The Deviants, part nine

It was weird being back in a human neighborhood after living on the base for weeks now, even with nobody around as they scanned for potential attackers.

Ava held her blaster close, keeping it pointed to the ground with the safety on. She didn't want to accidentally shoot herself in the foot or leg. That would be an embarrassing explanation.

Nash and Galen check every possible hiding spot before giving her the go-ahead to enter one of the houses.

Taking a deep breath, Ava stepped inside, ready for anything.

Or so she thought.

Although there was no power, there were more windows than she thought were needed, and she could see that the former owners lived a comfortable life; nice furniture, glass knick-knacks, appliances, and other things.

She moved upstairs, noticing the pictures. She frowned. Not many family photos, mainly of the couple's travels to different countries.

They seemed happy, though, so that was something for the couple to hold on to if they were still alive.

Ava continued upstairs until she reached the bedroom. It looked much like the main room. She shook her head, setting her blaster on the bed.

She opened the closet doors first, grabbing everything and throwing it on the floor. "I need one of the bags."

A couple of moments later, Galen poked his head through the door. "Wow, they're many unnecessary things in here."

"Just give me the bag."

He tossed it to her, heading into the bathroom, and Ava shoved every useful piece of clothing inside, ransacking the drawers next.

She didn't understand the strange negative emotions bubbling in her stomach. But each time she saw some fancy possession, it made her want to punch the wall.

Galen came back out with an armful of toiletries. "I think this house alone will fill our quota."

"Yay." Ava gritted through her teeth, folding the clothes so they would stack into the duffle. "I'm so thrilled."

"What's wrong?" He frowned when he saw an electric shaver.

"I don't know."

"Do rich people bother you?"

Ava glared at him.

"Wow, glad you're not pyrokinetic." Galen resumed sorting through his pile. "I think these items will be useful for someone."

She stood, resting her hands on her hips. "Well, that's all the clothing that will do us any good."

Packing the stuff up, they returned downstairs, finding Nash in the kitchen holding cans of food in his hands, "do these count as food?"

"Yes, they do," Ava smirked, seeing the entire table covered. "We should take them with us."

Nodding, he quickly filled his duffle, slinging it over his shoulder like it was a pillow. Damn. How strong were the Wanderers? She'd have to ask later.

They repeated the procedure for several more houses until all of their duffle bags were stuffed full, the number being over twenty, which surprised her.

Ava stood over the new supplies, proud that she could contribute more than gathering fruits and vegetables. Not that collecting food wasn't necessary, but this had been her idea, and she desired to see it through.

However, she still couldn't get rid of the knawing inside.

She didn't know why she felt this way either. No one was rich anymore if they were still on Earth. And it wasn't like her family had been poor or in poverty.

However, Ava wanted to figure out where these emotions came from. She strapped herself in her seat as the guys started by the engines, staring out the window of the formerly privileged neighborhood.

***

"Do you know what's going on with her?" Adjusting the controls, Nash made sure his question wasn't in humans' speak.

Galen shrugged, "I think rich people bother her."

Nash knitted his brows, ascending higher in the atmosphere as they flew back to the base with the new supplies they'd collected.

He glanced back, seeing Ava with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. He didn't like seeing that. It wasn't her.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because she was fine until we walked into that first house." Galen checked over his station. "Can't say I blame her."

Nash didn't understand what they meant.

Without warning, the Deviant was shot at, causing the cloaking to be disrupted. What the hell? No one should have been able to spot them.

Cursing, Nash took primary flying control, diving down rapidly.

"Ahh!" Ava yelped from the back, "Are we being shot at?"

Another blast hit the tip of the left wing, the ship jerking as Nash leveled them out. "Unfortunately, yes."

"How did they find us?"

He shook his head, "I have no idea."

Galen primed the weapons, "Wanna disable or destroy?"

"Destroy!" Ava's voice rose to an irritating pitch.

"Yes, destroy."

Grinning, Galen leaned back, the targeting system beeping as he scanned the ships for critical spots to fire.

Nash kept the Deviant steady as his co-pilot shot at the enemy ships, checking to ensure the shields didn't go offline. His heart pounded, though. No one shot at his ship and got away with it.

The blue ship quickly lost control, spiraling out of the sky while the white ship flew away at fast speeds. Nash punched it, breaking the sound barrier as he closed in.

Galen fired at that ship, hitting the right engine. "Yes, lucky shot!"

Both enemy ships were disabled, falling too fast for the soldiers to survive the crash. Nash was almost tempted to save them, but there was no way he could compromise the safety of the base he considered home.

Seeing no other ships on the scanners, Nash turned on his auto-pilot, unbuckling from his seat.

Ava was unconscious, which didn't surprise him. Going faster than the speed of sound was jarring for those not accustomed to the pressure.

Nash gently grabbed her face, checking for cuts or bruises, not finding a single scratch. Then, satisfied that she was uninjured, he softly shook her.

Ava groaned, blinking her eyes open. "What happened?"

"You passed out."

"Huh," she looked around, "Did we get the bad guys?"

"Yes."

"Yay."

Nash smiled, "Are you ready to get back?"

"Definitely," she gripped his arms, eyes unfocused, "but can we go slow? I'm still feeling weird."

Galen chuckled from the cockpit. "Hear that? She wants you to go slow."

Nash rolled his eyes, "Yes, we can go at a cruising speed."

"Thanks." Ava leaned back into her seat, releasing him.

Giving her shoulders a light squeeze, he moved back into his seat, regaining the controls and laying in a course to return to the base.