The Mimic in Monsterland

The smell of cheap greasy fries and burgers danced around my nostrils. I was sitting on an uncomfortable plastic chair, nursing a beer and munching on some fries waiting for my turn. “So did you hear about the new game From is making?” My friend Gary sat across from me. “Yeah it looks pretty sick, it's cool their branching into sci fi. They’ve always done high fantasy so it will be sweet seeing what they do in space.” I answered him whilst pushing the beer away. Never been a huge fan of the drink, but Ryan bought it for me and I don’t like denying generosity. Beer man himself wrapped his arm around Gary’s shoulder. “No Gare-bear. No we are not talking nerd shit right now. The girls are going to be here any minute. You are the ones who wanted to get a game in before they got here so you wouldn’t look like losers.” CLASH!

The nostalgic crashing of pins resounded in the lane next to our table. The guy bowling in the lane next to us just got his fourth strike in a row. Dude was on fire. He looked the part: sweatband around his head, jean shorts, Hawaiian shirt, and white crew socks sitting inside custom neon bowling shoes. That guy was here to rock.

“Dude, quit staring at the bowling god. You're up.” Ryan said in a joking tone. “Yeah yeah.” I walked over to my 14 pounder and readied up. Three careful steps and swing. Curve is looking good. Just right of the center pin. But at the last second, it breaks too hard and ends up only dropping the four of the pins on the left side.

“That’s what you get for being a showoff with all the curve balls.” Gary called out. So what? I thought they looked cool and I wanted to hone them before she got here. I walked back to the ball return.

As I went to pick up my ball, I looked up. The front doors opened and a couple of girls walked in. I recognized them and with a grin went to wave but something shone from behind them. The light grew so bright it started hurting my eyes.

 

Light streaming through the cave entrance woke me up. I groggily rubbed my face before a moment of panic arose. I scanned the area looking for gremlins. Len had backed off on the morning wake up raids but threw them in to keep me on my toes. But there were no gremlins to be seen. It was just the camp cave where we always slept.

I haven’t had a dream of the past in a while. Gary was my roommate, in my junior year of college. Way better than the crackpot I had to live with the first two years. Gail smoked pot and read the crystals all day. Whatever the hell that meant. Gary and I had a lot of the same interests so it was cool living with him. Ryan was his previous roommate but he moved off campus. Wonder how they're doing now. I stood up before I thought about it too long. That life is gone.

It was the morning after my second level up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked towards Len’s sleeping spot. He wasn’t there. Which was normal. What wasn’t normal was waking up to the sun filtering into the cave. Len woke me up every morning at the crack of too damn early. Sunlight brightening up the cave was a whole new experience. Light from the campfire was the only one that I ever witnessed in the cave. Strange but all together pleasant. A chilling breeze blew into the cave. I shivered. Winter must come early in the world. Len said it got cold quick here, especially after the leaves all fell off the trees. A cold winter morning.

 

Len left a note at the entrance of the cave. I didn’t know what it said. It was mostly a bunch of scribbles and lines. With eyes widening, I made a sudden realization. I don’t know how to read. I never even imagined it. Sure Len had been writing this whole time but he never let me look inside of it. Every time I got close he would somehow find a way to smack me with that blasted stick. Even when he left to go relieve himself or bathe. SMACK!

So I quit trying and stopped thinking about it. I guess I assumed he was writing in English. I mean my character sheet was in English and he read that multiple times. Maybe it was translating it differently for each of us. But what was translating? Time to ask the one I know was still here, “Hey Tutor, got a sec?”

“Yellooo!” A very enthusiastic greeting spoke in my head.

“Wow, someone’s chipper today.”

“Yep, the first time I got some decent sleep since we’ve been here. I got to catch up on a bunch of errands and such this morning.” I sat there, tilting my head at the ridiculousness of these statements. “You’re a voice in my head, what errands…you know what I don’t want to know.” I lied. I desperately wanted to know but Tutor was tightlipped on questions like that. My current strategy was to act uninterested in hopes she would let something slip. I continued on.

