“Logging Transmission. Sergeant. Can you describe in more detail about these beasts?”

I could hardly hear the lieutenant speaking on the other side of the marble shell. This Advent Guard building is a nightmare to visit. Hundreds of people moved by. Spore-Beasts of all sizes. Advent Guard Soldiers in various uniforms. Random Civilians.

Granted, it was a nice city regardless. The initial reports said that Rowan in all similarity resembled California. Anything beyond is uncharted. I have never been to California. I wanted to visit, just never really had the opportunity. I was supposed to before I received my Sergeant rank. That was postponed because of this mission. There may have been other reasons, but I wouldn’t know what they were.

I gave the description of the beasts to the best I could remember. Those hand-tails were obviously unmistakable, with most of the other details a bit skittish. I uncrossed my legs, and my right foot throbbed. The Advent Medics patched me up pretty well. It was a bit too tight for my comfort but they said that I shouldn’t be on it too much or I will injure it further.

The noise on the other side of the Resonance Marble chattered away. I pressed it closer to my ear to listen to bits and pieces of the background noise. A recovery mission for the humvees. Another secondary team to scout Siski Valley.

“Sergeant Sanchez, new orders,” the lieutenant spoke. “The Recovery Team will stop for refuel at your location in four days. The Advent Guard will put you up in a room and provisions. You are to return to Port City for full debriefing before returning home.”

Returning home. The hair on the back of my head rose and relaxed soon after. Home sounds amazing. This nightmare will be over. “What about my team?”

“Sergeant, it is no longer your concern. The Advent Guard will debrief you tonight on anything else you might have remembered about the incident. You did well Sergeant. The Eternal Flame thanks you for your service.”

‘Thanks you for your service…’ The words are a standard ending to a conversation. But today they carry a double meaning. ‘A thank you, and also a none of your business.’

“Understood. I will await the Recovery Team.”

“Sergeant,” the lieutenant said, this time not in an official voice. “Seriously, you did well. And I am happy you survived. I wish I could tell you more but we have our orders. Just come home, ok?”

That was personal. Not total A-holes. But something else was going on. Something above my paygrade. The Resonance Marble turned off, and when I gave the marble back to the Guardsman, my shoulder burned again and the transparent screen in my eyes flicked to life.

I had forgot to mention about the searing in my arm, and the weird status screen I now saw. The cursor blinked, and in the corner of the screen where the word Quests, the Arrive at Armargosa Advent Guard and Report to Command were lined through. They disappeared and my blood pulsed fast. I blinked, and the number next to my portrait increased from 100 to 150. And a new level-11.

My pack indicator displayed a green plus icon. A new item. It happened once when I stowed my knife. I looked inside and a green can appeared that wasn’t there before. A can of beans?

None of it made any sense, and if I told the Covenant that I was now seeing things they would definitely send me to the Sabercon Science Division and give me a not so friendly invitation for a thorough scan. I had heard they do some really crazy experiments, not to say that my Covenant was any different. The difference between the two, faith and science. The Eternal Flame was a different organization all together.

The Advent Guard put me up in a room on the third floor. A luxurious room, kind of like I was in the Holiday Express. There was a message on the table, written in a chicken scratch language. The longer I stared at it, the clearer the words became. Meet me at the Pub. What pub? Whoever wrote this message assumed I knew what they were talking about.

The transparent screen flashed and a small map on the corner pointed in a blue direction with a new quest info. “Attend meeting at Pub.”

“A better description would have been nice,” I told myself. I had four days. I could either sit and room and stew until then or get out and explore. Best to find something to do with my time. Sleep will come later.

The Pub, thanks to the on-screen compass, would have been difficult to find on my own. Every building resembled another similar building. Tables resembled booths at a diner, food instantly salivated my mouth. Near the corner, I saw Sepia and Paige eating. Sepia looked across the aisles, spotted me and waved me over.

“Operative Sanchez,” Paige said. “Sit, we order food for all of us. And I am sure you are hungry.”

“Um, thanks,” I replied and took a seat next to Sepia. A cute server Spore-Beast that had racoon features brought me food I didn’t ask for. Skeptical, I tasted the yellow grits, and surprisingly the food reminded me of the grits my mom used to make for me before I left for training.

“My friend will be arriving soon,” Paige said. “She will give us what we need to save your people that traveled with you.”

“Yes,” I replied, “About that. I have orders to remain here for my Recovery Team. They are going to take me home.”

“Do you not care about your friends? This Matthews and LT you talk so much about?”

“I do, but I have my orders and cannot disobey. They said they will take care of it.”

“They,” Paige replied. “These new people will not know where your friends are at. By the time they have, their fate will be undetermined. And not for the positive. You will want to not have their fate undetermined, do you Operative Sanchez?”

“Well, no, I don’t, but again, what will I do? I am but one woman and I have no gear or way to save them.”

“You have no belief in yourself. And you let others choose for you. Not a good way to live Operative Sanchez.”

“It’s Yesenia,” I blurted out. “My name is Yesenia.”

“Hmm, you give false pretenses, Not a good look for you to confuse your new friends. Operative Sanchez Yesenia.”

Trying to set her straight was more confusing than telling them my name. I placed another bite of grits into my mouth. A woman appeared in the booth next to Paige. A gorgeous woman. A rather tall, long hair brunette… gorgeous woman.

