Chapter 5
Xiaoyu
As soon as the stench in the air hits me, I alert everyone, “Absolutely no fires or we go up in flames.”
The smell is foul—a horrifying indication that the gas lingering might be flammable and volatile. That leaves us with very little option. I eye Ingar warily as he straps on two crossed rows on blades. He looks like he’s ready to take on the monsters awaiting us.
“Oh, god, is that a walking mushroom?!”
“I should have just died in the shipwreck.” Someone else hollers.
They’re all panicking and it’s hard not to do the same thing. I’m just rocking on the heels of my feet, boots squelching with that goo.
“Is the air here even safe to breathe?” I pinch my nose and breathe through my mouth. I gag. Even the air tastes weird.
“Gas detector indicates presence of enough oxygen for safe human habitation. It just smells bad, but it’s just the people’s aroma.”
People…he considers them as people.
My eyes narrow at him. “You’ve been here before.”
His eyebrows twitch as he stares me down—daring me to look away. Sweat trickles from my scalp, face, neck, making me all the more uncomfortable.
“Instead of fighting each other, Ingar, can you tell us how to protect ourselves?” I say through gritted teeth.
“They’re not going to hurt you.” Is all he says.
I point at myself dubiously. “Just me?”
“The women.”
Something’s twisting inside my belly. “Why do they need women here?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he nods toward the shore that’s already too close for comfort. Many of the creatures had gathered, a crowd of odd gawkers. There’s a slam against the hull, and it knocks my breath from me.
You can hear it, the suction of its skin against the wood—peeling and unpeeling rapidly as it runs up toward the deck.
A head pops up, its curved snout open in a serrated-toothed smile.
Its skin is an uncertain moss green to grey with several spots of brown and orange.
Its eyes are the color of fire with elongated pupils.
WIth a long, pale tongue, it licked its strange eyes before snapping shut sideways.
It’s a gecko the size of a fully-grown alligator.
I almost fall back if not for Ingar holding me still. The women are stifling their whimpers, not wanting to attract its attention.
Its eyes roll and set sights on Cora. She sees this and immediately bolts away. Well, she tries to. The gecko’s tongue catapults, and wraps around her torso. With a deep clicking sound, it struggles to pull Cora as she fights back.
Taking that time of distraction, Ingar pushes me away and—with no hesitation whatsoever—wrenches the tongue enough that it can’t move and stabs a blade through its eye. The gecko doesn’t make a sound, just writhes, letting go of Cora and scuttling away.
She’s crying, slumped on the floor like me.
“Do not look it in the eyes. It will think you want to mate with it.”
“Mate?!” She’s in hysterics, wiping the leftover sticky saliva. “What the fuck do you mean?!”
I gag, letting myself go limp entirely. I…cannot process so much information at once. I stare at the dripping sails as the staff prepares for docking. From this moment on—for self-preservation—I stop hearing the others. Their problems? Not mine. I have to secure my way back home.
The more I think about turning my back on them, the more I want to curl in shame. God, what will Mother think of me being an emotional wreck right now?
Mother shouldn’t matter anymore, Xiaoyu.
Despite the reminder, though, it still matters too much. All her words leave deep marks.
I cope through the chaos in silence. I was raised with traditional Chinese values.
As the eldest among three of us, the pressure to be the best had been all on me.
The strict rules trickle down to why I’m not comfortable with showing emotional outbursts.
I always have to maintain a socially acceptable facade.
I’m convincing myself to do my job to return home triumphant. I can show Mother I’m not a waste of investment…
I hug myself tighter as a single tear leaks out of my eye. In my periphery, the ship gangway lowers.
Ingar shakes his head at me. How much shame can I take?
“Hey…” Someone touches my arm.
My eyes flick toward her. She’s pretty with a crown of golden hair and freckles.
“Are you okay? We’re going down. Come with us.”
I run my hands over my face, smudging my glasses entirely. God.
“I’m alright,” I croak and smile mechanically. I feel my joints pop as I rise.
