Date on Earth: Tuesday, October 10
Throbbing.
Pulsing.
Stabbing.
The world transformed into white noise as the pain worsened and worsened until it was all I could think about.
No, I wasn't talking about my leg—though that did hurt like stepping on a lego. Maybe a little worse.
But no. Of course it had to be my head.
Maybe it was dehydration. Or maybe I just lost a little too much blood from the increasingly annoying stab wound.
Pfft, yeah right.
I was all too familiar with this type of headache. The type that only came around when something terribly wrong was about to occur. Something that had started happening way too often for my liking.
I tried to ignore it. I really did. There were countless excuses I could use to persuade myself that it wasn't that feeling.
But I knew better.
I hated that I knew better.
Because if my senses were really correct, then all this traveling and serpent-fighting and cop car hijacking...
It was all for nothing. All our hope was in vain.
We weren't safe.
I resisted the overwhelming urge to rip out the hair on my scalp and scream as loud as I could. Of course it couldn't have been that easy. A safe haven where we could hide from monsters and aliens and whatever other creatures from who knows where with no fear? Now it was obvious that it was too good to be true.
The question was...did Diana know the truth?
The group was down the hill before I could say any type of warning. Chills ran down my back, and not just because of fear. The temperature had dramatically dropped, as if sensing my mood change and decided to match it.
And I knew why.
I tried to open my mouth and usher out a warning.
But it was too late.
Ice suddenly replaced the green grass, gripping tightly on my feet and arms. The same happened to Tesha, Tristen, and Diana. All our faces matched with the same shock and fear and hopelessness.
All except Diana's.
"Diana?" Tristen's quiet voice cut across the field.
The redhead remained silent, but her cheeks glimmered with tears. Regret was etched onto her features as she looked down.
"Good work, young child."
Our eyes snapped up to the tall gray alien as he emerged from the trees. His toothy grin was smug as he walked forward. "You did well."
"I kept my part of the deal," Diana said, ignoring our looks of disbelief. "Now it's your turn. Show me that my family is safe."
General Inugio lifted his arm up to give in order. In a flash, the spaceship was revealed in all its glory, the ramp slowly opening to reveal three other Axones, each carrying the limp body of an individual.
Diana's expression turned into one of horror.
"You said they'd be safe!" She screamed.
"Calm down, human. All we've done is given them a sedative. After all, we couldn't have them finding out that we exist. However, we need to ensure that you will continue to comply, so motivation is needed. If you try to resist, then..."
Each alien pulled out a gun and pointed it at the three humans. One was an older man with a balding head. The other one was a middle-aged woman with red-orange hair. And the last one was a little baby, almost too small to see inside the Axone's grasp.
I felt sick to my stomach.
Tesha yelled something in the alien language to the general as Diana let out a cry of anguish.
"You are a monster!" Tesha had switched back to English. "Threatening children? Holding humans hostage? You have lost your mind Inugio! Lord Temaku will punish you greatly for your actions!"
The alien made a motion and ice wrapped around Tesha's neck, causing her to gasp. "No." His voice darkened. "He will welcome and praise me when I return the Jh'ai to us."
Inugio walked closer, and for the first time I could clearly see the madness in his eyes. It glowed with power and greed. The closer he got, the colder the air felt. And for the first time in a very long time, I was absolutely petrified.
"Do you know why I told her to lead you to this spot?" He asked.
"Led". She really did betray us.
I stood frozen as Tesha's eyes widened.
"The water," she whispered.
General Inugio smiled so wide he looked psychotic—which he probably was. "So much water. So much fuel for my power. Even on the shores of Nibura, I didn't feel as strong as I do now. And even if you try to stand against me, you will be sealing the fate of these three innocent humans."
My mind spun in a thousand different directions, not processing anything except fragments.
Trick.
Betrayal.
Monster.
"It is either you surrender," Inugio continued–I had to force my spinning thoughts to focus–"or you sacrifice your friend's family. Something we both know you will never do."
As tears welled up in her eyes, Tesha reminded me of the first time she had broken down, after losing her mother. She looked scared. Weak. Hopeless.
Her voice was hollow as she said, "That is not my decision to make. I am not one of the Chosen."
The general studied her for a minute before backing away. "You are right. For once, you are not in control." He turned away from her slowly and examined the rest of us. The three "Chosen".
