Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
TARAX
" W e need to act fast while we still can," Merrix said, coming up beside me with one of our robo Knights in tow.
Merrix was out of breath. He had a few ripped tears in the arms of his space shield suit, but he was otherwise okay, perhaps a little shaken. Norin was standing beside me to the left, and he appeared relatively unscathed as well.
"Who the hell are you ? There are even more of you?" the same man who had just tried to squabble with me earlier asked condescendingly. He tossed a distrusting glance between me, Merrix, Norin, and our robo Knights scattered around everywhere, diligently trying to mow down the enemy attackers.
Merrix turned to face him. He looked unphased by the man's berating expression. "I am Merrix, I am second in command for the Space Knights."
"I told him about our crew a few moments ago," I said, catching Merrix up to speed on the situation since he'd been off fighting.
"And I'm Norin," Norin said, taking a step forward. "Twin brother to Tarax."
He straightened his posture and tightened his jaw as if he were daring any of these humans to protest anything against him.
The brawny man with the muscular physique shook his head in disbelief. He stared at us through big, black eyes and scratched the top of his short, wavy black hair. as if he was trying to wake up from a nightmare.
"This is insane . This can't be happening," the man exclaimed in a distraught voice.
"That's what I said too, but Grace here reassured me that this is real life." Another man stepped up beside the dark-skinned man, scowling.
He had pale skin in contrast, but also had short black hair — albeit straight instead. He also had black eyes that were narrowed on Merrix, Norin, and I with increasing distrust.
He crossed his arms defiantly over his chest and cut a snide glance to the woman who had been kind to me. She was the only one who right now seemed willing to give us a chance. The man had called her 'Grace.'
The woman huffed beside me and rolled her eyes, but she didn't argue with either of the men beside her. She seemed exasperated, maybe even a little frustrated — especially with the light skinned man. I noticed right away that there was some unspoken tension between them. I didn't know what that was about. Although I was curious, I knew it was none of my business.
The woman called Grace was exceptionally beautiful. She had remarkable brown eyes that drew me in and made me feel warm all over. I didn't even know her, but I saw compassion in her eyes. She acted like it was her personal responsibility to take care of others. She had radiant, shimmering eyes.
She looked young, but I could tell that she was brave and took her job as a firefighter seriously, and she didn't seem so quick to judge us like the others on her team so blatantly did.
She was on the tall side, slim, yet athletically toned. She had long, wavy, black hair that looked soft and silky. Her olive complexion was attractive and matched her brown eyes perfectly.
Her beauty was distracting, and I found myself having to fight off an urge to want to do sexy things to her. Sometimes I had trouble controlling my internal desires.
I reminded myself that we were in a dire situation and Merrix was right — we needed to take advantage of this lull in the action. The enemy would be back and stronger next time.
"We need to develop a formidable plan to keep ourselves alive," I said.
"We don't have time to stand here and bicker about it," I added after no one shared any ideas after a few seconds. "These enemy androids are ruthless. I fear you don't understand their killing potential until it's too late. They are armed and dangerous with advanced weapons technology that would blow your mind and make your head spin. If we don't take their threats seriously, we are all going to die."
I glanced at Grace. She had a horrified expression on her face and her eyes were red-rimmed and shrouded with dread. I hated to scare her, but the others weren't catching on and they needed a little mental shove.
I felt like I was preaching to them, but again, they didn't seem to be grasping the gravity of the situation. I could be blunt, and now was one of those times to put it to good use.
"You all can stand around and argue all you want, but I'm not going to stand idly by and let these vindictive androids take control over the Earth or my life."
"You think we want to be under attack by these terrorists right now?" the pale-skinned man said with a glower aimed at me.
"Thank you for being so straightforward with us," Grace said.
"Thank you for being willing to listen," I responded.
I looked at her and gave her a nod. I felt an instinctual and spontaneous protection over her. She seemed to be the only one willing to heed my warning.
She was the sexiest human woman I'd every laid my eyes on. Every time she met my gaze, it made my pulse quicken, my heart thunder, and blood rush to my cock. My cock throbbed with yearning. It had been a while since I'd enjoyed intimacy with a woman.
It didn't matter that she was human, and I was not. I was still a red blooded male with primal needs, and every time I cast a glance in her direction, I felt the magnitude of just how powerful my sexual appetite really was.
