Chapter 8: Enivia (Part 2)

The rest of the journey was a blur of nervous jumps and darting eyes as everyone scanned the lake for movement. No more incidents occurred before the craft finally slid onto the beach. Hinelin, Kilner and Orion jumped out, dragging the airboat fully onto the shore. Hinelin promptly instructed the other two to remove their wet boots and set them aside to dry. He was adamant: no one was to touch the water with bare skin.

Giddeon stared down the shoreline, spotting over a dozen boats scattered along the beach for miles. To avoid collisions, each descent ship had been launched at twenty-minute intervals, with trajectories adjusted to land in different spots. Some teams had beached hours ago.

“What’s the plan, Team Leader?” Orion asked.

“Join up with the others,” Hinelin replied, retrieving a metallic cylinder from his backpack. He twisted off one end, popping out a rolled-up parchment which he unfolded, revealing a map covered in coordinates. His finger jabbed at a large red star. “The rendezvous point is just north of our position. This map is how we navigate the planet. It’s our lifeline now, so no one touches it. Got it?”

The squad nodded in unison.

Hinelin turned to the shortest member of the group. “Vessa, you’re second in command. Get the supplies ready; coordinate who’s carrying what. Orion, you’re the lookout while the rest of us prepare the journey to Base Camp Six.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Kilner murmured. “Base Camp Six?”

Hinelin shrugged, walking past him. “I didn’t name it. Now move, people. We’re losing sunlight.”

“He sounds just like one of those military sergeants from those old movies you stored in your holo,” Johnny commented.

That’s because he is military.

Unsurprisingly, Giddeon was saddled with the heavy gear, while Hinelin and Orion carried only their personal packs. Vessa had justified this with a sweet smile: “In case we get attacked, they need to be free to protect us. You understand, I’m sure.” Though he hated her silver tongue, her logic was sound.

“Your Intelligence is ten—at least to her,” Johnny told him. “Meaning you’re easy to manipulate.”

Shut up.

Running parallel to the beach, the dense jungle stood roughly half a mile inland. Its trees towered hundreds of feet into the air, the tallest reaching a neck-aching four hundred feet or more. While several appeared to be tropical, the majority resembled giant, oversized pines, cedars, oaks, and maples—far larger than any of them had ever seen before.

Uzari whistled quietly as everyone eyed the imposing forest.

“Excited to explore the flora?” Giddeon asked.

“Very,” she replied, her eyes alight as her neck craned back to stare up at the gigantic specimens.

Leaving the airboat behind, the column marched in a loose file across deep, heavy sand. A chorus of chaotic noises bled from the shadows of the forest—hoots, caws, persistent buzzing, and the occasional roar, reminding them they were not alone. After an arduous twenty-minute trek north, they arrived at a flat, open expanse of beach set safely away from the wilderness.

Canvas tents peppered the area. Small, triangular shelters served as personal quarters, while large, covered pavilions designated as medical facilities and food storage dominated sections of the base. A few oversized structures bulged with stacked crates and small metal cages. The entire settlement was strategically positioned, flanked by a clear view of the loch on one side and a wide, barren buffer zone separating the site from the forest.

“The camp is separated by teams,” Hinelin explained, conferring with his map. “The groups are set up a hundred feet apart, in case a fire breaks out. Our section’s here, at the southern end.” He turned to Vessa, pointing to his left. “Have our shelters erected there and transport our rations to the closest food storage pavilion. They’re marked with a red banana—don’t ask me why it’s red. I’ve a team leader’s meeting to get to.”

“Yes sir,” Vessa replied.

As Hinelin walked off, she whirled around to the rest of the squad, a bright smile plastered on her face. “It’s been a long day, and I know most of you are mentally and physically exhausted, but I just want to say one thing. Welcome to Camp Panda!”

“Yay,” Kilner muttered, lazily waving a hand in the air as he walked away. “Camp Panda. Woohoo.”

“I think those cards were rigged,” Orion said, sounding highly skeptical. “Vibane must have picked the name just to mess with us.”

“Wouldn’t Hinelin have chosen it, being the team leader?” Oomah asked as she hefted a bag full of tent components.

Vessa raised her eyebrows. “You think someone like him would willingly choose Panda?” She clapped her hands together sharply. “Let’s get to it. Set up those tents, Aiges! We can do this!”

Everyone dispersed to their respective gear piles, Giddeon included. Selecting a spot secluded from the others, he began to build. Having erected thousands of makeshift shelters during his time on Earth One, the assembly took him no time at all.

