The unforgivable afternoon sun beat down on Isabel. Droplets of sweat fell from her face as she trudged on. She was still nowhere near being acclimated to this kind of weather. A nice, air-conditioned room was more her style.

She took great care to know where she stepped while walking through the city. A few minutes ago, she had stepped on a blue rusted hovercar, smashing it completely flat. It was an accident, and while she didn’t feel any pain from the crushed pile of metal, the sound it made was extremely loud. The screeching of compressing metal echoed throughout the city. Nathan had made mention of dangerous animals nearby and while she didn’t exactly trust him, he seemed sincere in that moment.

The city was a complete ghost town, much like Sedicus. Isabel traveled through the main freeway that she had traveled on the day before. It cut directly through the middle of the city, giving it the illusion of being cut in half. This city looked just like that last one. Plenty of rusted and forgotten vehicles littered the streets, all the buildings shared broken windows and crumbling foundations. ‘How long has this planet been abandoned like this?’ Isabel pondered to herself.

She looked down at her right shoulder, Wesley was sitting with his legs dangling. He had an iron grip on his sister’s hair and was still familiarizing himself to this experience. She didn’t bother to check on Nathan, who hadn’t said a word since the early morning. It was in his best interest it stays that way, lest he face Isabel’s wrath yet again.

He was stewing in his own anger and resentment. His left arm still had a dull ache, most of which he would feel in his shoulder.

“She almost snapped my fucking arm off.” Nathan thought to himself, glancing down at the appendage in question, which was wrapped several times over with his captor’s golden hair.

The whole situation had seemed so bizarre. How could someone display so much disregard for the pain of another human, who’d done them no harm? Her blatant apathy for his wellbeing reminded him of an Opul. The way they treat their ‘Helots’, it made his blood boil. Not to forget, the look she gave her own brother. Almost as if he didn’t shut his mouth when he did, he’d be next. Nathan couldn’t be mad at Wesley. He’s the only one who’d shown him any kind of compassion. Of course, he couldn’t do anything to defy his older sister. Especially with her size. Nathan chose to reserve his anger for Isabel.

Isabel had her eyes on the road ahead when Wesley decided to speak.

“Isabel… I’m hungry. And thirsty.” He whispered to her, close to her ear.

“There’s food and water in the backpack I gave you, get something out of there.” Isabel replied.

Wesley slid his arms out of the backpack straps and sat the bag to his right. He opened the main zipper and fished around inside. He pulled his arm out, holding a beige colored brick, wrapped in cellophane. It was about half as big as Wesley’s head. He inspected it as if it were an alien device.

“What is this?” He asked his older sister, holding up the item in question.

“It’s a calorie bar.” She replied simply.

“Calorie… bar?” Wesley asked, this time with more confusion.

“Yes Wesley. They’re emergency ration bars designed to hold a lot of calories to survive from them for a while. They’re not going to taste very good but it’s what your body needs to survive.” Isabel explained.

“So… I just… eat one?” Wesley questioned.

“No, just half for now. Try not to drink water so quickly, we only have so much.” Isabel said, feeling a grumble in her stomach; She didn’t exactly eat much yesterday, especially after the crash.

‘What am I going to eat?’ Isabel asked herself.

The thought had just barely occurred to her. She was massive. What could she possibly eat around here? Or drink, for that matter. It was quite literally a wasteland, except for the city they were wandering, but it looked like every possible resource had been plucked from it. No stone left unturned and no building left unsearched. She was starting to get dizzy. Her brain was realizing the condition it was in, all the adrenaline and endorphins finally wore off and a good night’s sleep helped put her brain into it’s normal state.

“Isabel, maybe you should take a break too. You look like you’re going to faint.” Wesley suggested.

“I’ll take a little breather. Just to get out of the sun for a while.” She replied.

