C'est La Vie (Worm/MtG) #02.3
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Getting down the mountain ended up being a lesson in forward planning.
Locking up and dispersing the less mobile of my swarm went off without a hitch. But getting down the mountain…
Well, if cutting through the steep sections of jungle going up had been nothing more than tedious, then the storm made coming down a downright nightmare.
Huffing and puffing, with a line of sweat running down my temple from the climb through the humid jungle I neared the bottom of the mountain. The gap of in the tall fencing was just in sight through the trees and bush and— my left foot dropped, what was once solid ground collapsed beneath me and I went stumbling and sliding down the slope. Once, twice, I almost caught myself, but forward momentum fucked that right up. Only when the incline tapered off did I catch myself… by slamming into a tree.
My teeth locked up and I sucked air through in a hiss as my left side screamed. I dug my nails into the thick trunk, multi-colored bark coming apart under my fingers as I fought down the deep ache in my ribs.
In the same damn spot.
Slowly pushing off I massaged my side and limped out to the road, out into the sunlight and… glancing down at my side, I inadvertently looked at the poncho I'd made and cringed at the affect the sunlight had on it.
Like everything else the Orb Weavers spun, it gleamed gold in the sunlight. I'd had little choice but to deal with it while using the satchel while foraging and had managed to dulled its shine with a little dirt, but the poncho… it was brand new and obnoxiously bright. Too much surface area.
Well, it certainly helped hammer home the point that I needed to figure out a way of dyeing the silk to make it less… everything.
Glenn probably would have loved it, though, and with horrifying quickness, a vision of him in one of his lurid Hawaiian shirts dubbing the ensemble 'fabulously crude' came to mind... Too quickly, frankly. It actually made me a little nauseous.
Had he seen me now, surviving with little but my powers and whatever I could find, he would've probably have seen a PR opportunity. Hell, he'd probably have coerced me to use the getup, somehow, in spite of the color and reflectiveness being so eye catching it all but painted a bullseye on my back.
I shivered. It wouldn't have been for long, probably, he'd never actually want me dead, but that wouldn't stop him.
Possibly the only saving grace was my suit I was still using as a base. My wonderful, not shiny and horribly mismatched black, yellow and grey costume.
At least with that, I could toss the poncho and blend into the bush if necessary. However, despite those glaring downsides and not being able to work in as much extra functionality into it that I'd've liked, I'd rather have it than not. If anything, being able to roll it up and having something softer than concrete to rest my head on while away would be nice.
Besides, what was out here that the color mattered? Dinosaurs? If that giant chicken came back for round two, things wouldn't be going the way they did the first time. I was certain of that.
Shaking my head, I grabbed the bottom left edge just over my knee and threw the loose fabric over my shoulder, giving my free arm free range of movement again and started down the road in the same direction I had a week before.
Not that I wanted it to come around. Fuck that… seeing a stripped tree that had at some point fallen onto the concrete fence base I limped over and knocked twice.
-I-
Reaching a fork in the road a short while later and seeing the earth stomped flat leading in a path leading from the new road, it became quite evident that I wasn't the only one who would be using this road in the future.
I looked behind me though and confirmed that, nope, there wasn't a trace of the same path... That wasn't just a little foreboding.
Sure, between the T-Rex stomping about and the storm I couldn't actually say whether anything had used the stretch of road I'd taken to get here. And of course, it could just be that nothing had traveled that way yet… right, I wouldn't've believed that either.
Well, at any rate, this stretch was actively traveled. And well traveled at that. Only a day since the storm had petered off, but already there was a trail along the road of earth that had been stomped flat by big feet. Big feet supporting a lot of weight.
No giant chicken prints, fortunately, but awfully large prints nonetheless. Almost like elephant feet. But… bigger. Round things, some with four and five toes, some with three and three and a number of shapes and sizes between.
I looked back the way I'd come again.
Nothing? Really?
I looked back down the new road and recalled what the jungle had looked like from the mountaintop and… there had definitely been a road that led to the coast. It might not be this one specifically, but nice to know there was a route so close that wouldn't necessitate going through the jungle.
Slipping my hand into the satchel to pull out a tasteless, gritty berry and fruitlessly tried flavoring it with something much meatier and tasty, and buttery… I licked my lips. Lobster, yum.
I had no butter, but dammit, I'd make something work. I'd grill the damn things if necessary.
