Through days of hiking, mostly failing to hunt, and sneaking around anything that so much as smelled like it could be an encounter with monsters, who I was now confident weren't any sort of natural wildlife. My wounds never fully healed, every poor night's sleep leaving me waking up just a little weaker than the day before, and hunger gnawed at me. The miserable trek left me feeling drained, not just physically, but mentally.
"This some bullshit." I griped, for the dozenth time that morning, nearing the summit, my mind conjured up infinite expanse of unpopulated wilderness, and weeks of slow starvation as every capability I had was used up and worn down to nothing. What was the point? The only people I met tried to kill me, and actual, literal, goddamn monsters stalked these woods. They'd get me eventually if nothing else did. Maybe not right away, but for sure once I was too weak to fight. I still had the gun, and five bullets after another run in with the two legged things. not enough bullets to shoot my way out of a serious encounter. But I only needed one to put an end to this.
"Not again...dammit," I stopped, found a place to sit, and tucked in to force my mind out from that line of thought. Something I'd noticed. It wasn't all the time, but my mental state seemed to have a correlation with monsters picking up my trail. I'd ducked and crept away from a few run ins, had to fight another. If the link was causal, I knew I had to get myself out of this funk before I drew something to me.
Closing my eyes, I pictured a flame in my mind. The meditation technique first taught to me as a kid, when I first wanted to learn how to fight with swords from my dad. Back then, it was play. As I got older, it was a source of strength. With that flame in mind. I started feeding my emotions into it, my errant thoughts, everything that was a distraction to complete and utter focus.
In minutes, I had refocused, letting out a sigh as the nagging troubles faded and I could find no reason not to keep on keeping on. I picked myself back up, and kept trekking.
My dedication was rewarded that afternoon as I at last, after a week of travel, crested the mountain. The view took my breath away all over again. Rolling forests of brilliant red trees, hills and mountains with an arrangement straight out of a painter's masterpiece, glorious sunshine bathing the world in golden light. The beauty of the trees was only enhanced by me finally confirming what I saw. The mountains to the east had tree color, green as they should be in the midst of summer. And, most of all. I saw it, far to the distance, on a cliff to the south. Rising like the proverbial city on the hill, a castle out of a fairy tale.
Distant as it was, I could only make out the vaguest suggestion of exaggerated gothic spires, reaching far into the sky. More than anything about the castle, was it's existence. It was the first sign of intelligent life since my first day here. I was...too taken aback to offer any snark. Something deep down told me, I had to reach it. Get to the castle, my mind seemed to say. Whatever it takes. It was only as evening began to creep in did it occur, I really, really, wasn't prepared for the journey in it's entirety.
Days passed, at once agonizingly slow, and in a blur. I needed my strength back. That meant, rest, and enough food to let me rest. I needed, yet more supplies. Food, something warmer to sleep in, something to hold food in, weapons to hunt, something to carry water. The list mounted, and every time I thought I was getting ready, another idea came to mind. Something else I could do to prepare.
A cave I had found became home for the next couple weeks. Settling down gave me time to hunt. I became a terror to rabbit kind. I filched bird eggs. With wooden spears and wooden bow, I finally bagged a deer, first of seveal. If I wasn't hopeless at flint knapping I could maybe fashion something I could fool myself into thinking would take down one of the monsters. No luck there, but, my sword became a pole arm, and I had a wicked wood with bone spiked club tucked into my belt to replace it for close in work.
At the end, I looked more like a neolithic hunter who'd encountered, and robbed, a hapless time traveler. My fatigues were draped with deer and rabbit skins. Bow strapped to me along with a raw hide sack of smoked meat and a sleeping roll. Glaive in my hands as both weapon and walking stick. The fur and hide hat I'd purely together even had antlers, purely for shits n giggles, I was having a little fun at last.
Then, it was time, no more preparations could be made, I'd need to stop and restock a few times on the way, but I had supplies enough that I could choose when to gather, not merely stopping my trek when hunger demanded. Feeling strong, dangerous, and maybe a little silly in my antlered helm, I set off for the south, for the castle. And whatever else awaited me when I got there.
