Tiamat – 9

Failha checked the remains of the fire that they had made and sustained overnight. She scattered the ash and tried to minimize what traces of their presence was obvious. The night passed by without incident, one of them always on watch. When morning broke, everyone had gotten some rest.

It wasn’t restful sleep, but it was something. She regarded her team. Lorelei looked the least rested of all of them, having spent the better part of her watch, making a makeshift taser for Titus to complement the flamethrower that she had made yesterday. He was the most awake of them, having been the last one to take watch, he was up and ready when they had to break camp.

Failha regarded Ysabelle, who had offered to have her clones stay up and watch all night. Failha thought it was a good idea at first, allow all of them a night’s rest, but then she asked what that would do to her if her main body was asleep. After all, it was like a hive-mind when her copies were out.

“My mind would be asleep but wouldn’t really get rest…” She admitted. “But it’s nothing I haven’t done before.”

“No, we can’t risk it. I’d rather the rest of us get a little less sleep than one of us completely feeling exhausted or tired.” Failha said. Despite her initial protests, Haze agreed, and she seemed more chipper because of the sleep she got.

“Okay team, here’s the plan.” She began, looking at each of them as she spoke. “We did find that path of sorts yesterday that seemed to wind into the forest. I know I’ve been leading this team, but I want us to put our heads together and figure this out.”

“Sure, boss.” Titus offered immediately. The others nodded in agreement.

“I suggest that we follow the trail, see where it leads. If there is a trail, that means there are people here. From the tracks there too, there might be cars that have passed before.” She paused waiting for any objections or input. When none came she continued. “If we follow the trail, I’m sure we’ll eventually hit a town. We can get our bearings there and some info.”

“Which way do we follow the trail?” Lorelei asked. “I mean, a trail goes both ways. One might be a shorter route to a town than the other.”

“Good observation. We don’t have any clue as to the specific path that is shorter. We’ll have to leave that up to chance. Or a vote.” Failha replied, nodding to Lorelei.

“Maybe we can inspect the trail again and find some more clues?” Ysabelle offered.

“Sure, we’ll be there anyway and we’re not in any rush really. Though, I’d rather put some distance between us and where the portal was open.” Failha did want to get moving ASAP. With their plan for the day decided, they packed up what little they had in gear and possessions and made the trek to the path. When they reached the path, it became clearer that it was a worn-down path that was trod on a lot. Ysabelle created all six of her copies, her powers seemingly back to normal now. They inspected the tracks on the path.

“Far as I can tell, these are wheel tracks. I don’t think they’re wide enough for car tires though.” All the Ysabelles said in unison.

“Good work.” Failha praised, turning to look in the direction that led out of the forest. “On the one hand, we have a path that leads out of the forest, where chances of getting lost are a lot less than if we take that path.”

She turned to the path that ventured deeper into the thick forest around them. There was a clear well-trodden path now that the light of morning illuminated it a little better. She then turned to regard her team. “What do you think?”

Ysabelle was looking in all four cardinal directions at once it seemed, contemplating. “I think it’s better if we follow the path that can’t get us lost. If something attacks us in the forest, we could lose our way and It might be hard to find our way back.”

“But we’ll have some cover in the forest.” Titus added.

“That is a good thing. It’s hard to fight out in the open if we have to. And plus, I’m fairly useless in a fight without any tech.” Lorelei added.

“Fair enough. I think you’re both selling yourselves short, but we’ll go take the cover of the forest.” Failha paused, thinking of a possible solution to avoid getting lost. She turned to Ysabelle. “Maybe you hold the key to avoid getting lost. Do you have a general idea of where your copies are at any given point?”

“No, it’s just that I am aware of where they are most of the time because they are within sight. Why?”

“Well,” Failha began. “I was hoping that you would be able to keep a few of your copies spread out so that we have a better sense of where we are. But if they’re relying on vision, we could potentially still track ourselves through the forest better than without your help.”

