The Last Mincrees

What happens to collectible monsters when humans disappear? (Think Pokemon meets I Am Legend)

Rhyrat scratched his nose and looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds stretched across the world. It had been like that ever since The People vanished.

Only low levels of light made it to the ground. That was good for Rhyrat. It made it harder for his enemies to see him.

But just once, he’d like to feel the warmth of the sun again.

Rhyrat skittered down the same path he traveled every day. The thin stretch of dirt was covered by wild grass and surrounded by abandoned possessions - a bicycle here, a watering can there. Rhyrat could avoid the obstacles with his eyes closed, but he always took a moment to inspect the crevices of the knick-knacks for hidden food. Anything helped.

Just like yesterday and the day before that, there was nothing there.

Rhyrat continued to his favorite spot: a gigantic puddle in front of The Boy’s house.

The puddle granted Rhyrat two kindnesses: a temporary relief to his endless thirst and an opportunity to gaze at his reflection.

Rhyrat liked to look at himself to see how he was changing. As the years had gone by, he had grown considerably thinner, but his horn had become sharper. His hair was longer than it should be - instead of a rodent, he looked more like a shaggy sheepdog. But there wasn’t a strand of hair on his wormy tail.

Once he’d quenched his thirst, Rhyrat climbed up the front steps of The Boy’s house and laid down on the welcome mat.

Maybe this is the day he returns.

Rhyrat always waited in this spot. All the others had left, but not him. His patience would be rewarded. He was sure of it.

SNAP!

Rhyrat’s ears perked up. He lifted his head and scanned the area.

Far in the distance, a predator lifted his foot from a broken twig. The beast, impossibly tall in Rhyrat’s eyes, also had four paws, but they ended with sharp claws. Pointed teeth extended from his mouth, and his feline body was slick with orange and red fur. 

A Fangflame!

Rhyrat whimpered. He had battled one of these creatures when he was with The Boy. He was quickly defeated, but that was the end of it.

The world didn’t work like that anymore. For predators like Fangflame, winning no longer mattered.

The tiger wanted to feed.

Rhyrat studied the porch for shelter. Nothing. The space was barren.

Fangflame drew closer. He hadn’t spotted the rodent. Yet.

Rhyrat looked at The Boy’s front door. It stood between him and potential safety. Even if Fangflame followed him inside, there were plenty of rooms with lots of nooks and crannies. He’d be safe.

Rhyrat kicked the ground with his back foot and charged at the door. His hardened snout slammed into the wood with the force of a wrecking ball.

The rodent steamrolled inside and fumbled to a stop. Tripping over his own feet, he crashed into a couch’s end table.

The force of the impact was enough to demolish a table leg. The tabletop tilted downward, and a stack of small digital tablets fell directly onto Rhyrat’s head.

Rhyrat shook off his injuries and looked around. He hadn’t been inside this place for years, but the living room looked exactly as he remembered it - with the addition of a thick layer of dust.

After capturing Rhyrat, The Boy had rushed home to show his new creature to his Mother. The rodent was initially mistrustful of The Boy, but over time, he grew to love their fighting lifestyle. Every victory was celebrated, and every defeat was a learning experience. 

They were training to become the best.

They just ran out of time.

The only downside of his life with The Boy was the damn CreePad.

Mass marketed across the world, CreePads digitized creatures like Rhyrat and stored them within. Life inside the pad was like stasis. No moving, no thinking. You were held in limbo until your services were required.

Rhyrat returned to the small digital tablets - the CreePads - that had fallen on him. Curious, he nudged through them.

The screens were dark and shattered - visual cues of their emptiness. When The People disappeared, creatures everywhere were somehow released from their pads. Only Rhyrat, the first creature The Bpy captured, felt loyalty enough to remain close by.

Rhyrat flipped over the final CreePad. His eyes bulged in surprise.

The screen was bright. It displayed a word - a name - but Rhyrat was unable to read it.

Regardless, there was something inside.

Waiting to get out.

