The Phoenix Colony

Pasha looked at Cevin. He could see the determination in the man’s eyes. He knew it could mean death, but what did it matter? He’d faced worse outcomes then this one before, and he had survived them all. Was he becoming soft? He got up, his bludgeon stick in his grasp.

“If you stay, it’ll still find you. Like he said, it has a taste for us now.” Yuri commented.

“If we go, we at least have some kind of chance. We’d be ready.” Pasha thought back.

“Exactly.”

Pasha grabbed the spears from his side, four of them. Viva looked up at him, and he gave her a smile.

“We’ll come with you.” He said.

 

With the other group gone, Derek turned to Reva. "With all due respect, are you sure that was a good idea? It could give them the idea that we have excess, and they don't seem like the kind of guys to mess around with. They get hungry, this'll be the first place they come."

 

"They brought us information that they didn't have to," Reva replied, " and they're coming back anyway. Maybe even if they hadn't been invited."

Reva watched the men go, clutching the shoe in her left hand, absently stroking the leather with her right, tracing the slit in the top. She pushed away images of Ben and promised herself she’d cry for him later, then she turned to Derek.

“Is Kat going to be all right?” She was falling into the habit of calling the girl by the same name Derek and Smith did, “Does she need help or anything?”

Fox turned to reva. "You know, Allen asked a pretty good question. Frank is probably crooked as all hell, for the government to be willing to send one of its cops to prison."

Reva smiled. It was a weak smile but it felt good.

"I think you've hit on something that you, Allen and I can all agree on." she replied.

 

"I'll go check on her" Derek said. "I guess I just don't like their overall demeanor," he smirked proud of his use of a large word.

Derek walked over to the stream with the torch to light his way and searched out Chrys, walking up to her and saying "Hey you okay? I guess you forgot you're allergic to those chocostrawberries eh?"

 

Chrys ran for the stream, smacking into overhanging branches, completely forgetting that her leg wasn't right yet. Her only thought was getting the darn fire off of her skin.

..WaterwaterWATERWATERWATERWATER.... Chrys thought, finally making it to the stream. ...Oh crap! WATER!...

Chrys stood well out of the reach of the water, some strange force preventing her from going into it. SHe took one step forward, and followed it with two steps back.

...You are a humanm dangit, get your ass in the damn water, and this fire off of your skin!... She mentally berated herself.

"Hisss!" She screamed as she charged face first at the stream.

Chrys dive deep, trying to cover as much of hersel as she could in one swoop.

Jumping out of the water, relieved Chrys looked up, "Hiss!" Derek was waiting on the bank.

"I guess you forgot you're allergic to those chocostrawberries eh?" He asked, a bit of amusement in hes voice.

"No, I just wasn't thinking about it when Reva asked me to that." She grinned.

Chrys began to shake herself dry, fur growing with each shake.

 

"Um...Reva, can me and you talk for a moment if your not to busy?" asks Fox in a low whisper as she looks at the ground.

 

Reva watched him go and turned to Fox.

"We don't need to Fox. You were here to back me up and that's what counts. I hate to ask you this but could you take the next watch? I'll send Chad out here with you." Reva sighed and held up the shoe, "I have to tell everyone that Ben didn't make it."

The pain inside over Ben's death was suffocating but she ignored it.

 

"Ok. I think being out here would do me some good." says Fox in the same low whisper. She goes to the side of the woven door and sits down. She looks up at the sky. That hole was barely visible any more, but it still had that same dark red glow. "The sky is beautiful tonight." says Fox.

 

Reva's heart constricted as she thought of Ben dying alone in the snow on a beautiful night. How odd that a hole seemed to be punctured right through a passing cloud so that the red moon peeked balefully through.

"Yeah," She replied sadly, "A beautiful night."

Reva returned to the inside of the cave, putting a hand on Allen's shoulder for balance. She felt more and more crippled as she held the news in yet it was an ordeal to walk to the fire.

