Chapter Text
Brittleshell was a nice little touristy town, with friendly locals, various tourist traps and a busy port. It was the kind of place that only really had working adults, young children and elderly for 7 months of the year- most people in their 20s left the island Brittleshell was on to pursue their education on the mainland.
But during the summer, business boomed, hotels filled up with tourists and the sleepy town turned into a holiday paradise. Avery almost felt a little jealous of the people aboard the ferry. Unlike them the slime was going to the island for a job.
Brittleshell was on the largest island of the Repenlis Archipelago, lovingly called ‘Bexsby’. Aside from the little town, Bexsby was home to some impressive hiking trails through dense forests, stunning waterfalls and cliffs. Nobody could explain how the island had become like that- while the island wasn’t exactly ‘small’, it should’ve been far too tiny for even half of the features it had. Avery had visited a few years ago, and he had left feeling fascinated. Fascinated enough that when he caught wind of a job listing to work on the island for a few months, the slime jumped at the opportunity. The pay was incredible, he’d have housing ON the island, and while Avery would be without wifi or running water for months, he was allowed to take any devices he wanted with him, and they could be charged thanks to several solar panels.
And so, Avery was now leaving the ferry, carrying several bags and a large backpack, he needed to head to an outpost at the start of one of the hiking trails to meet up with one of the rangers, who’d tell him all the basics he needed to know.
“Always glad to see someone from the mainland take up an interest in our lovely little island” Patrick spoke, sitting down behind his desk. Avery nodded politely. “I’ve been on vacation here before, and the island is really unique”. “You can say that again” The ranger replied as Avery took a sip from his tea. “It’s got everything; waterfalls, cliffs, caves, enchanting forest clearings and meadows, unique wildlife- you name it, we have it, but that’s not why you’re here now, is it? Gotta admit, kid, we’re happy to have you here, it gets harder and harder every year to find someone for the old firewatch tower.”
Avery paused.
“How so?”
“Well, not many people can handle carrying several jugs of water up for washing, drinking and cleaning.” Patrick shrugged. “Not to mention not many people can handle having to use an outhouse- you’d be surprised by what modern conveniences people end up missing most.”
Avery hummed, it… did make sense.
“But enough about that.” The ranger continued. “Let’s talk about the job itself.”
Avery nodded, ready to listen.
His shift would start at sunrise, and end when the sun set. There was obviously a chance that he’d need to stay up at night- like when there was a thunderstorm- but the job didn’t seem too intense. Most of the day would be spent checking the environment, keeping an eye out for signs of fire, and alerting others when there’s danger.
It sounded… well it was important to do, but it didn’t sound too hard?
….Was… it really that hard to find people for a job like that? Was it really so difficult that they had to bump up the pay that much? The slime knew that missing modern conveniences played a role in it, but… maybe it was also the isolation? According to Patrick, unless there was a medical emergency, Avery would be in that tower on his own for months- only meeting up with others when something was wrong or the green slime needed supplies, though he could contact others anytime.
“Speaking of,” Patrick hummed. “The wildlife can get a little annoying at night. I imagine the lighthouse keeper will walk you through what to do if one of the critters is bothering you.”
The slime blinked.
The… lighthouse keeper? Was there one of those on the island? Avery had seen the lighthouse in the distance several times, but he had assumed it had an automated system that would handle the lights. Seems like he was wrong- or maybe the system was outdated and needed frequent updates and patches? Maybe it was more of a maintenance job?
“Well, I’m sure I can handle a squirrel or two” Avery chuckled. “or are we talking about bears and mountain lions?”
“...It’s something like the latter- oh, he’ll probably also have left you some supplies you’ll need for the job.”
“Oh like binoculars and stuff?”
The lookout tower stood at the highest point of the island, giving anyone stationed there a good view of about 90% of it. The structure was clearly a little aged, but it felt… somewhat charming?
…it probably would feel less charming when Avery had to climb down the stairs at 3AM to use the bathroom, but for now it felt nice and cozy. It’d probably get even cozier after the slime hung up the fairy lights he brought with him, and got the pillows on the bed, and got all the rodents out of the tower- because there were quite a few of those!
Made sense, given the location and the relative safety from predators.
With the rodents gone, Avery could finally check out the large, cardboard box that had been left on the desk, next to what looked like a radio or something-
Or was it a walkie talkie? It looked part radio, part walkie talkie.
“All right, lighthouse keeper.” Avery smiled. “Let’s see what sort of stuff I need”
Most of the stuff seemed pretty standart; binoculars, a map of the island with the hiking trails highlighted, a compass, a flashlight, swiss army knife, a pack of rechargeable batteries (as well as the charger to charge said batteries), a large first aid kit-
The things everyone expected, basically.
But then came other items, maybe not needed for survival, but a sign that whoever packed this clearly cared.
Cookies, a few books, some candy- just nice little things to have, to starve off boredom or just to enjoy eating. Though Avery did raise an eyebrow at the amount of mint in the package. Either there were a TON of mosquitos in this area and the lighthouse keeper wanted to make sure whoever was up here wouldn’t get stung to death, or the lighthouse keeper REALLY liked mint tea and was willing to share.
…But then things got questionable; dried bundles of herbs, incense, what Avery HOPED was bleached driftwood and NOT a bone, a large jar of salt,and the biggest ball of red yarn Avery had ever seen.
…but underneath that there was another jar- this time with gummy bears! Though the green ones seemed to be missing.
