"It was not long until the crew made their attack. Their heads were ripped off their bodies, their arms were bitten off from their sockets and swallowed whole with their hosts were thrown hundreds of feet high: some of them landed in the water only for them freeze and drown in the supercool water while the rest were shishkebabed by the beast's arm and buried inside the ship. Four more grabbed their pistols and opened fire. The bullets barely penetrated the creature. It annoyed it rather than hurting it. It redirected the last 10 with its claws and flicked them towards each of their necks killing them instantly.
"'My God,' Zirith was speechless.
"'It's coming right towards us!' I yelled pulling out my pistol.
"'Die you son of a…' we opened fire and the creature showed no signs of slowing down, it thundered its way towards us but…but…it missed us. It did not show any hostility towards us as it massacred half of the crew easily! King Mungfalme what kind of monstrosity was this. We pelted it with bullets and it hardly even felt it. It almost felt as if we were throwing cotton balls at it! Where did it come from? My curiosity peaked when I revisited at the creatures fiery, ivory eyes.
"We heard a scream from behind us, a Neoman had a spear in hand, pulled back ready to pierce the silver blade inside the creature's heart. The creature reacted quickly, grabbed the spear, and threw the Neoman off. When the man came down, the creature forcibly jabbed the entire spear along with its arm inside the man's crotch up through the intestines all the way out to the base of the head and finally ripping him in two with its bare hands.
"The creature continued thundering its way towards the Admiral. We tried to stop it but we couldn't! It was unstoppable!
"'Come on! Come on you son of a bitch!' the Admiral yelled armed with his sword. The creature leaped towards it with tremendous power, its right arm stretched back, its black, bony claws retracted through its knuckles.
"Suddenly…
"BANG!
"I looked up and saw the Earl with his musket. He loaded it with a tachyon bullet. The blast from that bullet forced the creature to fly to a wall. It snarled and glared at the Earl; the creature sprinted over to him but found itself being pounded by the blast.
"BANG!
"BANG!
"BANG!
"The creature bled.
"It was weakening.
"The Admiral collapsed on the ground both from relief and from anger as the creature was continuously being shot. Even though the Admiral was angry because he didn't get to kill it for himself, he was still happy that the creature was suffering.
"I felt the same way, as well as Zirith.
"Then this happened…
"'H-help me?' It pleaded. The voice…it sounded familiar.
"'F-father?' it stretched its arm to me. It pleaded and pleaded, begging for help. Its voice softened and softened until it began to resemble…
"'Samantha?'
"'Samantha? What about…?' I ignored Zirith and told the Earl, 'Earl…stop! Stop!'
"He was not listening. It was not until we were all blinded by a sudden flash of ivory white light. And when the light died down was an incredibly beaten, bare Samantha.
Her dress was ripped to oblivion, now looking like trousers than it was for a dress. The Earl smiled and ceased fire, 'I knew it.' He walked down the steps and
"Her body…she was still alive – but barely. She was inaudible, gasping for air as she lied in a pool of her own blood. The pain, the unimaginable pain. It must have been unbearable. She tried to stand up but was too weak to do so. I rushed in to help her, wrapping my arms around her to ease her pain. She cried in my arms harder than I ever thought possible. Everyone that survived her killing spree wanted a pint of her blood.
"Zirith was shocked. A Neoman helping a caring for a human was a taboo to us. And I do not know why it was. Your fear is hereditary as well as your ignorance. You made it so to be instant treason.
"I helped her up as she immediately wrapped her arms around my shoulders; then something strange occurred – she was healing quickly!
"Suddenly, the Earl grabbed Samantha from my grip, dragged her on the ground by her hair forcing her to drop her badge. I ran over to her, but the crew held me back – even Zirith.
"The Earl threw her on the ground and cocked his musket eager to open fire.
"'General Yalen,' he began, not looking at me, 'I thought that you might have more class than this,' he said, 'Helping a human is considered treacherous to the highest degree. I could kill you and your pet, but since that I am such a nice guy, I'll just strip you from your position and have you imprisoned in the brig effective and immediately.'
