Lyle hopped down from the arms of Aurora and tried to use his feathers as swords again, but this time the enemy was swifter and was able to smack Lyle sending him flying against a nearby tree trunk. This monster appeared to be interested in Hector and in the creature he had rescued at the sea.
Luis and Hank tried to get on the way but the monster smacked with the same strength he had used on Lyle. As it got closer to Hector Luis tackled his back and held him strongly. However, the monster managed to hold Luis and slam him against the ground. He was about to strike a final blow when he felt a cracking noise on his back.
Carlos had hit him with a loose branch from a tree, but the branch split in haft with the impact without causing any harm. The monster turned around and slapped Carlos across the face sending him to the ground.
The werewolf creature decided that the final blow was for Carlos, but when he attempted to strike he saw a white thunder passing in front of his eyes
Carlos was motionless looking at the monster putting his claws on his face.
- My eyes!!!!! My eyes!!!!! – howled the animal furiously.
With his blur vision he could see in front of him the white figure that had attacked him.
Its body was white as the snow. On top of her rounded head it had pointed ears that ended in three purple colored prolongations. It turned around showing its blue rounded eyes and her silky whiskers that came out from the sides of its face. Its tail, had purple markings and it waved with the wind. On her front paws it was wearing yellowish leather gloves that had on the tip of each toe long and sharp metallic like claws that glittered with the moonlight.
" She could perfectly poke my eyes out with those things" – thought Carlos looking at the naughty creature that stood posing differently from the other monsters he had met so far.
- You want it!! You got it!! – yelled the creature in a clearly feminine voice.
- What?! I won't let a female Digimon like you get away with this. – yelled the other monster charging at the feline critter.
With a single movement, the female creature extended her claws like automatic pocket knives and sunk them deep in the belly of the werewolf creature who vanished a few seconds after plummeting to the ground.
A few seconds later, the voice of someone looking for something in the woods could be heard.
- Alba…… - called a female voice far away.
The cat like creature raised her ears and meowed loudly. Then it licked its forepaws to then groom its head.
Carlos was standing up when he saw coming out of the trees the person who was calling and who was holding a flashlight.
The light shone on his eyes for a few seconds but then he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
- Clara?!!!!! – said Carlos impressed.
- Carlos!!!!!? – she replied covering her mouth with her hand. – I can't believe this!!!
- That makes two of us….. What are you doing here? – said Carlos shaking hands with Clara.
- The same thing as you I think…….. Oh my god!!!! – she said when he saw the other group of monsters.
- So…….. this one showed up at your home?
- Yes. – she answered recovering her judgment. – Isn't she the most beautiful kitty you have ever seen?
- Dangerous would be more accurate……..- said Carlos.
- Oh Dear! – said Clara. – What happened to your eye?
- We were attacked by a monster. Does it look very bad?
- No, but we'll have to get an ice pack for that. So let's go. I have the car parked at the side of the road. Come on.
They walked in the woods for a few minutes heading for the road when suddenly a loud moaning sound was heard from the sky., A shadow crept near hector and seized the creature he had in arms.
- Hey!!! Give it back!!! – yelled Hector at the monster that was flying away.
Everything happened so fast that everybody was confused and by the time they realized what had happened they could only see Hector trying to run behind the monster to no avail. He saw it disappear with the night as cover.
- Wait!! – said Carlos taking Hector by the shirt. – It's useless!!! He's too far away!!
- Rats!!! – said Hector punching the ground with his fists.
- We have to get out of here first so we can come up with a plan. – said Carlos putting his hand on Hector's shoulder. – Look, I'm sure that creature has to get to the same place we are headed, so we'll catch up with him sooner or later.
- Let's hope so……..- said Hector looking at the other sadly. Ok. Let's get to the car.! – he said optimistically.
Finally, they got to the side of the road. Clara switched off the alarm of her dark blue Ford Taurus and politely invited the strange visitors to get inside.
