The Space Spoon novel Chapter 64

Shayla cursed internally at this entire situation. If the plan of burning the ugly piece of shit wouldn’t work, then she wasted this fine cigarette for nothing. It was the last thing her mother gave her before she died.

She humphed and took a last lungful of smoke. She could bet anyone would laugh at the thought that a queen could gift her daughter a cigarette as the last token of love. The crackling sound of the dry weeds burning up brought her mind back to the present.

New, not yet fully formed limbs broke out of Fresh Flesh's body, charging forward past the rocks and over the liquid. A grunt came out through his upside-down lips as its meat ran between the falling match and the thin stream of fluid. The stamped-out match flew upward and landed between two rocks. A dark coating appeared on the limb as it stretched further toward Shayla.

She jumped off the rock and snuffed off her cigarette on the creature’s pink skin. The echo of its screech bounced over the cave’s walls over and over again.

Shayla scoffed. “That was a waste of a pretty darn good cigarette. One I was saving for ages.”

The stench of burnt flesh etched itself inside her nostrils, making her want to scratch her nose. A pang of pain punched her in the gut the instant the monster hit her. The light from the coils flashed in all directions as she was sent flying across the room. Her lungs released all the air when she slammed onto the rocky wall with enough force to dislocate her left shoulder.

Shayla screamed, her vision blurring and her fingers grabbing her painful shoulder. She halted at the sound, realizing it wasn't a warrior's cry. She slammed her shoulder into the wall again, this time with a tremendous snarl, to reposition it. The whirling surge of pain that engulfed her almost knocked her unconscious. However, fainting now would be her undoing. She needed Tejeda now. What the bloody hell was he doing?

No weapon worked on this monster, and she was out of ideas. Burning it to a crisp was her last resort. Her vision cleared and she saw the black spots on Fresh Flesh’s limb, one caused by the match and another smudged one from the cigarette.

The box of matches lay there near the rock she had previously stood on. It must have fallen out of her pocket while she pirouetted like a ballerina into the air. Yeah, ten points for the execution, but a negative ten for the landing. Damn it!

She had to make a run for the matches. They were her only hope left. Shayla darted toward her target. The dark-dotted limb hurled toward her. Using her momentum, she leaned on her back and slid over the rocks, which tore through her uniform and scratched her back.

Hope ignited as one of her feet touched the box of matches. With a swish of her boot, she held out her hand. Just one more inch. The creature sprouted another makeshift limb and flung it toward her head. No time to back out now.

“This planet has been lucky so far.” Something resembling a peal of laughter came out of those gruesome lips. “Couldn’t reach the first human settlement to eat them up and grow stronger. It takes me more than a day to get there. But after I eat you and your red friend outside, I may be able to withstand the sun for a few more hours.”

Drops of saliva splattered all over Shayla's face as it spoke. In disgust, she had to shut her eyes firmly and grimaced. When she tilted her head to the side, the damp wind from its lips whipped her black hair over her face.

The dagger in her sleeve stretched beyond the length of her fingertips like a hidden talon. It sank into Fresh Flesh's limb like a needle. The monster didn’t drop her. Shayla bared her teeth at it and shouted again, “Eat me! I hope you’ll have indigestion.”

Fresh Flesh shook his head, looking at the ground. It puffed as though something was wrong with it. When that strange visage stared at Shayla again, it flashed a familiar, wide grin over its lips. "Sure, I'll devour you in a sec. First, let me decide where to start. You have lots of yummy parts, you know."

Shayla would have laughed if the spasms of pain weren’t still wracking through her. She panted and stared at the pile of meat in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as she whispered, “Tejeda?”