My equipment, primitive as it was, turned my travel from a hopeless march sustained only by biological imperative and spite, into something approaching fun. My mind wandered enough that a crow out the corner of my eye looked familiar. I turned around, and smiled. "Hey there buddy, I ain't dead yet you fuck. Keep waiting." I flipped the bird off and continued on. I 'knew' it wasn't the same one I'd noticed when I was busy trying not to bleed out, but it amused me to think I had a stalking carrion eater who was going hungry for my lack of dying.
Unknown to me, the bird stared at my departing form, and wondered how the hell that kid knew it was following him!?
Naturally, the universe, upon seeing me enjoy myself, realized its mistake and sent something to settle accounts. Shortly after my first extended stop to resupply, with a bag now filled again. I heard a snuffling type of sound that could only be a wild boar. My face broke into the biggest grin. If I could bag that sucker, it was pork chops an bacon tonight! And, clever beast that I am, I had a spear. Short of an automatic rifle, no better weapon to get me a wild hog.
Dreams of succulent pig meat died as quick as they began. Before I could even see it in it's entirety, I spied black hide and edges of bone plates. That...motherfucker! Fate you conniving bitch! How dare one of these godless monsters take the form of a pig!? Before I realized my goof, the not-boar came rushing me with a devil squeal. "Oh fuck! Bring it!" I backed up and didn't think until my 'glaive's' shaft broke in half as I tried to lance the demon pig that a monster version of such an already mean ass terror of an animal would be extra hellish to take on.
Shaft shattering in half, the pig monster continued it's charge, barely passing me by with a rent tore into the hides I'd draped over my lower body in a kilt, no it wasn't a skirt shut up. I saw, it didn't just have a mask, but bone plates covered most of it's front half. That wasn't good. I scrambled for my sword. Holding it in two hands by the length of shaft still attached, the pig slammed into a tree, threatening to topple it, and looked stuck for a moment. Calling back on my strategy against the theropod looking monster, I rushed in, sword flashing to hamstring the monster. It worked! My blade dug in, nearly enough to chop through it's hind leg.
The pig was far from over, but by the time it freed itself I was backing up and ready to dodge again. Rested and well fed, I actually felt up to playing dodgepig with the thing. It was, essentially, a pissed off armored boar. But even dumber,it didn't seem agile enough to change directions mid charge either like a real one. I could take it.
On three legs, it charged me again, not slowed overmuch...it didn't look like it was bleeding beyond the first spray of ichor all the monsters showed when being wounded. I dodged again, blade scraping against bone plate, then into it's flank. It squealed, had enough space to halt on it's own, and charged again. No luck, I slashed as I dodged, but it bounced, not cutting the beast. My mind went to my pistol, being frugal wasn't gonna count for shit if I died here and now. But, I waited. More than ready, I was getting pumped. Grinning, I hefted my sword in one hand, and took up my club.
Instead of waiting for it to charge, I rushed in, sturdy club battering at the pig's snout and tusks. I didn't wait to block instead, tying up it's own weapons while I used the half-shaft at the end of my sword to get past it's armored front and started to rack up cuts. A second too slow one time, an the boar reared its head, trying to gore me. A tusk dug into my chest, throwing me to the side. Hard enough I felt a rib crack, but my flak jacket, and layers of hide, kept my insides, inside.
Biting down my pain, I scrambled up in time to score another cut on the boar as it charged. My enthusiasm was curbed a bit. One good hit and I was done. Not completely though...something about my excitement refused to be stamped down by mortal peril.
The thing's big ol eyes gave me an idea. Sure, the orbital bones weren't easy to punch through, and those tusks would be hard to get at but, I could still use the typical boar hunt strategy if I aimed careful. That in mind, I tucked my club away, and took up my sword in both hands again. "Here piggy piggy, come n get it.' I snarled, waiting for another charge.