“Paige, I think she means her first name is Yesenia, but others call her Operative Sanchez. It is nothing more but a courtesy.”

Sepia looked over to me and wiped a bit of grits off of my lips. The woman across from me was gorgeous, and no other words would change that description. From her eyes, that sparkled when she blinked, to her bronze skin that shined like she applied a filter that illuminated the night.

This woman, who would distract a crowd of people if she walked, she sat there, sipping on a small cup of liquid and even that action proved intoxicating.

“Nadine,” Paige said. Nadine. Nadine. “You cant just appear like that when around people who don’t know you. You petrify them.”

I caught myself staring. Yes, even my mistress, whom I wished to get back home too. I would be forced to admit that someone better looking than her would captivate my eyes. She spoke with authority. A woman boss. A leader in her own right. And my mind only circled around her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Yesenia Sanchez,” she said. Even her words continued to distract me from eating. “I am Nadine Rastarian, and caretaker of this small pub.”

I wiped my lips of the remaining grits. Embarrassment was the furtherest from my mind but her aura magnified when she spoke. “I—I am Nadine… I mean, you can call me whatever you like.”

“I want to thank you, for saving Sepia,” Nadine replied. Not much for small talk and straight to the point. “I hear she has taking a bonding to you. I have also heard of your unfortunate plight and run in with the Ahilotles, or better known in these parts as Spirit Eaters. I am sorry that your team has suffered such a fate.”

Spirit Eaters. That broke me from staring at Nadine’s chest, returning me to the nightmare of the incident. “The Eternal Flame will handle it. They will rescue my team.”

“The Eternal Flame. Is that what they call themselves now. I remember them as a different name. It seems that Knuckle was successful.”

“You know Lord Knuckle?” Not too many would dare call Knuckle by his name without adding the Lord title. “And what do you mean by successful?”

“Yes,” Nadine replied. “But to the matter at hand, I am tasking you to investigate why the spirit eaters have returned, and why your team is missing to begin with. There are some foreign agents involved in this incident. The people of Rowen are not yet capable of handling.”

“Ma’am. Miss Nadine,” I said. “I work for the Eternal Flame. I am due back to…”

“Do not worry about that. I will speak to Knuckle himself. He will object of course, but unless he wants to come here and deal the matter himself. I do not think he would want to worry about trivial matters.”

Trivial? “My team are not trivial matters!” I blurted that out loud, and the attention around the room turned to me.

“Your passion will be the cause. You have already been blessed by the Library to proceed.”

She stared at my arm. I pulsing of my tattoo echoed, overshadowing my own heartbeat. “What do you know about this?” I said uncovering the Covenant tattoo that pulsed blue along the lines. “This happened to me but I don’t know what to do with it.”

Nadine ignored it, and turned to Paige. “You will escort her of course. She will need more information.”

“Don’t ignore me,” I replied. “You know what is going on?”

Nadine stood up from the booth. She was much taller, at least towering over six feet. “Yesenia. You will have your answers. And you must hurry if you want to save your friends, but you need to be better prepared for your journey. Come. Follow.”

She walked—rather glided out of the room. Her long elegant light rose dress flowed like starlight. Paige followed her, with Sepia grabbing my hand and leading me out.

Outside, parked right out of the building was my Humvee. The same one, restored like it never was involved in an accident. I looked inside. The LT’s maps. The back contained storage items, food supplies, everything I need for the travel.

“I… I don’t understand. How is this possible?” I replied. “This is magic?”

“Magic?” Nadine asked. “No, or yes. You will find that this place, this world operates on a different perspective than your realm back on Earth. But you need information. And Paige will guide you.”

“Where would I find this information?” I asked.

“By going back,” Nadine replied before heading back into the pub. “Back to the Ruined City of Mordecai.”

The overlay in my screen changed. A new quest. I did not want to disobey Covenant’s protocol, but Nadine made it apparent, despite knowing anything about her. If I want to save the LT and others…. I will need to follow my new fate.

I secured the weapon next to the driver’s side door, and turned the engine over. The vehicle roared to life. Paige sat in the passenger side while Sepia hopped into the back.

Mordecai. More questions. than answers.

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Welcome to Chapter 5 of our flash fiction writing. If you see any broken links or find it difficult to navigate, please let me know.

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Previously: A beast attacks the vehicle Sanchez is in, and she attempts to fight it off and retrieve her rifle. The beast pulls Sanchez from the vehicle, injuring her ankle, but she eventually gets back inside. Suddenly, a bright light envelops everything, and Sanchez passes out.

Sanchez wakes up by a campfire, tended to by Sepia and Paige, a spore shrew. Sanchez notices a strange overlay in her vision with game-like statistics. She learns her hair is long and braided, and she has a Covenant emblem sealed into her skin. Sanchez insists on finding her team and investigates her wrecked truck, finding her lucky coin and her rifle. Paige advises Sanchez to rest, and Sepia offers comfort.

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To say I have nightmares is an understatement. I barely had any sleep last night. The forest voices stirred me awake. There is no telling how many times I held onto the trigger. Six. Seven. Heck, it might have been more.

My hair snagged against the bark of the tree. Leaves dropped on my face. And the worst of it all, I was hungry. The carrot last night was tasty. I think I may have some rations in my pack.

I sat up, pulled the pack from under my head, and dug through the contents.

