The smell of hollow fear, the feeling of anticipation, the sound of my heart pounding in my chest; this was a fight. The natural light of the chamber was decreasing fast, and these Tidreg-like creatures seemed to hunt in places like this. I had to do something, or they would tear us all into pieces.

I knew that the easy solution would be to run away and save myself, but there was something different in that human’s eyes. I felt like she was the most courageous female I had ever met, and that sounded like a lot. My mind was a mess of random memories popping up from the back of my head. I tried to recollect the name of that part of my brain, but the names slipped me off every time I sought them.

Growls and hisses came from behind me as well. Twelve beasts, twelve predators that could kill us all in seconds, and yet, I felt calm. Yes, my heart was pounding, yes, my muscles wobbled, and I couldn’t fully control my limbs just yet, but my mind was calm.

I must have faced many situations like this in the past. So it meant that those beasts were no match for me. I looked around me, and I saw that my new company had been driven to the wall. The hairy man, the other human, tried to intimidate the rough predators by growling and yelling from time to time, but I could smell his fear from here.

I couldn’t trust him to help me. I was all by myself.

Before I took a step forward, I saw the human female at the edge of my eyes. She seemed afraid, but there was also something else coming from her. A feeling I couldn’t place in this battle. I lowered my guard, and suddenly an excruciating pain penetrated my left arm. My other hand moved instinctively, hitting the damned monster between the eyes. But, its long teeth served one purpose: to hit hard and hit deep.

It had penetrated my muscle and even a vein or two. Fuck. And there were another eleven of that bastard waiting.

These monsters seemed to pick their enemies intelligently. They attacked me, the most dangerous one, first hoping to kill me fast and then move on to easier targets. I swiped the air behind me with my right arm, hoping to get even one of them, but I missed. I tried to move them away from the hopeful bunch, but they were smarter than they looked. All this time, they drove me away from them. My eyes fell to the frightened female; again, I lowered my guard.

What is wrong with you Jasih? She’s one measly human, certainly not one important enough to save.

And yet, my mind seemed to get even more absorbed in her safety. I continued to move back, lost, confused, unable to find a way out of this alive when…

...a fucking pain hammered my head. What in the holly fuck was going on? I felt my hands cold, and I was unable to move them for a whole second. I lowered my head and saw a black matter covering my entire body. I smiled.

“Well, well. It was about time to wake up!” My voice was loud, as it should be. I saw a pack of -are these Tidreg?- some strange beasts before me, driving me away from a bunch of ugly looking people. Well, half of them were ugly; the black haired one was kinda okay. A hoarse bark tried to draw my attention, but as I turned and saw the puny little dogs, they didn’t seem all that dangerous anymore.

I heard the screech of talons scratching the metal floor as two of them jumped to hit me. Let’s see if I remembered the steps correct.

One, two, three…I counted in a dance-like pattern, hitting my first target with the back of my fist in midair while dodging the other and stomping it down the floor.

Oh, the fresh blood and the feeling of kicking the life out of someone; I missed it. Now I hummed, getting back my lovely mood.

Four, five, seven… and I strode my way to the remaining nine doggies. They squealed in such a nice way; they were certainly worth of this long-awaited breakfast. The cracking sound of their necks breaking, the fear in their eyes, it made me move faster, harder, stronger.

And...eight. And just like that, I was out of targets. I heard two of them running for their lives, but I lost my mood for a fight. Now, I was just plainly bored.

A yawn surfaced from deep within my chest. “Which one of you is the leader?”

They looked at me like I was one of those monsters I had just killed. I was not sure that sitting on top of one of the lifeless husks helped, but they were still warm and comfortable. It would be a shame not to use them.

“I’m Chronicler Eladia. And you are?”

She looked uncertain, certainly not worth killing. Although I was somehow intrigued on how her neck would sound if I snapped it in two. Still, it would be a shame for a neck like this.

“Chronicler? What is that?”

“I...I...don't know if I can explain it to you without showing you my work. Well, in short-”

“Don’t bother. I’m bored. I’m Prime Officer Jasih. Isn’t there anything else to kill?”

My eyes fell to the fit-looking hairy one in the back, and in the peculiar robot beside him. They looked weak, but not weaker than this human. Weren’t humans supposed to be extinct already?

“Prime Officer Ja...? Still, can’t pronounce it,” she mumbled to herself. “Are you still Jay?”

“Are you mad, woman? My name is Jasih, and there is no other Jasih among my people. Who is this...Jay, you’re talking about?”

For a leader of their group, she didn’t sound all that much smart. She turned and talked to the silver-looking one. They were all so boring. I needed something to kill, but I thought I had enough for the day.

In the end, she turned and looked at me with a whole other look. Her eyes were full of determination, and I could finally see her will to lead.

“Can you please tell us more about your rank?”

She demanded to know, and something inside me wanted to answer.

This was going to be interesting.