I was really starting to hate that word.
His violet eyes finally settled on Diana. "Little girl, surely you don't want to see the deaths of your loved ones? Why don't you set an example for your friends and give yourself up willingly?"
The ice melted around her legs and feet. We watched in silence as she walked forward with her head down.
Diana stopped in front of the alien, her head still faced away. I wished I could have seen her expression as she stood in front of the monster who was holding her family at gunpoint.
"You broke our deal," she said in a tone that sent chills down my spine. "You said if I led our group here, my family would be safe."
"And they will be, as long as you comply."
Diana held her arm in front of her and gazed upon her tattoo. Her fist clenched. Then unclenched.
What happened next occurred too fast. In a blink of an eye, Diana had knocked Inugio down to the ground with her elbow on top of his abnormally long neck.
"It was a mistake to trust you," she spat in his face. "I will not make the same mistake twice."
Under her grasp, the alien's expression looked almost pitiful. In one smooth movement, he grabbed her neck and lifted her off of him. She struggled in his grip, scratching at his claws. Her form shifted from a human to a bird then back again, but no matter how hard she tried, the Axone's grip wouldn't budge.
"Maybe not the same mistake, but you will regret this one much more." The general gave her a sad smile before barking out an order.
There was a chorus of cries. I didn't even register myself screaming as well.
I closed my eyes, bracing for the sound of shots.
One second turned into two.
Two turned into three.
After five, I risked a glance.
The aliens holding Diana's family had put their plasma guns down, giving their general looks of defiance.
They hadn't done it.
"What is the meaning of this?" Inugio exclaimed. One of the Axones answered, and Inugio's face twisted into rage. "By whose authority?"
"By mine."
Walking down the ramp was a small alien that looked younger than the others, with less tattoos. Adjusting a translating gadget on his wrist, he stood confidently in front of the other Axones.
General Inugio remained shell shocked for what felt like eternity before a laugh erupted from his throat. One that sounded like nails scratching glass, if the person scratching the glass had lost their sanity and was repeating the same scratches over and over. It was a sound that would haunt me for years.
"It seems like you have forgotten your place, Lyzel. I am your superior and always will be. There is no order you can give that can overrule mine."
The young alien—Lyzel—appeared unfazed by his words. "You are the one who has forgotten your place, General. Lord Temaku ordered us to retrieve the Jh'ai in a peaceful manner. This goes directly against his rule." He waited for a response. When the general didn't offer one, he pulled out his own weapon. "Don't make us fight you."
Inugio looked down, not releasing Diana from his grasp. A mixture of emotions crossed his face. When he seemed to come to a decision, he looked back at him, determination in his eyes.
"My brother laid down his life protecting the Jh'ai. I will not let his death be for nothing." With that, he threw Diana roughly to the ground and froze her in place, leaving her gasping. He turned around and held his hand out, ice shards shooting out of it.
It struck the three aliens, causing them to drop the humans in their arms. Eight more Axones poured out of the spaceship, weapons pointed forward.
"Protectors of the Jh'ai!" General Inugio announced. "You each have a decision to make! You can either stand by my side and stay true to your destined obligation, or you can go against me and commit treason! Make your choices wisely, and know that if you do decide to stand in my way, I will not hold back."
"Going against your general will not equal treason if they are going against our leader!" Lyzel argued.
"I will not wait forever. Make your decisions now."
The protectors remained still, some looking at their comrades to see what they did with torn expressions.
Hesitantly, four of the aliens walked forward. They each pointed to a spot on their neck and pumped their chests. In response, Inugio lifted his head up, a grin growing.
"Your loyalty is admirable. Anyone else?"
"Lord Temaku is a wise ruler," Tesha told them. "I am sure you will be rewarded for standing for what is right. Please, protect the Jh'ai, even if it is from yourselves."
The remaining Axones seemed to be having a silent conversation before coming to an agreement. One of them shouted something I couldn't understand, but judging by Tessa's reaction, I assumed they had sided with us.
Hope grew in my chest. It was nine against five.
The odds were in our favor.
I let this feeling swell as I saw General Inugio's face scrunch up in distaste. He scanned over the aliens who had betrayed him. Then he looked at me, Tristen, and Diana.
