Mythos: Last Stand

  Chapter 8 — Heart to Heart

  by Caide Fullerton

  Jackie found the smell of smoke to be quite pleasant. This wasn’t necessarily because they thought it smelled good; everything else in the Forgotten Heap smelled of blood or rot, so smoke won by default as the only alternative.

  Both of those smells were strong here in the Kumori’s lair. They’d gone to the effort of dragging the monster’s body out of the ruins, but the ground was still stained with its blood, and the air still stank of its victims; it was remarkable how well the smell of death clung to bones.

  As if to spite the stench, Jackie took a deep breath, filling their nostrils with the burning sensation of smoke instead. They then proceeded to cough harshly.

  They were seated against the doorway of the eastern tower, a smoldering campfire sitting inside the structure behind them. Once it was clear they would be spending the night here, the group had determined this to be the most stable of the surrounding structures; it was also tall enough to mask the smoke and light of their fire.

  Their companions sat around the fire inside, presumably sleeping. Jackie had volunteered to be the first watch; they had far too much to think about, so they doubted they’d sleep anytime soon either way.

  Their gaze drifted upwards. The leaning tower cast a deep shadow over them, though the stained ground to either side was illuminated in a faint blue. It reminded them of a scene they’d seen before, though the colors were wrong.

  As that day came to mind, a hand slid down to the sheath at their belt. They unclipped it, careful not to make too much noise, and held the scabbard out in front of them. It was quite simple, made of wood with bronze detailing, but it was of high quality, especially compared to most things found in the Heap. Alistair had always bragged he had a talent for finding diamonds in the rough.

  With a soft smile, they placed a hand on the sword’s hilt and slowly drew it. Setting the scabbard aside, they gently plunged the tip of the sword into the mud in front of them, sliding the blade a few inches deep such that the ground could hold it up.

  Their hand retreated from the blade, and for a while they simply stared at it, searching for the right words. Eventually, they took a breath and whispered,

  Jackie: “I found them, Al. Just like you always said I would.” They glanced behind them with a smile, then lightly flicked the flat of the sword, “You should’ve told me it would take this long, you dumb old man. I was starting to lose hope.”

  They let those words settle for a while, returning their gaze to the shadow above. Stars could be glimpsed in the sky to either side of the tower. Tracing the constellations with their gaze, they felt a feeling of guilt overtake them, and they lowered their eyes and began to move.

  They took the two javelins from the quiver on their back and embedded them into the ground just to the right of Alistair’s sword. They then did the same with the two daggers tied to their belt, placing them to the sword’s left. Looking between the weapons, their expression softened.

  Jackie: “Mom, Dad… Al. Did you know there was an outside?” They whispered once more. “I guess not, or you would’ve taken me there.”

  Their smile began to fade as they continued speaking, “It ain’t fair, is it? You never even knew.”

  ???: “You owe it to them to make it there, I think.”

  Jackie nodded solemnly. Then, their eyes widening, they tumbled to the ground with arms swinging wildly and spun to see the source of the voice behind them—Sam, holding his hands up in surrender.

  Sam: “Sorry, didn’t mean to… pry.”

  Jackie turned away quickly, placing a hand on their cheek to hide their embarrassment. “Did I wake you up?”

  Sam shook his head. “Never fell asleep. Don’t think anyone else did, either.”

  Jackie’s eyes narrowed in annoyance, and they slid their palms over their eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m not—”

  Sam: “Weird?” He spoke bluntly, causing Jackie to uncover their eyes. Seeing this, he shrugged and continued, “You don’t need to try so hard to be presentable. I…” He trailed off momentarily, then shook his head, locking eyes with Jackie, “We all have similar stories, I’m sure.”

  Jackie simply stared at Sam. They already knew his story—part of it, at least. They’d seen it, experienced it, though not from his eyes. The strange vision still clawed at the back of their mind, a strange pocket of other infecting their memories.

  How had that vision come about? It was far too vivid, too real, to be something like a hallucination. Was it some sort of power they possessed, something in the same vein as Lii’s ability to transform? They didn’t know exactly what it was, but Al had possessed a strange and unique power as well. Did it run in the family?

