Yeah, remade the whole original series! The previous six stories I wrote more than a year ago I completely remodeled into this fun story. Honestly the first few pages need some re-writing, but I'm not good at that type of building up. But honestly, it was only about a page near the beginning- you may be able to see what it is. Not an extreme amount of action, adventure, or romance (Romance?! Bleh.), but its the usual fun from yours truly. Be expecting more of these, but they'll be after the events of origins. Now, enjoy! Nikosei is, well,  Nikosei's. Obviously.

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When I think about worrying things- school, world events, the fact that America’s laws just keep changing, I get cold. Maybe it was just the wind, I don’t know.
I stood up from my dirty old stool on the lakeside, watching a large prison-barge float past. They had taken some rebels in there. Where, though; good question. I’m just a junior in high school, I wouldn’t know. Just got my license and everything.
I turned to some of the bits and bobs I had found floating in the water; wooden boards, some light chunks of metal, and a few shells from what appeared to be an SMG. Those shells had a story. Whatever it was, that doesn’t matter. But a normal country not in turmoil wouldn’t have bullet shells floating next to the driftwood, now would it?
I started back up to my house, grabbing a shell. My “Parents” were there, but they didn’t like me much. Adopted when I was seven, and now, nine years later, they can’t wait to get rid of me. Thankfully, their asleep right now.
I zipped up my jacket as another cold gust blew in. Winter was coming. New York had cold winters. It’ll soon be the season for winter merriment, sledding down snowbanks, and snowmen. Not the season for thinking out in the cold-ass shoreline.
I thumbed the rusty old bullet shell as I got to the top of the hill. I continued down to the house.
I had always thought of joining the rebels- they were smart, they had great ideas. American laws were getting perverted and they kept on dis-obeying the Constitution. The perversion of our laws started before I was born, just after the second World War, from what I could tell.
I slowly opened up the door and snuck in, right to my room. I fell down on my bed, shoes still on. Everyone needs a white knight, ya know? Salvation; it’s a necessity of life. Something to always look for. A light at the end of the dark, damp tunnel.
I had heard terrible things about the rebels from the “Patriotism Speakers”- or the loudspeakers they put everywhere. Burn down orphanages, killed elderly, the usual crap which is obviously fake. They’re fighting for our freedom along with everyone else in this world, that can be seen. Why can’t anyone see that? The rebels are the white knights.

I woke up that next day to the usual crap. Some shouting for me to wake up, a shower, then some more shouting. I’d eat a breakfast of crappy artificial cereal (Real cereal costs almost 10 dollars per box nowadays.), then get some more shouting at me before I left for the bus stop.
When I got to school, there’d usually be something there announcing a student dying or a relative of a student laying six feet under, or something. Sometimes, they were said to be rebels. Sometimes, they were said to be drug addicts. Sometimes, they were said to be total scoundrels.
A friend of a friend died today. He was said to be a rebel, and they also said that he died only a few hours after school in front of an execution squad. I had seen him yesterday, at least seven hours after when they said! A few guys I knew were confused as well- they knew something was up, they probably saw our missing man at around the same time I did.
The classes were the usual crap as well.
I returned home, tired. My “Parents” were setting up a dinky Christmas tree, so they didn’t give me the usual shouting. A Christmas present, perhaps? Hah.
I took my homework down to the shoreline and put it on an old desk I pulled from the water, and each paper was held down with a rock. I pulled up my stool, and got to work. I had gotten about 5 problems into the math when I heard footsteps behind me.
'Mother, you know I like to work down- and you are?’ I asked the man that walked up behind me. He looked in his upper forties, maybe early fifties. He had a short beard and mustache combo and he was wearing some circular sunglasses. Odd thing was, he was wearing a brightly white robe with a symbol on the front of it. The symbol reminded me of old medieval crests- the shield shape in the back, and two swords crossed on it. But there was a double helix in front of those swords. The robe had two pockets- one had something large in it.
'Hello, child.’ He said. I yanked out my “knife”. It was just a switchcomb, but I hadn’t pulled out the comb yet.
'As I said, who the fucking hell are you?’ I asked him.
'I am Brother Jacobs. I mean no harm.’ He said. I pulled out the comb and started combing my hair. Jacobs let out a sigh.
'So, why the hell are you dressed in that, and why are you here anyways?’ I asked.
'To give you an offer. I am just a representative of the Genetic Dawn, but they have given me the authority to give you this offer.’ Jacobs said. I noticed the bottom of his robes weren’t muddy; that would have been expected, because the only way he could sneak down here was via the woods.
'The Genetic Dawn... Is that some sort of cult?’ I asked.
'Hardly. We’re trying to bring down the government in our own way.’ Jacobs said. So my white knight wasn’t in armor, but a robe...
'Alright, give me the offer.’ I said.
'Exchange this boring normal life for another. Humanity is a disgrace to nature- we intend to create a new species to replace humanity. You shall be our first.’
The idea was far-fetched and probably impossible, but hey...
'What do I need to do?’ I asked.

Jacobs had given me a metal box much alike those old cigarette cases, but a bit taller and wider. It fit in my pocket almost perfectly. He said the instructions for revolution were inside. The instructions on how to create a new species.
There were eight syringes in there, filled with grey liquids. Each was numbered, one through eight. The instructions said that each one had to be taken in order before you went to bed that night. Just one a night, each injected right in the arm. Changes would start happening on the fifth day. There was also a ninth syringe larger than the others next to the ninth. This one was to temporarily hide any changes if they happened in a public place. So if I go and grow scales or claws randomly in class, I’ll just have to run off into the bathroom and inject myself with a third of that syringe. Just a third, no more, no less.
I shrugged and injected myself with the first syringe. Didn’t hurt much, even though the needle was two inches long. I shut the box, hid it between my mattresses, and went to sleep.

The next day when I woke, little seemed different. Right, changes appear on the fifth day.
The next four days went well- I had more energy than normal. The fifth... Well, that’s when it started to get hard.

I was in the computer lab for Spanish when my eyes ached. I went into a loading screen for some activity, and I saw the changes. My eyes went golden, with slit pupils. Much akin to a reptile’s. My vision was changing as well. I told the teacher I was going to the bathroom- which was what I was doing. I staggered out- my vision was altering. Heat signatures were being shown, like looking through infrared goggles.
I turned to see a group of senior jocks walk down the hallway. They noticed me.
'Hey, a sick newbie!’ One shouted, grabbing me. I straightened myself up, and looked him right in the eye. My vision had stopped altering- I could see heat. A reptile’s eyes. I shoved the startled senior away.
'Oh, these newbie knows a few tricks, huh?’ Another of the jocks said.
'I’m hardly new...’ I muttered. I dodged a punch from one and responded with a high kick. I wore steel-toe boots and I kick very high- as in the guy’s face. And that, coupled with these radical changes, I swung my foot into his face so hard that I smashed his nose and caved in his face. He was dead. I ran, with the other seniors behind me, staring at the body. I ran, as far and as hard as I could. I exited out the fire door, just for good measure. I ran before many people exited.

