* * *
Kira’s heart was racing as she ever so slowly moved through the trees towards the sabercat. She could feel panic setting in as her mind caught up with the decision she had made. The air became thin and everything seemed to slow down as she considered the fight ahead. Half of her expected this to be suicide, while the other half was too busy panicking to really think about the odds. Before she had moved, she whispered instructions to her sister, telling her to flee if things went badly. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but if it did, she would buy Kaya as much time to escape as she could.
Luckily the cat seemed blissfully unaware of her presence, now lying completely on its back, staring up at the night sky while it flipped its tail in the underbrush. If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought it looked cute, laying there sprawled out like it wanted someone to rub its belly. She shook the image from her mind; she had to focus. One misstep, one wrong move and that cute kitten would turn into a vicious killing machine. She had witnessed firsthand the danger that one of these creatures presented.
Now only about fifteen feet away from the beast, she carefully felt out each step, ensuring that the ground beneath her feet was solid and that she wouldn’t snap a twig or branch. She looked to her side and saw her sister still crouched behind the strange rectangular stone, silently watching from the distance. Moving at a snail’s pace she refocused on the cat. Now only ten feet away she gripped her spear, readying it for the attack. If she could get close enough, she would lunge from the underbrush and drive the spear down into the cats exposed chest, hopefully driving it through the heart and killing it without a fight. This, of course, was easier said than done as sabercats were renowned for their lightning fast reflexes. Just a few more feet and she would be able to make the leap.
Seven feet; the cat let out a long sigh, still looking away from Kira. Six feet; its tail whipped hard against the ground. Five feet; Kira could smell the stink of the beast’s wet fur. She readied her spear above her head, holding her breath as she prepared to leap.
Without warning, there was a loud explosion from above and bright orange light filled the entire area, illuminating everything. Kira looked up and was blinded by a radiant object falling from the heavens. Trying to shield her eyes from the blinding spectacle, she staggered backwards and fell into the underbrush. The sabercat, equally taken aback by the sudden commotion, flipped to its feet with extraordinary agility and let out a loud roar. Distracted by the spectacle, the cat didn’t notice Kira, who was trying to divide her attention between the cat and the object falling towards them.
It was like a ball of thunder and lightning hurtling down at them with a long trail of green smoke behind it as it soared across the sky, getting bigger by the second. It wasn’t long before Kira realized that it was heading straight for them. Kaya must have had the same realization because she yelled, “Kira, look out!!”
Immediately the attention of the sabercat switched from the ball of light that was hurtling towards them to the girl yelling thirty feet away. Flipping its tail, the cat crouched low to the ground, preparing to take off in Kaya’s direction. Kira’s heart raced as she scrambled to her feet. There was no time, so without thinking Kira dashed out from the bush and swung her spear as hard as she could, hitting the sabercat in the face right above its nose. The cat let out a loud yelp and recoiled, but only for a moment. Regaining its senses, the cat turned its attention to Kira.
The blow had hurt its pride more than anything, and with a loud roar and fury in its eyes the cat struck back, catching Kira unprepared. As it hit her forearm with its claws, excruciating pain erupted as stripes of the flesh were torn away.
With an overwhelming urge to retch from the agony, Kira staggered back. She tried to keep her balance but the cat pursued, causing her to trip and fall over something behind her, but only just in time. The cat leapt towards her, but not having anticipated her fall, it soared high above her as she hit the ground. Landing a few feet behind her, the cat stopped, confused for a moment. Wasting no time, Kira scrambled to her feet again and with blood trickling down her arm, she readied her spear. With a loud scream she charged the cat with as much speed as her legs would allow.
The cat spun around at the sound of Kira’s scream, and growled. Kira sprinted at the beast and took aim at its chest, hoping to drive the spear through, but at the last moment the sabercat shifted to the right. The end of the spear missed the chest and drove hard into the cat’s left shoulder, producing a loud CRACK as it drove into the bone, shattering it. Again it let out a loud yelp, but the glancing angle caused Kira to drop her spear and lose her footing. She fell headfirst to the cat’s left and tumbled through the underbrush while the wounded beast staggered sideways, blood spilling from where her spear had torn the fur.
