For centuries, the creature had slept undisturbed beneath the rich soil it had helped create. Bio-engineered, it had been made for one purpose, and one purpose only. And the creature knew that it would be soon time to resume its work. Its stomach growled in anticipation.
*
Keona was afraid. Not of the darkness that she found herself in. Nor of the voice that droned on in her head which was not her own.
What she feared was the thing that the harvesting crew was unwittingly unearthing. And when it was free, her daughter Kara, who lived less than ten minutes from the dig site, would perish.
*
“Hey Johnny,” said Paul, “come here quick!” He wiped the grime from the faceplate of his envirosuit. “You too, Roderick.” He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “Something is moving down there!”
“What?” said Johnny.
“Probably just rocks in your head,” said Roderick.
Paul burst out laughing. “You guys!” It felt good to laugh. Especially after what had happened to Keona. Their little four man crew had been cut to three. And the bosses still expected them to make production! Some people!
All three peered into the hole dug by the harvester. The gravel rippled, like a stone dropped into water.
“What the…” began Roderick, but his words were cut short as eight octopus-like tentacles shot from the hole. Two wrapped around his legs, and snatched him into the pit. Pal and Johnny heard a sickening crack and splattering sound before their com-links mercifully went dead.
Scared shitless, Johnny turned to run, but his legs wouldn’t work. Looking down, he saw tar-black tentacles entwined about him like snakes.
“Noooo!” screamed Johnny. His bowels voided in his Envirosuit. The creature snatched backwards, and Johnny fell flat on his face. He dug his hands into the dirt, leaving a long trail of claw marks.
Paul looked into Johnny’s eyes, and saw the terror within their depths. A split second later, Johnny was yanked over the lip of the hole. Paul ran.
Jumping into the harvester, he turned on the radio.
“Help!” he yelled, “something…”
The radio went dead.
*
Keona stared at the construct, which was no more than a lump of bright light. Because it had immobilized her, Keona didn’t have control of her body, but knew she would soon. At least that’s what it told her.
“The pain was necessary,” the construct said. “It stripped away your defenses, allowing me to enter your body, to give you a chance of survival.”
“But what…” began Keona. The construct droned on. Either it was choosing not to respond, or couldn’t. That meant its message was vital to her survival. And urgent. Keona listened carefully.
“It’s called the REAPER…Rejuvenating Entity Aiding the Production of Energy Recycling. This bio-engineered creature converted our wastes into reusable products. But something went wrong. It turned on us, and we couldn’t shut it off. In days, our civilization was wiped out. You must get away now!”
The light died away, and Keona no longer sensed the construct. She was alone. Kara was in danger, and she had to help. Come on! Move damn it! But her body didn’t respond.
*
The Reaper was hungry. It was a thing built only to satisfy its appetite. It didn’t know why or what it was. There was only the constant hunger. And it sensed food was near. The Reaper crawled from its resting place, and made its way towards the settlement.
*
“Doctor, she’s moving!” The blond, rail-thin nurse couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. She had witnessed the miraculous healing Keona’s body had undergone. Dr. Malone rushed into the room.
Keona felt him pull open her eyes, and heard his sharp intake of breath. Something hit the floor.
Keona sat up, and no one tried to stop her. She looked at the doctor, and wondered why he seemed so strange.
“Her eyes,” said the nurse.
Turning, Keona saw eyes like liquid gold reflected in the mirror. Her body was thinner, yet she felt stronger than she ever had.
“It’s free! Warn everybody to get away now!”
“What’s free?”
“The Reaper.”
“But Keona!”
Ignoring the doctor, Keona opened the door. Her body blurred, and the room itself seemed to expand and contract. Like someone breathing.
And then, as if she was nothing more than water vapor, Keona vanished. A loud thunderclap shook the room as particles of air rushed to fill the spot in which Keona had just been standing. Dr. Malone and his nurse fell to the floor in fear.
Without saying a word, Maria, the nurse, got up as fast as she could and tripped the emergency alarm. She didn’t know what was happening, but she had no intentions of waiting to find out.
