Chapter 23

I stare at the forest ahead of us as our spaceship gets closer and closer. We send two spaceships to make sure we have everyone. There are twenty of us, which should be more than enough to fight the beasts. If only Melzul's spaceship hadn't crashed in the depths of the forest, then we could have reached it with the spaceship, which would have been a lot safer for everyone.

I'm at the dashboard, even though I'm not driving, and there are seats for me. I have to be staring at the window over nothing...

Melzul comes up by my side with a smile. I let out a breath, not wanting to repeat my thoughts to him, which is the same thing over and over again.

He squeezes my shoulder. I nod, but my heartbeat is still up. I'd rather he hold me in his arms, but we haven't made it clear to everyone and I'm not sure whether I want his hug when others are around. I probably don't have to care that much, but I can't stop thinking about that.

That can wait until we figure out whether the communication system on Melzul's ship is still recoverable.

"Boss, we're arriving and ready for landing in a minute. Everyone can get ready at the exit."

I nod and gesture for everyone to line up. The plan is to let these two spaceships hover over us, hoping the noise will scare away the beasts. I should have done the same when we saved Melzul, but it was so dark out there that the landing may not have been as smooth and we didn't have all the spaceships when some of the teams weren't back home yet.

I turn to Melzul. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready for everything."

"Good."

When I get to the exit, the other beings are there with their weapons of choice, ready to go. I get to the exit as the door opens. The wind is strong when we're in the air. I put my hand on the ladder that will lead to the landing spot. Melzul's spaceship is already in sight. When it crashed, it made a small clearing in the forest, which is easy to identify.

I put my feet on the ladder, the slots for my feet lock up, and here goes nothing.

The ladder descends. I hold on to it with one hand with the staff in my other hand. It has been a while since I've done a landing like this.

Another being joins me on the ladder, a few ladder rungs above me.

The forest is quiet down there. With the bright and clear sky, it looks cozy, but not cozy enough I'd forget about the danger that lingers.

The ladder arrives at the ground. I tap the button to unlock my feet with the staff and get off the ladder. Grass and leaves shiver under my feet, making it feel like I'm the only being in the forest. I walk to the side, staying on guard as the others descend from the ladder, using it as if it's a lift for us.

Slowly, everyone gathers again.

I nod to them. "Everyone, get ready while we check out the spaceship. I'm not holding my breath, but—"

Melzul says, "We'll know when things happen. Let's get started."

Maybe he is the grumpy but positive one between us, even though that combination doesn't seem possible.

The ruin of Melzul's spaceship is still there, pretty much undisturbed. There are leaves on it and a few plants that try to inch their way up along the metal shell, but it won't affect us too much.

The technicians are already here with the generator. Melzul goes with them to the spaceship, even though he probably doesn't know how to fix it. I've been driving a spaceship for a long time, but I have no clue how to fix one. All I know is the general location of the engines and things.

I tell the beings here to help to separate and surround the spaceship. Hopefully, there are enough of us to deter beasts or whatever that's dangerous.

I glance at the technicians. They are at the back of the spaceship, so I can't get a view of them. But the longer they spend there, the better. If there's no chance things will work, they'll be back already.

The forest is still quiet. Our spaceship hovers over us, which makes it feel safer. I don't know whether it is possible for it to fire from up there at a beast without hurting those of us down here, but... It's what it is.

My heart races as seconds pass and it is still quiet around here. It looks like everyone is nervously waiting too. I really hope it will work and we can at least contact someone. Pretty much anyone works, since they will have a better system than us.

Well... Hopefully, no bandits are hiding nearby. And... Hopefully, it's not a group of uzains, which apparently can be hunting Melzul.

Melzul is the one getting himself into trouble because he lies about stupid things. But at the same time, he is the one giving me enough courage to burst my own lie before I get into deep trouble.

Would I have told everyone what's actually happening if he never showed up? Maybe I'd end up doing that regardless, when it's impossible to hide until forever, but... Maybe Melzul made it a bit easier for me.

