Chapter 3
Just outside Antonito, Colorado
Brir
The moon was high in the sky, lighting the landscape in a soft silver glow. My teeth pierced the soft flesh of another piece of fruit I found hanging on a tree. The juices ran down my arm as I bit into it, and Dune made a soft snort at the sweet smell. He eyed the fruit in my hand.
“Want some?” I asked, and the beast took the rest of the plum in his mouth, chewing for a second before giving me a sideways look and spitting it out on the ground. He shook his head, his tongue going in and out of his mouth, trying to get rid of the sweet taste.
I chuckled darkly as I licked the juices that ran down my arm. Dune hated sweets, but I loved giving them to him just to see his reaction. Fruit from this world was a delicacy, its flavor so much sweeter than things from my world. It was one of the few things that were tolerable in this world. Pulling another plum out of my pocket, I munched on it as we made our way down the town's deserted streets off the side of the highway. I had found the fruit tree a few years before and tried to come through the area when we were making our rounds toward home.
It had only been a few hours since we left the trader, and darkness still surrounded us. I wasn’t worried; Dune and I could see in the dark. I had pushed my goggles to the top of my head and shrugged off the jacket that covered my skin during the day. It lay draped on Dune’s back, gloves tucked safely in its pockets as I walked beside him. The colder temperature cooled my sweaty skin. Without the jacket, my skin would blister under this world’s sun.
If I slept during the day, we could travel most of the night and be back at the bunker in a few days. Dune’s clawed feet made soft thudding noises against the crumbling asphalt, a rhythmic pattern that felt oddly comforting amidst the desolation. He was a creature of endurance, designed to survive and adapt to harsh conditions. I softly stroked his velvety scales, feeling his steady breathing under my touch.
I was just reaching for my water when the harsh echo of a metal door closing reverberated through the quiet blanket of night and made me jump. The sound echoed in the almost silent night. The noise of the insects and animals fell silent, causing a chill to go up my spine, and all my senses heightened at once. I pulled Dune to a stop, grabbing his reins. There were houses up ahead in the small town, but they were always empty when we came here. Dune drew his head up toward the sound, and I felt the shift of his muscles as he studied the surroundings.
Several heartbeats later, we heard it—the low murmur of human voices carried by the wind. An oddity around these parts at this hour.
I drew my sword from over my shoulder and carefully led Dune closer to the sound. Dune’s ears twitched forward, his body tensing beside me. I gave him a light tap on his side. Sensing my command for silence, he went still.
I slowly made my way over to the noise around the street’s bend. My sword was in a loose, comfortable grip as I silently descended the road, staying behind abandoned cars and houses until I could see what was ahead. Peering around the edge of a house where the porch had collapsed, I tried to make out what I was seeing.
Two human silhouettes were standing by a car. The taller of the two was leaning against a rusted abandoned car, hands digging in his pocket. A flame lit up one of their faces, and I caught the sight of his beard before it went out. I watched the embers burn off the cigarette as he took a drag from it. The low murmur grew louder as I crept closer, but their words were muffled by the encroaching wilderness that swallowed their voices.
Dune snorted softly next to my shoulder, making me jump. I had been so focused on the humans I hadn’t even heard the beast move behind me. I glared at him for not listening and staying put. His brown and tan scales would offer him excellent camouflage in the dark, so I didn’t think the humans would be able to see him, but I still shoved his large head away from me. Dune’s nostrils flared as he was picking up an unfamiliar scent. His glowing eyes immediately zeroed in on the humans as he came to stand near me.
I reached up with my free hand and threaded my fingers through his harness so he couldn’t go further. Humans had guns, and bullets would kill Dune. I pulled him into the trees, letting the shadows swallow us as we crept closer to the figures.
I watched as they separated and started searching the cars again, moving down the road. As we crept closer, their uniforms caught the light as the man lit another cigarette.
Voices started to filter through the night air as they spoke to one another.
