3- The Terror Birds

Ryan stopped in his tracks and turned back to face the dogs, "Didn't want to do this, but I guess I can't keep running forever!" then he exploded! 

The blast didn't kill the dogs though, it only injured them severely, sending them flying meters away. I have ninety-two lives left! I've got to be careful. Ryan glanced at the giant glowing moon in the sky as he walked his way through the trees and the grasses. The ants and the rats all appeared bigger in his eyes. What am I anyway? A bomb? 

"How am I a bomb? How am I even walking? How am I alive?" Ryan started to freak out. He studied his crab-like legs which were made from a kind of iron. He felt his face and understood its features. His eyes were separated by an object covered with a glass – this object was his timer. His body was cuboidal in shape and was made from the same iron that were used to make his legs. He didn't know how he was made alive or how he even got here, but he wasn't going to sit here and wait for the answer to come flying into his face; he was going to find those answers himself. But for now, he had to find a way to sabotage Maekun Hitla's plan. 

Ryan was exhausted from all the thinking and the running, and so, he climbed onto one of the tree branches and laid down to sleep. A few hours later, his eyes shot open. He was woken up by the sounds of rapid footsteps and also the hissing of a foolish boomslang. "I will eat you, you tassssty looking breakfasssst!" 

"Go away!" Ryan knocked the snake with his hand/leg, throwing the snake down to the ground. The snake hissed in pain before crawling into the green bushes. The moon had disappeared and the environment was brightening; dawn had dawned.

Ryan climbed from the tree and followed the footprints he saw on the ground. After following the footprints for about 10 minutes, he came across some terrorist who were trying to get a teenage girl into a small sized sack. Apparently, it was impossible, but they wouldn't stop trying.

"Boss, the girl can't fit into this bag!" One of the terrorists complained.

"Then you should've have brought a bigger bag! Keep pushing her inside! She'll have to fit in very soon!" He shouted at them.

Ryan giggled as he watched them express their foolishness. He started to wonder if those men were being foolish or funny. After so much pushing, the bag finally tore apart. "Boss, the bag has been torn apart, it's useless now."

"No, it's not," The boss replied. "Get a needle and patch it up!"

Alright! That's enough. Ryan shook his head. Their stupidity was already beyond normal and there was no time to waste. He jumped out of the bush and bashed into the boss's head, putting him to sleep. Ryan easily took out the rest of the gang because they were still trying to sew up the bag.

The girl freaked out when she finally got a good look of the thing that had rescued her, "What the hell!"

"Can you understand me?" Ryan asked the girl. He was curious to know if humans could understand him.

"What are you?" The girl slowly approached Ryan.

"A bomb," Ryan stated briefly. "That's what I think I am for now. My name's Ryan Bonnier, who are you?"

The girl hesitated before responding, "My name is Lynnette. I'm the daughter of the US president. My escort was attacked by the Terrorists and I was taken hostage. I escaped a few hours ago. The bars of my prison opened up when the intruder alarm system was triggered."

Triggering the alarm system causes the prison bars to open up? Are the Terrorists really stupid? Or are they just acting? "I triggered the system which opened up your prison. How do you know about the intruder alarm?"

"I got some of their men to spill out some secrets," Lynette smiled.

"I see. Do you know the way out of here?" Ryan asked the girl.

"Not really. You?"

"I'm just a walking bomb. How could I know the way out of here?"

"Weren't you made by them?" 

"I was, but I am different. The rest of the bombs on that table didn't have life like I did," Ryan replied. "We need to leave now. Follow me."

Lynnette didn't ask any more questions and followed Ryan closely. The sun was already up, but it hadn't gotten that bright. The wind was chilly – dews laid on the leaves of the grasses and of the trees. Some birds landed on the branches of the trees and started to whistle their song; at least, it sounded like a song.

"What birds are those?" Ryan asked Lynnette. The birds had a reddish-brown color and a scarf made of tiny feathers laid around their necks.

"Those are the terror birds. They attack sleeping humans at night," Lynnette said.

"Why night?" He glanced at her.

"Duh, that's the best time to show their terror. Humans sleep at night. They don't like seeing people sleeping in peace," Lynnette giggled a bit.

"So, they're like the pretty little devils?" 

"Yeah, something like that," She nodded.

The whistling of the birds suddenly transformed into voices in Ryan's ears. He was spooked by the unnatural occurrence! What's wrong with me? Why can I understand animals?

"We are the Terror birds! We are the Terror birds! 

We don't let the humans sleep! It gets on our nerves!

We don't like the word peace! It's terror we serve!

We caused the deaths of hundreds of humans!

Caused the death of Tracy Stewarts!

And her friends, weren't they dreamers?

This world is ours! That's all that matters…

"What the hell?" Ryan blurted out then turned to face Lynnette, "Can you understand what those birds are saying?"

Lynnette shook her head, "They're animals, I can't understand what they're saying. Can you?"

"Yeah, isn't that crazy?" Ryan gazed back at the birds.

"So, what did they say?" 

"Something about killing Tracy Stewarts and causing the deaths of hundreds of humans. Did that really happen?"

Lynnette glanced at the birds, "Yes. They did contribute to the problems humans are facing now, and they did kill Tracy Stewarts. She was a famous actress back in the days."

"How did they come alive?"