Chapter 42: Clearing
I groggily opened my eyes at the feel of someone nudging me.
"Hey, wake up."
It was Maki.
"You can stop now, I’m awake."
She gave me a once-over before nodding in satisfaction.
"Good."
I was busy resisting the urge to roll my eyes when Lily asked.
"Are you feeling better?"
I took a moment to reassess the state of my body. The nausea had dropped to very manageable levels, my skin no longer felt like it was burning under the layers of clothing, and I didn’t feel like puking my guts out.
"Yeah, I’m good."
I still felt terribly cold though, so my eyes naturally drifted to the fireside.
’It’s out. Like I expected.’
Another thing I’d also rightly expected was the continuity of the blizzard. The constant rattling and the long, hungry howl of the wind were enough to tell me all I needed to know.
Luckily, I’d been asleep when the fire went out.
Dragging myself out of the sleeping bag, I rolled it up and stashed it in my pack. I picked up my crossbow lying next to it, then ran an inventory on the bolts in my quiver, forcing my fingers to work despite the chill.
’Three.’
I’d lost one on the Runner, and another in the horde. One was already locked and loaded into the weapon.
That left me with eighteen usable bolts, still plenty enough for my purposes if I kept my shots clean.
I was in the midst of examining my gear when I noticed notifications blinking at the corner of my screen.
[A Cadet has been eliminated. Remaining Cadets: 118]
[A Cadet has been eliminated. Remaining Cadets: 117]
[A Cadet has been eliminated. Remaining Cadets: 116]
[A Cadet has been eliminated. Remaining Cadets: 115]
.
.
.
.
[A Cadet has been eliminated. Remaining Cadets: 106]
I wasn’t shocked by the eliminations at all. It was to be expected, after all. Most of the deaths had likely been due to the blizzard pinning people in and smothering their hope.
This was rookie numbers compared to the level of carnage that would be released when the Predator emerged.
I looked to Maki and Lily, both standing by the edge of a door heading into the building.
"No breakfast?"
Maki raised a brow.
"Do you feel hungry?"
It was only then I realized I still felt full from the ration pack I’d eaten last night.
"Now that I think about it, not really. What the hell did they put in those rations."
Maki only shrugged, while Lily shook her head with a wry smile.
"I think you’ll be much better off without that knowledge."
That, we could both agree on.
I began walking toward the door, when Maki spoke.
"I’ve been getting Lily to scan for movements behind the doors."
She gave it a light knock, then turned to face Lily. Lily just shook her head in turn.
"Still nothing."
’Could this building really be empty?’
I quickly dismissed that dangerous line of thought. It was best to expect the worst, then feel relief when things turned out for the best.
I glanced at Maki before looking back at the door.
"So are we starting the raid now?"
She paused, then nodded tersely.
"Same formation as what we had out there. Keep your flashlights handy."
I attached a flashlight from my belt onto the length of the crossbow.
I then wordlessly shifted behind the girls, letting Lily take centre while Maki took point. The girl gave us one final look, then stepped back.
Then kicking the door open. The decaying door burst with splinters, its weakened hinges shrieking at the sudden stress. It revealed a yawning darkness behind its frame, along with the potent scent of mildewed rot.
The moment the darkness behind it revealed itself to us, three powerful beams of light cut straight through it, sweeping and searching for even the slightest sign of movement.
Lily spoke curtly.
"Nothing."
Maki took it in stride as she stepped into the room.
Under the scrutiny of our flashlights, the space beyond the door was a small corridor connecting two rows of rooms. Each row faced a door from the lobby, like a mirror turned on itself.
Aside from the storm outside, the building was pin-drop silent. Of course, that could have easily been due to a monster using the storm as perfect cover to stalk us, letting the wind swallow any hint of sound.
Maki kept going, moving and kicking down the doors of each room on the floor. Apart from broken furniture and wind-blown trash, they lay completely empty.
’How strange.’
Regardless, we pushed forward to the next floor.
