Chapter 3: Welcome to the Food Chain (2)

From his perch amidst the leaves high in a tree, Michael was on high alert, moving his head very slowly while scanning the forest with trepidation.

I can't believe I died and ended up reincarnated as a mantis! I mean sure, they've always been my favorite insect, but I never liked them this much!!

Bah. At least my missing leg doesn't hurt as much as it did. Still feels weird, though.

Michael noticed his eyes had the uncanny ability to track many different sources of movement at once, and his mind had no trouble processing it all.

However, his visual acuity was decidedly best when his head was facing directly toward a given object or creature.

A slightly chilly, humid breeze rustled the leaves around him and Michael shivered.

Thousands of teeny flying insects flitted about, forming swarms that danced and twirled together through the canopy.

A damselfly with six wings darted in and out of those swarms, plucking tiny morsels from the air and devouring them whole. It wasn't alone; half a dozen more arrived on its heels to make their own surgical strikes through the cloud of flies.

Far below, a brown mouse-like creature with a long snout and white feet dashed to cross the forest trail, darting out from one patch of foliage before disappearing into another. It was being chased by a fast-moving, brown-and-black banded serpent that flicked a triple-forked tongue rapidly to keep it locked onto the scent of its prey.

A shiny, dark-shelled, many-legged horror scurried along under a tree limb to his left, and he beheld a gorgeous, blue-winged bird with a handsome grey body, soaring majestically just below.

The bird pumped its wings fiercely, and accelerated toward the speeding arthropod.

Michael trained his superb stereoscopic vision upon the scene, and realized, to his horror, that the avian was roughly thirty-five times his own length and likely thousands of times his mass.

The bird pulled up sharply and snatched the creepy bug away from the tree, crushing it noisily with its powerful beak before devouring it in two sickening chomps.

Michael felt a pit in his stomach as he realized just how deadly the bird was.

Holy hell, where’s a cat when you need one? Wait. No… A cat would “play” with me until I stop moving. Fuck…

Banking lazily in a broad arc to the right while it flew, the bird kept its sharp eyes trained upon nearby tree limbs while it scanned for further prey.

Michael shivered a little, but remained motionless.

Note to self; Birds = death. Spiders = death. Practically everything here = death! What the hell am I supposed to eat?

If only I were bigger… Why does nature have to be so damn scary?!

There came movement from directly adjacent to his perch. Michael swiftly rotated his head to observe as the creature moved into his reach.

Holy shit, that’s… Oh. An aphid? It's crawling across my leaf! Damned trespasser! He watched it for a moment while its spindly legs carried the tiny insect toward its unknown destination.

It's so little. So green. Bastard's probably searching out some innocent garden to infest! Damned things.

They always used to screw up my tomato plants! Fuckers! So why is its movement so... enticing?!

His forelegs snapped outward and restrained the tiny insect, crushing it within their vise-like grip while his body pulled upward to pull it off the leaf.

Before Michael could process what was going on, his antennae had swept backward while the four taste-sensitive palps surrounding his mandibles started searching across his victim for the best place to bite.

It took less than half a second for him to find the back of the aphid's head. His razor-sharp jaws opened automatically, then sheared through the frail aphid’s exoskeleton with ease.

Thus, Michael the mantis received his first mouthful of insect innards and ichor.

What the hell?! I’m eating an insect right now! That's fucking disgusting!

With a burst of willpower, Michael forced his forelegs away from his head, holding the aphid just out of reach of his searching and straining mouthparts.

Then a droplet of ichor that had stuck to his left mandible touched one of his palps and a burst of flavor hit him like a runaway truck.

What the… fuuck?! This… isn't supposed to taste so good! Aphids are insects! Bugs!

How can this even…? You gotta be shitting me!

His mouthparts worked together a few times while the other palps also experienced the aphid's essence. And despite all preconceptions, his attitude changed.

You have defeated Aphid Level 1. Experience gained.

Experience?? What the hell is this, a game-world? I’ve had quite enough of that living with my roommates, thanks!

Hey, since when do aphids taste like expensive sushi!?

No. This is better than sushi! It's even got sweetness and some sort of spicy kick to it!

Holy hog-nasties... even wealthy humans don't even eat this well! Especially these days, since everything's served in plastic!

Heh... My father would have laughed if he knew a mantis talked like him. Would, if I had an actual voice...

Michael's antennae drooped a little at the memory of his late parents and the loss of his singing voice.

Then the flavor hit his palps again and perked him back up.

My family's rural/cowboy roots are shining through! Hah! As if that were really true…

I was always the black sheep who, “Ran off to that damnable, fancy university.”

Bah. Damn, I’m almost half-done with this aphid already?

