I stumbled after Onyx, wincing from her death drip on my wrist as she pulled me roughly deeper into the dark woods. Hunter quickly caught up. He ran beside us, his long and even strides keeping Shivaya steady in his arms.

We didn’t go far.

A noise of crushed metal was all the warning we received, then a rush of air, and the ground in front of us erupted. Onyx abruptly stopped, and I bumped into her hard back.

A figure stood from a crouch in the settling dust. Three yellow eyes stared at us, lidless and glowing and set in a triangular pattern. Slit pupils widened attentively. They belonged to a face born of nightmares. Burnt red skin slowly dripped off a horned skull like molten wax. Sharp black fangs were bared in a vicious rictus.

A sleek black body-armor covered the creature’s body-builder body from the neck down. It dwarfed even Hunter’s large frame, with four arms each as thick as a gas barrel and a bulbous chest bulkier than some of the trees surrounding us.

“A Vraex’ein?!” Hunter swore, in English, his face white as a sheet. “What the fuck?!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Faster than I could follow, Onyx had pulled a gun from the back of her pants and unloaded into the Vraex’ein’s molten face. “Hunter! Take Terry and run! I’ll hold her back as long as–”

She vanished.

In her place stood the Vraex’ein with two left fists extended. The sonic boom blasted over me an instant later, along with the sound of something heavy and metallic crashing into a tree further back.

From up close, the Vraex’ein looked even more threatening. The brute towered over me, at least ten feet tall. I watched, stunned by a mix of terror and awe as blood-red skin crawled back over exposed black bones. Her face was reconstructing before my eyes as if melting in reverse.

I wanted to flee. But how do you run from something that can move at the speed of a fighter jet?

The Vraex’ein cracked her neck. “Cunt,” she spat. “That bastard better pay extra for having me fly that deathtrap.” Her voice was a deep rolling growl, like an angry tiger about to pounce. “How am I even supposed to get off this backwater rock, uh? Hey, you!” A gloved finger snapped to my face. “Any idea where can I find a decent craft on this empress-forsaken piece of shit?”

I blinked and dumbly pointed at my face.

The four-armed alien rolled her three eyes. “Oh, for the love of tits. Bet you can’t even speak Common. Poor schmock. Never mind, you’ll make a decent snack for the road. Now, you!” Her attention shifted to Hunter, who took a step back, arms tightening around Shivaya. “Hep! Hold off! No running. When prey run, it makes me want to chase.” She grinned, and it was terrifying. “Now, I know you can understand me. You recognized what I am, and you’re a… let me guess... Volfern? ...No? Feldron then? Iskorn?”

Hunter twitched.

The Vraex’ein’s evil grin stretched wider over her fangs. “Yeah. I recognize that red hair now. Look, I’ll cut you a deal. You hand over the princess without a fuss and point me towards a space-worthy vessel; In exchange, I’ll graciously make your death quick and not rape and eat your loved ones. Sounds good? A favor, from one outcast to another.” Yellow eyes glittered with glee, and her sadistic grin threatened to spill out of her half-rebuilt face.

Hunter’s expression flashed from confusion to fury and back. He snarled. “Go to hell, bitch! The fuck are you on? There’s no princess here!”

“Please.” The murderous alien’s expression shifted to pity. “I know she’s here. The psi-scanner is–” She glanced towards her crashed ship and clicked her tongue. “Shit. Anyway. It’s not you, obviously. It’s not the tin can either. And that one’s a male—pitiful specimen of one as he may be. Don’t take me for a fool, pony boy. I hate that. Now, be a good boy, and stop testing my patience. Hand over the girl.”

“Over my dead b–”

It was over in a blink.

One instant, the Vraex’ein stood still, empty-handed. The next, Shivaya was cradled in her left arms. A huge and bloodied combat knife was held in one of her right hands. Hunter crumpled to the floor, guts spilling out of his eviscerated stomach.

“HUNTER!!” I rushed to him, but a boot caught me in the chest. “Ugh!” I was sent tumbling back. Pain stabbed through me. Breathing hurt. I tried to get up, but that same boot pressed down against my chest. My ribs groaned. I did too and glared at the hulking creature over me. “Release... Shaya… you monster… Hunter… Onyx… you…”

The Vraex’ein cackled. “Monster this, monster that… That’s what they all say– Wait.” She lifted an eyebrow—the middle one. It was weird. “You can understand me. Sneaky little snack. But this one’s coming with me, sorry­– not sorry. It’s just business. Nothing personal, really.” She laughed evilly. “Well, I do enjoy my job very much!”

Fuck. I ground my teeth together, in pain, but also anger—anger at this creature and at my own helplessness. Also, as one who loved the stars and often dreamed of a better life away from Earth, it was a strange disillusion to realize bullies were the same everywhere.

It pissed me off. It really did.

It was a silly, childish, selfish reason, but I couldn’t stand my beloved stars being tainted by scum like her. It was the least of her crimes. Onyx, Hunter, Shivaya… Yet, for some reason, it was the one that made me so—fucking—furious!

“Grraaah!” I groaned through gritted teeth. “Get your… dirty paws… off… my… sister!” For a second, I felt something swell inside me. For a second, I seemed able to push back against the Vraex’ein’s weight. Then, she crushed me back down. Hard. I heard as much as I felt my ribs crack. "GAAAAAH!!" I don’t usually swear, but fuck, that hurt!

“This shmuck…” The alien shook her regenerated head. “Sorry to break it to you, boya, but this missy ain’t no more your sister than I am. I’ll admit, they did a good job disguising her as one of you barely evolved monkeys. But they sorta botched the paint job if she’s supposed to be of your blood.”

