Chapter 12
Azar
The earth children call themselves humans.
That was information we were able to gather in our advance missions. They have leaders at a local level, and also leaders at the larger divisions, but it was unclear exactly how many leaders they had or how to reach out to them specifically.
So when we land, we do it just outside of a large city, one that has had the most small machines launch into the sky.
To attract the attention of their leaders, we locate a large building with no humans inside, and I incinerate it.
Once they arrive, we try to talk to them about our search, what we’re looking for and how very badly we need the heart to be returned to us.
They never talk.
When we try to talk, they don’t listen at all. They repeatedly pelt us with small exploding projectiles. Bullets, we discover they’re called. They’re remarkably useless against us, but apparently harm the humans greatly.
We could try to take a human form, Gordon says. Perhaps they would listen then.
Yes, but the bullets would harm us in that case, Rufus reasonably points out.
For quite some time we continue to try and speak with them in our way, but when it becomes clear that they’re not listening, I finally become disgusted.
As the leader of the earth blessed shock troops, I’m supposed to be making contact with the humans so I can convey our desires.
I had hoped that I might even be able to broker a deal.
Why can none of them comprehend me?
I march out in front of the other earth blessed, and I roar. The humans stop their incessant bang bang banging for a short time, and I take the chance to shift into my human form. “See?” I wave my arms. “We just want to talk to you. That’s why we haven’t harmed any of you.”
That’s when they start filling me with the small projectiles.
It hurts.
It hurts a great deal more than I anticipated.
When I shift back into my earth blessed form, the stupid little things remain lodged in my body. I’m forced to curl up as small as I possibly can and manually force them to expel themselves from my body, one at a time.
The humans take this as an opportunity to draw closer, hacking at me with all sorts of weapons, none of which appear to be able to pierce my hide, but all of which are extremely vexing when sawing on my outsides.
In my current state of pain and misery, I’m out of patience.
I maul one with one claw, and Rufus and Gordon take that as permission to do the same.
The massacre of the small, irritating, persistently violent humans makes me feel better. This wasn’t why we came, I remind Gordon and Rufus. We’re supposed to find the leaders and convey our goals.
Let’s go elsewhere and try again, Gordon says. Maybe on the other side of this city of theirs we can find different, possibly more reasonable leaders.
Before we can follow his suggestion, the screaming of a strike blessed pierces all our minds.
I want to crumple. Something very bad must’ve happened or it wouldn’t have made that sound.
They were tasked to fly above the cloud cover and not engage.
They were searching for signs of any kind of human leader.
Stay here, I command. I’ll be back.
Thankfully, Gordon and Rufus are obedient. They don’t argue as I run away, and they’re not following me when I shift into my flame blessed form and launch into the sky to find out what happened.
That’s when I see it—dozens of small earth-child-created aircraft, all buzzing around.
One of them appears to have crashed into a strike-blessed—Rivali—and they hit the ground together.
She’s still alive, I think, but barely. She may not recover.
The earth’s atmosphere has been an adjustment for the blessed.
Wait, I call. Please, listen to me. I need to talk to you.
Small humans are now rushing on scene, and I watch as they surround Rivali, and then proceed to light her on fire, stab her, and electrocute her in sequence.
Until she dies.
They aren’t listening.
They aren’t stopping their attacks.
They’re worse than Father said. They’re absolutely terrible, and I’m filled with an inexplicable rage. Why won’t they listen to us at all?
Secure this city, I order. And it feels right. If they won’t listen, if they persist in attacking us when we’ve done nothing to them, we have no choice. Destroy anyone who attacks. We’ll find the heart without their help.
I try in three more places with Rufus and Gordon, all with the same results. Bullets. Bombs. Planes.
More blessed die.
Not many, but two more when we weren’t trying to harm them in any way? Why are they so senselessly violent? I snap after I hear about another earth blessed casualty and take out a whole small human village in my rage. They only want to kill us? I’ll show them what we could be doing.
Once I’ve calmed down, I rejoin my earth blessed commanders.
Perhaps the problem is our attire. Rufus tosses his head at a large sign. It has lots of words on it, but the men are dressed differently from others I’ve seen. Let’s try one more time, but dressed in this way, a way they clearly admire.
