Nightfall

I reached Lana as she was at the pinnacle of her punch. We collided like two linebackers after the same quarterback. I flew back holding my eye. It hurt. Her pulsing dark energy burned at me, and my trachea closed in on me. I gasped for air. It didn’t come for a minute, then my throat relaxed and I could breathe.

I messaged my throat as the two stared at me. I had wrestled men, not pissed-off cyborgs. Man, did they pack a wallop. Jude’s laugh seemed to wake Lana and she gasped, raising her hands to her mouth. “Captain! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to punch you. Why did you step in front of this jackass?” she pointed at Jude.

I had to, damn him!

“It,” I groaned trying to stand. She pulled me up by the arm a little too fast and I stumbled. “Woah, ow,” I muttered, righting myself. “I-It’s the responsibility of myself that every crew member survives this mission, and you were about to incinerate Mr. Warren,” I said touching my burnt face tenderly and wincing.

Her eyes widened until the brown swallowed the specks of green in her gaze. “I didn’t mean--you know that I’d never…” she began.

I nodded and touched her arm when Jude intervened, shoving her back. “Haven’t you done enough damage here, cyborg?” he asked, piercing jet-black eyes resembling a shark after blood. Not because of me though. Jude had bad blood with androids and cyborgs, long before Lana came into the picture. The Warrens were different when it came to android philosophy. Instead of hating them, they worshiped them, going so far as to form their own cult around them.

This made Jude’s life unbearable since every Warren strived to be at least a cyborg. His younger brother had achieved this and was given all the attention. Jude was just another child to the Warrens, and they had many. It made Jude hate cyborgs, but even now a glint of envy shone in those predatory eyes of his. Lana was the thing he couldn’t reach which equaled instant hate on both parts.

Lana sighed “Whatever,” and shuffled away.

The forest was eerily quiet for an instant, before Jude grabbed my arm, and pointed his long index finger at me. “I was handling her,” he muttered.

I scoffed but raised my arms in surrender at Jude’s glare. I knew he had the leverage at the moment.

Like a herd of stampeding dinosaurs, Bartholomew thrashed through the underbrush narrowly missing a black Sakura. He leaned his bulk on his knees and took several breaths. Lana rushed to him, patting his back.

“Guys,” he began. “You are not going to believe what I just saw! It’s like vampires and werewolves going at it. I knew they weren’t legends!”

“All I see is an Amoeba exhaling CO2,” Jude muttered, cocking his eyebrow and crossing his arms.

“I’m not kidding! Come with me,” said Bart, as he stood and began rushing back towards wherever he came from. Lana smiled and followed. I decided to follow them, instead of staying with the contemptuous ass. We approached the edge of these woods, and the sounds of battle grew larger and heavier. As I approached, I turned off my flashlight, and darkness was once more my friend. Bartholomew and Lana were crouched by a tree, creeping on the yellow grass underfoot.

I joined them and then Bartholomew removed the small creeper blocking our view and put a finger to his lips. Bright light flooded my eyes. At first, I was blind but then the light moved courtesy of another light blasting it away. Whatever had been glowing, was now out like a candle in a breeze or should I say swatted like a fly instead. It had filmy wings like a bee or other insect and they had been crushed like too much foil.

My eyes caught a gigantic metal creature bending down and was it going to eat that thing? Yuck! I didn’t want to see that.

“Guys! Where did you go!” yelled Jude. I groaned. Mr. Pretentious was going to get us all caught by the immense creature! I stood and rushed over to him, before dragging him to our hiding place.

“Shut it and watch,” said Bartholomew, for once serious, as he pointed to the creatures. Jude’s eyes widened and he scrambled back.

“That’s a werewolf,” he said lips trembling.

I rolled my eyes but nodded watching as the creature made a fist and its claws retracted revealing smaller human hands.

“That nail polish on the fingers?” whispered Lana.

I shrugged and kept watching. I was so sure that whoever was about to remove their helmet when a large log came flying toward us.

“Move!” Lana screamed as she blasted it with dark energy. It was a bad move. The creature, a humanoid thing, was attracted by the blast and faced us. Jude shook, and Bartholomew turned white. I took out my gun, my hand trembling against my jacket.

“R-Run! I-I’ll hold it off,” I said.

“But,” began Lana but Bartholomew talked her out of it. They ran for it.

“If the captain wants to die for us, more power to him. You are a fool,” cried Jude, but I could feel his arrogance flowing from him and sighed. He had stayed.

I stood gun high and faced the big creature with Jude.

The big wolf thing cocked its head before advancing on me. I released two precise shots. Made of plasma, they melted the exterior of the creature’s chest. It stopped and glanced down before snarling and moving too fast for me to see or shoot.

“Jude! Run!” I gasped, as it ran into me and bowled me over putting its claws on my neck.

“And where the heck would I go without you, Matt? Seriously I can’t fly us out of here. It’s you or nothing,” he said creeping towards the wolf who snarled a warning. At least I knew he was being his usual arrogant self. That hadn’t changed.

I panted and stared into eyes that glowed a hellish yellow. I decided it was a female. The hands had been too dainty for a male. I heard a mechanic click and a whirl. The wolf head cracked in the middle and folded in two pieces to become a choker showing large eyes and a black mane of something soft falling in my face. I couldn’t see much else.

“Quien eres?” Her voice was husky and rich with a Spanish accent.

“Unos extranjeros muy perdidos,” replied Jude, smiling amicably.

“I did not ask you, I asked him,” she said nodding at me, and Jude lost his smile. Second best again. I was in for hell later. I turned to her. ”U-um he’s our translator. I don’t understand any language but English. I’m the captain of the group you saw running,” I said, wincing as her claws bit into my neck harder at the name of my rank.

What battalion do you come from?” she hissed pressing her claws deeper. I felt tiny rivulets of blood run down my jacket collar.

“I don’t have a battalion leader. I work for the Starfleet as a pilot,” I replied twitching in her grip.

“Starfleet? Pilot? Is that some new code, symbiote?

Symbiote? She must think we are part of whatever we stumbled upon. Maybe if I show her my identity chip’s information we might go free?

“Look, honey. We come from a different universe, and this planet was our home so really you’re messing with the wrong humans,” said Jude arrogance pouring out of every pore. I rolled my eyes and sighed, he may have gotten us in bigger trouble, although the woman in front of us looked more confused.

I dropped my gun and she picked it up, pointing the nuzzle at Jude. Too bad I had put on the safety. I shoved my arms in my jacket pocket and took out a triangular device. She took it sniffing at it.

“Press the button in the middle,” I said. She did and instantly flashes of videos played from my graduation. Photos and a list of music were next followed by important documents like my pilot’s license and my ID. She squealed and almost let it drop but caught it, and watched as my sister from so long ago gave me a hug. I blushed. “We really aren’t from around here,” I said hoping her claws didn’t scratch me open. She cocked her head and nodded, removing her claws from my throat. Jude smiled charmingly. “Thank you señorita,” he said.

“Get up,” she ordered and I did, not wanting to anger her again. “We must go to the council elders. They will know if you are spies or not,” she said shrugging. I didn’t ask for my triphone back. I was too worried about meeting her elders right then. Jude stayed silent, a small mercy. She reactivated her wolf disguise and started leading us through the underbrush, to a dilapidated barn house. It was refurbished with hay and some stairs that creaked as we went down to a stone walkway underground. She came to the door and pressed her hand against it. A green light read her hand then her eye and finally, she said a name.

“Andromeda Radeon.”

A whole new world opened between the cracks in the wall.