Non-Resident Alien: Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Class names have been updated going forward**

Chapter 4: Hunt

Dani was a nervous ball of anxiety. The day had thrown one horrible thing after another at her. Most recently, a bloody copper marble. She rolled the small metallic orb between her thumb and forefinger. It was covered in the blood of a creature that had almost killed her multiple times throughout their extended romp around the park. Dani wondered if Sol thought she’d wanted some sort of trophy and that was why she’d tossed her the bead. Dani hadn’t and she’d almost dodged the throw, but she was afraid of looking squeamish. Deciding to just go with it, Dani shoved the bloody thing into the front pocket of her jeans. She had no clue why Sol had given it to her, but she wouldn’t disrespect the woman by throwing it away. 

With that decision made, Dani’s attention returned to her mysterious companion. Sol was only a few feet away, busily navigating a screen that Dani couldn’t see. She’d said she hadn’t chosen a class yet, that meant that her power was coming from somewhere else. It also meant that Sol was likely choosing a class at this very moment while Dani was just standing around twiddling her thumbs. She knew she should choose a class too. She’d known from the moment monsters began to pour from the sky, but everything happened so fast. She had been running and there hadn’t been time to stop and figure it out. 

Dani took a deep breath. She couldn’t stop herself from nervously glancing at her surroundings. She was still worried a monster would jump out of the bushes at any moment, but she assumed the sooner she chose her class, the better. So, she couldn’t justify putting it off any longer. 

“Status,” Dani muttered.

Name: Danielle Coleman (Dani)

Race: Human

Affiliation: Earth

Abilities: None 

Class: None (Select Class + )

Stats:

Vitality: 12

Endurance: 10

Strength: 7

Agility: 11

Intelligence: 9

Spirit: 12

Perception: 10

Class Skill(s): None

General Skill(s): None

Free Stat Point(s): 0

Dani wasn’t surprised by her low stats. Those were pretty standard starting numbers for characters in the video games she played. She did wonder about the differences between skills and abilities though. 

Abilities 

• One ability can be selected per class tier. Abilities are often utility based and require the incorporation of the system interface. They can provide information or even a sixth sense that the user would not otherwise possess.

Class Skills

• Class Skills are slotted within the inner spirit. They are 50% more powerful and cost 50% less to activate vs general skills. There are a limited number of skill slots within the inner spirit. The number of slots available increases with class tier. Once a skill is in place it can only be moved between the inner and outer spirit as the user’s class is tiering up.

General Skills

• General Skills are slotted within the outer spirit. They are 50% less powerful and cost 50% more to activate vs Class Skills. There is no limit to the number of skills that can be slotted within the outer spirit. Once a skill is in place it can only be moved between the inner and outer spirit as the user’s class is tiering up.

These descriptions left Dani at a loss. She wasn’t sure she even possessed a spirit much less a spirit that could hold skills. This was all very confusing to her worldview, but she could have an existential crisis later. For now, she still needed to choose a class. 

Select Class

Warrior (Tier 0)

• Starter combat class for those who wish to fight up close and personal. +1 Strength per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level 

Ranger (Tier 0)

• Starter combat class for those who wish to fight from a distance. +1 Agility per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level

Tank (Tier 0)

• Starter combat class for those who wish to stand their ground. +1 Vitality per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level

Rogue (Tier 0)

• Starter combat class for those who wish to fight from the shadows. +1 Agility per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level

Mage (Tier 0)

• Starter combat class for those who wish to cast spells. +1 Intelligence per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level

Healer (Tier 0)

• Starter support class for those who wish to cast spells. +1 Spirit per level, +2 Free Stat Points per level

Generalist (Tier 0)

• Starter class for those who wish to mix and match. +3 Free Stat Points per level

The list was pretty self explanatory. Dani was very tempted to choose the Mage Class, but she had a feeling something like that wouldn’t be too useful in the beginning. A class with a steep learning curve would get her killed. So, she decided to stick to what she was good at and Dani was a great pitcher. She even pitched for the Sliders, an amateur coed baseball team in her area. She’d joined a few years back. At first the team's then pitcher, Mark, had laughed at the idea of Dani taking his place. Luckily for her, she’d only had to sit on the bench for a few games before Mark sprained his wrist during a slide. There had been some debate about who to sub in, but the team had seen her pitch well during practice so they decided to give her a shot. She couldn’t throw quite as fast as Mark, but the faster Mark threw, the less accurate his pitches became. Dani didn’t have that issue. Every throw landed exactly where she intended and with good speed. She scored strike out after strike out. It was an amateur league and her skill was just a bit too much for the opposing team. After that game, Mark no longer found her laughable and she ended up as starting pitcher more often than not.    

