
The Harvest
Steve Wands
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SMASHWORDS EDITION
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Published by:
Steve Wands on SMASHWORDS
The Harvest
Copyright © 2010 by Steve Wands
Cover Design and Layout by Apparatus Revolution
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Thanks and Dedications
Thanks to you for picking this up, I hope you find something to fear. Thank you to all my faithful blog followers and readers who made this worthwhile. Thanks to my family and friends, especially Carmela and my son, Jacob.
I'd also like to thank the wonderful website, http://www.2torialblog.com, for their tutorial on creating an outerspace scene. Without it, the cover to this story would not have become what it is.
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The Harvest
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"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Len said.
He was about to open the door to his car when a flash of light blinded him and rendered him unconscious. He woke up in a slimy chamber, naked, shivering, and covered in some sort of dark slimy sludge. He pulled his hand out of the muck and flicked it off his hand as best he could. He then wiped what he could off his face.
"Where the hell am I," he asked himself, not expecting an answer.
"You're here," giggled a voice from a dark corner of the chamber.
"Wha---oh, fuck! Who's there," he called into the darkness.
"No one you care to know," said the voice. "Just a meal for them, just like you," the voice giggled.
"M-meal," Len replied.
"M-meal," the voice echoed, giggling still.
"Keep laughing and I'll ram my fist down you're throat," Len said, surprised at his own anger.
"Oh, be nice. I m-mean you no harm," giggled the voice.
"You bastard, show yourself," Len demanded.
"I don't think you can handle my appearance," the voice said.
"Try me," Len said.
"If you insist."
From the corner of the chamber skittered a spider-like creature, with pale yellow skin and bulbous pustules leaking all over the top of its form. Len stumbled backward, falling back into the sludge.
"I told you," came the voice, but Len couldn't see a mouth.
"What are you, where am I," Len asked.
"I am me, and we are here," the thing giggled, "I am called EeMeee, though I have no name and we are prisoners aboard a vessel."
"What do you mean a 'vessel'," Len asked, his fear growing by leaps and bounds.
"A spacecraft," EeMeee said.
"That's not possible."
"Look around you, look at me," have you seen anything like this on your world EeMeee asked.
"No, but you can talk...you can talk English," Len tried to reason.
"I cannot. I have no mouth. I have no language. You're not hearing me, I am inside your head---what you call telepathy---I can only use what you know to communicate," EeMeee said.
"This isn't possible. I was going to work, I...I..." Len stammered.
Light erupted from overhead, shining down upon them in rays that pierced through a large grate. Shadows moved through the light, they made loud noises and clattered something on the grate. The shadows moved away, and the light went off.
"They said to shut up, or die painfully," EeMeee translated.
"What are they?"
"What you would call Vampires, Bloodsuckers," EeMeee paused, "but they are not much like the ones in your mind."
Len began to dry-heave.
Len didn't believe in vampires, they were myths, folklore legends, and chick-lit paperbacks. They certainly didn't fly around in space and abduct average Joe-Schmoe's like Len Higgins. Yet here he was, naked, covered in slime, talking to a giant, telepathic, space-spider. What the fuck am I going to do now, he thought, and didn't have the slightest idea.
"We've got to get out of here," Len whispered, pacing around in the sludge, his member shriveled.
"They will kill us," EeMeee reasoned.
"They're gonna kill us anyway," Len snapped. "What difference does it make if we try to escape or sit here and wait? If we sit here, we know we're going to die, right? So, if we at least try to get out of here, there is the slight chance we might not die."
"No, there is the very good chance we will die that much quicker," EeMeee replied.
Len wanted to scream, the space-spider had to be nuts. Why else wouldn't the creature want to escape? Unless he was one of them---but Len didn't think he was. Len looked around the chamber. It was very dark, and therefore very hard to see anything. He held his hand out in front of him and could barely see it. The sludge came up to his knees, it was thick like oil and stank like rot and mold.
He slowly moved around the chamber and eventually found a wall. He walked along it feeling along the wall hoping his fingers found a way out.
After several trips around the chamber they found nothing. There were seems, and grates, sure, but no glowing exit sign. He put his back to the wall and slumped down into the sludge. He had to piss, so he just let it go. It made a small patch of warmth around his crotch and he didn't care.
"Even if we could get out of here, what would you do? How could you get home?" EeMeee asked.
"I don't know...kill them all and try to steer this thing home," Len replied only partially serious.
"Oh, you're a violent one," EeMeee began to giggle, "don't like violence. So messy, so very messy," the spider-thing skittered closer to Len.
"No, I'm not violent. When I get angry sure, and when some space vampires want to drink my blood yes," he paused, "but violent? No, I can be if that'll get me home."
"Home. I don't think we are ever getting to go home. This is home now," EeMeee accepted.
"Wait...you can read my mind right?"
"Mostly."
"What do you mean mostly," Len asked.
"If you are open to it, I can. I know what you are thinking, but these 'vampires' as you call them don't usually leave their minds open."
"Can you open them?"
"Maybe," EeMeee replied.
"Well, fucking try it, man," Len said excitedly.
"It may prove fatal, but if you insist."
The bulbous creature moved itself to the center of the chamber. The pustules on its back began to swell and pulsate. Len heard---no, felt---shrieking noises begin to grow in the back of his head. It grew louder and higher. The pain was furious. He could hear other noises---what sounded like screams---from other chambers, he thought. Light erupted once more through the grates, followed by the shadows. They screamed into the chamber in their native tongue, slamming their hands and feet against the grate.
EeMeee continued to emit its loud noise. The creatures above grew angrier---their shouts more fierce. The grate shifted open and one of the figures swooped inside clinging to the ceiling. It moved like a swift shadow from ceiling to wall to floor to between Len and EeMeee. The thing was cloaked in dark rag-like cloths and wore what looked like a gasmask with several tentacles dangling in front. Its hands were disproportionately long as were its fingers---pointy too. It hissed at Len, who pressed his back against the wall, then turned its attention to EeMeee. It lifted EeMeee with one of its long-fingered hands, shouting something and squeezing the poor spider-like alien. The noise stopped, and then the creature threw EeMeee against the wall. The cloaked space-vampire then leapt after it and began to shout again. It then left as swiftly as it came. The grate closed, and the lights were gone again. Len rushed over to EeMeee.
"Are you okay," he asked.
"No. Lot of pain," EeMeee replied. "It worked," the thing giggled.
"What happened? How did it work?" Len rifled off.
"She was too occupied to guard her thoughts. A one-track mind," EeMeee said.
"That was a she, huh? Didn't seem very feminine," he paused, "so, what did you see?"
"I didn't see anything. I read her mind, parts of it anyway. There is a way out, however, its right above us, and neither of us can reach that high."