I stopped running when I was five miles from the school. I’m not coming back...
I climbed up a tree and sat down, tired. My hand was twitchy badly. No, it wasn’t from me being tired. Far from it.
I nabbed some sunglasses from a trash can and bought myself some food. I was carrying around a few dollars; my dinner was a small burger. I got back into the tree, injected myself with the sixth syringe, and slept.

I was hidden in the branches, watching someone post up some signs around on the street. Right now, I couldn’t tell many changes. The guy posted up a missing sign- of me. So I was already noticed. So they actually thought something of me. Huh. I looked to my hands- they had become stronger, clawed. With tan scales. Talons. They changed during the night, so I didn’t notice it at first. I felt my hair- not normal anymore. Greyish feathers- I’d think. And my feet felt constrained in my old steel-toe boots. I yanked the boots off and threw them away- they were half-way between feet and talons. My foot was shortening, the toes growing longer, scaled. Another toe was growing out the back. On both hands and feet, my toe/fingernails had blackened and grown into claws. I winced as the back toe increased in size a bit. Damn it, where were the Genetic Dawn? I can’t last out here forever.

I started my way to the shoreline I first met Jacobs on later that day. I had about 20 miles to cover in 2 days. They said that they would deliver me to their base, and they’d work to get more that’d do the same as I do. As in, change their lives. For the better, maybe. Anyhow, leaving myself in this shape wouldn’t work out at all.
I proceeded through the woods, sneaking about. They were dark, but that made little difference.
I crossed a dark country road, like a wraith. I was hungry...
I tripped when my feet turned into full blown talons. A hunter’s tools...
I searched out a rabbit, a deer, something. The heat vision helped. I screamed in pain as my skull cracked into a different, avian shape. A hooked beak with teeth-like barbs shoved itself out of my face, spraying blood and skin. My teeth- or what was left of them- fell to the ground. I fell down, panting.
It was night. Night as in the rotation of the Earth, night in my soul.
I started running. Running for salvation, running for that rabbit.

I woke up, slumped against a tall oak, the seventh syringe empty in my hand-talon. I was in a blood-lust last night. Part of the changes. I crawled over to a nearby pond. I saw the face of a crazed half-breed in the water. My face was half-way covered in feathers, one eye was at a different angle than the other. A plume of tail-feathers came out of my rear, and there were two, oblong bumps under my shirt. I had grown feathers in patches.
I staggered up, greatly in pain. I wasn’t human anymore, nor was I this other breed...
I had a feeling I was only several miles away from my goal. Another part of the change?
I walked with a limp- one leg had augmented muscles, the other didn’t. That just made me look worse...
I heard some shouting in the distance. A Genetic Dawn cultist appeared over the hill, and noticed me.
'Hey, I found him!’ He shouted. Another appeared with a dart rifle. A dart appeared embedded in my stomach. I fell into darkness.

I woke up cold, tired, and shaking. The ground was moving. No, wait- I was on a boat. In a small cage with hay on the floor.
I reached for the bars and shook them. I wanted to shout something like ‘Hey, let me out!’ But all that came out was a desperate squawk. I screeched in pain as my other eye moved into place. Damn it, They must’ve injected me with the 8th syringe while I was knocked out. No one was answering my shouts- er, squawks. No one.
I slumped against the wall. Bad move. My breast muscles had gotten stronger- to support wings. Two massive wings sprouted out from my back suddenly, making me fall over forwards and scream.
I stopped screeching after a few minutes- the wings didn’t quite pop up, but they grew out, shredding the skin and other parts that were there before. My shoulder bones cracked and reshaped for the wings.
I stared at the wings. They weren’t quite avian wings. The feathers were patchy- under were dark green scales and membranes. At the end, they were just membranes, giving them a demonic look.
I clawed at the hay as more feathers sprouted where they weren’t before. It hurt like hellfire. Burned like ashes.
I threw off what was left of my T-shirt. It had been torn by the wings, muscle growth, and the fact that I ran into several things while in the woods. My beak was barbed, giving a representation of the teeth I lost. My talons were savage and angled...
I had been completely changed. I wasn’t human more. God damn it, what have I done?

I sat in the corner of the dark cage, my wings shielding me from sight. I folded them over my body, warming me. It was cold down here.
I tried everything- Sleeping didn’t work; I could never sleep on a boat- nor did thinking. I kept on getting distracted by the fact that my DNA wasn’t what it was before. I hid in the darkness, trying to meditate. I was always a fast- paced person, I could beat anyone in a test of speed, easily. Meditation was never my forte.
The area I was caged in was the hold of what I could expect to be an old cargo freighter. There were five other cages, each one empty. Who would go in those, I wonder? Another poor, mislead soul?
I scratched a tally into the side of the wall as a Genetic Dawn brother came in with a meal. It looked rather like slop and table scraps.
I tried talking to him, asking why I was being held like this, but again, nothing came out but a squawk.
I did an avian sigh and fell back into the shadows. The slop was shoved in under the door. I took the scraps from it, but not the brownish sludge. I got to keep alive somehow.
But where the hell could this ship be? And what was happening back out there? Back in the homeland I lost...

I tried to practice speaking. I got something which sounded like a few vowels from a parrot with a sore throat thrown in a tin bucket, but it’s a start. I may have to re-learn how to speak without lips.

Two days later, the door above the stairs behind my cage opened. A GD brother- not the usual scrawny one that feeds me- came in, hauling someone in a potato sack. He threw him into the cage across from me.
'Brought you a friend, you sad bastard.’ The GD brother said. I did what I could- I flicked him off. He scowled and spat in my face before walking back out. I turned to the new guy who was thrown in.
He wasn’t changed in the way I was, but he was still changed. More lupine then anything else.
He was tall- about 6 foot 3- and reminded me of werewolves of old lore. His hand claws were blood red and scaled, oddly enough. His feet weren’t, as far as I can tell; he was still wearing his boots. His camo fatigues were torn in several places, he obviously put up a fight. His fur was dark grey, almost black. His eyes were closed; knocked out. His tongue was long and split like a reptile’s, and it was hanging from his mouth. His teeth were extremely sharp, much like his claws. He also had two partially furred, partially scaled tails that ended in a single spike.
I tried to say 'Hey, you alright?’ But all that came out was some squawks with some vowels. I looked for something to toss into his cage. There were still a few scraps from my “food”. I tossed a chicken leg bone at him, and my aim was perfect. It bounced off his still raw snout. The lupine stirred and struggled up.
'Ugh... Damn it, what the hell happened?’ He asked. He looked at me.
'Oh, they got you too? What’d the promise you?’ He then said.
'A new life, and a chance to overthrow the government.’ I tried to respond with, but it came out in squawks.
'Same...’ He replied.
'Wait, you understood me?’ I asked. I noticed his voice sounded something like a mix between a growl and a bark.
'Yeah. Name’s Alex Whitefield. Your’s?’ He asked. He tried standing up, but he banged his head into one of the bars on the ceiling.
'Richard Hamilton.’ I replied.
'Well, Richard, it seems that we’ve been drafted to the Genetic Dawn’s cause. And we’re their secret weapon.’

