Kinverse: Volume One

PATH OF THE EMERALD MAIDEN

A naive young monster's tale by Moros, aka KinverseWriter

Legal Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise herein mentioned. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters and events in this story are entirely fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. This work of fiction contains disturbing content.

Reader discretion is advised.

Description:

A young woman from a pre-neolithic society is accidentally whisked away to another world entirely during a raid on a research lab run by alien invaders. Stranded with no friends, badly injured, and no idea where home even is, she's forced to live off the land and learn how to survive in this strange and hostile world.

There's only one slight problem, though.

She's not trapped in this world with them. They're trapped in this world with her.

Categories:

Adventure, Coming-of-Age, Isekai, Erotica.

Disclaimers:

This story contains sexual elements and disturbing themes. The contents aren't purely intended to be pornographic, but some scenes objectively are. This is about a giant monster that eats people, so reader discretion is advised. This story contains vorarephilic themes.

This story will have a very slow and intermittent pace to begin with. True stakes don't really show up until halfway through, though the build-up is always there in the background. This is ultimately not a story of grand adventure and defeating one's enemies to rise to the top, it is the tale of a lost and naive young woman growing as a person and learning new things. It is a personal one concerning her, and thus this story will be told in present-tense first-person.

Chapter 7: Interlude 1: The Rangers

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A/N:

A song is mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. I legally cannot quote it for use in the story, you will need to look up the song's lyrics yourself or use the link provided below.

---

[Song playing over radio: Maneater by The Bird And The Bee]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0eycJGNeU

“Frank, how's it going over there?" crackles my work radio hooked to my belt. I turn the music down. Signal isn't very good out here, so it's just a mix tape. Or... mix CD. I grab my radio to respond.

“Fine, Carey, just checking on Ralph River now. I've got the signs up on the trails; didn't see any parked cars though so I doubt there are any hikers out and about."

Crackling again, Carey informs me of her progress.

“Alright, I'm almost done up here at the mine, management's been notified we're evacuating the park, but I don't know if they're going to close up shop for the month or not though. If we get more storms like that they might change their minds."

That's not really surprising. Fall's beginning and the rains should pick up in earnest soon. Normally we don't have any storms for another month; wind storms at the most, but thunder storms like these occasionally. They're rare and unseasonal, especially without any rain. 'Lots of electromagnetism in the atmosphere for some reason,' they say.

The order came out to close and evacuate the park just in case, especially since a lot of its western half is at risk of being torched. Keeping the fires from Gold River has been the priority, so if things get any worse, there's no way the park's gonna be safe for hiking or camping.

Up ahead the road widens out to a crude gravel parking area, with a road on the opposite side leading into the campground. Checking my mirrors first, I signal and slow down before turning into the parking area carefully. Wouldn't want to get in an accident out here, especially at a time like this.

With all the things I've seen people do both in our park and on the roads, I wouldn't be surprised at my luck to have an inattentive party idiot come tearing towards the road and slam into me as I'm passing it. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of it happening and it wouldn't be the last.

Pulling in next to an RV, I stop and turn off the car radio, lights, and engine, then grab my own radio and step out of my B.C. Parks and Recreation truck. Before I go, I reach behind the seat and grab a sign to hang on the gate. Gotta get everyone out first though.

Looking both ways I cross the road, through the open gates where I leave the sign, and walk down the path, dense forest on both sides. It's about noon--if anyone's here they're probably having lunch.

The blaring music indicates something a bit more though. I don't recognize the song playing, and I pay little attention to it.

Turning the corner into the campground, I find a party going on, which is… nothing new, if I'm being honest with myself. Nobody around to annoy except nature, nobody around to complain. Secluded and easy to have some fun in. The good ol' classic when it comes to natural parks.

As are the beer cans strewn around the clearing, pizza boxes on the benches, and group of drunk young adults dancing and laughing. All of them are probably about my age, or a bit younger.

I whistle to get their attention and adopt my best serious face, ignoring their trashing of the campground. Hopefully it's not too bad, otherwise if the place is still standing in a month someone is going to have to come and clean it all up. I'd give them shit for it but we're on a time limit.

I raise my voice to shout over the music, “Hey, could you turn that off? Gotta talk to you guys about something."

A few of them look over, and while one of the young men smirks and turns it up for a moment, another bats his hand off the knob and turns the speaker off before turning to face me. Stepping closer with a confused and slightly guilty look on his face, he greets me.

