Blinking swiftly hither and thither, the shadowy rogue Sentinel, which looked like a terrifying copy of Zov’ha, assaulted the camp on the mesa. For now, Subeya, Marana, and Sinovan were safe inside The Gloomhog, but the severe thrashing of their belongings outside was a terrible sight to witness. 

Watching it all unfold on a screen that displayed the footage from external cameras, they noticed the Ghost suddenly stop and crawl on all fours like an ape… it was coming towards their truck. Looking directly at one of the cameras, as if it sensed that it was being watched, it grinned menacingly.

‘That’s creepy,’ Marana mewled, latching onto Subeya’s hefty arm as they both stared at the screen. ‘What’s it upta?’ 

‘It knows we’re in here,’ Subeya whispered. 

Then all of a sudden it vanished, sparking dread in their hearts. Four loud knocks on the steel doors reverberated within the truck. Mr Murderclaws, who was sound asleep on the dashboard all this while, jumped up with a start. 

‘Muffin, focus cam-four on the doors,’ Marana said shakily. 

The camera adjusted to display the doors from outside, but there was nothing there. Another set of loud knocks… this time from the roof. ‘I can’t take this toying any longer!’ Subeya growled. ‘We can’t just stay in here cowering like cornered river geese! I’m going out there!’ 

‘Are you mad?’ Sinovan yelled from the storage unit where he had begun preparing for first aid, foretelling a gruesome end to all of this. ‘We should at least wait for Zovhara to return!’ 

‘Why do you guys keep calling her that?’ 

‘S’what she made us call her!’ said Marana as she reached for the controls in an attempt to connect with Abbess Anandil Homa. 

‘Maybe we should all just call her “Zov”,’ Subeya said, taking a cautious step towards the door as the terrifying knocking now came from the back of the vehicle. 

‘This isn’t the time to be discussing names!’ Sinovan barked. ‘Subeya! It’s too dangerous to go out alone!’ 

A resounding crash shook the vehicle hurtling all three of them backwards. Sinovan and Subeya toppled on the floor and Marana keeled over her chair falling under the dashboard, which sent Mr Murderclawz dashing away to the back of the truck. 

‘Wha’ was that?’ Lying where she fell, legs akimbo, Marana winced as she felt a bump on her head. 

‘Intruder has begun aerial assault using boulders,’ came Honeymuffin’s voice from the system. ‘Damage to the vehicle is only one-percent. Dimensions of the rock hurled at the truck was forty-five cent…’

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ Marana waved, standing up and shaking her head. ‘How’s it got the iron to slam hot rocks at us, man?’ 

Another blow to the vehicle shuddered the steel plates, sending shivers through the scaffolding. Sinovan ducked as a sparking wire swung by him a hair’s breadth away. Marana placed Mr Murderclawz in a closet to keep him safe and ran back to cower behind the driver’s chair.

Standing with her legs wide apart, Subeya balanced herself as the truck rocked with the impact of the continuous assault. ‘That’s it! I’m going out there! I’ve fought that monster before!’

‘Do ya even have a game plan?’ Marana yelled over the clammer.

The groaning of metal and crackle of circuitry only strengthened Subeya’s resolve; something had to be done. ‘Marana, pick up some lead and give me cover. Shut the door when I exit!’ 

The Mechanov unwillingly detached herself from her chair and tottered awkwardly to the armoury. Pulling out a handgun, she loaded a fresh magazine into it. Apprehensively, she shook her head, ‘I don’t think I can shoot at it! It looks so much like Zov!’

‘That’s exactly what the Ghost expects,’ Subeya growled, her hand curling around the handle of the door. ‘It takes the form of its opponent so it’s harder to defeat it. I’m going out!’  

But their plot was foiled. When Subeya hit the button for the doors to slide open, the Ghost had been waiting. Into the vehicle it dashed, tearing apart everything in its way. Marana panicked and screamed and opened fire, triggering the alarm system.  

‘Stop shooting!’ Subeya barked, holding her hands above her head.

‘If ya can’t get a holda the thing we all gonna…’ Marana screeched before she could end the sentence as the devilish Ghost zoomed past her to the back of the truck.

Subeya saw this as an opportunity and dove after it, but the Ghost was faster. The bulky Poban slammed onto the floor, cracking and denting the aluminium tread plates where her body landed. 

