Chapter 33: Beetle Juices.
“You better start explaining yourself right now, kid. This isn’t my idea of a joke.”
“I assure you I’m not joking Mrs. Fletcher. I can see the future and I know where your kids are. I even know how to get back to our world...
2024-07-15 12:57:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 32: Looking for Group.
30 minutes.
I spent 30 minutes in that spot, fighting myself. Losing against my nightmares. Pushing them downwards with every ounce of willpower I had left. Trying and trying to forget about the pain. The helplessness. 2024-07-15 12:56:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Chapter 31: Dusty and Slab.
A deluge of teeth and tongues shot towards us. Towards both of me.
“YoU! wIlL! nOt! DO! tHiSS! TO! ME!” It roared from a dozen different salivating gashes.
Sarcophagus Solomon exercised the slightest vestige of will...
2024-07-15 12:55:57 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 30: Monique.
“Wah! I didn’t do that! I didn’t enjoy that! I didn’t kill anyone! I’m a good person! I’m a good person! Happy thoughts Solomon! Positive thoughts!”
“Quiet fool. That was obviously the future. You knew what cords I used. Y...
2024-07-15 12:54:54 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 29: Charlie.
Sarcophagus Solomon was a stranger to me.
His demeanor was that of a petty socialite, constantly annoyed at how his surroundings defied his every whim and fancy. He was someone who’d long ago discarded any pretenses of goodness or compa...
2024-07-15 12:53:57 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 28: Distant Storms Foretold.
I see beauty and horror walking side by side.
Images of people, friends, enemies, battles, struggles, traps, food, community, weapons, conflict, war.
I bear witness to my death, then another one, then another o...
2024-07-15 12:52:46 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 27: Envy.
“I’m so happy to see you again, Bunny Man.” I said with exaggerated glee.
In truth, I would’ve been happy to have just about anyone join me. Even Randall and his hyenas, treacherous and pox-ridden as they were. Every person was anoth...
2024-07-15 12:51:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 26: Penitent Crusade.
I re-entered the labyrinth feeling better than I had in weeks. My heart swelled with self-acceptance. Knowing full well that I was on the path to redemption. At the end of this road, I would be a hero, or I would be dead. Both options ...
2024-07-15 12:50:41 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 25: Gaslighting.
The system lies. Of course, it does. Why wouldn’t it?
It was created by whomever had thrown a thousand people here to die. Like they were beneath even the dignity afforded to animals.
What else did I expect?
My knuckles ...
2024-07-15 12:49:39 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 24: Granny’s Tea Party.
I came out of the tunnels and into a large open space. It was similar in size to the clearing where Pete and Walder made their camp, but this place was brighter.
More alive.
There was a false sun in the sky, giving ligh...
2024-07-15 12:48:34 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 23: Hunted.
If someone more naïve asked me what the most heroic thing I’d ever done was, they might be surprised to find out that gutting a gnome like a fish was number one. They might also be a little put off that disembowelling all his friends was a cl...
2024-07-15 12:47:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 22: The Power of Friendship.
My new world was one big toilet. Turbulent waters shearing down fanged plants, armored snails, hidden pumas, treacherous penguins and spiteful shrews together. Crushing and smashing them into paste against the stronger inner lay...
2024-07-15 12:46:14 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 21: Thalassophobia.
The end of the second week marked the end of our journey upwards. Not because we were finally free and I was running to the nearest phone to call in the army and a few airstrikes mind you.
No, we had to stop because we’d reached ...
2024-07-15 12:45:18 +0000 UTC View PostIntermission: Not My Fault.
It was taking too long.
Getting it back was taking too damn long!
This stupid, (Gnome)ing System wasn't giving me back my powers fast enough!
It was all their fault. The aliens! The gnomes! The Telepaths! They did t...
2024-07-15 12:44:28 +0000 UTC View PostIntermission: Keep it Together.
Do not lose your temper. Do not lose your temper. Do not lose...
"Hey! Are you listening to me!? We've got to turn back now! We've gone too far! Prudence? Prudence!?"
My hands began to itch.
