Leila of the Requiem [Book One]

Showdown

  Groaning as I sat up and held my head, I looked around as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. The serpent was impaled on a metal rebar rod as its blood was corroding it along with the concrete below. Okay, so if that thing was there, where was the big guy? And more importantly, why wasn't I dead? I heard clicking and what sounded like a growl as I felt a rumbling beneath me, and I looked down while finally getting an answer to both of my questions.

  I was still alive after that fall because I had landed right on top of the alien man. My eyes went wide as I scrambled to my feet and held out my hand.

  "Shit, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" I made a face as my nose scrunched up, and he sat up while seemingly looking at my hand. It was rather hard to tell with that mask on. He ignored my offered help, or he didn't even know that I was offering with the language barrier, as he stood on his own while looking around. It seemed as if he were looking for something in particular, and I realized his gun was nowhere in sight. Had he dropped it up above during the struggle?

  Raising his arm, he pushed some buttons on the device on his forearm. I had no clue what he was doing, but he then stormed off while acting as if he knew exactly where he was going. Following him, I pulled a pistol from my side and it was then that it dawned on me that the serpent's tail had cut through my jacket. Hopefully, the night wouldn't get much colder.

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  It was still raining when I found myself on the roof, and it was swarming with those eyeless creatures with acidic blood. The big guy went one-on-one with the even bigger alien with mandibles, and I provided cover fire to keep the other ones back. The sounds of hissing, growling, and roaring drowned out the sound of the rain, and I was going through bullets faster now as it took more to keep the serpents down.

  When my pistol clicked, and I was out of bullets entirely, I went for the knives.

  I was more than likely going to die here today, but I was going to at least take one more of these bastards down before I did.

  Yelling as I ran toward the last one coming at me with my blades raised, its claws swiped my cheek. I somehow managed to kill it after ducking and tricking it into running into a vent before I swung around with my knives. However, its blood splattered my jacket and the rain did little to dilute the acidic bodily fluid as it ate through the thick fabric.

  It was either be half-naked or be full of holes, and my choice was obvious as I threw the jacket down. One of the knives had been corroded beyond use, so I took the other one in my right hand while looking through the rain. Spinning on my heel, I knew running now would be my only chance of survival, but the sound of chittering and someone struggling to stand kept me from bolting.

  I could tell it was the big guy, but much of his armor was gone now, including his mask, and I saw how half of his face had old scars from being burned. It looked as if it was more than likely from a previous encounter with one of these serpentine beasts, and he had mandibles like the bigger creature only he was missing one where the burn scar was.

  "Holy shit." I ran over while seeing the gaping hole in his leg as phosphorous-green blood dripped from his wounds. "I do think a tactical retreat is in order." I quickly said as I grabbed one of his wrists and helped him to stand the best I could. Which turned out to be incredibly difficult due to the extreme size difference and how he was nothing but a mass of heavy muscle.

  Quickly making our way through the hospital, I tried to ignore the cold and the daunting possibility that more of those things could be around any corner. Stealing an ambulance with the keys still inside, I floored it while racing away from the hospital. The big guy hardly even fit in the passenger's seat and was fiddling with another device with red, blinking lights. I knew the main road out of town was no doubt packed, so I took the unconventional route that cut through the woods.

  The alien man set aside the device momentarily and pulled out something else that I assumed was some sort of medkit after he began to doctor the wound on his leg.

  "So, do you-" And I was cut off by the sound of a loud explosion coming from behind. I could see a mushroom cloud forming in the rearview before the ambulance flipped off the road and rolled down a hill.

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  I awoke with the vague knowledge that I was swaying and definitely no longer in the ambulance. Blinking while trying to focus my eyes, I kind of sat up, then tensed when I saw I was on the alien man's back. He was limping a little but was overall fine apparently.

  What in the world was his kind made of?

  "Um....you can put me down now...." I muttered, and not even a second after he dropped me on my ass. Hissing from the pain, I glanced up at him to see him looking around the forest. It also seemed that he wasn't going to let me stay half-naked as I found my top half covered in scrubs from the ambulance. The cuts on my face from the serpentine alien's claws were also bandages along with the sore burns on my hand.

  Gently touching my cheek, I got to my feet while staring at the big guy. It was day now, so the sunlight allowed me to see him clearly. His skin was a mottled dark green, and one of his eyes was a yellowish color while the other was like a blind white. There were some quills on his head, but I couldn't see them anywhere else on him.

  "You can understand me, right?" He simply looked at me but made no sound. It looked as if he were thinking, however, I was unsure how exactly to read his facial expressions. The big guy turned and began to walk away past some trees. "....What were those things?" I questioned. "What were those spider things? What are you even? What happened to your tusk-mandible thing?"

  He didn't even turn around as he grabbed my face while covering my mouth with his palm. 'He wants quiet. Got it.' I thought, and he dropped his arm a second after while continuing to walk. Despite his limp, his footsteps were incredibly nearly silent still.

  I continued to follow after him. I had nowhere else to go, and he seemed to not hate my very existence. Was he helping me because I had helped him? If that were the case, that boded well enough for me.

  The forest was quiet save for a few odd bird calls, and we walked on further still as the sun rose higher into the sky. Questions continued to pile up in my mind, but I held my tongue.