“Easy there, dude! We're not your enemy!” A man's voice called out softly from the darkness. Diego was mid-way through preparing a defensive psyonic burst, yellow sparks arcing across his naked body as energy coursed through him. Upon hearing the voice however, and the sliver of panic in it, he dropped his guard a little. The sparks faded away, but he remained silent. After a few seconds, the voice spoke again.“I was kinda hoping you'd recognise me..?”
With the sharp click of a lighter, a gentle flame flickered into being, the speaker to be vulpine - the same vulpine that'd been in Seeth's room. Behind him sat a larger crocodilian lady, heavily built and fidgeting slightly, and a smaller feline man, who looked a bit older than the others, with greying fur speckled around his ears and his muzzle, as though he’d just dipped his snout in icing sugar.
“Name’s Trent! This is Cindy and this is Geralt, and we're trapped down here... like you.” The fox reached out to Diego, offering his hand. “There’s Tivy too, she should be back soon but she’s currently distracting Leech for you. You've caused quite the commotion here, I gotta say.”
“That a good thing or a bad thing?” Diego was still cautious as he accepted Trent’s hand, but he could already see that these people weren’t the same as Leech.
“Bad. But it doesn't matter.” Cindy growled through her long snout, which was a rare trait for her species these days. “I need to get out of here. I'm no one's prisoner, or sex object.”
Trent rolled his eyes at Cindy’s words, but kept his focus on Diego. “We're going to escape, I've been trying to break as many people out of here as I can, but I suspect our time is running out. The Controllers are getting more and more organised with every passing day, and the last we heard, the city above had completely fallen...”
Diego's eyes widened in shock, he'd taken too long... his mind bolted back to Oxyi, had she been killed, or worse, corrupted? Guilt took over him and he stood sharply from his corner and made towards the exit.
“Woah there big guy! This isn't yours or anyone's fault other than those monsters who’ve imprisoned us here. You can’t just march out there, we need a plan!”
Diego sighed and stopped; Trent was right.
“Too much of a wimp, lizard?” Cindy smirked, tilting her head slightly.
“Knock it off Cindy! You're not helping!” Trent snapped back.
“Am I wrong, though? Princess here has been locked up in Seeth's room from the moment he arrived, getting pampered and his butt fucked whilst these things roam the countryside, taking over everybody and everything!” The girl spoke bitterly, glaring at Diego. “Didn't think he'd have time in his busy love-making schedule to realise that the world is falling apart!”
“Yes Cindy, the guy who turned up four days ago is to blame for all last year of our lives. Forgive me but you didn’t seem too keen to leave Seeth’s chamber either when you first arrived either.” Geralt scowled - the mere mention of Seeth’s name causing a crazed look in the crocodile’s eyes.
“Cindy! Give it a break! It's not like you've done anything to help either, you've been cowering right along with the rest of us!” Trent whispered harshly, trying to stay quiet.
“S-Shut up! And besides, you keep talking me out of attacking them! I reckon I could take Leech, easy...” Cindy growled, flexing her claws and muscles in the darkness.
“Oh fuck off, Cindy.” The feline muttered softly from behind them. “She was literally just in here and you just sat there, cowering. You wouldn't stand a chance and you know it.”
“I fight on my own terms! Not to save this… this… fucker!” Cindy pointed at Diego furiously, her hands shaking.
“I've seen what Leech can do, and you're all talk and no show. The only reason you're alive is because Trent keeps talking sense into you.” Geralt's tone had an edge to it as he finished his speech - it seemed that he was even more annoyed with Cindy than Trent was, but the crocodilian wasn’t quite finished yet.
“Bullshit! I could take her! And why should I lay off him? Why hasn't he used his psyonics on them yet?! Why hasn't he taken his big-ass sword and chopped them all up yet?! Cuz he likes getting his precious little ass filled with multi-coloured spunk, that’s why!” Cindy snapped, harshly, casting angry glances over at the male in question.
Geralt and Trent exchanged a worried glance at one another and quickly looked up at Diego, afraid he would react badly to Cindy's inflammatory comments… but to their surprise, and relief, Diego chuckled gently.