[Claws] 2024-07-15 12:43:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Chapter 20: No Bargaining.
Taking the pelt proved to be the right choice soon thereafter. Displeased as Buddy was, it had become clear that extra warmth was necessary around these parts. In fact, I might just risk another fight with a shrew if it meant getting my h...
2024-07-15 12:42:44 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 19: Creeping Cold.
The small drones hovered overhead. Using some manner of anti-gravity system to keep themselves aloft. Their laser pointers cutting through the relative darkness of the abandoned buildings.
One by one they searched, scanning the inte...
2024-07-15 12:41:37 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 18: Dear Diary.
“You know Buddy, I don’t think I show you enough gratitude. Thank you for being here to feed and clothe me. I really do think I would’ve died by now if it wasn’t for you.”
‘Aww. Thank Sully! I appreciate you too! You’...
2024-07-15 12:40:32 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 17: A Chance Encounter.
I turned a few corners and follow along some straight passages while keeping a lookout for more centipedes or eels or moles or whatever else decided to make an appetizer out of me.
With a grunt of effort, I sniped one of the mo...
2024-07-15 12:39:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 16: Meditations.
Hunting for the rest of the day yielded no more levels. Not that I expected any.
[Meditation] allowed me to sense Psy far more clearly than before and regenerate it faster than ever, even while in motion. My hunting s...
2024-07-15 12:38:15 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 15: Best Friends Forever.
Luigi was laughing. A loud, raucous sound that threatened to bring down the bowling alley. Henry and Vince were laughing too, though they at least had the decency to stifle their giggles.
“Yeah. Yeah. Chuck it up you guys. ...
2024-07-15 12:37:21 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 14: Hunger.
So, good news and bad news.
On the upside, I wasn’t currently dead.
Always a positive.
Furthermore, I hadn’t sustained any physical injuries, which was honestly nothing short of miraculous.
The downside was that I had...
2024-07-15 12:36:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 13: Acrophobia.
‘Stupid. How are you this stupid. Of course it was a trap. What did you expect? A hug and a kiss? Promises of brotherhood? Do you think this is a comic book or a movie? That we’re all going to get along and serve the kidnappers their...
2024-07-15 12:34:59 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 12: The Lure.
Another few hours saw me thoroughly humbled. Not that it was bad thing mind you. I was happy for my fellow survivors. This was a step we could all take together.
‘Yes. This is fine.’ I kept telling myself. Glancing at the me...
2024-07-15 12:34:08 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11: The day after.
Clearing out the nearby watering hole wasn’t easy.
Not the whole, pest control aspect of it mind you. That problem barely took 10 minutes.
No, the real issue was the aftershocks. Blinding agony shot through me with every ste...
2024-07-15 12:33:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 10: Visions.
The walk back to the narrow tunnels was terrifying. I kept all my attention on the fog, worried that either of the pair would realize what I was and give chase.
“Oh, that is great. First the Bunny man and then the Spanish inquisition. I...
2024-07-15 12:32:14 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 9: Taking Risks.
Memories had come unbidden.
Scenes of laughter and revelry.
I recalled the words I’d said to Henry less than a day ago.
How I’d promised to keep the party going with Vince and Luigi. How I’d been complaining about th...
2024-07-15 12:31:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 8: Dose of Reality.
“Okay Sully, calm down. Positive thoughts. Positive (Centipede)ing thoughts. That guy doesn’t count. Next guy I meet will be the one.”
Yes, indeed.
I couldn’t let myself dwell on past failures.
No sir.
Its...
2024-07-15 12:30:25 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 7: The Weirdoes.
Stepping out of my little haven took more time than I’d care to admit. Part of my hesitation was fueled by a healthy fear of the freaking giant centipedes, but other worries kept knifing me in the gut.
‘Such as th...
2024-07-15 12:29:24 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 6: When given lemons…
I was very proud of myself at the moment.
Never in my life did I imagine I had such vast reserves of patience. Indeed, I was practically an enlightened monk sitting atop a mountain, bathing in soft rays of sunlight. Soft and so...
2024-07-15 12:28:16 +0000 UTC View Post