"Now or never," Edan muttered, the wind snatching his words away as it ripped through the gigantic trees. He sucked in a breath of crisp Alaskan air, but even that couldn't touch the nervous energy churning in his stomach. His hand went to his backpack pocket on instinct, fingers itching for the reassuring weight tucked inside. Months of planning, all riding on this one desperate shot.
Ms. Fernsby, his history teacher, was off on another one of her rabbit holes, inspired by the large instructional displays surrounding the group on the trail. Her voice hit that special, shrill pitch that meant pop quiz time, Apex Prime trivia edition. Today's flavor: the legendary beatdown Vitalis laid on a nest of crawlers, squishing them like crunchy flakes. She made it sound epic, naturally, skipping the part where Vitalis got turned into paste. Not that it mattered. Distracted was what Edan needed, and distracted she was.
This was it.
"Time to move," Edan murmured to Weston, grabbing his best friend's arm and hauling him toward the back of the gaggle of bored-out-of-their-minds teenagers.
Weston's eyes went wide, his face paler than usual. A rough cough ripped out of him, the kind that had him scrambling for his inhaler. "Are you sure?" he wheezed, voice raw. "They catch you, you're done. Terrorist charges. House Denali will ship your sorry ass to the asteroid mines—you'll be lucky to see thirty, breathing that poison they call air." He shuddered, the imagined taste of toxic metals dust in that recycled air already coating his tongue and tearing up his lungs.
Edan's stomach clenched. Terrorism charges. People got sent to the mines for just thinking about what he was about to do, never mind actually doing it. He'd had nightmares about that place, about the endless dark and the forced labor that broke you down to human rubble.
Nope. No time to think about that now. He'd been a coward his whole life. And look where it got him. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, staring down a future about as bright as a black hole.
"Gotta do it," Edan said, eyes scanning past the other kids, down the trail. Crumbling stone walls marked the edge of the historical site – just another notch on House Denali's endless list of conquests. Every single student in their territory, which was the entire freakin' North American continent, got dragged out on these mandatory field trips. Sure, it was the only time they opened these places to the public, but Edan didn't give a rat’s ass about some ancient Vitalis dude. He was here for one thing, and one thing only: the artifact.
It was a long shot. No, not a long shot. The only shot. Edan shoved down the thought, refusing to let Weston see his doubt.
The Sterlings—Weston's family—were good people. They'd taken Edan in after his parents died in the accident, treated him like their own, even when he was being a moody jerk. But he was so tired of their pity. He didn't need their charity, their sad smiles. He needed excitement, adventure—a chance to be somebody. He needed to be an Apex Prime.
Countless nights, he'd lie in bed, phone practically glued to his face, the glow etching Apex missions onto his retinas. Insane rescues, battles against things out of nightmares, planets no one had ever set foot on… It was the life he was meant for.
The artifact, buried somewhere in these crumbling ruins, had to be his ticket out. He could feel it in his gut.
"Maybe… maybe we could, like, file a request or something? Officially, with the System? My dad would sign it, make it all legal…" Weston's voice trailed off, unfounded hope clinging to his words.
Edan clenched his jaw, hating the tightness in his chest. “Oh yeah, Weston’s pity is exactly what I needed right now. Like I need someone else thinking this is insane. As if I didn’t know it, but what choice do I have? Sit around waiting for the System to pick me? Toss me a bone like some stray they felt sorry for? Screw that. Edan had choked on enough pity to last a lifetime. The funeral flashed before his eyes—the cheap flowers, the hushed whispers, the pitying stares. He'd sworn, right then and there, never again. Pity wouldn't save him. Pity was for the weak.
“The System?” Edan let out a humorless chuckle. “They only care about their precious Primes. The Houses? They're the middlemen, calling the shots for us bottom-feeders. A random orphan with delusions of grandeur? They wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire. And the clock's ticking. Once my brain finishes cooking, around twenty or so, I'm toast. Doesn't matter what that artifact can do, if I haven't cracked it by then, I'm done. Finished. Just another nobody rotting in this hellhole. Not. Gonna. Happen."
He glanced at his classmates, practically drooling on their phones as they scrolled through Apex gossip. Typical. Those idiots would bottle an Apex's bathwater if they could. They had no clue what it really took, the sacrifices, the risks…
"But… what if it's not there? What if this is all for nothing?" Weston's voice was tight, his fingers twisting around his inhaler.
Edan drew a breath, pushing down the doubt twisting in his gut. "This place is practically built on crawler bones. They're drawn to artifacts, like metal to a magnet. Remember that tenth-grade class, two summers ago? Eaten alive, right here? There's something here, Weston. Something big enough to pull them in. It's a crapshoot, yeah, but…"
Edan trailed off, unzipping his backpack and carefully retrieving his creation: Buzzy. A tiny robo-beetle, a perfect replica of the crawlers that plagued their world. Twisted growths erupting from its carapace? Check. Wicked-looking talons that could slice through steel? Check. Five rows of needle teeth—because why not? Check. Edan gently placed Buzzy on the ground and tapped on his phone to bring it to life.
