The walk back to the cave was quiet.
For the first time in five days, Lumi wasn't complaining about the mud or her aching feet. She just walked closely behind Sam, clutching the clean white towel around her neck like it was a holy shield against the filth of the forest.
Sam felt pretty good, too. His shoulder was sore from throwing, but his pockets were full of bitter berries, and he had a decent chunk of SP sitting in his System balance. Over eighty points left, even after buying the towel and the sweet bun.
They were actually surviving.
The heavy rain had stopped, leaving the forest dripping and humid. They reached the rocky hill just as the glowing canopy above started to dim into its dark purple night cycle.
Sam pushed through the thorny bushes, heading for the cave entrance.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
Lumi bumped into his back. She was about to snap at him, but Sam quickly raised a hand, silencing her.
He pointed at the ground near the overhang.
The plastic water jug he had bought yesterday was gone. In its place were scattered, torn shreds of plastic. Something had crushed it flat and chewed on the pieces.
Sam gripped his wooden spear tight. His heart started to hammer against his ribs. The cold, damp air flowing out of the cave smelled wrong. It didn't smell like wet stone anymore. It smelled like rotten meat and old pennies.
'Something is in our house,' Sam thought, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.
He turned to Lumi and pointed to a thick tree a few yards away. He mouthed the word, Hide. She didn't argue. She saw the crushed jug and immediately backed away, hiding behind the wide trunk. Her amber eye peeked out, watching him with tense focus.
Sam crept forward. He kept his footsteps completely silent, pressing his back against the cold stone near the cave mouth. He slowly leaned over and peered into the darkness.
At first, he didn't see anything. The cave floor was empty. The iron pot and wooden bowls were knocked over, but nothing was there.
Then, he heard it.
*Click...* *clack...* *scrape...*
It wasn't coming from the floor. It was coming from the ceiling.
Sam slowly looked up.
Clinging to the jagged rocks right above his head was a nightmare. It was a massive, armored centipede. It was at least ten feet long, covered in shiny, dark red plates of bone. Dozens of thick, bladed legs gripped the stone.
At the front of its body, two huge, jagged pincers dripped with a yellow, smoking liquid.
[Ding!]
[Monster Identified: Crypt Centipede]
[Threat Level: Cataclysmic]
Sam held his breath. He slowly took a step back, trying to slip out of the cave without waking it up.
*Crunch—*
His boot stepped right on a piece of the shredded plastic jug.
The centipede's head snapped toward him. A dozen tiny, glowing green eyes locked onto his face. The monster let out a terrifying, high-pitched hiss that sounded like escaping steam.
It didn't climb down. It just let go of the ceiling and dropped right on top of him.
"Crap!" Sam yelled.
He threw himself backward into the mud. The massive bug crashed into the dirt where he had just been standing. Its bladed legs scrambled wildly, tearing up the ground as it instantly lunged at him.
Sam thrust his wooden spear forward with both hands.
*Snap!*
The sharp wooden tip hit the red armor plates and instantly shattered into splinters. The centipede didn't even slow down.
It crashed into Sam's chest, throwing him flat onto his back. Heavy, sharp legs pinned his arms and legs to the mud. The smell of rotten meat washed over his face, so strong it made his eyes water.
The monster reared its ugly head back. The jagged pincers opened wide, aiming right for Sam's neck.
'I can't throw a spear at this!' Sam thought, his mind racing in pure panic.
'I need a knife! I need a blade!'
"System!" Sam screamed in his head. "Shop! Weapons! Buy the cheapest knife you have!"
[Transaction Complete: Rusted Iron Hunting Knife purchased for 60 SP.]
A heavy, cold piece of metal dropped directly into Sam's right hand. It wasn't pretty. It was just a thick, jagged slab of dark iron wrapped in cheap leather. But it had a sharp edge.
The centipede lunged down, its pincers snapping shut.
Sam violently twisted his neck to the side. The pincers slammed into the mud right next to his ear. Yellow acid hissed against the dirt, splashing onto the collar of his jacket and burning holes into the fabric.
Sam ripped his right arm free from under a bladed leg, gripping the iron knife tight. He stabbed wildly at the side of the monster's body.
*Clang!*
The iron blade hit the red armor and bounced off. The carapace was too hard.
"The belly!" a voice yelled from the trees.
