November 10, 2111 – November 11, 2111

  James Stone

  After a short congratulations party, I sat in my designated V1 Zapper. Hastily, I finished up the final documentation required to make Brad Swift an official member of my 1112 legionnaire squad. Earlier, Dancing-Sky asked me if I wanted a temporary member, given Narrisa’s departure, but I just couldn’t find it in me to replace her this early. So for the time being, the 1112 Legionnaires remained a five-man unit.

  Everybody except Uslar Kip was aboard. Valiic sat at the end furthest from the cockpit. Shadow-Walker was next to Frost, across from Valiic. Brad had just loaded the last of the weapons I requested and sat alone at the far corner of the ship, fiddling with his shotgun. Suddenly, the realization hit me: Without Narrisa, our unit was one big sausage fest.

  “Captain Stone, where is your last member? We have to take off in five!” the pilot announced.

  “I’ll find him. Hold off until we get back.” I sped off the dropship and saw a maintenance worker unhooking our Zapper. “Have you seen Uslar?” I asked her.

  “I think he went to the bathroom.”

  I jogged over to the human-qwayk restrooms inside the hangar and tapped open the door. The room was lit by the pulses of orange streaks that stretched around the wall, similar to the majority of the ship. In-ground urinals and stalls lined one side of the restroom, and sinks lined the other. At the far back, only one stall was closed. I walked closer and overheard Uslar’s conversation.

  “No, Mom, I can’t make it to his-- What? No, Mom, I’m about to head out for a mission. I… no, I can’t take a leave. I-- Mom, let me finish! The star cruiser I’m on is weeks away from Grathefer-Qwayk, so I won’t make it anyway… sorry. Mom… Mom, I have to go. Okay… I love you, too. Bye.”

  Uslar finished the call on his cyberwatch and creaked open the stall. He jumped back, startled, as he saw me.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare the shivf out your ass.”

  “Were… were you eavesdropping?”

  “I, er… I may have overheard the end.”

  “Not cool, James.”

  He shoved past me and placed his long, thin fingers on the tap. Water flicked on, with a mixture of soap between the streams. As he swished his hands around in the soap and water mixture, I could see red around his tear-drained eyes in the reflection of the mirror. He’d recently cried. After a few seconds, the water flipped off and a dryer blasted on. When his hands were mostly dry, he shook them and headed for the door.

  “Uslar, wait.” I grabbed his arm and stopped him. “What’s been raging you up?” He didn’t answer. His eyes drifted to the cybernetic floor. “Uslar, as your captain, you can tell me anything in good confidence… anything.”

  “It’s… it’s nothing. Forget it.”

  Uslar forced his arm out of my grip and pushed past me, out of the bathroom. Something about the way Uslar shrugged me off like that rattled me the wrong way. Was it something I said? Did? Not knowing what to do, I headed back to the dropship to rejoin everyone.

  ?????

  Only seconds after entering Idor’s atmosphere, our Zapper came to a shaking halt.

  “We have arrived,” the pilot announced. “The ship is in stealth mode, so I don’t think the enemy knows we are here. However, I had to take us far past the city’s outskirts because of the large mountains and forests. This is the first open valley I’ve seen.” The hatch opened, and a rope dropped.

  “Great… forests. Just my favorite damn thing in the world,” Shadow-Walker complained before sliding down the rope.

  “I’m more concerned about the distance,” Valiic noted.

  He grabbed the rope and slid down. I was next. I landed on the rock ground with a thud. The heat hit me like a bullet as the large sun’s rays pierced into my back, and within seconds I began to sweat. The air was thick enough to wear. Soon, everyone else was boots-on-the-ground and the Zapper dropped our supply crate before blasting off. We were alone in the wild.

  “It’s hotter than two rats dicking around in a wool sock!” I joked, hoping to ease the tension.

  “What’s the temperature?” Valiic asked.

  “Forty-one degrees Celsius,” Uslar answered.

  “Whew. I’m already sweating,” Shadow-Walker added.

  He pulled his custom scout rifle, Silent Dagger, from our supply crate. I grabbed my assault rifle and hand pistol. Valiic already had his plasma cannon and shield ready. He made sure to grab our backpack of supplies and clip it on his side. Brad, like always, was ready with his weapons and power armor. Frost pulled out a hand pistol.

  “That’s all you brought, Frost?” I teased.

  “Do you expect me to freeze the air with my ass?” He cracked a sarcastic grin.