Rhyrat stared at the CreePad for an eternity. The possibilities raced through his mind.

What could be in there?

It had been so long since he lived with The Boy’s team. Even then, the creatures only interacted with each other on rare occasions.

Rhyrat wasn’t very big or strong. This mysterious creature could easily overpower him. Maybe even eat him.

It was too big a risk.

Rhyrat was about to turn away, but then he remembered his own experience inside the CreePad.

He had hated spending a day inside the device. This mystery creature had lived there for years.

Rhyrat sighed. He couldn’t condemn another being to that fate.

Rhyrat pressed down on the button beside the CreePad’s screen. He then took a step back, ready to make a break for it.

Nothing happened.

Rhyrat inched closer.

Suddenly, the CreePad lit up. A stream of data flew out from the screen and materialized before him.

Rhyrat shielded his eyes from the radiant light.

When the room dimmed, Rhyrat lowered his paw.

Between him and the CreePad sat a weird rock.

Rhyrat tilted his head in confusion. He had been ready for any kind of creature to emerge, but this?

Rhyrat experimentally poked the weird rock.

Nothing happened.

The weird rock was relatively soft, and it didn’t smell that bad. Maybe Rhyrat could eat it.

Moments before his teeth touched the rock, Rhyrat pulled back. 

It wasn’t right. This weird rock was the only company he’d had in far too long. It might not be able to do anything, but it was something.

Rhyrat tenderly nuzzled his cheek against the rock - a movement he remembered from his long-departed mother. It made him feel good when he was just a baby, and it had the same effect now.

CREEEEEAAAAAAK!

Rhyrat spun around.

Fangflame had pushed the front door open and was now inside the house.

Without even thinking, the rodent shot under the couch.

Fangflame took slow steps, prowling through the space. He wasn’t in any hurry. If there was any food in here, he would find it.

With every moment, Fangflame drew closer and closer to the couch.

Rhyrat squeezed his eyes closed and held his breath. 

Abruptly, the pounding of the tiger’s footsteps stopped.

Rhyrat slowly opened one eye.

Fangflame had discovered the weird rock.

The tiger prodded it with his paw. When nothing happened, he lowered his head and sampled the object with a quick lick.

Satisfied with the taste, Fangflame opened his mouth and lowered his head.

It would have been easy for Rhyrat to stay hidden under the couch. The tiger would get his fill and leave. The rodent could then live out the rest of his days peacefully in The Boy’s house. Everything would be perfect.

But in Rhyrat’s heart, he knew he couldn’t take a victory at the cost of another’s sacrifice.

Even if it was just a weird rock.

Rhyrat charged out from beneath the couch and rammed into Fangflame’s leg.

Startled, the tiger jerked back his appendage and looked down at the tiny rodent in utter bafflement.

As Fangflame’s expression transformed from confusion to rage, Rhyrat realized that he had made a huge mistake.

The tiger roared and slammed down his paw.

The rodent got out of the way in the nick of time. Terrified, he stumbled as he made his getaway.

Fangflame was right behind him. Only raw speed could save him now.

Unless…

Rhyrat spun around.

Fangflame grinned and dove at the minuscule creature.

The second the tiger was low enough, Rhyrat leapt up into the air, straight at his foe’s face.

Too quickly for Fangflame to process, Rhyrat landed on the big cat’s skull, darted across his back and dropped down to the floor.

Fangflame tried to turn around, but his large body was moving too quickly. He completely wiped out.

Rhyrat looked behind him as he ran. When he saw the tiger stumbling around, the rodent smiled.

Unfortunately, his lack of attention meant he didn’t spot the weird rock until it was too late. He tripped over the object and flew face first into the couch leg.

Rhyrat took a moment to recover from the blow and regain his senses.

It was a moment too long.

Rhyrat looked up, and Fangflame was right there. The tiger slammed his paw against the rodent, pressing him against the couch leg.

Rhyrat struggled against his foe, but it was no use.

It was all over.

CRACK!

Both Rhyrat and Fangflame looked toward the sound’s source.