I shift again, this time copying the clothing on the taller, larger one of the humans on the sign.
Gordon and Rufus copy the other humans, and then we begin walking, looking for humans to communicate with.
Sadly, we appear to have chosen a location where the humans have already fled.
We walk around for quite some time and don’t encounter a single one.
“At least they aren’t shooting us,” I say.
“They can’t shoot us when they aren’t even present,” Gordon says. “We’re going to have to shift again just to find more.”
“I’m tired of trying to talk to them,” Rufus says. “They’re clearly too stupid to respond.”
“Can they even understand us?” I ask.
“We switch to their tongue when they’re close,” Gordon says. “I don’t think that’s our problem.”
“Perhaps they’ve been attacked too frequently,” Rufus says. “If they’re very scared from losing many fights, it would be natural to respond in such a way.”
“Wait.” Gordon points. “Look. Over there.”
Small humans are making their way toward us. They don’t look like leaders, but perhaps they know leaders who might talk to us.
“Why are they out here when everyone else has fled?” Rufus says. “Maybe they’re warriors, the bravest of their kind.”
I examine the small humans. One is very, very small, and it has shaggy hair covering its eyes. It’s so small the only non-tiny one of them is carrying it. The other two look quite small as well, and they’re dressed in things unlike the clothing the other humans we’ve encountered have been wearing.
They don’t look much like leaders, but when I dressed as the leaders were according to our research, wearing the strange thing they call suits, no one talked to me then, either. I was met with bullets and more bullets. I sigh. “Let’s at least try talking to them.”
“The other blessed are bonding humans,” Rufus says. “We can go back and see what we can learn about them and their behaviors. Then we’ll be better equipped to find their leaders and ask for their help.”
“We don’t need help,” Gordon says. “They’re obviously attacking because they know why we’re here, and they won’t relinquish the heart.”
“I want to talk to at least one of them,” I say. “And these small ones don’t seem to have the guns.”
“Let’s go around the back,” the tallest one hisses.
“Why?” the tiny one asks. “Ow house is wight over veyar.”
I’m not sure what the small one’s saying, but house means residence. I believe they live in this neighborhood that otherwise appears to be abandoned.
The tall one sets the small one down and points her head toward us.
I wish I knew what all of this signifies to humans. Before I can ask, she turns to leave.
“Hey,” I shout, trying to halt her departure. I need to ascertain what we’re doing that’s frightening them so, even when we’re in their own shape. “Where are you going?”
“She’s a bright,” Rufus says.
I realize, a little belatedly, that he’s right.
The tall one’s glowing. That’s what Father said about the humans we could bond.
They’ll glow and that’s how we know that a connection can be forged between us and them.
It’s a connection we might be able to use.
We should take her to the others so that one of them can bond a human who doesn’t shoot guns incessantly.
The few we’ve found haven’t been bondable by the earth blessed, only by the strike or water blessed. We’ve surmised it was because the earth blessed can turn into humans themselves and therefore can’t bond another earth child.
We should catch her, Rufus says. Think how pleased the strike blessed would be when we hand her over. I hear they’re hard to find.
“She’s too young,” I say.
“There are dragons attacking,” the tall one says in their tongue.
“Honest to goodness, dragons. I know that sounds crazy, but if you’re wondering why the cell towers are down, or if you’re thinking this is a good time to make trouble, don’t.
The world has gone insane. I recommend you get in your car, go straight home, and hide like we are. ”
Dragons. She’s calling us dragons, and she’s implying that we should all run and hide, because these dragons pose a danger to them. They seem to just assume that. I need her to tell me more. She may be the key to us understanding why the humans won’t talk to us.
Sadly, I’m not sure what questions to ask, so I decide to keep things vague. Maybe she’ll start sharing things, like she did before. “What?” I ask, as if I don’t understand.
She lifts the small one up onto her back again, shifting him when his arms wrap around her neck.
“I know it sounds crazy. Dragons.” She makes a strange, strangled sound I can’t interpret.
“But listen, sadly, I’m not making a joke.
There are dragons, they’re here on Earth, and they’re killing people.
Lots of people. I recommend you get out of Dodge. ”