My eyes were deadset on the clock hanging over the door. The glass around the clock bent the hour hand at an obscure angle, while the second hand almost stayed in place. I was tapping my pen furiously against the desk.

“Sen!” Apparently the teacher was looking at me. I stopped hammering my desk with my pen and looked down at my test. It was a mess; I was a mess.

He's late.

I looked at the next question for me:
The physiolectric bonding between an animal and it's owner requires what mineral to properly form?

I shook my head and looked back at the clock. It was 14:24 and seventeen seconds. That's not fair. I wasn't supposed to have taken this test. I looked back at the test and hastily scribbled away. I looked back at the clock. It was 14:24 and sixteen seconds.
What? No! That's not right?

I was relieved to know that the clock hadn't broken, but was just in the backswing of one of its methodical pulses. Even the clock was taunting me about this test. I hadn't prepared for it, I wasn't supposed to be here now. I was supposed to be at home “studying” some new animals my father discovered.

Where are you Lucas? Don't be late... don't be late... don't be...

A faint double tap on glass brought me back to my senses. My brother was here; he was late, but he was here. I looked at the door and found my brother grinning stupidly, while I sent him a glare of my own. He graduated two years ago, but I was only in my second year. We had never both been in the same school at the same time.

I stood up from my seat as the teacher waved my brother in. “Sorry Mr. Jhuni, I wasn't able to finish. I'll have to take the test later.”

“That's fine, Sen, just hand me what you have there instead.”

“Why? You can't grade this,” I said picking up my paper defensively.

“You've had forty minutes to take an hour long test, that should be enough to get a decent grade.”

“But, that's not fair. I didn't finish!”

“But, you probably did enough to pass and not have to take the test again.”

“Nobody else is finished, I didn't have time to finished either. I'd rather wait until I can finish the test, than take a lackluster grade.”

“Fine, very well. You can take the test at home, return it tomorrow.”

I laughed to myself and looked down at my paper. All the questions had been expertly blocked out, censored if you will, by me. “Can I have another test then please?”

“Why?”

I held up my paper of blacked out text and said, “because I don't think I can finish this one.”

Mr. Jhuri shook his head. “You're making this more trouble than it's worth, Sen. You should've studied for it today.” The other children laughed at our exchange. “Just come in early tomorrow and take a new test.”

I nodded my head in acknowledgement as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. I walked over to my brother; he was holding the door open for me. “Thank you, Mr. Jhuri.”

“And actually study this time,” he shouted after me. I could hear the other children laughing as the door slowly blocked them out.

“Causing trouble again, Sen?” Lucas jokingly asked as he extended his left arm around my shoulders.

“I wasn't supposed to be here, Lucas. I shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with!” I playfully pushed him into some lockers. “Is it worth it?”

Lucas smiled. “Oh, its worth it. They so fascinating! One of them is almost like a pillow... for sleeping.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know what a pillow is Lucas.”

“Heh, yeah. We captured the two, but on the way back we found another one. That's why we were late.”

“Another one? Is it the same as the others? Is it something new?”

“It's something new. We know we're missing dozens, maybe a hundred or so different species, but this one we witnessed and so we caught it. It put up a real fight though.”

“What's it like?”

“Hmmm...” Lucas brought his hand to his chin.

“Come on, Lucas! Don't slow roll me! Out with it!” I punched his shoulder several times, until he swatted my hand away.

“Alright, alright! Hahah. To be honest, we literally stumbled upon it. It looks exactly like a rock, and when it's sleeping, you can't really tell that it isn't a rock. It just looks like a stalagmite. We accidently stepped on it as a foothold.”
“Whoa! It's like a living rock?”

“Yup. It has four legs as well. It's one of the cooler animals Dad has discovered.”

“I can't wait to see it,” I paused, we were at the doors leading out of the school. I turned back to my brother, “Do you want to race home?”

“Do I have to? I've been spelunking all day with Dad.”

I sneered. “Lame! Stop your whining, let's go!”

“It's not whining; it's true.”

“You were late. You don't have a decision in this.”

Lucas laughed. “Oddly enough, I do.”

I pushed the door open and chided, “Fine, then, choose not to. I'm going to win!”

“No you're not!” Lucas laughed, as he rushed by me.

I bolted with every bit of energy towards home. But the straps of my backpack were holding me back; my bag weighed a ton. I turned around to see why, and I saw that the strap was twisted fancifully around the door handle.

Oh, you're so hilarious.

I would have told him that, but he already rounded the corner of the school, and I was't going to waste my breath. I was unable to brute force it off of the handle, so I wiggled out of my backpack and ran after my brother. It was going to be easier to run now; I would pick up my bag tomorrow morning from the Lost and Found table.

I rounded the corner and saw my brother halfway across the school's field. He looked back as I followed him down the schoolyard. “What about your test?” he shouted at me.

Oops.

I'll figure something out. Right now was play time. My brother and I were both going to help our dad study these new animals he discovered. We would take them out for a walk and see what they enjoyed, how they explored, and any skills or activities they excelled at. Usually, it was just one animal at a time, so my brother got to go out and observe it. Today, there were two, and even a third, so my father requested my help as well.

This was my first time working for my father. My brother graduated and my father took him in as an apprentice. I wanted to be his apprecntice as well, but my dad wanted me to finished school first. He was more than happy to have our help as well. He always enjoyed the thought of having his science be a family business.

Our dad wasn't just a scientist, he was also an inventor. He invented a machine that could link animals to humans. It was actually what our test was about, the Hexili. By using a mineral of a certain kind, you could link up to six animals to the owner of the Hexili. I didn't know much about the science behind it, but he invented another one that would allow an additional bond between an animal and a human; he cleverly named it the Heptili.

He recently released the concept of his newest design via press conference, and everyone was all excited about this new design. Over on the main land, people use the Hexili a lot. You have a lot of confidence when you pets can understand and obey your every command. They think what you think, or something like that. It's very popular among families and hunters. Typical places where you find trusty animal companions.

My father also has a military contract; the army of course wanted to utilize this machine, because with every technological advance, there are people who abuse that technology. Those people were the Hematites. They tried to steal our father's last prototype and sell it ias their own. With the help of our neighbors, we were fortunate enough to escape and we left the mainland altogether.
We've been living on the island of Kajili ever since; it's been almost five years now. Without a proper lab, my father's inventing has slowed down drastically, but now he's cataloging all of the new animal species he finds on the island. We only recently inhabited this planet, and there's much to learn about it. By recently, I mean a couple of decades. More than enough time to completely fill it up with human life, right?

I was losing my brother as he raced further ahead of me. I certainly wasn't going to win. We lived in a small coastal town on the island. The town is called Vujade. There are only a dozen or two families. This island was only very recently inhabited. Again, by recently, I mean a decade at most. Given I've lived here for most of Vujade's lifespan, we know everyone very well.

It also means that we live only a few minutes walk from school. I could actually see our house from the school. It was distant, but it was there. There were only six actual houses when we frist came along, and each one had two families in it. We had our own hous built, because my dad wanted as much of a lab to himself as he could. Since then, there are now ten houses, but two of them are empty...

The fur wasn't silky, but it wasn't rough or dry either. It was funny that it was having such an enjoyable time in my hand. It appeared to be under the same level of happiness as a person dancing; maybe it was dancing in its own way. I brought my other hand up to pet it and it suddenly flipped up and made some kind of growling noise while looking sternly at my hand.

I moved my hand, and it followed steadily; this new hand must be some kind of intruder unless it was playing a game of some sort. It was adorable to watch this creature at work.

“What do you think, Sen? Do you want to take it out for a walk?”

“Of course! Do they have names yet?”

“Not officially of course, but I'm working on classifying them for certain,” our dad said while he turned away from his work. “If you two take them out, I'll let you have a hand in officially naming them. You'll have a creature named after your own creation.”

“I can name it whatever I want?” I asked.

“There will be certains aspects yes. The two you seem to have chosen will obviously be mammals of some sort, but you can name the species as you wish according to their adaptations and skills; and I'll allow for more input from your whims than normal.”

“That's great! I'll take this one! Come on, Sen!”

I looked down at the creature standing in my hand. It was just a tiny fluff ball, did I really want to name this thing? I would rather name the big bulky stone creature, or at least I'd rather be known for it. I looked down at my father's feet, but the floor was comfortable with its new stalagmite. It wasn't going anywhere.

I took off after my brother, and our father reminded us once more, “Be home before it gets dark. You have school tomorrow, Sen. Stay safe!”
“We will,” we replied on our way out the door. Lucas took out his compass, but we both knew where to go. We walked down the road to the north of town. The town was located on the west coast of Kajil, but the beach in town was always crowded; it was a beach. My brother and I would usually take a brief walk north of town to another beach where we would often play with our pets. Today was no different.

We walked north of town and went behind one of the unowned houses, per usual. The woods behind the house hid a path that led us to our beach hiding place. When we stepped on the path, we put our pets down a watched them explore the outside nature for the first time. Even though we were mostly going to play with them, we still kept some of our dad's instructions.

“This is the first time that they've been outdoors on their own really,” my brother explained. “We found them deep in the cavern so they might not know what any of this really is.”

“They should know some things, they can't be that isolated from nature, right?”

“We'll find out soon enough. From what we saw, there was probably only herbs and moss that they fed on, unless they were carnivorous. None of these apprear carnivours from their dental samples, and we still have no idea what the rock one eats.”

“Probable miner... woah!” I was quickly hanging upside down suspended from a low-hanging tree branch. “Hey, who put this here?”

“Sen? What did you do?”

“I don't know. I don't think this was ever here before,” I said as I drifted lazily in the air. “Any chance you can get me down?”

“I'll see if I can find the source. There is a very intricate combination of rope here. Hmmm...”

As I spun around, I came face to face with my brother's blue-eye feline. It was sniffing me curiously. My furball was rolling around in some of the fallen leaves. It didn't have much of a care in the world that its owner was left hanging from a tree. Once my brother's pet was satisfied, it moved over to a moss-covered rock and started sniffing it. I could see that behind it there was a house with a light on; the ropes were leading in through an open window.

“Hey, Lucas! This house was for sale right?” I pointed.

He turned and looked. “Yeah. Someone must have bought it today. Oh, that looks like trouble.”

“What? The ropes? You don't think you can just ask them to put me down?”

“What if they are hunters? You just ruined their trap.”

“So? We're kids? What are they going to do?”

“I wish it were that simple, Sen. I've found a spot where they looped it. If I can unloop it, that will give you a few feet of slack. You won't be completely on the ground, but it will be enough for me to get you out of it.”

“That's something. I'm starting to feel weird.”

“Yeah, that's not a good thing. Hold on, I'm working on it.”

I laughed. It's strange that someone moved in so suddenly. Or maybe I just wasn't super observant. We haven't been here for a while, which is why I was so excited to go out in the first place. Either way, I definitely heard trouble approaching.

I heard a girl's voice coming from the open window“...I got a signal that my trap was pulled. I want to check on it. Hey!”

Uh oh.

“Mom, dad? I'm going outside for a bit. I'll be back before dinner!”

“Hey... I think whoever's trap this is is going to be here soon. Any chance we can get out of here now?” It was too late, Lucas had already gathered up both of our pets and hid behind the largest tree he could. “Lucas? No... get back! Help!”

Coward.

I decided that flailing my body might loosen or disengage the rope some, but instead it just made me look more foolish to the newcomer.

“Who are you?” she asked as she came near me. She was wearing a sturdy, blue jean jacket and black pants. She had a thin tube-like creature on her shoulder. It had two heads, one with a blue dorsal fin, and one with a tuft of red hair. It was a snise, a small creature that likes to live in swamps, ponds, and lakes.

