War Beast

Book Two: Chapter 12

Cluster spread out his robotic legs and held out his arms while his fists pointed down at the ground. On his chest, a double seal opened, exposing an upside-down red triangle, lighted up. 

Huntar leaped when the machine blasted a red beam toward him. He jumped behind Jenny, staying close behind her.

Cluster turned toward him. "Get away from my specimen!"

Huntar pointed his sword at the alien. "You will need to get through her to get me!"

"Huntar!" Jenny shouted.

"Ssh! Trust me."

Cluster clicked like an angry beaver, tearing a log apart with his teeth. Obviously, he couldn’t attack Huntar without losing Jenny.

Suddenly, Jenny and Huntar heard a roar and looked up. Flying down through the enormous hole in the ceiling was a giant Preyer, about as big as a commercial jet. 

It landed between Cluster and Jenny, waving its wings while howling. On the creature, Zena and Torag sat below the Preyer's neck.

The zebra girl waved for Jenny and Huntar’s attention. "Get on!"

Without letting their startles overcome them, Jenny and Huntar leaped onto the Preyer's back. The creature flapped its wings and leaped off the platform, gliding back up toward the opening.

"Noooooooooooo!" Cluster blasted his red beam, but he missed as the Preyer flew out of the factory.

While the Preyer flew past the structures, Jenny held onto Huntar back to avoid the wind hitting her face. The nightmare of being trapped at the alien fortress was over. "Thank you for rescuing us!"

"You are lucky we did!" Zena shouted. "What was that thing?"

"An alien," the lion man answered behind Torag.

"Torag?" The rhino asked.

"He came from another world," Jenny explained, assuming Torag asked what an alien is. "He called himself General Cluster, and he plans to conquer our world."

"How?" Huntar asked. "With those flying things?"

"Worse, he is building a portal to his world for reinforcements. If he completes it, every single clan will be in danger!"

"You mean that giant ring behind his city?" Huntar asked.

"I guess." Jenny hasn't seen the portal yet, but she assumed the giant ring might be the one. "Is it finished?"

"It doesn't look finished! Only half the ring is completed!"

Jenny sighed. "Then we still have time!"

"How can we stop him?" Zena asked. "He looks too powerful!"

Jenny frowned. 

Swords and spears will not be a match against Cluster's advanced defenses. He can vaporize anything on sight, and his armor could be impenetrable to blades. The Beastmen will not have a chance against the Krawl invaders unless they could use Cluster's machines against him. But most importantly, Cluster's portal gateway has to be destroyed before he could open it. With the portal open, nothing could stop the invaders from coming through. Maybe magic could stop him if Jenny could find any-

Wait for a second! Jenny widened her eyes. 

She still has magical powers from the Star Crystal, and Cluster needed her to open the portal. If she could avoid him, Cluster would never have the chance to open the gateway. But if she could master her powers, she could defeat Cluster and destroy his mechanic forces. She has to learn how to control it immediately.

"There's something you need to know!" Jenny shouted.

"What?" Zena asked.

"Cluster told me I have-" 

A red beam shot the Preyer, turning the creature red before it vanished. Jenny screamed while falling down through the sky. 

Luckily, she landed into a long rectangular hover cart, carrying dirt across the street. Huntar and the others landed behind her too. 

Cluster's giant robot suit hovered above. He must be reasonable for vaporizing the poor Preyer. 

Monster!  "We must run!" Jenny and her friends jumped out from the cart. They dashed across the street toward a nearby building. She hope there could be a transport of some kind to help them escape. She doesn't want to become Cluster's lab rat. Thinking about that chilled her spine.

The building has a very tall round door, appearing to be as big as Cluster's suit. Whatever was behind the door, it should be the way out. 
They dashed through the corridor behind the door. Towering pillars of green glowing pipes stood along the metal walls beneath the white lights that endowed the entire path. 

They ran faster until they stopped in front of a white platform below a cylinder machine, hanging from the ceiling inside a large chamber. More green pipes surrounded the machine, and a computer panel stood in front of the platform.

"What is that thing?" Huntar asked.

Jenny heard loud stomping down the corridor and turned around, widening her eyes.

Cluster’s mech suit marched through the corridor. Pretty soon, he will reach her. "Step away from the teleporter!"

Jenny curled a grin. "A teleporter? Good!"

She sprinted toward the panel and pushed the button on it.

"What are you doing?" Zena shouted.

"Getting us out of here!" Jenny wasn't sure where the machine will take them. She only cared about escaping from Cluster as far as possible.

A bright white ball of light flashed over the platform. Bolts sparked around its surface.

It reminded her of the Chronal Translocator that brought her to the future. Consequences may be, but what other options she have?

"Come on!" Jenny ran toward the light as her friends followed her.

Everything turned white as she stepped through the vortex.

*****

"Noooooooooo!" Cluster’s specimen escaped through the portal before the portal vanished. He injected from his suit and crawled toward the panel.
The foolish human female didn't put in the coordinations before she activated the transition. She and her dumb animals could be anywhere on his home planet now. But at least he knew what world she appeared on.
The teleporter was built as a simple express for Cluster to head home in case he needed to escape off the planet. Without typing the destination, the teleporter will just randomly send the traveler to any location on Planet Dargis. 

If Cluster was lucky, she might appear in a city where the Krawl authorities can find her. He must report to his superiors about the human and her companions, hiding on the Krawl's occupied world. No matter where she was, Cluster needed her to power up the bigger portal.