The realization struck me out of nowhere, finally I figured it out.

  Facts congealed into the first part. Ruza saw in the dark, picked up on smells and sounds long before I did. Even Robeep’s mechanical measurements, however they functioned, weren’t quite as sharp. Moreover, my bald squad mate gravitated towards tasks that required precision and deftness. Her gait had a certain grace to it, an agility. Simply put, her senses were extraordinary, well above the norm.

  My history informed the second part. Even I once had a girlfriend, for all of three weeks back in high school. It was the only reason the signs stood out to me, like a little twitch in her eye, responding to every shriek. Flinches accompanied every movement, laced with regret. Eyelids drooped, to shut out the light. Thus I concluded that, like my ex, Ruza suffered from migraines.

  We’d been absorbed by the loud, merry band some time ago. They never shut up aside from the initial meeting. What they wanted, only Ruza knew. But if she’d spent a long time here, and they triggered her cranial mishaps, well it was no wonder her despair flared. This was pure torture for her. My doom might have been distant, but hers surrounded us right now.

  The throng ventured deeper and deeper into the odd forest, where the giant trees were denser, the moss grew thicker and the bushes sparser. Seeing the others regularly harvest cleaner bits of the undergrowth prompted me to do the same. I regretted it immediately. The only saving grace was a slight moistness, but it tasted like a mix of ash and aluminum foil. Sharp, a hint of metal and utterly disgusting.

  Their village, if it could be called that, promised no hope of improvement. It was one of the giant trees, dead and partly hollowed out. A fire pit in the center, marked by a circle of metal and burnt remains, along with some logs for sitting made up pretty much all the furniture. Ruza guided me and Robeep towards a small one, just enough for us three.

  The big one, human, kept invading her personal space, shouting in her face. Whether he was oblivious to her discomfort or simply didn’t care, well, Ruza was having none of it. She rebuked him each time with low growls, even shoving once. My observations were distracted by a different one, Admorak like me but with far more plates, crouching in front of me. He shoved his face close, inches off mine. His eyes narrowed, head tilting this way and that, ever so slightly.

  A last moment glance at Ruza betrayed her worry. The reason why became apparent when the Admorak took in a deep breath. A rumbling bellow rose to a high screech, completely ignored. You think that’s going to faze me? After all I’ve been through here? I scrunched my eyebrows and nose, waving a hand in front of my face as if to dispel his putrid breath. It wasn’t even really an act. Those watching burst out in laughter.

  He couldn’t appreciate it though, baring teeth and leaning back, telegraphing. Instinct took over and answered his head butt with one of my own. Our foreheads slammed into each other. The impact knocked him back. I smiled, still sitting, provoking another bout of hilarity. Ruza had another panic attack when Robeep’s voice sounded.

  It was incredibly loud. A series of pitch perfect tones alternated wildly. A Nightlander started slapping his thighs. The big human looked me through from feet to head, sizing me up. Some of the shriekers howled, one rolled on the ground clutching her middle. Robeep kept going, until a walking stick figure of a swarmfolker said a real word and then quickly covered its mouth with both scrawny hands.

  The hilarity ceased and my eyes widened. Everyone picked up a weapon and ganged up on him, raining down blows until there was nothing but pulp left. Afterwards they returned back to poking, prodding and probably joking with each other. The big guy approached us.

  Ruza exchanged incoherencies with their nominal leader but Robeep interrupted them after a bit. The human glanced towards me and the perfect, loud tonal declarations continued, strengthened by gesticulations, mostly pointing at me. Crap. I know what he’s doing. Ruza attempted to intervene but the robotic efficiency outpaced her. She’s probably a bit rusty.

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  The chief’s facial expression started leaning increasingly hard towards rather pissed off. Ruza slapped her forehead which settled it. Dude grabbed her around the waist and stared me down, until she pushed herself off after kneeing him in the nuts. Robeep continued his diatribe. His eyes narrowed, nostrils flared and teeth bared.

  Figuring I’d been somehow included in a love triangle against my will, my hand reached for Plank. Ruza shook her head, followed by a sharp twinge of regret, and balled up her fists. Even better. My opponent-to-be grumbled and grunted, silencing everyone. They made a ring of people around us. There was some kind of ritualistic element to it, as the dude raised his arms high, facing different parts of the crowd and addressing them with nonsense. My neck and knuckles cracked.

  I was many things in my past life, so to speak. Never much of an achiever, didn’t have any ambitions, pretty basic overall. But a creep I was not, a bully neither – despite a temper. Seeing this asshat harass Ruza over and over pissed me off on principle and I relished the opportunity to set things right. He finished his theatrics and we circled each other for a bit.

  This world lacked educational institutions and while some people were intelligent by nature, chief shriek was not one of them. He wouldn’t have started this if he was. First of all, he was human and I was covered in bone plates. Second, I was seven goddamn feet tall, he a little over six, at best. Physique favored him though. While I’d bulked up, some original scrawniness still remained. This guy had apparently found a gym somewhere and hit it religiously. Of course, none of that mattered.

  You like screaming, huh? He stepped in, and so did I. My foot didn’t quite make contact with the ground. His was in the way. A hydraulic hiss announced my immediate victory, followed by an involuntary backflip. While soaring through the air, I watched him desperately clutch a brand new stump, surrounded by a splatter pattern of bloody moss crowning an indentation in the forest floor. My balance failed to right the landing, but the fight was over.

  Robeep busted out a tonal crescendo so melodious even I could appreciate it. The ringers whooped and laughed while my opponent cried like a bitch. No, this shit ends here, Ruza has suffered enough. First, a solid palm slap shut up my would-be challenger, reducing him to whimpering.

  Afterwards, I walked towards the nearest idiot until he quieted. One by one, the circle got the message. Peace descended, ensured by a stare promising mutilation for even the slightest sound. A few sighed secretly, obviously relieved. Most were terrified. Whatever Robeep told them, it had now been confirmed. The Murder King walks among you.

  We got a proper nights rest and left the tribe of screamers behind in the morning after a moss breakfast. Ruza didn’t complain, leading us north-east. She still had some residual pain, but whispered a ‘thank you’ nonetheless.

  I had a conversation off to the side with Robeep. “So, what the hell did you say to him?”

  “Merely the truth,” Robeep said, “that Ruza was your meatbag.”

  “Those words?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Robeep, that’s not app-”

  He interrupted me. “Further, since it was obvious he intended to mate with her, I said such a thing was pointless while you were present, as you would simply eat his unborn child. It is your favorite dish after all.”

  “Godda-”

  “Afterwards he asserted a desire to challenge you. I encouraged him, saying you welcomed all victims. You would kill him, end his line and slaughter his pets. Defile his progenitor’s graves, dig up their corpses and claim the right to their deaths as well.”

  “…in the future, please ask for my permission before you start doing things like that.”

  “But I could not, since you have proved far too slow a learner to grasp even something so simple as a new language in a reasonable timeframe. While your skill at omnicide is adequate, your intellectual capacity leaves much to be desired in every sense of the word.”

  My mouth gaped open but no words came out, he actually had a point. It was painful.

  “Ha. Ha. Ha,” Robeep said, “you have been wordslaughtered. My proficiency grows. Yours stalls, as expected.”

  Ruza called a halt, finally ready to speak. “From here on things become dangerous. There’s almost no hope, but anything is better than staying there, eating moss and yelling for centuries. But that’s my way of seeing it. You should have a real choice.”

  My silence begged her to continue.

  “The only way out is through the Leviathan hills.”

  Robeep squealed in delight.

  I don’t even want to know.