“What language do they have in Kniyas? Is it not English or some variant?”

“No, it's Kniyan. Creative name right?” She said, sarcasm laid on thick.

“Have I been speaking it this whole time?”

“Yep.”

“Then why can’t I read it?”

She paused, as if she was at a loss for words. Which is a first. I picked up Len’s note and… I want to say show it to her but with her being a voice in my head, or something else entirely, meant that wasn’t really an option.

“Oh oops hehe.” She giggled nervously. “Yep, let me get right on that.”

I could have sworn I heard a click go off but suddenly the symbols on the paper made sense. They didn’t turn into English or anything like that; I just understood them like I had been reading the language my whole life. It was so natural. And odd. I looked down at the note.

 

Hey, I have some stuff to take care of. You’re on your own for a while. Just do the drills I have listed here. DO NOT SLACK OFF. If you want to see civilization any time soon, put some work in. PS. Don’t die. I’d rather the last few months not be a waste of time.

 

After the note was a training menu. Filled with exercises and details on how to do them properly. I cringed in disgust at one of them.

“Really, ten sets of 20 burpees in Ursa form.” The paper didn’t call them burpees, but I knew the dreadful exercise all too well. That overzealous personal trainer I had for exactly one week loved them. Devil’s exercise, I tell ya. After folding the note and putting it by my bedroll, I stoked the fire a few times and laid back down. I was going to pretend I hadn’t seen the note and slack off. I closed my eyes and dozed off.

 

Well, I tried to. I rolled around a few times, attempting to find a comfortable position. Finally with big huff, I stood back up. truthfully, I wasn’t tired in the slightest and got bored almost immediately. There was no stimulation whatsoever to help facilitate a lazy day. I groaned and huffed for a while but then got up and looked over the workout menu again.

After activating Apis form, I started doing pull-ups on a lower hanging branch. Apis form was by far my favorite form. I just felt better in it, like someone was dumping serotonin directly into my brain. Its workouts never felt like a chore. But this inevitably devolved into me playing in the trees for like an hour. The air was chilly, but it didn’t bother me too much while I was in a form. The extra fur and exercise helped me fight off the cooler weather.

I walked back to the cave, tail drooping a little, after I began feeling guilty for slacking off again. But something felt wrong when I walked up to the cave. An abrupt feeling rushed over the top of my skin, causing all of my hair to stand on end. This sensation of dread filled my head, paralyzing me. Even my tail straightened out and wouldn’t listen to my commands.

Something was watching me. Where was it? I wanted to look around but I couldn’t move. That’s not quite right. It was more like the intense fear wouldn’t allow me to move. The bushes rumbled for a second. My eyes shot towards them. The branches above me shook like something jumped from them. The feeling subsided for a moment, which was enough time for me to move my head. I scanned the bushes and the trees looking for my watcher but to no avail. I looked toward the cave when something finally caught my eye.

A pair of green feline eyes glared down at me. They shined bright and eerie, even in the midmorning sun. They entranced me as I stared at them. A magnificent beast stood atop the entrance to the cave. A big cat with dark beautiful fur kept eye contact with me for what felt like minutes. Its eyes flashed for a split second and the fear from earlier crept along my skin once again. It snarled revealing its slightly yellowed fangs and raised its haunches.

The glint in its eyes lessened. At that moment, my left arm tensed and I recognized the feeling. I mustered all of my willpower and jumped to the left. A blur of black fur whizzed by me aiming to take out my left arm in one fell swoop.

It landed on the ground and immediately swung around with a huge paw lashing towards my body. I pushed myself off the ground with my arms and tail. Getting away from the swipe and back up, I turned toward the beast again, ready to move if it attacked again. But it wasn’t there. I heard a rustle in the trees and looked up. Black fur was descending on me. I moved to the side but its claws raked my shoulder. A shallow cut but still hurt. It jumped as soon as it hit the ground, back into the trees.

