Energy Eater

1 – My Final Moments

The explosion almost knocked me out, but I managed to push through. That was our last resort. Our hail Mary, our light at the end of the tunnel. From what anyone knew, it had been decades since the last time an Eater was hit by a blast like that. Maybe we would be lucky. Maybe they had lost the defenses they had in the past, and the explosion of a missile could kill them. Or maybe this group lacked the capacity to survive this from the start.

Either way, I kept running as the pouring rain flew at my face, almost as if trying to stop me from moving. My legs burned with the strain, but I couldn’t stop. Not now, not this close to where those creatures were. I couldn’t even call for Pops. Or anyone, for that matter. If I did, that could lure the surviving monsters towards me. But he should be ok. I made sure to only start the fuse when he was already far from our home. Even if he was an old man, he was fitter than most people in the village.

For the others… I could only hope they managed to get away safely. If not, I hoped the explosion killed them. That would be a far better fate than being devoured by an Eater. Speaking of it… I didn’t even get to taste the cake. We were in the middle of singing happy birthday when everything started.

I shook my head. This wasn’t the time to think about that kind of thing. I had to run. I had to survive. Even so, it was a struggle to move through the dark woods in the middle of the night. I could barely see what was in front of me. The only thing that illuminated the area were the occasional lightning strikes.

Glancing back, the ash and dust finally had stopped falling. From the raging fire that had once been my home, shadows of creatures made out of tendrils appeared. Some struggled and fell, hopefully dead, but others continued.

Even so, Pops didn’t raise a quitter. I wasn’t going to roll over and let it devour me. My dying breath will be with me fighting against it. I don’t care if it’s a pointless battle. I’ll struggle to the end.

Running felt much easier this time. Knowing that a monster like that was after me was a massive incentive, but that wasn’t all. While escaping the village, I tried not to attract attention. To move swiftly, but silently. The necklace that Pops gave me as a birthday present hit my collarbone following the rhythm of my steps. It was a memento from my late grandmother, who I never met.

I guess that would change soon.

Now, any semblance of care went out of the window. Speed was the name of the game, and between my participation in the hunts, my daily exercise routine, and the forest parkour that Pops taught me, I felt I was doing pretty well. But that lasted only a moment. The tentacles of the creature lashed out at me with a metallic clang. A noise that became the only thing that served as a warning.

I ducked, feeling the rapid movement of wind just above my hair as the tentacle snapped and split a nearby tree in two. A single hit from one of those things would be more than enough to kill me. Another clang became a second warning. This time, forcing me to jump, kicking off from a tree and tumbling forward. A branch pierced the side of my shirt, which ripped almost instantly as I refused to stop for any reason.

The longest tentacle of the Eater started to coil, and with the sound of a tensioned spring being released, it shot out towards me. If a lightning hadn’t flashed just at that time, I wouldn’t be able to see the attack coming. My body shifted to the left, yet it wasn’t enough to get out of the way completely.

Even with a glancing blow against my shoulder, the attack was capable of sending me tumbling to the side down a hill. At the same time, a loud sound echoed through the forest as the tentacle hit a massive tree that was directly in front of the Eater, causing it to fall on top of it.

I don’t know how long it took me to start moving again, but when I looked up, the forest was silent. Maybe I got lucky and the Eater left? No, that shouldn’t be the case. Since when do monsters give up a prey?

Trying to get back to my feet, I felt my dislocated shoulder and warm blood dripping from my arm. Reaching down, my hands found a large metal pole that was just there. Rusted and abandoned. A relic of the old world. Ignoring that, I grabbed a branch from the ground and shoved it in my mouth before popping my arm back in place, struggling not to scream. Not just because of the arm. My ankle was sprained, maybe even broken. Any hopes of running were now gone.

Just as I spat out the branch, the metallic sound of an Eater appeared again. On top of the hill, the same creature that was chasing me appeared once more. Now it had fewer tentacles and an odd white ichor dripped from various parts of its limbs. Another lightning revealed the numerous pieces of wood embedded on the monster’s body.

I chuckled, “That’s what you get, bitch.”

The Eater’s entire body shook, as if it was screaming, before the legs lowered and the creature jumped. Using the last remaining strength in my body, I grabbed the pole from the ground and pulled it up. I could only take one side off the ground, but maybe that would be enough.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!” I roared, doing my best to aim the somewhat pointy end of the pole at the Eater.

The monster slammed onto the metal pipe, and I saw how part of its maw being torn apart by the impact as I, Cassandra, impaled an Eater. Any sense of victory quickly vanished as I felt a pain in my stomach. Looking down in shock, I knew there was nothing else I could do.

I might have impaled an Eater. But it impaled me back. One of its tentacles was now lodged inside my stomach, still undulating.

I coughed blood as my strength started to leave my being. More of the tentacles moved towards me, but they were just a bit too short to reach. With a smile, memories of my parents came to mind. I would finally meet them, if there was such a thing as an afterlife.

The last thing that I saw was a pure white light. Not one at the end of the tunnel, but the light of a lightning that had just struck the pole in my hands, electrocuting both the Eater and myself. Before I lost all conscious, I could’ve sworn that my chest was glowing. Then again, that didn’t matter now.

And to think that just two days ago, everything was fine. I guess life was about that.

…

…

…

…

[New user detected.]

[Identified as the first human user in the network.]

[Human registered as the 7th intelligent species in the network.]

[Warning: User’s body in the process of breaking down. Cannot continue with system integration in such conditions.]

[Searching for solution…]

[…]

[…]

[…]

[Solution found. It will require use of nearby available resources. In addition, solution requires temporary relinquishment of motor functions.]

[Solution cannot be implemented without users’ permission.]

[User Cassandra. Do you wish to live?]

[Yes] [No]