Suck the Savage Beast

by James Cox

  “Good. That’s great. The holding part not the attack.” Damn, I sounded like an idiot. “Food’s almost ready.”

  “Nice.” He grinned. “I’m starved.” Kurt grabbed his shirt and paused. “I think I got to wipe the stink off me first.” He chuckled.

  “I think you smell fine,” I muttered. “I mean good. Good enough. To eat by a fire. Or anywhere really.” Shut. Up. I snapped my mouth closed.

  “Um, yeah, right. I’ll see you over there.” He smiled but it looked forced then he walked away.

  Damn it! I graduated a year early and the top of my class in every subject. At the age of nineteen, I’ve already written research papers that were in practical use today, won awards, led the science team on Mars, and was first-picked for this mission to Earth. And I still bumbled for coherent words in front of a hot guy. Damn it.

  “You’re hopeless.”

  “I am hopeless.” I startled, realizing that wasn’t my inner voice and glanced around to find Lily. “Thanks.”

  “Oh, don’t frown.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “You’re smart, funny sometimes, and you’re a great person. Just be yourself.”

  “You’re too nice to know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m taking that as a compliment.” She spun on her heels.

  “I didn’t mean it to be,” I yelled after here.

  “I know.”

  Stupid sister. There she goes making me feel like I had a chance with Kurt. I took a deep breath. Maybe I could sit on the same log with him for the meal? It shouldn’t take long for him to clean up.

  ****

  My father watched me from the corner of his sight as I slowly picked at my food. I wanted to scarf it down before all the tasty burnt bits were taken but I also wanted to wait for Kurt. The man took forever to shower. At least it made me feel better knowing he had flaws. Hover bikes roamed the inside of the fence. The private area we set up was near a short waterfall. I glanced in that direction but couldn’t see if Kurt was done yet. The green wooded area around us had gone void of birds singing as the sun set. Nocturnal creatures came out, creating odd sounds that filled the dark area around our camp.

  “You feeling okay?” Deviant asked.

  “Fine,” I said quickly and frowned when Peter sat down opposite me.

  “He’s good, Da.” Lily sighed. “But I need someone to keep a look out when I clean up. I am the only woman here.”

  “Girl.” Deviant muttered.

  “I’m eighteen!”

  Our father sighed. “Woman. And you’re damn right I’ll be lookout.”

  “Peter? It’d be a big help if you’d look over my calculations for the ship. My handheld is in there.” She smiled, the devious girl, um, woman. Lily didn’t need anyone to check her work, let alone that idiot Peter.

  “Oh. Yes, of course. Happy to help.” Peter rushed to his feet.

  “Thank you so much!” She winked at me then stood.

  Sure enough, as the logs around the fire cleared out thanks to Lily, Kurt emerged. I wouldn’t call her a girl again, that’s for sure. “Hey.”

  “Did I miss the good stuff?” Kurt joked as he filled his plate and sat on the log next to me.”

  “No.” I wiped my damp palms on my pants. It was comfortable temperature out here but my nerves were making me sweat.

  Kurt took a bite and winced. “Yeah, no matter what planet you’re on protein squares never taste any better.”

  I laughed, and to my horror, spit food at the sand. Fuck it all to Earth. “Excuse me,” I said miserably. Where was a black hole when I needed one? I wiped at my mouth and left my plate on the log. A hover bike rode past slowly. The lights shinning briefly into the dark woods. “You think anything’s out there?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  He shoved the last piece of protein in his mouth. “Probably.” Kurt slurred around the food and dropped his empty dish to the sand. “We found tracks before.” He stood, walked the short distance to the fence. “Right here, it came from the woods, walked around some then retreated.” Kurt took a light from his belt and shined it on the ground.

  “Small prints.” I squatted. “Maybe a twenty, twenty-five-pound animal.”

  “Let’s hope they’re all that small.” He grunted.

  “I’m sure your hard work on the fences are adequate.” I stood, slightly off balance and swayed a bit too close to Kurt. My gaze instantly dropped to his lips. This was it, I was going to do it! I aimed for his mouth but came up short when Kurt held up his hands.

