Virgin Land by Chloe Smith

Author:Chloe Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Luna Press Publishing
Published: 2022-10-09T17:24:31+00:00

*

In the groundcraft, we outpace the hungry edge of the burn. Luca is driving today, and I keep turning back to stare at the fire’s progress until he grunts in surprise and the craft jerks under us.

“What?” Unnerved, I try to see in all directions at once.

“There’s a lot of activity across this firebreak,” Luca says. He’s looking at the dirt we cleared yesterday, which stretches like a road ahead of us.

I follow his gaze and catch a flash of movement as something low and small darts out from the shadow of the low kudzu and disappears amid the press of leaves on the safe side of the break. Then there’s another, a bit farther from us. And another. It’s an exodus of different types of Small Things.

Ashamed of my silly names, I just say, “Those are all animals that live in and on the kudzu.”

“They subsist on this stuff?” Luca’s gaze flicks to the expanse of kudzu, then back to the dirt in front of us. He’s slowed the groundcraft, and I can tell he’s watching for more crossing creatures.

I shrug. “As far as I can tell. They do like the food we brought with us, though. I keep finding them in the house.”

“If you’re a new food source, I’m surprised they’re not swarming in your kitchen,” Luca says.

“Ugh!” I shudder at the thought. “No; it’s actually less of a problem than it used to be. Only one or two every couple days—so long as we keep thing shipshape and sealed.” I think of Alis’ words, of my own failure to find the most recent hole.

“Maybe the population’s dropping,” Luca says thoughtfully.

“It doesn’t look like it,” I begin, pointing to where more evacuees, two of the six-legged creatures whose profiles are dominated by long, rabbit-like ears that earned their species the name Cuteish-Thing, scurry across the break ahead of us.

“Maybe—” he begins, but my hiss of indrawn breath cuts him off. Another snake coils out onto the dirt. Its arcs of chitin gleam as they slide over each other. Their movement is strange.

If I’d been in the driver’s seat, I would have gunned the groundcraft and then dropped its struts onto this snake’s body, but Luca just keeps on with his careful pace. The snake is gone before I can take another full breath.

“You really don’t like them, do you?” Luca asks.

I force myself to shake the feeling off. “It’s fine. Can you speed up a bit? We should be starting the backburn by now.”

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