Well, life, if not moving counted.
"Damn it, Buzzy. Come on, we're on a schedule," Edan muttered, fiddling with the robot's wiring. Fernsby's lecture would be over soon, and then it was back to boring old Wyoming. Edan would never have another chance.
"Maybe this is a sign," Weston said, his eyes darting nervously around, as if dreading that another kid might catch on to what they were doing and snitch on them. "Maybe we shouldn't go through with this."
"No, we're doing this," Edan insisted. He gave Buzzy a sharp flick of his finger. The robot landed on its back, legs flailing as it struggled to right itself, then flipped over and started crawling enthusiastically.
Edan grinned.
Showtime.
“Um, Ms. Fernsby?” Weston piped up, his voice taking on that whiny, slightly-too-high pitch that always got under their teacher’s skin. “Is that… is that a crawler?” Meanwhile Edan furiously tapped at his phone, directing Buzzy remotely.
Weston pointed towards Buzzy, which was zipping up a moss-covered rock, straight towards Ms. Fernsby's boots.
The teacher, visibly irritated by the interruption, frowned. "A what now?" Her gaze followed Weston's finger.
Buzzy vanished into the ankle hem of Ms. Fernsby's floral-patterned pants.
The scream that ripped from her throat could have shattered glass. All eyes snapped towards the unfortunate teacher, her face a mask of pure terror as she frantically tried to dislodge Buzzy from her leg.
That's when the screaming started.
It was pure chaos. The other students, so recently bored out of their minds, suddenly found themselves living out a Vitalis-level crawler re-enactment. Too bad they didn’t have Vitalis’ Wave Manipulator Class or his Frequency Master skill to fry those creepy crawlies with high-pitched sound blasts.
The kids scattered like roaches under a spotlight, a screaming, shoving mass of flailing limbs and panicked shouts. Everyone knew what those crawlers could do—burrow in your ear, your nose, anywhere, and turn you into a hive-minded puppet.
“Cover for me, alright?” Edan yelled, his words barely audible over the din. If the Sterlings went full Amber Alert on him, his plan was toast. The last thing he wanted was to worry them.
“Ya, I’ll tell them Cayden whisked you away for a surfing trip at his dad’s beach cabin, and there is no signal-”
Whatever Weston was going to say was cut off by a sound that was somehow even louder than the collective freakout of twenty teenagers: the distinct roar of displaced air as Lotzes, an Apex from House Katoa, descended from the sky in a swirling cloud of vapor.
“What the…” Edan’s jaw dropped. “What’s Lotzes doing here? New Zealand’s, like, a bajillion miles away! If House Denali catches him in their territory, he’s finished.”
But even more bizarre was the way Lotzes was flying. It was slower than Edan had ever seen in the viral videos. Jerky, almost. Like the thick gray vapor surrounding him would turn transparent for a second, and Lotzes would drop a few feet before he managed to wrangle more moisture from the air. It was… unsettling.
“Maybe… maybe he’s here to help them out?” Weston offered, his gaze glued to the Katoa Apex’s precarious descent.
“Katoa helping Denali?” Edan snorted. “Fat chance. As if those Denali snakes didn’t try to off Katoa’s scion after they snagged that biotech contract.”
Edan would have loved to see Lotzes crash land on his watery ass, but he couldn't afford to waste any time. He nodded to Weston and sprinted in the opposite direction, heading towards the ruins.
***
"Where the hell is that piece of crap?" Edan snarled, punting a loose rock with enough force to make his toes throb in protest. The rock, seemingly offended by his outburst, ricocheted off a nearby oak and nailed him square in the shin.
"Ow, seriously?" Edan yelped, hopping on one foot.
The only response was the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the obnoxious chirp of his phone, nestled precariously in the crook of a gnarled tree root. The map on its screen, once a beacon of hope, was now a graveyard of red X’s, each one marking another failed attempt, another dead end in this impossible scavenger hunt. Five attempts, five dead ends.
Five times he’d plunged into this godforsaken forest with his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs, convinced this time, this time he’d find the relic.
The first time, it was a rabid squirrel who apparently had a thing for ankles. The second, a steaming pile of moose crap he'd sworn was hiding the artifact. My hands will never stop reeking of that stench, ugh! Then came the poison ivy, the rusty bear trap, and now… nothing. Just the endless green of the woods and the growing suspicion that he was on a wild-goose chase.
Edan shoved the phone into his pocket, a wave of frustration washing over him. The coordinates, painstakingly translated from his dad’s jumbled notes, were starting to feel like a bad joke. He'd found his dad's old journal, the one filled with all the crazy Asterian stuff. He always thought it was just his dad’s way of coping, but something deep inside him told him that this was more than that.
His dad was obsessed with the Asterians, an ancient human civilization that existed before the System’s arrival. Rumor had it the Asterians had tech that would make even the snootiest Houses drool. He believed the Asterians had connections with an alien race and that they held the key to unlocking the System—a way to become an Apex Prime without needing to be chosen by the System.
