The Bond
By Zezii
Below him, the tiny greenish-brown planet with its numerous sapphire oceans drifted slowly through the dark expanse of space. Gauzy white blankets of clouds enveloped the small world, hiding the watery surface as his ship approached. This isolated planet, as insignificant as it might have appeared to be at first glance, was teeming with all kinds of life, including a sentient species.
From his control chair, Acdinte leaned forward eagerly, curved talons clutching at the leather arms as his mandibles opened wide. He was excited; perhaps now he could finally prove himself. The intelligent creatures that inhabited the little planet, the pyode amedha as the yautja tended to call them, were the prey of true Warriors. They were deadly and shrewd, with a feral cunning that made them lethally dangerous. If Acdinte could bring home some of the aliens' skulls as trophies; there was a good chance that he would be accepted.
Still watching the long screen in front of him, Acdinte leaned back, his clawed hands clasped tightly together as he thought hard. Yes, that was his fondest wish, since he had been a young suckling.
All of his life, Acdinte had been ignored. He had never met his high-ranking father, for, after all, he was only one of over ninety sons, born of a family-less mother who lacked any close ties. She was supposedly barren, and when she gave birth it was seen as a bad omen from the gods. The great Ky'inde never noticed when his youngest male offspring almost died the first day of life; if anything, he was deeply embarrassed to have a sickly suckling and a wife whose lineal ties had long been severed. Like the small planet his craft was approaching, Acdinte had been alone all his life, trying in vain to win honor and some shard of respect.
But no mere kainde amedha head would give him the things that he desired. No, it was those oomans far away that would do it. Acdinte had used his father's status to obtain a ship, and now he was, heading toward a nameless world in the midst of uncharted space. If he were detected by another yautja vessel, he could easily be shot down for disobeying the sacred rules of the Hunt.
Indeed, Acdinte was aware of the fatal consequences, for his actions were dishonorable. But he had never taken any risks in his life; he preferred to avoid them. It was, without a doubt, a shameful lifestyle, but one that allowed him to be still among the living. Now though, the young Hunter was taken a chance, and it felt strangely good.
He was daydreaming about his imaginary rank and the vast number of wives he would be betrothed to when his cloaked ship entered the blue-green planet's thin atmosphere.
All was silent in the house, save for the loud blaring of the old television set and the little girl's soft breathing. Lucy remained motionless at the top of the stairs, clutching Buttons and listening. She hoped desperately that Daddy wasn't home yet, that the babysitter, Tina, would be staying for a long time.
Because Daddy was mean.
"You hope so too, Buttons?" Lucy whispered to the worn gray teddy bear, its round eyes glittering in the darkness. Holding the tattered stuffed animal to her face, the seven-year old studied the creature, as if it really had answered.
She began to creep down the wooden stairs, the bright lights from the television set flickering eerily on the dusty pictures on the walls. One picture was of her, her mommy, and her Daddy at the park when she was very young. Lucy paused and glanced up at the photo of the smiling red-haired woman who held the rosy-cheeked infant in her arms. Her Daddy was strange in the square picture, no longer so scary. Lucy didn't remember her mommy, who had died of some terrible and unknown disease called cancer. Nor did she remember a time when her father wasn't so terrifying.
It's because I'm a bad girl, she lectured herself, turning away from the photo.
Even as she stealthily slithered down the stairs, Lucy was making up an excuse if Tina was to catch her.
I'll tell her I needed some water, she decided, listening as the sitter shifted on the creaky couch and changed the channel. Lucy held her breath when the front door opened, and heavy footsteps resounded on the tiled kitchen floor.
Oh no, he's home, she thought, her heart hammering within her small chest like some caged animal. But her legs became as unmovable as stone, and she remained there, paralyzed. The sour stink of alcohol drifted into her nostrils, and she hugged Buttons tighter to her pink pajamas.
"How much do I owe ya?" Daddy said to Tina, his voice slurred.
"Twenty-five."
"Twenty-five? Are you trying to rip me off?" Her father boomed, and from the stairs Lucy winced.
From the living room Tina sighed.
"Look, I'm doing you a favor, Mr. Moore. You've been gone for almost nine hours and you weren't at the number you gave me," replied the babysitter. Daddy said something incomprehensible and then began to shout.
"Here's your lousy goddamn money!" He screamed, and from the shuffling of shoes on the carpet Lucy could tell that he was pushing Tina out the front door.
She jumped when the door slammed, a deafening noise. Her father muttered angrily to himself about that "goddamned brat of mine." Realizing that she must have been bad again, Lucy spun around and started up the stairs, her slippers sliding out from underneath her. Her head hit the hard floor, and she cried out in pain.
There was more footsteps as Daddy stormed toward the stairs, Lucy rubbing her bruised head even as she gazed down into her father's black eyes. His face was flushed a ruddy color, his peppered eyebrows knitted in rage.
He leaned down and grabbed her left shoulder, his fingernails digging deep into her shoulder. His moist breath reeked of liquor as he bellowed at her.
"What the hell are you doing up?"
"I'm sorry Daddy! I'll be a good girl, please-," her pleading was abruptly cut off by the smack. Lucy didn't make a noise as she fell back against the dark steps, Buttons still against her chest. The enraged kick struck her painfully in the abdomen, and lights flashed before her eyes as the world spun madly...
The sudden, unexpected pain overtook Acdinte, the searing tendrils of agony spreading through his entire body. His mandibles spread wide as he flailed, dark spots swimming before his burning eyes. It felt as if he had been hit by an invisible enemy.
What in the name of Kh'tch?
Another powerful blow, and his forehead snapped forward, slamming into the control board.
T'airenke...
He was vaguely aware of the fact that the computer was damaged, that his ship was rapidly spiraling toward the ground far below as he passed out.
It was very dark when Lucy awoke, her cheeks stained with dried tears and the fresh blood oozing from the gash on her right eyebrow. She was lying in a fetal position near one of the end tables, the silvery light from the crescent moon washing over her small body. Tentatively, she reached up and felt the jagged cut, wondering when it had happened.
Probably when he was hurting me...
Immediately Lucy pushed the thought out of her head, relieved that Daddy was gone. She stood up, using the squat table as support, and gazed solemnly out the window, staring at her reflection in the dirty glass.
Why does he have to do this to me?
Besides the red welt on her eyebrow, there was a large, dark bruise near her nose, and her fat lip made her grimace in pain. As she fingered the cut lip, looking out at the star-studded, indigo sky, she saw the bright blue light streak across the heavens. Transfixed, Lucy realized that this must be a shooting star, and she involuntarily shuddered as an odd feeling overcame her. What it was, she didn't know.
