Chapter Text
Chapter 2: Stick up
He tossed and turned. All Rey could do in his sleep was repeat the events of the previous night over and over again in his head; the watch, the transformations, the robots, eventually stirring him to wake. He groggily scanned his surroundings; still in his bedroom. Beams of sunlight peeked through the blinds and lit up sections of his room. He could also hear some birds chirping their morning songs outside...it was almost 8 AM. Feeling for anything abnormal, Rey sighed in relief when he felt nothing out of the ordinary before he let out a light laugh, placing his hand on his head.
"Damn, that dream was crazy." He said to himself. He pulled his right arm from under his bed sheet and reached out for his phone sitting on the windowsill, ready to tell Silvia and Neil about this crazy dream he had, but then….
"Oh."
His smile dropped as quickly as his eyes did upon seeing the watch, still strapped to his wrist just like it had been since yesterday. He felt around the watch, its faceplate and buttons to see if he wasn't dreaming, if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. Nope, all real. Dropping his arms onto his bed sheet, he sighed.
"Guess this is reality now." He said to himself as he took his phone from his bedside cabinet, turned on the camera and snapped a photo of the watch, sending it to both Neil and Silvia.
"Still got it." Rey captioned the photo before turning his phone off and placing it back down. It's currently 7:40am, it'll be a while until they respond, leaving Rey with nobody but himself to contemplate the implications of this and what it'll mean going forward, at least until they wake up. He slowly pulled himself out of bed, sliding his feet into his slippers before readjusting his bed sheet after doing a morning stretch, sighing in relief. Opening up his wardrobe, he soon changed out of his sleepwear and back into his normal attire from yesterday. He opened the door and headed downstairs, allured by the smell of his breakfast. His mother and father sat opposite each other on the brown dining table whilst the TV was broadcasting CTV news.
"Mornin' Mom and Dad." Rey said as he sat down to eat his breakfast, consisting of a simple bacon and scrambled eggs with OJ, his plate having more bacon than eggs.
"Mornin' Rey." Rey's mother said whilst taking a sip of her coffee. "You slept well?"
"Mhm!" Rey replied, trying to play it off nonchalantly as he dug his fork into some bacon.
"Great to hear." Rey's mother said. "I got Monday off so that means extra free time for me!"
"Good for you Melissa." Rey's father said after he wiped his mouth. "Unfortunately, I have to head to the lab early tomorrow because the dude who is supposed to be there is going to be late."
As his parents were enjoying their breakfast, Rey took a look at the TV that was broadcasting CTV news.
"...going back to Reevesville, the Canadian Space Agency has solicited geologists from The University of British Columbia to investigate the recent meteor impacts that occurred yesterday." The presenter showcased a photograph of one of the objects, it looked like a small white pixel amongst a sea of streaks, those being background stars as the telescope was tracking it"
The impactors, which were photographed by the Very Large Telescope Array in Chile were detected whilst they approached Earth hours before impact and astronomers calculated them to originate from within the inner asteroid belt, however, those assertions are being put into question, especially since if it was originally large object that broke apart due to Earth's gravity, then it would've shown up as one long before approaching Earth instead of three that were tracked separately. A CSA spokesperson has stated "Nothing can be definitely ruled out until sample collection has begun…"
Rey's eyes were fixed to the TV screen as the presenter went on about the impacts, all the while a feeling of unease was crawling on his back. He already knew what those impactors were, and he definitely knew what said impactors contained, but he still had no idea why the watch was sent down here or who wanted it so badly.
"You ok there?" Rey's dad asked, jolting Rey out of his daze.
"O-oh, I'm fine." Rey nodded, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Y'know, I always wondered if aliens were out there." Rey's mother said whilst she looked at the TV. "Like, you heard of Trappist-1 last year? They discovered three planets that could have aliens. Maybe once you go to Mars, you'll find fossils of microbes." She smiled whilst she looked back at Rey.
"Yeah, let's hope I do." He let out a weak laugh before he focused back on his breakfast.
"I'm telling you, once our boy becomes the first on Mars, or one of the first, I'll die happy! Or laugh in the afterlife, either way." Rey's father said after taking a sip of his coffee.
"Don't know how the US would react to the first person on Mars being Canadian." Rey's mother added. "They want to be the first to..everywhere. First on the Moon, Mars and-"
"Well, consider the fact I'm American, I mean, my parents were from Morocco but I'm from Georgia, so it'd be an American win in Washington's eyes." Rey's dad elaborated smugly before eating another forkful of scrambled eggs.
As the parents spoke, the TV switched to two mugshots.
"...authorities are still requesting information that can lead to the arrest of Stephanie Nishimura and Charlie Watanabe, two individuals who are suspected to be linked to the fourth syndicate crime network." The TV showcased two mugshots; one had a Japanese woman in their early twenties with dark brown eyes that had visible bags dangling under them, jet black hair wrapped in a bun, and fair skin. She wore a black and white striped shirt with black overalls and fingerless gloves. The other looked to be a little younger, a man that looked to be around nineteen to twenty years old with a similar skin tone, brown eyes and dark, messy black hair. He wore a crimson-red jacket that was smeared with stains from grease and mud whilst he had long brown gloves. He was also slightly shorter than Stephanie. "...Anyone who has any information on their whereabouts can submit their tips to the Reevesville Police Department website or they can submit their tip to this number."
"C'mon Charlie, hurry up ya dumbass." Stephanie teased as she waited by the tree for Charlie to catch up to her, leaning against it. The sunlight was slipping through the tree branches whilst the smell of mildew wandered in the air. Every footstep was accompanied by the squelch of mud and foliage that blanketed the forest floor. Meanwhile, the chirping of birds rang like a bell as the sky appeared cracked with all the branches and twigs overhead. "The university people are gonna be here soon, salvage what we can and J is gonna pay us big time."
"Look, I'm not that good at running." Charlie retorted whilst he kneeled down a little, placing his hands on his knees.. "We shoulda just bought out the bikes and-"
"Risk us getting caught by the cops?" Stephanie deadpanned as she waited for Charlie to catch up to her. "You know they nearly found our hideout because those things screech every time they start up, right? Besides, these rocks will sell for millions and they're tiny, we don't need stupid bikes."
"Look, those things are old, we should just get new ones." Charlie suggested. "We could get new electric ones or just use the normal pedal ones."
"Tell me when electric bikes that don't require use to travel across the damn continent are available and I'll consider." She folded her arms before something caught her eye, a weird piece of metal that looked like it was a part of a gun. "Hey, take a look at this." She gestured towards the piece as she and Charlie went over to investigate. Their eyes widened as they saw a pile of wreckage, bits and pieces of machinery and weapons from blades to weird sensor-looking-things.
"What in the hell is this?" Stephanie asked as she picked up what looked to be some sort of a scanner whilst her eyes narrowed. "You think this is some top secret government surveillance crap?"
"Doubt it." Charlie shook his head whilst he picked up a circular piece. "If it was, then it would have some kind of markings, or serial numbers attached to it."
"Whatever it is, it's ours now." Stephanie grinned as she picked up the remains of the turret , placing it into a carrier bag. "Help me bring this back to the van, J's gonna love this."
"Alright, just gotta-OUCH!" Charlie yelped as a prong scratched his arm.
"Dude, be careful!" Stepanie hissed at Charlie.
"Not my fault this stuff is sharp as hell." Charlie retorted as he placed pieces into his bag, he winced as the bag got heavier and heavier.
"Well it wouldn't hurt ya to be more careful." Stephanie replied. "Literally and figuratively." She muttered under her breath whilst putting the last of the remains into her bag.
"Get these into the truck, we needa' make sure this gets to J asap."
"Alright alright." Charlie heaved as pulled the bag over his shoulder before he and Stephanie made their way to the truck that was parked nearby. The truck itself was a two-seat red pick-up truck, muddied all over and with a blue tarpaulin covering up the payload section. After the duo arrived, they lifted up the tarpaulin before tossing the bags of scrap onto the back of the truck, repeating this several more times, they finally managed to load all of the remains onto the cargo carrier before entering the truck.