  I chuckled. “Okay, smart-ass.”

  Uslar was the last to dig through the crate, grabbing an RLR, not his usual weapon of choice. Typically, he preferred a designated laser rifle, or DLR, but the reciprocating laser rifle, or RLR, is more compact and fires bursts of concentrated heat energy instead of a focused beam, like the DLR. This was the ideal choice for longer missions such as the crusade we were about to start.

  “Valiic, let me take in all the fine equipment in the supply bag.”

  He tossed me the bag, and I unzipped it. I began to pull out everything: Thermal sights; rope; mobile Magic Meal; various grenades and explosives; underwater travel equipment; a motion tracker; and a few other goodies.

  I tossed the motion tracker to Uslar. “You keep your eyes glued to that.”

  “Alright,” Uslar said, catching the device.

  I put the rest of the equipment back in the bag and threw it back to Valiic. After checking my cyberwatch, I concluded, “This way. Let’s get this gear in rotation.”

  I signaled toward a valley surrounded by a forest before taking the lead. Our group split into groups of two as they followed me. Each of our subgroups distanced themselves a few meters apart from each other.

  Frost joined my side, wearing all the same clothes, accessories, and bling he wore when I first met him, with the exception of his pants. Instead of jeans, he wore fancied-up military cargo pants, with a mag lock stitched into the side for his pistol.

  “Members of the Order of Aegis don’t usually fancy anything less than the latest tech to suit as a visual brag-reminder. What’s with the civilian getup?”

  Frost smiled, showing off his sparkling white teeth. “I’ll let this do the talking.”

  He extended his hands, palms to the sky, and ice crystalized over his skin, starting from his arms all the way to covering his whole body. In under a minute, he had ice armor. Just as fast as it formed, he dematerialized it.

  “Would’ve been able to flex my ice muscles faster if it weren’t for the blazing sun!”

  “Mighty fine party trick.”

  I entered the rock valley. The sunlight flowed into the valley bowl, glowing like amber and fire. The daggers of heat rays pierced through my thick armor. On our right and left were enormous mountains reaching nearly as high as the clouds. Trees colored with dark leaves and patterned in light green splats rooted themselves down the mountain reaching into the valley. A plethora of potholes covered the valley, with orange liquid trapped inside.

  With just a few more steps, we made it into an umber-brown forest. It reeked of the unknown, almost foreshadowing the looming mission hanging over our heads. What seemed like centuries of snapping branches had long been crushed to the forest’s floor, rotting silently. The composting smell of Mother Nature rose up in waves like a miasma.

  The further we journeyed into this alien Garden of Eden, the more I felt unwelcome. I gazed around and saw the same unease around my teammates. Ever so slightly, trees in the distance would rustle. I couldn’t tell if the wind was rustling them or it was critters.

  “I’m seeing movement on the motion sensor,” Uslar warned from behind me.

  “Everyone, stay on high alert,” I called over my shoulder.

  “What is it?” Valiic asked from behind.

  “Possible hostile creatures.”

  Nervous, I swiped my weapon at whatever slight movement would catch my eye. Most of the time it would be leaves or tiny rocks and pebbles rolling down the mountains, but every blue moon, for a split second tops, I thought I caught eyes; then again, I wasn’t sure if it was my mind making something out of nothing. After all, the aroma lifting off the forest grounds tickled my brain a bit, making me somewhat dizzy.

  Nothing ever presented itself. For five hours, the land was a loop. Each path looked like the last. But at the end of those five hours, something changed. A cliff leading down to a stream a few dozen meters below cut us off.

  “Well, damn.” I gazed down the rocky surface of the cliff.

  “What do we do?” Uslar walked up to my side. Our group reformed.

  “Big Daddy might have a solution, baby.”

  Frost buzzed, shaking his arms and shoulders. He reached the edge and gripped the edge of the cliff. The very next moment was one of magic and sorcery. After a few minutes, solid ice crystalized over the rock and bloomed into a bridge.

  “Should be good to go now,” Frost shined.

  We looked at him with thunderstruck expressions, still caught in the moment.

  “Don’t worry, baby. It won’t break.”

  I was the first to go, followed by the rest. We went over one by one until we were all across.

  After our squad reformed, we continued into the trees. Soon, we were spread out again. I inched closer to Valiic’s side to take the lead with him.

