Trapped With Wings

°~《Chapter Twelve》~°

Tuskon and Marcy were shocked when Terra told them of our activities. Their reactions were very amusing, but they didn't show enough emotion to exactly classify it as priceless. What a shame.

Since our visit with Marcy's sister, our schedule had gone back to normal. The past couple of days were filled with patrols of ships with a few having unusually large amounts of crawlers on board. It was unnerving to find so many in one place. The crew have been getting very lucky as no one has been attacked by these hidden assassins yet.

Yesterday's patrol revealed no crawlers and we were hoping that would be the same today.

We walked out the front door as I was clicking to watch my surroundings. I heard an odd caw and I turned my head to observe it. It had the shape of a bird. With more thought I finally realized that it was a single crow. I haven't seen a crow in ages.

The crow stayed were it was as it watched us walk away. I couldn't see them, but I could feel it's eyes staring harshly at us. A chill ran down my back that I couldn't shake away. I turned away from the bird and tried to ignore it. The chill continued to stay present.

We met up with the two guards who always tagged along with us. We only saw them while on our patrols so I never bothered to learn their names. One of them might be called Grovyel, but I wasn't entirely sure.

Tuskon spoke with the port master for a short time before we headed where we were needed. Over a dozen armed guards were now with us. Apparently, a fairly large cargo ship has been in orbit for a few days without responding to hails. No life signs could only mean one terrible thing.

I cursed my luck at needing to deal with a sicora today. They were nasty dangerous creatures.

This ship was from the same planet with crawler problems as most of the other ships we've patrolled this week. It was likely there would be one sicora and possibly a few crawlers on board. I couldn't wait to see them dead.We entered a shuttle and got ready to be taken up.

I didn't like being so high off the ground. There weren't any land marks to guide my echolocation in the sky. I am always afraid that I'll fly in the wrong direction and get terribly lost. That's what I have Dan for anyway.

I didn't have any need to constantly use my echolocation in the tiny shuttle, so I patiently waited as Dan curiously watched out the small nearby window. He showed me the small glimpses that he saw of our world below. It wasn't exactly Earth anymore. That was what it was called when it was inhabited by humans. Now that they were all gone, it is just classified as a backwater planet, only fit to give more space to the invading aliens. Either way, this planet was still my home.

I took in a deep breath as the shuttle docked and we were lead out. The disgusting stench of sicora filled my nose all too quickly causing me to sneeze. A growl was vibrating through my chest instantly, close to becoming a hiss. Dan was just as uneasy.

Tuskon kept us on leash as we pointed the way to the freshest scent around us. I could feel myself running out of control and was having a hard time using my echolocation with my verbal aggravation.

The scent of sicora was getting stronger with every door we went through. However, another smell was also getting stronger. I've never smelled something so horrifying in my life. I wrinkled my nose with another growl. It smelled like rancid meat.

We turned a bend and came into a large shelved room. Both scents were strongest in this room. I felt ready to puke at any minute.

Dan's mindvoice was horrified, "Oh man, this is awful..."

He felt my confusion and an image was sent to me that left me speechless. There was blood everywhere. With this new insight, I now knew where that rancid smell was coming from. We also now knew where the rest of the crew disappeared to.