A faint amber glow poured in through curtains of Oxyi’s flat. The evening was already upon them. Their route had been traced several times across the maps in the flat already; they'd start off on the outskirts of the forest and slowly make their way inwards. Oxyi silently slung a backpack over her shoulder, loaded with various supplies and ammo, secured around her chest so that it wouldn’t make so much as the slightest noise. A pump-action shotgun was mounted across her torso by a sling, crude but effective should they need to defend themselves. She also had a shoulder-mounted camera, in the hopes of recording anything and everything they came across. Diego remained as he arrived, sword strapped to his back and sparse armoured plating across his body, a faint yellow crackle of energy visible sparked around him as he stretched his arms and shoulders.
The edge of the forest was only a short walk away from Oxyi’s apartment, back towards the landing pad Diego had arrived on. The air was fresh, with that lovely mid-autumn feel to it, crisp to breathe in without leaving you gasping from the cold. This nomad planet was luscious and dense with plant life, one of the main reasons for its settlement in the first place. However, it had too few natural resource deposits for one of the bigger corps to get involved with and was too out of the way to be a busy tourist destination, and so it had stayed small, and well within nomad control. It orbited a wonderful star with a purple haze to it; as the sun set, the dense forest ahead was bathed in a beautiful, lilac glow. Although apprehensive about the situation, it was the little moments like these that brought a smile to Diego’s face.
The two had moved through the city in silence, mulling over their plans internally until they hit the edge of the city. As they did so, the lampposts across the street came to life, giving them a little extra light.
“We stick together and move slowly; we stay low and quiet. We're here for information, not for a fight... right?” Oxyi took a deep breath and padded towards the treeline, crossing the last field between them and it. She casted a nervous glance back at the lights behind them as the shade of forest began to encroach on her.
“Agreed. C'mon, Oxyi! We got this! I’ll keep you safe! Promise!” Diego patted her on the shoulder firmly and pushed forward across the field. There was not a single soul in sight. It was only a few months ago that these fields had had kids playing about in the plants and the growth, and families eating their meals together on the grass. But it was deathly quiet now...
They began by skirting the outside of the tree line, peering into the growing darkness of the woods but there was nothing of note, just the swaying of branches and the occasional chirp of a bird. The evening steadily drew to night. As the sky rolled back into a darker blue and stars blinked into being, the forest showed no signs of revealing its secrets. Nodding to one another, they began on their planned path into the woods. Both were capable navigators, so they weren't too worried about getting lost in the dark, Oxyi left some blotches of glow paint along their trail behind them, just in case.
Both moved through the forest with a surprising grace. Even in her thick work boots, Oxyi tread slowly and silently, her eyes scanning through the tree line. Despite his heavier frame and the metal nature of Diego’s armour, he remained nearly as silent as her.
With the last of the daylight now gone, both kept their eyes and ears up for any potential attackers or information. They held their nerve, quietly treading their way through the foliage and deeper into the dark, but the forest remained quiet. There was no movement at all, save the grass waving in the breeze, and the tree’s shadows dancing in the moonlight.
Deeper and deeper, the pillar-like trees continued to conceal their secrets, until the pair finally reached a small clearing.
A little way ahead was an abandoned cottage, once a quaint home, but now dull and lifeless. Quietly, the two crept towards the building. Oxyi drew a knife from her belt and followed Diego quickly as the lizard pushed towards the front door, ears pricked and alert, eyes constantly glancing around.
As he approached the front door, he noted that the gardens long since died from a lack of tending. Curiously, the soil looked like it had been trampled by a significant number of people, far more than a small house like this could hold.
His ears twitched as he leaned close to the front door and an acrid smell hit his nose, making his snout wrinkle.
“You smell that?” Oxyi whispered. “Think there was a fire or something?”
He nodded in response and gently pushed on the front door, surprised to feel no resistance.
Their initial sweep of the front of the house yielded nothing, just what used to be a home for someone, or perhaps a small family. But upon reaching the kitchen, the source of the smell was revealed.
Diego saw it first, followed shortly by Oxyi who’s eyes bolted open wide.
“The whole wall is gone?!” She shout-whispered, staring in amazement.
The kitchen has been roasted, the walls blackened and scorched by intense heat, but more worryingly, the entire back wall of the kitchen was gone, along with the back door. There appeared to be a smooth, dried red puddle on the floor which the two identified as melted but now cooled brickwork, puddled around where the back wall used to be.
They continued through the house, finding little of value in the night and nothing that explained the disappearances.