  Huge roots spread-eagled across the ground, twisting like the great backs of mountain giants. The foliage became thick and lush, forming an arch of fairy tale-like awe above our heads. Arthritic boughs, gnarled with age, dripped their bounty of nuts onto the path. Briars, brambles, and berry trees flanked the trail, making it impenetrable on either side. The path ahead was hidden by the cunningly woven web of leaves.

  “How are you doing, Valiic?” I asked him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think you can guess… Narrisa. That can’t be an easy road, and we haven’t talked about it.”

  “After some thought, I realize this is part of the path I must follow. It is a test from God - a hard one at that.” Valiic half-smiled in an attempt to lift his own spirits.

  “True. I mean, you two… you two were an unbreakable pair… like milk and cereal.”

  “Were? No, not were. Are. We still are one. You see, our culture is different than most.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “How so?”

  “Ever hear of till death do us part?”

  “Ah, yes. A phrase commonly said when two humans decide to imprison themselves to each other.”

  Valiic nodded. “That’s just the thing, though. For maelkii, it is not so simple. Death does not do us part. A bond between cohinlas runs deeper than death. Our spirits are tied… one. Should I die, my spirit will remain by her side.”

  “I’d rather not jinx that heavy of a thought.”

  Valiic chuckled. “You’re right. And I for one would never forgive myself should I die in combat away from my cohinla. I can’t leave her alone on this plane of existence. It is just not an option.”

  “Oh, I hear you on that one.”

  “And see, if I were to die, it is against our most covenanted rule for her to find another partner. Which is why I will be by your side when the war is finished.”

  “Trust me, my buddy, when I say I am on your side should you wish to rejoin her. Seriously, just say the word at any moment, and I will personally get your ass on a dropship, heading Narrisa’s way.”

  “It won’t be necessary. This is my journey now. I will see it through.”

  We arrived at a wide glade, where the trees fell away, revealing a small clearing. At the end of it was a cliff. I marched up to the perch, followed by the squad. From the edge, I could see the skyline of the floating city of Garatopia. The skyscrapers combined into what resembled a block of cheese, with the windows acting as the holes. In the far distance, past the towering skyscrapers, the sun began to set. The water surrounding the city lit on fire under the glory of the sun’s shining rays.

  “Well, isn’t that a sight?” Valiic noticed.

  He looked up to the sky with sparkling eyes. Everyone, even Brad, gathered to take in nature’s beauty for a moment. Unsurprisingly, the moment was short-lived for Brad, who instead let his weight drop his ass onto a flat rock behind us, from where he watched our backs.

  “Whoo hoo. Now that’s a damn sight, baby!” Frost chanted.

  “Let your eyes drink in that margarita sky.” I chuckled.

  Frost stood beside me. He was twitching his fingers and chewing on a pen he brought. I chuckled at him.

  “Whatcha lookin’ at, uzzo?” he asked me, with a grin on his face.

  “You’ve got a case of can’t-contain-myself disease, don’t you?” I teased.

  “Whatcha mean by that?”

  “You always have to have muscles in motion, right?”

  He stopped rocking his knees and chewing on his pen. “Oh shivf, I’m just hype, uzzo.”

  “I didn’t ask you to stop. I don’t mind as long as you can release all that energy of yours on our enemy.”

  He grinned and continued to move in place. “I’ll bring the pain-train!”

  “Should we find a place to bunker up for the night?” Uslar asked me.

  “Yeah. Time to step on the gas pedal,” I agreed.

  I led the way down the declining rock valley to our right. The starlit night was going to be upon us soon, so we pushed into a deep forest, losing sight of the cityscape. Trees bristled with what felt like creatures gazing at us. I could feel the sting of piercing eyes on my back. I looked around. Each member of our squad had on their brightstone lights, sweeping the tree lines for aggressive animals.

  The path was looser than before. Each step could have us sliding down into the line of thorn trees below.

  “Wo-wa-woah! Shivf!” Uslar slipped right down the very same slope. Tumbling, he tried to keep his feet under him, while his hand desperately searched for something to grab on. Just what I was afraid of.

  “I got him!” Valiic already had the rope ready to go, and he tossed it around the branch of a tree for Uslar to grab.

  He reached for it and caught it, only centimeters before slamming into a knife-sharp thorn that would’ve impaled him. Uslar adjusted his body into a more comfortable position before starting up the slope. Even after years of exercise and training, he looked scrawny in comparison to his already non-muscular species, the qwayks. This disadvantage worked against him more than gravity could during his climb up.

