The Nature of Predators - Gojid Refugee (3/?) (Patreon)

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Memory Transcription Subject: Talpin, Gojid Citizen

Date [standardized human time]: September 27, 2136

The Arxur raiders’ nostrils angled toward us slightly, after catching a whiff of fresh Gojid scents. I burrowed deeper into the fertilizer bags, as if their teeth wouldn’t slice through such a barrier in no time. These predators were more seasoned at tracking down sapient prey than their human counterparts; those filthy Terrans would be right behind them, alerted by the carnivorous raiders homing in on us. I watched the reptilians lunge over the planters, and fling the bags aside with powerful paws—cackling with malicious delight. Berna placed herself between them and me, to my horror. Fear was also causing physical pain in my chest, leaving me unable to think…not that any thoughts could help us now. Seeing a gray in person was the worst possible experience for civilized prey sensibilities.

Behind them, I could see the Terran soldiers hustle forward, with wide eyes; the whites were popping now more than ever, as their faces contorted in grotesque ways. One individual was moving its lips toward a radio mounted on its green fabric. Their pelts were tailored to blend into grasses, like where I’d crouched, and lie in wait for any unsuspecting prey. It was obvious, even if their physical features weren’t as pronounced and lethal as the Arxur, that everything about them went into hunting. Explosions detonated on the horizon, painting a canvas of their deeds behind their lumbering frames. I could see their sinister pupils scanning the situation, spectating as the gray opened its maw toward my sister. They looked less wild than their counterparts: much more calculating.

I wonder if the predators are going to fight over who gets the spoils. The Arxur’s going to snap Berna in half. The last thing I’m going to see is her death…before my own torment. I can’t have the grays knowing what a weakling I am.

The gray began to twist its head, angling its teeth toward my sister’s neck. I could see all the way down the monster’s gullet, the pink rivulets of flesh lining the top of its mouth. Its eyes were frantic with derangement, as beads of drool oozed from its mouth. I waited for Berna to be chomped in two, knowing that it was over for us both. Perhaps it was a small mercy that we wouldn’t be cattle to a human-Arxur joint force. I closed my eyes, wishing not to have that image burned into my final moments…or to see the fangs bearing down on me. Thankfully, I wouldn’t be able to hear its snarls, or my sister’s screams. The world was peaceful, dark, and quiet behind my eyelids, a serene contrast to reality.

As I waited for the agony of fangs meeting my throat, instead, I felt sticky fluid and flesh bits splatter across my face. Was this…my sister’s remains? How had such a thorough coating sprayed everywhere? My eyes blinked open, disgust washing over me, before I felt claws grapple against my shoulder. The gray lunging at Berna had been downed by a bullet through the side of the head, a perfect shot which seemed to originate…from the humans? The Terrans blindsided the Arxur with an ambush from behind, seeming to surprise even the reptilians; no doubt they knew the primates were here, but they hadn’t expected their hunter brethren to ambush them. It seemed the Earthlings weren’t keen on sharing their cattle…or giving us a quick end.

“Hey there! Are you alright?” Berna turned to face me as one predator’s lips moved, shakily mouthing words, and I inferred that she was relaying what it was asking. “Fuck man. Why are the Arxur here? Why are the fucking Arxur here?!”

My sister looked bewildered, as she imparted the last part of its speech; the human’s features had turned increasingly wild, and it clutched its skull with gestures that seemed increasingly animated. I could feel the crimson blood dripping all over me, contaminating my fur with what ran through Arxur veins. Tears ran down my face, as I tried to brush it off my pelt. Berna soothed me, as much as she could. The two of us huddled against the wall together, knowing there was nowhere left to run. The Terrans were going to capture us, and take us with the rest of the Gojid cattle. Why were they pretending to be surprised that the grays had arrived?

The Terran that had spoken to us seemed to be the guard that spotted me; it approached, while its pupils jerked around in the most unnerving display I’d ever seen. I moved back closer against the wall, despite knowing it was futile. Resisting these domineering beasts wouldn’t do us any favors. I watched as it maneuvered its legs over the Arxur corpses, and slung its gun over its back. It hesitated when we shied away from it instinctively; the very pores on the terror’s skin were visible, coated in slime after chasing us. It crouched and raised its palms in a slow motion, before retrieving a towel from its satchel. The predator threw the rag at me, waiting with its golden fur strips above its vision raised.

Its lips moved, though I had no idea what it was barking. What does it want?

