The Space Spoon novel Chapter 63

Mushy organic material accumulated on the ceiling, towering over its maker. Kirian let it encircle him, gradually grabbing hold of his lifted arms and black hair. It seemed as though the scientist had consented to dress, and an enormous, slimy sweater was slowly lowering to accommodate his wish.

“Don’t be a fool!” Tejeda yelled. “It will devour you too.”

“Kirian’s long gone, dear officer. I did devour him long ago. Then copied his body and took hold of his knowledge.” Now the crimson goo completely engulfed its maker. “I’m both Kirian and the bacteria he created. I’m Fresh Flesh.”

After all the layers of mushy material came off the walls and ceiling, a large, meaty creature stood tall and wide where Kirian once stood. The top part took on a spherical shape as it seemed to try to grow a head. Two eyes appeared, identical to Kirian’s. A hole opened, and lips appeared around its edges, but it was upside down. A mustache grew in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t centered above the mouth and seemed to float on the left side of the gruesome face.

Its improvised lips twitched. "I'm unable to develop a stubble or a bountiful mane like yours. The mysteries of follicular DNA decoding continue to elude me. My mustache is the only hair I can grow."

“That’s not a mustache.” Tejeda chuckled. He had an echo this time. At least that need not bother him anymore. “It looks more like a wig turned upside down and glued above your mouth. Or is that another wig? I can’t really tell.”

“You can’t push my buttons. Even though I have a good grasp of pride and mundane troubles, I’m beyond such petty things.”

“Oh, is that so? I had no intention of pushing your buttons. I just wanted to find the mute setting.”

“I’ll not fall for your attempts to disrupt my attention. I’ve eaten all the jars with brain cells that Kirian had stacked around. I’m smarter than all of you combined.”

“And the modestest, I see,” Tejeda mocked, taking Carmen out from the chain around his neck. “I should have brought a fork for steak, but you seem mushy enough.”

When Fresh Flesh darted toward Tejeda, it had more speed than he thought it was possible. A red laser beam flashed, distracting the creature and giving enough time for Tejeda to roll over to a side of the cave.

Fresh Flesh's body split, allowing the laser to pass through before reuniting the two sides as if nothing had occurred.

Shayla discarded the laser pistol and pulled a standard ballistic rifle from her backpack. Tejeda smirked. She didn't allow Hanga to bring any more droids, but she brought all the weapons.

Shayla took a knife from her boot and hurled it spinning toward the monster. It was barely a distraction since she knew by now that it would get spat out. She looked at Hanga and rolled her eyes at the ladder. He grabbed C1313, who was surprisingly light, and darted toward the stairs.

Fresh Flesh started huffing and puffing in displeasure, seeing that two of his prey were trying to escape. It tried to dart after them, but an incredible spark of light flashed right in front of it. Fresh Flesh looked down to see the little brunette.

She sat on a large rock, her black hair covering half of her face as she looked down. A cigarette hung from her lips, and the light of a match ignited, burning a window on Fresh Flesh's retinas.

"Every living organism hates fire. Some burn to ashes while others become crisp." A wicked smile lit her face, and her green eyes sparkled with delight in the little fire’s glow. "I wonder which of the two you’ll be."

At her feet, a canister of an odd-smelling liquid rolled empty between the rocks. A small stream zigzagged along the meandering path toward Fresh Flesh. The match lit her cigar.

Shayla filled her lungs with smoke. Crackling noise from the smoldering part accompanied her, seemingly louder in the complete silence that enveloped the underground cave. She kept the smoke inside, and then let it out slowly. The fire of the match almost touched her fingers as she held it upwards, her elbow on her knee. Only a whisper remained. "I think this will be my first kill I won't feel sorry about."