Pray or Be Prey

Chapter 6

Toying with a lock of his hair, as a finger scrolled words suspended in the air before him, the tall one asked, "What is it?"

"We've noticed an uptick in Internet activity regarding missing humans. Comments are coming in from around the world, describing some unusual early morning activities as well as poorly shot footage."

"Oh? Do you have a central location where all of this data is being filtered?"

"Somewhat. So far, we've discovered 120 IP Addresses, and that is within the United States alone."

"Really? Well, we couldn't expect them to not notice something," exhaling slowly, the tall one continued, "things were so much simpler before the rise of technology in the hands of humans."

"But Lu, we were the ones that gave them tech building blocks..."

"I'm well aware, Dracious!," smoothing the front of his vest, Lu turned and gazed at the now slightly head bent brother in arms. "All I was saying was things were less complicated. We didn't have to worry about there being accessible evidence. Yes, we needed them to become more technically inclined to fit our agenda. Still, their thirst for knowledge and relentless ambitions, we didn't properly calculate their tenaciousness, even if they were made lesser than us. Whatever spiritual shortcomings they have, they make up for it with courage and the will to survive. An animal with nothing to lose is a dangerous one; never forget that!"

"Yes, Brother."

"Any updates on who allowed the human to connect with them?"

"No, but everyone is working to discover the weak link. What do you want us to do about the 120 IP Address owners?"

"Gather them up—slowly. Have one of our Branded to replicate their devices and periodically interact with incoming messages and posts. I don't want to sound any premature alarms."

"Understood."

"What of the prototype ships? Are we on schedule for deployment?"

"Yes. We're just waiting on a few more shipments of human blood to power the circuitry. The crew members have grown to maturity and have completed their training."

"And the Humtracks?"

"New litters are being conditioned weekly. Each litter averages about 600."

"Any females yet?"

"Not yet."

Lu let out a disappointing sigh as he took five paces to his left. "No matter. If we must create them the hard way, so be it. Keep me posted on the owners of those IP Addresses. Have someone more persuasive, who possess the art of diplomacy to meet with them. I want them under the impression we have information related to their searches to trade. Give them some trails that lead nowhere. But first, get them to give us complete access, and not just to their contacts, but also their spirits."

"Consider it done."

When he was alone again, Lu turned his attention back to the words, still suspended in the air. His gaze focused beyond them over the vast landscape. Their punishment was to live on the earth but not directly interact with it. Instead, they viewed the world as if through a one-way mirror. They were able to see, but not touch—until now.

After millennia, their tests and experiments birthed means to not only make their offspring tangible again but vessels that could pierce through the mirror-like barrier. They'd mixed their DNA with that of every creature, both known and unknown to mankind until they'd created one that could track mankind's humanity. Humtracks. These creatures had the keen ability of smell, taken from dogs and agility, stealth, and reproductive capacity of spiders. Their appearance, too, had proven useful as it struck the hearts of man, paralyzing them with fear at their grotesqueness.