"Alright, just gotta get this back to J and we'll be set." Stephanie said as she turned the ignition key and turned the wheel.
"How much do you think he'll pay us once he finds out this is?" Charlie asked as he finished adjusting his seatbelt, quickly checking if the coast was clear.
"We'll see. Hopefully a lot." Stephanie answered whilst her eyes were glued on the road. "Knowing him, he'd probably pay us double after seeing that this is some alien stuff." She smirked. "Though, we still have that store to stick up later today."
"True." Charlie nodded as they drove away.
Later that morning, Rey opened the front door and stepped onto the pavement, feeling the wind brush against his skin. The atmosphere was typical for late March in a Canadian suburb. The trees were just beginning to bloom their leaves whilst the aroma of freshly cut grass drifted in the air. Rows upon rows of cars lined up neatly against the road whilst the distant groans of vehicles racing along the highway echoed as the sun sat from his perch one-hundred-and-fifty-kilometers away, beaming through the cloudless sky and plastering everyone with his warmth. The pavement was marked with wet puddles from the downpour of yesterday, causing small snippets of sunlight to launch itself into Rey's eyes. Shutting the door behind him, Rey reached into his pocket and opened whatsapp.
"I'm on my way, see you at Wendy's." Rey dmed Neil and Silvia on WhatsApp as he approached the bus stop. He took a seat and pulled out his headphones from his bag, plugging it in and then sat on the thin, cold, bench.
"Y'know Rey, if you're feeling scared or anything you can talk to us." Silva reassured Rey over text. "I mean, we're the only ones you can talk to about this assuming you didn't tell anyone else about the watch, but still, we don't mind."
"Yeah! :3" Neil added. "Besides, I'll die happy knowing that my friend is a shapeshifter with an alien watch."
"Lmao true." Rey replied as he waited at the bus stop, watching the bus slowly approach from the distance and waving his hand at it. "Idk if we should reveal my identity to the world, perhaps it's something we might take to the grave."
"I know, but we'll have this secret that people will be trying to figure out for centuries y'know." Silvia said. "Think about it, 'The Reevesville alien mysteries' or something like that idk."
Rey let out a small laugh before he typed his response. "Yeah well, we'll see what happens. Anyway, I'm getting on the bus now, I'll see you at the town square." He placed his phone into his pocket as the bus arrived. He walked in the bus, paid the ticket and found a window seat. Sitting down, he looked out the window as the bus began to move. Most bus rides felt the same; go in, stare out the window, maybe look at your phone or chat to someone and that's about it. But this trip felt..different. Was it the watch? Was it something else? Rey doesn't know and he really didn't care to find out. Ten minutes passed and Rey got off his seat and walked out of the bus. The bus stop was in a small street with a row of shops that faced the beach. Looking out from those shops, one could see the imposing figures of Mount Tantalus and other mountains in the distance flanked by the comparatively meager Vancouver skyline. Compared to the previous two days, the sun shone on a clear sky without a single cloud in sight. Scanning the area, he pulled out his phone and texted the group chat.
"Hey where are y'all at?"
"On the benches near the fountain and facing the KFC." Silvia texted.
"Cool, I'll be there in five." Rey said before putting his phone in his pocket and headed towards the central fountain. Per usual on a Sunday, the central square was packed with people chatting as the smell of sea-water and food entered the nostrils of everyone whilst the 1890s buildings reached into the heavens. He felt the wind lightly run its fingers through his hair as he sank his hands into his pockets whilst he made his way down the street towards the central fountain. A sea of people covered the main square whilst the air was filled with the song of chatter, vehicles and seagulls as thin wispy clouds painted the heavens. En route, he overheard some gossip from two of his classmates just in front of a nearby Tim Hortons.
"...anyway, I saw on instagram the other day that apparently NASA saw some stuff approaching Earth yesterday. You think that's the stuff they're looking at now?" A blonde girl asked.
"Yeah, I saw it on the news. I think it could be aliens." The other girl with brown hair said.
"Don't be ridiculous!" The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "It's probably just some meteor or something."
"I can dream, can't it?" The brown haired girl defended herself.
Only if you knew. Rey thought to himself as he quickly left the area.
"Hey Silvia, would you rather work in Mr Denson's class for a month for five dollars a minute or run thirty miles a day for $1500 per day." Neil asked whilst he laid down on the bench, he unbuttoned his letterman jacket to reveal a black and white striped shirt.
"Obviously the second one, I'd rather run to New York for three cents per month than deal with his crap." Silvia groaned whilst she looked up from her phone. "God those classes were hell."
"True, but we don't have to deal with him no mo', that was last semester." Neil said whilst he got back up.
"Yeah, but I feel bad for those who are gonna have to deal with him." Silvia noted, leaning back against the bench.
"Dude is old as hell, he's probably gonna retire by like June or something at least." Neil added.
"That or he just likes being an ass to children." Silvia shrugged. "Like if that's true then the principal really doesn't give a damn."
"You can say that again." Neil nodded. "But I'm sure he'll be gone soon so nobody will have to worry about him…well maybe except his wife." He smiled.
"Guess so." Silvia said. "He's like that stereotypical old guy you see in newspapers and stuff-"Neil turned to face Silvia, surprised. "You still read newspapers?"
"Of course not, do I look 60?" She replied letting out a light laugh. "I only catch glimpses of them during art class."
"Fair enough." Neil said before he spotted Rey approaching. "Oh hey Rey!"
"There you are!" Rey smiled as he approached Neil and Silvia. "Are you guys doing well?" His eyes had slight bags beneath them and his gait was less lively than it usually was.
"Doing pretty good! What about you?" Neil asked Rey.
"So so." Rey shrugged whilst he smiled weakly. "Still having to come to terms with the fact I got this clamped to my wrist now." He rolled down his sleeve to reveal the watch, still attached and pointed at it, smiling meekly.
"Guessing you had no luck getting it off." Silvia sighed.
"Ya think?" Rey laughed a little.. "Last night I spent like an hour trying to pry this thing off; I even used a small crowbar but nothing worked."
"So…what now?" Silvia asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
"I guess you'll just have to live life normally." Neil patted Rey on the shoulder. "I mean, can't be that bad right? You can just lie and say it's some toy you got at an arcade or something."
"Yeah, you don't have to transform into those monsters." Silvia said.
"Maybe." Rey nodded before he sat down next to Neil before he looked at the watch. "But like maybe…maybe I could use this to help people. Like actually helping people."
"Woah." Neil gasped. "Like an actual superhero?"
"That'd be awesome!" Silvia said. "But you know what they say; with great power comes-"
"Yeah I know no need to lecture me, I've seen Spider-man and all that stuff." Rey laughed a little. "But still, you're right. Though…I could use it to make it easier for us to do things."
"Fo' sure!" Neil said. "Plus, we could make our own superhero team-"
"No offense y'all but I had to literally carry you two away when those robots were attacking us yesterday."
Neil and Silvia deadpanned. "Didn't you run away as well?" Silvia tilted her head at Rey whilst she frowned.
"And whilst transformed into that blue speed guy no less." Neil added.
"Yeah, but I managed to fend off those robots." Rey pointed at himself grinning.
"You did, but only for the watch to turn you back and we had to come in and save your ass." Neil grinned cheekily.
"...Touche." Rey accepted. "I guess we could be some sort of super-hero team."
"Could? Don't you mean we are some sort of superhero team." Silvia corrected.
"Ok sure, though the most we've done is take down a bunch of alien robots." Rey said. "I mean, impressive, but still."
"Think about the potential though." Neil suggested.
"Regardless, I'm starving." Silvia said as she scanned the surrounding area. "Reckon we get some grub at Timmies?"
"But the KFC is literally right there though." Rey pointed at the restaurant in front of them.
"I know, but I'd rather not have my stomach filled with grease." Silvia shuddered. "What about you Neil?"
