Artavus Quill

Shock and terror crowded Felix’s mind, but one thought persisted; ‘I can’t stay here. Too much.’.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, he held tight to a root that bordered the opening and lowered himself to a seated position against the soil, staring blankly at the forested ravine, and rolling hills ahead. His mind roiled with emotions, and he tried to shut it off, push it down, but the guilt and hopelessness of what he had just witnessed would not be silenced.

It summoned up from somewhere low. It was not anger at the ants, or even the situation. He was angry at the woman who was just ripped apart. He was disappointed in himself. Felix knew there was nothing he could have done to change the outcome, other than getting himself killed alongside her. His throat tightened, and his eyes began to water.

“Fuck that.” He scolded himself. “Not the time. Not your fault, but it is your choice. Get back to work!”

Felix choked it all down, hardening his resolve, he looked back at the scene over his shoulder. It was absurd, impossible, indigestible. He studied the ant that continued licking at the remaining blood, another studiously removing her cocoon remains.

“She’s gone. You are not…” He continued as a statement of fact at first. “She’s… Gone… You’re. Who the fuck was that?”

Felix scanned the interior once more. There were dozens of cocoons, and he could see what looked like giant maggots in an alcove along the back left wall. He looked up. No monster bug butt. That was good news at least.

Back to the cocoons. He counted six that seemed likely to be human, the rest being some other unknown bug or other animal. Three of the locations were either empty or being cleaned. The woman that just been eaten, me, and… Where is the other person? He remembered seeing an open cocoon there earlier, but it was since removed. How much time has passed? A couple hours? He studied the floor. Nope, only one murder scene that he could tell. Not here, unless they were taken whole or decided to go spelunking in the dark with giant bugs. Not likely. That leaves outside.

Felix turned and scanned the opening.

‘If I were a recently ummmm… pupated? Human thing, naked, probably hungry: which way would I go?” Felix pondered aloud, looking up the cliff wall. Roots meandered over the cliff face, weaving in and out. They were strong looking, with a rough textured bark. That would be an easy climb, but for what? It looked like the top of the cliff was close, maybe ten meters. That could give a person a fairly good vantage point to survey the area. Maybe get a game plan together.

He leaned out, looking left and right. The root structures dominated about 20′ in either direction, then thinned and stopped, leaving a brittle looking rocky face. Not ideal to go that way unless cheese graters are your kind of fun. Hmmmm.

That leaves down as option number B. ‘Fans of Naked and Afraid?’ He looked out at the area of the forest that still had a small wispy cloud of smoke. The wind direction had changed, and he could no longer smell what might be burning…. ‘Or cooking’ He thought. Still, If I were a new human pupa person, would I want to go that way? He looked back at the other cocoons. Some of them looked a little terrifying in the ‘could like the taste of people’ sort of way. Getting lost in unfamiliar woods while being chased by a grizzlybug would be a bad start.

Well, that settles it. Sucks to be them. I’m going up.

Felix assessed the bug part he had acquired. It was definitely the end of an insect leg. Decently small, about the size of a kitchen spatula ‘bigger than a breadbox, shorter than a string’ the intrusive thought interrupted… Spatula… But where the food flipper part would be, there were two talons that curved outward 90 degrees apart, and perpendicular to the long axis. It looked like a garden pick and was surprisingly light. Felix gave it a “Test smack” against a rock. No damage to the bug leg! He looked back into the cave for a root and found one just inside. Felix walked over and grabbed the root with the hooks, then hung his full body weight, holding onto the leg with both hands. This thing was friggin tough!

He already knew the silk rope section was strong. A giant ant had to literally chew through it. Still, should probably test that theory. Felix tied one end of the line to the wrist?: Elbow?: We’ll call it the not stabby end of the bug arm, and tightened a knot to secure it in place. He then gave the makeshift grappling hook a couple practice tosses at the root. It was like a magnet! He noticed as an afterthought that this leg was a different color and shape, relative to the ants that he’d seen in this cave. These ants had black bodies, but red legs with spiky hairs. The one in his hand was jet black, and smooth. Like a cartoon dog bone with claws.

“Sounds like a good puzzle for tomorrow.” Felix joked out loud.

