Chapter 5 is here! As promised, they have returned. MR Editor man and I greatly appreciate the continued interest people take in our story. I am working with others to try and slow the pacing to a more manageable level, so please, let me know if this chapter is better pace-wise.

Book I Chapter 5: Tender is the Night

Luke didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but he knew he was dreaming. He tossed and turned in his bed as he grappled with a vivid nightmare. Within, he was paralyzed, trapped in the body of a young boy.

He couldn't see much, which was little comfort when all he could do was watch. What little he could see was dark and horribly fragmented, like peering into the night through a shattered window. An ominous silhouette loomed a dozen feet ahead. It suddenly jerked forward, stumbling to and fro, as though fighting a higher power for control of itself. It made a horrible, guttural noise with each lumbering step. Whether it was a groan or a growl, he didn't know.

As it drew closer, Luke's vision warbled out of focus, then fizzled out entirely.

When the dream flickered back to life, the figure was much closer than before. There was a newcomer as well: a young girl, standing between himself and the monster, arms outstretched as if to protect him.

Luke…

He tried to warn her. Run, he tried to scream,but nothing came; his body refused to listen. He could only watch in horror as the monster drew ever closer. It bore a set of wicked, razor-sharp claws that shimmered in the light. Now, it moved with intent.

He screamed, struggled, and lashed out in his mind, all to no avail. He could do nothing as it tore into the girl. It buried its hideous blades in her flesh, stabbing, thrashing, ripping away at her until she was nothing more than a pile of shattered bones and shredded viscera.

Then, it looked up at him.

The monster lurched forward, crushing the girl's remains underfoot as it went. Its sudden speed caught him completely by surprise. In an instant, his concern for the girl vanished, replaced by abject terror as the hideous thing bore down upon him, claws raised.

…Luke…

His consciousness was torn from the teen's body. Disoriented, Luke watched his previous host crumple to the floor.

"Luke, wake up!"

Luke bolted upright, his body drenched in sweat. He frantically groped for his head, just in case. Feeling both his it and his sleeping mask firmly in place, he relaxed. "Oh, thank god." Someone was in his room. Bleary eyed, he could just make out a shadowy outline hovering beside his bed. He groaned, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes.

"Grani? What are you doing here? It's like, four in the morning." A beam of moonlight caught her face as she leaned forward, highlighting the deep concern plain in her expression.

"What am I doing here?!" she shouted, causing him to flinch. "You were practically screaming your lungs out!"

"I was? Sorry about that..."

"What happened?" Luke shook his head. It was only a dream. Nothing she needed to concern herself with.

"Just a horror movie I watched last night." he lied smoothly. "Nothing to worry about." Grani visibly relaxed. She turned around and sat on the foot of his bed, sighing with relief.

"From now on, you're forbidden from watching horror movies before bed," she scolded, looking over her shoulder. "You had me seriously worried…"

"Ah, uh… Sorry."

"Don't apologize!"

"…Sorry?"

"Ugh…"

"So…" His eyes darted around his room, looking for something—anything—to talk about. He'd been living at Rhodes Island for the better part of a week, and if he'd learned anything in that time, it would be that he sucked at holding a conversation.

His eyes landed on Grani's bright pajamas. A simple shirt and shorts, they were colored a faded sky blue and sprinkled with small embroideries depicting various types of food. His favorite was the cutegreenapple sewn into her breast pocket. He quickly averted his gaze. Grani was more developed than he was led to believe.

Luke cleared his throat. "That's a uh… a cute apple."

"I'm sorry, what?"

You absolute jackass? He internally admonished himself. Blushing, Luke pointed to the green apple.

Grani smiled, tucking strands of loose hair behind her ear. "Thanks. It's a present from my mother." She pointed to her face. "I see you sleep with a mask. At least this one's made of fabric. I couldn't imagine sleeping with the porcelain one on."

Luke chuckled nervously. Where's Franka when you need her? Her playful attitude shifted the pressure away from him in social situations. With her around, Luke felt like he could sit back and let her steer the conversation. "At home, I rarely wore a mask, but back then, you know, I didn't have to worry about prying eyes or anything." Luke paused as unpleasant memories began to resurface. "For the most part…" he finished, under his breath.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Dwelling on the past wouldn't change a thing.