"This is your last chance," he warned us. "Hand over yourselves, and you can stop any more bloodshed." He gestured to the three Axones bleeding out on the ground, with Diana's parents and sister unconscious next to them.
"And how much bloodshed will there be if we give ourselves up to you?"
It took me a while to process what I had just said. The general snapped his head around to look at me and I gulped, wanting to hide and pretend I hadn't said anything at all.
But I already started. Might as well keep going.
"Tesha told us about her and her mother's mission to hide the Jh'ai from the Axones to stop you from using it," I continued. "How dangerous must it have been to have the cubes in your hands if they were willing to die to get it away from you?"
Tristen added after me, "You were gonna kill Diana's family. You lied to her. Everything that has come out of your mouth could be a lie. I trust Tesha a lot more than I trust you, and if she says to not let you have these alien things, then I'd die before letting you have them."
Diana also said something that was not PG-rated.
A loud sigh came from Inugio as he turned around and said, "Fine, but don't forget the warning I've given you."
With that, he lifted his arm up to the tall water tower. I watched in horror as ice crawled up the sides, cracking the metal.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise and water started to shoot out of the cracks. General Inugio laughed gleefully as it continued to spill out in gallons.
"Asher!" Tristen's voice snapped me out of my trancelike state. I had no idea how he escaped from the ice that was still pinning my feet and arms down. He punched the solid water and tried to set me free, only to hold his fist in pain at the failed attempt. Stepping back, he transformed into his rhino form and again tried to break the ice. But no matter how hard he hit it, I couldn't escape.
Another loud noise brought my attention back to the tall contraption. It whined and groaned as the legs holding the cracking water jug started to snap.
"Leave me," I told Tristen as he continued to try to free me. "The tower's going to fall and you need to get out of here!"
He shook his head hard. "No, I won't leave you."
"Tristen-"
"Try to turn into your animal!" He said in desperation. "That's the only way to escape."
"I don't know how!"
"Just close your eyes and think! I believe in you!"
Frantically, I searched for any kind of power or pull that would allow me to shapeshift. Sweat trickled down my forehead.
An even louder groan distracted me and my eyes shot open. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find anything inside of me.
There was nothing.
"I can't do it." I despised the tears that made their way down my face as I spoke that pitiful phrase. All hope that I had a second ago vanished. I knew I was done for.
"Yes you can," Tristen continued to push on. "I know you can, just-"
We both looked up as the sphere of water exploded, bringing the whole tower down with it.
"Go!" I yelled at Tristen. With all the energy I could find, I pushed with my hands right through the ice, knocking Tristen back. I heard him call my name, but I couldn't get myself to respond as I watched the water fall onto me as my feet remained plastered in place.
I shut my eyes as I braced for the pain.
...
Darkness.
Suffocating darkness.
None of my senses worked except for pain.
It was excruciating as it made its way up from my legs to my hips. Almost familiar in the cruelest way possible.
The only reassurance I got was that since I could still feel the pain in my legs, then they couldn't be paralyzed—or worse yet, gone.
My whimpers echoed as I tried to lift the metal piece off my legs. Every movement felt a thousand times worse than being stabbed. Pushing as hard as I could, I screamed as I threw the metal away.
As my body shook from exertion, I risked a glance down. Despite the minimal light, I managed to survey the damage to my lower body. Blood shimmered with reflections of the light. Something stuck out of my right leg; I wasn't sure if it was a bone or a shard of metal.
I traced my hands around my surroundings, trying to find an exit. The metal was rough and rusty, scratching my hands as I felt for an exit. My breaths started to shorten and my panic started to grow. I continued to touch around more frantically, searching for any way to escape.
But there was no exit.
I was trapped.
The walls started to close in, causing the little room I had to shrink. Oxygen dwindled, and I found myself gasping for air.
I couldn't breathe.
Desperation fueled me as I banged against the walls. My whole body shook as I tried again. And again.
It. Wouldn't. Budge.
I called for help, but the words just bounced back at me, echoing against the metal.
The temperature suddenly turned frigid, and I curled my arms around myself, the pain now being no more than a dull hum in the back of my mind. I tried to slow down my breaths, but every time I opened my eyes, another wave of panic would crash over me.
Shutting my eyes as tightly as I could, I rocked back and forth. I counted my breaths and focused my thoughts on the feel of the grass beneath me. Slowly but surely, my head started to clear. Fear still wracked my body, but I was finally able to take deep breaths.
