The Day of Reckoning

Chapter 2: New Home

Bad move.

I tumble down the stairs, only stopping when my back collides with the wall at the bottom of the staircase. I groan from the pain, but there's no time to worry about that! I look up to see the Eldritch jumping down the entire flight of stairs, its eyes deadset on attacking me! I get out of the staircase and run to the kitchen, opening a cabinet and finding a cooking pot. The Eldritch comes around the corner just as I grab it, and I swing the pot at its face as it tries to attack.

The pot bounces right off of the Eldritch's face, but no matter! I throw the pot before whacking it with my spear, hoping to keep it at bay long enough for me to think of a plan. The Eldritch eventually gets tired of my attacks and shrieks. It dodges my next swing and spins around quickly, its tail smacking me in the side of my face. The attack sends me to the side, and I find the edge of the kitchen table colliding with my side, full force! It hurts my ribs a little bit, but I can't worry about that pain, not yet!

I manage to avoid the next attack and pull out two smokescreens, throwing them down to blind the Eldritch for a bit. I grab the back of one of the kitchen chairs and spin it around, hitting the Eldritch's face. I follow that up by jumping onto and over the chair, landing myself behind the Eldritch. "Die already!!" I yell out, plunging my spear into its back. It shrieks out in pain and falls to the ground, flailing around like a fish out of water. I pull the spear out and stab the Eldritch in the face, which manges to finish it off.

I let go of my weapon and fall down, out of breath. "Damn, all this time, and I'm still not used to sneak attacks," I mutter. I lay back on the kitchen floor and catch my breath. I stand with wobbly legs and retrieve my spear from the Eldritch's corpse, using it to steady myself. I lift my hand to wipe the sweat off my face, but I feel something sticking out of my cheek. "What the hell?" I ask myself. I walk over to the downstairs bathroom and look in the mirror, seeing one of the Eldritch's spikes stuck in the side of my face. "Ew, that's nasty," I groan. "How did I not notice that?"

The adrenaline rush of the fight must've blocked my pain sensors. I need to pull this thing out. I grab my medical kit from my backpack and look in the mirror, trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever pain comes with this.

I slowly wiggle the spike from my cheek. It hurts a bit, but I power through it and begin cleaning the wound. The hole isn't very wide or deep, so I don't really need to stitch it or anything. The alchohol burns like hell, but there's no need to risk an infection. Once I make sure it's completely clean, I place a thick gauze pad over the wound and secure it with medical tape.

"On the bright side," I start, trying to stay positive, "That's probably gonna be a cool scar?" I slide my spear into its holster and rub my shoulder. Come to think of it, the tumble down the stairs hurt more than the spike in my face. I probably have a good amount of bruises from that.

I grab my backpack and return to the treehouse with a slight limp. "I'm back," I say, starting to unload my bag. "This is everything I brought back. I'll need to make a store run for more food,". Alfie chirps. The cats are sleeping in the corner, huddled together for warmth.

Dammit, I never brought those curtains or that blanket back for them. "Sorry," I mutter, putting my resources away. "Are you hungry, Alfie?" I ask. He chirps a no, and I rub his head. "That's okay. I need to get more kale for you anyways,". I let him crawl on my finger and put him down on the coffee table, sitting across from him on the bench.

I look at his cute little lizard face and realize what just happened. "What the hell is wrong with me, Alfie?" I ask him. "I mean, I'm having entire conversations with you like you're a person. You probably don't even understand what I'm saying,". Alfie chirps with a smile, and I sigh. "It's only been 3 months since I last talked to a human, I shouldn't be losing it already."

I lay across the bench, both mentally and physically exhausted. "Fuck this shit," I groan. "I'm so tired..." My eyes feel heavy, beginning to fall. Even though I don't wanna go to sleep yet, I know I should. I need the rest. I let my eyes fall and stop resisting sleep. It'll just be a small nap, only an hour or two...

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Sunlight seeps through my eyelids, signaling a new day. "What... What the hell..?" I groan. I sit up from where I was laying and stretch. "Dammit... I slept through that entire day??" I question. I get my feet off the bench and stand up. My arms, legs, shoulder, and back feel so uncomfortable from yesterday's fight.

Whatever. I ignore the discomfort and roll one of my shoulders. A quick yawn and stretch is all I need to get ready. "Good mornin', kitties," I groan, pouring some food into their bowls. I still need to get some food for myself. I find Alfie and give him one of the last pieces of kale I have. "I need to leave again, buddy. I'll be gone for a little longer this time," I say to him. "Stay in the treehouse, okay?"

He chirps, and I grab my bag and leave. Where should I go get some food, though? Walmart, maybe?

Wait, no, I have the perfect place! It shouldn't be too far from here. "Sam's Club, here I come!"

I take a quick shortcut and walk for a little bit until I'm outside the store. I walk through the broken glass door and survey the warehouse. I should get the cats and Alfie some food first. I head towards the fresh produce to start, thought it isn't very fresh anymore. I grab a bunch of kale and pack it into my bag before heading to the pet area.

I reach the aisle and start looking around before hearing some sort of rustling in the next aisle over. A gruff, deep voice mutters, "Where the hell is that stupid ass box?"

A person.

There's another person here.

There's another living person here.

I carefully make my way over to the end of my aisle, peeking my head into the next one over. On the other side of the large shelf, I see a man squatting over something. He wears a backpack that holds a construction sledgehammer in between some straps on the back.

He seems focused, and I'm almost hesitant to approach. Still, if this is my only chance to talk to another human for once, I need to take it. "H-Hello?" I quietly call out. I cautiously approach the guy so that I don't startle him. I don't think he heard me. "H-Hey, can you hear me?" I ask, getting closer.

He looks over his shoulder, and we make eye contact. His steely gaze freezes me in place. Something about it feels angry, maybe even dangerous.

When he stands up, I realize exactly why it was that I froze. This guy is absolutely huge. His physique is impressive, I can tell he works out.

His arms are big, the muscles looking rather firm. He seems to have a bit of a big chest as well. His shirt doesn't rest against his body perfectly. "O-Oh, uhm..." I stutter.

"Who the hell are you?"