015 – Horned Ewe

Time to Seal: 04:32

I learned multiple facts in quick succession. There was a reason that animals who developed such truly ridiculous running speeds evolved in wide open plains. 55 miles per hour was not a reasonable speed to run in the streets of New York. Especially not if they were clogged with cars, construction sites and the occasional human corpse.

That last point led to the interesting realization that an impala could jump high. Very high. I’d learned that when I nearly ran over a corpse and ended up jumping ten feet into the air. That’s not a height to jump when you don’t have soft ground and grass to land on. My health bar dented from the ensuing impact. The corpses on the streets were a horrible sight. You could tell who died because they’d been outside during the ‘scramble’. Even their corpses looked scrambled. I avoided looking at them.

Furthermore impalas have eyes that work very differently than a human’s. I could see nearly all around me, with only a tiny blind spot directly behind me. Their color spectrum was also different, giving the already scrambled New York an even more alien vibe.

All of that combined meant my start was less swift and more disorienting than I had anticipated. My new eye allowed me to spot the altered spaces, as Lucy called them, for about three to four blocks, after which I struggled to see the outline, even knowing it was out there. Since I wouldn’t be going full speed anyway, I went for a more systematic approach than running away as fast as possible—like I wanted. I’d systematically expand my search in a half-circle around the deli, away from the direction of the tower, so the others would have to cover the least amount of distance to get to any sanctified space I found.

I soon learned that profane spaces were a lot more common than sanctified ones. They came in all sizes, some only spanning a single room in some larger building, though the MAMMON Inc. Tower remained the largest I encountered.

I was about five minutes into my scouting mission when I spotted my reflection in an intact storefront. This supposed ‘Blessing’ fucking with me got really tiresome, really fast.

[“Why do I have horns? I am not an expert but I’m really sure that girl impalas aren’t supposed to have those. Is the Blessing really trying to give me gender dysphoria?”]

“No, Eve, it is not that. I am fairly certain that you are indeed a girl impala,” Gabriel’s voice had a hint of amusement to it, which she failed to hide. “Remember what happened when you picked your first perk? How it equipped your human shape with natural weapons? I suppose that if sexual dimorphism would mean you lose out on a weapon, you’ll get them anyway. Additionally I feel obliged to inform you that horned ewes do exist in the wild, though they are both rare and infertile.”

I felt dumb for being so angry. I was angry. At a lot of things. But this was a rational explanation.

[“Thanks, Gabriel. For everything. I don’t mean to be a difficult, irrational and ungrateful charge.”]

It took her a moment before she replied. She was multitasking multiple Blessed, after all.

“You are doing fine, Eve. Everyone I’ve ever assisted with this had to just face the end of their world. You are doing remarkably well and being upset is only natural. Don’t be too harsh on yourself.”

“Yeah, you got us to drag you down,” Lucy’s voice added.

Their comment reminded me of the moment in the bathroom earlier. I had tried not to think about it too hard, mostly because it was intimately linked with the memory of getting my eye ripped out, but there had been something there.

[“Lucy, what happens to you when I die?”]

“I will be unmade and become part of myself, my true self, once again.” There was zero emotion in their voice.

[“And if I fall?”]

“Then, my dear, we shall attempt to conquer this world. And afterwards? Who knows.”

[“Those are strong incentives. That’s not how it usually goes for Hell’s Guides?”]

“Nope, just me.”

It seemed incomprehensibly unlikely. Out of 8 billion people, I got stuck with the one person who had the same stakes as me in this? My end would be theirs, too? This question was not one that’d help me survive the next four hours. But maybe whatever came after.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Suddenly Jamie’s health bar dropped, 25% gone in an instant. I turned around. At my current position I could be there in only a couple of minutes.

[“What’s going on?”]

“Jamie convinced them to loot the deli and leave it behind, but another pack was summoned and noticed their retreat. It is smaller than the last, you do not need to return. This will be over before you ever make it there.”