"Hmm, that's not exactly great news Eem," Len said, thinking.
"I guess we can try that," EeMeee said.
"Try what," Len asked.
"Oh, sorry, I read your thought. We can try that if you want."
"Yeah, do it!"
EeMeee reached out telepathically, looking for other creatures that may share the same interests. There were many---possibly even thousands, but EeMeee couldn't be certain---though, not all capable of getting themselves out of their chambers and not all of them wanted to get out. One in particular had the size, strength, physical prowess and preferred proximity. EeMeee reached out to it---learning its language and conversing with it. It liked what EeMeee had to say and would like nothing more than to attempt an escape.
"Now it's your turn, Len," EeMeee said.
"My turn for what?"
"Get the attention of our captors."
"You're kidding right?"
"No. You want to get out of here don't you?"
"Well, yeah..." Len hesitated.
"Then get their attention. I don't want to get hurt again, so soon---you know I hate violence," EeMeee giggled.
"Shit," Len mumbled. He took a deep breath and began to scream. "Come and get me you bloodsucking fuckers! Come on, let's see what you leeches got," he yelled himself hoarse.
They came. One entered the chamber, the same as before. Len cowered away. The cloaked figure moved to him quickly raking her long, sharp fingers across his chest. Len screamed and fell backward. He had four large scratches across his chest. They began to bleed. The tentacles on the mask darted outward and began to suckle at the scratches. Len whimpered. The cloaked creature hissed.
From somewhere close by erupted a monstrous roar and the sound of shattering metal. The tentacles retracted, and the cloaked figure quickly left the chamber. The roaring drew closer. The vampiric captors screeched. The noises of intense battle echoed overhead and reverberated in the chamber. The noises ended---a victorious roar was heard, followed by the thudding footsteps that ended on the grate above their heads.
The creature roared again, and EeMeee spoke back by way of its telepathy. The large creature tore the grate to shreds and jumped down, splashing the sludge everywhere.
"W-werewolf," Len muttered.
"Not exactly," EeMeee replied, "but close, this one is much bigger than those you perceive."
"Yep," Len squeaked, straining his neck to look at the massive beast. A trickle of piss ran down his leg.
The werewolf roared.
"He said we must go. There are more coming. He can smell them," EeMeee translated.
The werewolf threw Len over his shoulder and grabbed EeMeee with the same arm. He jumped up grabbing the twisted metal of the floor and threw himself upward. The large beast landed on the cold steel with a powerful THUD.
"Now what," Len asked.
"This was your plan, you tell me," EeMeee replied.
The werewolf roared in frustration.
"Fuck! You said you read that bitch's mind," Len yelled.
"To get us out of the chamber," EeMeee replied calmly, stifling a giggle.
The werewolf took off running, smashing his free hand on the wall in aggravation. From behind them screeched their captors---they were in pursuit and moving like fast shadows.
"How can we kill them?" Len asked.
"Many different ways," EeMeee said.
"Are you trying to be cryptic?"
"No."
The werewolf roared, and began to slow down. At the other end of the corridor another group of the space-vampires rounded the corner. They were blocked on both sides. The werewolf stopped and placed both Len and EeMeee down. He looked around quickly; spotting a series of pipes to his right he punched at them. The blow was enough to crack them open, making them easier to pry off the wall. He pulled them loose, kept one, and gave the other to Len.
Len took the pipe, it was heavy in his hands and he fought to keep it upright. The werewolf held it in one hand with ease. It looked tiny is his grasp. The vampires slowly approached. The sludge that covered most of Len had dripped off---he was still filthy with it, but with most of it gone he realized how naked he was.
"EeMeee get us out of this," Len pleaded.
The werewolf roared furiously at the approaching bloodsuckers. His thick tufts of hair glistened with the oily sludge. As he roared more of the sludge fell to the floor, revealing more and more of his silvery-grey fur. His snout was long and scarred. His eyes as red as blood.
One of the space-vampires leapt at the werewolf, quickly followed by a second and a third. The werewolf swung at the first and connected---he smashed something inside the creature to bits. One of the others landed on his back, wrapping his arms around the werewolf's thick throat, while its tentacles dug into the big beast. The third tried to tackle the beast at the waist, but the massive werewolf didn't budge. The other two slowly approached Len and EeMeee.
The werewolf raked its razor sharp claws across the back of the vampire at his waist. The creature screamed and slashed back, giving back an equally bloody set of gashes---the werewolf howled and swung back tearing off the vampires head. Once he dropped the creatures head the two that approached Len and EeMeee stood their ground, not wanting to move in any closer. The other still clung to the werewolf's back, drinking its blood via the tentacles that extended from its mask. The massive werewolf reached up with both hands clutching the creature, and throwing it against the wall. The vampire moved with the throw and landed in a crouch against the wall. It eventually cowered away, but released an angered hiss first.
They stood at a standstill. The vampire that clung to the side of the wall raised his hand to his face, pressing a button on his mask. It said something quietly and brought its hand back down.
"What was that," Len asked.
"You ask many questions," EeMeee replied, "are all of your kind so inquisitive?"
"Just great, I get stuck with a wise-ass space spider," Len shook his head.
"You think I resemble a spider?" EeMeee asked.
"Never mind."
"Concerning your question, he notified his superior of this event."
"Great. If they're getting reinforcements we're gonna need more help to fight these things. Are there anymore werewolves that can help us out?" Len asked.
"Not that I can tell. There are dozens of humans. Some other animals from your planet, and many more wonderful creatures---though not many of a violent nature," EeMeee replied.
"Well, get the violent ones, please," he paused, "now."
EeMeee began his telepathic search again. His pustules grew engorged, oozing atop its bulbous body. Its spindly legs twitched. Len's head began to ache, as did the werewolf's. The vampires grew agitated and began to hiss. EeMeee eventually stopped his search.
"We shall have help momentarily," EeMeee stated.
"Looks like they may be too late," Len pointed at several more of their captors approaching from further down the corridor. They were equipped with what looked like cheesy ray guns out of an old b-movie.
"Well, this was your idea," EeMeee giggled.
Len paid the wise-ass space-spider no mind. He turned to the werewolf whom looked ready to pounce. His massive shoulders were hunched and his teeth were glistening with saliva. The ray-gun toting vampires began to raise their weapons. They took aim, and fired without warning. Thin bright bursts of white-hot energy blasted out of them. All the shots hit their marks; Len screamed as the energy blasted him in the gut, he fell to the ground convulsing; EeMeee dropped instantly, writhing in pain---though it didn't verbalize it; and the werewolf took the blast without wincing. The werewolf roared and lunged at the guards. Two more fired their weapons, one missed, and one hit, but the massive beast trudged forward.