The large Spore-Shrew, which she told me about last night, thank goodness, because I was about to call her a mouse or a rat, sat on the wooden log and brushed her hair. “Well, good morning to you, Agent Sanchez.”

I whispered out a good morning. Rummaging through the pack, it was apparent that it wasn’t mine, but Matthews. If the tumble from the Humvee didn’t mix up all of his treasures—random objects he collected since our arrival, unfortunately nothing in the bag resembled food. Or rations, for that matter.

Everything from rocks to pocket seeds? Why? A weird travel map of Port City, which looks awfully like San Francisco. A lot of Resonance Stones. A lot. Tiny ones. Useless ones. About the equivalent to batteries here, not enough juice to power anything else. And his cell phone was hidden in one of the pockets.

The cell phone. I turned it on, and there was a picture of a woman in not so many clothes. His wife. He talked about her constantly. I never met her in person, but she looked exactly as he described her. Long brunette hair, eyes and lips of an Italian mistress, and a rack on her that puts mine to shame, not that I compare. On her hand was a sizable ring. Just how rich was Matthews?

The dark memories returned from last night. What were those beasts, and whether my group is alive is beyond me. Questions circled around me. Answers refused to come through.

“Are you ok, Agent Sanchez?” Paige asked. Paige. Such an unusual name for a Spore-Beast. I never even met a human named Paige.

“Yes,” I stammered, tossing the contents back into the bag. “I just realized this isn’t my pack.”

“Perhaps it is still that tank?”

“Tank?” I asked. “Oh, you mean the Humvee. No, I don’t think so; it was the only one in there. It probably flew out somewhere.”

Sepia woke up and yawned. She pulled out a carrot and munched on it before even opening her eyes.

“Ah, it seems the young spore-rabbit is finally awake,” Paige said. “Sepia, when you are ready, can you lead us to your village?”

Sepia drooped her ears. “Village gone. Fire spirit claimed it all.”

“As that may be, answers will only come when we ask the spirits of what transpired. Only then can we move forwards.”

“Can your spirits tell me what happened to my team?” I asked.

“Who is to say?” Paige replied. “The spirits only know what they know; they care little about anything else.”

“Fine, can you tell me what happened to them then? I must find them and report back to command.”

Paige stood up, grabbed her gnarled staff, and moved into the forest. “Come, maybe your questions are best waited for the spirits.”

Sepia grabbed my hand. She didn’t say anything past the initial speech. I had asked her twice about her parents, and each time it was just another carrot. Paige said it will be useless, which was something I was starting to comprehend around then, and to just wait until she spoke instead.

Regardless, I strapped on the pack and checked my rifle. Thirty rounds. No more mags. I turned, and checked my compass. North is Port City.

I let go of Sepia’s hand. “I thank you for the campfire, but I must go back to Port City and report in.”

Paige turned around. “Port City. Such a long way. On foot, you might be there in a few weeks. Farewell!”

There was something in that speech. “Wait, are you not going to stop me?”

“Why? I do not know you, and you have your destination. What would I possibly say to stop you from fate?”

Three weeks. Such a long time and without food or weapons. Maybe I can get the Humvee turned over, but with the front end all bent and destroyed. No. I have to walk.

Three weeks. By the time I do make it back, the Covenant can form another team. Even then, are they even looking for us? I should stay put. No reason to venture into the unknown.

That was a big if anyone was looking for me. They could consider the team lost and just send recovery units. So many things. I wish I had that radio.

I turned around and caught up to Paige and Sepia. Sepia grabbed my hand once again. Paige didn’t say a word, but the smile on her face told me everything I needed to know. I was not going to get far on my own, and Paige knew this land. Answers will come.

“So does this forest have a name?” I asked. “Or do you all not call it anything.”

“Well,” Paige replied. “The humans call it one thing, but for us, it’s mainly a river forest. This is Nostria Forest, in representation of the river that passes through it.”

“Nostria. Interesting. So what do the humans call it.”

“They call it Armargosa Forest. We are on the outskirts of the hill pass that separates the city from the forest.”

Armargosa. We were heading to that city to meet with our contact to tell us where Valdostra was hiding. It was an ambush. But no one knew we were coming. The mission was a total secret. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like we were set up. But why would anyone set us up? We were strangers here. The LT had his reservations. Ever since that day at the hospital five years ago. Master Carl had left unexpectedly, and we were all on high alert. Who would have thought that this was the place he went to? LT said it was no coincidence that we were here, but like everyone else had mentioned before. This place shouldn’t exist.

The village we arrived at looked more like a tent city. Someone took a bulldozer to it and ran it over multiple times. Tents lay scattered among the ruins. Thankfully, there were no bodies around, but with the devastation to the campsites, none of it made any sense.

“I thought a fire took out your village,” I asked. “It seems to me that everything but a fire happened in this place.”

“The village had certain protections in place,” Paige said, walking through the ruins. She picked up a shirt and tossed it aside. “There are remnants of a fire spirit. But there is something else I can’t pick up. Sepia, did the one who did this take all the adults?”

Sepia nodded.

“Wait, so that explains the children running out of the forest. Wait. What about the children? Are they ok?”

Paige picked up a tent pole, compared it to her staff, and tossed it down. “The children are fine. It appears that the Anbar only wanted the adults this time.”

“Anbar? Wait, I’ve heard that name before.”