“Truth be told, Cindy - I am rather fond of Seeth and Plasia.” Diego sat down on the floor in front of her, ruffling his hair shyly. “They... aren't the ones responsible for this, I don't think. And my sword has been missing since my first night here, not that it would be much good in this dungeon anyway. You tried swinging a large melee weapon in an enclosed space, croc?”
Cindy scowled and shook her head.
“I didn't think so. You're obviously inexperienced in combat, and as such you have expectations of people that just aren't realistic. The reason I haven't used my psyonics is because randomly assaulting these things with no real plan of action is just going to get me - and probably others - killed. These aliens are strong... really strong, stronger than they should be for their size. And I get the feeling none of us have seen them truly fight yet. I can't just fling concussive bolts out willy-nilly and hope everything turns out fine.” Diego sighed heavily, eyes drifting towards the floor. “I did fuck up though. You are right about that. If the city is completely gone then that means my friend is gone too... I promised to keep her safe and I reckon I've failed. I told her to get off the planet but I doubt she did, didn't seem like the type.” He sighed again, eyes fixed to the floor.
“Oh boohoo, lizard. Geralt is still looking for his daughter, who's obviously dead or corru-” Cindy immediately stopped, as she felt all three men staring at her intently. “Uhm… Sorry Geralt, I crossed a line there. My temper got ahead of me.”
“You're like a child, Cindy! You need to start thinking before you speak! I think you owe our new guy an apology too, he’s played it smart and he's still alive, it’s not his fault he hasn't single-handedly saved us all yet, is it?” Geralt muttered angrily; it was obvious the crocodilian’s words had hurt him. Cindy turned to Geralt and huddled close to him, and the two continued to talk in private. Trent, however, turned back to Diego, giving him a ‘sorry about that’ look.
“I get the feeling there is some friction in the 'team,' Trent?” Diego asked quietly, still stinging from Cindy’s words.
“Yeah... I’m concerned about Cindy, I think she’s got a bit of ‘Seeth fever.’ Ever since Leech took her, she’s been mad as hell. She's a loner too, lived out in the swamp lands by herself, only ever came into town to get supplies. Suddenly she's being forced to interact and work with people, work for people, and it doesn't come naturally to her… I’m not trying to make excuses, mind!” Trent said hurriedly. “She shouldn’t have spoken to you like that!”
“Eh, she had some points. They're difficult to resist... Seeth is like nothing I've ever encountered before… The last three days have just been… Gods, I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Trent nodded, knowing precisely what the lizard meant. He felt his body tingle as memories of Moltezz flittered to the front of his mind. The warmth, the passion, the power… It was absolutely intoxicating. With his thoughts elsewhere, Trent shifted, and Diego noticed the mood change in him quite suddenly; but the fox pulled himself out of his stupor and addressed the lizard firmly.
“Diego, I need to ask this; do you want to get out of here? You're not thinking of staying, are you?” He asked genuinely, lowering his voice so Cindy wouldn't hear him.
“No. Absolutely not. If you guys are planning an escape, then count me in!” Diego said firmly; he may have his own thoughts about Seeth and Plasia, but for now, escape was his priority, even from those two if he needed to. He held his hand out and the two exchanged a firm handshake.
“In that case... I think I know where we can find your sword.” Trent nodded, smiling warmly. “And who knows? With you on our side, we might just have a shot at actually getting out of here.”
*
Oxyi strained with all of her might, trapped underneath the alien’s bulk, desperate to push her away. But Seeth didn't budge. She stared down at the feline as she struggled. Oxyi's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to predict her aggressor's next move. She lay on the wrecked floor, her body aching, her flat bathed in darkness, nothing but the pained, bated breaths of her damaged body and the massive creature bearing down on top of her.
All the other figures in the room had departed, having slowly walked off in silence, dragging their wounded and dead with them. Seeth continued to stare down at the powerless lioness as the block of flats emptied out, leaving just the two of them in the ruins of Oxyi's home.
“S-So what now, huh?! Can’t perform if there are others watching, h-huh?!” Oxyi cried out in between pained breaths, shaking all over. Seeth remained silent, staring down at her prey. Her huge amethystine eyes bore into Oxyi’s own, pinging between the girl's eyes, and her body.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Eventually, the tense silence broke as Seeth quietly spoke.
