The alarm sound died a mournful death. A few moments later he felt Lilithana’s presence fade. A burnt scent blew in through the dying air ducts. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark again. Alone, with all the excitement gone, he realized there was a new presence somewhere in the hall or rooms near him. A person? Maybe a child?

*Food?* The presence sent him. Not a word exactly, more of curious feeling like those he got from wild shadowcats.

He grabbed a crystal torch and manually cranked the door open like he had learned the previous time the power had shutdown to his section. The emergency lights in the hall, the ones that were working, flickered randomly ruining both his dark and light vision. “Where are you?” The presence was closer but he couldn’t make out where.

*Food? I smell food.* It sent.

He took his plate and set in the middle of the hall and waited by the door to his room. The presence was good at concealing itself. “You can eat. I won’t hurt you. I am a little curious about who you are.” He mentally sent the words as he spoke. He repeatedly looked up and down the hallway with and without the torchlight. Nothing.

*Food good.* The presence sent.

The torchlight showed a still full plate. He took a step closer and noticed that it was an illusion now. “You are sneaky.” He turned and pointed the torch at the table inside his room. The slight distortions of the illusionary camouflage dissipated to reveal a filthy young remnant girl, maybe ten, dressed in torn rags that were a poor excuse for clothes. She was hunched over the remaining plate and shoveling the food into her mouth.

*My food.* She sent.

“That was Lili’s.”

*My food. I eat. Food mine.* She glared at him as she continued to eat. The girl had a wild look in her eye, damn near feral. *Fake-Girl lie. Bug-Girl lie. No give food. I need. I take.*

With no idea who she was talking about, he went to crank the door shut and she growled at him. “Ok. I will leave it open.” He leaned against to the doorframe. “Do you have a name?”

She licked the plate clean, staring at him the entire time. She held it out. *More.*

“I’m sorry, you ate it all. We have to wait for now.”

*Where food?*

He shrugged. “I am out for now.” The lights flickered to life and fresh air began to flow again. Dying machines, on a dying planet. He sighed.

The girl stood slowly and shuffled towards the door.

“Just wait here. Lili will be back in a bit.”

She bolted. He caught her by the arm, she twisted and collapsed in a heap crying. *OW LEG, OW LEG, OW*

“What is wrong with your leg?” He looked to see a grime covered bandage wrapped from ankle to knee. He let her go. “I will help you back to the chair if you will be nice.”

*MEAN MAN OW OW* Flailing arms kept him away.

“If you don’t want my help, wait right there. You can’t hunt, there is no prey here.”

She watched him closely as she used the wall to drag herself up on her good leg.

He sensed Cinder’s presence approaching fast. The instant of distraction was too much. With a deep green glow she spun, hitting him in the shin with her bandaged leg. A loud snap told him his shin bone was broken. As he fell she slapped across his face with a black paw and claws covered in dense green energy. His face burned as blood sprayed.

She sprang for the door. He shifted into his shadow-cat form and slapped down at her, his claws digging deep her calf before she could escape. Half transformed, she slammed hard into the stone floor. A bar of metal stuck out of the slashed bandage. She spun to attack as a ball of angry orange energy hit her between the eyes.

He was barely able to see the hand sized winged woman who buzzed around screaming insults at him and the unconscious girl. He felt a familiar prick before it all went dark.

***

His eyes opened to his room. His head and leg pounded. Tight bandages covered the right side of his face. A splint covered his left calf. Why didn’t they just heal me again? Is this some form of punishment?

*FOOD!* came emphatically from somewhere close.

“Will somebody feed that idiot?” He grumbled as he sat up on his bed.

“What idiot?” said a small voice from across the room.

He slowly turned his head dreading what he would see. A hand sized woman stood on his table staring at a data slate that was taller than her. She had short orange hair and two pair of long thin translucent wings on her back. The presence was unmistakable. CINDER.

“Are you ok? Did you have a bad dream?” She asked without looking up.

“Are you Cinder?” He rubbed his unbandaged eye. “You got shorter.” He asked trying to ignore the repeated, *Food? Good food?* chants in his head.

She bowed. “I am an aerial. I have a wearable golem I can use in the training area. I told you I would not make a good meal for you.”

“Yea, you are barely a nibble.”

“I thank you for helping capture the test subject. It was my fault she escaped. I underestimated her.”

“I didn’t hurt her too bad did I? I attacked her out of reflex.”

“She did much more damage to you than you did to her.” Cinder said. “She is resting in her room in the upper levels. If you are really concerned I can take you to see her when you feel better.”