  When all was settled and everyone was good, we pushed further away from the slope into the forest before us. With a beating heart and what felt like eyes on my back, I plunged into the over-arching vault of leaf and vines. It was not what I had expected. The exquisiteness of the sunset’s light had not yet lanced to the lush, green sward. Because of this, hoods of black shadow hung in the groves.

  “James, over here,” Valiic called.

  I hurried over to him. He’d found another small clearing at the base of a mountain and shined his light into an empty cave that stretched many meters deep. Orange and brown crystals hung down from the roof of the tall cave. And the walls were dolphin smooth, like it had been sanded by angels for decades.

  “This will be a good place to fort up. Everyone, make camp here.” Our squad entered the cave and unloaded sleeping supplies. “Valiic, Shadow. Go gather some firewood from the nearby trees.” They headed out as I asked.

  Brad walked up to me. “I got first shift. Ain’t no bitch gettin’ past my eyez.” I nodded in response, and he left.

  I headed toward a tunnel leading further down the cave. There was a secluded den off to the right. I crouched down and eased my way inside. The flashing red light on my cyberwatch meant I had five minutes until our first meeting would commence.

  I planted my ass down on the cold rock surface and rested my back against the mud-red wall. Once the five minutes were up, I activated my video chat. Dancing-Sky, Captain Yundor, Captain Wild-Heart, and Captain Waseem all appeared in a hologram projected circle.

  “You’re right on time, Captain Stone,” Dancing-Sky started our meeting.

  “I wouldn’t miss this meeting for a sizzling plate-meal only a mother could cook up,” I joked.

  “Good, good. James, why don’t you start us off, then?”

  “Sure. I’m about another half-day’s journey from the city. Once there, we will slowly creep behind the enemies as planned.”

  “And you, Captain Waseem? How far are the 0920 Legionnaires from the city?”

  “A day out max. We, ah… we ran into trouble with borjers. Damn monsters chased us as soon as the sun set. If it weren’t for Geariic and Alabon, bless them both, I may not be here.”

  “Is everyone alright?”

  “Fine. We have one man with an injured arm, but that’s it.”

  “Just make it to the city as soon as reasonably possible. Understand?”

  “We will increase our pace.”

  “Captain Wild-Heart. Captain Yundor. Have you both, along with the rangers, made contact with our enemies?”

  Captain Wild-Heart spoke first. “We have. My commandos are giving them all the hell we can give at the moment. The rangers are helping us push up the bridge, but these new enemies… the korkyra... they are tough as nails.”

  “How many are there?” I asked.

  “We believe there are anywhere from four to seven of them holding down the end of the bridge,” she responded.

  “Only four to seven! How many men do you have pushing over the bridge?” Dancing-Sky wondered.

  “Two commandos supported by twenty rangers. The rest are prepping our camp outside the docking bay near the end of the bridge or waiting to take over for the men already pressing the bridge.”

  “And my infiltrators and I are preparing for a stealth flank against the enemy,” Captain Yundor added.

  “How are four to seven enemy soldiers holding out against twenty-two men?” Dancing-Sky remarked, with fine-tuned fury in her breath.

  Wild-Heart responded, “Like I said, they are tough as nails. They have some kind of advanced weaponry I have yet to face on the front lines.”

  “Describe them,” I requested.

  “They look alive! Have reptile scales with holes that glow light blue… fire rounds faster than our ballistic bullets, and to top it off, these weapons explode with each round!” she informed.

  “What about the fire rate?”

  “Slower than an average assault rifle… probably a third of the speed, but those damned rounds are holding us back.”

  “To me, they sound like magnetically accelerated weaponry, also known as pulse weaponry… possibly biologically crafted as well. I know the Order of Aegis has been working on pulse technology, but they haven’t been able to make this class of weaponry small enough to be handheld. These korkyras must have found a way.” As the weapons specialist of my unit, this field was not new terrain for me.

  “That’s bad! Our biggest advantage in this war had been our superior technology. With these new enemies and their more advanced technology, we may lose the war fast!” Dancing-sky stammered.

  Captain Yundor raised his voice. “What kind of talk is that? We will find a way. I mean, we always have, right?”

  “Calm down!” I raged. “Captain Wild-Heart, have you sent in the two War Machines?”

  “We will by sunrise.”

  “See how they do. For now, I’m closing out. I have other shivf to handle.”

