.+ Demonic Presence +.

.+ Chapter Three: No Good Options +.

They'd been making their way through the town for a while now. What usually would have been a quick walking distance was extended by interruptions from goblins, trolls and whatever else wanted humanity dead.

The storm of thundering orange clouds continued to roar up from the canals in puffs of smoke, and the young boy began to wonder if it would ever stop.

"How much further?" Asked the unearthly women as they made their way through a series of back gardens to avoid detection.

The brother called back with his eyes fixed in front of him, "only a couple more blocks."

"We'd be there much quicker if we weren't carrying unneeded weight." She stated bluntly. Her bright blue gaze traveled back to the boy keeping pace not far behind.

He rolled his eyes, he could run for hours if he needed to, but keeping to the back meant he evaded any suspicions about him, and any sudden meeting with a troll that could be stood just behind every corner they passed.

"We can't let them die out there!" The sister responded firmly and showed no signs of allowing the older women to waver her judgement. Her brother gave a brief nod of agreement.

Each time a fence cropped up the boy managed to hop over it with the rest with relative ease, still being sure not to make himself look inhuman. He faltered slightly, looking back at the chubby man who'd been following them from the start and been causing them much trouble with gumm-gumms and stalklings. The man was struggling to keep up and stumbled clumsily over fences. He guessed that was one of the reasons the blue lady didn't insist they ditch him, since he was coping far better than the man.

They soon arrived at an old, flat looking building that flashed an alarming red and emitted a repetitive beeping noise. The group stopped with distress and the brother spoke up with a concerned tone, "Mother's defence shields have been breached!"

The boy guessed that the 'Mother' he was referring to was the house. His theory about them being extra terrestrial was becoming more and more likely.

A whirring sound alarmed him and he turned to face something red jerking precisely towards them. It collided roughly with the tall women's leg, sending her clambering to the ground. The two siblings let out concerned yells as she was once again sent tumbling by a blow to the face with the strange weapon.

"No! Zadra!" The brother called helplessly. So that was her name, not native by any means which further encouraged his thoughts.

He guessed he should have been looking as bewildered and anxious as the others but he couldn't muster up the emotions, nor the effort to put on a facade.

He watched the red weapon land neatly in the hand of something dog-like. It stood tall with a sharp yellow glare and wore some sort of metal muzzle.

"Stuart!" The blonde girl commanded, "get Zadra and the boy out of here!"

He watched as the obese man slowly lifted the women off of the ground and away towards where they'd only just arrived. Stuart stared at the boy expectantly as though urging him to follow but he silently refused. He didn't trust this Stuart guy to be an effective diversion if the changeling found him, though he guessed they must be busy dealing with Gunmar.

The Latino boy spat at the wolf-like figure with a livid frown, "you'll pay for that, Alpha."

The 'Alpha' character spoke in a robotic sort of voice that sounded slightly guttural, "and for what you did to my brothers, you shall pay with your cores!"

The boy was unfamiliar with Alpha's final word. He knew it meant the centre of something but it didn't make sense in context to the situation.

He didn't have to to pull over the situation however, as Alpha hastily sprang into a run, shooting hot beams of energy towards them that sliced quickly through the air.

The siblings deflected them using their holographic-looking weapons and dodged any that they could counter. The boy moved from side to side out of the way of the blasts and managed to emerge unscathed from the rain of shots. By now he could barely feel his shoulder wound at all, and the dry blood coating his shoulder told him the bleeding had stopped a while ago.

The siblings retaliated with their own vibrant blue shots but couldn't manage to land any of them on their target.

The conflict was quick-paced. Each side avoiding injury but also failing to induce it on the other.

Singe marks were strewn unceremoniously across the street. Burns littered roads, houses cars and formerly neat lawns.

"Distract him, little brother." The blonde girl spoke quickly between deflecting shots, "I'll try to flank him."

As the turned her eyes fixed widely on the boy and she faltered in her stride. He reached forwards and pulled her behind a battered car just as a shot landed where she was stood and scorched the road with a sizzling burn mark. She looked back at it, clearing taken back with the shock of nearly being hit with one of those blasts. She soon shook away the astonishment and turned to face the boy properly. "What are you still doing here?" She demanded.

The boy shrugged and replied with an unbothered voice, "I don't trust that Stuart guy, plus I'm quicker than I look so figured I'd be fine."

She looked at him as though he were insane. Gun shots still rattled in the air and the scent of smoke was irritating.

"You and your brother can do whatever it is you need to, which is inside that glowing house I'm guessing. I can stay here and distract the wolf dude." He informed her before the blonde girl could reply.

She shook her head defiantly, "no way, you'll be killed."

"I'll be fine." He told her with a slight eye roll. He could tell she wanted to protest to cut her off before she could. His voice shifted from the former monotone one to a more confident one.

"I'll be fine."