It had been five days down here, the only way I could tell the days from nights was a small window in one corner.
'So, why did you accept their offer?’ I asked Alex. I had almost re-mastered speech.
'I’ve always wanted to join the army. I had the chance too- I turned 18 only about a week before Jacobs approached me. About a year ago, I got a friend to hack into the military net, and I saw the horrors their commanders told them to do. Nothing like what they taught us in school, nothing like how it was before. I wanted to fight to get that idea back- an idea of a free country. I took their offer, so I would have the strength to do what I must.’ He said.
'So, what happened to this chance to bring freedom?’ I asked. I wanted to smirk, but couldn’t. Suddenly, an explosion shook the boat.
'What the hell?!’ Alex cried out. 'Are we being attacked?’ He asked. I shrugged. Alex stuck one of his tails out of the cage and near his cage lock. I heard shouts outside. I could see their heat auras running about on deck.
'Get us out as far as possible!’
'My god; the others really did it...’
'How did their serum work so well?...’ Another said. They were pissed about something.
I turned to Alex. He was picking the lock with his tail-spike!
'Damn it Alex, why the hell didn’t you do that before?’ I asked.
'Strategy, Richard. Strategy. Ever play chess?’ He asked. His door swung quietly open and he went to work on mine.
'Once or twice, why?’ I responded.
'It’s alot like life, that game. You need to know when to move...’ *click* '...And when to sacrifice a god-damned pawn. Find yourself a metal bar or something, we should be able to take these guys.’ He said, walking over to the storage. I got out and stretched, almost painfully. It was the first time I could stand up in my fully changed form.
I grabbed a crowbar from the ground and levered open a crate. Bullets. But no gun.
I levered open another. Genetic bits- some organs in jars, the like. No need for those unless I wanted to creep someone out.
I un-bolted another. Metal plating.
I levered open several more. Nothing helpful.
Alex had gone further into the maze of freight containers. He returned with a green, ripped off car door as a shield and a large pipe as a weapon. I brandished my crowbar and looked around. I quickly grabbed a trash can lid. Alex shook his head and sighed.
'You need a bigger shield.’ He said, running back off into the maze. He returned with another car door from the same car. He handed it to me.
'Shall we?’
I nodded, and we ran up the stairs and out into the blistering sunlight.

We came out on the side of the ship that was facing away from the shoreline, but I could here explosions, gunfire, and death. We ducked behind a wall, waiting for a GD brother to come near.
‘What the hell’s happening out there?’ Alex said. I shrugged and peeked around the corner. I could see the bastard that “fed” us for the past few days coming near with another plate of table droppings. He came near- And I swung the crowbar around the corner and into his face. He slumped to the ground, the slop staining his robes.
‘Brother Bart? Brother?’ I heard someone say, and some footsteps approached.
'...And we’ve been noticed. Hope you can replicate that swing of yours.’ Alex said.
'Yeah. You too.’ I replied, and we jumped out. The approaching GD brother staggered back just before Alex cracked his head with the pipe. Someone up in the control room noticed us, and an alarm went off. I took a moment to look at what was happening on land.
'Son of a bitch...’ I muttered. We were floating in Brooklyn bay, and the city outside was on fire. Or pretty damn close. There was fighting out in the streets, jets in the air, and bombs rocking the buildings. As I watched, a tower tumbled into the ocean.
'Richard, come on! If you want to be a good warrior, never get distracted. I have no clue what’s happening out there, but whatever it is, it’s not our business! Let’s move!’ He shouted to me. I caught up with him.
Alex dodged behind some crates when he noticed a GD brother with an SMG. First, they were intent on keeping us alive, now they want to kill us!
I peeked out from behind the cargo container I was behind and threw my crowbar at the GD Brother. I threw it like a hatchet- it smacked him in the chest, knocking his SMG from his hands. I jumped up into the air and swooped down on the guy, clawing his face and bruising his chest with my makeshift shield. The swoop felt very natural, even though I used wings I had only just gotten.
I picked up the SMG, and turned to a GD brother running at me. I shot him in the foot. Alex got up from behind the crate.
'Damn, Richard. You’re a better soldier that I thought.’ He said. He turned to the crying man with half a foot. 'Sorry, bucko.’ Alex whacked him in the side of the head with his shield, knocking him out.
'Split up- I’ll take the control deck, you take the lower cabins. Bring me back some real food, would ya? After several days of slop, I need a sandwich.’ Alex said. He picked up the crowbar I dropped and started dodging through the cargo crates. I went down some stairs near me, into the kitchens.
Right when I entered, a butcher’s knife slammed into the wall right next to me, even though the wall was metal. It stuck between the plates.
The Japanese chef that threw it was screaming something in his native language while reaching for another piece of brutal cutlery. I yanked the knife from the wall and threw it at him- and into his face. He fell down, his face a bloody mess and obviously dead. Damn it, I didn’t mean to kill him! I feel sick now...
I went over to him and yanked the knife from his head. It came out with a sickening slurp. But I had an idea.
I yanked a chunk of piping from the wall and attached it to the barrel of my SMG, and then I found some electrician’s tape. I taped the barrel on, and then taped the knife onto the new barrel using the tape. I then made two sandwiches and quickly ate one. So god-damned good, even though it was a small ham and cheese one.
I heard someone shouting at me from the far end of the kitchen- another GD brother. I let off two bullets- one into his arm, the other into his chest. Argh, I got to try not to kill these guys! SMG’s easy to fire, though.
I picked up the two cartridges the man dropped- He was obviously a guard of some sort.
I left the kitchen an entered a hallway. A brother came up from behind and tried to whack me with a bat. I ducked it and swung; the knife on the end of my SMG sliced off his hand. The GD brother fell down, screaming and clutching his bleeding stump.
'Sorry.’ I said, just before I jammed the knife three inches into his skull.
I made sure there was no one around- only one other, and he didn’t last long. I entered a office, where I found a map of the eastern coast of the USA. There were six points marked in blue, six marked in red. The Red ones were pick-up points, the other six were home addresses. Others that were effected by the Genetic Dawn’s tampering! Ones that were fools like myself and Alex. Yeah, my name was near two of the points, Alex’s was near another’s. The other four names I didn’t recognize, but a small chart in the corner of the map listed them as almost totally changed. It seems that the freighter was heading to a pick-up point of one Nikosei Chione .
Alex entered in behind me. 'Got them all; there were only a few of them in the control tower... Hello, what’s this?’ He asked. I gave him his sandwich, and he smiled before snarfing it down.
'The locations of the other four that the GD got to. The ship’s already en route to one of them.’ I responded.
'Good thing I didn’t change the course, then. Now, what are we going to do with the dead and unconscious? I see you didn’t leave any alive here...’ Alex said.
'I know, I feel sick because of it.’
'Having to kill can be sickening at first, I know. I once had to kill a man in self-defense. Not my most favorite thing.’ He responded. 'But we have to carry on. This ship’s too big of a target, we’ll leave for the first one tonight.’ He said, tearing the map from the wall. 'I found a few black-painted military Humvees down in the hold; if we can find a docking station, we can drive to their locations.’
'But they’d be expecting a massive freighter by water, not an evil-looking military jeep with a terrible gas millage from land. Let’s pick up the first one with the freighter, then take a jeep to the others inland. Anyways, whatever’s happening out there can’t be good for us.’ I said.
Alex was silent for a second. 'Good plan. We’ll do that, but hopefully you can drive.’ He said. And the hell that’s out there... Well...’ Alex pulled out a miniature radio and switched it on while we walked out to the top deck.
'...This is Mac, and we’re seeing a startling sight out here! We’re skipping the usual weather report to bring to you what seems to be the apocalypse. The rebels have started war, only because the newly activated Gaia AI has joined them! They’ve turned inhuman, quite truly. They’ve started calling themselves the Anthro Defense Force, or the ADF. Anyhow, they’re destroying the cities! Ravaging the towns! Sacking our houses! Raping ou-’
'And the usual lying shit.’ Alex said as we stepped onto the upper deck. 'I can tell it’s a fight for freedom, not for destruction. Things breaking is just a byproduct. But get this; They’ve become a different race of creature entirely. Somewhat like us, but the GD has nothing to do with them, it seems!’ He said.
'God damn...’ I replied. I dropped the bulky car door shield as I watched Manhattan burn.

