When They Come
14

The wind whistled softly through the chains, making them lazily sway. The trio climbed the thick chains quietly as the clock ticked down, sealing their fate with each minute that passed.

Alex focused her energy on climbing instead of talking as Addir began to explain what’d they’d come across on the ship.

“I fortunately know the patterns of the guards inside, and no, there’s no roofs we can dash over to avoid them. We’ll have to take out security drones and potentially sentries to get to the heavily guarded machine,” Addir said as he scaled the chain behind Alex.

“Perfect. Just perfect,” John breathed. “There’s no way I’m gonna make it in there. I’m a marshmallow just waiting to be melted,”

“Great analogy,” Alex grunted as she pulled herself up. “But we’ll stop by the armory to get something,”

“How’d you know there was an armory?” Addir asked.

“Luckily guess,” Alex replied.

An hour later, the trio made it to a hatch where the chains fell through to the ground. Arms and legs sore, Alex heaved herself onto a platform and breathed heavily. It was an iridescent grey surface that was cool to the touch.

Addir followed her up and helped John up off of Alex and then pulled her to her feet. Alex rolled her neck and shook out her limbs before nodding to Addir.

He led them through the location they were in. It was a hanger of some sort. Alex could sense other Saimiens above her and was positive Addir could sense them as well. Behind white crates and through a few tunnels, Addir guided them silently.

Alex’s senses were on edge as she rounded a corner and faced a door. She could tell that there were sentries and drones on the other side of the door. That’s why Addir waited until he looked sure they were safe.

The door slid open when he pushed a button on a side panel. Addir looked left and right before beckoning John and Alex to jog down the hall. Alex’s hear beat as she followed Addir. It was nerve racking thinking that they could be caught by anything, jeopardizing their time-sensitive mission.

The trio rounded a corner and jogged down that corridor before they dove into a room. It had shelves upon shelves of weaponry and armor that even Addir gasped at.

Alex walked over to the armor section and picked out an iridescent grey suit of armor. She tossed it to John and he caught it.

“I think this might make you a little less marshmallow-y,” Alex said with a smile.

John looked at it. “Looks a little big,” He said flatly.

“It has a special perk to it,” Addir said walking over to them. “Put it on,”

Join slipped it on. First the arms. The legs. Then the visor-looking helmet. Once he finished, it looked like as if he had stepped into a pair of large pajamas.

Addir came over and lifted John’s arm to eye-level. He pressed a button on the suit and it contracted to John’s size. He smiled and said, “The suits are designed to fit the wearer. It works on anything,”

Alex looked around. “Do you think we should put one on?” She asked.

“It would be wise,” Addir nodded.

Alex grabbed two more off the rack and tossed one to Addir. Alex slipped hers one and found it fit her better, but was still loose. Pressing her button made it fit like a glove. It was smooth on her skin since she had taken off her shoes, and bloody shirt and left her black tank top and shorts.

It was cool and comfortable and seemed to hum with tech beyond her wildest dreams.

“These are really cool,” Alex breathed, a smile spreading across her face.

“Now you think it’s cool,” John said, folding his arms.

“Because it is!” Alex said. “Now, you need a weapon. Addir, care to explain some?”

Addir pointed to a set of grey, iridescent needles. They were bigger and didn’t have the eye you’d find on a regular sewing one. “These you can control with a single thought. It comes with a chip you can insert into your suit to help with controlling them.”

Next, Addir gestured to what looked like a phone. Like an actual human phone. Except this one had a sky blue case that shimmered. “Don’t be fooled by its appearance. Unlike your human phones, this only had one ‘app’. A laser app. In other words, it shoots lasers. With a swipe of the screen, you can aim it anywhere,”

Lastly, he motioned to a bracelet with a silver disc as its decoration. “Believe me, it’s not a bracelet. It’s a clear shield that forms at will,”

“I want the shield and phone!” John answered.

“Me too,” Alex chimed and they grabbed the gadgets off the shelf and equipped them.

Addir chose the needle things and shield, and inserted the chip that went with it. The needles suddenly moved on their own around Addir and pointed their sharp sides at the door, ready for action.

Alex nodded to her friend and…brother and slid down her visor that immediately flicked to life and showed her a map of the entire spacecraft.

“This place is massive,” Alex sighed.

“Yeah,” John said over a com in her helmet.

“If we cut through the east hall, catch a ride on the transporter, and take those halls, we should be able to make it there,”

“If,” Alex repeated. “We also have to get through the guards, bots, and whatever we find. It could take us all out time to get there!”

“Attention all Saimiens,” A voice boomed over invisible speakers. “Please begin your preparations to evacuate this planet. Ready your things and come to the main deck to be detoxified,”

“Who was that?” Alex asked, looking around.

“Onol,” Addir said gravely. “She’s gathering all the Saimiens to leave,”

“No doubt we’ll be caught in the fray,” John sighed. “We’ve less than thirteen hours to get this done. Let’s make it count,”

Alex and Addir nodded.

