Rainer
My mama always said that I shouldn’t actively engage in an act that might lead to my death. Even if everyone else is doing it, I should be smarter than they are. Inviting death to get close is a good way to let him take you.
The atmosphere between us has changed since the day at the library. I don’t necessarily feel anything that connects me to the three monsters, yet I can feel that something deep and profound has changed.
It’s a very strange feeling, one I can’t completely describe or understand. I feel it, yet it’s nothing that can be named. I can’t touch it, though I keep trying to.
They’d said it was like we’re four pieces of the same soul. When people talk about souls, they’re ethereal objects. Or… ethereal selves? They’re not tangible. You can’t even know that you have one outside of your own obscure baseless, factless faith. There is zero proof. None whatsoever.
What I’m feeling right now might be proof that there’s something there, something like a soul, but it’s still not tangible or visible. I can’t hear it or smell it or taste it. It evades all senses, which makes me feel like a woo woo as I try to identify what it is I feel.
The only thing I’m truly convinced of is that I love it. The way it’s definitely there, echoed in the three monsters with me, tying my entire existence to theirs for the rest of my life.
It’s the weirdest thing though. As much as I didn’t want to actually be away from them a few days ago, I was ready to leave because their constant fighting was becoming far too much. It was interfering with my sleep, my mood, with every aspect of my damn life, and I was fucking over it.
I’m glad it didn’t come to that. Even before I understood why I felt something for them that didn’t make sense to me, I knew that I liked their presence in my life. I enjoyed their company when they weren’t bickering. Everything they told me challenged everything I’d grown up knowing was fact.
Their evidence was just as strong as what I could see in the world around me with my own eyes, though.
I’m not saying I’m completely convinced that all monsters aren’t ready to kill or that humans are just as bad as monsters, but…
it’s definitely getting more difficult to keep using “all.” Maybe that’s not the rule.
The little bit I’ve seen of other monsters and how they live says that “all” isn’t completely accurate—not in the case of humans or monsters.
In fact, from what I’ve seen, monsters have their shit far more together than humans.
They know how to live a peaceful life, one in which everyone within their walls prospers and lives comfortably.
Humans... They’re far, far from that realization.
People within the same colony can’t even agree on something as simple as where to put the fire and who should take turns manning it.
Meanwhile, monsters are living in heated houses.
They have electricity. They still have access to technology. They have food!
The monsters are right, too. The door to their compound is wide open.
Yes, there’s someone there to monitor who comes in and out, and I saw some people on top of the walls for security, but that makes sense, right?
You don’t want the pods just walking in.
You don’t want beasts sneaking in and causing havoc.
You don’t want those with ill intent breaching the walls.
But they didn’t question my presence. No one treated me differently than they did the monsters who lived there. Even the monsters who’d been tortured by humans didn’t treat me poorly. I understand their distrust.
It matches my distrust for monsters since I watched them kill my entire family group.
“YEEOOWWWW!”
My feet become rooted to the ground as I look around, trying to locate the sound. All the little hairs on my body stand on end. That’s not a human nor beast. It can be nothing other than another monster.
“Damn,” Notto says, sighing.
My hand grips the knife that they’d insisted I take with me when we left the fall-out shelter weeks ago. My other hand grips Kaida’s fur-feathers at the back of her neck. She doesn’t appear bothered at all, though.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Teko,” Drystan says, grinning. “Wait ‘til you meet them. They’re the funnest monsters in the world.”
I give him a wary look, especially when more yowling follows. Not just one voice this time but three.
“Is that how they usually announce their presence?” I ask.
Keary snorts. “Monsters as a whole, no. These three, yes.”
That’s when the ground begins to rumble. It shudders and turns to liquid a dozen feet away. Before my eyes, a hill rises. It gets bigger, then sinks, the ground around it rippling like waves in water.
I’m nearly knocked off my feet when a shudder runs through the ground as an enormous border comes surfing the surface of the earth. It stops in front of us, and the ground sinks until it’s level once again.