It took us only about a day to get to the first pickup point. There was a dock down in Virginia, in the bay. I saw some GD brothers waving for us. Alex and I threw on some robes as best as possible, as a disguise. We stopped the ship and walked down the boardwalk. There were three GD brothers down there, we kept our heads down and our hoods up, so our faces couldn’t be seen. They had a slim female with them- she was knocked out, and only being held up by her arms.
Her arms had extra long feathers, but no sign of any usable wings. Most of her body feathers were brown, but white on the inner torso. Her talon scales were black, and her beak much like an owl’s, same with the eye size. The extra length arm feathers were blue and black, like a blue jay’s, and so was her tail feathers. She had a red crest on her head, and her leg talons went up almost to her knees with the scales. She was a small, lithe one, looking only about 110 pounds, probably a bit less. She was shorter too, only about 5 foot 4. A key necklace hung from her neck. It had an owl design on it, making the head of it look like an owl’s. She wore a black t-shirt with something in Egyptian hieroglyphics on it and a pair of shorts with a skull and crossbones belt buckle. Alex and I climbed down the board walk and to them.
'Brothers, that took you awhile to arrive!’ one of them said. I nodded to Alex and we swiftly punched each of them in the face. I grabbed the girl, who I presumed to be Nikosei. I put her on my shoulder and brought her to the freighter. We exchanged Nikosei with all the unconscious and dead GD guys.

We put Nikosei down in one of the chairs in the control deck and waited.
'So, we’ve got our newest member.’ Alex said.
'Member of what? The Mutants Club?’ I asked.
'Hardly. Just for whatever we are. So, do we know who, what, and where the others are?’
'Our first stop is one Dennis Burke- he’s about 100 miles inland, in a country town. We could probably make it to him within the day, if lucky. The next one is Jessie Fisher; she’s only about 100 miles away from Dennis. The last one is Alan Holmes. He’s nearer the shoreline, but down a few hundred miles from where the freighter is. We’ll be gone for at least three days, if not more.’ I said.
'And that’s only in a vehicle. I’ll go prepare the jeep, you keep a watch on our friend.’ Alex said. He exited the control room and went down to the lower decks.
I spun around in the swiveling chair, sighing. I got up and looked out the window, watching a dogfight happen 1000 feet up above the ship.
'Ugh... What the hell happened?’ I heard someone say behind me. Nikosei was awake.
'Would you believe that some crazy cultists wanted to change your species to restart the world, and you’d be the 'Eve’, so to speak?’ I said.
'Yeah, actually. There’s some odd people out there.’ She said, getting up from the chair. 'I guess you accepted their offer too. Name’s Nikosei- call me Niko, if you want.’
'I knew that one, we stole the ship from the Genetic Dawn. I saw what info they had on you. Name’s Richard Hamilton. A friend of mine is below decks, preparing a jeep. He’s Alex Whitefield.’ I responded.
'Wait, why?’ She asked. Niko examined her hands- the fingers were black talons much like the feet, but her feathers went right onto the palms.
'There’s still three others out there.’ I responded. 'Hungry?’ I asked, offering her a bag of chips. She opened it and nibbled on one.
'So, there’s six of us... what’s going to happen to us, though?’
'No clue. Did I mention the fact that there’s a genetic revolution going on outside?’ I responded. Niko’s eyes (One green, the other an odd shade of purple.) Opened up even wider as she went to the window. A town could be seen through some trees- something was burning down there. That dogfight I was watching earlier was still going on, although one plane was on fire.
'When’d this start?’ She asked.
'About two days ago, from my count. I’m guessing you’ve been out for about that long.’ I responded.
'Seems so...’ Nikosei muttered.
'You fit to stay here for awhile and guard the ship?’ I asked.
'Wait, what? Where the hell are you going- Oh, right. The other three.’ She said, almost sulking.
'Well, we need someone to stay here to protect the freighter.’ I responded. An elevator opened up on the main deck, and a jet black jeep with a turret mounted on the roof came up. Alex jumped out of the driver’s seat and started up here.
'So that’s Alex?’ Niko asked.
'That’s him.’ I responded. Niko finished her chips, she was hungry.
Alex opened the door. 'Oh, good. You’re awake. We were starting to get worried.’ He said. He offered Niko a hand-paw in greeting.
'Name’s Alex.’
'I know, Richard told me. You already know my name. Odd having others know your name before you meet them...’ She said, shaking Alex’s hand.
'Yeah, sorry about that. So, Richard told you what you need to do?’ He asked.
'Uh-huh. I may be able to hold it as long as a group of armed men doesn’t come.’
'Pull up the boardwalk, then. Richard and I have to get moving, to ensure we can meet the others in time.’ Alex said. 'Can you fire a gun?’
'I have a good idea how, if that’s what you mean.’ Niko responded. 'I’m not one for it, though.’
'Whatever you need to do to protect the ship. Just keep it here, docked. The kitchen’s below deck, help yourself to what’s in it.’ Alex responded. 'Good luck.’
'To you two too. Ah, damn; that was a confusing statement.’ She said. We closed the door and headed down to the jeep. Alex got in the driver’s seat, I got into the passenger side.
'Ready for a little jump?’ He asked. I shrugged- and Alex jumped the humvee of the side of the boat, and onto the dock! He drove it down the dock, through the sand dunes and towards the town.