Relaxing against his completed tent, he looked around. Except for Redler and Uzari, the entire squad was hopelessly struggling to even unroll their canvas. Several stared at the tent stakes as if they were alien devices. Giddeon chuckled at their complete lack of basic survival skills.

“Now’s the time to score points,” Johnny suggested. “Use that natural-born charisma of yours and help out.”

My AI is telling me how to socialize? The irony.

“It’s good advice. Take it or leave it.”

Giddeon sighed. If he didn’t pitch in, half the squad would be sleeping under the stars by nightfall. Since Uzari was the closest to being finished, he stepped over to assist her first, silently grabbing some canvas she was working around the frame to help her roll it out. Working together, they completed the shelter in short order.

“Thank you,” she said, lowering the entrance flap to completely conceal her quarters. With hands on her hips, she gave the tent a quick nod of approval before swiveling to stare at him. “But this doesn’t make up for what you did.”

He nodded quietly, deciding now was definitely not the time to unpack their overly complicated relationship. “Let’s help the others,” he suggested.

Her eyes lit up. “Just like in Asteria?”

Giddeon glanced across the unfamiliar shores—at the burgeoning cluster of tents, his team, and the alien sky. “In a way, it feels similar, just…elsewhere.”

“I meant helping the party,” she clarified. “Like we did with our guildmates.”

“Yes, that too.” A fleeting memory darkened his expression. “Although not all of them were worth the effort.”

Uzari frowned as she watched him study the others but said nothing more.

“Redler’s almost done,” he observed. “The brother-sister combo look like they’re struggling the most. Let’s start with them.”

They went from person to person, helping them finish their tents. Most gave a curt thank you as acknowledgment, except Kilner. He merely grunted when the assembly was complete, grabbing a large crate of rations before hauling it toward a tent in the distance.

“Sociable fellow,” Giddeon remarked as they watched him trudge off.

“I think he’s like that with everyone,” Uzari replied softly.

“This all seems very militaristic,” Giddeon murmured, looking around at the rapidly expanding Base Camp Six. As more groups stumbled in, large swaths of canvas soon blocked the view of their surroundings. “I don’t like it.”

Uzari gave him a curious look. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s all too organized.” His voice dropped into a hushed murmur. “Like a military operation. Vibane arranged our squads into small platoons: a leader, a technician, a medic, a botanist, a biologist, a soldier or two, and grunts, like me.”

“So, what’s the issue?”

Giddeon frowned, shaking his head. “There’s no captain. No officer in charge. Just individual teams.”

“You seem to know a lot about the military,” Uzari commented.

He stared at the next team over, watching them struggle to raise a tent. “My father, remember?”

Vessa’s voice cut through the camp. “Everyone, gather around!”

Uzari followed Giddeon to join the others, murmuring quietly, “I’d forgotten about that.”

Clambering onto a large crate, Vessa looked at each of them in turn before speaking. “We need a fire, which means we need some of you to gather wood from the forest. Oomah, will you please hand out the axes?”

Oomah brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes. “I’m the medic,” she said, her voice dripping with self-importance. “You should have someone else do that.”

“Everyone pulls their fair share,” Vessa replied calmly, leaping down from her perch. She patted the lid of the container. “I know your position, which is why you’ll handle distribution while the others collect the firewood. Understand?”

Oomah arched one eyebrow but stepped forward anyway. “Fine.”

Vessa handed her a crowbar.

“Thanks,” Oomah muttered, presenting a closed-mouth smile. Shoving the bar beneath the wood, she struggled to pry the lid open.

Hinelin came striding back into camp, pausing to survey the layout. “Good, very good,” he said with a satisfied nod. “I see everything’s set up. You’re preparing to get wood, I take it?”

Vessa nodded. “Just about to.”

The team leader turned to Orion. “I want you going with them. While our AIGES indicates there’s nothing dangerous, we’ve already seen how reliable that is. Consider everything a threat.”

“Any news from the meeting that we should know about?” Eddington asked quietly.

Hinelin cleared his throat. “One of the other teams encountered one of those…naga things, was it called? Except they weren’t as lucky as us. A member was pulled into the lake.” He shook his head grimly. “They never resurfaced.”

A pall fell over the group. The siblings began whispering frantically, while Eddington paced in tight circles, muttering to himself. Redler sat heavily on a crate, her face ashen, looking as though she were ready to pass out.