Being on the ground was a death sentence. I rushed towards the closest tree and climbed up. Once I was about three quarters up the tree, I searched for signs of my foe throughout the trees. I figured it would be easy as most of the leaves had fallen leaving half the trees exposed. But no dice. I couldn’t see the panther in any of the barren branches. But there were some trees that needed to be searched, the evergreens.

The Forest contained mostly deciduous trees but there were patches of conifers throughout. Our cave happened to be nestled among a cluster of them. I’m not sure if that helps or hurts right now. I decided it helped because it meant that the panther had to be hiding among conifers.

It was clearly an ambush hunter that preferred to attack from above. But I’ve been swinging and jumping through these trees for a few months now. This was my wheelhouse. I have a chance; I just need to draw it out somehow. Wonder if catnip is a thing here in Kniyas, or if it works on giant cat monsters?

Should I wait it out? No, I would probably lose Apis form before it made any move and none of my other forms do much in trees. Aside from the squirrel form that is. But I don’t think buck teeth are going to be the winning factor in this battle. If only I could mimic it. I have a feeling it would be an awesome form. It had nothing to do with me being a cat person.

That strange feeling of fear crept up once more as I was getting ready to move closer to the evergreens. It wasn’t as crippling as before but it had caused me to hesitate. I looked up at my HUD. My health had a sliver taken out of it, that shoulder wound wouldn’t be a problem. But another notification was under it. I focused on it.

 

[Shaken]

 

The fear that's taken root in me must be the result of an ability. But how does it work? I heard a rustle from a branch on the nearest evergreen. My eyes shot up towards the source. Most of the evergreens were taller than the tree I was currently on. It meant it probably still had its eyes on me from above. I looked up towards the tree the sound came from.

I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary until a flash of green poked through the branches. I focused my sight on the spot. There was a darkness there. It felt out of place. Like a darkness like that shouldn’t exist in the sun, even if the branches were providing some shade. Two familiar green lights shone through the darkness. The fear tightened my chest, making it slightly difficult to breathe. But I could still move.

Those eyes. They must have something to do with the ability. Before I could think more on it, the green lights went out. A gust of wind blew through the trees. It shifted every treetop. The unnatural fear subsided once more. I looked where the panther was but that unnatural darkness was replaced with normal shadows.

It must have used the gust of wind to hide its movements. Gotta move now. I prepared myself to jump but just as I bent my legs; the sensation grabbed hold once more. I managed to wrap my tail around the branch before calling. It must have me in its sights again. But where?

I desperately searched through the branches of the evergreens but ultimately not seeing a single thing out of place. A branch above me cracked slightly. A sound so small I would have ignored it in any other circumstance. Without another thought, I let my body fall backwards. Sure enough, a flash of dark fur had appeared where my body was seconds ago. The panther got above me.

But this was a chance. My tail went taught, and I maneuvered myself onto the branch below. The cat looked over the side where I had fallen, searching for me. I climbed up the trunk until I was just above the furry fiend. I mustered every bit of strength in my legs and pushed off toward it. It turned and snarled as it saw me coming, but I was just fast enough. I crossed my forearms in front of me and hit the side of the panther. The monster’s footing faltered for a moment and then the beast’s paws lifted off the branch. The panther tumbled through the air as my blow launched it from the branch. Yes! I can do this.

But as the thought crossed my mind, the panther twisted in the air and swiped at my back. Damn, I can’t move out of the way. I was still airborne. Its paw smashed into my spine sending me straight down into the branches below. My body smacked and broke though a few smaller branches as I was hurtling down.

After some of the most terrifying second of my life, I landed on my stomach right on top of a larger branch. I felt myself sliding but my tail wrapped around the branch, securing me. The impact left me nauseous. I attempted to rise but to no avail.