“Jeez, look at that!” Oxyi winced as she approached the kitchen again with Diego. “What kitchen fire produces enough heat to destroy brickwork?”
“They don’t.” Diego whispered back. “This was either weaponized, or psyonic. An out of control kitchen fire wouldn’t have caused this level of damage and, if for some reason it did, there is no way it wouldn’t have spread to the trees outside. I’m guessing you haven’t dealt with any forest fires over the last year?”
Oxyi shook her head, listening closely to Diego.
“I’m leaning towards a psyonic cause. Whoever did this, they knew how to control their flames. If you can melt bricks, you can burn trees, and they didn’t.”
“Why though? How does this relate to the people disappearing?”
Diego shrugged, mulling the scene over in his head.
“Couldn’t say. Argument gone wrong? Show of force? Revenge? Maybe it doesn’t relate at all. Too many possibilities. Let’s push forward… but we’ve found something at least.”
The lioness couldn’t help but feel a distinct sense of unease as they left the ruined home behind them - it had only given her more questions, and nothing in terms of answers.
Their next point of interest was an abandoned barn further into the forest, linked to the cottage by an old dirt road. Diego noted again that the dirt surrounding the barn had been trampled once again, it was difficult to make out a singular footprint as they all overlapped so much.
That many footprints? There must have been hundreds of people here.
They pushed on together and into the barn, its heavy wooden doors creaking loudly. As the wood whined, both of them winced and glanced around quickly, anticipating a reaction from the forest.
But once again, the forest stayed silent.
The barn remained dormant too, but another mystery was lying in wait for them.
Oxyi discovered a thick lash of blue fluid, gently glowing and spread thickly over one of the walls. An oddly sweet aroma hit her as she squinted at the fluid. She grabbed a small torch from her belt and quickly flicked it on to get a better look. As the beam lit the barn up, she suddenly saw deep impressions in the mud below; It looked like someone had been resting on their hands and knees.
Diego appeared behind her quickly after completing his sweep of the barn.
“What the fuck does this mean?” Oxyi whispered again, quickly showing Diego the impressions but flicking the torch off.
“Honestly? No clue. Weirdly pleasant smell for a fluid left here for goodness knows how long. Why hasn’t it rotted yet? Smells so sweet, should have been eaten or something by now, you know?”
“This just keeps getting weirder. Ugh. Did you spot anything else?”
“More footprints but no one else-”
Diego paused, something suddenly catching his attention through the window of the barn. He swore, for a second, he saw a flash of something deep in the tree line. Movement. His eyes focused, ears upright and alert.
Oxyi reached for her shotgun and slowly clicked the safety off, watching Diego closely as the lizard focused on the tree line surrounding the barn.
“Hmm. I got nothing. Might have been a bird? We should keep moving, your camera caught the weird slime stuff, right?”
Oxyi nodded and followed the lizard’s lead, creeping out of the barn through the same way they had arrived.
Leaving the barn behind, they pushed back into the dense trees and down their planned route.
Soon though, the thoughts of the barn left them as the forest showed absolutely nothing else of interest.
They crept on through the trees and grass. Minutes turned into hours without so much as a peep. They stayed low, to avoid any prying eyes or predators, but none came their way.
After another midnight hour of nothing, Oxyi began to relax in Diego’s presence. Perhaps it was the sweet smell of the mysterious blue fluid still lingering in her nose, gently tickling her senses or maybe the way the lizard moved had an air of confidence about him. Somehow, she felt like everything was going to work out okay. But either way, they had been silently patrolling around for hours now, and there hadn't been so much as a wink of activity.
They were on their way back home now, having reached the apex of their journey and had started looping around to some of the glow paint Oxyi had left way back.
The sight of it put Oxyi at ease a little, and suddenly, she felt a burning in her legs and the balls of her feet from walking around most of the night.
“Let’s take a break, Diego.” Her sudden whisper cut like a scream through the silence, but Diego didn’t even flinch. She stopped and sat on a broken log, patting the space next to her for him to sit beside her. She took a swig from her canteen and offered it to him, which he happily shared.
“Thank you again for coming out with me, Diego. I never would have done this by myself... It's a shame but it looks like we're walking away empty handed tonight… Not sure what we can do with a burnt down house and blueberry jam in a barn.”
“Hey, there's always tomorrow, right?” He replied sincerely, both of their voices low but no longer whispering. “I'm staying with you until we get this sorted out. Or staying here, rather.” He cleared his throat softly.