Lucy recalled being told that one could wish upon a star as the light arched down toward earth. At first she wanted her mommy back, but changed her mind when a single drop of crimson hit the grimy surface of the table, the round bead of blood catching the star's brilliant light.
She looked up toward the sky.
I wish he weren't hurt me anymore...
"Alright class, today we're going to read a story about a little lost dog named Pete," Paula Poliski announced, turning toward her excited class of second graders. They had been doing math problems for the last half-hour, and the substitute teacher felt that they desperately needed a change. This was her third day as substitute; the normal teacher was out with surgery.
All the children ran toward the carpeted area, chattering happily-all of them except for one little girl. She was sitting in the corner by herself, twirling her blonde pigtails and holding a ragged, stuffed bear. What was her name again? Oh, yes. Lucy. That was it.
"Lucy," Paula called out to her, "don't you want to hear the story about Pete?"
There was no answer; the girl continued playing with her long hair, staring blankly at the floor. Paula sighed and got up from the rocking chair, wondering what Lucy's problem was. Her high-heeled shoes clicked across the floor as she walked toward the seated child, bending down to rest a comforting hand on the little girl's slender shoulder.
"Lucy, come over with-," Paula started, then gasped when she saw Lucy's face. It was horribly bruised, puffed an angry scarlet red, with a gash sliced over her eye. The other children were begging her to start the story, but the substitute ignored them for now. She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully as the blonde-haired child looked back at her ripped shoes, the socks showing through the holes.
"Honey, how did this happen to you?" Paula whispered. No response.
"It's oka-,"
"I don't remember," Lucy told her, hugging the gray teddy bear.
"Did you-?"
"I fell in the playground," the girl muttered, shifting one shoe.
The teacher tried repetitively to coax an answer from the child, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the others were getting impatient, and Paula had no idea how to handle this kind of situation.
"I think you and-," the substitute motioned to the bear.
"Buttons."
"I think you and Buttons should go see the nurse. And I'd like to talk to you alone later, okay?" Paula said gently. The girl stood up slowly, nodding. She waddled toward the open door, then paused and looked over her shoulder at Paula, her dark eyes burning into the teacher's.
She was so small, tinier than even now. Lucy was only about three years old, dreaming hot, sweaty nightmares of a huge figure that loomed over her, its face completely blank. It reached out with one inky black hand toward her, blindly grasping for her own.
Always she would wake up, always she would cry out in the pitch darkness of night. The dreams had plagued her for so long, as did the truly alien ones that visited her occasionally. She did not know what they meant, or why she dreamed them; all she knew was that she could not get them out of her head.
Now she remembered those hellish nightmares as the school nurse, a stocky woman with graying hair and a wrinkled face, her make-up so thickly applied that she looked like a silly clown. Lucy frowned at the funny odor she had, sort of like old medicine. But this woman was very nice, talking sweetly as she applied a polka -dot Band-Aid to the wound on her face. Sometimes, when the nurse talked to her, Lucy became worried that she was being Bad and might get hit again.
But the dreaded smack never came, and she was soon sent back to the classroom, where most of the other kids were packing their bags to go home. Lucy always walked home; she liked being alone. Well, except for Buttons. He was kind to her, and he never hit or did the other Thing to her.
As she packed her own Winnie the Pooh bag, the teacher came over to her. She was a tall woman, with a pale, white face framed by curly black hair. The sweet aroma of perfume drifted into her nostrils as Ms. Poliski told her to sit down in one of the chairs. Lucy did so, watching as the other children left for the bus.
She glanced up when the substitute teacher called her name; frightened, her eyes locked with Ms. Poliski's brown ones.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the woman was saying, though her voice seemed faint and faraway. Blinking, Lucy stared back at her, watching in horror as her face melted, rippled like water. The white skin became a spotted, dull yellow, covered with thick, short bristles. Tiny crimson eyes glittered in the sunken black sockets as the fleshy tusks opened wide, pointed teeth glistening.
At first she was very sacred, but then the face became familiar, and, as if in a dream, reached up and touched the thick, speckled skin.
"T'airenke," she whispered.
Paula looked at the child's glassy eyes even as she muttered the word, the sound deep and guttural. No longer were the eyes just dark; they were light-less pools of blackness, colorless orbs that pierced the teacher's soul.
Then, before she could even properly react, Lucy leapt up from the table, completely dazed. The little girl backed up like a frightened fawn, fleeing out the front door as Paula started to stand.
Warm blood trickled down slowly from the wide gash over his eye, splattering on his 'awu'asa and collecting in shallow pools on the control panel. Hissing underneath his breath, Acdinte pushed himself up with his trembling hands, trying to ignore the pounding within his head. The view screen in front of him flickered, the electrical sparks bursting out from the torn glass.
He had crashed; he was certain of that. But where? He wasn't sure, for all the sensors had blacked out, the damaged screens blinking. The room spun wildly, and he tried with all his might to focus, holding his throbbing head in one clawed hand. As he tried to pull himself completely up, Acdinte noticed the horrible numb feeling in his leg; confused, he peered down. His leg was trapped underneath a huge piece of wreckage, a thin trail of bright green blood leaking out from underneath the metal. The heavy debris must have crushed the thdech, the nerve, in that limb, for he felt absolutely nothing. The yautja shoved desperately at the wreckage trapping his leg, but to no avail.
Exhausted, he sank back to the ground, wondering what had happened, what had caused this crash. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of a logical explanation. As he listened to the sharp crackle of electrical volts leaping out from equipment, his mind wandered away from this place, where he was surely doomed, where the oomans would eventually find him.
He closed his eyes, the painful memories of his puphood coming back in a violent rush. This always happened under tremendous stress; the deeply-buried memories came bubbling back to the surface...
Acdinte was young by yautja standards, so young in fact that his hair was not yet braided. He still lived in the vast harem with the females and their pups. It was a dark place, crafted of fine gweistct stone and twisted layers of meticulously-carved metal. The yellow light from the various candles illuminated the grinning skulls of prey that his father had killed in his Glory Hunt. Ky'inde was not modest at all; he flaunted his status whenever important visitors came.
The only sound now was his own breathing and the rhythmic din of his sandaled feet hitting the red-cobbled floor. Acdinte hated being alone in the winding halls like this, though he never confessed this secret fear to his half-siblings. He was already the lowest son in the family, his mother's poor status contributing to that. The other pups, especially the males, regularly ridiculed him, teasingly calling him "R'hranc", or an Unspeakable, the lowest caste in yautja society. And he never fought back, or even denied it. Instead, he always crept back to the safety of his mother, head hung low.
