Nasferas: The Begotten

5

Forceful air from the Zylo One's mid-ship thrusters blew through the rooms of the hovel. Tarisha's hair flowed behind her like an elaborate betrothal cape lifted by several invisible children.

Aleese stood to Davidar's left with her bag in one hand and the graph of Treylor in the other.

"Is this the sky lift?"

"What?" He couldn't hear over the engines.

Aleese yelled, "That's the lift?"

Davidar nodded. "When the door opens, step inside! A jet stream will suck you up like a stray bug in Rauz's tank!"

"Like a what?" She scowled and stepped into the skylift. A scream escaped her as she floated up to the transfer bay.

Two diamond-shaped domes covered the command room at the front of the ship. A cylinder bulged from the center where the cryogenic settles sat.

The twins entered the tube together. They saluted before the mini tornado swooped them up.

"You're next, Davidar." Tarisha touched his shoulder.

"No. Mother, you go. I would like to have one last look.

"Very well. I will see you on board." They embraced.

Davidar tossed his bags in with his mother.

Then he turned for one last look at the hovel.

A flash of white light blinded him. The blast lifted him off his feet and hurled him into the air. He landed in a pile of rubble. Pain seared through his left thigh where a sharp rock had pierced deep into the muscle. Stone ground against the bone when he tried to move. With a thick slurping noise, he pulled the stone out. Blood gushed from the wound and the world spun in circles around him. With a shake of his head, he regained his faculties and tore off one of his shirt sleeves. He'd have to wear a flight suit onboard anyway.

He wrapped the wound, pulled it tight, and winced from the pain. Another explosion forced him to plant his face in the dirt and cover his head as debris rattled over him. A piece of the family table crashed next to him. Family heirlooms, graphs, and projects they'd completed in school had scattered over the remnants of their hovel.

Moroo's ship maneuvered away from the explosions and swung back to rest over him. The transfer tube descended.

Tranz dangled from the opening, his hand outstretched. "I don't know how much longer it will take them to recharge their weapons." He nodded in the direction of where the hovel used to be.

Davidar turned. His eyes widened. Two ominous, silent, Gnam War Crafts bounced in the air in front of the hovel. Darkness caved in around him.

Tranz shouted, "You're hurt! I'll have Father stabilize you so I can hoist you up!" He disappeared back into the ship.

Moments later wind from the ship's engines blew straight down on him, pressing him into the dirt. Again, the tube descended. A whimper came from a pile of rubble and broken glass a few feet away. Davidar crawled over. Under broken glass and busted dishes, he found Rauz. His tiny eyes glanced up. The gentle creature couldn't move. Davidar lifted him under the belly and tucked him into his shirt.

"I have you now."

Rauz snuggled tighter to his chest. Once he stepped into the transfer tube, the suction pulled him so fast he thought he would shoot straight through the hull. His ascent halted when his larger cousins Ranloo and Fladir caught him.

"Whoa." Ranloo's muscular arms outstretched and took hold of Davidar around the waist.

Ranloo and Davidar mimicked each other's looks. Though, Ranloo's girth made him two of Davidar. He'd also apprenticed as a mechanic and had muscles Davidar couldn't fathom ever having. Ranloo could hoist the front end of a thruster by himself, not an easy task.