"Dylan!" Sora screamed.
Paralyzed on the ground, Dylan could only listen to the parasite's footsteps getting closer until it stopped behind him. The mushroom parasite brought its fists into a ball and raised it into the air. However before it came down on him, a stick was jammed into the side of the creature's head causing it to fall lifelessly.
Nazurak was by Dylan's side, he completely disregarded the enhanced stick and focused on getting himself and Dylan out into the sunlight.
"Come on!"
He grabbed Dylan's collar and pulled.
While dragging him closer to the light, one of the smaller parasites started to close the gap between them. One got too close for comfort so Nazurak had to drop Dylan momentarily.
"Screw off!" He yelled running towards the small creature.
Being the size of a raccoon, they were easily puntable. Or so he thought.
Shifting his body he brought his leg back he swung it at a slight angle, hitting the parasite with a solid thud. It skid across the grass ground, standing right back up.
'Tch!'
He glanced at the enhanced stick that was still lodged in one of the parasites. It wasn't that far back but every second that went by, parasites further in the shade walked closer. If he wanted that stick he'd have to act now.
Taking a quick look at the sunlight he saw Sora running to help. Looking further into the shade the parasites were still a decent distance away, however, he didn't know the range of whatever hit Dylan was.
'I hate making decisions like this on spot!'
"Sora! Take care of Dylan please!" He yelled back and ran forward deeper into the shade.
Seeing his actions her eyes widened.
"What are you doing!?"
But it was pointless asking him as he was already running further away from the light. Sora picked up her pace and quickly examined Dylan, he was breathing and wasn't in critical condition. It seems like what had shot him only paralyzed him.
After confirming he was ok, she began dragging him to the light keeping her eyes out for any parasites that got too close.
Luckily for her, Nazurak picked up the only small one that was near and was running with it in his hands keeping it far as he can from his body.
Once he was near the enhanced stick, he released the parasite in his hands and kicked it away. Surprisingly it tumbled a decent distance, far enough for him to grab the stick and retreat.
He took a quick glance behind him and saw the pores in the large parasite expanding and contracting, assuming it was about to shoot he started to run diagonally instead of a straight sprint toward the light.
Sounds of whizzing were heard going past his ears, impacts made contact with the ground in front of him kicking up dirt. However, none had hit him.
He looked ahead and saw Sora well out into the light, still dragging Dylan showing no signs of stopping.
'Good, they got out fine, but what did I get myself into...All for a stick that can be replaced.' He thought as he continue dodging the increasing rampage of paralyzing projectiles.
Nazurak was starting to get tired, all the sprinting and dodging was putting a toll on his untrained body. Fortunately, he was almost out of the shade. Because of this, he decided to make a dash into the light.
In the next moment, the warmth of the sun washed over him, and for a brief second he relaxed but was immediately reminded of why he was running in the first place when projectiles shot past his ears.
***
The group made their way back into the forest. A fire was burning and food was cooking. Dylan had recovered from being paralyzed and Nazurak was being scolded for running into the shade by Sora.
"You're just as bad as Dylan wandering around places all by himself!" She pointed at him ending her lecture.
"Sorry! It was a mistake."
Dylan was off to the side laying down and enjoying some food, trying his best to blend into the grass hoping to not get dragged into the lecture.
Sora picked up one of the clay cups and took a sip from it, then shook her head.
"That's in the past, what should we do now?" She sighed.
Thinking about it, Nazurak looked at their weapons then peeked at the meadow. They had one spear and the enhanced stick. The other spear was now somewhere under the tall mushrooms but the vine attached to it can still be seen in the light.
Dylan finished eating and joined the conversation.
"The bigger parasites are tough, but I should be able to pull them once I activate my trait."
"That's something we could definitely try, we can also help pull as well if needed." Sora added.
The group finished up eating and made their way back to the giant mushrooms. They had killed 2 smaller parasites and 4 remained during their last skirmish.
Arriving back where they started, the vine could still be seen resting on the grass. Every so often it would slightly move.
Sora inspected the vine and then glanced at Dylan.
"Seems like the spear is still lodged in the one parasite that pulled you into the shade."
"Perfect then, we can start with that one" He nodded.
Next, Nazurak began to talk about backup plans with Sora in case anything went wrong. But they were interrupted by the sounds of jumping.
They both stared at Dylan for a second wondering why he was doing jumping jacks but quickly remembered his trait required him to be fatigued.
After talking for a bit the team was ready to challenge the parasites again. Dylan stopped jumping and was sweating. He grabbed the vine and stared at his companions to see if they were ready.
With a nod, the team got into action. Nazurak and Sora stood next to him Incase he required help. His eyes fired up with vigor, each time he yanked, it was with force greater than the last. The process was slow but steady, he was managing fine on his own so Nazurak and Sora didn't really need to help but they did anyways to speed up the process.
Soon the large parasite was near the sun, it tried to shoot out projectiles but was quickly stunned when a spear pierced its head. Dylan used this opportunity to drag it into the sunlight where Nazurak gave it the final blow to the head.
Not stopping there, the team attacked the last large parasite and clean up the job by finishing off the smaller ones.
Dylan dropped to the floor in exhaustion, while the other two caught their breath.
"We did it!" Dylan cried out.
Sora giggled and look into the shade with excitement.
"This is going to be our base until we go back, right?"
Nazurak looked up at the sun, there was still plenty of daylight left but it was no longer at its peak.
"We were instructed to share our knowledge about the area, so I don't see any reason for us to move to another region. We can call this home for now." Nazurak replied with a smile.
They all got up and stepped into the shade, feeling the heat slightly diminished they sighed in relief. Walking to the center of the Mushrooms, Sora thought about food.
"I wonder if we could eat these mushrooms?" She inquired.
Nazurak looked at her with a frown.
"Please don't eat our roof."
"I'm not! I was just won-"
"Ehaah!"
Sora jumped before looking at Dylan who was hoping around like the floor was on fire.
"What!?" She asked cautiously looking around sharply.
Nazurak turned and stared at him, not because he was surprised but instead in shock. He never knew a man could reach such notes. If it weren't for Sora already questioning Dylan, he would have thought the yelp came from Sora herself.
Dylan pointed to the ground.
"L-Look..."
On the ground laid a human skull facing upwards, it was all bones and clearly has been there for a long time as most of it was covered in dirt and grass. Dylan had stepped into the ribcage, causing the poor remains to be partly shattered.
Sora looked at it with a pale face.
"A human skeleton...but I thought this planet was unexplored?"
Silence filled the air, no one had an answer.
They were at the center of the giant mushrooms where one stood taller and larger than the rest. Nazurak set his eyes on this immeasurable mushroom when something caught his eye, immediately he walked towards it.
Breaking the silence he spoke up in an alerting tone.
"Um guys, you should check this out."
Sora and Dylan joined Nazurak and their faces got paler.
Carved into the centered mushroom was English, it read 3 simple but ominous words.
"First squad."
"Failed."