ALL NOVEL Chapter 39: Shrapnel
The sound of chirping birds and crickets roused me from my pleasant slumber. Isa's faint purring and the sensation of her fuzzy tail coiled around my leg forced a smile onto my face as I nestled into her and relaxed for a few more minutes as she was still asleep. After a moment, I felt the serelli behind me begin to stir as she let off a cute meow-like yawn before nuzzling me gently.
"It is time to wake up, kitten." Isa said groggily.
I giggled softly and said, "I know, I'm already awake."
Isa sighed, and I could feel her smiling as she said, "Then why didn't you wake me up?"
"You seemed peaceful; I wanted you to sleep in a bit more," I said with a smirk.
"You're too kind." Isa hummed as her tail unwound from around my leg, and she scooched away from me as she got to her knees.
Both of our stomachs growled audibly, and we winced. "Best we try and find some food," I said with a grumble as I clutched my stomach.
"Aye," Isa agreed, sighed once more, and rubbed her stomach. "C'mon, best we go do our business and get moving."
We ventured out of the hollow tree, and I shielded my eyes from the sun's bright rays. The sky was beautiful this morning, mostly clear and blue, save for a few sparse, fluffy clouds. It was quiet too, save for the birds and crickets. The scenery was almost dream-like.
"Stay close by; I'll be right back," Isa said.
I blinked. "Where are you—" I stopped when I noticed her trotting behind a tree. "Ah yeah," I said with a playful snort and shook my head. "Nature calls." I rubbed my stomach as it grumbled again. "I sure hope I don't need to eat bugs or anything…" I mumbled.
After a minute, Isa returned, looking refreshed. She pulled out the handgun we found the day before and checked it. "Alright, are you ready to do some hunting?" She asked.
I pursed my lips as I eyed the weapon. "Should we be using that? What if one of those things hears us?"
Isa raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't the voice in your head tell you if one was nearby?"
I guess that's true. Master man, are any of those things nearby?
"I would've told you if there were." The voice said it in a deadpan tone.
"Nope, he says we're good." I said, gesturing my hands out around us.
Isa smiled and nodded. "Excellent, voice man is quite useful."
I shrugged. "He is a bit of a dick, but he's been helpful."
Isa's eyes widened at my choice of language, but she then sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "You have a foul mouth, little lady," she said with a smirk.
I blushed. "Sorry."
"It's okay; I'll let it slide for now," Isa said with a wink and chuckle. "Well, follow me and stay quiet; I'll show you the ropes."
I nodded and followed behind Isa as we ventured into the underbrush.
I watched as this adorable, purple and white, under-bellied, rabbit-like creature, known as a jabber, hopped out into the open around a small, murky pond. Its four eyes flicked and swiveled like those of a chameleon as it drank from the water. Its massive, floppy ears swing about as its head turns from left to right. Bringing its tiny paws to its face, it wiped its mouth after drinking from the pond before dipping its little paws in the water as if washing them.
Suddenly, a sharp pop echoed in the air, and the jabber's body recoiled as the blue energy bolt pierced its neck and exited the other side, killing the adorable creature almost instantly.
"Waaah!" I covered my mouth. "It was so cuuute!" I cried out.
"And it'll be delicious." Isa smiled and patted me on the back. "I'm sorry, Luna, but it had to be done." I whimpered and pouted.
Isa switched the safety back on the handgun before stowing it away. Isa stepped out of the underbrush, and I followed behind her, still moping about the death of the little creature. She went over and picked up the hefty animal by its floppy ears. The jabber was plump and about the size of a small dog. The thing was big enough to feed both of us and then some if we went at it sparingly.
Isa was practically watering at the mouth as she held it up and smiled. "It passed clean through too." She pointed to the exit wound on the neck as she spun the jabber around, and I winced.
"N-Nice." I smiled. "Hopefully you're going to be the one preparing it, right?" I asked, and Isa chuckled and shook her head.
"You'll be helping me, miss." She smirked. "Someone is going to have to teach you how to prepare a meal in the field," she said as she slung the dead creature on her shoulder. "But first, let's get away from here. Just to be safe."
We traveled for about an hour or so away from our hunting grounds. Continuing westward, finally, our stomachs were too much to bear, and we decided to make camp in a small clearing. Conveniently laid-out logs made for perfect natural benches were laid out before us as Isa and I used sticks to carve out a hole in the earth.
It was times like this that I was glad I watched a lot of those primitive survival channels online. I didn't remember much of them, but a few bits of information helped me when it came to digging the small hole for our fire. Yet thankfully, we didn't have to worry about making a fire by rubbing sticks together because I had my fancy little wand, which my mother gave me, and the magic she taught me.
