The train began to move again by the time Aaron and I slinked our way underneath the brick-laid bridge that a portion of it was idling on.

Even though it had been stated that this was an automated train with no manual oversight, we both waited for the train to be a distance away from us before we continued. The bridge above us trembled while the reverberating sound of metal wheels rolling along metal rails resounded around our shady hiding spot. Neither of us moved until the sounds of the train became distant enough to where they could no longer be heard.

Aaron began to straighten his coat and adjust his cap once he believed that the coast was clear. "Another successful breakout," he muttered under his breath, sounding rather satisfied with himself. It wasn't until he looked down at me did his modest smile wavered a little. The size difference between us was staggering; he was a giant compared to me—easily four feet taller. I would have been intimidated by him if he didn't have such a gentle face.

"And oh me oh my, is this the most interesting one yet," he said, tugging at his white beard a little. His thoughts were many, and they primarily considered whether or not I was liable to attract trouble, yet he wouldn't leave me behind if I did. I found that quite selfless of someone who just met me—and I was an alien no less. "How do you feel, lassie? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, crouching down a bit more to my level.

"No. I don't believe so," I answered. "Thank you for freeing me, Aaron. I'm in your debt."

"Don't mention it," he shook his head. "I just need you to be able to walk. A lot of prisoners aboard trains like that are often sedated in one of those big pod things. Those are a nightmare to open with my bare hands, and dragging away unconscious deadweights doesn't make things easier. You're a breath of fresh air, that's for sure."

His deadpan sense of humour managed to make me smile a little. "Well, I'm relieved to make things easier," I said. "Where do we go now?"

"Just down the road," Aaron pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, pointing behind himself. "I've made a little hideout inside an old abandoned estate. You'll be safe there."

I saw that the dirt road that we were on continued down a vast green hill before rounding off to the left behind a row of trees. I highly favoured Aaron's promise of shelter, and I had read enough of his thoughts to know that he wasn't leading me astray. "That sounds like a lovely idea. I would appreciate it."

"Happy to oblige," Aaron winked before rising to full height again, wedging his cap a bit further down his head. "Now, let's get going while the coast is clear. Things will get complicated if any outland scanners fly by. I didn't break you out only for you to get captured again."

"I second that."

We had to move relatively quickly across the open fields due to the lack of any cover. Me and Aaron did manage to make some pleasant small talk in the meantime, and I learned a couple of new facts about my new friend. He was a 'human', which was the dominant species on the planet, which he said was called Earth. I had never heard of humans before or this planet called Earth, which only made the mystery surrounding this world even greater as well as where it might have been in the universe.

We both stopped for a moment to catch our breaths by the time we made it to the cover of trees, allowing our conversation to resume before returning to the road. "Cerinia, you say?" Aaron said, following up on my exchange of essential information. "Can't say I've heard of that planet. I think you're gonna get along great with Ben."

I had heard Aaron think that name the moment before I nearly tore his throat out, and hearing it again made me curious. "Who is Ben?"

"He's another straggler I freed from a train," Aaron explained. "I've been taking care of him for a little while. He's kind of…handicapped, and that's mostly my fault."

I could hear regret in his voice, but his thoughts coincided with that belief. "Why? What happened to him?"

"You'll see when we get there," Aaron assured.

I followed my large friend a little further down the road before another structure soon came into view. Residing on top of a short hill was a sizable two-story structure with white walls and a roof layered with clay orange tiles, appearing similar to the small house I explored a short time after crashing on Earth. It was a large building for what it was, but there was evidence that it used to be much larger given the scattered ruins all around the property.

As Aaron led me closer to the hideout, I could see the fine details more clearly, and this was certainly the most lavish-looking structure I had seen so far on this world, despite having much of the house in ruins. The front of the property was walled off where a big archway with two large metal gates made the entryway, though much of the walls were destroyed and the metal gates were mangled and on the ground. Beyond the remains of the front gate was a small courtyard that was being consumed with overgrowth, nearly covering the entirety of the brick-laid lot with grass while the walls of the house were overrun with vines. There was also what appeared to be a well of some sort in the centre of the courtyard, but it too was overrun with untamed flora.

I had certainly seen buildings in worse condition before, specifically on Sauria, and this one was still in passible condition given that the main building was still intact—if one were to ignore the boarded-up holes in the scorched walls on both floors. "Sorry about the mess here, lass," Aaron said as he moved further in front of me. "I don't get many opportunities to tidy the place up for guests. We've got no choice other than function over form these days."

"A minimum of four walls and a roof are more than enough for me," I reassured, which made the massive man chuff a bit.

