Somewhere on a wasteland planet, where its terrain was buried under endless purple dust that stretched far into the horizon, a violet haze filtering through the sky, staining everything beneath it. Hidden deep below this surface was an underground bunker that stretched for miles.
Inside that bunker stood five massive vault doors, each numbered one through five. In Vault One, three humans gathered around a single glowing monitor, the cold blue light casting sharp shadows across their tired faces. The other human just lingered at the back as she always did.
[ARCHIVE FILE: BEAST INDEX]
"Beast Index?" Jayden read aloud, leaning closer to the screen.
Beneath the bold title, a smaller option blinked on the monitor:
[OPEN]
"Is it like… an archive of some sort?" Erin asked, her brows furrowing.
Liam narrowed his eyes, his fingers tapping across the futuristic holographic keyboard. "Yeah… looks like a digital record, some kind of database."
"Maybe it's entries about all those weird creatures on this planet," Jayden voiced, his tone a mix of curiosity and dread.
"Yes," Liam muttered in agreement. "The people who built this place weren't as clueless as we are."
"If there's an entry about those alien creatures," Erin added quickly, a spark of hope in her voice, "then maybe there's something about my powers in here too." Her heart thudded harder. It was about time she found real answers, answers about why her arm glowed and why she felt tied to this world.
Liam paused before answering.
"First off, yes we might find something. But second..." his eyes flicked toward her, "...you can't call them aliens when this is their planet. We're the aliens."
Jayden pressed his lips together, nodding slowly. "He's got a point."
"And while you're at it, be careful about what you touch here. I don't want you vaporizing us today, or any other day for that matter."
Jayden shot Liam a look, frustration plain on his face. Why did he always have to be so blunt? He could've said it in a kinder way but he chose the mean way. Liam only shrugged it off, turning his attention back to the glowing monitor.
With a click, Liam pressed "OPEN."
The screen changed instantly and rows of new images flickered into life, each one displayed strange creatures, horned predators, scaled beasts, massive wormlike abominations. Beneath each image was a column of text listing their habitat, size, weaknesses, and danger levels.
Jayden's eyes grew wide with horror as he scanned through.
"Holy hell… and we've just been wandering out there with these things? Like it's nothing?" His voice cracked, but no one answered.
"Whoever built this place…" Erin whispered, barely audible, "…they knew exactly what was out there."
Liam continued scrolling with focus. A new tab appeared on the screen..
[BEAST TIERS:]
"Yeah," he said, nodding to himself. "It makes sense… different beast tiers. From the weakest to the strongest, from unintelligent to the most intelligent."
He clicked on the first tier.
The monitor shifted again. A new tab opened, lines of text spilling across the screen in a cold, clinical font. Blue light reflected on their eyes as they scanned the words.
[TIER ONE: COMMON
Note: Low individual threat, but dangerous in numbers. Avoid carelessness.
1. Ash Vultures (a.k.a. "Smokers")
Description: Skeletal birds with featherless wings coated in soot. Their beady eyes glow faintly red in the dark, and when they land, they leave black ash-like dust in their wake. Their raspy cries sound like coughing.
Behavior: Scavengers. They circle above weakened prey and swoop in when the target is distracted or injured. Rarely attack alone, but when one screeches, it signals the others to swarm.
Threat Level: Harmless solo, overwhelming in a flock. Tend to claw at eyes and soft flesh first.
Weakness: Fire and sudden bright light. They scatter when exposed to heat.
Intelligence: 0% (pure instinct).
Note: Easy to spot early thanks to their constant cawing. If you hear silence after cawing… they're about to dive.
2. Shell Hounds (a.k.a. "Crushers")
Description: Canine-like beasts with elongated jaws and armored shells covering their backs like snapping turtles. Their claws are sharp enough to shred steel doors when motivated. About the size of a wolf, but bulkier.
Behavior: Pack hunters. They encircle prey, snapping and feinting until the target is exhausted, then rush in together. Their shells make them hard to kill with blunt strikes.
Threat Level: Dangerous if more than three. Their bite can snap bones, and they will chase for miles once they've marked prey.
Weakness: Fire makes them panic. They avoid open flames.
Intelligence: 5% (low coordination, but strong pack tactics).
3. Sand Maw Worms (Small) (a.k.a. "Spitters")
Description: Pale, eyeless worms about the length of a grown man's arm, with circular maws lined with razor sharp teeth. Their bodies are slick with mucus, leaving slimy trails. When agitated, their throats bulge before spitting acid.
Behavior: Burrow just under the ground and erupt suddenly, often in swarms. One is harmless, but dozens can trap prey in a sea of biting maws and acid spit.
Threat Level: Annoying at best, lethal if swarmed. Their acidic spit can burn through clothing and skin within seconds.
Weakness: Fire or intense heat dries out their skin, killing them quickly.
