Chapter 9: A Private Drain

Monday, March 27th 11:04 AM

Beach Street

Santa Cruz, California

Joe and company stood in silence, awaiting marching orders from Mike.

Everyone was tired and irritable following a night spent in Siobhán’s rank, blood-stained basement. The cold, fog-shrouded march to Twin Lakes State beach that morning had done little to raise their spirits.

Four miles remained before they’d reach the camp.

The sun had shown its face through patchy low clouds. A few small groups milled about, scavenging among the ruins, but Joe managed to avoid them, so there hadn’t been additional robbery attempts.

The burned-out remains of the city’s amusement park lay ahead.

After watching through his binoculars for a minute, Mike frowned at Joe. “Dozens of people. But they spotted us and disappeared. They've got makeshift barricades, and everything’s too quiet. I don’t like it, Schimpf.”

“Understood.” Joe nodded.

While they walked north to skirt around the danger, Joe found it difficult to focus.

He stared at his hands.

I can heal wounds. Maybe it’s a starting point toward resurrecting everyone we’ve lost.

Joe glanced at the God rays piercing the clouds.

The thought of bringing Anna back was comforting.

Filled with hope, Joe realized he was daydreaming at a bad time. He snapped his attention back to the present.

---

Michael felt Rihelah nudge his right shoulder gently with hers while they walked.

“Hmm?” He glanced over at her.

“Do you think Uncle Joe’s really okay?” she whispered. Worry shone in her dark-brown eyes.

“Give him time.”

“Michael… I mean, you know, those things he said. The way he was acting—clawing at her grave like he thought he could…”

“I know. It was weird, but Joe just lost the love of his life. Joe and Anna were amazing together. If I’d found someone like that, I’d probably go nuts if I lost her, too.”

“…Ah.” Rihelah looked crestfallen, her posture wilting beside him while they walked.

“Don’t worry!” Michael added hurriedly. “Joe’s as tough as they come! Look at how focused he is! He’s already back to handling business like a Marine. It’s just… we’ll need to be supportive and patient with him, I think. He’d do the same for us, if the roles were reversed.”

“Mm.” Rihelah nodded, staring straight ahead as Michael talked.

Was it something I said?

Michael waved a hand in front of her to get her attention, but Rihelah seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze.

Hmm. Maybe she’s just sad? Michael put his arm around Rihelah, hoping to comfort her. But she stiffened and he pulled his arm away in surprise.

Michael backed away to give her space, frowning a little.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Rihelah moved close and leaned into him.

“What?” Michael asked, tentatively placing his arm around his best friend. She returned the gesture with her arm around his waist.

“Nothing, mantis-brain.” She stuck her tongue out and looked at him cross-eyed.

“Careful. You’ll never be a supermodel if your eyes get stuck like that!” Michael grinned.

“That’s not funny…” She frowned.

“I thought we were being silly!”

“You know how I feel about that.” Rihelah shook her head, frowning deeply.

“Yeah, I know.” Michael sighed and squeezed her gently in response. He knew better than to go down that rabbit-hole.

Michael looked at Rihelah.

She’s always kind and gentle.

He smiled at her brown eyes.

Rihelah’s so gorgeous.

But Michael had terrible memories of Rihelah’s late mother.

Mrs. Najibi was probably a narcissist.

Rihelah’s parents had often been harsh toward everyone who got close to her, but her mom was the worst.

I wish I knew how to help. Rihelah’s self-image makes no sense.

Michael knew first-hand that Rihelah’s mother often told her she was ugly during her formative years—and the damage was done.

Michael squeezed Rihelah gently, and she reciprocated with shy smile. His heart jumped in his chest, but he kept his face calm.

I wish I knew what to say. If I blurt out how pretty she actually is, she’ll think I’m full of shit, like always. Michael resisted the urge to frown.

For now, I just need to focus on protecting her.

Michael stole a sideways glance at Rihelah and basked in the warmth of her smiling presence.

Something happened as Michael finished that thought. He felt his body hair stand on end as if he were helpless prey being stalked by an invincible predator.

Inhaling slowly as the feeling slowly ebbed, Michael managed to relax his stride. He scanned for danger, frequently checking behind them as they walked.

---

Date and Time Unknown

Dungeon Ciara

My hunger and inner nature geek both squealed with excitement and anticipation when a single Bald-faced hornet arrived in pursuit of a frantically-scurrying Wolf spider. The fleet-footed arachnid dashed madly into my abyss, seeking refuge within my Dungeon.

But the wasp was bigger and much faster.

