The crowd gathered behind the ruined gates. I walked in, side by side with Jeff, who was still coming off his adrenaline rush.

I got a closer look at the insect people. The only thing they had in common was chitinous (Jeff taught me that word) coverings along bone ridges, so spines, arms, jaws, etc. They varied in color and consistency, much like the people themselves. Some had different pieces of insects as part of their bodies. Legs, antenna, arms, etc.

I briefly wondered how they reproduced before I buried that question in a shallow grave.

One of them stepped forward as I did. Other than the chitin, he looked mostly human, save for an extra pair of arms below his other set. He was old, with wizened gray hair and an air of...culpability.

"Thank you for your assistance. What are your intentions?" he asked. I realized he was the one who had yelled orders on the wall, the same tunnel-y voice sounding the same distance away, even though he was standing right in front of me.

"Can y'all make bullets?" I asked. That's my intention.

He blinked, eyes slightly off in some way I can't put my finger on. "We can. Most of us are craftsmen, we're from the industria-"

"Then I reckon we can make a deal. What's it going to be?'

He stared at me for a moment. I wasn't interested in a drawn-out conversation, and it seemed that neither was he, so I just gave him an ultimatum. Either they let me in, or they don't, and I move on. No need for complications.

Besides, if he was smart, he would let me in, and if he wasn't...they weren't worth befriending anyway.

He opened his mouth to respond but was rudely interrupted, once again.

"Teach me how to shoot!" yelled a voice from the crowd.

The man in front of me cringed with practiced efficiency.

A young girl pushed her way to the front. That probably wasn't all that hard, despite her height, as she too had an extra pair of arms. I figured she was the man's daughter, as nobody else around had that particular trait, and I'd recognize the man's expression of pain anywhere. She was short and blonde. She had the usual chitin, this time pitch black, following the line of her nose as well as jaw.

"Come on! I'll pay you!" she begged. Her voice had the same touch that her fathers did, though they were quite distinct in level of shrillness.

I stayed silent as the man in front of me turned on his heels, and started barking orders in only a way a father could. "Lilia! Enough!"

"Dad! We can't survive another attack unless something changes! We need to-"

"I know! Be quiet!"

I just watched quietly as they continued to argue about obvious things. I appreciated it, actually, as the nervous crowd slowly calmed down, the probably familiar sight taking the edge off. Weird how an argument about the fate of their village could do that, but people are people.

"As much as I love standing here, can my partner and I speak to you in private?" I asked, interrupting the man yet again.

"Partner?" he asked.

"He means me," said Jeff, voice still jittery.

"Oh. Very well."

I expected more surprise, but I suppose we were both equally strange to them.

The man nodded towards the crowd, and they began to disperse, sending glances back towards us on their way to wherever it was they came from. "My name is Edmundo, and I am the defacto leader of our humble little corner of the world," he said, raising his hands and gesturing towards the town as a whole. "Yours?"

"Buck."

I found myself in his office, sitting in the most comfortable chair that has ever graced my ass. I couldn't quite place the materials, but then again, I could say the same for most of the decor.

It was a sizeable office, walls and floor following the universal black and gray color scheme, with shelves decorated with rewards, trophies, and various knick-nacks. Edmundo sat on the other side of the desk, bottom hands against it, and his head resting on his top set.

Jeff was outside, due to not being able to fit through the doors. He took exception to that, but he had found some nice shade to rest in, so he couldn't complain.

Edmundo broke the silence. "What species are you?"

"Human, from Earth. You familiar?"

He shook his head. "No. Neither the species nor the planet."

A shame. "...Is this your planet?"

He shook his head again. "No. We are the Chaira, and our planet is named Churai."

"How are you so sure?"

"It had three moons."

Three moons?! Damn, I bet night attacks aren't so effective then, with three sources of light and all.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"I don't know any more than you do, save for what seems evident from the situation and 'status screens'. I believe it to be a sort of test of strength, organized by aliens. Maybe we are on a reality TV show, with a bunch of bulbous masses of slimes jittering their feelers at our suffering."

Wow, I didn't even catch half that statement. "Is the status screen those odd letters that float in the air?"

He looked bemused. "I cannot believe the aliens didn't think to consider people who can't read. That's just hurtful."

I can't help but agree. Apparently that's a rare thing, and considering that the vast majority of people I've ever met also couldn't read, implies that earth was so dumb that not even all-powerful aliens considered the possibility.

I find it vaguely amusing how I just accepted the alien theory without a second thought, after all these years of laughing at those tin-foil-hat wearing lunatics. I owe them an apology. Thank the lord I'll never have to actually do it.

I could see it in his eyes, now. He was looking down on me, just a bit. "So, how have you survived these last three weeks?"

"Pardon?"

"You've been alo-well, almost alone this whole time. How did you survive the...outside?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

He was looking down on me even more, now, but it wasn't my damn fault he was making no sense.

"How did you feed yourself without getting torn apart by all those damn monsters? The tall-woods hide all manner of creature, and we can't find enough food in it. We've been getting by with fishing, but we can't go too far from the walls without getting targeted. I know you're a good shot, but you've got to sleep sometimes, so how?"

Ah... I get it. "You guys don't have much nature on your planet, do you?"

"...No."

"The forest and plains are the most bountiful I've ever seen, with plenty of animals to hunt and plants to pick. It's crawling with life. As far as the creatures go, as long as you play it smart, surviving ain't no issue."

He looked excited and significantly less demeaning. "You mean to tell me 'Earth' has fauna like this? And you can theoretically survive indefinitely?"

"I don't know what theoretically or indefinitely means, but you can support a town this size easily, even without farming. Speaking of which..." I asked a question that has been bugging me for a while. "How did you get those metal buildings up if you can't even leave without tripping and bashing your head in on a rock?"

He shrugged. Apparently his shrug was actually two arms on the same shoulder, which was an odd way to shrug, but I don't have four arms. "When we found ourselves here, the buildings and the contents of them came with us. It took us a week to get that damn fence up, and we lost a good number of people doing it."

Huh. I wonder why I didn't come with the backwater town I died in. Probably because I was dead. "So... I assume those buildings have the tools you need to make guns and ammo?"

He laughed pridefully, crossing both sets of arms. "We were ripped from the industrial heart of Hearth, the capital city of Churai. We are the finest Kasss-damn craftsmen of our entire species. Every man woman and child here has a tool belt, and more than half the people here are craftsman of some sort."

He leaned forward. "So, yes. We do. Seems we both have a skillset the other wants."

I liked a man who didn't beat around the bush. "So it would seem."

"If you can stay here and show our more able-bodied citizens how to survive the forest, we can supply you with a home, weapons, supplies, and walls for when the final wave hits. Do we have a deal?"

I thought about it. I had a sneaking suspicion I couldn't survive the 'wave' alone, as my understanding is that it will be even worse than the attack I had just finished fighting off. Besides... I couldn't make bullets.

Honestly, that point alone was worth pretty much any hassle. What were the chances I ran into a group of people with the specific skillset I needed the most? Very little. I don't have any more choice than Edmundo does.

I stood up and held out my hand. "Fine. It's a deal."

Edmundo stared at my hand, incomprehensibly.

"You clasp it and shake it. It's how you seal a deal."

"Ah! I like it!" he said, taking my hand in his own, and shaking it like a limp-wristed child.

Heh.

"Great!" yelled Edmuno, visibly relieved. "Feel free to get situated, we have another week until the next minor wave anyway. I'll gather a group of volunteers the day after tomorrow. Also..."

He gave me the look of somebody saying something they've wanted to for a while.

"The showers are next door."

...Goddamn city-slickers.