Evans awoke on his own. The sun-like orb above them still shone bright. Eternal light… how would it affect humanity, he wondered. More importantly, he wondered why Higgins hadn’t come to awake him for his watch.

He rose from the brush and walked across the still sleeping form of Sun Li. A few steps later he came across Higgins, half-clothed, tangled together with the black girl. Both were asleep. He couldn’t believe his own vision. How could Higgins take advantage of the innocent young savage like this?

He leaned down and shook his comrade awake. Vance Higgins’s eyes shot open and he bolted upright, nearly colliding with his fellow soldier’s knees. “Crap!” Higgins rubbed his eyes as they adjusted back to the light. “I guess I’d been awake too dang long, partner. I’m sorry. Let’s just be thankful nothing came across us as we slept.”

The look of fury didn’t abate in Evans’s eyes. “I don’t care about the damn watch, Vance. I’m a light enough sleeper that I doubt it would have mattered a damn bit either way.” Evans tried to contain the rising volume of his voice, not wanting to wake the two girls, but his anger made it to little avail. “I can’t believe you would force yourself upon some unsuspecting jungle savage!”

“But she—”

“I don’t what any damn excuses, Vance. You can’t just go mating with any damn native you see! It’s dangerous enough back in Europe, but we don’t even know where the hell these people came from. They-”

Sun Li sturred behind them and Evans stopped short. Evans lowered his voice again. “It’s just not proper.”

The black girl chose that moment to roll over, her naked bosom heaving. Evans tried to avert his gaze. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

“Do not worry, Private Thedore Evans,” she said. “Corporal Higgins did nothing I did not ask him to do. I quite enjoyed his touch.” She smiled even broader as she looked at Higgins. “His touch is quite wonderful.”

“Bu—”

“No, no. Do not worry. It is a long story,” she said. “I will let Vance explain it to you later. Perhaps for now, I should introduce myself. I am called Ahni.”

“H-hello.” Evans gave her a confused grin. Ahni’s grin broadened.

Evans scratched the back of his head, not sure what to do. Everything was weird enough in this world. This just complicated things even more. “I guess the both of you can go back to sleep,” he said. “I’ll take the next watch.”

Ahni nodded, still smiling. Higgins rose and fastened his pants. He clapped his hand on his friend’s back. “Thanks, Teddy.”

“Don’t even lie down.” Evans, Higgins, and Ahni turned at the sound of Sun Li’s voice. Her knife was in her hand. Higgins bent down to grab his rifle. He raised it towards the Chinese woman.

Evans stepped between the two of them. “Slow down, Vance. Slow down. If she meant to attack us, she could have been on us before we’d ever heard her.” He turned to Sun Li. “What’s going on, Sun Li?”

“Mareps. They come searching for us, and they’re near. I can feel them in the air. They’ll be here soon.” She looked around the tall grass. “If they aren’t here already.”

“How do you know?” Higgins said. Evans collected his gear even as the question passed Higgins’s lips. Unlike his partner, he trusted their new ally. He didn’t have any reason not to. He couldn’t quite grasp Higgins’s dislike of her just because of her race. Especially after catching Higgins and Ahni in their post-coital nap.

“I can smell them,” Sun Li said. “I haven’t survived this long for nothing.”

Ahni’s head whipped around, and she backed towards Higgins. “They’re here.”

A wind passed through the trees as if in response. A blinding flash rushed out from behind Ahni.

Higgins shoved Ahni to the ground and brought his SMG up. He opened fire on the charging marep. The marep’s head blew apart in a rain of blood.

Higgins turned to yell for Evans. As his head moved, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. A marep charged in from their flank, and it headed directly for Evans.

Evans brought up his gun and fired, plastering a trio of bullets in to the creature’s head. Its momentum carried it forward and towards Evans. Higgins caught the sight of a third marep coming at Evans’s rear. He brought up his own weapon, just as the first marep’s corpse barreled Evans over.

Just past Evans, Sun Li pulled a knife from her waist. She raised it to throw, aiming right for Higgins. I knew it, he thought. Never trust a damn chink.

He ducked as the blade hurled toward him. It sailed just over his head and he heard the wet thunk of the knife piercing flesh. He turned to see the marep fall behind him.

Evans threw the marep body to the side. The creature’s claws had scraped his face, but he wiped the blood away as he rose. He turned just in time to see the marep swing its baton down upon him. Evans’s body shook as electricity coursed through his being.

Higgins yelled out as his compatriot fell down in to the brush. Ahni screamed out loud and ran for the forest. The marep raised its baton, pointing it at her naked back. A blast of energy flashed from it at the speed of light and crashed in to her back. Ahni dropped to the ground, her back burnt black.

Red haze filled Higgins’s eyes as he raised his sub-machine gun to fire. His focus was only on the marep as he fired. He watched as the creature raised its baton at blinding speed. A circle of energy flashed in front of him, forming some kind of shield. The bullets struck it before dropping to the ground.

The grass rustled behind him. Higgins turned, just as the claw came up and around his throat. The marep’s lips turned up in what could only be a horrific smile. The monster raised his other hand and Higgins felt the electric shock course out from the baton weapon and in to him.

Then he felt nothing.