The sun was a burning cue ball in the sky.

  Every minute on the road was another minute wondering how long before the vehicle would break apart in disgust. The seat rattled constantly, all the dials were fogged over, and the white splatter probably wasn’t paint. It was like driving a haunted house. Fee was still reeling from recent events. The idea that she was some kind of Alien ruler amused and disturbed her in equal measure. Was she even human? Or was this just a disguise? What was her true form? Was it even a form? Was it abstract like the elder Gods, everywhere and nowhere between space and time? Or she could be some kind of space Dragon that lived on the moon? She smiled.

  A Space Dragon. That sounds awesome.

  There was a second problem. How did she become the supreme ruler of Earth? Where were the opposing nations? From what the Other-Fee said, they were all too happy to sell out the human race and get their hands on advanced Alien tech.

  Is that all it takes? Fee thought bitterly. Of course it is.

  A couple of miles into the journey, Fee found a winding country lane with high overgrown bushes on either side, making her feel like she was driving through a maze. She followed the signs to somewhere called 'Derwent' and hoped there was enough fuel to get her to the closest town. She stopped at a junction when something caught her eye. At first, she thought it was an animal, but the closer she got, the more she realised it was a person—a person running for their life.

  "Not good, not good,” Fee said. At the foot of a steep, grassy hill, a young female was hurrying along the side of a stone wall. She seemed to be pursued by blurred figures in the distance. Fee steered toward a nearby gate. " Not good, not good."

  The jeep to the side, Fee hurried out and saw a girl covered in blood.

  "HEY! HEY !" Fee called out. The woman was momentarily confused about where the voice came from until she saw someone waving toward her. "What’s going on?”

  "They're after me," The girl said, glancing toward a group of people in religious garb and awkwardly sprinting toward them.

  "Come with me!”

  “Why?”

  “Or you could keep running.”

  The woman eyed her suspiciously and agreed to be helped over the gate. Once they were safely strapped in. Fee crunched the gears into life and tore away, wheels spitting chunks of mud. Back on the B-road, she handed over the fur coat.

  "This should keep you warm."

  The girl grimaced. "It's fur."

  "Or freeze to death, I don’t care."

  The girl reluctantly used the coat as a blanket.

  "Thanks."

  “Name’s Fee."

  “Beth.” The girl said quietly. “Beth Hudson.”

  "You've got blood on you."

  "It's not mine; some crazies tried to kidnap me. I fought ‘em off."

  "I hope you got some payback."

  The girl scoffed and looked away. "Let's just say it got slippery real fast. I’m pretty sure I whipped some with their own intestines."

  Fee shot her a look of unease. "Hey, who wouldn’t?”

  "I should have kept that last bit to myself."

  "Probably, yeah."

  Beth looked around.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “So what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" She asked.

  "Kinda looking for an Airbase."

  "You from the Rabbit? What rank are you? "

  "I'm not sure if I should be telling you."

  "I'm a Cadet. Call-sign 'Guano Loco. I think it's Spanish for Snow Leopard."

  "Fine, I’m an ACW,” Fee said. “Where do you want to be dropped off? Police? Parents? Hotel?"

  "Parents? No, they don’t care.” Beth said. “Just take me back to my unit.”

  “You a pilot?” Fee asked.

  "Not really." Beth said. "I failed my Psych-Eval. They mentioned something about not being ready to be housed in the vacuum of space, surrounded by people with access to guns."

  "What happened?"

  "Funny story. Those space jockeys bet I couldn't do a loop-the-loop with a helicopter. Of course, when I say 'bet', I mean they ordered me not to do it, because it would break. And you know what? I sure showed them...that they were RIGHT on the money. They got me fixing helicopters out of spite. The commander said I could go back to being a pilot once they get the right fluid for the lights."

  Fee smiled. "Oh yeah, I hear those require left-handed screwdrivers."

  "So that's why it's taking so long."

  "How did you end up on this island?" Fee asked.

  "I don't know. I go to bed, next thing I know I am standing in front of an altar, covered in blood and being screamed at about how they 'just wanted to talk'. I mean, who kidnaps someone just to talk? It’s crazy."

  "You should tell your C.O."

  "Oh, trust me," Beth said. "A lot of people are going to know about this. Some heads will roll. Not literally, of course. Truth be told, I should have taken their sword. It was so sharp, it cut through flesh like butter." She let out a little laugh and then stared through the dashboard while singing a lullaby to herself. Fee decided this would be the time to change the subject,

  "Did you do the Fire Trials?"

  "Yep, aced them all. The judges said they have never seen such a flagrant display of masochism. Still got burns from the last challenge." Then, Fee felt a pang of guilt well up inside of her. So many people had been lost to the trials when all she had to do was finish a computer game. Of course, none of this stopped Beth from boasting about her achievements. "I took on a raid all by myself; I was so good. The organisers had to reset the difficulty parameters. Now, everyone thinks I'm a miracle girl who will

  save the planet. I didn't sign up for that Bullcrap."

  "Then why did you?"

  "Low Commander Green convinced me. She said I was some kind of chosen one, I had a special quality and this was my calling. "

  "She WHAT?" Fee said. "I don't believe this."

  "Did I miss something?" Beth asked. "Hey, is there anything to eat? I wanna taste something other than liver in my mouth."

  "Human liver?" Fee said, half-joking; half-concerned.

  "I can't remember, may have been goat. Those cult members were so cheesed when I ate their mushroom supply. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT LEAVING ME ALONE! Sorry you were saying?"

  Beth's tangents kept throwing Fee off her train of thought.

  "I..uh...There's no money; the only way off this island is to find a plane. Wherever that is."

  "Wouldn't that be at McCarran Castle?" Beth asked. "I remember from the map."

  "Map?" Fee said. "What map?"

  "The map in the handbook?"

  "I weren't told about any Handbook."

  "If you were a pilot, you'd know there was a map," Beth said. "The Depot is a designated area in the castle grounds. There is army surplus and meals waiting. Otherwise, everyone would be stealing from the villagers."

  "Godamn Lex," Fee said. "She must have taken it before we got there. Son of a bitch."

  "You didn't know? Oh, that would explain the funny clothes."

  "Please tell me the way to this Depot."

  "Off the top of my head, it's somewhere called Ergl Aisle, due west, but we seem to be heading east for some reason."

  "I got a little side-tracked," Fee said and did a U-turn back across the other direction.

  It began to rain in half-hearted patters. The scenery slid by in a green blur, with the identical squat-looking houses dotted about the landscape like toadstools. Fee wondered how long it had been since she had seen another vehicle. Or other people in general? Her train of thought was broken when Beth pulled something from the coat.

  "What's this?" She said. "I found it in one of the pockets."

  Fee glanced at the object, and her mouth went dry with horror. For there, in the cold light of day, was the strange insect idol from the haunted bedroom. Thoughts swirled like ocean mist. So deeply was she immersed in her mental labyrinth, she forgot that Beth was still talking.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Fee said.

  "I thought this contest would be about defending Earth, not camping out."

  "Sometimes survival training can come in handy."

  "According to my bunkmate, this is to simulate a crash-landing. Although how we lose our clothes on the way down is a complete mystery."

  "What is with you people and naked pilots?"

  "They could have just taken our boots,” Beth said. “Believe me, I was aware of every twig in that bastard forest."

  "I hear that," Fee said with a yawn. "What time is it?"

  "Judging by the angle of the sun..." Beth said. "Daytime."

  She let out a tinkling laugh that was almost musical.