The Lost Sentinel

3 “Are you a princess?”

Tan P.O.V

I stare at the coin in my hand. The coin is warm against my skin.

Mak?

She said that the coin was Mak. My best friend. My heart thuds in pain in my chest – he’s dead. And now he was a coin…

How was that even possible?

I stuff the coin in my pocket, because I can’t just leave it there. If she said it was Mak, maybe there was a way to get him back.

I stare at the girl. Her hair flows around her as if there is a breeze I can’t feel. She looks unreal, almost like she from another planet. Her skin glows with ethereal glow that makes me stare.

“Are you a princess?” I find myself asking. I blench looking away, because what kind of question is that. She looks at me, and tilts her face to the side like I’ve seen many cats do when they are investigating an object they want to pounce on. I take an involuntary step back…its cowardice, but I just saw her fight. The bloodthirst that had shone in her eyes when she fought… was bone chilling. I shake my head, because I’ve never seen anything like that before.

“No,” she says straightening. “My name is Hanika. And you need to come with me, before they send other creatures after you. You’re not safe here mas…” she breaks off before she can say the word. “What is your name?”

“Tan,” I say walking towards her. I don’t want those creatures to find me here. And besides the noise of the explosion definitely woke someone. The police were probably on their way. And I don’t want to be here when they arrived. I should call Laz. He was probably hiding a few blocks from the house. He’ll wait for me.

“Come on Tan. I don’t have enough strength to fight more of the creatures,” she says walking ahead of me. I follow her out. And as we emerge from the house, I turn left. Her fingers close around my arm tight – like a vice grip that I can’t easily get out of.

God…she’s strong.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asks turning to face me.

“I’m going to find my friend, Laz. He must be waiting for me a block from here,” I say looking towards that direction. She doesn’t let go.

“I think you don’t understand. The only way you remain alive is if you come with me.”

“Why?”

She signs at my question as if she is losing her patience.

“I don’t have time for this,” she growls pulling on my arm, but I plant y feet to the ground and not move.

“I don’t have time for this,” she says again letting go. I almost fall but I regain my balance. She stares at me for a long time that I think she’s not going to speak. “You are the reincarnation of very important man. I don’t have the time to explain everything to you now, but I will once we get somewhere safe. Those creatures will be coming for you. And like I said, I don’t have the strength to fight them off, I need to recuperate and replenish my power.”

“You can go,” I say stubbornly.

“I can’t leave you,” she says through clenched teeth. If it was up to her she would leave me there. But there is something keeping her with me. I want to know what that is.

“Why?”

Her nostrils flare, and I can see the bloodthirsty look she had when she fought those aliens burn in her eyes, they turn slightly orange as if literal flames were being ignited there. She takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. She starts to count, just under her breath but I can hear her.

“You are the lost sentinel, and I need you come with me so I can take you to my commander. He waits for us in the mother ship. He’s not going to wait for us there for long,”

“A sentinel? Mother ship?” I ask confused, “Who are you?”

“For you to find that out…you need to come with me,” she says staring at me. Again I stare at her eyes as if I can’t help myself. There is something about her that’s…I don’t know. I can’t put my hand on it. The coin in my pocket, gets warmer. I pull it out and stare at it.

It has a slightly red glow…that pulses repeatedly

Hanika gasps at the sight of it, and then frantically looks around us.

“They are here… dammit that was fast,” she says then turned to me. “It’s either you walk on your own two feet, or I’m going to carry you. We need to go or you’re going to die again. And we don’t have time for you to be reincarnated again.”

The air around us, suddenly changes. And I can feel the chill I felt that time in the safe, right before the wall exploded.

“Okay,” I say already moving. I wasn’t going to be told twice. They were coming. Even I could feel it. Hanika starts to run. I follow. I drop the coin into my pocket, because I don’t want to lose it. And increase my pace as Hanika runs like her very life depends on it.

Wow, I admire her as her body moves in fluid motion that propels her forward in a fast clip that leaves me in the dust.

I gasp for air with every step I take.

Dammit, I’m really out of shape. But I am a thief. Thieves don’t need to run…well if you’re doing it wrong, you’ll run. I never run.

We weave through traffic, causing chaos as we go along. Motorist slam on their brakes, and shout at us. But we don’t have a choice. The stone in my pocket grows warmer and warmer as if it’s a warning alarm.

Mak? Is he trying to protect me? I wonder as I follow Hanika.

We run to the only park found in the city. She runs through the gate jumping shrubs and weaving between trees. I follow as best as I can. But I feel like my legs won’t carry me any longer if we don’t reach the mother ship she spoke about. My lungs are already burning as if someone has lit a fire in my chest.

She suddenly comes to a stop in the middle of the park where there is more grass than trees. The air vibrates, and wobbles as if there was a mirror and it started to dissolve that very moment. The mother ship appears, and a door slides open spilling light out.

I stare at it awed. If I wasn’t there I wouldn’t believe this. It looked huge. All steal and lights. From my vintage point I couldn’t see the entire shape or size of it, but it was big.

I walked through the opening, following Hanika inside. The door hissed closed behind me, making me feel like I might just have made the biggest mistake of my life.

What am I doing following a girl into an alien spaceship?

My hand automatically goes to the coin in my pocket. It was back to normal. I pull it out and stare at it. The red glow is gone.

It is a warning system then? I ask myself.

“This way,” Hanika says walking down a lit hallway. I follow her until we come to what seem like the heart of the ship. Here there are monitors and blinking dials on mainframes and humming sound of machines.  

Another door opened and Hanika stepped in.

A large screen takes up much of the wall, and displayed on it is the park outside. It looks so real I could touch it.

I take a step inside mesmerized. 

I large control station takes up the space in front of the screen. A man in a wheelchair sits in front of it. He turns to us as we step into the room. He gives us a smile and then turns back to the station pushing a few buttons.  

“Plat continue with take-off,” he says pushing away from the station.

“Taking off,” a robotic voice answers.

“Master Gin. It’s been…” the guy in the wheelchairs says as he rolls to a stop in front of me.

“What?” the word popped out of my mouth as shock radiates through my body.

Master?

Hanika shakes her head. The guy’s eyes move from her to me.

“He doesn’t remember?” he asks sounding confused and terrified at the same time.

“Nope,” Hanika shrugged.

“But he usually comes back with his memories and power intact. What happened this time?” he asks looking at him like he was some kind of strange creature.

“I don’t know. And we’re out of time. The aliens are already sending in their assassins. He going to be dead soon if he can’t fight for himself. And he can’t die…not yet,” Hanika says walking to the control station.

I stare at the both of them talking about me as if I’m not there.

“I though you said I’ll be safe with you?” I ask as that feeling I felt when I entered the mother ship returned with a vengeance.

What did I just get myself into?

“I did,” Hanika says turning to face me. Her eyes burn into me. “But you’re good as dead if you can’t fight. The only reason you are here is because you are Master Gin’s reincarnate, and you have to save the planet.”

“I am not a master,” I say taking a step back, as if I can get off the ship. But I can’t. It was already in the air. The city lights have long disappeared on the screen and all I can see is the darkened sky.

“We need a plan B, Rhine,” Hanika says not looking at me.

“He’s all we have got, his reincarnation was the only option we had,” Rhine groans into his hands looking defeated. And then he looks up as if he just thought of a new idea. “Take him to the sentinel room maybe something will jog his memory.”

“And if he doesn’t remember?”

“Then we are doomed,” Rhine says his voice hard.

My heart thuds in my chest at the hopelessness in his voice. It felt like the whole world is coming to an end.

And I know I can’t do anything about it, because I I’m not who they are looking for.