"I like you already," he said, right before stepping up to the front door to the estate, which was made of polished wood and in good condition unlike much of the house. Aaron advised that I wipe my feet on the welcome mat before opening the door to the inside, but offered me to step inside first. I graciously accepted and was greeted by a spacious interior with a flight of wooden steps leading up to the second floor. Dust and debris were all over the floor, most of the walls had cracks in them and the ceiling had a couple of holes where subsequent rainwater buckets were positioned beneath, but otherwise, the house was in good condition.

The air inside was warm and permeated a pleasant spicy fragrance, quite a bit homier than I would have expected for a rural hideout. I began to ruffle the fur on my arms, getting acquainted with the feeling of security as Aaron closed the door behind us. "Here we are," he said, removing his cap from his head. "Mi casa es su casa, Krystal. Make yourself at home, but remember to put your footwear by the door."

I did as he requested, figuring that it was the least I could do to honour his hospitality. And besides, my feet needed a little air anyway. After Aaron took his coat off and hung it on the coat rack next to the door, he encouraged me to follow him passed this man's room through what appeared to be the kitchen. He was wearing a simple grey-sleeved shirt, but he somehow looked even larger without his coat. I was surprised that anyone his age could be this muscular—perhaps this was a trait common in humans.

I silently observed everything I passed, which was all neat and organised. Very lived in. "Where is Ben?" I asked my host, using my 'indoor voice.'

"He's in the living room, just around the corner. Do you hear him humming yet?"

Now that he mentioned it, my ears had been picking up a persistent buzzing sound ever since I had entered the house. It was nothing like the buzzing I heard internally on the beach, this one was much more harmonic. Captivating even. I was now inclined even more to meet this elusive, fellow straggler.

"That's him?" I asked, just as we were approaching the end of the kitchen.

"Yeah. The voice of an angel, don't you think?" Aaron said.

I didn't know if a persistent guttural drone could sound angelic, but I supposed Ben was the closest thing to being that.

Nearing the corner of the kitchen, soft shadows could be seen flickering across the floor, indicating a lit fire in the room. Aaron led me into the living room where I saw that an enormous brick hearth was lit. Surrounding it was an assortment of tattered beddings and other wrecked furniture that served as make-shift seating arrangements.

I finally got to see Ben, and what greeted my eyes was one of the strangest creatures I had ever seen. Sitting on a small, two-seated sofa next to the fire was a bipedal creature with mottled brown and green leathery skin. His thin, bowed legs and sharp-hoofed feet were resting on the floor while his hunched back was reclined on his seat. He was wearing a strange metal restraint around his neck that restrained both of his long thin arms, but his long neck and round head appeared mostly free. I couldn't see his eyes, but they appeared closed as he continued to hum with a deep rumble in his throat until Aaron made his presence known.

"Hey there, Ben, I'm back!" he announced in a jovial tone. Ben then began to cough a bit, abruptly ending his song. He then sighed as he continued looking at the fire.

"You have returned sounding in high spirits, Beuford," Ben spoke. His voice was deep and raspy, and also slightly agitated. "Do you bring another wayward survivor to our refuge?"

"How about you meet her yourself, Mister Sunshine?" Aaron beckoned, looking more amused by Ben's semi-rude demeanour than peeved.

Ben slowly turned his head our way, revealing his facial features. He had large fanged teeth protruding out from his downward-facing mouth. He had two tubular lobes on the sides of his head that pointed downward, possibly ears of some kind. An enormous single red eye was positioned in the centre of his face, and positioned right above it appeared to me three smaller red eyes, all four blinking in unison.

All of Ben's eyes bulged as he made eye contact with me. He lurched forward into a stand, revealing him to be about my height. I took a step back, startled by Ben's reaction, and so was Aaron to an extent. Both me and Ben just stared at each other for a long moment.

I don't know how, or why, but I felt a strong connection with this creature, and I could tell Ben felt the same way about me. His thoughts were dense and surprisingly hard to read, but what little I could sense was that they were full of wonder and curiosity, and I somehow knew that he might have also been reading mine. "So…" Ben soon said, breaking our silence, "the winds of fate have blown us an omen of great change. One of many to come…"

"Change…?" I peeped softly, confused by what he was implying.

"All right, this is going better than I had hoped!" Aaron interrupted. His thoughts believed that he should break the tension he believed he saw between us, but Aaron misunderstood. I didn't know if me and Ben were getting along, and I don't think Ben knew either. There was something unspeakable we saw in each other, and neither of us knew what that was either. I think we both knew that we were going to have to figure that out together too, and Aaron was about to give us the chance to do that.

"All right, who's hungry?" he asked us, trying to change the subject. "Why don't you two get to know each other a little better and I'll fix all of us some dinner?"