A sound, the rustle of dry leaves from the bushes behind me, broke the strange spell of the blue screen.
My head snapped around, rifle coming up, but I was too slow. A second lizard, a carbon copy of the first nightmare, burst from the foliage. It wasn't a charge; it was a launch. It hit me with the force of a wrecking ball, the impact driving the air from my lungs in a single, brutal punch. The world was a spinning vortex of green scales and blue sky as the rifle was pinned uselessly between its weight and my chest.
Its jaws, slick with saliva that smelled of rot and something unnervingly metallic, snapped inches from my face. The sound was like a bear trap closing on empty air. I shoved, my arms straining against its crushing weight, my mind screaming a frantic, unending loop of getitoff getitoff getitoff.
A deafening CRACK exploded to my right, so close it felt like my eardrum had split. The pressure on my chest vanished. The beastâs body was kicked sideways as if hit by a truck, and I scrambled out from under it, gasping for breath.
I rolled to my feet, raising my rifle to finish it, but there was nothing left to finish. A gaping, steaming hole had been blown clean through its chest cavity. Green ichor, thick as oil, sloshed from the wound onto the gravel. I scanned for more threats before my eyes found Kira. She stood on the other side of the cruiser, a 12-gauge shotgun held firm against her shoulder, a thin curl of smoke rising from the barrel. Her expression wasn't triumphant. It was utterly bewildered.
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She wasnât looking at the dead lizard. She was staring at a point in the air just to the side of it, her eyes wide.
âYou okay?â I yelled, my ears still ringing. My concern for her overwhelming my disbelief at how close to death I was.
âUmmâ¦â Her voice was shaky, distant. âElias, do you see this⦠this blue square thingy?â she gestured vaguely at the empty space in front of her. Then she gasped and looked down at her own arms, inspecting them as if sheâd just sprouted a new set. âWhoa,â she murmured, her gaze snapping back to me.
âNo, but Iâve got one too,â I said, the impossible words feeling like gravel in my mouth. âWhat does yours say?â
She read it out loud, her voice a monotone of disbelief. ââCongratulations for killing an invading monster. Registering as a New Player. You have earned the title âSecond Bestâ in your area. All stats increased by 5, and a reward box will be placed in your inventoryâ¦ââ.
Second Best. I couldnât help but grin. This was going to drive her competitive nature insane.