Stink Bug – Chapter 27

A bright white light shown down on me when I awoke. I stared at it for a while. I was on a bed, that much I could tell. I tried to turn my head, but something held it in place. I could move my fingers. At least, I thought I could move my fingers. My arms and legs felt leaden, and I couldn’t lift them at all.

I laid there for a long time pondering the light above and wondering where I was. The light fixture looked strange to me. It was all I could see besides the white ceiling surrounding it. There was a faint humming in the place. If I listened carefully, I could hear breathing, but I couldn’t tell if it was my own.

I started to slip back to sleep when I heard shuffling. I strained to look in the direction of the sound. A quiet trill drifted across the room. Out of the corner of my eye I could just make out a dark structure maybe twenty feet away. Its occupant shifted and sighed, trilling desperately but quietly. “Who?” My own voice startled me as it cut the silence. I returned my gaze to the light.

The Vr’ak’l groaned.

The shuffling continued and a shadow passed beside me moving toward the cage. “Who?” I croaked again.

The Vr’ak’l grew noisy. It’s trill grew loud and frantic. There was scratching and struggling, followed by a muffled squawk. The Vr’ak’l fell silent and still.

The shuffling approached me. My heart pounded. Something touched my face. My head filled with noise. I screamed and lurched against invisible restraints.

Calming images coursed through my mind. Feelings of comfort and security. I relaxed and began to cry.

‘It’s fine,’ an interior voice said. ‘You are safe.’ It wasn’t my voice, but it was in my head.

“Help,” I whispered.

‘We care. We help you,’ the voice said. Its attention shifted. ‘It speaks,’ the voice said. ‘Hear this.’

I understood what it was saying, but it wasn’t really speaking. I had a sense of eagerness. There was noise in my head again. I became aware of something – no, someone – else.

I opened my eyes. Two grey forms leaned over me. Two people. But they weren’t quite people. Their heads were oversized, with two great, black eyes. Their skin was a uniform grey, stretched tightly over their smooth but humanoid form. They had mouths, but they did not move right. They just opened and closed at regular intervals.

One smiled and blinked. ‘You are fine here,’ it said, though its mouth did not make the words.

“Who?” I croaked again.

‘Do not fear,’ the other said, voicelessly.

“How?”

They looked at each other. ‘Amazing,’ the second said.

‘Marvelous,’ agreed the first.

“How?”

The Vr’ak’l fluttered in the corner. “Who is that?”

‘Dangerous. Do not fear,’ said the first, its skin flashing into a brown and black jagged pattern, before fading back to an even grey.

‘We have never found another kind with whom to speak,’ said the second. ‘We are happy.’

“I hurt.” I strained to look back toward the cage, concerned for the welfare of the Vr’ak’l. “Is it…”

‘Dangerous. It will hurt you,’ said the second.

“My friend.”

The grey people exchanged glances.

‘We will heal your injuries,’ said the first.

‘Your bones will heal quickly,’ added the second.

“But.”

‘Rest now,’ said the first. A wave of exhaustion came over me. It set its hand over my eyes. ‘Yes sleep.’

“Please don’t…”

‘Sleep.’

I couldn’t resist.

 

Read Chapter 28.

Go back to the beginning.