As I’d said before – it’s a literal fate worse than death; to have your body stuffed and stretched with countless pulsating eggs, and then feel them hatch inside you; releasing wriggling, gnawing Scorp larvae than devour your still-living body from the inside out.
As we tread carefully down the street, we see and hear nothing. The Scorp have clearly taken what they came for in this sector and moved on. Those that remain are no doubt protecting their Queen while she violates the still-living victims with her eggs.
Up ahead of us, Forn starts heading south. He’s clearly the leader of this triad, as Hadone instantly follows his lead.
“No!” I yell firmly – and then something grabs me from behind.
A hand is clasped hard against my mouth and after a second of panic I realize it belongs to the third Aurelian, Darok. He’s clearly shutting me up; aware that my protest will alert any lurking Scorp to our presence.
He might not be quite as tall as the other two, but Darok’s hand is still huge against my lips and cuts off all sound. I feel instant shame that I made the rookie mistake of drawing attention to us in the middle of a warzone. My eyes dart left and right, looking for the red eyes of the Scorp; emerging from the shadows like cockroaches scuttling into the light.
Fortunately, there are none.
I nod numbly, and Darok acknowledges that I’m aware of my mistake.
The hand is slowly removed and I breathe deeply, calming myself.
The disturbance, at least, attracted Forn’s attention – so I point north. The Aurelians look at each other, and it’s as if they’re having a conversation; only we can’t hear it.
Maybe they are. I remember a hologram conversation I’d once had with my two friends, Jade and Anna, after they’d joined those Aurelian harems on Colossus. Jade told me that Aurelian triads are able to communicate telepathically – and that it drove her insane when her Aurelian lover did so!
As long as they decide to come north with me, I don’t care how they do it.
But if they don’t? What do I do then?
I swallow hard. I know what I’d do then. I’d leave Stacy and Tod with the Aurelians and hope they make it out alive – while I search for Tyler and Runner near the market. If any orphan could have survived this bloodshed, I know it’s those two. Gods know they’ve caused me enough trouble over the years. I have no doubt they’d give even the Scorp twice as much.
Fortunately, it seems like Forn is agreeable to my plan. We start heading north, and my stomach churns as we tread through the city streets.
Gods! What carnage!
The city has become a hellscape. A place that was once bustling and vibrant is now barren and eerily silent. I step softly down the street, and my boots crunch against something. When I look, down my stomach roils – as I see the exposed ivory of a human finger bone.
I want to tell Stacy and Tod to close their eyes or look away, but I know they’ll have to keep them wide to the horrors of this world if they want to survive.
Fucking Scorps! Damn that species! Damn them to the void!
As we move north, Hadone grips his war-hammer. His body movements are… eager?
Oh, Gods - he’s actually aching for a fight.
There is a strange death-lust to this alien. I hate Scorp more than anyone, but I can’t imagine wanting to find the creatures.
Then again, I couldn’t stand against one in combat. I’d seen Hadone slaughter several in just seconds.
As terrifying and confusing as his lust for battle was, we were certainly lucky to have the mighty alien warrior with us.
Together, our little group moves forward through the city streets. I start to hope against hope that we’ll make it – avoiding the Scorp horde entirely.
Then, suddenly, tension grips the air.
I turn my head sharply to the right, just as the three alien warriors drop into battle stances. I turn my eyes to what triggered their movements, and my jaw drops at what I see: A huge Scorp ship has touched down.
I have no idea how the ships – made of a thick, leathery, egg-like material – travel through space. Something tells me it has to do with the mythical Orbs that power all interstellar travel. The Scorp ships are less of a machine and more of a massive organic thing. We call them egg sacs because they resemble the eggs of reptiles or insects; squirming and pulsating and bursting with scorpion-like creatures from within.
This Scorp ship opposite us covers an entire city block and clearly engulfed whole buildings when it landed. Holes are ripped in the sides of it, where the Scorp it contained literally tore their way free – yet the vessel still appears to be very far from empty. In fact, I can hear the chittering, clacking sounds of Scorp moving around inside…
…and then a sudden, muted scream rings out.
Oh, Gods! What if that were Tyler or Runner?
There’s no way to tell who the scream came from, and we would be foolish to waste the time – or our lives- investigating the death trap of that Scorp ship activity. I don’t even want to imagine the horrors that lurk within that bulbous, white egg right now. Death would be preferable.
“I’m scared,” whispers Tod.
“We’re going to be okay. Tammy is taking care of us with her friends. She always takes care of us.” Stacy looks up at me with her big eyes, searching for confirmation. I give her a tiny smile, the biggest I can muster given the circumstances.
“I’m going to take care of you – and we’re going to find Tyler and Runner,” I whisper, and Tod wipes a tear