“The Anbar is, or rather was, a nation of humans who worshipped the Sun God King. It was rather foolish for the Retsam to think that they would not return. Ah, here is one.” She picked up a hand brush, dusted it off, and checked the bristles. She took the one that she was currently using and tossed it aside. “Much better.”

“I am sorry,” I said. “But why are we here? We did not come here all the way for a handbrush.”

“No, but the simple treasures are always good to find,” Paige said, brushing her hair with the new brush. “We came for her.”

I didn’t realize that Sepia had wandered off. She dug through one of the broken tent scraps, digging and trying to lift a heavy piece of wood out of the way. I lifted it up for her, and she pulled out a silver bracelet. She held it in her hand and closed her eyes.

A bluish aura glowed around her, almost blinding. Several footprints glowed in the bluish light, illuminating tracks everywhere. Paige followed the tracks, hopping back and forth between one and the other when they stopped at the edge of the destroyed village.

“The footprints end, but we can see where they were heading.”

“Ok, I will bite. Where is that?”

“South. Toward Siski Valley. If I were a betting Spore-Beast, that is where your team is at as well.”

“How do you know this?”

Paige grabbed her staff and placed it on her back. “We need to go into the city. I need to meet someone there who will help us navigate the valley.”

Sepia stopped glowing. She grabbed my hand again and hopped onto my shoulders. For a Spore-Beast, she was rather light, sitting comfortably on my pack. I barely even knew she was there.

“Ok, hopefully there is somewhere I can communicate with so I can get in touch with Port City, right?”

“Yes, I am sure there is.”

“Ok, let’s go.” I replied. At least we are heading in the direction where I can call for help. None of what was happening made any sense.

The ruins of the tent city. The missing adult Spore-Beasts. And my team. I just hope I am not too late to call for help.

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StoryTeller—We are into Chapter 4 of our flash fiction writing. No Plan. No Outline. Shooting straight from the hip. Who knows where we will go this week. Let’s see what happens!

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🗂️ Previously:

Sanchez and the squad confront a monstrous dog-like creature and Valtrosta.

Valtrosta mocks the squad as a portal opens, releasing tentacles that capture Roberts, Dante, and Burrows.

Michaels sacrifices himself to get Sanchez to safety.

Sanchez escapes the humvee, and with Gordi’s help, they fight off a tentacle.

Sanchez protects a child from the monster, but the beast bites Sanchez.

An explosion sends the humvee flying, injuring Sanchez and trapping them.

The monster approaches the vehicle.

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The eyes of the beast. The horror stories from nightmares and dreamscapes. To be honest, I had no clue what I was looking at. From a jabberwocky my father used to tell me in the wonderland books to the eyes of the devil my preacher warned us about every Sunday. That was what I was staring at. It froze me to the core. The snarling, sniffling beast roared from its vantage point outside the vehicle, and all I could think about was some stupid fantasy story.

The spore-rabbit child’s screams brought me back to my senses. That and the smoke from the forest fire filled my lungs and delivered a violent cough. Smoke filled the vehicle, and the back-and-forth coughing from me and the child just antagonized the situation.

The beast pounded on the vehicle and reminded me that I was alive. But for how long is what remained to be answered.

I drove a foot through the door, the heel of my boot connecting with the beast’s jaw. Slamming over and over, I glanced around the upside-down truck to find anything, something to turn my fate around. The weapon. My rifle is near the cracked front windshield. It was my only answer.

I reached over toward the front of the cab. Packs and equipment blocked my complete view, and with the red eyes of the beast glaring at me, I don’t have much time to sort it all out. My fingers barely reached the barrel of the weapon. If I can just grab it a bit more.

My fingers grasped the rifle. Barely.

The beast clamped down on my ankle and pulled me further out the window. The searing tear of my flesh sent agonizing throbs all throughout my body. My hand slipped from the barrel.

The child screamed in my ear. I held onto the front seat, wrapping a hand around the seat belt to hold me in place. The beast continued to pull.

I kicked with my other leg for it to release me. I must have hit a sore spot because it released my foot, and using the rear door, I kicked my way back inside. The weapon was in reach, and using my only free hand, I wrapped my fingers around the barrel and pulled it toward me.

Only for it to move a few inches because the strap was wrapped around the steering wheel.

The beast started for my legs again. This time carefully avoiding my other avenging foot. My ribs pressed against the middle console, and if I swear they were not broken, my breaths became shallow and the air thinned.

I kept pulling at the weapon. The strap refused to budge. My hand instinctively reached for my pocket where my knife used to be. A matter of convenience. Or was it a coincidence that I happen to lose the only thing that is keeping me from death is somewhere out there.

A bright orange light overwhelmed my eyes. A pure wind filled my lungs, and I swallowed every breath of it. Even with my eyes shut, the light rays overwhelmed my senses. Not knowing what it was, I pulled back into the rear seat. Grabbing the child, I held on, huddled up against her.

The spore-rabbit stopped crying and whispered into my ear. “It’s… ok… She is here…”

Who is this she?

I held on tight; the pulsing of my ankle delivered shock waves into my core.

The light enveloped everything, and my world turned black.

My father stood at my initiation ceremony. I stood upon the stage with several dozen others, receiving the seal of the Covenant. The master of ceremonies, Lord Knuckle, stood in front of me and held out his hand. I delivered my lucky coin, a token of the faith I placed in my new belonging. In return, I received the Seal of the Eternal Flame, an emblem of the sword of truth, with the shield of promise behind it. He attached it to my shoulder, and that was the final ritual of my commitment to the Covenant.