After the hole was dug and the kindling and wood piled in, Isa smiled and gave me a nod to perform the spell. We both stepped back as I held out my wand, closed my eyes, and began the incantation.
"By Margon's breath, flames ignite. From forge divine, bring forth light. Mote of fire, in darkness stark. A spark to guide, in Margon's mark. Spark!" I shouted, and deep within me I felt a swell of pleasurable energy. I shuddered as the magic radiated through my body, channeling towards my wand.
The ruby tip glowed a bright red, and above the tip, the air swirled and cracked as I focused on creating a tiny spark. I bit my lower lip as I tried to quell the energy, and finally, releasing forth, I gasped as a small spark of fire shot into the hole and ignited the tinder!
I squeaked and bounced excitedly as the fire grew and began to crackle with life, and I clapped my hands together. "I did it!" I said it excitedly.
Isa smiled happily and nodded. "You did, kitten! Excellent!" She smiled and tussled my hair as she then began to build the small rack that would hold the jabber's corpse. Isa then reached into her bag, pulled out a gnarly-looking knife, and said, "Now it's time I show you how to butcher this little thing."
I stopped clapping and dancing and looked at her and gulped nervously.
It was bloody, gross, and smelled awful. I did not enjoy skinning the creature and ripping out its intestines. I mostly watched, though Isa did have me slice a few pieces myself and she had me empty out its intestinal track, which made me want to vomit. Isa seemed to take some sadistic joy in watching my reactions, though when things seemed to take too much of a toll, she did step in and take over and simply have me watch.
I knew it was important to learn this, though. I tried not to think about it, but in this environment, if one of those Rusivite machines caught us off guard and Isa…
I don't even want to think about that.
Isa showed me how to properly slice a jabber into pieces that more closely resembled the food I was used to seeing. By this point, I was comfortable watching as she discarded all the inedible pieces, and soon we were sliding the chunks of flesh onto sticks to make some kebabs.
After that, she placed the pieces on the fire, and we watched as they began to cook. The aroma made my stomach growl loudly as we sat and chatted around the fire.
"Isa, you have been to the metropolises. What are they like?" I asked her.
She sighed and said, "My opinion is admittedly biased, as I prefer the small and quiet towns like Oren. The metropolises are massive, sprawling cities, home to hundreds of thousands of people, or even a million."
"Million?" I blinked and looked at her with wide eyes.
Isa nodded. "Iona, in Yankston, is one of the few metropolises that are home to one and a half million people of all races." She said, "They are nice places to visit, but the gods forbid I ever live in one." She chuckled. "They are noisy, cramped, and smell. Roads are lined with strider manure, and automobiles and trains are constantly sounding off their horns. And with my sensitive ears," she playfully reached up and flicked her fuzzy red ears, "makes the place a nightmare to be in for long periods."
Oh, I didn't consider that. I thought, looking at her fluffy ears.
"Johanneson is nowhere near as big as Iona, but it doesn't really matter. Five hundred thousand people are all cramped up in tall skyscrapers, apartments, and offices. It's just too much for me." She said it with a sigh. "Though I promised your parents, I would take you there to find your extended family." She said it with a smile. "So, I'm willing to set aside my bias for that."
"Well, I appreciate it," I said with a soft smile. "I don't think I would be alive if you weren't here." I shivered at the thought.
"Oh, don't say that," Isa said as she checked the food. "You're a smart girl, Luna. You're very smart. I would go so far as to say you're the smartest."
"No, I'm not," I said softly as my cheeks began to burn red.
It's true. I'm not smart at all; I'm just… some guy who got a head start.
"Yes, you are." Isa said it a bit more firmly. "It's because of you that both of us are alive."
I looked back up at her but didn't say anything.
"Your quick thinking out on the lake with that wind spell. You made it so that we could easily get away from those monsters. I was terrified, thinking we were going to both be taken and drowned. Yet you." She pointed at me. "Got us away. And for that, I thank you." She smiled, and before I could say anything, she took the meat off the fire and said, "Food is done."
I blushed, shifted a little on my log, and looked down at the ground as Isa handed me my jabber kebab.
As we devoured our food, I couldn't help but think it was delicious.
It's been a day since our first successful hunt. Isa and I had since successfully bagged at least two more jabbers. One of which we've already butchered and eaten half of; the rest of the meat, along with the second corpse, we experimented with shoving into my enigma bag. The pieces were easy to get in, but the corpse well… we had to break a few bones. It was gross, yet what I discovered was that wherever the bag leads, it's cold.
