CHAPTER 17
The alien eyed Grayson the moment he walked into the containment chamber, the first time it had shown interest in anyone.
Could it be because it sensed Grayson wasn’t fully human anymore?
A fact Grayson struggled with even as he enjoyed the benefits.
The training session he’d endured would have sent the old him to the sauna, then a massage therapist, followed by pills for muscle relief.
Now? He’d sluiced off the sweat and was good to go.
So good he’d been tempted to crawl into bed with Leila.
However, the timing wasn’t right. She truly did need her sleep, the dark circles under her eyes being a big indicator.
Not to mention, the dire situation couldn’t have them screwing around.
Leila needed a big alien to test, and with Asterion taking a break, that left Grayson to take on the task.
“Hey, you ugly fucker. Hungry?”
Blue tilted its head and hissed. Mini Blue paused its clawing of the glass to stand beside his father—for lack of a better term—and also uttered a noise.
Insane how quick they grew. Blue now reached his knee.
“Hey, Tower, can you dump a quarter cow in the tank?”
No reply, but a blink later, a heap of meat sat in the middle of the space.
Little Blue dove onto it and began tearing at the flesh, but Big Blue went rigid, head tilted back, jaw agape, and its eyes clouded over.
What the fuck?
Grayson stood with his face practically pressed to the glass and watched as Big Blue suddenly shook itself before grabbing its tail and tearing off a few chunks.
Then, as he watched, Big Blue smacked Little Blue aside to tear some pieces of beef, which ended up pressed to the flesh removed from Big Blue’s tail.
“Look at you trying to grow your family,” Grayson murmured. Interesting but annoying. He needed Big Blue to eat and grow, but instead, the fucker seemed intent on building a mini army.
How to force the alien to eat?
“Tower, can you dump a bucket of chimp blood in the chamber?” Since people appeared to be the alien meal of choice, why not make his next offering too irresistible to ignore? Since it likely wasn’t feasible for Tower to get the people variety, the simian version seemed like the next best thing.
No bucket appeared. However, a sheet of fluid red suddenly poured from the ceiling, drenching Big Blue’s left side and splashing the floor.
A nasty and sinuous tongue emerged to cleanse the blood from the flesh, swiping every inch of its soiled body until nothing remained.
But Big Blue didn’t stop there. It dropped to the floor and began licking the blood, even growling at Little Blue, who decided it liked the taste of monkey blood more than beef.
Grayson practically saw Blue grow an inch right after. Definitely seemed a bit bulkier.
“Hey, Tower, I don’t suppose you have more?”
Tower did. It produced a tub full of the fluid, and Grayson grimaced as the aliens dove into the blood bath, splashing and submerging, having a grand old time.
With them busy, he exited into the main lab and requested a cot. Seemed like a good time to grab a few winks. He slept about two hours, and when he checked on the aliens, Big and Little Blue had grown. So had the chunks torn off earlier. Mini One and Two pounded on the glass.
Two more tubs of blood later—along with a pair of shorter naps—and Grayson had a waist-high alien, a knee-high one, a pair of ankle biters, and a half-dozen chunks sitting on meat mattresses in a far corner.
“Oh my.”
Grayson whirled upon hearing Leila, the door having opened on silent hinges.
“Morning.” He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, and her lips curved in reply.
“A good morning to you, as well. I see you were busy overnight.”
“Found out monkey blood really makes them grow.”
“Because it’s the closest there is to human. Smart.”
He almost puffed out his chest. “Thanks. What do you think? Is Big Blue sizeable enough to test the water?”
“I think so. But how will we separate Blue out from the others? Tower can’t see it.” She chewed her lower lip.
A dilemma for sure that had them both staring as the many aliens ran around attacking the glass, desperate to escape.
Asterion arrived exclaiming, “How did Blue get so big? And why are there so many of them now?”
“Grayson discovered simian blood accelerates their growth.” Leila gave him all the credit. “But now we need to separate them so we can run a test. Tower, would you mind filling the chamber with sleeping gas?”
She no sooner asked than the glassed enclosure filled with a light gray swirling smoke. When it dissipated, while the little aliens moved sluggishly, Big and Little Blue appeared more rabid than ever.
“How come it didn’t work?” Grayson asked.
“Likely because Blue developed a resistance from the last time we dosed and passed it on to the others.” Leila’s lips turned down.
An idea hit—a dumb one—and Grayson glanced at Asterion. “How do you feel about getting possibly bitten for a good cause?”