“Come on now, Seeth... you know this is the easier thing to do...” And yet, she hesitated. “Just... just corrupt this girl and things will... continue as planned.”
Oxyi's heart thumped loudly in her chest, powerless in Seeth's overbearing grasp.
“I just need to finish this and I can be on my way...” Seeth was almost whispering, the floorboards creaking gently as her weight shifted a little.
Seeth suddenly looked off to the side, huffing loudly.
“T-This isn't fair. None of this is fair. Why can’t I get it right?” Seeth whispered, tightening her grip on Oxyi.
The lioness stared up at her, trying to process what the alien was saying. Her throat creaked slightly as she went to speak, but stopped herself, and lay silent.
“If I just... I can... He won't know. It'll be fine.” She nodded to herself, firmly. “It doesn't matter if he does know. And there's nothing he can do anyway. He's mine.”
“Y-You're talking about Diego, aren't you?” Oxyi finally spoke up, her voice shaking. The words were wobbly but the message was received loud and clear, and Seeth recoiled back at hearing his name.
“You… You don't say his name!” Seeth hissed.
“O-Or what?! You’ve already won!” Oxyi snapped back, her every limb was still trembling but she couldn't help herself. “DIEGO DIEGO DIEGO! I should already be dead! What do I care if you threaten me now?! Why don't you want me saying his name?!”
“BE QUIET!” Seeth snapped. “Or I'll… I'll…” But Seeth's initial rush of adrenaline was wearing off, hard, and the fight was leaving her. She looked almost… nervous.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Oxyi screamed, tears stinging her eyes. “I'm dead to rights here and you're banging on about a man!? Is this a game to you?!”
Suddenly, Oxyi was ripped from the floor and shoved backwards into the wall, Seeth's hand fixed firmly around her neck.
“You have no idea what's at stake here!” Seeth squeezed, hard, and the room filled with the dying chokes of the struggling lioness.
Tears rolling down her face, Oxyi's vision began to blur. She clawed at Seeth's arms but it was useless, she couldn't even tear her skin. Although, she could swear that through the dark, she saw the glints of Seeth’s eyes - shiny - as though she was crying too.
Oxyi’s light began to fade. The strength drained from her limbs. Her legs stopped kicking…
“I CAN'T DO THIS!”
Seeth continued to strain but broke into a heart wrenching cry, her pained sobbing echoing through the ruins of the flats, down the corpse filled and ashen corridors.
Seeth slowly released her grip and Oxyi crumpled to the floor, gasping loudly for air. Seeth's heart-wrenching sobs and cries echoed through the ruin of the flats, down the ashen, corpse-filled corridors. She fell back and slumped against the floor, cracking the boards as she did so.
Oxyi's blood-shot eyes slowly flicked open. She pushed herself up, painfully. Unsteady on her feet, she stumbled her battered and bruised body to the far side of the room, leaning heavily against the wall. She didn't once look away from Seeth, didn't even blink. She watched the alien's sorrowful display with fear and anger in her eyes. Neither said anything for a few moments; the room was quiet, save for Seeth's sobs, and Oxyi's rasping breaths.
“Are you… okay?” Seeth asked quietly, meekly, too ashamed of herself to even look up at Oxyi.
“Barely...” The lioness’ voice was hoarse and sore, growling through her bruised neck. “Why did you stop...?”
“Because I can't do this anymore. I should never have started.” Seeth hung her head low, bathing in the guilt of the new life around her. “I don't deserve to be with anyone, nevermind him. I don't even deserve to be alive.”
Oxyi continued to watch the alien cautiously, holding onto the walls and slowly making her way towards the destroyed front door of the flat, limping over smashed glass and splintered timber.
“What do you mean, you can't do this anymore?”
“This.” Seeth held her arms out to the room. “The rampaging, the corrupting... This isn't right... it's beyond awful. I hate being part of it. My best friend says it's just what we were born to do, and I just... I did it because I trusted her and I didn't know what else to do... But nevertheless, I still did it. I’m scum.” Seeth sniffed.
“So... What are you going to do about it...?” Oxyi muttered, only half-listening, checking a wound on her midsection and wincing in pain.