“...Guess I’m gummy and green enough for all of us…” Avery tried, before sighing. “Great. Not even a day into my shift and I’m already talking to inanimate objects.”
The slime chuckled
“I’m sure it’ll be fine tho!”
The sun was setting when the radio crackled to life, Avery flinching at the sudden sound.
“Alright, Fire Lookout Three, come in and respond.”
Avery blinked, before he realized; ‘wait, I am probably Fire Lookout Three!’, which meant that the person on the other end was probably-
“Uhh… hi? Is this the lighthouse keeper?”
“This is the lighthouse keeper. Can I confirm your name?”
Avery smiled
“Oh, I’m Avery! Nice to meet you! Thanks for the supplies by the way!”
“Glad you got them. Good on the confirmation, but from now on, anything that asks, just say you’re the fire lookout. No more names.”
“Is that-”
Avery cut himself off. This person was probably seeing this as a job, and maybe Avery was being a little too buddy-buddy right away. Wouldn’t be the first time.
“All right. I’m the new fire lookout!” The slime spoke up, grinning, despite the fact there was no-one there to see it.
“Right. How much did Patrick tell you?”
Avery smiled, telling about everything Patrick had told him, and about how the lighthouse keeper would be helping him deal with the wildlife.
Though... He had to know.
“Oh, by the way what’s with the mint? Are there a lot of mosquitoes here?”
“No. The thing in the mangrove swamps has been eating the local population of mosquitoes, to the delight of the locals and tourists alike. But wildlife, yeah.You can say that.”
The tone of the conversation seemed to shift a little
“ You ever been a fan of horror novels? The Thing, Lovecraft, that kind of thing?”
Avery blinked
“I mean I do like horror, but I’ve never seen The Thing. Apparently the characters are pretty smart tho, so it’s nice they don’t die in dumb ways…”
The slime frowned, confused.
“Why do you ask?”
“Great, that makes this so much easier,” The lighthouse keeper replied. “The last-, no that as the one before last. Didn’t like horror much, and it meant I had to explain so much more. The binder on top of the cardboard box, you can flip through it now.”
Avery looked over at the box again.
“Err…there… Wasn’t a binder…?” The slime spoke up, confused
“There wasn’t a binder.”
“Nope.”
There was a pause, followed by a crackle of static-
That radio looked pretty old
“You’re- hah. Guess I should’ve expected one of them would get smart about this by now. I’ll set it up in a better spot next time.”
Avery was even more confused- who’d get smart about this? What was going on?
“I hate giving this talk.” The lighthouse keeper continued “ Had it written down, but I lost the cards a while back, and I've had the binder cover this ever since, so unfortunately, you’re going to get the unfinished attempt.”
Avery’s frown deepened.
“Right. Well, Patrick wasn’t talking about bears or mountain lions when he was talking about the local wildlife.” The lighthouse keeper continued “You ever see any of the online chatter about this island? And I don’t mean the things people say about the waterfalls or pretty rock formations.”
“Well… not really?” Avery replied, concerned “Why did you ask me about horror movies? I do not like the direction this conversation is going”
“I’m asking you about horror movies, because you just walked into one.” The person on the other end of the line stated “At least, from the newcomer perspective. Most people took it better when I designed the binder to introduce it like that.”
Avery blinked.
“...I’m sorry what?”
“Can’t even get out to you tonight.” The lighthouse keeper spoke, though it sounded a bit off- or maybe the radio was acting up. “I could- it’s fine. I can make up another binder and get it to you. Patrick should deliver it, for now, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know for the first night.”
The slime wasn’t sure what to make of this. It felt a little bit like this guy was trying to… scare him?
“...Are you… Trying to prank me about the horror stuff?”
“You’ll wish that I was” The lighthouse keeper spoke, and Avery could tell the other was… tired “Make sure your doors and windows are locked, draw the curtains, then take a seat. We’ll be here for a bit.”
“All right…”
Avery did as the lighthouse keeper asked, beginning to close the curtains when he paused, noticing something in the clearing around the lookout tower. There was a person there- wearing a backpack and hiking shoes. They looked around, wandering near the tower and not quite seeming to know what to do.
A lost hiker?
Avery frowned- the nearest campsite was pretty far off, but it wasn’t too far fetched to think that someone who would get lost could end up here.
“Hey there’s a person outside.”
The reaction was almost immediate.
“There’s a person-”
Avery looked at the radio as the lighthouse keeper's voice cut off, only able to hear static with the occasional fragment of the lighthouse keeper’s voice, though nothing they said seemed to come through.
“Hang on, I can’t hear you” Avery spoke, frowning, and unsure how to fix the issue “The radio’s acting up, I-”
Avery looked from the radio to the window- he couldn’t do anything about the radio right now, but he could help that hiker in the meantime.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back, they look like they need help- they’re pretty far away from the nearest campsite”
The radio crackled as Avery took the flashlight and unlocked the door to the lookout tower, heading down the stairs to greet the other.
Avery was almost at the bottom of the stairs when he called out to the hiker.
“Hey, are you okay? You’re pretty far from the nearest campsite.”
The hiker turned to look at Avery, their body twisting unnaturally.
As soon as its eyes locked onto Avery its head turned- though it didn’t turn left or right- it’s chin turned skyward with a sickening crunch as the hiker dropped backwards, landing on all fours, eyes never leaving Avery’s-
Before rushing over to the slime with a speed no human should’ve been able to reach.