Instead of charging like it had been. The demented not-boar hoped in the air...and began to spin like a goddamn bey blade! "Oh come on!" I yelled, getting a tree between me and it just in time for it's spin dash bullshit to launch off. The blur of monster slammed in, actually carving through most of the tree! The thing toppled, with me getting out of the way just in time to not be crushed.
There! My chance was right there! Knocked off balance by its collision, the hell boar was on it's side. Before it could right itself, I was on it, hammering my sword into one of its eyes. A hoof clipped my shin, threatening to break it even through my greave as I shoved and shoved some more, putting my whole weight in the sword. Until, with a last heave and a crunch, it slid into whatever passed for a brain.
I tugged at my sword. It was stuck...crap. Well, I needed a break. I sat down and took a long drink as I waited for the monster to sublimate so I could retrieve my weapon and get back on the move...I'd need to get a new haft for it too, hm..
I played it careful after that. The werewolves and fucked up dinosaur things were obviously based on predators. Though, if the two legs were based on something real in this world, I think I'd want them all dead on principle. I dirges. If things like boars could also have monster counterparts. No telling if outright prey animals could to. It'd be just my luck to get the jump on a bunny only for it to go for my throat!
From my starting point in the cave. I reckoned it would be, three weeks of travel. And I, if I foraged and took what game I could on the move, could make my food last, about a week. After my third stop to stock up, and wrap some more hides around me I knew I was nearing my goal. If I had time I would've liked to make some real leather. But alas, I had to settle for weaving bones into my primitive armor. Aside from the modern sword at the end of my glaive, pistol at my belt, and modern combat boots peeking through my getup, traces of the modern, civilized man I was were all being hidden in layers of hide and bone. "Only thing that'd complete the look is my beard to come in." I muttered, rubbing the stubble at my chin. My new body was young enough, it seems, to not be really capable of that. Goals for later, I supposed. Though, I'm unsure of how much I wanted to rock the savage warrior look.
Two days into the last leg of my journey, I knew, something was wrong. All day, I heard, not a sound from the wildlife. That, always meant a monster was nearing. But none made themselves known. Hunting if this kept up would be hard, but, I didn't feel like stopping for lunch. As the day wore on, I kept looking back, and around. Nothing, at least, nothing definite. Once, I caught a dark shape on the very edge of my vision, ducking behind a tree. Even meditating didn't do anything. Was I being hunted? That was bullshit! Monsters don't hunt. They come at you with blind, fuck ass mad hatred and bloodlust. If there were monsters that stalked prey, I was more fucked than if a whole platoon of werewolves cam rushing out of he darkness to rock my shit.
While there was daylight, the feeling of being watched wasn't...too bad. But darkness always comes. The sun chased the horizon, and I knew, I needed a strategy if I was going to last the night. I found, a tree, tall and sturdy, it would hold me, and limit the options of anything that wanted to climb up after. Well before I usually stop, I started to prepare. I took spears for hunting, backup hafts for my glaive, and got to sharpening. Then, I went for more. The light faded as I dug stakes into the ground around my tree, and carried the rest of the spears up with me. All the thickest ones, the only spikes I was sure I could drive into a monster's body if I needed to.
At last, while I chewed on some smoked venison, dusk began to overtake the day. The monsters did not keep me waiting. One at first, visible only because of its baleful glowing eyes. Then another. Werewolves, a dozen at least. A whole pack of the freaks. They didn't rush, they didn't howl. They crept. Those assholes knew I wasn't going anywhere. But how? Nothing I saw suggested they were anything but mindless berserkers. Then, I saw, the alpha.
That's, all I could guess it was. Larger, more covered in wicked spikes, and bone plates growing out. Worse than that, I could...sense, somehow, it wasn't just the biggest, and meanest of it's pack. It was the smartest. That hateful stare they all had, in the alpha, had a glint of understanding. It knew, the pack had me by the balls, clearly didn't mind taking its time about finishing its prey.
