Dave

  “So, just how many mana beasts have you managed to collect for this Sanctuary?” I asked as Glorp led us inside the building into the first section.

  “Species or raw numbers?” Glorp asked, giving me a guilty smile. Just how many beasts did he manage to collect?

  “Let's start with Species, I suppose,” I answered as Pryte laughed next to me.

  “Well, I started really small with just the smaller things that were creeping around the houses, and then I started expanding more out of the city itself. At this point, I think I'm up to forty-five different species, not counting the bugs. Maybe I can't necessarily tell the difference between all of them anymore, since some of them have changed a lot,” he answered.

  “How are you categorizing them, then? I imagine it's got to be a little difficult, since they're mutating from their base Earth form,” I asked, genuinely curious.

  This was a pretty big project and something that was probably more important than Glorp understood. We were going to need to expand this and possibly start checking on all the species of animals on Earth. We didn't have the resources for anything like that quite yet, but it was something that could be critical if we wanted to retain an accurate biome of Earth in the future.

  Cecil was already working on the plant life. I really should have considered the animal life already. But I had mostly left that up to Maud until now, and she was busy with other things. It was pure luck that Glorp had decided to take over.

  “Well, I guess Bert's got some friends he called zoologists. Apparently, that's a science that specializes in things like this. He sent out some messages and got hold of a couple. They're trying to figure out how to get here as soon as they can, but you know, with the way things are going, it's a little more difficult to get here. The plan was to hold off until we had them here to figure out a good sorting system, but Bert's been helping as best he can right now.” The words flew out of Glorp's mouth, and it took me nearly an extra minute to digest everything he had actually said.

  “It's alright. I'm not upset at all. This is a good thing you've done here, so calm down. I promise I'm not gonna be mad about any of this. If I had thought of this myself, I would have wanted someone to actually do it already,” I replied, hoping to relax him. I wasn't sure I could handle Glorp's speed speaking for the whole tour.

  “Sorry, just really excited. This is one of the first things I've actually really found meaning in, if that makes any sense. So much of life before meeting you was just a struggle to keep my family alive. But this is something that I'm doing that I feel like is important.”

  It made complete sense. He was finding the first project of his life that made him feel like his spot in the universe mattered. That was an important rite of passage for everyone.

  “No, I think I get it entirely. I had some things that hit me towards the end of high school and early college that felt a lot like this. There were a few times I tried to solve energy distribution across the world using only renewable sources. Then I realized that it was mostly just bad actors stopping us from being able to do it. It wasn't the best realization, but it was an important learning experience,” I replied, remembering one of the first times I learned how shitty the world could be, even at the highest levels.

  “Alright, so in this room,” Glorp started, clearly blushing a little and trying to change the topic. “I have most of the original small creatures I found. I think from what I've seen in books, these are basically all mice, rats, or voles. But as you can see, they've mutated quite a bit, at least in their visible coats.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” I said as I looked around several of the enclosures. “I've never seen a bright blue mouse before today.” Actually, I might have. There were some feral mana beasts outside the city that were pretty blue. I wasn't sure if they were mice or not, but I wasn't gonna bring that up. I didn't need any of these animals holding a grudge.

  What impressed me the most was how big the enclosures were. He hadn't built super tiny ones, thinking that would be all the small animals needed. I knew that was a common problem with a lot of people who tried to have pet rodents, especially hamsters. They always put them in enclosures that were way too small compared to their natural environments. Glorp, on the other hand, had each enclosure looking to be at least the size of a large fridge.

  “Where did you get so much glass for all of this?” Pryte asked.

  “One of the Reltleons is a glass shaper. A lot of his work has been with Trolke and getting everything set up for all the houses. But since we've got such a big stockpile of glass now, she's been able to assist here.”

  “Huh, I didn't know we had anyone who could do that,” I said, surprised.

  “You really need to read more of the reports. She was one of the first people I identified to help with the construction efforts,” Pryte replied, shaking his head at me.

  “Yeah, probably, but I could lie and tell you I will, or we can just be realistic about this.”

  “I'll continue making sure to mark the ones that are actually critical.”

  “Thank you. So, Glorp, which one of the animals in here is your favorite?” I said, returning the conversation to his work.

  “Well, in this room, that golden, weird-looking guy right there bit me surprisingly hard when I caught him, but then he just rolled over and demanded I pet his stomach. He is currently winning the cuteness award of all the animals in here,” he pointed to a strangely chubby little guy as he spoke.

  “Any idea what he is?” I asked, looking closely at him. I couldn't tell the difference between all the different rodents here.

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  “Bert thinks he might be a lemming, but he isn't super sure. We're hoping one of the zoologists will have a better idea.”

  “Pryte, we might have to do something to help push that along. I suspect certain forces are blocking us from getting any more scientists too easily,” I added.

  “Yeah, wouldn't be surprised. Glorp, make sure you get their names to the former president. He might be able to do something. He's been able to get some channels opened and get a few people here already,” Pryte said, producing a notepad in his hand and scribbling something down himself.

  “Alright, next time I see him, I’ll make sure I do that. So these next two long hallways, we can go down them real quick, but they're not nearly as interesting as the other big rooms,” Glorp said.

  “Why not?” I said, wondering if he was just downplaying what he had done here again.

  “Right now, they're just full of smaller chambers set up for bugs. We found so many bugs. Well, it's actually mostly a lot of spiders. I don't know why, but they seem to take to the mana flow energies the fastest.”

