《A Gathering of Humans》Chapter 3: First Contact
Advertisement
Fiddler caught up with his camera-rat just as he was going into the lift. The mouse eyed the lift doors as they shut. “Huh, this ol’ thing’s workin’ again then.”
Delta continued to polish the lens quietly. He worked at it for a few minutes more before Fiddler decided that the silence was unbearable.
“Humans Delta!” he said, not able to contain his excitement. “Humans!” He almost shook Delta but decided against it when the large rat gave him a stern look. “We’ll be loved, revered even. Worshiped like TV Gods!”
Delta sighed. “I won’t be because I’ll be behind the camera. Doing all the difficult stuff.”
Fiddler grinned. “Where do we go to find humans? I hadn’t thought of that.”
“None in the wood that’s for sure,” said Delta. “We’ll have to venture out to the human dwellings.”
“We’ll go into their very homes if it means getting first rate footage,” declared Fiddler ambitiously. “Doesn’t this lift go any faster?”
The lift soon came to rest and Fiddler dashed out into the reception area. Delta followed calmly, placing the spare lens back into his camera-case and shouldering the hefty bag.
Fiddler turned to his friend impatiently. “Come on, Delta. Humans here we come!”
#
Fiddler and Delta were at the edge of the wood now, looking out at the dusty lane they knew the humans traipsed along to get to their homes. A mucky ditch ran along either side of the lane and great swathes of hedge and cow parsley swayed gently over their heads, making them feel safer.
“Our work begins,” whispered Fiddler dramatically. He stepped out into the lane and looked back at Delta. “Get your camera out, mate, I want a shot of the lane, maybe we could even get a footprint, eh?”
Advertisement
Delta set about with his task as Fiddler mumbled ideas about this and that to himself. Once the camera-rat was happy with his equipment he tossed a microphone to Fiddler. “Here, you take this now.”
Fiddler tapped the microphone. “Ahem, testing, testing.” The mouse held the microphone up to his ears and listened intently, he could hear pounding. The ground beneath his paws trembled slightly. Looking up, he saw two human children charging towards him.
With an alarmed cry, he threw himself flat on his belly and lay still as death as the human youngsters ran past him, his heart pounded madly in his chest as he gulped and clutched his microphone tighter.
“Fiddler!”
Fiddler dared look up.
“Psst! Fiddler, in here quick!”
Checking to see that the way ahead was clear and no more children were going to run past, Fiddler, brave mouse reporter from Channel 1.5, jumped up like a frightened babe and hurled himself into the ditch alongside Delta.
He peered cautiously out into the lane again, but quickly fell back and covered his ears as two more youngsters came hurtling past on their bikes.
“Well?” he asked his camera-rat excitedly, quickly recovering himself when the humans had gone. “Did you get the footage?”
Delta grinned and nodded, patting his trusty camera. “Yep, first rate footage of a human child.”
Fiddler grinned and clambered out of the ditch. He spread his arms wide and sauntered confidently down the lane, making up some words for his film as he went.
“And here we have a human child at play. Human children need to play at least six times a day or their pudgy legs begin to seize…”
Delta followed, checking his camera and smiling to himself as he listened to Fiddler’s wild rambling.
Advertisement
“See, Delta,” Fiddler called back to him. “I told you filming humans would be easy!”
“Not very easy,” said the rat jogging up to join him. “You didn’t exactly stay calm and observe the humans did you? How will we find out anything about their behaviour if we don’t pay attention? We’re meant to be making a wildlife documentary.”
“Stay calm? Course I was calm, it was you who hid in a ditch,” Fiddler chided him.
Delta grinned and shrugged. “Well maybe, but it didn’t take long for you to join me, eh?”
Fiddler twirled his microphone cheerfully. Despite the close encounter with the children he couldn’t help but feel exhilarated and ready for anything. Surely humans weren’t as bad as everyone made out?
Advertisement
Construct Your Fate
What would you do if you could suddenly do anything? Lucas Creo finds himself alone and clueless when The Construct arrives. What he was before doesn't matter any longer. Talents, Skills, Perks, and Levels are how he will Construct his Fate, for better or for worse. Follow Lucas on his path with an atypical weapon choice, a penchant for crafting Talents, and a gratuitous amount of puns. The cover art for this story is done by my best friend https://bkalicky.artstation.com/ ! You should go check him out he makes lots of cool stuff! If you like it enough, he takes commissions! His contact info is on the site! A big thank you to the user Azorath1234, he helps me keep all my numbers straight in the story! :) This story wouldn't be as good, or accurate, without him!
8 223The Realm Reborn: Small Closed Demo (LitRPG)
One of the world’s top competitive gamers, Theo Robinson, has been invited to demo The Realm Online, Radical Interactive’s second attempt to delve into the VRMMORPG industry. Their first attempt had critics cringing at blocky graphics and less than realistic NPC interactions. Now, after over twenty years of marrying virtual reality and medical technology, Radical Interactive is ready to try again, and they have something really big in store.But Theo Robinson has no interest in The Realm Online. A MOBA player, RPGs have never been his thing. The only reason he accepted the invitation was because of another secret project that Radical Interactive has been working on. Word has it they have been trapping people with brain injuries inside of The Realm Online. When Nancy Shelton, YouTube's most famous female Let's Player (and Theo's best friend online), got into a car accident and ended up in a coma, it was suspected that her consciousness had been ported into the game. Theo's quest isn't to demo The Realm Online but to try to find his friend. But will he even be able to look for her when the immersion is so intense that he forgets who he is?
8 211Frostpyre: A GameLit Adventure
On different ends of the world, four adolescents begin a journey that will forever alter the course of history. As each is tested in various ways, they must soon decide whether the world they are living in is worth saving, or whether it should be burnt to the ground. And their first major decision point is only a fortnight away.
8 133A Knight's Lilies
Sophie is a timid half elven maid, loyally serving her mistress and best friend since she was found as an orphan. Though the two had often imagined themselves on a grand adventure like the champions of the books she reads. When she finds herself kidnapped through no fault of her own, thrown into the centre of an occult ritual, and witness to the true horrors of the world outside the manor. Sophie begins realizing that perhaps the adventuring life was never meant for her. Yet through it all, a dark presence, eerily familiar and long forgotten even by the Heavens begins to worm its way into her mind, unknowingly wrapping her in a web that will shape the fate of the world. Can she persevere and see home again? Or will she succumb to the shadows within her?
8 216Spellbound { k.TH} book-1
I fell in love with devil , now I'm under neath his spell .Starts -03/12/2020End -21/03/2021🔞 READ IT ON YOUR RISK. A VERY HEAVY BOOK CONSISTING OF A VERY HEAVY MATERIALISTIC CREATION. ⚠️Strictly prohibited from toxic readers, a stealer, a snatcher of plots, concepts and my entire book, do not translate cause plagiarism is crime and ur doing crime so for criminals like them there is no place here❌.~ 2nd prize in dis-ease awards in best title award ~ 3rd place in paradise awards
8 434Finding a Way | Adopted by Gerard Way
Fic 1/3Evelyn always got by on her own. She didn't need anyone else, and when she had them it'd always end in betrayal, they'd turn their backs on her, and she was alone once again. Why wouldn't they leave? It wasn't until she got adopted that she thought maybe some people aren't so bad.•••#1 in #raytoro 01/06/20 - 01/23/2001/30/20 - 02/08/20#1 in #gerardway 12/02/21
8 105