She stopped taking steps and instead turned to her right, and started for the raised ledge above the freeway, which separated the freeway itself from the intertwining city streets above. Her height made it a simple curb for her to step over, one foot over the other. The movement bounced Nathan around, swinging him around her shoulder, landing him on the back of her left arm. He stopped with a fleshy thud, opening his eyes. He saw the freeway winding down the opposite direction in a straight line. It looked like it could go on forever, most-definitely stretching past the horizon. He looked down at the asphalt itself and noticed something strange.

Piles of the red soil that came naturally on this planet decorated the lonely strip of road. There was a straight line of giant footprints. They would be bold and noticeable, slowly fading and losing detail. Until she would step on another sand pile, which would create a full print in that pile of sand. The rest of the sand stuck to her sole would fall off on the next step, creating more and more visible prints. She’d been unknowingly leaving a perfect trail to follow.

“No, no, no! This can’t be happening!” Nathan said to himself in a panic. “They’ll definitely find us if we don’t throw it off now!”

“Hey, there’s someth-” Nathan began, abruptly cut off by Isabel grabbing his bonds and yanking him forward.

“Do you need a reminder about our conversation this morning?” Isabel asked, narrowing her eyes at Nathan.

“What? No. I -” Nathan started again, but it was apparent that was the wrong answer.

Isabel brought her thumb and middle finger together, winding up them up. She brought the middle finger back across the top of her thumb, and then shot it forward, flicking Nathan directly in his chest. Nathan swung backward slightly, expelling all the air his lungs just had. The blow devastated him, making him lose consciousness for a few seconds while he tried to breathe. He felt like he physically could not contract the muscles that allowed him to breathe, he just hung there, gasping for life.

Wesley sat on the opposite side of Isabel but could hear still Nathan trying to recuperate from what Isabel did. He winced and just looked down at the ration he held in his hand. He desperately wanted Isabel to stop treating him like this, but he too was powerless to her whims. It felt so strange, yet now familiar. Isabel’s attitude… Wesley felt an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. It made sense now. This side of her always existed, he’d sometimes catch her treating the Helots in their house like that. He noticed she wouldn’t do it so much when Wesley was present, but this sudden size change must have given her the urge to exert her power, more so now.

Isabel looked down at the pathetic man trapped with nothing more than her hair. He was below her. A desert rat caught in her trap. She hoped his tiny frail body wouldn’t break though; she reluctantly remembered the reason she hadn’t already disposed of him.

Nathan felt the cool oxygen flow into his burning lungs, and while he had managed to breathe, his chest was still throbbing with pain.

“No, I… don’t need… a reminder.” Nathan coughed.

“Good. Now stay quiet.” She said, dropping him back to resting position.

He kept his head down, eyes focused on the floor. He felt so numb and detached.

“This is awful.” He thought to himself.

He should have just left. He regretted every decision he’s made since he first saw that plume of smoke in Sedicus. Nathan wanted to be angry, furious even. He just relinquished control and retreated inside of his mind.

Isabel focused back to finding some shade. She had found herself wandering close to the freeway they had just departed from. She kept walking, stopping in the middle of an intersection, completely empty, which was odd to say the least. The four buildings on each corner of the intersection were tall enough to provide a haven from the heat. She leaned her back on the tallest building, farthest from the freeway. She then sat down, slowly, as to not jostle Wesley into plummeting to his death. Cross-legged and seated, she rested her back against the cool glass and steel of the building.

Wesley felt much better in the shade and started opening one of the rations he had in the bag. He unwrapped the many layers of cellophane, peeling it about halfway to take a bite. Bringing it up to his mouth, he took a cautious bite. He closed his eyes and his arms drooped a bit. It had a strange texture and taste, but nothing that was impossible to stomach down. He chewed and then swallowed, leaving a dry feeling in his mouth. He reached for his bag and fished around in it again, this time pulling out a bottle of water. After unscrewing the cap, he took a big swig. Though he wasn’t the one walking and carrying two passengers, he still felt parched and thirsty.

“Here Isabel.” Wesley motioned the bottle towards her.

