The Fifth Horseman

Chapter 5: The Hunt

I stared into the cave with great apprehension. Clearly, this was some sort of test. A human like me going into the cave of a giant beetle and coming out alive? My chances of survival were probably next to zero.
"Well?" Fury's voice sounded out sharply behind me, startling me slightly. "Are you gonna go in or do I have to throw you in?"
I turn my head and glare at her. She starts snickering. "What's wrong? You scared?" She snickers again. Oh shut up already... "Well, I have some concerns. My freaking life is at stake here!" I say. She rolls her eyes and plants her spear in the ground, and lies down.
"Wake me up when you're gonna go in, wimp. I'll make sure to sing a funeral dirge." She says. "If you're going to sing, I'd rather go in than listen." I retort. She kicks at my shin. I snort and easily dodge the blow. I return to staring into the cave. The musky smell seems to get even stronger, as if warning me to stay away. And I wanted to. I really wanted to.
I decide to gather my courage and go in. I poke Fury in the ribs with my foot, waking her up. "Oh. You ready to become beetle bait, boy?" She says. I nod tersely. She gazes at me for a few seconds before nodding. She lifts her spear and places the butt in the ground. "I'll give you a tip. When you wake up the Koraga, you better start running back here at full speed." She says.
Right. Like that wasn't obvious enough... I don't voice my opinion. I step into the cave, threading my way through the spikes on the floor. The light slowly recedes as I move deeper into the cave. My senses now on full alert, I feel my heart pumping, and my ears and eyes straining to notice anything even slightly out of the ordinary.
I suddenly step on a brittle bone, and the crunch seems overly loud to my adrenaline-heightened hearing, making me flinch. I keep moving forwards, albeit at a slower pace and watching out for bones on the floor.
In this manner, I continue moving deeper into the cave. I hear something skittering in the darkness ahead of me, and stop. At this point, there was just the barest pinpricks of light coming in from outside, not enough to make out what was in front.
The skittering moves closer, and I ready myself for whatever was going to spring out at me. And something did.
A huge beetle. Not the Koraga, but huge nonetheless, almost the size of a dog. Possibly a baby? In all respects, it looked just like a regular beetle, except for the huge size. It opened it's carapace and extended it's light brown wings. The wings began to beat, lifting it off the floor. The cave was filled with the sound of buzzing wings.
I didn't move a muscle. The beetle flew closer, hovering right in front of me. My grip on the spear tightened, preparing to stab the monster if it tried anything. It's mouth started to move, and some liquid fell out, sizzling where it landed and burning the floor. Oh great. It flies and it spits acid. How much better can this get?
The beetle suddenly darts at me, and I duck, moving forwards. I come up behind the beetle. It turns around and spits at me. I narrowly dodge the acidic stream and lunge at it, trying to stab it. I miss and overreach, stumbling to the floor.
The beetle suddenly lands on my back, digging it's insect legs under my shirt and starting to tear at my skin. I scream in pain and get up. I run backwards at the wall, attempting to smash the beetle, but it realizes my intentions and lifts off, taking a few more shreds of skin with it. Spear in hand, I try a jab at the beetle. It misses. The beetle is too fast, and my only hope of winning this fight is to trick it somehow.
The beetle and I circle each other, like two gladiators in an arena, searching the other for some weakness to exploit. An idea suddenly pops into my head. Maybe if I could create a fake weakness, not so obvious that the beetle wouldn't fall for it, but not so hidden that it wouldn't even notice.
I fake a stumble, and the beetle goes right for the trap. It flies forwards, pincers snapping and acid falling. I twist, spin the spear in my hand, and smack the beetle in the wings with the blunt end. It shrieks, falling to the ground. I spin the spear again and stab it downwards, impaling the monster. It utters a long, shrieking wail, and I drop the spear and cover my ears.
