"Dea, you okay?" Hima asked for the hundredth time.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Dea flung a glance her way as they dashed through the battle-ravaged city. "Really."

"Okay..."

Underneath the warrior stance, Hima radiated anxiety. She was obviously having serious misgivings about their ability to pull off this mission.

Their route took them past the town hall, its dome rising into the heavens. Dea knew it was now occupied by Callian forces. As she skirted past a destroyed tank, she spied a van in the distance, mounted with what appeared to be a satellite dish antenna.

After a while, Muda barked, "Nadie's updated the route. Turn here."

The mini force of three altered the course to a tightly-packed residential road. Then Dea jolted to a stop, prompting the others to follow suit.

This was where the girls' shelter was located—except now, it looked like a cyclone had struck.

Dea stared at the wreckage and empty husks of buildings. Tremors shot down her system. She was too far away to spot the shelter itself.

Hima's voice cut into her thoughts, "Dea?"

"Let's go," she hissed and propelled herself forward.

They barely gained a dozen meters before her friend shouted, "Humans!"

Sure enough, humans scattered at their approach, disappearing into hiding places. A burning bottle arced into the air, heading right at them. Muda dodged, and it crashed into a dented car. Flames bloomed on impact.

"What the heck was that?" Hima yelled, bumping over debris as she darted behind a pile of rubble.

"Molotov cocktail," Dea said, heart thumping. "Nadie warned us that some civilians are staying behind and defending themselves."

"Let's go!" Muda jumped back to action. "Watch out for the bottle bombs."

"Gee, thanks for that piece of advice, superwoman," Hima mumbled under her breath as she hurried to catch up.

The whir of the Cypods carried down the road. The humans might have detected something odd about this unexpected trio appearing out of the blue, because no more attacks came their way. In the corner of her eye, Dea spied a curtain close in a four-story condominium that stood intact.

Up ahead, the girls' shelter lay in ruins. The yellow interior popped out from the greys, broken and exposed like a gaping wound. A current of shock sizzled through Dea.

"Dea," Hima's voice snapped her to her senses. "C'mon!"

As they drew near, two humans scampered away.

"What were they doing?" Muda wondered aloud, slowing down.

"Rescue efforts! There might be people trapped in there." Dea headed straight to the collapsed building. "Muda, can you help get this beam out of the way?"

Muda hesitated but rushed to comply, Hima following at her wheels. Dea wasted no time activating the Flamingo's robotic arm. It hummed and unfolded to its full dimensions.

"Gawping groupers," Hima said, moving out of the way as Dea maneuvered the arm into position.

Together, they lifted the beam, which groaned in protest. They dragged it aside and let it drop. Vibrations rippled as it thudded down. Dust ballooned up, motes shimmering in the light.

Dea barely had time to indulge in the small victory. Over the skyline, lights flashed through the glowering clouds—an alarming display that made her heart constrict.

"We gotta move," Muda growled.

A sharp crunch of glass made them wheel around. A human child stood next to the burning vehicle, mouth agape.

Dea sucked in a breath and rushed towards her. "Mihiri!"

Mihiri stood unmoving as if she couldn't believe her eyes. A stone clinked off the Flamingo's viewport, and Dea turned to see a small head peeping from behind a lamp post. Another child, crouching next to a trash can, squealed and cowered at Dea's approach. The tiny human pulled at a leg that was bent at an odd angle.

Dea halted a few meters from them. An invisible flechette pierced her all the way to her soul, and sorrow radiated out, mingled with guilt. Her dry mouth opened, but no words came out.

A voice yelled in Sinhalese, "Get away from them, you stupid kids! It's dangerous!"

The words emanated from a teen, hiding somewhere in the rubble.

Mihiri broke out of her paralysis and shouted, "No, I know her! She's not one of them!"

A beat of silence greeted her words.

"This is my friend, Dea," Mihiri continued, a quaver in her voice. "She's here to help. That's why they lifted off the beam!"

Tears stung Dea's eyes. She suddenly felt like a shark in cow's clothing. Would you feel the same if you knew I'm responsible for this?

Jee skittered into view, along with a ragtag bunch of teens and two adults. One girl had headphones slung around her neck and held a phone aloft. Some of them were clearly injured.

"We're not going to hurt you," Dea called out, toning down the desperation that crept in—then waited for the translation to issue forth. "You need to get to safety."

Jee's gaze roved over the Flamingo before peering into the viewport. "But there are more people trapped—"

"Hima," Dea said, turning to her friend, who just watched transfixed, "help them rescue everyone and get them to Oomie's squad."

"What?" Hima goggled. "I'm not leaving you!"

"You have to!"