She giggled at his sudden shyness, shaking her head.
“You can stay at my flat, Diego. Promise you’ll stay though?” Oxyi felt for his hand shyly, her fingers slender and small in his tough, scaled hands.
“Promise. We'll sort this out together.”
A warm and thankful smile found its way to the girl's face, her eyes softening.
“Of all the people that could have turned up at my stand today, Diego... I'm so glad it was you. It’s like someone just, picked the perfect person and dropped them at my door... I don't know what I've done to deserve you.”
“You sure you don't want a guy with a gun instead?” He laughed, gesturing at the sword in his back. “And don't sweat it... I'm just trying to make the universe a better place. It's only right after all the damage I’ve caused...”
“Ohhhh... A tragic backstory as well? A dark and mysterious past, how intriguing!” Oxyi took off her scarf and placed it over his head like a hood, giggling sweetly. “Look at me, Mr Dark and Broody! I must atone for my sins!”
Diego laughed, standing and taking the scarf in his hands, and posing dramatically.
“I must warn you, Oxyi! I am quite the mysterious stranger! I’ll steal your heart, your flat and your food!”
“Such an intense stare, Diego! Oh I'm swooning!” They laughed together, Diego returning her scarf and sitting back down on the log. As they continued to joke with one-another, a piercing note punctured the scene, silencing them both instantly.
They froze. It was an eerie and surreal sound, coming from behind them…
They were not alone.
They both slowly rose to their feet. Diego drew his blade with the silence of a skilled swordsman, and Oxyi unstrapped her shotgun, then shouldered it. They remained absolutely still, waiting for another noise. Only moments later, it vibrated out through the trees.
It sounded like a groan.
They cautiously approached its source, Oxyi watching their surroundings and Diego taking the lead. Several tense seconds went by in silence, the two treading carefully.
Another groan rang out.
Diego suddenly spotted the source; there was a silhouette of a figure huddled close to a tree. Unmoving and seemingly unaware. He was just standing there awkwardly, shoulders uncomfortably hunched together, head hanging a little too far off to the side. The figure shuffled around, seemingly pawing at the tree next to it and confirming it was the source of the noise as another low groan escaped its mouth.
Oxyi and Diego waited together, taking cover behind a tree and deciding what to do.
“I-Is he drunk? What's he doing?” Oxyi whispered into Diego’s ear.
“I don't know,” Diego whispered back. “He doesn't seem armed or dangerous... Do you think he's hurt?”
“Impossible to tell from here... do we approach him?” Oxyi fumbled in her pack for a flash-light and passed it to him.
“Yeah... He seems alone, if he turns nasty, I think we can handle him. You didn't spot anyone else?”
“Nothin'.”
They nodded to each-other and Diego moved away from Oxyi before calling out, as not to give away her position.
“Hey dude... you alright there?” Diego gently sheathed his sword and clicked the flashlight on, revealing the figure in greater detail. As Oxyi watched from the shadows, her expression changed sharply, first to recognition, but then to shock.
The figure was a vulpine-morph, or a foxman, average in weight and build, and completely naked. His fur was a dark grey colour and his eyes were a twisted purple with curious green flecks within the iris. His monotone complexion did not match Oxyi's memory of him, the only reason she knew it was him at all was because of a unique piercing he had through one of his ears. He was one of her first clients; he’d had a problem with some lumber thieves that she’d sorted for him several months ago.
“That's Yeoman... what's wrong with him?” Oxyi blurted out, moving away from her position. As she spoke, Yeoman stumbled towards Diego, his groans becoming more aggressive. “Is that… is that an erection?!” She yelled and pointed, completely taken off guard at the naked fox’s apparent sexual arousal as he stumbled about. Embarrassed by her own outburst, Oxyi quickly composed herself. “Yeoman, I'm gonna need you to stop and back off.” She ordered, raising the shotgun.
He didn't listen. In fact, he sped up, breaking into a clumsy run straight at Diego, but the lizard sidestepped smoothly and kicked his legs out from under him, causing the fox to collapse to the floor. Oxyi pounced on him instantly, pulling a zip tie out of her pack and securing the fox's flailing limbs as he tried to stand again. He thrust towards her with everything he had, despite being thoroughly secured. Oxyi's camera was capturing everything.
“What the hell happened to you, Yeoman? You were a good hard-working guy, why’re you stumbling around the forest naked? Did someone drug you?” He didn’t seem to hear Oxyi’s questions; instead the fox continued his desperate but futile attempt to mate with her. Diego, who had been watching their surroundings closely while Oxyi quizzed her captive, suddenly felt a chill go down his spine.