Fighting through the pain, I lift the spear and stab it downwards at the head, cutting short the wail. I slump against the wall. If this was just the baby, imagine what the mother would look like...
Suddenly, a deep rumble emanated from the depths of the cave. The very air seemed to vibrate with the force of the bone-jarring sound. Dread creeping up my back, I slowly turned around. The noise started up again; this time louder and accompanied by the sound of cracking stalagmites.
A feeling of abject terror wrapped its claws around me, and I turned and sprinted towards the mouth of the cave, trying to put as much distance as possible between me and the thing that was following me.
The cracking grew louder and closer, and I imagined that the creature was right behind me, breathing down my neck, and that only served to lend wings to my feet. The pinpricks of light slowly grew brighter as I neared the entrance of the cave.
I burst out at full speed, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with Fury. "Run! Something's coming! Something huge!" I yell as I run past. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her start to turn and follow me.
Suddenly, there's a huge explosion followed by a shower of dirt and pieces of rock. I put up my arms to shield myself from the worst of it. Again, that horrible rumbling sound emanates from the creature. I turn around to look at it.
In appearance, it looked just like the beetle I had fought earlier.
But size, however, was a completely different matter. The Koraga was the size of a small house! My eyes grow wide with terror and I turn and run.
Out of the blue, Fury grabs me and drags me behind a tree, clamping her hand over my mouth. I resist for a few seconds before I realize what the soft things pressing into the back of my head are.
"Don't move. Not one damn muscle. These things are pretty much blind, and can't notice their prey unless they move fast. Also, their hearing is really good, so try not to make too much noise, or I'm going to snap your neck." She whispers to me. I gulp and nod.
Soon, a loud buzzing noise fills the air. The Koraga must have taken flight. Looks like it's pretty pissed about me killing its kid. Of course, you idiot! What kind of a parent wouldn't go mad when you kill their kid!? Wait. If the thing is so huge, how do we kill it? I tap two fingers on Fury's hand, signalling her to release me. "What is it?" Her voice sounds in my head. Wait. She can do telepathy? "Yes, I can. One of the perks of being a Horseman. Or rather, Horsewoman." She says. "Okay. This is strange..." I say. I focus my thoughts for a second before trying again. "Okay, Fury. Since that thing is so huge, how do we kill it? I don't suppose you can fly, can you?" I ask.
"No, I don't. We just have to wait till it lands, then we attack. It is weak while its wings are out. You distract it from the front, and I'll jump it from behind." She says. Why am I always the one to get stuck with the bait role? "I'm still in here." She says. "Well, then get out!" I mentally yell. She withdraws from my consciousness without much delay. Her grip on my mouth slowly loosens.
After a few minutes of tense waiting, we soon hear the telltale hum of the Koraga's huge wings. I look up into they sky, trying to discern the direction of the sound, then look around at the treeline, hoping to see a part of the beetle. Nothing. I guess the sound travels quite far...
A few seconds later, the Koraga comes into sight, opposite the direction it left. It must have circled the woods looking for us, then decided to come back to its cave. Once again, Fury whispers into my mind: "Get ready. Remember the plan. I'll circle around and get behind it. You distract it. Go!"
She drops the hand that was around my mouth onto her spear, and gives me a slight shove with the butt of the spear. I gather my courage. This is crazy. I'm going to die! Oh hell... Time to do this. I carefully track the landing speed of the Koraga, and right before it lands, I run out at it screaming. "Hey! Hey, you ugly piece of shit! I'm here! Fresh meat!" I yell. The Koraga turns in the air and fixes me with its huge yellow eyes. I freeze in place, terror rooting me to the spot.
The Koraga slowly flutters over, its eyes still on me. Dammit Fury, where the hell are you!? I gulp and slowly start moving backwards.
Suddenly, I spy Fury hiding in a tree whose branches reach just a little higher than the wings of the Koraga. Her spear is in one hand, and she's holding on to the branch with the other and slowly creeping along, trying not to alert the Koraga to her presence. I keep backing up, but trip over a root that was sticking out.