"You don't trust me?" Grani asked, her equine ears pressed against her head and lips upturned. A pang of guilt shot through his chest.

"I didn't mean it like that, Grani…" Luke said with an apologetic tone, "but I've only known you for a week. Put yourself in my shoes: I don't think you'd be comfortable sharing your secrets with me…"

She laughed and slugged him, playfully, in the shoulder. "I'm just kidding. I don't mind. As long as they aren't harmful, your secrets are yours to keep."

Luke rubbed his shoulder. "Thanks, Grani." She nodded, folding her hands in her lap. They sat for a while in comfortable silence. Luke gazed out his window and up at the moon, contemplating the nightmare she'd roused him from

He hadn't recognized anyone in his dream. In a twisted sense, he felt relieved. He'd heard somewhere that the mind couldn't invent new faces and instead reused those the dreamer had seen before. He'd seen thousands of faces, visitors coming and going from the temple. If he didn't recognize the people in the dream, then he didn't know them, right? Luke frowned. He had a nagging feeling that he hadn't seen the last of that dream…

"Not going back to sleep?"

Luke reluctantly tore his attention from the passing wastelands. "Maybe in a bit. How about you?"

"Meh, if you're staying up, I'll stay up."

Luke slipped out from under his covers and tossed a pillow towards Grani. "Here, use this." He leaned his back against the wall and angled himself to get a better view of the window.

Grani mirrored his position, using the pillow as lumbar support. She gazed out into the night and sighed. "Terra looks so peaceful, doesn't it?"

There was something beautiful about Terra's barren landscape. It was monotonous—unchanging. He could travel a thousand miles and the view he saw there would be the same as the one he saw now. He had no choice. What he saw was what he got. "That's the beauty of it: Terra reveals what it wants to reveal, liberating you from the burden of choice."

"Those are big words, coming from you."

"Oof."

Grani snorted. Her shoulders shook with barely-contained laughter. Looking away, she held out a hand, good-naturedly motioning him to stop. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be laughing, but what was that?"

"I mean, you did insult me."

"Yeah, but who just says that?"

"What else am I supposed to say?"

Grani leaned back against the wall. "I don't know, but definitely not that."

"Then I'll be sure to…" Luke stretched as he yawned, "say it whenever I can."

"Heh, you sounded like a cat."

"Shaddup," Luke mumbled. He rested his head against the window. The cool glass was ice against his skin—like a sip of water after a breath mint. It was refreshing. The rumble of the landship's monstrous engines soothed his anxious mind and lulled him into a state of sweet torpor. His eyelids fluttered, then closed as sleep took hold of him once again. His last sight was of Grani resting her chin on the palm of her hand, starting out into the night.

Later that morning, Luke awoke to incessant knocking on his door. He slowly pushed off the wall, neck aching from sleeping against it, and nearly kicked Grani in the face. Sometime during the night, she had fallen asleep as well; her face was buried in his pillow at the opposite end of his bed, her legs dangling over its edge.

The knocking resumed. "Good morning, you two! It's your favorite operators, Liska and Frankarm!"

"Franka!" 'Liska' cried.

Grani rolled over with a groan. Her long silver hair covered her face. "Ugh… tell them to go away…"

"Bold of them to assume that we're awake…" Luke grumbled as he dragged himself out of bed, scratching his messy bed head . Guess I can rule out the midnight cow theory.

He staggered across the room, kicking aside dirty laundry as he went. With a sigh, Luke pushed the door release button and put on his best half-awake smile. "Morning. What's with the wake-up call?"

Franka and Liskarm blinked at him owlishly. Luke looked down and registered his disheveled appearance. "Oh, sorry about that. I just woke up."

Franka reached up and pulled on one of his cowlicks. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

He lazily brushed her hand aside. "Please don't. What're you doing here?"

Franka smiled as Grani, looking equally groggy, appeared next to him. "Well, you see… Last night, we happened to receive a new mission and we thought —"

Liskarm interrupted her with a cough.

Rolling her eyes, Franka continued, "I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get your feet wet!"