We rolled on. A GPS was mounted inside the jeep, all we had to do was type in the address. Of course, there’ll be a lot of detours and off-road driving...
Both of us knew how to drive, although Alex was a lot better than I. So that we wouldn’t stop, we’d take turns driving, the other one sleeping in six-hour shifts. I didn’t sleep through the first shift, though. For good reason.
We had just entered a larger city via a raised highway. Raised highways are never a place where you want to be during the apocalypse- they have a tendency to collapse.
We halted to a stop when the GPS told us to drive over a collapse that took out 40 feet of the highway. I could see a tank crushed under all the rubble, and it was still smoking. Must of happened recently. Alex backed up and went down the nearest exit, confusing the GPS. I’m surprised that the GPS still works! We went down the exit and promptly plowed through a few smaller, more modern cars. Those things would never be able to get around through this debris...
‘Alright, Dennis’s house is another 40 miles or so, but the shift is supposed to be over. Shall we switch once we pick up him?’ Alex asked. I nodded.
We drove around the corner and screeched to a halt- a building had crumbled, covering most of the road with a pile of rubble. Alex drove over it.
I could hear shouting on the other side of these buildings. Gunfire, too.
‘May want to be careful here.’ I said. An explosion shook some buildings, collapsing one behind us.
‘Well, hell...’ Alex muttered. The third floor of one of the buildings collapsed, sending rubble and bits of a body flying at us. Bricks and meat bounced off of us.
‘Ugh... Now that’s just disgusting!’ I said. Alex drove back up to the raised highway, effectively bypassing the collapse. We sped on through the revolution. Was it just a revolution- or the apocalypse?

We exited the highway awhile ago and entered a smaller one that ran through the flat fields. There were some barns and a few houses out there.
'Seems Dennis is in one of those.’ Alex said. We sped on- the GPS said we had another few miles left. We dodged abandoned cars and the occasional trailer truck or bus. We had to go slow; the traffic was thick before everyone ran out.
We pushed through the traffic to see a police barricade, still alive. These were the human police- last vestiges of whatever city this was. Fighting to keep a memory alive.
'Halt, unmarked vehicle! No one is allowed past this checkpoint!’ A police man on with a loudspeaker shouted to us.
'No one allowed my ass.’ Alex said. He put the jeep into a higher gear. 'Come and get us!’ He shouted out the window before jumping down the hill on the side of the highway, speeding around the spike strip, and back on behind it. The police were in their cars like lightning.
'Richard, man the gun!’ Alex shouted.
'What, how? I’ve never shot one of those things before!’ I replied.
'They’re not that hard! Just do it!’ He shouted back. I vaulted into the back seat and climbed into the turret. I noticed that one of the houses in the distance was a scorched husk- Dennis’s residence. Hope he’s alright.
I turned to the nearest car and fired. The recoil sent my shot flying way off track and it riddled a tanker full of holes. This tanker was a oil tanker. The explosion threw two cars off the side of the road, on fire.
'Damn good shooting! See, I said it was easy!’ Alex shouted, plowing through a husk of a car. It was shoved aside; this was a big humvee.
'It isn’t, that was luck!’ I replied.
'Then you better hope you have the same amount of luck!’ he shouted back. The exit we were supposed to be taking was blocked with a spike strip as well.
'Oh, screw this.’ I heard Alex say before he jumped off the highway, over a creek, and onto the dirt road the exit connected to. The police cars tried taking the jump as well, but three of the eight crashed. The other five managed to get on the road.
We threw up dust as we sped towards the husk of a house in the distance. The GPS said that was it.
I actually managed to put some holes in the hood of a car, actually making the engine explode! Another car smashed into the exploding body of that one. The husk of a house was around a bend, with fields in between us and the house. Alex jumped off the side of the road and plowed through the field, cutting a path through the recently cut corn. Another police car eliminated itself when it hit the jump at a bad angle, flipping itself. Two left.
Alex did a sharp turn, plowing through the stalks like it was nothing. The cars, being smaller and having to stay in our path, tried to perform that turn. The humvee intersected the previous path, t-boning one of the cars. Alex shoved it away and continued towards the house.
Alex kept on towards the house. Straight at it.
'Alex, stop!’ I shouted. He didn’t stop until we were five feet from the house... The car didn’t stop at all. It hit the hill to the house at full speed, taking out part of the second-story wall and crashed down to the ground on the other side of the house. Alex hopped out.
'Now that takes care of them.’ He said. I got out behind him.
'Did you really have to do that?’ I asked.
'Well,w hat else would I do? Let them nab us?’ He asked as we walked towards the door- er, doorway. The door was on the floor. 'You did a good chunk of the killing anyways, so don’t look at me like that. Come on.’ Alex said as we entered. The roof had burned away, letting the sunlight filter through. A scorched armchair rested in the room, next to the skeleton of a couch.
'Dennis? You here?!’ I shouted. I could hear faint laughing up on the higher level. I could also see a slight heat signature; a lot of this house was still hot.
'Let’s get up there.’ Alex said. We went to the side room that contained the stairs. They were burnt to hell and several planks were missing, but they were there. We treaded lightly.
We got on a balcony that overlooked the living room. The railing was gone, along with parts of the walkway. We stepped around the holes and charred planks.
The dead wood creaked with every step we took. The wind whistled through the shattered windows- and I could hear laughing. Much louder and from the room at the end of the balcony. We entered.
The first thing we saw was the charred bodies- two of them, a man and a woman. There was a third in the corner wearing the remnants of a Genetic Dawn cloak. There was a burnt metal skeleton of a bed- and in the corner next to it was only who I could expect to be Dennis.
He was leaning against the wall, burnt in several places. He was completely changed into a bat-like creature. His face was lengthened and his ears taller. A small tail had ripped its way from his shorts, and his body was covered in black fur. He had large, very usable wings on his back, covering most of his body in his curled up form. His feet were taloned oddly for a bat, and the foot claws were really long; at least a foot. He was laughing and crying at the same time.
'...They got them... so much fire, so much pain... They killed them, you know... Died in front of my eyes in the hellfire...’ He said. He let out a loud laugh. His eyes had a crazed look.
'God damn... You think...?’ Alex muttered. I nodded. Those two bodies were his parents. The third one with the GD uniform must have been their killer. But the fire...
'So much blood... I killed their killer... It was a painful death...’ He said, stroking his foot-claws. Two of them were dripping blood. I noticed that the GD brother’s body had two slashes in it.
'Richard, give me a hand.’ Alex said. He helped pick up Dennis and support him. I helped get him up.
'We best get him to the jeep.’ I said.
'Well, yeah.’ Alex agreed. We got over the burnt balcony and to the stairs. Dennis let out a strained laugh.
'Damn, Dennis. You’ve seen alot, huh?’ Alex said. Dennis replied with another chuckle before almost falling over.
'Whoa there!’ Alex shouted, puling him back up.
'How do you think he survived?’ I asked Alex. He almost spoke but Dennis interrupted.
‘I escaped the fire... But the others didn’t... So much blood, so much death!-’ He screamed out before collapsing.
'He’s going to be a hard one, won’t he?’ Alex asked. I shrugged.

