Ray led the group with a keen eye on every moving shadow. Before they reached a corner he rushed to the next hall to engage anyone who may be waiting. Anand was sure there would be more Oghrodi around since Ezra was no longer helping them. But so far, there weren’t any. The halls were as empty as when Anand first arrived. Even so, it was obvious the escapees were getting antsy. They finally had their freedom and if they were captured again they’d be treated far worse than before.

“Where exactly are we going?” Eve asked from the back of the group.

“There’s escape pods near the other side of the ship. That’s where,” Anand answered.

“How long is that gonna take? This ship is huge.”

“It is but as long as we stick to this route, we’ll get there in no time.”

“You know it won’t be as easy as you make it sound,” Ezra said. His voice echoed through the hall.

“I know,” Anand grumbled. “Why would any of this be easy?”

He waited for Ray to give him a signal before Anand and the escapees followed. Now that he had a chance to properly examine the aliens he saw how ragged they looked. Many could barely stay standing, much less fight. He was sure they were having trouble keeping up so it helped to have Eve watching the back of the pack. She’d confirm once everyone had entered the hall before the group kept moving.

Anand had never imagined he’d be orchestrating a prison break. Sure, he and his friends had planned hypothetical ones. But this was totally different. It was real. Not to mention, they were breaking aliens out of a spaceship. Anand’s brain was firing on all cylinders. For every plan he thought of there were backups. And each backup plan had another. Anand was on high alert, ready for any Oghrodi that came their way. His eyes darted towards every out of place light. His ears perked if any metal clanked in a way he wasn’t expecting. The problem was that everything here was unexpected and garnered his attention.

“My subordinates should be on you any second now,” Ezra mocked.

“You keep saying that but we’re still safe,” Ray replied.

“Safe is relative.”

As if on command, the ship began to vibrate. At first it was a soft vibration but within seconds everyone struggled to keep their footing. Heavier aliens were able to stay upright but it was clear even they were having trouble. Ray slammed his shield on the ground and used it to steady himself.

“Oh, looks like we got approval to make the jump back to the mothership.” Ezra cheered. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”

Anand shouted. “We need to hurry!”

He didn’t equip his treads but started running. The escapees hesitated and shared confused looks. Anand turned back and looked to Riq. He ran in place and hoped she’d understand. It took a moment but she deciphered what he meant. Riq barked a command and the aliens all began to run as well.

“How do we know he’s not lying?” Ray asked as Anand passed him.

“We don’t but we can’t risk waiting,” Eve answered. “Right?”

Anand gave a curt nod. “Exactly. We’ll have to sacrifice caution. Just be ready.”

He hesitated briefly when he heard something approaching. Anand stopped in his tracks and held up his hand to signal the others. It took a few seconds but they figured out his intentions. Anand equipped his treads and dashed towards the next hall. He wasn’t taking any chances. He kicked around the corner but connected with nothing. An Oghrodi jumped over his leg and landed across from Anand with a heavy thud. The creature swiped its large mane aside to reveal eerie cat-like eyes and a vicious maw. It resembled a bipedal feline that stood two heads taller than Anand.

“It’s… Cat?” Ray said. “No. Lion.”

“A little on the nose there,” Anand replied. “Then again, this thing is too.”

“As I said before, my allies believe they have found the world’s true predators and thus rely upon their forms,” Ezra said.

Anand watched Lion closely but the Oghrodi didn’t move. It smirked as the bone chilling sound of metal ripping emanated through the hall. A jagged spike ran through the wall and tore it apart. The escapees nearby rushed away as a creature emerged from behind the damaged panel. The Oghrodi that appeared revealed the spike to be a large dorsal fin. Two more blade-like fins jutted out from its arms and the back of its legs. Its mouth was massive and lined with razor sharp teeth.

“Shark…” Ray muttered. “I hate sharks.”

The beast spun wildly, cutting a couple of the escapees. They fell back and shrieked. Luckily, the wounds were shallow. Ray tackled Shark, placing all his weight behind his shield. With a quick shift of the weight, he forced the beast back into the room behind the wall.

“I’ll handle this guy. You guys take care of Lion,” Ray yelled.

Anand could no longer see Shark but was hyper aware of his opponent. Eve ran through the crowd to Anand’s side. Her hand glowed as she prepared to create a weapon. Lion looked at the light and then upward to the dark ceiling of the hall. Something was flitting around. The sound grew louder until a large insect revealed itself. It had a long slender body with crooked limbs that secreted a thick liquid. It’s massive wings flapped so quickly that it was impossible to discern the pattern. The round head sitting atop its body seemed almost harmless except for the gigantic mandibles protruding from the face.

