Tomorrow's Light
Written by Drew Clements
Conceptualized by Drew Clements and Bryan Hester
(Part Five - VIII)

Tomorrow had just enough time to gather her senses and duck before the uninvited guest swung at her… with its tail. The monster in question was an upright-walking lizard! It looked like the kind that might scurry across the side of her home during the summer, but bigger… and much angrier! Tomorrow had never seen anything like it!
Before the beast could get any closer to her, Augustus was upon it! Tomorrow watched as the werewolf wrestled with the lizard creature; it was a battle to be seen! Claws and tail flying all about; there were unearthly snarls and growls that would forever haunt her! It took Augustus a few twists and turns before he finally got the monster in position to be picked up; the werewolf lifted the brown and green lizard above his head and, with very little effort, tossed it back out the window through which it came.
“What was that?” Tomorrow shouted.
“An Intulo.” Augustus responded before taking a running leap out the window in pursuit.
“Intulo?” She ran to the gaping, jagged hole and looked down.
Khron had dispatched the lizard creature in the blink of an eye, before Augustus had even reached the ground; the teamwork they exhibited amazed Tomorrow. The lifeless body of the thing lay between them.
“We need to move!” Augustus shouted up to her.
Before she could respond, something gripped her around the neck from behind. The unknown limb pulled her with such force that, in just a matter of seconds, she was in the air and against the wall opposite of where she had just been.
She managed to figure out quite easily what had grabbed her: around her throat, a large, scaly tail was wrapped, and it was squeezing. Hard.
“Missssss Hawthorne?” The giant, dark green, upright-standing lizard asked. A pink tongue slipped from its left nostril on its snout; the rope-like appendage slapped at the air.
Her legs kicked wildly at the reptile, but the tail was long enough to keep him safely out of reach of her flailing limbs.
“Yessss, it isssss you.” Its black eyes showed no emotion.
Strangely, Tomorrow felt that she could almost lose herself in those black pits and never find her way out again. She was mesmerized, but all that came to an end when dark spots began to appear against her vision; the Intulo’s tail was cutting off her oxygen and it hurt.
Tomorrow shut her eyes and, as soon as she did, the air spilled back into her lungs. The tail had loosened around her throat. She opened her eyes and saw that the lizard had disappeared, yet the tail remained, however slack. She yanked at it and found a bloody stump at one end as it unraveled from around her neck.
“Intulo.” Augustus helped her loosen the tail completely.
“Thanks for the introduction. Nice friends you have.” She gasped for air and slung the dismembered appendage across her room.
“Yes, well, you are only as good as the company you keep.” He smiled.
“What next?” Her voice cracked as she continued to pull air in; his joke rolled off her.
“We leave,” He grabbed her furry hand and pulled her to the window, “Jump.”
“Jump? I’ll leave the acrobatics to you,” She began to edge away from the window.
“You do not realize the power you now have. You could survive a jump from ten stories up.” He motioned toward the window again.
“Ten stories? Really?” Tomorrow was impressed, “This body can do that?”
“Indeed.”
The look in Augustus’ eyes showed confidence in her abilities. That’s all she needed; she took one deep breath and did as he commanded. The cool night air buzzed by her ears and kicked up the long fur at the sides of her… face? To her surprise, she landed softly. Next to her, Augustus touched down.
“See?”
Tomorrow nodded and thought just how fantastic all of this was. Then the reality of the moment came crashing back at her.
“We’re surrounded.” Khron rushed up to them. “There are Zar everywhere. Intulo also.”
“I smell them.” Augustus tapped his snout.
Suddenly, Tomorrow was aware of a horrible stench, one that she had caught before. She looked about the front lawn and to the burnt spots in the grass; her eyes then went to the jeep and back to the two creatures.
“The pizza guy and Joey!” Tomorrow exclaimed.
Augustus nodded. “We’ll explain later. Now is time for us to make our exit.”
“They’ll be on us any second,” Khron looked around impatiently.
Police sirens flared in the distance.
“Where’s Ditko?” Augustus asked, looking about.
“He’s around, I’m sure.” Khron responded.
“Ditko?” Tomorrow asked.