Not like freezing cold, but I think more like refrigerator temperature. Which is fantastic because it'll help keep the meat from going bad too fast. I just hope that sticking the cooked meat in with the raw corpse will not get us sick.
Gordon Ramsey would be really upset if he saw this. I gulped and hoped that we'd eat it all by tonight before anything would make us ill.
We continued heading west. Traversing through much of the forest, and the gods know where. Even Isa didn't know exactly where we were, aside from being close to the Kenchala River. Neither of us had a map, but she was positive that going west would take us to a bridge.
We didn't see any forest paths, at least not yet. The forest continued to be a peaceful route; we hadn't heard any sounds of combat, though we did hear at least a few of the fighting machines howling in the distance. Still, the man in my head never woke up to tell me one was coming our way.
Though that's not to say all things were good, during bouts of silence, my mind continued to wander back to the events in Kassel. The thought of whether or not my family was alive or safe made my already high anxiety skyrocket. Then Peter would come to me. The knowledge that I potentially, no, I did kill him. Not directly, yet I'm positive that knocking him into unconsciousness ruined his chances of survival.
Isa noticed my solemn state and would do her best to cheer me up or distract me, yet my mind would eventually find its way crawling back into that dark pit. I tried to tell myself that everything was okay, that Isa was right, and that Momma and Papa were excellent survivalists. Yet that did little to quell my fear.
Yet eventually, by late evening, we reached the edge of the forest and made our way back out into the rolling plains of Heinmarr. In the far off, we could see another forest along the river coast, yet between us, there was a small fishing and farming village along the river.
Isa glanced back at me and then towards the village. "I wonder if they'll have a boat there?" She said this as she glanced at the sky. "I reckon we can get there by nightfall."
I nodded. "I hope so. Maybe they'll have an inn." I said this as I hoped to finally sleep in bed again.
Isa smiled and patted me on the head. "I hope so too." She chuckled as we trekked across the field. "Even then, we could maybe see about getting some supplies. More ammo for the gun, other food even."
"Oh, I would love it if they had spices." I sighed with a smile. "Some salt or pepper with this jabber would go a long way." Isa laughed.
As the sun dipped near the horizon and we neared the town, Isa began to slow as her eyes narrowed. I nearly walked right into the back of her as I stopped and glanced up to see her squinting towards the houses.
"Something up?" I asked her softly as I let off a squeaky yawn.
"Something's not right. I see no lights and no smoke coming from the chimneys." Her ears swiveled and twitched. "I hear nothing."
I glanced at the town. "Maybe it's evacuated?" I guessed. "Free beds and food for us!" I joked nervously and chuckled.
Isa didn't laugh; she reached down and grabbed me by the hand, and I jolted as my heart began to race and my anxiety kicked in. "We're going around the town," she said bluntly.
"Wh-what why?" I gasped as she pulled me away, and that's when I heard it.
A sharp whistling sound came from above, along with another and another as a dozen massive blue bolts of energy arced across the sky from the west before coming down and slamming into the village in front of us!
A massive eruption of energy exploded outwards as dust and debris shot upwards, and the ground heaved as the artillery shells slammed into the earth and buildings. The distant rumbling of cannon fire coming from the right bank of the river echoed across the land as the village was pounded into rubble.
Isa yanked me to the ground, and I screamed as debris rained down upon us. Even though we were so far away from the town—probably hundreds of feet—shrapnel still peppered the land around us.
"Wh-what the fuck?! What the fuck?!" I screamed and panicked over and over.
After about a full minute of shelling, the guns across the river fell silent, and I sobbed as Isa pulled me up and said, "Luna, Luna, it's over. It's done." She cooed as I sobbed heavily. Visions of the fighting machines in Kassel slaughtering everyone around me flashed on repeat in my mind.
It's happening again! It's happening again! I don't want this anymore!
"Oh, how peculiar." The man's voice echoed in my head, and my eyes widened with fear. "Now this is something I hadn't expected…" The voice hummed. "Two hundred feet in front of you, three of them are in that ruined village. Yet how did they get there?"
No, no. You're fucking with us. You lured us here, didn't you?
"No. That is not something I'd do. Yet it seemed as if they had a way to conceal their souls. And now they're waking up."
A distant whistle caused Isa's and mine's heads to swivel towards the direction of the river, and in the sun's dimming light, we could see dozens of motorboats moving across the river, all filled with armed soldiers of the Heins Guard. The boats drove up onto the beaches, and with the sharp tweet of a whistle, all of them unleashed a heroic cry as the armed men and women stormed the beach.
"HOoo-raah!"
We heard them shout as Isa grabbed me and yanked me off the ground.
