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Sam recalled what he had been told when he was younger. If he ever got lost, he had to stay in place, so if a search party came to look for him, they’d find him more easily. Of course, as he got older, when it became less and less certain he’d develop a talent, the advice didn’t really apply to him anymore. Who would search for a lost talentless? An individual who could only contribute to society the value of less than an automated machine, no one would care if they vanished. Some people would even be happier, elated they could finally be free of the burden they were raising.
Sam looked around. The ominous forest was only a few meters away, gradually transition from sparsely vegetated wasteland to creepy jungle with an overabundance of spiders and their webs. Should he wait here for Wendy and Raindu to return? He was an awakener now; he had value. Monarch would send a party to search for him. If he waited here, Wendy would definitely return.
Sam exhaled and found a nearby rock to sit on. It wasn’t that he wanted to avoid running, a painful exercise that hurt his sides; he was being practical. While he caught his breath, he checked his pockets. He didn’t have many belongings, but what little he did have—his phone and wallet—were gone. The ferret had sticky toes, and whatever it touched would be taken away. Even his emergency food supply, a few nuts and seeds Sam kept in a small pouch on the inside of his pants, was gone. A sigh escaped from Sam’s mouth as he looked up at the cloud-covered sky. On the bright side, Raindu hadn’t stolen the new clothes Sam was wearing.
A cold chill washed over Sam, coming from the spectral jungle. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shins, keeping himself warm. When he exhaled, his breath could be seen in the cold air. Laughter filled the area, and Sam whipped his head around to the side, looking in the direction the sound had come from. Goosebumps rose on his flesh as he remained still, keeping his eyes wide open.
The laughter rang out again from the other side, and Sam got off his rock, standing upright. He crouched down and picked up a nearby stone, keeping his gaze on the creepy jungle. A tall, slender figure came into view, its features obscured by the shadows cast by the tall canopy. Even though it was partially hidden, Sam could still make out the massive smile on the figure’s face. It was unnatural, the figure’s jaw stretching open like a pelican’s beak. The figure’s eyes were glowing red and curved into crescents. A long, pale arm stretched out of the forest, reaching towards Sam. The arm had more than one elbow, allowing it to bend and twist like the roots of a tree as its fingers clenched and unclenched.
Sam took a step back and swallowed, holding up his stone. “Stop!” he shouted. “I have a weapon!”
The figure’s arm stopped moving, allowing Sam to get a good look at it. Its skin was torn and stretched, patches of white fur sticking out from underneath. The figure stepped out from underneath the tree’s shadow, revealing a human face with wolf-like features. Sam’s brow furrowed. That description wasn’t quite right. It was more like a humanoid wolf was wearing someone’s face as a mask. Sam swallowed and took a step back, keeping his rock-wielding hand trained on the lanky figure.
The lanky creature staggered out of the spectral jungle, landing on all fours—unnaturally long fours. With a single leap, it landed in front of Sam. The human skin around its mouth split apart as it opened its jaw, the skin on its chin falling downwards towards its chest but still attached to its neck by a few strands. Its yellow and black teeth dripping with saliva were disgusting, but they weren’t as gross as the creature’s breath. Sam choked back the urge to vomit as he threw the rock at the creature’s head and turned to run for his life while screaming like a little girl. “Wendy!” he shouted without bothering to see if the rock had struck the creature. His voice cracked as he shouted again, “Wendy! Save me!”
Hideous cackling and the sounds of snapping twigs chased after Sam as he sprinted for his life. If he knew how much stamina was required to become a successful awakener, perhaps he would’ve dedicated more of his time to jogging. Unfortunately, he was out of shape, and he didn’t get very far before sharp claws dug into his shoulders, drawing blood as they pierced his flesh and scraped his bones. If Sam hadn’t gone through the process of becoming an artificial awakener, the creature’s grip would’ve been the most painful thing he experienced.
Sam shrugged his shoulder, his skin and flesh lacerated by the creature’s claws as he freed himself. He whirled his head around just in time to see the insides of the creature’s gaping mouth, rows of sharp teeth filling its upper and lower jaws like a shark. Sam’s eyes widened, and he reflexively slapped the creature’s face, snapping its head to the side. The creature blinked several times before taking a step back, touching its cheek in a humane manner as it eyed Sam. As if it had seen a ghost, the creature retreated and bounded away, its long limbs acting like springs.
A few seconds later, footsteps rang out from the wasteland. Birds chirped, and the faint buzz of insects filled the air. Sam hadn’t noticed it earlier, but it had been eerily quiet when the long-limbed creature had made its approach.
“Sam!” a familiar voice said, causing Sam to turn around in a daze. Wendy came into view. She was holding a black ferret by the scruff of its neck. A frown appeared on the disguised woman’s face. “What happened to your arm?”
