by Adam Moon
But he still wasn’t satisfied. In fact, his anger intensified with each passing moment.
He sat at his command console and stared at the screen showing the super humans. He zoomed in just in time to see them huddle together and then vanish from view. The sensors got to work and found them again, but the closest troops were nowhere near them.
And then he realized what they were doing. Those damn humans were picking them off one by one, and then retreating to new cover. It might take years, but if they continued to fall into their trap, the humans could eventually win.
It was in Shaylo’s nature to hunt his would-be victims which meant chasing prey came naturally to him and his kind. And the humans were using their very nature against them.
He had to find a way to force the humans to stop and fight. He had to find a way to lure them in, and he thought he knew just the way to go about it.
A Lose - Lose Situation for mankind
Admiral Liktar rubbed his brow. The scouts had informed him that the Grey invasion had commenced some time ago. That should have set the countdown clock in motion, but so far the Greys hadn’t moved towards his home planet. He didn’t know what that meant. The humans stood little chance against Shaylo but somehow they were stalling him.
That also made him nervous. If the humans were formidable enough to defeat a warrior of Shaylo’s caliber, which was highly unlikely and maybe even impossible, then they were a force to be reckoned with. He had no doubt that the politicians back home would worry that the genetically advanced humans might be a new threat that should be dealt with before it came knocking at their own door.
It was unfortunate but if the humans won, Liktar would probably be tasked with destroying them before they posed a threat to his people. He doubted the humans even knew they existed but that fact wouldn’t stop the talking heads from strategizing and fretting and making plans based on fears rather than reality.
Of course, that was the best case scenario. The far more likely worst case scenario was that the Greys would wipe out humanity, as they surely would, and then move on his world.
He called several of his scouts back home; they had to fortify their defenses if they stood half a chance against Shaylo. He left about two thirds out in the field to watch Shaylo’s progress and then he positioned his warship equidistant between the scouts and the defenses so he could be in one place or the other in an equal amount of time.
A smarter Admiral would lay his money on Shaylo to win but there was something special about the humans that gave him hope. A part of him was starting to believe his defenses would never have to be tested, but that was irresponsible to believe. Luckily for him, he was an Admiral and few could question his decisions.
Shaylo the Soldier
Shaylo opened a locker that hadn’t been opened since his days in the field. It held his armor. The armor was legendary and so far the technology had never been replicated, although many scientists had tried.
He’d forced a defeated enemy to design it for him. They had been far more technologically advanced than his people were, but they were easily defeated because they were stupid enough to live peacefully. Shaylo accepted his powerful armor and then slaughtered the designers.
It all seemed so long ago to him but it did bring back fond memories of conquest and dirty work that he pretended he didn’t miss dearly on a daily basis.
He slipped it on and marveled at how it made him feel. It was nearly impenetrable. It had built-in weapons, per his instructions, and its flight capabilities were unsurpassed.
He flexed and smiled. That human would regret what he’d done. That human would suffer in ways few ever had.
Shaylo called for the next highest ranking officer. “I’ll be going landside and I need you to baby sit the ship.”
There was a pause. The officer wanted to question his decision but she was smart enough to bite her tongue. “I’m heading your way now.”
“Good.”
Shaylo’s shuttle was no better than the others but it was unique in design. Aesthetically, it set him apart from his men, which had always been important to him as a General, but now the notion seemed so foreign. He had an elevated role that was coveted by all but deep down he’d always been jealous that his men got to have all the fun. Today he was going to break his cardinal rule and join in the fight.
He got behind the controls of the shuttle and he immediately felt like a real warrior for the first time in years.
He was about to launch into battle with the mightiest creature he’d ever faced. He was confident he’d be victorious because he knew everything there was to know about his enemy and his enemy didn’t even know his name.
But there were risks and the risks were what had his heart jumping for joy. This would be a true test.
When he saw his new First Mate’s shuttle arrive and dock with the mother ship, he launched towards the planet Earth.
The first and only order he gave his newest First Mate was, “Hack their communications satellites and patch me in when I tell you to.”
The officer’s voice was shaky over the radio. “Yes General. My name is Galgo, sir.”
“Not anymore. Now you will answer to First Mate only.”
“Of course, sir.”
Earthbound
Melanie held her breath as the small spacecraft touched down outside the bar; right in the street like it belonged there.
It looked nothing like the other spaceships the Greys used.
A moment later a hatch opened and a robust Grey emerged. It stretched its limbs and looked around bemusedly. Then it started towards the bar in such a detached fashion that she wondered if it was just coming in for a beer.
But then when it was within a few feet its body armor started to morph, revealing shoulder cannons and little laser sights. Small gun-like objects jutted from its wrists and a thick armor plate slid across its chest with a foot wide circle in the middle that she could only assume was another weapon.
It reached a finger inside its faceplate and pressed a hidden button. And then in broken English, with an artificial voice, it said, “I’m wanting Jack’s super friend female.”