Slashing its claws on its way out, the Ghost tore up the ceiling of the truck. The turret on the roof buckled under its own weight and came crashing below, taking Sinovan and Marana down in one fell swoop, knocking them unconscious. The Ghost laughed maniacally before bolting out of the truck.

Subeya stood up and cursed under her breath as she saw the bodies of her friends lying limp amongst the wreckage. Rage bubbled up within her like a stoked flame in a wuthering wind. Without thought, she punched the door button to close and somersaulted out of the truck, shutting the other two within. 

Silence. Crouched in a ready-stance, head lowered, she glared into the night. The Ghost had not disappeared. It was waiting. Darkness was its advantage. 

‘Honeymuffin,’ Subeya said in an undertone, breathing heavily, heart racing and blood pounding against her skull. ‘Light up the truck!’ 

Blinding lights illuminated the mesa from the eight headlights and four rear lights of the truck. Even the colourful strips that lined the vehicle lit up like sunlight through perforated blinds. There was a shrill shriek behind Subeya — the Ghost had been waiting on the roof of The Gloomhog. 

The moment she heard the Sentinel Death Cry she thought it was over — she would fall just like Sinovan and Marana. In those few seconds, as her heart leaped to her throat, and the fur on the back of her neck stood, all she could do was curse herself for being so reckless. She could have locked herself up in the truck… maybe asked Honeymuffin to take over while she helped her friends to medical aid. That’s what Sinovan would have done. That’s what anyone would have done! 

Too late… She felt the Ghost’s claws on her back… It was… painless. Like a needle prick. But that didn’t feel right… The Ghost missed?

A massive rotting tree trunk whizzed past her, smashing the Ghost in the face before it could sink its claws into her back, thrusting it away from her. Alarmed, she stood upright, absolutely perplexed. The rogue Sentinel tumbled on to the ground and bubbled into an abstract shadowy form. 

‘Muffin, was that you?’ 

‘New presence detected,’ came Honeymuffin’s voice from within the truck. ‘Intruder alert!’ 

‘What? Where…’ Subeya did not see him walk up to her. He was just there, standing in front of her like a shadowy apparition. Dark iridescent slime clung to his skin, like grime on an old cast iron pan. His eyes were black, but his irides were bright blue. ‘Who the…’

‘Peace!’ Aekis hissed, looking up at the giant Poban. ‘I am on your side. Do not be alarmed. My disguise hides my presence from the Sentinel. It could feel me lingering in a cave nearby before and it had refrained from entering your camp. But I had to draw it near!’ 

‘Grease my furry butt and call me a poodle, you’re an Astraleid!’ Subeya gasped, her eyes darting towards the dismembered Ghost and back again. ‘Anandil Homa would lose it if she…’

‘No one needs to know about me,’ Aekis warned her, a supercilious frown on his face. ‘I was never here! Now, listen to me carefully. The Sentinel will re-energise itself shortly.You have the strength to hold it down. I will help. We need to hold off until Zov’ha returns. Now go!’ 

Subeya did not move. She stood staring at the Astraleid, jaws dropped in disbelief. Aekis gave her a moment before saying, ‘Poban?’ 

‘Yes,’ she smiled nervously, a little embarrassed by her disillusionment. She strode towards the Ghost that looked like it was beginning to take a new form, but she did not take her eyes off the young Astraleid. ‘I will now go do that thing you said with the… Sentinel.’ 

‘Quickly,’ he said imploringly. 

Though Subeya welcomed this little break, the Ghost was having none of it. Velvety dark claws emerged from the Autoichorium blob and grabbed her around the waist and neck, slamming her onto the ground. Gasping for air, she flailed her arms around but the Ghost’s grip tightened around her neck, choking her. 

A wild vine, as thick as her arm, suddenly shot out from the shrubs surrounding the camp and whipped the bulbous Ghost, which allowed Subeya to break free. Realising it was Aekis’ doing she caught her breath and gave him a nod and a toothy smile.  

Roots of trees emerged from the soil around her grabbing the unformed blob in an attempt to hold it in place. The Ghost rematerialised into an amalgamation of Subeya and Zov’ha — gigantic and muscular, but also clawed, fanged, and lithe. ‘Uh-oh,’ Subeya bellowed, ‘What now, Mr Astraleid?’ 

