Page 3 of Alien Peacock
Then one big alien kicks the little pink creature, sending it hard into the wall. It bounces off the dull metal and squeals thinly in pain.
It's probably the stupid energy bar that does it. But I can't resist. Anger flares up in me, and I extend the fighting stick to its full length.
“Stop that,” I tell the aliens flatly as I approach.
They turn to me. “Mind own biz,” one says in heavily accented Interspeech. “Walk on.”
I stop just out of stick range. The little creature sits on the floor, looking up at me with two clear brown eyes that are cartoonishlyhuge and adorable. I know I can't leave without knowing that thing is out of harm's way.
“Run away now,” I tell it, eyeing the three aliens. They're tall and spindly, with dark skin and disordered, gray robes that remind me of the wrappings of a mummy. I spot long fingers with curved, yellow claws. They may not be as silly as they look.
The creature trots over to me, blinks and wags a little tail hesitantly.
The aliens talk to each other, making a strange humming noise.
One of them pulls a weapon and makes sure to show it to me. “Last chance. Keep going.”
I squat down and give the small alien animal a quick glance. At the back of my mind I'm aware that this is not very smart — I don't know what kind of alien creature this is. But the treatment those jerks gave him makes me defiant. “You're not too injured, looks like. Run along now. Go on!” I reach out to push it, feeling the soft fur against my fingertips.
But the thing doesn't seem to see the danger. Well, I can't stay here.
As I straighten back up to keep going, the little creature jumps up onto me and clings to my shawl.
I yelp, thinking it’s attacking me. The shawl and the creature drop to the ground, and my face is left uncovered.
The aliens lose interest in the little animal, all staring at me with their three eyes each. Their humming gets louder and more urgent, and they move as if to assault me.
“You are Earth female?” one of them asks.
I lift the fighting stick to make sure they see it as I pick up the shawl. “I have no business with you. Leave this creature alone, and let me pass.”
They come closer, seeming to float without much movement of their feet. “Earth female?”
They tower over me, and my skin starts creeping. I twirl the fighting stick, getting ready to use it. “Stay where you are!”
Their ugly, throaty humming increases in intensity as they discuss me in their own language. “Come with us.”
“I’m not coming with anyone,” I tell them, raising my voice. “Stay away.”
But they come closer, quickly surrounding me while staying at a safe distance from my stick. Metallic objects appear in their hands, clearly weapons of some kind. It looks like I’ll have to fight?—
Pop.
A sticky net engulfs me, restricting my movements as I try to whack the nearest alien with the end of the stick.
I’m still catching my bearings when the aliens get in close and reach for me with their clawed fingers. “Come with us.”
I go to the final option I’ve practiced for situations like this: go crazy.
I windmill the fighting stick as well as I can, trying to hit the aliens. The stick senses the net around me and gets shorter to still be usable. I manage to get in one hard hit on the nearest alien, but my attempts at kicking are hindered by the net, which is now quickly shrinking around me.
“Help!” I scream as the really final option. “I’m being assaulted!”
My voice echoes from the walls of the corridor, sounding desperate and thin.
The mesh of the net shrinks, and I can’t even push the thin end of the stick out of the holes. I start to worry about being able to breathe if it keeps shrinking.
Two of the aliens calmly lift me as if I were a sack of cement, their lidless eyes staring at me. “Female?”