Chereads / Chicken's Rise / Chapter 9 - By the by

Chapter 9 - By the by

Run.

Runrunrunrunrunrurnrunrunrunrunrun.

If you want to live run!

These were the thoughts going through my terrified brain as I kept sprinting, using some otherworldly power to strengthen my legs enough for me to outrun those terrifying scaly creatures, how they managed to be so nimble with such a large body? I'll never know. Or maybe I will, since I was doing the same thing on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Soul Power being infused into my legs made them feel a slight buzz, but the effect produced was nothing but 'slight. I could see the trees and foliage rush past me as if I were back at earth driving a car, my immense speed made it impossible for me to steer clear of branches and leaves as many got caught up in my feathers and beak, I looked like I had rolled around in glue and then skydived onto a tree.

At the moment, I couldn't care less how pretty I looked, I didn't focus my attention at all on the predators behind me, only on what was immediately in front of me, which was in most times a hulking tree that I would narrowly avoid.

After what seemed like hours, my mind couldn't handle the stress of having to focus on what was ahead of me and my concentration slipped, the tree roots and brambles I would so brutishly step through now caught my legs and caused me to trip and fall, slingshotting forwards into the thickets of a bush.

My head, heart and legs were pounding, I stayed in that bush, terrified that the lizards could be outside right now, sniffing around, slithering their tongues out of their jagged mouths to taste the air for any semblance of me. I took inventory of my body, my legs were more like noodles than the sticks I would've compared to them before, they flopped aimlessly.

That can't be good.

Thanks to the system and 'KRYPTID'ness of my body, pain wasn't something I felt, I could feel my legs beneath my body, but the pain which would've come from them bending as they do now was absent, I was very thankful for that in this moment.

'Are they here system? The Lizards?'

[ Negative ]

'Oh thank the gods'

I rolled out of the bushes, using my wings to propel myself out, seeing my legs flop around made me sick, sadly I had nothing in my stomach to vomit, I was hungry...

Pushing my body up, I tried to look around, but the thing with forests are that they lack any distinguishing landmarks, or so I thought. I saw a clearing behind me, a pool of water, slightly shimmering in the distance, there was dense vegetation around it, plants and fruits I had never seen decorated the outer edges of the pool, it looked like a work of art... a beacon of hope.

I was more cautious than that to just crawl over there, I was hurt and weak, if someone were to prey on me now, I definitely couldn't do much to escape.

'How long will it take me to heal?'

[ As a KRYPTID you are almost immune to physical damage, any serious injury can be healed with soul power ]

'Oh wow... system, how am I on soul power?'

[ 189/504 ]

'Can you heal me?'

[ Affirmative, healing factor enhancement is underway ]

My legs which lay twisted in a spiral on the ground immediately perked up, they straightened themselves back to their old stick-like shape, this happened very slowly. I had a feeling that without the system preventing me from feeling pain this would've caused me to be screaming on the ground, once again I silently thanked it.

I stood up, regaining my composure and stumbling forwards toward the serene beauty of the pool. I confirmed with the system that no magical beasts lay awaiting me there, it was surprising that an area that abundant of resources wouldn't have been plundered long ago, but I'm not one to complain! I really needed a rest and a mental break from the horrors I had just escaped, not long ago my biggest issues were figuring out how to do taxes and college work, now I needed to stop myself from getting eaten, it's not easy to get used to.

I reached the pool and immediately dunked my head into the water , washing off the grime I had caught up in my feathers during my "run" and gulped down fresh water, I couldn't feel thirst but the feeling of having my dry throat be greeted with cold water was refreshing! I quenched my non-existent thirst and then waddled onto the bizarre fruits and vegetables that hugged the pool, there was a red pear-shaped fruit, considerably larger than a pear and speckled with yellow dots, I decided that this would be my brunch for the day!

I plunged my beak into the fruit and nipped it off, bit by bit.

'D-Delicious!!'

It was fantastic! It tasted fresh and it was of similar taste as an apple, by far the best thing I've eaten in this world. I mowed through that fruit, not even stopping to catch my breath. I'm a growing boy now! I need the energy! Especially if I'm going to be making a habit out of being chased by giant lizards.

After I was through with the weird fruit, only a small core remained, normally animals would've been more than happy to eat those seeds, but after yesterday I think I've had enough seeds to last a lifetime. Since I had eaten my weight in fruit and drunk all I could, I ran back to the bush where I smashed my legs into noodles, re-arranging the leaves and sticks to hide the indentation, making a soft bed of leaves inside, a make-shift nest for me!

I entered the nest and admired my work, it really wasn't much but it was a heck of a lot more comfortable than the floor, and thanks to me piling other leaves and branches onto the bush, it looked like any other. This would be my new home! I was glad.

On Earth I lived alone, I had a family but none I was close to, they were acquaintances at best, I never made an attempt to connect with them and they didn't to me either. I was used to being in solitude, the only difference is, now I didn't have a device to keep me company. It's fine though, having a nest and access to food and water in this world is vastly superior to having a tablet in my old one. I tried to close my eyes and sleep, I didn't feel sleepy or tired but my brain was churning with ideas now that I had a moment to breathe, I needed rest to ensure that I was in the best condition I could be when I started out tomorrow. For the first time, I went to bed hopeful, hopeful that things may not be as bad as I had thought.