As a response, a unique collection of deadwood gathered above her and came crashing down on the Ghost, who’s deafening shriek echoed in the mountains. Subeya watched as Aekis artfully moved his hands, his irides shining brighter now. Electric blue sparks crackled within him and around the wood he had summoned. Dark stuff eroded from his skin, hissing and cracking, forming strings between him and the flora he had conjured around his enemy. 

Inspired by the turn of events Subeya threw her entire body’s weight on the Ghost that was struggling under the variety of logs, boughs, sticks, and sprigs. It screeched once more. Hoping that Zov’ha would hear its caterwauling and rush back to the camp to aid them, she thrust harder. 

Let me at it! Aekis heard Certificate’s sibilant whisper.

No! I need you as my armour, Aekis responded using his thoughts instead of his tongue, his mind bent on holding down the Sentinel with all the strength he could muster. And I do not want you near that thing. It will corrupt your algorithm! 

The Sentinel, as if reading his thoughts, shot bullets of Autoichorium, forcing Aekis to unsheathe a sword that he carried on his back and use it to block the incoming projectiles. Subeya tightened her grip on the logs that held the Sentinel down. It was up to her now to single-handedly stultify the Ghost. She threw in a few punches as well, but seeing her own face mimicked unconsciously restricted her from hitting too hard.

A bright blue illumination caught her eye — Aekis’ sword was glowing and changing shape as needed. It seemed as if he was holding a very large icicle. Then it struck her — Frost Ash! Zov’ha had told her about the boy with blue eyes… a wolf in the snow. He carried a sword with him, made of Frost Ash… ice so cold, it burnt whatever it touched. You’re finally here, Subeya thought gleefully. 

She was growing weary with the struggle. Sudden bursts of strength she could handle, but the continuous intense strain was beginning to burn her muscles as if she had been touched by hot steel from a blacksmith’s fire. ‘I don’t think I can hold it down much longer!’ she growled through gritted teeth. 

‘I can feel Zov’ha’s presence nearby,’ Aekis managed between breaths as he passed by her. ‘Just a little longer!’ 

Subeya took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and with all her might exhaled, letting out a powerful roar. Bearing down on the Sentinel forcefully she successfully distracted it. The creature stopped firing projectiles at Aekis and redirected all its energy in trying to stay intact. 

Feeling her energy draining, Subeya shut her eyes and used every last bit of strength to crush the maniacal being. Her roar turned to grunts as she gasped for breath. Her muscles were losing power, her body was trembling. Drenched in sweat, she whimpered but pressed on. 

At the precipice of surrender, she felt as if her limbs had turned to liquid, and she was floating in a limbo between the sea and the sky. Feeling nauseous and hungry at the same time, she felt a great wave of despair washing over her. Her ears began to clog and no matter how much she swallowed, she couldn’t pop them. 

No more. When she opened her eyes, she could make out something woolly in front of her, but sweat blurred her vision. ‘Zov…’ she managed to mumble before she succumbed to exhaustion and fell over.

An enormous paw appeared, taking Subeya’s place, compressing the Ghost with such intensity that it lost its stolen form and began bubbling again, diffusing into a globule. 

Aekis commanded the Autoichorium on his skin to liquify and disappear. Sheathing his sword, he gazed unbelievingly at the colossal grey-furred elken bear. Efiros’ antlers had grown so large that it looked like there was a small tree on his head. His furry limbs were massive, one of them would be as big as Aekis. 

The Astraleid had been so preoccupied by the size of the beast that he almost disregarded Zov’ha, who was seated comfortably on the bear’s back. She stared back at him in utter dismay. 

‘You look… familiar,’ she said, her brows knotting in recognition. 

‘I’m Aekis,’ he replied, feeling as if time had stopped between them. Somehow, it felt like it was only yesterday that he had last spoken to her, like they had been friends forever and that nothing had changed. ‘I am an Astraleid from Orbita Cygnus.’

‘What do you want?’ She asked, her expression suddenly blank. All memories of her past seemed to have been abruptly swept away, like the debris of a shipwreck being cleared away by an ocean tide. It was as if her own brain was attempting to protect her from the trauma of her past. 

Puzzled by her capriciousness, Aekis gazed at her with heartfelt disappointment. He had hoped that his appearance may have elicited a more amicable response. But her expression was inscrutable, her demeanour vapid. ‘I bear knowledge on how to defeat the ancient Sentinel,’ he managed. ‘But only you can do it.’