*
Keona felt the wind rush past her. There was no way she should have been able to move this fast. Briefly, she wondered about the race that had given her this wonderful ability. How had they died if they could move this fast? But in her heart of hearts she knew. Speed like this required massive amounts of energy. She could sense her metabolism racing to keep pace with what she was using. In a matter of time, she would burn out. Just as the other race had. Then she would be easy prey for the Reaper. She just hoped it would be enough to allow her to save Kara.
*
“AHHHH!”
“NOOOO!”
“RUN!”
Shocked, Kara looked up. Why was everyone screaming?
And then she saw it. A black, tar-like blob with tentacles was quickly humping towards a group of adults. In horror, she watched as it grabbed her Aunt Suzy, who went screaming into a mouth full of teeth! Teeth built for tearing and grinding!
Unable to move, Kara just sat there, while the emergency alarm blared in her ears. Her body shivered as two of the tentacles wrapped around her legs, and began to pull her toward the gaping maw.
The burning sand on her bottom had the effect that the creature did not, and Kara screamed. “No! Help me!” Tears ran down her face. “Mommy!”
Kara was jerked into the air, and she screamed as she descended into the creature’s flesh-filled, foul-smelling mouth.
Then two things happened. Kara saw the glint of metal, then felt herself being jerked away from the creature.
Keona sped away with Kara tucked under her arm. She didn’t know how much longer she could last. Already, she was beginning to feel faint. She knew if she went all the way to the ship, the last reserves of her energy would be gone, and the creature would probably be on them before the shuttle could take off.
Looking into Kara’s eyes, Keona tried to sooth her. “It’ll be okay baby.” She paused. “You have to get to the shuttle.” It was hard to keep the tension out of her voice.
“Mommy, you’re hot!” said Kara. “And your eyes…”
“Go now Kara,” said Keona as she grabbed her daughter in a fierce hug. “I’ll tell you later.”
“But…”
“Now, Kara!” Keona swatted her on the butt and watched as her daughter ran to safety. Other adults would already be there preparing the shuttle.
Keona turned back towards the Reaper, and sunlight glinted off the surgical knife in her hand. If she couldn’t slow this thing. Kara would perish. Keona ran straight at it.
Tentacles shot out, seeking to snare her, and Keona’s knife flashed back and forth, severing pieces of the Reaper, which just slithered on the ground like snakes, before being reabsorbed into the main body of the creature. She keep attacking it, then leaping away to safety.
Enraged, the Reaper followed her, determined to make her its next meal! Keona continued to hit and retreat, until she heard the roar of the rockets as the colonists’ ship took off. Keona looked up, smiled, and then ran in the opposite direction as fast as she could.
Her speed dropped quickly as the last reserves of her energy were spent, and she went tumbling headfirst into the sand. Behind her, the Reaper made a st
range sound and picked up speed.
As it got closer, she heard a roaring sound. Keona closed her eyes, and hoped that the end wouldn’t be too painful. She felt arms grab her, and then pull her skyward.
However, as she sat there waiting for the end, she never felt herself descend towards the ground. Instead, she kept rising!
Keona looked up at the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The robotic arms of the ship were pulling her into its cargo bay. Below her, the Reaper faded away.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dimitri has been writing for as long as he can remember, (wait, where did I put my wallet?), and highly recommends not baking cakes while in magical land. Sorry babe!
He resides in Texas with the love of his life, who has a habit of always misplacing his things, and three little angels who live to empty the fridge. I’m glad Pacman (the fish) has his own little stash!
You guys make life worth living, and writing worth doing! Love you!
If you enjoyed my collection, please bookmark the link below, and watch for Volume Three, which will be coming soon!!!
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ENDNOTES
Thank you for reading this collection of short stories. Also, if you did not get Mind Flights Volume One, it is available as a free download. The link to Volume One is at the end.
Mind Flights Volume Three will be forthcoming soon.
I also have a novel planned, “Talismans of Power”, which will be released by October of this year.
And again, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
Regards,
Dimitri
Mind Flights: 3 Tales of Horror! Volume 1 (Download for 99 cents!)
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Mind Flights: Fantastic Stories of the Imagination, Volume Two Page 3