His drunken flailing suddenly turned into precise movements, and with a ravaged cry he kicked Oxyi in the knee, hard.
“Ow! Fuck! Yeoman! What did you do that for?!” She yelled out, and he tried to kick her again, but she jumped back.
The fox did not respond, and instead growled loudly and flexed on the floor as hard as he could, pulling his arms outwards. To Oxyi’s increasing shock, the ties began to cut into his skin as he pulled as hard as he could, blood dribbling over the plastic zip tie.
“D-Diego! What should I do?!” Oxyi raised the butt of her gun. “Don’t make me knock you out, Yeoman!”
He strained further, shaking on the floor furiously as the plastic held firm but the flesh around it gave way with a nauseating squish.
A bright golden glow suddenly enveloped Diego and a bolt of crackling energy connected to the frothing fox on the floor with a puncturing clap that echoed through the trees. The bolt connected with a bright flash, briefly illuminating the surroundings as if lightning had stuck. But in that brief moment, Oxyi swore she saw eyes, illuminated by the flash.
Yeoman now laid still, still breathing but paralysed, his resistance quelled but Oxyi’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Diego… I think I saw someone…”
The lizard crackled with energy again, forming a small, bright orb in his hands.
“Where?”
She pointed deeper into the forest and he launched the orb into the trees. It bloomed with a piercing silver light in several rhythmic bursts, not so much looking to light the area up as it was to catch reflective surfaces.
With every flash of the orb, hundreds of eyes glowed in the darkness.
“Oh shit...” Diego drew his blade again, backing up towards Oxyi. “We need to get out of here, now.”
“W-What about Yeoman?!” She backed off, staring at the glowing eyes, then at Yeoman’s body, then back at eyes again.
“Oxyi; we’re being ambushed, we need to leave -”
The fox on the floor began to twitch violently, his limbs writhing and twisting against their joints as if he were a puppet being manipulated by strings.
Her eyes flickered away from her prisoner as through the darkness of the forest, hundreds of snarling naked figures emerged from behind the trees, running towards them. All around them, figures from the darkness were advancing. Their feet thumping against the ground, almost sounding like distant thunder encroaching on them.
“We need to move, Oxyi, now!” Diego leapt back, grabbing her by the hand and roaring into the air, ribbons of yellow energy sparking between them as he did so. Oxyi suddenly felt lighter and quicker on her feet, her breath came easy as they pounded towards the glowing paint on the trees. They were able to outpace the crowd gathering behind them, so Oxyi shouldered her shotgun as she ran, blasting a couple of shells into the assailants ahead. Each shot hit its target; the pursuers dropped dead where they stood. Diego charged into another, shoving the figure with his shoulder into a tree, where its body met wood with a painfully loud crack, and ceased moving.
Should I even be opening fire?! Oxyi’s thoughts came at her a mile a minute as they ran through the trees. That was Yeoman, what if the others… is that a risk we can take?
They followed the glow paint back to the city as fast as they could, taking out anything that got too close to them. With the heft of his blade Diego sliced another of the things cleanly in half at the waist… when their glow trail came to an abrupt end, with no end to the forest in sight.
Oxyi skidded to a halt. “Th-That's impossible! I marked our trail!” Oxyi stammered, quickly loading some shells into her shotgun.
“I know. Someone's been following us, Oxyi. Do you think you can find us a way out?”
“Y-Yes. I’ll need to read the map though, and I can't do it if we're running!”
She pulled another flashlight out of her backpack and Diego planted his legs firmly, preparing himself for the coming assault, confidently bringing his blade to his chest.“Then I'll buy you some time.”
Creatures sprinted towards them from every direction. Oxyi took cover beneath a fallen tree as Diego’s blade swung left and right, splitting through flesh and bone in massive arcs, heads severed from spines, limbs sliced from their bodies. Flesh and corpses hit the ground with deep thuds as Diego swung his mammoth sword. One tried to leap out from his side, but was intercepted by the sharpened metal perfectly. A spatter of its blood hit the tip of Oxyi's boot. Oxyi took a deep breath and steeled herself, concentrating on the map in her hands. Despite her shaking, she quickly finished plotting their escape route.
