Page 47 of Uprooted

Aro

A rush of adrenaline collects in my body—first in my hands and feet, then it moves to my chest as Elowen is driven away.

I sent her to the safest place I could think of in that moment.

She’s okay. She’s safe. She is getting far from here .

I repeat those words over and over, trying to reassure myself that I did the right thing.

The veins in my arms throb as blood rushes through.

I roar at the painful concentration of power gathering in me.

The hard plates under my skin thicken and lock into place over my torso.

I relinquish control to the predator inside of me.

Every cell in my body is tuned to destroy.

Somehow, I have a memory of this unfamiliar power.

The heat from the explosion warms my back and I turn towards the muradome to see Atorum smashing their way in. Others lie broken and oozing on the ground from the porters’ plasma cannons.

I step over a motionless black Atorum lying on its back, legs curled up into its body.

I grab the largest leg and rip it off in one swift motion.

I need something sharp. I check the weight of my new weapon and swing it around, loosening my shoulder muscles to ready myself for a fight.

The leg whistles through the air as I slash it back and forth, ready to inflict some damage.

An Atorum drops down right in front of me. Its black scales ripple back and forth on its disgusting body. It quirks its head at me and its circular jaws creak, grinding together as the creature bares its teeth at me. It circles around me slowly, measuring me up.

I make the first move and barrel towards it. With a quick lunge, I slash with my improvised weapon. Black scum pours out from the wound as it makes one last lurch towards me. I knock it aside with another swing nearly slicing it in half. The Atorum shrieks and collapses into itself.

Another Atorum rolls towards me, spinning on its spiked legs. I take a swing and slam it into a tree. It recalibrates and comes at me again. Right before I make contact, it extends a leg and slashes my exposed side.

White hot pain radiates from my ribs. I push against the cut and my hand comes away bloody.

The sight of my blood sends me into a rage.

I jump into the air and come down hard on the Atorum’s back, smashing it into the ground with a roar.

I repeatedly stab down on the creature until it’s no longer twitching.

I resume my mission to get to the dome. Plasma cannons boom all around, blasting the invaders apart with blue beams of hot light.

The fire has spread to the forest canopy, lighting up the sky with an eerie orange glow.

By the time I get to the cargo bay it’s engulfed in flames. There’s nothing there to save.

A porter slides to a stop right behind me. The door swings open and Maak has a deranged look on his face as I climb in next to him.

“Hop in—we’re killing bugs,” he says.

I take control of the plasma cannon as Maak spins us around. The thick blue arc clears everything in our path. Spindly legs and severed torsos fly out from the plasma cannon blast.

I watch, horrified, as three Atorum merge into one large body, and it triples in size. It approaches a smashed open porter where a Tilak soldier is trying to crawl his way out from under the wreckage. The canon is useless against the huge Atorum.

Maak turns the porter, giving me a direct line of attack. I open the door and step halfway out. I toss the alien leg above me and snatch it from the air. Holding it like a spear, I lean back and throw with all my strength. It impales the giant Atorum and pins it to the ground.

Maak speeds towards another trying to smash its way into a porter. We crash into both, pinning the disgusting bug between us and the other porter. Black ooze covers the plexi, nearly blocking our entire view.

“Dammit!” Maak says and activates the shield-cleaning blade. It spreads around the thick sludge, making it worse.

“Can you take care of that?” he asks .

“You made the mess. You clean it up.”

He unbuckles and jumps out of the porter while I continue working the cannon. He rips the sleeves off his shirt and gets to work cleaning the shield. All he manages to do is spread it around more. I pick off each Atorum as they step into my narrow line of sight, until none are left.

* * *

I step out and survey the damage. Smoke is still rising up from the destroyed muradome.

A swarm of drones pour chemical dampeners on the growing fire.

Broken trees hang at awkward angles. Puddles of black ooze splotch the landscape.

I try to slow my ragged breathing, there is nothing left to kill, but I can’t seem to convince myself that the threat is gone.

Nearby, Tai kicks aside the dead carcass of an Atorum as he makes his way toward me. Eyes wide, he looks me up and down.

“What the hell happened to you?” Tai asks.

Maak gives up on cleaning the shield and slaps me on the back. “Nice battleform.”

Realization crashes over me: I shifted into battleform, something that hasn’t happened in centuries. The awareness makes my body constrict back into its former shape. My muscles cramp painfully as they go back down to size. I look down at my shredded clothes, splattered with mire and dirt.

“You good?” he asks, looking me over for any injuries, his eyes landing on my bleeding side.

Stunned, I assess my body. “I don’t know.” Another realization hits me. I need to get to Elowen. I need to get to my mate.