"Th-there's monsters in the ruins!" I told her. "Th-they're going to kill everyone when they wake up!"
Isa scooped me off the ground and began to run to the north. "That's why we're going around!" She shouted as the horrific howl of the sleeping fighting machines came from the town.
I clung to Isa as the screaming soldiers continued as we made a wide berth around the town. Looking over her shoulder, I watched as, out of the smoking rubble, three Rusivite war machines towered out of the rubble. Their large, glass-like eyes illuminated the nightly landscape with a pale blue glow. Like a large spotlight, the machines turned in the direction of the advancing soldiers.
I buried my face in Isa's shoulder as the sounds of gunfire ripped through the air. Dozens of rifles were unloading onto the rising machines, and yet, as Isa and I ran, in only seconds, the demons howled, and the burning light from their eyes silenced the guns.
Yet it wasn't the end. Across the river, I heard the booming of cannons.
"Have your friend turn directions now!" The voice snapped. "Move west!"
"Isa! The voice says, run west!" I cried as I opened my eyes and gasped as I saw the sky filled with the dozens of glowing artillery shells arcing downwards towards us and the towering demons within the inferno.
Without responding, Isa turned her heels and slid across the grass and dirt before pivoting directions to the west, just as the raining shells made an impact! The ground trembled as the artillery shells rained down upon the former town. Stray shells zipped over our heads and screamed into the earth ahead of us and back in the direction we just were.
Isa shrieked with agony as one artillery shell landed a handful of yards behind us and exploded, causing her to stumble forward before tripping as we both slammed into the dirt, and I rolled ahead of her. As my back struck the earth, I felt the air being knocked from my lungs, and I gasped and wheezed.
I coughed and sobbed as I got to my knees and crawled towards Isa. To my right, towards the town, I could hear the howls of the machines. As if crying out in agony, I glanced over and saw one of them stumbling into a pile of rubble, two of its legs having been blown off as it continued to roar.
I turned back to Isa and saw her clutching her left shoulder, and I gasped as I saw her alabaster shirt soaked with blood. A piece of shrapnel lodged into her upper back. I cursed, grabbed her, and began to try and pull her up.
"Isa, we need to run!" I cried.
"I know! I know!" She gasped and cursed as she pushed herself up with her one good arm.
"In the name of our families!" An amplified voice boomed from the direction of the river. "Our lives and freedom! We face our enemy head-on! Charge!"
Another wave of soldiers unleashed their chorus of battle cries as Isa got to her feet, and we proceeded to sprint towards the far-off trees. I panted and cried as I pumped my little legs as hard as I could as a third bout of artillery fire began to hammer the town relentlessly.
Gunfire and screams reverberated through the air as the soldiers clashed with the two remaining fighting machines. I didn't bother watching who was winning.
"To the north. One mile out, five of them are coming. Wait. East. Another seven are coming. You need to keep moving."
We are! We are running! I screamed in my head.
Suddenly a bright green flash illuminated the night, and I risked a glance over my shoulder and watched as one of the two remaining fighting machines was engulfed in a green ray of energy before erupting into a blinding flash of blue light as it exploded!
My eyes widened as silhouetted against the blast, I saw a robed figure wielding a staff flying across the sky. Seven sparkling orbs of light illuminated the being's head as the last remaining fighting machine turned to face them, yet just as the light was about to make contact with the flying magister, the seven lights turned into lethal darts of energy that shot forth, spearing the demon's glassy eye.
The machine roared with agony as it stumbled back, tripping over the rubble of a former house and slamming into the earth. Its body was twitching sporadically before sparks of blue energy exploded out of its shattered eye, and it fell still.
Isa and I continued to run as the ruined town erupted into victorious cheers and hollers as the soldiers climbed upon the rubble and ruins of the monsters. Yet as we neared the tree line, those cheers were soon silenced as ten reinforcing fighting machines charged over the north and eastern horizon.
My vision blurred and my legs burned as Isa and I stumbled through the tree line as the cannons reported once again as the two armies clashed. We broke through bushes and branches before eventually we both stumbled and rolled into a small ditch.
We lay there, panting and groaning, as the sounds of battle raged fiercely. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath, and when I opened them again, I glanced at Isa and saw she had passed out.
"N-No… no!" I sat up and moved over to her. "Oh, thank you, God." I said when I saw she was still breathing.
The wound on her back was still bleeding profusely, and the shrapnel was lodged in deeply. I wasn't a doctor or had any medical experience, for that matter. Yet I knew this wasn't good.
"Fuck… Fuck!' I cursed as panic began to take hold.
I need to figure out what to do. I don't want to lose her…