“Let’s go, Diego, come on!” Diego turned his back on the growing crowd gathering behind them; no, not a crowd, a wall of hungry faces was hounding them, far too many for Diego's blade to cut through. But now, they were back on the move, and able to stay ahead of the advancing creatures, Diego's warcry having given both him and Oxyi the speed and endurance needed to outpace their pursuers.
Through the bleating and screeches of the horde pursuing them, Diego picked up on a rapid, distinctly heavy thumping, like something or someone big was chasing them. But it was impossible to glance back for more than a second to check.
After what felt like an eternity, hearts pounding in both of their chests, the faint glow of city street-lights glistened into view through the treeline. They were almost there! Her legs felt like lead and she could taste metal in her mouth, yet Oxyi pushed forward and ran ahead. With the forest now clearing, there was nowhere for these things to emerge from and surprise them. The open field between them and the city was completely clear. She glanced back and saw Diego, right on her tail. The relief she felt at his sight was only momentary though, as she realised the sheer number of their assailants, quickly approaching the treeline. We can’t fight all of these on our own - we need an army! But maybe, once we’re in the town, we’ll at least be able to outmanoeuvre them…
Just then, stumbling towards the forest’s edge, the wall of faces stopped.
Confused, Diego and Oxyi paused for breath in the middle of the field. Before they could speak though, there was a loud clack behind them. The street-lights all popped together, tiny shards of glass tinkling against the floor, bathing the field in darkness and a sudden coldness gripped them both. They spun around, breath visible in the air, Diego’s ears alert and twitching, when -
“Get down!” Something - no, someone was hurtling through the air towards them! Yeoman hit the ground with a crunch in front of their feet. Oxyi staggered backwards, fumbling for her pistol. Diego spun out the way nimbly, when his ears pricked and a shudder went down his spine. Someone swiped for his back, but he ducked out the way and pressed his fist into the ground, surging his power into the earth. The assailant swung for him again, but Diego pulled his hand away, and a surge of concussive force erupted around him, sending bright orange sparks high into the air, illuminating the field and knocking the figure off its feet.
The assailant rolled to its knees and Diego instantly readied his blade against its neck, and froze. A few metres away from him though, Oxyi was kicking and screaming; something had grabbed her, and was holding her in its grasp.
An imposing creature, easily standing two heads above him and Oxyi, had seized her roughly by the neck and left her dangling in the air. She paraded around in her teal-green skin, with a noseless face and large toxic-green eyes, with black sclera much like his own. Heavy-looking carapace adorned her head not unlike a crown; sharp, a little bulky, but oddly elegant, the shape of its palisades resembling the petals of a flower. Similar carapace also adorned her shoulders, arms and legs, almost like armour plating. She stood tall and strong, with beautiful, long, jelly-like dreadlocks cascading down the length of her back.
Despite the very obvious danger that he and Oxyi were in, the more he examined their assailant, the more curious he became. His gaze wandered over her long curvaceous figure; she was wearing some kind of black armoured corset, but it was obvious that this thing was very well endowed.
The alien at the end of his blade seemed to be the same species, but this one had bright, amethyst skin instead, with a soft spattering of silver freckles over her face. She was broader than the other alien, but just as beautiful and even more curvaceous. She slowly raised its arms in surrender, but her partner merely grinned, menacingly.
“Well! That was fun, little ones! You got some fucking legs on you! Almost made it back to the city! But playtime's over now.” Her grin faded as she shook Oxyi about in a brazen and effortless display of strength. “Why don't you drop your weapons and make this easier for us?”
Exhausted from her struggle, Oxyi did as she was told. Her gun slipped through her fingers.
“Did you get the other one, Seeth?” The alien looked up from Oxyi, and her face dropped when she saw Diego's blade at her companion's neck. “Ugh. Really? That’s not like you at all.”
“Cut the shit! Are you the ones responsible for all the disappearances around here?” Diego yelled, one had firmly on his blade, the other crackling with bright gold energy.
“You should be more concerned with your own safety than mystery solving right now, lizard.” The alien scoffed, holding Oxyi out at arm’s length towards him “We heard you two talking in the forest earlier, and you sounded so cute and intriguing. I just had to get some of that for myself, you know? A mysterious stranger and a homegrown slut, accepting anyone into her home who offers a hand.” The alien grinned mischievously, showing a brief glimmer of fang.
“Shut the fuck up, you monster.” Diego barked, gesturing towards his blade. “You think you can take me on? Your friend here wasn't quite up to the challenge, in case you haven’t noticed, so you might wanna stop running your mouth.”