The broken bone slowed the cat, but blinded by fury it limped towards Kira to attack again, baring its enormous fangs. She tried to get to her feet again but the slippery undergrowth prevented her from gaining any footing. Unable to stand and without her spear, Kira kicked the cat hard in the face, driving her left heel into its nose whenever it came close. This slowed the sabercat but not enough for her to gain any ground. Scrambling backwards, she slid into the base of a tree, halting her movement. Looking up at the massive tree blocking her escape she realized there was no escaping now and that there wouldn’t be enough time to stand and run.
As the cat closed in, her heart sank. Accepting that she had failed, she pulled out her knife, and prepared to make her last stand. All she could think about was Kaya and how she hoped that she had bought her enough time to flee. The cat limped closer, baring its teeth for the attack and preparing to lunge. Kira screamed with fury as it jumped, desperately aiming her knife at its throat. If she was going to die, she was going to bring the bastard with her. She closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth, ready for her death. But it did not come. Instead of claws and teeth she was met with a strange sound followed by a heavy thud as the beast fell on her legs, its fur warm and damp as it lay across her body.
Kira opened her eyes. The sabercat was lying still, sprawled out across her legs, its lifeless eyes staring up at her. She blinked, not comprehending what had happened, until she noticed someone standing above her. Standing to her left was a tall blonde woman, covered from head to toe in exquisite silver armor that seemed to radiate a green glow. She had two long blades, one in each hand with the one on the right dripping with blood. Kira looked back at the sprawled out sabercat and noticed that it had a deep wound just below its shoulder, heading straight to its heart.
Kira looked back up at her, confused. The tall woman did not speak, but instead stared at Kira with a puzzled look.
“Thank you,” Kira whispered, not knowing what else to say. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but she certainly didn’t expect the woman to look even more surprised after she said the words.
“You can speak my language?” the woman demanded in a pressing tone.
Kira didn’t know how to answer. Stuttering, she replied, “Your… your language?”
“Yes! My language! Who taught you to speak this language?!” she demanded again.
“My parents,” Kira replied, suddenly unsure of her answer.
“Do you mean to tell me that there are others who speak this language?” The woman seemed agitated.
“Yes, my whole village can.” Kira was beginning to think that she had died and that this was some sort of strange afterlife experience.
The woman scowled at her, not saying anything for a few seconds. Seeming to decide something, she sheathed her weapons and reached down to pick up the sabercat. With a single hand she lifted the cat and tossed its lifeless body several yards into the trees. Kira was awestruck. The sabercat had to have weighed four times as much as she did, but this woman seemed to toss it aside like it was a ragdoll. “Get up,” the woman ordered. Kira, not wanting to anger the strange woman, slowly rose to her feet. “Where is it?” the blonde woman demanded.
Baffled and wide eyed, Kira replied, “Where is what?”
Growing impatient, the woman growled, “The holodisk!”
Kira had no idea what she was talking about. Who was this woman? Where had she come from? She tried to decide how to best answer the question, but before she could respond, a familiar voice called out from the dark, “Do you mean this?”
Barely discernible in the green glow that the strange woman was emanating, Kaya was standing several yards away, holding a metallic object in the air.
In what seemed like half a heartbeat, the blonde woman unsheathed her weapons and dashed like green lightning across the distance between her and Kaya. In the blink of an eye, she had moved nearly fifty feet with blinding speed. Kira gaped in awe, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. In the distance she could see the armored woman standing firmly in front of Kaya, holding an outstretched blade to the girl’s throat.
“Where did you get this?” the woman demanded wildly.
Kaya, dumbstruck by the shocking speed and sudden appearance of the woman, couldn’t find any words to respond. She just stood there, frozen in awe and fear, staring up at the woman.
“Where did you get this device? Answer me!” she shouted, driving the edge of her blade harder into Kaya’s skin. Blood started to trickle down her throat as the sword cut into her skin.
Kira, finally able to shake off her shock, got to her feet and ran towards the blonde woman. She yelled out, “Don’t hurt her! I’m the one who found it!”
The woman peered back over her shoulder, giving Kira a dark look in the faint green glow. Seeming to ease up, she lowered her blade and stepped sideways as Kira ran up to them. The two girls embraced in front of her in a desperate hug.
Letting go of her sister, Kira turned to face the mysterious woman, who did not look altogether pleased, and repeated, “I’m the one who found it.”
The blonde woman scowled at her and asked, “Where?”
“In the forest, just a little while ago. It was lying on the ground,” Kira finished, wondering why she was looking for the object. “Is it yours?” she asked before the woman could respond, but she did not reply. She just stood there, examining the two girls closely, seeming to be lost in thought.