I laughed. “Funny thing. My name is Sen. My brother and I were just passing through, when I stumbled upon your trap.”

She stopped a few feet away from me and folded her arms. She had brown eyes and a short, pointed nose. “That other boy was you brother?”

“Yeah. He ran off when I told him someone was coming,” I looked up at my foot, “and I didn't have much of a choice.”

The girl laughed and unfolded her arms. “Sorry about that. I'll get you down.” She easily scaled the tree to one of the higher branches. She grabbed a rope and was about to pull it over a branch, but she stopped. “Is your brother still around?”

“I presume yes. Why?”

“From here, I can lower you down to the ground, but if I let go, aka help you get out, the entire trap disengages, and I'll have to restart from scratch. If he is nearby and unties you, I can just return this rope to its original position and not have to worry.”

“I'm here. Sorry, but with a trap this intricate, I was worried that you might be some hunters and really angry.”

“Thank you for the compliment, now can you help untie your brother? He's not as light when I have no support.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Lucas said as he walked over to me. I didn't realized that I had already been lowered some. I could feel some leaves just barely tickling the top of my head. Lucas grabbed hold of the rope that had closed around my ankle and pulled it as apart as he could. “That's it, Sen. The rest is up to you.”

I didn't have much wiggle room, but I had enough. I moved my foot left and right, as I struggled to get it into an appropriate position. I grabbed hold of my brother's thighs before sliding my foot free from the trap. My foot and boy slumped from its prison, but I kept my head from hitting the ground.

“Great. Now if you bring it down to ground level with some slack, I'll be able to reset it with ease.”

“Done,” Lucas said as I picked myself up from the ground.

“Thanks! Uh, what's your name?”

“Emily.”

“I'm Lucas.”

“Nice to meet you both. How old are you?”

“I'm twenty-two, and Sen is eighteen.”

“I'm eighteen too, but I'm almost nineteen.” Emily was on her way down to the ground to join us. “So where were you two off to?”

“We were heading to the beach. One that the others don't usually go to. We like to play there when we get the chance,” I responded.

“What kind of pets do you have?”

“We don't really know.”

“You haven't been here long?”

“We have, it's just these are new.”

“To us,” my brother interjected. “They are new to us.”

“You're going out to figure out what they can do, huh? Can I tag along? It sounds like fun.”

“Yeah.”

“I dunno, we don't know anything about these creatures.”

It finally dawned on me why Lucas was being even slightly defensive. “Really, Lucas?”

“Sen.”

“There's no way.”

“Sen, the circumstances fit.”

I glared at Lucas, and he glared back. I knew that he was techincally right, but I didn't want him to be right. I didn't think this was the case. Sure this girl came out of nowhere and did set a trap, but it was just us being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn't out to get us. Plus, I wanted to meet someone else my own age. There are only three other kids around my age in Vujade, adding another one doesn't hurt.

Plus, she was a girl. The only other girl was a few years older than my brother, and not interested in anyone. Emily looked nice. She had wavy brown hair that reached a few inches below her neck, but it was pulled back into a ponytail. She had pale skin, and excellent taste in footwear, and her brown eyes were fairly light, like the color of tree bark.

Oh no. Did I just compare her eyes to tree bark? Why not honey? Well, if they looked like honey, I would've compared them to honey. Okay, potatoes? Is that any better? Really? Potatoes and tree bark? Might as well throw in some meat and make a stew. Oh great, that actually works too. Now, I'm going to think of nothing but food when I look at her eyes. The first girl my age, and I'm comparing her to food.

“Is there something wrong?” I shook my thoughts out of my head and returned to the current situation. Food comparisons aside, I wasn't going to let my brother take this away from me.

“No, you can come with us. We like to pretend we're better than we are, but we're brand new at this.”

“Sen.”

“It's okay. I won't judge. You guys don't even have a hexili between the two of you, so I don't expect you to be able to do much.”

My brother laughed under his breath. A hexili is a farily small device, it could be a bracelet, a tablet, a necklace, or anything else that can fit six pebble-sized stones. Our heptili was actually a belt. It helped keep the design hidden from most others, and was part of the sales pitch my father used to try to get people excited for the newest model.

Emily had a bracelet that she adjusted as she said that. It was on her left hand, and it looked rather valuable. It was probably an heirloom from her parents. It looked overly elegant for her apparel. I had no idea what I was talking about, but I was glad to be able to focus on something other than the situation at hand.

To try and ease her into a friendship, I decided to simply imply that she was coming along with us, forcing my brother to either stand down or be the bad guy. “Where did you get the snise from?” I asked as I gestured to her shoulder.

She smiled a bit and looked down at the two-heads peering up from her shoulder. They both sqeaked in response and nuzzled her chin. “I found snise on the east shore of Millios. We lived in Yorr, before deciding to leave.”

Seeing as my brother wasn't interrupting any more, I started to walk down the path. The light furry creature followed behind me with several leaves caught in its mane. “Why did you leave?” I glanced over my shoulder and found that Lucas was brooding behind us. He was following slowly. I could tell he was calculating the risk of inviting a stranger from the mainland.

“We couldn't handle all the pressure of the Vikings. They have been causing trouble for a while in the mainland, but lately they've been getting more bold in their ambitions.”

“Vikings?”

“They are a group of thugs. They steal supplies from towns and cities all over. They use the animals to help either by creating distractions and as muscle.”

“Wow, they sound like the Hematites.”

“The Vikings are worse than the Hematites. They already have everything they need to maintain their name in this world. The Vikings are trying to get situated. They are more ambitious, because they have more to lose if they fail. The Hematites are bad, but they're just looking to capitalize.”

“Just looking to capitalize?” I heard my brother ask from behind us. “They are criminals, and if they continue to capitalize they very much will own the entire world. They will control the very flow of the economy, and who can or cannot get anything! How is that not bad?”

“I never said they weren't evil,” Emily defended, “I said that we didn't move because of them. The Vikings were the main reason we moved. There's no real influence from any of the gangs here in Kajili. That's both a plus and a minus for living so rurally.”

“Tell me about it. It's not a big number, but what friends you have are very close-knit. Each town is essentially your family.”

“Yup. And that's why I'm glad there are some people my age. I was worried at first. So where did you guys find these? Do you know what they are?”

My brother answered first. He had more time to think of what to call these than I did. “This is a nocx, I call it Nocturne.”

I looke at mine. I didn't have much time to think, but it was fluffy. I quickly pieced together a word that rhymed with that. “This furball is a spruf. I call it Gremlin. He likes to have a good time.”

“They are adorable, I'll give you two that much. Snise is called Hydra. Not creative, I know, but intimidating. I used to have others, but they were stolen.”

“Stolen?”

“Yeah.”

“So you moved because of that, didn't you?”

“Yup. Vikings stole my hexili, and all my pets. It's not that I had many, I only had two, but they were still my pets. It was devastating. My parents got me another one from Canariot just before we ferried over here.”

“You don't have to be. I'm just glad that I have Hydra left. It was a blessing not to lose everything.”

“You were right to come here then. Nothing like that happens here, and it's still on the coast. Look at this,” I said as we cleared out of the trees. A large beach greeted us, and a sun was slowly setting in the sky over the horizon. It would be maybe another hour before it set, but it was starting to becomes that beautiful twilight time, where the sky turns orange.

Far away from us was the rise of a bluff, but we never went that far. We stayed in this beach area and would play with whatever animals our father would happen to find. The beach provided a calming background noise, while also an enjoyable place to simply run around with the animals. Occasionally as well, some more gelatinous monsters, Schul, would drift onto the shore and give us some practice discovering our pets capabilities.

This was the main reason we came to this beach instead of the one at home. If we showed any interest in battling, others would be afraid or probably report us to the parents. We weren't in the military, and the only other people who used the animals to fight were with criminal organizations. We found this out very quickly and hid here in response.

“It's so beautiful here,” Emily said as she ran up to the water's edge. Hydra wailed excitedly and lunged into the ocean. Emily quickly scooped it up and said, “No no. Not here. Let me get something set up for you.” She started to dig a trench, and Lucas pulled me aside.

“What were you thinking, Sen? We have no idea if she's trustworthy. And you heard what she said about the Hematites.”

“Lucas, I think you're overreacting.”

“I think you're underreacting. We need to lay low and not reveal who we are to her. If she is a scout, we'll be in trouble or worse.”

“If she is a scout, then she already knows who we are, and we probably wouldn't have made it this far.”

“She would want you to think that, so we would let our guard down. We haven't revealed any new technological advances, so she could be waiting until we do. Why steal anything, when you can wait and steal the best thing?”

“She described the Hematites perfectly, Sen.”

“How would you describe them?” I countered. “The same way? Are you a scout?”

“We'll talk about this later. Don't reveal too much. It could mean life or death. Seriously, Sen.”

“Fine,” I said as I pushed his hand off my shoulder. “Prick,” I mumbled when he turned his back.

“Mumbleman,” he responded.

“Jerk.”

“Butt.”

“Loser.”

“Slowpoke.”

“Smarty pants.”

“Are you really using that as an insult? Do I win?” he laughed.

“Shut up!” I said as we both burst out laughing.

Emily looked up with her face full of hair. She brushed it out of her eyes and beckoned over to us. “Come on, have some fun already!”

“We are,” I shouted back. I patted my brother on the shoulder. “I'll be a little more careful, if you be a little more open.”

“Deal.”

We walked over to Emily's series of trenches. They were further back from the waves of the ocean, but that was the point. Snise, in its infantile stages, is meant to live in ponds and streams. It's not a very good swimmer, and mostly drifts lazily along the surface. When it grows older, it becomes a much better swimmer and only rarely comes onto land. Also, it has two appendages that...

We laughed. Nocturne, as my brother called him, was sniffing at snise and its flooded trenches. It put his nose into the waterm and then he pulled his face out and shook it violently. He stuck his paw in the water, and a soft sizzling sound was heard. Hydra yelped and squirmed its way out of the trenches.

“Oh Hydra, a little bit of static won't hurt you.” Hydra growled its disapproval; it waited for Nocturne to leave before returning to its trenches. Nocturne headed over to the incoming waves and stood in the edge of the water. He held his head up high and let the breeze fly through his fur. He suddenly leapt back and began to growl at the incoming waves.

“What's going on, Nocturne?” He continued to growl, and he bared his teeth. “Must be a schul nearby. What do you think, Sen? Should we give it a show?”

“It's wild. Do you think that's a good idea?”

“It's a schul. At the worst we'll push it back out to sea.”

“Nah. It could be dangerous for them. Sure he has electricity, but he doesn't even know what a schul can do.”

“You're right. Let's get going before trouble starts. Nocturne! Let's go home.” Nocturne turned his head, but that's when the schul struck. It wrapped a tentacle around Nocturne's front leg and began to pull him into the sea. Nocturne held his ground, and the schul slowly pulled itself towards the shore instead. The gelatinous blue body rose up above the surface, threatening to engulf Nocturne. “No! Nocturne, get out of there!”

Nocturned growled, and bit into the tentacle. A flurry of electricity could be seen surging through the tentacle and the schul's body as well. It convulsed and released Nocturne. “Interesting. It can channel the electricity through its mouth as well. That means that it most likely produces electricity itself, rather than simply holding a charge in its fur.”

I sat up and held Gremlin close to my body; Emily picked up Hydra and put it back on her shoulder. “That could've been worse though, let's go Lucas.”

Lucas beckoned for Nocturne and turned around. “Yeah.” He grinned at me as he approached. “At least we learned something about it.”

We lookd over the horizon as the sun began to set behind it. The strange schul could be easily identified as its blue form drifted in the now orange waves. “Do you two come here often? This visit was too short.”

“Not often, but enough. You can tag along anytime you'd like, Emily,” I said.

