Mayellite

“Binita.”

…

“Binita!”

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“BINITA!”

…

…

“BINIIITA!”

Strained hisses straining hard to not break their whisper… Desperate… He was so desperate… Desperately trying to rouse my response… Desperation was the new world, but no matter how desperate you got, nothing changed. Ever. Nope… Desperation never changed a thing. Pleading, begging, hoping, hissing—nothing desperate mattered. This was our fate, and nothing changed fate, especially not desperation.

All I wanted was to answer, but I couldn’t. If I did, he’d try to help, but if he helped, he’d lose his chance. So it was best he thought me dead. I fought every urge to answer. Even though tears streamed down his precious, pudgy cheeks… Even though his once-smiling, ever-happy lips now twisted into the most disheartening frown… Even though my eyes burned so badly trying not to blink… I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t move.

Stay still, and he’ll go. He has to go.

“Rrrrrrr—ghack! Guk! Guk! Gukk! Gukkk! Rrrrrrrr-ghlck!”

His head whipped sideways.

Good boy.

Glancing anxiously between me and the trail—looking as shifty as the tawny owl that lived on our roof—he debated, then darted for the lake. For his life.

Good boy.

Splish! Splish! Splish! Splish! Splish! Splish! Sploooshhhh!

Good boy. Good boy… Goodbye, Kamat.

I finally closed my eyes, then waited, counting to 60 in my head. When at the mark, I opened them again, my dry lids sticking while I prayed nothing was there. Tears formed, and I blinked fast to clear them, anxious to see. When was the last time I cried? Who knew, and who cared? It didn’t matter… Nothing was around, so I slowly sat, propping myself on my el—

Crrnch!

Of course…

Frustrated, I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed. Slowly… Silently… Sixty again… Why in the woods? Why did Davis have to set the trap in the woods? He knew better. He thought the chances of catching something edible were higher if he set the trap in the woods, but he knew better. I told him not to. Over and over and over, he better not. But he did, the big idiot… Why did he have to?

56…57…58…59…60…

I peered hard through the graying, dusky woodland. Still nothing.

Perfect.

The Mayellite sounded far, but it definitely smelled us and would arrive soon. At least Kamat was back in the water. That was all that mattered—that Kamat was back in the water and swimming home. He had three chickens in his bag and a deer strapped to his back, so as long as he was safe and the food made it home, nothing else mattered.

Now, for my legs. Davis set his spear in a tree, and I accidentally tripped the cord, unaware of it. It impaled me from the side, skewering both my legs together, and while I was bleeding out, it honestly wasn’t that bad since it was still inside me. The real problem was that I couldn’t run. If it hit just one leg, fine; I’d be in the water now, too. But this? I was stuck, with no way to even get up…

“Rrrrrrr—ghack! Guk! Ghaaakkk!”

Ah, geez…

It was closing in. If I sat here, I’d die, but if I pulled it out, I’d probably die, too. However, the latter gave me a slim chance, so…I wrapped both hands around the base of the spear…right against my tender skin…and—

Ahhhh! Ah! Ah! Ahh! Ahhhhhhhh!

Pulled as hard as I could.

Ahhh! Ahh! Ohhhh! Ah! Ow! Oh! Ow! Why? Why?

It took everything in me not to scream… Every ounce of strength… My abs clenched so tight, they almost cramped, and my head…reeled between my knees. The spear was out, and I gently set it down. Dizzy, dazed, and crying, blood poured fast, so I nee—

“Ghlukk.”

I froze, my hand still on the spear. How…was it already…behind me?

Don’t freak, Binita. You’re fine. You’re gonna be fine.

Mom’s words. Right. I was gonna be fine. I had to be fine.

Okay…

Bleeding now irrelevant, I had one shot, or I’d be toast. A slimy, green-gray tentacle already snaked its way down my shoulder and was crossing my chest, searching for my heart. That meant its eye was right next to my head. Perfect, but…the spear was heavy… It could be too slow… No matter, I had to try. I’d never give in to those nasty monsters. Just one more second, and it would be over my heart. Yes… And one more for the eye to—

Open!

Sqrrrrsh!

“Ghaaaaaaaakkk!”

Run!

I stood fast, adrenaline masking my pain. The forest shook with the rest of the Mayellites rushing to their dead friend’s call, and I had to get out now. Now. But one step forward, and I collapsed, my shredded muscles totally failing. I crumbled into a heap, then frantically crawled.

No!

Scrambling to my feet, I started again, still somewhat on all fours. It was downhill, so I just had to get my momentum going. Yes…get going and let the hill carry me home…

“Ghaaaaakkk! Ghaaakkk! Rrrrrrr—ghack! Guk! Guk! Ghaaakkk!”

How many are there?

Now out of the woods, every step or two, I nearly fell, barely catching myself in the muddy, damp grass. My vision was fading, and there was about 1,000 feet before the shore. My hair untied and covered my face in sweaty clumps, and I swore in my head at what a disaster this was.

Thnd!