“You want to protect her?” The one he held at blade-point spoke up. Her voice was calmer than her partner’s, but both of them shared the same - almost synthesised - undertone. “You can still do that.” As she spoke, the green alien tightened her grip on Oxyi's neck, causing her to choke in pain as her skin bulged against the iron grip squeezing her throat. “You agree to come with us, and we'll let your friend go.”
She held Oxyi out between herself and Diego, although whether she was shielding herself or trying to taunt him, he couldn't say. One thing was certain though, Diego’s options for retaliation were limited. He’d never seen creatures like these before, and he'd seen a lot of different people in his travels. Maybe it was just bravado, maybe it was just false or misplaced confidence, but this alien knew he had psyonics, knew he was armed, and did not seem the slightest bit concerned. She didn't even seem concerned with the fact that his sword was currently resting against her comrade's neck.
Could I beat these things? If I attacked, could I win..? Could Oxyi…
The pressure mounted as Oxyi gasped desperately for air, she grabbed at the woman’s hands desperately but couldn’t so much as budge her fingers; Diego knew he had to do something, now. But there was so much he didn’t know. Would he be able to take these creatures out if they decided to kill Oxyi? Sparks of psyonic power still tingled around his hand, but neither creature appeared threatened by it. And what if he just ended up hurting her instead? He could see Oxyi trying to shake her head, pleading with him not to listen, but her face was turning blue, and he couldn't see another way out.
“W-What do you want?!” He yelled out desperately.
“You.” The purple alien spoke again, quietly. “Promise to come with us, with no fuss, and Leech will let your friend go. As long as you do what I say, you won’t be harmed.”
Diego hesitated for a brief moment. He looked towards the forest, where he knew those hundreds of monochrome faces were waiting, just waiting to give chase again. He glanced at the alien at the end of his blade. Her expression was unreadable, but her gaze was surprisingly soft. A feeling of trust and warmth suddenly washed over Diego, and he made up his mind.
“Oxyi... you get the fuck off this planet, yeah?” He slowly pulled his blade away from the purple alien’s neck and she rose to her feet, keeping her hands up in the air. He kept his gaze on Oxyi, but shifted his address to the creature beside him. “Okay. Fine. I promise. You let her go and walk away and I swear, I'll come with you peacefully. But try anything funny and I swear I’ll bury you in this god-damn field, you understand?!” His words were followed by a threatening surge of gold over his body, sending tremors through the soil. This is going to be suicide, I know it, but I can’t let Oxyi die here. This is for Oxyi, I'm doing this for Oxyi…
“Oh wow, look at that, he can vibrate grass.” The green alien rolled her eyes dramatically and flicked her brilliant green dreadlocks over her shoulder, but she did as promised, and relaxed her grip on the frantically kicking Oxyi.
The lioness coughed and sputtered, sucking in mouthfuls of the cool air.
“Diego! You can't just give yourself up for me, you bloody idiot!”
“I don't wanna hear it, Oxyi! I promised to keep you safe. I’m honour-bound to that promise.”
“Fuck honour! Just get out of here!”
“No! Now unhand her, creature! I meant what I said.” Diego's eyes narrowed sharply as he spoke. That warmth was fading away now, and a sharp cold was prickling at the back of his neck.
With a light shrug, the alien’s grip on Oxyi loosened, and she hit the floor with a thud, gasping. The alien backed off, kicking away Oxyi's guns but otherwise leaving her be.
“Wow, what a hero! Now say your goodbyes and run away, little kitty.” The alien barked. “Seems Seeth fancied a deal! Trading a Node for a Mark!” That sinister grin spread back across her face. Oxyi slowly approached Diego, threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, crying into his neck.
“Y-You didn't need to do that... I'm just a nomad and - and we only met earlier today! I'm no one...” She sobbed, the aliens watching both of them intently.
“You don't understand...” He hugged her back, holding her close, but kept his eyes on the green alien. “I made you a promise. It doesn’t matter how long I've known you for, I said I'd keep you safe... Now go! Before they change their minds. I'll be fine! Just get to safety!” A brief smile lit up his face. “Told you we’d find something.”
She pulled back, rubbing her fingers over his hair and ears and kissing him gently on the nose, before breaking into a run with all the strength she could muster, across the field and towards the city. Soon enough, she faded out of sight and into the shadows, leaving Diego alone with the two alien creatures in the dark; the sparks from his psyonic blast had reached the ground, and fizzled out.
He took a long, deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh night air. A heavy feeling in his chest told him that this might be the last taste of freedom he would get.
