Waypoint

Interlude 2

The boy spat out dirt as he came out of the burrow. Wiping the cold soil from his face, he saw the sun setting as he sat down. The burrow spewed some dirt as a small silvery figure crawled out, joining him as it shook excess dirt from its shell. It plopped a root down on the boy's lap. The boy held out a bulb he had plucked out of the ground nearby, which his companion turned away from.

He broke both foods with his stone tool, handing half the pieces back to his friend. In the short time they had known each other, both had learned how to forage for food. Since then, they have worked together, the creature favoring earthy foods it dug for and nuts and seeds the boy had managed to find. The boy ate everything they came across, provided he was able to see other animals eating them with no harm befalling them. Eventually, he discovered a strange bulb, slightly bitter, round, and white with purple at its top. He had learned to pluck this plant from the ground, recognizing it from its leaves. He took a liking to it, but his companion would often retreat from him when he offered it. The small thing apparently preferred finding food underground, mainly small insects. It was excellent at digging, preferring to keep to one place and dig multiple paths through the dirt. The boy had mimicked it and made a large enough burrow for them to comfortably sit and hide food in. While the creature brought food, the boy would jab at anything that wandered too near to the entry.

The boy pulled a few more bulbs from the ground before retreating back into their burrow. It was a small opening on which the boy had to arch his back, clawing at the ground with his hands to pull himself through. It was cramped inside with the pile of food they had brought together. His companion nestled down and began rolling back and forth, coating his body in the cool dirt and scratching himself on rocks at the same time. The boy reached over and scratched at its belly, receiving a happy squeak in response.

The boy lay back, resting in the small hole they had dug. He contemplated going back to sleep, but thought against it. The same dream would crop up again.

As he watched the sun's rays dance on the ground from the entrance, he heard it again. That low humming started in his bones and rose to a wail.

The monster was back.

The wails had happened every night since he had survived that winged animal's attack. It howled as it always did, an awful sound, something that drove those who heard it wild. When the morning came, the ground would be gouged, trees fallen and broken apart. The boy wrapped his arms around his companion as they both flinched, doing their best to cover their ears and move away from the sound.

But it was useless. Eventually, the boy's companion wriggled free from his grasp and began to dig furiously down and away from the entrance.

Every night, they were assaulted by wails. The boy hoped that whatever beast cried so would die soon, for it could only make those noises if it were dying in excruciating pain. He also prayed it didn't stray close to the burrow.

The boy felt the dirt underneath him shift, and sure enough he looked down to see insects, little dark brown and red bodied creatures emerging from the walls in droves. His companion nowhere to be found as they began to run aimlessly around the burrow.

He felt some reach at his legs, and he kicked out to get rid of them, retreating them immediately when he only felt more latch themselves onto his legs.

It was when he felt them begin to crawl up his arms and back that he began to thrash. He kept his eyes and mouth closed as they crawled into his hair, and he covered his ears with his hands.

It was then the biting came. Thousands of little bites began to sting like they were injecting fire into him. He continued to thrash when the pain climbed up his legs and down his arms onto his torso, and soon enough, he was reeling in pain from the burning that covered his body.

As his consciousness began to fade, the last thing he remembered was his body shrinking into its other form, the pain subsiding.