Granted, this was not what I expected during signup for the military. I wanted college, and four years of serving the country gave me that.

This, however, was something else entirely. A world in which life turned every which way but up. A new reality of being. Worlds I never knew existed. Wars fought in the name of the soul. And dangers that ensured my skills were not qualified to handle.

The red eyes protruding into my dreams. A danger I was not qualified to handle, indeed.

// Mission Start! Assess your surroundings and proceed to the target location.//

What was that? A voice in my head, not my own. A caption formed in darkness; glowing letters scrolled past.

I woke up.

The forest greeted me in return. A campfire warmed my body, and my gear was missing from my pockets.

“Oh, the wanderer is awake. Sepia, you may have been right. She is a fighter. And here I was wondering if we would have to abandon this one. Seems like the Retsam still holds a bit of faith after all.”

A woman’s voice. On the other side of the campfire, my eyes adjusted to the light, two figures. One I recognize. The other is taller, not by much. She brushed her golden locks in even downward strokes.

“She is a fighter. She protected me.”

“Indeed she has,” the woman replied. “She has Retsam’s blessing, but there is something else about her that gives me pause. Wanderer, you can sit up. I am not here to hurt you. And I’m sure your friend here wants to be sure you are ok. Especially with that bum ankle of yours.”

The throbbing of my ankle. I sat up, and it reminded me that it was injured. I reached over to grab it and check through my pants. A bandage wrap covered the wound, and even though I thought it was broken, my toes wiggled on command.

“Thank you… for the bandage. And for saving us.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment. Gratitude came to mind, and only that.

Until I refocused vision. There was something in my eyes. It looked like an overlay. Am I wearing contacts? Rubbing my eyes didn’t work. The overlay, a bluish glow, with several icons in the corner. A portrait of me, in a cartoonish form with my ponytail sticking out behind me. I reached behind my head, curious that I swore I cut my hair short before the mission. Now, it’s long, reaching to below my shoulders and braided into a ponytail with a cloth tie.

The top left icon carried several indicators. The first was Level 10 and following underneath a greenish bar. HP. Underneath, the letters RES with a blue bar.

In the bottom right, there were markers, but nothing I could understand. The top right, a compass overlay, is currently in the position of south-east. I turned my head, and the compass reacted in kind.

“What is she doing?” The child said, looking through the fire.

“I don’t know. Wanderers in this world tend to follow their own rules. She will have to tell us if she wishes.”

Ignoring the overlay, my eyesight remained clear and sharp. I scooted away from the fire for a clear view of my companions. The spore-rabbit child munched on vegetables from a plate. The woman, another spore beast, a rodent variety? She had a protruding snout, short pointing ears, fuzz everywhere, and a short tail that had a mind of its own.

“What are you?” I asked. Those were not the words I wanted to say, but they uttered them so fast that I couldn’t stop them.

“Well, that’s rude,” the spore-beast replied. “I am sure I could ask the same thing about you, but I already know that answer. Still, I wouldn’t have asked it anyway. Maybe it’s all the Wanderers that come to this land; perhaps that is the question they always ask. Who knows.”

The spore-rabbit swallowed her last bite. “She is a spore shrew; her name is Earth…”

“My name is not relevant,” the shrew replied. “But if it helps clarify things, you may call me Paige. At least that is what I was called at one point in my life. Usually others have different names given to me, but given my history, all of them are irrelevant. And who are you, Wanderer? At the very least you can give me a name, as your kind usually have several.”

“I am Agent Sanchez, Covenant forces, Rogue Squad Eight.” I blurted it out again.

Paige turned to Sepia. “See, many names. How they keep them straight is beyond me. Well, I am not saying all that. Wanderer sounds right until you can decide on which one to call yourself.”

I didn’t understand her. She was timid, or appeared to be, but her mannerisms suggest she had been through several ordeals herself. “You can call me Sanchez.”

“Sanchez it is,” Paige replied. She passed over a plate of vegetables on the ground. “Eat, recover your energy.”

Eating was the last thing I wanted. “Where am I? What happened to my team? Where is the red-eye beast?”

“Do not worry about the hunger. We are safe for tonight. As for your other questions, I wish not to overwhelm you.”

I pushed the plate away. Using the nearby tree, I stood up and accidentally placed weight on my injured ankle. Nearly collapsing, I pressed my back against the bark.

“If you intend to leave, I would wait until the morning. It will feel better if you sleep. Does wonders, sleep does.”

“No,” I replied. “I have to find my team. I have to figure out what happened to them.”

This was the first time that the only smoke that entered my nose was from the campfire. The darkness gave me no answers except that there was no forest fire. Only one familiarity, and that was the upside-down truck.

Paige tossed me a large staff. “Here, as you adamantly want to leave, but I want my stick back, so remember where it came from.”

I wasn’t worried about the damn stick, but I used it to carry me to the truck. The damage was intensive; even if it was possible to flip it upright, the chances of it carrying me out of this forest were next to none. Between the torn flaps and dented metal frame, I fell to my knees. My ankle screamed at me.

I pulled out my pack and unstrapped the weapon from the wheel, placing them on my back; my overlay screen changed.

