The massive hull of the crashed longship towered over them as they approached, smoke twirling lazily into the sky above. Splinters of the dark maroon wood littered the newly created clearing where it had landed and carved a path through the trees, leaving a deep furrow of earth in its wake.

Chad took in the scene with more than a little awe. Despite the damage they'd done to the vessel, it was still pretty damn impressive. Now that they were closer, he could make out the intricately carved bow and the tightly-jointed boards that made up its sides. Well, tightly jointed except for the massive holes they'd blown in it.

One of the men -- a level nine Firefighter -- conjured up a stream of white foam from seemingly nowhere to extinguish the last of the flames. After a brief check to ensure the coast was clear, they stepped toward the ship to look around inside.

Chad felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Annie giving him a pointed look. "You should be restin', Chad. No way in hell you're in any kinda shape to be explorin' right now."

"I'm fine!" Chad grinned in what he hoped was a convincing fashion. "I got all bandaged up, didn't I? And those healing skills are no joke!"

"Chad, I have eyes. I can see you're limping. And you can't even use your left arm."

"Yeah I can!" he countered.

"Uh-huh." Annie crossed her arms, pointing a finger toward it. "Then go ahead and lift it above your head."

Chad bit his tongue. "Ok, fine. Maybe I can't. But I still got my right! And besides," Chad gestured to the wreckage before him. "Look at that! It's a literal alien ship! No way I'm passing on that!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering something under her breath.

"Besides, Squawk just helped me pick out a defense skill." Chad nodded to his shoulder. "Right, buddy?"

"Yep!" The parrot bobbed his head. "An actually good one, too!"

Eventually, she relented. "...Fine. But if anything happens, we're gettin' you outta there. I ain't letting you get hurt any worse. You already should be in the hospital, you idiot..."

"No problem!" He shot her a thumbs up. "I wouldn't mind heading back after this, either."

In reality, Chad realized that she had a decent point. He was in terrible shape. The various healing and first aid skills had done wonders for him, but he'd still need time and rest to recover fully.

...But this is way too cool to pass up.

The trio stepped inside one of the holes, glancing around. The inside of the ship was made of the same dark wood as the outside, its surfaces sanded and polished to a surprising smoothness. Small crystals set into the ceiling illuminated the space with amber light, though a few of them were cracked and extinguished.

As for the area itself, what parts remained intact bore no real decorations or furnishings. Just long benches set in neat rows beside each window, presumably for oarsmen to sit on. Splintered remains of the oars lay scattered across the ground in many places.

They climbed in, their feet finding purchase on the tilted floor of the wreckage. Others in Chad's group had already stepped inside and were in the process of clearing the area of danger. But despite their caution, the ship remained quiet. Only the creaking of wood echoed through its interior.

"Huh..." Chad looked around, brow furrowing slightly.

"What?" Squawkers asked.

"I dunno. Guess I was expecting... more?" He shrugged. "Like some kinda alien tech or something."

"I mean, does that count?" Annie pointed at the lights above. "I don't think those're electric."

"I guess?" He shook his head. "But they're not the same kinda wires and buttons and whatever that movies always show."

"Eh, beggars can't be choosers." Squawkers flapped his wings and lifted into the air, heading for one of the light crystals in question. After a couple of tries, he gripped it in his beak and pulled until it popped free. The satisfaction on his face was obvious as he glided back down and deposited it in Chad's palm. "There you go! Real, genuine alien tech!"

He chuckled, petting the bird. "Thanks, Squawk."

Inspecting the thing, it was pretty neat. The rough-hewn crystal was about the size of a small apple and glowed from within, its light flickering and dancing like a flame. Only, there was no fuel. It was entirely self-contained. In fact, it somewhat resembled the crystalline projectiles that the ship had shot from its cannons earlier.

"Neat," Annie remarked as she peered over his shoulder. "Can I get one too?"

"You got it!" Squawkers puffed out his chest. "Heck, I'll grab a bunch! Might as well."

"Awesome." Annie looked around and spotted a medium-sized box nearby, made from the same wood as the ship. "Here, we'll keep 'em in here."

The bird dropped a crystal inside. Symbols along the box's sides flashed a bright purple as the bauble fell into the opening and disappeared.

They all paused. "Uh… where did it go?"

Chad looked inside the box, seeing nothing but darkness inside. He put his arm inside, feeling around the inky blackness. The limb seemed to disappear entirely as he searched in vain for the box's sides.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Weird…" He pulled his arm back out. "It's bigger than it looks."

Annie reached in herself to check, eyes widening in surprise. "Woah. That is trippy…"

As she pulled her arm back out, the glimmering glow of the crystal appeared between her fingertips.

"How'd you find it?" Chad exclaimed.

"I dunno! I just though about it, and it kinda… appeared?"

"Hmmm…" Squawkers peered inside. "That seems useful. We should keep that around to check it out more."

As the bird set about his task, filling the impossibly large box with lights, a call came from deeper within the ship. "Hey! I found something here!"

Nodding to each other, Chad and Annie headed over to take a look. The voice had come from a trapdoor set into the floor -- though, given the angle of this part of the ship, it more resembled a closet. Climbing inside, Chad's eyes widened.

Oh yeah. Now THIS looks like alien stuff.

The trapdoor led to a large compartment beneath the main area of the ship. Most of the compartment was understandably destroyed, its floor having collapsed on impact with the earth. But what parts remained were quite the sight.

