the gremlin with, but I wanted to try out my machete. It only sounded like one behind the door. I couldn’t have found a better scenario.
I eyed the mana snaking up the flat of the blade and willed it toward the edge. I fixed an image of the edge being sharp enough to cut through the gremlin in my mind and prepared to open the door. A faint wisp of energy left my body, like I had just sprinted down the street. I took several deep breaths, and a moment later the feeling was gone. I adjusted my grip on the handle. I felt confident, despite how dangerous my last battle with a gremlin had been.
With my shield hand, I tested the front door—unlocked. Blade ready, with the image of a razor-sharp edge fixed in my mind, I opened the door and swung at the gremlin’s head as it fell forward, aiming to strike where the mana covered at the base of the blade. With a wet thud, the machete slid into its head, the top part of the blade wedging itself deep into its skull.
I stumbled at the unexpected weight and took several awkward steps into the house. A slight twist popped the blade free from the rubbery skull. I pressed my blade hand against my body to quell the slight tremble and took a deep breath.
My eyes snapped to the partially consumed corpse of a woman at my feet. She looked about my age. I gazed down the hall. The evidence of children was everywhere. I turned away, pinched my eyes tight, and took several shaky deep breaths.
I opened my eyes to immediately spot the keys in an apple-shaped dish beside the door. I removed the Jeep key from the ring and returned the rest to the counter. I stepped back outside and shut the door behind me. I pressed my forehead against the door.
Something inside of me wanted to go through the house. Find out what had happened. See each horrid death with my own eyes.
I remained there until I finally managed to pry myself away from the door. I clicked the unlock button on the key fob twice. The Jeep beeped. I trudged over and leaned against the hood. I was once again starving, but I was pretty sure that if I ate anything it would come right back up. I closed my eyes and rubbed Aurora’s back, focusing on taking slow, steady breaths.
I was too antsy to sit and do nothing, so I focused on the tether leading out toward the beast. It was farther away than before—over twice the distance since I first checked earlier today. Cars sure were convenient when it came to running for your life.
I followed the threads as they split around its body. The beast was on the move, jumbling the shape.
I surmised it had the vague shape of a cat but with weird proportions—thin legs, with a body significantly longer than normal and a short tail. I thought it ran on all fours, but there was a chance it actually ran on six legs. They blurred as it ran, obscuring my view. Its size was another mystery without something to compare it to. It didn’t feel large. At least, that’s what I hoped.
I focused on its face, trying to get more details. It took some time, but I picked out forward-facing eyes, pointed ears, and fur. At some point it slowed to a walk, and I confirmed that it did indeed have six legs.
I concentrated on its feet to determine whether it was a cat—or at least an alien version of a cat. Cats had retractable claws to help them be better ambush predators, and getting that kind of hint would be a huge help in knowing what I was dealing with. Alien predators might not follow the same rules as the creatures on Earth, but I had to try something.
After ten minutes or so, I hadn’t made out anything useful. The constant movement made observation tedious. There was a possibility it didn’t have any claws, but I found that unlikely. Once it started running again, I moved on and slowly scanned its body, attempting to catch anything else that could be useful.
A crash, followed by a scream, broke me from my trance.
“Help me! Somebody, please help me! Help me!” The woman’s sobbing cry barely escaped the beast’s roar.
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