“Find anything?” a female voice called out. I shifted my gaze to her as she left a broken-down passenger van that was pushed off to the side of the road.
“No, just some canned food and a couple of magazines,” the man replied, smoking a cigarette and leaning against another car. His gruff voice was filled with frustration. His answer was calm, as if searching abandoned vehicles for scraps was beneath him. “Useless junk. You?”
What were they looking for? My heart pounded, and my mind started whirring with questions. It had been months since I last saw humans this far from their safe zones. Usually, they stuck to guarded communities built in the remains of their once-thriving cities.
Dune’s soft, clawed paws made little sound on the damp earth as I urged him forward so that I could see them more clearly.
“Nothing yet. There’s another van down the road. I’ll check that out.” The woman’s silhouette moved towards us, slowly diminishing in size as she ventured deeper into the darkness.
I tightened my grip on Dune’s harness, pulling him back into the shadows.
Dune stirred beside me, his heavy breathing echoing my unease. His golden eyes narrowed in the darkness, focusing on the approaching figure with an intensity that matched mine. For all of his monstrous exterior, he was as captivated by these humans as I was.
“Did you expect there to be? We’re in raider territory. Those low lives have picked these parts clean,” he said back to the woman before dropping the cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it out with a booted foot.
“I just don’t know why we are even out here.” I could now see the man clearly through the trees with a rifle slung over his back. They were both wearing military uniforms. Her gun was held in front of her body, one hand on the butt of the weapon. “Why do we have to even look through this shit for that thing? What does Doc even want to keep it alive for?”
The man’s words sliced through the silence, his tone harsh and resentful. What were they talking about? Did they have an animal? One of my people? My mind spun with questions as I listened to the pair.
The woman didn’t respond immediately. Her form was now just a shadow among the corroded husks of abandoned cars, barely distinguishable in the moonlight. I strained my ears to catch her response, my senses heightened by the eerie stillness of the night.
“Orders are orders,” she finally retorted, her voice echoing through the stagnant air. “Besides, you’ve seen what that thing can do. Maybe Doc thinks it’s worth something.”
I squinted in their direction, trying to decipher their cryptic conversation. A new wave of unease washed over me as I tried to comprehend what they could mean. A creature? Something worth keeping alive despite their apparent disdain?
“I don’t like it,” the man countered, agitation seeping into his tone. His shoulders were stiff under his green uniform as he kicked at the loose debris around him. “I don’t like being kept in the dark, and why aren’t we heading right there? What the hell is the captain thinking?”
I watched them from a distance, my back pressed against the tree trunk. I let them walk back down the highway, where they exited off the side and wandered into a small town before I sheathed my sword on my back.
Curious, I started to follow them, keeping us in the trees. “You know that experiment is vital to saving us, right?” the woman said. She turned and entered another house on the deserted street.
I blinked in surprise at her words. Experiment? Saving who? Images of humans prodding at Dune in a sterile lab filled my mind; the pain and the fear in his gold eyes. I let out a barely audible growl, a low rumble deep in my chest that echoed Dune’s discontent.
Dune nuzzled his massive head against my shoulder, his warm breath tickling my neck as he tried to reassure me. His golden eyes were wide and alert, reflecting our feelings of unease.
“But what’s the point? We should just kill the fucking thing before it gets loose and kills…” The man’s voice faded as he followed the woman into the house.
I looked back at Dune. “What are they doing, boy?” I whispered.
Their conversation struck a nerve. Their use of ‘thing’ was condescending and disrespectful. They were obviously talking about a living being, for Fate’s sake, yet they spoke about it like an inanimate object—disregarded and unimportant.
As their voices grew fainter, I gestured at Dune to follow me, and we silently crept amidst the ruins of deserted homes and derelict cars, trying to stay hidden from their view.
“We wouldn’t have to do this if they had controlled it.” The man’s grumbling was echoing through the hollowed buildings.
A wave of unease washed over me.
“Maybe we should follow them for a bit. Let’s see what the humans are up to.” I grabbed Dune’s lead and crept toward the house. We waited for them in the shadows. Watching. Listening to the man complain.