Edan was going to finish this. No way he wasn't. This was about more than just him now. It was the only way he could honor his dad’s memory and carve his own path.
The woods had gone dead silent. All he could hear was the sound of his own panicked breaths and the frantic, thump-thump-thump of his heart. Someone – or something – was watching him. He could feel it.
A twig snapped. Edan spun around, every instinct screaming at him to run.
"H-hello?" His voice cracked, barely a whisper.
The silence pressed in on him, thick and heavy. He could practically feel it daring him to speak again. Goosebumps prickled across his skin. Something was out there. He could feel it, watching him.
He forced himself forward, one step, then another. The forest floor was a mess of tangled branches and roots, but he barely cared. His eyes darted everywhere, searching for the source of that creepy feeling.
And then he walked right into it.
Three shiny black eyes were fixed on him from a face all sharp planes and jutting bone. Its skin wasn’t just rough like bark, it was wrong, like a tree trying to be a lizard and failing badly. Its mouth split wide – not a grin, more like a canyon opening up to swallow him whole – and yeah, okay, those teeth were definitely sharp enough. The thing was waist-high on Edan, draped in the hide of some enormous bird. The wings hung down like ragged sleeves. The bird's head, still attached at a sickening angle, lolled against the creature’s skull. Ew.
Edan wasn’t even aware he’d been screaming until the sound ripped from his throat, raw and ragged. The creature answered with a shriek that tore through the forest, less a sound and more like metal scraping against bone. It vibrated in Edan’s teeth, stole the air from his lungs.
He ran. Didn’t look back, didn’t think, just moved. Trees blurred into a green-brown mess, the forest floor a treacherous assault course under his pounding feet.
Crawlers. Was that what that thing was? But crawlers were supposed to be small, more like messed-up bugs than…that. Had they gotten bigger? Evolved? The thought alone was enough to make him pump his legs even faster, each desperate stride fueled by pure, primal terror.
A quick twist of his head, just enough to see…nothing. Gone. But that didn’t mean safe. Not even close. Then the world exploded in a shower of pain as his foot snagged on a hidden root. He went down hard, the jarring impact shooting up his spine and ending with a sickening crunch as his head met rock.
***
"What the..." Edan's eyelids finally peeled open, each blink a monumental effort. Everything was pitch black. He was sprawled on something hard and unforgiving. "Ow, my head," he groaned, his hand flying to the back of his skull, landing on a bump the size of a golf ball. Right, he'd taken a tumble while ditching the—
Click.
The sound, sharp and way too organic, sliced through the darkness. Edan's head whipped up, and he went instantly on high alert.
Two black eyes stared back at him.
A scream ripped from Edan's throat, raw and ragged. He scrambled backward, his limbs tangled in a panicked frenzy, until he was on his feet, chest about to explode. The creature let out a series of piercing squeaks before bolting in the opposite direction.
Oh crap, that thing is gonna eat me! Edan thought, fear turning his blood to ice. A bunch of bugs were going to burst from my mouth and ears like in that video Mason showed me and then...
Wait a second.
He looked down at himself, hands frantically patting his limbs, searching for any sign that he had been snacked on. He seemed…whole. No burrowing wounds, no pulsating egg sacs. He didn't feel any different, no alien hivemind whispering commands in the back of his brain. And the thing hadn't attacked him while he was unconscious. At least, not that he knew of. In fact, the creature had run from him. Twice. Crawlers didn't run. They always attacked, driven by that whole creepy eusocial altruism thing where they'd sacrifice themselves for the colony.
Maybe it wasn’t a crawler? But an alien? Here? What would an alien even be doing here in the middle of nowhere?
Asterians. Aliens. The artifact.
Dad could have been right. What if this alien was connected to the Asterians somehow? What if this was it – his ticket to hacking the System, to becoming an Apex Prime on his own terms?
Okay, so find out what this thing knows. Edan sucked in a breath. No more running. No more chickening out. Time to man up and talk to the alien.
Trying to look brave (and failing miserably), Edan walked towards the creature. It was watching him from behind a tree tangled with vines.
"I'm armed," Edan squeaked, his voice cracking like he was just starting puberty all over again. He scrambled for his flashlight, clicking it on and waving it around like that crazy Apex Titan dude in a viral video. "Don't even think about trying anything funny. Who are you?"
The creature tilted its head and let out this earsplitting screech. Yeah, English was definitely not happening. Hell, judging by its freaky anatomy, this thing probably didn't even have the right pipes to make human sounds.
It took a slow step closer and reached out a hand – a long, claw-tipped hand – towards Edan's head. It wasn't exactly threatening, but Edan felt a shiver all over his body.
"Back off!" Edan yelled, stumbling back. He shook his head, flashlight held out like a sword. Maybe, just maybe, this thing understood body language even if they didn’t share the same language.
A light brighter than a supernova exploded through the trees, turning everything white. Edan threw an arm up against the glare, a low buzzing sound vibrating right through him. Squinting, he saw it – a gigantic ship, all metal and lights, hanging in the air above them. This alien brought friends.
