25. Kira

25

Kira

Drasuk's laughter, a sound like boulders clashing together, rumbles through the forest.

Loud as always, the dummy.

Despite myself, I can't help the small smile tugging at my lips. This weird lizard-dragon companion of mine is impossible. Absolutely impossible. His eye-squinting expression, something he does when he laughs, is almost endearing.

Almost.

It would have been better for me to handle retrieving all the women on my own, and Drasuk's response didn't exactly make me feel confident. I regret sharing now, but he doesn't seem to want to harm them.

I'll just have to keep forging ahead and hope they don't hate me for having Mr. Insulting tagging along, questioning their status as free agents.

I snort at him. "Since I crashed in the desert, there's a possibility that the main ship itself also crashed nearby. They are probably still in it. Do you think you could track the scent?"

Drasuk, still chuckling, tilts his head thoughtfully. "Yes, but we should also look from a height. We should travel along the boundary between desert and forest. That way, I can climb the tall trees at intervals and get an elevated view of the area."

I mull it over. It's a solid plan. "Alright, let's move out." I gesture forward, and he follows.

We walk in silence for a while. The only sounds are the crunching of sand beneath our feet and the occasional rustle of leaves. The tension of our earlier conversation lingers, but it's manageable.

My mind wanders, and boredom sets in.

An idea strikes me, and I decide to branch out with my insults. Experiment a little.

I try to say prick , testing the Drakonid translation. It comes out as poking cock .

Drasuk rumbles with amusement, which blends with the crunching sounds of our feet. "I would, but you refuse to tell me where."

I groan, rolling my eyes. "How is that anything like the same? It's an insult, not a description. Whoever made this translation program fornicated it up."

He starts to reply, but his words die in his throat. His body tenses, and he stops dead in his tracks. I follow his gaze, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

A thunderous sound erupts from the desert sand, and something huge bursts out with force, spraying hot sand everywhere. I barely manage to dodge to the side, instinctively doubling back to Drasuk, my gun raised, curses tumbling out of my lips.

The creature before us is a big, nasty thing with six legs and thick, rough brown skin marked with ovals. It raises on its front legs like a caterpillar, its skin thick and mottled everywhere except along its back and tail, which is covered in long, spiked white hair. Its many eyes glisten ominously, and it's even bigger than Drasuk's beefy nine-foot frame.

The creature speaks, its voice a guttural growl. "You look delicious," it says, its words translated perfectly by whatever changes the slimes made to me.

I swallow hard, trying to speak its language, which sends the usual spike of pain down my throat. "We are not food," I say, the words feeling strange on my tongue.

The creature doesn't respond, its eyes continuing to rove over us like we are a tasty treat.

"Don't bother with that," Drasuk hisses out. "Prepare for a fight."

We stand there in a tense standoff, the air thick with anticipation. My heart pounds in my chest, and my grip tightens on my gun, not wanting to be the first to attack just in case this can be settled without violence. Drasuk's claws flex, his body coiled like a spring ready to pounce.

The creature growls again as it sweeps its gaze over us, hunger clear in its gaze.

The creature's growl sends a shiver down my spine. Its many eyes lock onto us with an unnerving interest. Drasuk and I stand our ground.

It makes me wish I had a better knife, dammit. Not to mention a better gun.

My heart pounds in my ears, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I mentally catalogue how to reach other weapons, ready for whatever comes next.

With a blood-curdling half hiss, half screech, the creature closes in on us, shattering any hope for a peaceful alternative, its movements surprisingly swift for something so massive.

I aim and squeeze the trigger, the gun's report echoing through the forest. The bullet strikes the creature's hide, but it barely flinches.

Its rough skin must be tougher than it looks. Just like Drasuk. Ridiculous and fucking unfair.

With a sudden flick of the end of its long body, the creature whips me away like a rag doll. Pain explodes in my side as I'm sent flying through the air.

I hit the ground hard, skidding across the rough terrain before slamming into the base of a tree. My head spins, and for a moment, I can't breathe.

The world is a blur of pain and disorientation.

An angry bellow from Drasuk cuts through the haze. I struggle to push myself up, my vision swimming. I can barely make out Drasuk grappling with the creature, its massive form towering over him. The thing has its tail wrapped around his throat, lifting him off the ground. He claws at it, but it looks like he is barely patting the thing.

It doesn't match anything I thought I knew about him. He's just letting it strangle him.

I force myself to my feet, my vision clearing as I stumble forward. The creature is focused on Drasuk, giving me a chance to act. I raise my gun again, my hands shaking, and fire. The bullet strikes one of its many eyes, and it howls in pain, its grip on Drasuk loosening.

I run toward them, my legs feeling like heavy weights. My vision blurs again, but I blink it away, focusing on what's in front of me. Drasuk manages to break free, gasping for breath.

He just stands there, muscles tense, like he is having some sort of internal battle.

The creature quickly recovers, turning its attention back to me, recognizing that I am the bigger threat.

"Fornicate, Drasuk. Fight!"

He just stands there, trembling.

As it closes in, the creature's many eyes glint with malice. I shoot again, aiming for another eye, but it's too quick, dodging to the side. It lunges at me, and I barely dodge out of the way, its claws swiping through the air where I stood moments ago.

Drasuk charges at it, his powerful legs propelling him forward.

I assume he intends to slam into the creature, knocking it off balance, and some of my panic eases.

Instead, he swerves at the last moment, his momentum making him hit a tree with a loud crack. The creature swipes at him and this time Drasuk manages to hold on to it.

I can't understand why he isn't using his claws to tear into it. Instead, they grapple, a tangle of limbs and tails. I take advantage of the distraction, moving in close and firing another shot.

