Infinity Legends

Chapter 4: The Silver Creek

As Luca Ford let out a breath in the real world, Takol Scaleback let out a breath in a planet far away. The breath was visible on the frigid air of the mountainous landscape of Silver Creek in Andraxa IV. Takol had been roaming the rocky scenario for two weeks now in a rather unsuccessful pursuit of a legendary iron skull with which he could increase his armor stats tenfold.

And, of course, make his outfit that much more elegant.

Finding said skull had been a trivial task. The issue was convincing its owner to relinquish it. Still, however stubborn the legendary Bluehorn was, Takol Scaleback was more so, and he would not leave that planet until he had what he came for.

Scrambling on all fours to the top of a ridge, Takol could have been easily mistaken by a crocodile in white armor. With his scaly green skin reflecting the reddish sunset, Takol buried his dark claws on the colorless grass, pushing himself upwards until he was lying low on top of the ridge and looking directly past it.

The hunter’s eyes were likely the only thing Takol and Luca shared. A trait common to all Fantasy Stars characters: they shared their player’s eyes, no matter how much the rest of their appearance was mutated. Other than that, the closest thing to a similarity between the intergalactic hunter and the university’s swimming team captain was the broad shoulders and the tireless drive for accomplishments; the hunger for the hunt, be it in a pool or over alien hillsides.

And there was his prey. Just beyond the ridge, a pack of a few dozen creatures grazed quietly. Peacefully. Herbivores bigger than buffalos and smaller than elephants whose whole foreheads were thick exposed bone carapaces covered in deformities that made up numerous, seemingly random horns. Nearly all of the creatures’ bony formations were of a dull green, which granted them the not so creative name of Greenhorns, and Takol had killed a fair share of those for meat and skin. It was the oddball that kept bringing him back to the mountains.

The one individual in the pack whose carapace was blue rather than green. The alpha male, grazing right next to the calves and the pregnant females. The origin of his unusual coloring was tied to the concentration of a rare metal on his skeletal structure, cause by a genetic mutation aligned to the running metal on the waters of the Silver Creek. That meant his bones here harder, and that skull was Takol’s goal!

The issue was on the fact that, unlike his more cowardly green-horned peers, the Bluehorn was innately aggressive and prone to territorialism, not to mention frustratingly durable and heavy enough to quickly crush Takol’s little reptile bones.

It had been thirty-seven attempts to beat the damned creature. Thirty-seven failures. The first dozen were slightly different variations of a heads-on clash with the monster, always ending with Takol squished under hooves or against tree trunks. Starting from the thirteenth attempt, he had employed traps and explosives, sometimes getting closer to defeating the Bluehorn, but being ultimately stampeded. Eventually he started running away after landing the first shots, only to learn the thing was much faster than him and would always catch up. Only six tries ago had he learned that the Horn’s huge momentum made it hard for the thing to make turns. Such discovery quickly became the centerpiece of his new strategy, and he was certain that this time, the thirty-seventh time, would be the charm.

Unhooking the plasma rifle from his back and dialing in smart shooting mode—a recent upgrade—Takol leaped over the ridge and slid down to the grazing plains, opening fire on the herds general direction. In a matter of seconds, the bulky mass of herbivores was clumsily galloping upstream and away from the assailant, with one single specimen charging the opposite way. The herd opened way, and the blue horns emerged from the crowd, advancing fast against the reptilian hunter.

Takol spun on his heels, knowing the animal would not give up on the chase easily. The reptile’s strong legs dashed towards the river running downhill, his white cape fluttering on the wind behind him as he ran along the stream. Behind him, the resounding stomps of the massive hooves drew closer, crushing grass, dirt and rock alike.

Judging by previous tries, it would take just another few seconds for Takol to be stomped if the pursuit continued on a straight line, but fortunately that was not the plan. Not far ahead, the river ran shallower, the waters little more than a foot deep. Conveniently, on that same area, there was a relay of energy poles feeding the mines on the mountain top. Poles that ran right up the river.

The Bluehorn was close enough for Takol to feel its breath warming the chilly mountain breeze behind him when the humanoid alien jumped into the shallow stream, feet nimbly tracing a path to the opposite margin, crossing narrowly by the first energy pole. Having passed close enough by the towering metallic rod, Takol stuck a small device to the structure’s side. Most importantly, though, the sudden change in direction had thrown the bulky beast off. Having gained some ground on the raging juggernaut, Takol never stopped running, and zig-zagged again, crossing from margin to margin, narrowly bypassing another pole, to which he glued another device.

The Bluehorn, despite being thrown off in every turn, was relentless on its pursuit, always following Takol’s exact footsteps, even as the smaller being gained some ground. Just as the giant ran by the first energy rod, however, Takol, from a few meters ahead, shot in his direction. The plasma bolt would have hardly done any good against the monster’s thick hide and even thicker bones, but the shot was aimed at the small device he had previously planted at the pole.

A frag mine.