“Sounds like Vibane didn’t prepare us all that well,” Kilner snorted. “That bonus money should have been triple.”

“Someone’s already gone,” Redler moaned, holding her head. “I knew this was a bad idea. My husband told me not to come…”

“Now, people, that was an unforeseen accident and—” Hinelin began.

“How do we know the woods are safe?” Oomah blurted, cutting him off.

“That’s why I’m sending Orion along,” Hinelin replied bluntly. “I can guard camp or go in place of him; it makes no difference to me. They assigned me a gun at the meeting.”

Oomah eyed the bolt-action rifle on his back. “You mean that ancient-looking thing?”

Hinelin nodded. “Ancient, but reliable nonetheless.”

“I’m not going in there!” Eddington said resolutely, pointing toward the trees in the distance.

“That’s fine,” Hinelin replied, striding up to a supply crate. Pulling out a foldable shovel he tossed it at Eddington’s feet, pointing toward an empty plot of land. “Start digging a latrine a hundred feet that way.”

He scanned the rest of the crew. “Who else doesn’t want to gather wood?”

“Give me a shovel,” Redler said, stepping forward.

Hinelin handed her a tool, then turned back to Vessa. “Pick three to gather wood. The rest of us will take turns digging.”

“But, why do I have to dig a latrine with…” Oomah began.

Hinelin locked eyes with her. His glare was heavy and cold, causing the nurse’s words to trail off. Oomah’s mouth shut, eyes glued to the ground.

The team leader grunted. “Good to hear everyone’s on board. Vessa?”

“Kilner, Uzari, and…Graks,” Vessa decided, then frowned up at Hinelin. “Where is Graks, by the way?”

“He ate something from the forest yesterday and fell sick,” Hinelin replied. “Medics say he’ll be fine, but they’ve confined him to a medical pavilion for now. They’re being cautious about possible communicable diseases.”

“Graks is a carrier?” Eddington gasped, stepping back. “For what? W-what are his symptoms?”

Hinelin shook his head. “He ate something bad—that’s all they know for now. Since he won’t be joining us for a while, we’ll need someone else to—”

“I’ll go,” Giddeon said, stepping up to Oomah. Taking the crowbar from her hand, he popped open the crate’s lid with a sharp crack, then handed the bar back. “Your job’s done,” he said offhandedly, pulling out three Veridian axes.

Moving over to Kilner and Uzari, he passed each an axe before turning to Hinelin. “Is there a specific place to gather?”

“Yes, actually. They’ve already sent in some hunters to ensure it’s safe.” Hinelin pointed southeast, his eyes sweeping the darkening sky. “Best get a move on. Sun’s dropping, and we need fires before we’re blind.”

“That way it is,” Giddeon said, turning without another word and heading out of camp. As he walked, he projected his thoughts internally.

You’ve been quiet for a while.

“I’m trying to recall this area, but nothing stands out,” Johnny replied. “I’m certain I’ve seen this loch before, though.”

Sounds like your programmer forgot to add the layout to your database.

“Haha, funny,” Johnny muttered.

“Are you any good in a fight?” Kilner asked as he and Uzari caught up to him. Orion trailed behind them with a bored expression.

Giddeon nodded toward Uzari. “Me, or her?”

“Either of you.”

Giddeon gave him a faint smile. “Have you seen my stats? Perfect tens.”

“Yeah,” Kilner grumbled, shaking his head. “Perfect tens…great.” The man looked at Uzari. “And you?”

“I’m trained in several styles of martial arts: jujitsu, kendo, and kenjutsu,” Uzari replied. “Also fencing and archery—though I only did archery for sport. The others were professional.”

Kilner opened his mouth, then closed it, simply nodding.

“What about you, my friend?” Giddeon asked.

Kilner gripped his axe tightly. “I have a penchant for killing things,” he replied cryptically.

Giddeon subtly drifted a few feet away as they walked, guiding Uzari with him. He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. She returned the look.

“It appears we’ve finally met someone more unhinged than you,” Johnny chimed in. “You two should make wonderful friends.”

Like us?

“No, we’re super friends!” Johnny exclaimed.

Giddeon chuckled silently to himself. I still can’t figure you out.

“What’s there to figure out?”

Whether you’re one of Vibane’s experiments, an AIGES chip with a massive database, or just some unforeseen glitch in the system?

“You’d better hope I’m not an experiment,” Johnny replied somberly. “That would mean everything we’ve discussed has been recorded and sent to Vibane.”