They fired again; the werewolf took four shots at close range and only then felt any pain, but not enough to stop him from grabbing two of the vampires by their heads and smacking them together. Their heads erupted with a splat and a crunch. Their bodies dropped lifelessly to the ground. The werewolf was fired upon again, and again, but he refused to feel it. His fur took on burn marks but his viciousness and resolve only grew. He thrust his arm out to grab another of the vampires, but the quick creature dodged just in time. The vampire fired a shot to the werewolves face, burning him---the werewolf roared and took another swing, this time connecting. His claws dug into the creature's head, shattering the mask and revealing the smooth milky flesh underneath. The vampire whimpered, clutching at the wound and unable to move from the next blow. The werewolf tore off the vampire's head, spurting blood on the wall. The last of the ray-gun toting vampires ran away. The ones without weapons disappeared sometime during the scuffle, taking Len and EeMeee with them.
The werewolf tried to pick up one of the scattered weapons, but it was too small for his massive hands. He crushed it and dropped it into a puddle of the vampire's blood. He turned to the sound of approaching feet. Two naked creatures came running down the corridor, one of them covered in blood and sludge and carrying the weapon for vampire who ran away. One of the creatures resembled a giant slug with arms and a head like an alligator. The other looked more like a humanoid with dark leathery skin and small needles jutting from its flesh, as she approached it became clear that she was indeed a she---her nipples looked painful to touch.
The female spoke to the werewolf and he roared back---they didn't know each other's language, but figured they were on the same side. After all, they were all naked and cover in sludge and surrounded by little ray guns, of which the slug-like creature picked one up. The werewolf grunted and pointed. The female nodded, the slug-like creature clicked its teeth together and they followed as the werewolf took off in a trot down the corridor. He sniffed the air, looking for the scent of his two missing companions and found it.
The path led him to the end of the corridor where a large hexagonal doorway stood. The werewolf punched it fiercely, but upon impact his knuckles crunched. He whimpered and grew embarrassed, shaking the pain away from his hand. The slug-like creature wiggled toward the side of the door and noticed a pad for a handprint. He made some odd noises and pointed at it; the other two looked and figured it out.
The female ran back the way they came, the others followed. She stopped when she reached the pile of bodies. She pulled the hand of one of the vampires, and with her other hand aimed the gun at the wrist and fired. She held the hand up in the air, and ran back to the doorway.
She placed the hand on the pad and the door began to open. She kept the hand, and walked through the doorway.
Len dreamt of being at work. Work was different in his dream of course, it was pleasant, the people were pleasant, and even his bitch of a boss was pleasant. He walked the isles of the store, smiling as if he'd won the lottery, and everyone smiled back at him. His boss approached him. She was an attractive woman, far too attractive for likes of Len Higgins, but there she was. Leaning over a shopping cart, her supple breasts exposed by the open button of her blouse, and her red radiant hair gleaming in the diffused light of the store. She looked at him lustfully. Then an old woman shook her finger at him, told him, "that redheaded hussy's no good for you," but he didn't listen and stepped over to her. The redhead took off her glasses and waived her hair in that far too dramatic way that only the women on television ever do. He stepped closer to her; she pushed away the shopping cart and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. She opened her mouth to reveal a long sharp set of fangs. She hissed, then bit down, spurting blood all over aisle.
Len woke up with a jump, but his restraints kept him firmly in place. He was on a cold table; from the looks of it was an operating table of some sort. Tubes and lights hung from the ceiling, as did what appeared to be surgical implements; saws, needles, and the like. His eyes grew wide in terror. He couldn't move much at all, and his head was kept firmly in place.
"Relax," EeMeee spoke from a place inside Len's head.
"Fuck you," Len replied.
"They are healing your wounds. They do not currently mean us any harm," EeMeee spoke.
"And you believe them you gullible jellyfish?" Len asked.
"I'm not a jellyfish."
"Well, you're gullible if you think they don't want to hurt us. They may be fixing us up, but that might mean they don't like their meat to be bruised," Len rationalized.
"It's possible, though unlikely," EeMeee said.
From the corner of the room one of the vampiric creatures hissed. Len froze up and squeezed his eyes shut tight. He could feel the creatures shadow blanket over him like the cover of night. He then felt the cold tickle of the creature's tentacles crawling on and suckling at his slashed body. Len squirmed and shuddered, thinking this is how he would die: strapped down on an operating table while a space-vampire sucked him dry. He at least hoped it would be a lady vampire doing the sucking. The tentacles wiggled across his wounds. He could feel the slight suction they created---the subtle lifting of his flesh, he waited for the tentacles to tear his flesh off, but they didn't. They eventually ceased, and the creature receded to an unseen part of the room.
EeMeee spoke to Len by way of his mind again, "they are shielding their minds from me, it's hard to figure out what they want with us, but whatever she was doing has healed your wounds---don't speak, keep quiet. Listen to me; I'm going to create a mental 'link' between you, myself, and the others who even now are looking for us. It may hurt, and it may disorient you, but it will help us all understand each other without my having to serve as translator. So, relax and open your mind."
Len did as EeMeee suggested. He laid there, his eyes closed and his breathing soft and rhythmic. He could feel EeMeee inside his head, like the brush of soft fingers on his skin that eventually jabbed into his head like sharp knives.
The others; the werewolf, the female, and the slug-like creature cautiously crept down the new corridor. They could feel a tickle in their minds, EeMeee gave them the same speech it gave Len. They accepted EeMeee into their minds. The tickle turned to pain, but when it all subsided they understood each other, and somehow knew a bit more about each other. They couldn't exactly read each other's minds, but they had a better sense of each other. They all knew each other's names for instance, and understood the gist of their languages, enough so that they could communicate on a basic level. It was a new and odd sensation for all of them. EeMeee couldn't direct them to it and Len's whereabouts, but they could feel where they were.
"They are on their way," EeMeee informed.
"I know," Len said, speaking in his mind this time, "I can feel them. This is just too weird. Feels like I'm drunk," he continued.
EeMeee giggled and waited for the others to rescue them.
S'tahgrah, the werewolf, Vavoo, the female, and Dax, the slug-like creature followed the telepathic trail of mental breadcrumbs to another hexagonal doorway. Vavoo was glad she kept the vampire's hand. She used it to open the door. The three of them entered, and unbeknownst to them on the ceiling above their heads clung several more of the vampires. They were dressed as the others, but instead of ray guns they had what looked like short steel batons. They also had some sort of red markings, almost like sigils, atop their foreheads. They remained silent and unnoticed as the three crept through the corridor.
"This way," S'tahgrah spoke, the others now able to understand his gnarled language.
They followed him out of the corridor and into a chamber filled with more doorways and a few windows. Above them, but keeping a safe distance behind them crawled the vampiric sentinels, stealth-like in their approach.
"I can smell them," S'tahgrah said.
