Page 44 of Matched to the Alien King
“Okay…” he breathed. “No snuggling, then. Tell it who you are and how many battles you’ve fought.”
Two legs slipped out on either side of its pincers, both ending in claws. Black eyes atop its thorax swiveled toward me, too many to count, every one of them marking me as prey.
“Axxel,” I whispered, raising my machete.
“What?”
“You’re not helping.”
“You don’t think it can be reasoned with, but I talked you out of dying, didn’t I? Think about that, Maxx.”
“Later.” I gripped the machete tighter, bracing myself for the impending attack.
The rest of the alien bug thing emerged and scurried down the wall with its lightning-quick eight legs. It was huge, though not as big as the Bishop alien race. Bishops were greedy and preferred fighting wars behind the scenes.
This guy was greedy and preferred fighting wars inside its own snack hole.
The creature lunged, its mandibles snapping menacingly.
Obviously there was nowhere else I could go, nothing else to do but attack.
I dodged it, narrowly avoiding its razor-sharp claws in the confined space.
“Fuxx, that thing is huge,” Axxel said. “What if you can’t kill it?”
“Not helping, Axxel.” I swung the machete with all my might, striking the bug's exoskeleton and leaving a deep gash.
Clicking its mandibles and pincers rapidly, the alien bug charged once again. This time I was ready. I sidestepped the thing’s attack and drove my machete into its side, eliciting a horrible screeching noise.
It was wounded, but it wasn't done yet. It reared back, unleashing a cloud of orange noxious gas that made me cough and choke. Oh, that was bad. It smelled like piss and onions and sour puxxyweed from Xenoxx, all rolled into one. It tasted even worse.
“Watch out!” Axxel yelled.
Too late—the thing was upon me once again.
A claw pinned down my shoe, puncturing through it but not piercing my scaled foot. Through the fading gas, it reached its mandibles up toward my face and cracked them together loudly.
I hacked and slashed with my machete, striking the alien's limbs and thorax. The creature, undaunted, continued to attack, but I was too fast. I managed to dodge most of the creature's blows, striking it repeatedly with my machete.
How was this thing not dead yet? It was oozing crimson blood from its dents all over its exoskeleton. Even its screeches were dying, but not the thing itself.
“Oh no! Youcan’tkill it,” Axxel shouted. “I was right.”
“Still. Not. Helping.”
Time for a new plan of attack. Without a head, it couldn’t see me. At least, I hoped.
We circled around each other, two stubborn beings who refused to give up.
Then, I saw my opening and seized it. With a fierce warrior cry, I plunged my machete deep into the creature's neck, attempting to behead it.
It stilled instantly.
“Yes!” Axxel yelled, pumping his fists into the air on the viewscreen. “Do it again!”
Breathless and exhausted, I staggered back and leaned against the sandy wall for support. “That’s enough. For today.”
“But really though,” Axxel said, quickly sobering. “More could come. You need to get out of there.”
