Dominant Species Volume Two -- Edge Effects by Coy David

Author:Coy, David
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: alien, science fiction, dystopian, space, series, contagion, infections, fiction, space opera, outbreak
ISBN: 1419668382
Publisher: David Coy
Published: 2012-06-29T04:00:00+00:00

The pale green light was so welcome she nearly sprang up and out of the yurt for the sheer joy of it. Prudence and cramped limbs stopped her. She peeked out in three directions before practically ripping her way out of the flimsy structure. She stood up, stretched, yawned, and brushed off her clothes. Her jaw and neck ached.

She unzipped the pocket of her coveralls, pulled out the mirror and looked at her face. Just as she thought, it was scratched and scraped red in patches and smeared with sweaty dirt. In a moment of vanity, she plucked and dabbed and brushed at the tangled mess of her hair with her fingers and smiled at the silliness of it.

When she lifted her head and saw the miniature version of the thing she’d seen on the horse-thing glued to her neck, her mouth dropped open as if a string was tied to her chin. A shudder of disgust ran up her spine.

Watching in the mirror, she touched it gently with her fingers and saw the legs move just a little in response.

“You little bastard . . .”

It was coming off. One way or another, it was coming off right then.

She sat down on the ground and dug the knife out of her pocket. Before she opened it to do the surgery, she reached up and took hold of the thing and pulled; just as a test. It stung a little, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She worked the organism around in a circle, raising a pinch of skin as she pulled at it.

I’ve had it with this shit.

“Sonofabitch bastard . . . come off you fuck . . .”

She worked it around, swearing through clenched teeth. She worked and pulled until it came away with a pinch and a slight tearing sound. She looked at the flat underside with its little feeding mechanism showing, then she put it under her foot and hammered it into the soft soil with her heel of her boot.

“Oooo, you . . . prick . . .”

Mirror trembling, she looked at the wound on her neck. The bastard had left a little brownish and sunken patch with a dark red center. She squeezed it, producing a drop of pink liquid. There was some swelling, but it didn’t look too serious. It might have been if she hadn’t found it when she did. If she didn’t get back to the clinic to treat it, she’d be dead anyway.

Hunger and thirst gnawed with a sudden and uncommon ferocity. She looked around for a grape vine to pillage. There were none in the vicinity. Breakfast would have to wait.

She moved up to the ravine and studied it. Extending the entire length of the ravine, a light mist hung like a soft, white sheet just over the treetops. Something flew through the mist, cutting a swirling swath, then vanished. This was as good a place to descend as any.

She started down the slope sideways, keeping her leading leg down and out far.

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