Page 19 of A Monster's Light
We hadn’t come across these creatures during our reconnaissance mission, so I didn’t know if they were dangerous. It was best to avoid getting stung or bitten. I grabbed the large animal bone I’d strapped to my belt earlier and tried to carefully bat them toward the exit. I didn’t want to kill any of them and release more of that noxious stench.
But they all stopped when they reached the plants I’d left at the entrance, refusing to even step near the blanket bundle. The plants must work on these creatures as well as the small, swarming ones. I released Dana and pointed to the back of the cavern, and she hurried back there. Picking up the tied blanket, I tossed it into the center of the cave before grabbing the suracets.
By now, the invertebrates were making their way back into the cave toward Dana. They were attracted to her, and now I worried if she’d already been bitten or stung, though I saw no visible stingers.
Too impatient to untie the knots in the blanket, I cut through them with my claws and grabbed a bunch of the repellent herbs, tossing it in Dana’s direction. The creatures scattered immediately. I wondered if they worked for other invertebrates on our continent; they’d be useful as long as they weren’t dangerous to the wildlife that shared our home, especially the kukees that helped keep our stronghold clean.
“Gimme gimme.” Dana reached her hand out, her eyes on the bunch of weeds in my hand.
I handed it to her, more than happy to relinquish the bouquet. She took it from me and brandished it like a weapon.
“Ha! Howydalikedemapples?” she yelled victoriously as she chased the creatures around the cave and toward the exit.
I grinned so hard watching the spectacle that my cheeks hurt, and a tightness started in my chest, like it was so full from how happy she made me that there was no room left for air. But that was okay. I’d live on her and only her for the rest of my life if I could.
Chapter 12: Dana
“And stay out!” I gave the last bugs a shove with my magical weapon of bug destruction before dropping the plants at the entrance to stop the creepy crawlies from even thinking about coming in again.
I had to admit, that was fun. When they’d first arrived, I’d freaked out. The things were almost the size of my forearm, and they were really interested in me. I wasn’t sure if they were just curious or if they were hungry, but when one of them took a bite out of my boot, I stomped it.
Instant.
Regret.
The galaxy’s most putrid odor had exploded into the cavern, burning my nose and threatening to knock me out.
So I figured if I danced around them for long enough, they’d give up and leave me alone. But they were persistent. Another one had just latched onto my boot, making me shriek and kick, yeeting it across the cave when Gnnar squeezed himself through the crevice and leaped to my defense.
He probably thought it was silly that I was freaking out over a bunch of creatures I could squash. But I was just glad he returned with magical plants.
I turned to see Gnnar watching me with the goofiest grin on his face.
Oops. I hadn’t realized my frantic attack on the bugs had an audience.
“What?” I said defensively. “They tried to eat my shoe!” I stuck my foot out, showing him the chunk of bio-plastic dangling pathetically from the sole, then pointed at the crushed bug on the ground. “And they stink!”
He replied in a jovial tone and winked, then said something that sounded like a question.
“I have no idea what you just said, but if you look that hot doing it, yes.”
Gnnar went to the mess of plant stuff at the center of the cavern and started separating the contents into two piles. The first was of the spindly plants with the needle-like leaves I’d used to banish the bugs. The other pile looked like giant bean pods.
He used a handful of the repellent plants to shove the dead bug to a corner, then scattered the herbs around the cavern, stepping on them as he went. A clean, fresh scent, almost but not quite like the generic “lemon-scented” cleaners everyone at the colony used, filled the air.
I brought my hands to my nose, and my skin smelled faintly of it. This scent had a more herbal component, smelling pleasantly bitter.
I suddenly remembered a factoid I thought I’d never use: antidotes were often found near the poison. I wasn’t sure how valid it was, but at least in this case, the repellent grew near the pests. I sure hoped they worked on the little biting gnat-like bugs too. They were so annoying. We had those at the colony, but never in the numbers I’d witnessed last night.
Gnnar took the remainder of the plants and started a small fire. The fire smelled sweet and clean, with just a hint of smoke, which was surprising. I’d always thought any open fire would smell disgusting and kill my lungs. But the best part was that it warmed up the cave. It was already mid-morning, and while the front of the cave was warm from the heated air coming in, the back of the cave was still cooler than was comfortable. I bet during the summer, these caves were the only respite from the blazing midday sun for the animals here.
That fire would’ve come in handy that first night. It had been fucking freezing. I’d lost my jacket to the Harbinger, and the blankets we’d taken from the research facility were thin, so I’d relied on Gnnar’s body heat to warm me.
The second night hadn’t been much better. Because while it had been warmer, a bunch of tiny flying bugs came out to nip at us. I was small enough to hide under a blanket, but Gnnar, not so much. Luckily, they disappeared when the sun rose.
I sidled a little closer to Gnnar, curious about what he was doing. For the first time since he returned, I noticed the pair of dead lizards he’d brought back. Each of them was the size of my leg if you counted the chubby tails. I watched as he descaled and gutted them.
Was that for lunch and dinner today? I think I’d rather pass. I’d had the last one of those premium meal kits already this morning, and it was plenty. Those were the equivalent of rich people’s prepacked lunches. With real meat!
