I took that strange woman back to my campsite and asked her questions until I thought her voice might give out, mostly about this strange planet called Earth. She refused meat, it would make her sick, she said. When I asked about her species and true form, she motioned vaguely at her body and told me that was it. I was shocked. Wouldn’t she be completely defenseless in this world? Thankfully, the dragons hadn’t identified her as a meal. If she had a place on the food chain, it would be at the bottom.
Hearing about a new species called “Human” was odd, but I could accept it. The stories that followed about her past, on the other hand, were unbelievable. In the most unenthused tone possible, Faeryn told me she was the daughter of a goddess. I didn’t believe in folklore or religion, but found myself prepared to worship anything tangential to her existence. She was divine. Seraphic. Bewitching. She asked me about my knowledge of the gods, and I shared the stories I knew from childhood. Once I was back home I would make an effort to learn all of the native Trebianna fairytales I could to share with her in return.
Leaving Faeryn on that island after a few days of paradise was torture. I returned almost immediately and asked if she would move to the Western Continent with me. Miraculously, she not only agreed, but she wasenthusiastic.I gave her clothing, assured her we could return to the island whenever she wanted, and brought her back to Virylan. Soon, we were married. I had no clue the selfish invitation to join my societywould seal her fate. By the time I saw the writing on the walls, it was too late.
“Graysen!” Mykie snapped.
“What?” I jerked my head around, looking for a potential threat. “What’s wrong?”
“You were pretty zoned out. I thought you might be asleep.” She adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. “We’re almost there, about to enter monster territory. I need you ready for trouble.”
“Sorry, I’m good.” I ran my fingers through my hair and blinked rapidly. My body hadn’t known sleep for days.
Right. It was a big world with a variety of apex predators who were yet to evolve to a state of personhood. I didn’t know much about the species found in remote wildernesses; it was a level of taboo survivalism I avoided while a nomad. These regions were purposely kept off the radar of the general populace, lest we be forced to see what we had evolved from. Threads of natural superiority were still woven into the tapestry of “Redeveloped”species. The wildernesses where our history resided were meant to be forgotten.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I certainlyheardthe beasts as I drove through the woods that night. My Silvates had cried out in objection many times, and I knew if we stopped for much longer than it would take to grab Faeryn, we would be overpowered.
Night had fallen during my unintentional doze, and the blackness between the passing trees was eerily unnatural. Mykie’s car cast a bright light from its bow across the road ahead of us, but it only made that which wasn’t illuminated that much darker. The trees here had gnarled roots and long branches that twisted like knuckled claws flexing around the path we drove.The moss that hung from them was a sickly green, like the flora were on the verge of death. We were trapped in a tunnel of overgrowth that only occasionally broke to show a glimpse of the galaxies above.
“Shit!” Mykie shouted, the car suddenly halted and sent my body lurching towards the glass, the seat’s strap locking tight across my chest.
I looked up just in time to seesomethingslowly drag itself back into the trees. Monstrous and pale, it walked on two legs in a hunched gait and dragged the backs of its oversized, gangly hands along the ground behind it. Each finger was tinted burgundy, presumably from recent hunts, with long nails curling in towards its palms. Its ribcage was wide, with shadows cast under each bone onto its emaciated flesh. A furless tail extended from it’s spine that looked unnaturally stiff and lumpy. The creature’s face was mostly concealed by a layer of stringy, matted white hair, but I could faintly make out the gaunt pull of its cheekbones and the black pits where eyes would be.
“I almost hit that.” Mykie sucked her lips in and hesitantly began to accelerate once the creature had disappeared.
I nodded. “Maybe we should drive slower.” I hated to suggest it, but we’d be no use to Faeryn if a nine-foot-tall nightmare destroyed the car.
The vehicle was loud as it drove over the rough road, but as we progressed into the depths of the forest, disturbing cries began to challenge the machine with their volume. Beasts howled, screeched, and cackled in a manner that was unnerving even for my fierce friend. Mykie was stiff as a board, her chest rising and falling evenly. She slicked her tongue over her sharp teeth as if to self-soothe while maintaining her menace.
“How is your creature education?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even. A group of identical glowing eyes stared through the trees on the edge of the road.
“Not great.” She rolled her shoulders. “I took Anatomy and Physiology IV instead.”
“What’s there to cover in a fourth rendition?”
“Just more ways to kill, torture, and maim,” she mumbled.
The windshield was fogging over as the air became thicker. Mykie turned a few knobs that adjusted the airflow inside the vehicle. I jumped when two rods began wiping back and forth across the glass in routine intervals. The combined changes improved the visibility just in time for us to see a mutilated carcass left for scavengers on the road. It probably wasn’t “Human”, strictly because most of the escapees would have died or been recaptured last summer. A morbid thought to chase away a different morbid possibility.
“Grab the bag behind me,” Mykie ordered, her voice gaining a level of cool control. She had shut off her emotions to get the job done, and I was grateful. Hopefully, I could do the same.
I pulled the bag into my lap and unzipped it.
“You should see a dark gray cube morphing into a circle at one end. It has black buttons,” she described.
I fished through an assortment of mysterious contraptions until I located something that matched the description. She glanced over and nodded in confirmation.
“Press the large button closest to the round part.”
I did, and the object beeped. Green grid lines illuminated inside of the circle and several red dots lined the rectangle.
“There’s a dial on the side, turn it all the way up.”
My fingers traced the sides until I felt the rough edges of a wheel that rotated when I pushed it. The dial clicked softly as I applied pressure until it wouldn’t turn any further. The grid became splattered with a wash of translucent green.
“Okay, there should be a button with three curved lines next to it, press that button.”
I did so, and the box beeped softly. The beeps continued in intervals spanning approximately five seconds. A green light flashed in tandem with the noise.