“Thanks,” she replied. We started to push our way through the forest on the pathway home. We talked about school, and what our pets would grow up to be like. We had a lot in common. We both moved because of mainland gangs, we were both the same age and in the same class, and we were both enjoyed the same music. I was surprised that someone else my age liked Rongo. That was a band my parents liked when they were young.

When we found our way back to Emily's house, she walked up to her door and turned to wave goodbye, but she gasped and pointed over our shoulders instead. We turned and saw that there was a house on fire, our house. I immediately ran off towards home. “Sen, Sen! No!” my brother called after me. I needed to see if Dad was okay.

Lucas tackled me from behind and pinned me to the ground. “Sen, you can't go there. If Dad is okay, then he's okay. If he isn't, what are you going to do about it?” I cried and struggled to get Lucas off. He was sitting on me, and he held my shoulders down. I looked up when I heard an explosion, and I saw three figures pushing another figure away from the house. Even from this distance, I could see the colors on their clothes. They were Hematites.

“Lucas, we can take them!” I struggled to get up. “That's him! Let's help him.”

Lucas shook his head, and said, “No, Sen. It's too late. We need to go.”

“There's only three of them.”

“We only see three of them.”

“Lucas, are you really going to let them do this?”

“What are we going to do? We'll get caught, not be abel to do anything, and then our family ends here. No children, no grnadchildren.”

“You don't know that they will kill him or us.”

“Don't we?”

“Please?”

“Sen, I'm sorry, but we can't. What would Dad do, if we were there anyways? He would tell us to run away. That's the same thing he told us before,” he picked me up from the ground and guided me along the west road away from town, “and that's exactly what we're going to do.”

“You don't even want to try?” I asked.

“No, we need to stay safe. Their is a transport station about a mile west of here, I have some spare change, let's go.” I turned my head, but Lucas turned me away. “Don't look, Sen.” I heard a gunshot, and footsteps rapidly approaching us.

“Hey, can I come with you two? My parents left a note saying that I should meet them at Avacor.”

Lucas mumbled some response, and I couldn't speak. We hurried along the road and tried to stay towards the woods. There wasn't any traffic tonight, which was odd. This was the most popular road into Vujade. Most of the adults in town worked in Delnap, the next town over. They either knew not to come home, or something was wrong on the entire island.

“Lucas, something is wrong.”

“I know, Sen. Where is everybody? Vujade might not be the only town that was attacked.”

“You think there were others?”

“At least Delnap. Most of the adults work there. Why wouldn't they be coming home about now?”

“Don't you think they would know that Vujade was attacked?”

“Don't you think Vujade would be attacked last?”

“Avacor would've been first then,” Emily worried.

“It's merely speculation, but it's highly likely.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We're getting tickets from the transport station, and we're going to split up.”

“Why are we going to split up?” I asked.

“That way, if they catch one of us, they don't catch both of us. Emily, do you know how to get to Avacor from here?”

“I think so. Take a train to Asperthe, and then go along the east coast?”

“That's the long way. Take a ferry south to Bellington instead. Yes, you have to go through Knuckle Town first, but you'll be on a road so it will be faster.”

“Okay.”

“Sen, you take the ferry south and go with Emily. I'll take a train north. We meet back in Avacor and take a ferry to the mainland from there. Do you understand?”

“I do. Do we really need to split up?”

“It's the safest way right now. They could be anywhere, and you know that they are looking for us.”

“Why are they looking for you? Was that your house on fire?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you?”

“I don't feel comfortable answering that right now. If you are a friend, that will show in time. If you aren't, then I don't want someone else to know what we're doing or where we're going.”

“You think I'm part of this?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Well, then, what did you say? What's wrong with me? You have been trying to avoid me before we even met!”

“Listen, if you're a friend, then act like a friend.” Lucas growled softly. I couldn't really hear it, but I felt it through this skin. “Let's not argue about this here. We're all in danger. Sen, let's meet up in Avacor. Emily, if you'd like you can meet with us as well.”

Emily seemed calmer as she replied, “I'll probably be with my parents then, unless they already went to the mainland.”

“That's fine. If you've found them, you've found them. Sen,” Lucas shook me gently, “do you understand?”

“Why are you arguing with her, Lucas?”

“What?”

“Why are you arguing with her? We have nothing left to lose. Why are you distancing yourself from a potential friend?”

“Hmph,” Lucas turned to Emily, “I have nothing against you, Emily, but if you haven't guessed by now, we've been hurt before. I'm just trying to stop it from happening yet again.”

“I can see that.”

“I understand if you still don't like me, but we need friends now more than ever. Be a friend for Sen at the very least. He needs it.”

“I want it too.”

“You don't have to worry about me. I'm just as frightened as you two.”

I stood on my own, and my brother let go of my shoulder. I wiped my face on my shoulder, and I tried my best to stop the tears from falling. The tears wouldn't stop; they squeezed their way through anyways. I looked behind me. The sun was finally set behind the horizon behind us, and the land was darker, but the sky was still a murky red color.

I looked forwards again. The sky turned from a murky red to a slightly-blue yellow, to a dark blue. It eventually faded into black, but that part of the sky was obscured by a mountain in the center of Kajil Island. We were walking towards a future, that was no longer planned. We were walking into the darkness. It was a feeling that I was uncomfortable with.

“Sen, take this,” Lucas tapped me on the shoulder with a...

There weren't too many others on the ferry this late at night. There was a dozen people at most. I was leaning on the bow railing letting the wind blow through my hair. Emily was standing on my left, and she was trying to console me. Unfortuneately, patting me on the back was a bit less than I needed for, having my father murdered and my home destroyed. I don't know what level of consolation you need to fix that.

It was also sad, because we weren't talking. We hadn't said much since we parted ways with my brother. Emily was talkative up until we found the dead clerk at the transfer station. Something about the Hematites using the animals to attack upset her. It did give me some time to myself to reflect on current events.

I am never going to be able to see Dad again. He is dead. Well, that sums up the current events pretty nicely. I'm glad I took the time to realize them to their fullest extent. Well that's depressing. What else is there to feel but depressed? But what should I feel depressed about; that my father died, or that I'm ruining some quality time with Emily? Can I seriously be thinking about girls right now?

What's wrong with that? I'm a man, I'm old enough, I should have someone whom I find fit for a spouse. Or I should find a way to search for someone who is fit for a spouse. Either way, it's been on my mind long before this happened, so it's only natural that it persists despite the current setting. … No? Is it natural? I think so. I don't know. I've never been the most sociable person to begin with; maybe it's improper, and I just don't care?

I couldn't believe that I was having this conversation with myself. My father was dead. I should at least give him some passing thoughts. Nothing said that I couldn't share those passing thoughts with Emily.

Perfect! I can do both at the same time. Efficiency at its finest!

“I miss him already,” I muttered to start our conversation.

“Who? Your father, or your brother?”

I shrugged. “Both.”

“You won't have to worry about your brother, Sen. He's a smart man; he got us this far.”

“No, you're right. I'm just worried about the situation. I guess, it's my father I miss the most. I know I'm not going to be able to see him again.”

Emily gave me a gentle squeeze. “When you lose something, it's best to remember it. Why don't you tell me some about him?”

I didn't exactly plan this part. I wasn't trying to scam her; I was sincerely upset. I dug deep into my mind of memories to reminisce properly.

“You actually probably know him, you know of him at least. Dr. Lucas Vin Wilson. He created the original hexili. He designed them.”

“You're father was the Dr. Wilson?”

“Yup. He was a brilliant inventor, but we were approached by the Hematites who wanted his designs. He didn't want the hexili to become commonplace, so he denied their offer. They tried ... persuading him. He finally gave them what they wanted, but then he fled. It's been ten years.”

“What did they do?”

“They... killed my mother.” Emily gave me another hug. “It was an accident, which made it worse on my father. Sure, they took her, but they were only holding her hostage.”

I can't believe I actually said “only holding her hostage” as an actual part of a sentence.

“But that was just until my father gave up the designs. But something went wrong, and my mother died shortly after the exchange happened. I don't remember much, I was only eight, and it was so sudden. One day my mother was missing, the next day, my mother was dead. I only remember Dad becoming depressed about the whole ordeal. He trashed his lab.”

“I'm sorry to hear that Sen.”

“But he recovered very well. I don't know how or why. We moved within a week, and came to Kajil Island. After that he became more of an explorer. He went spelunking and was discovering new species. He was always excited to discover new animals. That's actually what this is,” I said tapping my belt. “We were actually taking two of his newest discoveries for testing.”

“Nobody has ever seen them before?”

“No. They were found deep within a cavern he discovered on the mainland. There was a third, but we left it at the lab, and the Hematites probably have it now.”

“How did the Hematites find you? What do they want with you?”

“My father still does updates every now and then. This last one was big, so the hematites were probably paying attention. That's the reason my brother was suspicious of you. The last update was a few days ago. It was about a new design, or rather an update to the hexili. It's called the heptili.” I tapped my belt and showed her the slots on the right. “Seven slots, not six.”

“So you can have a bond with one extra pet? Most people don't have more than four.”

“Well, it was going to be strictly for military use, thus the updates. He wanted to make sure that the military would be able to quash any trouble with ease. He gave my brother, and I the only two prototypes. Thus we're both being sought after by the hematites. They don't know that there are two of them, but if they find either of us, I expect the worst.”

A large wave rocked the boat, and the intercom spoke up from behind us. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.” We heard some muffled voices, and then someone grunted. A different, more sinister, voice continued. “Nevermind that. Hello everyone, your captain was a bit dull.”

This isn't good.

I turned around.

“It's late, and I would appreciate the earliest possible bedtime, but I have a goal in mind. I'll be brief. We're looking for two young men. They go by the names of Sen and Lucas.”

The captain spoke up again. “Why would they help you? You're just going to kill those boys?”

“Well, we could kill them all, if they don't help us. I feel that I'm being overly generous right now.”

“What if the children aren't here?”

“I have no qualms about killing you anyways.”

Emily grabbed onto arm tightly, and pulled me in close. “What are we going to do?” She whispered.

“I don't know,” I repsonded. If I give myself up, I die. If I run away, they die. How could we fight against this?

“How can you kill them all, its just the three of you. I'm sure more than that of them are protected.”

“Hah! Please. We each have six creatures at our disposal, two of which are circling the ferry now. We can sink the ferry whenever we decide, and we'd still have more than enough to disable anyone who tries to resist. I hope you are all paying attention. My two comrades are scouring the ferry. They should be back shortly, otherwise I might worry. If I start to worry, who knows what I'll do. Give me what I want, and you'll be fine. Tick tock, hand them over!”

“Emily, you need to get away from me. They don't know that we're together.”

“What? Are you kidding?”

“Would you rather die? Especially for a boy you just met?”

“Would you be abandoned when you need help the most?”

She's right you know? So? I'd rather not have any blood on my hands, especially not hers. That would really kill the mood wouldn't it? You're terrible. Is it too soon? No you idiot, it's too late. These monsters already killed the mood. Hmm... you're right.

“Thanks, but for now pretend like you don't know me.”

Emily nodded, and ran off towards the back of the ship. Unfortunately, one of the hematite goons walked in front of her path. He was wearing the typical dark colors, with a maroon accent. She shrieked and he grabbed her shoulders roughly, and looked closely at her face. He looked at me, and grabbed her ponytail with one hand. With the other hand he tapped a communicator on his side. “We found one of them boss, with some girl. It's the younger one.”

“Good. Is he armed? Send my son to detain them. You look for the older brother.”

“Let her go now!” I yelled. The guard chuckled.

“Don't worry about me, Sen. I'm fine.”

I cut her off. Hopefully, this hematite wouldn't pick up on what she was trying to say. “I said, let her go. She had nothing to do with this. She was actually just about to turn me in to you. And this is how you treat her.”

