Chapter 2: Chain Link

I was not impressed by the change in locale.

Biting insects stung my neck, back, scalp, and just about everywhere else they could fit their greedy little bodies, even up my ass. I swatted at them, producing every curse I somehow knew in a never-ending stream. A growing cloud of mosquitoes and horseflies was forming around me, undeterred by their dead comrades squashed into my skin.

Ducking under low branches, I stepped gingerly to avoid slicing my bare feet open on sharp rocks. I wasn’t hungry yet, but when I found a group of blueberry bushes I stopped to pick a handful, eating them on the move.

It struck me as odd that I could identify blueberries or individual insects, while unable to remember where, or who, I was.

But there was no time for philosophizing just yet. I had to find someplace safe to hunker down, away from the insects and inhospitable locals, before figuring out my next move.

I kept my eyes peeled for anything that could be used as clothing, but found little. The trees I found had small leaves and crumbly bark. The moss coating the ground wouldn’t do, either. I’d have to find and kill an animal to take its hide. But to do that, I’d need a weapon. A spear or a bow.

That wouldn’t be easy.

Priorities. Shelter first, then a weapon, then clothes. Maybe a fire if it gets too cold at night. I’d rather not tip anyone off to where I am, though. Not before I can defend myself.

Deep in thought, I entered a small clearing. I nearly stepped on a conspicuous pile of leaves, but noticed it at the last moment and backed up. Bending down, I brushed the leaves aside, finding a net made of thin strips of soft bark stretched over a deep pit.

A trap, huh? Not very well hidden. I’d have felt like an idiot if I fell in.

I stood, scanning the edges of the clearing. I found multiple sets of big, amber eyes watching me.

Not human.

Definitely not human.

I was surrounded, which made running a bad idea. Not wanting to fight, I raised my hands.

“I’m friendly!” I called, holding little hope that the locals would share my sentiment. “Just come on out and we can talk.”

Silence.

Then whispers. Quiet at first, but growing louder. Guttural words that my brain couldn’t make sense of.

An insistent voice shrieked a command, and the rest quieted. I spun, trying to hold all the mysterious entities with my gaze, trying to look past the shadows and make out their features.

I strained my ears, heard a faint creak that took me a moment to place.

Bowstring.

I moved, but not fast enough. An arrow shot out from behind a bush at the corner of my vision. It whistled as it flew, embedding itself deep in my right thigh mid-step.

I cried out, leg failing, and fell backward.

A tide of small, unwashed creatures rushed into the clearing. Green-skinned, clad in rags. Sharp-toothed, long-nosed, and heavy of brow. They brandished simple weapons, from sharpened stick spears to flint knives and blades of sharpened scrap metal.

There were about a dozen of them. A larger creature, corpulent and with a headdress crafted from an animal skull, commanded its miniature army from atop a large rock, screaming and pointing.

I crawled away, kicking with my good leg, but only ended up with my back against the pit. My leg thumped with searing hot pain, and warm blood pushed past the uneven arrow shaft still embedded in my thigh.

“Motherfucker…” I hissed.

I briefly contemplated the idea of pulling out the arrow and using it as a weapon, but dismissed it. It was too dainty a tool, even for my diminutive opponents.

The creatures circled around me, inching closer, drawing confidence in numbers.

I fumbled around blindly for something I could use, anything. My hand closed around a thick branch. I hoisted it up and swung it around. The green-skins shrank back, jabbering, cowardly in the face of resistance.

The leader spurred them on, shouting himself hoarse. The creatures nudged forward, clearly more afraid of their leader than of me.

One of them thrust with a spear. I batted the weapon aside with my branch, the spear flipping away, and the creature jumped back. Others took its place, more eager.

A jagged knife dug into my left shoulder, tearing muscle. I swore and shoved the creature away with my body weight, knife clattering to the ground.

Teeth gritted, I struggled through the pain. While I was distracted, three of the creatures grasped at my branch and pulled. I tried to hold on, but I was unable to lift my injured arm to grasp it with both hands. They yanked it away from me. Cheers rose among the little monsters.

This is it, I thought, dizzy from the pain. I’m not going to make it.

The leader of the green-skins laughed—a shrill, unpleasant sound. It rubbed its chubby hands together like a greedy merchant, a red tongue flitting over sharp teeth.

The sight of it made my blood boil. One of the creatures stepped close, raising its rusted short sword to finish me off.

“You think I’d let you!” I cried. I caught the descending blade in my right hand, the edge slicing through my skin, and twisted it out of the creature’s hand. I elbowed it in the head, sending it tumbling ass over head with a flattened nose.

Something burned within me, focused in my right arm. Awakened by my need, my rage.

I felt a word on the tip of my tongue, buzzing with power.

I raised my hand towards the green-skin leader.

“Bind!”

The blue crystal on my arm winked out, going dark. From my palm extended a glowing, ethereal chain. It shot across the clearing like a striking serpent, wrapping itself around the leader’s throat. It let out a choked gurgle and clawed in vain at the links of spectral metal.

The chain ran out and settled comfortably into my hand. I dug my foot into the ground and pulled with all my strength, putting my back into it. The leader sailed through the air towards me, eyes bulged.

I smiled.

The leader’s soft gut collided with my fist, and the creature heaved a breathless sigh. It collapsed to the ground, and its servants stared dumbly as I climbed on top of the creature and wrapped the chain tighter, slowly choking the life out of the fat little green-skin.

Something dark took hold of me. Teeth gritted, I pulled until I heard the sharp pop of a neck breaking. I let the chain dissipate into nothing. Looking up, the green-skins were already running away, disappearing among the trees as quickly as they had appeared, frantic chatter fading.

Good thing these guys are cowards, I thought. I’d be fucked if they actually stood their ground.

Breathing heavy, I clutched my bleeding shoulder.

I was going to need a minute.