"WAIT! Please!" A high feminine voice cut through the still air and Domsion stopped walking, not turning to face the vehicle yet. He could hear scuffling behind him, and light slaps as though small hands were beating against a broad back. "Get out of the fucking car Michael! He's going to leave us because of you, you asshole!" Domison finally turned back when he heard a yelp and the scattering of gravel. He choked down laughter when he saw the man had been shoved to the ground outside of the vehicle, the woman's body following shortly afterward crushing the young man into the ground under her before she scrambled to her feet. It took several more seconds for the man to extricate himself from not just the ground, but also the small-statured woman's legs as she loomed above him.

"I'm sorry Mel, I was worried he might be a bandit or something… You saw that message in the sky, things have changed. The world is probably ape shit right now and you can't just go around trusting every stranger that offers help." The young man, Domison now recognized as Michael, answered under his breath. As Michael worked his way to his feet, Domison noticed the way the young man's eyes still followed him wearily.

Domison's hard mood softened slightly at the exchange, they were terrified after all. He shouldn't have been so harsh on them, but he couldn't afford to beat around the bush. He had to get home as soon as possible, to his family, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to help. His mother had once told him that the smallest kindness could fuel the most impressive change and he tried to fully encompass the meaning behind that ever-fading memory. It felt like the only thing he had left of his mom and she had requested he lives his life on those terms. Domison shook his head as he chased away the old memory, refocusing on the matter at hand.

"Do you have weapons of any kind? Anything that you would be able to use to help in case of emergency?" Domison asked the pair, not commenting on their argument. He groaned slightly at the look of confusion on Mel's face, followed shortly by Michael deflating slightly.

"Hey man!" Michael called out at Domison's groaning. "We were just out here trying to get content surrounding the black dome, okay?! We didn't think we needed to fight seven-foot-tall monsters with no arms and scythes for arms. I mean what is this, a goddamn horror movie?"

Domison only stared the man down for a moment before shaking his head once again. "It doesn't matter, I was planning on taking most of the fights either way. I was just hoping you might be able to make yourself somewhat useful, should the situation call for it. Don't worry though, I didn't get my hopes up." With that Domison didn't say another word, and turned to continue down the road. Moments later he was followed by the sounds of two pairs of feet slapping against the asphalt behind him.

Domison and the couple continued down the cracked asphalt road. Mel tip-toed directly behind Michael, clutching the back of his graphic tee shirt while her gaze flitted about frantically. The man was barely doing better himself and Domison was surprised he couldn't hear the sound of knocking knees as the group's gait ate up the distance to the old section of town. After five minutes of silently plodding down the asphalt, Domison spoke up.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Alright, let's set some ground rules. I want to keep you both safe but I will prioritize my own survival. I want to help you, but I don't need to. If a fight breaks out, hide. If I disappear it means I'm starting a fight and that means you should…?" Speaking those last words Domison motioned for either of the two to fill in the blank.

After only a brief hesitation, Mel spoke up. "We should hide…" the woman answered timidly.

Domison nodded sharply at her response. "Good." He spoke in a curt tone, trying to ensure they understood the severity of his words. The silence was only broken by the scuffle of soles for some time after that before Michael spoke again.

"While I really appreciate all of this. I mean, we both do but… what made you decide to uhh… escort us? For hours after we ran that thing over and totaled our car, people just passed us by in a blind panic. We tried to hide away from the windows once the monsters started… ripping people apart. Yet here you are, claiming to be able to help and wanting to be on top of it. I just can't wrap my mind around it I guess…" Michael finished lamely.

Domison's only response was, "I had a good mom. I try to live life as the man she would have wanted me to be." His eyes glazed momentarily as old memories began to flood his mind. With a rough shake of his head, Domison cleared the stray thoughts clouding his perception. Now was not the time for such distractions. Seemingly on cue, the land around them changed. The rolling hills surrounding the road had been entirely barren; however, as they crested a large hill, it was like the group entered a new world.

Along the shoulder of the road, starting at the bottom of the hill fifty feet down the road, alien trees had sprouted, tearing chunks of asphalt along the edges away. The bark running up their trunks was a spackling of interspersed crimson and viridian green. Leaves as large as Domison's torso swayed lazily in the breeze twenty feet above the ground. For as far as the eye could see a forest had taken shape. Only the facade of buildings reaching above the canopy in the distance proved to Domison he was on the outskirts of his home.

As he gazed into the foliage, the only thing Domison could make out was the flitting of nebulous shadows between trunks and hanging violet vines. The colors popping from within the forest mesmerized Domison and he noticed that the fading sunlight perforating through the leaves was casting a gloomy red glow. That glow mixed with the shadows to create an eerie sense of beauty and Domison felt a shudder run up his spine.

"Was any of this here when you both made your way out of town?" Domison asked the couple as he turned towards them. Both of their eyes were entirely glued upon the alien visage of the thickly covered expanse. Mel started shaking her head slightly before Michael spoke up.

“Absolutely not… This is crazy, it had to have only been twelve hours ago that we drove down this strip of road. There was nothing there before, I swear on my life, mister… Umm, we actually never got your name.” Michael’s volume slowly decreased toward the end of his sentence. He was nervous that he might anger the bloody, imposing sword-wielding man in front of him. Maybe it would make him angry enough that he would leave them. The young man shuddered as these thoughts ran through his mind.

Domison looked over his shoulder at the pair, his smokey eyes gazing cooly over them. After only a moment he responded, “My first name is Domison, full name Wolfe. And please stop being so nervous. I promise I don’t normally run around half-naked and covered in monster blood. It’s been a very eventful day. Few days…? Well, at least since I came back to earth…”

His last words were at a lowered volume and for a moment he just stared at the ground rubbing his chin, but the couple still caught the latter half of the sentence. Mel looked at Michael and mouthed ‘came back to earth?’. The young man could only shrug, equally bewildered.