"They're probably everywhere," Vavoo replied.
"Yes. The ship must be crawling with the bloodsucking vermin," grumbled Dax.
"Let's just keep going. We can deal with them if we have to," Vavoo suggested.
"Fine by me," S'tahgrah roared.
They crept toward the windows, peering inside. They could see Len, and EeMeee strapped down on tables. Dozens of the vampires were inside. Many looked like the cloaked captors they had become familiar with but others populated the room as well. They were dressed in lighter clothes, with no masks, their pale skin and beady eyes out in the open. There were others too, tall lanky things, with hunched over backs and long beak-like jaws with fangs instead of tentacles.
"There's too many of them," Dax said, shaking his alligator-like head.
"Nonsense," S'tahgrah garbled.
"Let's wait, watch them for a bit, then we make our move," Vavoo added.
They waited. Behind them, the creatures descended from the ceiling, falling as softly and quietly as shadows. They held out their batons, which slowly extended into large spears with needle tips. They stood, statuesque and poised to thrust their spears forward. In the reflection on the glass, S'tahgrah noticed this. He watched their movements, noted their numbers, and when one of them motioned forward he'd be ready to pounce. He was about to signal the others as one of the vampire's at his back sprung forward. The creature was much faster than those they had encountered already, but S'tahgrah was just as fast. Not fast enough to stop the needle tip from puncturing his shoulder, but fast enough to grab the vampire by the throat. The massive werewolf hoisted the vampire into the air, crushing its throat with a single powerful hand. He used the other to pull the spear from his shoulder and toss it to the ground. Once the vampire ceased twitching in his grasp, he too tossed him the ground. S'tahgrah grew dizzy and began loosing his balance.
"Oh, shit," Vavoo whispered, "they've drugged him! Fire," she yelled.
Vavoo and Dax spread out and began firing at the stealthy vampires. They were too fast. Their shots ran wild. S'tahgrah fell to the ground, slurring obscenities. The vampires inched closer. Vavoo and Dax became cornered, staring at a dozen needle-tipped spears. They knew they had to do something or they too would fall to the ground slurring obscenities alongside their much larger cohort. Vavoo had one chance, her natural defense---but if it didn't work, she'd be too exhausted to fight them off, and of course there was the risk of killing Dax in the process. She could live with Dax becoming a casualty of war, so long as she lived.
"Duck for cover," she whispered to Dax.
"Uh, okay," he replied, clearly confused.
Dax dove behind the massive werewolf, springing over him like a rubbery ball. Another inch closer and Vavoo would be pierced by one of the spears. She stepped back, closing her eyes. Her lungs slowly filled with air and she refused to let it go just yet. She held her breath, and lurched her body forward, keeping her feet planted firmly on the ground. The spikes that covered her body shot out like darts, following the momentum created by her movement. The space-vampires clutched their bodies where the spikes had penetrated them. Vavoo was uncertain if the poison in them would be sufficient to bring them down---it seemed to be working. They began to fall to the ground, paralyzed by Vavoo's self-defense mechanism. She too fell to the ground, exhausted.
Dax peered over S'tahgrah's giant arm, unsure of what had just happened. He looked around and got the gist of it, he then saw a few of Vavoo's spikes jutting out of the werewolf's fur and carefully plucked them out. He slithered over to Vavoo, whom lie helplessly on the ground. Dax was lost. He could carry Vavoo, but to where? He'd be of little use to fight off more of the creatures by himself, and he couldn't just leave the wolf behind. He didn't think he was capable of rescuing Len and EeMeee either, especially not when they were in a room with dozens more of the bloodsuckers. He knew he couldn't just stand around and wait, eventually more of those space-vampires would show up, and he didn't want to think of weapons they would be carrying then. Dax went toward the window where they had seen Len and EeMeee, but he couldn't see beyond the glass. It was black inside and appeared to be empty. They must have seen the fight and evacuated, he thought.
S'tahgrah grumbled, and began to stir to consciousness. Dax breathed a sigh of relief and went to his side. He helped the giant beast to his feet. Once S'tahgrah could stand of his own accord, Dax went to Vavoo, slinging her over his shoulder. The werewolf smashed his fist into the window, shattering it. They climbed through and continued on their rescue mission, though worse for wear.
EeMeee and Len had been taken from the room once the commotion could be noticed from inside the window. They were sedated again, but EeMeee was still able to keep the telepathic link between itself and the others. The link was somewhat diminished but more than adequate for everyone to communicate and for the others to eventually locate them.
Len returned once more to his dreams. As much as he hated work, he often found himself there in dreams, though, usually on better terms.
Dax grew tired of carrying Vavoo. Her deadweight seemed heavier with each step. S'tahgrah walked on wobbly limbs, like a drunkard at the end of a very long night. The once stealthy crew was in shambles. Neither thought they'd survive another confrontation, and they all secretly hoped they wouldn't have to. They sucked it up despite their feelings and followed EeMeee's mental breadcrumbs again. They were hot on the trail, but sluggish and sloppy.
EeMeee could sense the despair in the would-be rescuers, and knew that he and Len would have to step things up a notch on their end of things. EeMeee began to telepathically emit a very slight, almost unnoticeable sensation into the minds of his captors. The sensation would act like a growing headache, at first no one would realize, but if EeMeee didn't time it just right its captors could easily dismiss the action. The sensation began to grow, unnoticed, as EeMeee had hoped. That spider-like creature desperately wanted to giggle. It was painful to keep it in. One of their captors began to rub its neck--the disruption was working. EeMeee fought even harder to reign in his giggles. The taller creatures seemed unaffected, but EeMeee would remedy that when the time was right.
Watching from a distance, a small squad of ray-gun toting space-vampires followed behind S'tahgrah and Dax. They moved painfully slow, Dax complaining nonstop. They were beginning to lose steam rapidly.
Len began to wake, making sure to keep it to himself, but EeMeee could tell. Sensing Len's return from the land of dreams, EeMeee increased the telepathic disruption tenfold, leaving a mental stab-wound in the minds of their captors. He did this again, and again, increasing the potency with each jab. Their captors fell to the ground, clutching at their heads and screeching. Len forced his eyes open, and though his vision was blurry he could see what was going on. He tore himself free of his restraints; EeMeee did the same and skittered to the floor. His bulbous form, and rapid movements were almost surreal to Len. The blurred vision only helped to make the scene that more surreal to him, as he still grappled with the reality of it all. His dreams were more real than anything he'd seen since he awoke in his dark, dank, cell. Len pushed past one of the taller creatures and instantly wished he hadn't touched its slimly skin. Len wobbled after EeMeee who giggled wildly as it skittered away down the brightly lit corridor.