More crystals sparkled within the ship's lower areas, though they were different than the lights above. These were much larger, ranging in size anywhere between a cantaloupe and a beach ball. Each perfectly smooth surface floated above a mount, whose wooden surface was etched with glowing lines extending onto the floor beyond.

The spheres' lava lamp-like insides glowed a dull aqua, illuminating the room. As Chad watched, the globules of liquid suspended within slowly shift to teal, then green, then back to aqua in a soothing rhythm.

Chad heard a small clink as something hit the ground behind him. He turned to see Squawkers drop one of the light globes from his beak. "Screw these things. We should be grabbing those!"

A round of nods followed his statement. The man who had discovered the room spoke up. "I dunno if they're safe to touch though. Not sure what they're for."

"Hmmm..." The bird examined them closely. "Maybe they have to do with how this thing was flying? I mean, they are floating, and those symbols look kinda like they could be transferring that to the ship."

"Symbols?" Chad peered closer. What he had initially assumed were glowing lines did in fact appear to be clusters of finely-carved runes.

"Good point." Annie nodded. "Though... what if they're some kinda tracking beacons?"

"I guess?" Squawkers shrugged. "But I dunno why they'd have so many of them. Plus, if they are, there's not too much we can do about it. They probably already know the ship crashed here, and leaving them will still lead any scouts right toward us. I guess we could break 'em..."

"No, you're probably right," Annie agreed. "At the very least we can check 'em out and see what they do. Maybe they'll be useful."

As the pair spoke, Chad stepped toward the nearest globe. It bobbed gently in the air, its hypnotizing movements drawing him closer. With a finger, he reached out to gently prod at it. Very gently.

"Chad, wait--"

The crystalline sphere floated backward and away from its mount. As soon as it did, the runes below dimmed and fell inert. A groaning of wood sounded as the boat shifted. The sphere, however, remained floating in midair. Its glow slightly intensified as it began to rise like a balloon.

"Er, whoops." Chad met his companions' glares with a sheepish grin. "Looks like they're not dangerous, though!"

"...I guess that's one way to test it..." Squawkers sighed. "Well, guess we should just grab it then. Before it floats away."

Chad nodded and reached out, palming the sphere before it climbed any higher toward the ceiling. It pressed upward against his hand with surprising force -- nowhere close enough to make him strain, of course, but the floating magic ball certainly was filled with more than helium.

Maybe we can make flying cars outta these. Or even better, jetpacks! Chad's mind whirled with possibilities. Now more than ever, he realized that his childhood dream of flying through the sky might actually come true.

...Or maybe they'll just be cool lava lamps. But I'm holding out for jetpacks.

***

A bit more searching yielded even more hidden goodies. They found a few of the paragliders that the invaders had used in their assault, as well as some life jacket-looking contraptions embedded with miniature versions of the floating orbs. Putting them on seemed to slow a person's fall pretty significantly, explaining how their enemies had avoided splattering themselves against the ground when jumping overboard. They also found a leftover store of those crystalline cannonballs that miraculously hadn't broken in the crash.

Aside from those highlights though, the ship was just what it appeared: a wreck. Splintered wood and the occasional body were the more common scenery. The undecorated interior gave no other clues as to who these invaders were, what they wanted, or where they came from. Though Squawkers did ask Annie to take some pictures of the runes for later study.

After stripping the place clean and loading their loot in the back of the remaining cars – along with their impossibly spacious box – the group finally headed back to town victorious. The more injured of the group were brought to the hospital, where they found Sheriff Clay watching over their other comrades.

Evidently, the hospital staff had gotten quite a bit out of their own traits and levels, though few of them were above level three. Regardless, it made the critical conditions of some of their wounded a lot less critical. Recovery would still take time, but they would recover.

Chad also got checked over, and after a few very pointed instructions to rest and take care of himself, the trio headed home. It wasn't a moment too soon, either. There were still other enemies on the loose, if the numbers they'd seen diving toward the ground were anything to go by. And that meant that Chad had to be on high alert.

They pulled up into the driveway on Ol' Bessie, her engine thumping away rhythmically. The familiar whitewashed cottage greeted them, its sides painted with the sun's setting light.

Before Chad could even park though, the front door slammed open. Jerry appeared in the doorway, his face panicked. "Oh thank God! You're back!"

Chad instantly tensed. In a moment, he'd hopped off the bike and dashed toward the door. His wounds protested, but he didn't care. "You ok? Where's Gram Gram?"

"I-I... yes... We're fine." He ran a hand through his frazzled hair. "We're both fine. B-but... the cats..."

Chad shouldered past him into the house. Everything seemed in order. The furniture was all in place, and a crock pot of stew bubbled on the counter nearby. The only strange thing was...

...Where are all the cats?

He looked at Jerry with confusion as the guy continued babbling. "I-I don't know how they did it. I don't even know how they got out. I just, I just looked, and..."

"Jer-bear, where are they?"

"O-out back." He pointed a trembling finger toward the door. "There."

Chad strode quickly to the door, pulling it open.

He was greeted with a massacre.

The entire back porch was strewn with corpses. Squirrels, raccoons, mice, and other rodents lay motionless and bloodied, their lifeless bodies laid in heaps across the wooden boards. He even saw a few larger animals like deer and a couple of boars further out. The ferric stench of blood assaulted his nose where he stood.

And there, sitting happily among the carnage, were cats. Cats of every shape, size and color. They lounged between the corpses and sat proudly atop the piles, cleaning their bloodied paws.

What the fuck.