The fearless hornet grappled the spider, and the pair tumbled down the stone ramp together while each fought to gain the upper hand. The terrified arachnid’s legs shuddered with effort, its chelicerae and fangs straining and snapping together as it sought a vulnerable spot to bite. Simultaneously, the stocky wasp locked its strong legs around the cephalothorax of its intended prey and curled its flexible abdomen toward the spider’s poorly-armored backside…

When the pair came to rest near my spike trap, the Bald-faced hornet’s stinger had been driven deep into the unfortunate Wolf spider’s body. The wasp grasped the spider tightly, seemingly unconcerned while its victim’s fangs strained to bite its unblinking face. The sharp fangs skidded and scratched uselessly across the surface of the hornet’s hardened chitin while tiny droplets of venom oozed from their tips.

Even if the spider had succeeded in biting, its fate was already sealed when it was stung.

The stricken arachnid’s legs twitched as they curled inward, signaling its inevitable death. Wasting no time upon sensing its victory, the hornet set about dismembering its unfortunate prey.

I received a meager influx of mana just before the hornet flew away with the Wolf spider’s severed abdomen. A second later, The Voice informed me that I’d gained access to Wolf spiders and their parts in my minion-creation repertoire.

Curious about what I could create, I configured the largest Wolf spider-based minion I could. Aided by The Voice, the intuitive holographic interface for minion creation that appeared in my mind shocked me with how easy it made the entire process.

Despite the interface’s capacity to increase a creature’s mass by up to 500%, the resulting arachnid was still too small. Unfortunately, I’d acquired one of the smallest Wolf spider species. Even after its size had been maxed-out, a single one of those minions was too small to justify the expense. Especially so, because setting a creature’s mass to maximum drove its mana cost through the roof.

I could tell on account of the handy, reddish bar of discoloration superimposed on my mana orb to show how much would be consumed once I gave the mental command to create a minion spawn point.

Hmm. Not yet.

I needed to be smart about the minions I created, as Sven cautioned. I could only create a certain number per Floor, and if I made them too small or weak, they wouldn’t provide effective defense for my core.

Especially around humans.

Abruptly feeling more exposed with humans on my mind, I took a moment to grow the sides of the pedestal upon which my core hovered. I added more stone and curved and hardened it upward, until I’d formed a bowl-like shield.

A few seconds later, all that was visible from below was the glow my core emitted. I roughed up the bottom and made it somewhat uneven, to make it seem less fancy and attractive to searching eyes.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than allowing greedy human beings a clear view of my lovely and extremely-valuable core.

For now, it’ll have to do.

The hornet returned to find that my Dungeon had automatically absorbed the remainder of its spider prey. I chuckled in amusement while it buzzed furiously about for a few moments. It landed again and vigorously cleaned itself before flying away.

I hadn’t intended to steal from the tiny hunter, but there were some things I couldn’t control. According to Sven’s prior explanation, if the hornet had maintained physical contact with the spider’s corpse, my Dungeon wouldn’t have absorbed it.

My mind shrugged as I turned my attention back to the hunger within me.

I really have to do something about this. If I go berserk and end up killing a person, or someone’s pet…

The thought made my core vibrate physically. And not solely from revulsion.

Ugh. Time to get started! I need to stay focused.

Nino had been orphaned and I wanted to keep her safe as a resident of my Dungeon in case I went berserk at some point from my hunger. So, I set about preparing a suitable home for her in case she returned.

I also hoped that, as with Turd and his ability to follow directions, I might be able to suggest to Nino that she leave him be and seek other prey.

Maybe they’ll even become friends. If they could cuddle together, that would be so cute!

No. I need to focus and build my Dungeon.

Still a little excited but resigned to my fate, I got to work. Opposite Turd’s lair, I hollowed out a cat-sized tunnel that meandered fifteen meters into the stone before opening into a cozy and spacious cat-palace. The mana expenditure wasn’t tremendous, but I did sense the hunger growing while I worked, so I curbed my enthusiasm and kept it much simpler than my original plan.

I had vertically-arranged areas where she could hide or lounge, but my favorite touches were the box-shaped depressions I’d added in six locations.

That energetic little brat will love this. Ah, I can’t wait! I squealed.

Turd awakened, but following his traumatic death in Nino’s jaws, he seemed unwilling to brave the outside world again. Instead, he sat in place, cleaning himself without pause until he fell on his side and slept again.

With my mouse’s safety in mind, I extended the little access hallway to Turd’s home, sinking his refuge further into the surrounding bedrock to prevent feline claws from reaching him. It pleased me that I could shift a chamber through solid stone like that—without disturbing its contents.

Afterward, I created six exits branching off from the original passage.