“Yeah, you prick!” Emily went to punch him in the gut, but he grabbed her arm, and twisted it behind her back. They were now both facing me, about twenty feet away from me. “Ow. Ow...”

“You want to try that again, Princess?”

“Kevin! What are you doing? He said detain them, not maim them. We already found what we're looking for.”

Kevin, what this goon was probably called, turned around. He responded, “I was making sure, that they were still here for you, Marcus.”

A young man finally walked into view. He had ruffled blonde hair, and a sharp nose. He was wearing a black shirt and pants, with a maroon cape. “Well, thank you, now go find his brother. He, too, might have company.”

Kevin pushed Emily down to the deck hard, and saluted Marcus, “Yes, sir,” before going away. Emily cried in...

Moksu, against Venom's wishes, pulled again. He pinned Venom's body with his elbow, and used his free hand to protect himself from Venom's face. Venom was hissing and spraying a constant stream of acid from its mouth. Moksu was waving his hand trying to clear his vision. Teh longer he waited, the better for Venom.

Come on. A little bit longer.

Marcus' father stood anxiously waiting. He was chuckling wickedly, he thought it was over. He knew that if Venom died, we would be left defenseless. I saw Moksu's hand waver momentarily, and decided that he had had enough. “Venom! Headbutt it! It's weakened considerably!”

“Not enough boy!” Marcus's father screamed. “Finish it!”

Venom closed its mouth and swung its head like a mace at Moksu. Moksu ducked his head down, but wrapped his arm around Venom's neck. Venom wriggled violently, and as if by a miracle, Moksu let go. His body had been deprived of air for too long. His eyes closed, and Venom's body was released from his grasp, but Venom was keeping a tight hold around his body. I cheered, but Marcus' father roared!

He tapped his bracelet and Moksu faded from few. Venom took this time to spray acid over its body. The wounds from Moksu's exoskelton scabbed over almost instantly, but the damage was apparent. Venom slithered over to me and turned its face towards our foes. Marcus was dumbstruck, but his father was laughing.

“Hehehehhahahahah! You think you can defeat me so easily? HAH! I didn't think that I would have such difficulty against the child, but you have gained favor of anotehr it seems. It seems that I should have to turn the tide in my favor.” He hobbled over to a cabin door and threw it open. Marcus followed him, and stood close behind him. He muttered something under his breath, probably into his communicator, and the ferry began to shake.

A large serpentine monster, the same one that Phillip had used earlier, rose from the ocean on our left. Meanwhile, a large black cloud appeared a short distance in front of Marcus and his father. The blue monster roared tremendously, and grabbed hold of the ferry's railing. It pulled straight up. Venom, Emily and I grabbed hold of the railing behind us to prevent us from falling overboard.

The ship was on its side and completely out of the water. Venom helped Emily and I climb onto the railings for better support. Marcus and his father were standing on the open door as if it were commonplace. The thick black cloud was floating in the air unaffected by the altered condition of the boat. Venom turned and sprayed some acid at the cloud, but it appeared unaffected.

“Hahah! Sen, I'll let you choose your fate. I let Tsunami smash the ferry into oblivion, or I kill you with Orion.”

“Are you insane? You're on the ferry as well! We'll both be lost to sea.”

Marcus' father stopped laughing. “NO! No! I am NOT crazy! You have no idea what I'm working towards! Now choose!”

I looked at my options all around me. Venom wouldn't be able to battle against this cloud as far as I could tell. We were too far from shore to easily swim back, and especially not with all the monsters potentially swimming about. I was at a loss.

What can I do? Nothing wins here? Either we die now, or we die as we are caught defenseless in the ocean. I don't even know if Venom can swim. Venom! Where is Phillip? Where are the others that would be on the ferry? The ferry is on its side, surely someone would've fallen overbaord, but there is nobody in the ocean. Phillip must have safely evacuated the others. That means he must be nearby, and he does have a water serpent of his own.

I tapped Venom on its back, and it turned its head in my direction. “Unless you can swim,” I said, “Find Phillip and get his help. We'll be down there.” Venom nodded and turned back to the ominous cloud. “For now, lunge straight at them to give us a cover. I presume you'll go through the cloud and they will have to dodge you somehow. Are you ready Emily?”

“You bet.”

Emily and I rolled over the edge of the railings and slid down what was now the edge of the ferry. A loud and deafening crack was heard above us, and a bright light briefly illuminated the night sky. Our temporary slide dumped us into the chill of the ocean, so I closed my eyes and plugged my nose. Once the initial rush of cold was over, I flailed my arms madly to get to the surface.

I hadn't sunk as far as I had imagined, and was greeted with air colder than the ocean itself. I shook the water from my face and looked around for Emily. She was next to me doing the same thing. The opposing serpent dropped the ferry, and the large metal ship was freefalling over us. Suddenly, a flash of blue charged besides us and we were greeted by Phillip atop his wave-riding serpent.

“Hold your breath!” he shouted as his serpent opened its mouth and swallowed us in a single bite. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear a lot of crashing around us. It was a tight fit for both of us to be in the serpent's mouth. That ended up being a good thing, because with all the movement we could feel, we would have been thrown around relentlessly.

The inside of its mouth was drier than I anticipated, but it was stickier as well. I felt the outlines of its dangerous fangs just grazing my left leg. Its tongue was stiff, but smooth. Before I could gather any further information about the inside of this serpent's mouth, it was open.

I felt a scaly ground beneath my feet, as the serpent deposited us onto its back. The scene was much calmer than it had been a moment ago, but the damage had been done. The ferry was drifitng over the waves as pieces, and the Hematites were nowhere to be seen. Phillip scooted over to check on us. “Are you two okay?”

I looked down at myself. No scratches, no bruises, just wet clothes. I nodded to Phillip. “I'm fine,” Emily mirrored. “What happened to the Hematites?”

“We got into a fight, obviously, when it was apparent that they were going to lose, he brought out another creature, and they all vanished.”

“Vanished?”

“Yup. They probably went back to base to lick their wounds, but the important part is that you and everyone else is safe.”

“Everyone?” I inquired.

“Of course. The captain is a little worse off than the others, but everyone will make. You two did well tonight.”

“Thanks for your assistance, Phillip,” I said offering him my hand.

He accepted it and responded, “And Venom thanked you, for yours.” I smiled. One day, I might know what its like to have a bond like that with Gremlin, or with others. But right now, I needed to keep myself safe. The Hematites had committed a great evil, and I would make them pay for that. Someday, but not today. Phillip interrupted my train of thought. “Alright, let's get you two back to shore.”

The trip back to shore was fairly dull in comparison. Yes, it was my first time riding the waves on the top of an animal, but the battle of last night couldn't be compared to so easily. Emily and I huddled closely on the serpents back afraid to fall off. The trip was short, and when we got back to shore, we found it barren except for footprints leading away from the beach.

“They must have been spooked. Come with me, I know the way back to Conchcove. From there, we'll take the long way to Avacor.” Phillip turned to his faithful serpent and tapped his bracelet. “Thank you Azure. You've been an incredible help tonight.” Azure nodded as it faded from view. “You two stick with me, and I'll get you there in one piece.”

“Thank you Phillip,” Emily and I said in unision. He pulled out a flashlight from one of his many pockets and guided us over a broken shore. A combination of rocks and dunes led our way to Conchcove. Conchcove was set high in the side of the only mountain in Kajil. In the darkness we couldn't see the mountain, but we could see the Conchcove lighthouse shining as a beacon for others.

Conchcove was very close distance-wise, but when you add in the climb and what the safest path to travel was, it became an hour-long journey. Having only one flashlight didn't make our climb any easier, but we managed it okay. Not having any danger to worry about definitely helped.

When we approached the city gates, a loud voice echoed down to us. “Friend or foe?”

“Companion!” Phillip responded.

We heard a low cackle before the steel gates opened. A frail-looking man welcomed us in with a large grin on his face. “Ah, Phillip. It's good to see you again. And you've brought company; survivors no doubt?”

“No doubt.”

“Good. I want you out of my city now,” the frail man held his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. The light at the lighthouse quickly evaporated and left us all in darkness.

“Hold, Ephraim. These are for you,” Phillip said as he reach into his pocket. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it at Ephraim's hands and he put several crystrals there. Ephraim wrapped his fingers around them and shook his fist. “Survivors and defenders.”

“I like you more everyday. You still need to leave.”

“I know. Sen, Emily, follow me.”

“Wait,” I...

We followed Phillip through the city and found that it was entirely abandoned. It wasn't simply that everyone was sleeping, and the lights were off; everyone was gone. Phillip told us that Ephraim refused to leave and determined to protect Conchcove from any harm. Phillip and others had given him control of numerous creatures in order to defend it. Phillip also mentioned that it was because Ephraim was a little crazy.

“It takes more than stubbornness to pull a stunt like this one, and on such a grand scale. He refutes everyone who disagrees with him, and he promptly kicks them out.”

“He doesn't want any help at all?” I asked.

“He, deep down, realizes that it is a suicide mission. He doesn't wish that task on anybody. That aside, he's still too stubborn to move. Apparently, he was born here, he has never left here, and he claims he will die here. I helped collect and donate as many animals as I could, but now it's time for us to get off of the island. That's why wer're going to Avacor.”

“How are we going to get there again? You have a creature that can't fly...”

“It can't fly, but it can fly enough to get us there.”

“Yeah, do you know how discomforting that is?”

“You're free to climb down the mountain if you are uncomfortable.”

“We're fine. If you think it will work, we'll go with you,” Emily interrupted.

We walked up to the enormous wall of Conchcove, and ascended the staircase to the top. Once we were at the top, Phillip tapped his bracelet. A large creature, about twice his size, appeared next to him. It had two sets of arms, and beween the arms was leathery folds of skin. At the end of each arm was a claw with three long talons. It had a bulky tail with numerous barbs at the end.

It's head was fairly round, and it had two large and bulbous eyes. They were blacker than the night and almost emanated darkness. Phillip rubbed its wing with his hand and his pet cooed. Phillip finally said, “This, bad girl, is Fae. She has enough in order to soar, but she can't fly. I'll ride in her tail, and she'll hold you two in her claws.” Fae nodded as he spoke, her large ears flicked tirelessly.

She jumped lightly and swung her tail under her. She stretched out her arms and revealed an enormous wing span. Phillip climbed over the barbs, and sat down on Fae's tail. Fae hunched over and offered her lower claws to Emily and me. We walked over and she wrapped each of us in one of her claws. She had a tight grip, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Phillip shifted in his seat and wrapped his arms around her tail behind him. He interwove his fingers, locking his arms in place.

“Getting started is the roughest part of the trip. Once we get going, the rest of the jourey will be a breeze. Are you all ready?”

“Yup,” Emily said.

“I'm ready,” I responded.

“Alright. Let's fly Fae,” Phillip said, and Fae clicked her understanding. She waddled over to the edge of the wall, and she slowly let her tail down over the edge. She let it dangle for a bit to let Phillip readjust himself . “I'm good Fae. Whenever you're ready.” Fae brought her arms close to her body, and leaned her head down.

She clicked several times while pointing her head at various points of the cliff. She moved her body to match her head and then clicked rapidly in this direction. “Get ready. Try not to scream,” Phillip said and then laughed. I clenched my mouth as shut as I could in preparation for my first flight.

Fae stopped clicking and leaned forawrd over the edge. When gravity began to take over her body, she pushed off the wall and extended her arms. The wind filled the skin between them, and she was forced to flap her arms some in order to balance and steer. Her clicking persisted rapidly this entire time.

