Streetlamps blurred into yellow smears in the thick darkness. Was he laying down? His head felt heavy. Warm. Wet. He tried to lift it, but something dragged it down. Somewhere far away, oil hissed on a flat-top, and a burning smell hit his nose.
But that was hours ago...
His fingers twitched. At least he thought so. It was difficult to tell where his body began and ended. There was a faint noise in the dark, like steady drips of water. Kayo knew it came from the back of his head, but had no strength to lift an arm. The dripping quickened, confusion turning into panic and back to confusion again, until the sound rushed like a violent flood. The liquid slowly filled the void around him, but now, he was not alone.
There was a presence in the dark water, stirring up currents as it moved. Gargantuan, unfathomably so, as it circled him, measured him, studied him. A thousand unseen eyes burned into his skin from all directions. He thought of the ocean itself taking a notice of him, but this was unquestionably older, more vast than any void.
He reached out, hopeless and suffocating, for someone, anyone to help him. Something pushed into his thoughts. A pressure his mind twisted into but one word: THRIVE.
All of his muscles began to ache, a subtle hint that he was alive again. When his eyes opened, the word was gone, but the feeling of being watched lingered. The dark remained also, broken only by distant fluorescent mushrooms.
What the...
He laid there for what felt like several hours, disoriented and confused. He would occasionally feel around, finding only coarse, damp stone. Every attempt to get up ended with his head pounding, so he eventually stopped trying.
He only realized how eerily quiet it was when he began to hear distant echoes. Scratching, he thought. It was too steady to be shifting stones.
Kayo forced himself upright, fighting gods and demons over control of his own balance. His head felt like it was about to explode again. His legs protested, but he slowly shuffled towards the dim lights.
Fucking... I would suck dick for some aspirin right about now.
The scratching became more pronounced the closer he got, until it was interrupted by heavy footsteps and a faint whimper.
Slowly but surely, Kayo could make out two silhouettes around a nearby mushroom cluster. One small, possibly winged, cornered, and the source of the whimpers. The other much larger, with a maw that could swallow the first shade whole. A sound reminiscent of a sadistic giggle escaped the larger creature's mouth.
Nope.
Kayo decided to follow the smaller one's lead and slowly backed away, leaving whatever natural order this was to play out. At least that was his intention.
He focused too much on the beast in front of him to watch where he was going, and accidentally fell down a small opening. Though he was uninjured, there was no way the monster up there did not hear his yelp.
And sure enough, the footsteps above him changed direction. Slow and steady, almost exaggerated, the noises echoed down the dark cavern until Kayo could no longer tell whether it was behind him, in front of him, or everywhere at once.
Kayo shut his eyes, hoping it would help him wake up from whatever nightmare this was. But when he opened them again, not only was he met with the same darkness and stone, but a pair of glowing eyes staring right at him over the ledge.
Their size suggested something panther-like, but it was difficult to measure distance like this. Slowly, the eyes began to descend, sharp claws piercing the stone like climbing nails. Whatever this was, it could not have been an animal.
Kayo pressed himself against the wall as if to let the stone swallow him. The claws scraped closer, grinding sparks into the stone. For mere flickers of moments, Kayo could see the creature illuminated by those very sparks. Maw far wider than any wolf or lion. More like a crocodile. Its skin wrinkled and pale, never touched by the sun. And although the sparks weren't perfect sources of light, Kayo could swear the creature had three pairs of limbs.
Kayo desperately threw a nearby stone towards it, only for it to bounce off with but a leathery fhwomp. He buried his face into his hands, ready to accept his second death...
The air shifted as a sharp blur cut through the cavern and into the opening, wings snapping open with a crack like a whip.
The predator hissed as a gust of wind slammed it against the back wall, away from Kayo. Before it could recover, the blur landed between Kayo and it. Upright, small and long body, wings spread wide, and tail swooshing like a banner in the still-setting dust. The meerbat stood on its hind legs, chest puffed out, a small shriek of defiance escaping its mouth.
Kayo blinked, dazed—...What the fuck, a bat-ferret?—
The monster hissed back, and the meerbat's shrill caused the stone beneath its feet to tremble, sending small fractures outward.
The monster laughed again, and began to slowly approach. The meerbat spat another burst of wind and shards of stone into the creature. It flinched, but didn't stop advancing. The meerbat shrieked, trying desperately to look bigger than it was – a snowman against an avalanche.
Kayo's heart pounded. He had no weapons, no strength, nothing but...
He fumbled into his pocket. His phone.
Please please please please...
Luckily for him, it wasn't dead yet, though it was close. He thumbed the screen for a second, then shoved the maximum brightness flashlight into the beast's face.
The monster roared in pain, thrashing blindly as its eyes seared. Kayo didn't wait for it to recover. He scooped the meerbat against his chest and ran, feet splashing against unseen puddles, stone scraping his shoulders. The phone flickered and turned off, battery indicator glowing a sickly red. He had no idea where he was going, towards safety or something worse.
• • •
Kayo staggered deeper into the cavern until he had no energy left. He collapsed against the wall, letting the meerbat slip out of his arms.
—You're welcome—Kayo muttered in-between gasps for air—Pretty sure that makes us even—
The meerbat didn't chirp this time. It stepped closer, claws gently tapping against the stone floor. Kayo flinched, backing further into the wall.
—No no no, I'm not looking for a pet right now. You go your way, I go mine, and we both try not to die again. Sound fair?—
The meerbat ignored him, stepping ever closer, its tail brushing against the walls gently. Then it stood upright, puffed out its chest, and pressed a front paw against Kayo's foot.
Kayo froze. The air dropped, heavy and crushing. Faint presence of metal flickered in his hand, sharp and cold like the edge of a blade, then it was gone. Soon, he could feel another soul within him as his heartbeat doubled, stuttering off-rhythm so much that he thought it would burst.
Then, the weight vanished along with the meerbat, and his heartbeat stabilized again.
—What the hell did you do to me...?—Kayo's voice cracked, high and shaky. He looked around, half-expecting the meerbat to be clinging to the ceiling or hiding in the shadows, pulling some sick prank on him. Nothing. Just him, the mushrooms, and his own ragged breathing.
A voice whispered. Not from the cavern... this was from the depths of his own mind—You run loud. But you live. That enough—
Kayo's spine pressed into the stone behind him so hard it hurt—Oh no, nope, out of my skull, I did not consent to this!—He clawed into his scalp, hoping to physically dig the intruder out.
—You did. This is pact. Without consent, would not be. I rest inside now, until called. You will not die alone here—
Kayo's hands trembled—Cool. Great. Either I've officially lost it, or I just adopted a bat-ferret who speaks in riddles—
—Bat... ferret?—the voice was puzzled, almost offended.
Kayo let his head fall back against the stone walls, staring up towards the ceiling. Faint dots of light decorated the rooftop like a faux night sky.
—I hope you're at least useful...—he muttered, the words heavier than he meant them to be.