’Surely there will be something, right?’
---
There had been nothing on the second, third, and fourth floors. We were on the fifth floor now, and it was looking to be the same as the others.
I’d almost begun doubting myself.
’Am I really just being paranoid?’
But it made no sense. This was the tallest building in its surroundings, something I’d specifically chosen to get a good up-close vantage of the city.
There was absolutely no way a building as eye-catching as this would escape their notice.
It was then Lily spoke.
"Movement. By the stairs."
The stairs were instantly illuminated but...
’Nothing.’
They lay completely empty, and the room fell back to silence.
’Come on, think. Think.’
I already had knowledge of the trials from writing the novel; there had to be something from it I could use here.
’Was there any monster patient enough to wait for its prey, that loved stalking in the dark, also... Wait.’
I could think of one.
’But if that’s the case...’
I immediately kicked Lily’s back, knocking her into Maki. I barely managed to pull my leg away before something from the darkness slammed into the floor right where Lily had been standing.
"Do not run. It will just pick us off one by one if you do."
I said that while leveling my crossbow toward the spot where the thing had landed before.
It was empty.
I threw myself down, trying to roll into a corner. Something heavy crashed into the floor right behind my rolling body, close enough to feel it in my teeth.
The moment it did, I pushed into a sitting position, back against the corner. I activated [Error Sense], leveled the weapon, and fluidly pulled the trigger.
That got a good screech from the bastard.
But the fact that it could screech meant it was alive and probably very much pissed.
I rolled out of the corner right before the monster smashed straight into it, showering splinters and dust.
"Maki."
She wasted no time responding, as multiple metal strings burst out of the ground and wrapped around what I could now see were calcified, elongated, multi-jointed, twisted mockeries of human limbs, propping its torso like the legs of a spider.
Each was different in length, giving the monster a janky, off-balance cadence of movement that made the skin crawl.
Still, even though she managed to hold it down, her face tightened at a rapid pace from the strain.
"Come on."
I’d already begun reloading the moment I called her name. Even then, it was too late.
The instant I leveled the crossbow at the monster’s head, it burst through Maki’s restraints. Regardless, I activated [Error Sense] again, then pulled the trigger.
The bolt missed its head completely, burying itself at the base of the abomination’s neck. The monster screeched horribly at that, then shifted its vengeful focus away from Maki and back onto me.
I’d already committed to the roll when I saw the beast leaping, all ten arms splayed to widen the range of its impact, claws scrabbling for purchase in the air.
I wouldn’t be able to roll away in time.
Maki’s threads snapped around its limbs before it could land, disrupting its momentum and throwing it back to the ground in a violent skid.
"Victor."
Even her scream sounded tired.
I knew what needed to be done; there was no way I would load my crossbow before the monster broke out again.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled a long dagger from my belt and sprinted toward the restrained monster. I didn’t strike immediately.
Instead, I reached out and touched its cold, clammy skin while visualizing.
’A healthy body, with no weak spots, no soft skin, and no particularly exposed vital points.’
That was my definition of perfection. I activated [Error Sense].
Not even a second had passed when one of the monster’s limbs smashed into me, tossing me away and rattling my ribs.
Even through the sudden spike of pain in my chest, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
’Got it.’
While plenty of the beast had lit up like fire alarms in [Error Sense]’s domain, the nape of the monster had rung so loud it almost physically hurt.
The monster sought to pursue me again, but the threads appeared once more. This time four snapped instantly, while the remaining four visibly strained under its power.
Still, it slowed the bastard down, and that was enough for me.
Diving below the monster’s thrashing limbs, I found my way to its exposed backside. The moment I did, I jumped onto it, hanging on for dear life as the monster tried to fling me off with everything in its arsenal.
Forcing my way through its clawing grabs and frantic scrapes, I drove my dagger straight through its nape.
The monster suddenly froze, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
[Noble hunter, you have slain a Matured Whelp: Dark Crawler]
[Bounty points: 20]