We drove out of the area. The houses around were damaged, broken, or burnt- but we left. Leave the ruins behind.
We put Dennis in the back seat where he slept. He seems to have gone mad because of the lost of his parents... God, I hope he can recover.
We drove through the fields as a shortcut to avoid any more police blockades. The Humvee was holding out well, but it was going to need some fuel.
We drove about twenty miles before rolling into a small town. We refueled at the abandoned station and got driving.
'So, our next stop is...?’ I asked.
'Jessie Fisher, another hundred miles down. Shall we switch shifts?’ Alex asked.
'Yeah, I’ll take the wheel.’ I replied. We swapped chairs. Driving the Humvee was reasonably easy- but only because there were no street laws left and it could crash through just about anything. I just followed the GPS in the off-road setting.
Alex napped while we crashed through the fields and thin woods. I had to stop near another highway because it was packed with cars, but these were still full of people. A city could be seen in the distance. The GPS said we were going there.
The sky was darkening when Dennis woke up.
'Who... what...where?’ He muttered.
'For who, I’m Richard, the one asleep next to me is Alex. For what, we’re trying to collect everyone who the Genetic Dawn effected. And as for where, we’re about 100 miles from where we picked you up in West Virginia, looking for another one who was effected.’ I responded. Dennis seemed quite sane, if a little confused. With reason.
'Damn it, I really took the Genetic Dawn’s offer? Why the hell did I do that...?’ Dennis looked out the window, noticing the fact that there were a bunch of abandoned cars on the side of the road, including a burnt out tank. '...And what’s with all the abandoned cars?’
'What, you don’t remember the fact that a revolution started?’ I asked. He nodded.
'How much do you remember?’ I asked.
'Not a lot. I remember meeting someone called Jacobs, and he was offering me a new life. I guess I took it, didn’t I?’ He said.
'Seems so.’ I replied. An ADF troop carrier trundled past.
'I don’t recognize that symbol. Damn it, did the whole world change while I was out?’ Dennis asked, annoyed.
'Pretty much.’ I responded. 'We’re not the only hybrids out here, but we are the oddest.’ I said.
Dennis was silent for a second. 'Any chance to take me back?’ He asked. I shook my head.
'There’s not much left, man. None of us have anything left but ourselves.’ I responded. Dennis groaned and smacked his hand into the seat in frustration.
'So, nothing left but the clothes on my back and the contents of my pockets, huh? Alright, who’s this one we’re going after?’ Dennis asked.
'Jessie Fisher. Female, 16, tendency to go to dances with loud, bass-heavy music, and just recovering from drug abuse. She’s easily seen, just look for the girl with a resemblance to an otter, but with fins.’ I replied. 'Records on the GD’s ship were quite detailed.’ I woke up Alex.
'Huh-what?’ He asked. He turned to Dennis. 'Oh, you’re awake! Thank god. You alright? No lasting effects?’ He asked.
'Just amnesia, doc.’ Dennis replied.
‘So, we’re looking for probably the biggest god-damned dance with the craziest lights and access for non-humans. Also, you’d probably be able to feel the bass from a distance off.’ I said. ‘We should just follow anyone with green streaks and glow-sticks.’
We drove around the streets. They were mostly empty, but there were cars on them, moving about. I saw no humans; this city must of been taken quick. We rolled down the windows; we had nothing to hide from these people.
We stopped next to a tall skyscraper. It had been riddled with holes from weapons ranging from bullets to missiles, but it was still standing. The top six floors were mostly blown off, but multi-colored lights flashed inside. I could also hear faint music.
'How much would you bet she’s up there?’ Alex asked.
'All of the rest of my SMG ammo. I’ll go up there and look, you two go to her house. We’ll meet here in about an hour, or when I call.’ I said.
'Right.’ Alex responded, nodding. Dennis shrugged as I got out. The Jeep drove off as I headed in, SMG under my jacket. This could be rough.

I had taken the stairs and followed the crude painted arrows to get there. At one point I climbed the inside of an elevator shaft, and another time on a boardwalk on the outside of the building; it was very unsafe. I passed several drunks on the way up there.
When I entered, I could feel the bass in my bones. Somehow, they got 15-foot tall speaker setups up here, along with a full mixing set, several tables, and a full mini-bar. There was a crowd of anthros in the center of the large room, dancing to the pulsating beat. I looked around, trying to adjust to the multi-colored strobe lights and the almost painful bass. One dancer had several neon red and pink streaks down her fur and she was doing a complex dance that included several glowsticks on strings in the center of the dance floor. Not who I was looking for.
I noticed the DJ- a fox with almost completely blue-dyed fur. He had three records which he was constantly switching and scratching while wearing a pair of massive headphones awkwardly on his ears.
I noticed a girl in a dark corner, having a drink at the table there. That’s Jessie! She was an otter, and that was probably a good chunk of the DNA. But she had a large dorsal fin coming form her back, her tail ended in scales and two fins, and I could see gills on her stomach, just under her half-shirt. She had some green hair-dye on in streaks.
I walked over and sat down next to her. she gave me an odd look.
'And you are?’ She asked. She had a slight accent- almost British. Hard to notice.
'Richard Hamilton. You’re Jessie Fisher, yeah?’ I asked.
'That’s me... Wait, how the hell do you know me?!’ She shouted, darting up from her chair. It fell over.
'I was effected by the Genetic dawn as well.’ I said. She looked around, making sure no one noticed her outburst, and sat back down in another chair on the opposite end of the table.
'Okey... so, why haven’t you bought yourself a drink yet?’ She asked, taking another swig of her bottle. I smacked the bottle from her.
'Because I don’t drink. And nor should you; it leads to ruin.’ I said.
'I’ve got little else left.’ Jessie replied.
'Hardly. This world is changing, who knows what may happen?’ I replied.
'Richard- that’s your name, yeah? This rave of ours is for the lost souls, the ones with nothing left to live for. Drink and dance ourselves into god-damned oblivion.’ Jessie said.
'Never think like that. I’ve already pulled one other of our age, one other hybrid that was tricked, from death. He went mad, you know. I think he still is, but less so. He was probably going to die if Alex and I didn’t get there.’
'Wait, who’s Alex?’ Jessie asked.
'A friend. You’ll meet him soon enough.’ I replied. The song had changed; this one was a bit faster. Less bass though. (Thank god.)
There was a really fast pulsating beat, almost out of tune with the rest of the music. It was coming from the left...
I pulled my SMG from under my coat as a human military helicopter floated up over the hole in the wall and started shooting. Some fled, others- The ones that actually had nothing left- stayed and were shot to bits. The DJ stayed and was shot at, but a speaker took the bullets. He shrugged and changed the song again, this time to a orchestral tune with electrical samples. Neat.
'Stay down.’ I said to Jessie. She did exactly the opposite and jumped over to the mini-bar, grabbing a bottle. I turned away as I shot at the helicopter with my SMG, dodging the speakers, tables, and the occasional dancer’s body as I went. I took out the gunner on the side of the helicopter, but the glass on its front was bullet-proof. I ducked behind a spotlight as a bottle flew over my head. It crashed into the helicopter, exploding in flames. Molotov cocktail!
I looked over to Jessie; she had ducked inside the minibar, a bottle with a napkin stuck in it in one hand, a lit lighter in the other. She tossed another- this one missed. But it distracted the helicopter for long enough for me to fly up to it and land inside. The pilot tried to shoot me with a regulation pistol, but I batted it out of his hand first. I unloaded a bullet into his face and jumped out just in time as the helicopter crashed into the side of the building. It fell to the ground in a fireball.
Jessie came over to me as I perched on a wall.
'Damn man, that was badass.’ She said.
'Thanks. Your molotov helped.’ I replied.
'Yeah, but you took it down. So, who’s this Alex guy you were talking about? I think I may want to hang out with you guys.’ She said. I cracked a bird-ish smile as I lead her to the stairs. The DJ waved a good-bye as he relaxed.