Pulling it away to look down at his catch for a moment proved a mistake.

If he’d still been human, Michael would have have emptied the entire contents of his stomach at the sight of the mangled aphid corpse directly in front of his face.

Its ichor stained his forelegs, and he'd eaten around some sort of-

Wait just a damnable second! IS THAT POOP?!

Michael flung the remains of his meal away in abject horror and began cleaning himself furiously, like a tiny cat.

The corpse stuck wetly to the leaf behind him, its two remaining legs still twitching while trying in vain to gain purchase upon something.

Shit! Shit!! Must be clean. Must be clean!

Damn it, I have to prepare my food before I just dive in and eat like some tiny savage...

Shiiitttt... I didn't eat poop! I mean, I couldn't have, right?! There's no way shit could taste like that!

After about a minute of grooming, he felt slightly better.

At least nothing tasted bad, I guess…

To be honest, it feels pretty damn good eating as a mantis, even if there was a... crappy moment.

Blaahhh!! Stop thinking about that, brain!

Michael started grooming in earnest once again.

Man, the taste sure was intoxicating! I just have to be careful of what I bite into.

Just gotta be smart about things! Man, I could seriously become addicted to that flavor…

Shit. I hope I don't over-eat! Gotta keep myself fit! He turned to look at his long, slender backside.

Heh, who am I kidding?! With aphids like this around, my flat ass will be as round as a summer sausage in no time!

Finished with cleaning himself at last, Michael settled once again into his motionless alert-mode.

Next time I eat with care. No more crappy experiences, Michael!

He shuddered in revulsion at the thought.

Something moved behind his leafy position.

Michael stood stock-still, straining to identify the source of motion without turning his head.

The intruder crept stealthily into view, its sooty-black exoskeleton banded with white, with two large red spots atop its abdomen. Eight stout legs were covered in spiky hairs, and it moved like a tiny cat while stalking something.

He caught a glint of the large, silvery-iridescent chelicerae-jaws hanging from its face. It gazed at the world through two enormous, forward-facing eyes and six others on top of its head.

Oh fuck, not again! And a jumping spider this time?? Fuck my life!! They may have seemed like the cutest spiders around while I was a six-foot human, but they're also the smartest!

And they actively hunt other arthropods… I think this world is trying to kill me!

The spider stalked carefully across the twig that held his leaf, seemingly unaware of Michael as he hung motionless just a centimeter away.

Michael looked on in tense apprehension while considering his options.

To his tremendous relief, it seemed the jumper was hunting something other than him.

The spider tensed for a brief moment, then pounced upon something, not moving nearly as fast as Michael thought it should.

Maybe a mantis is so quick that a jumping spider's speed doesn't seem quite so impressive?

Ah, it's captured an aphid! Hey! Those are the remains of MY aphid!

Enjoy the poop while you dangle from your nope-rope, spidey! Hah!

That spider's actually smaller than I thought.

Ahh crap! It's coming back to my leaf! Michael’s body tensed up.

I don't wanna fight again!!

The spider kept crawling toward Michael while working its sizable fangs in and out of the half-aphid.

Bah... Maybe if I take the initiative this time...

Michael carefully turned himself around, just as he'd seen his pet mantids do.

He swayed like a leaf with the gentle motions of the tree, toward the spider as it carried its prize to his hiding spot. The move was complicated by his missing leg, but the target failed to register any danger. When the spider had drawn close enough, Michael’s body seemed to react on its own.

Raptorial forelegs accelerated forward with tremendous speed, latching onto the jumping spider like two miniature bear traps.

He quickly adjusted his grip and racked the small spider out, just like he’d done with the aphid.

One of his forelegs crushed into its abdomen, while the other had a vise-like hold upon its cephalothorax, just behind its eyes.

Michael’s strike had landed exactly as he’d envisioned it.

The spider’s back was facing him, allowing him to render its natural weapons ineffective.

Michael yanked the spider forcefully away from the leaf, and its legs began flailing about for purchase. Two of them scratched at his face.

He quickly severed both offending spider legs with a single bite each.

His victim's relatively-huge, jaw-like chelicerae and fangs grasped uselessly at the air.

The spider had dropped its meal in a vain attempt to fight back. Michael held on tight and bit into his victim just behind its eight eyes, working to dispatch it as quickly as possible.

What am I doing?!

Oh God! Nope... I want to throw it away!

But then what?! If I let this spider go, it’ll murder me instead!

A new flavor washed over his palps, and Michael nearly lost his footing.

Mmmf... What the hell? This tastes even better than the aphid! It's like crab, or lobster! But it doesn't need any sauce!

How is this possible?! Crunchy, sweet, savory... I've never had seafood even close to this good!