A bubble of excitement pushed the morning haze from Luke's mind. He was thrilled at the prospect of leaving the landship, but didn't want to show it. "Oh? What kind of mission?"

"It's a simple bodyguard detail. Nothing too challenging. Just leave the tough work to us! Think of this as a field trip!"

Luke shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I mean, if Grani's alright with that then, why not? What do you say?"

Grani was markedly more liberal with her excitement. "Sure, sounds fun!"

Franka clapped excitedly. "Perfect! You'll need to pack about two weeks' worth of clothing, toiletries, and your ID's."

"My ID?" Luke questioned.

"Well, you can't enter another country without proper identification, can you?"

"Fair point."

Liskarm cleared her throat. "We're meeting our client in Lungmen at 11:00 AM, so we have to leave the landship no later than 9:00. Meet us in Garage 1A by 8:30. Two hours should provide ample time to pack. Any questions?"

Grani and Luke looked at one another, then back again. They shook their heads. Liskarm, satisfied, turned on a dime and strode towards the elevator. Mid-way, she stopped, and glanced over her shoulder at Luke. "Clean up your room. It's a pigsty."

Luke wilted, his excitement gone as quickly as it had come. She had been unexpectedly harsh during their week of basic training, and her parting shot was the last nail in the coffin. What affection he held for her had vanished, almost overnight. He hung his head with a sigh.

Franka watched with a sad smile and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't let her get to you. She's rough around the edges, but she means well. She's a good person."

"I know…" he muttered weakly, "but even a good person has people they hate." He appreciated Franka's words, but if Liskarm was a nice person, then he must have really messed up.

Franka's smile faltered. "I wouldn't say she hates you…"

"Heh. Could've fooled me."

Grani looked on with concern. She tugged on Luke's nightshirt. "Let's get packing. I'm sure Franka has to prepare as well."

Franka nodded. "Yep. We'll see you at 8:30." Luke caught a glimpse of her, grabbing Liskarm by the shoulder and leaning in as the elevator doors slid shut behind them. He couldn't help but wonder what.

Grani frowned up at him. "You okay?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit irritated." He took a deep breath, ran a hand through his matted hair, and walked toward the closet. "Nevermind that. Let's get packing."

Luke opened the door and revealed, to Grani's dismay, a mound of clothing. He crouched down and yanked one of his suitcases from beneath the pile, causing it to collapse with a sad thump. He slid it across the floor, where it slowly spun to a stop by the foot of his bed.

Grani looked disdainfully at the mess he had created. "What's the point in buying furniture if you aren't going to use it?" she asked, pointing to the dresser inside his closet.

"I do use it. I put all my clean clothing inside," he replied distractedly, busy rummaging through the base of Mount Polyester. He pulled out a few pairs of socks and tossed them over his shoulder. "Eventually."

Grani balked. "They're going to get wrinkled if you leave them like that!"

"And? It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone," he explained while searching for spare pajamas. "Besides, why should I be in a rush to put them away? I'm just going to use them again."

Grani threw her arms in the air, vaguely disgusted. "Ugh, whatever." She smacked him lightly with her tail as she turned toward her room. "I'm going to pack. I'll see you in a bit."

"See ya," Luke said. He folded his spare pajamas and tossed them onto his bed. Shirts and pants…

He stepped over the pile of clothing to where the dresser stood, and pulled the top drawer open. It was empty. Luke scratched his head. Even though he had organized the drawers himself, he still got them mixed up. He was thankful he had bought the model with four drawers instead of six.

After a few minutes of searching, Luke found the shirts he was looking for. Seven should do. It's not like I'll be wearing these 24/7.

He crouched down and opened another drawer. He haphazardly shoved wrinkled pairs of shorts aside in search of longer pants. Luke despised shorts. They were too revealing, and it boggled his mind how people could wear them in public. After a few more minutes, he'd scrounged up a half-dozen pairs of slacks.

Satisfied, Luke walked over to his bed and stuffed everything into the suitcase. It took some effort to cram it all in. More, he thought, than if he'd bothered to fold any of it.

He looked back at the remaining drawer. Damn, I forgot underwear. Underwear… maybe seven?

"Grani?"

"Yeah?" she answered from her room.

