"Frank?"

Luz follows close behind me as I hurry to the side of the clockwork machine, pulling at the box protecting the second-hand piece I neglected to fix for over a week. With one hand, I rip open it's top, and with my other I reach in and grab a circular device. The orb fits perfectly in my hand as I wrap my fingers around it. Never thought I'd need this.

Luz stands at my side, watching me hover over the box. "Frank, what's going on? What do you mean fuck?"

My head shoots up and I look back at her, confused. Isn't what I said a human word? "Fuck," I say again, easier than the first time. "A feeling of disaster, ruin, pain."

It's all over human television. She should know this.

Luz's brows pinch close together. Her hands settle on her hips. "I know what it can mean, Frank. But why did you say it? What's going on?"

The orb in my hand warms after a moment. A light appears at its very top. I look down at it, eyes wide, and I smile. "We're getting out of here," I say.

"Okay, I think you got the good fuck confused with the actual meaning." Luz scoots aside as I stand and walk back towards the wall we had originally come through. "The way you said it is like—"

My thumb presses down on the red dot on the top of the orb. It pulsates in my hand before I press it against the bricks in front of me. "I know how I said it," I say, glancing at her, "and I meant it that way. I fucked up. I should have repaired the clock the second I arrived, I just..."

Luz bats her lashes. "Well, if all you have to do is fix it, then fix it."

What she says is so blunt, so straightforward, I blink. But it's not that easy.

I look back at the wall, at the orb. It's opened in my hand, wires slithering out from its insides. Those wires connect to the wall, spreading like black electrical vines.

She wants honesty, Frank. "If it were that easy, I would've fixed it by now. I should've fixed it the moment I arrived on Earth, but I prolonged my stay." I clear my throat and look back at her. "To get to know you."

For a moment, Luz's brown cheeks redden and she averts her gaze. She hums as she looks at the floor.

And my attention returns to the orb. I feel it shake. The building moves with it, as though the walls are made of waves. Oceanic waves, yet without the blue, harmonious beauty.

Black slime appears at my feet, oozing out of the wall like an infected wound. Forcing a dimension portal open was never good on a planet's aura. The orb was designed to be a Cog's last defense, in case of a worst-case scenario. What were they, I wasn't sure, because they never went over that in training. I just knew I needed to get her out of here.

And if something happens to her, that's worst case for me.

"Okay, fine." Luz's hand touches my shoulder. "And while I'm flattered you wanted to get to know me more, I... isn't this planet more important than some random girl?"

My eyes widen as a doorway opens before us. I can see the streets outside. Hear the rain. Thunder rolls through the clouds with the warning of lightning, too close to home. Forcing a portal may have increased the storm, but a little rain hurt no one.

Grabbing Luz's hand, I pull her outside and away from the clockwork machine. As it closes behind us, I look at her as raindrops slide down our faces. "Earth is important to me, but so are you." I bite my lip and scan the street. "I can always go back in and fix this. But until I know Galaxy Enforcements won't hurt you, the planet will have to wait."

"Hurt me?" Luz's jaw drops as she cranes her head to meet my gaze. "Aliens are going to hurt me?"

I purse my lips and slowly nod, but right after, I shake my head. "They detected your presence within the realm—"

Her eyes widen. "If you knew I wasn't allowed in there, why show it to me!"

"—And an enforcement officer's job is to eliminate the threat invading a clockwork machine." Without pausing, I grab her hand and lead her down the street. "They'll be in here a minute to scan the scene."

"Eliminate?" Luz pulls her hand from mine and stands behind me, unable to follow as I continue to walk. I stop, looking back at her as she says, "I'm going to 'be eliminated' because you lied?"

I gulp and purse my lips. "Luz, I didn't mean it to be like this. I just—"

"And these enforcement guys," Luz pushes her curly hair back away from her face and blows away the rain that sticks to her lips, "are they dangerous?"