The werewolves circled my tree, growling, snarling, but staring up as they closed in. All around, at the edge of my stake perimeter. Naturally, they posed no real obstacle, being batted aside easily. Instead of climbing up here and coming to get me, they waited. The alpha had his pack, just, fucking, wait. "What's the matter!?" I called down, masking my fear with anger. "Scared? You should be! This prey bites back!" I brandished one of my wooden spears. No response.
I had, five wood spears. Not even half the pack, if each one could guarantee a kill, which they couldn't.
Five spears, five bullets left for my gun. A club, I had fixed the metal stake I had to it along the way, probably my most potent weapon once ammo was out. My glaive, and a hodgepodge of half ass armor. Oh, and a god or otherwise powerful being who'd whine at me if I died here. Joy.
It only then occurred to me, I don't actually know how well these things could climb. It then occurred that they were nearly at home walking on hind legs, and their fore paws had long grasping digits. "Oh...fuck." They must have sensed my realization. Because it's at that exact moment, the first wolf monster began to haul ass right toward me.
Holding my spear at the ready, I waited until I could just reach the thing's ugly head before I thrust down. The wooden spike clipped the werewolf's bone mask, and did not otherwise inconvenience it's climb up. Another thrust stabbed it's shoulder, making it lose balance as it lost one paw's grip. With my glaive, I swung, hacking at its other arm. The monster toppled, not dead, but hurt, and stunning a few of its fellows as it landed on them. Another spear was in my hands, as I heard a wolf climbing up behind me. I stabbed forward while it was off balance, shoving the spear into its chest and sending it falling. I didn't even look to see if it died before another spear was chucked down at a wolf not quite up to me. It lodged in the wolf's back slowing it enough for my fourth spear to come flying down, taking it in the neck.
Last spear. I hefted it, looking for which of the fuckers wanted to die bad enough. Holding on, I met a werewolf as it reached up for me. Rapid stabs, poking holes in the thing, it held onto the tree too tightly to be dislodged, and swung, taking the spear from me. My glaive did for it, opening the monster's throat and sending it below. Monster smoke was rising around me, enough to obscure the beasts as they climbed. They came up, three on me, I stood my ground in the crook of the tree. Glaive flashing, I fended off claws, darted in for slashes at their bodies when I could. At my high ground, I was a whirl of strikes, using every ounce of my skill to keep the things away from me. One monster had lost nearly all the digits on one of it's hands before I stabbed it enough to pass whatever threshold the monsters have for taking too much damage to live.
The other two were getting there before a snarl from the alpha had them jumping off, the whole pack retreating to their leader and staring me down. "That's right! Run! RUN! Don't fuck with humanity!" I taunted after them, feeling a rush of victory as I ducked the reaper for another day.
Except, they weren't running. The alpha looked at me, then, down to the tree. It was thinking. That's right, while the alpha was in the pack, it could think, and direct them. Oh crapbaskets. I drew my pistol, took aim. And unloaded at it. All five shots, slammed home in its chest. Swords and other old school weapons were a hobby, a way to stay fit, look cool, meet nerdy chicks, but guns, guns were where I shone. Unfortunately, I had just those five shots. And they were not enough. The alpha reeled, howling in pain, and roared, sending its pack after me again.
My bow, not something I ever wanted to actually test against roided up werewolves from super hell, was nonetheless strung, and ready for me to speed my shafts down at the oncoming pack. I hit one as they reached me. It bounced off a shoulder spike. The monsters didn't climb. They could, at most, come at me three at a time, and I could hold them with my glaive until it or I gave out. Instead, they began clawing at the tree itself. "Oh, you dirty mother fucker!" I shouted at the alpha, then began loosing at the pack below.
Wooden arrows embedded in thick hides, one after another. My aim was true, but my weapon sucked dick. One, the werewolf I had first fended off by wounding its arms, went down. Enough shafts hitting deep enough to do it in. That left...seven of them. And the tree was starting to shake violently as they kept scratching away at it. I flung my bow down there, where it bounced off a head and was lost.
