Red Waters

by Charles Rye

  Caliphar lined up his sight, getting a perfect view of the Destroyer.

  Taking a deep breath, Caliphar applied the pressure that sent a 7.62mm bullet whizzing through the air toward the Destroyer.

  The bullet made impact with deadly accuracy, piercing the Destroyer's chest and dropping it instantly.

  "Nice shot!" Koriphus congratulated excitedly, patting Caliphar on the back.

  "Let's go get breakfast,"

  Caliphar and Koriphus returned to the others waiting in the bus.

  "Thanks to Caliphar here, we got breakfast. He and I will go get it, y'all watch our back," Koriphus instructed the girls.

  "Okay," Aurelia said eagerly, reaching under her seat for her rifle.

  She hit opened the door for them, and they disappeared through it.

  She and Soraf kept vigil through the rear window as Caliphar and Koriphus made their way to the slain Destroyer.

  "I gotta say I'm pretty impressed you dropped this sucker on your first try. Even I had a few misses my first time," Koriphus admitted, nudging the body with his toe.

  "I guess I should take that as a compliment," Caliphar chuckled.

  "You should, you're a natural sniper," Koriphus agreed with a laugh.

  "Thanks, now let's get this thing back to the bus. I don't want any others finding us out here," Caliphar said, peering around restlessly.

  Koriphus bent over and grabbed the Destroyer's hind legs, while Caliphar grabbed its front legs.

  Together, they hauled it back to the bus.

  "These things are ridiculously heavy‚" Caliphar huffed as they arrived back at the bus.

  "That means plenty of meat on its bones," Soraf grinned, leaning out the open door.

  They managed to drag the Destroyer onto the bus and the back seat.

  Its lifeless eyes seemed to be staring at them.

  "Freaking thing still manages to look scary as hell even after it's been killed‚" Roy muttered, casting a glare at the beast.

  "It won't look like that after we skin and gut it," Caliphar said as he drove off, the bus kicking up dust in its wake.

  "We need to find a safe place soon; it looks like it might rain‚" Zandrem intoned.

  "What are you talking about? It hasn't rained in years," Soraf replied, giving Zandrem a suspicious look.

  "Those darkening clouds over the horizon beg to differ, so I think we should find somewhere to hide out for a while. Besides, I'm starving and it's impossible to have a bonfire on a bus."

  "She does have a point, and it would be nice to find somewhere to hide out for a bit," Aurelia said in agreement.

  "I think there may be a place not too far from here, if I remember correctly," Koriphus said, sitting down in the seat behind the driver's.

  "What kind of place?" Aurelia asked curiosity evident in her voice.

  "It's a surprise," Koriphus replied, smirking at her.

  "So I take it that it's a place you've been to?" Aurelia questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

  "Not exactly; I saw old blueprints of it at the outpost where the soldiers kept me. It looked like some kinda base for something," Koriphus explained.

  "Sounds interesting, I say we go find it!" Soraf enthused, locking eyes with Caliphar in the rearview mirror.

  "If it's safer than being in the middle of nowhere, I think we should go," Zandrem opined.

  "Guess we're going, then," Caliphar decided, maneuvering around a pothole in the road.

  "This should be interesting," Aurelia mused as she took up the seat across from Caliphar and stretched out her legs.

  "How long of a drive do you think it'll be?" Soraf asked from her seat behind Aurelia.

  "Not sure, just keep an eye out for any place possibly surrounded with soldiers," Koriphus replied, Zxeron's head in his lap.

  "I just hope there aren't too many when we get there," Zandrem interjected.

  "We'll be able to handle 'em," Caliphar confidently replied.

  "Amen to that!" Aurelia cheered.

  The roar of jet engines above caused them all to poke their heads out the windows; bearing witnesses as several fighters disappeared in the distance.

  "Whoa! Where do you think they're in such a rush to get to?" Koriphus exclaimed.

  "Not sure, but those are F-22 Raptors. Can't be good if soldiers are flying them," Caliphar answered solemnly, gazing at the sky as the rumble of the rearmost engine faded away.

  Koriphus joined Caliphar in staring out the windshield, watching the spot where the jets had disappeared.

  "Those didn't look like any ordinary Raptors to me. Whoever or whatever's using them can't be good news, mate," He said grimly, glancing at Caliphar from the corner of his eye.

  "What do you mean?" Caliphar asked glancing up at Koriphus.

  "I mean, those jets are packing some seriously advanced technology," came the grim reply.

  "I say we follow them, they might be leading us to where we need to go. We'll be able to take them out no problem," Aurelia grinned fiercely grabbing her AR-15 from beneath her seat, cocking it.

  "Who's with me? Raise your hand!" She exclaimed as she glanced around the bus at everyone.

  Koriphus, Soraf, Zandrem, Roy and Caliphar all raised their hands.