My stomach was not appreciating all the jostling, but I kept my mouth closed. As Phillip promised, less than a minute into our flight, Fae found the proper balance and steadied herself. Able to control my stomach, I let my entire body relax. The wind blew gently in my face and whipped my hair back. Fae continued clicking periodically; it was rhythmic and purposedul.

Soaring during the night was exhilerating. I could see all the lights on the mainland in the distance; it looked so peaceful and welcoming. They blurred together due to distance, but that added to their charm. I could see the moon's relfection in the ocean. I could see the tips of the tree as they caught the moon's light. But most importantly, we could see Avacor, our destination.

Avacor was incredibly well-lit compared to the rest of Kajil that we could see. We could only see the east coast of Kajil, because that's the side of the mountain that we were on. Mount Kajili was in the center of Kajil, and effectively turned it into a ring of liveable locations. Right now, every thing was dark on Kajil except for Avacor.

“If Fae and the winds work well tonight, we should be able to make it into Avacor. If there is a rogue breeze or anything similar, we might land a short distance away.” Phillip paused to get a full breath. “I've done this dozens of times; in most scenarios I make it into the city.”

“We have three people tnoight, not just one,” I said loudly.

“I know. That's why I'm pointing out that we might not make it... If it was just me, we'd make it for certain. With two people, we've only missed once. With three people it's trickier, but at night time should be fine.”

Phillip seemed to know what he was doing. He seemed to have done this many times before; he must have been in the military, or retired military. They perform many stunts like this in order to get the drop on groups like the Hematites and the Vikings. They also have really pets to help them performs such amazing feats. I have to say that the trick he pulled with Azure was amazing. I wouldn't have thought of that, and it must have taken quite a lot of training to be able to do it so quickly.

I wondered what other pets Phillip might have. We knew three of them, and he probably had six with which to defend himself an others. I would think that he would have some sort of flying beast, but given our current scenario, that seemed unlikely. I couldn't argue though, once you're up, the down part is easy. This must have been much more comfortable than some of the enormous beasts that have been known to take flight.

As we neared Avacor, the bright city turned into bright lights. Eventually, those bright lights turned into buildings or other shapes. And soon we were hovering a few hundred feet over the Avacor garden. Fae circled the garden easily as it was preparing to land. We were slowly descending into Avacor. A small group of military personell had gathered to watch us land.

When Fae finally drifted down to the ground, Phillip leapt from her tail letting her swing it around and alleviate some of the impact of the landing. She brought her arms down and released us on the ground. My feet planted firmly to the earth, and I knew that I was safe again. I turned around and thanked Fae for the easy flight.

Phillip tapped his bracelet and Fae vanished from sight. Phillip was having a few words with the guardians, the military police force, and he was gesturing over towards us. The guard nodded and ran over to us, and he let his gun rest calmly at his side.

“Hello there. I'm officer Bradley. It seems that you two have had quite the night.”

Emily nodded. “Yup.”

“We're looking for out families,” I pointed out. “Her parents, and my brother. Do you know where we could look?”

Officer Bradley motioned for us to follow him. “I'll take you to the designated safe house. If you were separated from anyone, they will have been brought there. It's just by the dock. We've been ferrying people to the mainland all night. If anyone was missing family or friends, we asked them to temporarily stay behind.”

Emily and I smiled at each other and eagerly followed this officer. He led us to a large blue warehouse next to the dock. The doors were opened wide, and dozens of people could be seen inside. We walked in with our heads held high. It wasn't long before Emily found her parents.

“Mom! Dad!” she shouted as she jumped up to see them through the crowd. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to them. They embraced warmly as I stood by awkwardly looking for my brother.

“Oh honey, we're glad you're okay,” her mom said.

“Me too,” Emily replied. She pushed away from her parents and brought their attention to me; I didn't know what to do. “This is my friend, Sen. He and his brother helped me get here.”

Her father extended his hand to me and said, “Thank you, Sen. Thank you for keeping our daughter safe.” I smiled as we shook hands firmly. Emily's mother was crying, and she simply squeled a little and hugged me as well.

Okay there. Everything is fine now. You don't need to be crying, this is a happy occasion. For you, what about Lucas? Where is he?

“Emily, they just started loading the next ferry to Canariot. We...

I awoke to a cacaphony of screams. The warehouse was in turmoil. There were less than two dozen peole left, and they were all running for the exit. As I came to, I realized the my seat was vibrating slightly, but it faded after a few seconds.

Somthing is wrong. Are we under attack? What about Lucas; did he make it safely here? I don't see him, nor do I think he would delay in waking me. He either didn't see me, or isn't here yet. Niether option is promising at the moment.

The screaming in the warehouse died down as the last survivors left. I took that as my cue to move as well. I jumped up from my seat, my pile of snacks fell onto the floor, and I ran to the exit. Unlike a majority of the others, I was quiet. I wasn't calm, but I was scraming obnoxiously either.

I poked my head outside the warehouse and saw that the ferry was quickly being flooded by people. It wasn't bright out, but it was bright enough to see things again compared to the night. In the other direction, I could see some officers running around shouting commands. I saw some creatures flying around shooting various projectiles at their targets.

I saw two large creatures with bulbous bodies and numerous legs standing in front of the soldiers. These two creatures had a very sturdy exoskeleton that could interlock together and form a barrier. Thei back ends, the ends I saw, were a murky green with slightly red and brown hair. It was theorized that their hair was made of iron, and that when they grew together, they formed the difficult to penetrate exoskelton/

Whatever the reason, it was highly regarded as one of the most difficult creatures to get past. The military used them very regularly to help lengthen battles and provide cover and time to strategize. As much as I wanted to help, I knew that I was almost useless at this time. I turned and followed the crowd to the ferry. As I was about to board the ferry, I had a moment of realization.

I haven't found Lucas yet.

I turned from the ferry to search the city, but a hand grabbed onto my arm. It was an officer on the ferry. “Where are you going?”

“I'm looking for my brother.”

“He's on the ferry.”

“You don't know who I'm looking for.”

The officer rolled his eyes. “Of course not, but he's on the ferry.”

“No he's not, otherwise he would've been with me now. I'm going to look for him.”

“Listen kid, do you have anything to protect yourself with?” I looked down sheepishly. “Do you have any alternate method of evacuation?”

I was starting to get angry. It wasn't because he was right, it was because I didn't want him to be right. “Do you have any family back there?”

“No I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you throw your life away. It's a ferry ride to Canariot. If you really want to look for him, look for him there. It will be much better defended, and you can look as long as you please. If anyone is coming off the island, they're going through Canariot. If you missed each other, he will be there.”

“I was waiting for him, he was on the train to Bellington.”

“The Bellington survivors? They came and went about two hours ago. There were only maybe five people in that group. If one of them was your brother, he'd be in Canariot.”

“Why wouldn't he have come and found me?”

“We started rushing the ferry at that point. We had heard word that the hematites were threatening another attack so you filled the ferry as much as possible and sent it away. The Bellington survivors arrived at the same time and we just walked them on. Trust me, you'll be wasting your time looking for him here, look for him at Canariot.”

I turned back to the battle that was slowly unfolding. I wasn't happy with it, but it made sense. I walked onto the ferry and the officer waved it to move on. I found my way to a seat and stared out the window. I saw a team of officers riding on the back of a large shell. The creature's head was submerged underwater; it was probably keeping watch for underwater attacks.

As we drifted away from Kajil, my mind wandered on what I woul do next.

I have no home, and I need to find my brother. I should find Emily too, that would be nice. But what am I supposed to do about a home? I'm sure they have a refuge set aside for us, but that won't do. I don't have any money either, Lucas had all of the money, and it still wasn't that much. Okay, I'll need to find people, and a job. Short, simple, and effective. I like it.

I made a few changes to the plan during the hour-long trip, but it effectively remained the same; I only added specifics. The sun began to surface from behind the horizon, and outlined the city of Canariot. It was an interesting way to see my new home, it lent itself to the imagination of hope for a brighter future. I knew that was only a false hope. You need to work hard for a bright future, something that this image didn't necessarily portray.

During the ferry ride, four officers flew aboard from Kajil. Their mounts were fed snacks and praised before they vanished. Three of the officers helped the fourth limp inside. The ushered him by the seated people and into the sick bay at the front of the ferry. I heard them mutter something about the island being lost, but that the hematites weren't pursuing us. After that, there was nothing exciting until we arrived at Canariot.

The smell was different at Canariot. At Kajil the shoreline smelt of humidity and salt. At Canariot, there was a hint of fruit and other sweet things. The city was bustling with activity despite the time of the morning. Numerous people, probably from the refuge, were waiting for the ferry to dock. Officers were holding as tight of a line as they could against the families eager to reunite with their loved ones.

The ferry docked with a jerk, and people started to file off of it. It was much calmer than the method used to load the ferry, but that was expected. I just wish people could realize that the lack of civility before was, overall, unnecessary. I remained seated until the row in front of me left, and then I stood up. It was then that I realized that I was the last person on the ferry; it was also the reason that I didn't have a seatmate like many others.

I didn't have any belongings to bring with me, so I simply filed along with the rest of the line. I didn't know what I was expecting in Canariot, but I knew my goals. The first of which, in no particualr order, was to find two people, Lucas and Emily. Preferably, I wanted to find Lucas first, but as long as I found someone I'd be happy.

As the crowd fanned out due to families reuniting and going back to the refuge, the line moved along faster. The line wasn't long to begin with, but with each person disembarking so slowly the time dragged on. When I was finally at the railing, most of the crowd was gone. Knowing that I was the last person on the ferry meant that the remaining crowd would be dissapointed, their missing members wouldn't be arriving.

That's not to say that they couldn't arrive later, but they weren't here now. As hope was what has been keeping most of these families going on for the time, having it crushed now would be devastating. Staring at the crowd, amidst the faces and handwaving and yelling, I saw Emily waving a few papers in the air. When our eyes met, I pointed to my left to a less crowded area of the dock and she nodded. I lost her in the crowd again, but I knew where she would be. Now only my brother remained lost.

As my foot landed on solid ground, the voices of the crowd became all to real to me. I did my best to drown them out, but the emotions overcame the apapthy of my thoughts.

“Is there anyone else?”

“Gregory! Gregory?”

“It's so glad to see that you're safe.”

“Why isn't he on the ferry? Doesn't he want to come home?”

“Noooo!”

These all mushed together in my head; I was starting to get a headache. As ignorant as I tried to remain, what that child said struck a nerve with me. “Doesn't he want to come home?” that child, obviously, was unaware of the potentially awful news that awaited her. But what if it applied to me as well? Lucas didn't stop and ask for me. What if he didn't want to?

I shook that idea out of my head as best as I could, and worked my way out of the crowd. I hardly had time to settle into the quieter location, before Emily had charged me with a full-forced hug. It was fortunate that there was a chain railing for me to lean against, otehrwise we both would've ended up in the ocean. Either way, I was glad for some familiarity.

“Sen! I'm glad you made it here safely!”

“I am too. Have you seen Lucas anywhere?”

“I haven't; I'm sorry. I've been looking, I promise, but look what I found instead,” she said as she released me from her grasp and handed me one of the papers she...

Emily dragged me through the refuge to pick up anything they were giving out to the refugees. It wasn't much, just a day of food and some places to work, but it was free. After the give-aways, Emily and I went to the pet store. That is where they sell physiolectric crystals, pecs for short, for family pets. This was my favorite part of the trip.

Animals are supposed to be used for defense by the military only. Without proper military authorization, we weren't going to be able to get more than two, and that was with Emily and I acting as a couple. We even had to sign for, and play with, the baby animals for a bit. We ended up “refusing their offer” to take home a pet knolish. We did consider it, but we felt that getting an animal from the wild would be more benficial to us in the long run.

