Grey: Monsters

"What was that!?" I asked after the call ended on my headset. It was a girl's voice. Looks like communications are back online. The quaking sounds of buildings breaking and collapsing have stopped. What's happening outside, anyway?

"Don't think too much about it. That's Wolot's doing. Everything has been completed."

"What is it? What is he planning?"

"That's another topic altogether, one I don't think I'll be able to cover. Did I say I wanted to tell you everything? The truth is, I can only give out limited information, so I hope you'll bear with me. But first…"

She came very close to me, close enough for me to see her beauty clearly. Her eyes drifted to my chest.

"You've been quiet. Don't you want to see your friends… traitor?"

Traitor? What is she talking about?

My hand stretched, and two eyes and a mouth appeared.

"Long time, Anix. I see you're doing well," Xeno said.

"Likewise, Xeno."

"Now that we've greeted, may I go back to my rest?"

"Do as you please."

"Wait a minute, B! What the hell is she talking about? Explain why she's calling you a traitor."

I stopped him before he could go back inside.

"There's nothing to explain. It changes nothing, won't change the fact that we're here fighting this war. Knowledge isn't wasted, but some of it ends up useless. Goodbye for now."

Confused and curious, I looked at Anix. Her face showed no emotion, just as it had since I arrived.

"Please, explain everything to me."

"That was my plan all along. We're a separate species known as Xcri. Like you humans, we once had a planet of our own, but it became uninhabitable after a major galactic war with another species. The few of us who survived searched for a habitable planet with weaker inhabitants, since we were weakened ourselves, and that's how we stumbled upon Earth."

Xcri… that was what that guy called me.

"Our main objective wasn't to take Earth for ourselves; we wanted to coexist with humans. That brings us to our second objective, which, I'm afraid, I can't reveal—"

"You call all of this coexisting?"

"Words mean different things depending on how you interpret them, and beliefs depend on your background. Our actions might not look like coexistence to you, but believe me, this was the best we could manage."

"The best, only for your side—"

"I agree, we're selfish creatures, but humans are no different. Arguing among ourselves will get us nowhere. Wolot is on the move, so we have no time."

She continued, "When we arrived on Earth, four of us were assigned to study humans and report back occasionally—myself, Xeno, Wolot, and Luric. We obeyed the command of our masters, reporting our findings until, suddenly, one of us rebelled. That was Xeno. Not only did he go against our masters, but he also killed Luric, one of our own. He was labeled a traitor and placed under orders to be hunted down and brought back alive. When we tried to track him… he was already trapped in a host body…"

She locked her piercing eyes on mine.

"To bring him back, we need to detach him from the host, but doing so by force would kill both him and you. You're not called a hybrid because you're half-human, half-Xcri; you're called a hybrid because you retained your human consciousness while accessing the powers of an Xcri. You trapped Xeno within you and used his powers as your own, which is why my master wants you."

"Why are you telling me this? What do you stand to gain?"

"I gain nothing. As for why… because you deserve to know. You are one of us—a better model."

"Well done, Anix. You did well." A voice came from behind her. It was the same man who attacked us—Wolot. He sat on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, then stood and began to close the distance.

"You think I wouldn't find you? Even with all the jamming around here, those laws don't apply to me."

"I knew you'd eventually find me. That's why I brought the hybrid here, in exchange for letting the others leave alive."

Anix revealed, and I was shocked.

"Oh, is that so? Hmm… well, I should thank you, but no one's leaving here alive." He approached me with a tired gaze, then looked down at my chest, and his face lit up.

I think he has some personal issues with B.

"I told you I'd find you, Xeno. I wish I could rip you out of this human and grind you to minced meat, but my master won't allow it. That doesn't change the fact that I'll beat the hell out of you."

Wait—what?!

Before I could react, I was punched, sent crashing through the wall, and found myself outside, staring at the cloudy sky. The hit was hard. Really hard.

My nose felt broken, tears prickled at my eyes, my ears rang painfully, and every part of my body ached.

I crashed into another building, sliding down toward the ground. From where I'd fallen, I could see the lab I'd been thrown out of, and there was Wolot, coming out with a smile on his face and his hand painted with my blood.

I wanted to pass out. This was the hardest punch I'd ever taken.

"Don't quit on me now," he taunted. "Come on, transform and fight me."