Dani chose Ranger as her class. She was no archer, but the description didn’t specify a particular type of ranged attack or ability requirement. It seemed purposefully broad. Dani could easily adapt her skill with pitching to thrown weapons. She just had to find some weapons to throw. The options she had at the moment were an assortment of rocks. The ground was littered with the things so she might as well help herself. 

“What are you doing?” 

Sol’s voice reached Dani just as she’d tucked a fist sized rock into the crook of her arm and bent down to pick up another. Dani paused halfway to the ground and looked up at the other woman. 

“Oh, you know… just gathering some ammunition,” she said and let out an awkward chuckle. “I chose the Ranger class.”

Sol nodded thoughtfully, “Those rocks probably won’t be of much use.” 

She held out her hand to Dani and an eight inch throwing blade made of ice formed on the woman’s palm. 

Dani marveled at the sleek craftsmanship of the dagger. If she hadn’t already known of Sol’s ice ability, Dani would have assumed the weapon was made of crystal or glass. The blade itself was a transparent light blue and she could clearly see herself reflected off its surface. The handle had a hollow ring that could fit her finger at its end and was more translucent, reminding her of frosted sea glass. There was no crossguard. The weapon was thin, long and clearly designed to be thrown. It didn’t look like any ice Dani had ever seen. 

“Won’t it be too cold for me to handle? And doesn’t ice melt?” Dani asked, unsure if she should take the blade. 

“You think I can’t deal with little things like that?” Sol scoffed. 

Dani swallowed. She was a bit worried she’d angered the woman with her apparently stupid questions, but how was she supposed to know what could and couldn’t be done? When her fingers brushed the handle of the blade she was shocked to find that the ice was only slightly cool, not freezing cold like she expected. What was just as surprising was that the dagger was dry. It didn’t melt under the warmth of her fingertips. 

“Is this really ice?” Dani asked, eyes wide with wonder.

“Yes,” Sol replied with a roll of her eyes and produced a second ice dagger for Dani. “If you need more just ask. We’ll be taking on those eyelets in the city so stay close.” 

The silver haired woman didn’t wait for Dani’s reply before taking off toward the buildings that peaked out above the treeline. 

 “Wait!” Dani shouted as she scrambled behind Sol. “Do you mean those creepy bat things? There’s thousands of them!” 

She sounded panicked even to her own ears, but Dani was beyond caring. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to face the death she’d left behind. If they stayed where they were, then Dani could pretend that her whole world hadn’t just collapsed. She could pretend that everything was fine and people weren’t being ripped apart by one-eyed, bat creatures.

Dani opened her mouth to continue her protest, but stopped herself when a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. 

“I understand your fear.” Their eyes met and Sol gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. 

Dani was curious about what Sol had to say. Perhaps she’d give a rousing speech, or maybe the woman would leave her behind. Dani didn’t like that idea. Sol felt like a lifeline and she was just barely holding herself together as it was. 

“Still, you saw me naked and then I healed you and made you weapons,” Sol continued, as Dani gaped at her in utter disbelief. “You owe me a favor. So, you’re going to fight the eyelets with me. okay?” There was a long pause before Sol added with an encouraging wink, “Don’t worry, I’ll watch your back.” 

Dani had no clue what to say to that and it appeared that Sol wasn’t really expecting an answer anyway. She simply walked away as if Dani had already agreed to follow her into the jaws of death, no questions asked. Dani trudged along behind Sol like a prisoner being led to the gallows. They reached the edge of Central Park more quickly than she would have liked.

“You know, I gave you clothes. Can’t that count as a favor?” Dani whined, hoping to change Sol’s mind regarding the whole fighting monsters thing.

She didn’t get a response. Sol was more focused on their surroundings as they stepped onto 5th Avenue. She paused and held a hand out to signal for Dani to do the same, but Dani wasn’t paying much attention. Her eyes were fixed on her own feet as she walked. It wasn’t until Dani slammed nose first into Sol’s back that she noticed the other woman had stopped. Dani repressed the urge to yelp. Her face hurt from the impact. Sol’s back felt like it was made of steel. 

Dani raised a hand to her nose. The action was made a bit difficult by the two throwing daggers she held. She knew better than to make a fuss in a situation like this. However, Dani did give herself the satisfaction of glaring at Sol’s immovable back. Of course, Dani’s slight against the other woman went unnoticed. Sol’s attention was on a large group of at least fifty eyelets hovering in the air above them. The monsters screeched in unison as they caught sight of the two women, and the boldest of the bunch quickly dove in for the kill. 

The sound of the monster's cries startled Dani and she stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet. She landed hard and accidentally nicked her thigh with one of her throwing knives. The sight of her struggle and the scent of blood in the air sent the eyelets into a frenzy. The entire group descended upon the pair like a dark cloud of hungry piranhas. Horrified, Dani screamed and scrambled away as fast as she could, but the monsters were much faster. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms. It wouldn’t save her, Dani knew, but she couldn’t suppress the instinct to protect her face. Any moment now she would feel the creature’s sharp teeth tearing into her body. 