“And the captain just goes along with the doctor’s ideas. Have you seen the claws on that thing? I’m just waiting for it to get out of the cage so I can shoot it.”
“Reyes, just shut the fuck up and look for the rubbing alcohol,” the female retorted.
“You can’t tell me you agree with them, Johnson?” The man asked. I saw the man standing over the woman through a broken window as she rummaged through a cabinet under the sink.
“Of course, I don’t,” she glared up at the man before standing, “but we can’t change it. And we can’t kill the monster. So why the fuck are you bitching about it. I’m only fucking here for the paycheck. They want us to find this rubbing alcohol for the doctor, so I’m going to look for the alcohol and do what the fuck I’m told. That’s it,” she told him bluntly. I watched as she turned her back on her partner and made her way into another room.
“And I don’t see the captain helping us find this shit the doctor wants. He doesn’t even get out of the vehicle to take a piss. Just pisses in a bottle and tosses it out the window,” he said louder so she could still hear him.
“Seriously, stop whining, Reyes,” Johnson retorted from the other room. Her words were slightly muffled now, but her irritation was still apparent. “We do this job, we get paid, and we live another day in this hellhole. So quit complaining and help me find that damn alcohol.”
I watched the scene unfolding before me, my mind spinning with questions. A monster? An experiment? The words reverberated in my skull, each syllable sending a jolt of unease down my spine.
Dune let out a low growl beside me, his golden eyes glinting ominously in the faint moonlight. I reached out and ran a comforting hand over his hard scales, trying to calm him and myself.
“Easy, boy,” I whispered, my voice barely audible above the constant chirping of night insects. “We don’t know who or what they are talking about… yet.”
Reyes grumbled something under his breath before turning away from the window. His silhouette disappeared into the darkness of the house.
Suddenly, the woman emerged from the other room carrying a box filled with bottles. “Finally found it,” she called out to her partner while tossing him one. He caught it deftly.
“Great, I wonder what the captain will want from us next.”
“Who knows, maybe he will tell you to wipe his ass,” she said back with a smile over her shoulder.
When they exited, I waited to follow them till they were further down the road.
Dune’s brown and black scales made it easy for him to hide amongst the shadows. I had to stay out of the beam of light that they flashed around. But they never looked behind themselves. They were almost too confident being out here in the wilds.
As we trailed behind them, echoes of their frustrations bounced back to us, seeping into the silence that enveloped the derelict town. Their footsteps crunched against the gravel, a rhythmic pattern we could easily follow.
When a Kzipi tried to dash across the deserted street, they opened fire with their rifles. The bullets scattered its delicate feathers everywhere.
It took everything in me not to run up and lop their heads from their bodies. Those creatures were harmless. Nothing more than herbivores. Seeing one here meant the plant life was healthy and abundant. We hunted them for food back in our world, but just to kill it with no purpose boiled my blood. When I made it to the creature, I picked it up and started plucking out the feathers so that Dune could eat it and the creature wouldn’t go to waste.
I watched as the female soldier pulled out a map folded in on itself before pointing to a street sign where they made their way over to and turned down the new street. As Dune and I approached the same corner, I could hear more voices getting closer. Peering around a house, I could see several military vehicles parked out front of another house several blocks away, with half a dozen people moving around the yard where they had built a fire.
I spotted the alley for the houses across the street and pulled Dune towards it. There was a large brick wall that I almost couldn’t see over. I watched the soldiers walk up to the others as we followed in the alley, keeping an eye on things from between the houses.
The two soldiers joined the others, but the view between the houses was limited. Looking around, I spotted a house just down the street from them where I could keep watch.
I motioned for Dune to stay low and follow. We crept silently through the alley until we reached the house, a dilapidated structure with boarded-up windows and a partially collapsed roof. I gestured for Dune to stay behind while I cautiously approached, scanning the area for any signs of danger.