“I... I don't know.”
“...Well, if you're serious about hating all this stuff... Why don't you go do something about it? Stop sitting there like a big bitch and go do something useful.” Oxyi snapped. “Ugh who am I kidding, what does it matter anyway? Whole city’s lost, p-planets fucked. You and your friend have won.”
Seeth turned to look back at her directly, running her hands down her face.
“It's going to get a whole lot worse.”
Oxyi stopped. “Wha-what do you mean?” Even in her gravely wounded state, Seeth’s words sent a jolt of adrenaline down her spine. “How can it possibly get worse?!”
“There’s a planetary freighter on route; it lands here in a few hours right?”
Oxyi nodded slowly.
“We… The… They are going to ambush it. And I strongly suspect they will overpower the crew.”
Oxyi's stomach dropped. Every inch of her body cried out for rest but her brain was wired and awake.
“I-If they get the freighter... t-then...” She was almost too afraid to say it.
“Then this evolves from one lost nomad city to a potential full scale invasion of all the surrounding systems, stations and planets. A nomad space station has no hope of stopping an attack coming on a freighter like that with no warning.”
They both stared at each-other as grim realisation hit the lioness.
“It grows out of control, doesn't it? This won't stop here... I-Is that what your friends want?”
“They do. They want it more than anything.”
Oxyi paused, deep in thought for a moment, then continued to limp off slowly, dragging her wounded leg behind her as she staggered forward. The sound of her heavy boots scraping across battered wood floors gently rang through the silent building.
Behind her, Seeth stared in amazement, watching her disappear through the doorway and around into the corridor. She stood sharply and followed her out, to see Oxyi had only made a small amount of progress down the war-torn corridor.
“W-What are you doing?” Seeth asked, stumbling over her words. “You should tend to your wounds, surely?”
“I don't have time for that, I have to stop that ship from landing.” Oxyi replied firmly - shakily - but firm nonetheless.
“How?”
Oxyi stared up at Seeth and sighed loudly. “Jeez, use your brain! If I can reach the town hall, there's a hail station there I can use to warn the ship mid-transit! It’s just a matter of getting there.”
“That... That could work. That could work!” A plan was already forming in her own head as Oxyi worked her way down the corridor. “I-I think I'm gonna...” She stopped, suddenly feeling a tightness across her chest. “I think I'm gonna help put a stop to all this.”
“How?” Oxyi asked, still inching her way down the corridor. “You gonna carry me there?”
“I'm...” Seeth paused, before swelling with a newfound anger and confidence and turned back towards the flat. “I'm gonna do what I should have done when Leech and I first got into all this... I'm gonna kick some sense into her fucking ass!”
And with those words uttered, Seeth charged through the flat and leapt through the window, landing on the ground below with a powerful boom. With a flick of her fingers, the entire horde fled back into the forest and towards the dungeon, leaving Oxyi alone once more.
*
“We need to leave today, as soon as possible. I've heard the aliens talking, and something big is happening soon.” Trent had refocused the group’s attention and he, Diego, Cindy and Geralt were huddled together in the darkness of the scaffolds and plastic sheeting. As they spoke, a small, snake-insect hybrid creature scuttled into the group and leant against Trent’s leg, gasping and out of breath. Diego jumped at the creature’s sudden appearance, but no one else seemed startled.
“Tivy! You're back! Everything go ok?” Trent asked, rubbing her gently on the back.
“All good!” The creature had a strange twinge to her voice but she sounded rather friendly, if tired. “Oh, I mean, all good!” She mimicked Diego's tone perfectly with her repeat.
“Holy shit! Listen to that!” Diego laughed, taken-aback by the impression.
“Heh! They like you, boss!” Tivy placed her hands on her hips and she recovered her breath. “Soon as I started mimicking you, Leech went crazy!”
“What's going on then, Tiv? You get eyes on what's happening?” Trent asked, leaning in close to her.
“They're really not happy this guy is missing, Moltezz and Leech are starting to lose their patience and they've got Nodes searching everywhere. I heard them talking about that planetary freighter too, I think they plan to attack it.”