Ysabelle pondered this and nodded her head in agreement, chewing on her bottom lip a little. “Yeah, I can track us much better since I can use my other copies as a reference point…”

Ysabelle’s copies began walking in the four directions that they were facing, while two others stood nearby still. Failha watched them spread out a little until they were just barely out of their line of sight. The two that were with them then began walking in opposite directions of the path.

“I’ve got a hexagon shape perimeter. I’ll stick my seventh body here so I can relay info.” Ysabelle scanned about. ” This should work.”

“Good,” Failha said, shifting her self into her dragon hybrid form. “Everyone ready? We’ll follow the path and see where it leads.”

Her team all nodded and they started making their way deeper into the forest.

The forest wasn’t so dense that you couldn’t see far, but the canopy was thick that not a lot of sunlight could penetrate past the leaves of the trees. There were various fungi, insects, and the occasional scurry in the distance, but nothing to the point that Failha expected. They had to stop for what felt like noon, only marked by both suns high overhead when Failha flew through the canopy.

To her view, they had traveled a good distance by foot, the path relatively straight through the forest with only a bit of a curve here and there. Luckily, the stream that they had taken water from last night seemed to follow the path. Food however was virtually non-existent. The scurrying was unusual because Failha could not spot whatever was making the noise despite her enhanced senses.

Despite their lengthy stay overnight, and the risky break that they took, there was no sign of the Visuvians on their trail. She hoped that by destroying the portal that they had, they were able to prevent them from following. But now, she also worried that they were stuck here permanently unless the Visuvians follow them.

Soon enough, they were off again, following the path at a quick but not tiring pace. The thick forest and even thicker canopy began giving way to lighter foliage and a less dense forest. Plant growth on the ground starting to spring up as more light was available in this part of the forest.

Finally, Failha was catching sight of the small creatures that scurried about. Rabbits of some variety hopped about, fleeing from them; along with some mice, and even a bird or two. The gnawing hunger that grew in their bellies told Failha that she should try and catch one of the critters for a meal.

“We’ll stop here and make camp, I think.” Failha said as she came back down from the now thinning canopy. The suns were starting to make their way down into the horizon. “I’d rather use the light we still have to hunt for those rabbits and have something to eat.”

The rest of her teamed looked much more exhausted than she. Her powers granted her much more stamina than the regular person, even compared to some capes, but she didn’t want to overtax her team. They didn’t argue that they could keep going and they simply nodded, taking a moment to catch their breath and rest their weary feet.

“I’ll see if I can catch us some rabbits or something.” Failha said as she remembered where she saw a group of them that clustered a few minutes back down the path. To make it a little easier to track her way back, she began scratching at the trees that she passed as she started her way off the path. She tried to be as quiet as she could.

With her enhanced senses, Failha was easily able to find and track down a rabbit warren. The creatures were larger than what she was used to seeing and rather spirited as Failha lay in waiting.

The large eyes turned at the sound of her footstep crunching on a fallen leaf. It didn’t hesitate to run away and Failha dashed forward, propelled by her legs fueled by super strength. A trio of the rabbits rushed in the same direction and Failha could see that she could catch up in one fell swoop.

A thrill rose in her. A pure animalistic urge that screamed at her to rip and tear and consume the prey. The urge was so overwhelming, and for a moment she lost herself. Before that urge took full control, however, she was able to press it down and focus on the hunt. When the rabbits were within arm’s reach, she leapt forward, diving through the air. She caught a rabbit in each hand, and the third she managed to pin underneath her wing as she crashed on the forest floor.

“When did I grow my wings out?”

She didn’t wait and snapped their necks immediately. The urge to consume them fresh surfaced again, but she was able to keep a lid on it this time around. When they all ceased twitching, Failha set them down and stripped a bit of bark from the nearby trees and made a simple lashing to hold the bunnies together. She found the last tree that she marked with her claws and made her way back to the group.