The girl continued, *Cat man, gimme food. Bug-Girl lie. Fake-Girl lie. You give good food. Make Bug-Girl leave. Give food.*

“Maybe later.” He laughed to himself. This was not going to stop, but had a half a plan. He instructed the green eye-drone to bring him a meal. “Can I walk on this?” He pointed at his splint.

“It is strong enough for walking, but not training.” She turned to face him. “That girl’s arcane is corrosive. It’s eaten through every lock and ward we put around her. But I came up with something that should keep her contained for a few days, until I can find a more permanent solution.”

He managed not to laugh at her obvious failure as he stood and tried the leg. Arcane energy stiffened the splint and it felt no weight on the broken bone at all. “Not bad.” The girl was getting more and more insistent. The golem returned. He left with the food and went to the room next door. The door was open already. He turned the lights on low.

Cinder flew in front of him and she said, “If you wanted me to leave you could have asked. I was monitoring your condition while I looked for a way to help you.”

He saw the slight shimmer of illusionary camo in a corner and said. “If you want food, sit at the table and be nice.”

“Are you really telling me to be nice?” Cinder huffed, then she realized he wasn’t talking to her. The shimmer moved to chair then the girl appeared. “You!” Cinder scowled. The girl glared back at her.

“Stand back and let me handle this.” He set the food on the table. He said, “Tell the golems to bring four plates of the nutrient paste.”

“I can’t let you do this. She has already killed another test subject.”

“Whatever you are doing isn’t working. Please. Let me try.”

Cinder looked between the two of them several times then flew over and landed on a shelf without responding.

He set the plate and drink in front of her. She girl inhaled the food then sent *MORE* as she licked the plate clean. He sat in the other chair. “It’s coming soon. Just sit there and be nice.”  When the plates arrived he pushed a plate of the green goo towards her. “Eat.”

*Not food. You lie.* She pouted with big sad baby eyes.

“It is food.”

*No. It slime. I eat slime. I die.* She scowled.

“It’s not a slime.” He ate a spoonful of the plate near him. “It will fill you up. Eat. Being hungry hurts.”

She looked back and forth between Cinder and him a few times then took the plate he had eaten from. The plate was clean in moments. She pushed another plate towards him. *You bite.* He took a bite, and then she devoured that plate. This repeated until the girls head finally fell over onto the ninth empty plate. He picked her up and carried her to his bed, tucked her in. He walked into the hall, shut the door and sat down against the wall.

Cinder had quietly watched the whole time. She hovered in front of his face. “Now you are going to explain to me what just happened.”

“I fed her.” He shrugged.

“You know what I mean. How did you know she was there and how is she communicating with you?”

Hopefully the half-truth would be enough here. “Shadowcats can sense other shadowcats. It makes sense if you think about their abilities. They also have a natural ability to communicate mentally over short distances. Usually simple thoughts or feelings like attack or run or hunger. I’ve never met another shadowcat polymorph so I didn’t realize what she was until she slapped me.”

She rubbed her forehead. “That explains why I can’t read anything from either of you. We haven’t been able to get a word out of her. She is a candidate for a special mecromail. But her arcane has done more damage than the last century of decay. If we can’t find a way to earn her trust…”

“Just feed her.”

“Nine rations worth of food? You know we grow that down here.”

“I doubt she will eat that much every time, but she will continue to eat a lot for a couple years. Lilithana told me you could afford four peoples worth of goo for sex slaves. Use that food for the girl.”

She rubbed her chin, “If we put her on an all nutrient paste diet then maybe we can do it.”

“Give her one plate of real food with each meal. Use my ration if you need to. I’ll eat the goo.”

“Why would you give up food for some random girl? Do you know her?”

“No. You saw her transformed. Her arms and some scattered fur. Her shadow-cat form needs the nutrients. Hunger will override any rational thought. I know what that feels like. She will hunt and there is only one prey in this cave.”

Cinder visibly shuddered. “I can’t have her eating my test subjects. But I must make it work, somehow.”

He stood and stretched. “Figure something out, because, if you are not going to feed her properly then it would be kinder, and safer, to kill her now. I’m not going to clean up your mess next time.” He walked towards the training rooms.

“Where are you going? I told you no training.”

“No training. I got it.” He waved over his shoulder and kept walking.

A few minutes later he found himself lying under the stars on an illusionary beach. He tried to ignore the ever-present burning sensation in his face and leg. He lay there for hours letting the waves lap at his toes.