We exited the building as Dennis and Alex were running in.
'You alright? I saw that helicopter...’ Alex asked.
'Yeah, I’m fine. Took it down. Oh, Jessie, meet Alex and Dennis. Alex and Dennis, meet Jessie.’ I responded.
'Hiya!’ Jessie chirped. Alex let out a laugh.
'You two seem perfectly fine after taking out down a fully armed military helicopter with... what, exactly?’ Dennis asked.
'My SMG and a few Molotovs.’ I said.
'Oh... nice.’ Dennis said.
'Let’s move, the human military should be coming in soon.’ Alex said. We all ran to the jeep, on which Alex had spray-painted a new symbol- a stylized wolf’s head with silver teeth. Silver fangs.

We had stopped for some food at an abandoned Italian cafe. Dennis wasn’t much of a fan of it, but we all ate. We needed it, the food in the back of the Humvee had run out.
The cafe wasn’t much, just a small clay building on the side of the road. It must of acted like a rest stop before the revolution. The building itself was in reasonably good shape apart from the occasional bullet hole, but the area around it was badly damaged.
A human Sawblade Tank- A.K.A a Slasher- had been destroyed, and the massive sawblade that was mounted on the hovering ship had been flung out and it took a chunk out of the roof of the cafe. There were the rotting husks of a few jeeps and a truck in the parking lot.
We finished our food and packed whatever we could in the back of the Humvee before going off again.
During most of the ride, Dennis was acting irritable and Jessie was acting almost to fun.
For about half an hour, Jessie was going on about how she always wanted to join a group of fighters; a group of solo mercenaries. Alex told her that we weren’t mercenaries, and she suggested we should be. Alex was about to say something about considering it when Dennis, in anger, told Alex and Jessie to shut up because he was trying to figure out a better defense system for the jeep.

We rolled into the town Alan was supposed to be in earlier in the morning. The first building we saw- a large house on the outskirts of town- was collapsed. The next house was slashed down the front with a massive gash. The third was seemingly chopped in half right down the center with a large axe.
'What the hell happened here?’ I asked, looking at the sliced buildings. The fourth was burning.
'I have an idea- a bad one, but still an idea.’ Alex said. 'Sawblade Tank battalion, probably. Looking for rebels in the most violent way possible; shredding the buildings.’
‘This is hardly a rebellion anymore. It’s a war. War against humanity, war against the norm. Quite glorious.’ Dennis muttered. He let out a small chuckle as we drove into town.
The town was a normal town, but it was burning. I could see a few Slashers plowing through the local supermarket. There were some hybrids in the streets, firing at them. One Slasher was of a new design, with a mobile sawblade that could change position. I climbed onto the turret and started firing at a Slasher.
'Keep that fire up! Alan’s not far from here!’ Alex shouted. I watched hybrids run from the market, others trying to help. I noticed a muscular one hauling some out of the burning building.
'Not far from here? He’s over there!’ I shouted. Alex turned suddenly and jumped the curb into the parking lot as I fired upon the tanks. One came our way, but Alex dodged it. Dennis pulled a pistol from one of the cases in the back seat and started firing it in front of the tank. He was a bad shot...
The tank exploded in a ball of fire when Dennis shot a gas station terminal next to it. The sawblade kept on going, bouncing of the ground several times before wedging itself in the store on the other side of the street.
'Smart thinking!’ Jessie shouted. I turned my fire to another tank.
'Science and strategy go hand-in-hand in combat, Jessie. Keep that in mind.’ Dennis said, reloading the small pistol.
We screeched to a halt in front of the market. The bulky figure was who we expected to be Alan.
He was almost seven feet tall and he looked like he could carry several hundred pounds. He was some type of feline- ocelot, I think. He wore the remains of a football uniform- mostly just the pants and the shoulder-pads, loosely thrown over him. He must of been the fear of all players in the game. He also had a stop sign on his back for some reason. He had an unconscious human woman over his shoulder- this town must of been half human, half hybrids. A hybrid town. Funny... Oh, Alan had only one arm, his lower left arm was robotic. But this arm was broken and hanging by just a few wires.
Everyone jumped out but me- I stayed on the turret, firing at the tank that was eviscerating the far end of the market.
'Here, take her.’ Alan said to Dennis as he neared him. Dennis took the girl. 'She’s battered and bruised, and I think a rib is broken. Otherwise, she’s just in shock.’ Alan continued. His voice had a slight Asian accent. He turned to the market entrance- there were several human troopers running out, guns ready. I couldn’t shoot them because all my friends were in the way and I was using my ammo on the Slasher.
Alex pulled out a pistol, but Alan stopped him.
'No, don’t kill. Just maim; they have done little wrong.’ He said. He pulled the stop sign off of his back and held it like a bat. Then I noticed the face of the sign had several dozen one-inch nails pushed through it. He ran in and smacked a trooper in the head, flinging him across the ground and into a table. He swung the sign into another’s legs, flipping him with a sickening wet crunch. A third was sneaking up behind Alan- Jessie shot the trooper in the hand that was carrying the rifle. The soldier dropped it and screamed just before getting a pointy stop-sign to the face.
'Thank you, miss. Now, who are you all?’ Alan asked.
'Name’s Alex Whitefield. The bat is Dennis Burke, Jessie Fisher’s obvious, and the one over on the turret is Richard Hamilton.’ Alex said. I ran out of ammo just when I caused something on the tank to break, causing it to explode. I jumped down from the turret.
'Nice to meet ya.’ I said. Alan shook hands with me. 'You’re Alan, yeah?’ I asked.
'Alan Holmes, yes.’ He responded. He turned to the burning market. 'Allah help us with the people still inside...’ He ran in, bringing down the sign on one trooper who was getting back up. We looked at each other and ran in, trying to help.