She placed the shoe where everyone could see it and asked for everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry to say that it appears that Ben is dead." she said and a hard peach pit of tears seemed to lodge in her throat, threatening to choke her. She swallowed painfully, forced them back. "I can't be sure but it sounds like something animal might have killed him. Maybe the thing that he fought before." Right before I met him...shut up...don't think about that...

"The men who were just here are coming back tomorrow. I suggest we build a bonfire outside and keep watch over the cave. I don't want them entering it. There are ten of them and I think they may have information that we may need."

Reva paused then looked at Chad.

"Fox has taken the next watch. Would you please join her. I think we should have double watches tonight."

Reva nodded twice, as though dismissing everything. She felt exhausted.

"Thanks." She didn't know why she was thanking them other than for being there. That was enough.

Reva sat by the fire just wanting to be alone now and pulled out the paper, unfolding it slowly and reading its words.

"I couldn't sell any bridges in New York Reva, forgive me, I threw my chance away, -Ben Freeman."

She folded it away again. She couldn't afford to cry, not yet. But soon.

 

Cevin looked up at the clear night sky. They would need torches. The snow would help reflect what little light the torches gave off. The caern enetrance was rimmed with ice. The freezing temperatures would probably have made everything almost rock hard. At least some of their foot prints would have survived.

He looked over at Pasha and tossed him a hollowed out ape skull filled with animal fat. "It'll make a great torch plus a pretty good weapon if needed." The next words caught in his throat. "It'll be cold outside, everyone take a couple of extra furs." Silently, he divided up the furs Owen used as a blanket.

 

Derek shook his head. "You gotta be more careful," he said. As she dried herself off he realized that she was beginning to grow fur. This is a wierd planet he thought. "Let's get back to camp and get some rest. No doubt Reva has another guard up by now."

 

Chrys, still not as dry as she hoped to be, limped after Derek. "Weird? Weird you say? You haven't seen what's truly weird yet." She said, tapping his shoulder, "This is weird." She commented, extending her claws.

 

Derek's eyes widened slightly. "Well those can be useful. So why are you limping? Need to be carried?"

He thought about the offer he had just made for a moment, realizing it may be difficult for him to carry it out if she said yes.

 

The three silently crept out of the cavern and made their way towards the mountain. THeir flaming skulls made strange shadows dance across the frozen landscape. Occasionally an angry insect would stop it's screeching song as they walked by. Beyind that there was nothing.

"The thing isn't completely invisible," said Cevin. "It kind of makes ripples in the area around it as it moves. Watch the stars, if they suddenly shift even for a second, tap someone on the shoulder."

The insect's song was joined by a second serenade, that of a very familiar mewing. Cevin tightened his grip on the spear. They were getting close.

 

Chrys shathed her claws, "That they might, but they are weird none the less." Rubbing the pain, she said, "Valient of you in deed, but your arm disagrees with the offer, so I'll decline."

"Hey, I bet my limp can beat your run." She smirked. "Wanna see?"

 

Pasha tried to keep his footsteps remotely quiet, though with his weight that wasn’t so easy. He held on tightly to his staff, Viva followed closely at his side. It was a remotely silent night, the air a bitter cold. He enjoyed the freezing temperature, and the frozen snow below his boots. This was just like home, if not milder.

He had yet to see any of the beasts footprints, but honestly he wasn’t looking. He couldn’t help but feel unsure of this situation. He, for once in his life, feared for someone else’s life. He had never been afraid of death, it stared at him all the time when he was on the run. Not all his victims went down without a fight, and even then, sometimes it was the environment that wanted him dead. Thus was life.

The mewing started, sending him out of his thoughts and back to their reality. His hand wrapped around one of his spears, as he looked around. Now was the time to pay attention.

 

Derek chuckled. "I'm sure you could. That wouldn't be very good for it though, you might want to rest." He ignored her comment about his arm and scooped her up off the ground, slinging her over his good shoulder. "Like I told Reva, only reason we have two arms is just in case one fails." He chuckled then began to walk back to camp.

 

"Okay, I am not pet cat, you, you put me down right now!" Chrys exclaimed as Derek shoulder reamed her in the gut. "I mean it, down, now. Put me down now." She whimpered.