“This thing grabbed me,” Sam said, wincing as the adrenaline surging through his body wore off. He glanced at his arm and shuddered. It was hard to see the extent of his injuries because of the layers of clothing he was wearing, but there was enough blood pouring out of it to coat his shoulder red. “It looked like a wolf, but its limbs were long, and it was wearing human skin like a person wears clothes.”
“Oh,” Wendy said and nodded. “That explains why we couldn’t find you for so long.”
“What?” Sam asked. “You know what that thing was?” A frown appeared on his face as he looked up at the sky. Even though clouds shrouded the sun from view, he could still tell the sun had traveled quite a distance; it wouldn’t be long before sunset.
“A skintaker,” Wendy said. “They ambush their prey, trapping them in a region of enclosed time. They love the taste of human flesh, but they enjoy making clothes out of human skin more.” The disguised woman looked around. “What happened to it?”
“I slapped it across the face,” Sam said, looking at his hand. “It didn’t seem injured, but it ran away.”
Wendy frowned. “You slapped it?”
“Yeah,” Sam said, lowering his hand and meeting Wendy’s gaze. “Was I not supposed to do that?”
“No, I’m just surprised,” Wendy said. “Skintakers have a strong fear effect. It’s impressive you were even able to move.” She frowned as she scanned Sam from head to toe. “I can’t tell whether you’re cowardly or brave.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sam said and focused his attention on his shoulder. Raindu wriggled out of Wendy’s grasp and ran up Sam’s body before inspecting his wounds. Sam’s expression darkened as the ferret spat on its front paw and smeared its saliva into Sam’s injury. Sam looked at Wendy. “Was he difficult to catch?”
“It only took several hours of chasing,” Wendy said with a neutral expression.
Sam glanced at Raindu, who was perched on his shoulder. “Nice try, buddy,” he said. A chill washed over him, and he turned his head to meet with Wendy’s glare. He flinched. “I mean, uh, don’t do that again. I know you want to run away from this jungle because I want to run away too, but we can’t.”
Raindu’s head tilted to the side, and Sam wasn’t quite sure how to answer the ferret’s unasked question: why were they here? The brain-melting device was no longer in Sam’s head, but Wendy had vaguely threatened the health of his younger brother. Sam’s brow furrowed as he thought back to the cute—in Sam’s opinion—kid who still admired and looked up to him even though he was seventeen without a talent. When Sam had turned eighteen, his parents kicked him out, leaving him to fend for himself; he never saw his younger brother again.
Sam glanced at Wendy, who was still glaring at him, and he nodded at Raindu. “You see, we’re still here because neither of us can run away from her.”
Raindu turned towards Wendy and held out its furry front paw, angling it downwards to point a single toe at the ground while chattering. A wry smile appeared on Sam’s lips. “He says you’re awesome,” Sam said to Wendy, the woman unconvinced. “So…, shall we cross through this deadly jungle to go on a suicide mission in Reptile Land?” He turned towards the spectral jungle. The shadows within seemed to move and swirl especially around his peripheral vision. “You’ve crossed through the jungle before, right?”
“No,” Wendy said, causing Sam to stiffen. “I’ve never been here, but I’ve read reports about it.” She narrowed her eyes at the jungle ahead. “The experience is close enough, right?”
How could reading about something possibly be the same as experiencing something? Sam furrowed his brow. “So, you know how to get us through?”
“Of course,” Wendy said, keeping an eye on Raindu in case the ferret decided to bolt again. “The apex predator within the spectral jungle is the giant dragonfly. They’re capable of flying up to one hundred sixty miles an hour. We’ll catch one and ride it to Et Serpentium.”
Sam turned his head towards Raindu. “Can you run one hundred sixty miles an hour?” he asked the small creature. The ferret shook its head. “Yeah.” Sam nodded. “Neither can I, buddy.” He frowned at Wendy. “I’ve never caught a dragonfly before, so I hope your plan isn’t reliant on me.”
“Don’t worry,” Wendy said, giving Sam a faint smile. “There’s a first time for everything.”
A shiver ran down Sam’s spine. Wendy’s smile didn’t seem like a friendly one. It felt like she was laughing at what might happen in the future. “These are massive dragonflies, right?” he asked. “If they’re large enough for both of us to ride one, wouldn’t that also mean we’re small enough to be their prey?” The disguised woman had said the giant dragonflies were the apex predators. What did apex mean? It meant even those skintakers were the dragonflies’ prey.
“Giant dragonflies have eaten humans before, yes,” Wendy said. “It’s well-documented.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You wanted to be an awakener. Awakeners risk their lives every time they step out of the city. If you’re afraid of the responsibilities that come with being an awakener, you should’ve stayed as a talentless.”