  “So there's a theory behind all of this. I'm not an expert on it, and we could probably pick Elody’s brain or maybe Ivan's for exactly how this works better than what I am about to say. But there's this idea called the mutated monster effect. The thought process behind it is that the system often prioritizes the scarier type of creatures for mana-based growth,” Pryte explained.

  Somehow, that was the first I'd actually heard of this, even with everything I had read. But it did explain some of my own curiosities about where monsters seem to always come from. And if the system wanted to prioritize us gaining experience, and it sure seemed to love to do so through combat, we would need the scariest monsters it could come up with.

  I was reminded of the wasps I had fought what felt like forever ago. Then again, I had preferred those to the weird, creepy deer. I decided I would ask Elody more about this. I wanted to know how it actually all worked. It was a fascinating topic.

  “Oh, that makes sense. Huh, we have to see if Elody has any books on this for the zoologists. They're going to need to know all about this,” Glorp replied excitedly.

  “I knew some guys back in college who were studying to be entomologists. I should look into whether they actually finished that. They might be useful too,” I mused out loud.

  “What's an entomologist?” Glorp asked.

  “Someone who studies bugs, more or less. There are a lot of specifications for the more specific areas of study. I'm pretty sure you can even break entomologists down further. I don't really know what the names are off the top of my head, though,” I answered.

  “Oh, interesting. Yeah, we probably do need some of them. All right guys, I'm going to show you the room that has me the most nervous, but it's also the most special. We only found these guys a couple of weeks ago, and they were in pretty bad shape when we did, but they've already healed up surprisingly well,” Glorp said as he led us out of the central building into one that turned out to be much larger than I thought it was from the outside.

  It curved back behind the structure. And it was designed more like a greenhouse than it was a fully enclosed building. What did he have in here?

  “Glorp, what do you need all this space for?” I asked, a little worried. Hopefully, he didn't have a collection of bears. Red might get jealous.

  Then again, if he did have a collection of bears, they were better here than they were in the wild.

  Glorp raised two fingers to his pursed lips and blew. A series of whistling sounds emanated from him. They reminded me of some of the people who could emulate duck calls so perfectly. But instead of ducks, from deep inside the enclosure, a large forest green wolf came trotting out.

  “You said there was more than one. How many wolves do you have in here, Glorp?” I asked cautiously, side-eyeing the mana beast. Even if they were approaching calmly, they were still a very wild animal that was now a mana beast.

  My feelings were probably a bit hypocritical on the topic, considering the primal mana beasts that shared the city with us. Or even the dungeon cores I had taken in. But wolves were hunters, and I wasn't sure how much Glorp understood that.

  “Hey Greeny, how are you doing today? You didn't want to bring your cubs out to visit? I promise these two are nice,” Glorp said as he walked towards the wolf.

  The moment he reached her, she dropped her head low and let him scratch her behind her ears. Her tail began to wag excitedly, like any happy dog I'd ever seen. She let out a small series of yips.

  From behind several bushes, little green wolf pups started to appear. There were a dozen in total. And within seconds, they were all rubbing themselves up against Glorp, demanding attention.

  “Well, at least they're cute little balls of danger,” I said, starting to give in as I slowly walked towards the pack.

  “I mean, it's not like we don't have a polar bear eating sushi in our great hall every day. So now we have a pack of green wolves. Seems like an investment in the future to me,” Pryte said as he joined me.

  “You said they weren't doing well when you found them? What was wrong with them?” I asked, concerns of rabies flashing across my brain.

  Was rabies even a big issue in wolves? I knew it could be in dogs if they were unvaccinated, but I wasn't sure about wild wolves. I was pretty sure bats were the big vector species in North America. Hell, could I just heal rabies? Was it no longer a death sentence?

  “So, the way these guys transformed seems to have made them much more peaceful than usual wolves. I think the actual green color signifies a deeper harmony with nature mana somehow. But because of that, the mother wolf was having issues providing for the pups. They were being bullied out of their territory by other wolves and bears. When Grant's people found them, the mom couldn't even stand. We had to nurse her back to health, while also bottle feeding the pups.”

  While Glorp had explained the state they had found the wolves in, I had started petting two of the puppies myself. That was all it had taken to move me completely past my fears. I knew in my brain these were not domesticated dogs, but in my heart, they were already just good pups.

  “Well, you sold me. We're definitely keeping them. How many people do you need to work on really expanding this place, Glorp? I think you should put together a full project, because you’ve got me entirely on board. This is important,” I said earnestly.

  “I'm glad you agree. I don't know if I need any extra people right now, but I'll see about actually planning out what kind of future design and work we'd need here,” he replied.

  “On a completely different tangent, congratulations, you've just been upgraded to the befriending team instead of the dungeon team,” I said with a smile and a pat on his back.

  Have you heard the tale of the Arachnid Ballet? While many have been rumored to have seen it, few have survived to spread its secrets.

  Somewhere deep within chaotic space exists a unique traveling troupe of dancers. They appear within the Spiral from time to time, but never in the same place twice. They are never asked for, nor are they welcome. But that has yet to stop them.

  When they appear, they will only do a single show for one solitary night. All seats are completely free for the locals. What those who dare to see the show fail to realize is that during the final scene, the true queen makes her appearance.

  From high atop the rafters, she has been watching and waiting, and looking below at which of the guests looks the tastiest. Of course, she won't eat them all herself. No, her children will need their own meals as well.

  When the Arachnid Ballet departs, so too do the souls of all who dared attend. Children, I beg of you: ignore the dancing spider. Walk on by. Do not be tempted, no matter how graceful they may appear. It is not worth your lives.

  Another 117 Scary Stories for Sleepovers by S. M. Grime