I shook my head. That would just need to wait though, for now, I needed more supplies and equipment before I could even dream of having a lobster dinner. So for now, my destination would be the Visitors Center place.
Although… I snorted and started walking again. For all I knew, the place could very well be on the other side of the island, so either way, I may end up going to the beach anyway.
The beach, that'd be nice… shrouding my eyes, I looked up at the sky. The clear, cloudless sky… without sunscreen though I'd probably turn a nice cherry red in no time at all.
Like a lobster.
Narrowing my eyes at the enemy of pale people everywhere, I deftly shifted a fold of the poncho to hang over my head like a hood. Probably best to delay a day at the beach.
-I-
Approaching a concrete and metal bridge crossing a short chasm, I grimaced as my socks, my freshly made socks at that, inched a little further down my ankles. This was the fourth time since I'd set out and I had to fight the urge to stop and pull them up. Again.
Perfectly fit they may be, they just refused to stay up. But of course, no elastic made things a little difficult. Straps and ties and drawstrings could work with other things, but socks… Drawstrings still had nothing to keep them up. The straps would need to attach to something, and unless I went with a full stocking and garter that would be way too complex and resource expensive to prototype. Also, no custom mannequins to make things easy, so that would be time wasted I could spend doing something else.
Drawing my lip between my teeth I crossed the bridge, taking a moment to look down at the rushing river a few yards below. Idly, my fingers played with the flap of my satchel as I looked down the river cutting through the jungle, then up.
I blinked and paused to slowly rub the thin cloth between my fingers, feeling the texture, and looked down at the flap. Or rather, the separate piece of fabric it had started as.
That might work.
Starting down the road again, I ran the numbers in my head. The socks I was wearing had taken a while, relatively speaking, but what about a wrap? Sheets of silk were far easier than three-dimensional shapes and thus more cost efficient in terms of time and energy and silk production. And they could be multi-purpose.
I spaced out and let my feet carry me forward.
Maybe a two by three section? I hummed and bit my lip a little too hard, and realizing what I was doing snagged another berry. Another tasteless, gritty, berry… dammit, I wanted something other than these damn berries.
But no, if it would be multipurpose then something square would work better even if it was a bit more material. Two by two would probably be too small but three by three would be a bit much… although it would be easier to work with more than with less.
Reaching into the satchel, I fingered a roughly three by three bandanna the weavers had spun before I cracked open the hall in the shelter. It wasn't an air filtration mask, but it was better than nothing and it should work well enough to test out a foot wrap.
My attention on crafting was it was, though, I almost failed to notice the trio of seven-foot tall dinosaurs skulking through the bush on the right side of the road... Almost.
One was closing in from in front and to the right, behind to the right, and the last almost directly to the right
A pincer with the one in the center to finish me off. Definitely not something a friendly lumbering herbivore would do. No siree.
I glanced left and right, eyeing the six-foot fencing on either side with slack, rusted cables that gave little comfort. And looking up the road I could see two wide breaks in the fence where the poles were flat out gone. Trampled down most likely.
The thing had become as holed as swiss cheese. So it was useless, and then even if it wasn't who's to say they couldn't just jump the thing.
I kept an eye on them as I walked, tracked them, felt them ghost through the jungle and disturb the vegetation like a boat giving off a wake.
Slow, or rather matching my pace, and careful as they moved through the jungle, leaving little impression on the foliage around them.
TThey were careful, I'd give them that. And patient enough that I could watch them, Emma, Madison, and Sophia— no that was a bit demeaning, they were just animals and not even animals deserved that… The pep boys then: Manny, Moe and… Mack? Yeah, Mack.
I observed them, and with each passing minute, as the sun continued to move east and a thin, foggy haze spread through the afternoon sky, they got slightly closer. Taking it slow, not rushed. Hell, out in the open as I was, they probably didn't even perceive me as a challenge. And with their size, between the three of them, I wouldn't even constitute a meal, nothing more than a snack.
My swarm awoke and the jungle came alive with the sounds of the buzz and hum of millions of wings as the sky turned black.
A snack. That thought nagged at me for some reason. It was… insulting, almost. I'd alleviate them of that notion.
Pincers bit, stingers stung and fangs pierced soft skin around the neck and lower legs. Nothing lethal, no venom, but it was enough that they succumbed and fled, shrill, honking cry echoing out of the jungle from one from one followed by calls from the other two. Almost as one, they fled out of my range with the swarm on their heels.
