“We saw several mass migrations after the initial incursion in Ohio.

A vast number of species from the Americas reacted the fastest to the Alien threat and either flew themselves or found their way onto cargo ships that carried them far afield. We’re still seeing the ecological effects of the spread of so many invasive species to this day.

Worst part of those alien blighters’ arrival if you ask me.”

--Doctor Michael Williams, New Oxford Professor, on his fifth bowler hat of the week.

I lean back into the plush sofa, letting out a contented sigh and smiling in satisfaction. My siblings mimic my actions beside me, pushing away their finished trays of food and patting their bellies.

We’re not in a hurry to leave. It’s not every day we get a deal like this, so we have to make the most and enjoy it fully, and sitting on this sofa is certainly enjoyable.

I flip myself around to lounge across it properly, earning a few disgruntled squeaks as I push three furry bodies out of the way to make room. They lethargically drag themselves into more comfortable positions, with Chip and Spot on either side of me and Stripe lying across my chest.

I may not like or trust Hands all that much, but he certainly knows how to choose furniture. Maybe we should take one of these?

Nah, that chromed guy… Mitchel? Michael? Ah, whatever his name is, he’s creepy and I’d rather not give him another reason to bitch and whine. Not to mention Hands is the only broker around here who recognises our skills… And we haven’t pissed off yet.

I doubt we’ll have another chance to get real meat in the undercity if we end up on his bad side as well.

“Eee,” Stripe squeaks, nudging my chin with her snoot and breaking me out of my thoughts.

I check the time and realise it’s getting quite late; we should get going.

Reluctantly, I sit up, letting Stripe roll down onto my lap. Chip shakes off his full stomach far too quickly and jumps into my pocket before Spot can, so Spot climbs up my arm to settle on my shoulder while whining cutely. I give him a consolation chin scratch before flipping my hood up and picking up Stripe while sliding my legs off the sofa to leave.

I pocket the stainless-steel cutlery none of us used, Hands should really know better by now, before heading out into the corridor and walking back towards the exit. The door is shut when I get there, and the big borgfucker’s blocking it.

“You wanna leave?” he asks.

I nod, but he doesn’t move.

“What was that?” he says with a sneer, tilting his head and putting his glistening chrome hand to his ear. “You’ll have to speak up.”

Hands did say he’ll open even if I don’t ask nicely, right?

I drop Stripe and reach into my pocket, pulling out a knife by the blade and holding it out as I carefully line up my aim. The oversized doorstop doesn’t look amused, but he doesn’t stop me from flicking my wrist and sending the knife into his forehead where it harmlessly bounces off.

“Out,” he growls, grabbing the door and wrenching it open.

Huh, he really did let me out when I didn’t ask nicely.

I walk out into the alley with Stripe at my side, and the door slams loudly behind us again. I don’t think he understands the whole hidden crime den thing. Ah well, you can’t blame him when they probably replaced his brain with lead too.

I kick the door once for good measure before walking back to the main street. I may be a little annoyed that he tried to pressure me into speaking… just a bit.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Eee ee!” Stripe squeaks, running a few steps ahead and turning to offer me the knife I dropped.

I take it gratefully and pick her up again to give her some belly rubs as I walk through the crowded streets watching the pavement. I mindlessly follow the route back, having walked it hundreds of times, and eventually arrive at a familiar sewer grate in a quiet back alley that barely gets any sun.

Spot and Stripe both jump to the ground as I finally look up from the floor and glance around, checking to make sure no one is watching us. I don’t want our bypass to be discovered after all, or we’d have to go through the checkpoint like everyone else trying to leave the undercity. There’s no way they’d let me out, not without arresting me first to work out why I don’t exist.

It’s not like I know either and the last time they caught me wasn’t fun.

I shiver before shaking away those memories and bending down to lift the grate and slide it aside. I lower myself down and drop into the pipe with a light thud before reaching up to catch Spot as he jumps after me.

Stripe waits till I let him down then hops in as well. I catch her and move my hands into her little armpits, holding her up so she can slide the grate that’s just out of my reach back into place.

The pipe’s dark, with a thin layer of gunk covering the floor making it a little too slippery to run in, but I don’t mind. I feel right at home here.

Spot and Stripe run off into the darkness and I follow them while helping Chip out of my pocket so he can join us. After the first turn away from the grate, I momentarily lose the ability to see as my eyes start to adjust to the lack of light, but I calmly continue walking, following the patter of paws ahead without a worry.

It doesn’t take long until I’m able to make out their small furry shapes darting about in front of me, occasionally dipping off into side tunnels and coming back chewing on what I guess are bugs but could probably be anything knowing their eating habits. We slowly descend as we move, heading closer and closer to the pipes that connect to the undercity.

Ten minutes or so before we reach the large junction we use to access several different parts of the city, all three of my siblings come running back to me from their side adventures. They surround me with Stripe in the front and Chip and Spot on either side.

What’s wrong?

“Grrrr,” all three of them let out low, warning growls, so I immediately lower myself, softening my steps as much as I can and preparing to run.

We move forward a few steps, passing another lumpy pile of sludge built up at the side of the pipe as I remember the knife strapped to my waist and reach back to clasp the solid handle. I’ve never felt so relieved that we’ve stolen something before.

“EEE!” Chip suddenly screeches, drawing my attention just in time to see the pile of sludge behind us move.

Shit.

I pull the knife out and start to spin around, swinging it in a wide arc. However, before I even make it halfway there, the thing behind us bursts forward, closing the distance between us with an eerie lack of sound in an instant and swinging several limbs I can barely see towards me.

I’m dead.

“EEE!” Chip and Spot both fly past me, throwing themselves at the sludge pile.

I watch in horror as Chip slams into the limbs approaching me, stopping them for just long enough for my blade to cleave through where I think the creature’s head should be, before he’s flung into the pipe’s wall with a sickening thud.

“Chip!” I scream, barely paying any attention to my disgusting voice as my head snaps over to my brother.

Before I can run over to check on him, Spot squeaks from where he’s latched to the pile of sludge, and I glance back to see him wildly scratching at the collapsed pile as it writhes beneath him. Because of course it was playing fucking dead!

I drop down and plunge my knife into its centre mass with one hand while grabbing Spot by the scruff of his neck and tossing him aside. The creature lashes out again, but its claws catch my knife arm instead of Spot, gauging four deep lines across my forearm.

“Argh!” I let out an ugly grunt of pain and tears form in my eyes, but I ignore the pain and grit my teeth as I pull out the knife with my left hand instead and drive it down into the creature again in a different spot.

It stops moving and goes limp, but I’m not taking any chances. I drive my knife into it five more times while choking back sobs before I finally let go, leaving the knife blade deep in the creature.

I glance down at my right arm. I can’t see how bad it is with how dark it is here, but I can feel it. I can’t move my hand.

I clasp the weeping gashes with my left hand and try to stand up, looking over at Chip with concern, but a sudden splitting pain in the back of my head makes me stumble and fall face-first into the slick layer of sewage beneath us.

I would have screamed if I wasn’t already crying so much.

The pain vanishes as suddenly as it came, so I ignore Spot licking at my arm with a sorrowful whine and immediately start trying to crawl towards Chip, where I can hear Stripe keening as well.

System Initialized!

Congratulations. Through your actions, you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Cyon. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat!

Rise, Elise Roberton, and become a protector of the weak!

“Fuck humanity,” I splutter through my tears, pushing down the shiver of revolt that comes with hearing my deep voice. “Save Chip.”