Cheese Gang Cartel: Origins

[ Chapter 1 ] Cheese: Ghostly Headaches

Clouds lazily drift across the sky, blocking the sun from gracing the ruined city with its warmth. Cold wind runs past me over and over again in an almost rhythmic pattern, never failing to remind me of the curse running amok in this land. And with each step, each stride, I take towards the center of it all, the cold gets even colder whilst the wind gets even stronger.

But even within these conditions, nothing rings quite as eerie as the stillness of the trees. They twist and turn and bend in all sorts of different ways, sprouting from the remnants of human civilization who stood there since time immemorial. Yet no matter how horrid the tree's state was, even when only a single root touched the ground, not a single leaf swayed and danced with the wind. As if nature itself is frozen in time.

My eyes then drift towards the one piece of usable equipment I brought with me: A single crossbow. Reliable, yes. But not the best for my current situation. The wind is not much of a problem with my skills. Not to mention the bolts I have with me. The bigger problem is the temperature. I can't tell how long I'll have to stay in this area, but the more I stay in the cold, the slower I'd become. And that turns me into quite an easy mark for whoever's dedicated enough to follow me to this place.

".. Here's hoping that they leave me alone quickly.." With a sigh, I trudge onwards to one of the ruined buildings.

The place was old and dusty. Made of stone and several taboos. Its main offense being its creation itself. I can't believe humans were arrogant enough to create something like this without permission. Creating without giving tribute and asking for guidance.. No wonder their civilization collapsed.

".. Not that I should judge with a crossbow of all things in my hands."

I watch my step as I head inside the ruins. There's no telling whether or not human structures had any strange mechanisms in place. And I wouldn't want to figure out if that's the case. At least not today.

Instead of immediately setting up camp however, I decided to head on to the upper levels. Moving on through multiple flights of stairs intact enough to support my weight. And when that's not an option, I simply climb my way up. It's only when I reach the sixth floor that I stop and finally put down my bag. But not to settle down, no. It's to prepare for a fight.

"You can come out now. I know you're there..!" My voice echoes throughout the building, but not a single soul answers back.

It's not some random bluff. Someone has been watching me. And it's from the very moment I stepped foot in this blasted place. Going all the way up here was to check if they would come after me. And unfortunately for me, they did.

I've dealt with many enemies. Especially stealthy ones are no stranger to me either. At some point, I've developed a sixth sense for these sorts of people. But this one in particular is beyond those that I've fought before.

I know I'm being watched. I know that they're out there. But for some goddamn reason, I can't pinpoint where they are and what they are. I could chalk it up to the cold dulling my senses but something tells me that that's not the case. If they had wanted, they probably could've gone for my neck at the very start.

.. But they didn't. Not a hint of bloodlust could be felt in the air. So then why would they chase after me? What did they want? What were they waiting for? Whatever their intentions, it would be disadvantageous for me to wait until they're comfortable enough to act. Because by the time that happens, I'd probably be screwed by the cold already.

I wait just a little bit more before calling out again, "If you don't answer, I'll think of you as a hostile. Is that fine with you?"

A little over twenty seconds pass with only silence as a reply. Not even the wind howled in this situation. All I get for waiting is more of the cold seeping into my body and I can't have that happening if I want to survive. So if they think that I'm simply bluffing about finding them, I'll give them a reason to regret and think otherwise.