Running in the Night

Enne hopped down but didn’t see whatever came out of the shell. The mechs were facing away from her. She noticed something roll from the side of her eye and entered the nearby cabin. The room she entered had little light cast inside. Something had bounced up the stairs. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, it had fallen silent. Infrared lights filled the upper floor as the Ethoxian machines searched throughout. The narrow hall ended with two doors across from each other. A thin residue trailed toward the right room. She looked over her shoulder when the lights cast against her. A barrage of rockets pummeled through the tight residence.

The blast sent her through the already broken window. Enne landed on her back but quickly flipped onto her feet. She snatched a branch off the ground and transformed it into a blazing sword. She hid behind cover when she heard their heavy footsteps. Enne scaled the side of the cabin and back into the room when it looked away. The bouncing continued until the glass shattered; the nearby mech was alerted. Despite the inherent danger, it was her only chance to catch up to it.

She sprung out of the window. She glimpsed a rotund object trying to sneak around the house. Its protrusions flopped about in its hurried strides. Enne landed on her knees and scrambled in its direction. A mech intercepted the creature’s path. The half-elph jumped in the way. Her eyes trailed curiously, finding its trembling, furry form. Its protrusions rested on its sides like a hound’s. Its beady eyes looked up to its protector.

“If you would’ve stopped—running… Or rolling—we wouldn’t be in this situation!” she said. It tried to bark but failed. “Eh?”

Enne grabbed the slime with one arm. She managed her footing as she pivoted away. She slid away from the tendrils of the metallic husks that chased after them. She didn’t realize they had surrounded them until she entered another cabin. From their relentless assault, she fell over and dropped the slime. The ceiling fell but stopped short of reaching Enne. Her ears gently perked to the low growl beside her.

It stood at seven feet with an athletic build. Its body was covered with brown fur. Its glowing yellow eyes gazed upon the half-elph as she quietly assessed it. The protrusions flopped aside disarmingly. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. It snorted lowly.

“You’re the blob I was chasing?” she asked. It nodded.

You’re not here to hurt me? It asked. Its childish voice echoed within her head.

“Telepathy?”

It’s still not safe with those metal monsters around.

“No kidding?”

I’m sorry. I was scared.

“Of a beautiful woman like myself? That’s rather insulting!”

Enne scrambled to her feet while it shoved the slab of the upper floor aside. As she turned around, the wolfman reverted to its rotund form and slammed into her. She caught it amidst losing her balance. When she landed on her back, the round creature laid on her belly and gazed at her with its beady eyes. Enne grabbed it before it could roll off and sat up. The Ethoxians ceased their attack.

“You’re—supposed to be some kind of slime?” she asked. She expected it to nod but briefly forgot the form it took. “Oh, that’s right.”

Yes, it replied. Its body quivered.

“No need to be scared. I’m not here to hurt you.”

I’m sorry I ran off!

“You mean rolled off? Eh, no biggie. You have a lot of explaining to do… Like how you’re able to speak well for something just hatched? A slime… hatched. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. But… We need to shake these guys if we want to get out.”

Enne’s ears perked to the lake’s brewing disturbance, and she smiled.

Alejandro and Silesta had already made a run toward the tree line. None of the pilots saw their mad dash across the clear trail when they focused on Enne. When they were far enough, Alejandro slowed down when Silesta was too tired to catch up.

“Is she always like this?” Silesta asked.

“Yes,” he replied without a second thought.

He saw Enne out of the destroyed cabin with a hefty object in tow. She ignored the mech that spotted her as she made a mad dash toward it. The other mechs turned their cannons at her. Her hair whipped to her sudden shifts as she circled them. Firing off one shot and then the other, she slipped through by tearing through the cabins. A barrage of lasers had blown a larger hole into the lakeside and disturbed the surrounding land. They had lost visual when she stayed put.

“Is she doing what I think she was doing?” Alejandro winced.

“Do what?” Silesta asked.

“Just wait and see.”

While the Ethoxian forces fired upon the cabin, Enne laid low and watched through the cracks. The slime covered its eyes with its floppy tendrils. The still water had become restless, as she anticipated. A giant serpent arose, thrashing onto the shores. The ground shifted violently and destabilized the mechs when they tried to fire upon it. The lasers shot through the sky as they tumbled over. Enne went after the one trying to retreat while the leviathan wreaked havoc. Its jaws crunched into steel before dragging it into the water. Its bellowing hiss shook the earth. Enne hopped on top of the mech as it tried to shake her off. Her hand pierced the cockpit with one punch, making the pilot panic.

The serpent turned toward the stumbling mech. Enne jumped before it began coiling around it. She slammed through the broken cabin and crashed through a table. She lay motionless as the mech’s cannon fired off. The creature bellowed loudly before dragging its victim into the lake. Silesta had watched in awe before turning to the wanderer.

“Her idea worked,” he admitted. “What’s that thing next to her?”

“What’s what?” Silesta asked.

“I’m sure we’ll see soon enough.”