I sigh. My shoulders slump. "I just said they eliminate threats. They're dangerous, yes."

As thunder roars in the skies again, Luz lifts her hand and points ahead of us. I don't follow the tip of her finger, I stare at her face instead. It's strange to see a flickering blend of emotions such as fear and interest, as if her desire to learn everything about the unknown outweighs the fact that death is so close she can taste it.

The thought makes me smile a bit and I move forward, grabbing her outstretched hand. I start at her pointed finger before covering the rest of hers with mine.

She doesn't grab my hand back. She continues to point. "Are they big?" she asks.

I chuckle, licking a raindrop that slips between my lips. "Yes," I say, "big, dangerous brutes."

"Like them?"

My smile drops. I finally turn and follow the path of her finger. And I see what she is pointing at.

Down the street, past the run-down buildings pelted by the rain, were three large, blue and green Hions—top officers within the Galaxy Enforcement team. They must've appeared when lightning struck, and I only know that because electricity is how they travel.

"Frip," I curse in Brigon, immediately grabbing Luz's hand tight as I tug her behind a parked car. She lets out a quiet ooph as she stumbles, following me. When she crouches beside me, I turn my chest towards the hood of the car. Only my head is exposed, just enough so my eyes can follow the three aliens walking down the street.

"Frip?" Luz asks in a whisper.

But I don't look at her. I watch the Hions change under Earth's weather. Their skin becomes smooth, like human flesh, and their bodies shrink a few inches, becoming a standard, strong build of a man. And yet, while their appearances change to blend in with the world they have stepped into, they cannot change the spiral tattoo on the sides of their faces, or the red glowing hue in their eyes.

They also cannot hide their weapons. Attached to the backs of their gray uniforms are long rifles... with swords at the end.

I grind my teeth.

"Frank," Luz hisses, pushing at my shoulder as we hide. "What's frip?"

"I don't think my language is a concern right now," I whisper, inching down as the Hions move closer towards the building to our right. They spin in slow circles, their eyes scanning the surrounding streets.

That's why they can't change their red color. Their eyes aren't natural. They've been upgraded, equipped with the tracking technology the overlords unveiled last year.

I've never seen it in action before...

"Okay, fine." Luz turns and crouches beside me, hiding her body the way I do mine. Just her eyes and forehead are over the car's hood. "What do we do now?"

I blink away rain stuck to my eyelashes. "We wait."

The Hions stop at the building's entrance but ignore the front door. They wait for the dimension portal to open to the left of it, then step inside. I hold my breath until I know they are out of sight.

"Wait for what?" Luz asks. "Should I just run then?"

"No." I give Luz a quick glance before turning, pressing my back against the car's hood. I lift my Cog watch to eye level, tapping my finger against the side to change its face. The simple clock disappears and becomes a radar screen. One with three dots around the machine I'm assigned to repair.

"Okay..." Luz breathes in and out. "Do we fight them?"

I lift my eyes, but not to look at her. I watch a rat scurry across the sidewalk, trying to get out of the rain. It squeaks as it jumps onto the sidewalk ledge and into the alley close by.

"Frank?" Luz bumps my shoulder. "Are we fighting or what?"

I tap my watch again. "Did you not see their weapons?" I ask.

"You mean those big sword things?"

Slowly turning my head, I look at her. "Yes," I say. "Those are calls Kaligas, hard-hitting weapons."

"Okay?" Luz looks at me as though I've said nothing severe. "Big swords."

"No." I look back at the building as the dots on my watch have stopped moving. "The swords are attached to rifles. What they shoot isn't a bullet, but a laser."

"Oh." Luz drops and sits on the back of her feet. "That's... alarming. Can I ask how they—"

"No," I cut her off, shaking my head. "Believe me, whatever you're going to ask, you don't want to know."

***

A/N:

As of Chapter Six, I am 10,121/20,000 <3 Halfway there! :)