I looked up at my health bar. It was sitting somewhere around 35%. My eyesight fluttered. Shit, I can’t pass out right now. I pulled myself up and leaned on the trunk. My breath was uneven and rasping, but I didn’t have time to assess the damage. I needed to get eyes on the cat. I lifted my head slowly but after a rather disheartening crack my head slumped back down.

Look up dammit. You will die if you don’t look up. But as I struggled with my body, I saw something at the bottom of the tree. A large black body laid on its side.

It was the panther, it must not have been as lucky as me to fall on a branch. Is it dead? Why couldn’t this world have a notification for when you killed something?

My vision faded once more as I looked on at the unmoving body. Until finally my eyelids fell completely.

 

—

 

Len popped his neck as he walked towards the guards. They stared off in the distance, each with a bead of sweat on their foreheads, as he got closer. They made sure to not look him in the eyes. Len chuckled as he passed by them.

He recognized this particular duo and understood why they didn’t want to look him in the eyes. He may have gone a bit overboard intimidating them last time he went through the main gates. At least that's what Herman, the guard captain, had told him. Len recalled his last conversation with the man.

 

“They’re new Ainsworth, fresh out of the academy. It’s hard enough finding some that don’t piss themselves up there. They don’t need your terrifying aura on top of the beasts’ lurking out there.”

“Well I was in a hurry and they were in the way.” Len said while shrugging. “It wasn’t even a threatening aura.” Len added under his breath.

 

As Len got through the gate and arrived at the main intersection, he saw the man in question talking with one of his Lieutenants. She was a taller elf woman and had to look down to her commanding officer. She had a greenish hue to her skin. It was a common trope, so he wasn’t sure what her gene was. She saluted Herman and walked away. Herman saw Len and waved him over.

Herman was a giant of a man, or well dwarf for that matter. About as tall as the shorter humans, roughly 5’ 3” if Len had to guess, but almost twice as wide. The dwarf wore black leather armor with white leather bands running down both sides of his chest and back. He had identical handaxes on each side of his waist. His head was topped with short black slicked back hair with streaks of silver on both sides and a black mark under each of his eyes. Len was always shocked how remarkably symmetrical the dwarf was.

Herman’s gene trope was the black wolf ears protruding at the top of his head. A common trope among the canine splicers. Herman had the Wulfen gene.

Once Len got close, Herman spoke. “Here a bit late ain’t cha? My men said you’ve only been seen coming and going in the wee hours b’fore sunrise. Where ya headin’?” Len nodded his head.

Len had arrived back in Laurel around noon. Most of Len’s runs into town were like Herman, before dawn. He needed to get back to Liam before the boy asked any questions. Len chuckled to himself. Eh I’d just send him to another gremlin camp before it happened.

“Heading to the lab. I will be in Laurel for a few weeks before I head out again. If you wouldn't mind, wait a little while before you tell Lirae I’m back.” Len said, hoping the dwarf would acquiesce.

Herman shook his head. “You know she doesn’t need me to tell her you’re here. You high-level freaks with your weird senses.” Len laughed at his comment. He was pretty sure Herman wasn’t that far behind him in levels. Maybe a couple dozen. It was common knowledge that you had to be rather strong to be in leadership in Laurel.

“Just don’t give her any details. I will see her soon enough.” Len said with a halfhearted smile. Herman shrugged, he looked apathetic about the whole situation.

Herman’s ears suddenly twitched. The sound of an alarm bell crashed through the air. Herman’s previous air of indifference vanished and one of brutal seriousness replaced it. He started walking over to the gate. Len followed him. One of the men stationed by the entrance ran up to Herman and walked alongside the two.

“Sir, a large group is making its way here.”

“What types?”

“Mixed bag. Probably heavier on the beast side. The boss looks to be a Beruang. No flyers.”

“Hmm.” Herman contemplated for a moment. “Len hate to bother ya but since yer here.” Len cut him off.

“Nah, it's fine. I wouldn’t mind letting off some steam.”