A few minutes later, they were inside the vehicle. At the driver's seat Clara drove on without being able to take her eyes off the rear view mirror to look at those curious creatures. Alba was sitting on the rear seat near the right window, and very still she was looking outside like she was thinking about something. Aurora was sited on the middle holding Lyle, who looked very weak, in her arms. Hector tried to make himself comfortable on the side but Hank wanted to take all the remaining space that remained beside Luis. It didn't took a long time for both to start arguing.
Finally in the side seat next to the driver was Carlos who looked very upset for the bruise on his right eye. He also had a minor cut below on the skin.
- Soon, we'll find a drug store in the way so we can get some medicine and ice for that eye.
- That's fine…… - said Carlos very bored.
Clara pulled over near a gas station. H told everyone to wait there and soon she came back with an ice pack, a bottle of water and a small container with pills.
- Do you have a handkerchief? – asked Clara handing the bags over the window.
- Yes. No problem….. – said carlos placing the ice pack in his handkerchief and placing ir over his bruised eye. Then he took one of the tablets and swallowed it with a sip of water.
Clara kept driving without really having a plan in mind.
- I didn't ask you how did you find us……….
- Well. When the server went down when we were chatting I was about to tell you that the night before, on my way back to the student apartment I live in I noticed that someone was hanging on the window frame. When I opened the window, I saw her. I had never seen a cat like that in my whole life, but anyway I took her in and she seemed to be fond of me. The next morning, I almost fainted when she spoke to me and she was asking me where she was. Later, although I thought I was nuts I took her to the street, so she could look around the student campus I was living in. When we visited the home of one of my friends she almost fainted when she saw that she could talk, walk on her hind feet and that she wielded those metallic sharp claws. But as the day passed we got used to her. We chatted and taught her girl stuff.
- Hmmmmmmm……. That explains her behavior on the field.
- What do you mean?
- Well, when I saw her back there on the woods I noticed that she stood differently from the others and that she behaved…well…….like a girl.
- And that's bad?
- No. I suppose not. I think you taught her well. – said Carlos noticing that Clara smiled when she looked at him with the side of her eye.
- What?! – said Carlos. – Do I look funny?
- You remind me of Fred Flinstone… you know…… putting a steak on his eye.
- Ha ha ha ha ha. – replied Carlos feeling mocked at.
In the back seat, it was getting rough. Hank and Luis were arguing for the window seat. They began yelling up to an intolerable point, making Carlos turn around and stare them angrily.
- Cut it out!!!! – he yelled very upset. – We're in danger, and you are fooling around.
With this, everything quieted out.
- Hey! Don't yell at them like that! – said Clara trying not to distract her attention from the road.
- You too!!!!??? I was almost killed and you take it lightly.
- I am not taking this lightly!!! – answered Clara angrily.
- Ok, Ok…..I think I got a little carried away…… so you were explaining what had happened.
- Ok….. Where was I…… Oh yes…… That evening everything was normal. Next morning I woke up and I was getting ready to go out when my cell phone began ringing. It was some guy who told me that an Army task force was on its way to the campus to take Alba away unless I took the car and drove away to the south. The guy also asked if I had laptop computer, and he asked me to switch it on because he was going to send me a map that showed a spot where Alba's friends were waiting for her. But for him to send me the map, I had to drive south first and Alba would tell me where to stop. I was doing just that when Alba jumped out the window when I was driving on the road next to the woods. I had to pull over to look for her, and that's when I found you guys.
- Did he talk about a rendezvous point?
- Yes. That's precisely what he talked about. You can check on my laptop if you want. It's on the back.
Obediently, Luis and Hank handed over the small laptop bag to Carlos, so at least they were not noisy anymore.
Carlos switched the laptop on and waited for the desktop to appear. After all the programs were loaded, a window that appeared on the center of the screen popped up. It was a map of the United States and Canada. A red dot blinked on the upper part of the map.