When Dani heard several squawks of pain and felt a whoosh of cold air, she clenched her eyes even tighter. She knew she would be dead any second, and she didn’t want to see it coming. However, after several long seconds of nothing happening, Dani finally caved and gingerly opened her eyes to peek at her surroundings. A handful of icicle-ridden, eyelet corpses littered the ground, but the carnage barely registered. It was the image of Sol standing confidently before her with arms crossed and a carefree smile that Dani fixated on. It felt surreal. The woman appeared to be perfectly at ease and Dani could see why. There was a dome of crystal, clear ice separating the both of them from the remaining eyelets. The monsters were on the other side of the barrier, fruitlessly banging against the ice like flies against a closed window. Sol had somehow managed to shield the both of them behind a layer of protective ice, while Dani had been completely incapacitated by fear. 

“You know, something pretty interesting just happened,” Sol commented. 

Her eyes tracked one of the eyelets as the beast battered its body against the barrier. The repeated blows left a smear of the creature’s blood on the ice. Sol gestured toward the eyelet in question and a section of the icy dome expanded outward to capture the beast. The monster wasn’t fast enough to escape the trap and quickly found itself sealed within an icy ball barely large enough to accommodate its wingspan. Once caught, Sol pulled the trapped creature through the wall of the dome. The transition was seamless. To Dani it looked like the captured eyelet had phased through the wall of the barrier without leaving so much as a ripple behind. 

She had no clue how Sol was doing any of this, but that wasn’t super important to her at the moment. 

“Why did you bring one of those things in here?” Dani questioned. 

She was still sitting on the ground and couldn’t help scooting just a bit further away. Realistically, she knew the creature was trapped and currently incapable of harming her, just like the ones outside. However, she still found it unsettling. Why would Sol want one of these ugly monsters? Dani didn’t understand her intentions and that made her nervous. 

“Something interesting,” Sol smiled and pointed to the handful of monster corpses on the ground. “After killing these coppers, I was notified that I gained a level in my class. Apparently, I can now choose one skill and one ability.” she continued. 

Sol walked over to Dani and offered her a hand. Once Dani was back on her feet Sol began casually brushing the dirt off her back.

“Isn’t that exciting, we can get stronger simply by killing beasts!” She said and the excitement of the discovery was clear in her tone.

Dani sighed, “Yeah, I guess I kinda figured that was how it worked.” 

She had a pretty good idea of what Sol was planning. It wasn’t something Dani was looking forward to, but she understood the need. She bent down to pick up the throwing daggers Sol had made for her. She must have dropped them after cutting herself in her earlier panic. The cut on her thigh stung, but she ignored the pain. Dani wasn’t about to ask Sol to heal an injury she’d received in such a foolish manner. Once she had the knives at the ready, she turned to the eyelet Sol had trapped in a ball of ice. Its prison hovered in the air ten feet away. Honestly, a bit too close for her comfort, but there was only so much space available. 

After taking a deep steadying breath, Dani nodded, “Okay, you can let it go. I’m ready.”

Sol’s already brilliant smile widened further. Then, she gave Dani a single nod of approval and released the beast. Its icy prison evaporated and the eyelet let out an ear splitting screech. Dani didn’t waste any time and chucked her throwing knife right at the monster's ugly face. She put her full force behind the throw, but she was unfamiliar with the weapon. It wasn’t the blade that hit the beast, but the hilt. The, butt end of Dani’s weapon struck the creature’s giant eye. The blow was enough to knock it out of the air, but unfortunately not enough to kill it. The creature wailed when it hit the ground and struggled there for several long seconds as Dani looked on. 

“What are you waiting for? Stab it,” Sol said. 

“R… Right,” Dani replied and took a step toward the prone beast. 

The last time she’d killed one it had been in self defense. This felt… different somehow. The creature's keening sounded just like any other wounded animal’s cry. Dani felt some pity for the eyelet, but tried her best to suppress the emotion as she cautiously approached. Her grip tightened on her remaining dagger. She diligently watched for any sudden movements, but the creature's cries were getting weaker. Her sloppy attack must have injured it quite badly and it wasn’t getting back up any time soon. Some of her fear eased due to the beast's obvious lack of threat, but the sick feeling remained. 

Dani swallowed, I have to kill it. It wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me if given it the chance.  

She crouched, held her dagger out in front of her, and braced its hilt against her other hand for added support. Then, she pushed the blade deep into the small body of the defenseless beast. It let out a weak gasp before quieting and a faint energy rushed into Dani’s body. She gagged. Her stomach threatened to empty its contents as she watched the creature's blood pool beneath it. The weight of a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder.