Just as I managed to calm down a bit, something cold wrapped itself around my hand.
Ice.
I tried to yank it away, but the frozen water pinned it down. Not even a second later did the same happen to my other hand. Frost crawled its way up the metal walls and down to the ground. Orange sunlight poured through an opening, but the relief accompanied with it was only short-lived as I saw who was standing in front of it.
Inugio glowed with an aura of power. The same frost that surrounded me covered him from head to toe. His little bit of hair was completely frozen and his eyes had changed from purple to an icy light blue.
I struggled some more to escape, but it was useless.
The general walked forward with a crazed grin on his face. Lifting his arm up, the metal debri blocking out the sun was blown away. I flinched as the sun's rays hit my eyes. When they adjusted, I caught a glimpse of my legs. My left leg looked like it had just been bruised, but my right one bent at a weird angle, with my fibula jutting out.
Seeing the damage somehow made the pain worse, and I felt tears start to collect in my eyes. But I blinked them away before the alien could see.
General Inugio bent down to my level. He stared at me creepily with his head tilted. I tried once again to free my hands, but more ice just formed around them.
"That's enough, little child," he told me. "Your friends can't protect you, just like you can't protect yourself."
I felt myself panic once again. What does he mean? Did something happen to them? Were they okay? Had Inugio already captured them?
"You puzzle me," Inugio continued. "It seems both your friends have mastered their ability to shapeshift. And yet, here you are, still refusing to transform. What's wrong? Is it so embarrassing that you refuse to change, or has the Jh'ai decided you are too weak to hold such a power?"
The words struck a painful chord in me. I hated how he was voicing all the thoughts that plagued my mind. That even with the ability to walk and my determination, I was still not good enough.
Still useless.
"What are you going to do to me?" I couldn't stop my voice from quivering. I regretted asking as I saw the look the alien gave me. It was a stupid question; I knew exactly what he was going to do.
"The original plan was to bring each of you onto our ship and bring you back to our home to properly extract the Jh'ai from you," he replied honestly. "However, we have learned from our mistakes." He placed his abnormally long hand on my chest. At the contact, my skin burned like fire. The pain knocked the air out of my lungs.
"I am sorry, human child." I couldn't get myself to look at the monster as he uttered the apology. "This must be a most excruciating way to die. But do not worry, your sacrifice will be greatly appreciated."
The blood in my veins gradually turned cold. My skin turned blue. There was the familiar feeling of brain-freeze, multiplied by infinity.
My vision started to fade as my mind frantically tried to hide from the harsh reality.
One part of me wanted him to put me out of my misery. To stop the agonizing internal pain as my organs slowly froze and stopped functioning. To stop fighting to stay awake and just give up.
The other part of me chastised myself for even thinking such a thing. This wasn't about me. None of it was. I wasn't entirely sure how I knew–maybe it was the situation affecting my memory–but I was certain that my death would lead to the fates of many others.
Flashes of memories that weren't mine hallucinated in front of me. Pictures of people screaming. Explosions big enough to destroy planets. Weeps of a thousand different creatures as their homes were destroyed.
Ice crawled across the rims of the images, and I knew I was running out of time.
But I would not let Inugio win.
This time, I didn't think. I didn't search for some kind of power I didn't possess. I wasn't in control.
Instincts kicked in as I gave up resistance. Closing my eyes, I finally felt it.
A pull.
I tugged on it, allowing the power to grow. Warmth emerged from my soul and melted the ice inside of me. The headache faded away and my vision slowly returned.
I looked at the powerful Axone, whose face was twisted in confusion. He closed his eyes and pushed harder, more of his power feeding into my body.
But instead of hurting, this time it felt good. Electrifying even. Every time he pushed against me, I felt less weak. The pull inside of me grew stronger and stronger, until I could barely hold it back.
With a final breath, I let it go.
There were no words to describe what happened next.
All the energy that had built up inside instantly rushed out. A light brighter than the sun appeared and Inugio was flung back. The wave of power knocked away the metal shards and continued to travel.
It might have done more damage, but before I could see what happened, a train of exhaustion crashed into me. My head spun and my vision doubled as I fell to the ground. The sound of yelling was the last thing I heard before the abyss swallowed me completely.