Living on Borealis-9: The Story Of A Reincarnated Human

Chapter 4, Part 3: Dinner

"So, Matteus...Tell us of your origin." One of the Dryads asked as we ate from the great community plate. Lots of rice and bread was present on the plate, with minimal spice alongside. It was...Ok, I guess. I just wish it had a little salt. Not even the Norwegians made food this bland.

"Hm?" I asked. I looked to Luna for guidance, but she was far too busy nervously nibbling at her bread. "Alright, well...I'm a Werewolf, as you already know. I...I'm a Timber-"

Everyone gasped at the word and dropped their food, causing a bit of a mess. Luna was the only one who didn't stop eating, smiling slightly at me.

"LUNA!" One of them yelled. "You bring a TIMBER SHREDDER to our lands?!"

"Mmm...I guess so..." She said.

"I had my suspicions. You're not in love with him! You're under the influence of a Love Springs waters!" The hunched-over Dryad said with immense hate. She waggled her staff threateningly, causing a mushroom to fall off and into the plate of food. Mmmm...free food! "Beast! Scoundrel! Seize him!"

All of the sudden, I was being dogpiled by a hundred Dryads. I...Well, that was abrupt. I didn't expect for me to get in THIS much trouble. Over the clamour, I could hear Luna yelling, trying to throw the Dryads off of me. Come on, Matt! Think: How do you escape a situation like this? Wait...I wasn't really bogged down, come to think of it, by their weight.

Standing up, I threw out my arms to knock back the swarming Dryads, tossing several onto their backs. Luna herself had...half-transformed, I guess, as she had grown around a foot and had several large talons to replace her fingers.

"Beasts! Beasts!" The hunched-over Dryad yelled over and over, trying to make way through the sea of knocked-over Dryads. What was ol' granny goat going to do? Hit me lightly with the world's smallest ecosystem?

Then she aimed her staff at me like a gun. A green light erupted from the tip, focusing into a spear-like point. It then blasted itself towards me, striking my chest and causing me to feel suddenly sick. I couldn't breathe...And all the air had been knocked from my lungs...I felt myself being engulfed with some kind of smoke as well, which reeked of fire...and cigarettes? Eh? What the hell?

"Get off of him!" Luna suddenly yelled, bashing through the cloud of smoke and grabbing me. As soon as she lifted me up, I felt my vigour returning. I still felt like I had been punched in the chest by Mike Tyson, but I could still fight. "Come on!"

I fell to my hands and knees, then looked back. I felt...Angry again. Why were WE in trouble? We didn't do anything! Luna just wanted to be kicked out! I don't want to be here! Fuck off, all of you!

Suddenly, I felt more powerful. More...Big. Like I was in charge here. The top dog! My hands morphed, my fingers grew longer and bone burst from them. Musculature grew within me, I became acutely aware of all of my injuries. Left third rib fracture, fourth and fifth ribs cracked. Bruising along the left-to-centre chest...and on the back, same side. Knotted tendon, left and right leg. Pulled muscle, right forearm. Sight, clearer. Smell, stronger. I could hear no better, but that was no issue. I could already see my opponents perfectly well, and that was what I needed.

"He...He's not a timber shredder..." The hunched-over Dryad said. Her. You. She did this. All of this. Locked. Rip. Tear.

I charged forth. No contest. Lack of intervention; sign of weakness. Weak. Break. Old. Revenge. Stale. Sanguine. Fear...Fear...fear...

It felt like my head had just broken out of a pool of murky water. I heard...nothing. Just fearful, quick inhales from the people around me. What were they so scared of...Oh. As I looked down, I saw the mangled corpse of the hunched-over Dryad. Her arm had been torn off, tossed to the side, riddled with teeth marks. Her ribcage had been ripped open like a clam in a vertical fashion, the sternum still connected to the right side. Most of her innards had been either smashed to bits, or chewed into red pieces of unidentifiable meat. Their head...Well, it was a dignity calling a head, let's leave it at that. And her blood...It covered my hands and mouth...

Suddenly, I felt sick. What have I done?! What did I do? Did I do this? No, no. I couldn't have. I'd never KILL someone, not like this. I'd try to make it quick, efficient, no suffering. But this...This seemed cruel. Sadistic. Oh god...

Alright, if you didn't get sick before this, good job. You have a stronger stomach than I did. Even after three go's at coughing up my guts, I still felt sick to my stomach. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, but I didn't look up. I was a monster.

"Matteus, we need to go. Now." Her voice was urgent, but also gentle. She knew what I was going through, and she knew that we needed to leave before anyone else got hurt. I shouldn't have gone with her. I'd just pose a risk to Luna, but...The climate of fear that had developed around me terrified me...

"You're going to be alright. Come on..."

I didn't want to look back at the dryads, didn't want to see the fear and horror on their faces. I had just killed one of their own, and I knew that there would be consequences. No, scratch that. I had just killed. What was next? What else was I going to do? God...What if...What if I hurt someone else?