John wasn’t kidding. All three of them were caught up in the crowds of Saimiens that they had to go along with them. Luckily, the suits had cloaking devices so they could disguise as Saimiens as well.

While in the longest line ever, the rest of the Saimiens didn’t realize the trio’s holograms fuzzed and blurred as they brushed passed. They were too focused on getting ready to leave.

Alex was staying near Addir and John for fear of being separated and it was proving difficult. She was being jostled around and bumped into. And unfortunately, the hours were slowly ticking by while being stuck in the line.

“Did you hear about the traitor yet?” A Saimien asked in English.

“Yes,” Another answered. “They said his name was…Addis or something of that sort,”

“It was Addir,” The first corrected.

“Anyways, Onol isn’t happy. She says a severe punishment is waiting for him,” The second one commented

“I wonder what it’ll be,” The first mused. “Do you think it’s execution?”

“Possibly. Treason doesn’t sit well with her. And to think! Wasting our sacred tradition on a puny human! He’ll die soon. Even if it’s not by her claws. He won’t stand a chance amidst the humans. Not that he’ll make it because he’s probably still on the planet,”

“Indeed! Have you seen the way humans treat their kind when they find that they’re different? It’s inhumane! Shunning those instead of celebrating their differences!”

Alex and Addir shuffled uncomfortably where they stood. Those two were right, Alex thought, humans do shun those who are different. What will they think when they see me?

Alex watched Addir through the disguise. He looked nervous and afraid. She would too if she was promised to be killed for betraying her country. Let alone world!

The line shifted and there were calls for splitting up the females from the males for detoxifying. Alex’s heart jumped. Splitting up?! The female Saimiens edged themselves to the left side of the walls and the males to right. Alex was shoved into line as she watched her friend and brother be forced into theirs. They exchanged anxious glances and nodded to each other.

“We have to get out of line soon,” Alex whispered into her com, her voice barely audible over the chatter and hiss of the Saimiens. “Is there a bathroom anywhere?”

“There is,” Addir replied. “One on each side of the room. If we can excuse ourselves to dash into there, we’ll be golden,”

“Right,” John muttered. “And if this freaking line doesn’t move in the next hour, we go. Time is short now,”

The line did move. Saimien after Saimien, the line moved closer and closer to the detoxifying machine. Alex clenched her fists and felt the black, glossy surface of her palms as she dug her talons into them.

She came to the end of the long and winding hall to meet a massive large room with walkways above them and large tube-line scanners several yards away from them.

Alex nervously glanced over to the doorway leading to the bathroom and took a deep breath before stepping out of the line.

“Where might you be going?” A female Saimien snapped.

Alex spun around, not feeling like leashing her attitude. “For your information, to the restroom,” She replied sweetly and strode off.

Alex quickly walked to the doorway and met a long hallway, full of different doors and things other than the bathroom.

“Alright,” Alex murmured into her com. “I’m out,”

“We are too,” John replied.

“We’ll meet up where the transporter is,” Addir said and an elevator box lit up on Alex’s holo-map.

“Meet you there!” Alex replied and sprinted down the hall.

Her footsteps were light and barely made a noise besides the clicking of her paws on the floor. Alex wondered if she’d manage to get to the generator in time. Standing in line took a huge chunk of time off their timer.

They were now reduced to four hours! How much time passed so quickly, Alex had no idea. Alex’s ear picked up something. Something from behind her. Like another Saimien following her.

Alex stopped and spun around. No one was there. Alex narrowed her eyes. She definitely wasn’t paranoid. It was definitely someone. But it didn’t quite feel like a true Saimien. However she felt that.

“Whoever’s there, come out! I know you’re here!” Alex said seriously.

The clicking of paws that were not her own were heard. A rustle of clothing could be found echoing off the walls. The person who stepped out made Alex swear out loud.

It was Cassandra. Of all the snobby, stupid, bratty, a-bunch-of-other-mean-names-people, it was Cassandra. The Ice Queen.

And that wasn’t the only thing that made Alex swear. Cassandra was also a hybrid. The black looked shiny against her red hair and the triumphant gleam in her eyes made Alex want to utter a string of bad names at her.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Alex whined. “How—What—Why you? Why—just why?” Alex stuttered.

“Why?” Cassandra echoed sweetly. “Because I am—an always will be, better than you,” She said the last part flatly.

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Alex said, dropping her hologram and shifting her weight from foot to foot. “But I thought humans weren’t supposed to be bitten. Let alone paired with a Saimien. Especially you!”

“Xevon convinced Onol to recruit me to hunt you. And I demand a rematch on our fight. We never did finish,” Cassandra said, placing her claws on her hips.

“And we’ll see how well that goes,” Alex said bored. “This better not take long,”

Cassandra sneered. “Oh, I have all the time in the world,”

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