Chapter 101: Chapter 91 – Is…is this edible?

Creeping back, then forward, before moving back again. This scorpion-like creature hissed as it raised its tail. It was about the size of a small dog, but the small spikes that covered its back were like the fangs of a wolf. Looking at the creature, Charlie began to edge his hand to the side. Wrapping a hand around a rock, he stared down at the scorpion.

 

Even though the creature resembled nothing to a jaguar, lion, bear or wild beast, Charlie stared it down as if when he broke eye contact the scorpion would pounce.

 

“Famously, Raiders will ride the grown versions of these into battle,” The metallic voice of Wrench echoed down into the hole. Dragging his eyes from the scorpion, he finally found the conviction to throw his gaze upwards. Charlie stared at him as he crouched over the corner.

 

“Please,” He croaked.

 

“When I was young, and my family killed and I was exiled from my lands, I crawled through the desert until my body was broken,” Extending the cold, robotic finger on his left hand, Charlie followed the gesture. Landing his gaze onto the scorpion, he continued to listen to Wrench.

 

“Just like I am now,” Charlie muttered.

 

“Exactly. But first, let’s think about this. To be a good commander, you must be able to think of plans. Even if you are on the very brink of death. So, look at the Scorpion, and think,” Charlie wanted to beg him. Scream for help and pray for salvation. Yet he understood him. To be a commander he needed to be able to be completely aware, yet still able to keep focused on victory. But how was this meant to help?

 

“Trust me. I understand you have no reason to but run in blind just this one time. Angels rise from the Devil's games. Suffer so you may have greatness. Now THINK! Will you die?” Wrench roared down into the whole. His voice echoed into Charlie’s ears as his eyes widened and he sat up. Grabbing the rock, he began to scan across the creature.

 

“How deadly is the venom of the pincer?” Charlie asked, and a smile came to Wrench’s lips.

 

“Deadly, a single hit will kill you within the hour,”

 

“Then what of the body, those spikes look strong, and the rest of it seems pretty solid. But maybe the underbody isn’t?” Charlie hypothesised, clutching his single good hand tighter around the rock. The pain in his legs and arm was unbearable, he could barely keep his mind straight.

 

“Like a suit of armour,” Charlie muttered. Raising an eye brown, he watched in silence as Charlie lay limp. Keeping his grip on the rock, he watched as the scorpion moved closer and closer. Once it was just in range, Charlie threw a rock. The rock smashed against the tail, while he grabbed another rock. Within a flash, he brought the second rock down onto the head of the Scorpion. How had he moved so fast?

 

Looking at Charlie’s broken arm, Wrench had seen he had used the still intact upper half to push himself just enough to fling himself onto the scorpion. For a moment Wrench watched, but the scorpion did not move. Dragging his eyes along the trail, then to the head where he had brought the rock down, he smiled.

 

Blood oozed onto the stone floor; the brains of the creature were splattered under Charlie’s hand. Howling, he fell back, dropping the rock as he did so. Now the pain again registered with him. Panting, he bit his bottom lip to try and divert his senses to something else. Yet his slowly bloodying lip was not enough to fully diver the pain.

 

Rolling his gaze over the area, he looked across the scattered bones and clothes of the dead. Moving across, he grabbed several bones. The cold, almost stony texture of the bones sent shivers down his spine. Cuts and claw marks covered the bones, leaving nothing to the imagination about how these people had died.

 

“Sorry,” Charlie muttered, taking the bones and placing them on his lap.

 

Glancing up, he stared at a gaping chasm on the other side of the whole. There was no telling what lay on the other side of this dark abyss, and considering how low down he was, there was a high chance he was doing to freeze to death tonight. Ripping cloth from the ragged remains of the dead. Placing the cloth onto the ground, he took the bone and pulled it to his side.

 

Placing an arm by his side, he then took the rock and began to smash it against the bone. Eventually, he broke away just enough of the bone so that he could grab it and drag it to his side. Placing the largest parts of his bone against his arm, he began to make a splint. Placing the bones against him, he began to use some of the stronger-looking bits of material to bind the bones to his shoulder.

 

“Oh…Oh fuck,” Charlie growled as he felt the bones pressing against his arms as he bound them tighter and tighter. The bones were just longer than his arm, making it so that he could almost use them more like a small walking stick… or well walking bone than a splint.

 

Dragging his shoulder upwards, he used the bones to support his left side. With this, it was now slightly easier to move forward.

 

“Wow, taking the idea of succeeding where others failed to a new level hu?” Wrench said, his usual sarcastic tone gone.

 

“Don’t fail like the others,” Wrench muttered under his breath as he stared upon the dead, “I have seen too many fail this already,”

 

Charlie did not hear him as he began to take some more of the cloth. Now with his rough support, it was easier to place some cloth onto the ground and limp around to get a few sticks. Limping back these sticks, he began to use the bone splint to hold down some wood as he used the stick on some cloth to make a fire.