“Volt... I don’t want to deal with that,” Eve said.

“I can take Locust, if you want Lion,” Anand replied. “I’m not sure I can do much if it flies away from me, though.”

Eve grumbled and summoned her trusty rifle. “You owe me for this.”

“You’re the best.”

Eve didn’t reply. She simply fired a shot at the Oghrodi and ran back through the crowd. Locust dodged the shot. It swiftly chased after Eve who had already turned a corner. Anand turned back to Lion who was stretching and preparing to fight. Its breathing was steady with a faint growl accompanying each movement. With a small flex of its hands, large claws tore through the knuckles. It held out one arm and growled loudly while tilting its head.

“She says she’s going to tear you to shreds,” Ezra said.

Anand tilted his head in confusion. “That was a growl.”

“Oh, right. Your system runs on uneducated Cahlium.”

“What does that mean?”

“Hold on, let me just…” Ezra muttered.

Anand felt a shock travel from his feet through his entire body. His head pounded and vision blurred. The longer the shock persisted, the more painful it got. Anand’s body felt like it was on fire. His heart felt like it was trying to rip out of his chest. Mind reeling, he screamed in agony but forced himself to stay standing.

Even in a far off room, Ray could hear his best friend’s screams. But there was no way he could help Anand right now. Not while holding back a giant shark that was trying to bite his head off. Even though the fish-Oghrodi hybrid stood at a similar height to Ray, it was daunting. All of Shark’s movements were led by its fins. They doubled as vicious attacks threatening to slice through Ray. He had tried to block once but Shark cut part of his shield off. Now, his shield was in its pauldron form and Ray stood at the ready with his sword.

Shark growled with a giant toothy grin. It lunged forward arms first. Ray stepped to the side and swung his sword at one of the fins. He expected resistance but easily cut the fin off Shark’s right arm. It wasn’t the first time Ray had been surprised by his own strength but it was the most welcome. Invigorated, he rushed at Shark from the right, planning to attack the wound. The Oghrodi laughed and flexed its forearm. Another fin quickly replaced the severed one. With a quick uppercut, it stopped Ray’s attack. This time the fin was as powerful as a sword. They clashed; their weapons bouncing against each other. Every attack from Shark was met with Ray’s sword ready to block. Though they matched in strength, the Oghrodi’s experience gave it an edge. After forcing Ray back, Shark grabbed his head and slammed him to the ground.

His head jolted back but Ray remained focused on his target. Shark’s torso was wide open and asking to be attacked. With a mental command, Ray ignited his blade and stabbed into Shark’s bare torso. He twisted the blade and sliced to the right. It ripped through the monster’s body, spraying blood and viscera across the room. Even so, Shark didn’t falter. He smoothly stepped back and breathed heavily. The wound began to slowly close but nowhere near as quickly as the fin had.

Ray knew he had an advantage and yelled, “Infernal Skewer!”

Shark finally lost its calm demeanor and wore a quizzical look. Ray pierced through its chest and sliced upward. The cut bisected the creature’s head and it collapsed to the floor. Ray flourished his sword and sheathed it before returning to the hall.

Much like Ray, Eve had also been stopped from assisting Anand. She had actually attempted to distance herself from Locust. But the creature was almost as fast as Anand and easily stopped Eve from disengaging. She let out a frustrated sigh and aimed her rifle on the Oghrodi. Any bullet fired was dodged. With every passing moment, Eve grew more frustrated and Locust took the opportunity to attack. It flew towards Eve and kicked her as another bullet whizzed past it. Before Eve could fire again, Locust hit her with a flurry of strikes before flying back up to the rafters. The creature repeatedly grabbed Eve and dragged her across the floor. At a point it flew her to the ceiling before slamming her back to the ground.

Eve crumpled and groaned. Though they didn’t speak a common language, she understood Locust’s taunting laughter. She looked up at the Oghrodi and smiled behind her mask. The plan was working flawlessly. With wild abandon, Eve pretended to fire her rifle in frustration. Locust dodged around them before flying towards the Glaive. Eve quickly created a handgun. The flash of light dazed Locust long enough for Eve to fire a volley of bullets into the creature. They exploded on impact, creating a crater before slowly piercing further into its head. When Eve finished, all that was left was a headless, lifeless giant bug twitching on the floor.

“Gross,” she muttered before running to her allies.

Anand couldn’t stay standing for more than a few seconds. He fell to his knees and tried to fight the pain. To his surprise, it vanished.

“What did you do?” he roared, not noticing the surge of energy he felt.

