dying to go back out and kill some more. Boraf was still doing the same thing when Luther woke up some hours later; he doubted the Ectozoid had slept a wink the whole night.
Luther rubbed the sleep from his eyes and chuckled. " Man, you need to relax, " he said. " An Ectozoid doesn ' t live on murder alone. "
" No relax, " puffed Boraf. " Time for save world. Make more Ectozoid kill. "
" Later, " said Luther, padding over to the locker of food he ' d brought from Earth. " Breakfast first. Save world later. "
No sooner had he popped open the locker and reached for a packet of corned beef hash than the door of Boraf ' s house-mound slithered open. Three Ectozoids shuffled in, making whimpering noises as they crowded around Boraf.
" Save world now, " said Boraf. " Ectozoids come now for Luther make kill. "
Luther sighed and squeezed the tab on the food packet, activating the built-in heating element. In seconds, the packet grew warm to the touch, though the contents inside were heated to a much higher temperature. " Give me five minutes, " he said, tearing open the seal and inhaling the smell of the cooked food. " Saving the world ' s a lot easier on a full stomach. "
One of the new arrivals shuffled over and grabbed the packet from his hand. The creature made a sound like a duck as it swung the food out of Luther ' s reach.
" Make Ectozoids kill like Boraf, " said Boraf. " Save world now. Eat later. "
Luther tried to snatch the food packet from the ' Zoid ' s tentacle, but the creature lashed it out of reach. Irritated, Luther tried again, more aggressively this time, but the alien swept the packet up and passed it to another ' Zoid.
Glowering, Luther combed his fingers through his wavy silver hair. He knew when he was licked. " Fine, " he snapped, marching past the creatures and out the door. " But if one tentacle comes near me when I ' m taking a piss, the world can go to hell. "
*****
By the end of the day, ' Zoids were killing ' Zoids all over the place.
From the doorway of Boraf ' s home, Luther could see and hear plenty of action. Armed with knives and clubs, ' Zoids attacked other ' Zoids down the block, across the street, in neighboring house-mounds. The air was thick with sneezing death-cries and the stink of rotten fish; the pulsing street was strewn with jellyfish corpses and soaked with seeping body fluids.
He ' d lost track of how many ' Zoids he ' d given the touch, but he guessed it was close to a hundred. They were all out there now, killing like cavemen and loving every minute of it, high on death. Boraf was with them, caught up in the mayhem that only a day ago had seemed so unthinkable.
As Luther stood there, another trio of ' Zoids came shuffling toward him, eye stalks twitching. Before they said a word, he knew they wanted him to transform them like the rest, turn them into murderers so they could join the fun.
But he was out of gas. After the long, exhausting day he ' d been through, Luther wanted nothing more than to collapse on his mat and get some deserved sleep. As entertaining and gratifying as the work had been, he couldn ' t stand the thought of corrupting one more alien jellyfish.
Even as he slipped inside and closed the door, however, he knew that he was screwed. They knew he was there; he knew that they wouldn ' t leave him alone.
Sure enough, the ' Zoids ended up at the door, coughing and trumpeting and belching his name. They thumped at the door with their tentacles, each blow harder than the last.
Though he knew he would end up opening the door eventually, Luther tried to shut out the commotion for just a moment more. He slipped a cigarette out of the pocket of his coveralls and lit it, inhaling deeply.
And it was then, only then, that he finally noticed how different he felt. As he stood there and smoked, listening to the thumping and sneezing and belching, he realized that exhaustion wasn ' t the only reason he didn ' t want to face the creatures.
Up until now, he had
Luther rubbed the sleep from his eyes and chuckled. " Man, you need to relax, " he said. " An Ectozoid doesn ' t live on murder alone. "
" No relax, " puffed Boraf. " Time for save world. Make more Ectozoid kill. "
" Later, " said Luther, padding over to the locker of food he ' d brought from Earth. " Breakfast first. Save world later. "
No sooner had he popped open the locker and reached for a packet of corned beef hash than the door of Boraf ' s house-mound slithered open. Three Ectozoids shuffled in, making whimpering noises as they crowded around Boraf.
" Save world now, " said Boraf. " Ectozoids come now for Luther make kill. "
Luther sighed and squeezed the tab on the food packet, activating the built-in heating element. In seconds, the packet grew warm to the touch, though the contents inside were heated to a much higher temperature. " Give me five minutes, " he said, tearing open the seal and inhaling the smell of the cooked food. " Saving the world ' s a lot easier on a full stomach. "
One of the new arrivals shuffled over and grabbed the packet from his hand. The creature made a sound like a duck as it swung the food out of Luther ' s reach.
" Make Ectozoids kill like Boraf, " said Boraf. " Save world now. Eat later. "
Luther tried to snatch the food packet from the ' Zoid ' s tentacle, but the creature lashed it out of reach. Irritated, Luther tried again, more aggressively this time, but the alien swept the packet up and passed it to another ' Zoid.
Glowering, Luther combed his fingers through his wavy silver hair. He knew when he was licked. " Fine, " he snapped, marching past the creatures and out the door. " But if one tentacle comes near me when I ' m taking a piss, the world can go to hell. "
*****
By the end of the day, ' Zoids were killing ' Zoids all over the place.
From the doorway of Boraf ' s home, Luther could see and hear plenty of action. Armed with knives and clubs, ' Zoids attacked other ' Zoids down the block, across the street, in neighboring house-mounds. The air was thick with sneezing death-cries and the stink of rotten fish; the pulsing street was strewn with jellyfish corpses and soaked with seeping body fluids.
He ' d lost track of how many ' Zoids he ' d given the touch, but he guessed it was close to a hundred. They were all out there now, killing like cavemen and loving every minute of it, high on death. Boraf was with them, caught up in the mayhem that only a day ago had seemed so unthinkable.
As Luther stood there, another trio of ' Zoids came shuffling toward him, eye stalks twitching. Before they said a word, he knew they wanted him to transform them like the rest, turn them into murderers so they could join the fun.
But he was out of gas. After the long, exhausting day he ' d been through, Luther wanted nothing more than to collapse on his mat and get some deserved sleep. As entertaining and gratifying as the work had been, he couldn ' t stand the thought of corrupting one more alien jellyfish.
Even as he slipped inside and closed the door, however, he knew that he was screwed. They knew he was there; he knew that they wouldn ' t leave him alone.
Sure enough, the ' Zoids ended up at the door, coughing and trumpeting and belching his name. They thumped at the door with their tentacles, each blow harder than the last.
Though he knew he would end up opening the door eventually, Luther tried to shut out the commotion for just a moment more. He slipped a cigarette out of the pocket of his coveralls and lit it, inhaling deeply.
And it was then, only then, that he finally noticed how different he felt. As he stood there and smoked, listening to the thumping and sneezing and belching, he realized that exhaustion wasn ' t the only reason he didn ' t want to face the creatures.
Up until now, he had
Similar Books
Thanks for Giving
Jillian Chantal
Shakin' It For Daddy (The Panty Droppers)
Tigra-Luna LeMar
The Passage
Justin Cronin
Beijing Bastard
Val Wang
The Vanished
Sarah Dalton
A Pocket Full of Rye
Agatha Christie
The Dragon and the George
Gordon R. Dickson
Chiaroscuro
Jenna Jones