My sister replied to it, giving me a guess at what it said. “You expect us to believe you’re not here to hurt us? You chased us all the way from your camp!”

The monstrosity stared directly at us, offering a response that was hidden from me. I supposed I should be relived that I was immune to its lies.

“We didn’t mean to intrude on your territory.” A response from my sibling once more, which didn’t seem to satisfy the beast. “Really, it wasn’t a challenge to your authority. M-my brother had the idea to turn ourselves in as cattle, and…submit willingly. Is that something you want?”

The human’s insufferable eyes widened, as if in shock, and it tossed its head from side-to-side in emphatic fashion. It seemed to respond with only a single, bellowed word.

“Why did you save us then?” my companion asked it.

The Terran’s eye fur slanted downward, its exposed facial skin creasing with what seemed like disgust. It extended a finger as it spoke, pointing at the Arxur corpses like they were the object of its anger.

“‘Because they were going to eat us?’” Thank you, Berna, for echoing its words. “Saying that you would n-never do that is hard to believe. You honestly want us to believe humans had nothing to do with this?”

The creature bobbed its head again, but this time, up-and-down. I began to gather that in its nonverbal arsenal, horizontal motion was a sign of “no”, while vertical shaking was in the affirmative. The Terran cast a glance back at its squadmates, who seemed to be urging it to leave. It gestured to me with a finger, like it had with the grays’ corpses. My spines had been at full bristle for a while, or else that signaling would’ve made them pop out! It began saying something, while I shriveled away from it in terror.

“Do what the p-predator says, Talpin,” Berna spoke to me, trying to fill in the gaps in a way that seemed organic. “Wipe the blood off. Like the creature said, it’s…just a towel.”

Dumbfounded about why it’d allow me to clean off the filthy blood, without any prompting, I decided to obey. I mopped up the gunk spattered across my features, though it was impossible to get it all off, or to shake the feeling. The Terran extended a murderous hand, and I gulped, understanding that it wanted the rag back. That was a clever way for it to get a lick of blood for later, even though it wasn’t my blood. My arm was quivering like a leaf, as I passed the bloodied cloth back. Its lips curved in a snarl that it couldn’t quite restrain, and it rose back to its full height after snatching the cloth from me. It gestured with an opposable digit over its shoulder, toward its squadmates. It then alternated to pointing at a novel explosion, which was drawing closer to Blessed Fields.

“Let me get this straight. You’re evacuating the planet. You want us to come with you, and we can’t hesitate, because there’s no time to waste. The bombs are closing in on the village, and if we don’t come, we’re going to die.” The human moved its head in the affirmative nod. Berna paused, shooting a glance at me—knowing what predators would think of my ailment. “Our father is back in Blessed Fields. Everyone we care about…”

The predator grimaced, though I had no idea what faux sympathy line it spouted next. I didn’t know what to make of its prey imitation, other than to think it was more convincing than others of its cursed breed. It backed away into its pack, and seemed to urge us to follow with beckoning hands.

“How can we possibly trust you? You invaded our planet. You eat flesh, just like them.”

As the animal launched into a final response, despite the urgings of its squadmates, I could guess what it was saying; from how it pointed at the Arxur corpses once more, it was pleading that the grays were worse. Berna was watching me out of my periphery, requesting my help to reach a decision. It was a death sentence to go with the creatures; when I’d been ready to turn myself in as cattle, it wasn’t with the intention that Berna would share my fate. It was strange that the humans didn’t take us as captives by force, though that must be because they enjoyed luring us in willingly. The prospect of going far from the cradle, beholden to their whims on their depraved planet, wasn’t an appealing one.

What I couldn’t deny was that these creatures had much greater control over their appetite than the roving Arxur. No matter how wretched this life would be, never having a day away from these hideous creatures—there was a pit in my stomach, just looking at them now—Berna would die if the bombs reached here. The grays were a known commodity, whereas the Terrans might give passable treatment to anyone who went along with them, like the Venlil. I was bound to be culled eventually, even if the remote possibility they were genuine in helping was true. Predators would never waste resources on someone like me, when Gojids never could, but this was the only hope of saving my sister.

We either die to the Arxur, the bombs, or we lie to ourselves about believing a word this slimy beast says. It gets us away from this doomed village. Maybe their cattle pens are a little nicer than the grays’, or their security is a bit more lax to give us some slim hope of escape.