In the lower left corner, a backpack icon and a miniature rifle x 40 appeared. Ignoring it, I pulled out of the vehicle when I saw it, buried in the rubble. My red marble knife and something else.

It couldn’t be. My lucky coin. How is it here? I traded it for my patch at the ceremony. I picked it up, the head of a dead president on one side, the other, a monument of the capital city. Several dents I recognized from my constant rolling over the coin in my days.

I picked it up, and it glowed faintly in my hand.

My shoulder itched. I pulled my shirt away to see the Covenant emblem, outlined in blue, sealed into my skin. It pulsed, and no heat came from it. I scratched to relieve the itching but quickly covered it up.

There were too many questions. And I didn’t have the answers. So much came from it and my worries… it was something about it. Something I couldn’t repair. A silent question, and my heart sank into my stomach, forming knots and constricting my bowels.

“Here,” Paige said, hovering over me. She handed me the staff to help me up.

“… Thank you.” My lips wanted to say more but hesitated to say less.

“Rest by the fire, child,” she replied, taking a brush through her hair again. She wrapped it in a ponytail and tied it in place. “Tomorrow is a new day, and eventually, you will find your answers. But they are not here, in the darkness, staring at your past.”

I twirled my coin in my fingers. The movement of it rolling on my knuckles brought me instant relief.

A simple nod. Sepia grabbed my hand, her warmth easing my own. She handed me a fire-laden carrot that was already going cold. The taste was delicious, melting in my mouth. I had forgotten about my ankle.

Paige returned to the fire and closed her eyes. Sepia laid her head on my lap, the ears folded around my legs.

Tomorrow, indeed. Answers will not be found tonight.

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StoryTeller—We are into Chapter 3 of our flash fiction writing. No Plan. No Outline. Shooting straight from the hip. Who knows where we will go this week. Let’s see what happens!

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Previously: Spore-Beast Children flee a burning forest, and a Spore-Rabbit girl warns of a “Fire Spirit.” Lieutenant Matthews’ team prepares to engage, but Gordi, a Spore-Bear, reveals the Elemental Spirit is rogue and must be destroyed. Colonel Ray orders the team to await Resonance Crystals to neutralize the threat. As the smoke worsens, the team attempts to relocate. The Spore-Rabbit girl, revealed to be favored by Spirits, resists leaving the vehicle. Sanchez carries her into the truck, and they drive away from the smoke. They then spot a massive fire tornado, followed by Sabercon’s Victoria, their target. A circle of flame erupts towards them.

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“Sanchez, look out!”

Lt rushed to push me out of the way, however I was already several meters away from the fire cone. It was after the cone passed by us. The monster escaped the fire, more like walked through it. Nothing phased it. A mixture of a dog and some sort of werewolf, and not the kind they like to sterilized on cable tv.

No, this monster, gnawing black teeth, a howl that pierced the sky and the only thing between us and it was the vehicles. The hand tail, with the over exaggerated version of a cartoon hand at the end of it slapped the ground repetitively. A thing of nightmares, and something none of us in the squad was prepared for.

“Open fire!”

Rounds left my weapon, and I dropped to a kneeling position for better aim. Tracer rounds lashed out at its target. Each one penetrating the beast. Each one… missing.

The beast refused to make a move. It slapped its tail on the ground several times. Why was it not attacking?

The LT held our fire. Our target walked into view. Valtrosta, in her brazen tight red dress and exotic hairdo, coupled with a white overcoat and red heels that one could not even pretend the ground wasn’t kind to her.

“Well, it seems that the lucky 8 tends to shoot fire and ask questions later. The gung-ho of every dumb team ever.”

“Valtrosta,” The Lt yelled, “You are hear-by remanded into custody by the World Con in violation of—“

A fire wave barreled at us, stopping the Lt’s charge. I jumped out of the way and opened fire again. A huge portal opened behind the monster dog. A black swirling mass of energy sucking in all the bullets we fired.

“Your team are a bit jumpy Matthews,” Valtrosta said. “It almost sounds like you are not in charge of these haphazard ness of a mess you created.”

“I don’t know what your planning Valtrosta, but we will not say it again. Surrender, or—“

Black swirls surrounded us and the vehicles. Large hand tentacles jettisoned out of the portals. One grabbed Roberts by the leg. He didn’t have a chance to scream.

“What is going on?”

“You are out of your element Matthews,” Valtrosta said. “I am sure your team will make good subjects for my new project. But for now, please take the nightmare of your defeat!”

More tentacles pushed out of the portals taking Dante and Burrows. I fired at the tentacles but the hand pulled them both in. Michaels grabbed and me and tossed me in the drivers seat of the humvee.

“No stop, I can fight!”

“Shut up Sanchez! Get out of here!” Michaels jammed the door handle with his weapon. He pulled out his knife and rushed the monster. And he was gone.

The door wouldn’t budge. I rammed my shoulder into it. The shock rattled my left side. I turned my head to my rear seat. The hunkered spore-beast rabbit curled up into the seat crying. The beasts roared taking my attention again.

Hopping to the passenger seat, I kicked the door opened and leaped out. One of the tentacles ejected out of the portal and wrapped around Gordi. Even for a large spore-bear, his strength could not break free and he was dragged toward the portals.

I rushed forward with my knife, leaping and stabbing the white part of the hand to the ground. Gordi used his fire magic to burn the tips releasing him.