Intelligence: 5% (move in swarms but no real strategy).
Note: You'll hear a faint chittering under the sand before they burst out. If you hear that sound move fast.
4. Gravel Crawlers (a.k.a. "Clickers")
Description: Insect-like, with hard stony exoskeletons that resemble chunks of gravel. They scuttle on six spindly legs, clicking their mandibles constantly.
Behavior: Hide in rocky terrain, blending into the environment. They spring onto prey and latch with mandibles, draining blood slowly. Usually found in groups of ten or more.
Threat Level: Low individually, but their camouflage and blood-draining bite make them exhausting to deal with.
Weakness: Their bodies shatter under blunt force. Fire also forces them out of hiding.
Intelligence: 2% (hunt by sound and vibration, no strategy).
5. Soot Rats (a.k.a. "Gnashers")
Description: Large, hairless rodents with blackened skin and overgrown teeth that scrape the ground when they run. They emit shrill squeaks when agitated. Their skin constantly sheds flakes of soot, leaving a trail.
Behavior: Aggressive scavengers. Attracted to food, wounds, or blood. They attack in swarms, gnawing on anything softer than stone.
Threat Level: More nuisance than true predator, but their bites can spread infection.
Weakness: Extremely flammable due to oily skin secretions.
Intelligence: 3% (hunt in mobs but scatter easily when panicked)
…]
The list went on and on, displaying images and information about each creature, their characteristics, weaknesses, and intelligence levels.
When Erin saw the entry for the Sand Maw Worms, the same worms that had ambushed them on their first night, her stomach twisted.
The screen detailed their acidic spit and swarming nature, marking them as dangerous despite being only a Tier One beast.
Erin felt a grim wave of relief. If those things had gotten the chance to feast on them back then, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
After going through the first list of the Beast Index: The Common Tier Beasts, they proceeded to the next one:
[TIER 2: ELITE BEASTS
Smarter and deadlier than their Tier 1 conterparts. They often serve as territorial apex predators or opportunistic hunters that thrive in the ruins of the wasteland.
1. Sand Maw Worm (Adult) (a.k.a "Burrower")
Appearance:
The adult Sand Maw Worm stretches anywhere from 12–20 feet long. Its hide is armored with overlapping plates that shimmer faintly in sunlight. At the tip of its head protrudes a drill-like spike, constantly rotating with a grinding noise as it burrows. Rows of razor sharp teeth lines its circular mouth.
Behavior:
Unlike the swarming juvenile worms, the adult is a solitary ambusher. It prefers to burrow beneath runes or cracked ground, waiting for vibrations. When prey passes, it erupts violently from below, devouring or maiming in a single strike. It is cunning enough to use collapsed terrain or unstable rock to trap prey, suggesting some instinctual strategy.
Weakness: Sonic disruption. Its drill head is finely tuned for burrowing. A loud, high-frequency noise disorients it and forces it to retreat. Fire can harm it, but less effectively than with juveniles.
Intelligence level: 20% –( More instinct-driven than truly clever, but demonstrates patience and planning.)
2. Kravens (a.k.a "Bonewalkers")
Description: Humanoid, standing 7 to 9 feet tall with elongated limbs and clawed fingers. Their skin is pale, often patched with crude armor made from scavenged bones or metal. Their glowing, predatory eyes are always locked onto prey. And a grin is always displayed on their face wheneverthey come across a prey.
Behavior: Kravens hunt in packs of 3 to 6, using tools, snares, and makeshift weapons such as sharpened bone spears or nets. They are known to mimic voices and the sounds of other creatures to lure victims into traps. A single Kraven is dangerous; a group is deadly. They sometimes raid each other, showing that their intelligence does not erase their savagery.
Weakness: Light & coordination. Kravens despise bright, focused light, it stuns and enrages them. They rely heavily on ambush tactics, forcing them into open combat reduces their effectiveness.
Intelligence level: 30% (They are not builders, but they display tactical cunning. They learn quickly, adapt to failed strategies, and use fear as a weapon).
…]
The list for the Elite Tier Beasts was overwhelming, row after row of names, descriptions, and sketches, far more than they could possibly read in one sitting. After a while, they began skipping entries, scrolling faster toward the end and that was when the name appeared.
[...
Mutated Crabs: (a.k.a "Screechers")
…]
The air seemed to grow heavier the moment the words lit up on the monitor. Everyone froze almost instantly. They all remembered the first time they'd encountered it at the ruins, its sheer size and raw brutality. And just hours ago, on the surface, how close it had come to killing them again.
Now, seeing it here, casually filed under "Elite Level," sent a cold shiver crawling down their spines.
If such a monstrous, formidable beast was considered weak…
None of them wanted to finish the thought.
But it lingered anyway.
If this is what the weakest look like… how terrifying will the top-tier creatures be?