Frank the lab worker died quickly.

Arachna's beak impaled him directly through the helmet, ending his life. It was an honorable death. One that any Krath would be happy to endure. This Yumen would serve a higher cause. The Cause, in fact.

Arachna only took a few bites before lugging the rest of the carcass into Beaky's tank. The red blood mixed in with the green liquid. Red splotches plumed like blooming flowers before swirling around inside the container, gradually turning the liquid yellow.

You should not have done that, Beaky said, nipping at the carcass. But thank you. He was still very weak as even his pace of eating was slow.

"I had to," Arachna clicked. "I could not let another Krath die like this. And besides, I am alone here. I need you."

Not sure how I can help, Beaky said. The dactyl gulped, swallowing a finger. I am so weak, and tired. So very tired.

"I know a placed," Arachna said. "With much Xitherium. It will heal you. Through there." She pointed her bulbed forelimb up toward the air duct.

The engine room, Beaky said, nodding. Where I left you. But I cannot fit through the vent, Beaky said. I will die in this place. Thank you for my final meal.

"I won't let you die," Arachna clicked, stomping her hind feet. "I will not allow it."

Please, Beaky said. I wish not to endanger you, my queen.

Arachna sidestepped. So she was a queen? Well, yes, she was, after all, a queenling. "That wasn't a suggestion."

Beaky gnawed on an arm. Need more time to recover. And to sleep. His eyes shuttered, half-closed.

"No time," Arachna clicked. "Leave now."

She hopped onto the side of the tank holding Beaky, yanking on a small lever that unlocked some sort of mechanism inside the tank. Arachna was able to easily pull off the lid after that. Then she lowered herself into the liquid, grabbing hold of Beaky's wing with her mouth.

I am too weak, Beaky said. And drowsy, very drowsy.

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Arachna dragged him out. She'd save his life even if he protested. That was what family did. And Beaky was the only family that she had.

She pulled hard and as she did she felt her muscles weaken. Her eyes nearly shut. Horde, there must be something in the liquid that was causing her to become feel faint. Her eyes glazed over.

No, she wouldn't give in. Not now.

Arachna pulled with all her might, dragging herself and Beaky out of the yellowish fluid inside the containment tank and onto the white floor. Water pooled around them, their bodies glazed over with golden droplets. But they were free. Free of the tank.

Beaky lay sprawled out on the white lab room floor, body limp.

"Get up," Arachna clicked. "We need to hide."

Cannot, Beaky said. Too weak.

Arachna pulled. Even though Beaky was over ten times her size, he was surprisingly lightweight. His aerodynamic body made him easy to haul.

Leave me, Beaky said. The Yumens will come. Marines with big guns.

Arachna would have none of that. She'd find a way, even if she had to fight off several marines herself.

Click, click.

The door opened automatically as she approached. Horde, she wasn't sure exactly what to expect inside this decontamination chamber. Didn't the Yumens think that Krath were the contaminants? She'd hoped that there wasn't anything here that would be toxic to her or Beaky. It was the only way out of the room, besides the vent, of course.

The door shut behind them. Gas seeped out from the walls like mists rising from a steaming geyser. The bleary fog coated the room like a rolling blanket, obscuring her vision.

Cliiiiick. Click. Gag.

She choked, her twin stomachs churning inside her. What was that stuff? She didn't want to know. Another set of holes opened in the walls—some kind of vacuum. It sucked the gas out from the room quickly.

"Decontamination complete," a feminine voice said.

She was nauseated. It felt as if she'd had her stomachs ripped out of her, scrubbed down, filled with chemicals, and then placed back inside. Horde, the smell was terrible. She'd need to find a good snack after this to soothe her upset stomach. Perhaps another lab worker would do the trick.

There was a long empty hall outside the lab. Square lights adorned the ceiling, giving off a gentle humming sound as electricity illuminated tiny diodes hidden by glass paneling.

A strange metal creature that looked like a moving bucket with two whimsical arms rolled by. One arm vacuumed the floors while the other mopped, simultaneously squirting cleaning solution onto the ground through small injector tubes.

Arachna tilted her head to one side and twitched her spinneret. The inside of the robot looked mostly hollow, designed to collect dust and trash from the ground. It was filled with a combination of garbage, cleaning solution, and dirt. That could work. If she could deal with the decontamination chamber she could deal with these strange Yumen chemicals, especially if it would help Beaky stay out of sight.

Grabbing firmly onto Beaky's left wing, she climbed up the side of the robot, and jumped inside.

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