Chapter 435

Chapter 435

With a swift move, Jake seized Catalina, pulling her away from the Transfer Maw just before its teeth snapped shut where her leg had been moments before.

“What was that?” she gasped. “Jake, what’s going on?!”

Jake didn’t answer right away. His attention remained locked on the Transfer Maw, now stretching upward in an unnatural fashion, something he hadn’t known it could do. Seconds later, with the human presence gone, the creature shrank back into its usual low, almost flat shape.

“Dammit, Jake, answer me!” Catalina pressed.

His eyes darted around, scanning for the electrolarynx he’d dropped when yanking his companion away from the Maw’s vicious, jagged teeth. Spotting it, he retrieved the device and turned back toward her.

“Well,” he said at last, “looks like you can’t use my portal after all.”

She didn’t answer right away. Her breath came in quick, uneven bursts, and though she hadn’t seen exactly what the Transfer Maw had attempted to do, she knew she’d just dodged something dangerous. Her instinct told her something really bad had almost happened to her.

“Hold on,” she murmured, beginning to rummage through the pockets of her jacket. “I just remembered I have something to help me see by.”

“Did you suddenly remember you have a flashlight?” he asked.

“Not exactly. My PDA.”

“Does it have a flashlight mode?”

“Unfortunately, no. But when I power it on, it should emit enough light for me to see. Honestly, with everything, the crash, monsters, and constant chase, I completely forgot I even had it.”

She finally fished out her PDA and unlocked it by touch alone. The screen flared to life, washing her face in a soft bluish glow. A grin tugged at her lips now that she was no longer swallowed by total darkness. The light from the display was weak but bright enough to reveal a small circle of space a couple of feet around her.

She turned the PDA so the screen faced outward, holding it in one hand and using it like a makeshift flashlight. Slowly, she swept the beam from side to side until it fell on Jake, standing not far away.

She flinched when she saw him. She knew exactly how frightening he looked, but seeing his features half‑carved out of the darkness by the thin blue light still made her jump.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way you look, Jake,” she admitted with a nervous chuckle.

He offered no response.

“So… where’s your portal?” she asked, sweeping the glow of her device across the dark surroundings.

Again, he remained silent. He didn’t want her to find his portal, to see what it actually looked like. But he knew she would.

It didn’t take her long to locate the thing. The beam from her PDA fell upon the Transfer Maw, sprawled across the ground a short distance away. The moment the light touched it, the PDA jerked in her grip, and she nearly let it slip from her hands.

“What the fuck is that?!” she shouted, eyes wide. “Jake, what the fuck is that thing?”

“It’s the portal I told you about.”

“Wait, what?! That’s the portal?!”

“Yes.”

“No, that’s not a portal! That’s a fucking monster! Jake, what the fuck?!”

“Calm down,” he said firmly. “Everything’s under control. It’s all fine.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Why were you trying to feed me to that thing? There’s no way it’s fine!”

“I wasn’t feeding you to it. Look, this creature’s harmless,” Jake insisted, though the moment the words left his mouth, he recognized how absurd they sounded.

“Harmless? That thing doesn’t look harmless to me at all,” she shot back. “Just look at the size of its fucking teeth!”

“Easy, don’t panic. It’s fine. Really. That thing can’t move, so there’s nothing to worry about. Just… keep your distance, alright?”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t go near it,” she replied. She paused, her expression thoughtful. “Hold on. If you’re warning me to stay away now, why the hell did you lead me straight to it?”

“I had no idea it would try to bite you.”

“It tried to bite me?!”

“Apparently, it doesn’t respond well to humans.”

“Then why did you want to make me use this thing in the first place? Explain yourself, Jake!”

“Listen, this was the very first time I’ve ever tried sending a human through a Transfer Maw. Now I know it’s not meant to be used by humans.”

“Transfer Maw?” she echoed.

“That’s what this thing is called.”

“So it isn’t even called a portal, huh? If you’d told me what it was called from the start, I never would’ve attempted to use this thing. I never would’ve gone anywhere near it!”

Catalina kept the beam of her PDA focused on the creature, examining it in the soft glow. Clearly, she still hadn’t shaken off the shock from what had happened.

