Primal Saga Volume 1: The Queen of Silence

Chapter 13: What Remains

My body was paralyzed.

Somehow, despite what had happened, I managed to fall asleep. Though I don't feel like I got any rest. The sound of Oliver being mauled to death by the unseen attacker last night was still fresh in my mind. Just thinking about it made me feel sick.

Suddenly, something began tickling my nose which brought me back to my senses.

My bloodshot eyes fluttered open and as soon as my vision focused my body tensed. There, in the dim light shining through the bullet holes along the side of the log, was a spider the size of a dinner plate clinging to the ceiling just a few inches from my face. It remained motionless for about a minute, I could see my own horrifying reflection in its eight eyes. Its front legs began to wave in the air, its fine hairs brushed against my nose. Then spider twitched as if it was about to step from the ceiling and onto my face.

HELL NO!

I punched the spider, putting a hole in the log sending the bug flying. I got up, the log broke to bits around me as I brushed off my school uniform in a frantic flurry.

I stopped. 

Over in the grass, a few feet from me were bloody drag marks. Further from that was a boot sticking out from a bloody mass concealed by ferns and a cloud of flies.

Oliver...

I felt sick. I looked away from the mess and started to breathe in slow breaths. I looked around the clearing and then into the tree. I didn't see Miyabi. Perhaps she thought I was dead and moved on. Panic began to set in. NO! I have to get out of here. And in order to do that, I need a clear head. I can do this.

I heard a crack behind me and turned, my fists ready for a fight. I lowered them and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Miyabi walking toward me through the grass. "Easy there cowboy, it's just me," she said in a cool voice.

"W-where did you go?"

"N-needed a bit of privacy," she said sheepishly. I looked at her confused and then it dawned on me what she meant and I blushed

I waved my hands. "No judgment here. I will also need to find a tree in a sec too." We looked away from each other in silence. I searched my mind for ways to change the subject, something which could help improve our situation. "Hey, I think it's best if we get moving as soon as possible. I think our best bet would be to get a higher vantage point."

Miyabi nodded in agreement. Then her face shifted to confusion. "What are you?"

I ignored her as I  crept over to Oliver's corpse, with my hand covering my mouth. I found his sub-machine gun but tossed it aside when I realized it was so chewed up it was no longer useful. "Damn thing tried to eat it." Not far from the gun was a canteen which had some water still in it. I passed it to Miyabi and she took it. When I reached the corpse the grass shifted and the flies buzzed louder. 

SHRIEK!

I fell backward as an incisivosaurus jumped out of the veil of flies. "Grrr... I'm already tired of this place. I got back up and walked next to the bloody mess. The smell of death made me retch. I held my breath and knelt down next to Oliver. His body was unrecognizable. His face was torn up, exposing the bare bones of his cheek. His chest had been eviscerated into a hollow cavity filled with flies. I gagged. My hand hovered over to his vest for a few hesitant seconds. Theb I began to fish through the pockets until I found what I needed. Then I stepped away from the body sucking in the fresh hair. I coughed at the smell which still lingered a bit in my nose. I presented the object I pulled out of the vest to Miyabi and flicked it on to check if it still worked. The fusion lighter produced a small red laser beam. I switched it off and placed it in my pocket. "Could come in handy." After I placed the lighter there I checked all my pockets to make sure I had everything. Then I realized I had something in my shirt pocket. I pulled out a blue decorative handkerchief.