“You’ve already met him… informally.” Augustus went out the front gate.
“The dragon!” Tomorrow shouted.
“Yes.” Augustus confirmed her thoughts.
“Any ideas?” Khron interrupted their conversation.
“We could take the jeep.” Tomorrow pointed toward the vehicle.
“The Zar will be a part of the police, no doubt. That would do us no good at all. The attention a car chase would provide is something we need to avoid.” Khron explained.
“Who are these Zar?” Tomorrow asked.
“Your friends, the pizza guy and… Joey? They’re Zar… but, like I said, we’ll explain when there is more time. Now, come.” Augustus shouted from the street.
“Okay, out front past the church there is a field and beyond there is a dense set of woods.” Tomorrow suggested.
Khron and Tomorrow joined Augustus in the street.
“I’ve been there before. It’s not much, but it’s cover.” Tomorrow shook her furry arms about.
“It will be enough. First we must dispatch our immediate problems and see that no others follow us or our retreat will be in vain.” Augustus crouched, placing his two arms on the pavement, readying himself to strike.
“I don’t see anything,” Tomorrow noted, but she could smell something.
Across the street a woman shrieked. Tomorrow looked up just in time to see Mrs. Crawford throw back her curtains.
“She saw us.” Tomorrow motioned toward the Crawford’s home.
“Just another bigfoot sighting my dear.” Augustus smiled, his eyes never leaving the unseen enemy.
From the lawn of the home to the left of Tomorrow’s house, two people walked slowly out. She instantly recognized them as the Hulskotter’s-neighbors from two houses down. That strange stench accompanied them; death and feces.
“Khron, do be so kind as to take care of the two that are coming from either of our sides.” Augustus’ voice was calm.
Tomorrow hadn’t spotted anyone on their flanks, but it was obvious to her that these two were experienced beings, so she readied herself for an attack. She wasn’t sure of her abilities, but when it came to life and death, she’d choose life and fighting for it… however she might actually accomplish that.
From their left, a fourteen-year-old boy leapt over Tomorrow’s picket fence while to their right a woman, in her thirties, came growling from the direction of the Crawford’s place.
The boy, whose eyes were exhibiting the same rawness as the pizza guy’s eyes had earlier, leaped up, catching Tomorrow off-guard and latched his fingers onto her collarbones. Immediately she pushed against his chest, trying to dislodge him.
To her horror, she realized she knew the teen; Rick Underwood was just two grades under her at Ellefson High School. Rick’s _expression was that of a mad person, not the boy she had babysat a couple of years back.
“Do not hesitate!” Khron shouted as he easily dismembered the woman.
“I know him!” Tomorrow attempted to push the boy from her body; his strength surprised her.
“You knew him. He is not the same!” Khron chided.
The boy opened his mouth and plunged his face into her chest, but he could not get his mouth open quite far enough to grab onto anything but thick fur.
Tomorrow watched as Rick pulled his head back; the sides of his mouth ripped and tore, gushing blood, to become wide enough to actually do damage. Tomorrow’s adrenaline surged, half from horror, the other half as she realized that if this kid clamped down on her now, she would be in bigger trouble than ever before.
She pulled her massive hands back from the boy’s chest and wrapped them around his wrists. With one forward motion of her arms, she snapped the bones in her enemy’s forearms-she had to force the image of the real boy from her mind and realize that this was not him; he was an enemy! Its grip loosened from her collarbones and the thing fell to the pavement.
But, to her surprise, it was up and coming for her again; its limp arms were no good, but its new mouth snapped open ever wider as it charged her. Before Tomorrow could respond, Khron grabbed the Zar by its head and pulled, breaking its neck.
“Never hesitate. It will cost you your life or someone else’s.” He let the boy’s body fall limp.
She nodded.
During their tangle, Augustus had easily destroyed his targets, the Hulskotter couple. They both lay at his feet as crumpled masses of skin and broken bones.
“You have much to learn.” Augustus turned his head to the side.
Tomorrow nodded. “That’s an understatement. I still don’t know what’s going on.”
“We must be off. More Zar are on their way.” He turned and began running for the entrance to the community.
Tomorrow followed with Khron behind.

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