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Therak stood no chance.
Miya could not just stand there and watch him get torn to bits! But what could she use as a weapon against a monster five times her size? Turn her panties into a slingshot?
That was when her gaze landed on the human-driven carrier bot. Oh, yeah.
In a matter of seconds, she was back inside and climbing into the metal skeleton of the heavy-duty machine.But did Therakhaveseconds? Did the bot have enough charge for the hydraulics to still function? Did she remember how to drive one of these full-body-operated pieces of junk?
Miya was about to find out.
She got the machine running almost right away, moving her legs to make the bot’s legs move. She had it turned in the direction of the fight in time to see all kinds of small instruments flying at the creature’s head.
The monster wasn’t giving up, though. The metal objects Therak was moving telekinetically succeeded only in keeping its beak – lined up with two rows of triangular teeth – away from his face.
“Hey, you freak!” Miya yelled to grab the creature’s attention while she extended the bot’s arm. “Why don’t you eat someone your own size?”
The two pincers serving as the bot’s fingers locked around the neck of the monster. It was too thick for Miya to get a crushing grip, but she tried to tighten her hold as much as possible. The creature shrieked – in pain or anger? – and tried to take off.
“No you don’t.” Miya used the other hand of the bot to capture a leathery wing.
Another shriek filled the storage space.
That was when Therak finally managed to get free. Or the monster simply gave up, Miya couldn’t tell. She was too busy executing a maneuver to throw the creature away from them before it attempted another attack.
She did it! The red monstrosity ended up landing by the open doors, tumbling once along the dirt floor for good measure. It looked even more horrifying in the daylight, like the unlucky child of an interspecies orgy.
As soon as the sun rays came in contact with its body, the creature issued a cry even higher pitched than before. It ran toward the well, the bottom half of its wings serving as a second pair of legs. A moment later, it dove in the hole from where it had appeared.
Miya stared at the well, bot arms at the ready, but it was as if she had dreamt the whole freak show. There was no sign of the creature, the whistling of the wind outside being the only thing breaking the renewed silence.
A groan to her left made Miya ditch the bot and run to Therak’s side. He was on his feet but barely standing, yellow smeared over his chest and abs. As she neared and saw the numerous slashes crisscrossing his skin, there was no doubt left in her that the blood was his.
She reached him before his knees could give out. “I’ve got you, Therak.”
He slumped in her arms.
She managed to keep him upright with the use of all the strength left in her adrenaline-crashing, food-deprived body. She somehow succeeded in getting his left arm over her shoulder. Her right arm around his waist, she got them moving.
“Not on the ship,” he mumbled. How he was still conscious was beyond her. The amount of pain he had to be in…
“No, there is no AI doctor aboard. I’ll get you to the station’s infirmary.”
“No AI doctors.”
“But you’re bleeding profusely–”
“Stick to the light! Outside…”
Just when she was starting to think he was delusional from the blood loss – or too proud to admit he needed help – he began making sense. It had indeed been the light that had sent the freaky-icky creature packing. Someone didn’t like sunbathing.
“The dining hall!” Miya realized. “There isn’t a single dark corner in there, and at least one emergency medkit must be available.”
“No medkits, Miya.” Said the guy grunting and panting every other step as they exited the storage building.
“Shush it, you heavy badass.” She had not just saved him only to watch him die of blood loss in her arms. She would wrap him up like a mummy if she had to.
By the time they made it into the station, Miya had rediscovered every single muscle she had in her body. Her arms and legs were on fire, she was drenched in sweat, and Therak was leaning on her more and more with each step.
Still, as tired as her body was, her mind had enough energy to spare on thinking. That was how, when they finally reached the gory dining hall, she had a pretty sound theory about what had happened with the colonists.