“My name is Sunny, by the way. I get it’s a terrible situation to be in, but we’re already here and it seems like the…inhabitants know the security guy?”
The security guy is most likely Ingar. Everything feels surreal right now. A bird with an approximately ten-foot wingspan flies overhead. That alone can pluck me from the ground and eat me.
“I’m Xiaoyu.”
She cocks her head to the side. “Chow-you?”
I hold back a sigh. “Yeah, Xiaoyu.”
“Nice to meet you, Xiaoyu.” She seems way too happy about this.
“Aren’t you scared?” I ask her.
She bounces on the balls of her feet. “I am, but the people seem to speak…Not a language I know. I think that’s why Cora is here.”
We’ve docked and the girls are frozen on the ramp.
“We’ll go first! Come on!” She drags me with her. For some reason, she’s very eager. Excited, even. “Wow, look at that!” She points at a tall statue of…a spider?
“You think that’s a real creature here?” I ask her. It looks so odd and imposing. As tall as a tree, the number of legs I’m too confused to count, carved out of the biggest, roughest piece of obsidian I’ve seen. It strikes recognition in me.
“Maybe it’s their god? They obviously worship it.” She points at the offerings by the steps on the platform. Even in remote islands, religion still exists. This doesn’t surprise me. Though it creeps me out, I just shrug and compartmentalize weakly.
I attempt to loosen myself up enough to keep an educated eye. I’m hired to study the plants here, right? Of course, remove the fact that these plants are also people, too. Some plants look familiar, but they are basically a version where Satan took pity on them and shit him out his butthole.
They look…sickly at closer inspection. Rail-thin, their roots protruding, leaves drooping. When our boots hit the ground, it cracks. Dry.
“So…plant people, huh?” Sunny is suspiciously taking this all too well.
Ingar grunts as he watches another plant person wade through the crowd. This one looks distinctly female. Striking. Too pretty to look at. She smiles, showing off rows of sharp teeth.
Ingar sucks in a breath, and it’s the only reaction I need to confirm my doubts. She hurls herself toward Ingar and they come together in a tight, too-intimate hug. Ingar’s arms envelope her sharp platings on her ribs that resemble faintly of a trap.
Oh, shit, are those her ribs?
“They’re skin and bones.” I whisper to Sunny. “I’m starting to think we’re food.” There’s no humor in my tone.
Her brows furrow in confusion. “I thought we were here to repopulate the species?”
My gaze slices through the crowd. Female. Female. Female. Every single one of these plants look feminine with those identifiable curves and delicate platings.
“Why do you say that?”
“Oh, I read a lot of botanical books…?” She must have realized she said something she should not have.
“That doesn’t make sense. Spit it out, Sunny.”
She holds her hands up. “I read a lot of sci-fi monster smut, okay? It’s typically how this works except we’re not in outer space."
Her words aren’t clicking in my head. I don’t understand her. “What?”
“Fantasy and sci-fi romance reader?”
My frown deepens as I slap a palm over my forehead. Frustration leaks out of my pores. “Sunny, this isn’t some romantic bullshit. Get your mind out of the gutter.” I hiss before turning away, marching over to Ingar.
I should feel awful at the way I just treated Sunny, but it’s ridiculous she’s romanticizing the disaster we’re in. Ingar’s plant girlfriend is all over him, nipping his chest. She looks…hungry. When she sees me, she glowers.
I skid to a halt, not wanting to get eaten.
Ingar notices this and runs his hand over her deep fuschia hair. Affectionate.
“It’s alright. She’s a friend. She’s the one who’s going to treat your brother.” He reassures her.
“Datu,” she croaks. “His condition worsens by the day.”
She talks!
I can’t hide my surprise at this. “Where is he?”
“He is in the heart of the forest. He is stubborn and refuses to find other ways, and now he is dying. He is convinced it is the only way us Terra can live.”
They call themselves Terra. A whole sentient species of plants. Despite the nightmare this has all been, I’m still stupefied that this is all actually real.
I just nod despite my confusion. I’m antsy and full of nervous energy. I need to move. “Take me to him.”