The Space Spoon novel Chapter 53

Shayla had never seen such a fast charge. The way the Surtamite darted using all of his legs, like a well-tuned concert of violins, seemed surreal. The flesh segments on the myriapod’s front part buckled and then expanded in a steady, fast rhythm as the waves of the sea.

Three arms thrust into the floor right next to Tejeda. He rolled over to his other side and took Carmen off his neck. His battle stance was similar to that of a swordsman, but instead of a blade, he held a spoon.

A hole in the gray floor remained after the Surtamite withdrew his limbs with wooden shrapnel from its edges flying in the air.

“Please, don’t damage the building.” One of the Valerian clerks jumped from his chair. “Everything in here is the property of the Trade Union for the Science Guild.”

As if the poor clerk was invisible and on mute, no one seemed to listen or care. Another set of Surtamite limbs went straight through the stained glass window, shattering it into countless pieces.

Tejeda rose from his ducking position. He shrugged off the shards on his clothes and poked an articulation of one of the limbs. Carmen inflicted no damage.

“Please, stop.” The Valerian clerk from before tried his luck once more. “You are scaring my pet.”

A faint whine sounded from the direction of the desk. A little head cautiously looked around at the commotion. Shayla could barely make out the pair of large, round eyes from behind the massive fur. Gray-black hair covered its body, and long strands cascaded over its eyes and down the sides of its snout.

The whimper persisted, and Shayla let out an "Oh," completely forgetting about the fight. For a moment there, she forgot where she was or what happened around her. Her imagination jumped at the chance to play with the large, fluffy fur and to fiddle with strands that covered that sweet little nose.

Metal, wood, and paper fragments flew throughout the room, but Shayla was absolutely mesmerized by that little thing. She went up to the clerk. "What exactly is it?"

“Some humans left it in my care. They said it’s called a dog.”

"Oh, I’ve heard the term," Shayla yelled, even though she was standing right next to the clerk. The noises coming from the Surtamite and Tejeda were quite loud, but she didn’t turn to see. "Weren't any dogs on Beridian. May I pet it?"

“Sure, go ahead. But it’s scared now.”

As Shayla reached down, the little puppy slipped back behind the desk. She sighed, dissatisfied. "Well, it doesn't know what's missing out." But she knew it was her loss.

A gust of air messed up her black hair. As she combed it with her fingers, her gaze fell upon Tejeda, lying at her feet on his back. His body being hurled through the air had formed the previous breeze. How long was he going to play with the Surtamite?

The purple tentacle that charged out from his arm’s stump wrapped around the Surtamite’s head to keep it in place. A second tentacle pierced Tejeda’s skin, protruding from his shoulder. It slithered between the myriapod’s legs.

Shayla raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know he was able to do that. Hmm. Wondering how many more things she didn’t know yet about Tejeda, she watched as his second limb rolled over the enemy’s trunk. The ten legs were useless now, hanging motionless between the spirals of purple flesh.

The Surtamite resorted to his final line of defense since he had no other alternatives. Kill your adversary before he kills you. Tejeda's tentacles didn't grasp his antennae. The two pointed objects on the rounded head of the myriapod expanded and raced at Tejeda.

The Nubilae was down on his bottom and quite well tied together with his opponent. Having no means to evade the attack, he closed his eyes and let the antennae pierce through him to the other side, pinning him to the wall. Using the last remnants of his strength, Tejeda rolled over his tentacles, flipping the Surtamite on his back.

Shayla approached them after two minutes to examine the results. Tejeda was dead and fastened to the wall. She plucked the antennae from his chest and let his corpse tumble to the floor. The Surtamite was lying on his back on the floor, his twenty limbs flapping helplessly in the air. His rounded exoskeleton prevented him from rolling over.

As Shayla thought where she could locate DNA that wasn't hers, the puppy approached, wagging its tail. The dog began enthusiastically licking Tejeda's face before she could stop it.

With her hands on her hips and nodding, she sighed heavily. “Well, this should be fun.”