  “Welliver.” He stepped back. “Look man, I think you’re an awesome guy.”

  Oh, shit.

  “And I love the whole saving my life thing. Who the hell doesn’t? And you’re really good at it. It’s just, you’re not my type.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I deflated, leaning against the rusty, unappreciated fence. The metaphor was not lost on me as Kurt winced.

  “You’re really smart and I like relaxing with you and you’re the person I want at my back in a fight but…”

  “I’m not your type.” I finished for him. “It’s not like I’ve never heard that before. I am the guy that saved everyone’s ass not the one that gets the ass.” I held my fence tighter, my fingers curled around the curved steel.

  “Yeah.” He frowned. “We still friends?”

  “Of course.” I couldn’t fault him for not liking me. Most days I didn’t like myself. “We’re MC brothers for life.” I shook his hand all manly and casual.

  “Good.” He awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’m going to get another bite to eat. You want more?”

  “No. Thanks.” I pasted on a fake smile and when he walked away I didn’t bother to watch. Well, that sucked. I’d been fantasizing about Kurt for months. He doesn’t even have the decency to be an ass about it so I can move on. No, he’s got to be a damn gentleman. I frowned and faced the dark woods. Being an Outlaw you’d think I’d get more men. A crackling to my right made my heart beat faster. It sounded like something was out there. I listened closer, judging the distance and the fact that it wasn’t moving away. Who knew what lurked in the night on Earth? My thoughts went back to Kurt, Oh hell, Lily was going to nag the shit out of me until she found out what happened.

  “Fuck!” Someone shouted.

  The expletive was so unexpected that I spun around and squinted to see in the dull light. It didn’t take long to see the … the thing on the other side of the fence. It was bigger than I predicted. Tentacles slammed against the reinforced fence. Fuck it all to Earth, it wasn’t going to hold. “To the ship!” I shouted over the screech of that monster hitting the fence. See, backup plans worked. “Lily, the shield!” I saw her wide eyes looking from the fence to the open ramp. All she had to do was turn on the shock generator and the entire outside of the ship would be electrified. But the creature was bigger than I’d planned for. My calculations for the fence were not correct. There was a sharp snap as the support broke. Gunshots rang out as everyone tried to get to the ship. My speed times the distance and I knew I’d never make it to safety. I was glued to the fence as the octopus thing opened its mouth and roared. The sound made me clamp my hands over my ears.

  “Move your ass, Well,” Kurt shouted, firing and striking a tentacle.

  A damn tentacle!

  We were fighting a monster with tentacles. How did that even make any sense? The calculations didn’t add up even if that creature paused from the gunshots. I’d never make it. Then the fence behind me shook.

  “Welliver!” Deviant screamed.

  The fence tore from the support. I was too close. I dropped to my stomach, spreading my arms and legs out to distribute the weigh. Damn it, I was too smart to die like this! The fence crashed down, pressing against my legs but nothing crushing. I opened my eyes, not exactly sure when I’d closed them. I regretted the action as the huge creature slid right over me and the fence keeping us apart. Why the hell wasn’t I dead? I crawled forward in the dirt as more gunshots rang out. There! The suppor
t. The wide girth had kept the fence from crushing me like a bug against the spaceship’s hull. I grabbed the top of the fence, pulling myself awkwardly out. Sweat beaded my forehead from all the physical shit. I fumbled to my knees, breathing heavily.

  “Welliver!” My father shouted.

  I heard the soft click as the generator was turned on. The creatures roared as they were shocked. I stood as they circled the ship, trying to find a way in without the pain of the shocks. The ramp was closing. I was out of time.

  “Run!” My father yelled, his eyes wide and his skin pale with fear. “We’ll keep them busy. Run. I’ll find you!”

