Athyyah

Chapter Twenty-six Peace

"Well what are they waiting for? We've been here for several minutes and they haven't done anything but surround us, staying out of sight," Melan asked as she looked around for any sign of them, with no luck.

"I don't know. We've never been in a situation like this with such great numbers," replied Ellenah.

"From their numbers and the position we're both in, I feel like a sitting duck," said Kris, getting strange looks from all women in earshot.

"A what?" asked Ellenah.

"Nothing, never mind. Forget I even said that," replied Kris. "Just keep your focus on the situation."

"I simply can't believe it," said Arnold. "There's supposedly a good couple hundred of the beast according to you. Yet somehow they all managed to hide in the brush around us and I can't see a single one even now that I know they're there."

"Amazing nothing, I find it disturbing," replied Kaitlyn.

A moment later the greenery around them shook as the hundreds of vorlixx came walking into view, surrounding the army with no visible spot weaker than the other. The vorlixx knew exactly what they were doing. They had arranged themselves in a way that evened out the big and small, the weak and strong so that no spot around them was any easier to break through than the rest. It was the perfectly arranged barrier.

"I don't suppose they'll let us surrender?" asked Alex as the army of woman looked all around them at the vorlixx who were all larger than they were. The women here were tall, but compared to the vorlixx, they all looked small to them, the sight only made the mood grimmer for the team.

Directly ahead of them was a vorlixx larger than the rest with a copper stripe running down its back. It took some steps forward, behind it, to everyone's surprise, was Valerie. She was alive and not even tied up. She didn't even have the slightest sign of bruising. She appeared to be in perfect health. Though her appearance was completely of no consequence to anyone at the moment for they were all shocked to see her standing with the vorlixx as though she were its royal advisor.

"Melan, you must order your woman to put down their arms," Valerie called out to her. "If you do not soon, they may take it as an invitation to fight," she said, walking forward as well, but only as far as the head vorlixx.

"What?" exclaimed Ellenah. "And leave ourselves defenseless?"

"They don't mean you any harm, but if they think you're going to hurt them, or threaten them in anyway, they will retaliate. Also, they're a lot more intelligent than you realize, they just don't speak the same language as you and I."

"Amazing, the fact that we encountered humans on another planet is one thing, but to actually meet another race, an intelligent one is almost too much," Arnold said to Kaitlyn as he had mixed feelings about the whole situation.

"Could you wait till another time?" asked Kaitlyn. "This isn't exactly the time or place to be enjoying our surroundings," she told him as she gave him a slight nudge in the ribs.

"Sorry. Really nervous."

"Please, I implore you to listen to me," persisted Valerie.

"How do we know what you say is true?" asked Ellenah skeptically. "You yourself just said they could not speak."

"The do not speak, but can understand," answered Valerie. "I'm standing here among them unharmed, aren't I?" she asked. "I've managed to set up a basic form of communication."

"I suppose. But what if they continue to attack the towns folk?" asked Ellenah.

Valerie turned to the lead vorlixx. After thinking for a moment made some hand gestures, then knelt down, drew in the dirt and pointed to the crowd of woman. The vorlixx watched as she did it several time. After the fourth time it nodded and replied in a similar way.