There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m staring with my mouth hanging open. Keary’s arm is still around my waist, keeping me from falling on my ass as the ground heaves beneath my feet.
“Subtle,” Notto deadpans.
One of them cackles.
“When the ground shakes, the beasties stay away,” another says.
The one that comes toward us first is covered in flowers. Their hair is made of long stems that grow out of their skull, each a different length with different flower heads. There are flowers sticking out of them everywhere.
A second one has their hair sticking up, running straight down the center of their head, but as they get closer, I don’t think it’s hair at all. They’re spines. The spines continue down their back along their spine. There’s something about their appearance that reminds me of pictures of dinosaurs.
The third looks… I’m not going to use the word normal, but like they could blend in with a group of humans. They’re feminine, wearing frilly lace and soft, pastel colors. This must be the one that controls the earth since each of their footsteps reverberates through me.
Drystan hugs each of them, and I’m reminded of a family who have been separated for a long period of time.
“Are they siblings?” I ask.
“In a way,” Keary answers. “These are three of the first teko conceived naturally. Meaning, not created in a lab and implanted in humans like Drys.”
I wince.
“The first generation of teko born are primarily treated like younger siblings by the OG teko, so yeah, they’re pretty much Drystan’s sisters.”
I glance at Notto. “You don’t like them?”
“Just wait,” Notto tells me, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Drystan brings them over and points at me. “That’s our competition. He’s why Keary stopped being a stick in the mud.”
Keary rolls his eyes but doesn’t answer.
“A human,” the girl made of flowers says, tilting her head to the side. “Weird.”
I bristle. What’s weird about being a human?
“Yes. He’s super sexy,” Drystan says. “Seriously. I encourage you to try a human lover.”
“Mm,” the one with dinosaur spikes says, obviously unconvinced.
“These are my sisters,” Drystan says. “Amyre, Talice, and Thara. That’s Rainer, our husband.”
My heart jumps. That’s the first time I’ve heard that word from any of them. Where did it even come from? Why did he use it? Shouldn’t there be a conversation or, at the very least, a ceremony?
“Are you sure, Drys?” Amyre, the one made of flowers, says as she looks at me with amusement. “It looks like you just spooked him.”
Drystan looks at me, his eyebrows knitting together. “Aren’t you? I thought that’s what we agreed. You can’t undo this family now. It’s already formed. We can’t—”
“Easy,” Keary says. “I think it’s the term you used. Not Rainer suddenly having second thoughts.”
“Anyway,” dinosaur girl Thara says. “We’re heading to ride the winged things nesting on the towers. Want to join us?”
It’s obvious Drystan wants to join them, though I’m surprised when both Notto and Keary agree. I don’t think they agree because they necessarily want to. They agree because Drystan wants to go. I’m over here choking on the word “ride.”
Not because my mind went all dirty, but because they want to ride what I assume is a beast!
“Hop on, then,” Amyre says, and the three of them turn back to the heap of surfing rock.
Talice stares at Kaida, her eyes narrowed. I grip Kaida’s fur-feathers in my hand, hoping to convey that this particular beast is mine. Kaida is unbothered by her suspicion, though she keeps her eyes locked on Talice’s. I gather it’s a challenge since she raises her lips to bare her teeth.
“The lut belongs to our lover,” Drystan says, grabbing Talice’s arm and turning her around. “Leave her alone. She will bite you to protect him.”
“You’re not able to protect him?” Thara asks, teasing.
“Of course we can, but the lut was here first. We respect that,” Drystan says.
“She’s a pretty cool beast,” Keary says, tapping the top of Kaida’s head softly.
“Right,” Thara says, unconvinced. “Hang on.”
“To what?” I mutter and am almost promptly knocked off my feet.
Notto and Keary grip my arms on either side of me while Kaida presses her body along the backs of my thighs to keep me upright as the ground heaves up like the crest of a wave and we begin gliding along the ground.
“This is the way to travel,” Drystan yells over the grinding of the earth beneath our feet. “Look how much ground we’re covering!” He laughs wildly.
