Category Archives: Stink Bug

The floor was hard, but the chair was no longer an option. It had been mangled by W’x’tl’s aggression. It would take some doing to make it a serviceable piece of furniture again. Probably easier to just toss it out and start over.

V’x cooed and stroked my hair, clicking her beak slightly and worrying over the scratches on my arms and shoulders. I didn’t want to move. Everything hurt. It felt as if every part of W’x’tl had been sharp, and she had never missed her mark.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 39”

I sat facing the door, expecting it to open again at any moment. The grey had left rather suddenly. Maybe it would be back.

V’x was still cooing quietly. I twisted to see her sitting outside of the cage. W’x’tl sat inside, silent, her beak tucked under her wing.

“Vix?” I said, straining to see her. She didn’t move. “Vix!” W’x’tl fluttered, emitting a low threatening trill.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 38”

“I think things are calm there for the moment,” I said. V’x was grooming herself and trilling softly. W’x’tl was silent, her face buried in battered feathers.

‘The one is violent,’ said the grey. ‘It fights to escape.’ I felt despair. No, this was what the grey felt.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 37”

V’x lept into the air, flapping her one good wing, wrenching out of the grey’s grasp. “No!” she cried. She turned, rushing for the door. The greys scattered. Only I remained, blocking her path. I grabbed at her feathers as she rushed by. The chair that I sat in spun and fell, but I kept my grip on V’x.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 36”

V’x tucked her beak under her wing and napped beside my bed. I let my arm hang off the bed and stroked her feathers while she slept. I wasn’t sure which of us was more grateful that she was no longer in the cage. She shifted, pressing up against my hand and trilling lightly. “It’s all right Vix,” I whispered.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 35”

It was like a blast of gale-force wind hit. I winced. V’x cried out.

Voices cried out over the wind. The grey. It was speaking. I heard V’x. She was in my head. She was crying in terror.

The grey continued. I couldn’t understand. V’x cried louder. She was trying to withdraw. The grey wouldn’t let go. I slapped my free hand over both of their’s. They had to keep talking.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 34”

A rush of emotions hit me. V’x cried out and jumped back. Then silence.

V’x cowered out of reach in the back of her cage. The greys were leaving.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Where are you going?”

One looked back over its shoulder as it passed through the door, then they were gone.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 33”

The greys conferred. V’x trilled to herself. I laid back and waited. My shoulder was killing me. I wanted to ask about it, but I waited. They had to let V’x out.

‘It is never our intent to hurt these creatures,’ a grey said finally. ‘We try to help.’

‘We fail,’ said another.

I groaned from the pain. “You can make it right.”

‘There is no way. We cannot communicate this way.’

“I find it hard to believe that you’d just give up,” I muttered.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 32”

The greys were very upset. V’x was terrified. I was stuck in the middle, translating for two alien species with whom I had little in common.

“Please. We should talk. You have questions. She has questions. I have questions,” I said.

The greys grew silent. Their attention was on me.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 31”

When I awoke again, I was determined to have a look around. The greys (which I called them for lack of a better word) seemed to want to help me, but I couldn’t help but think they meant to keep me prisoner. Plus, I was worried about V’x. She wasn’t a vicious animal, as the greys thought. She was a good… person. And I cared about her.Continue reading “Stink Bug – Chapter 30”