"Uhhhhhh" Neil paused for a moment to think. "I don't mind KFC but I'd rather go to Tim Hortons at the moment. Or Dennys"
"An American preferring Tim Hortons over KFC, not something you'd see everyday." Rey shrugged. "I say we go to Denny's. Let's split the bill."
"Sure!" Neil nodded.
"Fine by me." Silvia said as the trio headed for Denny's.
"J, we're back!" Stephanie yelled as she opened the warehouse door. The warehouse itself was blue and small, it was two-thousand square feet wide and sat nearby Harmac, south of Gabriel Island. The front of the warehouse read 'DEBBIE AND WILLIS' LOGGING CO.' in block letters. The air was ablaze with the smell of freshly cut wood and dead leaves whilst the harmony of wood chippers, vehicles and chainsaws cascaded into everyone's eardrums. "Charlie get your ass over here!" She turned to face Charlie who was coming out from behind the truck.
"Yeah yeah I got the stuff." Charlie grunted as he lifted the other-worldly scrap from the truck's cargo hold. "Can you give me a hand here?"
"Alright then." Stephanie said. "I gave Milton a call that we'll be here with a bunch of stuff, he'll be out to help us in a bit." She groaned as she and Charlie placed the drone's remains onto the wagon.
"Hey guys, sorry I was- holy crap that's…that's something alright." Milton arrived from inside the warehouse. He was fair-skinned and quite short, around five feet and seven inches tall. He had wavy hazel-brown hair with dark green eyes. His attire consisted of a grey tank-top, black cargo pants with a brown belt equipped with a variety of tools covered by a black jacket that had stains all over it. His eyes widened as quickly as his arms dropped to his sides as he walked around to inspect it. "Yeah they definitely don't look like anything from the military." He commented whilst he lifted a piece from the truck and into a wagon. "Given the meteors that were shown on the news, I'd wager that…" Milton put his hands together before he took a deep breath. "...this is alien tech."
Stephanie and Charlie paused, blinking before they turned to face each other. "You mean…like.." Charlie opened his mouth to speak but Stephanie finished his sentence.
"...bonafide extraterrestrial robots?"
"Indeed." Milton said. "I got some ideas though I think it's best we take them to J before we actually get started with anything."
"Yeah, I agree." Stephanie nodded whilst she followed Milton inside.
"Seconded." Charlie spoke as he followed suit. The inside of the warehouse could be described like a maze; rows upon rows of shelves lined the interior as dim-lights hung from the ceiling like twisted fruit. The shelves were stacked with boxes, most of them overflowing with miscellaneous items from guns to knives to bullets, to random sheets of metal. Other boxes were sealed and unlabelled. The whir of air-conditioning filled the air in tune with the footsteps of 'workers' walking back and forth, mumbling to themselves. "You think we could build some kind of mech suit?" He suggested.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Milton said whilst the group arrived at a door. The door was brown with a window that was covered with thick white blinds. The handle was gold with a metallic engraving that just read "J" with a golden letter slip next to it. Taking a deep breath, Milton lightly knocked the door.
"Enter." Spoke a Japanese voice.
Milton opened the door and entered the dimly-lit office whilst Stephanie and Charlie followed suit. The office was dark with a shelf to one side and the other had a cabinet with rows upon rows of draws. Pinned to the wall was a map of North America with red and blue pins across major cities from Vancouver in British Columbia to Miami in Florida. Sunlight slipped through the curtains whilst the hum of the fan acted like white noise whilst the light smell of alcohol tapped everyone's nostrils. Meanwhile, the desk in front of them was dark brown with a pot full of pencils and next to it, a duotang containing various folders whilst the desk itself had rows of light brown drawers, some of which were overflowing with papers and other items.
"You got the stuff?" The man sitting opposite them on the desk asked. He looked to be in his mid thirties with dark brown hair and was Japanese. He wore a black face mask with black aviators with a black fedora that sat on top of his head. His suit was equally black with a black shirt, black sleeves and the outline of a bulletproof vest alongside black gloves, black trousers and black boots.
"You betcha J, and it's even better than you expect." Milton said gleefully as he presented the wagon to J. J stood up from his seat and analysed the wagon.
"Ohhh shit!" J exclaimed, his voice laced with laughter as he walked closer towards the wagon. "This right here is a game changer!"
"I know right!" Charlie jumped up as he pulled out his phone. "I'll go tell-"
"Hey!" J raised his voice as he glared at Charlie. "I don't remember askin' you a goddamn thing, so pipe down."
"Y-yes boss." Charlie retreated down as he pushed his phone back into his pocket.
"Alright, this is what crashed down last night?" J asked Stephanie.
"Yep, and it's definitely alien tech." Stephanie nodded as she took a piece out. "I'm thinking, we could probably make some rifles outta this. One that'll be able to pierce all kinds of materials, even kevlar. Or maybe some mech suits-"
"Yeah yeah I hear ya." J said as he patted Stephanie on the back. "Though, we do need something before we actually start building all that."
"And that is?" Charlie asked.
J walked to his desk and opened a drawer, from it he pulled out a map of Reevesville and laid it on the table before he took a red marker and circled the home depot facing the shore. "We're missing a whole lotta welding equipment, usually we'd have a ton but someone." He glared at Milton. "Tried to improve them without consulting any of the engineers and now we're stuck without any equipment because they blew up!"
Milton rolled his eyes.
"So, that's where you two come in." J pointed at Stephanie and Charlie. "You two will head to that home depot and grab a bunch of welding stuff; blow torches, irons, gears, anything. Oh, and it'll also be a big help if you can get some plates, we're gonna be needing a hydraulic press in a few weeks so it'll be real' useful if you can fetch some stuff for that. I paid some yokel to be your getaway driver so don't get him killed, capiche?"
"On it." Stephanie said.
"Good, the van will be here in a few minutes, get whatever stuff ya need and go." J added.
"Will do!" Charlie said as he and Stephanie left the room and walked out of the building and waited outside just in front of the car park. The car park itself had several cars and two vans with a space reserved for a third one.
"I don't really hit joints all too often, you sure this one will work out?" Charlie asked Stephanie as he leaned against the wall.
"Relax, it'll be fine." Stephanie nodded whilst she lit up her cigarette as she gestured to the van approaching the car park. "I've hit like a dozen joints since I started this gig three years ago, I got this."
"Huh, they really went and put too much cocoa powder in my milkshake." Silvia said as she looked at the whipped cream atop her milkshake. The inside of the Denny's was a mishmash of the conversations and sometimes yelling of customers, the beeping of tills and cashiers whilst the aroma of pancakes, milkshakes, waffles and other goods wafted into everyone's noses. Meanwhile, Rey inserted a forkful of pancakes into his mouth, the sweet taste causing a rush of dopamine to fill his brain.
"What's so bad about a lotta cocoa powder?" Rey asked, covering his mouth full as he spoke before he swallowed.
"Have you heard of the cinnamon challenge?" Silvia responded before she took a sip of her milkshake, swallowing it. "You could choke on powder-type-stuff."
"Yeah but there's still enough liquid to not make that happen." Neil said, wiping his mouth. "You'll be fine."
"Yep, plus-" Rey began.
Suddenly…
CRASH!
A nearby explosion rattled the bones of everyone in the area like a tambourine, causing the trio to immediately swing their heads to the direction of where the noise was coming from. Immediately thereafter, the wail of police sirens screeched into high gear. Meanwhile, civilians scrambled in confusion with several coming out of shops and restaurants to see what's going on.
"What the hell was that?!" Silvia cried as she leaned out of the door.
"I dunno, but we should probably check it out." Rey said. With a nod from Neil and Silvia, the trio got out of the restaurant and followed the sounds of the police cars racing towards the source of the explosion.
"I sure hope you know what the hell you're doing." Silvia asked Rey nervously. The trio's hearts raced, their legs ached and the wind glazed past them; this would usually be enough to tire them but something, some spark of a thing. Adrenaline? Courage? Determination? None of them knew how this was happening but whatever it was, it's enough to keep them going and power through.