“Ahh!”

“Guk! Guk! Gukk! Gukkk! Rrrrrrrr-ghlck!”

We rolled the rest of the way together, the Mayellite wrapping every single one of its revoltingly sticky limbs around me. Of course, it swooped for the tackle… The second we stopped, the probe crawled its way across me, and as soon as it found my heart and opened its nasty eye—

Sqrrrrsh!

“Ghaaaaaaaakkk!”

Oh, gosh…

I pulled my arm out and tossed the corpse off, then rolled into the tide, thankful we made it all the way. Woozy from blood loss and the sickening squish I just felt, I crawled into the water as fast as I could, the pain from my legs creeping into my spine…

Go, Binita! Just go! Go!

Was it water, sweat, blood, or tears on my face? I didn’t know, but something was dripping down. And I was just about to wash it clean with a dive beneath the surface.

Sploooshhhh!

The thick, cold water plugged my ears and dimmed my sight. The happiest moment of my life…

Yes… Oh, gosh, ye—NO!

Swwoooosshhhh!

No…

The wretched rushing of water turning back to air… The awful agony of being yanked above the surface by my still-dry locks…

In my desperation, I totally forgot my hair shook out of its bun. And what did I just say about desperation? It solved nothing… Suddenly, I regretted not shaving my head like the rest of the Hunters. Hair… The only thing to destroy salvation… Loose, dry hair floating on the lake's surface, teasing the water-allergic Mayellites to extend their tentacles and pull.

You idiot.

Suddenly, I was back ashore, waiting for another probe to find my heart so I could reach inside and squish another brain.

Sqrrrrsh!

It fell behind me, and I scrambled yet again under the surface of the lake, holding my hair this time to keep it from floating. My legs hurt so bad, but I was under… Really, truly, fully under…

Now, to swim. Just to the entrance… Just one minute straight… But I was so dizzy, and my legs were nearly crippled… And now, the filthy water penetrated and burned my wounds… It was so hard to hold my breath, but I had to… I had to… I didn’t go through all that just to drown… Just to die in the only place the aliens couldn’t reach… No… Never…

Thirty seconds, Binita… Come on…

My eyes were heavy and closing… But I kept hearing Kamat’s voice. He’d be crying now, huh? Or maybe attacking Davis for killing his big sister? Hopefully, he wasn’t in too much trouble, and that Davis… I’d make him pay…

Davis?

The entrance of the South Lake Michigan Underwater Encampment was now in sight, and Davis was definitely swimming my way, his shiny, bald head the only recognizable one out of all 600 Hunters. That stupid dove tattoo on his right temple, just above the arch of his auburn brow… Now was the first time ever that I was glad he got it. Clearly, he was sent to recover me, and in another second, he grabbed my tawny brown wrist and pulled me to him, then swam us back to the platform.

He hit the button, and the door slammed shut. The water drained fast, and in a few moments, his feet were on the ground, our heads surrounded by air again. I coughed and gagged, staring at his stern, handsome face. My idiot ex-neighbor… He turned 19 last month but was still as stubborn as a boy. I’d kill him.

With the room finally clear, the inner door opened, and medics rushed in, a bawling Kamat tottering behind. Davis set me on the stretcher, then ushered Kamat out of the way so the crew could run me to surgery. In a few minutes, the oxygen mask was on, and they were cleaning my wounds, setting my IV, hooking me to the heart monitor—

“Gene. Look.”

The nurse nearly panicked, and I tried looking, too. But I was fading…

“Oh, gosh. She was probed. Yuta!”

Probed?

Did I hear that right? No… No way… I wasn’t probed. I fought off those vermin! Every single one, at exactly the right moment. My heart? It was fine. It was my legs that hurt. No way was I probed. No way!

I tried so hard to lift my hand and rip off the mask to scream, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move a single muscle… I was fading so fast…from the blood loss and the sedative… Everyone was still talking, but I no longer heard… And now…there were gaps of black between their movements… Soft, gentle, blankets of black… Then Yuta with the needle… It pinched my neck hard…

Goodbye, Kamat…

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…

I woke in the prison I promised to never be. A different mask was on my mouth, and a guard sauntered by. My eyes slowly moved to him.

No…

Davis… He stopped in front of me, but he didn’t look. I bet he couldn’t. Then, he sat.

Davis…

He was crying, wasn’t he? His shoulders heaved heavily, so he had to be. All I wanted was to bust out of this thing and hug him, but…that wasn't possible. This vat… This liquified prison… Until they found a cure, this was my home… Was I really probed? I tried glancing at my chest, but I only saw the tip of my nose and the top of my lip.

Davis…

He stood and sauntered away, as dejected as when he arrived. Hopefully, he’d stay safe out there, and hopefully, he’d watch Kamat. And he better never let Kamat accept guard duty. Oh, no… No way would my little brother see me like this… And Davis better not stop visiting. Even if only on guard… Just seeing one person I knew once a week… That would be enough… Enough to keep me going until release… Enough to give me hope that release was possible…