"How many changes of underwear should I bring? I think I could probably live with six if I flip them inside out…" He heard a loud thump, followed by frantic footsteps.

Grani burst into his room. "Gah! Stop! Enough!" she shouted, shoving him aside. He landed on his hands and knees. "I'll do it! I'll do the packing!" Grani hauled the suitcase onto his bed and dumped out the contents. A mess of wrinkled clothing spilled out onto his unmade sheets.

Luke raised a hand in protest. "Hey, what the hell! I spent—"

"What is this?!" Grani asked, horrified at the mangled fabric. "You call this folded?"

Luke pushed himself to his feet and crossed his arms. "Yeah? I mean, no, not really, but who cares?" He didn't see the problem. People folded clothing to save space. So what if hiswere messy? As long as they all fit in the suitcase, his job was done.

Grani rummaged through the clothing he had packed. She held up his black pajamas. "One pair of pajamas? For two weeks?" she cried.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "If you think about it, you only wear pajamas when you sleep. And if you only wear pajamas to bed after showering, then it's clean. Great idea, right?" She shrugged his arm away, roughly, and shot him a withering look. Luke suddenly felt like there was a fault in his reasoning.

She pulled at her hair in distress. "What?! No! I—why are there only seven pairs of pants?"

Luke shrugged. "Because it's not like I'm going to be wearing them all day. I'll only wear them when we go out. That's about half a day, so I can wear each article of clothing at least twice." That had to make sense. Even Grani had to see the wisdom in his reasoning.

Apparently, she didn't, if the twitch in her eye meant anything. "That's not how it works!" Grani cried as she re-folded his clothing. "Don't tell me you only packed seven shirts…"

Luke nodded slowly. He didn't like where this was going.

Grani let out a long sigh. "Okay, here's what we'll do: I'll tell you what to grab and I want you to bring it to me. I'll handle the rest. Okay?"

"Sounds good," Luke said as he shuffled over to his closet. He would listen to her, for now. She never said he had to actually wear the extra clothing.

"First, seven pairs of pants…" Luke pulled down the mound of clothing, purposely seeking out pants that looked similar. If Grani couldn't tell the difference between his chosen garments, then she wouldn't know he was re-wearing them. He returned carrying seven pairs of black cargo pants.

Grani folded them with a huff. "If you had them in the first place, then why didn't you pack them?"

"Because I hate doing laundry."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe there's some truth to what Liskarm said."

Luke jabbed an angry finger at the door. "Hey! Liskarm's out to get me, and you know it."

"Sure…" she replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, seven more shirts, and seven more pairs of socks."

"Ugh." Grumbling, Luke rummaged through his drawers. He unfolded several shirts to look at their designs.

Too loud. Too boring. Too fancy. With each rejection, he tossed the unfolded shirt back into the drawer. He was thankful Grani couldn't see what he was doing; if she could, she'd probably chew him out. In the end, he decided on four black and three white shirts, each with a simple phrase or design. Thankfully, all his socks were plain black, sparing him the agony of choosing which to bring. He brought them over to Grani.

"There. See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked as she packed away the remaining clothing. "All that's left are fourteen-" she made a point of emphasizing the number- "pairs of underwear. I trust you can do that, right?"

"Yep."

Grani didn't seem entirely convinced, if her narrowed eyes were anything to go by. She stood and, keeping an eye on him, slowly returned to her room.

When he was sure she wouldn't return, Luke tossed his undergarments into the suitcase. "I'll pack at least seven," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Luke flinched at the unexpected reply. "Right, fourteen, I meant fourteen!" he said, and hurriedly grabbed another handful of boxers from the drawer. He shoved the whole lot, unfolded, into his suitcase, then hastily changed masks, slipping on the porcelain and packing away the cloth in a panic. The last thing he wanted was for Grani to check on his progress and find him changing. Finally done, he zipped the suitcase shut, lifted it from his bed, and set it gently on the floor.

He groaned. "Post-mission laundry is gonna suck so hard."

After washing up and grabbing a quick breakfast, Luke and Grani made their way to garage A1, luggage in tow.

By the time they arrived, Franka and Liskarm were already waiting, coversing idly beside their own luggage. Franka's lupine ears twitched as she looked in their direction. I guess those ears do work.