We got everyone out from there, but we did find bodies. It was saddening.
'Willow says everyone’s out.’ Alan said.
'Willow? Who’s that?’ Jessie asked.
'He’s my guardian angel; he’s been with me since I was born. He is right next to me, can’t you see?’ Alan said, gesturing to a patch of cracked concrete.
'Alan, there’s nothing there.’ Alex said.
'No matter, no one can ever see him.’ Alan replied. 'So, you want me to come with you?’
'Well, where else do you have to go?’ I asked.
'My home was lost during this fighting... Alright, I shall come. I just hope I can get my arm repaired.’ The big cat responded, raising up the broken robotic arm. It was hanging at a bad angle, broken and unusable.
'I can fix that with the proper supplies, Alan.’ Dennis said.
'Really? Good. Let’s go, then. I am interested in you people.’ He said. We all pushed inside the jeep- it was a tight fit. I had to sit in the turret so that Alan could fit in the jeep.
'Any ammo left in that?’ Alex asked as we started driving. I pulled the trigger and got a click.
'Nothing.’ I replied. Alan got out and climbed up to the turret.
'you have no use for it now, I presume. Do you have a hand-held gun?’ He asked. I nodded and pulled my SMG from my jacket.
'Good.’ Alan said just before tearing the turret off from its mountings and throwing it away. He climbed back in. 'Let’s go, shall we?’ He asked. We started rolling. I was shocked- that turret was held down with steel mountings!

We were about 50 miles from the freighter when Alex called up Nikosei with a cell phone he pulled from nowhere. Must of been one in the jeep. He rung the boat up, but got no response. It was about noon, she must of been getting lunch. The phone was in the control deck.
'Niko, pick up. We’ll be there in about an hour. Probably less. So finish your food and get the ship ready to go. Drop the boardwalk, this jeep will be abandoned. We’ve got everyone too. Out.’ Alex said, closing the ancient flip-phone.
'Who’s Niko?’ Jessie asked.
'One of the first people we picked up. She’s at the boat now, where we’re going. And her name’s actually Nikosei, we just ended up calling her that.’ Alex responded. He shifted the jeep into high gear- we had just gotten gas, and Alex was intent of burning it to get to the boat.
We started passing more and more bodies, more wrecks on the side of the road. Usually, that wouldn’t mean much. But that number was increasing as we sped down the road. No human bodies either- just hybrids.
We turned to enter a straightaway. At the end of it, there was a bridge crossing a massive chasm in the ground. But it was guarded by a dozen police cars, two Slashers, a helicopter, a a couple dozen military troopers.
'Richard, get down!’ Alex shouted. I ducked just as the soldiers started firing at us. Bullets flew over my head as Alex sped towards the humans. One Slasher came after us and missed because the jeep dodged it. The other almost flipped us because it dug a trench in the concrete that acted like a large bump. The helicopter started up, its missiles at the ready.
Dennis went after a fuel tank again. This time, it was a police car’s fuel tank. The car exploded, sending a dozen troops flying through the air. We sped around the explosion and towards the bridge, ramming a car out of the way as we did.
The helicopter behind us fired its missiles; not at us, but the bridge’s supports!
A 50-foot long chunk of the bridge was breaking off as we continued to speed towards it.
'Do you have any idea what you’re doing?’ Jessie asked Alex.
'None at all! It’s our only chance though!’ He hollered back. We hit a large crack, and jumped onto the falling length. We sped up it as it tilted downwards, steadily going up a changing hill at a solid speed of 80 MPH.
We vaulted onto the other side of the collapse at full speed, landing hard with a screech. The rest of the bridge fell down behind us, falling several hundred feet down. We sped on as the Slashers and the helicopter flew after us.
I braced myself as a Slasher’s cannon shell tore a hole in the road, shaking the humvee.
We drifted around a corner and sped into a tunnel. The Slashers sped in first, cutting holes in the sides. The helicopter dived in-and got flattened by the collapsing roof that the Slashers caused. Its rotors bounced down the tunnel, embedding in the second Slasher tank. That unbalanced it just enough to where it smashed into the tunnel wall, detonating like a bomb. The last Slasher was keeping itself stable by using the roof and the ground as a guide-rail.
We swerved around abandoned cars- the Slasher crashed through them. We cut corners as close as possible to the wall, the Slasher just cut the corners. In half.
I let off some SMG fire at it, but it wasn’t really doing anything. The Slasher shrugged it off like a peashooter.
We raced outside, where the Slasher re-adjusted its blades to be horizontal. It put on some extra speed and actually sliced into our back bumper, but nothing serious in damage.
Alex rammed through a husk of a car, sending it flying up into the air, where it bounced off the top of the Slasher tank. The tank was shoved down into the ground, causing quite the explosion. There was a moment of silence, and then everyone cheered. Alex is a good driver.

We had only five miles to go when we were attacked again.
A normal tank rolled in front of us as we were speeding down a forested road that entered the town on the shore. Alex swerved, but we were shaken by the tank’s shell that was fired at us. Shrapnel was embedded all over the jeep, and the engine on the humvee started smoking. The tank rolled after us, but we were well out of its way by the time it had the ability for a second shot.
We jumped into town just as the bullets started flying. We were in the center of the crossfire between the animal and the human!
A hybrid Slasher plowed through the building next to us, sending bricks flying. We sustained dents, but little more.
A normal jeep sped in with a large Gauss cannon mounted on it. The shots broke the windows on the jeep via sonic vibrations. Thankfully, they were shooting at the human troops marching in on our left.
Jessie tried shooting out a gas tank on the side of a human supply truck, and completely missed.
'Let me.’ Dennis said, taking her pistol and firing off a single shot. It missed as well, but hit the driver. The truck swerved out into the road and flipped, throwing crates everywhere. We crashed through those.
Alex flipped open the phone. 'Get the boat moving, Nikosei! We’re coming in hot!’ He shouted into it. 'We’ll make it in, don’t worry! just get it damn well moving!’ He continued, slamming the phone shut and throwing it into the crossfire. We could see the shoreline now. And the moving freighter.
'Hope your faith in my stunt driving’s worth anything.’ Alex said as put the humvee into over-drive. He smashed through a few smaller trees and bushes, along with some human troops. We hit a dune near the shoreline and about 50 feet from the boat so hard that we landed on the top deck of the freighter! We landed sideways, but we landed. Everyone scrambled out just before the engine on the jeep exploded.
'Your stunt driving’s worth everything, it seems.’ Alan muttered. 'Good show!’
Nikosei came down from the control deck, asking if we were all alright. We made introductions after saying that we were perfectly fine. A few bruises and scrapes, but yeah, we were fine.
Everyone spread out on the boat, to a chance to rest in the lower decks or a chance for food int he kitchens. Soon, it was just Alex and myself left on the top deck.
'So, Richard; where do you think we shall go?’ He asked.
'We need somewhere to stay, the freighter can’t last forever. Any ideas?’ I responded.
'I’ve got one. I’ll put the ship on course.’ Alex replied before walking up to the control deck. I watched a dogfight go on in the sky; this time it was six blue fighters against several dozen grey ones. The blue ones fought and killed their enemies off, one by one. They were elite warriors, those pilots. Like my friends and myself... Of course. Jessie had briefly suggested we should be mercenaries. Why not go on with that? Fight to survive. Either that or die. We are warriors, that can easily be said. We are heros, we saved several lives already. We’re unlike everyone out there. Deadly, yet young. Strong, yet agile.
There’s six of us, so different and unique. But what to go by? We strike like silver into the heart of a werewolve