  Realizing they’d been staring too long, they turned back to the weapons embedded in the ground. Their own red eye stared back at them from the reflection in Alistair’s sword.

  Jackie: “…Krimling,” they finally said. “Mom and Dad tried to fight them off. Dad, he… he managed to drag Mom home, then died on the spot.” They looked up at the stars again. “Mom’s wounds were infected. She only lasted a few days.”

  Sam studied Jackie carefully as they spoke. Then, reaching behind him, he took his bow and planted it in the mud alongside Jackie’s weapons. Jackie looked down at it, and then at Sam, who began to speak,

  Sam: “I never met my Dad. Helena’s died when she was young. Our…” His voice choked up, but he forced the words out anyway, “Our moms met and took care of us together, for a while. Then, one day, they just disappeared.”

  Jackie nodded solemnly. That matched what he’d seen in Helena’s memories, all but confirming it wasn’t a hallucination. “The bow..?”

  Sam: “My mom’s.” He shot a glare at the finely-crafted bow, carved of yew wood with a yellow cloth wrapped around one end. “She… wasn’t the best, in retrospect.”

  This time, Sam was the one to look up at the stars as Jackie watched him. After studying his figure for a moment, they reached out and began gently patting him on the head.

  Sam jolted and turned to them. “What are you doing?”

  Jackie: “Consoling you.”

  Sam: “Is this… how you’re meant to do that?”

  Jackie: “Duh.”

  And so, continuing to pet a slightly flustered Sam, Jackie looked over their shoulder and called out, “How about you, Strade? You’re next.”

  Strade: “I’m sleeping,” he grumbled from inside the tower.

  Jackie: “Nuh-uh-uh. You listened in on our sob stories, so now it’s your turn. It’s only fair.”

  Strade: “I already knew Sam’s.”

  Helena: “Just tell the story.”

  Helena’s exasperated voice could be heard, and Strade sighed and clicked his tongue. A moment later, a knife went flying over Jackie’s head, planting itself in the mud amidst the other weapons.

  Strade: “Don’t remember my parents. Me and my brother were part of a larger group ‘til a year ago or so.”

  Jackie: “…That’s it?”

  Strade: “Everyone died, we wandered, and I ended up with these two chucklefucks. Boo-hoo.”

  Jackie glanced back into the tower. “Poor thing. Want me to come back there and pet you, too?~”

  Strade: “I’ll stab you if you try.”

  Jackie shrugged. “Your loss.”

  For a moment they sat in silence, filled only by the gentle crackling of their fire, until Helena spoke up,

  Helena: “Lii? Sam already covered me, so you’re the only one left.”

  Lii hesitated. “I… don’t know, if I can—”

  Strade: “What, talk about bein’ a monster?” He cut her off. “You think we haven’t all put two and two together? You might be friendly now, but you’re still a Mimic. At some point, you hunted and killed people. Am I wrong?”

  A tense air overtook the group. Sam quickly turned, wrenching himself away from Jackie’s touch to step back into the tower. “Strade! That isn’t—”

  Lii: “No.” A small, weak voice stopped Sam in his tracks. “He’s… he’s right. I…”

  Lii took a shaky breath before continuing, “One day, I just kind of… ‘woke up’. It was like my entire life before that, I’d been sleepwalking through a nightmare. I didn’t… I didn’t want to keep hurting people like that thing did.” She spoke of her past self with vitriol, straining her soft voice.

  Lii: “So, I… I ran away from my pack. I tried to pretend to be a normal person—to be human. Eventually, my…” Her voice choked up, but she continued, “M-My parents came after me. They… they d-destroyed everything I had.”

  Jackie looked back to see Lii curl up into a ball, hugging her legs against herself.

  Lii: “I killed them.” She cast her eyes downwards, her hands shaking as she choked down a sob.

  Helena: “…I’m sorry.”

