Sneak Attack

We soon came to the entrance of a cave. Next to it was an alluring waterfall; the gushing noise of the water crashing against the surface of the river below massaged my ears.

It was a fantastic sight. So amazing that I stood still for a moment and admired its beauty.

Ren refused to stop and let me soak in the moment.

I guess Ren had seen it so many times, there wasn’t anything special about it to him anymore.

I was quite sad that I didn’t get to stay for a bit longer. It wasn’t often that I got to experience the exotic side of nature. Our parents weren’t exactly the most wealthy, and so holidays were extremely rare.

Although, who am I to blame anyone but myself? I’m acting as though I wasn’t the guy who made it clear that school and his room were the only two places that satisfied his comfort needs.

Surely if I had picked up the odd job here and there I could’ve mustered enough money to go on at least one trip where I could explore things like this.

Then again, we weren’t here for a holiday or sightseeing. So I stopped gazing and kept on walking towards the cave.

There wasn’t much to say about the cave. Nothing was distinct enough to make you look at it in awe — or with any sense of intrigue. It was just rocks and shadows, with a whole lot of conveniently lit torches lining a single, wide path forwards.

The ceiling stretched ridiculously high, but nothing lurked above, at least not from what we could see.

Honestly, it felt lazy.

I found myself somewhat puzzled, trying my best not to make a comment about the game developers lack of creativity within mission-settings. The waterfall was breathtaking, but this? This wasn’t really anything.

Couldn't they have added something a little…cooler? Floating stones? A few eerie carvings? Who am I to say this? I don’t know a thing about coding, let alone game-making.

Besides, the monsters so far were quite unique. Well, some were anyway.

Though Ren remained in his unresponsive state, I knew this had to be one of the missions. Walking through a cave doesn’t exactly ever end well, does it?

Having not said anything in quite a while, Izumi suddenly came to life again. This time, however, she didn’t sound like her usual, confident and joyful self. She sounded…scared. “Can you feel that? I think I can sense something up ahead. Let’s move carefully, and keep an eye out.”

Her sudden announcement shook me a little, but I was sure I had drunk enough potions for this level to be a breeze – especially considering Ren was an even higher level. Besides, even though Ren was angry, I knew he would tell us when the monster was actually going to show up.

His silence told me we weren’t close enough yet for it to appear.

Then, a strong thread of wind cracked my ear. It wasn’t like the whistle from the jungle. It was something else. A creaking whip that passed through my head and popped my eardrum on the other side from which it came.

I caught it just in time — something dark sliced the corner of my vision, and my survival instincts kicked in. I manoeuvred my body out of the way just in time, my blade meeting the top of its mouth mid-snap, the sharp steel sinking into its soft flesh.

It let out a sharp, high-pitched squeal, flapping violently before retreating into the shadows above from where it must have come from.

My heart was still racing when Ren suddenly lunged in front of Izumi and me, barking, “Get back! It came earlier than I thought!”

We didn’t have time to process this command, as another gust of wind swept over us. The creature had somehow looped around. It dived for us again, faster this time.

We split without thinking. Ren leaping to the left, and landing smoothly. Izumi hoisted herself to the right. And me, barely dodging beneath it, just about saving myself from the sharp clutches of its feet.

“Taro, get up. Don’t stop using your fire. This thing fears it. It won’t come too close to us if you scare it away. In the meantime, I’ll think of a plan,” Ren frenetically ordered.

I got up, brushed off the dirt I had fallen into, and purged the surrounding area with my fire.

The furry, flying monster cackled, squawking unpleasantly as it wrapped around us once again.

Its trajectory imprudently changed, as it darted towards me. It didn’t phase me, however. I knew I kept up what I was doing, this thing wasn’t getting close to me.

It didn’t stop.

It started getting a little too close. Shouldn’t I move? I thought as my eyes widened and I began to question Ren’s orders.

“Taro, get out of the way. It’s not going to stop!”

I leapt out of the way, just about evading its pointed beak from piercing my chest. As I saved myself, I could feel its terrifying speed.

I couldn’t quite understand what was going on. Was Ren still messing with me, or was he just…wrong?

What was happening?

“What the hell is going on? This thing is supposed to be afraid of the fire. Screw it! We have to bait it. Taro, Izumi and I will make it chase us. We’ll lead it to you and you scorch it with your fire. Got it?”

I nodded affirmatively, determined to prove my worth.

I readied my hands once more, maintaining my belief in Ren as our leader.

“Izumi, run by my side. On three, we’ll jump out of the way and leave the rest to Sabar, okay?”

Izumi didn’t respond, but she followed Ren’s demands.

I spread my feet shoulder-width apart, stuck out my hands with a thrilling confidence, and focused my eyes on the monster, and the monster only.

It began to bolt towards me again, its gargling screams echoing around the cave’s bland structure. Its absurd speed gave me less time to think, and almost immediately Ren started his count.

“One, Two–”

“Ren, Izumi…no!”

The Monster swept Izumi and Ren to the side, their bodies crashing against the cave’s crooked edges.

One single moment of a lack of concentration could prove fatal against this monster. Fortunately, I had sustained my watch of the monster. This time, it snapped at my neck, but my swift movements I had gained from levelling up saved me once again.

My body slammed against the floor, slightly wounding me in the process.

Its bellowing sounded again, drawing my eyes back onto it. I couldn’t let the bird-like creature come at me without me seeing it.

I stood up, yelled with vigorous anger, and felt like some resolve was finally creeping through me.

Yet all of that was worthless.

The monster didn’t seem alarmed by my shouting. Nor did it take notice of my sword which I had wrapped in flames. Instead, it charged to the side of me.

It was not long until I realised where it was going.

There, lying on the floor, was a Pink Strawberry.

It must’ve fallen out of my pocket while I was evading one of its attacks. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I could only watch as it ate the berry, and began to transform into something much more terrifying.

I started to back away, dreading what was about to lie before my eyes.

Its body began to contort and stretch, muscles bulging beneath slick feathers. Its screech now thunderous enough to rattle the cave walls. The wings had sharpened into blades, each beat slicing through the air like knives drawn in anger.

I stood, frozen, watching it grow into something grotesque, something far beyond anything we had prepared for.

There was no point in calling for Ren and Izumi. Not now. From what I had seen, they were both likely out of action.

It was up to me to settle this.

I looked down into my pocket. Only one remained. A single Pink Strawberry.

I clenched my jaw and grasped the strawberry that was in my hand.

There was no other way.

If that thing was going to turn into an even more deadly monster…

Then I had to become one too.