There was a soft noise, and then a shape sprang out at him. Instinctively, he tried to move back, but the figure was already on top of him. Acdinte caught the oily whiff of musk, and found himself looking into dark red eyes.
T'airenke.
Laughing, the other male got out of him, his mandibles spreading wide in glee.
"Will you always be this slow?" T'airenke asked him, the light from the candles reflected on his deep brown hair, tied back with a band of wooden beads.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Acdinte spat back, angry that the other yautja had frightened him like that. His heart was still beating furiously within his chest. T'airenke was, of course, a servant; no other male in the whole house would be seen with such a lowly pup as Acdinte. He was still even wearing the gray-smock with the elaborate design of a keiich bird of prey, the totem of Ky'inde and symbol of this house.
T'airenke cast him another cocky grin.
"I finished early."
Acdinte raised one eyebrow, signifying that he didn't believe this. He knew, of course, that his friend was lying; but then again, T'airenke never told the truth.
"You'll be sorry if my father catches you not working," Acdinte warned, before the other male jovially slapped him on the back.
"You worry too much," was the reply.
Acdinte did not respond, and then his friend suggested that they go outside before the suns dipped behind the mountains. He had agreed, never knowing that he would never see the other yautja again...
Lucy ran down the gravel road, her battered shoes kicking up small rocks. She didn't know where she was going; all she knew was that know the teacher was mad, and would punish her like Daddy always did. She was now very, very scared, for she knew how much he hurt her when he was upset.
Gasping for air, she paused outside of the woods, still holding Buttons. Where should she go? Sometimes, when she was very scared and alone, she would hide in the forest. Somehow, it felt safer there, a place where she couldn't be hurt.
So she darted swiftly into the thick woods, the heavy shadows wrapping around her whole body and protecting her. As soon as she entered the forest, she slowed down. It was cooler in here, the shadows making it so.
It was then that she felt the odd feeling, an urge that made her shudder. It was as though some unseen force was pushing her on, whispering where to go. At first she was a little frightened, for she remembered the eerie face of the teacher. But the calling grew stronger, and she blindly followed it deeper into the forest, stepping over the occasional fallen log.
Lucy had sprinted along for what seemed like forever when she noticed the trees-they were burnt black, most of them ripped up from their roots. Cautiously she made her way through the tangle of charred trees, hugging Buttons for comfort. It smelled bad out here, the reek crawling up into her nostrils.
She moved quietly toward a thick bush of leaves, the verdant green replaced by a dead black color. She moved the leaves aside with one hand. That was when she saw the huge, strange object, lying in a pool of smoking mud. It was like nothing she had ever seen before-a deep red chunk of metal that resembled a mutated hermit crab with thick, ridged piping curling up around the sides. Lucy was intrigued; she walked right up to the thing, and placed her hand upon it. The gigantic object was hot, and it seared her hand. She pulled away, then went back to exploring.
The urge had gotten unbearably stronger as she moved around the craft. It was yanking her along, its invisible talons digging into her mind. Lucy shook her head and then spotted the opening in the scarlet metal, wisps of yellowish smoke pouring through.
Clutching Buttons tightly, she stepped hesitantly in, guided by that peculiar force. The inside of the vessel was murky and smoldering, the thick gas making her cough as she held onto her stuffed bear for protection.
Following the twisted hallway, she came to a large chamber, where dancing blue sparks lit up in the room in flashes of light. The first thing the little girl saw was the towering creature that was trapped under a massive piece of jagged metal. It looked much like the hideous face she had seen earlier, albeit with intense green eyes and mottled red-brown skin.
Their eyes locked.
The soft noise and the scent of the ooman made Acdinte turn his head, braids flying with the swift motion. He was helpless as a newborn suckling, of course, but his wrist knives popped out nevertheless. Knowing well that the law stated that specifically that he must commit the honorable suicide, and also knowing that he was much too kwei to do it, Acdinte studied the doorway.
A tiny creature, wearing bright fabric around its pale body and clutching a gray animal, moved into the room. An unnatural feeling washed over him, and he stared at the pup, which watched him with open interest. He blinked, confused, as the little one reached down...
Lucy stooped, feeling no fear whatsoever. It was as though she knew it, him. Her hand reached out, as though on its own accord, and stroked the leathery reddish flesh. The creature's mandibles moved slightly, the dim light reflecting off the shiny white tusks.
She closed her eyes, and felt a new presence. It crept over her mind, and somewhere in her young mind she knew that she was experiencing his emotions, somehow tasting his thoughts. There was some awe and some guilty terror that had long since been hidden.
Her eyes opened again, and she saw herself in the giant's beady eyes.
No longer alone-
Acdinte looked on as the small pup touched his skin, the fingers gently brushing over his cheeks. It was at that very second that he felt her mind. At first it startled him, and he felt confusion. A bond, he realized, something straight out of old legends, where two became one. He didn't understand it, and couldn't explain it at all, nor would have ever believed that he could be psychically bonded to a pyode amedha, an insignificant pup at that.
Still...he reached back up and touched her own flat face, the skin underneath his taloned fingertips soft and fragile. The pup did not move as he did this, though she made an odd sound that must have been speech.
Then he realized something, as the miniature alien remained motionless, her dark eyes boring into his. She could help him get out of this. The thought was a shameful one, but one that he would have to live with. If the tiny ooman pup could find him a strong enough branch or metal rod, then perhaps he could free himself from this bondage.
"I need something to free myself," he told the creature, watching disappointedly as she stared back blankly. He repeated himself, slower this time, but the pup still did not comprehend. If they truly were bonded, Acdinte realized, then he could make her understand.
The faint image of a lever appeared into Lucy's mind. The giant was staring at her expectantly, and she nodded slowly, spinning around to go get what he needed.
It took her a long time to find to find a thick enough stick outside of the ship. Most of them were burnt and would not do. When she finally found one, she proudly carried it back inside, where the tusked creature was patiently waiting. Working together, they managed to shove the wooden lever underneath the piece of ruddy metal long enough for him to slide his bloody leg out. Concerned, Lucy touched the broken leg, smeared with glowing green-yellow liquid.
"What's your name?" Lucy asked, but the creature didn't answer, and she decided to call him Buttons, after her teddy bear.
The giant settled down in one of the huge chairs, regarding her thoughtfully. She gazed up and saw the cut across his face, exactly where hers was.