"'You can take my position away, but kill her and I swear you pay dearly for this.'
"'And this is coming from a traitor?' he teased.
"'No. If you kill her who to say that she will come back as a beast and try to kill you?' I asked, 'Think about it. She have single-handedly killed half of our crew with a blink of an eye. So killing her will be suicide and if you dare survive, she will find a way to destroy not only you but everything that you hold dear.'
"Don't listen to him!' the Admiral screamed, barely audible, 'He is going to have us killed!'
"'Sir, I know her better than anyone else on this ship. If you kill her or me her demon will reemerge and wipe out the entire ship. And if you survive, our blood will be in your hands. And King Mungfalme does not like those who fail. And you, I know you. You hate to lose. And you hate to face the king when you return with failure. So if I were you, I'll put the gun down,' I said.
"The Earl smiled, deviance sparkled around his eyes, 'You are playing a dangerous game in this folly,' he said.
"'It's not folly sir,' I said getting up, 'Observation.'
"The Earl scoffed, 'Take Yalen and this scum to the brig,' the Earl ordered the surviving guards. His men took us away.
…
"You let that bastard go?" the Admiral growled.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I want him to be comfortable,' the Earl said, "Normal victims transform into werewolves at a full moon."
"Your point?"
"Werewolves die from a silver bullet, I whacked this one with gold. This is no werewolf. This creature is special," he said leaving the Admiral to deal with the medical crew as he slowly loses consciousness passing by four Cloaks.
"Sense the Alpha Badge and bring it to me. And if there is a user – kill it."
The Cloaks nodded. Their cloaks sprouted wings and developed hollow bones. Beaks exploded from their mouths as their legs lengthened. Their eyes were pushed to the sides leaving their nose to narrow. Their torso squeezed inwards. When they finished their transformation they screeched and flew out to the skies to retrieve the Earl's bone.
NINETEEN
WHEN I OPENED my eyes that morning, I woke up with a mild headache. I felt weak. "Damn what happened last night," I asked myself.
The light was so damn bright that it left a blinding scar in my eyes. Finally, within minutes my vision cleared allowing me to see that I was on the bathroom floor with my badge in my right hand.
"How…what in the name of…," I started to say.
This does not add up. Why would I be holding my badge if last night I…wait. Was I sleepwalking? I never sleepwalked before. Hm, probably it could be a possibility. Who knows? If that's the case then why here? Why in the bathroom? All of this confusion was getting me a headache. I got up, opened the mirror-cabinet, and put my badge inside only for my eyes to squint by what I saw outside of my window. It was a man no taller five wearing a black bowler hat. It was the Vendor from the other day at the fruit stand! Why the hell was he doing here?
"Michael! Michael! Michael, come quick!" I heard my sister cry forcing me to jump. I hurriedly ran out of the bathroom only for me to look out the window. And much to my shock he vanished!
Was I going mad?
…
I rushed to the living room to see Nya pointing to the phone…shaking? Her f
inger was smoking, goddammit what happened last night?
"You missed your phone call," he said. I furrowed. I did not hear the phone ring, because if it did I would have woken me up instead of my aching head.
Just before things became weirder it got weird pretty damn quick.
"Supersaurs Michael! I…I am scared," she whimpered still pointing to the phone.
"Supersaurs?"
"The phone you missed it. Do not pick it up," she said softly.
"Nya, is something…?"
"The phone…"
"Nya, the phone didn't ring," I told her, "You had a nightmare?" I asked picking her up.
"Michael…"
RING RING!
"Well, I'll be damned," I said spooked out of my mind. That came from out of nowhere. What was strange was that since my battle against Lyca, the phone wires from the roof were destroyed. The connection between the phone and the motherboard was disconnected but…but…the phone still rang. What the hell happened last night?
"Weird," I said checking the connection. There is no connection but the phone is still ringing," I said.
"Don't pick up the phone," she said. I sighed and put her down.
