I am Tabby Kins. I am Tabby Kins. Another memory disappears as I said my mantra. I am Tabby Kins. I see my mothers face. She puts a plate of food on the table. My mothers name is… The memory disappears from my grasp like loose sand. My fathers name is Frank…. Frank. A face was there just moments ago. And now it's gone. We were at a table. A large turkey in the middle. Blank faces laugh and… I am Tabby… Tabby…
I woke up in a white room. A monotone voice speaks to me. "Please choose." Choose what? I notice there are 6 items. 3 are bottles with small pills. One was just a block of metal. Another are gloves, plain leather with visible stitching. And lastly is a coin. The side up showing a horseshoe.
I look down at myself. My clothes are plain and skin tight. My chair a cold metal. "Hello?" I call out to the empty room.
"Please choose." The same voice repeated.
I don't know why but I just complied. I looked over the items more directly. Words appeared as I did so describing the items.
Pill of Flexibility:
Upon consumption become extremely flexible. Your body is like rubber.
Pill of Might:
Upon consumption increases strength.
Pill of Flight:
Upon consumption gives the ability to fly. Your bones become weak and brittle.
Liquid Metal:
A block of metal that can alter its shape.
Gloves of Catching:
Gloves that give the wearer the ability to unerringly catch things.
Coin of Fortune and Disaster:
Coin will randomly flip to cause great fortune or ill disasters.
Immediately I decided to not take the pill of flexibility. A rubber like body sounded weird. Strength sounded nice, who wouldn't want to be strong. Flight would be amazing. I already imagined myself soaring through the sky. However my bones would be weak. If I fell would I crumble and die? Would a single hit end me? The block of metal sounded interesting. Could turn it into a bladed weapon one moment or have a shield the next. I didn't know why my first thoughts were as such. But they were.
Gloves of catching on paper didn't excite me. It was just boring compared to the other items displayed. But I could think of some things where it could be useful. But I still decided to put it off to the side.
And then there was the last one. It called to me. Similar to the flight pill the risk was as great as the reward. I spent a few minutes deliberating. I had decided on what I wasn't going to take. Gloves of Catching, Flexibility and strength. They all had their ups but weren't….interesting? I might not know exactly why I was here. But somewhere deep in my core said that I had to make it interesting, exciting, thrilling.
Next to go was the coin. I truly wanted to take it. The intrigue was there. But I had to be practical. And I couldn't let luck be my deciding factor. Skill over chance.
That left flight and the liquid metal. I wanted to take both to be honest. The utility- "Please Choose." The voice spoke again.
"I'm thinking-" A number appeared in my vision. It started counting down from 5. I froze. Even with all that deliberation. Thinking about what would be best, the pros and cons. The moment I actually needed to do something I froze. I reached my hands out for- And it all went black.
I woke up again. It was dark. I heard rain pouring from the slits in the walling. My eyes started to dilate. And slowly I could see more of the place I was in. It seemed to be an average sized building. There were tables and the smell of rotted fish. I choked on it a few times. The smell was so bad it made me gasp for fresh air.
My stomach felt queasy but I started to be able to handle it. I could have just left as I found the door but the rain was coming down something fierce and I didn't want to go out. That was also when I finally realized that I had been holding on to something as I looked around.
I also just remembered what had happened. The room. The items. The choice, more specifically the choice that I didn't make in time. I thought I went for the metal block. But no such thing was in my hand. Instead it was a small jar with a pill in it. I tried staring at it so the description would appear but nothing happened. "I guess that was only in the room. Or I was hallucinating? Or a dream?"
I opened the bottle and tipped the pill into my mouth. "Here goes nothing." I was scared it might be the flexibility one but in the end I still swallowed the pill. I felt like I needed it. I felt a surge of power. Like electricity coursing through me. Then not even a few heart beats later it went away. I didn't feel anything else. No natural flexibility or strength. I didn't start floating.
First I tried bending backwards and managed a bit but in the end just popped my back. "Oww." Next I tried to pick up a table. I definitely wasn't strong. Instead I got on the table and jumped. And fell to the ground. I then thought of myself flying. Soaring through a clouded sky. I opened my eyes as I slammed into the ceiling. My body hurt so much as I lost concentration and fell back down. I screamed in pain as my arm bent in an odd way.
I whimpered as I crawled into a corner. Something told me I was going to have to push it back in place. The idea though pained me even more than the actual pain I was feeling. That of which wasn't as much as my mind told me I should be in. Like it was slightly muted.
That wasn't to say I wasn't in immense pain. Just less than it should be. As it mellowed down in maybe twenty minutes time I looked down and paled. I hadn't looked at my arm the entire time. Just staring up at the ceiling. Water at that point had started to pool inside the building. Not much but enough that I had to get on a table.
While there I contemplated on how I was going to reset my arm. But noticed that it had slowly been healing itself. My arm bending back in place. After some more time. I couldn't really tell time that well. My mind focused on just staying calm but after what felt like hours, but was probably more like one, I found my arm was pretty good. The pain was mostly gone and I was able to move it.