S'tahgrah's equilibrium was beginning to return, and with it a sense of urgency. Dax was practically dragging himself along and Vavoo lay limp over his shoulder. S'tahgrah reached out his massive arms and took Vavoo easily off Dax's shoulder and slung her over his own. Dax rubbed his leathery shoulder and silently thanked his giant ally. They both heard noises coming down the corridor. They braced for whatever was rushing at them. They could hear wild, manic giggling, and then Len's voice.
"Run!" Len yelled, "They're coming--"
"Stop yelling at me. I' am ahead of you, you should be running," EeMeee said in between bouts of giggling.
Len and EeMeee came to a stop when they saw the others. After little discussion EeMeee persuaded S'tahgrah and Dax to turn back around. They made only a few steps before the squad of space-vampires made themselves visible. When they turned back around again they being approached by the captors that EeMeee and Len had just escaped. They were surrounded...again.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Len yelled.
"We were better off in our cells," Dax said.
"I'm gonna kill every last one you bastards..." S'tahgrah roared, "even if it kills me."
The large werewolf gently placed Vavoo on the ground, never taking his eyes off the enemy. The vampiric creatures on all sides aimed a variety of weapons at them. They were greatly outnumbered. A voice from behind the creatures called out. No one could understand it. It sounded like a group of slurred vowels and clicks. The creature moved toward the front of the ranks, dressed in a red variation of the black rags that the other wore. The creature wore no mask, its face was smooth and pale bearing the tiny obsidian dots that could only be eyes or decoration. It held out two long hands, exposing its palms in a peaceful gesture. It spoke again, opening its mind to EeMeee, and allowing its mind to be read.
"She's saying that they do not wish to harm us. We are aboard a science vessel. We were rescued--" EeMeee translated.
"Bullshit," Len said.
"No. No bullshit. She is not lying. I can read her mind. Free of restraint. She is saying we were rescued from dying worlds--"
"Sounds like bullshit to me! My world was just fine," Len interrupted again.
"Len. Silence. Our worlds are being harvested--we are the last of our kind--"
"Shut up. This is bullshit. You can't possibly believe them," Len's voice quavered.
The space-vampires lowered their arms. EeMeee began to shiver. EeMeee opened up the telepathic link they all shared, and joined them with the lady vampire in red. They didn't have to take the information secondhand. They could see for themselves the truths they refused to believe. They were indeed onboard a science vessel. They were indeed what was left of their worlds.
Len stood there. He could feel his feet firmly on the ground yet for some reason, he felt like he was drifting out of his body. Something itched at the back of his mind. Everything up to this point seemed like a far-fetched fastball being thrown out of a science fiction paperback, and why he was buying it all he didn't understand. He wasn't alone however, his new friends were buying it too--but who was selling it? He stood transfixed in a moment of time that seemed to last forever. He woke up naked, covered in slime, on a goddamned spacecraft and now this she-bitch in red was telling him that he was the last man alive from earth? Bullshit, Len thought, abso-fucking-lutely bullshit. His eyes narrowed and darted back and forth looking at everyone again, but this time really looking. Somebody here was full of shit, Len thought, and they were beginning to stink up the joint. Len would go along with things for now, not seeing any alternative, other than the ass whooping of a lifetime. He hoped to at least get a pair of pants. He was sick of his shriveled member dangling around.
"You can see for yourself in our monitoring station," EeMeee translated for the lady in red.
"Take us there, but if you try another show of force, I will tear you all apart," S'tahgrah grumbled.
The lady in red was visibly shaken from S'tahgrah's notice of dismemberment, but she doubted his sincerity, "you look less capable than your tongue, beast" she replied.
"If you're so sure than step closer, skag," the werewolf spat back.
"Enough," she said calmly, and turned away, leading the way to the monitoring station.
Len looked at the others, their hesitation was visibly noted, but they all followed the lady in red as she parted the sea of space vampires that surrounded them. S'tahgrah led the way with Vavoo slung over his shoulder. Len stuck close to him, and Dax closely behind Len with EeMeee skittering behind.
The lady in red walked with a hint of royal elegance. Her flowing garments danced behind her like silky curtains in a cool breeze. Her posture and movements were alluring, but her face was corpselike and disgusting--she was the perfect mix of venom and perfume. Len couldn't make heads or tails out of her. She reminded him of his boss, and after thinking about it would rather be following her as opposed to her alien body double--but he didn't have a choice.
Len felt an itch in the back of his mind--a little voice bouncing off the walls of his skull, but too distorted to recognize.
"Something's not right," he mumbled.
"We're screwed," Dax replied.
"Any ideas?" Len asked.
"Nope. You?"
"Nope."
"Not now," S'tahgrah grumbled, "be patient...my nose has found something our minds have not."
Dax immediately stiffened up. He wanted to know what the werewolf knew, there snouts were comparable, and it made him question his own sensibilities--he wondered if had he been a fool to come along on this failure of an escape plan. Had the werewolf known something all along? He moved half a step slower; if that were the case he didn't want to be any closer to the massive beast that was nearly three times his size.
The space-vampires watched them intently. Their beady eyes following every muscle-twitch from behind their masked faces as they followed the trail of red cloth down the corridor. They had raised their weapons and took a defensive stance--Len shivered a bit, and hoped they didn't notice. Of course, they did.
The monitoring room was gigantic. It had multiple levels that looked like horseshoe rings with dozens of staffed stations complete with B-movie gadgets and gizmos that dinged and danged, clicked and whirred. In a half dome shape at the end of the room was a massive holo-screen with dozens upon dozens of raw footage and text galleys. Among the footage were worlds being destroyed by an unseen menace.
Len moved in closer, staring at a screen displaying images from earth. It bounced around as if someone was channel surfing, and among the locations Len recognized quite a few of them. He could see New York City, Paris, Tokyo, and plenty others all under attack by little clunky spaceships that moved around far faster than he'd ever seen any aircraft move, complete with bright red lasers that blasted his home world. Bullshit or not, it looked real, and it caused some very real emotions to rise to the surface. As Len stared at the screen tears ran down his cheeks.
"This is bullshit!" Len screamed.
"Keep yourself together, human," S'tahgrah grumbled.
The large werewolf lowered Vavoo from his shoulder and placed her gently on the ground. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, unawares to the horrors that played erratically on the screen. EeMeee skittered around giggling. Dax stood uneasily, watching the screens, looking to see what creatures were piloting those ships. Surely there had to be a ground force, he thought.
S'tahgrah positioned himself next to EeMeee, all the while making eye contact with Len. Dax kept an eye on the two of them, and noticed a small movement from Vavoo, maybe she was waking, Dax hoped.
"Here is the proof of your worlds demise," the lady vampire in red spoke.
No one replied.
