20 Unknown Place

Alexis slowly opened her eyes. She saw the light falling upon her through the tree branches that were above her. She closed her eyes again thinking that it was just a dream. But she couldn't go back to sleep as she felt that her back was unusually cold and stiff. She tried to remember the temperature that she had set for her bed but she couldn't. Then she tried to feel her bed but all she could feel was dirt and dried leaves.

The very next moment her eyes were wide open and to her surprise, the trees that she saw earlier were not a dream; she was sleeping in a place that seemed to be like a forest. She got up abruptly and she scanned the area around her. Not recognizing the place she was in, her heart beat started to rise. She whispered, "Oh my stars! Where on Earth am I?"

Alexis held her head with her hands and tried to recollect her memories, "How am I even here? What the hell happened to me?" She tried hard to remember how she ended up in a forest. But no matter how hard she pressed her mind, she couldn't remember a thing after she left the academy to head towards her home.

She did not have a single clue that she recently stirred up a mass confusion and had the government on edge. Neither did she have any idea that there were military experts looking for her in the same area, not to save her but to capture her. It is in human nature to fear the unknown and right now Alexis was the unknown. The government had doubts that the flying creature could be an alien spy and it would not tolerate if any alien spies were roaming freely on Earth.

And if the government was to find out about Alexis's genetic mutation that caused her to have the superhuman ability, then it was guaranteed that they would use Alexis as a test subject to produce more humans with such abilities. Then the government could prepare them to fight in the war with other planets. Or even better, take revenge with those planets that had tried to annihilate Earth.

It had not been long since Earth was about to lose the war against planet C-31. The inhabitants of C-31 were much stronger than humans, had longer lives, and were technologically superior to Earth. If the IGT Fed had not intervened in time and forced both the planets to sign the peace treaty, then Earth might have been wiped out from existence. So, it was only natural that the government would try to use her.

If Alexis was caught by the military, she was doomed. Either she would be accused to be an alien spy and would be punished for the crime she did not commit, or she would be brought to the military lab and used as test subject, or both.

Alexis searched for her cell phones but it seemed like she lost it somehow. This meant neither she could use the navigation app to find her way back home nor could she call someone for help. She was lost. But rather than sitting there and crying like a helpless baby, she thought it would be wise to at least keep walking, "If I'm lucky, I might find someone who could help me get out of this creepy place. And who knows, I might even find the way out on my own."

With this in mind, Alexis started to move ahead. She walked for some time but there was not a single sign of any humans. All she could find was a few ruins of previous settlement that was now a part of the jungle, and some small animals like squirrels and birds.

After walking for some more time, she stumbled upon parts of spaceships that seemed to have been destroyed in the war. Then she realized something, "I'm in the Dead Zone!" She paused for a while and then scoffed, "It means I would be lucky if no one finds me here."

Before this, Alexis was actively looking for any signs of humans. But after realizing where she was, she started to tread very carefully so as not to encounter anyone until she was out of this place. After walking for what felt like half an hour, her mind started to wander around in deep thoughts, "Where did I drop my cell phones when I need them the most? Talk about being unlucky."

Alexis suddenly stopped walking and then fisted her hands on her hips, "And how the hell am I here again? No damn clue. Why can't I remember anything?" She scrunched her brows and thought, "I was heading home… and I woke up here. Wait! What day is it today? If I was going home and somehow ended up here, it must have been nightfall right now. Holy light! I was unconscious again? For how many days?"

Alexis ruffled her hair while screaming and stomped her feet on the ground in frustration. Suddenly she heard some footsteps approaching her. She quickly hid herself behind a huge tree and covered her mouth with her hand. She even stopped breathing to avoid making any sound and stayed still.

After about a minute the footsteps died down. She peeked towards the direction that the sound of footsteps was previously coming from. When she saw no signs of humans, she let out a huge sigh of relief and turned back only to see a large dog staring at her.

The dog was huge in size than a normal dog and was 10 times scarier. It had scars on its face and body, probably from its previous fights. Saliva was drooling down from both the corners of its mouth. Its eyes full of vengeance. It almost looked like a ferocious beast ready to pounce on its prey. It slowly growled and took its stance, ready to make an attack.

Then the dog pushed its paws on the ground and jumped at Alexis.