Chapter 8 - Building Ourselves
- Sam P.O.V. -
I can feel the urgency crawling up my spine. It's a physical weight—the need to plan our battle, to fortify our position before the storm hits. We are sitting ducks out here if we don't harden our shell.
The first thing on the list is defense. I show them all how to make traps—punji sticks, deadfalls, and snare wires. We design the perimeter so the "trap field" can be ignited if we are overrun. We clear specific firebreaks so we can burn the enemy without burning the whole forest down and killing ourselves in the process. Then, an escape route is set for the worst-case scenario. If we fall, we run. Tali, being the mother of the group now, helps organize the supplies for that route.
Once the defenses are laid out, I split our forces.
Tenka takes the lead of the first team. Temate is her second-in-command (I learned she is Matema's daughter, which explains the attitude). Lily and Pama round out the squad. Their mission is to go with Red, tame the local wolf pack, and bring back the cubs to be raised as mounts.
I take Gary, Salaba, and Tati with me. We are heading North, to the territory of a legend. There is a huge, solitary red bear living alone in the mountains. All the creatures around his territory avoid the place like the plague. I plan to tame it as a challenge to myself.
With Berth (and the "super" pheasant I found earlier), I'm not scared to leave the rest of them behind. They have the traps, and they have the walls.
After the initial trek, the girls just feel glad to stop walking and have free food. I have plans for them, big plans, but not now. For now, we rest.
- Tenka's P.O.V. -
I can feel Sam's fear.
It honestly scares me a lot. He is so strong—physically a monster compared to us—but when I look into his eyes with my new senses, I can feel the terror he keeps well-hidden from the others. The closer we become, the more fearful he seems to get. Maybe I can't understand why he is scared, but he gives me orders, and I intend to follow them to the letter.
After all, what I am now is thanks to him.
This power is amazing. I tried to "see" it like Sam told me, attempting to visualize the energy, but there was too much information. It was like staring into a storm. My power got drained into my eyes and nerves, overloading them. I could have fainted in a few seconds.
But before I pulled back, I did manage to get a glance at this world's inner workings. That is when I realized the sheer scale of the power Sam holds. He literally bestowed me with my power in one night, like a god handing down fire. When I focus on him for an inner glance, I don't see veins or muscles; I see a sun. It is warm, blinding, and secure.
Who would have thought that the man holding the sun would feel the most fear out of all of us?
The order he gave me is to get as many wolves as we can. He is really preparing for something big.
After the time I spent with Sam and Red, I can somewhat understand Red. It's not like how I understand Eldo—who is simple and flighty—but the wolf beast is quite funny inside, once you get past his scary outside.
Red stays close to me as we run. I guess Sam is worried about me. Hahaha...
I can understand his worries. When we met, I looked like I was going to die any second. I remember the expression I saw in his eyes back then... Surprise, lust, shame, sadness, and empathy. All of those emotions flashed in an instant. Even without my current powers, he was extremely easy to read.
But I had no idea he was a man! He is so beautiful that he could pass as both.
It was like thunder clapped between us that day near the water. I held his gaze for a mere second. It was then that I turned around, out of shyness. He started undressing to wash, and once I looked back... well, I realized he is definitely a man.
I couldn't breathe for a second. I was terrorized; no other word could describe it. The stories we were told about men were nightmares. What is he thinking? Why did he kill the others? Is he going to hurt me?
I tried to leave, but he stopped me. And then... he fed me. He healed me.
The tribe always kept me away from the men. Of course, they said I'd die if I went alone with a man. Which was true—how could I have borne a child with my weak body? I couldn't even feed myself. This frailty got me some resentment from some of the women and sympathy from others. All in all, I have no real friends. Even Tali, with her baby, had a role. I had nothing.
I tried, at least, to do as much as I could in the village. The thing I'm best at is weaving. I thought about making friends by giving them nice stuff to wear, intricate patterns that took days to make. It didn't work. I could see they still looked at me in a half-contemptuous, half-sympathetic way. The next day, they brought me more food and left, like I was a charity case. I almost cried...
My mom was taken away long ago. She was a beauty, and it has been her curse. Matema told me to hide my face and look dirty, so I did. I was never bothered. Some men only glanced at me and rejected the idea immediately, which I was happy about.
It's just now... my feelings are changing. Seeing Sam, feeling his warmth... it's confusing.
Anyway, let's focus on the task.
I am the first to "awaken," like Sam says, and my power circulatory system is the strongest of the group. But why did he leave me with only a knife? (It looks like a short sword in my small hands). The others all have long spears, and I look like the weakest, yet I'm in command. It should have been Temate; she is built like her mother, a natural leader. But Sam chose me.
Following Red, we traveled for a day and a night before catching some rest. I am surprised that I'm actually the fastest and most enduring of the group now. They are stronger, though... We tried Sam's training methods for fun, and they still beat me in raw strength.