Rey looked down at the watch on his wrist then at Neil and Silvia next him. "Positive." He smirked.
"C'mon you should be doing this more often, it's hella fun!" Stephanie cackled out as she fired at a camera with her M9 handgun. The screech of alarm bells filled the air in tune with the panic and cries of employees and shoppers whilst the sparks of destroyed CCTV cameras lit up the area. Rows of shelves were either emptied or turned over as boxes and belongings were scattered amongst the ground. Meanwhile, Stephanie wore a kitsune mask whilst Charlie wore a skull mask.
"I guess so." Charlie said as he placed a drill into his bag.
"P-please madam d-don't hurt me-" A shopper in his 20s pleaded as Stephanie held him at gunpoint whilst he laid against a wall.
"Either scram and don't tell anyone or this bullet entering your skull is gonna be the last goddamn thing you'll feel. Your choice." Stephanie smirked as the man hurriedly made his escape. "C, how much' you got?" She called out as she grabbed whatever she could off the shelves. "We gotta get outta here soon."
"A good few." Charlie said after clearing a shelf full of propane tanks. "This stuff is dangerous though so be careful." He advised whilst hauling the last propane tank down into the bag, his hands shaking slightly as adrenaline coursed through his veins.
"Good, I'll go get the blowtorches." Stephanie nodded.
"I think I hear the cops!" Charlie yelled as he retreated further inside.
"Shit." Stephanie deadpanned as she pulled out a M49 Carbine Rifle from her bag. "Grab a gun and make yourself useful." She ordered Charlie, hiding behind a box.
"Right right" Charlie quickly pulled out his SMG and aimed it at the entrance just as the duo heard.
"REEVESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT, STEP OUT OF THE BUILDING AND DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" The SWAT team leader called as squads of armed police cars and SWAT vans surrounded the building like moths to a flame as the bright red and blue lights illuminated the surroundings like fireflies.
"I think we can take em." Stephanie smiled as Charlie looked on, his face etched with worry.
Nearby, Rey, Neil and Silvia peeked at the chaos from a street corner. Their eyes widened as they took a step back, scanning the events going on in front of them.
"Christ almighty." Neil commented. "Must be some kind of robbery."
"Ya think?!" Silvia said, looking at Neil.
"Still, we can't just sit here and watch." Neil said.
"Follow me." Rey said as he gestured to Neil and Silvia to follow him into an alleyway. "You know what I'm thinkin'?"
Both Neil and Silvia had a wicked grin on their faces. "Go for it." Silvia said before the trio rushed into a nearby alley that separated a McDonalds from a GAMESTOP. Rey then unrolled his sleeve and pressed the button on the watch, activating it and causing the core to pop up and the hourglass on the faceplate to morph into a rhombus. Turning the dial, he said to himself.
"Hmm, oh this one looks nice!" He grinned.
The black silhouette showcased a figure that was blocky and had a diamond for a head. Two large diamonds protruded from its back whilst its fingers jutted out from the end of its arms, seemingly without any hands. Illuminated by nothing but the green glow of the watch and with the confirmation from both Neil and Silvia, Rey slammed down on the watch's faceplate, illuminating the area in a bright green light.
As time slowed down for Rey, he saw aquamarine crystals begin to climb out of the watch and slowly envelop his body. His bones crystalised as he felt the very essence of his being grow sharper and bulkier. Irises expanded to fill the entirety of his eye whilst his pupils vanished. His neck widened and his head became more pointed at the back, almost like a helmet, whilst two pairs massive spikes sprang right out his shoulder blades and lower back whilst his arms grew to be less curved and more jagged, his hands now fused with his arms and his shoulders just as jagged. His hoodie and jeans now fused into a two-tone uniform wrapping around his legs and feet like a sleeveless onesie with the colours of his hoodie now split horizontally across his body like a pseudo-tank top and pants. Sat at the seam was the watch's emblem acting like a belt buckle of sorts.
For Neil and Silvia, it was just a brief green flash before Rey was now a crystalline creature that stood six feet and four inches tall. Neil smiled whilst Siliva's jaw dropped as the two took a step back.
"Woah, I like this one!" Neil said. "I'm thinking you could name this one..crystal man?"
"Bleurgh." Silvia shook her head upon hearing that suggestion. "Still, whaddya think this one can do?"
Rey held his arm up and morphed his fingers into a blade, grinning slightly. "Only one way to find out." He spoke with a deep and slightly echoey voice. Darting out of the alleyway, he turned his head to the chaos unfolding at the home depot and ran in its direction, Neil and Silvia following suit.
"S, mind passing me a mag'?!" Charlie asked as he showed his empty case.
"Alrighty, but this is my last twenty-eight millimetre one, make it count!" Stephanie called out as she tossed her gun magazine towards Charlie before he hurriedly inserted the magazine into the chamber before aiming it at the police officers barreling towards the entrance, the sound of the firefight screaming like thunder. Beads of sweat crawled down the duo's foreheads whilst Charlie's hands shook like a rattlesnake and Stephanie's gaze pierced the incoming officers like a hawk facing its prey all the while the SWAT team edged closer and closer. Meanwhile, Charlie looked behind him and tried his best to scan for an exit.
"I swear if those bastards don't come outside, I'm going in there myself!" One police officer said to his colleague, muffled by his headgear and clutching an AR15.
"I'm with ya on that one, chief told us to stay outside unless we get the greenlight tho-" Began another officer but was cut off by a booming voice in sync with a large looming shadow. They turned around and saw a large diamond-headed creature behind them.
"Are you having trouble, officers?" Rey asked them nonchalantly.
The SWAT team stood there in disbelief as they dropped their weapons and shields; one of them opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Their eyes remained fixed to Rey, not even noticing Neil and Silvia following him.
"I'll take that as a yes." Rey said before he, Neil and Silvia ran straight towards the Home Depot. Inside the home depot, Charlie and Stephanie were pulling a shelf towards the window and placing boxes in front of it.
"I swear if our getaway driver got arrested." Stephanie growled as she placed the final box. "I think those bikes you suggested earlier aren't too bad of an idea after all."
"Ya think-" Charlie began but his train of thought was immediately derailed upon hearing…
"And what do you two think you're doing?!" Said a booming voice.
Charlie slowly turned around and yelped. "WWWWHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"What's the hold up-ohhh crap." Stephanie swung her head just before her eyes widened in disbelief at what she was witnessing, taking a step back.
"I asked first." Rey said as he slowly morphed his arm into a razor-sharp blade, grinning slyly.
Immediately, Stephanie and Charlie pulled out their guns and spat out a downpour of bullets at Rey. Their jaws clenching as their hands shook, sweat poured down their heads as their aim became more and more erratic; Charlie had visible heart palpitations as quickly as Stephanie's breathing increased.
"Hey, keep that fire up and you may actually make me feel something." Rey laughed whilst the bullets ricocheted off his diamond-hard body; some bullets even shattered upon impact with his skin. Amidst the chaos, Neil and Silvia were looking for employees and shoppers.
"Are you alright sir?" Neil asked an employee whilst Silvia grunted as she pulled a crate off his leg.
"Sorta." The employee winced as he tried to get up but collapsed onto the floor.
"Can you feel your lower leg or your foot?" Silvia asked as she felt around it.
"N-not really." The employee groaned.
"Ok wait here, I'll go get the paramedics. Neil, you'll go and find others, call me when you do and I'll be there ASAP." Silvia ordered as she ran to alert the medics.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Stephanie's hearts skipped a beat the second their guns let out a loud click. Realising they have no other option, they threw their guns at Rey, not even creating as much as a scratch before they crawled out of the window and dashed towards the getaway van parked amongst bushes. Their legs ached, their chests groaned with exhaustion and adrenaline ran through their bodies like an F1 on a racetrack whilst the wind slicked past them.
"I don't know what the hell that thing is but I ain't sticking around to find out!" Charlie cried.