“Hello sir, is there, uh, something I can help you with? Sorry about the mess, we'll clean up after ourselves," he states as he stares at the man who was going to turn it up, “right, Spencer?"

The individual in question--the same one who had turned up the music--approaches as well. He's above average in height, putting him significantly above me. From where he came from, a young woman pipes up.

“Yeah, Spencer, you made a mess. You're great at that! Ha!" she hollers over, before giggling.

Spencer turns in her direction, still a bit peeved he didn't get to be a dick to me. “Yeah, Susan, I left your asshole a mess real good last night, didn't I?" prompting Susan to giggle harder.

Splendid individual. Their leader slaps his hand again before turning back to me, scowling. “It'll be cleaned up," he says exasperatedly, before stepping a bit closer and leaning in to whisper. “Sorry about them, Susan's a bit of a weirdo and Spencer's a dick, but a buddy of mine invited him, and he brought her. You know how it is, right?"

Sighing, I whisper back, “Yeah. I get it, man," before turning and raising my voice to speak to everyone. “I'm not here about the party, I'm here to inform you all that there's a wildfire nearby and while it isn't currently projected to be a threat to this specific campground, we've been having some strange storms the past few days and the park is being closed. I need you all to gather your things and go home, for your own safety."

Spencer and Susan flash me an angry look, and the others' faces become a mix of surprise and disappointment. Their leader's is changing to show shock and worry.

“Fuck, really? Damn it. And here we thought wildfire season was pretty much over, here. Where's the fire? Past the lake?" he asks.

Nodding, I explain. “Yeah, it's over south of Gold River, tearing through the area around Donner Lake. It's been going for a few days now and what's left of the year's budget is being thrown at it to stop it from burning the town down." That only worries him further, a few of the others understanding his reaction and sharing it.

Shifting a bit and trying to calm his rising panic, I continue. “Personally I think they'll put it out, but there's been some weird stuff going on with the weather. Lightning strikes, thunder, 'electromagnetism in the upper atmosphere' or something. Parks & Rec. are being careful."

His face still shows his worry, but he's calming down now. He looks back at me, beginning to speak. “Well, hopefully at least we won't be losing our house, then. A few of us rent in the north part of Gold River."

In the background, Spencer and Susan are whispering together, Spencer smirking, Susan giggling again. Surprisingly they're the first to leave and go pack up their tent and other belongings. The rest follow suit, not really paying much attention to our conversation any more. Before he goes to join them, the man turns to thank me.

“Alright, well, I'm gonna get them all packed up and out of here," he says, before looking around, his face showing his guilt again. “Should I stay around for a bit to help clean up, or…?"

I smile. “Nah, it's fine, I've got this. You guys go home, relax, try to forget about the fire. It's my job."

He looks relieved at my understanding, and reaches out to shake my hand. “You're a cool dude. What's your name?" he asks. “Mine's Richard."

I take his hand and shake it. “Frank. You take care, now."

He leaves to gather his own things and help pack up to carry it all to his RV. Turning, I head back to my truck to get a few bags and my picker. As I'm leaving through the gate, I bring up my radio and key it in. “Carey, come in."

“Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

Opening up my door again to reach behind the seat, I bring up my radio again in one hand and continue rummaging with the other. “I'm gonna be here for a bit longer. Got a bunch of partiers. A few of'em were a bit shitty, but the guy organizing it was cool."

After a moment of thought, she responds. “Eh. That's always fun to break up. Small miracles with the cool dude at least. I'd offer to help but I'm already on my way back to the center. I left you a present by the way."

Picker and bags in one hand, I lean back out and look around. On the seat where I hadn't noticed it is a pinecone with a note next to it. Setting my radio on the seat, I grab the note to read it.

'Carey wuz here!'

That she was. I put the note in my pocket, grab the pinecone, and toss it over into the woods, then grab my radio again, keying it. “Were you hoping I was going to sit on that?" I say as I start walking back to the campground, passing Richard and a few of his other friends, who are talking.

One of them responds to a question of his I didn't catch. “He's taking a piss or something. They're probably having a quickie. I'll watch for them, just get in the front." The man is very much on the short side, and I can't help but think of one of those little yappy dogs when I look at him.

I'm already past Richard so I don't catch his facial expression, only his reply. “Whatever. You're not inviting him again, okay? Especially not her. They're lucky I don't leave them here to clean up their damn mess."

