Chapter four: The soldier's awakening

"Ugh…"

Cody slowly woke up from a slumber he didn't even know he was having. He felt that he was lying on something soft. It was like his mattress, but more comfortable. Hmmm… wh… what happened? He wondered.

I remember going on a mission, and… The events of that day suddenly hit him like an aircraft. His eyes flew open and he sat up, awakening a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Agh…" he groaned as he clutched onto his stomach. Trying to ignore the pain, the soldier looked around the room he was in. It was small and shabby; the kind of sleeping area he was used to. The bed was the only thing in the cave-like space.

Cody wasn't used to the comfort the bed gave. His own mattress back at the Resistance base was a lot harder. Then, he remembered something else. Something he did just before the mission. It was an old habit, and old habits die hard: he had brought his sidearm with him.

His hand and eyes immediately went to his holster, finding it empty. He groaned again, but this time not in pain.

"That's just great…" he muttered as he stood up, ignoring the other pain he felt in the process. He knew what he was going to do.

Find answers. And his gun.

Spidey sat in her room, doing nothing in particular. Or so it seemed. She was thinking about the unknown human her friends brought in a few days ago. Of course helping him was something they had to do, even if he was human. He wasn't too hurt, fortunately, but he certainly would have died if Cupa and Andr hadn't found him. But what to do with him after he was fully healed was still undecided.

Since he was human, their first decision was to let him leave in peace once he was fully healed. However, they quickly realized that it wasn't really the best idea: he could betray their position to the locals, bringing them in danger since their kind was still hunted.

The second counterargument was his clothing and the object he had with him: most humans in their world wore robes. The girls were exceptions, and so was the person they found. As for the object, which was assumed to be a weapon, didn't seem magical in the least. This man looked like he was brought here straight from a world where technology is used more than sorcery.

That was their eventual theory: he came from a technological world, and most likely wouldn't be able to survive or integrate in a place like this without the proper guidance.

Spidey looked to her left, where she saw the technological object lying on her cupboard. The others thought she should keep it with her: her strength, speed and agility made her the expert at unarmed combat among them, making her the most qualified to guard this weapon from anyone who wanted to get it – including the actual owner.

And she was allowed to use it in case she was attacked.

Cody snuck through a hallway, still ignoring the lingering pain. He needed to be stealthy to get his gun back and escape. Regardless of who helped him or why they did so, he was afraid of what they would do if they found out he was awake. Maybe they needed him for their own selfish reasons, and he didn't really feel like getting used.

He was at a corner now. He had to be careful if he didn't want to be seen. He cautiously went ahead and peeked around the corner.

Nothing but another hallway, this time with rows of doors on the sides.

He snuck into the hallway, careful not to alert anyone who may be behind the doors.

Right after the hallway of doors was an intersection of hallways. Not good, Cody thought. If there's anyone in one of these hallways, I'll be seen for sure. Also, this doesn't make finding the exit easier – or my gun for that matter.

He was just about to peek into the corridors to his left and right, when he heard one of the doors behind him creak open. The alarmed soldier whirled around to see a girl standing in the opening of one of the doorways, looking at him. Her purple hair was tied into a long ponytail. Her clothing was gray and black, and her eyes were a blood red.

"So you're awake," she said in a somewhat cold voice. "You could've just hollered or waited for us, ya know. You're not fully healed yet."

"Who are you? And where's my gun?" Cody threateningly asked, ignoring what the girl said. She seemed unfazed by his menacing voice and scowled.

"You're welcome," she said. "And if you're talking about that thing you had on your belt, you're not getting it anytime soon."

"Then I'll just have to get it from you," Cody growled as he took on a fighting stance.

The girl smirked. "I don't want to hit an injured person," she said. "It never really gets me a good fight."

Cody scoffed. "Well, I don't want to hit a girl. Never gets me a good fight, either," he responded, making his opponent's smirk turn into a scowl. She took on a fighting stance herself.

"Think you're funny?" she asked. "Let's see how much you'll laugh after this!"

She charged. She was fast, but Cody managed to grab her and throw her into the nearby wall. He raised his fist to punch her face, but she dodged his strike. He grunted as his fist came into contact with the stone wall. The girl saw her chance and kicked him in the popliteal, making him kneel. She put her arm around his neck from behind, but made sure not to squeeze.

"You're out of your league," she said. But she spoke too soon, as evident by the fact that Cody stood back up, fast as lightning, and threw her over his shoulder. Once she was lying on the ground, Cody proceeded to put his foot on her throat. However, the girl rolled away and quickly stood up. They glared at one another until the girl suddenly smirked again.

"You're better than I thought, I'll give you that," she admitted. "But you won't be able to beat-"

She was silenced as another voice interrupted her speech. "What is going on here!?" the voice demanded. Cody looked towards its origin to find another girl standing there. This girl looked nothing like the first one. She had gray hair and eyes. She also had a bow in her hand. Her clothing was also gray, and a lot more revealing: her 'private places' were covered, but only just enough. She had a quiver with arrows.

"For goodness' sake…" the first girl muttered before she answered the second girl's question with a "Nothing!"

The second girl gave her a weird look before responding. "Spidey, I'm pretty sure that 'nothing' doesn't sound like a duel between a guy who looks like a soldier and a certain purple-haired boastful girl," she calmly said. The last part made the first girl, who seemed to be called Spidey, glare at the second one.

"'Boastful girl'? Really?" she said. "Maybe we should find out which one of us is really the best at fighting here, then!"

The second girl seemed unfazed by the threat, and responded: "Calm down, I was only joking. Besides, we need to welcome our guest." She turned to Cody, who had been watching the whole argument between the two.

She gave him an apologetic smile. "My apologies, sir. I hope the fight between you two wasn't too difficult to handle," she said. "You probably want some answers as well, but I need your word that you'll remain peaceful."

Cody thought about that for a while. So far, neither of the two had tried to actually harm him. Sure, there was the fight between him and Spidey, but that was partially his fault. That second girl also had a bow and arrows, so she could've shot him the moment she saw him. If they wanted to use him for something, they could force him to easily.

"Fine," Cody said, causing the second girl to smile again. "Excellent," she said. "Follow me. Oh, yeah…" she held out her hand for Cody to shake. "My name is Skelly. Pleased to meet you!"