Page 23 of Einar

“Areyou saying that fucking thing is going to have sex with me/us?”

“Notin the sense you are thinking, you are nothing to them but a live incubator.Apiece of meat that his young can thrive within until they hatch, then eat their way out.Theonly positive thing about the situation is that you won’t be conscious after the first egg is ingested.Theyuse the venom in their tails to paralyze our bodies so that when ingested, you cannot damage the eggs.Momentsafter he is done, your body will die.”

“Hell’sfucking fire.DoIeven wanna know how it gets the eggs inside our bodies?”

“Theirmandibles open, the sex organ elongates and then forces its way down the throats of its victim, uncurling it into their stomach cavity.There, it impregnates you with as many eggs as your body can sustain.”

“Idid ask, didn’tI?”

“Iwarned you.”

“Lord,God.”

Ruby’swhispered words are nothing short of a plea and she falls quiet for a few moments beforeIhear her ask the freakishly knowledgeable neighbor yet another question.

“How’veyou found a way to accept this?”

Ahhh.Leaveit toRubyto try to figure out a problem that has no way to be solved, butIam interested to hear the other woman’s response.Listeningto them talk is the only thing keeping the seductive whisper of unconsciousness at bay.Though,Idon’t know whyI’mbothering.Theother woman’s response catches me off guard.I’mnot sure whatIwas expecting, but it wasn’t as profound of a response as she gives.

“Icried,Ifought, thenIdecided to pray.Notfor this life, but for my next one.Iwould advise you to find some sort of peace with what’s to come because miracles are far and few between.”

“What’syour name?I’mRuby.”

“Kallen, princess ofRukuhks.”

Aswooshing sound, closely followed by thetickticktickof claws on the metal floor, announces the arrival of one of the bugs.

Ohno, oh no, oh no, oh no.

Themantra is on repeat in my mind asIwait for the vile creature to stop in front of the basinI’min.Topick me to be the next incubator.Aloud click next to me makes me flinch andIbrace myself to be grabbed.Squeezingmy eyes shut,Iwait.

Secondscrawl by and nothing happens.

Openingmy eyes,Isee the side profile of one of the bugs.He’smoved around the nest to position himself between mine … and the poor blonde woman theNagabit then tossed into the wall.Thebug has her suspended up in front of him, held securely in its many arms.Asoft moan followed by a whimper are the only sounds the woman makes beforeIsee the bug pry her mouth open.

Whathappens next is worse than any horror filmI’veeven seen, and it’s like a train wreck.Myeyes are fixed on the travesty before me as ifI’mheld captive by the scene transpiring in front of me.Itsmassive tail arcs over, the sharp tip gleaming with venom in the low light, as it impales its stinger into the woman’s side right before a long, flexible tube descends from where the mouth on a person would be.

It’sdripping some sort of viscous fluid that is black in color.Thebug adjusts the woman in its arms, ensuring she’s positioned just so, before it shoves that tube in her mouth and down her throat in one swift motion.Ican see the woman’s jaws stretch to accommodate the girth of the organ that’s been inserted into her, and that her throat looks distorted as well.

Thebug removes its stinger, and the woman’s entire body goes limp.Thatmust be the signal the nasty thing was waiting for.Iwatch in disgust as lumps emerge from the bug’s mouth area and travel down the tube, into the woman.I’mnot sure how long this goes on, butIcan see her abdomen swelling.It’slikeI’mwatching her progress with a pregnancy before my eyes, but it’s more of these disgusting things being implanted into her body.

Onceher belly looks like she’s heavily pregnant, it withdraws the tubelike organ from her boy and gently lays her back down within the basin he snatched her out of.Whatminiscule amount of airImanaged to force into my failing lungs leaves in a rush.

They’regoing to do that toRubyandI.That’show we’re going to die!

Thething glances over at me and screeches.Asif it’s taunting me with the knowledge that this is my fate.Withoutwarning, the entire ship trembles and groans.Thebug in front of me skitters out of sight andIhear the swish of the door open as multiple chittering voices start sounding out in the hall.Allthe sounds are abruptly cut off when the door slides shut.

Asudden jolt of the ship launches me forward in the nest, my body weight stopped by the hold of the chain on my leg.Gaspingin pain,Iweakly crawl backward to alleviate the tension on the metal links.Overthe noise,IhearRubyscream out.

“Kallen, what’s happening?”

“Hope.”

Hope…?

That’sthe last conscious thoughtIhave before what little sanityIhave left escapes my grasp, andIfinally allow my mind to fade into unconsciousness.Onelast breath escapes me in a ragged, pain filled, rattling wheeze.

ChapterSeventeen

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