Nervous and unsure of what to do, Kira continued, “When I picked it up, it started to make a strange humming sound. I pressed one of the symbols on the side and it lit up with what I think was a map.”
A look of deep concern passed over the face of the blonde woman. Quietly she asked, “So you mean to tell me, that you just happened across this device by accident, and that when you found it, it worked for you?”
Kira nodded, uncertain if this information would make things better or worse. She looked over to Kaya and nodded, indicating that she wanted her to press one of the symbols on the side. Without a word Kaya pressed the first symbol, and again the device came to life, emitting a green glow for a few seconds before the large projection of a map burst forth.
The look of concern disappeared from the blonde woman, and was immediately replaced by a look of alarm. “You mean to tell me she can use the device as well?!” she demanded as she looked back and forth between the girls. “Are you related?”
Kira wanted to laugh, but wasn’t sure how that would go over with the strange woman, so instead she merely nodded her head and replied, “She is my sister.”
“This is most strange indeed! First I find what appears to be a ruined transport building buried this forest and at the foot of it, I come across two girls who can use our royal technology? How can this be?” the blonde woman questioned, more to herself than to the girls.
Kira was about to ask what the woman meant by, “a ruined transport building” when she remembered something. What had happened to the ball of light in the sky? Had it landed? She had been certain that it was heading straight for them, but she couldn’t recall hearing or seeing anything crash. She peered around at her surroundings, but found no evidence that anything had crashed nearby. She looked back to the blonde woman standing before her and an impossible idea went through her mind. Had it been her in the sky? It was absurd to think, but something about this woman was very peculiar. She was dressed in clothing unlike anything Kira had ever dreamed of, let alone seen, and she moved with such immense speed. She seemed different in some way, almost like she wasn’t human.
Kira decided it was time for answers. They had been more than forthcoming about the object they found but knew almost nothing about this stranger. Straining her voice to hide her frustration Kira asked, “I don’t wish to be rude, especially after you’ve just saved my life, but who are you? Where did you come from?”
As she spoke the words, Kira noticed several shadows shifting in the dark around them, each with a pair of yellow eyes, glinting from the light of the projection. He heart sank again as she realized what was happening. It must have been the sound of the fighting that had drawn them, or maybe it had been the talking; but whatever it was didn’t matter because they were already surrounded. Kira reached over to Kaya and pulled her close. Without her spear there would be no way to fight them off.
“Wolves,” Kira whispered to her sister, but her words weren’t necessary. The pack of wolves began to growl in the dark as they edged closer to them. Kira could feel Kaya begin to tremble with fear as she looked around at the menacing figures. The wolves became more discernible in the light of the projection as they approached and by Kira’s count, there were five of them, each as big as the sabercat had been. They were low to the ground, creeping in slowly with their hackles raised, seemingly wary of the projection, but not so concerned as to forfeit what was shaping up to be a tasty dinner. Kira didn’t know what to do, but her panic was interrupted when she heard the blonde woman laugh.
“Are you afraid? Perhaps I’ve overestimated your worth after all,” the blonde woman jeered. She turned on her heel to face the wolf nearest to her and, readying her weapons again, shot off in a blur of green light. Her right blade caught the wolf under the throat and as the woman drove the blade upwards, it sliced through its flesh like she was cutting through water.
Decapitated, the wolf’s body fell to the ground, lifeless. The woman paused and looked back at the girls with a wide grin. “Child’s play,” she said in an ominous tone as the other four wolves stopped short, taken aback by her blinding speed. With another chuckle she bolted towards the next wolf, a few yards to her right.
Kira snatched the object from Kaya’s hand and pressed hard on the first symbol. Immediately, the projection disappeared and the grove of trees went dark again, the only light now coming from the woman’s armor. She shoved the object into Kaya’s satchel and grabbed her hand, pulling hard as she began to flee, dragging her confused sister behind her. “Hurry!” Kira cried out as she ran blindly through the impossibly dark forest. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the glowing woman still fighting with the four remaining wolves; one of them hanging from her arm by its teeth while the others circled around her. The image seemed surreal, like some dream that Kira couldn’t wake from. Or maybe it was a nightmare? There was no way to tell now. All Kira knew for certain was that they had to get out of there as quickly as they could.
After a few minutes of running they could no longer see the strange blonde woman and as far as Kira could tell, she hadn’t followed them.