"I have one too," she pointed out, gesturing toward the bandage on her head, "only Daddy gave me mine." Buttons touched her own wound and hissed something, his enormous mottled hand resting heavily on her delicate shoulder. Then he opened up a piece of plated armor on his leg and took out various instruments, going back to work on his leg. The warmth of the ship was beginning to make her feel drowsy, and she drifted into sleep.
Acdinte watched the little cub fall asleep, then reached out to run his hand over her yellow hair.
When Lucy woke up several hours later, she glanced about groggily. Buttons was still working on his torn leg, sewing and applying strange, wiry gausses. Then, with growing horror, Lucy realized that Daddy would be mad at her for being so late. As much as she would have liked to stay, she knew that she had to home, and fast. So, as the giant had his back turned to her, she raced out of the craft and into the darkness of the night.
Paula stifled a yawn and made her way around the classroom the next day, studying the pictures the children had drawn. Most of them had doodled cartoon characters or pictures of houses and smiling people. But when she made her way over to Lucy's table, she noticed that what the child was drawing was quite different.
Carefully, the little girl colored a drawing of some kind of deformed monster, with bright red skin and four finger-like tentacles wiggling on its face. Paula raised one eyebrow, concerned. Call her old-fashioned, but she didn't think little girls liked to draw evil-looking monsters.
"What's that, Lucy?" The teacher asked.
The little girl looked up, the crayon still in hand.
"It's my new friend, Buttons," she answered matter-of-factly.
"I see." Paula was worried; she had a good feeling that the little girl was being abused, and perhaps this was some kind of outcry for help. Lucy went back to coloring, humming some tune underneath her breath.
Later she called up the Moore residence, though apparently the parents weren't home. Paula sat at her own house, nervously biting her fingernails. She glanced down at the portable phone, wondering if she should try again. After all, the child could be in trouble. So she picked up the phone again, furiously dialing the number.
Nothing.
She chewed on her lower lip and listened to the clock chime ten o'clock from the living room. Without considering twice, she snatched up her car keys and decided to go visit Lucy's parents personally.
In her dreams, she was no longer Lucy. She was someone named Acdinte, following his friend out into the outside. Strange, alien sensations overwhelmed her, and she gave into them, becoming no longer human.
The outside was hot, the ground covered with bluish vegetation and a stone walkway. Ahead of her, T'airenke was talking about how one day he would become a great warrior, how he would rise above his position in life.
"Sure you will," a voice taunted, and Lucy/Acdinte caught the stench of a bigger male. Lleiinh stepped out from a black-carved statue of a kainde amedha, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He was the oldest pup in the family, and the most belligerent, the crooked scars covering his huge body testifying to that. Acdinte, of all his bloodthirsty brothers, was most terrified of him.
Lucy/Acdinte moved aside, though T'airenke firmly held his ground as Lleiinh assumed a hostile position, obviously eager for a new scar. If he killed T'airenke, then no one would care, for he was an honorees servant. And if Acdinte died? Well, Ky'inde had enough sons to carry his blood, so it would be no great matter either.
He was about to warn his friend against fighting Lleiinh when the older male lunged at T'airenke, mandibles spread wide in wild fury. T'airenke was agile enough to dodge his brother's attack, and he hopped atop one of the fountains that held the thrashing daahk snakes.
Growling, Lleiinh jumped up beside him, the other male's clawed foot catching his lower jaw. With a strangled hiss he fell backwards, head slamming into the stone walkway, hard. Before his pugnacious brother could react, T'airenke was upon him, his curved talons resting on his vulnerable throat.
"Give up, or I shall kill you," his friend threatened, and Lleiinh's face contorted with fear. When he didn't reply, T'airenke's claws tightened painfully.
"I-I give up," Lleiinh sputtered. But as the other male was getting up, he slammed into him again, this time reaching for the metal dagger at his belt. There was no time to react before the blade was plunged into T'airenke's heart. Lucy/Acdinte watched in stunned horror as the T'airenke's eyes rolled up lifelessly within their sockets, Lleiinh casually yanking the dripping dagger back out.
He should have avenged his friend's death, for it would have been the honorable thing to do. But he ran, Lleiinh's cruel face haunting him as he fled...
Lucy opened her eyes, gradually adjusting to the heavy curtain of darkness. It was raining outside, the water drumming on the window. She jumped up when she saw the figure in the blackness, and smelled the sickening stink of whisky. A large hand cupped over her mouth as her father's groping hand snatched her panties and violently pulled down...
NONONONONONONONO....
"C'mon, sugar," he whispered, and she fought him, God how she fought him...
Acdinte was still resting when the mental cry reached him. Even though his leg ached badly he stood, and he could almost fell Lleiinh teasing him...
Kwei...
Another image popped into his mind, of the little cub. Dragging his damaged leg, he left the ship as fast as possible.
Sobbing, her lower parts on fire, Lucy dragged herself into the hallway. She felt infected, felt as though she wanted to tear her skin off. She could still feel...it was worst then when he hit her. When he Touched her...
She had to get out, had to find Buttons. He would protect her, and then Daddy wouldn't hurt her anymore.
"Lucy!" Her father shouted, and a bolt of lightning illuminated his drunken visage. On her hands and knees she crawled away, crying.
Help me, O please help me.
The windshield wipers swooshed back and forth as Paula squinted, trying to see. 380 Beacon Street, where was it? Her car bumped along as she prayed that Lucy was alright.
She had made it halfway down the stairs when a hand latched onto the back of her neck. Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, a wordless bleat of raw terror.
"Shut the fuck up!" Daddy screeched, as a booming roll of thunder drowned out his voice. She was listened up, kicking.
Then the front door burst open-literally. It was violently knocked off its hinges, thrown onto the ratty sofa.
"What the hell?"
Lucy was dropped, her breath knocked out of her. Daddy's eyes widened when he saw Buttons, who was glaring at him from the living room, his eyes burning like twin embers. Without thinking twice, she scrambled down the stairs, even as the howl of agony rose up.
Acdinte lurched at the ooman, no longer seeing it as an alien but as Lleiinh. It clumsily tried to move away, but fell, his wrist knives sinking into its unprotected belly and squinting bright blood across the walls.
Even as the pyode amedha shuddered spasmodically and died, he saw his brother die, saw T'airenke avenged...
Paula pulled up onto the unpaved driveway and turned off her car. As she was getting out, she saw the tiny, soaked figure, awash in the white light from her car. She hurried over to the little girl and picked Lucy up, her wet nightclothes plastered to her thin body. As Paula opened her mouth to speak, to ask if she was okay, the child looked up, her florid face one of relief.
"We're free," she whispered, letting the damp teddy bear fall from her arms.