"Nya, don't be silly," I reassured, even though I too was suspicious of how the phone can ring even without it being connected. To prove to her and my doubts that there was nothing to be afraid of, I picked up the phone much to Nya's everlasting terror and answered the phone…
"Hello?"
"G'day! Is this Mr. Gilliganson speaking?" I heard Mr. Dalton's voice over the phone. My hand plopped on the speaker's end of the handle. If this was Nya's scary monster then I would not blame her.
"No need to be afraid no longer," I said with a smile, "It's just a Dalton. The worst kind are far the weakest," I said with a giggle leaving a small, but a weak smile to spread across her lips, "Um yes this is Mr. Gilliganson. How may I help you sir?"
"Ah, Mr. Gillliganson, my boy I say it is marvelous to hear your voice again," Mr. Dalton said.
"Likewise," I said dryly.
"Anyway, I would like to inform you that my daughter Susie has invited your daughter…"
"Sister," I corrected.
"Sister? Why you look so much older," he joked, "Anyway, my daughter has invited Nya to her seventh birthday celebration! Isn't it wonderful?" he asked me with glee. I turned to face Nya who heard the news. She had a mixed with emotions, fear and elation. She did not know how or what to feel about this amazing event.
"Gee I don't know. It all seems rather nice and all but…"
"Oh come on now! Don't tell me that you are too busy on your farm that you forgot how to have fun!"
I took that as an insult.
"Hey! Now you listen here…"
"Sorry, sorry, diction error. I apologize," he said, "But please listen for what I have to say…please."
"Sure."
"Susie…well since we moved here, Susie's real friend were powerful men and women in big banks and politics. Never had she had friends any real friends. Whenever she feels lonely we have to buy her some friends or I'll just stay with her and have fun together: me, the Duke of Washington, and many others. And believe me, you can buy a man to be friendly to you, but you can't buy friendship. Do you agree?"
"Yes," I answered with a thought. He did not sound snooty or hubristic over the phone this time. Instead he sounded a bit…sincere like any other father would, "I agree."
"It would not take long I promise you. You'll have a great time. And after cake, I'll personally drop you off back to your home," he said.
"Thankyou," he said. After a few moments on the phone, I finally hung up to see Nya's frozen look.
"Nya? Are you okay sweetheart?" I asked.
"I'm scared Michael," she whimpered.
"There is nothing to be scared of," I told her, "Look you have been invited to Susie's birthday party! Are you excited?" I asked in glee.
Nya did not say a word.
I was on my knees, both of my arms hung on her shoulders, "Oh come on Nya don't be like that. Hey, look, if anything goes wrong we'll leave okay?" I said with a smile. Nya responded with a tight hug. A very tight hug! Damn how strong was she?
"N-Nya….air?" I struggled to breath. Nya's eyes bulged after she realized that she was cracking a few of my bones. She lets go of my immediately.
"Looks like someone's been eating their vegetables!" I joked trying to gasp for air.
Nya was stunned and confused, but shared a nice laugh.
TWENTY
"THAT NIGHT AT the shore, my liege, all of us at the bottom pit of the ship were in chains walking down the ramp towards the blinding, eerie light from the moon yonder. They kept us separate - Samantha and I docked on opposite sides of the boat. That was pretty risky knowing full well that I was the one who knew her better than any of these monsters combined. At any time, if she wanted she could turn back into that...that beast! Twenty-five hundred human slaves trailed to their cages.
"The campsite was like what I would imagined it to be, it was paradise...paradise for the privileged. There wasn't many of us here. It was a small site. The pain around my ankles...the cold metal coils hugging my feet scraped my skin; my dear Lord Mungfalme, please here me. I have been loyal to you since the day I had been in my mother's womb. It was in my blood to be loyal to you, my liege; however for some reason, there was another part of me that was begging for something. I didn't know it at first but now I know.
