Chapter - 9 Bats

Jack stared up at the unfamiliar night sky for the first time since coming to this world. It was beautiful. Stars blanketed the sky like they never had on earth. Even without a moon, you could still see the landscape under the intense starlight. The scene before him soothed his aching head.

Jack remained staring at the night sky, finally relaxing for the first time since coming here. The dam holding his emotions back almost cracked with his lack of attention. The seething rage and indignation he felt at what happened to him continued beating at the wall in his mind. Only with the calm induced by such a serene scene, Jack held it in.

When the reality of his situation set in, Jack had nearly lost it. Through some miracle, his emotions found themselves sealed away but not gone. This all occurred during the distribution of the conscript's kits. It was only now that Jack's repressed feelings began to surface. The rage could be ignored, but there was something that Jack could never ignore. Worry for his family. His mother, father, grandmother, and great grandmother still waited for him to come home. They were doing everything in their power to find him. He was sure of it, and he knew that he had to do everything in his power to get back to them.

Jack's vision began to blur. Wiping at his eyes, Jack firmed his resolve. 'I need power.' The image of the Sosie appeared in his mind. It could tear a ship apart with nothing but its hands. 'If I can get even half of that power, I could MAKE them take me home…'

Jack looked up at the cave above his camp. "Tomorrow" Jack muttered to himself before returning to his tent to sleep.

Jack slept well. It seemed that starting on a definitive path helped set his mind straight. Jack hadn't seen any noticeable differences in himself since eating the snake and wondered what changes required such a violent reaction to occur. He might be a little stronger and faster, but he didn't think that was the only thing that changed.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Jack geared up. It was time to check out that cave. Annoyed, he had to hold his katana since it didn't come with a sheath. 'I probably look kind of cool right now.' Smiling to himself, Jack leaped from ledge to ledge whilst wielding his pitch-black katana. He quickly reached the mouth of the cave. It was much larger than he had expected, around eight or nine feet tall.

Jack approached the entrance and without warning, swung the blade in his hand. The blade appeared to be nothing but a flicker as it moved in one swift motion. *Thump*

The two halves of a large bat landed on either side of him. It had a body the size of a basketball! Jack was stunned. He hadn't seen or heard anything when his body reacted on instinct. He cut the bat diagonally through its body with no resistance whatsoever. 'Damn this thing is sharp' Jack thought while staring at the marvel of science in his hand. 'Wait no, how did I even do that?' He wasn't given any time to think about that question when he suddenly repeated the same feat. Another bat lay bisected at the floor. It was clear that the cave was occupied, but Jack wanted to claim the cave as his. If these bats where the only thing he had to worry about, then this cave would be a breeze. Using his enhanced vision, Jack could just barely make out the interior of the cave. It was actually quite large, nearly the size of a small apartment. On instinct, Jack turned and swung with his sword hitting only air. This time he was surprised that no bat lay on the floor. 'Why do I keep doing that? I swear I feel something…'

Jack felt it again, and again. The feeling came with a very faint sound that resembled flapping wings. Once again Jack felt it, spinning to attack again, he swung his sword. Again, he hit nothing. 'What's going on?' The feeling came again from his left. *SHICK* "AH!" Jack held his left cheek. He felt warm liquid flowing through his fingers. He'd been hit. *SHICK* "GAH!" Jack felt a sharp pain coming from his back. *SHICK* *UGH* This time it was his left leg.

"DAMN IT!" Jack swung wildly hoping to catch his attacker in the storm of movements, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Jack was considering retreating, but a baseless pride welled in his chest. How could he run? It's only a few scratches and that FUCKING BASTARD that kept getting in cheap shots had to die!

Jack relaxed his body and strained his senses hoping to isolate the sound of his enemy in the dark. Seeing that his vision was borderline useless, he closed his eyes to better focus. *FLAP*- *SWOOSH* The blade missed its target for the umpteenth time.

Taking a different approach, Jack focused on that strange feeling he'd been getting since reaching the cave. He couldn't describe it. 'I can feel when it gets close… just focus on the feeling…' Giving his attention to the unknown sensation, Jack stilled. His body grew relaxed, and he delved deep into that feeling. Slowly the world began coming back to him. He could SEE. Well not exactly, but he could see the creature that attacked him. It turned out that there were two of them. Jack rotated to be prepared for an attack from either of them. It was only a few seconds before the misshapen blob in his vision was separated into two halves. During his attack, Jack realized that he could see himself too.

Suddenly it all made sense to him. 'I have thermal vision! Duh! Some snakes can detect infrared radiation like a second kind of vision. This almost makes the evolution worth it!' A flash appeared in Jack's vision, and he reacted in kind. Another dead bat lay on the stony floor.

'Well not exactly as planned, but I got the job done.' Although he had a few shallow cuts, he didn't think they were bad, and it felt like the bleeding had stopped. He had to open his eyes as he wasn't quite good enough at interpreting his new sense to continue exploring the cave with it. 'Let's see what else I can find here. Maybe I can pick up a cool new ability. Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly, then he continued forward.