“It isn’t just a thing,” she protested. “This isn’t some lifeless object, Jake, it’s a living creature! How could you possibly call it a portal?”

“Because it behaves like one,” he explained. “And yes, it’s alive, just like everything else in my lairs. But its function is essentially the same as a portal… except it seems to have a problem with humans.”

“Are you sure you weren’t trying to feed me to that monster?” Catalina asked again, eyeing him suspiciously.

Apparently, Catalina still wasn’t convinced that the Transfer Maw was merely a portal, a horrifying one, yes, but a portal nonetheless.

“I’m telling you, I had no idea it would go after you,” he insisted. “It seems to instinctively attack nearby humans. But for me and my creatures, it’s just a portal.”

“Uh-huh,” Catalina mumbled, still not quite believing him.

“I can show you,” he said.

“Show me what?” she asked, her eyes widening, immediately on high alert again.

“Just watch,” he replied, stepping toward the Transfer Maw.

“Wait, what are you doing?” she exclaimed, her voice tinged with unease.

Jake stepped toward the creature. Its jagged mouth stretched open, but instead of lunging, it remained still, patient and almost inviting. It displayed no trace of hostility whatsoever.

“See?” he said. “This is exactly how I thought it’d react when you approached. I never expected it to attack you. Now, watch this.”

He stepped into the opening and was almost instantly pulled through. A few seconds later, he emerged in the Apex Hollow. He swept his gaze over the inner workings of the lair. As always, everything ran like clockwork.

He made his way to the Tumor Builder. One finished tumor was already stored in its compartment. The device could work on only one at a time. Once it completed a tumor, it held it in place and wouldn’t begin to work on another until the first was removed. Jake knew that as soon as he took the tumor from the compartment, the organic machine would immediately begin growing a new one.

Upon retrieving the tumor and storing it in his inventory, he approached the Behemoth Cavern to check on the development of his Kaiju. Sure enough, it was still in the earliest stages of development, far from completion. Its progress had only increased from one percent to two.

However, the primorph had already begun to change visually. It had grown slightly in size and developed five small appendages: one destined to become a tail, and the other four forming limbs.

Not wanting to keep Catalina waiting, he left the lair without delay. Traveling through the Fleshport, he emerged from the Transfer Maw into Dead City’s dimly lit subway. When he appeared, Catalina instinctively recoiled, stumbling back from his sudden arrival.

“Geez,” she exclaimed. “The way you climbed out of that thing… for a moment, you didn’t even look like yourself. I thought some giant insect-like creature was crawling through.”

“So, this thing actually works like a portal, see?” Jake said. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you like you thought.”

“Okay, I get it now,” she murmured. “But what took you so long? For a second, I thought you were going to leave me stranded here.”

He’d been gone less than a minute, but to her, it must have felt much longer, what with the sudden isolation in this dreadful place making every second stretch.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” he reassured her. “I just wanted to check on something in my lair while I was there.”

Catalina inhaled slowly. “Alright… so, what’s now, Jake?”

“Well, the Transfer Maw won’t allow you to use it,” he replied. “That much is certain now.”

She scowled. “Meaning you can slip back to your lair whenever you please, while I’m stuck in this cursed city.”

“Then let’s head for the coordinates your people were given, just like you wanted from the start,” he suggested. “We don’t seem to have any other option.”

“I suppose,” she said with a weary sigh. “But after getting my hopes up about going back to New Hope, only to have them shattered, it’s hard not to feel a little depressed about being stuck here in Dead City.”

Jake wasn’t sure what to say, so he stayed silent.

Catalina straightened, taking another steady breath. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Hold on,” he said. “I need to take care of something first.”

“What now?” she asked, instantly tense. Ever since he’d opened that portal, which had turned out to be a freaking monster, she couldn’t help but feel on edge around him.

“I just need to assign my skill points,” he explained. “I’ve leveled up twice since we got to Dead City.”

“Oh. I see. Don’t you need some kind of device to do that, a PDA or something like that?”

“No. I can pull up my stats, check them, or assign my points whenever I want.”

“Really? That’s pretty amazing. Much more convenient than carrying a PDA everywhere like we humans have to.”

“Just give me a minute. It won’t take long.”

“Alright. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

Jake closed his eyes and pulled up his stats.