Caelum and the Reed-stalker stared at each other, tension saturating the air. Caelum edged sideways along the wall, his back rubbing against the coarse tree as he tried to put more space between himself and the fish. He hoped the gesture would be enough. Take it, he thought. Just take the damn fish and go.
The Reed-stalker stared at Caelum with unblinking, perceptive eyes. Its nose flared at the whiff of living flesh, showing it wanted Caelum more than the cold, dead fish. Caelum stayed alert, gripping his spear and keeping it ready in case the creature attacked.
One of them was bound to give in first, and despite Caelum's efforts, the experienced stalker found a weak spot—a chance to strike. Instead of jumping at Caelum, it leapt into the hollow, using the interior to attack from a new angle. Shit, the move was so fast that by the time Caelum realised what was happening, the creature was already set to jump from the wall. All he could do was move his spear between the Reed-stalker's mouth and his body.
The Reed-stalker's jaws bit shut with bone-crushing force, missing Caelum's shoulder by a hair as the resonant-forged spear shaft jammed between its teeth. The impact slammed him into the floor and punched the air from his lungs. Pinned under its weight, its hot, fetid breath rolled over his face. Instinct took charge—Caelum drove his knee up into the beast's vulnerable sac with everything he had. The Reed-stalker's roar burst through the hollow, and its body convulsed as it flinched.
Caelum scrambled up, dragging his bad leg under him, and brought the spear back on guard. "You… could've just taken the fish and left," he spat. "You massive river rat!"
The stalker snarled again, but this time it dipped its head and kept its vulnerable sac tucked away. It flicked forward in a sharp, false strike—just enough to make Caelum lift his guard—then shot low.
A hooked forearm sliced into his shin.
Caelum saw it a moment too late. Claws tore through his pant leg and raked his calf. Pain snapped up the bone, white-hot. His knee almost folded, but he caught himself on the spear like a crutch and jabbed for the base of the neck.
The leg betrayed him. The thrust dipped—and the point drove into the shoulder instead with a squelchy crunch.
He wasn't sure if instinct or luck guided the strike, only that it landed deep. Flecks of dark blood pattered, hot and syrupy, onto the mangrove floor.
For a second, neither of them moved. Hot blood pooled under Caelum's injured leg, and every muscle in his body locked tight around the spear. The Reed-stalker jerked as the wound registered—then its eyes flicked, sharp and calculating, from Caelum's stance to the spearhead wet with its own blood.
It didn't charge. It reassessed and decided Caelum wasn't worth it.
A beat later, it wrenched itself free, almost tearing the spear from Caelum's hands as it scrambled back out of reach. The stalker hovered at the edge of the hollow, weighing him one last time—then snapped up the fish and vaulted away into the reeds, choosing the cheaper meal. "That fucker could've just done so from the beginning and spared both of us the pain," he cursed under his breath.
After he was sure the Reed-stalker had left, Caelum's muscles finally gave way from the built-up tension, and he collapsed against the hollow wall. His calf beat with each heartbeat, warm blood permeating through his torn pants. With shaking hands, he dragged his bag closer and searched through it, pulling out disinfectant, medical gauze, and cotton swabs.
He peeled back the shredded material of his pants, wincing as the material stuck to the wound. Three parallel gashes ran down his calf, deep enough to keep bleeding but—thankfully—not deep enough to have severed anything vital. The edges were ragged where the claws had torn through.
He followed the basic first aid taught to all cadets and leaned back against the stone, breathing hard. When he finally felt his breath steady, Caelum helped himself up with the spear. He made his way to the entrance of the hollow and saw the trail of blood left by the stalker leading away from the hollow.
Step by step, he made his way down to the water's edge with the aid of the spear. He broke off some small chunks from some of his rations and threw them in front of him. He couldn't move around looking for food, so this was his best plan for now. Spear held ready to strike when anything approaches the food.
Caelum knew he could just stay holed up in the hollow, eating the rations and leaving the back through the gate, but then what? Try another year while working in some prefab factory? No, he wanted freedom. Freedom to choose and to explore; he knows he needs to awaken a power for that.
While thinking, a swift fish had taken the bait and approached the rations. Caelum aimed and struck the spear, but he missed by an inch as the fish reacted instinctively. Not giving up, he readied himself for a long day of waiting by the water, honing his skill and patience. Maybe I will awaken some sort of fishing-related power, he joked to himself.
After a few misses, an hour or two had already passed, and the bait was gone. He had to break off more chunks from the rations and throw them back in. He shifted his strategy and hid the bait behind two rocks to create a semi-choke point that the fish had to move through. This seemed to work better, as there was now only one point of entry and escape.
The sun was past the afternoon now when Caelum finally got an accurate stab at a fish. It was small and barely worth the ration he had spent, but it gave him a sense of achievement from adapting to his situation. Taking a moment in, he felt the gentle wind of the humid mangrove flowing, the chirps of faraway birds and the few warm rays of sunlight hitting him. I wonder if Earth was like this before my time.
Caelum spent the rest of the afternoon spearing. He had used the first small fish as bait and got a large catfish-like eel-hybrid speared. He wanted to celebrate his success with a victory dance when he lurched over, forgetting his wounded leg. Ouch... fuck.
He gathered some branches and twigs around the roots and returned to the mangrove. Caelum did not forget to stay on guard, however, as the sneaky Reed-stalker was always on the back of his mind. The Hollow and the surrounding area were cleared, and he set to work again to build a fire for the night. Grilled the Catfish-eel and was quite surprised by how good it tasted. It had the texture of overcooked chicken but tasted clean, almost nutty, with none of the swamp funk he'd expected.
He replaced the gauze and redid his wound before going to bed. He reset the shell-alarm, even though he didn't entirely trust it to ward off the reed-stalker. It would at least help against anything that hadn't encountered him yet. He set down to sleep, this night with one eye open and spear in hand.