Page 24 of Ruby
It cocks its head to the side upon seeing that I’ve moved just an inch, but it still doesn’t do anything. I’m stuck and I don’t know if I’m about to be eaten or stored as extra nutrients in some alien larder. It moves its head closer and opens its giant maw, rows of blue teeth littering the inside of its mouth, disabusing me of the notion that externally visible fangs meant I might be safe.
I’m about to be eaten.
An ugly, bitter life flashes before my eyes. I’m not going down without a fight.
That single thought causes me to do something I never would’ve thought to do in a million years. I pull my head forward and belt out the loudest scream ever as I punch out my arms. Birds are very sensitive to sounds, something I found out when I tried to sing to them when I was young. In my mind, it’s enough to scare him off.
All my scream does is make this creature more interested. It keeps staring at me with its unnerving eyes, no longer nearly as beautiful after seeing all of those teeth.
Then it slowly places a hand on the outside of my pod as if to steady it, my mind stuttering to see long sharp claws on impossibly long fingers. Then another hand comes into view… and another. I gulp. Three arms? A quick glance to where its long neck meets shoulder reveals it has a double set of upper limbs.
The lower set of arms and hands are thicker than the others, hands bigger and fingers longer. Fuck, I am so dead.
“Quiet better,” it sings to me over the ragged sound of my scream.
I abruptly cut off the end of it, dragging in a deep breath.Why the fuck can I understand it?
I really have to abandon the thought that logic works here. The horses galloping in my brain are more frantic than usual, with one thought in a continual loop.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, my mind chants until the more rational part of my mind takes back over and I gulp painfully, my throat searing with pain.
It seems like it wants to talk, not kill me, and my mouth opens and closes, my usual quick wit failing me. I have no frame of reference to work from. How do I act? What do I say?
What mask do I wear with a fucking alien?
I want to shut my eyes and look away from it but my body feels like iron; my knuckles creak painfully from how hard I am squeezing them and pressing my fists against my knees.
Another scream escapes, somehow carrying with it all of my confusion.
My lungs run out of energy before I can successfully scare it away and we are stuck in a staring match, my eyes wide with fear, faced with what I can swear is barefaced curiosity. I do my best to look away from its eyes, but I can’t. They are just as beguiling as the last time I got stuck staring into them.
The movement of feathers distracts me and I move my gaze to them as they sink down to a resting position, the shifting of them catching the iridescent reds, golds, teals, and deep blues. The same mix of feathers lay along the outsides of its long, thick neck, almost like a cloak resting on its double jointed shoulders.
I gulp when my eyes rest on the sharp white claws at the ends of its long, thin fingers and I pull my gaze away before I think of them tearing into me.
The rest of its body is outside of my scope of view, and I can’t stop myself from thinking,what exactly is it?I want to ask, but there are even more pressing questions in the back of my muddled head.
“Do you… want eat me?”
Instead of talking in response, my words come out as a song, roughly translating into those words. My mouth clamps shut immediately after, my brain barely comprehending the absurdity of the situation.
The creature blinks and from the depths of its throat, a beautiful whistling flows out. The giant bird-like creature is… singing. Butof course it is… It’s a damn bird! The question I have is…why can I understand what it’s saying?
“Is danger. You not sing of fear. Not so loud.”
Sing of fear? A long blink later and my mind starts up again.
It’s asking me not to scream. Rather, he. It’s a male, something about its voice tells me.
I know one can tell the difference between songbirds based on their mating calls, but I would’ve never imagined this happening in a million years. His song is akin to a man speaking in a deep, melodious voice, the resonance somehow… male. It’s quite unnerving how easily my brain interprets all this.
I try to respond but instead of words coming out, my throat feels as if I swallowed an entire glass cup but changed my mind and tried to spit it back up mid-swallow. My hands go to grab at my neck but the pain is gone as soon as it starts. What is going on?
“Here to eat?” I ask again, my melody shifting to rearrange the words in an attempt to have the question answered this time.
“No. Not that. Here to help,” he chirps back.
Help? It’s hard to believe that an alien wants to help me. Why would he do that when it’s entirely better to just make a meal of me and be done with it?