  I cut the channel. My blood boiled. I hated the idea of my allies laying their asses down and surrendering. They can’t honestly believe we’re going to lose this war, right?

  After a moment to myself, I sat up and marched back to my group. Everyone except Brad was around the crackling fire in the middle of the cave. The twigs and branches fed the blazing fire, which glowed a hot orange. I sat down in the middle of an ongoing conversation. “--that’s great for her, it really is-- Oh, James, did you hear the news?” Shadow-Walker asked as I sat down.

  “What are the daily seeds of wisdom today?” I responded.

  “Frost just told us that Day-Bringer… remember her? The legionnaire program manager... well, she got promoted to chief admiral!”

  “Holy hell. That’s good for her.”

  “The ARW senate happened to find she was a more than capable replacement for our last dor’o chief admiral,” Uslar added. He sat in the corner, charting out the area with a map from the ARW database.

  I got up and grabbed a nearby stick, then placed it in the fire and maneuvered the branches. The sticks crackled as I pushed against them, and the sizzling flame grew in height.

  “Ouch.” Shadow-Walker flinched.

  “What?”

  “You got me with a spark!”

  “Shadow… you’re, like, three steps away from the flames. What do you expect?”

  “Just be… you know… a little more careful.”

  I rolled my eyes and returned to my seat. Frost, who was only a few feet from us, was laughing. “My girl is the same way, uzzo. She loves to tease others over ‘em little thangs.”

  “Your girlfriend? Aren’t you, like, fifteen? I mean, you have one of them baby faces,” Shadow-Walker joked.

  “Yeah, I’ve been told so. But nah, uzzo, I’m actually nineteen years young.”

  “Damn! How’d a young jock like you end up out here?” Shadow-Walker asked.

  “I have Kalvin and Pro--” Frost stopped mid-sentence. “Damn, I can’t tell you that.” Shadow and I laughed it off.

  “So, Frost--” I started.

  “Yo?” he responded.

  “Why did Kalvin send you along with us anyway? I mean, what’s his angle?”

  “The man may be clever, but he can’t physically be in two places at once. So, while he starts up a new project, I will be gathering all the intelligence I can on the warlords.”

  “Kalvin is always working on new projects,” Uslar remarked, joining the conversation.

  “The old man is just trying to find a way to win the war,” Frost defended.

  “There is no magic bullet. One day, he’ll learn that,” I added.

  Valiic jumped into the conversation. “How did the meeting go?” he asked me.

  “Well, the commandos, rangers, and infiltrators have made contact with enemy korkyras, and they have their shivf fine-plated for them. However, the infiltrators are planning to counter with a stealth flank.”

  “And the other legionnaires?” Uslar asked.

  “They are a day out from the city.”

  “Hmm. They are behind.”

  “They ran into trouble with borjers.”

  “Damn! That’s just… that’s something for sure!” Frost added.

  “Well, I for one think they will be fine,” Valiic gave his input.

  “And we will, too,” I assured.

  Uslar looked towards the cave entrance before speaking with a quieter tone. “Are you sure allowing Brad to join the squad is a good idea?” Uslar jumped right into it.

  “Why do you ask?” I sighed.

  “Because his background was almost completely wiped from the systems. Trust me, I checked. And we don’t really know who he is - and need I remind you, he was our enemy not too long ago!”

  Valiic motioned his hand up and down in an effort to ease Uslar. “He wasn’t our enemy. We’re on the same side. He just had a different mission to complete.”

  I added, “I say hand him a chance.”

  Uslar was unconvinced but sighed. “I’ll try.” There was silence for a few seconds. “At least Brad was quick to take the balls-watch,” Uslar struggled, looking at the brighter side of things. “Never seen anyone that eager for a midnight watch.”

  “Hell, the criminal prolly loves it,” Frost added. “I mean, does the uzzo even sleep?”

  Shadow-Walker laughed. “Hah, he’s so edgy… he doesn’t sleep on anything.”

  Uslar laughed. “Brad’s so edgy, he doesn’t wash his hands after using the restroom.”

  “That is the true meaning of evil.” Valiic chuckled.

  Shadow-Walker jumped back in. “No, no, no. Brad’s so edgy… he washes his hands and then uses the bathroom.”

  This was turning into some weird, crazy funfest – fast; so, I decided to take a swing at this ballgame. “Brad’s so edgy, he rips the tags off his shirts and mattresses.”

