The Beginning

Chapter 14

Raven came running in, out of breath. Her eyes widened when she saw the Khrillin. "Oh, shit," she said, slowly walking up to Riley.

"Jhaufyther, what does their name translate to?" she asked quietly. She wondered if Khrillin would attack if they heard loud noises, but she didn't want to find out.

"Their name translates to Shapechangers," he said. "I'm pretty sure you can guess why they're called that."

"What can you tell me about them?" Carlos asked Raven.

"They're the most ancient and powerful of all the Contaminites. They're the first ones to exist, made from the people who died during the Massacre. They're held together by a thirst for blood and a hunger for meat. They can take on the form of any person, animal, or even object," she answered.

The Contaminite started flickering, their forms changing to those of a bear, cat, dog, a lamppost, a tree, among many others. But they always kept their glowing eyes. "Don't look into their eyes," Raven whispered. "They're known to possess people by manipulating them into thinking they're safe, and they do that with their eyes."

The Khrillin started shambling toward her, their arms outstretched. Riley backed away, trying to avoid them.

Suddenly, two blurs of color launched themselves on top of the Khrillin and started mauling them, the blood soaking into the ground. They were rolling around, yowling as they fought over their meal.

"HUNIKLICK AND BERICLAU!" a voice roared.

A beautiful mottled brown and red female came stomping in, an aura of exasperation surrounding her. Something about her fur color seemed familiar to Riley, but she couldn't quite place where she saw it before.

The other Khrillin yelped and sank into the ground, disappearing from view. Sadly, I don't think that's the last time I'll see them, Riley thought.

They stopped rolling and Riley found out that the blurs were two khits: one small, brown and red female khit with big blue eyes, and another black and cream tabby male with round orange eyes.

"But Klickhaze..."

"I don't want to hear it," Klickhaze said, her fur bristling. No wonder she seems so familiar. This is Jhaufyther's friend! Riley realized.

Jhaufyther came walking in. "You got some little hunters right there, Klick," he said, smirking.

"I know. But they were supposed to stay in the camp instead of sneaking off," she snapped.

Huniklick looked ashamed. "Sorry, Klickhaze."

She narrowed her eyes. "You better be. You gave me a fright when I found you missing."

Bericlau rolled his eyes. "You never let us practice our hunting!"

"You're only supposed to learn to hunt in your own camp, small brain," Jhaufyther growled.

Klickhaze turned her gaze on Riley. "So this is the human who is friends with Jhaufyther. Nice to meet you," she said, touching Riley's shoulder.

Riley didn't know what to say. She was honestly intimidated by Klickhaze because she was staring intently at her. Then she realized that there was warmth in her eyes, and she relaxed. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you too," she said, nodding.

Jhaufyther looked at Klickhaze. "Should we take her to see your camp?" he asked, tilting his head.

Klickhaze nodded. "Sure, why not? It would be nice for her and her friends to see a new place," she agreed.

Carlos and Sam came up behind her. "I think we should go, Riley," Carlos said. "I've always wanted to see the Windwings' camp."

"It'll be nice to meet Jhaufyther's father," Sam agreed.