We then went food shopping, and bought food supplies to our liking. We started by buying me a nice black backpack so Emmily wouldn't have to carry everything. Then, we bought one pot, one spoon and plenty of noodles. While I wasn't a fan of plain noodles, they were cheap, light, and easy to cook. Plus, Emily convinced me that we would be able to find plenty in the wilderness to keep it tasty. I remained unconvinced, but I didn't want to carry too much weight, so I obliged.

When we left the store I set up my bag and we loaded them both up. Vujade was almost directly east from Canariot but two days away. We didn't want to go by the road; we wanted to travel a short ways away to maximize our chances of finding a creture we could recruit. I didn't know how we got the animals to form a bond with us, but Emily said she would teach me when the opportunity presented itself.

I was excited to start this journey with Emily. I was able to see nature in person. I got to do what I've always wanted to do. I was able to explore the world around me. When I came across something new, I tried to approach it the way my father or brother would approach it. Observations and study were fun, but exploration and interaction was where I truly wanted to be.

This journey also provided me with more time to spend with Emily. We talked a lot along the way. We didn't talk much about us or our families; we talked about the nature around us. She mentioned how she liked having the sun high and against her back, I mentioned how I would enjoy it more when it was twilight and less hot. This feeling of enthusiasm only lasted so long though.

“Emily, can we stop here for the night?” I asked. This was the third clearing we passed where I wanted to stop. There was room to spread out Emily's tent and have a fire. A stream was trickling along on our right. We had been traveling for almost half the day, the sun was starting to noticeably lower in the sky

“Sen, the more often we stop, the longer this journey becomes.”

“I understand that, but we also need to find the right places to stop. I understand that it is a bit early, but what if the next good spot isn't for another four hours? We'll be traveling in the dark, in the cold, and with more dangerous creatures than during the day.”

“Don't worry Sen. We'll stop at the next spot for sure.”

“You said that last time?”

“I also thought that it wouldn't be less than half an hour away. I want to try and get another hour of travel in. That way we'll have less to go tomorrow.”

“I just don't like to travel at night in the wild. I'd rather conserve our energy for the daylight.”

“I'll make sure that doesn't happen. Let's go a little further Sen. The last spot was half an hour away, maybe you'll get lucky with this one too.”

I laughed; I doubt I'd ever get lucky like that. I fully planned on holding her at her word too. At the next clearing I'm settling in and getting comfortable regardless of the time. Before too long, we heard some rustling nearby. Emily ignored it, but I paused and listened for it again. Something moved again, and it made a wide arc around us. I tapped Emily on her shoulder to stop her.

“Sen, we haven't seen anything except insects and rodents all day.”

“This is bigger than an insect and faster than a rodent.”

“You're just trying to get me to stop back there aren't you.”

I tapped my heptili and got Gremlin out just in case. He's grown a little since I first got him yesterday. I've been practicing fighting th many insects the inhabit the forest. He scared away a few rodents, but none have stuck around to challenge him. He turned to me with a smile, but started to growl after he sniffed the air.

He turned in the direction of where the rustling noise was heard. A strange creature rolled at us with the speed of a car. Gremlin and I jumped out of the just in time to avoid being rolled over. The creature stopped and turned towards us. It was a small sphere with three eyes on it spaced evenly in a triangular design.

It had five arms that stuck out evenly around its body, and at the end of each of those arms was two big fingers. They were fairly wide and for good reason. Based on everything on this creature's body was spaced, I'd argue that any array of arms/legs would be acceptable The creature could reach up with its arms and touch my face, but that's as high as it could get.

“That's a primis. Sen, that would be perfect for you,” Emily said from the sidelines.

“That would be great, but I don't know how to tame it.”

“Please, that's the easy part. I'll teach you now. Right now, you're goal is to knock it out, or seriously injure it. Don't kill it.”

I pointed at Gremlin. “I don't think that's going to be a problem.”

“Funny, just worry about proving yourself to it. When you can safely approach it with a pec, stop battling and do so. I'll tell you what to do from there. Just protect yourself now.”

I nodded and looked back at this creature in front of me. It was currently staring at Gremlin. It appeared to be sizing it up. It would stare for a couple of seconds, and then rotate onto another pair of legs. Then it would do it all again. My geuss was that because of Gremlin's lack of height, it was trying to determine the best configuration for its eyes.

“Gremlin, are you ready for this?” Gremlin growled in response. “Perfect. Now do what you do best. Charge into it!”

Gremlin ran up to the primis relentlessly, but it simply rolled a few times out of the way. Gremlin turned, and tried again to no avail. Primis was still sizing Gremlin up, slowly cycling through its various eye positions. I didn't want it to succeed first if possible. I didn't want it to have any advantage.

“Gremlin, save your energy. Wait for it to come to you.” Gremlin ran back to me. He paused to growl at the primis on his way back, but it rolled out of the way again. Primis ended up with two eyes on the bottom and one eye on top. He stared at Gremlin for a few seconds, and then flattened all of its arms and fingers. It pushed off with its legs and started to roll towards us. “Get out of there Gremlin!” I yelled as we both jumped aside.

The primis stopped truned around, and oriented itself. Gremlin was staring it down this time. The primis flattened itself again and started to roll. Gremlin jumped aside again, but I was already out of its way. When the primis oriented itself again, it prepared for another roll. “Gremlin, let's work on your footwork. Jump to its blind side, and then into it to knock it over.” Gremlin grunted in understanding.

As the primis rolled, I noted its blind side to be on my right. “Dodge to the right Gremlin. And then take it down.” Gremlin did a quick jump to the side, and jumped at the body of the primis as it rolled by. It toppled over, and Gremlin started to jump on it and kick at its side. Gremlin couldn't do much with being able to run into things. He had no arms, just feet.

The primis grabbed Gremlin and tossed him aside like a doll, and then it righted itself. Already oriented, it prepared for another roll. Gremlin struggled, but managed to roll out of the way in time. He was in no condition to tackle it again. I had Gremlin simply dodging it for now, to see if it did anything else. This cycle continued three more times, before I thought of an idea.

Gremlin was standing next to a large tree. All I needed to do was to trick the primis to roll into it, that could stall it enough for Gremlin to get some speed on it. As the primis prepared for another roll, I said, “Gremlin, tackle it into the tree.” Gremlin looked to its right and saw the tree there. This time, instead of jumping to the primis' blind side, he jumped to the left. He jumped into the primis and it toppled over into the tree.

The noise it made was a sickening, yet satisfying, combination of bark and skin. The primis definitely felt it, because it flung...

...Trust me, it's a slight difference. We're looking for help, not officers so everything is generalized compared to the training me and other officers have gone through.”

We both nodded. He stood up and directed us into the large gymnasium. We walked in and followed him into the center of the room. Meanwhile he talked about what he was looking for. “Here, you need to learn that brute force isn't the only solution. But, when it is the solution, how to capitalize on it. That's my normal speech on my trainees first days. But for you two, again, I just want to see a battle and I'll give you both pointers on things you can practice. Simple; are you ready?”

“Yes sir!” we both said.

“Perfect. This entire gym is your battlefield. You are allowed to use one defender at a time. And though you seem aware of this, no attacking each other. I had this one pair in the last group where their defenders were literally having to jump in front of the other to prevent collateral damage. I don't want a replay of that.”

Emily and I shook hands.

“Good luck, Sen.”

“You too, Emily.”

We parted and went to opposite sides of the gym. I released both Gremlin and Axel from their pecs. Emily released Borris and Hydra. She placed Hydra on her shoulder, and patted Borris on his head. I saw her whispering something to him, and he roared loudly. I decided to give my team a pep talk too.

“Alright you two. I know we're all friends here, but today we're trying to see how much damage we can cause.” They both nodded in unison. “Now, I'm assuming that she is going to start Borris, so you are going to have a rough start. You guys need to keep your eyes open for opportunities to strike. I know they won't come often, but find whatever you can. I'll look out for you as well.”

“Are you defenders ready?” he paused and waited ofr our responses, “Good! Begin!”

“Okay, Axel. You're up first. Let's start with your cartwheel when you're ready.” Axel turned to approach Borris, but he calmly stood waiting for Axel's advance. Axel stared at Borris before switching onto a different pair of legs. Borris took this opportunity to spit a jet of water at Axel. Axel quickly rolled out of the way, but his alignment was off.

“Axel, I don't think they're going to let you align properly.” Axel started to rolled around, and ended up behind Borris. Borris was big, and slow. He swung with his tail, but missed. He needed time to turn around. This was time that Axel used to try out another two configurations. “Good thinking Axel!”

“It might take him a while, but he packs a punch! Borris, whip around!”

Borris suddenly spun in a complete circle whipping its tail around like lightning. I hadn't noticed it before, but it wasn't turning around, it was creating pressure in its shell that had the effect of a spring. Axel was safely out of range of the tail, but Borris was spraying water as well. The water, moving at that speed, acted like a club swinging Axel into the nearest obstacle.

It was hurt, but it clung to the obstacle with its arms and climbed to the back of it. I didn't know how I was going to do anything to Borris. It had a protective shell, and years of experience. My defenders were fresh, and ill-equiped to handle a properly trained defender. I needed to think of some other way to get through Borris' shell to his body. Axel was safe for now, but what could I do to overcome Borris' armor?

Axel would have to get close to him to deal any type of damage, but from where? His head bites and spits water. His back has a tail. The sides are still guarded by the head. He can from above, but that's the shell. He could go underneath Borris, but Borris would just flatten him if given the chance. I can only attack from atop his shell, but what goo would that do? Emily's voice broke me out of my thought process.

“Borris, knock down that obstacle.” Borris roared acknowledgement and threw its front legs up in the air. It pressed against the large pillar-like object that Axel was hiding behind. Axel climbed to the top of it to avoid getting squished, but he rolled off when it hit the floor. This was my chance to try out the top of the shell theory.

“Axel, keep rolling and propel yourself onto his shell!” Axel continued to roll, and slowly closed in on Borris. Borris couldn't keep up with his speed, so he spit a constant stream of water instead. Axel was unable to stop in time and rolled right into Borris' stream. The force of the blast knocked him into the wall. He struggled this time, but he got up again. This time I had a different plan to get onto Borris' shell. “Axel, get back here when possible!”

Axel nodded and started roll back around the edge of the room. He had the cover of a lot of the gym equipment that way. Borris spit a few parting shots along the way. When he arrived, he looked in rough shape. One more hit would probably be enough to end this battle.

I brough Axel in closer so I could whisper my plan to him. I figured the less know n it is, the better. “Axel, I want you to climb on top of the equipment. Use that as leverage to get onto its back. From there, you should be able to safely cause some havoc.” Axel nodded and walked off cautiously. It was rotating its body onto a different set of legs every few steps now.

Axel walked over to on of the ropes hanging from the ceiling, and worked his way up a short distance. Borris watched wearily, and spit another blast of water at him. Axel spun around and jumped off landing in a roll. He rolled around towards Borris' back and stopped at a short wall. He climbed on the wall and jumped onto a higher elevated obstacle. Before Borris could properly turn around, Axel crouched on the spot and launched itself from his perch on to Borris' shell.

He landed on the shell and he hugged it closely. Four of his arms were stretched to their limit holding each part where Borris' legs came from, and his last hand was pounding Borris in the head. It didn't look like it was doing much, but it was something. I cheered for Axel. Borris looked like it was getting annoyed, and it turned to look at Emily.

“You know what to do Borris.”

Borris walked towards an elevated block and walked towards it despite the incessant pecking from Axel. Borris slowly put its two forelegs onto the block, and crouched low. It threw itself backwards and just barely passed the point of no return. Borris falling onto its back. “Axel! Look out!” I shouted, but it was already on the move.

Why would she do that? Borris has no way to get back from that?