But now, I remember what Sam said to me.
(Your power is calm and enveloping. Spread it before you and be silent like Eldo's hollow feathers...)
I can run very fast and silently now. I can see why we all wear pants and underwear; fighting in a robe is bad. It tangles and trips you. He also promised me boots. I CAN'T WAIT. My feet are tired of the rough ground.
We arrive at the den.
I give them orders, and no one complains. I guess the trek earned me some respect, or maybe they just respect the sword Sam gave me. Besides, now I get why he pushes me to play chess so much. I'm always on the board in my head, visualizing the moves. And I always win. Even Sam loses against me now.
It only takes us a few minutes to succeed. We encircle the pack first to cut off their escape, moving through the brush like ghosts. Then Red jumps in to challenge them.
Total obedience from the get-go. The local wolves roll over, exposing their throats to the superior predator.
Red is so much more intelligent, strong, and...
IS THAT YOUR DICK!? -
Lily shrieks, pointing.
It's huge... cough.
All the girls look away, faces burning red. Red stands there, proud, marking his new territory and subjects, completely unbothered by our embarrassment.
The order is to tame them! - I yell, covering my eyes with one hand and waving the sword with the other. - Can we, at least, do that first?!!! -
- Sam P.O.V. -
Well, shit.
I didn't think about the fact that Salaba and Tati don't know much English, except for hunting words and hand signals. It makes for a very quiet journey.
It's pretty awkward. We just sit in the tent at night and look at each other. The silence stretches out, filled only by the crackling fire. At least they know cards; the night is long here, and poker faces are universal.
Salaba is like a big sis. No matter what I do, she takes it well, and I can feel that she cares. She makes sure I eat, checks my gear, and smiles warmly.
Tati, on the other hand, is feigning suspicion. She acts like she doesn't trust me, just like her cute mother... But she is pretty, and I like to tease her as much as I can. She puffs her cheeks out when she loses at cards, or she can guess my jokes. A bit of a tsundere...
(I miss Tenka.)
Tenka's intelligence is clearly on another level from them, and even from me. She absorbs information like a sponge. She learns everything I have to offer. My pace of teaching is actually too slow for her to reach her full potential. It saddens me. I feel like I'm holding her back. I guess I can teach her basic physics and philosophy or psychology next. She could probably make up the rest on her own and surpass me in a month.
We continue North. We hunt and put an offering out every day for the bear to pick up the scent.
I chose the name Barabas.
According to Red's description, Barabas is a monster. Standing on his back legs, he reaches four meters easily. It looks like he had a fight with humans in the past and won. There are a few arrow shafts still sticking out of his fur, the wood rotting because of the humidity, looking old and infected. And just like Red, he looks like a "kin eater"—something that grew strong by eating its own kind or other magical beasts.
After two weeks of tracking, I find the territory markers. Massive claw marks on trees, higher than I can reach with my spear.
I tell the girls to stay back.
Stay. Camp here. Danger. -
I gesture for them to remain and go forward alone to meet the Desolate King. It's super rare for an animal to get a rep name like this... That's what Red said.
I thought by now he would remember my scent on the food I gave him and associate me with "free meals," but it's not the case. He really seems to bear a grudge toward humans. Well, toward me at least.
Massive miscalculation on my part...
I don't want to bring the girls into my stupidity. I got overconfident. I can't fight this thing unprepared. First, I want to tame it, so killing it defeats the purpose. Second, I can't stay still in a fight with something that big. The girls will get entangled, panicked, and killed.
Since he's gunning for me, the only way I can find to subdue him is a cliff with a river at the bottom, nearby.
(Why a cliff again? I really need new strategies. This is becoming a trope.)
I use my spear as an anchor, jamming it deep into a crack in the rock. I tie a short rope in a loop around my waist and wait for Barabas to come.
The ground shakes. The smell hits me first—rotting meat, old blood, and wet fur.
COME ON, BARABAS! -
ROAR! -
The sound isn't just noise; it's a physical force that rattles my teeth. He bursts through the trees, a mountain of red fur and muscle. He doesn't hesitate. He charges.
My plan was to grab the edge of the cliff while he tripped over me and fell down, letting gravity do the work. I'd swing to safety on the rope, watching him plummet into the water.
But physics is a bitch.
When he hits me, it's like being hit by a semi-truck. He doesn't just trip; he grabs. I tumble over the edge, but his massive paw hooks my leg. The rope goes taut, snaps my waist painfully, and then the spear grinds against the rock before ripping loose.
We fall together.
I see the sky spinning, then fur, then rock. I see his massive jaws snapping inches from my face. I try to protect my head and heart, wrapping my arms around them and curling into a ball.
The wind rushes past my ears. Then, the water—or maybe the rocks—rises up to meet us.
The impact shuts the world off.
I black out.