“Sanchez, the child!” Gordi yelled.

Turning my attention back to the vehicle, the large black dog snarled and chewed the door apart exposing the child. She screamed and scurried inside the humvee dodging the venom’s dripping teeth.

I yanked the door open and dove in to stab the beast, only to miss and hit the seat. The young rabbit jumped onto my back and dug its claws into my vest. I retreated, and the black tail whiplashed my knife out of my hand and wrapped around my arm. It pulled me forward through the vehicle.

Digging my foot underneath the driver’s seat, it yanked and pulled me out with its teach gnawing on my shoulder drawing blood through the vest. The agony of the bite drew me delirious with my arm nearly tearing out of my socket. I wasn’t going to last much longer.

My sight waned, but in front of the vehicle, the LT fell, overwhelmed by the tentacles.

My chest fell into my stomach. This couldn’t be happening. The memory of my sister fell into view, the claws of the Spore-beast child clung to me. What was this. How did this happen?

An explosion rocked the cab of the truck. The pressure of the tentacle around my arm lessoned. The connection to the beast was gone. But so was the ground.

The vehicle flew into the air, tumbling over and over into the sky making me dizzy with the sun flying around me. I reached around and grabbed the Spore-Beast and held her tight. A loud crunch from the vehicle hitting the ground, a sharp crack in my ankle and the nothing but tormentors pain.

The yelling stopped, and the smoke from the fire stung into my eyes. My head pounded against the metal. We rolled into the trees slamming against the bark with branches and leaves falling everywhere.

The rollercoaster stopped its movement. The child cried into my ears. I released her, checking for injuries along her frail body. None found. Good.

“Are you ok?” I asked the girl. She made no reply, only a slight whimper between crying spurts.

The Humvee was upside down, and my leg was trapped under the driver’s seat. I dangled like a fish and the movement only drew more sharp needles into my head.

My weapon was gone, so was the knife i loved so much. The roars continued, but much further away than before. “Child, I need you to run. Get away from here now!”

The child stared at me, her, rabbit ears folded back. Did she understand me? Even if she did, would she even listen?

I made another attempt to move my leg. If it wasn’t for the immense pain, I could give it a bit more force. It is definitely broken, and even if I did manage to get free, I wouldn’t get far. I reached for the radio com that dangled in the air. Trapped like myself, my eyes trailed to sparks gutted from the wires.

A horrible situation.

The red eyes of a beast snarled in front of me. The child huddled behind me. And the snarls of its teeth made it worse.

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StoryTeller—This may be flash fiction, or something else. I am going to try to post about 1000-word episodes as best as I can. It will be raw, may need spell check, but this is me just writing out of pure thought between my longer novels. Maybe I will post the current draft of the novel I am working on as well. But for now, enjoy.

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Previously: Sanchez receives an urgent call to a Florida hospital, interrupting his day off. Fist Jackson drives Sanchez to the hospital, where Knuckle is waiting. Knuckle directs Sanchez to replace Marco on the eighteenth floor. A message appears on their visors, stating “Sword Master must die.” Later, Sanchez travels to the realm of Rowen with others, heading to Siski Valley to confront Valtrosta. They encounter animals and children being chased by dogs with Mickey Mouse hand-tails.

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Chapter 2:

They poured out of the woodwork so to speak. Hundreds of Spore-Beast Children scattered out of the forest, and it was apparent why.

Smoke rose from the woods. The wind shifted sending the billowing haze toward our direction. We hopped out of the vehicles and maintained a perimeter.

They were children, I tell ya. Small animal hybrids of human and beast. One small Spore-Rabbit girl approached me crying. I unwrapped my scarf and placed it over her mouth to keep the smoke from choking her out.

“Fire. Spirit,” the girl said. I lifted her up into the truck.

A loud rancid sound from the forest drove goosebumps into my skin.

“What was that?” Tech-Sergeant Burrows said taking position in front of the humvee.

Lieutenant Matthews stood in front and raised his weapon. “Devonte, Michaels. Get those children out of here. Sanchez, Dante, take point. We found our target. Gordi, Port City did not mention a fire spirit.”

Gordi, a Spore-Bear of incredible size, raised his necklace from his chest. The crystals inbeded in the rope turned blood red and it dripped like venom onto the rocky dirt. “The Summoning is too late. The Elemental Spirit is rogue. We have no choice but to destroy it.”

The LT shifted his weapon. “Destroy it. That wasn’t our orders. We are to contain the threat and bring back for study.”

“By all means, visitor,” Gordi replied. “You can most certaintly try to keep your mission. But you will lose more than what you gain.”

A small hesitation, followed by another roar in the forest. The LT knelt beside Devonte who held the his weapon from one empty target to another. He grabbed the communicator from his backpack and tapped him on the shoulder before turning it on. “Covenant 6, Force 8.”

A chirp replied. “Covenant 6.”

“Objective change. Fire Elemental on sight. Proceed on trajectory?”

Static. Followed by another roar in the forest to answer the LT.

“Negative,” a new voice on the communicator. Sounds like Colonel Ray. “You are not equipped to handle a Fire Elemental. We are sending Resonance Crystals to your position. Once the threat is neutralized, continue toward your target. Then find that bastard.”

“Understood. Force 8 out.” The LT returned the comm back to Devonte.