His friend scoffs. “Ha, yeah, that'd teach them."

Their conversation fades into the background. Carey pipes up over the radio. “Yeah, I figured you probably wouldn't be paying attention, but I decided to spare you, shortie."

Typical. We're a bit of an odd friendship, and to be honest I like her a lot, but, uh, it wouldn't work out. I'm not her type, and it isn't a height thing. She's not shallow, just 'tasteful' as she calls it. Here we have every man's dream woman, and she's only into other dream women.

Frowning, I key the radio for the final time. “Right. Well, I've got work to do. See you later."

Laughing goodnaturedly a bit, Carey responds. “See ya Frank. I'll buy you lunch at the usual place," and with that, I clip my radio back to my belt. Smiling, Spencer steps out from around where the clearing opens up.

“That your girlfriend, bro?"

I frown. “No. She's my coworker."

He laughs. “Rhetorical question. Have fun back there." Susan just sticks her tongue out at me before laughing with him.

Pricks.

With them gone, I get to work grabbing and bagging all of the trash. Pizza boxes in one bag, cans in another, thankfully no bottles, smashed or otherwise. I'd be taking pictures and reporting those two if I had to put up with broken glass. Thankfully there isn't actually as much trash as I'd expected, so I can just clean everything up now.

Ten minutes later as I'm on my way out, I hear some slight rustling in the woods. Glancing over, I don't see anything, and after closing and locking the gate I continue on to my truck, where Richard's RV has already left.

Hopping in, I buckle up, turn on the engine and lights, and get back on the road. Carey already got the rest of the road past here, and I've already finished up my own sites to deal with, so I'm free to drive straight home. Honestly, they really only needed to send one of us, but Carey volunteered to help so it'd go faster. Our boss didn't really care seeing as there wasn't really anything else to do--what with the park closing--and we had a lot of places to check. When I reach a fork in the road, I turn west, back home to Gold River.

A few minutes later, I briefly catch a glimpse of light reflecting off of the eyes of a big cat or something along the road just beyond the tree line before it ducks back a little, scared of my truck. I don't get a good look at it since by the time I register it I'm already past, and the matter drops from my mind.

---

Shift over, I park in front of the Goose Nest Grillhouse, also known as 'the usual place.' Carey's truck is already here.

Her mother owns the Nest. She's never talked about her father much, but I'd guess she got her attitude from her mom. Good woman, though she scares me a bit; there's a reason people call her 'Goose Momma'. She had to work pretty hard for her daughters, but thankfully she had a lucrative job as a welder and was able to retire a few years back and open the Nest.

She was born here but moved south, returning in her retirement along with her daughters who wanted to be closer to her. She might be pushing towards her late fifties but she's just as tough as Carey is, being the origin of her assertive nature and love of hiking.

Getting out of my truck I head towards the entrance, pointedly ignoring the apocalyptic red sky and doing my best not to cough from the trace smoke in the air, though chuckling a bit as I pass a sculpture of an angry canada goose next to the door.

We didn't really explicitly discuss anything about meeting here after other than her reference to 'the usual place,' but it's the only place she hangs out for lunch, and it's not like she'd be anywhere else. It's the early afternoon after a shift so she'd have either gone right home or come by to get a late lunch.

Stepping in, I look around for Carey. The Nest is a nice little place, with the only real theme being 'wood,' 'grouchy national bird,' and 'grouchy old lady,' not needing artificial personality--Goose adds that herself. Directly ahead of me is a bar with a drink cabinet behind it, said cabinet locked up until it's a bit later in the day. Goose is busy wiping something off of it, probably syrup from breakfast.

I'm not the only patron; there are a few other townsfolk sitting in booths to my right near the windows eating their own lunches. To my left is a door, slightly cracked open, that leads to the back rooms, including the bathroom. Normally it's left open but someone must have pulled it closed.

Perking up from the bar, she calls over to me. “Hey, Frank. Carey said you'd probably stop by. Want lunch?"

I don't see her anywhere, so she must've stepped out for a moment. Sitting down on a stool at the bar by Goose, she points over at the menu and I glance over at the slate perched on the end of the bar, to my right.

LUNCH MENU

BURGERS (TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ON IT)

FRIES (LIGHTLY SALTED)

REHEATED PANCAKES & BACON

She doesn't have much variety, but it's always damn good. Carey's decent too, but her mother has her beat when it comes to those burgers. 'Baked with a mother's love,' she says. Carey let loose the truth though: homemade patties and a few fancy techniques.