"I'm with ya on that one!" Stephanie replied as the two made a beeline for the getaway van, powered by nothing but pure adrenaline. Just as they were mere meters away from the van, a loud crash rang throughout the area followed by.
"Erm, you ain't going nowhere!" Rey called out. Smirking, his hand shifted into a field of spikes akin to a meat-mallet before he fired them rapidly like a machine gun. The shards pierced the air like a screeching bullet before they peppered the tires on the getaway van, letting out a loud hiss as they deflated.
"Crap!" Charlie cried. "We're screwed!"
"Just….grab a car and let's go, we can change out the plate!" Stephanie said as she spotted a Sudan parked nearby. "Right here!" She yelled as she elbowed the car window, shattering it into pieces before crawling inside.
"Ow, ow!" Charlie yelped
"Stop being a frickin' baby and get in." Stephanie ordered as she fumbled around the glovebox. "Please tell me there's a spare key in here-ah forget it!" She grunted before she shoved the car door open, letting out a loud snap as it crashed into the floor. "Just get outta here, we'll get there on foot." The car alarm beeped like a toddler crying because a branch poked it.
"Alright alright!" Charlie nodded as he hurriedly crawled out of the car and followed Stephanie over a wireframed fence before disappearing into the bushes like a pebble in a pond.
"Get back here!" Rey yelled as he ran towards them, the sounds of his rock-hard feet roaring like thunder with each stomp. But unfortunately, both criminals were out of sight quickly once Rey looked at the car. "Sure hope whoever owns this car has insurance." He muttered to himself. Suddenly, he turned to see Neil and Silvia running
"Are you alright?!" Silvia bellowed, running towards Rey.
"I'm fine, but they got away." Rey huffed as he looked in the direction of where the criminals went.
"But at least you're ok. Plus, we managed to get all the people out there so at least the medics are taking care of 'em." Neil smiled meekly.
"Well, at least we got tha-" Rey began before an African American in their mid 40s approached the trio flanked by police officers. He was wearing a black suit with a blue tie that was slightly dishevelled and stained with soot whilst minor scrapes dotted his face.
"I don't know who you are or where you come from but..thank you so, SO much!" The store manager smiled deeply at the trio. "Please, if there's anything me or my employees can do as a thank you, let me know right away!"
"Hmm…" Rey thought hard but noticed Neil was shaking his head and hands whilst Silvia groaned and facepalmed. "Uh, I mean. There is no requirement for that. I must continue my mission to help the people of this planet!" Rey corrected himself before he ran off into the thick bushes.
"We're just keeping track of this alien." Neil gave an awkward smile whilst he and Silvia followed Rey.
Silvia laughed awkwardly. "Don't ask."
"I have…a million questions." One police officer remarked.
"I don't think even a million is gonna cut it." Another shook her head.
"You guys ok?" Rey breathed heavily as he sat on the bench just outside the main square. At this hour, the main square was more packed, especially given what had happened, and the clouds were patchy in the sky. He was back to normal again albeit with the watch's emblem now red instead of green, he slumped over the bench before Neil and Silvia sat down next to him, breathing heavily."Yeah…we're fine." Silvia said in between breaths whilst she slouched next to Rey. "Never ran that much in my life though."
"Same here." Neil said. "But at least we stopped a robbery, right?" He smiled weakly.
"True." Rey said. "But the bad guys got away before I had the chance to catch up to them." He looked down at the watch, still glowing red. "And it'll be a while before we can do anything."
"Who says we need the watch to do anything?" Neil smiled. "My dad knows a guy who's able to search up a buncha' stuff, he can probably get something." He pulled out his phone and began typing something.
Silvia tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"My dad served in the military back in '89, I'm sure he still has some contacts 'n stuff." Neil added as he turned to face Rey and Silvia. "That reminds me, you said we were going to the shooting range yesterday when Rey found the watch."
"True." Silvia nodded. "Though, he may schedule it tomorrow so that gives us plenty of time to figure things out."
"First off, what did they look like?" Neil asked Rey as he took out his phone and opened the notes app.
"Well…" Rey thought for a moment. "They were both wearing kitsune masks, had long jackets, one was a girl and another a dude, the girl had black hair and was a little taller than the dude, and I think the dude had a submachine gun."
"What about the license plate?" Neil inquired further. "One of us could've snapped a photo of the van."
"Oh, sorry about that." Silvia scratched her head. "Besides, they would've just changed out the plate anyway."
"True." Neil said as he turned to face Rey. "Is there anything else you remember?"
"I guess the girl and boy used S and C to refer to each other respectively." Rey recalled. "But that's really all I know."
"Well that's still not a lot to go off of, but it'll do for now." Silvia nodded. "C and S….Wait!" She pulled out her phone and scrolled down to the RPD article about the two criminals. "Stephanie and Charlie, that must be them!"
"Great!" Neil said. "Now we're getting somewhere!"
"Though the catch twenty-two is that they're not gonna be using their real names." Silvia added."
"True-wait, how do you know all this?" Rey asked.
"I watch true crime videos on youtube." Silvia replied. "Anyway, I have to go get something, I'll be back soon."
"Alright, see ya in bit" Neil waved
"Later!" Rey said as Silvia walked around the corner.
"What..the HELL was that guy?!" Stephanie huffed as she leaned against the side of the wall. The duo managed to escape in a quieter area where rows of houses lined the streets. The sky was a little more patchy with clouds dotting the sky and flocks of birds danced in the air like synchronised ballet. Stephanie untied her hair, allowing it to flow loosely down to her shoulders whilst she wore a black shirt with blue jeans and black boots.
"I don't frickin' know!" Charlie yelled. He was wearing a red shirt but with similar jeans to Stephanie. "Probably some science experiment or some government crap. No one told us some crystal man is gonna show up and ruin everything.
"Either way." She slumped over onto the pavement against a fence. "The score's botched."
"I mean, at least we got some stuff." Charlie smiled weakly whilst he pulled out a blowtorch from his bag. "See? Wasn't a total bust. Plus, I got some other stuff too."
"One, put that away, we're still in public." Stephanie hissed. "And two, J is probably going to be hella pissed, he's not gonna buy the fact that we ran into a monster that ruined the score."
"Eh, let's just find a way back." Charlie slumped the bag over his back. "You got enough money for a cab right?"
"Yeah, but we're taking the bus." Stephanie corrected. "Why the hell do you think a cab is a good idea?"
"Well-" Charlie paused for a moment. "Oh, right. Well, hopefully no one recognises us."
"I'm sure they won't." Stephanie said as she got up and gestured to Charlie to follow him. "Come on."
That afternoon, Silvia stood at the bus stop. The sky was slightly cloudier than earlier as gusts of wind brushed past her. The bus stop itself, grey and worn, had nine people standing alongside it, all waiting for that blue rectangle to arrive. The air was a blend of both the acrid aroma of car exhaust and the allure of nearby restaurants. As she leaned against a cold grey pole, she pulled out her phone and opened up WhatsApp.
"Any new leads?" She asked.
"Nothing on my end :( " Rey replied.
"If it counts, my dad said he heard of some reports about some organisation using a logging company as front." Neil said. "Could be whatever crime org on the news those two are working for maybe."
"That seems likely." Rey responded. "I mean, you've seen Los Pollos Hermanos in Breaking Bad, could be something like that."
"Haven't really watched Breaking Bad tho." Neil replied."Neither." Silvia said. "Plus, this is the real world, I don't think it's gonna work like a TV show."
"True but there were cases of crime rings using actual businesses as fronts, especially with employees not knowing what they're being roped into." Rey added.
"Either way, best we make no sudden moves until we figure out what we're dealing with." Silvia texted before she put the phone down and slid it into her pocket. She leaned and looked into the sky, sighing a long sigh. Are we really cut out for thi- she thought to herself but her train of thought was derailed by.
"AH CRAP SORRY-!" Yelped a man as he nearly stumbled over and crashed into Silvia.
"Oh don't worry, that's fine." Silvia brushed off whilst she gave a light smile though noticed his voice was…a little familiar. Not really blaring alarms but it was a small itch in her brain.