"Freedom. Not for me, no not just for me but for anyone who is feeling the same way I am. Why do I have the feeling that I had been caged for most of life. Have my life been a lie? Answer me my Lord Mungfalme. Have I been a pawn? A slave? Is this what we all have become. You once told us how glorious and wonderful we were, but looking back, we were just echoes in your head...your worshipers. Is this true? I do not want it to be. All I ask is for your strength and wisdom for me to survive this colony...this hunt for the Alpha.
"Samantha...Samantha, she's a special case. I often wondered that could she be the Alpha? Nobody have ever seen the Alpha for the past thirty years! How do we know that they aren't around anymore? I've heard about these Badgettes, they only existed in myths and stories, however, Samantha proved to me otherwise.
"Previously, she had transformed into a werewolf with a feral mind...but now that I think about, if she was feral, wouldn't that mean that she would have killed me too? I mean it often makes sense come to think about it. She killed everyone that harmed her on the deck but yet did not attack me. I know what you are thinking sire, animals are hard to understand, but given the evidence that I had been bestowed by the Great One my Lord, it seemed to me that Samantha...trusts me.
"I read up upon canids and their interactions with humans. It could be a state of imprinting or something more similar; however, before she ever transformed into a werewolf, I could sense something within her that did not measure up to hostility nor fear. The more time she was with me, the more she comes...closer. I don't understand it.
"What is this, my liege? I beg for you for an answer. This is all too new for me; I have sacrificed my status to save a human. A human. I am a Neoman and proud, but I have sacrificed and yet risked my life to protect her and I don't know why!
"I walked down the hill in a train of chained humans (man, woman, and children) down the wooden ramp to the dark, sandy beaches. Neoman soldiers were all out goofing around. However as they dragged us through the campsite, four Neomen sat around a fire, one of them were cooking a human limb above the fire while bragging on how they plundered villages and towns as a sport! I was told that a place like this would be more like heaven but instead I have entered through the gates of hell. It was a deplorable site. A hellish view. A demeaning, disgusting source of what our civilization is.
"How can we be civilized if we aren't civilized ourselves? This just does not make sense. If you ever get this letter, please end this. This is my documentary to you and only for you my Lord. Everything that of what I've seen is ruining you
r image as a wholesome king and wise leader to our people. Let this Earl's life end so a new wise man can take his place. He does not deserve the title. He is a manipulative, selfish, murderous boy - prejudiced at most.
"The Earl is a disgrace to you and all of our kind. He is a mockery to you and your entire family line, my Lord. He does not deserve to live nor does he deserve to breed. If this man breeds, we will have more and more of these creatures walking around the Earth spreading hate and fear across the land, multiplying like a cancer. The Earth and you deserve a lot better than this.
"Finally, we made it to our cages. They pushed and threw children, no older than 9 inside of their cages, separate from their families, thrown inside like heaps of garbage; knowing full and well of how I was the "former" General of your military, sire, my own men had thrown me on the way side, treating me like I was some sort of animal. They closed the doors shut, locking the doors and threw it away in their pockets. I screamed and hollered demanding me to set me free. One of my own men, my loyal cadet smacked the stock of his gun directly to my face. I was forced back faster than the humans who were backing away from the traitor. Before I landed hard on the ground, I was caught shoulder-first. I looked up to see Samantha smiling. She pushed me forward and turned me around before wrapping her hands around me. And boy was her grip was tight. I had to tell her to let go, but she hugged tighter until I wheezed. Maybe that caught the message to me. Me suffocating.
"'Yalen...you came!' she said.
"'I did,' he said, 'Are you undamaged?'
"Samantha did not answer back. She was still learning how to speak, but her capabilities...her abilities - she was not this fluent before. She would stutter and struggle to form words and...she's fluent. It's amazing.
"Sadly the praise would have to wait, sire when two of my former men came circling around us for some unknown reason. Samantha hid behind me. She and I were both scared as they tormented us by clinging their blades up against the steel bars. They sang and whistled for mankind's extinction, and for that, it was sickening and deplorable.
The Son of Alpha (The Legend of the Sky-Titans Book 1) Page 13