“I connected you to our system,” Ezra boasted. His ego seemed to grow every time he opened his mouth. “I gave you all the data you could handle. It wasn’t much before you started whining like a baby. You should understand what my compatriot is saying now.”

Anand growled through grit teeth. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to repeat everything she says.”

Anand kneaded his fists. Though the feeling wasn’t as satisfying with his armor, the familiar motion helped. “No, I mean why are you helping me?”

“A game is no fun without a worthy adversary, Riftwalker,” Ezra said cheerfully. “I figured the least I could do was even the playing field between you and er… Lion as you called her.”

Lion chuckled. “You’re still weak.”

She leapt at Anand. Her claw was able to scratch his helmet but unable to pierce it. He flailed awkwardly, trying to restrain the claw. Lion slipped her arm away and slashed at Anand again. He was barely able to block. Without thinking he stepped back but quickly stopped himself. Behind him were the escapees, looking towards him in fear.

“Good, good. Don’t back down. That’s a cowardly tactic,” Ezra said.

Anand took a deep breath and lunged at Lion. The attack was too obvious and Lion easily sidestepped. Using Anand’s momentum against him, Lion threw the boy over her shoulder. Exactly what Anand was hoping for. He spun in the air and landed feet first. His treads didn’t stop for a second as he baited Lion away from the crowd. Anand made sure not to get too far so he could still keep an eye on the escapees.

He skidded to a stop and tried to kick Lion’s head. She held up an arm and blocked the attack. With her other hand, she swiped at Anand. He kicked off Lion’s block and ducked. Lion’s claws just barely grazed the top of Anand’s helmet as he skated into her reach. He tried to attack her ribs but missed. Before Lion could reposition, Anand swung again, hoping to hit something. Mid-swing, his body shifted ever so slightly downward and to the right. The attack connected with Lion’s ribs and crumpled her armor. Anand was too shocked to use his electric discharge. Lion reeled as Anand quickly kicked her leg. He was aiming for her shin and again midway through his attack, it shifted slightly for the perfect impact.

“What… what’s happening?” Anand muttered and leapt out of Lion’s reach. “Ezra! What did you do?”

“Me? I didn’t do much. I’ve simply given you better educated Cahlium. When you’re trying to attack, your Glaive adjusts as needed to land the hit.” Ezra chuckled. “This is all you, Riftwalker.”

“Don’t call me that!” Anand yelled.

Lion grumbled. “If only you assisted this much when it came to training your subordinates.”

“I do. When they’re worth my time.” Ezra continued in a sing-songy tone. “Beat our friend here and you’ll be worth my time, Lion~.”

The Oghrodi roared and rushed at Anand. He dodged while wildly skating around the beast. He was accustomed to giving claws a wide berth. The windows of opportunity were open for seconds. That was enough time for Anand. Now that he had his speed back, he was able to quickly weave out of reach and back in to strike. His treads and lightning trails tore up the ground. The pattern tracked from the floor into Lion’s damaged armor. Anand didn’t hesitate when his attacks adjusted. Every single one was thunderous. Lion was unphased by singular quick attacks but getting hit by so many was ill advised.

Lion breathed heavily and slowed her onslaught of attacks. For the first time, she put up her guard before engaging Anand. He felt confident and swung at her arms. Immediately, she turned the momentum against him and broke through the attack with a fierce slash. Anand felt part of his Glaive tear and the claw cut across his torso. He exhaled sharply and stepped back. His hand shook as he checked the cut and saw blood dripping from the wound. It was smaller than he anticipated.

“You know you can’t hesitate. Mercy won’t get the job done. You need to go for the kill,” Ezra said. It was as if his voice was inside Anand’s head.

Anand let out a steady breath to focus. Lion took the chance to lunge at him. Anand crouched and dashed under Lion. He aimed directly for her wounded stomach and attacked. His fist tore through Lion’s armor and created a massive gash on her abdomen. She fell to the ground and landed on shaky feet. Lion seemed more shocked than fearful at the damage the Glaive had caused. She lunged at him again but was a second slower than Anand.

Adrenaline took over and his nerves couldn’t hold him back. He skated into Lion’s reach and cut across the Oghrodi’s chest with his treads. The trail of lightning leapt into the cut and tore it apart. The shock was the most violent Anand had ever created. Lion flailed wildly, spraying blood all over the walls. Before she had a chance to calm down, Anand planted his fist firmly into her wound. He focused on ramping the power of his shock to the highest possible level. Lion let out a short scream before crumpling to the floor. She lay lifeless and bloody as purple ooze pooled at Anand’s feet. He shuddered and turned away.

Ezra’s laughter reverberated around the halls. “Oh, it’s not that bad.”