I keep crawling backwards, yelling taunts and obscenities whenever it looks around, and trying to keep its attention away from Fury at all costs.
As soon as the monster's outstretched wings brush the topmost branches of the tree, Fury jumps. Unfortunately, the creature had heard the rustling of the branches while she prepared to jump, and had snapped its shell shut right when Fury had jumped. The spear hit the shell of the Koraga, bent under the impact, then sprung backwards, smashing Fury in the ribs and catapulting her to the other side.
I wince, having clearly heard the crack that followed the spear into her ribs. Immediately, my thoughts turned to my own safety. I stand up and heft my spear. If the wood was strong enough to bend under Fury's weight and still stay straight, it just might be enough for what I had in mind.
I lift the spear, then turn and run like crazy, screaming the entire time.
As I hoped, the Koraga followed me, leaving Fury behind. I kept running, the Koraga persistently fluttering along behind me. Somehow, it seemed that the Koraga was going at a leisurely pace. Not even bothering to give me a glimpse of its true speed.
I rapidly turn my head, looking for a place to set up my trap. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that was rocky enough. I keep running, my legs starting to burn, looking for the right spot.
There!
I immediately alter my course to head for the place, the beetle still following. It's littered with small boulders, almost like something had exploded the stones apart. I run right up to a medium sized stone and wedge the spear under it. The Koraga seems to have realised my plan now, and starts flying faster.
Perfect. Just what I needed. I grab another hefty boulder with both hands and lug it to the spear. I place the stone on the other end of the spear and place one hand on it, bending it down till it almost touches the ground and turn to face the oncoming monster.
Closer... Closer... Just a little more...
When the beetle is right in front of the path of the catapult, I loose the stone. It flies, hard and true, and smacks the beetle right in its jaws, stunning it. It roars an unearthly cry, and falls to the earth. I rip the spear out from under the rock, and run up to the beetle. Before it can take off again, I stab it in the eye.
The eye explodes in a gooey shower, splattering me with gross smelling beetle eye-juice. It roars again, and takes off.
Unfortunately, I was still holding onto the spear.
I yelp as my feet leave the ground, and dangle almost twenty feet in the air, clutching the spear for dear life. The beetle, however, seems to have other ideas.
It spins around, trying to dislodge me and make me fall, but the spear embedded halfway in its skull bends, causing what looked like an extremely painful pressure behind the ruined eyeball of the Koraga. It screeches again, and stops the spinning.
It tries rolling over, with the same result. At this point, I'm green in the face and desperately trying to hold onto my last meal.
It hovers in the air, unsure of what to do. I take the opportunity to make my move. I grip the spear at the base, immersing my arm in gooey eyeball fluid again, and pull myself up onto the beetle's head, right into the gap between its head and shell. I rip the spear out, a slimy trail of eyeball and brain matter following its wake, loft it over my head, aim it at the base of its neck, and stab downwards.
I immediately realized that that was an extremely bad idea.
The beetle's wings immediately go limp, and it falls straight to earth, me screaming all the way.
I frantically look around for any way to slow the descent, and, finding none, simply decide to pray to whatever gods existed to make it out alive.
The ground gets closer and closer at a rapid pace. This is not looking good... Well duh. I'm the one who stabbed it in the freaking head. Now I'm just seconds away from becoming a stain on the ground.
A sudden thundering crash, and blackness follows.
A few... hours, days- I have no idea- later, I jerk awake in the same room I woke up in last time I was out. The room is lit up by the soft glow of the luminous lichen, and in that glow, I can see Fury slumped in a chair, her head on her chest and her arms crossed under her breasts. I try to sit up, and scream in pain. Fury is by my side in seconds.
"Try not to move. You broke a lot of bones from that fall, and I just finished patching you up." She says. She looks gaunt and tired. I wondered how long she had stayed up healing me, and how much energy it must have cost.