Notto shakes his head, though I have to admit, he’s not wrong.
The tower that we’re heading toward is what Mama said were communication towers back when humans ruled the world. It’s still standing just as sturdy as it had been a century ago. The metal is a little rusted in places, but they were built to last.
I crane my neck to look at the top. I have no idea how tall they are, but I can see nests all along the top tiers, secured between cross bars and spanning the widths. As we approach, I don’t see any beasts. They look like empty nests.
It isn't until we're close enough to the towers that they seem to feel the vibration of the earth that I see the beasts. Our first glimpse is of their wings as they spread out, then it drops from the nest.
I’m not sure what I’m seeing. The wings look remarkably like those of a butterfly, but the body is a hodge podge of animals.
A long alligator tail, claws of a giant cat, the body of a horse or something.
Their heads are completely beast-like. I can’t liken it to anything I’m familiar with from books, not even a dinosaur.
“How do we ride them?” I ask. They’re the size of elephants in the sky right now, so I imagine that they’re enormous up close, which bodes well for them being big enough to ride. But they’re hundreds of feet in the air. Are they just going to land beside us and let us hop on? That seems unlikely.
Talice laughs, and the next thing I know, we’re being launched into the air. I might have screamed except that the sudden shock of it has taken my voice.
We soar into the air, and our momentum doesn’t stop until we pass the peak of the tower. The ground below is far enough away that I know I’d be flattened into human goo if I hit it from this height.
There’s a moment when I hover in the air once I reach the peak of the momentum, then I fall. A yelp leaves my throat as I stare at the ground.
One of the winged beasts is suddenly under me, and I land on it softly. My hands grip the fur there. Fur that I didn’t realize was there from the ground.
Holy fuck. Holy fucking fuck. I’m going to die. This is how I die.
Wild laughter fills the air, and I force myself to turn my head and look. Thara is riding the beast by standing upright. She’s not hanging on at all. Her smile is wicked, filled with nasty teeth. Her eyes glint silver.
Beyond her is Keary. He’s not standing up, but he’s not hanging on either. His hands are in the air and his head thrown back.
My heart nearly leaves my body when I watch Amyre jump into the air then fall toward the ground. I dare look over the side of my beast to see her spiraling down. Another winged beast crosses her path, and she lands effortlessly on its back.
Holy fuck. I’m going to have a heart attack.
We soar all around the tower as the beasts glide and spin and fly. My heart never calms and my fear never leaves, but a bubble of excitement builds in my stomach and chest. My adrenaline races as I look around. The view from here is incredible. With the clear day, I can see for miles.
The landscape doesn’t look as dead from this height as it does when we’re walking. The destruction of buildings doesn’t appear so substantial this far away. I can probably trick myself into imagining that the world is filled with life once again by looking at it from so high up.
Kaida circles my beast, and I flash her a wide smile. I’d love to reach my hand up and touch her. She’s close enough that I think I can. But no matter how hard I try to convince my hands to release the fur I’m gripping tightly, there’s no loosening my death hold.
I nearly have a heart attack when Notto jumps off and dives for the ground. He’s followed by Keary, then Talice.
“Time to go,” Amyre says as she lands on the back of my beast. She grips my arm, and before I can argue, she throws us over the side of the beast so we’re free falling.
I’d scream except with the wind rushing into my face as rapidly as it is, I feel like I’m hitting a wall. I can’t find enough breath to scream.
Amyre doesn’t let go of my arm until Kaida shoves her away with her paws against Amyre’s chest, snapping her teeth in Amyre’s face. Amyre releases me, and my girl somehow maneuvers until I’m clutching onto her back. Thank fuck she’s big.
My fall decelerates as the ground gets closer. Kaida’s paws hit, and she runs along the surface until she can come to a stop without throwing me off. At this point, my entire body is shaking .
Does mating a monster make me immune to death by steep falls? Because fuck, my entire life just flashed before my eyes.
I take a deep breath, burying my face in Kaida’s back. The girls’ laughter fills the air.