Edan's hand was shaking so badly his flashlight beam was shaking like a hummingbird on Red Bull. What am I doing? His head spun. This is nuts! Okay alien, you won the dick measuring contest.
"What kind of crazy-ass weapons did this alien have?" Edan pictured himself as a human kebab, roasted over a crackling fire while the alien ate him bit by bit. His muscles tensed, ready to run.
But then the memory of his parents’ faces, their eyes filled with pride, flashed before his eyes. He wouldn't let them down. He wouldn't let fear control him anymore.
His chest tightened as he inhaled. Edan lowered the useless flashlight and stared into the alien’s eyes. Direct eye contact probably wasn't the best idea, but what choice did he have? “Okay,” Edan choked out, his voice a dry rasp. “Just… don’t kill me, alright?”
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The alien cocked its head, a soft chirp escaping it. It lifted one long claw, the tip pointing at his head. Edan flinched, every instinct screaming at him to bolt, but he stood his ground. This is it.
The alien’s touch was barely there against his temple. And then the world exploded.
A high-pitched whine, like a thousand dentists’ drills in unison, ripped through Edan’s skull. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the noise only intensified, drilling deeper and deeper until it felt like his brain was about to burst. His knees buckled, and the forest floor rushed up to meet him.
Everything went black.
***
When Edan woke, the first thing he registered was the throbbing pain in his head, like a million tiny goblins were having a rave in his sinuses. Groaning, he opened his eyes, the forest floor a blurry mess of green and brown.
“Ow,” he mumbled, pushing himself up on his elbows.
“God, I had the wildest dream. There was this alien…”
And then he saw it.
The alien was standing directly over him, its form blocking out the sun. Edan scrambled backward, fear jolting him fully awake.
<<“You hear I?”>> a voice echoed inside Edan’s head.
WHAT THE F– Edan scrambled to his feet, tripping over a root and landing hard on his butt.
The voice, if that’s what it was, sounded like whispers made of silver, scraping against his skull.
<<"Me talk now.">> The voice rumbled, each word a sharp jab. <<"Not breeding. Only talk. Sex parts – no match. Honored, but.">>
HOLY SHIT, THIS THING IS IN MY HEAD! Edan's brain went into overdrive. Crawler? Did it– did it probe me while I was out?
<<"Ritual poop?">>
"Just breathe, you're gonna start an intergalactic war," Edan muttered, clamping down on the urge to scream. Don't think about war. Don't think about lasers. Think puppies. Puppies are nice.
He risked a glance at the alien. It wasn't attacking, just staring at him with a tilt to its head. The voice in his head had gone quiet.
Okay, maybe it's gone. Score one for Edan. And hey, I'm still alive. Maybe this thing isn't so bad after all. Maybe it knows about the System! His mind latched onto the hope. "You... you know about the System? You an Apex?" he blurted out.
The alien jittered and shuffled its tiny paws, its three long tails whipping back and forth like a tangle of jump ropes about to trip someone.
<<"System? Um. Yes. They sent. Me warrior. On mission. Fix magic. My world.">>
A warrior? This little dude? Okay, maybe his species is like those chihuahuas—tiny but fierce. Still, he's riding a spaceship the size of a city block, so who am I to judge? Gotta be careful what I think, though. He's all up in my brainwaves.
“Not a warrior,” Edan mumbled, trying to play it cool. Then, because his mouth always betrayed his brain when he was nervous, he blurted, “I mean, I took this self-defense class after some bullies jumped me in middle school, but—”
<<“Moo jump? What moo?>>
Edan blinked. “Uh, not a cow, a… Forget it.”
Way to go, Edan. Now he thinks you wrestle cattle. This alien was probably expecting some kind of intergalactic badass, not a scrawny fifteen-year-old who still got carded trying to buy a PG-13 movie ticket.
“Look, I’m just a guy,” Edan said, trying to salvage the wreckage of the conversation. “Not an Apex or anything. I just… I need something that’ll help me get there.”
<<“No warrior. You small. Like hatchling?>>
“Hey, I’m not that small!” Edan puffed out his chest, trying to add a few inches to his already respectable five-foot-eight frame.
The alien cocked its head, those unnervingly intelligent eyes boring into Edan. Even the creepy bird-skull thing on its cloak seemed to be studying him. Edan was starting to feel like a bug under a microscope.
<<“You want…what?>> the alien finally asked.
Edan took a deep breath. Time to lay it all out there. “I’m looking for an artifact,” he said. “An ancient disc. It’s made of this weird—”
<<“Sky rock!”>> the alien thought-spoke into Edan’s mind. The creature bounced around excitedly, like an over-caffeinated feather duster, its bird cloak rippling as if preparing for takeoff. The whole effect completely clashed with its unsettling appearance. Another thought entered Edan's mind, <<"I sense rock energy. Mission.">> Still bouncing, the alien plunged a claw into the depths of its cloak, emerging with a piece of smooth, black rock clutched tight. As the alien held up the stone, a shimmering hologram sprang to life above the stone. Proudly, the alien presented it to Edan.