The small device exploded in a surprisingly bright fireball just as the Bluehorn dashed past it, the explosion clearly startling it. The beast reeled away from the pole, slightly scorched on its side, but soon enough resumed the chase. Takol repeated the strike at the second pole, being equally successful in damaging the beast’s opposite side.

Takol was ready for a third strike at the third pole, but instead of continuing to follow him on his zig-zag, the injured Bluehorn broke out of the river, charging right into the riverside undergrowth. Takol dug his heels into the riverbed gravel, eyes stuck on the point where his gigantic pursuer had vanished into the shrubbery.

How could something that big have just disappeared into the forest?!

All he could see were the crumpled bushes and broken branches at the Bluehorn’s entry point. Following its trail did not seem wise, but it was…

Less than a second later, though, another hole in the thicket burst open beside him, the blue hue of the Bluehorn’s carapace charging out of the foliage and onto the river. In a second, the bumpy skull had nudged Takol into the air and slammed him into the ground, turning him into little more than a green splatter on the bottom of the Silver Creek.

***

Luca cursed.

He cursed and cursed and cursed again, ripping out his Virtual Reality helmet, fighting the urge to hurl it across the room. For the first time he had visibly damaged the Bluehorn, for the first time he had actually scared it enough to force a retreat, even if very brief, but it was all gone in a second! He should have kept his guard up!

Well, at least he had found the mines to be somewhat effective against the thing. How effective was still to be determined, but he was now one step closer to overcoming that challenge. He just had to keep track of it.

Keeping the helmet on his lap, Luca reached for the leathery notebook resting beside the green beanbag chair he had settled on. Not bothering to look for a pencil in his own boxed belongings, Luca reached for the colored markers on his new roomate’s desk, selecting one at random.

Orange.

Cool.

The swimmer wasted no time scribbling his new tactical findings on the yellow pages of his gaming notebook. Mines effective. Foliage used for flanking charge.

“Where did you get that?” a flat voice asked from behind Luca, startling him and making him quickly turn to look over his shoulder.

A complete stranger was standing by the door. Short hair, slightly flaccid, rosy cheeks and a heavy brow that seemed to merge with his glasses’ frame. The glasses on their own were an interesting feature too, showing a light degree of shade besides a very intense refraction for myopia correction.

“Oh, sorry. I was just borrowing…” Luca said, waving the orange marker.

“I don’t mind,” the man he assumed to be his new roommate said, hands inside the pockets of his beige coat. “Just be sure to return them properly and in order. I meant the Virtual Reality headset. Where did you get it?”

“Oh… this?” Luca raised the helmet. “Online, don’t remember which site. It’s been a while.”

“Oh… I see. It’s yours,” the stranger nodded rapidly, then made his way into the room and towards the beds.

“You play?” Luca asked. “I mean, ever tried it?”

“You can take the top bed. I dislike the inconvenience of climbing.”

Luca quickly squinted at the reply. Or lack thereof. It was like the guy hadn’t even heard his question! Hadn’t he?

“I’m Luca. Your new roommate.”

“I know,” the other man sat on the lower bed, systematically moving the sheets in a perfect right angle as to slide in.

Luca kept staring at his new companion, expecting an introduction.

The man removed his jacked, neatly folded it and slid it under the bed.

“And you are…?” Luca cued.

“Going to sleep.”

“It’s seven thirty!”

“I function better in the early morning. You can keep gaming, as long as you do so quietly.”

Luca sighed. So, he was one of those guys. Perfect. Made Luca wish he had gone with Gabe earlier. He was only halfway through coming up with a reply when his new roommate turned to the wall on his bed and killed the lights.

Shaking his head, Luca dropped the gaming gear on the ground and tossed the leather journal over his own desk. He considered returning the orange marker to its proper place on the asshole’s study station, but instead just tossed it there. The guy could fix that himself.

Now Luca just wanted to go find someone worth being around.

***

Barry Watson counted to ten after Luca slammed the door on his way out, then swung his legs out of the bed, sat up straight, allowed his blood pressure to balance, then stood up. He had heard the marker being “returned”. He knew it had not been properly placed back.

He crossed the room, minding his step to not kick the gaming rig Luca had so mindlessly abandoned on the floor. Stopping before his desk, he quickly slid the marker back to its position on the leftmost side of the desk, between the red and yellow ones, aligned their tips, then aligned them all to the center of the open notebook, ensuring everything was aligned to the desk’s edge.

Perfect. Now he could return to bed.

Except he couldn’t.

Barry froze as he walked past Luca’s desk. Any other day, his attention would have been caught by the unaligned trophies or the horrendously chaotic purple magma lamp, but right then all he could focus on was the leathery notebook. The one he had seen Luca writing on not long ago. Writing on with Barry’s own marker.

Looking around as if someone could be watching from a corner of the empty dormitory, Barry quietly grabbed the notebook and ran his fingers through the pages until he found the notes in orange.