She shakes her head. "What the hell were you thinking? You almost died!" She murmurs. I raise my eyebrows and make a puppy face. "You broke both hands and forearms, dislocated your right shoulder, fractured your shins and six ribs and cracked your thighbone and pelvis." She says. I wince. Ouch. Well, at least I'm alive, right? Broken bones were to be expected from a nearly thirty foot fall.
"I used my magic to speed up the healing process, so you should be out of bed in a week or so. And then, it's back to training." I groan, still able to move my head, which seems to be the only part not wrapped in a cast. "Come on! Didn't I pass the test already? I killed the stupid thing!" I whine. She chuckles and shakes her head again.
"That was just for food. The real test begins after your training." She says. "If I recall, I was the one who saved your butt." I say. "Really? By running off screaming? By the way, nice trick with the spear catapult." She says. Wait. So she saw the whole thing!? "If you were right there, a little help would have been nice!" I yell. She chuckles, then gets up to leave.
She stops at the door. "Kid, you've got potential. What you did out there? I'm surprised you didn't pee your pants." Uh, thanks? "I'll be expecting a lot from you okay? So train hard, and meet my expectations. Now, sleep." She says, using the knob to reduce the brightness of the lichen to a barely illuminating glow. I hear the door opening and closing.
I lie in the almost-darkness for a while, mulling over her words, and eventually, despite the ache in my body, drift off to a comfortable sleep.
I wake up the next morning to something that smells vaguely like porridge.
I sniff the air. Yep. Definitely porridge. And the smell seems to be getting stronger. Suddenly, Fury walks into the room, holding a bowl with a spoon inside with one hand and opening the door with the other.
"Morning. How are you feeling?" She asks. "Good. I don't think anything else broke last night." I say. "Excellent. Now, time for breakfast!" She says in a singsong voice. I roll my eyes at her, which she ignores.
She pulls up next to me in a chair. "Wait. How are we going to do this? I can't eat lying down." I say. She nods, and helps me up, with a lot of protesting from my bones. She takes a seat and dips the spoon into the porridge, raises it to my mouth, and I take it in.
It tastes just like regular porridge, except with a slightly lumpy and meaty texture. It actually tastes pretty good! I chew for a few seconds before swallowing. "Hey, this is good! What is this made from?" I ask. Fury bows her head slightly in acknowledgement of the praise. "What is it made of? Well... I'll tell you after you eat it." She says.
I have a bad feeling about this...
She keeps feeding me, and the bowl is emptied in a matter of minutes. As she gets up to leave, I remember my question from earlier. "So, what is this stuff made from?" I ask again. "Koraga testicles. Good for bones." She says nonchalantly. I blanch. She's joking, right? I stare at her face, looking for any sign of humor, but its completely straight.
I gag, and have the sudden urge to ram my fingers down my throat. She chuckles, and skips out of the door, leaving me traumatized. Again. This is why I have trust issues...
A few days later, I'm already up and walking around for short periods of time. Inside a week, I'm completely healed.
Two days after that, Fury wakes me up really early in the morning, tosses a pile of clothes in my face, and tells me to get dressed. I dress myself in the comfortable leather outfit, and leave the house. Fury is standing there, with her feet apart and her hands on her hips. "Wake up, boy! I don't have all day!" She snaps.
Startled by the sudden loud noise, my eyes open up properly. "Are you ready, boy? Are you ready to train?" She says loudly. I nod. "I want an answer, idiot!" She yells. Sheesh. Why is she suddenly in drill sergeant mode? "Yes ma'am." I say. "Louder, soldier! I can't hear you!" She yells, almost as if she read my mind.
"Yes ma'am!" I say, this time louder. She looks me in the eye. "This is going to be a very hard and tough road for the next few weeks. Are you sure, absolutely sure, that you want to do this?" She asks, this time softer. I meet her gaze.
"Yes."