His eyes hurt a lot. He didn’t sleep at all, and didn’t want to. The nightmares had been getting to him. Images of something ripping him and the girls to shreds, of them being pinned up against a cave wall, of him drowning, reaching for the surface that was so close yet so far- He shook his head. There was nothing out there, nothing in the darkness. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, however.
What the two girls had described to him had seemed almost beautiful, while also being simultaneously horrifying. Some sort of floating alien predator that glowed? He didn’t really understand the descriptions, and didn’t want to see it to confirm their descriptions. A pitiful squeal caught his sleep deprived attention. He turned to see what looked like a miniature version of the mimic, hopping around desperately. Its wing-arm hung at an awkward angle, seemingly injured. Still it chirruped, searching for something. It locked its good eye with Adlai, and cocked it’s head to the side, as if it were begging for food. Adlai rubbed his eyes again to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, then began talking to it. It wasn’t morning yet, and he could use the company, strange as it may be.
They would have to move soon, he knew the predator was watching them, he could feel it. He had a little bit of time left before sunrise however, so he decided to make use of it.
He sat up against the rock he was laying against. “What are you called?”
It stared at him, squealing again. He closed his eyes wearily. “Well, you act a lot like a parrot. You know, those birds that were attached to pirates. Apparently, they could talk, and I know you can probably talk too.”
“Pirates!”
“Yes, pirates. Now do you know, your mommy or daddy or whatever, stole that leaf I needed for Averi?”
“Averi!”
“Yep, Averi, the short redhead. Well, back on the home-planet, I had a little stuffed parrot I called Alex. I think I’m just gonna call you Alex, if that’s alright.”
“Alex.”
“Yep, Alex.”
Adlai looked up at the sky, blood reds slowly soaking the membrane of the dark night sky. It was nearly morning. He pushed himself up, his muscles near exhaustion.
He looked over to the little mimic. “You can follow if you want, okay? Just don’t try to steal anything.”
It chirruped in response, and hobbled over to where Averi was sleeping, laying on top of her chest. She started with a hoarse yell, her eyes wide with fear. He ran over to her, hoping to calm her before she got any louder.
“Hey, hey!” He whispered, putting a hand over her mouth. “It’s fine, it’s harmless.”
“Mmmf!”
“You won’t yell right?”
“Mmf.”
“Alright.”
“What is that?” She asked, her eyes wide looking at the strange, fuzzy alien grooming itself after the scare.
“That’s Alex, Alex, this is Averi.”
The alien rose its head. “Averi!”
Averi’s eyes widened even more. “It can talk?”
He shook his head. “I think it just copies what it hears, like a parrot.”
“What’s a parrot?”
“They’re usually on pirates–that’s not important, we’re gonna be leaving now. Pack up your stuff–”
Adlai gaped at his stupid request.
Averi narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you slept last night?”
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“That’s not important, I’ll pack up the stuff, we have to walk ten miles today.”
Her eyes softened. “I wish I could help, I really do, I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? It’s not your fault!”
They were both interrupted by a very tired Shawna yawning loudly. He doubted she’d gotten more sleep than him, given the dark circles under her eyes. She rose easily, stretching the kinks out of her muscles.
She stared at the alien. “What the hell is that?”
Adlai and Averi answered in unison. “Alex.”
The alien was now snuggled under Averi’s shirt, seemingly fast asleep.
Shawna rolled her eyes. “I’m not even going to ask, we’ve got to go now. You hear that?”
Adlai closed his eyes and listened, Averi following suit. There was nothing. No chirruping, no squeals, no cacophony. It was quiet. Adlai opened his eyes, and searched the cavern around. The little glows indicating life had disappeared, and even some of the plants had retracted. He felt something swirl in his gut. It was here. His breath caught in his throat, and he felt nauseous, a combination of his sleeplessness and the raw fear he felt now. He grabbed onto Averi’s sled, and started to run in the pitch black, Shawna behind him carrying their meager supplies.
Every step he took was marked with pain, his bruised thighs complaining with each step. He didn’t really dwell on it, he was locked on escape. Averi stayed quiet, hands out to each side of the sled, an attempt to stabilize the already bumpy ride. Shawna jogged alongside him, silent as could be. Running in the dark was a dangerous business as Adlai soon realized, stepping onto something sharp, something that ripped through his shoes and into the sole of his foot. He hissed at the flowering pain, and kept running. Each step now was pure agony, but he knew he had to run.
He heard noises, disturbed aliens screeching at him pushing past. They needed to leave the cavern, a low reverberating hum confirmed his fears. Adlai snuck a look behind him and saw it. Rippling lights flowed down it’s sides, fins flickered, pushing it forward at a relentless, terrifying pace. A single blue orb hung from its lower jaw, which was open in what seemed like a lazy yawn. Adlai felt his own pain melt away, as he ran faster than he’d ever had. We’re gonna die We’re gonna die We’re gonna die- SHUT UP. He pulled the sled to the front of him, pushing the wounded girl ahead of him. He kept running, imagining what would happen if he stopped running, if he gave into that voice in his head begging him to stop. Adlai kept running, every breath burning, his arms weakening with the strain of pushing Averi. Light. Day light. Adlai pushed himself even more, wheezing now.
He was nearly there, he just needed to reach out and push- the predator screeched, and Adlai hazarded a look. It was coming straight for them, the jaws open. He couldn’t outrun it. They only had a bit more ground to cover. The screeching grew louder. Ten feet left. He could feel it’s breath. Five feet. He pushed the sled out of the cavern entrance, and jumped after it. He landed on his feet somehow, onto soft desert sand. The predator peaked its head out of the ground, staring at Adlai. It let out a frustrated groan and flipped back into the caves. They still needed to move, needed to cover some ground, get as far away as they could. Adlai picked himself up, and checked on Averi. The sled was tipped onto it’s side, and he limped over to right it. Averi looked up at him, raw terror in her eyes.
Adlai put his hands on his knees. “It’s gone.”
“Where’s Shawna?”
He stood up straight, looking around for the black haired girl. She wasn’t there. His eyes widened and he punched the sand, tears flowing from his eyes. “Goddamnit! She’s gone!”
We need to move. For Averi. He rose from the sand, feeling hollow, as if a part of him had just been carved out. Tears flowing from his eyes, he grabbed Averi’s sled, and started running again, towards the ship. Sand coating the bottom of his bloody shoes, he ran.
Adlai didn’t feel himself stop running, he just felt himself tip over. He tried to push himself up, but his legs wouldn’t move. Adlai tried to rise again, and he threw up, mostly water and some clear mucus. His stomach heaved again but nothing came out, and he curled on the ground, dark spots roiling around in his vision. Everything seemed to get blurry, out of focus. He vaguely heard someone call his name, almost like his mother did. He missed his parents a lot. He missed Shawna too. It was getting darker now. A lot darker. Didn’t the night just pass? Strange. He felt woozy, just needed to close his eyes for a bit. Just a quick break.