2199 Extinction

Let's Get Out of Here

                I fall backward and hit the ground hard. What's going on? What happened? What was that stick thing? Amlican falls beside me and then rolls over, his body inches above mine. He places one hand on my chest and the other on my right arm. I'm too dizzy and weak to object to his closeness.

             He's pulling my arm over to the other arm and saying something. It takes all I have to understand what he's wanting me to do. The jacket. He wants me to punch in the coordinates and travel back to before this happened. Somehow, with shaking hands, I manage to punch the coordinates and time in. I'm feeling weaker but I manage to hit the enter button, and then everything fades to black.

            "Let's not stay in the cave. I feel like the cave is a bad idea." I say as the feeling of being punched in the gut overwhelms me. Wait a minute. What? Why do I feel like I just said this?

          "I get the same feeling. I think we time traveled. I'm pretty sure of it because I feel like I just watched you die." He walks over to me and runs his hand across my chest.

         "Hey, now! None of that!" I say, slapping his hand.

          "Sorry. I just wanted to make sure there was no wound. I wasn't trying any funny business, I promise." He says hands raised in defense.

            "I can promise you that I'm fine. But yeah, I get the same feeling that I just died in another timeline. So how about we be careful, this time?" I say. "How about we go into the sky water?" I feel slightly dizzy as an assault of memories hit me. The man. The long tube thing. Pain. Darkness. I don't know what exactly happened, but it couldn't have been good.

           "Into the sky water," Amlican says, getting up and leading the way out of the cave.

         We walk for several hours before the rain stops. It seems to just cut off like someone turning off a faucet. I'm thankful it stopped because visibility has improved one hundred percent. And because it was a little weird. Even though I had heard of sky water, before, being in it, was like swimming on land. Although, nothing appears to be swimming in the water, here. It just gives an eerie feeling, like death is imminent. Now that the sky water has stopped, silence covers the surrounding forest like a blanket.

          "You know, there is one thing that's been bugging me about the whole Malum killing my mother thing," I say after a while.

         "What's that?" he asks.

           "Whatever happened to Princess and Rex?" I ask. Princess is the Loftin my mother rescued when I was a baby. It is a dangerous creature that lives on a tropical planet. It stands on all fours, and its head comes to a grown male's waist. It is incredibly flexible but extremely heavy at the same time. A Loftin is white with light grey spots. It is longer than the average height of a male Talfarian. 

       Rex on the other hand is a Vanduo Tuk. Rex is a male of his species, identifiable by the long mane around his neck. He is purple and a bluish-green color. Smallish fins on the tail, and a tuft of fur on his tail. He is a four-legged creature that is a quarter of the size of the Loftin. Both of them loved my mother and were rarely seen without her.

         "I wondered the same thing myself, so I asked around. Princess was found dead about the same time as your mother, but outside in the courtyard. And someone swears they saw Rex running off into the nearby woods. Probably to join the herd of Duolofts."

         "That just proves my point about Malum. Princess rarely left my mother's side."

         "Exactly, she never left your mother's side." Amlican says. "How could Malum have possibly killed your mother? Princess would never have allowed it."

       "I said rarely left mother's side, not never. She still had to eat, and she was very picky. The overgrown cat didn't like food served to her. She preferred to hunt her own. That's when Malum would take his anger out on mother, slapping or punching her. She would cry and he would blame her. It was sickening. Anyhow, he probably found a way to slip Princess some Jalmin Venom."

          "Maybe you are right." He says, frowning. "I don't ever recall seeing your mother without Princess. And I saw Malum with a shady looking dude the weekend before, when I came home to visit my parents."

          We walk in silence a few minutes before I spot something odd. "What's that?" I ask, pointing to a large furry brown creature in front of us.

          "I don't know, but I think we should avoid it," Amlican says.

           But it's too late. The furry thing, turns our direction, stands upon two legs, opens its mouth, and lets out a loud roar. It's tall, towering way over me, and I noticed a mouth full of sharp teeth. The creature then charges us, running fast on four legs.

        "Let's go!" Amlican shouts, turning and running away.

         "Right behind you!" I shout, turning and following. We run and run, but eventually, I feel hot, stinking breath on the back of my neck. "It's too fast! We aren't going to make it!" I stop and turn around to face the beast.

         That was stupid! I think as a massive paw smashes me to the ground. I feel blood starting to pour out of my chest, where the claws dug across me. I reach for my jacket sleeve and start inputting coordinates. "Amlican!"

          "I'm right here! He shouts from beside me, grabbing my arm.

           I smash the enter button, right as the creature's massive head bites into the side of my neck. Darkness and pain flood my body and mind. I hope Amlican makes it, safely. I open my eyes to find us on the cave floor. Alive. I am getting so tired of this stupid cave.

          "I died again, didn't I?" I ask as waves of pain crash into my body.

         "Yep. It's getting kind of old. How about you try not dying for once?" Amlican asks, laughing.

         "That's a good idea. Let's just forget this whole Earth mission altogether. I get the feeling these people, and their creatures, aren't very friendly." I say.

         "I agree. I don't see how anyone can live on such a hostile planet." He says.

        "I do have one question," I say. 

         "What's that?"

         "How did you get us to change our minds about staying?"

        "Does it matter?" he asks.

        "No, I guess it doesn't. So, let me just enter in some new coordinates, because I definitely don't want to stay here." I say double-tapping the jacket sleeve. I think for a moment trying to decide the next best place to intercept my mother and Malum. "There's only one problem."

         "What's that?" he asks.

         "I'm not one hundred percent sure of the exact coordinates. So, we are back to the fifty-fifty shot of dying."

          "Wouldn't be us if there wasn't a small chance of death." Amlican quips.

          I'm laughing as the fire feeling fills my bones, and darkness fills my eyes.