They met Enne on the other side. She sat upon a fallen tree. The morning sun shone upon the calm lake. Protruding was the Ethoxian weaponry that many had feared; Crushed and submerged by a force of nature. The beast rested by the shore after having bled out from the direct hit of its final victim. Alejandro glimpsed the blisters on her arms, but she ignored them.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Enne nodded.

“That—Worked like a charm,” she replied.

“That was reckless.”

“It was, but sometimes you gotta be reckless to be a step ahead.”

“Why did you do it?” Silesta asked curiously. “We could’ve just left.”

“And have the others deal with them?” Enne asked. She looked over at them. “Once the Ethoxians come by and find this sight, they won’t question some large beast that took out their prized weaponry.”

“A neat little diversion,” he smiled.

“Oh yeah. You gotta keep them guessing.”

* * *

“So—You don’t remember how you got here?” Enne sighed. Her arms crossed after a series of questions the slime couldn’t answer.

“En?” Alejandro said. Her eyes trailed toward him, diffusing her disappointment.

“I’m sorry.”

“Maybe its memories will start trickling back in. If its… Saying anything.”

“I told you already. It uses telepathy… It can only talk to me.”

“I’m not arguing with that.”

Enne glanced at Silesta, sleeping against the bonfire they made. Enne sat beside Alejandro, expressing defeat from a long night. She saw the slime shiver from the cold draft.

“We’re still a day’s travel away,” Alejandro said. “Are you listening?”

“Hey,” Enne spoke to it. “You can cuddle next to me.”

“Eh, what?”

“I’m talking to the slime, silly. And it says its name is... Dewy."

“Talking to a slime is silly enough as it is. They aren’t sentient.”

The slime hopped over. Its hops were small but sped up before sitting next to her. It nestled between them. Eventually, it stopped shivering until it slept peacefully. Enne brushed its fur before looking at a disgruntled Alejandro.

“Not sentient?” she reiterated.

“Thick thighs save lives?” he shrugged. Enne burst into laughter, though it didn’t wake Silesta or the slime.

“What have you been reading lately? Or a fever dream?”

The wanderer maintained his silence. Enne rested her hand on his thigh, drawing his attention. Her lips pursed playfully. It was a sentiment that warmed his heart at that moment. When things seemed uncertain, the whimsical woman had always found a way to numb his doubts. His silence could only get so far.

“En…” he spoke with a voice laced with doubt. “We’re about to poke at a hornet’s nest.”

Enne thought about it, never letting go of Alejandro.

“Are you supposing we should turn back?” she asked. He shook his head, but before he could reply, she added: “There is no turning back.”

“I know.”

“Do you believe in destiny?”

This question was something she posed but often received different responses. Alejandro didn’t know whether such a concept could exist. Coincidences were all happenstances in an unpredictable world. The way they saw the world served as a polarity. Alejandro shifted slightly, looking at the small bonfire they had created.

“What are you getting at?” he asked.

“We could be at the right place—” she replied before he interrupted.

“But this would never be the right time. We’re going against the most powerful force in existence, possibly.”

“And that’s supposed to stop me?”

“I think we should’ve done things differently.”

“Like how?”

Her voice carried with it spitefulness, an unusual tone she rarely evoked. He knew she could’ve continued piling on how he was wrong, how his answer would’ve been kept in the background. Whatever she said would’ve been a better response than thinly veiled complacency. She reached for his hand as his amber eyes fixated on the embers.

“The right answer is always in your heart,” she whispered.

“But the right answer isn’t always simple,” he replied.

“Then…It’s not too late for you to turn back.”

“En?”

“I wasn’t fully sold with you coming along with your state and all.”

“I know, but I agreed anyway. You’ve shouldered this for so long while I bitched and moaned.”

Enne’s attention trailed away to the moonlit lake’s surface. Despite some giant beast beneath it, the surface was calm. Perhaps Alejandro wanted a quieter send-off. The reality of his condition was that his health would never recover. She wondered whether it was a curse for those who chose the wanderer’s path. Her optimism drove her to something that could never bear fruit. A tear rolled down her cheek. Alejandro noticed.

“Hey.” He reached his hand toward her chin. He wiped her tears away with his finger. She gently clasped his hand and pressed it against her face. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“You think it’s that easy?” she asked. She discovered fear in his eyes.

“No… Of course not.”

“You think if you die tomorrow, I could just shrug it off? Many have come and gone… But the thought of losing you. Maybe I should’ve respected your peace instead of taking you here. I—”

“I never regretted going along, Enne.”

Alejandro tried to smile, despite the swelling fear.

“I don’t regret anything. When I met you, everything changed.”

Enne went in for a kiss, nearly forgetting the sleeping slime. He pressed back gently as she nestled her head into his shoulders. She gripped his hands, sobbing quietly. His heart swelled as he felt her warmth beside him. He knew it was more than he deserved.

“After everything, I’ve put you through—” she muttered.

“Was worth it.” He finished her sentence.

His eyes wandered to a limitless sky.

The silence between them brought comfort.

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