The minotaur cocked his head. “What do you need me to do?”
“We need to separate Big Blue from the others so we can test the water on it, and it seems like we’ll have to do so manually.”
“Why not spray them all?” Asterion offered a simpler solution.
“I’d rather not because we might need them later for further testing,” Leila answered. “But at the same time, I’d rather sacrifice them than see either of you injured.”
Asterion snorted. “Bah. I fought worse in the Labyrinth.”
“Big Blue’s the only one who might do some real damage. Asterion, if you could keep the mini versions busy, I’ll handle Big Blue.”
“Not a problem. I’m ready when you are.”
Grayson glanced at Leila. “Wait in the lab while we separate them.”
“There must be another way.” Her brow knit with concern.
“Tower can’t see them, and that test needs to be done. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ve got a star god watching over me, remember?”
She sighed. “And this is why women usually live longer.”
He dragged her close and bent his head to whisper, “I am not dying today. We’ve still got a sunrise to watch.”
She leaned up to press a light kiss to his lips. “I’m going to hold you to that promise.” With that, she left the room but watched through the viewing window.
Grayson glanced at Asterion. “Ready to wrangle some aliens?”
The big male cracked his knuckles. “I welcome the exercise.”
“Tower, on my mark, I’m going to need you to open up a section of the glass, big enough for us to pass through. Once we’re in there, close it up again. Once I’ve subdued the alien, I’ll ask you to add a partition in the middle of the containment chamber.”
Hopefully, Tower would be able to react promptly, or the situation might get dicey. In good news, if Grayson injured or accidentally killed Big Blue, they could always heal it, and if he got chewed up, he’d simply pay a visit to the Stardust Room.
He and Asterion stood poised in front of the box.
“Give us that entrance, Tower.”
The glass in front of him shimmered and disappeared, leaving a perfect opening that the aliens immediately noticed. They dashed for it, looking to escape. Grayson used his body to block Big Blue, while Asterion strode in and batted the smaller aliens that tried to get past.
A pissed Blue slammed into Grayson, drawing a grunt.
Solid fucker. It proved tricky to keep the four arms occupied; he’d never had to block blows so fast. A few claws did manage to leave some bloody stripes, but Grayson had the advantage of size—and knowing a woman he wanted to bed watched.
So, yeah, he couldn’t afford to look like a pussy, especially since this was his plan.
Seeing an opening, Grayson punched Blue in the face, snapping the alien’s head. In that moment of distraction, Grayson wrapped an arm around its neck and dragged the alien into an empty corner. Asterion appeared to be having fun slapping the rabid littles every time they tried to attack.
“Okay, Tower, give me that wall and split this chamber into two.” A slight shimmer and the tough glass appeared, closing him off from the smaller Blues.
“You can get out now, Asterion,” Grayson yelled as he hung on to the squirming alien.
Asterion sighed. “But I was having so much fun.”
He might have replied, but Leila rushed in. “Grayson, how are you going to get out?”
“I’m not.”
“Wait, what?”
Ah yes, the part of his plan he didn’t mention. “We need to test the lake water.”
“On the aliens.”
“Which the Zodiac Warriors are fighting. Best we know now if we can handle being splashed.”
Her mouth rounded. “You can’t be serious.”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You are wrong because, for one, we don’t know what kind of reaction the alien will have to it. What if it doesn’t die? What if it makes it stronger? What if its whole body turns to acid or becomes a bomb and you explode?”
He snorted. “Did the sample do any of that?”
“No. But it also wasn’t a four-armed snarling monster.”
“You know, the longer you argue, the more tired I get.” Not entirely true, but it got Leila moving.
“I won’t forgive you if this causes you permanent harm or death,” she threatened, exiting into her lab and returning with a spray bottle. She also wore gloves and protective goggles, but he ignored those to exclaim, “You do realize Blue isn’t a cat.”
“For this to be feasible in hand-to-hand situations, the liquid compound needs to be effective in small amounts that can be easily carried. If it’s as potent as I hope, then it should only take a single spray.” She stepped closer to the glass. “Give me an opening, please, Tower.”
“What? No. Close that right away, Tower.”
Too late, she stood inside the chamber with him and a very nasty alien who got even more agitated by her presence.
“Get out,” Grayson yelled.
“Not until I spray,” her pert reply.
“You could have asked Tower to do it.”
“Tower’s done quite enough favors for me lately. Besides, if this works, then I’m in no danger; that is, assuming you’re strong enough to hold on.”
A challenge? Yeah, no way was he losing.