She gulped, emotion flashing over her face. Muda said nothing.

Dea swiveled her head to face the kids. "That's my friend, Hima. She's going to help you, okay?"

"Are—are you alien? Is this an alien invasion?" Mihiri asked, coming closer.

Dea barked out a laugh despite herself. "Go! Get your friends out!"

The urgency in her voice seemed to jolt them to action. They took off towards the broken building while two more teens emerged from their hiding places.

"That was nice of you," Hima croaked when she reached her. "You can do this, Dea? Really?"

"Yep," Dea said, trying to inject as much conviction as she could muster.

"Please be safe! Please."

"Hurry. We don't have time!"

Hima raced after the kids, pausing once to glance over her shoulder. That one look contained a million words, plucking painfully at her heartstrings. Dea tamped down the dissonant whine that quaked her to the core. We'll get through this, Hima. We're going home.

"And we're down to just two." Muda muttered.

"Let's go!" Dea took to her wheels, her fist clenching on the joystick.

They traversed another road without incident.

"Dea, I see your location," Nadie's voice said over the comms link. "Proceed to our position. It's a street that opens up into Marine Drive—a freeway that extends along the coast. It passes right by the Square and the park adjacent. Be warned, it's hell out here."

"Have you located Mora's APC?" Dea asked, swerving past an abandoned vehicle.

"Yep, we have a visual." The captain paused. "Getting there, however..."

"I'd have to get Oomie to tell Mora that I'm coming to meet him."

The silence on the other end told her that Nadie didn't like the idea. Loud bangs wafted into her ears.

"It's not like Massa can order the military to attack Dea," Muda cut in.

"That may be so." Nadie let out a frustrated sigh, and her voice distorted amidst the sound of gunfire. "It's still not ideal when we know for a fact he'd rather have Dea out of the picture. Also, we have reason to believe the Goonewardanes are hiding out somewhere well away from the battlefield. The Callians shot down the air transport and cut off their means of escape."

"Wait, I need to check something." Dea didn't slow her pace as she opened up a new voice channel. "Oomie, do you copy?"

Oomie answered immediately, "Dea, where are you? Your map was helpful—we've broken into the mansion from the back."

Dea's heart leaped when she absorbed the news. "That's awesome."

"I gotta go—"

"Wait, where's Massa? Is he in one of the subs off the coast?"

"Actually, no. Dad's been a bit vague about his whereabouts—which is understandable. But I could tell there's more to it."

"What do you mean?"

"He seemed...uncertain. To put that into perspective, I've never heard him sound that way—even when this dirty big bomber swooped down on us earlier."

Dea made a quick decision. "Let Mora know I'm heading his way. Well, the Flamingo would be hard to miss. Just tell him not to attack."

"Will do."

When Oomie disconnected, she switched back to Nadie. "Massa's position is unknown—he's not in the subs. Whatever he's up to, Mora's not liking it. He'd be expecting us now."

"Noted." Nadie hesitated. "Make haste!"

The soundscape throbbed louder as Dea and Muda veered past a junction. Within minutes, they arrived in the street where Nadie's team awaited them.

The narrow road, largely unscathed, was hemmed in with a multitude of boutique shops. The far end allowed an unimpeded view of Marine Drive and a stretch of coast, beyond which the ocean churned under a leaden sky.

As they gained on the map marker, the Endera team materialized out of the haze—a mini army sheathed in black. The captain beckoned them over with one restless hand gesture.

"Nadie!" Dea shouted. "How do we get to Mora?"

"We'd have to cross over to the beach—that's where his APC's located." Nadie's face darkened to reflect the charged atmosphere. "The battle is raging in the Square—just a few hundred meters that way. That means we'd be going past human units. The moment we stream onto Marine Drive, they'd start attacking."

The words carried enough weight to make the team sag.

Just then, Oomie's voice trickled in to inform her that they were now downloading Dilip's files. The news galvanized the team, boosting morale. Nadie's chest heaved while two people fist-bumped.

"Hima's coming your way with rescued humans," Dea said to Oomie. "Get them to safety. Some of them need medical attention."

"Copy that," Oomie whispered. "And we'll get Tamara to the human press. It's up to you now, Dea. We're counting on you."

"I'll see you on the other side." Dea ended the link and rolled the Flamingo forward. "Let's do this!"

Everyone visibly tensed, helmets pointed at the end of the road. Wind howled and mingled with the blaring noise that battered their ears. The anticipation and the taste of danger prickled her skin and made hair stand on end.

"Alright, folks." Nadie loaded her gun and hefted it. "It's showtime."

Animal: Siphonophore

https://youtu.be/Vf1AC3OKi9c