Starhoppers

09 - God's Strange Equation

"Stay back!" Ezra shouted, stepping past me as I stumbled back in surprise. The man held his rifle up now, the barrel pointed towards the creature.

The creature collapsed to the ground, holding its hands before its face and opening its mouth, a horrific cry tearing through its throat. The screeching groan rattled within my ears as I pressed my palms against them. The sound was reminiscent of an elk's call, a guttural wail that echoed far out into the forest.

"Holy shit!" Ralph shouted behind me. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"Stay back!" Ezra repeated, jabbing the rifle in the creature's direction. The alien scurried backward in the dirt, a whining whimper passing through its lips.

"Alright... I've seen enough," Captain Walker groaned in the dirt, his face pale as he struggled to push himself to his feet. "We need to leave."

"No shit, Dad," Ellie scoffed, her widened eyes locked onto the creature as it pushed itself onto its two-toed feet. The alien cowered behind its own arms, hunched over in fright. Though the sight of the creature sent chills running down my back, I couldn't help but feel sorry for it.

"I don't think this thing means us any harm," I murmured, holding out my hands.

"Zach, what the hell are you doing?" Ezra asked, glancing over at me as I stepped closer to the alien.

"I... I have no idea," I admitted. "Trying to de-escalate, I guess?"

"Put your gun down!" Ralph yelled at Ezra. "You'll blow the kid's head off."

Ezra groaned angrily as I stood before the alien. "We... we don't want to hurt you," I called out, snapping my fingers in an attempt to get the creature's attention.

The alien lowered its arms as it spotted me, its panicked wails having fallen off into a quiet whimper. As it stared back at me, I could sense something in its dark eyes.

I chose to interpret it as an acknowledgment of our mutual horror.

The rustling of a bush out in the forest caught my attention. I turned, spotting the second creature as it shimmied quickly down the hill towards us. This alien was nearly four feet taller than the one kneeling before me now. Black ink stained the brown fur around the alien's eyes, its antlers painted in a similarly dark shade.

A long cloth-wrapped stick sat in the alien's hands, its sharp chiseled tip pointed directly at me as it approached.

"Stay back!" Ezra shouted again, panic settling quickly into his words.

"Jesus..." Ralph whispered. "Were we bullying the baby?"

"Quiet, Ralph," Captain Walker pleaded, his head swiveling on his neck as he surveyed the forest. "Not right now."

One by one, more of the creatures exited from within the cover of the woods, hooting and howling wildly as they spotted us. The first alien had since scurried back towards the larger ones, who pulled it back into cover behind them.

"Serena, why the hell didn't you warn us?" Ezra asked, struggling to keep track of the aliens as they crowded before him.

"I'm in a portable projector inside of a backpack, Ezra," Serena sighed. "I doubt I'll be doing any scanning any time soon."

"Dammit," Ezra spat, peering over his shoulder at Captain Walker. "Right. What do we do, Isaac?"

Captain Walker remained silent, staring up at his daughter as she trembled in her own arms.

"Please," Ezra repeated. "What's the plan? Please tell me there's a plan."

I watched as one of the creatures approached from within the growing crowd, jabbing its spear preemptively towards us with each hesitant step. "Ezra..." I barely choked out his name.