S'tahgrah shifted his feet, aligning himself with his target. He struck swiftly. The large beast jutted his massive hands through EeMeee's thick shell like form, exiting out the other side. EeMeee screeched horridly, the pustules on its back erupting and pulsating. It shook violently and S'tahgrah roared as he ripped the tiny bug-like creature in half. Len watched on in horror. S'tahgrah threw the two pieces of EeMeee's body to the ground like it was nothing other than refuse.
"Why?" Len asked.
"That thing was no friend of ours, human," S'tahgrah replied.
"I don't understand."
"Look around," Dax said, "there's nothing here."
"Holy...shit..." Len said as he looked around at an empty room.
"That thing was in our heads, screwing with our minds," Vavoo said as she lifted herself up off the ground. "I had a hunch so, I played dead, reasonably. Since that insect assumed I was unconscious I went into his head and figured it out. It was the wolf's idea," she continued.
"He smelled like a liar. And even if he wasn't he deserved to die just for all the laughing," S'tahgrah said.
"Okay, if that's true, then why can we still understand each other?" Len asked.
"That thing fucked with our heads so badly, they'll never be the same again. The mind link cannot be reversed. It will diminish over time, but we'll always be able to understand each other. We'll always be able to feel each other, it may be slight, but what EeMeee did to us is irreversible."
"Fuck," Len whispered, scratching at his head.
"There's something else," S'tahgrah said, "we are still on a spacecraft, and our worlds are being destroyed--"
"More EeMeee's?" Len asked.
"Yes," S'tahgrah replied.
"They are harvesting our worlds," Vavoo explained. "They feed off of our minds."
"Damn parasites," Dax added.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Len asked.
"We kill every last one of them and crash land the ship to the closest planet," the werewolf said, quite matter-of-factly.
"You're joking right?" Dax asked.
The werewolf said nothing, but showed as many teeth as he could.
As they left the monitoring room, they were immediately attacked by hundreds of small spider-like creatures of EeMeee's ilk. They varied in size; there were small creatures, no larger than a human's fist, and others the size of half the corridor's width. They didn't wait like the would-be vampires did, they attack wildly from all directions and with seemingly no strategy--but they had strategy. They communicated with each other as quickly and decisively as any single-minded creature could. It made them quite formidable as a group, but their strength was varied and proportionate to their varied sizes. Even their hides were nothing special, they bruised like fruit--and burst like it too.
Len, having not been much good for anything other than devising a hair-brained plan of escape with the very creatures that had captured them was devastating some of the smaller telepathic puss-bags. His small human hands formed tight fists that swung and connected with several of the bugs, sending them reeling.
Apart from their physical attempt to subdue their once captive prisoners, the spider-like captors emitted a light telepathic pulse that irritated the group. The pulse felt like hot needles prickling at the backs of their necks. EeMeee's mind games had given them some resistance to its effects, but given enough time and potency the prisoners would fall victim to the pulse, as it would surely grow in severity. They would be beaten to submission by unseen mental weaponry. If Len and the others could continue to stand their ground physically they had the chance of getting away and then fighting at a distance where their captors' telepathy would be weakened.
"We have to get away! My head is going to burst," Dax yelled, as he ripped one of the beings in half.
"No shit!" Len yelled, swinging away like he had never done before.
"Push through them! We have to use their numbers against them," the werewolf roared, covered in the puss-like blood of their enemy.
Vavoo said nothing. She struck her enemies with a speed that the others couldn't match. She was swift and deadly, and sexy in a leathery, alien sort of way. Her needle-like features were growing back, a visible sign of her strength returning. Vavoo's home world was warrior's wet dream. There were constant battles among the several beings that inhabited her planet. Fighting was a way of life there, it was more than a rite of passage--you either kill or be killed. Even S'tahgrah took note of her veracity and couldn't help but smile. She was doing more damage than any of them and with such a small, slim figure.
They fought, as the pulse increased, and moved from the middle of the mayhem to the outskirts of it. Their heads burned like fire. Their thoughts getting muddled, and vision blurred. The more they killed, the more they weakened the pulse, but the ones still standing increased its potency faster and faster, doing themselves harm in the process. If they could only survive long enough to exhaust them, they'd be home free. If EeMeee had been any indication of how long it took to exhaust them, it should be any second.
"Why aren't they dropping?" Dax asked.
"Don't...know..." Len mumbled, weakening quickly.
"Just keep swinging!" S'tahgrah roared.
So they did. They swung, and clobbered, and clawed, and stomped till they were heavy with the puss-like blood. Nearly slipping in the mess they had made. Now, the beings began to exhaust, their pustules erupting like zit volcanoes, their bug bodies quivering. Len, near collapse, charged at one the size of a car. He hit it hard with his fist, puncturing the thick shell of its bodies. It screeched, and bucked, and sent Len flying into the wall, leaving him too stunned to get back up. He sat against the corridor wall, covered in filth staring at the stars that fluttered before his eyes.
Vavoo came in and finished the job. A few scattered, and the few that remained met the same end as the others. Dax, Vavoo, and S'tahgrah could barely stand. Their heads hurt something fierce and the pain ran throughout their bodies. Dax helped Len to his feet and stepped through the remains of their attackers.
"Now, let's find the pilot and kill him too," S'tahgrah said.
"Yeah, maybe he's got some aspirin--my head hurts so fucking bad," Len whined.
"Hush, now, baby, we're almost home," Vavoo purred.
"Hey, my head hurts too," Dax said.
"I'm surrounded by pussies," Vavoo snickered.
"I know that excludes me," the wolf looked back.
"We'll see," Vavoo replied. "You might cry yet."
"Not likely."
The corridor was mostly empty. They had come across a handful of lone creatures and dispatched them accordingly. The craft they were on was massive and they had no real idea of where they were going. They knew their destination, but how to get there was all guesswork. They wandered around for what seemed like hours, entering random doorways, and bashing whatever creatures they came across into pussy little puddles on the floor.
Len had never been so tired, and his head ached still. Vavoo led them forward. She had the most vigor in her step, leaving the others a few paces behind her.
Either by luck or process of elimination, the next door she entered appeared to be the command center. It had all gizmos and do-dads a command center is supposed to have, even a command crew, a commander, or a pilot if you were to ask S'tahgrah. The command crew swung around to face the doorway as it whooshed open.
"Land this ship or die," Vavoo ordered.
They did not reply.
"Die it is," S'tahgrah said, stepping through the door cracking his neck.
The commander motioned one of its spindly legs and one of the crewmembers came darting forward, spraying puss from its back. The puss arched toward the doorway and Len lurched out of the way. S'tahgrah stepped to the side, Dax had yet to enter, and Vavoo stood her ground. What did she have to fear?--She'd had plenty of the puss on her as it was. The puss hit her, and at first it felt no different from a warm spray of blood. But after a moment, it began to burn, and her skin began to smoke. She held in a scream, but as the seconds ticked by she could no longer hold it in. Her skin burned like nothing she'd ever felt before.