By Zezii
Below him, the tiny greenish-brown planet with its numerous sapphire oceans drifted slowly through the dark expanse of space. Gauzy white blankets of clouds enveloped the small world, hiding the watery surface as his ship approached. This isolated planet, as insignificant as it might have appeared to be at first glance, was teeming with all kinds of life, including a sentient species.
From his control chair, Acdinte leaned forward eagerly, curved talons clutching at the leather arms as his mandibles opened wide. He was excited; perhaps now he could finally prove himself. The intelligent creatures that inhabited the little planet, the pyode amedha as the yautja tended to call them, were the prey of true Warriors. They were deadly and shrewd, with a feral cunning that made them lethally dangerous. If Acdinte could bring home some of the aliens' skulls as trophies; there was a good chance that he would be accepted.
Still watching the long screen in front of him, Acdinte leaned back, his clawed hands clasped tightly together as he thought hard. Yes, that was his fondest wish, since he had been a young suckling.
All of his life, Acdinte had been ignored. He had never met his high-ranking father, for, after all, he was only one of over ninety sons, born of a family-less mother who lacked any close ties. She was supposedly barren, and when she gave birth it was seen as a bad omen from the gods. The great Ky'inde never noticed when his youngest male offspring almost died the first day of life; if anything, he was deeply embarrassed to have a sickly suckling and a wife whose lineal ties had long been severed. Like the small planet his craft was approaching, Acdinte had been alone all his life, trying in vain to win honor and some shard of respect.
But no mere kainde amedha head would give him the things that he desired. No, it was those oomans far away that would do it. Acdinte had used his father's status to obtain a ship, and now he was, heading toward a nameless world in the midst of uncharted space. If he were detected by another yautja vessel, he could easily be shot down for disobeying the sacred rules of the Hunt.
Indeed, Acdinte was aware of the fatal consequences, for his actions were dishonorable. But he had never taken any risks in his life; he preferred to avoid them. It was, without a doubt, a shameful lifestyle, but one that allowed him to be still among the living. Now though, the young Hunter was taken a chance, and it felt strangely good.
He was daydreaming about his imaginary rank and the vast number of wives he would be betrothed to when his cloaked ship entered the blue-green planet's thin atmosphere.
All was silent in the house, save for the loud blaring of the old television set and the little girl's soft breathing. Lucy remained motionless at the top of the stairs, clutching Buttons and listening. She hoped desperately that Daddy wasn't home yet, that the babysitter, Tina, would be staying for a long time.
Because Daddy was mean.
"You hope so too, Buttons?" Lucy whispered to the worn gray teddy bear, its round eyes glittering in the darkness. Holding the tattered stuffed animal to her face, the seven-year old studied the creature, as if it really had answered.
She began to creep down the wooden stairs, the bright lights from the television set flickering eerily on the dusty pictures on the walls. One picture was of her, her mommy, and her Daddy at the park when she was very young. Lucy paused and glanced up at the photo of the smiling red-haired woman who held the rosy-cheeked infant in her arms. Her Daddy was strange in the square picture, no longer so scary. Lucy didn't remember her mommy, who had died of some terrible and unknown disease called cancer. Nor did she remember a time when her father wasn't so terrifying.
It's because I'm a bad girl, she lectured herself, turning away from the photo.
Even as she stealthily slithered down the stairs, Lucy was making up an excuse if Tina was to catch her.
I'll tell her I needed some water, she decided, listening as the sitter shifted on the creaky couch and changed the channel. Lucy held her breath when the front door opened, and heavy footsteps resounded on the tiled kitchen floor.
Oh no, he's home, she thought, her heart hammering within her small chest like some caged animal. But her legs became as unmovable as stone, and she remained there, paralyzed. The sour stink of alcohol drifted into her nostrils, and she hugged Buttons tighter to her pink pajamas.
"How much do I owe ya?" Daddy said to Tina, his voice slurred.
"Twenty-five."
"Twenty-five? Are you trying to rip me off?" Her father boomed, and from the stairs Lucy winced.
From the living room Tina sighed.
"Look, I'm doing you a favor, Mr. Moore. You've been gone for almost nine hours and you weren't at the number you gave me," replied the babysitter. Daddy said something incomprehensible and then began to shout.
"Here's your lousy goddamn money!" He screamed, and from the shuffling of shoes on the carpet Lucy could tell that he was pushing Tina out the front door.
She jumped when the door slammed, a deafening noise. Her father muttered angrily to himself about that "goddamned brat of mine." Realizing that she must have been bad again, Lucy spun around and started up the stairs, her slippers sliding out from underneath her. Her head hit the hard floor, and she cried out in pain.
There was more footsteps as Daddy stormed toward the stairs, Lucy rubbing her bruised head even as she gazed down into her father's black eyes. His face was flushed a ruddy color, his peppered eyebrows knitted in rage.
He leaned down and grabbed her left shoulder, his fingernails digging deep into her shoulder. His moist breath reeked of liquor as he bellowed at her.
"What the hell are you doing up?"
"I'm sorry Daddy! I'll be a good girl, please-," her pleading was abruptly cut off by the smack. Lucy didn't make a noise as she fell back against the dark steps, Buttons still against her chest. The enraged kick struck her painfully in the abdomen, and lights flashed before her eyes as the world spun madly...
The sudden, unexpected pain overtook Acdinte, the searing tendrils of agony spreading through his entire body. His mandibles spread wide as he flailed, dark spots swimming before his burning eyes. It felt as if he had been hit by an invisible enemy.
What in the name of Kh'tch?
Another powerful blow, and his forehead snapped forward, slamming into the control board.
T'airenke...
He was vaguely aware of the fact that the computer was damaged, that his ship was rapidly spiraling toward the ground far below as he passed out.
It was very dark when Lucy awoke, her cheeks stained with dried tears and the fresh blood oozing from the gash on her right eyebrow. She was lying in a fetal position near one of the end tables, the silvery light from the crescent moon washing over her small body. Tentatively, she reached up and felt the jagged cut, wondering when it had happened.
Probably when he was hurting me...
Immediately Lucy pushed the thought out of her head, relieved that Daddy was gone. She stood up, using the squat table as support, and gazed solemnly out the window, staring at her reflection in the dirty glass.
Why does he have to do this to me?
Besides the red welt on her eyebrow, there was a large, dark bruise near her nose, and her fat lip made her grimace in pain. As she fingered the cut lip, looking out at the star-studded, indigo sky, she saw the bright blue light streak across the heavens. Transfixed, Lucy realized that this must be a shooting star, and she involuntarily shuddered as an odd feeling overcame her. What it was, she didn't know.
