For a Glacial Tomorrow

2 | The Revivalist

My ears are ringing as I hear the short 'snap' of a grenade slamming into the ground, only a few feet away from me. The shell cracks and a burst of fiery powder sprays out, blowing away any nearby creatures. I swiftly grab onto the stubby back spine of the beast they were trying to destroy. It turns sharply, hoisting me onto its board shoulders where I can grip the wisps of caramel brown mane that drape into my hands, then releases a guttural growl as it tightens its hold on the mossy platform, shooting off in the blink of an eye. I see a spear flying, tipped with a scarlet piece of fabric, as it penetrates the back leg of the lizard. It begins to crackle and flare as the lizard makes a terrified whine, and I pull it out. It practically explodes in my hand, coating my face with scolding hot dust, the wood splinters spiking my fur. But I'm not dead.

I see, now, that the scavengers were not trying to hit us, but rather a green-shelled, sparking centiwing that flies menacingly in circles. It latches onto a mint scav. First, it's front, then it's back. Then, a blue flash of light and a crack, and they are motionless. The caramel lizard I'm riding grumbled, running its black tongue over its lips, clearly imagining the feast it could've had.

"No time for more food, big guy. We gotta get inside." I flash a glimpse at the sky, draining from a soft, cloud-dappled scene to a dense, dark mesh of cider about to become a snowstorm. It doesn't protest, resuming its slow and heavy movements as I cling to its back. Yet, it doesn't see the red laser, the flickering laser, that is forming.

King.

I curtly yank the lizard back to dodge the incoming king vulture, but it doesn't do me any good, worse for it. A striped harpoon cuts through the cloudy sky, slicing into the shoulder blades of the caramel lizard. It's dead. I fumble to get off, but the lizard is pulled up by a string from under my feet, and I fall backward. I'm terrified, knowing that the pipes won't catch me; I'd rather a stowaway be tucked carefully on the ceiling, but I can't see any gray rods, only an endless void. I'm falling into the abyss of clouds.

I grit my teeth, prepared to Cycle back, when my back hits something soft. I sit up and almost immediately see black spines, knowing it's a blue lizard and a familiar one at that. "Rapid!" The lizard tilts their head gently to show affection before crawling hurriedly away to avoid the second harpoon of the king vulture. It slices the sky and cuts a tiny wound on Rapid's tail before swinging back with no prey. I can't help but turn back to look at the bulky, flying monster with bony wings and a dark face concealed by a pointed mask. What a predator.

The blue lizard enters a safe room, with lichen hanging from the brush-filled walls and blue fruits swaying with the faint breeze attached to ropes and flat platforms. I notice a dropwig, claws unsheathed, perching at the very corner (I find this stupid since I doubt the dropwig would survive the fall), and a sleepy face with a camouflaged body on the poles, snoring lightly. We begin to make our descent down the pole, the camouflaged white lizard brightening as it bobs its head up and down in greeting. As I pass, I pat its frilly head.

"Caught any good treats today?" It nods eagerly. "Good, I'm so proud of you. I'd suggest not camouflaging as the poles since you're... you're not as slim as them." I just accidentally made my fact sound like an insult. Rapid continues to move down into a tunnel with dark undergrowth and a few vulture grubs. I pick up the dead one, chomp it down in two neat bites, then grasp the living one and toss it to Rapid. They devour it quickly.

"Alright, what's the plan." I sit against the wall, licking the scraps of green skin off my gums as Rapid makes themself at home in my lap. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a giant spider, quills green and sickly, but before I can sense the danger of a mother spider, the pipe behind it flickers, and a plum lizard emerges from the other side, biting into it. With a puff of green fog, hundreds of tiny black coalescipedes fly out, crawling about before joining together in a curved line and holding the terrified lizard in a chokehold, gnawing at it in an attempt to eat them alive. Alarmed, I pick up one of the bulbs of blue light dangling from the dark stalks on the ceiling and throw it. Instantly, a torrential light blinds Rapid and me; I hear a shriek from them before it wanes, and the little spiders are dead.

Flashbanged!

The purple lizard makes a noise equivalent to a purr and heads down the tunnel I am sitting in with a now-trembling blue lizard. I rub the right side of their jaw (their favorite), and their tongue shoots out to lick my face in contentment. Gross, I think, but keep smiling. "Anyway..." Rapid gives me a glance that reads: Go on...

"I'm thinking this: we head down the path with the long drop, then go underground to the scavenger treasury."

Rapid gives me a hopeful open of their fang-riddled maw. I read their mind: I didn't know lunch was coming so soon.

"No, we are not going to hunt any scavengers!" I snap, silencing them. "They're already paranoid enough, and I don't want to lose any more of you to an aggressive one." I resume my layout planning. "We will go past it, down into The Gutter. We'll use the Drainage System gate from there. The place is empty, so desolate there's nothing in it. We'll be fine if we move fast."

Back out into the salmon-colored light, I see the first few flakes falling and urge Rapid to move faster. I know the little lizard is trying their best. Still, it's frustrating when a catastrophic blizzard is on its way, with icy winds so powerful you get to experience the delight of soaring through the barren skies before plummeting to your death. They patter as snow accumulates, a slippery ice sheet decorating the platforms, to the long drop I spoke of. Outside is a tall post stretching into the now combed-over with a white atmosphere. Overhead, I spot a small flock of batflies and reach up, grabbing two and ripping over a wing from one to eat.

. . .

Before I know it, Rapid is panting, curled against me in the mossy shelter near the Industrial Complex gate. I wrap my tail around them, yawning as I knead the ground to sleep. I soon hear the noisy snores of a great beast beside me, and my eyes flutter shut with fatigue.

"Goodnight..." I mumble, or at least I think I mumbled, since I don't remember much except slipping into a state of warmth and unconsciousness.

The wandering of my void-like dreamscape is interrupted. A flare of color dances in the distance; blue, it appears. I step forward, my words coming as wisps of my thoughts. "Hello?" I see a flash of something, no, someone.

And then the color vanishes.