Page 11 of Eat Me Alive
There’s a set of teeth slowly—much like a shark’s jaw—opening to let us through. The smallest teeth are larger than the ship itself. I feel faint as I hold on to the closest wall. One of the girls holds me still.
I can’t get rid of the crippling terror that the jaw would just slam down on the ship and kill us all. But as we sail past and onto the shore, I release the breath I’d been holding.
It’s different inside. It’s both alien and familiar. I recognize the plants, every single thing…but they are entirely toowrong. Too big. They sucked in breaths like…real people.
We weren’t lied to, at least. Esoterra definitely isn’t filled with humans.
Fuck.
Xiaoyu
As soon as the stench in the air hits me, I alert everyone, “Absolutely no fires or we go up in flames.”
The smell is foul—a horrifying indication that the gas lingering might be flammable and volatile. That leaves us with very little option. I eye Ingar warily as he straps on two crossed rows on blades. He looks like he’s ready to take on the monsters awaiting us.
“Oh, god, is that a walking mushroom?!”
“I should have just died in the shipwreck.” Someone else hollers.
They’re all panicking and it’s hard not to do the same thing. I’m just rocking on the heels of my feet, boots squelching with that goo.
“Is the air here even safe to breathe?” I pinch my nose and breathe through my mouth. I gag. Even the air tastes weird.
“Gas detector indicates presence of enough oxygen for safe human habitation. It just smells bad, but it’s just the people’s aroma.”
People…he considers them aspeople.
My eyes narrow at him. “You’ve been here before.”
His eyebrows twitch as he stares me down—daring me to look away. Sweat trickles from my scalp, face, neck, making me all the more uncomfortable.
“Instead of fighting each other, Ingar, can you tell us how to protect ourselves?” I say through gritted teeth.
“They’re not going to hurt you.” Is all he says.
I point at myself dubiously. “Just me?”
“The women.”
Something’s twisting inside my belly. “Why do they need women here?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he nods toward the shore that’s already too close for comfort. Many of the creatures had gathered, a crowd of odd gawkers. There’s a slam against the hull, and it knocks my breath from me.
You can hear it, the suction of its skin against the wood—peeling and unpeeling rapidly as it runs up toward the deck. A head pops up, its curved snout open in a serrated-toothed smile. Its skin is an uncertain moss green to grey with several spots of brown and orange. Its eyes are the color of fire with elongated pupils. WIth a long, pale tongue, it licked its strange eyes before snapping shut sideways.
It’s a gecko the size of a fully-grown alligator.
I almost fall back if not for Ingar holding me still. The women are stifling their whimpers, not wanting to attract its attention.
Its eyes roll and set sights on Cora. She sees this and immediately bolts away. Well, she tries to. The gecko’s tongue catapults, and wraps around her torso. With a deep clicking sound, it struggles to pull Cora as she fights back.
Taking that time of distraction, Ingar pushes me away and—with no hesitation whatsoever—wrenches the tongue enough that it can’t move and stabs a blade through its eye. The gecko doesn’t make a sound, just writhes, letting go of Cora and scuttling away.
She’s crying, slumped on the floor like me.
“Do not look it in the eyes. It will think you want to mate with it.”
“Mate?!” She’s in hysterics, wiping the leftover sticky saliva. “What the fuck do you mean?!”