Her whimpers fell on deaf ears though, he continued to walk.

...I feel like a darn cartoon... Catwoman meets Caveman....I think people stopped taking me seriously the moment I started hissing at them...

 

Frank didn't sleep well that night, not well at all. He was plagued by his past for the first time in a long while. That question, about what he did to get sent to planet, "Cleaning the streets" he said, and the mere mention of the streets brought his mind back to them.

Down the crowded streets of Chicago did roll a squad car, silent in the night. Two men sat in the front seat, and one of them, in shotgun, was Frank Sellyon at the ripe young age of 22. "So Franky," began the driver, "How does it feel to survive your first gangwar, and year on the force for that matter?"

"Feels pretty damn fine Danny," he replied as he cracked his knuckles. "In fact we ought to celebrate, I tossed a couple beers in the back, got'em off a few underaged punks in the park."

"Now now, Frank, you know how I feel about using police property," he said, turning to his younger officer, "But seeing as you haven't died yet, we might as well enjoy it." He smiled warmly, and Frank returned it, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing it firmly. "Now why not have a little music?" he said as he flicked on the CD player. On came Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.

"Now your talking," began Frank, tapping his knee to the beat. "****ing classic, this one. I don't care if Freddie Mercury was a queer, he knew how to rock."

"Nah he wasn't gay," began Dan, looking out at the dark street. They were passing through some slummy suburbs, tiny houses surrounding a playground. "He was Bi, that guy appreciated the female vagina for sure, what Rockstar of that caliber doesn't?"

"I can't argue with that," replied Frank, looking out the window, at the playground itself. Graffiti all over it declaring simultaneously that 'U38 is king' and that 'Pig's suck dick'. "Man it's hard to believe kids play here during the day."

"Ya, it's a toxic environment alright."

"Evil if you ask me, that's all these people are, gangbanging bastards. How many people died in this gangwar? How many sons and daughters?"

"It doesn't matter Frank, and they aren't evil. You have to learn that, evil isn't real, it's all perspective. These people, they don't chose to become banging idiots, all they are is products of the environment."

"So why do we put them away?"

"Because it's easier to remove the products, the tough part is wiping the **** off the environment itself. The kids, they see those signs and suddenly they think U38 is king, it doesn't matter if they know what U38 is or not, all they know is next time they here that name, they respect it more. Their taught to hate us Frank, hate us and love the hood." Each word that left Dan's mouth left with a bit of bitterness.

"It doesn't seem fair," said Frank.

"Well it isn't, a few men with some spray paint have already started giving birth to future criminals and we can't stop it. It goes deeper and deeper, but that doesn't matter. Why'd you join the force Frank?"

"To try and help people, to try and make these streets a bit safer at night."

"Well that's what we do, we lock away the products of the environment and make things 1% better. Ask yourself, is 1% better than 0?"

He looked up to Dan and after a moment he said, "Yes, I guess it is."

"Good, now why don't we stop this deep bull**** and get back to the precinct already." As Freddy Mercury sang, 'I'm having a good time, I'm having a good time!' Dan hummed along, but Frank just stared out his window, looking at the playground with a sort of quiet loathing. Two men stood out there in the warm night, under the tang streetlights, nothing but shadows talking. Two friends just like Frank and Dan. They stood on the corner of the little street, right next to the swings. They're people just like us, doesn't matter where they come from, they're people. Suddenly one of them pulled a gun on the other.

"Jesus!" yelled Frank.

"What what?" asked Dan urgently.

"We got a mugging or something, quick turn the sirens on!" The night was pierced by the wheeeeeewoo and flashing lights of the squad car as it sped towards the two. The man with the gun turned and fled, but not before pistol whipping the other man to the ground. Frank jumped out of the car as it slowed to a stop and sprinted towards the figure below the light. "You okay?" he said panting.

"Ya, I think so, wanna help me up?" The man on the ground said, a nasty bump on his forehead.

"Ya sure, sure, who was that guy?" Dan was there now two, his face shrouded in shadow as the lights of the squad car passed on his back. The siren had stopped sounding, and all that could be heard now was Freddy singing, 'I'm gonna make a supersonic man out of you!'.

