Serix sprinted down the corridor after Sarah, forcing himself not to think about the impending fight. He had to focus on what was most important: Cassie’s safety. Compared to that, nothing else mattered. So, when Sarah handed him a sleek, black pistol from the humans’ weapon storage, he accepted it wordlessly and emotionlessly. He had to do whatever it took to keep his mate safe. It didn’t matter that he was fighting his own people, that his race was on the verge of extinction, that he might have to shoot someone he knew personally. None of that was more important than Cassie’s life. He was only doing what was best for both of them.

Serix was so caught up in his tunnel-vision that Cassie’s sudden kiss caught him off guard. It was passionate, and just enough to break the spell of indifference that had taken him over. He blinked, slightly dazed for a second, before pulling her into a tight embrace and responding to her sentiments, “I love you, too. Be safe.” With that, he let her go, and they all ran towards the sounds of battle.

After a bit of running, they came to a haphazard barrier made of any spare materials the humans could get their hands on. Serix eyed the structure curiously. It was being used in a clever way that he had never heard of in the Lunairan military strategy he studied back on the ship. The humans were hiding behind it while their enemies fired at them, waiting until there was a break in the assault before they returned fire with their own guns. While they had yet to hit a Lunairan—the invaders were taking cover behind large growths of stone whenever they had to recharge their weapons—they were preventing their opponents from progressing further into the caves, and buying themselves more time to come up with other battle tactics. It was a brilliant, humanly creative design.

As a stray bolt from a Lunairan laser gun ricocheted off the wall near Serix’s head, he quickly took cover behind the half-bloods’ barricade, finding himself positioned between Connor and Ray. The two humans were furiously reloading their guns and muttering swear words to themselves as they did. “What happened?” Serix asked, raising his voice to be heard above the roar of battle.

“Damn aliens figured out where we are,” Connor snapped angrily. “I don’t know how, but they’re here and they want us dead.” Bullets reloaded into his gun, the human rose up on his knees and fired a volley of shots over the barricade at the Lunairans, then dropped back down to take cover when fire was returned. He glared suspiciously at Serix, “You here to help or hurt, alien?”

“I’m on your side,” Serix snarled defensively.

“Then why are you just sitting there? Take a damn shot!”

“Fine,” Serix cocked his gun and got up on his knees to aim over the barricade. His targets were quick. The Lunairan invaders were working in the mechanical synchronization that had been ingrained into them during their training as soldiers. They hid behind stone columns, waiting until the humans needed to reload their weapons, then leaped out into a two-row formation, the first row kneeling and the second row standing as they returned fire all at once. The formation only lasted for a second before they split off and began attacking individually at different parts of the barricade and then taking cover behind the stones. It was a maneuver that Serix was unfamiliar with, but it was similar enough to one he had learned in his training that he could predict their movements. He lifted his gun… waited for an opportunity… and fired.

There was a sharp cry of pain and a burst of red that made Serix feel dizzy. He had only grazed the Lunairan’s side with the bullet, but the part of him that was still loyal to his people loathed what he had done. He forced himself to swallow the emotions as he sat down behind the barrier again. It was too late to get upset. He had chosen his side.

“Nice shot!” Ray clapped him on the back. “Give those aliens a run for their money.”

“Thanks,” Serix nodded halfheartedly. He glanced down the barricade, searching for Cassie. She must have joined another group of humans a bit farther away. [i]I hope she’s doing alright…[/i]