Each of these intersected the main entrance at various points along its length, to give Turd options for avoiding another untimely death.

With that done, I created another mouse-sized passage directly out of Turd’s lair. Hoping to provide him safe access to the surface, I guided this tunnel up and away from the beach. My new mouse-highway breached the surface just two meters beyond East Cliff Drive, near Schwan Lagoon.

Green shoots were already forcing their way up through the ash.

For good measure, I added four exits, with two hidden beneath piles of bricks and the others breaking through the crusted sand on the beach side of the road.

[Turd! I’ve made a new tunnel just for you. Now you don’t have to go out through the scary entrance.]

The mouse roused himself and opened his little eyes wide. After a good stretch, he sniffed at the new hole in front of him, then stepped carefully inside.

[I need more food, and you can gather more for yourself as well.] I sent encouragingly.

On his way to the surface, Turd paused frequently to listen for danger. But eventually, Turd’s little white nose poked out to test the air. Seeming emboldened, he brought his eyes up just far enough to scan the area.

His whiskers twitched, and Turd scurried from his new exit toward the nearest bit of cover—a pile of rubble that might have once been a chimney and fireplace.

A few minutes later, he returned to the tunnel carrying a sizable, wounded Tiger beetle. Its sharp mandibles were held wide open and it grasped about with three intact legs—all the legs on its right side had been disabled.

Turd strained to pin the beetle down once he was inside, but he managed to chew it to death while avoiding injury. I received mana, and Turd discarded the corpse to search for more.

[Thanks, love!]

He squeaked and blinked slowly in reply.

My little resident repeated that process for a couple of hours, refilling almost ten percent of the mana I lacked. He gathered dozens of arthropods and more than a few mouthfuls of seeds.

He even managed to subdue and haul in a massive Jerusalem cricket during a particularly long outing. I was impressed and a little concerned for his safety against such a strong, well-armed, and aggressive insect. To his credit, Turd had already disabled the cricket’s spiny legs with well-placed bites before sinking his long incisors through the back of its armored thorax to secure the insect’s massive, snapping mandibles away from his little feet.

[Wow. Please be careful, Turd. I love these things you’ve brought for me, but I want you to be safe.]

Turd nuzzled against the wall of his private tunnel in response.

Ahh, so cute!

After wolfing down a chunk of the hefty cricket he’d brought for me, Turd darted outside to find more goodies for his Dungeon home.

This time, he headed further afield, toward a larger pile of rubble almost thirty meters away. I’d always loved watching animals in motion, and Turd was no exception. I smiled as he kicked up tiny puffs of dust in his wake.

Before Turd reached the relative safety of dark places, a much larger streak of Calico fur intercepted him. I watched with horror while Nino deftly pinned Turd to the ash-coated ground and caught him in her mouth as she allowed herself to tumble to a stop. She stood smoothly with a cottony, screeching little Turd between her teeth.

Nino bit down and silenced his terrified squeaks for a second time.

<Turd has been slain. 1 hour until respawn.>

[Nino, you little brat! Stop eating my Turd.]

As before, the cat ignored me completely. I grimaced when she began chomping Turd to pieces right where she stood.

[You’re infuriating, you know that?]

After I calmed a bit while she ate, I pitched my offer to the cat.

[Nino-kitty… since you’re here, how would you like to live in my Dungeon? I’ve got a special home all set up for you.]

The only response I got was a clear view of her pink butthole as Nino sauntered away into the nearby ruins.

Damn. Why isn’t she interested?

---

Minions: 0/100

Residents: 1/10

Denizens: 197

Traps: 1/5

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Cephalothorax is pronounced, Seh-fa-lo-tho-rax, with a slight emphasis on the first and second-to-last syllables.

It refers to the combined head and thorax of an arachnid. If you pay close attention to a spider and an insect side-by-side, you’ll note that spiders possess two major body sections; the cephalothorax and abdomen. Meanwhile, insects have three; a separate head, thorax, and abdomen.

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Chelicerae is pronounced, Che-lick-er-ay, with a slight emphasis on the second syllable.

It refers to the greater jaw structure for arachnids. In spiders, the chelicerae are mobile structures that the fangs attach to. They may also contain venom glands, though many spiders carry venom glands in their cephalothorax instead.

Fangs are hinged from the chelicerae, which hold additional musculature to power the fang’s motion.

Primitive spiders like tarantulas and trap-door spiders have large, powerful chelicerae that primarily move up and down in front of their faces, while in more evolved “true” spiders they move side-to-side.

As a consequence, Tarantulas and their ilk generally possess large, stout fangs that stab downward like daggers, while true spiders bite with a pinching motion as their slender fangs stab toward one another.