Don’t you dare insult Shaya, you sick monster! She’s a treasure! She’s Gerald and Aponi’s little girl! Tears streaked down my face. This was so stupid! I didn’t get all that was happening. Still, from Onyx’s behavior alone, it was evident that this over-steroidal idiot was off-target.

After everything, was I going to get Shivaya killed—or worse—just because someone interplanetary muscle-brain mistook her for me? Was that how I repaid the people who gave me twenty years of unconditional love I never deserved?

Fuck that.

The swelling sensation was back, growing with my anger, feeding off my sheer refusal to betray the people I was both proud and ashamed to call family. Proud of them. Ashamed of me. Let’s be clear. They deserved better than a neurotic freak like me, and I wasn’t going to let anyone take away the child worthy of them.

“Why am I even telling you this?” The Vraex’ein shook her head. Hair of sorts had also finished growing back on her scalp. Although, it looked more like a nest of oily tentacles. “Oh, right. Because I’ve been bored out of my mind on that piece of crap dinghy for the past fucking eternity!” She sighed theatrically. “Ahhh… That felt good. I needed to get that weight off my chest, you know?! Hahaha! I’m sure you can relate!” Laughing, she leaned more of her weight onto me.

I struggled to breathe. My focus was narrowing, tunneling. All I could see was that smirking mug and those three glowing eyes brimming with insanity.

I could feel pressure building behind my own eyes. It was almost too much to bear. I had to close them for fear they might pop out without my eyelids to hold them back. Outlines of Gerald and Aponi seemed seared into my retinas.

“Do you have any idea how cruel it is to keep an upstanding Vraex’ein citizen by her lonesome for cycles on end? Do you?! The ache, the need! It’s maddening! Mad, I tell you!! Haha! Hahaha! Hahahaaa!! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.”

I could barely hear her now. Blood was pulsing at my temples, drowning out her gloating. I don’t think I’d ever felt so angry before. Moments of my life flashed behind my closed eyelids. I saw every little instance of kindness from my adoptive parents, and each fanned the single-minded fury that had taken me over.

My eyes snapped open. They felt like burning lumps of coal seared into my face. It hurt. It hurt so much. A repressed scream scorched up my throat, held back by gritted teeth. My muscled ached with heat as I pushed back against the giant armored foot crushing my ribcage. The insane alien, lost in manic laughter, didn’t notice until I was almost sitting up.

“What?” Her laughter abruptly died, and all three of her eyes bulged in shock. “What heresy is this?!”

“I told you…” I hissed, “to get your filthy hands... off my SISTER!!” My anger finally roared out, and with it came a burst of white-hot flames. The fire leaped at the Vraex’ein face, melting a large hole straight through her brain.

She collapsed backward like a falling tree. Her grip loosened, and I threw myself up to break Shivaya’s fall.

“Ooof!” I gasped when she dropped on me. “You need a diet, sis.” The joke might be inappropriate and ill-timed, but the relief was making me light-headed. Or maybe it was the broken ribs. Also, my throat felt like I had drank an entire bathtub of hot sauce. “Did I just breathe fire? Holy cow!”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

A wrathful animal roar froze the laughter before it could cross my lips.

My neck swiveled to look at the fallen Vraex’ein. The giantess was convulsing on the forest floor, bellowing furiously and clawing at the remaining half of her face. “GAAAAH!! It hurts! It fucking hurts! You fucker! You’re dead!” She abruptly sat up. Of her three eyes, only the two lower ones remained, but they were wild and bloodshot, spinning while staring at nothing. I didn’t think she was seeing anything with them. “Wait until I catch you! I’ll eat you! I’ll rape your ass dry and bloody until you could fit a black hole inside! I’ll do the same to everyone you know!! Graaaah!! Fuck!! THIS LITTLE SHIT!!”

My heart jumped to my throat.

How is she alive?! I could see through her head, for Christ’s sake! And unlike before, she did not seem to be healing.

“Aaaaah! Fuck! It hurts!” The wounded monster spun and shifted to her four hands and two feet, like some kind of horrifying insect. “! It hurts so much! Little princess! Come out and pla~ay~!” The singsong voice coming out of the mangled wreck of a head would haunt my nightmares for weeks.

The undying Vraex’ein started sniffing the air, her body swaying left and right...

Then her unseeing eyes stared straight at me.

A carnivorous grin revealed all of her black fangs.

“Found ya~”

I made a movement to crawl away, but pain lanced through my lungs. I faltered and dropped back down. My body suddenly felt as if made of superheated lead. All of me was burning up and too heavy to move—not to mention Shivaya being sprawled limply on top of me.

On all six, the Vraex’ein crawled over. She halted right above us. Slobber rained down between her oversized fangs, and I had a silly wish for an umbrella. A thick, leech-like black tongue slid out her mouth, licking her gums. “Thanks for the meal!

Just as she dove for the bite, I heard the sound of hooves.

Cavalry?

I didn’t expect a horn to suddenly burst through what was left of the monster’s face, piercing a new hole between her two remaining eyes.

Nor did I expect a unicorn to rip the feral alien off Shivaya and me and then swing her impaled body into a tree.

Bonk!

Repeatedly.

Bonk! Bonk! Bonk! Squish!

…ew.

Something finally shattered and tore inside the monster’s head, and she slumped to the ground. Not yet satisfied, the unicorn, covered in black blood, reared above the corpse and started angrily trampling it, visibly intent on turning the dead Vraex’ein into a smear on the forest floor.

This was a nightmare.

So… at what point was I supposed to wake up?

. . . . .