Chapter 11

The Sapien sits cross legged in his cell and reflects on the circumstances that led to his capture by the Blue aliens.

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Previously: Young as part of his test is made to fight and overcome a cave lion. He succeeds and his potential is reported back to the Blue alien’s Chieftain. The Chieftain reminds Agrivel to not push the Terrans too far, as they have further use where they are going beyond just being test subjects.

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The Sapien sat cross-legged in the centre of their cell, deeply contemplating their current predicament. They were encased by a circle of light and could see no feasible way of escaping their prison. He scratched at his hairy back and thought about the last few moments before capture and realised that with it all happening so fast. He could hardly believe it happened at all. He had been part of a roaming group, simply searching for an ideal place to settle down more permanently. Unfortunately, when surrounded by animals, both carnivorous and herbivores that were double their size, settling down often felt like an impossible dream. Truthfully, most of the other humans they encountered had only ever known a nomadic lifestyle. The world was too chaotic, too tumultuous to allow for peace. He closed his eyes and dreamed of earthly sounds. The patter of rain on stone and the soft warmth of the fire on his back. He pictured his family’s chatter as they each ate from the carcass they had together brought down. The overhang provided shelter from the elements, but it didn’t mean they could afford complacency. He had elected to take the first watch, and it was here he stood looking out into that empty dark forest. A few minutes passed before a scout returned. They explained to him that they had seen lights in the distance and wanted to investigate, but found nothing substantial.

The Sapien had at first doubted it was anything serious, nothing more than the fear of the unknown messing with the scout’s paranoia. From where he now stood, he could only see a row of tall trees going in all directions. The noises of the evening were all natural, nature being nature. Until something drowned them out. Large and thunderous, like a thunderclap, the sky itself had been cracked open. Bright Lights swept overhead and one locked in on him. He had to cover his eyes to avoid its intense light from blinding him. The blistering winds it kicked up also forced him to dig his bare heels in so as to not be blown off his feet. A few away, something fell from the darkness and landed with a heavy thud off in the distance. The Sapien's heart began racing as the scout that he had first doubted now tossed him a spare stone axe, which he caught effortlessly, though he wondered how useful such a thing would be against something that came from the sky. Loud noises punctuated their surroundings as whatever had been dropped before them now mechanically unravelled into its true form that rose to a height much greater than either of them expected. It stood now as a bipedal being made of an unknown material.

“Surre-” the robotic words were cut off with a sudden whoosh as the scout launched their stone axe at the out-stretched arm of the monster.

It shifted its focus, and from its left arm, another bright orange light appeared. Sapien made their move and did something similar that appeared to do the trick. They launched the axe right as the monster attempted to fire something at them. The explosion lit up the surroundings and badly damaged their attacker, with parts of it flying off into the forest. This made the monster stagger backwards off balance. The scout, once they had also retrieved their axe, then set to work attacking the gaps in the monster’s right shoulder. Finding the wiring, he began chopping at it before finally the right arm became dislodged and landed on the grass. The monster turned sharply and delivered a winding kick into the scout’s abdomen, that sent him sprawling to the ground. Sapien took this as a chance to return the favour; while jumping onto the back of the bipedal thing, he wrapped his arm around its neck. Just as the scout had done, he took advantage of the gap in the armour and began hacking at it until the creature came to a sudden stop and dropped to its knees. Its movements became more lethargic and slowed until it ceased movement altogether. Releasing his hold, he approached the scout and helped the man back to his feet.

“You did good.”

“It was a team effort. I can't take all the credit since you killed it,” said the scout. “I’ve not seen any animal like it, though. What about you?”

Sapien crouched down and poked the black metal body. It was smooth to his touch and cold. Despite the darkness, its strange shimmer meant he could see both of them reflected in the armour.

Upon looking closer at its face, Sapien suspected that this thing that attacked them wasn’t a living thing in a way they understood and was in fact some kind of construct, before he could consider this further more strange lights from above strafed across him and the scout. The two went back to back and prepared to face together whatever came next. This time something different appeared before them, manifesting as if out of thin air. They too were armed, but unlike their previous enemy. Sapien guessed these newcomers were its masters.

“Impressive feat for a primitive taking down a mech warrior.”

The human tongue coming out of its mouth disgusted the Sapien and he tensed. He reevaluated the situation and saw that each of the newcomers was also carrying something like a weapon, likely also capable of the same explosive power he managed to stop. He somehow doubted he would be lucky a second time. He lowered the axe and signalled for the scout to do the same. They were outmatched, that much was now clear.

“And perceptive, too. You might be smaller than the big ones, but you’re just as sharp. This could be interesting,” said the being. “You will come with us; if you resist, we kill you. We only preserve the strong. The sick among you will be terminated. This is not up for discussion or debate.”

Sapien could only watch as more of those same balls were deployed from above and became bipedal. Their lifeless stare met his, and he watched the alien approach the overhang. Now at the edges of it stood most of his family and tribe. They huddled together and as he went to step forward, the bipedal closest to him appeared to charge a shot of its own. He put his foot back down, remaining where he did. The charge died down. He couldn't afford to push his luck with these beings as any wrong step would be a death wish.

“We do as they say. We bide our time until the time is right.”

“Not like we have a choice,” said the scout.