"I was just in a hurry to deliver stuff and-" The man huffed but was bonked on the head by a black-haired woman behind him.
"Pull yourself together…Carl." The woman glared at the man before looking at Silvia, quickly turning her head. "Sorry he's my friend and we have stuff to do."
Silvia paused briefly before nodding slowly. "I see, what kind of stuff do you have to deliver?"
"Ah, just some super important stuff." Carl said with an awkward smile. "Me and..Tiffany work for an engineering and logging company."
"Y-yeah." Tiffany nodded as her eyes darted around, nudging Carl as she subtly grimaced at him.
Silvia narrowed her eyes briefly before focusing back on her phone. A few moments passed before she asked another question. "Where is this company at? Are they local or some contractor for something?"
A bird chirped seemingly on cue. "Around the eastern parts-ish." Carl replied. "We just do basic stuff."
"I see." Silvia said before she swung her head, the loud hiss of an approaching bus announcing its arrival before it stopped in front of the bus stop. The bus itself was not as tightly packed as the others given what time it was. After paying for her ticket and taking a seat just behind the two, albeit leaving a one seat gap, Silvia texted the group chat.
"I think we may have our lead."
"Hold on." J dropped his cigarette onto his ashtray, in tune with the groans of the blinds letting what little sunlight seep through. "You're meaning to tell me..that the score was spoiled because of some Crystal monster?!"
"Sounds insane but..yeah." Charlie nodded whilst Stephanie clenched her jaw and folded her arms.
"...do you guys genuinely think I'm a moron?" J glared at them both. "That I'm some kind of idiot who'd let crap be thrown in my face?!" His voice dropped low whilst his eyes shot daggers through his glasses and into the souls of both Stephanie and Charlie. "Like come on! I give you guys one job. ONE. JOB. And you not only blow it, but come up with the most batshit excuse I'VE EVER HEARD!" He slammed his fist onto the desk. "DO YOU KNOW HOW-"
"Uh, J." Milton knocked on the door.
"Ugh, what is it Milton?" J groaned as Milton opened the door.
"I want you to see this."
Milton turned on the TV in J's office, showcasing the CCTV news broadcast.
"[...]SETI is collaborating with the Reevesville Police Department with investigating the events of the past few hours. For those joining us, a robbery was thwarted when a strange rock alien arrived on the scene. The alien, whose name is currently unknown, seemingly arrived in the nick of time to help the police stop the robbers. Whilst the suspects managed to flee the scene, their would-be getaway driver has been arrested and taken into custody. The crystals created by the creature are being studied by a joint CSA-NASA Team[...]"
"Oh damn." J said as he stared at the TV screen. "Guess you guys weren't playin' with me."
"Honest to god, we have no clue what that dude is. Man tanked everything we threw at it." Stephanie held her hands up in confusion. "He just laughed it off, busted our get away driver and now we barely got any of what we needed." She leaned against J's desk whilst she folded her arms.
"You think that might have something to do with this alien stuff that we found?" Charlie suggested. "Like, some sort of beacon or something?"
"' ' The hell you asking me for!?" Milton said, wide eyed. "I don't know anything about alien tech. I mean, I did take a look at the scrap you bought earlier today, but they don't really have anything that could tell me others were coming, or even where it came from to begin with."
"Still, I think we should keep our eyes open." Stephanie nodded. "We might need to-"
"Do whatever the hell you can, just don't let any stupid aliens screw up any more scores. Get weapons, craft stuff, whatever!" J sighed as he paced around his office. Milton, Stephanie and Charlie took a step back; even though J was wearing glasses, they could almost see his eyes narrow with beads of sweat climbing down his forehead. First the police, now this crap. He thought to himself. Can't a guy catch a break?
"There is something I do remember about the diamond guy." Charlie recalled.
"And that is?" Stephanie asked as she turned to face Charlie, followed by Milton and J.
"The diamond dude had some badge on his abdomen like some kind of a belt buckle or something. Can't remember how it looked exactly but I know it was grey and white."
"Huh, so some kind of badge or something?" Stephanie tilted her head a little.
"Possibly." Milton shrugged. "At the very least we'd be able to identify whatever group it belongs to."
"Assuming we even manage to figure out what the group even is in the first place." Stephanie added firmly. "Need I remind you that we're dealing with straight up aliens?!"
"True, but at least it's a lead." Milton said.
"Yeah, and the crystal guy was with two kids. Can't remember their description but they definitely looked like middle schoolers." Stephanie said.
"Then again, the kids probably just saw something cool and went towards it." Charlie noted. "Like, what are the odds of the kids knowing this dude beforehand?"
"I'd wager close to zero." Milton said.
"Either way, best we don't take any chances." J boomed as he took a seat back down at his desk. "See any more kids snooping around, let me know ASAP. They must know a thing or two about this crap; and if they don't bother answering, then let's just say." He pulled out a small pistol from his drawer and cocked it, causing a massive click to echo around the room. "They're gonna have much bigger problems."
Just outside the warehouse, Silvia sits from across the street. The sky was a deep dark blue as the dusk made way for night. One could only just barely make out anything, faintly illuminated by whatever sunlight still shines through. The sound of rustling leaves and the occasional groan of passing cars was all there was to break the silence. She sends a photo of the warehouse to the group chat.
"This is the post, I saw those two ppl walk in" She captioned the photo.
"You 100% these were the guys?" Neil asked for additional confirmation.
"Mhm mhm." She answered. "They were being pretty blatant about it tbh."
"Either way, you up to take em down? :D" Rey DMed excitedly.
"Fs!" Neil responded.
"Hell yeah, just gonna grab my dad's glock." Silva texted. "Ik its illegal but, yknow, the greater good n all :3"
"I…fair enough." Rey texted. "So when do we hit?"
"Once I get back from my place." SIlvia responded.
"Got it!" Neil said.
"Gucci." Rey texted
That evening, Silva leaned against a fence opposite the compound. Stars were just about appearing in the night sky whilst thin wispy clouds looked overhead. Goosebumps formed on her skin as her heart rate increased by the minute. She clenched her phone in her hand as a quadrillion thoughts flooded her brain with as many outcomes as possible.
"Heya!" Neil greeted Silvia whilst he and Rey approached her.
"Took ya long enough." Silvia smirked as she got up from the grass.
"We only took like half an hour." Rey let out a light chuckle. "Besides, bus times are lowkey stupid."
"Yeah well, at least we're here." Neil smiled a little, though one could notice the tremors in his hands.
"Anyway, show time." Rey said with a cheeky grin as he looked at Neil and Silvia, both nodding. Then, rolled up his sleeve and activated the watch, causing the core to pop up to the selection interface. Turning the dial, he went over a couple different silhouettes until he landed on one that was standing on all fours and seemed to have a canine physique. Smirking, he then slammed the core down.
As time slowed down for Rey, he felt muscle mass grow from the watch, up his arm and around his body. His pupils vanished as his sclera was filled by his amber-iris taking up the entirety of his eye. His hazel-brown hair became orange as it grew around his body, transforming into fur that covered his body like a wild animal. His posture continued to lean forward as his stance went from biped to quadruped with his once human form rapidly becoming doglike just without a tail. His eyes atrophied into nothing as his senses of smell and hearing amplified tenfold whilst his vocal cords atrophied, his voice being nothing more than growls, grunts and roars. Razor sharp teeth jutted from his lower lip whilst said lips became black. His nose disappeared as quickly as his nostrils relocated to the side of his neck whilst the watch reformed as a black and white brace on his right shoulder, the watch's emblem being white instead of green. Finally, his hands and feet reformed into paws with four digits on his front and three at his back with sharp claws.
For Neil and Silvia, it was nothing more than a green flash before Rey transformed from human into this orange eyeless and tailless dog creature.
"Ok this guy is…something." Neil said as he stepped closer, raising an eyebrow whilst he noticed Rey's lack of features.