  "Then follow those jets!" Aurelia cried out raising her gun above her head.

  "Can do!" Caliphar said with a wide grin, revving the bus' engine before speeding off in the direction of the jets.

  He flew down the long stretch of road, the rear tires kicking up sand and rocks as it went along.

  Aurelia and the others clung to their seats, almost digging their claws into the upholstery to keep from falling out of them.

  "You guys might wanna‚ Nevermind‚" Caliphar chuckled glancing at everyone in the rear view mirror.

  "Any chance of slowing down?" Zandrem asked, gripping the railing on the back of the seat in front of her.

  "Not if we want a chance at finding where those jets are going," Aurelia replied with a grin, glancing at Zandrem over her shoulder.

  "She's right, those jets are fast so we have to be as fast as we can to keep up with them," Koriphus interjected as he looked between Aurelia and Zandrem.

  "Maybe we should go faster then, I can barely make out that last jet's vapor trail," Soraf interrupted, looking out her window where the jets had vanished.

  Caliphar nodded, pressing his boot harder against the gas pedal as the speedometer dial went up to ninety-five, the bus' chassis shaking as it sped down the road.

  "What exactly is your plan once we reach our destination, assuming we do happen to find wherever it is those jets are headed?" Roy questioned gazing around at the others.

  "We take out any soldiers that are there, find out why they're using jets and destroy them. Simple as that," Aurelia responded, eyeing Roy.

  "Why destroy the jets? What if we can use them?"

  "What purpose would they serve us?" Soraf replied to Roy's remark.

  Roy quickly shut his mouth once he realized he didn't have a valid response to her question.

  "Exactly," She chuckled, leaning back into her seat having adjusted to Caliphar' driving.

  "If they've got jets, it should be our priority to get rid of them. Whoever or whatever has those jets clearly have them for all the wrong reasons, so it makes sense to make sure they're no longer operable," Aurelia explained.

  "I can take care of that," Koriphus said with a grin, his hands glowing bright blue with electricity.

  "That won't be enough; we'd have to do irreparable damage. Something they won't be able to ever repair," Aurelia replied, nodding to Koriphus.

  "Then at least let me use my ability on some of the soldiers," He grinned wider at her.

  "I have no objections to that,"

  "Nor do I," Caliphar said with a chuckle, catching Koriphus' eye in the rear view mirror.

  "Then this should be a lotta fun," Koriphus smirked.

  "Holy shit!" Caliphar exclaimed leaning forward to look out of the windshiel
d.

  Two of the Raptors appeared out of nowhere, both facing the bus as they began to fly closer.

  "Do you think they detected us?" Aurelia questioned, gazing out of the windshield.

  "It's a possibility‚" Caliphar replied, a sense of fear deep in his gut.

  Just then, the jets rapidly vanished almost as quickly as they had appeared.

  "What the fuck was that?" Aurelia exclaimed.

  Caliphar was only able to shrug, completely in disbelief at what he'd just witnessed.

  Friend and Foe

  "Hey Sif! I got eight jets coming in from the east; wanna take 'em out?" Royena called as she emerged from the control station, a headset over her tufted ears.

  "That's fantastic news. Looks like the weather's going to be on our side, too," Sif grinned looking down at the tiger girl from where she sat.

  She was perched on the nose of an old F-14 Tomcat, wearing a tattered tank top, ripped blue jeans and black sandals.

  "Looks like it," Royena agreed, glancing up at the dark sky.

  "I should tell you, though; I picked up something else over the radio‚" She looked at the fox girl with a hesitant expression.

  "What might that be?" Sif inquired.

  The tiger girl was wearing a black and orange camouflage T-shirt with black khaki pants and knee-high combat boots.

  "Apparently two of the jets picked up something on their radars‚ a vehicle with at least five passengers and something else that they couldn't distinguish. But it was giving off a serious heat signal," Royena explained.

  "And they were following the jets?"

  "It seemed that way. For whatever reason, the jets left them alone,"

  "Maybe they were scouter pilots; figured who or whatever was in the vehicle posed no threat," Sif speculated.

  "If they were scouts, then maybe they're looking for new recruits‚" Royena said, concern coloring her tone.

  "No, we certainly can't," Royena agreed with a grin, reaching for the mechanical crossbow strapped across her back.

  "We've got about twenty minutes before those jets reach the base; better get into position," Royena advised, loading a specially made poisonous arrow into her crossbow.

  Sif nodded as she swung her MP5K off her shoulder and cocked it.

  They then made their way to one of the many empty hangars to await the jets.

  "What do you think we should do if that vehicle the jets spotted comes here?" Royena questioned from behind a stack of ammo crates.

  "Find out who's in it and what they want. Kill them if they turn out to be soldiers," Sif said decisively from where she kneeled behind her own crate.

