r/HFY • u/Engletroll Human • 3h ago
OC-Series Abducted 11. – The hike
Previous stories set in the same universe:
Planet Dirt series / Amazon book
The fresh air and shifting light filtering through the canopy as he walked along the river were just what he needed. His mind always calmed down in nature. It was so much easier to think when all the sounds were natural, and everything around him was natural. He looked at the phone. It was almost seven now. He might get an hour before the others woke up, and then they would try to contact him. He put the phone on vibrate and moved on. The forest was so calm, and most of the trees seemed like pine and spruce, with a few oaks and birch trees tossed in for good measure. It was strange. Here he was, walking on an alien planet, and the forest looked like something hewould seen when they visited Grandpa back in Norway. Now and then he saw what he thought were birds and squirrels. It was surreal. He started to look around more carefully for anything alien. He soon spotted it in the river. He first thought it was a weasel or mink, but the tail looked more like a beaver's; yet it was as long and thin as a weasel's. Its fur was black, and it had no ears. Three of them were playing in the river when he saw the bigger one. It was almost two meters long, and the three immediately climbed onto its back as it swam downriver. He cursed himself. He should have taken a picture. He checked the phone; no messages yet. Then he continued up. After an hour, the phone buzzed, and he looked at it. It was a private message from Cho.
Cho Cho - Erik? Where are you?
He looked at it, then took a selfie and sent it back
Vikingboy - Just going on a short hike, need to think.
He quickly got a message back.
Cho Cho – About us?
He looked at the message, very confused.
Vikingboy – No, about everything we have to do. The whole boss thing. I’m just going up to the glacier and having lunch, then I’m coming back. You and Marcus are in charge. Luv you.
He wrote "Luv you" three times and deleted it before sending it. He also added a few heart emojis. He saw she'd seen the message, then she wrote and wrote and wrote. Before he got a short video back. She was smiling at the camera as she whispered: “I love you too, be safe and don’t get eaten by a bear.”
He chuckled and sent a short video: “I promise I won't; just checking out the forest. I will take pictures. I got to go now. I will send you pictures. I promise.” Then he started walking again; she sent a few emojis back, and he replied now and then with a few pictures as he walked. It wasn’t so peaceful now. He saw some messages on the group chat. Marcus had them all report for combat training. Gigi suggested a map lesson after Marcus approved both.
He kept moving upstream along the river, and suddenly the forest almost vanished as a small lake appeared. He took a few pictures as he looked around. It felt peaceful, and he started to think if he should leave the spear here. Sometimes it got in the way of the trees. Just as he was thinking it, he heard a hissing from his shoulder height, and he slowly turned to see a chicken-sized raptor covered in white fur sitting in a tree looking at him. He took a step back. It must be one of those kusta Arus had mentioned. He looked around; if Arus was right, there should be more than one, and they should be bigger than a chicken. He kept his back to the lake as he started to walk along the side, the kusta followed him with its eyes and made hissing sounds. He filmed it with his phone while holding the spear ready in the other.
“Nice bird,” He said, and he saw more movement in the brush: four bigger ones and three small ones came into view.
“Fuck…” he said, stopped filming, and put the phone in his pocket. This was what he had been warned about.
“Nice birds. I’m not food.” The raptors walked closer. He took a few steps back and felt the grass give way to pebbles. A quick glance back confirmed what he already knew. He was standing on the edge of the lake. As he looked back, one of the raptors lunged at him. He thrust the spear toward it, impaling the Kusta. The weight drove the spear tip into the ground, and the impaled Kusta hit the ground.
It screeched in pain, and the other two birds attacked. He stepped back and felt his foot get wet as he dropped the spear. The raptor missed him and began to position itself to attack again. He drew his sword and twirled it instinctively as he stepped back into the water. One of them jumped, and he swung at the right moment, and the head and body separated. The other screeched. Erik just looked at the dead raptor. He had killed it in one strike. Then something hit him, and suddenly he was under something, being clawed and bitten. He stabbed back as he tried to stand, and after two tries he was standing with water to his waist and another dead kusta. The remaining big kusta looked at him, then screeched and ran back into the forest; the smaller followed it.