Rey just let out a growl before he lowered himself and began to sniff. From his POV, everything was either red or green with the acrid smell of fumes and wood increasing tenfold. He then lifted up his front paw, grunting and gesturing to them to go towards the southern side of the warehouse.
"Huh, I should've considered he'd do that." Silvia nodded before she and Neil followed Rey towards the warehouse. Sneaking past a corner, Rey huffed a little whilst he moved his paw against Neil and Silvia, stopping them. As the trio peaked around, they overheard two guards of similar stature to each other guarding a metal powerbox on the side of the wall.
"You reckon they're gonna find out where that alien dude came from?" One guard asked whilst he ignited his cigarette.
"Why are you asking me? I ain't some science dude." The other guard shrugged.
"Neither, but I'm just curious- Huh?" The guard immediately pulled out his stun gun whilst the other clutched their rifle, rapidly scanning the area to see what drew their attention. "誰だ！？" He called out, their backs turned against the corner.
"We're in Canada, they won't understand you." The other guard said. "You still think this-OUGH!" One of the guards was knocked out by Rey bonking his paw on his head.
"What was th-AGH!" Neil kicked the other in his crotch before knocking him out cold with a swift kick to the head.
"This." Neil smirked.
Rey let out a huff of laughter before Silvia shushed him.
"Let me focus!" She hushed before she opened up the grey box, revealing a maze of blue, red and yellow wires. "Oh this looks a lot harder than I-"
CRASHH!
Using his razor sharp claws, Rey slashed open the box, causing it to let out a loud bop as sparks came flying out of it. In the distance, the trio heard a loud click as something may have just happened.
"That works too." Neil nodded in surprise. "You think we may have cut the power to this place or something."
"Maybe." Silvia looked around. "It did something because I heard a click. Maybe look around, or rather sniff around in Rey's case."
Rey grumbled in acknowledgement before he raised his head near a door. Next to the door was a security camera that was lowered like a wilted rose with its lights off; Rey's ears picked up for any potential mechanical whirr that may have come from active cameras then he smiled and shook his head.
"That must've been the security system." Neil said. "Good thinking Rey!"
"Hey! I was the one who had the idea to take the thing down." Silvia huffed whilst she frowned and lowered her eyebrows.
"Oh and you too." Neil added cheekily as Rey opened the door, gesturing to Neil and Silvia to follow him in.
"J, we got bad news." A goon ran into the office and burst the door open.
"Ugh for fu-what is it now dude?" J asked.
"Our security system is down, I tried reaching out to James and Yuta but I got nothing from them." The goon panted.
"God DAMMIT!" J slammed his fist on his desk. "I swear to god if the cops show up after only, what, 5 months, I'm throwing myself off a cliff."
"Really?!" Milton asked, his eyes widened.
"No dumbass!" J bellowed. "What I will do is ask you three to go and figure out what the hell is going on." He asked Stephanie, Charlie and Milton. The trio nodded before running out the door.
"Part of me wants it to be police and not some more ET crap." Charlie said hopefully. "If crystal face shows up I'm noping the hell outta here."
"I dunno, I'd like a good challenge." Milton smirked whilst he cocked his shotgun. "Maybe what I got cooking will take em out."
"Well why don't you bring it out here?!" Stephanie asked whilst her eyebrows lowered.
"...it's nearly done but what I got now will hopefully do just fine, gimme a sec'." Milton yelled as he ran into his workshop.
"Could've just done that in the first place." Stephanie rolled her eyes.
Not too far away, Rey creeped his way around a corridor, sniffing out any potential guards or crooks with Neil and Silvia carefully following suit. The interior was dimly lit with only a few hanging lamps illuminating the corridors, the walls were beige coloured whilst the floor was made of grey tiles with blotches of grey concrete peeking through. Suddenly, Rey stopped and grunted a little.
"You found something?" Neil asked before he and Silvia gasped a little. It was a workshop where the walls were adorned with shelves holding tools, boxes, boxes of tools and a workbench in the center. To the corner of the room was a box of garbage whilst the workbench itself was full of scorch marks. There was also a partially open drawer full of old blueprints as well as some makeshift weaponry nearby. Most notably however, was what looked like a container with the remains of drones.
"Are those…?" Neil asked.
"Mhm, looks like it." Silvia nodded. "They probably found out about the drones since the news made a big ruckus about the quote-unquote meteors." She approached one of the shelves and noticed a blue and yellow stun gun. Grinning from ear to ear, she giggled as she plucked it off the shelf. "OHOHOHOHOOOOO" she giggled. "Me likey!"
Neil looked at Rey as did Rey. "Figured that might happen." Neil said whilst he shrugged and Rey grumbled. Suddenly, Rey growled as he sensed something was approaching; without a moment's hesitation, he darted out of the room and turned around the corner, picking up speed when he sensed someone ahead of him.
"If I remember, I think I-GUH!" Milton was shoved to the ground. Looking up, his heart skipped a beat as he felt an icy hand group his throat; standing before him was an orange dog with no eyes growling right at him.
"AAAAAAAAAA!"
Milton screeched as Rey swatted him like a fly, faceplanting into the wall. Before he could regain his bearings, Rey rammed into him like a rhino, sending him flying backwards into a pile of boxes. As Rey charged forwards, Milton reached into one of the crates, grabbed a metal pole and swung it right at Rey. Rey whined as he felt the impact rattle his skull before Milton kneed him the jaw. Wincing in pain, Rey stumbled backwards before he roared and lunged at Milton, pinning him to the ground; he could see the wits leave Milton's face before Milton shoved his boot into Rey's chest with all his strength, knocking him back just enough for him to free himself and dart around the corner.
"Ayo did you hear that?!" Neil swung his head towards the doorframe.
"Yeah, I think we should go check it out." Silvia nodded as she and Neil made their way out of the workshop, but suddenly, they felt someone grab their arm tightly.
"And where do you think you're going?" Said a feminine voice. Neil felt a cold sweat run down his forehead as his throat tightened whilst Silvia's breathing shortened and her heart tried to beat out of her chest as the two turned around to see a Japanese-American woman staring right at them, her lips curling into a smirk.
"Crap." Silvia said before she instantly pulled her stun gun and fired it right at the girl's stomach.
"GAUGH!" Stephanie grunted as an electric shock rang through her body, causing her to stumble backwards and wince. "このクソガキども" She screamed in pain.
"RUN!" Neil screamed as he and Silvia immediately darted away into the corridor.
Meanwhile, not too far away, Milton was trying to outmanuver Rey who just kept taking everything Milton threw at him like it was mere dust. HOW THE HELL CAN THIS DUDE SEE OR SMELL HE'S GOT NO EYES OR NOSE Milton thought to himself as he frantically turned around the corner, but Rey roared whilst he leapt into the air, knocking a lamp off its support as he locked onto Milton. Suddenly, his gills widened as he heard the echoes of distant screams.
Neil, Silvia! He thought to himself as he turned around and ran off in the direction of those screams, leaping off Milton.
Milton growled as he pulled out his walkie talkie. "Guys, another monster turned up and it's some weird looking eyeless dog!" He exclaimed.
In another part of the compound, Silvia and Neil ran as fast as their hearts raced; they could almost feel it bursting out of their chests and as if Stephanie was breathing down their necks. Ducking under a shelf, the duo panted as Silvia looked at Neil.
"Should we stick together or split up?" Neil asked.
"Stick together." Silvia grinned as she pulled out the stun-gun from her pocket. "I got this!"
Neil smiled nervously. "I trust ya." He said as he and Silvia got out of the shelf and went into the corridor.
"お前、誰!?" A guard called out as they got out the door but before he could proceed further.
BZZZZZTTTTTT!
The guard dropped to the ground as he was hit by the stun gun. Several more came out!
BANG!
SHHFFFFTTTT!
BZZTTTT!
"HOW'D YA LIKE THAT?!" Silvia yelled, her voice trembling slightly. "Get behind me Neil. Keep your eyes open for an exit."