Failha passed by a quiet Ysabelle who nodded and pointed south, or at least what they assumed was south based on the path the suns traveled through the sky. Sure enough, they had stepped a couple of feet away from the path, and a fire was going in the small clearing that they were in.

Ysabelle was up and alert, crouched on the highest point of the clearing and looking about. Her copies weren’t here and Failha assumed that they were forming a perimeter. Lorelei was busy tinkering with a small palm-sized object, the use of which Failha could only guess. Titus was refitting his taser and flamethrower so they were more secure on his wrist. Lorelei and Titus looked up and waved at Failha as she approached. Their eyes trailed to the three rabbits. A look of need passed through all of them, Ysabelle included despite not looking at the rabbits.

“I was only able to catch these three. You three eat first, I have a better handle on my hunger.” Failha offered as she regarded the rabbits. She thought that she wasn’t feeling as hungry as they were, but the hunger was definitely there. When none of them argued that they share equally, Failha began skinning and getting the rabbit ready for cooking.

“What…” Ysabelle started. “What does rabbit taste like?”

“The meat tastes like chicken, but a little stronger, earthier flavor.” Titus offered as he crouched down next to where Failha was draining the rabbits’ of their blood. He took out a knife, likely one of the knives the others carried, and held out his hand. Failha gave him one of the two remaining that needed to be cut up and set to work on it.

“Oh. You’ve had it before?” Ysabelle asked Titus.

“Yeah. There’s this great southern food truck that stops downtown that had fried rabbit on their menu. It’s almost like chicken tenders.”

“Well, I’ll have to give this a try then!” Ysabelle said, her voice more chipper than it was a few minutes prior. She was still keeping an eye out, despite the likelihood of her copies already doing that under her watch.

Soon enough, the rabbits were ready and skewered, and sitting over the fire. The sky was beginning to darken when the three began eating.

“What’s your guess at where we’re at, boss?” Titus asked between mouthfuls of rabbit meat.

“I have no idea,” Failha admitted. She wasn’t above trusting that her team could handle the truth. She respected them far too much to lie to them. “Judging by the two suns, probably a different planet in an entirely different solar system. Not a lot of… binary systems… around our galaxy.”

Despite the calm delivery, Failha was a little concerned about these facts. It was the simplest explanation of this place, and it only got weirder from there if she explored the possibilities further. The fact seemed to stun the three though. It wasn’t that they didn’t expect this answer, likely they had the feeling that this was certainly not Earth. The confirmation through her own words however hit their morale.

“Hey now, don’t give me that look. We can get through this, and we can find our way back home. If the Visuvians can make a portal to this place, that means we have one way out.” She said, laying out her thoughts. “But to get there, we have to make sure we’re good. So eat up, and let’s get some rest.”

Her words seemed to work, as they all resumed eating, though they were definitely more subdued than before she answered the question. The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps off in the distance. Failha immediately stood up and turned in the direction. The sounds were distinctly not of the small variety. The rest of the group seemed to stand and stare off in the same direction.

“Boss?” Ysabelle asked quietly. “Which direction?”

Failha pointed and, after a few moments, Ysabelle spoke again. “I think I see people coming this way. They’re not following any path of some kind. They’re not Visuvians either.”

“They look hostile?” Failha asked.

“No. I don’t- wait.” Ysabelle paused and concern creased her brow. “They’re outfitted in camo, some have rifles. They’re clearly humans”

“Do not engage. I’ll take it from here. I want you all to take cover.” Failha didn’t wait to see if they would and simply bound in the direction that Ysabelle pointed to.

Failha quickly passed where an Ysabelle copy was, who was pointing towards a large tree in the distance. As she rounded the large and rather impressive tree trunk, Failha was greeted by the simultaneous drawing of guns and, in some, powers. The gunshots pinged off her scales, but a blast of energy caught her square in the chest that sent her flying in the opposite direction. Her flight was arrested as she smashed against a tree, bursting through the trunk and smacked in the back by the rest of it falling on her.

