Chapter 6
The Monster
Jen was still a prisoner. They had figured out a while ago that he was a rebel and were deciding on how to deal with him. So far, the sentence was to remain tied up until otherwise. Jen sighed, it was night and he was the only one awake. When they realized he was a rebel, the leader just sighed and tied him up. Jen was glad he was still alive, but still didn't really quite get the sigh. Jen had a number of reasons why, it really depended on how he wanted to see them, but he figured it was the additional strain of taking care of a prisoner. He was really startled when he heard the gruff voice in the dark.
"Everything has to be big in the sky here, doesn't it?" said Vels, who apparently was awake. "Uh, yeah," Jen looked up and saw what he meant, "it looks like it would crash." The moon in the sky was an asteroid that looked as if it used to speed across the universe until it was captured by this planet, it also took up a good 1/3 of the sky. "Maybe it will," said Vels, "just needs a push." Jen then decided to go ahead and ask the question that was just bugging him a moment ago, "why did you keep me alive?" Vels then looked at him and laughed. "Oh kid, we are stuck in some place where the forest whispers, there are masked men prancing around telling people what to do, and there is a giant asteroid in the sky that will destroy this planet soon, right now is not a time for killing people for any reason except for necessity. Now answer a question for me, why did you follow us into the hole?" Jen thought about it, he wasn't quite too sure now. Then he finally said, "a bunch of imperials landed near my post and started speeding off towards nowhere. What else was I supposed to do?" Vels chuckled, "alright, go get some sleep." And, with that, Vels went into his tent. Jen remained outside and still tied up.
His eyes were finally staying shut. Jen was so close to sleep when he heard something. It was slow and continuous, it sounded like breathing. But, it sounded like it belonged to something large. Jen didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to see the thing which sounded like it was right in front of him. He could smell its breath. Rot, blood, decay. The thing had snarled in a primal voice, "open your eyes, I know your awake." He slowly opened his eyes and desperately wanted to close them again. Whatever it was, it used to be humanoid. It was now a beast with fang, hair, extra appendages, and deformities. He wanted to scream, but found It didn't come. "Please, don't be afraid, I only bring a warning." With every word, something dripped from what Jen believed to be the mouth. "The man with the mask, beware. I can't say more. If you want our help, go to the caves." It then disappeared into the shadows. Jen didn't know what to think, or what to say. Then his pent-up scream finally came.
Lembert was having trouble finding the camp. It was now late in the night and he was trying to remember where he saw the smoke from earlier. But then he got a very strong clue of where the camp was, but also one he would rather have not gotten. He ran towards the direction of the scream that had pierced the night.
In such a short time, a lot happened at the camp. First, everyone was woken by the scream of Jen. Then they heard him trying to tell them of what he saw and heard, trying and struggling but also failing. Then the third and final event happened, which was Lembert finally arrived to the camp, still in his officer's uniform and also holding a small, standard-issue black pistol in one hand and an electric torch in the other.