Edan’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes, the disc is made out of a meteorite,” he said shocked. “How did you kno— You’re looking for it too?”
The alien bounced again. <<“ You help I?”>>
My help? Why would a powerful warrior with a spaceship the size of a small island and an arsenal that could level a city could possibly need me for? Edan considered. "Maybe this guy's clueless about Earth. Like, what if he eats a cactus thinking it's a delicacy? I'd be a terrible person if I let him die from alien food poisoning."
Edan hesitated, weighing his options. On one hand, this creature was an alien. A real, mind-reading alien from a species he knew nothing about. For all he knew, this alien could belong to a rival species of House Hyrix, the alien race that brought the System to Earth. Unlike the other Houses located in major cities on the seven continents, House Hyrix's seat was in a satellite they built that orbited Earth.
Crap, what if House Hyrix thinks I committed treason by helping this alien and decides to, I don’t know, blast the planet back to the Stone Age? I’d be grounded for like a million years.
On the other hand, this alien was looking for the same thing he was. And it clearly knew a lot more about the artifact than he did. If the alien could really track the energy signature, then maybe it was worth the risk. "What if this is my only shot at proving I'm not just some nobody?"
“Okay,” Edan said slowly. “I’ll help you.” He met the alien’s gaze, a new resolve hardening his voice. "But you have to promise me something in return."
The alien cocked its head, considering him with those weird black eyes. <<“You want… what?”>>
Edan sucked in a breath. "I want to be an Apex Prime," he blurted. "Help me find this artifact, and I swear, I'll do whatever it takes to help you with your mission."
The alien stared at him, those black eyes intense. Then, it nodded, and Edan felt a jolt of surprise.
<<“I help you find rock. You… become Apex.”>>
Hope, real hope, sparked in Edan's chest. He had a mission. He was going to be an Apex.
The lines on the alien's claws flared, pulsing with an urgent light. <<"Many coming,">> the alien's thought cut through Edan's mind like a siren. <<"Hurry.">>
***
<<“What waters call you?”>> the alien asked. They were scrambling deeper into the glacier labyrinth, the cavernous space echoing with the drip-drip-drip of ancient ice. Edan’s breath fogged out in front of him, each exhale a tiny cloud that vanished into the freezing air. His ears ached, the cold a sharp bite that tore deep.
The lines on the alien's claws seemed to pulse brighter, a freaking glow stick show right on its skin. The crawlers were getting closer. He could practically feel them skittering up his spine. He shuddered and tried not to think about that. One wrong step on the slick, uneven ice and he’d be a human popsicle.
His nose was running, a steady trickle he kept having to sniffle back. His fingers were numb, clumsy inside his gloves. He hoped his feet weren’t turning black yet; he couldn’t feel them anymore. His head throbbed, the cold trying to turn his brain into a slushie. At least the alien's weird questions kept his mind off his freezing toes.
The whole time they’d been running, if you could call this mad scramble running, the alien wouldn’t shut up with the questions. Like it was trying to write his biography or something. Edan was pretty sure the alien had a one-track mind, and that track was paved with awkward questions. He’d lost count of how many times he’d blurted out ‘What do you mean?’ but he was trying, really trying, to roll with this bizarre conversation.
“Well, once when my friends and I went to the beach, this wave totally clocked me, and I hit my head on the reef when I went under. I thought the water was whispering ‘Dunas’ for a second, but it was just Cayden yelling ‘dumbass’ at me for almost drowning while he hauled me up on his surfboard.” Edan winced. Way to sound like a complete moron. But hey, the alien wanted to know, right?
<<“No, no. You… familiar. When ancestor… die, connect. We go to waters, hear their call. Then… carry familiar." >>
Familiars? Was this alien for real? Was it some kind of intergalactic witch?
“Wait, so your dying grandpa takes you to a creek to listen to its babble, and that’s your name? Then you what, carry your grandpa back home? What the–” Edan stopped mid-sentence, his gaze snagging on the alien’s cloak. The cloak that was definitely, one hundred percent, made out of a freaking dead bird. He stumbled to a halt, his momentum nearly sending him skidding across the ice.
THIS CRAZY-ASS WIZARD IS CARRYING HIS DEADASS GRANDPA AS A CLOAK! Edan’s brain screeched to a halt, thoughts spiraling into a panicked black hole. Oh God, it’s gonna turn me into a freaking flamingo man-purse! I’m gonna be an alien’s fanny pack!
<<“Grandpa? No. No blood ancestor. Ancestor in nature. Die. Connect. Carry. You no flamingo. You friend. No worry.”>>
Edan just gaped at the alien, relief washing over him so fast it almost made him puke. He wasn't going to be a walking, talking fanny pack after all. He still wasn't sure what kind of messed-up acid trip he'd wandered into, but at least he wasn't about to become a fashion accessory.
Edan’s brain sputtered back online, trying to grapple with the alien's words.
