The group tensed, John and Octavia exchanged an alert glance as they stepped protectively in front of Dalia. Weapons appeared in hands, senses primed for another attack.
But instead of a monstrous form, a haggard man emerged from the shadows. His dirt-smudged face registered shock at the macabre scene of gore and destruction that greeted him.
"Please..." the man rasped, raising his hands in submission when he noticed the array of blades now pointed his way. "I mean no harm. Just searching for safety, like you."
John's eyes narrowed, weighing the stranger's words. Lowering his dagger incrementally, he asked "Who are you?" in a tone that conveyed no true lowering of guard.
"I... I'm—" the man began nervously, only to be interrupted by a soft, melodic voice. John's eyes strained, struggling to make out the figure as the heavy lights from the halls revealed only a graceful silhouette.
It was a petite, hourglass silhouette, like he had never seen before. It was delicate, toned and voluptuous. A bewitching contradiction. The hair was an ethereal shade of pale blue, like a bioluminescent blue hydrangea, flowing like liquid moonlight and reaching just above her dainty shoulders.
As the figure stepped into the light, it revealed its physics-defying features. A petite nose with rounded edges glowed with the essence of dreams. The lips were unnaturally pink and glistened with an alien radiance.
'They look tempting,' John thought, his gaze irresistibly drawn to the alluring, strawberry-like lips.
The man cleared his throat and continued, "Sorry. My name is Edward, this is Mika." He gestured towards the enigmatic girl. She strode forward, hands stuffed casually in her pockets, exuding attitude.
Her ethereal beauty aside, Mika moved with a thuggish swagger that amused John. He thought he heard her audibly click her tongue in annoyance.
"Hey," she muttered, the melodious tone still present, but tinged with annoyance.
John's gaze shifted between the strange pair. The man was older than the girl, but not old enough to be her father. An older brother? Impossible, they looked nothing alike, and he was most certainly not her boyfriend. John thought the girl could do much better.
Before his thoughts could spiral, John pressed, "Explain who you are." His tone brooked no nonsense.
As Edward opened his mouth to reply, his hand drifted towards his coat pocket. The motion triggered alarm bells for John and Octavia. In a flash, their blades were poised at Edward's throat.
"Don't try anything clever," Octavia warned, her eye glinting. "No sudden moves."
Edward froze, hands raised in supplication. "Sorry, you misunderstand. I was just reaching for this." He withdrew a strange metallic cube engraved with alien symbols.
John and Octavia exchanged a wary look but marginally lowered their weapons. John inspected the metallic cube. The engravings looked interesting, he thought, but it revealed nothing about its purpose. However, one thing he was sure of, this was alien technology.
John's eyes narrowed to slits. "Explain what this is. Now," he demanded, gesturing sharply at the engraved cube.
"This is an all-purpose machine," Edward replied slowly. "It can do almost anything you can think of. It can store information, heal injuries, modify matter...basically anything." Edward hesitated, his gaze drifting upwards in recollection.
John's limited patience wore thin as Edward paused dramatically, leaving questions unanswered. Shadows danced across the man's face, cast by the dim, flickering lights overhead.
"So you're saying you're an alien?" John pressed bluntly, cutting through the cryptic vagueness.
"No...I'm human..." Edward muttered, furthering John's frustration. This man spoke in circles.
"Fuck! Just explain. You have 10 seconds," John commanded through gritted teeth, his dagger glinting. He would get direct answers, or else.
"Sorry, yes, you're right," Edward stammered, shrinking under John's palpable fury. "They - the aliens - contacted me and other, ehm... specialists 5 years ago."
John's eye twitched, still dissatisfied with the fragmented picture. Kill him and move on? No, Edward clearly held valuable intel, despite his wasting their time. For now, he would live. But John's patience was swiftly expiring.
Noticing John's heated glare, Edward cleared his throat anxiously before continuing.
"They wanted us to integrate their technology with human technology. They also allowed us to use their technology and do research of our own, but we didn't see eye-to-eye, so um, I had to escape..." Edward said, scratching his nose.
John's eyes narrowed, still dissatisfied. "Why show me this, though?" he asked bluntly, weighing the metallic cube before adding, "I could just take it from you."
"You can't," Edward replied. Before John could move, the man snapped his fingers theatrically. The cube vanished from John's palm, reappearing instantly in Edward's grasp.
John suppressed a flash of surprised. Clearly, unravelling all the mysteries would take time. John decided to make do with the current information and turned to look at Mika.
"Is she an alien?" John asked as he seized up Mika.
"Hey!" Mika snapped, her piercing sapphire eyes burning with fury as she leaned forward in the dimly lit store. "I can speak for myself!"
The overhead fluorescent lights cast stark shadows, accentuating her intense expression. John quirked an eyebrow, taking in her defiance, though he didn't expect her annoyance to flare quite this fiercely.
"Well, are you an alien or not?" John pressed, a smirk playing on his lips.
Mika crossed her arms beneath her modest breasts, a derisive snort escaping her. The cool, artificial breeze from the store's ventilation system rustled her pale blue hair. Her sapphire eyes continued to blaze with indignation.
John's smirk vanished, replaced by a menacing glower. "That's fucking enough," he growled, stomping towards the defiant girl.
Mika took a step back, raising clenched fists, staring daggers at John.
But John wasn't threatened. He stopped mere inches from Mika and said, "you two just love to beat around the bush, don't you? Answer the damn question, midget." John grumbled and as the words left his lips, he snorted upon seeing the notification.
[Favourability -5]
His Love Meter skill notified him, but it was Mika's words that truly grabbed his focus.
"Say that again, asshole!" Mika hissed, her fists ready to swing.
"She's an android!" Edward's words cut through the tension and John's nose scrunched up. An android? He knew there was something off about her, but she looked too real...