Everything prior. The planet blocks transmissions.

“Are you certain of that?”

We have zero communication with the Mother Ship. Hinelin is using a map to get our coordinates. I’ve already tested my holo and it died in seconds. If there were a way to send signals, Ereos would be directing his people down here personally.

“His people?”

Several of the crew are directly employed by him, and I don’t mean as standard Aiges contractors.

“How do you figure?”

I’ll explain later. I’m still trying to come to grips with the fact I’m talking to a glitched-out AI.

“Aww, and I thought we were bonding here,” Johnny said sadly. “What say I—”

A blood-curdling scream erupted from the forest, followed by a long, echoing howl. Everyone froze.

“What was that?” Kilner whispered, his voice strained.

“Some kind of animal,” Uzari whispered back, though she sounded uncertain. “I can’t recall which one, but I’ve heard it before, from Asteria.”

“Wolf,” Giddeon said, his voice low and steady. “A big one.”

Uzari snapped her fingers. “Right. They were all over the starting zones. Just low-level mobs.”

Kilner stared at Giddeon, frowning. “How do you know it’s big?”

Giddeon’s eyes remained rooted on the treeline. “They run in packs on Earth One. The mutated ones are the worst.”

Kilner’s brow furrowed. “Mutated?”

Twigs snapped, and something dashed out of the forest. A man broke from the treeline a hundred feet away, sprinting for his life. Giddeon recognized him as a hunter from another team. As the runner sped across the deep sand, he tripped, rolling violently onto the beach before scrambling back to his feet. Terror was painted across his face as he charged their position.

A beast as large as a bull came crashing out of the undergrowth, sending branches and shattered saplings flying. Feline in shape, it was covered in crimson fur, boasting razor-sharp claws and an elongated maw packed with dagger-like teeth. Instead of two eyes, it bore three—the third perfectly centered on its forehead. Its sharply curved eyes and sleek body pulsed with a sinister, reddish-orange glow, as if a wildfire blazed inside its chest.

“Wh—what the hell is that!” Orion stammered from behind them.

The predator hit the ground with the speed of an avalanche, leaving tracks of scorched, blackened sand in its wake. Before the runner could even scream, it snatched him mid-stride in its massive jaws. Slamming him down, its razor claws ripped through clothes and skin as its maw tore into his torso. The sickening crunch of bones cracking rent the air. The screams stopped instantly. It was over before the air even settled.

“Back up, everyone, back up,” Giddeon hissed. Holding his arms out, he slowly stepped back, pushing Uzari and Kilner with him.

Suddenly, a dark-skinned hunter rushed from the forest and raised his long-barreled rifle, taking aim.

The creature’s ears perked up. Instantly, it dropped the body and rushed toward the new danger. As it closed the distance, it bounded from side to side sporadically, as if it instinctively knew the gun was dangerous.

Crack!

The rifle echoed across the shore. A violent spray of sand shot up next to the beast’s foot as it dodged, the bullet missing by a mere inch. Cursing loudly, the hunter ejected the casing and loaded another round. Before he could lift his rifle back up, the creature was on him. With a powerful swipe, it sent the weapon flying from his hands. The hunter stumbled back, tripping and falling onto the deep sand.

Giddeon’s UI instantly flickered, flashing open the DENIZENARY.

What is all this?

“I filled in the gaps for your AIGES,” Johnny quickly explained. “It’s never recorded a hell beast. None of you have access to cold or holy magic by chance?”

Magic! I don’t have time for this nonsense!

The beast loomed over the fallen hunter, its maw curling upward in imitation of a human smile, watching the sheer fear on his face with morbid pleasure. As the man scrambled back, the creature remained motionless, its three-eyed gaze locked tight on him as its maw opened wide. A bad feeling jabbed Giddeon like a knife in the pit of his stomach.

Giddeon’s eyes darted across the text bleeding into his vision. “Roll!” he screamed, spotting the warning under its Special Abilities.

The hunter immediately threw himself sideways as a cone of searing-hot flames erupted from the beast’s mouth, turning the sand beneath him to molten glass.

Uzari’s fingers bit into his arm. “We have to help him!”

Giddeon glanced at the woman he had spent five long years in Asteria with. Her face was pale with terror. In the same instant, his mind flashed back to Irazu—the brave Lunar Elf who never hesitated to throw herself into danger to rescue others.

But this was not a game. It was real life.

What should we do!

Johnny never hesitated. “Run! Gid, run for your life!”