S'tahgrah leapt for the pilot, and the pilot dodged his attack, skittering out of the way just in time. The massive werewolf smashed his fist down on the console where the creature had been standing. It sparked and dimmed. The pilot made a screeching noise and ran for S'tahgrah, clearly angry. The wolf stood his ground and swung his large hand at the pilot. He connected and the pilot slapped against the wall. He didn't burst like the other creatures had, and the wolf was surprised as a result. The pilot wasn't getting back up, however.
Vavoo clutched at her skin, trying to subdue the pain by sheer force of will. Dax pulled her to the side, finally entering the room. His hands began to burn at the touch, but when he looked at his digits he could see no difference.
"They're using different tactics, but they're still screwing with our heads," Dax called out. "The puss doesn't burn! They're just making us think it does," Dax continued.
"I'm getting really fed up with these bastards," Len replied.
Len, his face an angry grimace, ran at the closest bug-like bastard he could see. His intended target matched his intent and ran right at him, its tall thin legs skittering forward.
"Come on!" Len yelled.
The creature hit him head on, attacking not only physically but telepathically as well. Len flew backward, and the creature followed through, piercing his shoulders with its legs. Len screamed.
The werewolf roared, smashing everything in site. Crew and console alike they broke under his strength. The light in the room dimmed, and a red light began to pulse. An alien language blurted out of the air and the spacecraft was unable to maintain its course, falling victim to the closest celestial bodies gravitational pull. Whatever the werewolf had broken, if allowed to remain broken, would take them to one of their worlds. Which one they had no way of knowing. The fight in the command center abruptly ended as the momentum of the falling craft threw them back.
"Everybody hold on! This is going to be one bumpy ride," Dax hollered, almost enjoying it.
The craft fell through the atmosphere, picking up a deadly amount of momentum. Pieces of the hull began to melt away and disintegrate, sending portions of the craft scattering away from the center of its mass. The group was forced against the wall, their own bodies nearly compressing. The few creatures left of the command crew fought to keep the ship from crashing while their brethrens dead bodies joined the group of escapees against the wall.
Len fought for breath, feeling his ribs squeeze over his lungs. S'tahgrah still tried to move but soon found it useless. The others remained against the wall, pinned by the momentum. Dax still seemed to be enjoying himself, while Vavoo kept her eyes clothes and mouthed what could only be a prayer.
The alien crewmembers became immobilized. Their bodies pressed against consoles or remained strapped to their chairs. Some of them were pressed to the point of their pustules erupting--sending puss into the air.
"This is better than Grav-Jumping!" Dax exclaimed. His voice lost among the noise.
The ship crashed into an ocean, vaporizing tons of water as it broke through the surface. Giant waves of blue emanated from the crash. The ship hit bottom, digging itself in deep to the murky depths, but the ship couldn't bare the strain of the impact and began cracking. Water began to find its way in immediately and once the ship's momentum ceased the ship cracked almost in half and the back end began to tumble forward.
Upon impact, the ship's safety mechanisms kicked on in time to spare the passengers the full impact of the crash. Despite the mechanism's best effort the group in the command center still slammed against the opposite wall, but instead of bursting like grapes they only cracked bones and tore muscle. The surviving crew bolted out of the room as alien sounds blurted out of the air. Color lights flashed and a siren like sound permeated the room.
"We've got to follow them," Dax said.
"Can't...move..." Len said.
"We're all hurt. Get up and move or die here," S'tahgrah grumbled, picking himself up.
"...M-my...leg..." Len rasped, pointing at bone jutting from his shin.
"Come on," Dax pulled him up, and threw him over his shoulder.
"Thanks..." Len said.
They hobbled out of the command center. S'tahgrah had a bad limp. Vavoo was bleeding all over and clutching her arm. Dax seemed relatively fine and Len was slung over his shoulder in shock. The alien captors scattered down the hall. They didn't seem to care or even notice the escapees. Water was trickling through the walls and ceilings.
"Looks like we're under water," Vavoo pointed out.
"Yeah, and they must be heading for the escape route," S'tahgrah replied.
"Let's follow 'em," Dax groaned, already tired of Len's added weight.
They followed the spider-like creatures in all their various sizes and appearances as they skittered down the corridor. Some of them ran along the wall and ceiling while others just ran atop one another. Len couldn't help but think of a New York subway being overrun by roaches and rodents alike, scurrying from onrushing water. After a few minutes the creatures began to disperse down several other chambers that the corridor spilled out into. Not knowing if it mattered much, they turned down the closest one and continued to follow the little things--and some bigger ones. Len lifted his head and saw what was following behind them, groaned and put his head back down. There were as many behind them now as there were ahead of them. The faster ones caught up, and simply sped past, ignoring them completely. The corridor then spilled out into a large open room with walls that looked like honeycombs, but the honeycombs were filled with what could only be escape pods. The creatures skittered up the walls and entered the pods. Once full the doors would close, another door would come down and then a bursting noise could be heard as the pods were jettisoned.
Amid the creatures were other aliens that must have been captors as well, their lack of clothing a dead giveaway. Everyone was scrambling for an escaped pod, captor and escapee alike.
"We need to get inside of one of them immediately," Vavoo said.
"What are we waiting for? Climb!"
So they did. S'tahgrah took Len from Dax and began scaling his way up the honeycomb-like structure. Vavoo was already ahead of them, and Dax was having difficulty moving vertically.
"Please don't leave me behind, guys," Dax verbalized his fears.
"You better hurry. I'm not dying for you," the werewolf roared.
"Must you constantly put up such a front?" Vavoo called out.
"So long as you continue to play with fire," he retorted.
"Just keep moving."
The creatures skittered over them as if they were part of the wall itself. Dax swatted them away as best he could without compromising his climb. Vavoo paid them no mind, focusing instead on her wound and her climb, which she was mostly doing with one arm, using her other for support when needed. S'tahgrah killed one of the creatures every time he moved up, either by crushing them in his hand or by stepping on them.
They finally made it to an open door and began piling in, violently removing the few creatures that had gotten in prior. S'tahgrah set down Len who was near comatose and pale from all the blood he was loosing. The pod was tight, almost too tight for them all, and once they helped hoist Dax in they were shoulder-to-shoulder and uncomfortably squished together. Another creature tried to skitter its way inside, but he burst into puss when Dax bit him in half.
"I really wish I hadn't done that. They taste terrible. Not at all like humans," Dax said.
"Whuh?" Len asked, only partially hearing the statement.
"Never mind, it was a joke," Dax said, "I thought humans were jovial?"
The door closed.
"I don't think so," Vavoo added, "I think they whine and bleed all the time."
They all laughed but Len, who whimpered and held his leg.