Suffice to say, there's nothing new on the menu.

“I'll just have the usual, thanks. Where's Carey?"

I'm surprised she isn't here, bantering with her mother.

Goose's smirk is my only warning before I spin around to find Carey right in my face! She's two inches taller than I am and still in her uniform. Her arms and legs are a bit bulked, but you can't really tell unless she wears something lighter.

“Hey there, shortie. You never know what could sneak up on you in the woods one day, you need to pay more attention," she says with a shit-eating grin. Stepping back, she reaches out and boops me on the nose to my annoyance. I sigh. Her mother is just amused.

“Yeah, well, unless you decide to play a prank on me while I'm on shift I should be fine. Bears aren't exactly quiet, wolves never shut up, and I already know about the cougar behind me." I can't see Goose's face, but Carey breaks into laughter. Petty revenge for not warning me, achieved.

Until I feel a flick on my shoulder, Goose having reached across the bar to continue the cycle of revenge. Ow. She hits harder than Carey, who's currently laughing even harder now. Rubbing my grievous injury, I turn back to her. With a slight smile still plastered on her face, she 'reprimands' me.

“Respect your elders, young man. Especially if you want to keep that family friend discount." With that, she turns around to get me my order, Carey sliding into a seat next to me. Rather than say anything witty, she frowns a bit, looking past me. I turn to see what's caught her attention.

In the corner at the other end of the bar from the menu, Goose has a TV hanging from the ceiling pointing down the length of the bar, able to be seen from everywhere but the entrance across the room from said bar.

On it is the news, though it's muted right now. A reporter is speaking in front of a flaming backdrop with a good shot of the firefighters doing what they can. Scrolling along the bottom of the screen is the news ticker; I'm just in time to barely see what caught Carey's eye.

'-CUATION BEING CONSIDERED FOR GOLD RIVER -- ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BEING ORGA-'

Fuck. If the red sky wasn't any hint, things really are getting pretty bad then. Honestly, an evacuation was inevitable. I turn back to Carey.

“Well. That's lovely. Thank you, random lightning bolts raining from the sky," I mutter to her.

Frowning slightly, she grabs an orphaned glass of water that must have been hers, abandoned to go and hide when she saw me pull up. “Yeah. The fire's practically close enough to see. I'm surprised they haven't issued the evacuation order yet, it's getting hard to breathe at night." She takes a sip from her glass.

“Mhm. I've lived here my entire life; it feels strange knowing that it could all be gone and there's nothing you can do about it." Through a window into the kitchen, I can see Goose preparing a patty for the grill. Without turning or stopping her work, she joins back into the conversation.

“Kid, never underestimate life's ability to throw you a curveball and upend everything you know and thought you cared about. Instead of worrying about all of that, just focus on what's important to you and how you can keep it safe in times like this."

I can't really think of a good response to that, instead just taking it in and thinking. I'm sure she speaks from experience, but, to be honest I don't have a lot to fight to protect. I've got my job, I've got my best friend, that's about it. I don't speak with my family very often--that always ends in drama.

Carey pokes me.

“Hey, don't worry. It'll be fine. Eat your lunch, go home, have a nap or something. Even if the worst happens, we'll figure something out."

Yeah. She's right.

Eventually, her mother comes back with my burger, which I gratefully pay for. After finishing it, talking with Carey the whole while, I drive home and try to take her advice, but I have trouble sleeping, nerves getting to me.

---

That night, after making myself dinner, I called up Carey and let her know my plans for the night, before walking back to the Nest. If we might have to leave for a while, I might as well relax first.

Stepping in from the late afternoon heat and ash, I glance around. The Nest is packed tonight, and as luck would have it I recognize a familiar face down at one of the booths: Richard. Carey's behind the bar with her mother, helping serve people. She looks over to the door when it closes, noticing me and smiling.

I wave to her, and point to Richard's booth. She changed out of her uniform hours ago, and is now sporting jeans, a short-sleeve shirt and a baseball hat.

Walking over toward Richard, he notices me and looks up, surprise on his face.

“Hey, Frank. Didn't expect to see you here. Wanna join us?"

“Sure," I reply, not seeing Spencer or Susan around. I take a seat next to him. “I see you didn't bring your other two 'buddies.'"