This time, the bullet hits its mark, striking one of the creature's eyes dead center.

It screams, a high-pitched, keening wail that makes my ears ring. It thrashes, trying to dislodge Drasuk, but he holds on, his claws digging into his own limbs, leaving long scores.

He's lost his fucking mind.

I fire again and again, each shot taking out another eye. The creature's movements grow more frantic, more desperate.

But it's not done yet. With a mighty heave, it throws Drasuk off, sending him crashing to the ground, then swipes at him, leaving long gashes on his neck. It turns its attention back to me, its remaining eyes filled with rage. I back away.

My gun is almost empty, but I refuse to show fear.

It charges at me, and I dive to the side, barely avoiding its snapping jaws. I roll to my feet and fire again; the bullet hitting one of its few remaining eyes. The creature roars in pain, but it's not enough to stop it.

It lunges again, and I have no choice but to meet it head-on.

With a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength, I close the distance, dodging its claws and teeth. I slam the barrel of my gun into one of its eyes and pull the trigger. The creature's roar of pain is deafening, but it's still not dead.

I keep pushing forward, using my gun like a club, bashing at its eyes with all my strength.

Finally, the creature falters. It stumbles, its many eyes reduced to bloody sockets. With one last desperate effort, I shove the gun into its largest eye and fire. The creature convulses, its death throes shaking the ground beneath us.

It collapses with a final, shuddering breath, its body twitching before going still.

I stand there, panting, covered in sweat and blood. My entire body aches, but I can't rest yet. Drasuk needs help, if he's even still alive. I move to his side, pushing the creature's bloody corpse off him. He's breathing hard, blood seeping from wounds on his neck.

"Are you okay?" I ask, my voice hoarse.

Drasuk winces. "I'll live. Thanks to you."

I help him to his feet, supporting his weight as best I can, which is pretty much not at all since he's massive. As we move away from the creature's corpse, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I look down and see the creature's spiked hair embedded in my flesh, blood flowing down the thin black suit.

"Great," I mutter, gritting my teeth against the pain. "Just what I needed."

We find a relatively safe spot and collapse to the ground. I dig into my pack for medical supplies, pulling out a spray container. I experiment with it for a moment before using it on the gashes on Drasuk's neck. The spray hisses as it comes into contact with his wounds, but it seems to help.

"Hold still," I say, trying to keep my hands steady.

My vision blurs again, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear it, then shake my head when it doesn't.

"Something wrong?" Drasuk asks, noticing my discomfort.

"It's nothing. What the fiery pit in the ground happened back there, Drasuk? I thought we were a team?"

"I... I don't know, Kira. It's like I couldn't attack it. Every time I tried, my body betrayed me. The most I was able to do was try to hold it down."

"You were able to attack me. What the fornicate?"

"Yes. And I killed genali before finding you."

"Probably another one of the ways they modified us. They said something about prey not being able to harm each other when they were talking about this place. They must have skipped that little upgrade for the sand eater over there. Fornicate. I hate the genali."

"I heartily agree, little human."

My eyelid twitches at his insistence on insulting nicknames, but I don't call him on it. For the first time, there isn't any jesting in his voice. No arrogance either.

It's scary as fuck.

He looks vulnerable for a moment before my vision blurs again. I reach up a hand and use the back of it, the only part of it not covered in grime and blood, to wipe at my eyes.

"Tell me what is bothering you," he demands.

"I don't know," I admit, blinking again. "Can you see what's wrong with my eyes?"

Drasuk leans in, his slitted pupils narrowing as he examines me. "You have a nictitating membrane," he says, his voice filled with curiosity.

"A what?" I ask, confused.

"A second eyelid," he explains.

"Like one of the slimes? Fantastic," I mutter, shaking my head. "Just what I needed."

Drasuk chuckles, the sound deep and rumbling. "You did well, Kira. Very well."

I blink at the praise, unsure how to respond. This new rapport is making me wish he'd go back to insulting me.

I know how to respond to that. Maybe not in the most grown-up fashion, but it's familiar ground at least.

I don't have a ready reply.

Instead, I focus on being busy, pulling out a replacement clip for the gun and clicking it into place, then grabbing medical supplies to tend to my wounds. I only have one more clip after this one and it makes me uneasy.

The road rash on my arms and legs stings, but I grit my teeth and clean them as best I can. The pain in my stomach is worse, but I manage to remove most of the spiked hair and bandage the wound.

As I work, I can't help but reflect on the fight. It was brutal and exhausting, but we made it through. Barely. I glance over at Drasuk, who's watching me with a mixture of respect and distress.

"Thanks," I say finally, my voice soft. "For having my back."

Even if he did leave me with all the work, aside from providing a bit of distraction.

Hell, I can handle all of this shit without him. If I haven't proven that by now, especially after fighting something straight out of a monster compendium, I don't know what would.

It feels good, but the sense of pride is fleeting when I glance at him again.

He looks defeated. I realize this is the perfect time to ditch the arrogant fool. Something tells me he wouldn't resist right now.

I huff out a breath. No, that wouldn't be right. I made a promise. Besides, he's useful. There's no sense in being upset with him for a limitation the genali put on him. He did what he could.

His expression is vacant now. Something tells me he isn't as forgiving of himself.

I'd just started getting used to his jokes. I don't like him like this and the urge to cheer him up is strong. To let him know it wasn't his fault.

My world shifts again. I'm not exactly known for being magnanimous.

I've had too many changes recently to analyze that one, so I return to treating my wounds and bite my tongue. It's probably temporary.

It fucking better be. This place will eat me alive if I go soft.