The weird rock had split right down the middle.

Before anyone could make a move, a bright light shot out from inside the rock.

Rhyrat and Fangflame averted their eyes as a humongous insect emerged.

It had six legs, four wings, two antennae, two eyes and one pointed stinger. It was bright blue with white stripes.

A Blizzbee!

Rhyrat and Fangflame studied the new creature as she hovered in place.

Fangflame made the first move. He swung a paw at the insect, attempting to swat it down to the floor.

Blizzbee ducked under the attack and flipped around, extending her stinger straight at Fangflame’s face.

PISH! PISH! PISH!

A volley of snowballs materialized out of thin air and struck the tiger between the eyes.

Fangflame stumbled backward. It had been a long time since another creature had defied him.

Rhyrat watched in awe as Blizzbee flapped her wings toward the tiger. Forceful gusts of frigid air assaulted the feline beast until he had no choice but to flee.

Fangflame glared at his new enemy as he dove out the front door.

Blizzbee ended the storm and gently landed on the floor. She then slowly turned her head to face Rhyrat.

Instinctively, Rhyrat lowered his gaze in a gesture of submission. He wasn’t about to start any trouble.

Blizzbee simply stared. Her unblinking, pupil-less eyes were completely unreadable to the rodent. At any moment, she could leave in peace or decide that a rat-popsicle would be delicious.

RAAAWWWRRR! FOOOOOM!

Startled by the loud noises, Rhyrat nearly jumped out of his skin. Blizzbee tilted her head in mild curiosity and flew up to a nearby window.

Rhyrat knew he should take this opportunity to hide, but those sounds were putting him on edge. He had to know what they were.

FOOOOOOOOOM!

Rhyrat scampered up the couch and hopped onto the window ledge. Careful not to touch Blizzbee, the rodent used a paw to wipe dust from the window.

Fangflame was circling the area. Every few steps, he took a deep breath and exhaled a beam of fire directly at the house.

Rhyrat whimpered.

Fangflame’s head snapped toward the sound. Before the rodent could move, the tiger shot another firebeam directly at the window.

Rhyrat flipped backwards, narrowly missing the attack.

Blizzbee shielded herself with her wings. She brushed off the heat and looked down at Rhyrat.

Rhyrat struggled to stand. His landing had really hurt. Now when he put weight on his left foot, he felt an extreme sensation of pain.

FOOOOOOM! FOOOOOOM! FOOOOOOOM!

More and more fire shot through the windows. Furniture erupted into flame. Pictures fell from the walls. Support beams started to buckle.

The entire building had transformed into a furnace.

Rhyrat laid down his head. Maybe burning to death was a better way to go than being eaten.

Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation around his body.

Blizzbee was wrapping her legs around him.

Rhyrat struggled within her grasp, but before he knew it, he was off the floor.

Blizzbee flapped her wings and took off like a bullet, zooming out through the window.

Fangflame shot fire directly at them. Rhyrat could feel the heat, but Blizzbee’s cooling touch kept him safe.

The creatures flew directly over the tiger’s head. Fangflame leapt up and swiped at them, but he completely missed.

As the tiger roared in anger, Rhyrat chirped with laughter. The wind rushing through his hair was exhilarating. 

He couldn’t communicate with the insect, but somehow, she read his mind.

Blizzbee shot up and up, higher and higher. If Rhyrat looked down, he might have grown scared. Instead, he desperately reached out toward the heavens.

It only took seconds for them to ascend above the low-hanging, dirty clouds. Rhyrat gasped in wonder.

The sun. It was still there, high above. The light shone down on the rodent and the insect.

Fangflame’s heat had been deadly, but the sun’s warmth was intoxicating. For just a moment, it made Rhyrat forget all of his troubles. The world had become dark and dangerous, but decency was still out there, waiting to be found.

Rhyrat looked up at Blizzbee’s face. It was still unreadable, but he could sense that she was just as happy as he was.

The rodent didn’t know what would happen next, but for the first time in years, he wasn’t afraid to find out.c