Lucy recalled being told that one could wish upon a star as the light arched down toward earth. At first she wanted her mommy back, but changed her mind when a single drop of crimson hit the grimy surface of the table, the round bead of blood catching the star's brilliant light.
She looked up toward the sky.
I wish he weren't hurt me anymore...
"Alright class, today we're going to read a story about a little lost dog named Pete," Paula Poliski announced, turning toward her excited class of second graders. They had been doing math problems for the last half-hour, and the substitute teacher felt that they desperately needed a change. This was her third day as substitute; the normal teacher was out with surgery.
All the children ran toward the carpeted area, chattering happily-all of them except for one little girl. She was sitting in the corner by herself, twirling her blonde pigtails and holding a ragged, stuffed bear. What was her name again? Oh, yes. Lucy. That was it.
"Lucy," Paula called out to her, "don't you want to hear the story about Pete?"
There was no answer; the girl continued playing with her long hair, staring blankly at the floor. Paula sighed and got up from the rocking chair, wondering what Lucy's problem was. Her high-heeled shoes clicked across the floor as she walked toward the seated child, bending down to rest a comforting hand on the little girl's slender shoulder.
"Lucy, come over with-," Paula started, then gasped when she saw Lucy's face. It was horribly bruised, puffed an angry scarlet red, with a gash sliced over her eye. The other children were begging her to start the story, but the substitute ignored them for now. She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully as the blonde-haired child looked back at her ripped shoes, the socks showing through the holes.
"Honey, how did this happen to you?" Paula whispered. No response.
"It's oka-,"
"I don't remember," Lucy told her, hugging the gray teddy bear.
"Did you-?"
"I fell in the playground," the girl muttered, shifting one shoe.
The teacher tried repetitively to coax an answer from the child, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the others were getting impatient, and Paula had no idea how to handle this kind of situation.
"I think you and-," the substitute motioned to the bear.
"Buttons."
"I think you and Buttons should go see the nurse. And I'd like to talk to you alone later, okay?" Paula said gently. The girl stood up slowly, nodding. She waddled toward the open door, then paused and looked over her shoulder at Paula, her dark eyes burning into the teacher's.
She was so small, tinier than even now. Lucy was only about three years old, dreaming hot, sweaty nightmares of a huge figure that loomed over her, its face completely blank. It reached out with one inky black hand toward her, blindly grasping for her own.
Always she would wake up, always she would cry out in the pitch darkness of night. The dreams had plagued her for so long, as did the truly alien ones that visited her occasionally. She did not know what they meant, or why she dreamed them; all she knew was that she could not get them out of her head.
Now she remembered those hellish nightmares as the school nurse, a stocky woman with graying hair and a wrinkled face, her make-up so thickly applied that she looked like a silly clown. Lucy frowned at the funny odor she had, sort of like old medicine. But this woman was very nice, talking sweetly as she applied a polka -dot Band-Aid to the wound on her face. Sometimes, when the nurse talked to her, Lucy became worried that she was being Bad and might get hit again.
But the dreaded smack never came, and she was soon sent back to the classroom, where most of the other kids were packing their bags to go home. Lucy always walked home; she liked being alone. Well, except for Buttons. He was kind to her, and he never hit or did the other Thing to her.
As she packed her own Winnie the Pooh bag, the teacher came over to her. She was a tall woman, with a pale, white face framed by curly black hair. The sweet aroma of perfume drifted into her nostrils as Ms. Poliski told her to sit down in one of the chairs. Lucy did so, watching as the other children left for the bus.
She glanced up when the substitute teacher called her name; frightened, her eyes locked with Ms. Poliski's brown ones.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the woman was saying, though her voice seemed faint and faraway. Blinking, Lucy stared back at her, watching in horror as her face melted, rippled like water. The white skin became a spotted, dull yellow, covered with thick, short bristles. Tiny crimson eyes glittered in the sunken black sockets as the fleshy tusks opened wide, pointed teeth glistening.
At first she was very sacred, but then the face became familiar, and, as if in a dream, reached up and touched the thick, speckled skin.
"T'airenke," she whispered.
Paula looked at the child's glassy eyes even as she muttered the word, the sound deep and guttural. No longer were the eyes just dark; they were light-less pools of blackness, colorless orbs that pierced the teacher's soul.
Then, before she could even properly react, Lucy leapt up from the table, completely dazed. The little girl backed up like a frightened fawn, fleeing out the front door as Paula started to stand.
Warm blood trickled down slowly from the wide gash over his eye, splattering on his 'awu'asa and collecting in shallow pools on the control panel. Hissing underneath his breath, Acdinte pushed himself up with his trembling hands, trying to ignore the pounding within his head. The view screen in front of him flickered, the electrical sparks bursting out from the torn glass.
He had crashed; he was certain of that. But where? He wasn't sure, for all the sensors had blacked out, the damaged screens blinking. The room spun wildly, and he tried with all his might to focus, holding his throbbing head in one clawed hand. As he tried to pull himself completely up, Acdinte noticed the horrible numb feeling in his leg; confused, he peered down. His leg was trapped underneath a huge piece of wreckage, a thin trail of bright green blood leaking out from underneath the metal. The heavy debris must have crushed the thdech, the nerve, in that limb, for he felt absolutely nothing. The yautja shoved desperately at the wreckage trapping his leg, but to no avail.
Exhausted, he sank back to the ground, wondering what had happened, what had caused this crash. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of a logical explanation. As he listened to the sharp crackle of electrical volts leaping out from equipment, his mind wandered away from this place, where he was surely doomed, where the oomans would eventually find him.
He closed his eyes, the painful memories of his puphood coming back in a violent rush. This always happened under tremendous stress; the deeply-buried memories came bubbling back to the surface...
Acdinte was young by yautja standards, so young in fact that his hair was not yet braided. He still lived in the vast harem with the females and their pups. It was a dark place, crafted of fine gweistct stone and twisted layers of meticulously-carved metal. The yellow light from the various candles illuminated the grinning skulls of prey that his father had killed in his Glory Hunt. Ky'inde was not modest at all; he flaunted his status whenever important visitors came.
The only sound now was his own breathing and the rhythmic din of his sandaled feet hitting the red-cobbled floor. Acdinte hated being alone in the winding halls like this, though he never confessed this secret fear to his half-siblings. He was already the lowest son in the family, his mother's poor status contributing to that. The other pups, especially the males, regularly ridiculed him, teasingly calling him "R'hranc", or an Unspeakable, the lowest caste in yautja society. And he never fought back, or even denied it. Instead, he always crept back to the safety of his mother, head hung low.