Lumi was leaning out from behind her tree. She wasn't running. She was staring hard at the monster, her amber eye glowing bright in the dark.
"The plates do not connect at the bottom!" Lumi shouted.
"Stab the pale flesh under its throat!"
The centipede hissed again. It pulled its head up, getting ready for a second bite.
Sam saw it. Right under the snapping pincers, the dark red armor gave way to a soft, pale, pulsing throat.
'Die, you disgusting bug!'
Sam pushed his left arm up, grabbing the monster by one of its thick mandibles to keep it steady. The bug thrashed, its sharp legs cutting shallow slices into Sam's arms and ribs. He ignored the burning pain.
He drove the iron knife straight up with all his strength.
*Stab!*
The blade sank deep into the pale flesh under the throat.
The centipede let out a deafening screech. It violently thrashed, its heavy body twisting and turning like a wild snake. Sam held onto the knife handle with a death grip, ripping the blade sideways to tear the wound completely open.
Thick, foul-smelling green blood poured out, splashing all over Sam's hands and chest.
The monster's legs curled inward. It let out one final, weak click of its pincers, and then its heavy body went completely limp on top of him.
[Ding!]
[Monster Defeated: Crypt Centipede]
[Reward: 65 SP]
Sam lay in the mud, gasping for air. The dead bug was crushing his chest.
He shoved his hands against the heavy red plates and pushed. The dead monster rolled off him and flopped into the dirt.
Sam sat up. He was covered in mud, acid burns, and glowing green bug blood. His arms were covered in shallow, bleeding cuts from the legs. He looked down at the ugly iron knife in his hand. The blade was dripping with green slime.
He started laughing. It was a tired, ragged, crazy laugh.
"I have a knife," Sam wheezed, staring at the cheap piece of iron like it was a legendary sword.
"No more sticks. I finally have a real weapon."
Lumi slowly walked out from behind the tree.
She walked over to him, keeping a very safe distance from the dead centipede. She looked at the green slime covering Sam's shirt and face. Her nose wrinkled in total disgust.
"You smell absolutely horrific," Lumi stated.
Sam looked up at her. He wiped a streak of green blood off his cheek with the back of his hand.
"You're welcome for saving our cave," Sam panted, letting his head fall back against a rock.
"I was the one who told you where to strike," Lumi pointed out, crossing her arms. But she didn't look completely arrogant this time. She looked at the cuts on his arms, her eye softening just a little bit.
"But... your reaction speed was adequate."
Sam smiled a tired smile. Coming from her, that was basically a massive compliment.
"Adequate," Sam muttered. He used the rock to push himself up to his feet. His body ached everywhere.
"Let's get inside. I want to sleep for a week."
He grabbed the dead centipede by one of its back legs and dragged it away from the cave entrance, throwing it into the bushes so it wouldn't attract more bugs.
When he finally limped into the cave, Lumi was already sitting on the dry stone floor. She had her clean white towel spread across her lap to keep her hands off the dusty rock.
Sam sat down heavily on his side of the cave. He dropped the iron knife onto the floor next to him.
He opened the System.
[Current Balance: 90 SP]
The reward from the bug made up for the cost of the knife. He wasn't rich, but he wasn't completely broke either.
"System," Sam thought. "Buy a bottle of clean water and some bandages."
A cheap plastic bottle of water and a small roll of white gauze appeared next to him. Sam drank half the water in one gulp. Then he started wrapping the shallow cuts on his arms.
Lumi watched him from across the cave.
"We need to move tomorrow," Lumi said quietly.
Sam looked at her.
"Move? Why? We just got our cave back."
"That creature smelled our leftover food," Lumi said. She pointed at the knocked-over iron pot.
"This forest is entirely feral. If we stay in one place, our scent will just attract bigger things. We cannot defend a static position."
Sam tied off the bandage with his teeth. He hated to admit it, but she was right. The giant bird took their tree. The giant bug found their cave. Nowhere was safe if they just sat there.
"Okay," Sam sighed.
"Tomorrow, we start walking. We find a way out of this zone."
He laid down on the hard stone floor, closing his eyes. He gripped the handle of his new iron knife tightly in his hand.
For the first time since he entered the DreamScape, Sam didn't feel entirely helpless. He had a blade. He had a partner who was actually useful.
Now Less than Thirty days didn't seem so impossible anymore.