Chapter 7: Ambush

  His gaze was directed up to the tree canopy. The canopy which was blocking out the sky above, choking the stars and moonlight down to only the bare ghostly strands that danced around him. Hardly enough to see the edge of his new campsite without the fire he had built.

  What was up there anyway? New stars? New Galaxies? An entire different night sky to the one he remembered back home? Could he still spot the big dipper if he tried to? Alex was already under the assumption he was in some kind of alternate world. A different reality to his own. He didn't think this system would have created a rebuild of his home planet, Earth. It was most likely some other planet, in another solar system.

  Did this one have multiple moons? Multiple suns even? He didn't know. He was curious though, and his eyes shifted to the branches of the tree he sat under. The branches weren't too far spaced apart. He, just like any other kid, had those early experiences of climbing trees out at the park by his house. He could climb as well as any human. As he looked up, thinking out a possible route to take through the limbs, he realized it was possible to climb to the top.

  So just maybe? He thought to himself.

  He couldn't believe what he was planning. He felt like a dumb kid. He wanted to know though, and the curiosity burned inside him. What was up there, where was he? So many questions to be answered, and all he had to do was climb.

  The first branch was easy, a simple jump and a grab. He hauled himself up quickly, the bark of the tree rough under his palms and fingers. Too much time working computers , Alex . He scolded himself as he looked down at the already reddening of his hands. Hands that used to be as rough and hard as the bark he was grabbing, but that was a couple of years in the past now.

  He moved higher, grabbing, pulling, shifting and stretching with each new success at the branches above him. Alex blazed through the tree faster than he anticipated. Going more quickly with the newfound confidence he had in his body and his control over it.

  He was thirty feet above his campsite in just a couple of minutes. The trees were large though, massively so, and Alex had a lot more distance to travel.

  He did have one close call. He slipped when jumping for a branch, and gained that gut-wrenching feeling of free fall for just a moment before catching himself. He had to catch his breath for a moment before making another attempt. He made the jump on the second try and made sure to really focus and calculate his moves from there on.

  Alex made it a hundred feet up before the limbs of this behemoth finally thinned enough to allow him a few slivers of a view at the stars beyond. He halted there, gazing up through the tiny gapes ahead of him.

  Of what he could see through those gaps around the leaves, the stars seemed so normal, so earth-like from where he was. He couldn't see enough to figure out any constellations yet, but the individual twinkles and dots of light were strangely normal.

  After a few more minutes, Alex finally broke through the canopy. He poked his head out of the top of the suffocating green blanket of the forest he was trapped inside, and looked up.

  His eyes dilated immediately, from fear, from awestruck, from sheer confusion.

  He wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing. The stars, as he suspected, were simply in new and unfamiliar patterns. Constellations of unknown design and purpose. As possibly humanity's first astrologer in this land, he could start drawing and naming his own constellations if he wanted. The moon was also unremarkable. It appeared roughly the same size as earth's, if not slightly larger. A similar white reflective sheen with far fewer markings and craters to earth’s. It looked like a slightly scratched marble hanging above him. Again, unremarkable, and not the reason why he was so stunned.

  What the actual fuck? Alex thought to himself, trying to wrap his understanding around the visual above him. Is it... a black hole?

  Between the stars, and above the glossy moon of the night sky, was a warp in reality. Alex saw a swirling ball of blackness surrounded by a faint halo of light. It wasn't entirely a void though. The very center was indeed a seeming disk of darkness. Around this, shone stars and dust, existence itself swam and stretched, like a whirlpool of the cosmos. Around the whirlpool, existed the halo, the aura that shone at its perimeter.

  Alex had never seen anything like this. He had no idea how to describe it completely, and could only keep with his first assumption. He was looking at a black hole. He gazed at it a few more minutes, taking in the strange cosmic dance above him before deciding he simply couldn't fathom it.

  He shook his head and started climbing back down the tree. His thoughts were a haze as he moved, both trying to forget this vision and trying to make sense of it simultaneously. This was beyond him, and he would just drive himself insane if he tried to comprehend the ins and outs of what he just peeked at. Best to leave it to the Einsteins and the Hawkings, or whatever equivalent they had here in this crazy world.

  He moved down the tree far faster than his climb up. Still, his hands were red and pained at the end. His palms were covered in scratches, shallow but painful, and they would surely blister later.

  Alex’s boots thudded heavily against the forest floor as he landed from his descent. The trees around him, shrouded in darkness, were silent but for the faint rustling of leaves. He glanced around, sweat mingling with the grime of the tree on his skin. The climb had left him winded, but he forced himself to scan the area for any signs of danger.

  His instincts, either honed through the military or just agitated by the weird machinations of the cosmic reality he had peeked behind the curtain at, were on high alert.

  Without warning, the bushes erupted in a flurry of movement. Three hulking figures burst from the underbrush, their bodies covered in coarse, mottled fur. Their claws, as long as Alex’s hand, gleamed in the dim light.

  Alex recognized them immediately as more of the badger-like animals he had fought back at his team's camp. More muscled up roid-badgers.

  Somehow, it looked like these things had tracked him down. Did these things have a grudge since he had killed their friend before, or was this just bad luck? It didn't really matter which it was at this point, Alex simply knew he was going to have to fight for his life yet again.

  He dashed just a couple steps away, picking up the spear he had set against his tent with one hand, and drew the knife at his thigh in the other. His hands burned from his climb, but they held a death grip on the weapons regardless.

