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Zeiss and Rayon had been escorted to a State facility. Bags were placed over their heads, and when Zeiss saw light once more he was in an interrogation room. But Rayon was nowhere to be seen.
There was a synthetic bar light above him, and he sat at a metallic table. He tried to move his arms but they were handcuffed.
Officer Deimare was a tall thin woman with short blonde hair that sloped across her forehead. She looked old and young simultaneously - rugged woman - maybe it was one of those faces you needed to grow into.
“You are rather handsome I’d have to say,” Deimare said coyly, “if you weren’t on our naughty list - I would have liked to take you out.”
“No thanks,” Zeiss shot back.
Deimare recoiled - almost hurt by his frankness and took a few seconds to collect herself. Zeiss wondered what this even was. Had the State become soft?
“That aside. We have a few questions to ask you. And answer truthfully or we will kill your daughter,” she said.
“Fuck you,” he said.
“You accompanied the extraterrestrial for some days since the meteor strike on Henburn. Her name is Rayon, isn’t it? Interesting name to say the least - I believe it is an Opelian name meaning ‘Soul Dancer’ which is quite impossible given her origins. Possibly no connection -“
“What is it that you want?” Zeiss said impatiently.
Deibara cleared her throat, “You are one feisty peppercorn. Let’s start off with why she is here on our world. And here is some initiative,” Deibara removed a photo of Semira and put it on the table - she had grown up. Zeiss tensed up.
“She is a fucking space refugee and she is not hostile,” he said.
“We do not know that - but she seems docile…. Next. If I am right, she survived the transit within the atmosphere without burning up? She would have to be rather resilient to do that,” she said.
“She is useless,” he said.
“You say that… but she healed your eye,” she said, “and you have received some kind of ability. Care to tell me?”
Zeiss tensed up. Of course Rayon would divulge every bit of information. She doesn’t know the wickedness of the State.
“Healed my eye? How is that even possible,” Zeiss said.
“You haven’t noticed yet… Your eyes are slightly different colours,” she said.
There was a rumble like a wall had been toppled over. The alarm bells went off. Deimare rushed out the room, leaving a guard to watch Zeiss.
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The guard looked agitated. Something was on his mind. This was good because he wasn’t focusing on Zeiss. Zeiss pushed the metal table into the guards back. Crack. Knocking him out cold.
Zeiss ran through the hallways. There were no guards to be seen. The alarm was blaring. Then he saw it.
It was hunched over in the corner. Gurgling. Gushing. In the shadows, it was eating something. Zeiss felt his survival instincts and he slowly backed away and ran in the opposite direction.
He needed to find Rayon. Get her. Get out.
He stopped momentarily as he came past a window. The sky was blue and sunlight streamed out into a beam on the ground. He could just leave. He didn’t have any responsibility to Rayon. He had only known her for a few days, and still, he didn’t know who or what she truly was. Zeiss needed to be with his daughter. It had been years since she had her father.
He turned a corner and slammed face first into an Officer Deimare. They both fell to the ground. This was the last thing he needed.
Her eyes widened. She fired her gun. Zeiss flinched but felt nothing. Then he turned to see what was behind him.
It was a grotesque beast made of tar - it was ten feet tall and was dripping everywhere. It had a human arm in this mouth. Crunch. It made a leap for the pair - its body coalescing into a projectile of goo. Zeiss took one look at it and released a bolt of pure energy at the beast. It collided with the beast into a million sparks and a deafening roar.
Zeiss didn’t have a chance to find out what happened as Deimare grabbed his hand and pulled him away.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Zeiss said.
“It’s an Ichor,” she said.
“A what?” Zeiss said.
“An Ichor. A beast made of molten earth. How can one of them be out here in the country?”
“There are more?” Zeiss panted.
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Deimare had taken them into the chamber where Rayon was being kept. She kept looking back to see if the Ichor had followed them.
Rayon banged on the door, “Zeiss!”
The guard tightened his grip on his gun when he saw Zeiss.
”Hold your fire,” Deimare said.
“Let her out,” Zeiss said.
Deimare opened the door and Rayon stepped out of the room. She was tiny. She was less than two feet tall. When she saw Zeiss she smiled.
“Zeiss!” She said - slowly, she started to grow bigger until she was her normal size again. She ran at him and gave him a big hug.
“Hey… ” he said, trying to get her off.
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The compound was littered with the corpses of State guards. Only a handful were still alive. The Ichor had massacred them, and just like it had strangely appeared, it vanished.
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