  Lii shook her head. “I didn’t love them. They were… everything I hated about myself.” She took a slow, deep breath, “S-Sorry. It’s, um, been a long time since I talked about any of this.”

  She slowly looked between the four Humans, “Do you… Do you think I—”

  Sam: “Don’t finish that.” He raised his voice, speaking forcefully. “So what if you’re a monster? So what if you killed people before? All five of us have. For the same reason—survival.”

  Lii looked up at Sam with wide eyes. He continued,

  Sam: “You have a better excuse than us four, anyway. You said it yourself—that monster you were before, it wasn’t you. It wasn’t Lii—not the girl sitting with us right now.”

  Sam left himself out of breath following his declaration. Lii stared up at him, mouth agape, and tears began streaming down her cheeks. She realized this with a start and turned away, rubbing her eyes.

  Lii: “Th-thank you.”

  Lii managed to choke those words out between sniffles, smiling through her tears. She then turned to Jackie, putting on her best sarcastic expression,

  Lii: “Weren’t you going to ask if I wanted to be pet?”

  Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

  Lii: “No. Of c-course not. That’d be weird.” She looked away with a pout.

  Jackie let out a light chuckle. “Sam, take watch for me.” They stood, brushed themself off, and strode over to Lii, plopping down beside her. She refused to look their way, her cheeks slightly flushed, but they began gently stroking her hair regardless.

  Jackie: “By the way, I offer this service to everyone, free of charge. It comes highly recommended from Sam and Lii.

  Sam, Helena, and Strade all scoffed in unison. “As if.”

  Jackie chuckled again. “You’re seriously missing out, y’know. Tell ‘em, Lii.”

  Lii: “Um, no comment…”

  They all exchanged a laugh, except for Helena, who looked down at her hands before locking eyes with Lii,

  Helena: “Lii, I’m… sorry. For yelling earlier.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Jackie gave Lii a worried glance as she blinked in response. Tensions had sparked immediately following the Kumori’s death. They’d all been under the impression that Lii had abandoned them, after all—until she reappeared with restored powers.

  Recalling that, Lii simply shook her head. “No, y-you were right. I should’ve said something before just… disappearing.”

  Jackie heaved an internal sigh of relief. “It’s water under the bridge now, right? Besides, we would’ve lost if she didn’t come back with that… what’d you call it, an anchor?”

  Lii: “Y-yeah. Like from a ship on the ocean.”

  Jackie: “The ocean, huh? I’ve never seen it. Al always said it was pretty, but he passed before he could take me.”

  Jackie spoke with a smile, but the others couldn’t help but feel somber.

  Helena: “Al was..?”

  Jackie: “My grandfather. He outlived my parents, so he ended up being the one to take care of me. Passed a few years ago.” They gestured towards the doorway, at the sword planted in the mud. Then, realizing with a frown, “Oh, it’s probably a super bad idea for our weapons to be there instead of on us, huh?”

  Strade: “Ya think?”

  Sam began passing back Jackie’s weapons, and Strade’s knife, with a soft sigh. Jackie accepted their equipment gratefully before returning to their previous thought. “I miss him, but… I’m not too sad about it. Before he passed, he said something like… ‘Most people don’t live ta half m’age, so there’s no need fer ya to cry fer me.’”

  Lii snorted. “Did he really talk like that?”

  Jackie: “I may have exaggerated it a little.” They laughed, then looked to Helena, aiming a finger gun at her. “I’m not too broken up about the ocean, either. I’m looking at something just as pretty right now.”

  Helena: “Heh. Nice try.”

  Jackie: “Aww, c’mon, that was smooth, wasn’t it?”

  Strade: “In your dreams, maybe.”

  Jackie pouted. “Well, if you’re such an expert, can I bounce some lines off of you?~”

  Giving them a glance, Strade shrugged. “Sure, go for it.”

  Jackie blinked. “Wow, didn’t expect a yes. I don’t have one prepared… uh, the way you throw knives is really hot?”

  Strade closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. “Three outta ten.”