Borris rolled onto its back and its legs and head pulled into the shell. Axel stayed away from Borris, observing it carefully. The shell was shaking every once an a while, but otherwise did nothing for almost a minute. I was confused. “Are you waiting for me to go first?”

“Yup.”

“I don't want to.”

“I can wait all day,” Emily said and smiled.

“Axel, I don't know what to do here.” Axel started looking around the room itself. Axel again climbed up the rope it had used before. He held onto it with on hand and propelled himself forwards with its other arms. Axel was gaining momentum in Borris' direction. When the rope was fully extended, he let go and was en route to Borris' shell.

“Now Borris!” Emily yelled. Another sickening crack was heard and Borris' shell began to spin rapidly and even lifted off the ground. The shell still appeared vacant, but a pillar of water began to spray from one of the holes. Borris was in midair and couldn't react fast enough. The stream of water hit it again, and knocked it forcefully into the wall.

Axel was down; I tapped his pec and he vanished from the gym. Meanwhile, Borris stuck two of its legs out while it was spinning and created an imbalance to cause the shell to turn over while it spun. Borris landed heavily on the shell, but he was upright when he landed. His other two feet, and his head emerged from their respective openings in the shell.

I looked down at Gremlin, and then back at Borris. Borris didn't looked the least bit exhausted, and Gremlin was smaller than bite size by comparison. Gremlin looked at me awaiting my commands.

“I surrender,” I said.

“Do you think you have that choice?”

“I do here. Gremlin is only going to get hurt trying to fight Borris. Emily would have done the same if I took Borris out instead.”

Emily nodded. “Fair enough,” Charlie said, “Emily is the victor. Just know that in war, that option doesn't exist. I understand the circumstances now, but that is one of the most important thigns to remember. Your life is on the line. Put your defenders back in their pecs and bring them here. I will heal them.”

All of out pets vanished one by one. Emily left Borris out enough to pats his head. “You did great Borris! Don't worry about Axel, he'll be fine.” Borris grunted before he vanished as well. We turned our pecs over to Charlie and he placed them into a small red machine on...

Emily was beaming about her victory for the rest of the day. Nothing too exciting happened along our journey towards Trinit. We stumbled upon a dead part of the forest that was overrun with bugs. Emily and I both obtained two new defenders, and we realized that Hydra and Gremlin had both aged considerably over the last few hours. Emily was confused, but I had a theory based on something my father told me about the hexili devices.

The crystals that store the defenders do so with a special physiolectric energy. That energy slowly heals the defenders over time. Slowly is relative; if a human and a defender suffer the same injuries, a defender kept in its pec will heal almost ten times faster than a human. That's still a gradual process, but it's faster.

Now, we don't know whether they heal based on time being warped in the pec, or if it is just that the energy itself inspires restoration. But what we do know is that the machines that heal defenders, such as the one we found in the military facility, do so by increasing the rate of healing. Given the result of our defenders aging, my theory was that it greatly increases the rate time passes in the pecs. It makes sense to me at least; Emily was still filled with wonder.

As for our new defenders, Emily has a murky yellow, plump insect. It had three sets of white wings, and a ruddy mane. She called her Sunbeam because of her colors. She also got a small brown bug that likes to burrow. It has a large powerful mouth, which it can use to eat dirt and filter through its body. Its arms are small, as it prefers to move underground, but it is able to walk a while before getting tired. She called him Chompur.

The new defenders I got a was a small bug, and an arachnium of my own, like the ones I saw in Avacor. I almost didn't fight the arachnium, because of my previous battle with Emily and Borris, but Emily convinced me that I needed something that would stand up to Borris. It was a difficult battle, but in the end worthwile; Bastion will be a great addition ot my team.

The smaller bug has about the size of my head. I knew about these from stories of granting people wishes, it was a fairy. It was light green with big beady red eyes, and nigh invisible wings. It flies incredibly fast and is very difficult to hit. I didn't actually fight her, she was trapped and about to be eaten by a moksu. I fought the moksu, but it ran away from me instead of joinging with me. The fairy was so grateful to me for rescuing her, that she needed no convincing to travel with me; her name is Olive.

One interesting thing about having these creatures join with us, is that I don't actually name them. I feel like I do, and it seems like it, but with each creature that I reach in that meditative state, its presence is preceded by the name. It's as if they already have names, but they're only willing to share if they respect, and are willing to meet, me. It's oddly human. It's also interesting that thye understand us, but we can only really feel their emotions.

It's all part of the bond between us, but as I mentioned before, it's not much different from how humans interact with one another. We don't keep each other in crystals, but the method of communication fascinates me. I must get that from my father. He always told me how exciting the world was, and I only barely understood its basic rules as a child. But as I grew and as I explored, the more I understood and respected the world we lived in.

We set up camp, much like last night, one of the differences was that our defenders started to play rough on their own. This was made possible by the accelerated growth of Hydra and Gremlin. Hydra's arms were starting to come in, and it was about three feet long now. Gremlin was half my height now. His legs started to grow, and his head become more pronounced. Also, two parts of fur unfolded into two scaly tentacles. Gremlin was scaly underneath was well, though he was still covered in fur everywhere except for the new V-shape under his head.

They played and fought amongst themselves until Emily and I turned in for the night. That was when the next buggest change happened. Hydra wasn't able to sleep on Emily's shoulder anymore. Once Emily and I were comfortable, he squeezed in between us and each head cuddled with one of us. The three of us fell asleep quickly after such a busy day.

Emily and I packed up early again the next morning. Camping was much more fun than I remembered as a child. Of course, as a chiled I didn't have animal companions, that definitely helps now, but even without animal companions my father still loved camping. We hiked for a few hours, before we could see the signs of Trinit. The signs we saw weren't good.

We saw multiple people running about the town hall. The closer we got, the more easily it was to see that they were officers for the military. We hurried into Trinit as fast as we could. We walked into the town hall and found a tall woman shouting orders at incoming and outgoing officers alike. She was dressed in a gray suit streaked with the dark blue colors of an officer.

After a few shouts she turned and saw us. She had a round face, and big brown eyes. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a bun. “You two, what are you doing here?”

Emily and I looked at each other. Something was going on, and here we were to ask for help. I spoke up first. “We had a pamphlet to receive training here... ma'am.”

“It's sir. I don't have the time now, you'll have to wait until tomorrow or later.”

“I don't think we have time to spare ma'am sir.”

“Heh, just sir. We're in trouble now, so if you want your training, you'll have to come with us.”

“Where are we going? What's happening?” Emily asked.

“Just follow me, we'll talk on the way.” We followed the woman as she walked briskly out of the town hall and into a parking lot. She pressed a button on her suit, and a tan car honked at us. She pointed to it and said, “Get in.” I opened the door and Emily jumped in; I followed suit. Before we could get ourselves buckled, she sped out of the lot and onto the road. In the seats around us were sets of riot gear and pistols. This was a military prepared vehicle.

“My name is Officer Taylor. You may continue to refer to me as sir. The hematites are attack Silo, on the coast. The attack started maybe half an hour ago, and we don't yet know their objectives. If you help us out in this attack, I'll count it as your training.”

“Yes sir. What can we do to help?” Emily asked.

“From the looks of it, the hematites were hoping to sneak in and sneak out. We caught them only because we were looking for them. It is a team of maybe half a dozen hematites. There are two in the sea, and at least three on land. They don't appear to be looking for supplies, but we don't know what they were looking for yet. Your task is to follow an officer and assist them with their task. Understood?”

“Yes sir.” Emily and I said together.

“I will be holding te line to prevent hematite reinforcements. Remember, stay with an officer and you'll remain safe. We'll be there in almost a minute.”

A minute? How fast is she driving? This vehicle handles so smoothly, it didn't even seem like we were moving that fast.

I looked out the window, and we were definitely speeding. The trees were flying by us so fast that they blurred together.

I can't feel any bumps or jitters. Military personel get the best I guess. Dad's old jeep would have never survived speeds like this.

It was a fond memory, my father's ragged old jeep. It was ex-military, like my father. He served in the militray, and that's how he got his first grant for research. He never fought in any battles, but he researched weapons, and developed technology for our officers on the front lines.

Before I could get lost in reminiscence about my father, true to her word, in less than a minute we could see the skyscrapers of Silo from behind the forest. Officer Taylor came to stop in a rendevoux just outside the town. Some of the buildings were on fire, and some creatures were battling over the shore.

We got out of the car and followed Officer Taylor into the military camp. Before long she brought us to three well-decorated officers, and turned back to us. “Here you go. Officer Richard, will be reinforcing the shore against the beast in the water. Officer Quintin will be evacuating the city in the case of a breach. Officer Phillip will be searching the city for any hematite scoundrels. What do you want to do?”

What do I want to do? What shows off my skills more? Defending the shore? Evacuating the city? Hunting down the intruders? We would be with an officer, so we would be safe, but what would help the most? No. You know what you want to do. Revenge. You want to hunt whatever hematites are left. This isn't even a question. I will make all of them pay, and I will...

When Phillip and I made eye contact, he didn't say anything; he didn't smile or show any acknowledgement of any case. I was curious as to this distance, but I didn't bring anything up. Emily didn't notice anything, or at least did the same as me. She nugded me with her shoulder, and said “Last time we battled against each other, let's work together this time instead.” I nodded. “What do you want to do?”

I didn't intend to delay with theatrics and blatantly stated my decision. “I want to search for any remaining hematite aggressors.”

“Consider it done then,” Officer Taylor said and turned to Phillip, “Officer Phillip, these two are under your supervision. Utilize them as needed.”

“Yes sir!”

“Everyone, we have our tasks, perform them well.”

“Yes sir,” we all said in unison.

“You two,” Phillip said, finally acknowledging us, “come with me. We're going into the city.” Emily and I followed him through a short path in the outskirts of the city. Quickly enough, we were on the main road into the now barren Silo; the damage being caused just over the edge of town was enough to stop this from being a truly haunting experience. “Looking ot join the war?”

“Yes sir,” I said.

“Come now, just call me Phillip. Sorry about earlier, but if Officer Taylor knew that we had a previous connection she might not have let you two come with me.”

“You wanted us to come with you?” Emily asked.

“What better motivator to find these creeps than you two?”

Emily glanced over at me as if to say, “Sen more than me,” but she didn't mention it. Instead, she said, “you're right. Where do we start?”

Phillip pointed down the road. “We have heard explosions from within the town. Unless people are being reckless in their looting, the hematites are inside somewhere in the center. We don't suspect that there are more than three, but there are at least two of them.”

“What buildings are locked here?” I asked.

“I was getting to that, the skyscrapers. The only one in use is the news station, as I'm sure you already know. The others have been abandoned due to growing concerns over structual integrity due to age.”

“With the explosions, do you think they are trying to topple the towers?”

“It's hard to say, but that hasn't happened yet. If they were going to destroy the city, I feel they would've brought more men. The only other reason is to get resources. I can't imagine that they would be after money with this type of strategy, but there are several banks localized towards the north of town.”

“Where are we going first?” Emily asked.

“I'm going to search the skyscrapers first. While they are abandoned, that doesn't mean they aren't used. Some for storage, and some for underground facilities. Either of those could be a major goal for the hematites. They cause enough of a commotion to get attention and distract from either getting tools away, or setting up a base mainland. If they succeed in either of these goals, who knows how much damage they can cause. Our first target is Weinmare Labs, it's that building straight ahead. That's where the most valuable technology and previous versions of technology have been stored.”

“Free is free.” I mentioned. “Are we just checking the building to see if it shows signs of forced entry?”

“No, we're going inside to investigate as well.”

“That sounds good, we're ready when you are. Right Sen?”

“Right.”