She scoffed, and reached it with her left hand, plucking the tiny plastic container between her enormous digits. She held it over her lips and poured the whole thing in, but she could barely feel it on her tongue. With a sigh she threw the bottle away to the side. Unless she can find a source of food and water, this trip will end much quicker than anticipated.

Feeling better now, Wesley wanted to get off to stretch his legs.

“Hey Isabel, can I get off for a bit, to walk around?” He asked nervously.

“Yes. But only for a few minutes, and don’t wander off too far.” She replied.

Wesley simply nodded, which prompted Isabel to level her left palm near her shoulder. Wesley stood on the fleshy platform, adjusting how his backpack was strapped to him, and slowly descended onto the ground. He hopped off and stretched briefly. He placed his backpack on the ground near Isabel’s foot, and walked around her. Nathan’s hanging form caught his eye, and he attempted to speak to the beaten survivor.

“Hey Nathan. You doing okay?” Wesley asked.

He received no response.

“Nathan?” He asked for the second time.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?” Isabel asked Nathan, with a disapproving tone.

“I’m fine.” Nathan grunted, keeping his head down.

“That’s what I thought.” Isabel said with a smirk.

Wesley decided to leave Nathan be, and instead started for the entrance of the building currently had her back on.

“I’m just going to take a look around inside Isabel.” Wesley called to her.

Isabel hesitated, and then nodded.

Wesley walked to the entrance, a set of two large wooden doors, with silver handles on each. He pulled on them both, opening the door slowly accompanied with the sound of creaking wood. The entire building had plenty of windows, letting in the light from all angles, but where it had trouble reaching was apparent. The very middle of the building appeared to be much darker than the surrounding edges. A large receptionist desk met Wesley at the entrance. Papers were scattered around the floor, while the desk itself appeared empty. It wasn’t a welcoming sight, but Wesley trudged on. He passed the desk, and rounded the corner on the right side, which was a long hallway with different marked doors on the left wall. Most of them were already open, “Probably still the same position they were left in when the people evacuated,” Wesley guessed.

Wesley walked down the hall, which itself was illuminated from the sunlight pouring in. Each room he looked in got darker the farther it stretched from the door. Broken furniture, stacks of papers tossed about, each room shared the same details. He was just about at the end of the hallway, passing the last door to his left when he heard a noise. His head shot over to the doorway, the sound still echoing through the hall.

Isabel perked upright. She heard a banging noise echo from the inside of the building. She stood up and trotted over to the doors and got down on her knees, putting her face near the doorway.

“Wesley?” She called out.

No response.

“Wesley seriously, answer me.” She shouted.

She crouched lower and tried to reach her arm through the doorway, but her arm wouldn’t fit past her elbow. She cursed under her breath and tried again with her left arm but received the same result. Her breathing started to speed up, and she started thinking of any possible solution. She could try to destroy some of the doorway, which would give her more room, but it might interfere with the structural integrity of the building, which has had no maintenance for a while. For a second, she even considered untying Nathan to retrieve Wesley.

“Isabel!” Wesley screamed.

Isabel returned her attention back to the entrance, she could hear footsteps running, coming closer and echoing throughout the hall.  But heard a second pair of noises. She narrowed her eyes and tried to listen, but Wesley screamed again.

“Over here Wesley!” She said, motioning her hands outside the door.

A snarl was heard from the entrance, followed by an extremely loud barking sound. Isabel’s face curled up, fearful and confused. Nathan lifted his head up, almost instantly.

“It’s a Howler!” Nathan shouted.

Isabel looked down to Nathan whose eyes were now focused on the entrance, waiting for Wesley to run out, if he could manage to outrun it. Wesley’s footsteps were now much louder and getting closer. He appeared out in the open, and Isabel immediately grabbed him with her left hand and stood up, taking a few steps back. A mere second or two later, the beast emerged from the building.

Its fur was black and somewhat long, flowing down the length of its body. It had four legs and closely resembled something like a dog, but much bigger than any seen that could be seen on Earth. The sheer size of it nearly tripled that of Wesley. The creature came to a screeching halt and eyed up its new enemy. Isabel.