“That's really not good.” Geralt murmured, ruffling his white, wispy hair. “That was our ticket out of here-”
“And now it's going to be theirs. Nice. Great job, losers.” Cindy huffed, growling slightly under her breath.
“Do you ever stop, Cindy?!” Geralt barked at her, raising his voice a little too much. A sudden panic broke out across the group as they realised what danger they might have put themselves in.
They immediately went quiet and listened intently. They could hear footsteps scampering about outside the room and a figure briefly appeared at the illuminated entrance, gazing into the darkness, but after a few seconds, the figure dashed off, leaving the group in relative safety once again.
“Guys. Enough.” Trent sighed. Tivy felt for his hand and gripped it tightly; she stood at just over half his height and could wrap most of her fingers around a single digit of his. “Cindy, I appreciate that you hate this, but you're making this much more difficult at the moment... Could you please, please cool it with the negative remarks?”
As they spoke, they heard more footsteps approaching. A whole group of figures passed by the room, a blur through the plastic sheeting, but they all seemed to be carrying large boxes, and were moving in a hurry.
“Look at that... how are we supposed to move down a single corridor now?!” Geralt's despair was becoming more and more apparent and Tivy felt for his hand too, holding it tightly.
“Perhaps we can wait it out?” Tivy asked, looking around the team for support.
“Perhaps you can go fuck yourself.” Cindy spat, standing abruptly.
“Really, Cindy?!” Geralt cried out again. “She's doing her damn best and you're just spitting insults and making everyone feel like shit! At least she actually did something when Leech was in the room!”
“Guys please!” Tivy hopped up and tried to calm everyone, but by now the group was standing. She barely reached the others’ waist height, and was promptly getting ignored by the arguing pair.
“No, you know what Cindy? You're going to get us all killed! So why don't you go off and have your fight with Leech already! See what happens!” Geralt was whisper-shouting as quietly as he could, but he was losing what little patience he had left.
“Sounds good! I can get away from you cowards and actually do something about this place!” Cindy barked loudly in retaliation, turning and preparing to leave. As she did though, she felt a strong pull on her arm.
“Cindy... don't... please? We can make it out of this together.” Diego pleaded, grabbing her hand tightly. “Think about this for a second before you do something you can’t walk away from.”
“Get your fucking hands off me.” She hissed back, eyes narrowing. “I don't want your help, princess. Touch me again and I'll kill you too.”
Diego let go of her hand, holding his up in defeat.
“Do us a favour Cindy, try and last more than two minutes will you? Try to be a half-useful distraction for us, yeah?” Geralt laughed dryly.
“Get fucked, Geralt. If I see any of you again, I'll gut you.” The crocodilian stormed her way out of the room, leaving the group behind.
The rest remained in silence for a few seconds, listening intently for any sign of trouble but thankfully, there appeared to be none.
“Good riddance.” Geralt muttered. “We actually have a chance of escaping now.”
Diego sighed sadly and shook his head. It didn't need to be like this, but Cindy was in control of her own fate now.
“Tivy, you know the way to the armoury from here?” Trent asked, returning to a kneeling stance and bowing his head sadly. “We can fetch Diego's sword and some other weapons for us, try to make a break for the surface.”
The charming little snake-bug nodded her head. “I don't know how we'll make it past all those Nodes though...”
“Shhh... listen!” Geralt pointed at the door. The group inched towards the door and heard... nothing. No footsteps or ensuing violence from Cindy's storm out. “If a seven foot bitch of a lizard can make it out without being seen, I say we just go, right now.”
“R-Right now?!” Trent stumbled, suddenly feeling the pressure of the situation and wanting nothing more, in that moment, than to curl up and hide.
“Yup! No time like the present! Tivy, lead the way?” He asked, seeming much happier now.
“Okies! I'll do it!” She bounced on the spot, punching some jabs into the air to psych herself up.
“I-I feel like we need to think about this more!” Trent was obviously panicked, but felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
“Trent, I've had my ears to the wall since this conversation started and the activity around us is... dying off. I think everyone is heading upstairs. We should seize the moment, it may not come around again.” Diego said. “If things hit the fan, I'll buy you guys time, I promise.” He looked cross at Geralt and met his old, wise eyes. “But I think it's time we take a stand.”