I marveled over this fact. Again my mind told me this shouldn't be how it works. Then again I shouldn't be able to fly. Speaking of such, I tried again. Or at least was about to try again. Before I could practice there was a loud crash as a huge lobster-like creature bore through a wall. "What the hell." I cried out as I ran towards a corner. The thing was huge, getting at 6 feet in height and triple that in length. In a claw was someone. They wore what looked like bronze armor. It gleamed due to the water covering him. They struggled as they were slammed into walls and the ground.
I for one did nothing as I watched. What could I do? One smack from that monstrosity would have turned me into a pancake. I picked up a broken piece of table and threw it. The wood bounced off the shell and it looked my way. I flinched back. It looked ready to chop me in half for the insult.
The moment in lapsed concentration the metal man managed to rip himself from claw and pull back a distance. The creature screeched in rage and tried to attack again. However before it could, an arrow grew from its flank and dissipated quickly. Another and another sprouted up barely digging into the tough shell. But again it was a distraction and a much needed one as another kid ran in. A massive spear in hand.
The spear was jammed into an opening where the legs connected to the main body. It managed to dig in deep. The lobster wasn't as fazed as I thought it would be and quickly spun around the tail nearly sending the spear wielder flying. The spear itself snapped. But the kid didn't seem too disappointed as another one just materialized in their hand. Growing out of a bracelet on their wrist.
It wasn't that fast though and he had to run away from a claw strike meant to decapitate him. More arrows were shot from somewhere I couldn't see clearly, irritating the sea monster. The metal man came sprinting and used what I assumed was considerable weight slamming into the lobster sending it to one side. The injured leg gave out.
The tail smashed into the armored man and sent him to the ground. I want to help. I thought I should be helping at this point. But I was terrified and just sat there in the corner. I didn't have what looked like unbreakable armor. Or a bow and arrow. Or spears. I had flight. And very breakable bones.
"Wait, I have flight. Maybe I could help." I whispered to myself. Mostly just to try and sick myself up.
I concentrated and floated off the ground. I flew out of the building as the creature chased after the others. The old building mostly collapsed as another wall was destroyed by the thrashing tail. I was instantly soaked as I flew into the air looking at the fight below.
I was safe up here. Nothing that I could see could touch me. I started flying higher. The freedom feeling amazing even with the battle raging down below. But I quickly felt tired as I went up. I faltered in concentration and started to fall like the rain around me. With a lot of flailing I caught myself a few feet away from the ground. It was more of a cushioning of the fall as I got buffeted by whatever kept me afloat and slammed into the ground.
If I wasn't already so wet I would have been now. I felt my energy slowly coming back. Perhaps I couldn't fly forever? Or was it the altitude? Whatever it was, it was going to have to wait. I could see that the creature wasn't fairing well but one of the others wasn't moving on the ground. It was the spear wielder. Their body was bloody but quickly being cleaned away.
I looked away from the horrid scene as vomit started to rise in my throat. I didn't know if they were dead but by the time I looked back I saw that they were gone. Only a wooden bracelet laid in the sand. The one in the armor took a nasty hit and was spun into the sand. The wet sand making it hard for the heavy person to move.
The archer still kept shooting arrows. Though they clearly weren't a master with the bow. Many shots missed and they were landing only due to the fact that the creature was so large. Fear was plain to see in their eyes. The arrows also didn't do much just sticking in before disappearing in a puff of blueish smoke.
I glanced back towards the fallen fighter again. Hoping to see the dig themselves from the sand and come back with a vengeance. But nothing like that happened. Instead I saw the bracelet was slowly being buried in sand from all the ruckus and rain.
I didn't think as I launched myself forward. At first sprinting before tripping in the sand and started coasting along the ground. The reason for my haste was the fact the fighting was heading towards the bracelet. I didn't know if it would break if stepped on but decided getting myself a weapon however macabre the situation was essential for my survival.
I zoomed faster and faster and narrowly grabbed it as I spun head over heels in the sand. Tumbling towards the ocean. I got my bearings to see that the armor was finally starting to look dented after all of that. They were also again clamped on by the mighty claws and held tight. Their arms at their waist. The archer seemed to have run out of steam as they were on their knees panting.
I put on the bracelet. Instantly I knew how to use it. How I could create anything I desired made from wood. The possibilities almost overwhelmed me. I snapped out of the odd euphoria I got from putting it on. Focusing I copied the previous owner and made a spear. I flew over the creature and started throwing them down one by one. I felt safer with the bracelet but still not safe enough to go toe to toe with the thing.
I got a lucky hit as the spear managed to pierce a softer portion. Gravity doing most of the work. The hit let the armored man get out of its grasp and pick up one of the spears I had thrown. With a quick thrust the spear sank into the face it gave out a deathly cry as it lashed out. The spear shattered as a claw hit it. I decided my time was best used for giving weapons to the unkillable suit of armor.
Spear after spear was thrust and shattered. I felt exhausted and had to land, throwing them from nearby. In the end we stood victorious over the giant monster. I fell over so tired I couldn't even move. It was like my entire being had been drained. I fell to my knees barely holding on.