“Nature? Like… a spirit animal?” he squeaked, the word sounding way too surreal in this frozen wasteland.
<<“Yes. Spirit return to waters. Waters know what I called. Waters know all”.>>
Edan frowned. "So you have a spirit animal, and when it dies, you… connect somehow? And these 'waters'… they're like, an afterlife thing?”
<<“Waters are beyond. Waters call I Chirp.”>> The alien puffed up a little, clearly proud of his name.
Chirp? Seriously? A warrior named Chirp? Edan bit back a laugh, picturing this creepy-ass alien chirping like a baby bird.
Bad move.
Chirp vibrated, his form shimmering with what Edan could only interpret as rage.
<<“You flamingo belt now!”>>
“No! Chirp, my man, chill! I’m just messing with you! Humans joke, okay? It’s what we do. My name’s Edan – see, stupid human name, haha!” Edan babbled, forcing out a laugh that sounded way too high-pitched. He really hoped Chirp had a sense of humor buried somewhere beneath that spooky exterior.
Crazy alien, check. Quest to save magic on some planet I've never heard of, check. Yeah, this whole situation was officially off-the-charts bonkers. Pissing off the only guy who could get me out of this frozen popsicle stand? Probably not my best move. “It’s just… different, okay?"
Chirp grunted, a good sign, and held up a claw. The energy detector thingamajig was buzzing like a hornet's nest, the hologram flashing from blue to red. << "Close now." >>
Edan's pulse kicked into overdrive. Hours of freezing his butt off in this icy labyrinth, and they were finally close to the prize. "How close are we talking?"
<< "Close, close," >> Chirp chirped, aiming the device at a wall of solid ice, thicker than a monster truck. << "Buried." >>
Edan's stomach did a flip. "Buried? Like, six feet under buried?"
Chirp pressed a button, and the device shot out a beam of green energy so intense it could melt steel. The ice sizzled and cracked, the air thick with the smell of ozone and the groan of a glacier throwing a tantrum. Edan scrambled back, heart hammering against his ribs.
"Uh, just wondering," Edan squeaked, "but this isn't going to, you know, bury us alive, right?"
Chirp glanced at him, his face a total blank. << "See soon." >>
The beam sliced deeper, carving a tunnel into the heart of the glacier. The air grew colder, damper, and each blast of alien tech made the ground tremble beneath Edan's feet. The whole glacier was groaning, shifting like it was about to roll over and go back to sleep – with them underneath.
The green beam winked out, plunging them into an eerie silence broken only by the drip, drip, drip of melting ice. Edan held his breath, every muscle in his body going rigid.
<< "You grab," >> Chirp commanded, pointing a claw down the tunnel. At the end of that icy tunnel, barely visible in the gloom, lay a dark shape. A disc, maybe? It looked ancient, like something out of a museum.
"Grab it?" Edan's voice shot up an octave. "Dude, I'm not crawling into that ice coffin to grab some creepy relic. What if it's cursed? What if it kills me? Or worse, what if it gives me zits?"
<<“You promise,”>> Chirp said, tiny bony shoulders slumping dramatically.
"Yeah, well, so did you!" Edan threw his hands up, his frustration echoing off the ice walls. "Why don't you go? You're, like, the size of a grapefruit with wings. It'll be easier for you!"
Chirp crossed his arms, the movement making his feathery sleeve-wings puff out like he was some kind of angry space chicken. <<“Me find disc! Me melt tunnel! You Apex Prime, you grab!">>
Edan opened his mouth to retort, then closed it as the ice cave chose that moment to shudder, a tremor running through the ground like a giant's heartbeat. Ice rained down from the ceiling, showering them in glittering ice.
Fear, cold and sharp, stabbed at Edan's gut. They were running out of time.
“Fine,” Edan said, already knowing how pathetic he sounded. “I’ll go.”
The tunnel was just tall enough for him to crawl through, which should have been a relief, but instead, just made the whole experience that much more claustrophobic. The ice was slick with meltwater and brutally cold, biting into his fingers. One wrong move and he'd be skewered on a shard of ice, or buried alive in a slush pile.
Another tremor shook the tunnel, this one stronger than the last. A fist of anxiety seized his chest, making it hard to breathe.
What an Apex I turned out to be, he thought bitterly. I'm never going to make it out of here alive. I'm an idiot. Just like that asshole Brock always said. He could practically hear the jerk laughing... Nope. Not gonna give them the satisfaction. Edan shook his head, the movement sharp and jerky.
Spurred on by spite, Edan pushed himself forward, ignoring the way his bruised knees and elbows throbbed and how his entire body seemed to be turning into a frostbite meat cube. He reached the disc and snatched it.
“Got it!” he yelled, scrambling back the way he’d come with the grace of a drunken spider.
Edan burst back into the main cavern, blinking against the sudden brightness. Chirp was still standing where he’d left him, tiny, birdlike, and infuriatingly calm.
"Okay, got it, let's get out of here!" Edan waved the disc, his voice breathless.