“Come on, Dune, this way,” I pulled him towards the gate leading us into the house’s backyard. We walked around a downed garbage bin before we reached the gate. I barely had to push on it before the latch gave way.
There was a swimming pool in the backyard with a few feet of water in it. I could see something swimming in it. Ignoring whatever creature was in the water, we walked around the pool to the patio.
I gripped the handle of the door, pulling on it gently when the fucking thing broke off in my hand. I made a disgusted sound in my throat before I tossed it away. Pulling out my knife, I pushed the tip into the frame to pry the door open. As I pushed on the door, the lock made a grating sound as I stressed the metal. I held my breath briefly to see if I had alerted the soldiers. When I didn’t hear any commotion, I let out my breath. I dug my fingers into the door and pulled sharply.
The pop of the lock snapping rang out into the night louder than I meant for it to, causing me to wince a little.
“What the hell was that?” I heard someone say sharply.
“Ignore it. It’s probably some animal,” another person said.
“Fuck no. I’m not getting eaten today. I’m going to kill it,” the soldier said, and I could hear his boots stomping on the ground coming in our direction. I let go of the door and led Dune to the other side of the house. I signaled him down and watched as he folded his long legs under him and lay on the ground behind a parked vehicle in the backyard. I had just squatted beside him when the light flashed near us, lighting up the brick wall.
My heart beat rapidly as I held the knife, ready to end the man’s life if he moved towards us. Boot steps made their way near our spot when another voice rang out.
“Lewis, where the hell are you?” The voice’s bark was sharp. I heard gravel shift as the man moved away from us, and his footsteps picked up as he jogged away.
“Sir.” I heard the man call out. “I’m over here, sir.”
“What the hell are you doing over there, Lewis?”
“I heard a noise, sir, and was just checking it out.”
“That gives you no right to leave your post. You stay here guarding the vehicles. That’s your job.”
“I just didn’t…” the man tried to say.
“I don’t want to hear it, Lewis. Wander off again, and I will personally leave your ass behind.”
“Fates,” I murmured under my breath, sheathing my knife. “That was close.”
“Come on, Dune,” I muttered softly, beckoning my companion to follow. Slipping around the corner, we silently returned to the patio door I had broken open earlier with one last glance over my shoulder.
Moving back to the door, I slid it open so that Dune and I could make our way through it. I forced the sliding door open quietly. I motioned for Dune to go first, and as I entered, I closed the door slowly behind us.
The house was pitch black and filled with the musty smell of decay, and I could see remnants of the old occupants everywhere as I made my way around the kitchen table. The chairs were tucked neatly under it. Cobwebs dangled from ceiling corners, and cabinets stood open as I walked around the room. They must have already searched this house.
Slowly, we inched our way through what appeared to be an old dining room. Despite his size, Dune moved with an eerie grace, his steps nearly silent on the dusty wooden floor. His brown and tan scales glisten under the faint moonlight that filtered through the grimy windows.
I sighed in relief as I tossed the Kzipi at Dune.
“Dinner, Dune. I’m going upstairs to keep an eye on the soldier’s house,” I said quietly to the Lepot as I turned and made my way up the staircase.
Each step groaned under my weight. I peered down the hallway, reaching the top of the stairs. To my left were a few abandoned bedrooms. Their doors were ajar, revealing faded wallpaper and dusty bed frames. But the room at the end of this lonely hallway captured my attention—an old study boasting a large window with an unobstructed view of the house where our soldiers had retired.
I checked each room as I passed. One of them had a caved-in roof. I closed that door so nothing snuck in through the hole.
Finally, I entered the study, which had windows facing the street. The room smelled of old books and dust, the wooden shelves running along the wall were empty save for a broken hourglass, and the floorboards beneath my boots protested with a creaking sound that echoed throughout the silent house.
An old desk in one corner was strewn with parchments, and an ancient world globe stood on a high shelf, its faded colors barely visible. But these were not my focus. My eyes were drawn to the window. The moonlight painted an ethereal glow upon the abandoned house and its surroundings. I brought a chair over to watch them for the night, placing my sword against the wall within my grasp.