Melanie looked back at the collage of bewildered faces. Some of them stared back expectantly and then she understood why: she was Jack’s super friend.
Her mom and dad shook their heads angrily but she had no choice. The Grey outside was like nothing she’d ever seen before. If she refused, it might kill everyone in the bar. If she could lure it away, she could take it on without worrying about civilian casualties.
She yelled through the crack in the door, “I’m coming out. Don’t shoot.”
The Grey paused for a moment and then said, “Yes you will.”
She gave her mom a hug and then her dad one too. Her dad wouldn’t let go of her so she was forced to use more of her strength than she wanted to to wrench herself free of his grip.
He said, “Don’t go out there. We can run.”
“That thing has a spaceship and it has one of those armored flying suits on. I doubt we’d get very far.”
“If we stall him Jack might show up. He could get us out of here, or better yet, kill that guy.”
“Dad, Jack’s not coming back. He’s probably dealing with some serious stuff of his own. It’ll be okay. I’m a superhero, remember?”
His eyes teared up so she had to turn away or else she’d start crying too.
She walked out the front door of the bar. Before she had a chance to react, the Grey rushed forward and grabbed her by the top of the head with its large hand.
It said, “Are this one Melanie?”
“Yes.”
“We go then.”
It let her go and walked down the street away from its spaceship. She followed because it was the only option available to her.
It stopped half a block around the corner and said, “Light is good here.”
She had no idea what it was talking about.
Live Feed
Shaylo said
to his new First Mate, “Have you hacked their communications arrays yet?”
“Yes sir. I just finished.”
“I want you to feed my mounted camera footage directly to it. I’ll be removing it from my armor so they can see me.”
“Yes sir. Ready when you are.”
Demon Unchained
Jack sat on a park bench in a small town in Alabama. It was one of those towns that was so small that it prided itself on its park cannon which was centrally located so that every passerby had no choice but to look at it. The cannon was small and nondescript, the same as its home town.
The half dozen troops had disbanded per Watson’s orders, traveling together as far away from Jack as they could get before he got swarmed again. It was a good idea that would probably prolong their lives. Some of them had a long way to travel but Jack couldn’t offer to teleport them because he was pretty sure he was being tracked by the Greys somehow. They seemed to always know where to find him and he’d hate to lead the Greys to one of the soldiers’ homes.
That left just him, Sally, Hank, Watson, and his mom. It was a smaller, more manageable group. For that he was thankful. Every little advantage helped.
The little Alabama town was picturesque. It was nice to see lush grasses and foliage but still be away from denser populations. It reminded Jack a lot of Ault.
Sally said, “This place reminds me of the place I grew up.”
“Where was that?”
“A little town called Butteville in Oregon. It was nice and quaint before the Greys wiped it off the map.”
He was at first somber but then he tried to lighten the mood with, “I could’ve guessed you came from a place called Butteville.”
“Hey! What does that mean?”
Jack just chuckled as Sally leaned into him, nestling into the nape of his neck. Her blond hair smelled like coconuts even though they’d been hanging out in a hundred degree heat in the Grand Canyon for several hours.
A lock of hair tickled his nose and he sneezed, ruining the serene mood.
He overheard hushed arguing from across the park. His mom was saying to Watson and Hank, “Don’t you dare tell him. He’s been through too much. It’ll be too much for him to handle.”
Jack leapt to his feet and headed straight for them with Sally hot on his heels, curious to see what had them so agitated.
They all turned his way but none of them spoke.
Jack said, “Tell me what’s going on.”
Watson and Hank both turned to his mom but she looked away from everyone. Her eyes were bloodshot and tearing up.
“Tell me.”
Watson said, “It’ll be easier if you see for yourself.”
Jack’s mom said, “Don’t show him.”
Now Jack was getting angry. “Whatever it is, I want to see it now.”
Watson was hesitant but he eventually said, “Come with me,” as he walked towards the little strip of shops that lined the opposite side of the street from the park.
Jack’s mom let out a loud sob, but he was too tense to comfort her just then. He had to see what the big deal was.
Watson led him inside an electronic repair shop full of old stereos and washing machines and big blocky tube style TV’s.
The one thing that stood out was the wall mounted flat screen TV because it was the only thing in the shop built in the past decade.
A two minute video was playing over and over, on a constant loop.
Jack’s heart became heavy and he felt like his lungs were filled with lead. On the screen was something straight out of a horror movie.
A Grey like none he’d ever seen before was in the shot, wearing a unique style of armor. He had guns all over his body and a large, vicious looking sword strapped to his hip. Across from him was Jack’s friend Melanie. She was shaking but she stood tall and faced her enemy despite her fears.
Jack took a closer look and realized they were in Ault.
He said, “I can be there in a second. I’ll be right back,” but Watson said, “Don’t bother, son. Just watch.”
The large Grey alien looked into the camera and then in a single quick motion, pulled his sword and brought it down on Melanie’s head. She was strong, but the sword embedded itself in her skull anyway, parting her eyes. She blinked twice and then she fell over backwards.