Accepting the sacrifice that was needed of me, despite the unending fear, I tailed after the Terran soldiers with resignation. Berna cast a glance back in the direction of our home, where our father would be caught up in the midst of bombs. There was no time to go back for him, though I’d still try if it wouldn’t have meant my sister would refuse to go with the flesh-beast’s evac ship. The creatures hurried back in the direction of their camp, and I strained to find the energy to sprint after them once more. It went against every inclination to run toward the predators, rather than away. I didn’t want to imagine what horrors we would see in their presence, and then on a much wider scale once they got us to Earth.

Bombs pummeled the horizon, leaving billowing clouds in the night sky. The fields seemed long and unending in this direction, especially when my legs felt like jelly. Even from a distance, I could see the humans packing up their camp in a hurry; they’d already gotten a few ships off the ground from a grassy patch on the hillside, while more transports buzzed in to collect the last of their people. It seemed a foregone conclusion that they intended to leave without our human escorts, if it came down to it. I spotted other bands of UN soldiers herding a few Gojids toward the landing zone, so it seemed we weren’t alone in being suicidal enough to go with predators. With our army gone, they were the only ride off this planet.

Berna doubled over alongside me, as we finally staggered within range of an angular transport—already packed with people and predators. “Tal, are you sure about this? I’ll cover for you, if you want to make a run for it. Do you really think it’s the right idea, to go with them?”

I wasn’t sure if it was the right idea, but it was the least bad option of several unspeakable ones. Whatever the Federation knew to be true of Terran cruelty, they hadn’t brought this level of senseless slaughter to our streets…and they at least tried to give us false hope. I hadn’t dreamed the mammalian predators would bother to save us, when the Arxur’s jaws were inches from my sister’s windpipe. Not wanting to have the humans spot me writing out my words, and deny us both entry to the ship due to genetic blemishes that could taint their breeding stock, I mimicked the soldier’s nod for yes.

“Okay. I’ll protect you, as best as I can. You just follow my lead, w-whenever these nightmares take us; I’ll do what I can to hide…you know,” Berna replied. “I love you, Tal. Don’t worry, you don’t have to find a way to say it back.”

Her protection isn’t what I want. I don’t want to be a liability again, not in a situation like this! It’ll be enough of a burden for us both to bury our grief about our father…to not think about it, since the predators wouldn’t understand. Berna shouldn’t be stuck worrying about me.

I wrapped my arm around her spines with affection, before finding the strength to clamber into an evac shuttle. My legs gave out once we were onboard, both from exhaustion and the strain of survival chemicals flooding from my brain. Normally, I’d have concerns about whether a predator built contraption had anything resembling safety inspections; they were better at destroying things than keeping them together. However, given that they’d managed to fly all the way through subspace to the cradle, I’d assume it worked fine. Humans wouldn’t travel the stars with such calmness if crashes were regular. They were murderers, but they were not suicidal.

I was tempted to squeeze my eyes shut, trapped in an enclosed space with dozens of sets of binocular eyes open around us. The boarding door sealed shut, and I felt the shuttle lift up from the ground, defying the cradle’s gravity. Not even Berna could ease the hopelessness I felt, knowing my days were numbered. The Terrans who had brought us in had migrated to a corner, and the same one who’d waved a hand at me before lifted its paw in acknowledgment. I studied the beast for a long second, not understanding its motivations—or why it’d poured so much energy into convincing a measly two prey animals to follow its posse, with its ticket to safety on the line. Its kin had seemed much more eager to book it out of there.

Did it sense my debility, and that was why it decided it needed me as a plaything? What would the humans do with a specimen like me? Their species didn’t behave as I’d expect from such a vicious scourge; their drives were an enigma that I couldn’t quite unravel. I drew a shaky breath, noticing the human restart the waving of its hand. It was almost as if it was demanding my attention…no, my reciprocation of this ritual.

Uncertain what sort of response the Terran soldier wanted, I lifted a paw in kind. A snarl crossed its lips, and I hoped that blatant threat display just meant it was amused at its control of me. This had been one of the longest days of my life, with all of the predators I’d been exposed to, and it was only the first of many.

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A/N - Part 3! After being saved by the humans from the Arxur, Talpin and Berna are forced to make a split-second decision on whether to go with them, as the evac ships are the only ride out; Berna promises to hide our narrator's deafness, but both know the Terrans will figure it out. What do you think it must've been like for all of the Gojid refugees who chose to come with us, losing their homes, losing loved ones, and not knowing if they were heading for a cattle pen--stuck in close quarters for the entire journey to Earth? Will Talpin come around to humans...and will he be surprised by the true treatment of his people?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!