As we sprint through the forest I finally take some time to appreciate the Machina helping us through this. If he hadn’t told us there were 23 we might have very well been dead by now, let alone the fact that he saved Kate. My thoughts return to the 23 Reganel chasing us, all of them jumping from tree to tree and cutting through bush as though it were butter.

Reganel are an interesting and rare species, one that the kingdom is still trying to figure out in terms of biology. Apparently if you open up a Reganel the only organ inside them is a small white ball, which some say is harmful to come into contact with, while others theorise it could be a way to enhance your ability with magic. What the Reganel survives on has been concluded to not be nutrition, and therefore we still do not know why they need to eat, if they need to at all. The Reganel would probably be best described as a four legged animal, weighing 4-5 Kilograms, 5 claws, and pink skin visible on their feet and nose. There are rumours that these guys are tameable, but I heavily doubt that.

Their tails remain low to the ground, providing balance, and their eyes are narrowed, fangs bared and claws scrabbling to gain ground to reach us. “Why the hell are we being chased by cats?”

For a moment confusion clouds my fear as I respond, “What’s a cat?”

Kate interrupts the Machina before he can explain though, “Don’t waste your breath you idiots!”

The Machina raises his head as though he is about to speak but stops himself and continues his run.

The foliage passes us by for what seems like miles, and the fact that we haven’t stopped or tripped is an absolute miracle. Yet, as we continue the end of the forest seems to be farther away than we thought it would, and I can already feel myself beginning to tire, my frail human body finally giving way to the exhaust of such a paced sprint. I was never very Athletic, I’m a farmer after all. At least Kate is safe, the Machina will protect her, that’s what matters. One final smile crosses my face as I slow down, the distance each step decreasing bit by bit.

As Kate turns to check up on me I mouth something to her ‘I’m sorry’. Kate screams, tears immediately welling up in her eyes, but she doesn’t stop. I know she can’t stop, she knows she can’t. Kate’s desperate face is all I know as the Reganel converges on me, and sheds my blood. By the time they are done I won’t even know why I’m here, or remember my name. Yet I hear a shriek, then two, then three, then more shrieks and I open my eyes. I clench my jaw as I look at my bloodied legs, and then up at, of all things, the Machina.

30 Seconds Earlier

We immediately burst into a sprint, launching ourselves forward as fast as a rhino charging. Except we aren’t charging, we’re running for our lives, again. The Reganel are fast. Almost gliding from tree to tree, nimble and quick, clearly accustomed to the area far better than us.

“They are a lot more aggressive than usual!” Kate yells from ahead, and I’m sure that if I was human I wouldn’t have heard it at all had the blood been pumping through my ears.

‘This life form seems almost somewhat unnatural, their DNA has inconsistencies.’

What?

‘It is not natural, it is something I have never seen before.’

You couldn’t have done this with your technology?

‘We never tried, altering DNA of any creature was deemed unnatural and inhumane. The results could have been… varied.’

Inhumane?

‘Would you like the definition?’

I know what it means, but why do you even use that word, you are part of a race of machines.

‘I am an AI, I am the most advanced AI, but I am still an AI. Those Machina are not, they are not even Machina.’

“WHAT!?” My voice doesn’t carry far, but it’s audible enough for the Reganel’s to give eerie shrieks in reply. Now is not the time to worry. Instead I assess the situation. It’s no surprise that the Reganel’s are catching up, and pretty soon they will be right on top of us. I could run faster… but then I risk leaving both Kate and Carl behind… I need to do something, I can’t carry both of them, no matter how strong or powerful I am, that would just slow me down. What could stop the Reganels in their tracks?

‘I have some data on the Reganels that may be able to assist you.’

You do?

‘The Reganel have highly sensitive ears, if you create a sound of appropriate pitch the Reganels should be disrupted.’

Well that’s handy, when can we do it?

‘It is a hypothesis, but it should not be hard to find the right frequency if they are indeed susceptible to it.’

Do it.

Almost immediately I can feel my entire body thrum with power, the ground shaking with me, and slowly it builds, the thrumming faster, the vibration increasing through a violent crescendo. I hear a scream, human and distraught, and then another, this one a shriek or a cry, a call of pain. Then I hear another shriek, and another, before the forest is filled with awful screeching. I turn around and see the Reganels grouped up on top of Carl, his body beaten and bloody, his legs almost completely ripped apart. Blood pools around him, a mix of his, and the blood bursting from Reganel ears, one of the most hideous sights I’ve ever seen. Even my war was not as brutal as this.