Apex 3: Shaylo Attacks by Adam Moon

such a detached fashion that she wondered if it was just coming in for a beer.
    But then when it was within a few feet its body armor started to morph, revealing shoulder cannons and little laser sights. Small gun-like objects jutted from its wrists and a thick armor plate slid across its chest with a foot wide circle in the middle that she could only assume was another weapon.
    It reached a finger inside its faceplate and pressed a hidden button. And then in broken English, with an artificial voice, it said, “I’m wanting Jack’s super friend female.”
    Melanie looked back at the collage of bewildered faces. Some of them stared back expectantly and then she understood why: she was Jack’s super friend.
    Her mom and dad shook their heads angrily but she had no choice. The Grey outside was like nothing she’d ever seen before. If she refused, it might kill everyone in the bar. If she could lure it away, she could take it on without worrying about civilian casualties.
    She yelled through the crack in the door, “I’m coming out. Don’t shoot.”
    The Grey paused for a moment and then said, “Yes you will.”
    She gave her mom a hug and then her dad one too. Her dad wouldn’t let go of her so she was forced to use more of her strength than she wanted to to wrench herself free of his grip.
    He said, “Don’t go out there. We can run.”
    “That thing has a spaceship and it has one of those armored flying suits on. I doubt we’d get very far.”
    “If we stall him Jack might show up. He could get us out of here, or better yet, kill that guy.”
    “Dad, Jack’s not coming back. He’s probably dealing with some serious stuff of his own. It’ll be okay. I’m a superhero, remember?”
    His eyes teared up so she had to turn away or else she’d start crying too.
    She walked out the front door of the bar. Before she had a chance to react, the Grey rushed forward and grabbed her by the top of the head with its large hand.
    It said, “Are this one Melanie?”
    “Yes.”
    “We go then.”
    It let her go and walked down the street away from its spaceship. She followed because it was the only option available to her.
    It stopped half a block around the corner and said, “Light is good here.”
    She had no idea what it was talking about.

Live Feed
     
    Shaylo said to his new First Mate, “Have you hacked their communications arrays yet?”
    “Yes sir. I just finished.”
    “I want you to feed my mounted camera footage directly to it. I’ll be removing it from my armor so they can see me.”
    “Yes sir. Ready when you are.”

Demon Unchained
     
    Jack sat on a park bench in a small town in Alabama. It was one of those towns that was so small that it prided itself on its park cannon which was centrally located so that every passerby had no choice but to look at it. The cannon was small and nondescript, the same as its home town.
    The half dozen troops had disbanded per Watson’s orders, traveling together as far away from Jack as they could get before he got swarmed again. It was a good idea that would probably prolong their lives. Some of them had a long way to travel but Jack couldn’t offer to teleport them because he was pretty sure he was being tracked by the Greys somehow. They seemed to always know where to find him and he’d hate to lead the Greys to one of the soldiers’ homes.
    That left just him, Sally, Hank, Watson, and his mom. It was a smaller, more manageable group. For that he was thankful. Every little advantage helped.
    The little Alabama town was picturesque. It was nice to see lush grasses and foliage but still be away from denser populations. It reminded Jack a lot of Ault.
    Sally said, “This place reminds me of the place I grew up.”
    “Where was that?”
    “A little town called Butteville in Oregon. It was nice and quaint before the Greys wiped it off the map.”
    He was at first somber but then he tried to lighten the mood with, “I could’ve guessed you came from a place called