Sam frowned. “Do all awakeners cross through the spectral jungle to steal something from the reptilians?”
“No,” Wendy said, “but they accomplish tasks just as dangerous.” Her eyes narrowed. “James and Tamara are risking their lives at this very moment. If we’re not there to meet them when the time comes, wouldn’t they have done everything in vain?”
Sam pursed his lips. As someone who had been thrown away by his family, he really didn’t like leaving people hanging. If he didn’t show up to steal the GMC after James and Tamara made the proper preparations, what would they think about him? They’d never want to work with him again, and maybe Monarch would do something horrible to his younger brother. “But … we don’t have to steal this GMC, right? What does it even do?”
Wendy narrowed her eyes at Sam before exhaling through her nose. “The reptilians control the graylings,” she said. “They do it through the Gray Master Core. If we steal the core, the reptilians will lose control of the graylings, and how do you think the enslaved graylings feel about their oppressors?”
“Not very good?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Your vocabulary needs some work,” Wendy said, “but yes. They’ll revolt, and when two factions fight, it’s the third faction, us humans, who benefits the most.”
Sam furrowed his brow. “Wouldn’t the GMC be under tight security?”
“It’s inside a megalithic structure as large as a city buried underneath the ground filled to the brim with armed guards,” Wendy said. She stepped towards the spectral jungle. “We’ve lost a lot of time already thanks to your encounter with the skintaker. If we don’t set out soon, we’ll be late.”
Sam glanced at Raindu, who was still sitting on Sam’s injured shoulder. It was probably his imagination, but the ferret seemed a bit plumper than before as if it had eaten an abnormal number of lollipops in the past few hours. “Before we go,” Sam said, chasing after Wendy. “Do you think you can do something about my shoulder?”
“I’m not a healer, sorry,” Wendy said, not sounding very apologetic as she pushed past a large fern plant, the leaves flinging backwards to strike Sam as he followed after her. She stopped and pulled a first-aid kit out of her bag before offering it to Sam. “You can use this though.”
Sam stared at the first-aid kit in his hands. He raised his head, wanting to ask Wendy why she hadn’t handed it over to him before they entered the creepy jungle, but the disguised woman was already moving ahead. Why was she always moving? It was like she was being chased by ghosts and couldn’t remain in the same place for more than a few seconds at a time. Sam let out a sigh as he chased after the disguised woman. He’d rather be injured and unpatched up than alone. Well, even if he lost Wendy, technically, he wouldn’t be alone. Sam turned his head towards Raindu. “Can I have my phone and wallet back?”
The ferret blinked at Sam with its beady mahogany eyes. Then, it shook its head before diving into his shirt collar, causing Sam’s expression to darken. Before it had left, Sam had got a clear message from the ferret’s vibe. If Sam was responsible for holding those items, he would lose them, so it was better for Raindu to hold onto everything instead. Sam looked down into his shirt. “Where the heck do you even store things?”
Raindu blinked up at Sam before shrugging.
“You don’t know?” Sam asked. “How can you not know?” He looked up to make sure he was still hot on Wendy’s tail.
Raindu grumbled.
“Huh,” Sam said and blinked. “You raise a good point.” He went past a tree, and Wendy’s arm shoved against his chest, knocking him off his feet. He fell onto his butt, and a second later, a massive figure flitted past him, leaving a path of destroyed branches and ferns in its wake. Sam’s eyes widened as the figure came to a halt; it was a giant dragonfly. Its body was so long and fat that it was drooping from its own weight, its wings in a desperate struggle against gravity to keep the bug afloat. For something so jiggly and wobbly, it had no right flying at one hundred sixty miles an hour, but it didn’t care what Sam thought. Its compound eyes grew in size as the creature accelerated towards Sam, and he let out a shriek while raising his hands up to cover his face.
A loud stomp echoed through the jungle, and Sam lowered his hands as a shadow covered his vision. Wendy was standing over him with her fist extended, her legs in a horse stance. Her hand was small compared to the giant insect head it was pressed against. Wendy grunted and jerked her waist forward while swinging her arm, punching the insect’s head right off its body. Sam’s eyes widened as bug guts spurted out of the dragonfly’s torso as it dropped to the ground, the greenish liquid splashing over his entire body, including his face and open mouth. A salty iron taste washed over his tongue, and Sam gagged, turning his torso to the side while scrambling to get off the ground.
Chattering sounds came from inside Sam’s shirt, and a slimy ferret crawled out, shaking itself off, flinging sticky liquid in every direction. Sam spat and wiped at his face before looking towards Wendy, who was standing over the dead bug’s headless corpse. He looked down at himself before turning to look at the dragonfly’s caved-in head off in the distance. He might’ve been covered in bug guts, but at least he wasn’t dead. A grin appeared on his face as he turned towards Wendy. “Thanks,” he said, taking a step towards her. “You saved me.”