<<"No,">> Chirp mind-talked, shaking his head so rapidly Edan worried it might detach. <<"This place... important. Maybe connected to relic.">>
"Connected? What are you talking about?" Another tremor, this one rattling Edan's teeth. "We’ll be connected to the ceiling if this cave collapses!"
Chirp ignored him, continuing to mind-talk. <<“I ask familiar.”>>
"Ask your familiar? Are you serious? You made me go through that death trap for this? And you don't even know what it does?" Edan felt a panic attack brewing in his chest. He was about to start a new life as a human freezie, all because he was stupid enough to trust this crazy alien.
<<“You listen to familiar. I in waters. Far. I hear little echo.”>>
“Wait, you’re leaving? What-”
"Edan's question died in his throat. Chirp squeezed his three eyes shut and took a deep breath. Silence. Then flames erupted, engulfing Chirp in a blaze of green fire. But instead of heat, an unnatural chill flowed off him. And slowly, like he was being pulled up by invisible strings, Chirp began to rise. His feet left the ground; an inch, then six, then a foot, until he hovered in the air, a good four feet above the ground. A tiny speck on Chirp's cheek, no bigger than a pinhead, started to shake. It pulsed once, twice, then melted into a single, trembling drop of blood red. The droplet hung in the air, buzzing like crazy, before imploding, disappearing like it was never there. Another piece of Chirp, this time from his arm, did the same thing, then another spot, and another. Soon, Chirp was disappearing piece by piece, until there was nothing left but his cloak, still floating in the air, and a cold that seemed to be spreading from where he'd been.
The cloak twitched, those creepy green flames licking at its edges, then slowly billowed outward. It was like some monstrous, bird-shaped thing made of shadows and smoke, surging back to life and taking shape within the cloak's folds. Edan’s heart hammered in his chest. Terror froze him in place. He wanted to run, to scream, to do anything but just stand there and watch.
The ghoul-bird finished taking form, its head snapping up with a sharp jerk. Its eyes, snagged on Edan, and terror shot down his spine. It opened its beak to speak, and Edan braced himself, but the sound was drowned out by a wave of crackling static. The flames surrounding the dead bird flickered and sputtered, their edges tinged with sickly yellow, and it let out a sound that was half-screech, half-wail. It shook violently, and the flames turned a horrifying ghastly white. Terror, pure and simple, rooted Edan to the spot. He was trapped. Pressure built in his head, something vast and inhuman trying to shove its way in. The ghoul-bird continued to screech, its voice echoing strangely in the cavern, bouncing off the ice walls and amplifying the dread twisting in Edan's gut. The pressure in his head intensified, becoming a roar that threatened to block out all other sound.
A ghostly touch brushed his mind, his thoughts vanishing like wisps of smoke. Then, a voice exploded inside his skull, like thousands of lightning whips crackling.
<<“Feed your souls to the star,”>> the voice thundered. <<“Beware the touch of the dead.”>>
And then, just like that, it was over. The flames winked out, leaving only the echo of cold. Edan stumbled back, a startled yelp escaping his throat as his foot caught and he nearly went down.
One by one, drops of crimson, like tiny shimmering rubies, materialized in the air where the cloak still floated. Slowly, painstakingly, they began to flow back, stitching themselves onto Chirp’s skeletal frame. It was like watching a gruesomely beautiful rewind, his body reforming from a splatter of blood back into...well, not life exactly. He looked more like a wax figure, perfectly formed but lifeless. Then, without warning, the air seemed to give way. Chirp, cloak and all, dropped like a sack of avocados, landing in a heap on the ice.
Whoa, seriously? What just happened? Because this nasty-ass light show wasn’t on my to do list for today.
***
<<“What you MEAN not know?!”>> Chirp practically vibrated out of his feathery cloak. Edan was pretty sure the little alien was about to explode. He really, really didn't want to be on the receiving end of THAT temper tantrum. So Edan did his best to come up with something, anything, to get Chirp off his case.
“Look, all I got was, ‘Feed your souls to the star.’ What am I supposed to do with that? It's not like I've got a space program handy." Edan threw his hands up, the disc – his ticket out of this icy hellhole – heavy in his hand.
A deep groan echoed through the ice, another tremor.
Chirp, perched on a jagged spike of ice, vibrated with frustration. His feathery cloak-wings puffed out, making him look twice his normal size. <<"Not helpful. Think! Familiar say beware touch of dead. What that mean?">>
“How should I know? Maybe he meant 'beware of horny ghosts'?" Edan shot back, tension making him snappish.
Chirp’s silent fury could melt the whole glacier.
“Okay, okay, I’m thinking! Feed… souls… wait…” Edan’s mind raced. Chirp had said he was connected to that bird corpse, that he’d sent his spirit to that watery land of the dead and in return, the ghoul bird spirit reanimated its old body. Edan’s eyes widened. “This disc… it’s made of that meteorite stuff, right? And meteorites… they’re like pieces of a dead star, yeah?”