This is disgusting! I'm actually eating a fucking spider! But those legs taste so damn good!

I'm a terrible person... Mantis... Thing! I can't believe I'm actually doing this... Kill it with fire!

You have defeated Leaping Spiderling Level 7. Experience gained.

Lesser Sapient Mantid has reached Level 3! +4HP.

HP 24/24 (+1HP/min.)

Two levels at once? Nice. That gives me... 24 max HP. Seems pretty low, but it's better than 20!

Hmm. Crikey, this spider sure is delicious! And have a go at those fangs, still trying to bite me after it's already dead?! Invertebrates sure are creepy little buggers! Woooooo!!

Hah... My voice was too high to faithfully imitate that guy even before I was a mantis with… no voice at all.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to talk, or sing ever again?

Michael sighed inside, then he pushed the pain away.

Jeeeez this thing tastes amazing! Danger, danger, danger!!

While eating, Michael failed to realize he’d been spotted. The hunter cautiously approached its intended meal. By the time Michael noticed something had been stalking him, it had crept nearly within striking distance upon the green twig just below his leaf.

The creature’s soulless eyes stared hungrily up at him while he chewed.

Mmmm... I've changed my opinion of spiders-

SHIT! That thing’s more than three times my size! Fuck, I need to focus! This is bad!

Michael experienced a tense moment of fear and indecision, then flicked his forearms forward, tossing the spider's remains toward the bigger predator's face.

The dark-carapaced, spider/centipede monstrosity whipped its head upward and snatched the prize out of the air with four huge, horizontally-opposed, serrated jaws.

Without hesitation it began to feed. One set of jaws held while the other cut, then they traded off.

Two previously hidden, extremely long fangs stabbed into the spider’s corpse from around the sides of its head.

The creature coldly regarded Michael with three soulless eyes set into turret-like protrusions upon its head, as if to say, “You're next.”

Michael seized the moment to make his escape. He bolted across the leaf and jumped away, toward a lower branch.

Unfortunately, he miscalculated the jump due to his missing leg.

And so Michael plummeted toward the forest floor, far below.

No! Fuuuck!! I don't wanna die again! Not so soon! I'm just a nymph! I haven't even grown wings, and now I'm gonna end my second life as a sticky little mess on this world's windshield!!

His miniature, monologuing mantid-form impacted the leaf litter with legs fully extended. Michael did his best to cushion the landing…

But it was totally uneventful.

Dumbfounded, Michael looked himself over in wonder.

No damage? Not even a scratch?

Oh. Riiight... I'm tiny! I hardly weigh anything at all! Of course, I wouldn't be hurt by falling. Mwahahaha! Mini-mantis power!

Michael raised his tiny forelegs above his head for a quick victory dance while savoring the moment.

His nervous, adrenaline-charged reverie was quashed when he recalled he was still under the clear and present danger of being hunted again at any moment.

Damn it. I need to be more careful! Sure would be handy to have better camouflage…

He looked about briefly for a new hiding spot, and his gaze settled upon a clump of weeds threading skyward through an irregular bush near the base of the same tree.

Michael carefully surveyed his new haunt upon arrival. A sizable, healthy thornbush with broad, flat, five-pointed leaves interspersed with those of some other, much greener plant bearing rows of tiny leaves upon its slender, arching stems.

Hmm. Plenty of foliage and flowers, along with countless thorns to deter bigger predators... Now this is more like it!

A fly hurtled past him and he absent-mindedly snatched it out of the air, then began to chew while continuing to survey his surroundings.

What the? Blecch! This tastes fucking awful – when did I catch... No! Not a fly!!

DISEASE! SLIME! PESTILENCE! SCUM! MUCK! P'TOO!!!

You have defeated Stool-Fly Level 2. Experience gained.

STOOL-FLY!?? P'TOOOOOOOOO!!!

Minutes later, after recovering enough from his spate of retching to think clearly once again, Michael moved away from the decapitated stool-fly's remains.

I must've regurgitated at least half of my spider-meal…

It sure would be convenient if I could set up some kind of filter to prevent these damned forelegs from automatically snatching up random moving things like that!

Yecchh... They taste horrible on the way back out, too! I really need a hot shower and some of that old-school, turpentine-flavored mouthwash!

Michael’s wide peripheral vision picked up movement against a couple of leaves not far above. The foliage itself seemed to have come alive.

Shadows upon each leaf were slowly morphing and shifting position. His head snapped upward to take stock of the situation.

Recognition caused his nervous apprehension to give way to insatiable hunger.

Aphids! Holy, happy horse-shit! They're everywhere!

Michael's tiny palps quivered with joyful anticipation.