  Jackie: “Damn. Guess I’ll work on it.” They scratched their neck with a smile, then looked to Helena, “Oh, uh, before we get too far from apologies… Sorry for that whole ‘I’m the leader’ shtick.”

  Everyone stared at Jackie; Helena blinked. Jackie threw their hands up in exasperation,

  Jackie: “What? Is it really so surprising that I’d apologize?”

  Strade: “You kinda seem like the sort of person who’s always convinced they’re right.”

  Jackie: “In my defense, I don’t have a lot of experience with being wrong.”

  Helena rolled her eyes. “Well? What convinced you you were wrong this time?”

  Jackie clasped their hands together, rubbing their fingers. “For the longest time, all I’ve wanted is to meet another person. So, when I finally did, I… I felt like I had to do whatever I could to keep things together. I assumed things would fall apart if I wasn’t in control.”

  Helena considered this and nodded. “I decided a long time ago I would never let myself lose anyone again. So I…”

  Jackie: “Same thing, huh?” They winked, “No wonder we butted heads.”

  Helena nodded again. “You, and Lii… You can consider yourselves part of ‘anyone’ now. So don’t go and do anything stupid.”

  Jackie: “We’ll do our best, won’t we?” They wrapped their arm around Lii’s shoulders, pulling her close with a grin.

  Blushing with a slight “Eep!” as she was pulled, Lii nodded quickly, “Y-yeah, I’ll do my best..!”

  Sam: “On that note, you should all try to get some sleep.” He spoke from the doorway, “You can’t do your best without proper rest. I’ll take the rest of this shift.”

  Jackie: “Thanks, Sam. I honestly didn’t think I’d get much sleep tonight, but… I’m feeling a lot better now.” They leaned against Lii’s shoulder, then quickly rose, giving her a concerned glance, “Um, am I… bothering you?”

  Lii: “Huh? N-no, not at all!” She waved her hands in front of her face. “I-I don’t mind. It’s, um, nice, having someone so close…”

  Jackie: “E~h, really?” They gave her a cheeky grin and poked her shoulder, “Gee, I didn’t realize you fell for me already.~”

  Lii: “I-I did not! I have, um, really high standards!”

  Jackie: “Just kidding, just kidding.” They leaned against her shoulder again with a smile.

  ? ? ?

  ???: “KIRYAAAH!”

  Out echoed the mixed cries of a rider and its steed. A grey-skinned ratman—a Kritta—dressed in light armor and wielding a rusty sword led the charge down the path. Its mount was a winged goat wearing a skull onits head—a Jiyagi.

  Five pairs of these familiar enemies barreled towards the group. Beneath the heat of the midday sun, they’d found themselves back in a more claustrophobic region of the Heap, only thin dirt roads twisting between the toxic grasses and great mounds of trash.

  Jackie: “Ready, everyone!?” They called out, exchanging glances with their companions. Then, their strategy kicked into action.

  Jackie flung a javelin forward; beside them, Sam loosed an arrow. Their attacks struck true against two of the distant ratmen, causing their bodies to tumble off of their steeds. The remaining three continued forward, undeterred.

  Jackie: “Now, Lii!”

  At Jackie’s command, Lii nodded and took center stage, holding out both arms. Her hands melted into formless flesh and expanded, creating a large block of matter in front of her. The flesh hardened into a brick wall, nearly blocking off the entirety of the path.

  The Humans pressed close against their new cover, lying in wait. The thumping of hooves grew louder as their foes approached, and before long two riders appeared, shooting past either side of the wall.

  This, of course, was exactly according to plan.

  Sam and Strade lied in wait on either side of the wall, one nocking an arrow, the other holding up a knife. As the Kritta emerged, the two struck simultaneously, and once again two dead ratmen tumbled free of their mounts. Shrieking in surprise, the Jiyagi continued running down the path, seemingly unbothered by their riders’ deaths.

  One remained. Beating hooves approached, but there was a pause before it reached the wall. With a great flap of its wings, the Jiyagi leapt atop the obstacle. With a second jump it soared over the waiting Humans, landing a ways behind them and swiftly turning.

  Jackie: “Lii, Helena!”

