Energy Eater - Chapter 5 - My last birthday (Patreon)

After class, the kids’ parents came to pick them up. Usually, that was something that would only happen to Penelope or PJ. All the other children could go back on their own. After all, the village was tiny. It would be impossible for any of them to get lost while going home. Not to mention it also gave them some sense of independence, and the sooner they got that, the better.

However, after seeing the Eater, I warned the parents about the topic of today’s class. The old world. They all agreed that it was better to have that discussion and they would pick the children from school to make sure they wouldn’t be alone. Everyone knew that this went beyond simply being there for the kids, but also making sure they wouldn’t start crying if they saw something strange or got spooked.

It didn’t take long, everyone was still worried about what happened and the parents wanted to be with their children. PJ was the last to leave, and Cindy, his stepmom, came to pick him up. His dad was the one responsible for the warning earlier today and for now he was with the other hunters, trying to make sure no Eater was approaching.

“I’m sorry your dad wasn’t able to come today, PJ,” Cindy turned back to me, “Thank you for everything, Cass. I mean everything. I’ll never forget what you did today.”

I just shook my head, “Don’t mention it. Everything worked out.”

“I do mention it. It’s the second time you saved me and this time you could’ve…” she was about to say something else but I glanced at PJ. Thankfully, Cindy understood what I meant. Whatever she wanted to say, it was better for her kid not to listen, “Either way. Thank you. Is the party still going to happen tonight?”

“It will. We also need to celebrate Pops’ barrier working. But it will be more quiet. This means no happy birthday song or big activity. It will be more like just a meal,” it was a bit of a shame to have this happen. We were expecting rain today, and with the noise we could dance, sing, and have a lot of fun. It was one of the few moments when we had that option. But no one was willing to risk doing that now. Not when an Eater had just showed up. No one was having a normal day today. The hunters double checked the area, while everyone else made sure to clean things and make proper arrangements in case we had to flee. The only reason why I wasn't doing that, was that someone had to take care of the children. Their parents would likely be too busy for that so enter Miss Cassandra. At least people offered to help Pops prepare what he needed as a way to thank me.

“Got it. I’ll take PJ and get ready for the party. Just because we have to be careful with noise, doesn’t mean we can’t look our best,” Cindy turned to her stepson, “Right honey?”

PJ just nodded, smiling at her. They waved me off and headed back home. Before I could turn back inside, Blake, a tall man with long brown hair and a muscular frame, walked over.

“Cass! Do you have a moment?” he paused, watching Cindy walk away, “You know. I’m really happy for her. Seeing her smile always warms my heart.”

I just nodded in response. Cindy was the newest member of the village. Four years ago, a group of bandits showed up. They stole some of our food and kidnapped the few teenagers. We chased after them, killed the bandits and rescued our people. While raiding their supplies, I found her tied to a tree near their camp. At the time, Cindy was broken. Her eyes had no life, and she wouldn’t do anything unless told to, not to mention she was skin and bones and with a high fever to boot. We could only imagine how much she suffered at the hands of the bandits. It was a bit wrong, but seeing her made me proud of having killed those animals. When we brought her to the village, everyone did their best to help her. And slowly, we were able to bring her back from whatever abyss she was trapped in. Seeing Cindy would bring a warm feeling for anyone involved. Not only we were able to save her, but we also had no issue with food since she was able to gain some weight without worry. Cindy was proof that we were could make a difference, and despite everything, we had more than enough resources for everyone in the village.

“Solution cannot be implemented without users’ permission,” Blake said in a monotone.

“What?” I turned to him, unsure of what I just heard.

“Can I steal you for a minute? I need your help to finish your birthday gift,” Blake replied.

Why did he change what he said? I blinked, but before being able to ask that question, my mouth moved on its own, making me forget about his previous statement. “Yeah. Sure. But is it a good idea to do that today?”

"I'm already done with everything else. And having something to do helps me not to think about… those things," Blake looked in the direction where the Eater appeared. Getting a nod from me in response. There was no need to say anything else.

We walked back to his house. Blake was trying his hand at shoe making. He was the village’s resident leather worker and general clothier. But shoes were still things we had to buy from traders, or take the long journey to a nearby settlement to get. The problem was that doing those kinds of things was not easy. Very few people were willing to take the week-long trip, and for someone to come here with their goods was even rarer. A few weeks ago, Blake approached me to ask if he could try to make a leather shoe. The main problem would be the soles. Rubber was very hard to come by and he was trying to use a mix of old artificial grass, fur, deerskin, and a soft piece of bark to create a makeshift replacement. He just needed to check the measurements before putting on the finishing touches.

It was my own gift, so helping was natural. Also, my own shoes were a mess. The sneakers I got were battered and filled with holes already. That didn’t take long and the rest of my day was spent doing chores. Cleaning the classroom and the bunker since it was used today. Doing a headcount in the village and helping people set up the tables and chairs for the night.