 

The cloth slipped from under him. Dropping his stick, he leant across to grab some more cloth. Placing it back down, he again began to rub the stick against it. The smallest members of a flame were enough to summon a smile onto his cracked lips of Charlie. A growl filled the hole. Murmuring, Charlie looked to his stomach. God, he was hungry. Looking up, he stared at the dead scorpion.

 

Oh no. Placing some more pieces of cloth onto his small fire, he knew what he was going to have to do.

 

“If I eat this, will I die?” Charlie yelled, assuming Wrench still to be there.

 

“Meh,” he responded, shrugging as he now lay at the edge of the whole.

“Oh my, thank you so much,” Charlie said, muttering curses under his breath as he reached across and grabbed the scorpion. Dragging it closer, he used the rock to crack open the top of the scorpion. Gagging slightly, he began to take out bits of meat and place them onto a stick.

 

Awkwardly, he placed the stick over the fire and began to slowly cook it. Every few moments, Charlie would find himself lifting his gaze from the fire, and towards the hole on the other side. A feeling of uneasiness was over him. He fidgeted in place yet stopped as his broken legs would send waves of pain up through him.

 

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Smirking, Charlie muttered to himself, “Still better than how my brother treated me,”

 

Chuckling, he waited a while longer until the scorpion was cooked. Using his splint to help him, he moved back against the stone. It was uncomfortable, yet that was not what caught his attention. These walls were covered in scratches. But not like that of an animal trying to escape, but rather an animal cutting and carving away at stone to try and make a smooth entrance for itself.

 

Again, he turned to the whole on the other side of the cave. What the fuck was there? Looking around the area, he stared at the piles of bones. If not for his earlier encounter with the scorpion, and seeing the distinct claw marks on the bones, he would say have said this was a Desert Crawler nest. Sheer amounts of bones were scattered around the whole.

 

Large bits of wood and other materials also scattered the area. Remains of a wagon? Maybe… it wasn’t out of the question. There were several large barrels, all though looked to be empty. Looking back to the cooking scorpion meat, he sighed. It seemed this was going to be the most he was having today.

 

A growl filled the cave. Bouncing off the walls before arriving at Wrench at the top. Charlie leapt slightly, before realising it was indeed his stomach.

 

“Oh fuck,” he muttered, raising some of the meat to his lips. Taking a bite, he winced at the idea he was eating a scorpion…. God, what would Nolkonoe say? Like the Chiefess and the others would probably see it as normal, but Nolkonoe seemed to have more standards for his way of living. Thus, she would probably hate him having to eat this.

 

Then again, she did try and breastfeed him in his sleep… Wait a minute, Charlie thought as he came to a realization. Back at his home (the tribe), he was surrounded by wild wolf women.

 

“Huh,” he said, putting back his head on the stone again.

 

Yeah, that feeling. The feeling of just realizing you were the only so-called ‘normal’ person was a mixture of being odd and surprisingly nice. His eyes narrowed as a frown came over his lips. But was he ever to see that again?  As if some switch was clicked, his mood changed as the realization of his current morality again swept over him.

 

“Oi, you still there?” Charlie yelled up to Wrench. Leaning over the edge, Wrench gave a small thumbs up. Which only looked like a speck in the distance.

 

“When I get out of here, I am going to take that arm off you and shove it up your ass!” Charlie yelled, and the small chuckle from Wrench rolled down into the hole.

 

“How about this, you win, and I will assure a trade route with your tribe once you finally can state independence as a nation. How would you like that?”

 

“What would you even trade to us?” Charlie yelled back, seeing this conversation as a good chance to distract his mind. Ur, but then again, he should focus. And hell, he should be furious with Wrench!

 

“I own all the factories in my town. For salt, I will create for you whatever you need. Whether it be weapons, enchanted weapons or armour, or even just a rug,” all anger towards him dispatched.

 

Money bags almost burst from Charlie’s eyes. Salt was incredibly valuable, but the natives had it in the wagon load. Chuckling, Charlie would have rubbed his hands together if one of them was not cooking scorpion meat and the other broken. Muttering a few more curses, Charlie began to continue eating.

 

There was a technique to this. Keeping his mind on the fact that Nolkonoe, Etasose and the others would probably spoil him after this kept him on point. Grimacing slightly, Charlie realised how domesticated he had come to be around them. Laughing to himself, he again turned to the dark row of caves.

 

“I guess I am to keep going threw here until I reach an exit. After all, you planned this right?”

 

“Yes, and yes,” Wrench responded.

 

“How many caves, and what is in them?” Charlie asked again, before taking a bite of the scorpion meat.

 

“Now where would be the fun in telling you that?” Again, the sinister laughter of Wrench flowed down the hole.

 

“Masked bastard,” Charlie muttered, as he continued to stare into the darkness. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he was going to learn to limp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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