I watched the area they'd left before something clicked. They'd communicated. Walking on autopilot I replayed the last minute in my head.
The first had called out and… yes, the other had been in retreat as well, but at the call, the other two changed direction… and it had been the three of them working together, I was certain of it, like… a pack. So something like the dino' equivalent of wolves then? Interesting. Well, interesting in that they might be telling each other they were retreating. A dinosaur-whatever-poligy person would probably be dancing in glee.
They never quite left, though. As I walked they ghosting in and out of range, lingering at the edge of my awareness until I rebuffed them. Interesting, in a different sense, but they didn't quite push it.
Watching how they acted, I almost wanted to say they were testing how the swarm reacted when they got too close. But that level of pattern recognition… Communication was one thing, but that was a bit much.
Nearing a junction in the road the sock on my right foot slipped down under my heel, but I ignored it. Instead, I stopped at the fork to look down both roads, standing on the rail where it crossed with another. Left and right, staying on the road I was on would lead wherever, but the left was a road that connected with another road going left, into the valley and where the crude sign had shown the visitors center was. Well, left it was.
Although... I looked back and to the right, where another road continued somewhat back the way I'd come before turning away and starting down the left fork. I'd felt it while walking. I'd have to keep that one in mind when I decided to go to the bottom end of the island.
Reaching the end, the sock had rolled down to rest beneath my arch like a soft rock, but I continued to ignore it. I glanced back as I turned onto the road heading into the valley to see the right-hand road further down. It wouldn't have mattered.
Barely a minute later, with a tall, concrete arch-gate-thing with the tall fencing running out from either side coming up, the sock had finally crept all the way down to my toes and gotten stuffed into the toe of my boot. I stopped ignoring it. I couldn't ignore it.
Sighing, I glanced at the gate, then glared down at the boot. A good enough place as any I suppose.
Kneeling down, I tugged the laces out and loosened the tongue pull my foot out. Then and there, I decided I needed to add sandals to my to-do list. Just the one hand wasn't— I snapped my head up and to the right as the three dinosaurs re-entered my range and began advancing through the jungle again.
I shook my head and idly sent the swarm at them as they slowly crept in a little further, turning back to pulling my sock up and— Fuck!
Like a trio of freight trains, the trio picked up speed and smashed through the swarm I'd sent at them and tore through the jungle in close formation, making a clear B-line towards a single and unsettling destination: Me.
Once more my swarm arose and descended on them. I wasn't aiming to kill them, they were just animals that ultimately little threat, but I was by no means gentle. Rachel's dogs learned not to fuck with me, and if these things could communicate, then they could as well.
Fuck if it didn't take a lot to teach them, through, to the point I actually moved the bugs in my flight pack into position as they got closer and closer while prepping more lethal measures.
Ultimately, I just about lost count of how many bites or stings I inflicted on the trio before being brought down not a hundred feet from the treeline with their legs tangled up in silk.
Pulling the laces tight and retying them, I stood and kept walking while they bit at their bindings and upon freeing themselves retreated once more with the swarm on their heels. Reaching the gate I briefly considered threading silk between the King Kong doors but dismissed it. The fencing was fucked everywhere else, why would it be different here. Probably just be an issue when I came back anyway.
Fortunately, they didn't press things again and passing a pair of overgrown service roads to the left I felt it, a building at the edge of my range... a big building… a really big building.
With each step more and more of it came into range and… and it was practically coming apart at the seam, both from the damage done from the ravages of time and what appeared to be intentional attempts at demolition. It had become a veritable hive, and my sense of the building within my range was near omnipotent.
But its bones were still strong, the walls still stood despite the jungles efforts to reclaim it and everything within… and oh, oh, how much was within and... was that a full-size restaurant kitchen?
My lips spread into a grin and I came to a stop at the base of a wide set of damp, moss covered steps leading up to a pair of sunburst stylized doors with handles shaped into an egg and embellished with a border in the shape of fossils.
Briefly noting the T-Rex skeleton holding primacy above the door, I pulled out my bandanna and moving the tailless whiptail out of my hair where it had been acting as a hairclip, I handed back the ends of the cloth to let it loop the fabric into a knot. Pressing down one end with my middle finger, I pulled the other end tight and strode up the steps.
Lobster, here I come.
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