Chirp cocked his head, claws tapping an impatient rhythm against the ice. <<“And…?”>>
“And…” Edan sucked in a breath, the frigid air searing his lungs. “Maybe feeding our souls to the star means… merging them with… with that kind of connection you have with the dead bird.” He stared down at the disc, a wild hope igniting in his chest. “This is made from a star…”
Chirp hopped down from his perch, landing gracefully on the ice. <<“Possible. But how? You merge soul with space rock before?">>
“Nope. Have you?” Edan countered, then bit back a sigh. Now really wasn't the time to be sarcastic.
Chirp closed his eyes. <<“Soul transfer… many times. Delicate. But…”>> His voice wavered, uneasy. <<“In waters… felt… wrong. Not right.”>>
Alarm bells went off in Edan's head. "Off? What do you mean 'off'?"
Chirp shook his head, the movement sharp and jerky. <<“Maybe wrong… first time go to waters from not my planet.”>> His clawed hand tightened. <<“No time. Crawlers come. Your way now!”>>
“Wait, hold on –”
But Chirp was already moving, a blur of feathers. <<“Watch! Show you. Only once!”>>
"Chirp’s eyes fluttered shut, and the same thing happened again: A flash of green, and Chirp went all noodle-y, floating in mid-air.
"Whoa, what the–?" This time, it felt like a truck hit Edan, a full-on body slam that sent him staggering. A wave of weirdness crashed over him. His vision went haywire, a kaleidoscope of colors he swore he could taste. Since when did my eyes could taste colors? And his sense of smell – a rush of something sharp and strange, like… like… a skinny, vibrating hexagon? What even was that? And was that the ice humming? A high-pitched song that made his skin prickle with the same feeling as the number 85. What the hell is going on?
<<“Focus!”>> Chirp’s voice wasn’t just in Edan’s head anymore, it was like every single cell in his body was vibrating with it. Edan felt stretched thin, like he was being pulled in a million directions at once. <<“Spirit… separate… like… thread…”>>
Edan's gaze snapped to where Chirp had been levitating. Yup, sure enough, Chirp was still looking dead as a bug.
<<“Chirp… here… in you.”>>
A wave of dizziness hit Edan, cold and sharp as a shard of glass. Chirp’s whole-ass spirit is inside me.
“What the – how – why are you in my body?” he stammered, his voice a panicked screech.
<<“Teach soul transfer. Feel thread now?”>>
Edan closed his eyes, focusing on the strange sensation that felt like a tense thread. It felt like... like a haptic vibration tethered to his chest. He could sense Chirp's presence within him, a separate consciousness intertwined with his.
<<“Now… imagine thread… connecting to disc.”>>
Edan did as he was told, picturing the disc in his hand. It was all swirly on top, like someone sprinkled it with stardust. He imagined the thread unspooling from somewhere deep inside him, from Chirp’s weird alien core, reaching out like it was looking for something...
And then BAM! The world went bye-bye.
He was falling. Not just falling, tumbling through a whole lot of nothing but red.
Red sky, red… water? Even the air felt kinda red and glowy. Super disorienting. He reached out, but his hand just grabbed a fistful of nothing.
“Chirp?” he called out. His voice sounded super weird and echoey in the thick, heavy air.
<<“Here.>> Chirp’s voice was all staticky, and like far away.
Edan’s eyes went wide. The waters… This was the place Chirp wouldn't shut up about, the realm of his freaky familiar thing. But this wasn't the peaceful, helpful place Chirp always described. This… this felt wrong.
He spun around, trying to figure out which way was up. The red just kept going forever, pressing down on him, and he couldn't breathe, couldn't think…
And then he saw it.
A shape was coming out of the red mist, all huge and winged and shadowy. The familiar. Except instead of looking like a sad, droopy bathrobe, it was… whole. Alive. No, not alive. A ghoul.
Edan’s heart did a flip-flop in his chest. Beware the touch of the dead. But the familiar was dead! He'd seen it himself, draped over Chirp's little butt. So why was the same dead-as-a-doornail familiar now coming at them, looking like it wanted a hug? That was so not okay.
The bird ghoul – seriously, "ghoul" was the only word for it – was all rotting feathers and exposed bone. Just looking at it made Edan want to hurl. "No touchy" suddenly seemed like the best advice ever, even if it made zero sense.
Chirp… we gotta go. Now! Edan screamed, shoving every ounce of terror down their mind-link.
But Chirp didn’t answer. He was just staring at the bird, and his mind felt weirdly calm, almost… worshippy?
“Chirp!” Edan now screaming. “It’s dead! We gotta get out of here!”
<<“No,>> Chirp whispered back, and Edan could practically hear the awe in his voice.
Edan tried to bolt, but it was like Chirp had other ideas. All his limbs were paralyzed, and no amount of verbal or mental yelling seemed to budge them.
The bird swooped closer, its giant wings stirring up the red air. Edan tried to pull away, to break whatever weird spirit-meld he had going with Chirp, but it was too late. The bird’s shadow fell over them like a blanket, cold and dark and heavy. He felt a touch, light as a feather, brush against his temple.