  The loud rumble of thunder, mixed with the roar of jet engines, echoed throughout the base as the eight F-22 Raptors descended toward the tarmac, each landing and parking single-file.

  "They're here; ready to do this?" Royena whispered.

  Sif nodded, peering around the crate as the pilot climbed out of the first Raptor.

  The pilot surveyed his surroundings, making sure nobody else was nearby.

  Reassured, he turned to the other Raptors and gave the "all clear" signal.

  The remaining seven pilots climbed out of their jets.

  At that moment, the sky broke open and rain began to pour.

  "They're here; ready to do this?" Royena whispered.

  She glanced sideways at Sif, who nodded.

  Royena stealthily made her way around the ammo crates; she then took aim and fired an arrow at the first pilot.

  The pilot having been distracted by removing his helmet, it struck him directly in the neck.

  He dropped to his knees, already as good as dead.

  The others drew their weapons as their fellow pilot spasmed on the ground, poison from the arrow coursing through his bloodstream.

  "What the hell was that?" one of them shouted to the others over a loud clap of thunder.

  A second arrow whizzed out of nowhere and struck him in the leg, he collapsed, his blood flowing out and mixing with the pounding rain.

  "Hey! Try looking up here, ya assholes!" Sif shouted from atop one of the Raptors, a bandanna covering her face.

  She was aiming her gun at the remaining pilots, who all froze up in surprise at her sudden appearance.

  "What is your purpose here?" She demanded.

  "Answer her!" Royena commanded, pressing the tip of her crossbow against the neck of the nearest pilot.

  "Better listen; she is one trigger-happy bitch!" Sif warned above the sound of rain on the tarmac.

  "That is none of your business," one of the pilots snarled, glaring defiantly up at Sif.

  "I'll ask you one last time; what is your purpose here?"

  "I don't answer to you!" the pilot retorted angrily.

  At that moment, a blinding flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Sif atop the jet.

  The effect was to make her look both ethereal and intimidating.

  "Then you won't answer to anybody!" Royena growled fiercely.

  She pulled the trigger on her crossbow, sending an arrow through the base of the man's skull.

  Death was instantaneous.

  Sif looked upon the remaining pilots, a gleam in her eyes.

  Before she could force the other pilots to confess why they were at the base, however, the headlights of a prison bus blinded everyone.

  "What the hell is that?" Royena had to shout to be heard over an incredibly loud rumble of thunder.

  "You said two of these pilots picked up a vehicle on their radars, didn't you?" Sif shouted back.

  "Yeah, but who the fuck owns it?"

  Everyone watched as the bus doors opened.

  A tall wolf-boy with black and white fur, tattered jeans, a maroon-based camouflage shirt, and boots stepped off the bus armed with an M39 EMR.

  A Sify white cat-girl armed with an AR-15 followed him.

  "Who the fuck are you?" Sif called rudely to the strangers.

  "Who the hell are you?" Caliphar snapped back, raising his rifle.

  "This is our catch and kill! Piss off!" Sif retorted.

  "If you don't leave, you'll be next!" She punctuated her statement with a bullet, fired into the brain of one of the remaining pilots.

  Caliphar and Aurelia watched in bewilderment as the man dropped to his knees and crumpled to the ground.

  The hammering rain quickly washed away all evidence of blood.

  "You seem to be doing fine on your own," Caliphar remarked once he had recovered.

  He retreated to the dry interior of the bus.

  Out of nowhere, a dagger went flying through the air, striking the neck of the soldier climbing onto the roof of the jet behind Sif.

  "What the fuck was that?" Sif exclaimed whipping around in time to see the masked soldier falling backwards onto the tarmac.

  She spotted the bloody dagger sticking out of the soldier's neck.

  "Oh yeah, you're totally fine on your own!" Soraf called sarcastically from her spot on the bus roof.

  "Who are you?" Sif questioned, staring at Soraf.

  "You'll find out after we take care of these guys," Soraf replied, jumping from the roof to the hood.

  "Fine, let's make this fast," Sif acquiesced, climbing down from the Raptor.

  "Looks like we've got company," Royena announced, quickly dispatching the remaining pilots with arrows from her crossbow.

  The men all dropped like flies, one by one.

  "There seem to be quite a few of them," Koriphus observed, stepping off the bus with Zxeron at his side.

  "Whoa! Why the hell do you have one of those things?" Royena exclaimed, spotting the Destroyer.

  "Relax, he's tame," Koriphus replied, scratching Zxeron behind his ears.

  "That's bullshit. I've come up against hundreds of those things and not a damn one was 'tame'," Royena countered, looking at Koriphus as if he was insane.

  "He's telling the truth, Koriphus has a special ability that helped tame Zxeron here," Caliphar explained as
the others made their way off the bus.

  "Who are they?" Sif questioned, gesturing to the fox-girl, Opossum and wolf-girl exit the bus.