This was fucked. Once they got the tree down, if I even survived that, they'd be all around me. I was good, but I wasn't fend off seven werewolves with a sword on a stick good. Looking around, a couple things clicked. Monsters' natural state was mindlessness. The alpha could think, but he seemed slow about it. He needed time to adjust to new situations. I saw, a tree. near mine, almost as good. Maybe, just maybe, I could sell my life a little more dearly. I ran, then carefully climbed out onto a branch. "Oi! Over here you mutt! Dinner's ready! Come and get it!" I hollered as the tree felt like it was getting set to give way. A few of the wolves on one side noticed, the alpha's instruction failing to hold them as they came over to snap and snarl my way. Weight of the remaining monsters did the trick. The tree started to tilt, and topple. My gamble paid off. The tree smacked against the one I had spied, and allowed me to retreat up to its crook.
A new path opened up to get at me sent the werewolves into a frenzy. A couple began to climb up the new tree's trunk, but the others rushed up the fallen tree. Glaive out, I met the first ducking a swipe and gutting it in return before stabbing up into its neck. It took a second dying, giving me a moment to hack some claws off one climbing up behind me and sending it right back down. The next up the tree bridge lunged, stupid, I threw myself down, letting it fly over me and crash through the branches. My upswing came just in time to score a hit and drive another one back a step. Claws scored my back, sending me stumbling. Bone, hide and kevlar turned the slash, but I lost my glaive as I turned my stagger into a thrust, sending the wolf down back to hell.
I drew my club. Last weapon, five to go. I was doing pretty good, I thought. The alpha thought so too. He roared, the pack retreated. I thought I'd have a minute to find out how to skrag the things without the reach of a polearm. Or maybe even retrieve the weapon in question. No, no the alpha decided, he'd had enough of my shit. He bellowed a challenge, and took off for me. Fast! I stumbled back, falling off. Rolling, barely keeping myself in one piece. The alpha soared overhead, landing gracefully and starting another charge as I was still recovering. I threw my right arm up to bock his swing, claws dug in, tearing through layers of defense, scoring my metal bracer, digging into the arm beneath.
"AAGH!" I cried, bringing my club down on his head in a savage overhand swing. The spike hit it's eye, a roar of pain, a backhand that sent me crashing into the tree, bones cracking along with the shoddier parts of my armor. I would have been concussed if my goofy hat hadn't blunted the impact.
No time to recover. the alpha was on me again, it bit down on my leg, making me scream as it chewed on my leg, barely avoiding breaking anything from my armor. That came, when it shook me in its powerful jaws, and threw me against another tree. CRACK, I cried out, my leg on fire where it hit. I crawled, my club was still in the monster's head but I couldn't think straight, no more clever tricks, but I needed something. A spear! I grabbed, turned around, ignoring the lance of pain that shot through me from the motion, an stabbed at the alpha as it closed in.
No use, it batted the feeble weapon away and stalked up. I was beat, it knew it. The sadistic fuck took it's time. A powerful forepaw gripped me by the throat, cutting off the insult I'd intended to hurl. Lifting me high into the air, the alpha roared, right into my face. Full of triumph, bloodlust, and glee at having the stubborn prey at its mercy at last. Then, its other paw came up, claws straight, pressing into my belly. Slowly, enjoying every grunt and feeble struggle I had for it, the alpha pressed it's claws into me as layers of abused armor gave way moments before my flesh followed suit.
Fire tore through me, I screamed, and screamed, until its grip on my throat left no more air for me to scream out with. I felt its claws digging into me, pushing through muscle and into the organs beneath. Mouth agape, my struggles weakened, darkness ringing my vision as the werewolf slowly disemboweled his prey. The thing's remaining eye shone in my darkening vision, like the gates of hell opening to welcome me. Distantly, oh so distantly, just as my awareness slipped, I heard the cawing of a crow. Then, a sound like a clap of thunder, I fell, it dropped me for some reason. More thunder, howls from the pack. Then, I heard no more, saw no more. Darkness overhauled me and pulled me in.