"Roger that." Neil nodded as the two ran forward. Despite being armed, Silvia's heart still tried to break out of her chest whilst Neil's breathing was shallow. The corridor itself was dimly lit with seemingly innocuous doors lining up every corner and wall.
" 死ぬ!" Another guard screamed as he raised his pistol only to be smacked by a wrench, banging against his skull and knocking him out cold.
"Nice shot!" Silvia grinned.
"Thanks! I'm surprised that it actually hit." Neil laughed a little. "We're almost there I think!"
"Let's keep moving!" Silvia said as the duo went into a large room. The room had some shelves, a window near the ceiling and doors on opposite sides. Amongst the shelves were boxes, some opened, some closed, whilst four of the 8 lights were flickering. Then, suddenly, another man came out from around the corner, this time he did not look like a guard.
"I'm afraid I'm stopping ya right here!" The man said.
"Oh yeah tough guy?!" Silvia smirked but when she pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
Her eyes widened as she fired again.
Nothing.
Nothing came out of the stun gun. Not even a pop. Just a weak, harmless, pathetic click.
"Ehehe…" Silvia laughed nervously.
"I don't suppose we uhhh…talk this out?" Neil began to shake.
"Nah." Milton said.
The duo turned to run but were immediately grabbed by the same woman from earlier, alongside another man. Their hearts skipped a beat once they finally recognised who it was.
They're the crooks from the news. Silvia realised.
Uh oh. Neil thought to himself.
"Didn't appreciate you zapping me like that." Stephanie glared. "Or helping that weird monster guy ruin our score."
"I uhh, don't suppose you're gonna let us go, right?" Silvia asked.
"Hahaha-No." Charlie laughed sarcastically as he placed Neil and Silvia in hand restraints. Once Charlie finished, he bought the duo towards the door where a man in a mask and glasses entered. The man stared in complete disbelief at the two culprits behind the ruined robbery.
"You're telling me." J began to raise his voice. "That our operation..nearly got all messed up…BECAUSE OF A BUNCH OF LITTLE KIDS?!" He bellowed so hard that his throat groaned under the strain whilst the colour left Neil and Silvia's faces. "Usually I'd just pop a .90 in your skulls but since you're young, I thought we'd make it special just for you two." He said slyly. "You two should consider yourselves lucky, well not 100% but you know what I mean?"
"You're going out in style with my newest creation." Milton had a sinister grin whilst he pulled out a gun from his bag. The gun was like, around the size of an Assault Rifle with a canister at the back, a red scope and a long, sharp, barrel. "Got it from the weird looking alien stuff that crashed yesterday." A sentence that made Neil and Silvia open their mouths a little; no wonder the gun looked familiar. "Anyhoo, got any last words?" Milton asked as he looked Neil and Silvia in the eyes whilst Stephanie grinned, Charlie took a step back and J watched blankly. Neil looked at Silvia as Silvia looked at Neil; was this it? Was this how they were going to go out? Were they really going to die before their 13th birthday? Tears began to well up in Silvia's eyes as Neil's breathing increased. All they can think of is what comes after, what's going to happen to their family, what's going to happen to Rey. But just before more was done…
"GRAAAAGHHHHHHH" A roar filled the air in tune with a crash and thud; an orange dog, the same one that Milton encountered, barged through the wall, knocking the door down alongside a huge chunk of the wall.
"WHAT THE FU-?!" Milton screamed before Neil kicked him in the jewels. "GAHHHH!"
Immediately, Stephanie and Charlie opened fire on Rey but he simply rolled out of the way as he charged towards the crooks, knocking them backwards into the wall and toppling several shelves and boxes. Quickly, he skipped towards Neil and Silvia, bit their restraints and tore them off.
"Took ya long enough." Silvia said sarcastically, much to Rey letting out a 'verbal eyeroll'
"Glad you're here man!" Neil smiled and let out a sigh of relief, but gasped when he saw Stephanie and Charlie get up. "Uh oh."
"This day just keeps getting weirder, and weirder." Charlie said as he reached into his gun holster. Then, without warning…
"HIYAAAAAA" Silvia launched herself into the air and kicked Charlie in the face. Meanwhile, Milton tried to shoot at Rey from behind, but Rey quickly turned around and flipped over and around Milton. Milton tried firing again, and again, and again, all to no avail as Rey leaped onto a shelf before lunging at Charlie who was just regaining his bearings. Pinning him down, Rey slashed at Charlie's right arm, causing him to drop his gun and screech in agony. Clutching his bleeding arm, Charlie attempted to kick Rey in the stomach but Rey put both of his paws together and slammed them down on Charlie's head, leaving him almost knocked out.
As Neil reached for a bat on the shelf, he heard the rustling of metal before he turned around to see J holding a .90 right at him. Before he had time to pull the trigger, J was knocked down by Rey as Neil came over and hit him in the chest so hard with the baseball bat that they could've sworn they heard J's ribs crack before Neil landed another strike onto J's skull, causing him to pass out.
Realising the jig was up, Stephanie attempted to reach out for Milton's rifle but Silvia grabbed her on the wrist so tight she felt like it was going to pop, and without warning, Rey knocked Stephanie into the wall. Her head ringing like bells, she tried to get up but was swiftly hit on the head with the back of Milton's rifle, leaving the barely conscious crooks to be restrained by Neil and Silvia as Rey watches over them.
"Just sit nice and tight until the police get here." Silvia smirked as Neil dialed 999. Suddenly, just as Neil was about to call, he noticed someone missing.
"Hey, where's the other guy?" Neil asked as he looked around the room. "I swear there was one more."
"Hm, Rey how about you-" Silvia asked Rey but the watch's emblem began to flash red, causing Rey to whimper in panic.
"Crap, uhhhh GOTTA GO, HAVE A NICE LIFE Y'ALL!" Silvia smiled as she and Neil hopped onto Rey and leaped through a window, letting out a loud thud as they leapt onto the grass.
"消えろ" Stephanie muttered but she and Charlie were surprised to see a red flash appear from the window shortly after the kids left.
"Uhhh, ok that's just…uhhh." Charlie thought to himself. "What do you thi-"
"Not now." Stephanie scoffed as the wails of police sirens filled the air.
"Hey Mom, hey Dad!" Rey closed the front door only to see his parents standing sternly in the stairwell. His mother's eyes narrowed whilst his Dad folded his arms and frowned.
"What time do you call this young man?!" Rey's mother yelled. "We said you could stay out until 4, IT'S 9 IN THE EVENING!"
"I uhhhh…" Rey laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Erm…I was…uhhhh."
"Oh cut the crap Rey." Rey's Dad rolled his eyes. "We agreed that you wouldn't stay out too late and yet you pull this crap. Your mother and I were worried sick."
"Cmon it wasn't even that ba-" Rey began but was cut off.
"Not that bad?! You are 12 years old! You know full well you shouldn't be staying out this late." Rey's mother glared. "What if you got hurt or worse? What if you ran into a bunch of bad people?"
Rey's lips tightened the second she said that whilst he felt his heart rate spike briefly. She's not wrong. "But I didn't and so, I'm fine." He reassured
Rey's father sighed. "Even still, you've got school tomorrow."
Rey froze as he let out a loud sigh. "Oh, right." He instinctively looked at the watch, albeit covered by his hoodie sleeve. "I uhhh, didn't realise." His face sank.
Rey's mother shook her head. "Go to your room. Now!"
Going up the stairs, Rey just huffed before he went into his room and shut the door. Taking off his hoodie, he looked at the watch still on his wrist. He remembered what Neil said earlier about him just living life normally. But what happened today contradicts that statement; this is not normal, the Rey of today is not like the Rey of last week, or the week before or..basically any time before yesterday. No. This is a new Rey Hansen. Sure, Rey may have the same personality, same interests, hyperfixations, fashion styles et cetera, but something is different. Was it the watch? Was it something he already had in him that the watch brought to life? Rey didn't know nor did he have the energy to care. Changing into his PJs, he looked at the watch on his arm as he laid down on his bed.
This is the new normal I suppose. Rey thought to himself as he threw himself to sleep.