The Space Spoon novel Chapter 87

Stacks of green-scaled enemies on all sides of the stretch of land, rising from the calm ocean. The green brilliance warped Shayla's vision, giving an eerie glow under the two suns.

She attempted to recall the layout of the place. A tiny creek ran through a few trees on the left. There was also a cliff on the right that led to the beach.

Seeing the enemies encircling them, she realized that it didn't matter anymore. Green scales glowed from the cliff's top and from between the trees.

“How many of you have weapons?” she asked without taking her eyes off the incoming enemies.

Silence followed, but Shayla didn’t have the time to wait. “How many weapons?”

"I thought we were on vacation," Jackeye murmured as he scratched his head. "In the real world, I'm not very skilled with weapons anyway."

"Then you stay back with Firion and E00." Shayla drew a laser pistol from her waistband. The flowing large shirt covered it perfectly until now. "Take this, Jackeye, just in case."

C1313 stepped forward next to Shayla. “My whole body is a weapon if I wish it.”

“And I have these,” Cato said, showing off her claws for the first time.

“And I never go anywhere without one of these.” Shayla grabbed the Beridium dagger from her back, its sheath hung on the bra beneath the shirt.

As she was preparing to step forward, E00’s voice stopped her. “Tejeda is there, among them.”

“How do you know?” Shayla’s eyes searched through the enemies, but all looked alike from her perspective.

The voice converged again from the self-sufficient repair droid. “The one in the far left who appears to be a female thought, I quote, “Shayla has weapons stacked everywhere even when we’re on vacation on a beach? Will she ever ease up?” I think this suffices to say it’s Tejeda.”

"Laid back attitude in the worst conceivable situation?" Shayla tightened her grip on the dagger's handle. "It's him alright."

Without adding anything else, she charged the enemies, followed by C1313 and Cato. The green-skinned female E00 had mentioned turned to fight her own comrades, leaving no doubt about her allegiance.

Shayla slashed and stabbed at the enemy with the dagger. They didn't stand a chance against the sharp blade.

A hand with green claws gripped her wrist.

E00 told her what Tejeda couldn’t. “They care about their princess, the body he wears now. If anything happened to her, they would stop to check up on her. Also, he’s just as slow as they are now. He wants you to cut his core that now resides in his tail.”

“I don’t know where it is exactly.” Shayla shook her head. “My Beridium dagger cuts through everything. I might destroy it and kill him.”

However, the creature next to her did not let go of her wrist. His eyes were pleading with her to do it. The blade in her hand craved the same thing as if it was still hungry for more. She cut the tail straight from the root near his bottom with a single motion.

Blood gushed out from the spot where the tail had formerly stood. Its warm wetness splattered on Shayla's face. She didn't flinch, her expression blank as if she were doing her daily chores. Her eyes remained glued to her hands, marveling at how similar the shade was to her own blood. With crimson liquid seeping from her hand, she turned to face the others and motioned for them to run.

Without looking back at the bodies she left behind, she struggled with the blade. She felt more powerful, invincible even, every time she wielded it. In moments like these, the physical battles were easy to win, but the war she waged with the blade itself was the problem. Her will clashed with the one of the Beridium metal, a fight for supremacy over her destiny.

Shayla sheathed the Beridium dagger. Breathing came easier this way, but she missed the crushing weight already. She flopped over the green tail to press it against her chest, even though the movement multiplied the gore she was already soaked in. There were more important things in life than the thirst for blood.

At the moment, she had to ensure the team evacuated safely. The bleeding tail in her arms caught her attention. Tejeda's core shimmered with blue electrical impulses. She also had to deal with one specific crazy moron who kept dying every fucking time.