She took another step backward, keeping Wesley cupped in her left palm. The animal snarled its teeth, covering the floor in slobber and foam. It slowly approached, keeping its head down but its eyes trained on the feet of its prey. Wesley cowered in the fetal position, directly on the center of Isabel’s palm.

“It’ll go for your ankles, don’t let it get near!” Nathan shouted.

Nathan was in no mood to help Isabel, but if she were to go down, then of course he’d follow, what with the compromising position he was still in.

In a flash, the animal charged, heading for Isabel’s right ankle. Isabel shrieked and set all her weight on her left foot and swung her right foot back. The creature tried to stop in its tracks but was met with Isabel’s massive foot. The impact sent it flying back to the building, smashing through the glass windows. It kept going, until it collided with a wall inside, collapsing it. Isabel kept her eyes on the hole she made, anticipating the animal’s return. Slowly, the creature reappeared. It limped its way to the street, one of its hind legs seemed to be broken.

“Kill it before it howls!” Nathan yelled.

“Kill?” Isabel nearly choked on the word.

The Howler left no time for Isabel to think, it simply charged at her again, snarling its massive fangs, which looked capable of doing damage to her. Isabel cried out, and hopped backwards, raising her right foot up again. She winced and looked away right as the animal positioned itself below the looming appendage’s shadow. With as much force as she could muster, she slammed her foot down, crashing into the animal’s body with a sickening crunch. Isabel grimaced; she could feel the animal’s furry body crumple under her foot. She felt bones snap like twigs under her sole. It made her feel sick, but more disgusted with the creature than with her course of actions. She removed her foot from the now dead Howler, which laid still in her shadow, somewhat flattened.

Wesley was nauseous at the audible sound of bones breaking, while Nathan just shifted uncomfortably.

Isabel gagged at the sight of the crumpled animal and the splotch of blood on her sole. She scraped her sole against the floor, a couple times for good measure. Nathan looked at the dead animal and its killer, who was wiping it’s remains on the concrete below. He noticed a strange glimmer come from its jaws. The teeth looked bloodstained. Nathan brought his gaze to a panicked Wesley, who was still curled up in a ball in Isabel’s palm. He didn’t seem to have been bitten or attacked. Where did the Howler get blood in its mouth, especially so far inside the city?

“Wesley, what did you see in there?” Nathan asked in a rush.

“I… I was just walking, and I saw it inside a room.” Wesley whimpered.

Isabel recovered from the grisly sight and spoke up, “I don’t know what that thing was, but we need to leave, now.”

Isabel shook her head and started back for the freeway.

“Wait!” Nathan said.

Isabel looked down at Nathan with an amused expression.

“Why?” She asked.

“Howlers rarely travel alone, and they especially stay out of the city. There’s a reason one was here. We need to find out what it is.” Nathan said firmly.

“Why should I listen to you?” Isabel questioned condescendingly, while picking up the canvas backpack that Wesley had left on the ground.

She handed the little bag to Wesley and placed him back on her right shoulder. He shakily sat down and held onto Isabel’s locks.

“You’re keeping me here because I have ‘knowledge’ right? Well trust me on this, this thing’s presence here is a bad sign. Let me go and I’ll go investigate.” Nathan offered.

Isabel laughed, “Sure, and give you a free escape, I’ll definitely do that.”

“I’m serious, you can watch me from the windows.” Isabel flashed an annoyed glance at Nathan, advising to him shut up. “There’s no place I can run where you can’t catch me.” He added boldly.

“Enough. I’ve already made my decision.” Isabel said, already growing weary of his bargaining.

Nathan dropped his head again and returned to sulking quietly. Isabel reached the edge of the freeway and hopped back down onto the road. She noticed a pair of giant footprints, her own. What caught her attention was how pristine each print looked. She could have sworn the wind would have blown them away by now, but they remained.

“Strange.” Isabel suspiciously eyed the old tracks she had made.

She put it out of her mind and continued.