There was a soft noise, and then a shape sprang out at him. Instinctively, he tried to move back, but the figure was already on top of him. Acdinte caught the oily whiff of musk, and found himself looking into dark red eyes.
T'airenke.
Laughing, the other male got out of him, his mandibles spreading wide in glee.
"Will you always be this slow?" T'airenke asked him, the light from the candles reflected on his deep brown hair, tied back with a band of wooden beads.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Acdinte spat back, angry that the other yautja had frightened him like that. His heart was still beating furiously within his chest. T'airenke was, of course, a servant; no other male in the whole house would be seen with such a lowly pup as Acdinte. He was still even wearing the gray-smock with the elaborate design of a keiich bird of prey, the totem of Ky'inde and symbol of this house.
T'airenke cast him another cocky grin.
"I finished early."
Acdinte raised one eyebrow, signifying that he didn't believe this. He knew, of course, that his friend was lying; but then again, T'airenke never told the truth.
"You'll be sorry if my father catches you not working," Acdinte warned, before the other male jovially slapped him on the back.
"You worry too much," was the reply.
Acdinte did not respond, and then his friend suggested that they go outside before the suns dipped behind the mountains. He had agreed, never knowing that he would never see the other yautja again...
Lucy ran down the gravel road, her battered shoes kicking up small rocks. She didn't know where she was going; all she knew was that know the teacher was mad, and would punish her like Daddy always did. She was now very, very scared, for she knew how much he hurt her when he was upset.
Gasping for air, she paused outside of the woods, still holding Buttons. Where should she go? Sometimes, when she was very scared and alone, she would hide in the forest. Somehow, it felt safer there, a place where she couldn't be hurt.
So she darted swiftly into the thick woods, the heavy shadows wrapping around her whole body and protecting her. As soon as she entered the forest, she slowed down. It was cooler in here, the shadows making it so.
It was then that she felt the odd feeling, an urge that made her shudder. It was as though some unseen force was pushing her on, whispering where to go. At first she was a little frightened, for she remembered the eerie face of the teacher. But the calling grew stronger, and she blindly followed it deeper into the forest, stepping over the occasional fallen log.
Lucy had sprinted along for what seemed like forever when she noticed the trees-they were burnt black, most of them ripped up from their roots. Cautiously she made her way through the tangle of charred trees, hugging Buttons for comfort. It smelled bad out here, the reek crawling up into her nostrils.
She moved quietly toward a thick bush of leaves, the verdant green replaced by a dead black color. She moved the leaves aside with one hand. That was when she saw the huge, strange object, lying in a pool of smoking mud. It was like nothing she had ever seen before-a deep red chunk of metal that resembled a mutated hermit crab with thick, ridged piping curling up around the sides. Lucy was intrigued; she walked right up to the thing, and placed her hand upon it. The gigantic object was hot, and it seared her hand. She pulled away, then went back to exploring.
The urge had gotten unbearably stronger as she moved around the craft. It was yanking her along, its invisible talons digging into her mind. Lucy shook her head and then spotted the opening in the scarlet metal, wisps of yellowish smoke pouring through.
Clutching Buttons tightly, she stepped hesitantly in, guided by that peculiar force. The inside of the vessel was murky and smoldering, the thick gas making her cough as she held onto her stuffed bear for protection.
Following the twisted hallway, she came to a large chamber, where dancing blue sparks lit up in the room in flashes of light. The first thing the little girl saw was the towering creature that was trapped under a massive piece of jagged metal. It looked much like the hideous face she had seen earlier, albeit with intense green eyes and mottled red-brown skin.
Their eyes locked.
The soft noise and the scent of the ooman made Acdinte turn his head, braids flying with the swift motion. He was helpless as a newborn suckling, of course, but his wrist knives popped out nevertheless. Knowing well that the law stated that specifically that he must commit the honorable suicide, and also knowing that he was much too kwei to do it, Acdinte studied the doorway.
A tiny creature, wearing bright fabric around its pale body and clutching a gray animal, moved into the room. An unnatural feeling washed over him, and he stared at the pup, which watched him with open interest. He blinked, confused, as the little one reached down...
Lucy stooped, feeling no fear whatsoever. It was as though she knew it, him. Her hand reached out, as though on its own accord, and stroked the leathery reddish flesh. The creature's mandibles moved slightly, the dim light reflecting off the shiny white tusks.
She closed her eyes, and felt a new presence. It crept over her mind, and somewhere in her young mind she knew that she was experiencing his emotions, somehow tasting his thoughts. There was some awe and some guilty terror that had long since been hidden.
Her eyes opened again, and she saw herself in the giant's beady eyes.
No longer alone-
Acdinte looked on as the small pup touched his skin, the fingers gently brushing over his cheeks. It was at that very second that he felt her mind. At first it startled him, and he felt confusion. A bond, he realized, something straight out of old legends, where two became one. He didn't understand it, and couldn't explain it at all, nor would have ever believed that he could be psychically bonded to a pyode amedha, an insignificant pup at that.
Still...he reached back up and touched her own flat face, the skin underneath his taloned fingertips soft and fragile. The pup did not move as he did this, though she made an odd sound that must have been speech.
Then he realized something, as the miniature alien remained motionless, her dark eyes boring into his. She could help him get out of this. The thought was a shameful one, but one that he would have to live with. If the tiny ooman pup could find him a strong enough branch or metal rod, then perhaps he could free himself from this bondage.
"I need something to free myself," he told the creature, watching disappointedly as she stared back blankly. He repeated himself, slower this time, but the pup still did not comprehend. If they truly were bonded, Acdinte realized, then he could make her understand.
The faint image of a lever appeared into Lucy's mind. The giant was staring at her expectantly, and she nodded slowly, spinning around to go get what he needed.
It took her a long time to find to find a thick enough stick outside of the ship. Most of them were burnt and would not do. When she finally found one, she proudly carried it back inside, where the tusked creature was patiently waiting. Working together, they managed to shove the wooden lever underneath the piece of ruddy metal long enough for him to slide his bloody leg out. Concerned, Lucy touched the broken leg, smeared with glowing green-yellow liquid.
"What's your name?" Lucy asked, but the creature didn't answer, and she decided to call him Buttons, after her teddy bear.
The giant settled down in one of the huge chairs, regarding her thoughtfully. She gazed up and saw the cut across his face, exactly where hers was.
