The cold permeated the room. The
enormous hole in the wall caused by the ice quake allowed the
freezing winds to blow through and cover everything in minute flakes
of snow. Flakes that rapidly melted to form thin sheets of ice.
At first she couldn’t stop shivering.
Then, after a while, the cold no longer affected her. She was numb,
unable to feel anything. Not even the floor beneath her body, and
she realized she was becoming hypothermic. Worse, she was growing
increasingly drowsy.
I am going to die now. I’m going to freeze to death. Kyber… A tear worked its way beneath her
eyelid and began to solidify, sealing her eye shut. Taking a
shuddering breath, she tried to say his name, the name of her love.
The name of the creature who had captured her heart. Who tried to
protect her with his own life. She could no longer move her lips. She was tired. Tired of running.
Tired of fighting for survival. Tired of this never-ending struggle
to find food and water and a safe place to rest. Her throat was dry. Her stomach was
empty. None of it mattered anymore. If there was anything to be
grateful for, it was that freezing didn’t hurt. Her wounded hand
Kyber had punctured with his talons no longer pained her. Her leg,
with its multitude of clicker bites, didn’t ache. Her body was
filled with a lassitude, promising her first long and blissful sleep
since her ship had crash-landed on this planet. A sleep without the
fear of something attacking. Her mind began to drift. It took
effort to bring Kyber’s face into view. His beautiful Seneecian
features, covered with fine black fur that was slightly curly. His
warm gaze. The way the corners of his mouth quirked upward when he
was amused, revealing the long canine-like teeth.
Ky…ber… A scream. High-pitched. Distant.
Small. A small scream? Scuffling. Grunts. Deep grunts. More
little screams. She peeled her eyes open and tried to
focus on the movement several meters away. A figure came into view.
Shock went through her when she finally recognized one of Hoov’s
people. The giant mantis-like alien was moving. Writhing. Fighting
off… Kelen blinked, unable to believe what
she was seeing. Little creatures. Little fuzzy creatures the color
of honey. They were swarming the big alien. No, they were trying to swarm the
Hoov creature, biting the big alien until it bled blue-black blood,
but they weren’t being successful. The Hoov alien snapped at them.
Those furry creatures it managed to grab in its mouth it swallowed,
alive and whole. It held more of the little fuzzies in its clawed
grasp, squeezing its attackers until they burst. The little screams
came from the honey-gold furries as they died. The Hoov creature screeched when a
furry thing managed to reach the back of its neck. The insect-like
alien threw an appendage behind its head in an attempt to get at the
little being. In the process, it turned. The big creature paused in
shock when it spotted her lying on the floor. Opening its mouth, it
let out a loud howl and started toward her. “No!” Somehow she managed to call out.
Somehow her hands rose up as if to ward off the creature who had
every intent of killing her and eating her alive, the way it had
killed and eaten the big furry thing up in the temple. The way it
had killed and eaten Tojun. Something bumped her nose. Kelen
stared in groggy amazement at the blaster clutched in her undamaged
hand. The creature hurried toward her, no
longer mindful of the little things that continued to cling to it.
That continued to fight it, to bite it, and to overcome it. Her vision fogged over, but the Hoov
creature loomed before her like a rising wall, blocking out the
light. Years ago, when she was a cadet in the space military, she’d
been teased about her low scores on the gun range. The term
“couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn” had been frequently thrown
at her, until she buckled down and perfected her marksmanship. This
creature was bigger than a barn, and closer. And there was no way
she was going to let it feast on her. Kelen fired, holding down the firing
button. The weapon spewed a wide stream of energy. It caught the
Hoov creature at chest level. The creature halted in shock, its
mouth opened but no further sound came out. Within seconds the alien
exploded, spraying body parts and gore in all directions. Noxious
fluid spewed over her. The furry creatures which had been clinging
to it stopped moving. She tried to see if any other of the
big aliens were in the room, but things were getting darker. And
colder. If more came to attack the fuzzies, there would be no way
she could defend herself against them or the furry things. Not
again. Not anymore. She couldn’t feel her hand. Her
fingers were numb. The blaster fell onto the floor with a rattle.
Closing her eyes, Kelen tilted her head to the side and rested her
cheek on the icy floor. With the Hoov creature dead, she was left at
the mercy of the furries. Death by furries. It could almost be funny if she
wasn’t so damn tired. And freezing to death. |