Its head was huge with a long snout like an elephant. The body had arms, hands, and legs like a human, but monsters did too. A hard shell of black covered the invader like some beetle.

Her face throbbed from the force of the slam and her back reeled in pain from the fall. A wave of nausea bubbled in her stomach. It was this huge creature set out to kill her. Delah screamed and snaked backwards with her back to the floor, legs pushing her from the tall creature. The huge black-garbed monster, continued to whip her, stinging her with the probing instrument. Her little friend whimpered while she tried to grab the prod. It didn’t work. The monster was too strong and pulled it from her grip.

Her voice weakened while she cried for her mother, covering her head, not wanting to be hit anymore. She got to her knees and trembled as she stood. The monster gripped her arm until it hurt, snatched her up under one arm.

“Leave me alone. No. Let me go.” She beat the monster’s arm, scratched the carapace and kicked the thighs. She felt like a fly in a bottle unable to penetrate the glass. The monster easily carried her outside. Brightness shocked her as she came into full sunlight.

When her eyes adjusted, she looked up sideways at the black monster. He wore a mask, helmet, and what looked like a utility belt around his waist. Delah decided the monster was a man, probably an Araidian that couldn’t breathe out here among the Reedpods.

With her head down, Delah spotted the tan furry friend following close on all fours. It didn’t make a noise in the grass nor did it try to catch up with them.

Delah’s gaze followed the soldier’s wave toward a huge black ball fifty feet away. No, it was a ship. This menacing Araidian, all dark, spoke to her in garbled phrases she didn’t understand while they walked toward the ship. Her throat constricted as he carried her further away from her haven.

The soldier yelped and furiously shook his booted leg with the tan creature swinging by the booted toe. Her little friend had bit the monster’s foot. Delah took this as her chance to escape. She grabbed the soldier’s breathing hose and yanked it loose. The soldier dropped her and screamed commands then snatched off the helmet. Delah didn’t wait to see if the soldier fell over from Reedpod poisoning but darted toward the cornfields. She yelled for her little friend to come and it caught up running on all fours beside her feet. Head high, feet moving, she pumped her arms and sped into a row of stalks. The green stalks and ears of corn hit her, stung her skin.

“You, stop!” A soldier yelled.

Finally, it was something she understood from the Araidian language her mother had taught her.

The small tan creature kept up with her, but sometimes scampered into the stalks, disappearing between the corn rows. She slowed for a moment and let it return to her. Scooping it up in her arms not to lose it again, she kept running forward now more lucid, pushing aside the stalks with her other arm. She darted through the field toward home.

Smoke blurred her vision and brought tears to her eyes. She coughed, smelling the stench of burning cornfields. Her friend shrieked and Delah slammed into an immovable object. Sharp red pain seared through her body from the same type of stick the other soldier had beat her with. Buckling, she fell, face up. The tall cornstalks gave way to another soldier in black. She couldn’t move. Her heart raced, drumming in her ears. The little creature kept licking her face.

A gloved hand returned the long black stick that had stunned her with a loud click.

“Scout One, come in.” Delah heard a pause, a crackle. “You’d better give me a hundred credits for this one. She’s an Araidian. Scientists would kill to know why she’s not dead. So you owe me.” Another pause and crackling noise. It had to have been the other soldier’s response. “Scout One, can you hear me? I’ve apprehended a surviving Araidian. You won‘t believe this, but we’ve caught a Banee, too. Those sniffing rodents are irreplaceable for finding gold. Maybe this one will make us the richest son of a Granulup in the universe.” More crackling came from the helmet.

The soldier threw her over his left shoulder and picked up the yelping creature by the scruff of its neck and tucked it under his left arm. From his utility belt, he unsnapped a small green canister, fitting in his right palm, and popped open the lid with his thumb. White smoke hissed from it and she caught a whiff.

“This’ll keep you under control.” The guard said, as he walked away from the burning cornfield.

She couldn’t keep her eyes open while she heard more scuffling in the grass as they approached the ship. The ground blurred and gray edges around her vision darkened. She fought to stay awake to hear what they were talking about, but it was hopeless. Without the ability to move, her limp arms bounced against the soldier’s back and unwanted sleep claimed her. Delah let out a deep yawn and gave in to the disturbing dark.

●

Teeabu leaped and raced through the tall stalks. The stench of burning cornstalks reached his nostrils. He pumped his legs faster, slashing back the stalks that stung his hands. He had to rescue Delah. Above the crackling fire, screaming came from the direction of the shack, northeast.

Dashing ahead of the fire and smoke, he stopped cold in the clearing. The horror overcame him. To the right, two soldiers were walking toward the ship, one carrying Delah over his shoulders. A third soldier stood between the shack and ship, with the helmet off.

He picked up a rock the size of his hand, placing it between his two fingers and thumb.

The soldier without a helmet would do for a hit. That would keep the other two soldiers from boarding the ship.

With curled fingers around the rock, he sprinted toward them, light on his feet. Thirty feet away he reared his arm back and hurled the stone with its pointed end directed at the target. The rock flew and struck the soldier’s temple. Teeabu noticed the soldier was a woman and he grimaced while she crumbled to the ground.

All he wanted to do was get their attention and somehow stop Delah from being taken aboard the ship.

It was too late for a simple apology. His heart leaped to his throat and his hair stood on end when the two black uniformed soldiers raced toward him. His mind spoke faster than his feet.

Get out now!

Before he reached the cornstalks, something stung him, causing a sharp pain shoot down his back to his legs. Teeabu keeled over and rolled from prods poking him. Bright red, yellow, and green stars sprung from his vision each time a prod hit him. Springing up, he dodged one jab toward his shoulder. The second jab caught him in the stomach and he fell over. Like black demons massing to kill, they stung him over and over again.

Finally, with eyes open, Teeabu saw the black soldiers, heard crackling coming from their helmets. One put his hand to where an ear should be and spoke. A loud yell penetrated the mask and a fearful knowing cut through Teeabu’s heart.

The soldier snatched off his helmet. A huge man with black smudges under his eyes and shimmering skin as if doused with sparkling dust scowled at Teeabu. A black tube that ran from his collar into his nose moved up and down as his nostrils flared. Hissing noises came from between his teeth while he breathed excessively.

Though an ugly sight to bear, Teeabu watched intently. A ripping noise came from the soldier’s thigh pocket, uncovering a handheld weapon. A glint of silver came from a huge commando knife aimed at Teeabu, squeezing his eyes shut, gritting himself for the stab.

Dying today was too soon. He commenced praying to Adoini, asking forgiveness for killing the female soldier, praying that Delah and Irema be set free.

A whistling wind breezed by his ear and a shadow came over him. Opening his eyes, a struggle took place above him as he looked up. Another soldier had grabbed the one set out to kill him by the arm and slammed him in the chest. The other soldier roared and pointed at Teeabu, pointed to where the commando knife, jagged edged, stood up in Shatazar’s earth next to his ear.