He lightly laughs at that, still feeling a little guilty. “It may have been the first time I've met them, but fuck that. I caught them fucking in my RV's bathroom on the way there, Susan throws things when she's drunk, and Spencer's a dick. They may be meant for each other but they're pretty shitty friends."

Chiming in from the other side of the booth is the friend who invited them. “Hey, Spence ain't that bad. Susie's a bit of an unhinged idiot, but-"

Before he can continue, Richard interrupts him. “He buys you beer, of course he 'ain't that bad.' I don't care how much cheap beer he shells out, you're never inviting him again, got it?"

He stops for a moment, considering arguing, but shuts up and nods. The others are looking a bit uncomfortable, but aren't saying anything in Spencer's defense either. Before anyone can say anything else, Carey--having finished what she was doing--comes over and shoves me further along the booth, Richard having to make room.

“Whassup guys? You buddies with Frank?" she asks as she leans back.

Richard's a bit surprised, to say the least, and responds. “Not particularly, I met him earlier. He was cool about a couple of friends-of-a-friend being dicks, and we bumped into each other here."

One of Richard's friends is doing his best not to eye her biceps. I speak up. “Well, there weren't any smashed bottles anywhere, otherwise I'd be asking you about them so I could report them for it."

Wincing, Richard apologizes. “I kept Susan away from them--cans only for her. She didn't like it and threw a fit. Those two fucked off pretty quick once we got back, I didn't even see'em leave the RV. I also didn't find any dried- uh, you-know-what on my toilet, so that's a bonus." After saying that, he glances back to Carey, not really sure what sort of etiquette to hold around her.

She smirks knowingly, probably having overheard what Richard said, and she turns to me.

“By the way, Frank, I don't know if you heard but an hour ago the evac order went through. Everyone's heading out tomorrow, we'll be gone for a few weeks minimum. The fire's starting to head north toward the road into town, so it's now or never."

I don't miss the slight intake of breath from Richard beside me. Not a fan of fire I'd assume. He quickly takes advantage of his drink.

We talk for a while more, Carey leaving to go get some drinks for me and her. Thank you, family friend discount. After an hour of getting to know Richard and his friends, me and Carey split up to walk home: her to her sister, me to my empty house I inherited from my grandfather.

I may not have much to my name, but the house I value almost as much as my friendship with Carey. Everyone my age I know has to rent.

After a quick shower, I tuck in for the night. I guess I'll have to pack tomorrow.

I lie awake for hours, unable to sleep, until exhaustion takes me.

---

A/N:

The song mentioned in the beginning, Maneater by The Bird And The Bee, cannot legally be quoted without permission. Additionally... you know precisely why it's here. It was too fitting not to include.

This chapter has absolutely nothing zany in it whatsoever. It is purely a chapter to introduce Frank, Carey, and Goose while also explaining what exactly is going on in the greater setting. It also establishes a timeline for when exactly this chapter takes place, being concurrent to chapter two. This also nails down exactly where the story takes place. The setting itself is real, the people within and a few others are not, nor are they based on any real people. That is an actual real campground mentioned, which you could go to, though I've never been, relying on Google Maps to do my legwork.

Now then, a few more fun facts and behind-the-scenes information. The first half of this chapter was the first real dialogue I had ever done, and was proofread by a friend of mine who's a published author (though his book isn't very well-known and I personally haven't read it, but I know it's at least good). He gave the rough-draft first half an 8/10. It has since undergone two editing passes.

He also actually provided me with the names for all five named characters in this chapter. I needed a name for 'The Man' (Spencer), 'The Woman' (Susan), 'The Knight' (Frank), 'The Damsel' (Carey), and 'The Mother' (Goose); previously they'd all just been their temporary role names in my notes. I'd needed a name for the restaurant, and he gave me the Goose Nest, which I took and ran with to create Goose and the Goose Nest Grillhouse.

I'd planned for Carey to be the strong independent woman archetype but didn't really flesh her out until I got to the planning for this chapter. She wasn't originally going to be a lesbian but it just worked out, and it wasn't until after I got to work on her as a character that I realized I'd accidentally made a tomboy/butch lesbian--the former being something that said author friend likes a lot, but the latter disappoints him a little because she's a lesbian. Which I get to find funny.

That's the nature of dynamic and organic storytelling where you have ideas in mind for later and start piecing them together as you go; things change for the better to fit nicely.

I also made a dumb joke in here somewhere, but I won't point out where. It's one hell of a reach.