Reunification by Timothy L. Cerepaka

this room was! Whereas the
hallway outside had at least the flickering florescent lights, this
room had no light in it at all, save for the little light that cut
through the gap that I had created between the door and its
frame.
    What these occasional flickers of light
showed was what appeared to be some sort of equipment room. On the
walls were deactivated energy knives, some kind of Xeeonite gun I
could not identify, and lockers with uniforms, though the sliver of
light did not give me enough time to peer at them in any
detail.
    I groped along the nearby wall for a
switch, for one thing I did understand about Xeeonite technology
was that they had switches to activate the lights in their rooms.
Yet mine fingers could find no such switch to flip, which made me
wonder if the switch had been blown off by the explosion or if this
room had for some reason not been designed with one. Mine feet did
not feel anything, either, though that was good, because I did not
wish to stumble or step on anything harmful or dangerous, for mine
feet were my only mode of transportation, without which I would
have been truly helpless.
    In any case, I did not see or hear anyone
in here, which made me think I must have been mistaken when I
assumed that the sound of the claws scraping against metal must
have come from this room. Perhaps they came from another room, or
maybe I had heard something else entirely.
    Least, that is what I believed until two
claws wrapped 'round my neck and squeezed. Alarmed, I slammed the
blackened plaster over my shoulder onto the head of whatever had
grabbed me, causing it to squawk in pain and let go.
    I staggered forward, rubbing mine neck,
and turned around just in time to see a strange, birdlike creature
crouching near one of the lockers. 'Twas visible only for a moment,
when the light flickering from the hallway showed it; then it was
gone, drowned by the darkness.
    Yet I knew that the creature was no trick
of the light. I reached behind me and grabbed one of the energy
knives from the wall. Whilst I did not like to use Xeeonite
technology or weapons, when mine survival was at risk, I was
willing to do anything that would increase my chances of
living.
    And having confiscated these energy knives
from more than one criminal over mine career, I knew to press the
tab on the handle to activate it. When I did, an energy blade, made
of pure skyras, flashed into existence, giving me a view of the
birdlike creature again, which had not moved from where it had
crouched before.
    The light of the energy knife gave me some
light, though it was not much more than the glow of a candle.
Still, it was better than nothing, and unlike a candle, I could use
this to defend mine self in case this creature tried to attack me
again.
    Looking at the birdlike creature, I was
not entirely sure at first what it was. 'Twas humanoid, as I, but
it had wings and feathers, feathers as golden as the sun on a
summer day in the Fertile Lands, though they seemed grimy, as if
the creature had been rolling about in the dirt. Its feathers were
ruffled, too, and it stank horribly, like smoke and bird excrement,
making me cover mine nose to save my sense of smell from its
horrible assault. I was disappointed to see that it had no shoes on
its clawed feet, though that did not stop me from hoping that it
might have a pair hidden away nearby anyway.
    The creature's eyes were green, but they
did not seem to be its natural color; perhaps it had had them
changed, as I had heard it was a common trend in certain Xeeonite
subcultures. Then again, this creature's eye colors could just as
easily have been its natural color; my knowledge of Xeeonite
species was lackluster at best.
    All I knew for certain was that I needed
to keep my distance from this thing, at least until I was certain
of what it actually was. Right now, I knew only that it was likely
the source of those claws scraping against metal, for it had claws
on its hands and talons on its feet.
    “ What be