  Lii: “On it..!”

  A portion of her left arm melted away and split in two, one half rejoining her body while the other merged with the wall, which was itself starting to deform. Lii then turned to aim her left arm at the final Kritta. Her arm grew thin, and what formed in place of a hand was an iron spearhead. The arm then began to rapidly lengthen, becoming a great pike.

  With a sudden yank of its reins, the Kritta and its steed sidestepped the polearm. Lii was not the only threat, however; at the same time, Helena had surged forward. Wielding a scavenged metal rods, she raised her improvised weapon over her head and swung down. The metal bent as it cracked the Jiyagi’s skull armor.

  The Kritta growled and swung its blade forward as its steed staggered; Helena raised her rod to block the attack with a grunt. Behind her, Strade slid to the side, a hand at his belt. He flicked a knife free, and the blade planted itself between the Kritta’s eyes.

  The final rider tumbled to the mud, leaving only a single enemy. Having been personally struck, this Jiyagi showed more ferocity than the others, beating its wings and stamping its hooves in a show of aggression.

  Lii: “I’ve got it..!”

  It was Lii who surged forward. Her pike had already become a hand once more; the brick wall was now a glob of flesh converging into her right arm. She dashed towards the Jiyagi and swung that right arm as if making an underhand toss. As her arm raised, the flesh stretched and hardened into a small anchor, its pointed end crashing against the Jiyagi’s underbelly. The beast practically flipped backwards from the impact, promptly crumpling to the ground.

  As the momentum of her upward swing faded, Lii’s anchor crashed to the ground. She let out a breath and deformed it just as the first two riders’ Jiyagi rushed past, charging after the others that had fled.

  With the battle won, Jackie stepped forward and clapped Lii on the shoulder. “Nice improv at the end there. Looks like you secured lunch.”

  Lii: “F-for all of you, anyway.”

  At the pair’s exchange, Strade clicked his tongue. “We really have time to carve this thing up?”

  Jackie: “Well…” They gazed at the northern sky, scanning the horizon for movement. “We need a bit more food for the road, right? Might as well get it here.

  “Besides, there’s something that’s worrying me just a tad. It seemed like those guys were already running this way before they saw us. If they were running from something else…” Trailing off with a twirl of their finger, they looked to Lii, “Could you be a dear and scout ahead for us?”

  Lii nodded eagerly, pumping her fists. “I-I’m on it..!” With that, she deformed into a small white bird and took off, soaring into the skies.

  Jackie saw her off with a smile, watching her flight for a few seconds before beginning to walk in the same direction. “I’m gonna grab my javelin. Sam, I’ll see if your arrow’s salvageable, too.”

  Sam: “Right. Uh, we’ll get started cutting this thing open.”

  Jackie: “Thanks.”

  It was a simple interaction, but Jackie couldn’t help but smile at it. This was exactly what they’d always wanted.

  Nothing brought Jackie more joy than the simple presence of other people. It was a joy they’d been deprived of for years following Alistair’s death. They’d been reduced to a walking husk, just killing and eating and surviving. In that moment where they spun around to see Sam and Helena, it had felt like their very humanity came cascading back into them, an overwhelming, overflowing influx of joy.

  They were still a bit embarrassed at getting caught talking to themself, but they were glad it’d happened in retrospect. As they’d talked the night away together, Jackie felt an even deeper, warmer joy than simply being in their presence. Was that what it was like to have truly made friends?

  Whatever it was, it was a feeling Jackie wanted to preserve. If they could simply live every day of their life enveloped in that warmth, they could say they’d achieved true happiness.

  To make that a reality, however, they first needed to escape the Forgotten Heap.

  It was a truly dismal place, this wasteland. It stank of death, it was always too hot and humid, and at all times you were but a single misstep away from tripping into a patch of toxic grass and kissing your life goodbye. And that was without even mentioning the foul monsters that prowled the land.

  A single encounter with something on the level of Krimling or a Carrion would bring an end to Jackie’s happiness. Even setting living catastrophes like those aside, Humans were near the bottom of the food chain here; even with Lii on their side, any of the Heap’s denizens were dangerous enough to kill one of them.

