Charles Monroe survived the disappearance of his parents, did his best to hold things together for himself and his sister. He survived when she, too, vanished, leaving behind nothing but a cryptic note. He was devastated, but he kept moving forward as best he could.

Cancer didn’t put him down, and after suffering through several rounds of chemotherapy, Charles Monroe thought that things might finally be looking up. That is, until a virulent strain of ebola swept through the city. With his immune system strained as it is, the odds don’t look good for Charles.

Now, on the bridge between life and death, he hears a voice claiming to know where his family went. It claims that it needs his help and that it can give him a second life, one far away from all the pain he’s ever known. So, Charles answers as any reasonable person would.

He says no. Charles isn't ready or willing to die yet.

But, as with everything else to this point, even his choice to keep fighting is taken from him all too soon. With no other option but the dark oblivion of death, Charles chooses to make a deal with the spirit of a distant world that's seeking a wild card in its battle against the gods, monsters, and mortals that threaten its existence.

Someday, he’ll find where his family went. Someday, he’ll uphold his end of the bargain and hunt beings powerful beyond anything he’s ever known. Someday, he might even – hatch?

“CHEEP!?”

Things to Know:

-Cheep!? Will release on a minimum weekly schedule.

-After a backlog of chapters, posting will slow, but in the interim you can expect a chapter a day up until roughly 25 chapters.

-This story at times will potentially carry some heavy moments, but the tone is intended to be lighter overall.

-There are invisible game-like elements in this story, but nothing so concrete as a dedicated gamelit novel.

-I personally have some issues with anxiety, so I may or may not interact with the community a lot. I'll try if anyone has questions, but I can't guarantee that it'll be consistent.

-MC is a non-human lead, and will never actually become human. Romance will potentially happen between side-characters, but not with the MC.

-MC IS NOT THE ONLY VIEW POINT. I have to put that out there because people sometimes hate alternate PoV's in a story. None of them will be filler, and they'll be there only to give a little bit more nuance and meaning to the world that the MC has stepped in, or is about to be imminently important. I'll try to keep them down, but this also helps to prevent me from burning out getting trapped in one view.

-Most of all, I hope that this story is enjoyable to you, and that you have a great time reading it!

-Written by Michael Adams, Cowritten/Edited by Summer Kent