I positioned myself behind the heavy drapes and peered down at the soldiers who had taken shelter across the street through the dirty glass. The light from their dwelling illuminated silhouettes moving within, their shadows dancing across the cracked plaster of their walls.
The night’s ambiance was an eerie mix of calm and palpable tension—a sense of something brewing beneath the surface. I watched the soldiers move aimlessly around the house, two always outside watching the vehicles, their figures casting grotesque shadows on the fragile walls in the moonlight. Their hushed whispers carried over to where I huddled behind the heavy drapes, a silent observer in the game of power and fear.
Now and then, I would hear a faint growl echo through the night, a beastly snarl that hinted at a creature of my world trapped inside one of the vehicles. The soldiers reacted each time with visible unease, their faces contorting with fear. The beast they captured was not ordinary; they were scared of it. That was evident as I watched them keep a large berth around the vehicle.
It was curious to see the human military out here, and it was even more curious that they seemed to be transporting something that needed at least a dozen armed soldiers to protect it.
My eyes shifted to the vehicle where the beast was kept. It was a large, reinforced steel structure mounted on four wide wheels. What would be inside that would need to be housed in such a large vehicle? The vehicle was armored, with several more low-key military vehicles parked nearby.
I felt a knot of unease form in my stomach as I stared at the fortified vehicle. I found my gaze unwillingly drawn back to it time and again. The soldiers that guarded it went through shifts.
I watched as one of the soldiers approached the vehicle cautiously, his grip tightening around his gun. He looked through the vehicle’s back window before shuddering and moving away.
This was no ordinary beast they had trapped, and the thought of some creature from our world being confined in such a way filled me with a cold rage that settled deep within my bones.
I leaned back into the chair's worn upholstery, forcing myself to control my emotions. I rubbed my hands over my face, feeling exhaustion creeping up on me.
I pondered the scene before me as I popped a piece of dried meat into my mouth. Curiosity kept my attention on the soldiers. What were they doing out here, and what was in that vehicle?
My eyes flicked back and forth between the vehicle and the soldiers, analyzing their every move. An uneasy hush had fallen over them. Whatever was inside that vehicle was causing a great deal of anxiety, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. As I watched, another low growl resonated from the car, louder and more menacing this time. I saw a few soldiers exchange worried glances before quickly looking away as if acknowledging their fear would make it more real.
I chewed thoughtfully on the dried meat, my eyes never leaving the guarded vehicle as another growl echoed through the night. This time, the sound was more of a howl, sending a chill down my spine. The hairs on my neck stood on end as I watched the soldiers tense up. They had their weapons drawn, pointing towards the vehicle.
A man came out of the house with a long pole and opened the back of the creature's prison. I leaned forward in the chair, desperate to look at what they had in the back, but the doctor lifted the tarp a little before jabbing the creature with the pole. A guttural cry pierced the air once before it fell silent for the rest of the night. I had never heard a creature make a sound like that before. It sounded almost human.
I clenched my fists, my heart pounding with indignant fury. My skin felt suddenly too tight, and the low growl that echoed in the room was coming from me.
The heaviness of that cry sat in the still night air long after it had quieted. It was the kind of aching sadness that made your heart twist in sympathy. That was a creature in pain, and it filled me with a burning rage.
How dare they. How dare they take something from its home, from its freedom, and cage it like… like some ordinary beast? And for what? I found my fists clenching at the thought, my eyes unable to tear themselves away from the scene unfolding before me.
The guards still looked uneasy, their bodies stiff as if expecting something else to happen. But all that came was silence, filled only by the occasional call of a night bird.
“I will get you out,” I promised the imprisoned creature. I had no idea how to fulfill that promise, but my determination solidified as I watched the soldiers go about their night. I would not stand by and let an innocent creature suffer at the hands of humans who had no respect for the sanctity of life.