April Rosevolt
April crouched down next a fallen tree trunk, surveying the natural depression in landscape. Ahead of her, beneath the clutch of knile wood, was an opening that led to the camp. In an attempt to gauge the time, she looked up, trying to locate the moon. Time tended to lose meaning in the forests. She remembered the long tracks she and her legion performed during the Beast Wars, the endless cycle of trees and foliage. An untrained man could easily find himself lost within minutes, or worse, travelling in circles.
Using the long grass as cover, she crept forwards and joined another therian as they rove ahead of the main camp. She’d volunteered to assist the therian’s in watch duty, not that they fully trusted her. Discontent to remain helpless, her insistence eventually won over their permission however. They granted her permission to join Levi, one of the original local therians, as he performed his watch duties.
“Can you climb hybrid?” Levi asked calmly as she joined him. She glanced at his unnaturally pale complexion and nodded silently. Like Touya, Levi possessed all the unique traits of a therian. His metal bracers were cruder, more rigid in design compared to Touya’s elegant arm guards.
“Trees give better view. We climb up and watch,” he mouthed, his fragmented grasp of the common tongue making his sentence come out in clipped, hard to understand tones. April nodded again, glad be assisting someone who knew the human language at all. There were scant few others she was able to engage in conversation with at the therian camp, and Sharye’s tutelage would only go so far in the time they had.
They angled off for one of the larger columns, its lowest branches just level with her head. April reached up and grabbed onto one branch whilst Levi planted his hand on her backside and heaved her up. Once secure, she reached down to offer her hand as aid, but the therian below was gone. Confused, April noticed some slight movement above her and discovered he’d already reached the higher branches.
She gave him an utterly mystified expression before adjusting herself in preparation for the climb ahead. It took no time at all for them to reach the canopies. Hoisting her own weight was almost effortless now with the reinforced strength of her arms. The downside was that the cold affected her much more than others. She’d all but caught up to Levi when the therian raised his hand in alarm.
April paused, holding her position as their ears strained to hear the disturbance. Something rustled in dense green vegetation below. There was another noise, neither subtle nor quiet as the thing started moving hard and fast towards them.
“Down!” Levi hissed.
She didn’t even get the chance to act. Hybrids came through the trees, the sudden thumps of their footsteps breaking night’s tranquility. It was wholly unnerving to witness their silent advance. There were no battle cries, no words of warning, just the relentless clatter of modified limbs. April counted close to a dozen hybrids. A forward party? How close was the main force?
Another burst from the canopy ahead and barreled into her. A scream escaped from her lungs as she was thrown from the tree tops and flung downwards. She spiraled down, the sounds of her plummet accentuated by the snap of tree branches. The world span and April hit the ground a moment later with an anguished cry. Her assailant landed on top of her, a wrist blade scything down with brutal autonomy.
April lashed out in desperation, hammering her fist into the hybrid’s arm. She just managed to redirect its stabbing power into the dirt next to her head, but it immediately punched her face, dazing her. It was seconds from dealing the finishing blow when Levi intervened. The therian came from nowhere; delivering a powerful sweeping kick strong enough to send the hybrid sprawling off her.
Hastily, he pulled her up and pointed in the direction of the camp.
“Warn others!”
He shoved her roughly and April stumbled, trying to regain her composure. Her jaw burned, and a dreadful ache had spread all over her back. She was likely concussed but the former hybrid understood just enough to know that she needed to escape. Levi unsheathed his wrist blades as more hybrids closed in, too many for him to handle.
“Go!” he roared.
His words jolted her into action. Breathing heavily, April started down the slope that led towards to the camp. “Help!” she yelled, speaking the therian language. Who knew if she spoke the right words, “Hel-”
The hybrid from before tackled her once more, blowing the air out of her. Aprl lost her footing as they were both thrown over into the mud. They rolled down the hill, biting, fighting, struggling for control. Ending up in a ditch at the bottom, caked in dirt, April clasped her hands together and slammed downwards. There was enough force to cave in the man’s skull, but he shrugged it off like a zombie and cut into her waist.
April winced, feeling the sharp sting pierce into her side. She drew back, outraged beyond all control, and sliced his arms off with astounding speed. Her wrist blades had appeared, as if responding to the heightened danger she facd. Reaching down, she ripped out the blade still stuck in her side. The blood on it was black and all hers. Grimacing, she cursed and finished the hybrid, or at least disabled it from chasing her further.
There was no time to celebrate. Standing up shakily, she sprinted as fast as possible towards camp, hoping to warn someone.