The exterior doors began to close, and the pod began to rev up.
"Hold on, this thing is about to go," S'tahgrah said.
"There's not enough room for us to move anywhere," Dax said.
The pod exploded out of the craft. The pressure from the water was almost too much on the small pod and it began creaking immediately. It rushed forward, creating a blur of bubbles at its sides. A moment later it broke through the surface of the bright blue water and landed in it. Dax figured out how to open the door, and they began to climb out. Dax stood on its surface, helping everyone up and out. Once they were all out they admired the alien landscape. The water was bluer than any found on earth. The sky was a hazy magenta, with clouds of yellow and white, like old torn cotton. There were hilltops of dark green, and brown, with gray and silvery cliffs. It was beautiful.
"Ah, I am home," S'tahgrah roared triumphantly, smiling as he watched the creatures swim for the shoreline knowing what awaited them.
The telepathic creatures swam to shore. They were not very adept swimmers, but they managed well enough anyway. As some of them begin to reach the shoreline S'tahgrah's werewolf brethren greeted them. The telepaths tried to invade their minds but the werewolves were too fast and fierce, leaving nothing but puss-covered husks littering the shoreline.
S'tahgrah swam to shore with Len on his back and the others stayed cautiously behind. They were greeted by close to thirty werewolves, some large, others small, with different colored fur for each. They didn't know what to make of S'tahgrah and his companions.
"Brothers and Sisters," S'tahgrah spoke, "these are friends of the breed."
"They are no friends of ours," an elder among them spoke. "And they are not welcomed to stay in our sacred forests. Who are you?"
"S'tahgrah of the Nem-Stro. Let them stay the night. Let them choose to be breed or not. We have been wounded, they are not fit to survive this world without my--without our help."
"You know half-breeds cannot stay in the sacred forests either, S'tahgrah of the Nem-Stro," the elder spoke.
"I know, but they will not stay, only pass through. Till I can get them to a safe place. Please, we will not sleep till we are through. We fought together, as breed, they have heart...without their help I would be lost among the black in between the stars."
"Fine, S'tahgrah, fine. But, if they shall sleep among us... then you shall suffer their fates as well."
S'tahgrah lowered his head slowly, showing respect to the elder.
"Go now, and move swift. If others stop you tell them you have the blessings of Rekkmah of the Hom-Weh."
"May the moons always shine for you Rekkmah of the Hom-Weh," S'tahgrah spoke.
The elder nodded. S'tahgrah signaled for the others to follow. They didn't hesitate. He led them through the alien woods, which to Len looked much like the North American woodlands he was familiar with, but he was too out of it to tell the difference. Dax was having difficulty breathing the new air. The more he ran, the harder it became to breathe, but he had to push on. Vavoo was unaffected and moved as swift as ever, injuries aside.
They saw other werewolves along the way, some followed from a distance, and others paid no mind. The daylight began to fade away and night grew chillier. The air was filled with the howling of the breed. The moons hung over head, one brighter and present then the others, enough to see in the thick of the woods.
Hours passed yet they continued to move through the woods swiftly.
"How much longer," Dax wheezed.
"Not much...when the third moon is brightest."
"Translation?" Vavoo asked.
"Dig around in my head a bit," he replied.
"Do you really want me to be looking around in there?" Vavoo asked.
"A few more hours."
Dax almost passed out after hearing his response, but he had no choice but to trudge on.
Once they reached the land outside of the sacred forests they collectively collapsed. Len was near death, and the others were exhausted.
"Thirsty...hungry," Dax complained.
"Me too," Vavoo agreed.
"Need a doctor," Len managed.
"You need more than a doctor. Maybe we should just eat you," S'tahgrah suggested.
Len's eyes grew wide in terror.
"Just kidding," S'tahgrah said. "But seriously, your leg is infected and your bone is shattered. No one on this planet except me will help you...and there's only one thing I can do for you."
"What's that?" Len asked.
"This might be hard to hear, but I know you just found out for yourself, didn't you?"
"I did. Do it."
"Are you sure?"
Len nodded. S'tahgrah leapt at him and bit down into his shoulder and neck. Len screamed louder than he himself thought possible. Vavoo and Dax jumped in surprise but after a brief trip to telepathic land they were all on the same page. S'tahgrah continued to drink, nearly draining Len of blood. Then he stopped, and Len blacked out.
"If he lives..."
"We know." Vavoo said.
"Now, what about us? Can you lend us a spaceship?" Dax asked.
"This might just be easier to say...no. We do not believe in traveling past our world. We have technology centers, but nothing that can get you home. You may be able to send some sort of transmission to your people, and maybe they can come and get you, but until then, you're stuck here."
"Great! I'm stuck on a planet full of werewolves that don't believe in technology...I can barely breath here!"
"You'll adjust, or you'll die, or I can do for you what I did for Len."
"Oh, you can bite the shit out of me and turn me into a werewolf? Yeah, that sounds great," Dax exclaimed and then wheezed.
"It may be the only thing that can keep you alive. My world is not kind."
"Can I think about it?"
"Sure, but come tomorrow I'll being making my journey home."
"Then what?" Vavoo asked.
"Then we part ways."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
The End
Thanks for reading The Harvest. I hope you enjoyed this weekly adventure as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, please consider telling others about it.
About The Harvest
The Harvest started as an experiment on my blog. I posted a poll for readers to vote on which sort of monster/creature they'd like to see me attempt to write a serial for. It was a way for me to gage what my friends and readers wanted to read from me and for myself to try something different. I had an idea in mind for each monster, but the voters had a different idea in mind--they wanted to see me tackle three out of the five creatures; Vampires, Werewolves, and Aliens. And, so The Harvest was born. I cheated a little, if you've read this far than you know the Vampires weren't 'real,' and I had no problem cheating on that element.
Another part of my goal in writing The Harvest was to have it come out weekly and for it to run longer than my previous serial: Stay Dead: The Kings of the Castle, which it did.
So, I pleased my readers, I challenged myself, and I did what I set out to do. This edition has been changed a little. Minor things like clunky sentences and neglected grammar, but basically this The Harvest as it came out on my blog. What you don't get however was the extra material that only readers of my blog were able to see, which was just a few concept sketches of some of the characters. Fear not, though, if you're interested in checking them out just head over to http://www.stevewands.blogspot.com and check them out there.
About the author
Steve Wands lives in New Jersey with his wife and son. He's a comic book letterer for DC Comics by day, and an artist and writer by night. He drinks massive amounts of coffee, and sleeps very little. He is the author of Stay Dead: The Stranger and Tunnel Rats, Modern Nightmares, Damaged, and is a co-editor and contributor of Dark: A Horror Anthology.
http://www.stevewands.blogspot.com
http://www.pleasestaydead.blogspot.com
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