"I have one too," she pointed out, gesturing toward the bandage on her head, "only Daddy gave me mine." Buttons touched her own wound and hissed something, his enormous mottled hand resting heavily on her delicate shoulder. Then he opened up a piece of plated armor on his leg and took out various instruments, going back to work on his leg. The warmth of the ship was beginning to make her feel drowsy, and she drifted into sleep.
Acdinte watched the little cub fall asleep, then reached out to run his hand over her yellow hair.
When Lucy woke up several hours later, she glanced about groggily. Buttons was still working on his torn leg, sewing and applying strange, wiry gausses. Then, with growing horror, Lucy realized that Daddy would be mad at her for being so late. As much as she would have liked to stay, she knew that she had to home, and fast. So, as the giant had his back turned to her, she raced out of the craft and into the darkness of the night.
Paula stifled a yawn and made her way around the classroom the next day, studying the pictures the children had drawn. Most of them had doodled cartoon characters or pictures of houses and smiling people. But when she made her way over to Lucy's table, she noticed that what the child was drawing was quite different.
Carefully, the little girl colored a drawing of some kind of deformed monster, with bright red skin and four finger-like tentacles wiggling on its face. Paula raised one eyebrow, concerned. Call her old-fashioned, but she didn't think little girls liked to draw evil-looking monsters.
"What's that, Lucy?" The teacher asked.
The little girl looked up, the crayon still in hand.
"It's my new friend, Buttons," she answered matter-of-factly.
"I see." Paula was worried; she had a good feeling that the little girl was being abused, and perhaps this was some kind of outcry for help. Lucy went back to coloring, humming some tune underneath her breath.
Later she called up the Moore residence, though apparently the parents weren't home. Paula sat at her own house, nervously biting her fingernails. She glanced down at the portable phone, wondering if she should try again. After all, the child could be in trouble. So she picked up the phone again, furiously dialing the number.
Nothing.
She chewed on her lower lip and listened to the clock chime ten o'clock from the living room. Without considering twice, she snatched up her car keys and decided to go visit Lucy's parents personally.
In her dreams, she was no longer Lucy. She was someone named Acdinte, following his friend out into the outside. Strange, alien sensations overwhelmed her, and she gave into them, becoming no longer human.
The outside was hot, the ground covered with bluish vegetation and a stone walkway. Ahead of her, T'airenke was talking about how one day he would become a great warrior, how he would rise above his position in life.
"Sure you will," a voice taunted, and Lucy/Acdinte caught the stench of a bigger male. Lleiinh stepped out from a black-carved statue of a kainde amedha, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He was the oldest pup in the family, and the most belligerent, the crooked scars covering his huge body testifying to that. Acdinte, of all his bloodthirsty brothers, was most terrified of him.
Lucy/Acdinte moved aside, though T'airenke firmly held his ground as Lleiinh assumed a hostile position, obviously eager for a new scar. If he killed T'airenke, then no one would care, for he was an honorees servant. And if Acdinte died? Well, Ky'inde had enough sons to carry his blood, so it would be no great matter either.
He was about to warn his friend against fighting Lleiinh when the older male lunged at T'airenke, mandibles spread wide in wild fury. T'airenke was agile enough to dodge his brother's attack, and he hopped atop one of the fountains that held the thrashing daahk snakes.
Growling, Lleiinh jumped up beside him, the other male's clawed foot catching his lower jaw. With a strangled hiss he fell backwards, head slamming into the stone walkway, hard. Before his pugnacious brother could react, T'airenke was upon him, his curved talons resting on his vulnerable throat.
"Give up, or I shall kill you," his friend threatened, and Lleiinh's face contorted with fear. When he didn't reply, T'airenke's claws tightened painfully.
"I-I give up," Lleiinh sputtered. But as the other male was getting up, he slammed into him again, this time reaching for the metal dagger at his belt. There was no time to react before the blade was plunged into T'airenke's heart. Lucy/Acdinte watched in stunned horror as the T'airenke's eyes rolled up lifelessly within their sockets, Lleiinh casually yanking the dripping dagger back out.
He should have avenged his friend's death, for it would have been the honorable thing to do. But he ran, Lleiinh's cruel face haunting him as he fled...
Lucy opened her eyes, gradually adjusting to the heavy curtain of darkness. It was raining outside, the water drumming on the window. She jumped up when she saw the figure in the blackness, and smelled the sickening stink of whisky. A large hand cupped over her mouth as her father's groping hand snatched her panties and violently pulled down...
NONONONONONONONO....
"C'mon, sugar," he whispered, and she fought him, God how she fought him...
Acdinte was still resting when the mental cry reached him. Even though his leg ached badly he stood, and he could almost fell Lleiinh teasing him...
Kwei...
Another image popped into his mind, of the little cub. Dragging his damaged leg, he left the ship as fast as possible.
Sobbing, her lower parts on fire, Lucy dragged herself into the hallway. She felt infected, felt as though she wanted to tear her skin off. She could still feel...it was worst then when he hit her. When he Touched her...
She had to get out, had to find Buttons. He would protect her, and then Daddy wouldn't hurt her anymore.
"Lucy!" Her father shouted, and a bolt of lightning illuminated his drunken visage. On her hands and knees she crawled away, crying.
Help me, O please help me.
The windshield wipers swooshed back and forth as Paula squinted, trying to see. 380 Beacon Street, where was it? Her car bumped along as she prayed that Lucy was alright.
She had made it halfway down the stairs when a hand latched onto the back of her neck. Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, a wordless bleat of raw terror.
"Shut the fuck up!" Daddy screeched, as a booming roll of thunder drowned out his voice. She was listened up, kicking.
Then the front door burst open-literally. It was violently knocked off its hinges, thrown onto the ratty sofa.
"What the hell?"
Lucy was dropped, her breath knocked out of her. Daddy's eyes widened when he saw Buttons, who was glaring at him from the living room, his eyes burning like twin embers. Without thinking twice, she scrambled down the stairs, even as the howl of agony rose up.
Acdinte lurched at the ooman, no longer seeing it as an alien but as Lleiinh. It clumsily tried to move away, but fell, his wrist knives sinking into its unprotected belly and squinting bright blood across the walls.
Even as the pyode amedha shuddered spasmodically and died, he saw his brother die, saw T'airenke avenged...
Paula pulled up onto the unpaved driveway and turned off her car. As she was getting out, she saw the tiny, soaked figure, awash in the white light from her car. She hurried over to the little girl and picked Lucy up, her wet nightclothes plastered to her thin body. As Paula opened her mouth to speak, to ask if she was okay, the child looked up, her florid face one of relief.
"We're free," she whispered, letting the damp teddy bear fall from her arms.