We moved together with Phillip in the lead. A quick scan of the entry of the building showed no signs of forced entry. We circled the building and found that several of the higher windows had been blown out. Continuing our circle revealed the the windows that were blownout, in a sense, resembled a spiral down. That meant that they were tactical, but for what purpose.

“This building is being used, but for what? Either entry or escape,” I said.

“We're going to find out. I'm going to break the doors open.” Phillip summoned a large red creature with about a dozen wings and no legs. Each wing was sharp and had a metallic glow about it and was placed purposefully around the body. “Blade, I need you to get this door open,” Phillip said pointing to the entrance. Blade turned to it and inverted two of its wings. It raised them up about to cut into the glass, when an array of needles poured over our shoulders.

One of the needles went through the palm of Phillip's right hand, and another one shot straight into my left shoulder. Phillip threw us down on the ground behind a car parked on the street. I could see the needle poking through the pit of my arm. It was a hollow bone-like needle dripping with my blood.

I felt a burning senstation flow from the wound and crawl across my body. It was slow, but agonizing. The top of my arm felt as if on fire, and my body felt like it was suffering a heart attack. I was sweating profusely despite the recentness of the attack. I noticed that the needles stuck into the ground were causing it to bubble and burn. That effect was happening inside my body right now as well. Emily reached over to pull it out, but Phillip smacked her hand away and shook his head.

A new creature was on the ground between us. It was a gelatinous green orb. It bounced softly on the ground. Phillip pointed to my shoulder and his hand, and the creature began to glow, and so did the bone needle in my arm. Contrary to the previous sight of the ground bubbling, the bone needle began to bubble and evaporate instead.

I lost focus on this healing process when more needles flew over head and shattered the window of the car and the windows of the building we were trying to get into. Blade was flapping its wings at alarming speeds to blow the needles away from their intended targets, us. While I was grateful for the assitance, I was less grateful for the attack. I gathered my focus onto the healing defender again.

Once the bone needle had dissipated, the pain in my body slowly began to recede. I saw this purple smoke flow from my wound. Once all the burning pain was gone from my wound, the purple smoke stopped pouring out of my wound, and the skin began to heal. It was a scar, but it was fixed. I was no longer injured; Phillip wasn't either. “Thanks Doc,” he said.

“That's coming from a low floor on the building behind us. What is it?”

“That's the news station. What do they want in there?”

Our conversation was cut short by an explosion rocking the world. The buildings around us shook in pain, and a heavy thud was heard near the news station. Blade flew over to investigate, then made a high-pitched call. Phillip looked over and motioned for us to stand up. I quickly glanced in the windows that I thought our attacker might reside, but it wasn't difficult to find at all.

There was a pillar of thick black smoke gushing out of the third floor window in the news station. Beneath that window was the crippled body of a large creature, similar to Venom, but with two large flaps of skin designed like heads. That creature wouldn't be attacking us anytime soon. I looked back at the pillar of smoke and saw two blue orbs floating in the midst of them, attatched to a slim black feline.

“Hey! That's Nocturne!” I pointed at the window to Emily. The two electric blue eyes blinked and ran away into the building.

“Are you sure Sen? Is all of the poison gone?”

“Yeah. Doc heals everything good as new. Who's Nocturne?”

“My brother is up there! That was Nocturne!”

“How can you be sure?”

“Nocturne was of a species that my father recently discovered. Nobody knew about it, so nobody else can have it! That's my brother up there!”

“Is that why the hematites attacked you back in Kajil?”

“Yeah.”

“You two go there and find your brother. Blade! Open the doors there too. You remember Venom?” I nodded. Phillip took a pec from his bracelt and handed it to me. “I want him back, but I'm going to stay here and investigate the higher floors in this building. Venom will keep you safe.”

“Thank you.”

“You can thank me, by staying safe. If there are any hematites up there, let me know how many. We know there is at least one around here somewhere. Go. But don't tell Taylor we split up.” I laughed.

Blade cut through the glass doors with ease on both buildings. We ran into the news station, while Phillip, Blade, and Doc made their way into Weinmare Labs. The news station was a mess. What used to be a room of unforgettable beauty, was now the site of demolition. The main lobby, which towered into the second floor, was completely trashed. The furniture lied in shambles on the floor, and several columns crumbled or were missing altogether.

We rushed up the stairs to the second floor, and quickly moved on the to the third. This was where the poisonous creature had been stationed. The floor was filled with the smell of smoke, though most of it had cleared via the window. The floor overall was untouched, but certain placed had been overturned or searched mercilessly. There was no sign of life on this floor.

We found the stairs leading to the fourth floor, but we paused at the foot. We heard sounds of battle going...

...on upstairs, but it was muffled. One of the upcoming floors had people on it. My brother was close. I heard some screams coming from somewhere upstairs, and I rushed up to discover their source.

This floor, abandoned still, showed signs of recent inhabitation. It was less desecrated than the previous floors, and had a barrel with some dying embers in it. That raised the question of how long the hematites had been here.

They are looking for something, so they wouldn't burn anything, but why did they need the fire? Had they been here earlier than what the officers anticipated? And more imprtantly, are there more of them than anticipated? I don't want to think of either of those right now.

Under the rush of finding my brother again, I rush through this floor. There was nobody to be found, but I could hear the signs of struggle directly above us. Dust would fall from the ceiling when more powerful thuds were heard. I heard people shouting commands, and roars and shrieks to follow. I held my hand over my belt in anticipationn of danger, as I neared the stairs.

I heard some human grunting coming from just atop the stairs, and I stopped just out of sight. I heard two people shuffling around and muffled cries of pain. I didn't know what was going on, but I also didn't want to risk myself. And in case one of them was my brother, I didn't want Venom accidentally hurting him. I heard the sound of a fist meeting a face, and then a body fell down the stairs. It was a hematite. I heard footsteps running away above me.

He was out cold, but before I turned my way to go up the stairs, I kicked the unconscious hematite's rib cage for good measure. Halfway up the stairs, I had a thought, and turned around. Apparently, Emily had the same thought, because she had grabbed the man's hexili, and threw it out a window. Hopefully, he wouldn't find it. Though Emily had read my mind, I didn't let my detour go to waste. I kicked the hematite once again.

“Stop wasting time Sen,” she said trying to drag me up the stairs.

I grunted, but followed her up the stairs. “It's not a waste of time. These criminals murdered my father. They need to pay somehow.”

“Then let's hit them where it hurts, instead of kicking a pawn.”

“Fair enough.”

Once we reached the fifth floor, we heard the footsteps running up to the sixth floor. We followed as fast as we could; we were no longer searching the floors for people. We reached the sixth floor to go immediately to the seventh floor. On the seventh floor was when our next batch of action took place. At the foot of the stairs, we saw a masked and cloaked person, the person we had been chasing, my brother, holding his hand out in warning. “Stop,” he said.

He tapped his belt and held up his arm, but before Nocturne could appear, a large black canine lunged at him, knocking him from our sight. “Ungh!” Was all we could hear from his struggle. I went to run up the stairs, but Emily held me back. I didn't fight her, but I sighed heavily. Suddenly, in a flash of light, the canine was thrown against the wall and rolled down the stairs. Emily, pulled me out of the way, as it crashed its way down.

I couldn't hear anything. The last thing I remember hearing was a shrill crack just after the flash of light, then my ears started ringing. I couldn't hear over the ringing in my ears, but I could see that that bulky canine was hardly fazed by the blast. Its fur was a bit singed, and it was angry. It also found an easier prey.

Before it could pick itself up from trh ground, another sound-shattering pulse of light emanated from the next floor and blasted the creature further away from us. That gave me enough time to summon Gremlin to our aid. I didn't choose Venom, because he was too big to operate efficiently in this building.

“Gremlin, tackle it!” I shouted. I still couldn't hear myself, but that's what I intended to say. I didn't notice it, but Emily had ordered Hydra to attack as well. Hydra started by blowing a stream of fire at this monstruos creature. It stopped in time to let Gremlin connect with it unhindered. It was odd seeing this battle unfold without sound, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

The monstruous canine used the force of Gremlin to roll back onto its feet. Hydra spit a few shards of ice at it, but the bounced harmlessly off of its overgrown mane. It lunged at Hydra, but the two heads swung together to knock it aside. It retaliated by biting into their tail. Being the tail, it didn't hurt much, but they responded by biting back. The monster released the tail and jumped over a desk to hide.

I decided to see how coordinated Gremlin was with his new arms. “Throw anything you can find at it, Gremlin!” I shouted again. My voice was distant to me, but my hearing was starting to return. Gremlin looked around and found a chair. It wrapped its tentacles around it and launched it towards the creature. It bounced harmlessly off the ceiling, and landed a few feet short. That didn't dissuade it from trying again.

It found another chair, but instead of launching it over head this time, it launched it from its side. This was more accurate, but the desk was in the way of the beast. Not bad for his first time. Hydra was blasting the desk with fire, and the beast ducked down behind it. I heard several desks flip over as the creature fled deeper into the office. It was creating places for it to hide. We needed to finish it quickly, or make it come to us. Meanwhile, my brother was upstairs.

I found Emily, and pointed to both of us and then upstairs. She nodded, and we took off upstairs. Once we had reached the top of the floor, we each recalled our defenders and ran straight to the ninth, from the ninth to tenth, and the tenth to the eleventh. We heard the beast causing havoc in our wake, but it was being cautious. The eleventh floor was the first floor with a door at the top of the stairs and we closed it behind us.

I summoned Bastion, my arachnium. “Block the doors for us.” Bastion clamped its two pincers together and wedged its front two legs between the door and the floor, and then its last sets of legs into the ground behind it. This would give us time to spare. We finally took in the sight of this new elegant office design. No more desks and cubicles, but actual offices. This must be where the owners of the station would work.

I looked out the window to get my bearings with how thigh up we here, and we were higher in a building than I had ever been before. Across from this window was the building where Phillip was investigating. I saw that on the next floor, there were two hematites lying in wait in Phillip's building.

“Emily, Phillip is going ot be in trouble.”

“What do you mean Sen?” she asked as she walked over to the window. The two hematites were had filled the room with their creatures and they were all focused on the staircase in the middle of the hall. “He's going to need help. They have a dozen between the two of them.”

“I know, but how are we going to get over there in time?”

“This floor is a little more open than the first few floors. I wonder if the next few floors are similar?”

“Check them out. I'll keep Bastion here, until we know for sure that we can blockade the doors up there.”

Emily ran up the next flight of stairs, and I heard her footsteps fade away. I faintly heard her voice call down to me, “There's a door! Come up!”

I turned to Bastion and said, “Stay here. Be prepared to do the same thing ina few seconds.” I ran to follow Emily. Two floors later, I recalled and resummoned Bastion. He locked the door in a similar manner to before. Emily was over at window looking slightly down. She was tapping on the glass uneasily.

“From here we have a clean shot to get into the next building.”

“What?” I asked.

“There's more room for Venom to work. He could easily jump into the next building from here. He almost doesn't have to jump he's so long.” I brough Venom out from his pec to verify. He coiled in the center of the room. Emily was right, Venom was long enough that he could make a bridge between the two buildings. “What we can do, is jump from here to there. If he misses, he can grab hold of one of the lower windows. In the best case scenario, we surprise them and help Phillip. In the worst case scenario, we miss and we're with Phillip but have the information about the ambush.”

“You could miss altogether.”

“Don't worry about that Sen. I'll be fine. You stay here and talk with your brother. I'll go over and help Phillip.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, just give me the pec to return to him as well.” I handed her the pec and and we embraced. “Go find your brother. I'll be fine here.”

I nodded. “Good luck, Emily. Bastion,” I said turning to him, “I'm keeping you here until further notice. Just make sure that door doesn't open.” Bastion clicked in acknowledgement as I...