The alien bent down and retrieved his sword. He fastened it to his hip again without even bothering to clean off the blood.
Then he pressed an unseen button on the inside of his faceplate and spoke.
“I am Shaylo. Come to me Earthman. Avenge her death.”
Then the footage looped back to the beginning again.
Jack’s mouth fell open. All eyes turned to him but he didn’t notice. He was in a fugue state, barely conscious of his own breathing.
He mumbled, “That can’t be right. That was Melanie. She did nothing to them.”
Watson stepped between Jack and the TV. “I know. But you can’t fall into his trap. Do you understand?”
Jack nodded but hardly knew what he was agreeing to. “I should’ve been there to save her.”
Now Jack’s mom chimed in. “She didn’t want to fight. She chose to stay behind and there was nothing anyone could say to convince her to leave. Don’t blame yourself for that.”
“She was innocent.”
Watson moved his head to the right to make sure Jack was looking at him. “Do not get suckered in, son. He wants you to act emotionally.”
Jack yelled, “Then that’s his mistake! He’s about to see what I can do.”
Sally touched his elbow and said, “Calm down. We’ll get him but just not right now.”
Jack stared at her like he wanted to kill her with his gaze.
He said seriously, “You’re wrong. I’m going after him right this minute. Can you flip your force field inside out?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because I need you to. Will you join me? It’ll be dangerous. We’ll probably die.”
His mom cried out, “No!” but he ignored her.
Sally whispered, “Yes, I’ll come with you.”
“Good.” His features became ugly, veins popping out of his temples and color draining from his face.
His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he teleported himself and Sally away from the others.
Retribution at all Costs
They appeared at the scene of the crime on the street in Ault, Colorado.
Melanie’s wrecked body was ten feet away, cooling in her own spilt blood. Jack knew better than to run over to her but he did it anyway. If Shaylo ambushed him, then that was fine by him.
Jack took a look around for the camera that had shot the grisly footage and immediately found it attached to a stop sign next to Melanie’s body. It was small and alien, and wasn’t recognizable as a camera in any way, but it was in the right spot so he knew it was.
Sally hung back, swiveling her head around, trying to catch a glimpse of Shaylo, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Jack knelt down, hoping beyond hope that this was all some kind of elaborate hoax, but he could immediately tell that it wasn’t. The ruined body was his friend Melanie’s.
He touched her cheek and tears welled up in his eyes. He felt his senses tingle as he phased in and out so rapidly that he appeared to not be moving at all. He was afraid he was going to get whisked away by his powers again, against his will. He had to act quickly or else Sally would be left behind with Shaylo as his teleportation ability dumped him in the damn desert again.
He stood up and screamed as loudly as he could, “Come and get me, you coward.”
A figure appeared at the end of the block. It was floating off of the ground by a foot, moving their way slowly, inch by inch.
It was Shaylo.
The sight of him had Jack’s hairs standing on end. In a weird way, Shaylo was magnificent. He exuded an aura of ultimate confidence.
Jack yelled to Sally, “When I say so, wrap us all up in an inverte
d force field.”
“Why?” When Jack had mentioned reversing the fields back in Alabama, she’d imagined he simply wanted to imprison or otherwise contain Shaylo inside her force field, but now she knew how wrong that assumption was. In a way she was thankful because she already knew she couldn’t keep her field up indefinitely. It always fizzled out after a few minutes. But why would he want to trap them inside with the menacing Grey?
Jack said ominously, “I want to trap oxygen inside with us.”
She hardly knew how to respond to that so she ignored it and voiced her concerns. “I don’t know if I can invert it. Buy me a minute to practice flipping the fields around.”
“You got it.” Jack teleported towards the approaching Grey in three foot increments, disappearing and then reappearing just a bit closer each time.
The Grey, for his part, didn’t seem too surprised by his ability because he just kept coming forward. Guns of all varieties sprung up all over the Grey’s armor. He was a floating arsenal of alien technology.
Jack looked back in time to see Sally erecting a force field. Her face was screwed up into a knot as she concentrated with all of her willpower.
She touched the shield and yelled, “Ouch,” before letting it dissipate and trying again.
Jack dodged a laser blast but all that did was put him in danger when another one hit him immediately after he dodged the first one. He teleported twenty feet above but the guns must have had some sort of lock on him because they were already firing when he appeared. He phased in and out to avoid being hit but the blasts came so quickly he’d never be able to keep at it for long.
He tried to focus on Shaylo but he couldn’t because he couldn’t stay in one place long enough.
Sally yelled, “I got it. What now?”
Jack yelled back, “Just keep it up,” right as a laser burned a sizzling line across his cheek.
His idea was impossible as far as he knew, but he’d teleported so far and wide that he had faith he could do it again. He could make Shaylo feel his pain. He could do one thing that Shaylo would never see coming and would probably never recover from seeing.
