A jungle. As he walked up the path he came upon a jungle leading up the side of the mountain. No other wayward creatures so far. But as he walked through the jungle he could sense something amiss.

His armor was picking up something as he moved through the jungles. Multiple heat signatures. He figured out what it was when he arrived at what he could only assume was a large plateau on this mountain. A large plateau that was covered in a jungle.

He arrived at the start of the plateau to find another village. This one had people moving around it. Which was a start but as he moved into the village he found himself raising his hands as a group of people pointed weapons at him. Some had primitive guns, like rifles and shotguns. Some of them had spears and bows with arrows. They were a mix of people with tribal tattoos and people in some combat gear that looked like a local militia.

"Who are you?" One of them demanded. Then one of the tribal people spoke in a different language and the first one that spoke to him responded in the same language. "How were you able to track the tribal hunters?" He means when Jace was watching them through the trees. They must have enhanced senses of some kind if they noticed that.

"I can not speak their language. But tell them that I have enhanced senses of my own in addition to a variety of heads up display assistance from my visor." Jace tapped his helmet. "Now then, my name. You can call me Gladiator, I am not exactly from this continent or planet. But should I assume the reason this village has fighters and nothing else is because something else is here?"

"You-" Before the soldier could continue they all heard a howl.

Jace locked onto the noise and realized it was coming from around them. The howl was also composed of at least five different species. "Let me guess, some time within the last week or so, something strange appeared and has been harassing your village. It is not the only one is it?"

"No, I do not know where you come from. But we have bigger problems." The man told them as the people around him suddenly took up a defensive stance with only one of them keeping their weapon on him. "But you are right, the fishing village evacuated up here. Not even half of them came for help. They led some type of creature and then we had to send our defenseless further up the mountain. Past another village which was attacked by different creatures and to the monastery where supposedly none of these creatures can reach." The man explained quickly.

Then Jace’s systems suddenly began beeping as it detected something approaching him from behind. He turned around and saw nothing. "These things wouldn’t happen to be invisible, would they?"

"No they- argh!" Jace looked behind to see the guy he was talking to was pulled up into the air by a furred creature with wings. By furred, he met a literal ball of green fur with green furry wings. He was not even picking up the creature on thermal or radar.

He pulled his Wisp rifle off his back but before he could fire his leg was suddenly pulled out from under him and he was yanked back into the jungle. He grunted as he was dragged into the jungle. He pointed his gun and his visor could not pick up the creature that was dragging him. But the vine that was wrapped around his leg and pulling him came from somewhere. So he fired several bullets in a spread out pattern.

One hit the vine and cut it. The part of it that was grabbing his leg went limp while the rest of it went back through the brush. Jace quickly pulled himself up to his feet as he slowly backed up out of the jungle to where there was screaming and yelling. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

When he came back the group had been halved and they were formed up under one of the raised houses that made up this village. The area they were before had a few bodies but most of the bodies were gone. But the few that were not were being dragged off.

He activated his electrical vision. Or tried to but instantly got a severe headache so he stopped forcing it. He would have to track these things another way. Then he saw one of the green balls of fur somehow pulling one of these people, slowly, into the jungle. He fired a bullet from his wisp rifle and it split in half as green blood burst out of it.

He then started looking for the dead bodies that were being carried away and fired. He could not see what happened but another one stopped being carried away so he continued firing as he backed up toward the remaining people.

Then he saw it. The one green ball creature he had shot near the edge of the forest was reforming. Or rather two of them were forming from the single one he shot. Like the ancient legend of the Hydra.

"Oh son of a-" Jace stopped firing. He would have to come up with another way to take them down. He was given the opportunity as one of the green balls flew down toward him with what were definitely bat wings.

He grabbed it and sensed the electrical flow through the creature. The moment he did he was stunned. Not stunned enough to not notice the creature’s insect-like mandibles that were chewing at his hand.

Jace forced electricity into the creature and it burst into green goo. But this time the goo began sizzling and melting while the skin caught fire and burned blue. "Well that is something." Jace remarked as he backed up further and thought of what he saw when he sensed the electricity within the creature.

It was not like a ball of energy or had a nervous system. It was more like a giant ball of liquid with several independent nervous systems. Millions of nervous systems working in concert with each other. In a way it was beautiful. But in another way it was disgusting.

Jace aimed his rifle and began charging the bullets with electricity before firing. After firing five shots he had to stop and let his rifle release steam and heat. There were not nearly enough shots in his arsenal for this. He needed to come up with a different plan. But then there was the howling again and the creatures dropped what they were doing and ran, flew, or hopped back into the jungle depending on how they moved.

It looked like the creatures were replicating other creatures. Actually, thinking back he was grabbed by a vine. That means they were replicating plants as well. Maybe not just plants. It could be replicating other things besides just plants and creatures. Or maybe it could only replicate organic matter.

Jace walked toward the remaining group. "Please tell me one of you can speak this language. I have not heard enough of the local dialect to respond or speak it." Jace explained to them as he put his rifle on his back again. He would have to reload it later.

"I can speak both the common tongue and Westi, which is the name for the local language." One of the young soldiers stepped forward. "Umm... What did you do to those creatures? They usually reform when you shoot or destroy them."

"I fried their nervous systems using electricity. It appears these creatures are self replicating Amoebas. Electricity will kill them because they are mostly made up of these smaller things." Jace explained to them. "You wouldn’t happen to have a way to create electricity or fire it?"

The young soldier repeated what he said to the tribe’s people while one of the older soldiers that were left brought a hand to his chin. "Not here. The facility down the other side of the mountain was the only place with any form of decent power. The towns up and down the mountains and ravines run mostly on local generators or renewable power sources."

"That is no help." Jace sighed. Then one of the tribal people began yelling and chanting as he raised a spear up into the air.

"Umm... They say the sky gods, bald men, and disciples of the mountainside god can help." The young soldier translated for him.

"Bald men must be the people up in the monastery. The sky gods are storms and lighting clouds. But what is the mountainside god?" Jace asked as he processed the information. The reason these creatures have not gone higher is probably something to do with the air the higher up they went the mountain. That or the creatures were just that susceptible to electricity, which was good news for them.

"The mountainside god... do you think that is the solution? Because that is going to be difficult." The older soldier told him.