“That was good. It’s always harder when they don’t die from the first attack,” Sol commented and gave Dani’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “The cores of these weak beasts won’t be worth much, but I can show you how to collect them if you’d like.”

“How do you know all this?” Dani asked, tired of suppressing her curiosity regarding the other woman.

Sol’s hand froze on Dani’s shoulder for a moment before falling away. There was a pause.      

Then, the silver haired woman spoke, “I honestly have no clue where I am. Everything I’ve told you is common knowledge on my planet.”

She sounded a little lost and her pretty face made it even more difficult for Dani not to feel bad for her, but she couldn’t ignore the way Sol had said ‘on my planet’. 

“So, you’re an alien?” Dani blurted out the question in astonishment before continuing, “Is this what you really look like then? Are you a shapeshifter?”

Sol’s eyes widened at the rapid fire questions. “I don’t know what an alien is, but I’m no shapeshifter.”

“That’s exactly what a shapeshifter would say!” Dani replied with a laugh. The strangeness of the situation was putting her on edge and she tended to make bad jokes when stressed. When Sol failed to laugh along, Dani began to worry if she was being a little insensitive. 

Is it offensive to call someone a shapeshifter where Sol is from? 

Dani decided to drop the subject of shapeshifters for now.    

“Anyway… An alien is a being from another planet. Stories of sightings pop up from time to time, but there hasn’t really ever been any concrete evidence of their existence. There are a lot of people that don’t believe in aliens. I always did, I mean the universe is huge, how could life only exist in one place? Still, you look just like a human except maybe… Shinier? How is that possible?” Dani was rambling, she knew she was rambling, but she really couldn’t help it. Sol was from another planet. That meant the monsters were likely aliens as well. Was there some superior being out there orchestrating this invasion? Was somebody going around kidnapping people and monsters from their planets, then dumping them on Earth? She had so many questions.

“Do you remember anything about how you got here?” Dani asked.

Sol’s expression darkened, she opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound or a loud crack. The dome of ice that protected them had been damaged. Cracks now spiderwebbed across the surface of the ice in every direction. The screeching of the monsters outside intensified as if excited to see their relentless assault had born fruit.

“We can discuss this later,” Sol said, sounding far less worried than Dani felt. Soon, Dani saw why. For as Sol spoke the icy barrier rippled and the damage was gone. “Let’s finish up here. I can’t hold them back forever.”

Dani nodded gravely, collecting her two throwing daggers, and holding them at the ready. She steadied her feet and took what she assumed to be a proper fighting stance. It probably looked ridiculous to the much more experienced Sol, but the other woman smiled approvingly. For some unknown reason, Dani found that smile comforting. The nervous energy that coursed through her calmed somewhat. It didn’t make a huge difference, but she felt just the slightest bit more confident. When Sol brought in her next opponent, Dani actually managed to hit it with the blade of her dagger instead of the hilt. Granted, it was just a glancing blow to the creature’s giant eye, but that was enough to blind the beast. She was able to finish it off in much the same way as last time. The act still made her a bit sick to her stomach. She hoped that feeling faded sooner rather than later because she planned on killing a lot of monsters.

Unfortunately, her next attempt did not go as well. Eyelets were relatively small and difficult to hit even at a distance of only ten feet. Her first throw clipped the creature's wing, but the small cut was not enough to slow it down. It rushed her and in a panic Dani missed her second throw completely. Luckily, Sol hadn’t been lying when she’d said she had her back. The beast died by icicle just a few inches short of reaching Dani’s face.

“Thanks,” Dani panted.

“It would have been smarter to keep hold of at least one of your weapons. You left yourself defenseless,” Sol replied, nodding her head in the direction of the two discarded daggers.

“Yeah, I guess I wasn’t really thinking straight. That was dumb,” Dani agreed, giving Sol a self deprecating smile. 

“It’s better to make mistakes now anyway. I’m here so you can relax,” Sol replied, striking as heroic a pose as a barefoot woman in yoga pants could. The stance was only made more adorable by the woman’s slight 5’2 frame. 

Dani couldn’t help, but smile at that. She found it a little endearing how easily Sol could put her at ease. Then, the words registered and she frowned. Was Sol implying that she wouldn’t be sticking around? The thought sent a spike of fear through Dani. They barely knew each other, but she already felt like she couldn’t survive without her. Literally. 

If I have to do this shit alone I’ll be dead for sure!

She wouldn’t let that happen. Dani was determined to find a way to be useful to Sol and, with that thought in mind, she once again readied herself for another eyelet.

“Let’s do this!” Dani said the words with a confidence that she didn’t possess and gave the silver haired woman a thumbs up. Sol was only too happy to oblige.