"What should we do?" an anxious looking Grace asked, wringing her hands together nervously — but I could tell she was trying to be brave in front of me.
"We need to be ready for the next wave of attacks," I said. "We will do our best to defend and protect along the way."
Grace gave me a genuine smile and if it weren't for the glow of the streetlamp, I might not have been able to see her cheeks flush a rosy, attractive pink shade.
"It's funny you say that, because it's our job to defend and protect the civilians out there," Grace said. Even under this impactful stress… she couldn't help but think about the irony.
"Everybody can do their part," Merrix said. "We have to be in this together."
"We don't know you," the light-skinned man said antagonistically. "How can you say we need to be in this together? How can we trust you?"
"How can we trust you ?" Norin said.
"Norin," I hissed through clenched teeth, giving my twin a reprimanding glance. "Not now. I know it's hard to deal with these abrasive attitudes, but we can't just leave them here. What would Garlin think of us if we didn't fulfill our assignment?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but we aren't going anywhere with you," Mike said, interrupting our private conversation as he took an agitated step forward.
He glanced at the rest of his crew. He pointed to the pale-skinned man. "David here is my second in command, and he will agree with me."
David took a domineering step forward. He cracked his knuckles and glared at us as if he wanted to bash our faces in. "Abso-fucking-lutely."
Unfortunately for him, I wasn't going to waste my energy brawling any humans.
"We are going to wait right here ," Mike said and pointed a firm, straight finger at the ground while staring at me with wariness. "We are going to wait for the National Guard. They have a military base on the north side of the city. They will give us all the help we need. They will give us shelter."
I shook my head in protest. "I'm not arguing with you that they will bring a certain element of help, but I can also assure you that it won't be enough. You need us too."
"How can you stand there and be so self-righteous?" David asked, matching Mike's cynical sneer. "What makes you so special in being able to fight off these machine-robot-beasts? You claim to want to help, but I still see the evidence of chaos all around me, the aftermath of destruction is mind-boggling."
I opened my mouth to retort, but Grace stepped up in front of us, standing in between. Her features were soft and accommodating. She looked like she wanted to become a mediator of sorts.
"What if we… compromise?" she asked, wincing as if she immediately expected to be met with seething protest from all angles.
Everyone stared at her, including me. Mike arched a doubtful eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Grace took a deep breath and glanced around the group. She looked slightly self-conscious that all eyes were on her, but she continued.
"What if we all work together, just like they suggested?" She gestured cautiously in my direction.
"The National Guard is going to be our only hope—" Mike began again.
"The National Guard isn't coming for us," another man dressed in firefighter gear cut Mike off.
He looked like a kid. If I had to guess, I'd say he was a rookie on the force. He was tall and rail thin, but he looked like he wanted to be taken seriously and held his own. I had noticed him before, out there in the throes of the action and panic. At the time, he'd made an impression on me. Out there in the battle, he didn't let his size or lack thereof get in the way of getting the job done. Even though he looked young, my first impression of him was that he was brave.
Mike faced him. "What are you talking about, Randy?"
Randy glanced nervously around the group. "I just heard some of them talking on the scanners in the truck." He pointed abstractly over his shoulder. "The National Guard is tied up fighting an even larger group of androids on the Southside. They are too busy to break away because they are dealing with a monumental problem. We are on our own… at least for now."
There was a long pause where no one said a word. A certain despondency hung in the air like a cloak of humidity.
David clasped his hands on his hips. "Well… fuck. "
"We could start escorting people to the base ourselves," Grace suggested animatedly. She looked around the group — and at me in particular — for support. "We could start evacuating people and bringing them to the base. They'll be safer there than they are here , and it beats standing here doing nothing but arguing about it."
"I'm up for that option," I said.
Merrix nodded solemnly. "I am willing to help, and we can transport them on our space bikes too."
To my surprise, this time, Mike didn't argue. He looked like he was out of ideas on his own and was ready to approach the last resort.
"Okay. We can do that — but we need to hurry." He reluctantly glanced at the sky and pointed upward at the dome of blackness and a peppering of stars. His black eyes were etched with fear and despair.
I looked up, only to discover with pain in my heart that more androids posed at first as 'meteorites' on that initial attack were soaring toward Earth at warp speed — undoubtedly ready to launch another attack.
We weren't prepared for either round, but if we could put a dent in the damage and save as many people as possible — it would be better than sitting back and watching the demise of the human race as they got completely annihilated off the map.