“Shut up!” Anand yelled.

“Ha! Did you think you’d go to war and walk out without blood on your hands?”

Anand took a deep breath and grimaced.

“This isn’t the first of your allies I’ve killed. I’ll get used to it… eventually.”

“Oh! I wonder how many more it’ll take, Riftwalker,” Ezra mocked. “But don’t get ahead of yourself. This is the last time you’ll kill one of us. Now I can prove that humans have the capability to kill my people. I’m sure my higher ups are bound to listen this time.”

Anand shuddered at his enemy’s confidence.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Ezra cackled. “Humans hadn’t killed any Oghrodi. Not until today, Riftwalker. You’ve killed quite a few now. That makes you more of a threat than we’d originally assessed. That means we get to advance my plans.”

“I… Damn it!”Anand slammed his fist against the wall.

He felt a soft pat on his back. Ray helped Anand straighten out.

Ray looked upwards and yelled, “Hey! Shut up!”

His armor had shallow cuts all over it. Though he’d been attacked more than Anand, none of the attacks connected properly.

“You okay?” Ray asked.

Anand checked his body and nodded. “Just a small cut. What about you? Where’s Shark?”

Ray looked at Lion’s corpse. “It gets easier every time...”

“If anything, you did a great job of handling it.” Eve said as she joined the boys. Her armor looked like it had been dragged all over with skidmarks on the metal plating. Parts of her armor were dented and cracked but Eve carried herself as nonchalantly as usual.

She continued, “I checked the next hall. It looks pretty empty. We should get moving before that changes.”

Anand nodded and returned to the escapees. They seemed calmer than him. Riq stopped him and patted his shoulder. She nodded at him appreciatively.

“Let’s keep going,” Anand said.

The ground began to shake and the entire ship lurched slowly to one side.

“Oh! Look at that! The jump is all warmed up!” Ezra whooped. “Are you ready for our trip to the mothership?”

Ray seemed completely calm when he asked, “How long is it going to take?”

“I’m glad you ask,” Ezra said snidely. “You’ve got about ten minutes to say goodbye to your home.”

Ray groaned. “We have to run. Anand, lead the way!”

Anand nodded and waved to the escapees before skating through the hallway. Many of them couldn’t keep up and were tired after a few seconds of running full speed. Anand paused and looked back and forth through the hall.

“We’re close, everyone. Keep moving!” he pleaded. As they caught up to him, he whispered, “Horus, are there any stragglers?”

“No. They’re tired but everyone is in the group,” she replied.

“Good.”

“How much further do we need to go?” Eve asked. “These folks don’t have much energy left.”

Anand checked the hall and replied, “A bit further. I just wish we had a bit more time.”

Eve hummed softly. “I have an idea for that. Get us to the escape pods first.”

As they continued through the halls, the ship shook furiously. Anand noticed he didn’t feel off balance but the escapees were all holding onto things to remain upright. Even Ray and Eve were having trouble when they weren’t holding something. But, they pushed onward. They ran to the end of the hall and took a sharp right. The only thing in the short walkway was a closed door. Anand approached it and waited for Ray to summon his shield and position it against the door. Even though it was damaged, it blocked the majority of the opening.

“Ready?” Anand asked.

Ray gave an affirmative grunt. Anand opened the door and dove to the side as Ray blasted flames inside. He quickly stopped and looked past his shield to see an empty room. He moved aside and helped Anand to his feet.

“I’ll check it out,” Ray said. He kept his shield at the ready while looking around the large room.

A familiar control station sat in the center of the circular room. Ridges ran across every surface connecting the controls to over a dozen doorways, each leading to a pod the size of a truck. Anand waved all the escapees in while continuing to watch every corner someone could possibly hide in. After everyone had entered, he approached the controls. The words on the screens morphed in front of his eyes. His head pulsated rhythmically. It wasn’t soothing in any way and Anand had to focus just to stay standing. He continued to look at the symbols. Though he couldn’t read them, he innately understood them.

“I can start sending people off but I need time,” Anand said.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve only got about a few minutes,” Ray replied.

Eve held up her hands to stop the conversation. “I have an idea to deal with that; Volt, where is the engine room? Also, the control room Ezra is in.”

“Oh, I’d love to meet you,” Ezra replied. “Come back through the halls and we can talk for a couple seconds before the warp incapacitates you.”

“What?” Anand asked.

“Only the truly powerful Oghrodi can handle the warp’s energy. The others had to get to a special room of the ship that protects them. You folks, on the other hand, don’t have that option. And there’s no way for you to get to the engine room in time.” Ezra cackled. “Take pride in the handful of prisoners you’ll save before we leave.”