He walked over to the nearest occupied cocoon, gave the juice a quick gulp, and let quickly. One traumatic incident per day, if you please.

Felix tied the other end of the silk line around his torso, over one shoulder, under the other shoulder, around his back, and through the loop at his sternum. The remaining string was almost exactly armlength. This way, he could hook onto things to relax, and if dropped it would still be within reach.

He left the cave and started climbing. Within moments it was obvious that this was too easy. Either the gravity had somehow changed, or there was something special about cocoon juice. The roots were the perfect texture that made gripping them effortless, and footholds were everywhere. When he reached the top… ‘Wait…’ he thought. ‘That was the easiest climb of my life!’. He had barely begun to break a sweat.

Climbing the last few steps to the crest of the cliff, he found himself between two of the main roots that supported an absolute skyscraper of a tree! Felix Gaped up at the mammoth pine. It blocked his view in every direction but from where he had climbed.

“Not a major improvement” Felix quantified and turned to face the tree. Recalling what he had observed of the environment earlier, he decided to climb up onto the East root. Just as he readied his hook, feeling the bark surface for fingerholds, a muffled sound caught his attention. It sounded like it was coming from the base of the tree. It sounded like a voice.

Felix dropped to the ground instinctively readying the hook for fight. Where the crotch of where the main roots should come together, there was a large vertical opening, like the wood refused to fuse. Again, he heard a voice, definitely coming from inside the tree. Felix sprinted over to the opening, wedging his body to one side, and peered inside.

It took a few seconds to take in the view. The passageway was only about 10′ deep, then the interior of the tree opened up to form a massive chamber. The ground was covered in a meadowlike carpet of moss and ferns and mushrooms. In the center of the cavernous space stood what looked like a machine in the shape of a massive patio umbrella. The central column bulged in the center to a few feet in diameter, like a snake that had eaten too much. The canopy of the structure was an assembly of solar panels. Vines had overtaken the machine and were weaving through the segments. Laying at the base of the central shaft, opposite Felix was a set of men’s clothing, with a human shaped patch of mushrooms extending from the arm and leg-holes. The head-shaped mushrooms were not present.

‘Yep, they’re dead’ Felix thought. ‘Not the voice’. He checked his 6 o’clock position, then listened carefully to the interior. The carpet of flora would conceal footsteps, but there was a distinct echo from the solid wood walls. Checking the circumference of the space, he saw that there were several other openings like the one he was peering through. Maybe someone was flanking him?

His current position was probably exposed and considering he would have to climb no matter what direction he needed to run, he was effectively cornered. This was not defensible. The open interior would at least give him multiple escape routes, and freedom of movement for combat. That and the floor was made of pillows, which would be helpful in a naked wrestling match. He could feel his muscles tightening and heartrate ramping. Felix took a long slow breath, flaring his nostrils to maximize airflow, then ducked through the opening.

Crossing into the expanse of the tree’s interior, Felix swept quickly around perimeter, checking each opening, while trying to move as softly as possible. Content the perimeter was not hiding anyone, he pressed his body into a shadowy crevice at the base of a wall section, and took the opportunity to observe the environment.

Awe took him. Looking up, the mega-structure of the tree wound, split, and came back together thousands of times, reaching hundreds of feet into the air. Shafts of light spilled in the opening through hundreds of gaps, like a barcode of sunrays. The dust in the room created a glowing effect where the sunlight reflected. This was not one tree. This was many trees that had spiraled to form a collaborative mass.

Felix looked back to the central machine, and noticed that on this side, where mushroom person was sprawled, there was a square glass window. It blinked at an LED green momentarily.

Felix, confused, left his lookout spot, and crept towards the umbrella machine, eyes sweeping wildly around the room, hook at the ready.

He stepped around the mushroom human rug, carefully reaching out towards the glass. He extended an index finger and lightly touched the surface.

The screen blinked to life with a low green emblem that he instantly recognized from his training. Rotating in the center of the screen was the “TORCH” logo. The flames blooming open to form a flower in the shape of an umbrella. The same shape as the machine he was standing in front of. The Screen blinked, and words appeared.

“Analogue Detected: Welcome Home, Felix Cassian.” It stated that words mirrored on the screen.

Felix dropped his hook.