Eventually, the rain started, and so did my birthday party. All 50 or so villagers were in the central square, with Marco cooking for everyone using the thermal vents. People came over to talk to me and reminisce about the years that passed. A few had presents to give me, including my students that gave me a clay bowl they worked together to make. At one point, Pops also came with Michele to give me a pair of wooden leg bracers. The hunters tended to struggle with small animals like squirrels, and other critters that attacked their shins. I had been a victim of one such attack myself by a possum that left me a scar on my left leg a few months ago. Luckily, the animal didn’t have rabies, if he did, I wouldn’t have reached my 25th birthday.

Putting them on right away, I paraded around showing off the gift, to the amusement of everyone along with the brown shoes Blake made. The rain started to get stronger, turning into a storm. And some time later, when the lights of the lanterns we had were the only thing illuminating the area, Jake came rushing to my side.

“Miss Cass, Miss Cass!” the boy was drenched and gasping for air.

“What happened? Are you ok?” I kneeled to be on his eye level.

“The older kids… they were playing a game.”

I nodded, I noticed that the teens of the village had vanished a while back. Including Francisco, “Are they hurt?”

“No, no. But they… they broke the barrier.”

“What?” I froze, “What barrier?”

“The one that keeps the Eaters away!” Jake looked up at me, his eyes watering, “Are we going to die?”

“Where?!” I yelled, attracting more attention to us. Seeing my face, Rakeen quickly moved closer to me.

“What’s happening?” Pops asked.

Jake started to pull more air, clearly scared about the situation. I did my best to calm my voice, “Jake, it’s ok. Tell us where they broke the barrier and we will fix that. Nothing is going to happen, ok?”

“It was over the-“ Jake pointed back, towards the same direction the Eater appeared early today. A lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the area for a brief moment. That was enough to see five silhouettes of large tentacle monsters with several legs crossing over the barrier threshold. A pale glow in their mouths being the only thing that could be seen in the darkness.

Another lightning showed the monsters getting even closer. When that happened, all hell broke loose. People screamed, parents called for their children and everyone ran away. Some heading to their houses, other into the woods. There was no order, no attempt at fighting. All they could do was run. Another flash revealed half a body already inside one of the Eaters. I recognized the flower pattern on the pants that Francisco wore when dressing up.

Pops grabbed my hand and started sprinting to our house, “Cass, run to the woods and don’t look back.”

“What about you?”

“I have to do one thing first.”

“What?”

“There is a missile under our house. I’m going to blow it up.”

“What?! Since when?” I gasped.

“Since I build the house on top of it.”

“Why?!” I gasped again, trying my best not to yell, and to ignore the crunching sounds of what was happening behind me. Still, I couldn’t. A glance was all it took. The Eaters started eating people. Some were too slow to escape, while others froze in place. I saw a small frame being lifted from the ground and tossed into the maw of the creatures. I think that was Jake…

“Because we might need it. I rigged it to explode after a minute if you pull a specific rope in the game room.”

“Is the game room safe, then?”

“No. I’m using the generator as bait to lure them there.”

I blinked, still being pulled by the hand, “Fine. I’ll do it. Tell me how.”

“What? No. I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself.”

“I’m not! I can turn on the generator, pull the rope and leave before everything explodes!” I almost yelled, but still managed to keep my voice low.

“Then I can do that too.”

“The fuck you can. Your knee will lock up if you try to climb that ladder in a rush.”

“That’s not-“

“It is. No one is sacrificing themselves. We are both leaving here. Where are the rope and your fishing pole?”

Pops glanced at me, but he seemed to have understood my idea. He quickly explained to me where the rope was and how should turn on the TV as we arrived at home. While I opened the trapdoor heading to the game room, he grabbed his fishing pole and passed it to me, as I was already halfway down the ladder.

“Start running!” I yelled from the basement and rushed over to the corner of the room. Removing the back panel just behind the ladder. With the rope exposed, I tugged it slightly just to confirm if it wasn’t under too much pressure for the fishing line.

Passing the line under the ladder, I pierced the rope with the hook, letting me use the leverage when pulling the pole from above. Quickly moving towards the generator, I pulled the lever to turn it on. The television came to life, playing the same show I watched yesterday. After rushing back up, my eyes glanced out of the window facing the village. The Eaters were already moving my way, each of them carried at least three people with their tentacles. Whoever they were, they were either dead, or screaming and trying to get away, but to no avail. Still, it was clear the electricity attracted the monsters. I pulled the fishing pole and felt the resistance of the rope, but the plan worked and a clang sound echoed from below, an alarm Pops made to confirm the missile had been armed. The Eaters were too close now, leaving through the front door was too risky. I turned to the windows facing the woods and saw a message written above them.

[User Cassandra. Do you wish to live?]

The left window had the word [Yes] and the right one [No].

Without thinking twice, I jumped over the one on the left. Of course, I wanted to live.

After landing, my body moved as if possessed by Hermes himself. Running at full speed, ignoring the fear of slamming head first against a tree. Time wasn’t on my side. One minute sounded like a lot, but it was also too fast. Too fast to escape the blast radius of a missile. Pops didn’t even say what type of missile it was. It wouldn’t be a nuke, would it?

Before I could continue that train of thought, an explosion send a shockwave towards me. My consciousness started to weaver, but my body refused to stop, being fulled by fear and adrenaline. I had to keep running, there was no other option.

I was going to live, whatever it took.

Chapter 6