  This joke game continued for a while. After some time, I decided to walk outside and join Brad. “James, where are you going?” Valiic asked me as I walked to the cave entrance.

  “To get fresh air.”

  “Be careful,” he warned.

  I nodded and strolled out into the open. As I looked at the surrounding area, I noticed the night sky was an astonishing blend of color, amber and violet streaks. The far trees and trees above our cave spoke to each other in the still warm breeze. I looked over to my right and spotted Brad perched on the high ledge of a rock beside our cave.

  I had to jump almost three meters in the air to reach his spot. “Brad, how are things up here?”

  “Noda damn dreat ‘n sight,” Brad reported.

  I sat there for a while, contemplating what to say. Brad never once gazed at me with his marked up visor; rather, he was dead focused on the surrounding wild, as if nothing else in the universe existed to him.

  I finally found the right words to use. “Brad, do you know what I tell others when they ask about my past?”

  I heard a faint snicker come from under Brad’s helmet. “I’m too edgy tah play ah damn guessin’ game,” he teased. Brad’s soft-hearted poke at our previous game seemed to ease the tension.

  After a small laugh, I continued. “I always said, I don’t talk about my past. In an idiot’s terms, I told them to screw off. Kind of harsh, right?”

  “Nah.”

  “I would always tell people that because I was afraid they would misjudge me. I figured nobody would understand what I went through.”

  “So why da hell are yah tellin’ me dis?”

  I pulled up a file on my cyberwatch. “Brad, do you know what this is?”

  He looked at the document for a stretched-out minute. “Damn, dat’z my file.” He returned his focus to the surroundings.

  “It’s not an official file of you, but I’m sure you know that. This was left in my cyberwatch’s inbox moments before Malcolm Richardson died. He sent me a file on you he must’ve put together himself.”

  “So?” Brad responded.

  “Brad, you aren’t alone. You had a tragic past similar to my own, and--”

  “Stonewall, stop playin’ dese damn gamez wit me. Yer tryna relate tah me cuz yah see some damn connection. Don’t!”

  As I prodded into his past, I could feel the pressure rise, and I was somewhat surprised by his sudden reaction. I could almost hear the pain from his past bubble up in his voice. It was a sound I knew all too well.

  “At age twelve, I was forcibly taken from my mother. At fifteen, I had endured three years straight of what a drunk fool would call torture. Project Ace… that was what it was called. Brad, I know these people wronged you, just like they did me,” I sputtered.

  “Dey didn’t jus’ wrong me. Dat Kalvin dick recreated me. In dat damned Project Glasshouse, dose bitchez picked ‘round ‘n my head… added n’ changed shit. Da bitchez molded me into ah weapon…some lawlezz piece-ah-shit dat can kill wit damn-ease. Shit, dey took ‘way my damn emotionz. Left only ah sense of twisted humor, unrelentin’ focuz, anger, n’ ah joy for battle. Do yah understand dat, Stonewall? Da life I live alwayz pissed?”

  “Painfully.” My haunted expression showed the memories of my past. “At fifteen, after I escaped from Project Ace, I lived a year of my life pissed and in pain because of it.” I half-scoffed, “Hell, I often focused the ol’ noggin on ways I could inflict revenge on Kalvin. Then something shivf-tickle happened: I saw the uselessness in it… saw that I couldn’t get back my old life by revenge. Instead, I made myself useful and joined the ARW military… found a reason to live.”

  “Yah hada damn choice, Stonewall! I waz left wit none!”

  I was about to add something, but Frost marched out to the cave. “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  “About to take a piss.” He wiggled into the trees beside us. In a couple seconds, I could hear his stream bat against some leaves. “Shivf!” I heard Frost scream nearby.

  Suddenly, out of the dirt, creatures tunneled up and shot into the cave. There were tens, maybe hundreds, and I soon lost count of them. Seconds later, gunfire and struggling arose from inside our cave.

  “Brad, come on!”

  I leapt down from the ledge, with Brad right behind. More creatures tunneled through the dirt between us and the cave. They clawed and crawled towards us and forced us farther from our allies. I couldn’t see what was going on. Out of the trees, Frost lashed out a rope of ice at a tree branch and swung in front of me and Brad. He pulled out his sidearm and fired at the wild beasts.

  “Hold yer damn fire!” Brad shouted.

  Frost stopped shooting. More tunneled around us, and we were enclosed in their ranks at all directions. We’d been ambushed by these creatures.