  A guttural growl rumbled from the nearest beast as it charged. Alex barely had time to react. He pivoted, swinging his spear at it in a wide arc, but the beast was too quick. It ducked under the spear’s reach and lunged, its claws raking across Alex’s hip. Pain exploded as the claws tore through his clothes and into his skin. He grunted, stumbling backward, but kept his footing.

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  “Damn it!” Alex spat through clenched teeth.

  He kept his spear pointed at the first badger, maintaining some distance. His combat knife was in his other hand, and he quickly brought it up to defend himself as a second badger closed in on him. Its jaws snapped dangerously close to his spear arm. Alex slashed out with the knife, aiming for the creature’s snout. The blade cut through the air but missed its mark, instead catching the monster’s fur and drawing a thin line of blood.

  He was already outnumbered and struggling to keep the beasts at bay. The shortest of the three badger monsters circled him, looking for an opening. Alex felt the forest seem to close in around him, the trees a dark blur as he pivoted and swung his spear with grim determination. Each swing met only the air or the thick hide of his attackers. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and he could feel his strength waning.

  One of the monsters, injured but still vicious, charged again. This time, it connected with him. Alex felt the brute force of the impact as they collided, throwing him to the ground. The beast’s weight pressed down on him, and he could barely raise his spear to block the vicious swipe of its claws.

  "Shit! Shit!" This was the same position Alex was in that night with the first badger. It was embarrassing to have been brought to his back yet again. This time though, the beast was not alone. The other two creatures were closing in, their growls rising in anticipation.

  Alex was also different this time though, he was ready.

  With a surge of adrenaline, Alex thrust the knife in his hand upward, catching the attacking monster in the underside of its jaw. It let out a pained screech as the blade pierced its flesh, but Alex’s position was still precarious. His spear was pinned, and he was exposed. He pushed and rolled to the side and slipped from under the badger just in time as another claw came crashing down where he had been.

  Desperation fueled his actions. He finished his roll and scrambled to his feet, his side throbbing with pain. He had to end this quickly and that meant getting more aggressive. With a fierce cry he lunged at the badger that had just been on top of him, catching it before it could fully stand and driving his spear through its throat. The beast convulsed and collapsed, its body limp.

  He barely had time to register the victory before the remaining two beasts surged at him. One snapped at his legs while the other tried to catch him off guard from the side. Alex’s movements were frantic but precise. He slashed with his knife, catching one of the monsters across the eye. It recoiled, giving him the precious seconds he needed to reposition, dodging the attack aimed at his already injured hip by the other beast.

  Sweat streamed down his face as he fought with renewed hope. His strikes were wild but effective. With a final, desperate thrust, he drove his spear into the heart of the second badger monster as it landed from a jump, its death throes causing the ground to tremble under Alex's feet.

  The last beast, seeing its companions fall, hesitated and then charged with a final roar. Alex was exhausted, his muscles burned, but he knew he had one chance. He sidestepped its charge, thrusting his spear with every ounce of strength left in him. The spear pierced through the monster’s ribs, and it let out a final, anguished cry before collapsing.

  Alex staggered back, his body trembled with exhaustion. The forest fell silent once more, the only sound his labored breathing. He surveyed the fallen beasts, relief and fatigue washing over him. His side throbbed, and he was covered in scratches and bruises, but he had survived. The battle had been brutal and close, but he had come through it. His combat experience having proved invaluable even against these mutated badger things.

  He allowed himself a moment to catch his breath, knowing that the forest still held untold dangers. For now, though, he had earned a brief reprieve, and the experience gained from the fight would help him in the battles yet to come.

  He reviewed the fight in his head as he sat down. His increased agility was certainly a factor in this fight. Alex was able to react and at least dodge successfully a couple times. His experience in fighting these things was also a factor. He didn't believe he would have survived this ambush if he had not already fought one of these beasts before. He knew their fighting style, their lunges, their over all attack distance. Without that knowledge, he would have been certainly dead right now.

  Lastly there was the fact of why this ambush happened at all. With the threat gone, Alex had time to more thoroughly think about the situation. After a couple of minutes, he couldn't help but come to a conclusion.

  They were hunting for me, Alex confirmed to himself. He went through everything, and he was pretty certain of it. I was in that tree for awhile, so they would have had to wait outside my camp for me to come back down for that ambush.

  He looked over at the dead badger a few feet away. Its eyes still open, glossy, and lifeless. He remembered the look of those eyes when it was alive, bestial and angry. They found my camp and waited, they didn't move on to find food or other prey. They waited at an empty campsite. Because... they could smell me?

  That was something Alex couldn't figure out. How did these beasts know it was him who killed their friend, or cousin or whatever? He didn't exactly leave them a note or send a message their way. So what gives?

  If these were its friends or family, there is probably a pack out there. A pack of angry giant badgers that are out for revenge, against me. Alex shook his head and sighed. I can't just wait for more to attack me. I survived this time, but what if there are ten next time? Twenty?

  He looked at the knife in his hand, and the spear resting over his knees. They didn't have any noticeable wear or damage, but would they last against a pack of badgers? He needed a proper weapon.

  "Okay then, I need to get to that village, get a real weapon. Then deal with this badger pack." As soon as the words came out of Alex's mouth, the system responded to his decision, bringing up a screen into his vision.

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