“Hey,” Dante said standing next to me. His heat licked my skin causing me to sweat. “How big do you think it is?”

“Who knows,” I replied. “Probably no bigger than these children. What are they doing here?”

“I dont know bud,” Dante replied. “But it got them running for cover and this smoke is starting to cloud the area.” He turned to the LT. “LT, do you think we can stay here any longer with this smoke. I can’t see a damn thing.”

“Jeezus Corporal you whine too much.”

Michaels tied a bandana around his nose and mouth. “He has a point boss, the fire is getting worse there. How long before the supply drop?”

“I know,” LT replied. “Devonte, let them know we are changing positions—“ he checked his coordinates, “35 points north, around the base of that forest wall. Let’s pray that smoke doesn’t shift. Everybody, back in, we move out.”

The team poured into the vehicles. I opened my door and in my seat was the small Spore-Rabbit huddled looking out the plastic window. LT jumped in his seat, turned to the child. “Sanchez, quit playing and get that child out of the vehicle.”

“Come on friend, you can’t stay there,” I said to the girl. She raised her hand producing a greenish glow swirling from her paw. A force of wind blew me back onto the ground.

Devonte raised his weapon and Gordi pushed it back down. “Stop, she is favored by the Spirits. Do not harm or touch this child.”

“What the—“ LT replied. “Fine, either you carry her but we have to move before the—cough…” The smoke poured through the vents. “Let’s go!”

I made a second attempt to hop into the vehicle. She raised her paw again but this time I pushed her hand up, grabbed her around the waist and jumped into the seat. She squirmed but I held her tight. Devonte floored the petal and we pulled out of the smoke.

We traveled for ten minutes, half of them through the dark orange clouds. The girl calmed down after the smoke cleared and we were on the far side of the forest wall. The fire raged harder from this position. Whatever caused it was deep inside pushing animals and birds out of the area.

Devonte pointed his weapon into the forest. Each vehicle lined up next to each other, and what he saw before all of us did challenged my nerves.

A large raging fire tornado, with arms and a twister of fire wind for its body. It moved slowly through the area, the loud roars increased, breaking trees and carving a path of destruction.

Behind it, our target. Sabercon’s Victoria. The woman that brought one of our cells to their knees with her maniacal experiments.

LT grabbed the radio, “Covenant 6, Force 8. Eyes on target. Engaging—“

He didnt finish that statement. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have either. A huge circle of flame coned out in our direction.

“Get down!”

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StoryTeller—This may be flash fiction, or something else. I am going to try to post about 1000-word episodes as best as I can. It will be raw, may need spell check, but this is me just writing out of pure thought between my longer novels. Maybe I will post the current draft of the novel I am working on as well. But for now, enjoy.

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We got the call about, maybe 1800ish. I wasn’t looking at my watch at the time.

I just know that it wasn’t my shift; in fact, it was my pseudo day off. I had plans, too, right? Do some laundry, hit up the mistress, nothing crazy, but when the damn phone rings for an all-hands-on-deck, well, what can you do? The Library system, which governs our hours, flagged me and a bunch of others as overtime burnout, whatever that means.

I knew I was hitting the hours, just didnt know it was happening that fast. It wasn’t like I had anything planned, but when that call came in for everyone to show up at some random hospital in Florida, well, there ya go, we do what the money tells us to do.

The J-Clan Commander, Fist Jackson, drove that shiny beast like a bat out of hell. I swear I can still smell the burnt rubber when he leaped out and ran up the hospital steps. The Father, Knuckle, was there waiting; hell, I think he was there before me, and the other guards showed up.

Well, anyway, he spoke to his son, Fist, and he started yelling in which I never saw him do. We were not told what was going on, but to perform our shifts while they figured it out.

“Sanchez, follow,” Knuckle said. A man of few words, but I was not going to tell him otherwise.

We traveled up the elevator, and I swear Commander Fist had lightning just waiting to explode. I am always careful not to aggravate them. Sure, we all have some innate abilities, for example, I can vibrate water like a party trick, but shit, these guys were on another level. Said they were trained since they were young.

We made it to one of the top floors… eighteen or so. I replaced Marco, who was stationed up there, and the leader just screamed at the nurse, like, who in the fuck does that right? He runs to one of the rooms, and that’s when the craziest thing happens.

Our visors get this weird message, talking about some Sword Master must die, all over the screen. I asked Marco later about it, much to no avail. He thought it was some sort of mysticism in another realm, and I am inclined to agree.

It wasn’t until later that I heard that this Swords Master was another person close to the J-Clan family, someone who walked away from it all.

Whoever was in that hospital that day, the reason for all of us to get called on the scene, started a chain reaction that somehow sent all of us on a mission we didnt even know existed.

And so here I am, traveling down a deserted road in a realm called Rowen with several of us on point to head to what was called Siski Valley, which is a lot like Death Valley. One of our enemies, Valtrosta, found his way into this realm and started making chaos for his own schemes. What exactly? Well, they don’t tell us much.

But I do know one thing…

“Sanchez, heads up, we’ve got incoming!”

We approached the mark site, and dozens of animals poured out of the desert, chased by dogs. Dogs… with Mickey Mouse hand-tails?

“We are going in hot… wait, Sanchez, do you see that?”

Yes, I saw it alright, and it only pissed me off even further. Those small animals…

…

were children…

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End of file. Sanchez returns next Monday.

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