He is a hulky gray ass who loves to annoy me...

But he also sends warmth into me.

"Watch out, crew!" Acea hisses and I lift my staff.

Three big beasts come out of the forest. These are black, on all fours, with spiky tails. They are taller than me by quite some and even taller than Acea. They have horns and sharp teeth. None of that sounds enticing.

The spaceship above us presses the horn. Even my heart jumps. But the beasts aren't scared and they dash over to us.

The guarding team breaks into smaller teams, each tackling a monster.

I lift my staff. "Get into position, we'll drive these fuckers away."

Acea lifts his spear. "And if we catch one, we'll have extra for dinner."

He is always the silly one.

Melzul comes over to me with his laser gun. "I'll protect you."

I roll my eyes at him. "Or maybe I'm the one protecting you."

He fires at the beast, but the laser is a bit too weak to badly injure the beast.

We duck to the side. The beast we face is busy biting at one of us, but with that huge body, there is room for us to dodge.

But with those sharp claws...

Acea and a few are hitting its hind leg. Melzul and I wander in front of it to catch its attention the best we can. He fires at it a few more times, aiming at the eyes while I smack its nose as it tries to bite me.

"Be careful!" Melzul kicks me right on the back, sending me flying to the side.

I huff and land on the ground, the grass pads me, but it still hurts.

The beast grunts behind me. I spin around to Melzul on the ground and...

I toss my staff at the beast, pretending it is a spear. It stuck to the beast's mouth as it bites at Melzul. Now its jaw can't close enough to crush Melzul. Another big male and I hurry to grab and move Melzul out of the attack range.

The beast shakes its head, chewing even harder at the staff, trying to break it.

Someone hands me a spear, which I take even though I'm not that good at using a spear. Something in hand is better than nothing.

The beast growls and eventually opens its mouth, my staff falls on the ground and the angry beast stomps on it. I shiver but don't have the luxury to check out my staff.

We fire our laser guns at the beast. Its hind legs are bleeding and it still hasn't done a thing to take us as dinner.

The beast we fight limp and head to the forest. We turn to the two other beasts, which also seem to be retreating.

I let out a breath, collapsing onto the grass, with sweat covering my whole body.

Maybe they'll finally give up and we're safe.

Now, my back hurts a bit more, also my ass, which is probably from the fall. Now that I think about it, my arms hurt too. Maybe it is from trying my best to throw the staff.

Melzul comes over and hands me the staff. It is still in one piece, but with the beast's saliva and a few claw marks. I take it regardless. It reminds me of every single struggle we went through as a village.

He squeezes a smile, even though he doesn't walk smoothly. Maybe he is also recovering from the shock. "Hey... We aren't dead."

"Yeah... Your stupid ass."

"Well, I saved your dumb ass, too."

I think he did. There was no reason he'd kick me just because.

Acea and a few come over to check on me. I'm the only one on the floor, so I'm not surprised. Acea says, "Looks like we aren't getting extra meat for the evening."

I snort a laugh. "I suppose. But the beast's meat may as well be too rough and too gamey."

"Probably." He looks at Melzul and me. "I'll check on the technicians, maybe they are almost done."

The others disperse to check out the other battling team. I want to join them, but my legs are too weak to move my body, so I remain on the ground.

Melzul chuckles and gives me his hand. "Are you ready to stand?"

"I don't know." I slap his hand, giving him a high-five. I give a fist for a fist bump too. He lifts his brows at my fist, seemingly confused.

I say, "A fist bump for celebration?"

"Oh, this must be a human thing." He bumps my fist with his. "A toast without a beer in hand."

I laugh. That's an interesting understanding of a fist bump. "I guess so. How were the technicians doing before the beasts interrupted us?"

"They said there's a chance. A few cables are destroyed, so they are trying to replace them and do something, which I don't know a single thing about."

My heartbeat races again. That has to be good news, right?