  “Shit.” I fumbled over the fence and into the dark woods. The creatures were busy with the ship. I had a fifty percent chance of survival based on my speed and their distance. The brush scratched at my legs, tearing my pants and making me misstep. I ran as fast as I could, which wasn’t that swift. My legs burned, my lungs screamed, I wasn’t a damn runner! I stumbled past trees making enough noise to attract every damn octopus in the entire woods. Gasping for breath I stopped short behind a large tree. My lungs were going to pop, they worked so hard. I swear it felt like I was dying. My heart beat so hard that I felt each beat in my veins. A headache slowly creeped up on me and apparently, that wasn’t the only thing. I bent over to ease the burden on my chest and a tentacle slammed into the tree. “Shit.” I rolled forward, lost my direction and ended up sprawled on the ground. My percentage of surviving just lowered to zero. There was no way I could defeat this thing with my bare hands.

  The creature lifted a limb and swung down.

  I rolled away, dirt puffed violently into the air from the impact. “Help me!” The tentacle flew toward me. I leapt, landing on my aching knees. Fuck me, I really did that. And the surprise was short lived as a different limb hit my back. Another jerked toward my head. I spun, hitting a tree. Something sharp slid across my cheek. Wet drops slithered down my neck.

  Blood.

  “Help Me!” I shouted as loud as I could. The pain was getting worse. I pulled a knife from my belt, only remembering it was there from the glint it made in the soft light from the stars above. Holding it tightly and upward, the limb came toward me. The blade sunk in. The creature roared, jerked its injured tentacle back and took my knife with it. “Shit.”

  The octopus rolled forward and its big mouth opened. The teeth were stained red.

  It was going to eat me! I kicked at it, losing my boot to its ravenous bite. I was too young to die. I wanted to accomplish so much more. I wanted a damn boyfriend. The thing’s limb landed over my legs, pinning me and with it an insane amount of pain. My vision started to blur. Fuck it all to Earth, I was going to pass out and be eaten. Terrified, I pushed at the limb trying to wiggle free but my arms were heavy. I had trouble focusing as something jumped from the trees. Fuck me, I was going to feed its whole family? But the blurry figure was smaller than my attacker. It was man sized. “Kurt?” Dizzy, my head lolled to the side. It was a … a naked man? Huh, I must be delusional from pain if I was seeing a sexy naked guy fighting an octopus. My eyelids shut on that odd thought.

  Chapter Three

  “Welliver! Help me,” Lily screamed. She was behind the thick door on the ship. The ramp opened as we flew higher.

  I stared at the handheld but the numbers faded into letters. “This makes no sense.” I pressed in codes to reboot but the machine didn’t respond. “It’s not working.”

  Lily placed her hand on the circular window at the top of the door. “I don’t want to die.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” I said, panicking. I pushed at the door knowing it wouldn’t move. The pilot seat behind me was empty but we still climbed into the sky. A pale grayish Mars sky?

  “It’s all your fault,” Lily shouted. “You couldn’t stop Mars from dying. You can’t protect anyone on Earth. You’re a pathetic fucking failure.” Her voice went low and raspy. “You can’t even get a man.”

  I froze, hurt, and then slowly smiled.

  “What are you smiling at! You’re going to let me die?”

  “You cursed” I blew out a breath. “Lily never says damn let alone fuck. This is a nightmare.” I moved to the pilot’s seat as the dream Lily started to bang on the door. “This isn’t real,” I explained to myself. “It’s simply my subconscious and my fear, my unfounded fear, that I’m going to fail in life.” I glanced at the window. We’d stopped moving in the sky, Lily had vanished. “I’m not going to fail.” I muttered as I sat back. “I’m too smart to fail. And why the hell can’t I have a normal dream with naked men?” It actually irked me how unnatural my dreams were. I could reason my way out of the worst nightmare and remember every detail when I woke up. Who did that shit? A sharp pain slid along my cheek. Well, dreaming told me one thing. I wasn’t dead yet. Yay for me.

  The pain was real though. My cheek stung and the hurt seemed to travel from the bottom of the wound to the top. I took a deep breath, smelling the earth woods and fresh air. There was a light behind my closed eyelids. It must be day. I was sure when my stomach growled in hunger. I licked my dry lips and then bravely inched one eyelid open. Too bright! I moaned at the pain, paused. That was not normal. I opened my eyes, squinting, bearing the horrible brightness and I saw … wait. What the hell? There was a man kneeling next to me. His skin had the heavy tan of too much time in the sun or perhaps he was a natural light brown in color. I couldn’t tell and got no further when my gaze reached his plump lips smeared with blood. My blood. “No!” I scrambled to sit up but my back screamed in protest. I pushed at the stranger’s bare shoulders.