"Luke, Grani! Over here!" she shouted with a wave. Liskarm acknowledged them with a curt nod as they approached.

Franka eyed their wheeled suitcases. "Got everything?" she asked.

Luke patted himself down, checking his Rhodes Island jacket for the essentials. Finding everything in its proper place, he nodded. "Yep."

"We better," Grani said, with a pointed glare at Luke.

"Good!"

Liskarm pulled her phone from her jacket pocket. "Normally, we have to find our own transportation, but thankfully we were able to secure a ride with a couple of other operators headed for Lungmen."

Luke frowned. Something about her statement rang a bell.

"What's wrong?" Grani asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Just… for some reason, I can't shake this feeling of apprehen—"

"Hi, hi!" He stiffened as a familiar voice echoed around the garage. "Remember me? It's been so long!"

A terrible nagging feeling nipped at his chest as it came to him. "Oh dear god, no."

"Exusiai, it's been a week," Texas said, munching on a stick of chocolate.

"Still pretty long if you ask me." The two Penguin Logistics operators approached from behind and stood next to Grani. "Thanks for taking our mission!"

"Oh, it was your mission? Are we protecting you?" she asked, surprised.

Exusiai's smile was blinding. "Well, more or less, but I'm not the one in need of protection."

Grani tilted her head in confusion. "Then who is?"

The angel stuck out her tongue. "That's a secret!"

Texas cut her off. "And for good reason too. We'll talk about it once we arrive in Lungmen." She stalked off towards their white van. "Come on. The earlier we arrive, the better."

Exusiai sang as she chased after her with a skip in her step. "Going home, going home, I am going home!"

Luke leaned towards Grani. "Someone seems excited," he whispered.

"Wouldn't you be?"

He shrugged. "I guess."

The four operators trailed after Texas and Exusiai in awkward silence. Luke made sure to keep both Franka and Grani between him and Liskarm at all times. He could feel the tension between them, and didn't feel like confronting her any time soon.

As they approached the van, Luke heard a familiar chime as Texas unlocked the vehicle. She was standing by the driver's door. "I'll drive."

Exusiai waved an excited hand in the air. "I call shotgun!"

"Liska and I will share the middle row," Franka said.

"That means Luke and Grani will sit in the back," Liskarm said, pointing to the rear seats. "Before that, let's load the van. Luke, come help me."

Luke sighed. So much for avoiding her. He trudged around the van as Exusiai opened the rear doors.

"You know the drill!" she said with a smile.

Luke nodded, avoiding eye contact. He didn't hate her; in fact, it was quite the opposite. Exusiai was fun to be around, and she easily carried a conversation. Having not spoken with her in a week, though, and very little then, Luke felt like they were strangers again.

Shaking his head, he lifted his suitcase into the trunk and dropped his swords on top of it. Liskarm pushed them deeper to make room for Grani's baggage.

"Thanks, Luke," Grani said as she handed him her suitcase and pike.

"Yep."

Grani was followed by Franka, who gave him a wink as she handed off her luggage. "It's nice having a bellboy for once. Usually it's just us girls on BSW missions."

Luke chuckled at her tease. "If you're going to do all the hard work, I might as well make myself useful."

Franka laughed. "Ain't that the truth."

Finally, it was time to load Liskarm's baggage. He reached out to lift the suitcase, but her slender hand stopped him. "I got it, just get in."

Luke didn't need to be told twice. He scurried away and hopped into the van, seating himself in the third row next to Grani. He waited for the trunk to close before he spoke. "That was stressful," he said, his eyes following Liskarm around the van. She pulled open the sliding side door and climbed in.

"I can imagine," Grani whispered back.

Texas cranked the ignition. "Everyone ready?" she asked. She received a chorus of positive responses. "Alright, let's go."

Luke felt a vibration from within his jacket. He pulled out his phone, read the display, and paled.

Septimus.

"Oh, shit."

Grani turned to look at him. "What? Did you forget something?"

"Well, kinda."

She peeked over his shoulder. "Who is it?"

"My old man." He began to sweat as panic set in. "I forgot to call him."

"When were you supposed to call him?"

"A week ago…"

They're back!