That was enough to cause a headache and a burning sensation on her chest. She shot up to her feet, then toned-down her scales to only give herself modesty. “Wait! Don’t shoot! Friendly!”

The group hesitated, turning to each other then back at her. She could see them clearly. Two men and two women. One of the women stepped forward, her sidearm trained on her still.

“Friendly? Who are you?” The female’s accent marked her as Filipino to Failha. She seemed awfully confident to be moving this close despite her weapon. Failha judged by the blast of energy that hit her, that one or more of this group could be capes.

“Yeah, friendly. I go by Tiamat when I’m on the job. I lead the Vanguard. We’re a cape group based out of Seattle.” Upon hearing this, this Filipina and her companions seemed to lower their guard a bit. “And who are you?”

“My name is-” Before the woman could introduce herself, Failha interrupted her.

“My team is coming, if they see guns pointed at me, we might get into a fight. I don’t want that. Can you tell your friends to lower their weapons?” Footsteps behind Failha alerted her that her team was approaching. She could see the hesitation in the woman’s face before she nodded and gave a signal to her friends. They lowered their weapons, and one of the men seemed to breathe despite not having a weapon in his hand. Failha made sure to keep this man in his vision.

“Team!” Failha shouted, turning to the direction her team was coming from. “I found the people. Put your weapons away.”

Soon enough, Ysabelle and all six of her copies emerged from the distant trees, with Titus and Lorelei coming out after a few moments of silence.

“This is my team, Vanguard.” Failha said as she turned back to the other group. Now that the situation wasn’t as tense, she could see that the group save for the Caucasian woman were all wearing fatigues of a kind, with the marking AFP-SOC on them.

“I’m callsign Lemon. This is my team and Golden Girl over there.” Lemon said. She looked tired and worn out, with her fatigues having holes and burn marks, but the skin underneath showed no signs of wounds. “We’re part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

“Philippines, huh?” Failha remarked, reaching out her hand. Lemon shook it and nodded to her. “Where’s the portal that you took to get here?’

“Portal?” Lemon asked, tilting her head a little. “We didn’t see any portal. There was just this bright light.”

“You didn’t… what?” Failha was confused, and before she could ask one of Lemon’s teammates piped up.

“No portal. There was a bright light that surrounded us, then we were here. We’ve been wandering for a day and we’re hopelessly lost.” The man without a firearm offered. Dread started to settle into Failha. She steeled herself and turned to the new team.

“Shit.” Failha sighed heavily. “Well, we’ve found a path and we’ve been following it for the better part of the day.”

“Wait a minute, you said you got here via a portal?” Lemon asked.

“Yeah. There was this portal in an underground lab that we were able to go through.” Failha offered without revealing much more than she was willing to.

“Wait, if there is a portal, why didn’t you just go back through it?” The other Filipina asked.

“Cause we had to destroy it. We were infiltrating an enemy base.”

“God damn it. Is this the work of some fucking supervillain?” The energy-blaster guy that Failha suspected asked. She could only shrug.

“Well, in any case. We seem to be stuck here.” Failha level-set with the other team. “Now I don’t mind having two separate groups but if we travel together our chances of survival go up if we stick together.”

“Agreed.” Lemon said, turning to her team. They all nodded in agreement.

“Good. That group of septuplets over there is Haze, that’s Siren, and that over there is Blue Tag.” They were sensible enough to cover their faces with their domino masks, and it seemed that Lorelei had made one for Titus as they were the last to appear.

“I wish it were better circumstances, but it is a pleasure to meet you all.” Lemon began. “This is my team, uh, we don’t have a name yet though.”

She indicated the other female in their group. “That’s Echo, the guy with the gun is Uno, and then that’s Kidlat.”

“Well, we were just making camp. You’re welcome to join us.” Failha said as she turned back towards their camp and waved to her team. The rest of them followed suit.