  “Blood,” his voice was raspy like he didn’t use it often. “…makes them hunt.” He lifted an arm and pointed behind him.

  “Fuck it all to Earth!” There was a, I’m going to pray dead, octopus creature behind him. “You killed it?” I lifted to my elbows. “Oh, and you’re naked!” I diverted my gaze or I tried to. Honestly, my back was too sore to be jerking around and as far as sight to wake up to … his flaccid cock wasn’t a bad choice.

  He stared at me, completely comfortable and unperturbed that I was glancing at his cock.

  “Um, thanks. For saving my life. I don’t say that too often.” I lay back on the cool dirt. “Who are you?”

  He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Who are you?”

  “I’m a scientist. Did you see our ship come down?”

  He nodded, and black tangled hair fell onto his shoulders. They almost looked like old fashioned dreadlocks.

  “Why the hell didn’t you come by the camp? We thought Earth was abandoned. It should be. Where did you come from?” I paused, eyes widening as my mind worked. “You’re … you’re from the prison aren’t you?”

  He slowly nodded.

  Fuck me! “How long have you been here? Where have you been?”

  He shifted backward without standing. His thick thigh now covering his dick and most of his balls.

  “Welliver!”

  The shout made us both jerk. It was Lily’s voice. “Here. I’m here.” I yelled. “That’s my sister. She’s…” I turned to look at the stranger but he was gone. I started around. The only evidence he was here at all was his footprints in the dirt.

  “Welliver?” Deviant’s deep voice traveled further than hers had.

  “I’m here.” I shouted, easing upward. My back stung but I kept lifting until I sat up. “Right here. Here. Lily. Dad.” I yelled. The sound as long as it was constant would reveal my location. Sure enough, my father Deviant burst through the trees. He skidded to a stop as he saw the dead creature and shoved a hand out to keep Lily from running out into the open. “It’s dead.”

  “You killed one?” Kurt came from behind Lily and she tore from Deviant’s hold and ran into me.

  “I killed him with math equations,” I said dryly.

  Lily wrapped her arms around me. “Oh, thank the stars.” She squeezed, tears sliding down her face.

  “I’m okay. I’m okay.” I gave h
er hand a pat but held on.

  “What happened to it? Deviant asked, poking it with the tip of his boot.

  “That is a long story.”

  Lily stood. Between her and Deviant I was able to get to my feet.

  “Really?” Kurt kicked a motionless limb.

  “No.” I grumbled, feeling blood leak down my cheek. “Apparently, we’re not alone on Earth. There’s a naked man running around out here and he saved my life.”

  Kurt jerked as his gaze went to me then my father. “I think you should check him for a concussion.”

  Lily nodded.

  Deviant frowned. “I think so too.”

  “I’m not brain damaged or concussed,” I said angrily and Lily patted my shoulder. “He was real.” They ignored me as they helped me through the woods and back to camp.

  Chapter Four

  Deviant helped me over the fallen fence but then walked away. I stumbled along with Lily’s help.

  “He’s mad at himself,” she whispered. “He was afraid he lost you too. Like his sister.”

  Well he didn’t. I was still here thanks to that guy in the woods. I limped my way toward the ship and was surprised to find one of those octopus things dead alongside it. It was massive, much bigger than the one that attacked me. The tentacles were tangled up and the stink was unbelievable. I sputtered and held my nose until we climbed the ramp inside.

  “Kurt and Deviant are going to examine it and see if they can find any weaknesses besides the sun.”

  I really didn’t care. My main priority was sitting down. I ached so badly down my legs and back that I winced taking the final few steps to a seat. “It shouldn’t have broken through the fence. If Arie had told us how big they were I would have had the correct calculations. It wouldn’t have broken through the fence.”

  “It did. We all survived. Move on.”

  “I will not. I could have died!”