"His name is Darrel, ****ing punk thinks he can rob me, he's my nephew. Damn gangs have him robbing his own family." said the man, on his feet now, wiping sweat off his bald head.

"Well it's a ****ed up world friend," said Dan, scanning the park. "Think we can get his name and where he lives?"

"Ya sure, don't go easy on him either, this might get him out of that **** for good. He lives on West 40th-" as the poor man had begun to tell the two a shot rang out in the night, and he fell to the ground.

"Jesus ****!" screamed Frank as he sprinted for the squad, more shots chasing him as he went. He hit the hood Duke's style, sliding across and getting his gun up. It was then he realized with horror that the shots weren't chasing him, but killing Dan. He fell to his side, gun bouncing from his hand as a shocked kid stood above him, his front nothing but blackness as the tang light shined behind him.

He fell to his knees and dropped the gun to the pavement as he began to cry over his uncles dead body, but not Dan's. Infuriated, Frank got up and walked over. "What the **** was that for!" he screamed, bringing his pistol across the kid's face, knocking him onto his back.

"Please, I'm sorry, it's just since the police shut down da war, well killing cops for street cred is wort a lot mo!"

"Shut up!" he yelled, pointing his weapon at the kids forehead. "That man," he said, pointing at Dan's dead body, "He had a ****ing family!"

"I'm sorry!" pleaded the kid.

"No your not!" declared Frank, "Your just a savage, nothing but a stupid, slack jawed primate!" As he clicked off the safety, Freddy sang out, 'Don't Stop Me Noooow!'

"Please, don't shoot man, don't shoot!"

Frank squeezed his eyes shut and felt one sweaty finger begin to ease the trigger in. As soon as the first shot was fired, he opened his eyes and looked at the young man, eyes open, hole in his forehead, jerking on the ground like a fish. He pulled the trigger again and again and again. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG click click click click. Freddy finished singing, and the band stopped playing.

That was the day when Frank Sellyon had died, and the devil was born.

 

Smith had taken the knews from Reva and had walked outside to where Fox was allready waiting. His eyes full of tears, he knew that Reva wouldn't have chased Ben away, she would have made him stay, stay safe. He couldn't feel the tears sliding down his hard cheek, but he hoped they where, a sign that he was still human somewhere inside. He tallied another death onto his murder sheet, if the government ever did save him, he'd probably turn his self in. He couldn't get the picture of the bloody shoe out of his mind, Ben's last moments had been forced upon him by Smith's stuborness.

 

Cevin stopped at a tree and examined the tracks covering the snow. "We went this way," he said. As they continued the mewing grew louder. In the distance a tree cracked and split. The snow and ice began to part. Cevin grabbed his spear and stood directly in the creature's path. "This is for you Owen."

 

Raylene lay under a mound of fur and blankets, but she was still shivering. Her head ached and a goose egg had emerged on her scalp. She brought a hand up out of her coverings to touch the tender bump and opened her eyes.

"Reva," she muttered. "Reva, where are you? There were voices. New voices I couldn't recognize." She tried to sit up, but the throb in her head made her rethink her choice. She wished she wasn't so cold, as the shivering made her muscles ache.

 

Fox looks away from the hole in the sky and towards Chad. She sees the tears coming out of his eyes. She could guess that it was because Ben died.

"That is the worst part of being the leader. When you make a mistake, you're not the one who'll pay for it. Its will be the people that trusted you that pays the price." says Fox.

 

Derek simply chuckled at Kat's attempts to escape his shoulder. "Hey, calm down. You wouldn't wanna make that leg injury any worse." He kept laughing as he carried her back to the cave, finally setting her down just outside the entrance. "You're welcome," he smiled at her.

He walked into the cave afterwards, walking up to Reva and saying "So I've been replaced? I still don't know if I'm ready to sleep yet." He smiled.

 

Chrys folded her arms in an attempt to appear pissed...Even I'm not convinnced..She gave up and limped to the mouth of the cave, pushing her way through the door.