“Stay back,” Wendy said, shooting Sam a look of blatant disgust. She glared at Raindu, who was standing by Sam’s feet. “Both of you.” She turned back towards the dragonfly corpse on the ground, inspecting its wings, legs, and body.
Sam and Raindu looked at each other. “You wouldn’t happen to have stolen anything that could clean us, did you?” Sam asked the ferret. “You won’t get in trouble, full amnesty.”
The ferret tilted its head before its paw reached into its fur near its chest. Then, it pulled out a full-sized vacuum cleaner, the device toppling over a second later, falling into the puddle of dragonfly guts.
Wendy turned her head towards the sound. Her gaze landed on the vacuum cleaner. It was much larger than the ferret, the handle almost reaching up to Sam’s ribs. “Where did he get that?” she asked, her gaze landing on the cable attached to the machine. “And did he steal a generator too?”
Raindu tilted its head, evidently not sure what a generator was. It climbed up Sam’s body and pointed at the vacuum cleaner, causing a wry smile to appear on Sam’s lips. “We need electricity to run those,” he said. “They don’t work without power.”
The black ferret scratched its head before shrugging. It chattered at Sam, and he nodded.
“Yeah,” Sam said. “I guess we’ll just be dirty.” He looked at his shoulder which still hadn’t been bandaged. “I hope this doesn’t get infected.”
Raindu dug at Sam’s shoulder, and bits of black goop materialized in its paws. The ferret flung them away as it dug, excavating a small pile of gunk from Sam’s shoulder without causing him pain. After it was done, Raindu stood on its hindlegs and puffed its chest out.
“Your pet knows a lot of tricks, huh?” Wendy asked, raising an eyebrow at Raindu. “I think you’d be more useful as a porter or a surgeon than a combatant.”
Sam wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, but Raindu shook its front paw at Wendy, the ferret clearly taking her comment as an insult.
“Oh?” Wendy asked, raising an eyebrow. She usually didn’t understand the ferret’s gestures, but she understood this one. “You think you can fight?”
Raindu bobbed its furry head up and down.
“Okay,” Wendy said, crossing her arms over her chest. She kicked the dragonfly corpse by her side, striking the edge of its wing. “The next time one of these ambushes us, I’m leaving it up to you to protect us.”
“Wait,” Sam said, but before he could say anything else, Raindu straightened its posture and thumped its furry chest while chattering at Wendy.
Sam’s brow furrowed, and he turned to look at the ferret covered in goop stepping on his new clothes—which were also covered in goop, but that was beside the point. “Are you sure you can protect us?” he asked, looking down at the dragonfly’s head. It had two sickle-like appendages attached to its face, and Sam was pretty sure each one was large enough to rip a fatal wound through his body. He raised his head to observe Raindu’s expression, but all he saw was one large bead of sweat roll down the ferret’s back. Raindu noticed Sam looking, and it chattered, stuttering as it did so.
“Wendy,” Sam said. “If a giant dragonfly ambushes us, how about you protect us still?”
“Nope,” Wendy said while turning around. “Your ferret was confident.” She stepped over a large, fallen log, half her body disappearing from view.
Sam’s eyes widened, and he scrambled up the log—much less gracefully than Wendy. “Please,” he said. “Raindu was bluffing.”
A sharp pain struck the back of Sam’s head, and he whirled his neck around to look at the culprit. Raindu shook a closed paw at him and growled. Sam glared back at the ferret. The small creature claimed it was his partner, and he should always back it up in public. In that case, why did it run away and abandon him when they were about to enter the jungle? The ferret brought its fist up to its mouth and cleared its throat while looking away from Sam.
“Look, buddy,” Sam whispered. “If you can’t do it, there’s no shame in admitting it. Let’s preserve our lives, okay?”
Raindu’s snout wrinkled as he bared his front teeth.
Sam swallowed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fine,” he said. “I’ll trust you.” Was he really putting his life in the hands of a prideful ferret? The ferret hadn’t even reacted when the first dragonfly attacked.
“So, it’s settled then,” Wendy said, turning her head to look at Sam. “It’s up to you and your ferret to defend yourselves.” She flashed a smile at Sam, and she vanished.
Sam’s eyes widened. “Wait!” he shouted. “I don’t know which way to go!”
Silence fell throughout the jungle, and Sam gulped before turning to look at Raindu. “Do you know which way to go?”
The ferret bobbed its head up and down before pointing in the direction they had come from. Raindu’s message was clear: let’s get the heck out of here.