  Before that could happen, Jackie would lead everyone to safety—to the outside world. They refused to let such a dismal place steal away their happiness a second time—no, they refused to let even a single one of their friends perish.

  Thinking so, they stepped over to the pair of dead Kritta riders, the first to have been slain, and ripped their javelin free of one’s skull. They carefully wiped the blood and viscera off with a dirty rag, then placed the weapon back in their quiver. Next they plucked Sam’s arrow from the other Kritta’s forehead; unfortunately, the shaft snapped as they pulled it free.

  They frowned as they rose, holding up the now useless twig, then tossed it aside. Just as they were about to turn back around, the form of a small white bird could be seen ahead, rapidly fluttering towards them.

  The small bird expanded out and became a girl, who touched down and began sliding through the mud on both feet. She reached Jackie well before she ran out of momentum and tripped on one of the slain Kritta, sending her tumbling forward, her arms flailing wildly.

  Jackie caught her by the shoulders before she could hit the ground and carefully lifted her up to her feet. They were about to tease her for being so clumsy, but her furrowed brow and trembling lip convinced them otherwise.

  Jackie: “What did you see?” They narrowed their eyes seriously.

  Lii: “Y-you were right! Something attacked them f-further down the road. It, um, th-there was, i-it—”

  Jackie: “Slow down. It’s alright.” They squeezed her shoulder, and she gave a slow nod, taking a deep breath before continuing,

  Lii: “Something big attacked them. It, um, d-dragged one of them out into the brush. And they were long black marks along the ground, like it’d been burnt.”

  As Lii relayed this information, Helena noticed her return and made her way over to the two. “Another monster?”

  Jackie: “Probably.” They frowned as they ran a mental checklist of their options; none were particularly good. “Did you notice anything else?”

  Lii: “Um… ah, th-there’s a clearing ahead with a big ruin. It looked like there was a battle there recently. A lot of the stone was, um, melted? And wet.”

  Jackie: “Something big, immune to the toxic plants, and… sounds like some kind of acid. Which means—

  Helena: “A Kuzumade.” She finished Jackie’s thought, her expression grim.

  Jackie: “You didn’t see it?” They asked Lii, who shook her head. Letting out a sharp breath, they began back towards Sam and Strade, “If it doesn’t know we’re here, we should leave. We’ll find another path and go around it.”

  A Kuzumade—a great centipede-like monster which boasted tough armor, cunning intelligence, and the ability to spit destructive acid jets. It was one of the few monsters Alistair had instructed Jackie to avoid at all costs.

  Jackie: “Sam, Strade! Leave the Jiyagi. We’re moving.” They spoke brusquely as they marched over.

  Sam rose with a puzzled expression. Jackie directed their gaze to him, preparing a response—that was when they noticed a shadow shift ever so slightly in the brush behind him.

  Jackie: “You two, move—!”

  Strade grabbed Sam by the collar and leapt away, dragging Sam with him. That very moment, the sound of rushing water boomed as a jet of green liquid shot out from the brush, streaking across the path. The beam rose upward as it dissipated, showering the area in a toxic rain.

  As Sam and Strade staggered over to the other three, they looked back to see the carnage the acidic jet had left in its wake. The path was now caked with a layer of green ooze, steam rising as it burnt its way into the ground. Where they had just stood, the Jiyagi’s corpse was now practically cleaved in two, the flesh melting away from the acidic sludge that clung to it.

  The shadow retreated back into the brush.

  Gritting their teeth, Jackie made a split-second decision. They turned southward, where Lii had just returned from, and broke into a sprint.

  Jackie: “RUN!”

  Chapter Glossary:

  Alistair - Jackie's grandfather and mentor. His sword was passed down to them.

  Krimling - A species of despicable and extraordinarily dangerous monsters found in the Heap. They killed Jackie's parents.

  | Kuzumade - (Pronounced koo-zoo-mah-deh) C'mon, Jackie just described this one to you!