“He’s right, Horus,” Anand said. “Let’s just try to get everyone off this ship.”

“Oh, would both of you just shut up!” Eve replied and turned to Anand. “Point me to the engine room. I’m gonna blast it.”

“What do you—”

“Now!” Eve yelled.

Anand sighed and walked to Eve’s side. With his left hand he pointed toward the end of the hall.

“It’s one floor down at that end of the hall,” Anand said and with his right hand pointed towards another hall. “And the control room is two halls down over there. I made sure we avoided it on the way here.”

“Got it. Last thing; Will the escape pods work without the ship’s main engines and controls?” Eve asked.

“They should. The controls are all right here and the pods have their own power sources.”

“Good, you keep working. Scorch, help everyone get into pods. While you’re waiting, hold onto something.”

Large metallic prongs emerged from Eve’s legs and stabbed into the ground. She shimmied a little to make sure she didn’t budge. Anand could hear Eve take a deep breath. Horus’s head began to glow. Within seconds a devastating laser shot out of it. Eve was visibly shaking as the laser continued to fire. It slowly melted through metal beams and walls. The laser steadily broke through barriers until it seemed to stop on something.

The engine room at the end of Horus’s beam exploded into a fiery inferno. The hall nearby crumbled. The previous vibrations were nothing compared to how violently the ship was now shaking. Other than Anand and his team, no one in the room could keep their footing. They all ran to the walls, hoping to remain steady.

Eve wasn’t done yet. She strained to turn her head and look in another direction. The laser left a massive scar across the walls. It took a surprising amount of effort for Eve to face towards the control room. Once she aimed at her target, it only took a few seconds before there was another explosion. Finally, Horus’s laser died down.

“Looks like I’m out of juice for now.” Eve sighed. “That should buy us some time.”

“You-” Ezra yelled through a staticy intercom. “ How dare…” Ezra cackled loudly. “It looks like Riftwalker isn’t the only one worth watching. I can’t stay mad at you. But… I will have to punish you for this mess.” Ezra’s voice was hauntingly calm. “I’ll be right there.”

“Scorch! Close the main door and block it with your shield. I need you keeping watch,” Anand commanded. “Riq! Does everyone here understand you?”

Riq took a couple seconds then nodded.

“Perfect. According to this thing, we can input coordinates on a galactic scale,” Anand said while typing on the control station. “If you can get the coordinates for each planet, I can send everyone home.”

Riq paused momentarily, likely deciphering exactly what Anand wanted. Once she was sure, she approached a small group of aliens that didn’t resemble her. They discussed something and Riq guided them into one of the pods. As they spoke, Anand’s headache came back. He didn’t understand the words being spoken but the intent was clear to him. Riq began to walk back to him but Anand had already started inputting the coordinates on the control station.

“Is that right?” Anand asked and winced.

Riq furrowed her brow and checked the screen. She muttered something. Anand understood the affirmation.

“Good,” Anand replied calmly. “Horus, shut the pod door and lock it. We don’t want to get pulled out of here once it goes flying.”

Eve ran to the door. “Got it!”

She grabbed a lever on the nearby wall and forced it down. A thick metal pane slotted into place, blocking the door. Anand felt like he was guessing how each button functioned but everytime he did something it worked as he hoped. The pod detached from the ship behind the shut pane. After a moment, there was a loud thruster and the ship appeared to fly away on the radar.

“I’m guessing that’s good,” Anand muttered before loudly continuing. “Alright! Riq, gather everyone with their own kind and get them to a pod. Tell them to say their home planet and coordinates when I point at them. Horus, you help everyone get secure in the pods and make sure they’re locked up before we launch. Scorch, keep watch of the entrance and tell us if you hear anything. This shouldn’t take more than a couple minutes.”

“Got it,” Eve replied and began to follow Riq as they separated the escapees.

“Roger,” Ray said and crouched near the door with his shield ready.

For a few moments it felt like everything was falling into place. The groups reacted quickly as Anand pointed to them. He felt a sharp pain in his temple each time he listened to anyone other than his team speak but tried to ignore it. His head pulsated but the plan was working so he refused to give up.

“Where are you going?” Anand asked and pointed to the fourth group waiting near an escape pod.

They said something and Anand inputted the reply into the system. Before he could say anything, Eve led the group inside and sealed the door. She nodded and Anand launched the pod.

“You all really are quite efficient,” Ezra said. He sounded close.

Anand quickly looked around but didn’t see anyone.

“I’m right here, Riftwalker. No need to look so frantically.”

The main door of the room opened to reveal Ezra nonchalantly leaning against the wall.