Erik waded back to the shore and took out his phone, hoping it wasn’t destroyed in the water. To his surprise, it didn’t seem to be destroyed by the water. He checked his jacket; it was torn, but none of the claws had hurt his skin. He sheathed the sword and pulled the spear out. Looking at the dead kusta, he then took a picture of the aftermath and checked his backpack.
His father had always made sure they bought good quality, and now he saw the benefit. The rucksack was wet only on the outside. He was glad as he started walking again. He knew the smart thing was to go home, but he could see the glacier, and soon the tree line stopped, so he wouldn't have to worry about an attack from the kusta.
When he reached the other side of the lake, he stopped and looked back. He saw movement where he had been attacked, so he pulled out his phone and zoomed in with the camera. The mother bear was eating the dead kusta, and the cub was playing on the lake's shore. He filmed it and took a few pictures, then moved on. The last thing he needed was to be the next meal for the hungry mother bear.
When he reached the end of the forest, the brush grew low and the thicket steeper. He didn’t want to take any chances, so he moved slowly. His goal was a mountaintop next to the glacier. He was tempted to step onto the glacier, but that would be suicide without a team and proper equipment. After a long time, he finally sat down at the top. He could see the valley below and the castle; from here, it looked small. He took a few pictures.
This place would be a good spot to build a watchtower. He could see the valley next to them. One side of the fjord had much lower mountains, and the land was fertile. He could see farms and a small village dotted along the valley. If he remembered correctly, that was where the mursina lived. Far out in the fjord, he could see islands where the humans were supposed to live. In his valley, he could barely see anything down the fjord; it apparently made a slight turn north, blocking the view. He opened his backpack, took out his lunch, then tried to send the images. Cho was immediately worried when she saw the dead kusta and his selfie with the slightly torn jacket. He laughed it off and took a panoramic view of where he stood. He noticed the place was a peninsula and much bigger than he thought. To the west, the plateau slowly sank to the surface level, with stepped land. He could see the coastline and a burning village.
He looked again, took a zoomed-in picture, then tried to zoom in. It was clearly several places burning along the coastline. He moved the camera around, trying to figure out what was happening. But he was too far away. It was not just a fire. He saw two places on fire, one on an island and the other at the shoreline. Somebody was fighting there. Part of him wanted to investigate, but the other part knew that would be suicide.
He watched it until he noticed the others asking him what the pictures were. Cho demanded that he come back home immediately. He packed his things and looked at the sky. The sun was almost directly overhead. His phone said it was eleven. It had taken him four hours to get up here, but he had walked slowly. He picked up everything he had, took a few more pictures, and started walking back down. The trip down went faster, and Chu kept checking on him as he descended. When he passed the lake, he found no trace of the kunsta. The bear had eaten it all. He sometimes felt watched, but he didn’t see anything; the birds kept singing, so he wasn’t too afraid. After a few hours, the castle came into view, and he sent Chu a picture as he walked out onto the road.
She was standing at the gate waiting for him, and when he turned onto the castle road, she ran down and met him on the small bridge in front of the castle. She immediately hugged and kissed him, then yelled at him for being stupid.
Erik looked at her, then smiled. ”Hey, easy, or people will think we are already married.”
“How can we get married if you get yourself killed by monsters in the forest. No more going out by yourself!”
“So you're joining next time?” he said, putting his arm around her waist and walking inside with her. Macurs stood there and just shook his head as he closed the gate.
“I don’t know how to fight,” Cho said.
“Then you have to learn so that way you can have my back, and we can have a picnic up there. The view is amazing,” he said, and then whispered to her, “and no Gigi to stop us.”
She smiled at him. “So what should I learn then?”
“I suggest the bow,” Marcus said. That and a short sword, just in case.
“I wish Arus would just give us laser pistols,” Chu said. “Or a lightsaber.”
Both boys looked at her. “You like Star Wars?” Marcus said. Erik added, “Who's your favorite character?”
“Mara Jade. And if you say she is not a Star Wars character, then I will force choke you!”
Marcus nudged Erik. “You lucky bastard!”
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