“Well… He’s, in his own words, prepared, in case the humans decide to rise up and take us all down.”
“I see…”
“Yeah, other than those paranoid delusions, he spends his time with his rebel organization, Cryptid Means. They assist Cryptids that need help outside the law.”
“Hmm.” Seri’s frown deepened. “Rebel group?”
“I mean, they aren’t plotting to overthrow the universal or local governments or anything. They are just trying to change things through different methods, that usually aren’t exactly…”
“Legal?” Seri drawled.
“Not exactly wrong.” Severo sighed.
This was all sounding too much of a coincidence… That he’d ended up back near the same town he found help in, at some compound, run by Cryptids that helped other Cryptids through illegal means. He seriously doubted there was another group running around helping people in the same damn town. Well, near the same town. Quill had to be part of Cryptid Means… It was the only thing that made sense.
Severo rolled down the window and leaned out. He couldn’t tell from his angle what the man was doing but, a few seconds later, the currents disappeared, clearing the way.
As they drove in, Seri tried not to feel nervous about the electric current snapping back into place right after they passed.
His hands clenched when a single white semi-oval building appeared in the distance, his eyes widening at the people who started to spill out, all holding guns. “Umm…Severo…”
“Don’t worry, they won’t actually use any of that on us. Ender is just being a…pain,” Severo groaned. The man parked the car not too far from the people.
“Well, guns certainly can mean pain,” Seri deadpanned, eyeing the crowd.
He started to feel slightly less concerned when he recognized one of the men as Quill. The giant man was wearing a gray jumpsuit, and was standing right there next to a short man, who was in a white T-shirt, jeans, and brown cowboy boots.
The shorter man, who looked to be in charge, based on him seeming a step ahead of everyone else and at the center,had long white hair pulled into a ponytail with a cowboy hat on, pale skin, pointy ears, button nose, a bare square jaw, plush lips, and a dimple on his chin. Mystery man’s mouth was pressed into a serious line.
Seri figured the guy was probably tall—well, taller than him—it was just that everyone looked short next to Quill. Interestingly enough, Quill's bright lime green hair was now a deep purple.
“Get out of the car, with your hands up!” the one with white hair yelled. The man had a deep southern accent, and a shotgun in his hand.
Severo snorted. “Get out, Seri, so we can move quickly past this ridiculous show.”
“They can’t see me, right?”
“For now.”
Severo released his seat belt and got out.
“Slowly!” the cowboy yelled.
Seri hesitated a moment, sighing as he took off his own seatbelt, before pressing the button to release Skya’s baby seat. Car seat in hand, he got out and walked around to Severo’s side, who was standing there with his hands up.
“For fuck’s sake, Ender, stop screwing around and put the gun down. You can literally see it’s me.”
“Language!” Seri growled.
The white-haired man huffed, while some of the others chuckled, lowering their weapons.
“Well, I was just fucking with you, Severo. Can’t blame an old man for having fun. Though…who is that I hear with you?” Ender asked with a laugh, a mischievous lopsided smile brightening up his face before he lowered his gun as well. The man said old, but his face was as youthful as his own.
“Stop swearing!” Seri hissed, before gasping. “Wait, they can hear me?!”
Severo cleared his throat and dropped his arms by his side. “Well, it’s a hole, Seri. It goes both ways.”
“Seri…why does that name ring a bell?” Ender frowned.
