Argurma Monster (The Argurma Chronicles #2)

Chapter 17

Talech did not wish to allow Beverly to walk. Not when there were infected Kaze within the city that would try to eat her or parasites searching for a host. The entire city sprawled in all directions, and any part of it could have “zombies,” as Beverly called them. The female was stubborn, however, and he was forced to prowl closely behind her, his vibrissae churning in the air and his mandibles gaping every so often in an attempt to detect the presence of anything nearby. A short distance away, Zoreth was doing the same as he walked holding his weapon at the ready.

Despite the gravity of their situation, there was a kind of dark humor in that all the technology and sensors that Zoreth, and other Argurma, depended on were useless in detecting the Kaze. In consequence, everything that the male believed made him superior to Talech now meant nothing. Zoreth was no better than Talech now. The male had nothing that he did not also have, and their survival, and Beverly’s survival, was now dependent entirely on instinct, strength, and cunning. It was for the better as far as he was concerned. The tech could be tricked but they both knew that Argurma senses were keen enough that they would still locate scent signatures if they proceeded with extraordinary caution.

Mandibles clicking warily, he scanned the city stretched out below the ridge they walked upon. Being upwind was foolish, yet it was the most unobstructed path through this part of the city that he could see. After encountering the Kaze host, he had a sense as to why everything had been torn down around them. From their vantage point he could see the planned points of destruction that the surviving Kaze had made in an attempt to contain the infection. Efforts which had obviously failed as far as he calculated. The aliens had fallen like prey to the parasites.

His gaze snapped back over to Beverly, and he bristled anxiously. His female would not be prey. Her senses were dull and inferior in ways that had once been cute but now alarmed him. She would not smell the approach of an infected host until she was within its range of attack, just as she was before. If he were carrying her, it would lessen the risk, but she wanted to be free so that she could study their surroundings. She was clearly terrified, but she insisted on “doing her part.” The only possible advantage of her being on the ground was that all three of them were aware and watchful, as she had pointed out. More than that, he processed that she was studying the city as they made their way through it. He could see it in her eyes in every little thing she scrutinized.

Although he normally loved her inquisitiveness when it was safe enough to enjoy it, he did not understand her current curiosity, especially when it existed in conflict with her obvious fear. Survival was what mattered. To kill before a threat could harm them. To eat and secure a safe place to sleep. His female was more interested in examining things as she passed them, at times stopping altogether, much to his frustration. At these times she often directed rapid-fire questions to Zoreth, understanding the other male had the knowledge she required.

He grunted in displeasure. Zoreth did not know so much. His female looked to the male for answers that Talech’s broken memory could not give, but Zoreth had little he could tell her. He did not know much of the Kaze or anything about the planet. The questions were useless. The only value the male had at all was bending his senses to search for enemies or prey, as Talech did. Anything else was a waste of time.

Beverly stopped short in front of him on a broken mass of concrete, her hands braced against her lower back as she squinted over the city. Talech gave her an inquiring click, and she glanced back at him with a tired smile.

“I’m just trying to imagine the cities I’ve known on Earth looking like that,” she explained.

His brow furrowed as his gaze trailed once more over the broken remains of the city. From what she had heard and shared of Earth’s fate, and from what she had said to Zoreth, it was nothing like what obviously befell the Kaze. “It would not. They did not evade mass predation.”

Zoreth glanced over at him, his vibrissae twitching with a subtle amusement at his words before looking over at Beverly in an intimate way that made Talech seethe.

“Talech is correct. There would not be high degrees of intentional destruction. Knocking down structures to create a protected area against calculated dangers is reasonable and within expectations for a crumbling civilization. This,” he tipped his head toward the destruction laid out below them, “is brash. It is the consequence of panic. Calculations based on the path of destruction indicate a high probability that the Kaze unintentionally trapped themselves in their city with their enemy.”

Talech growled. Panicking was useless too. It was the instinct of prey. He would see to it that his female was safe from such affliction. She would survive where the Kaze did not. His gaze raked dismissively over the fallen towers and bridges, and then the overturned vehicles and equipment that completely blocked large portions of the roads that stretched through the city. “We are not Kaze. We will not panic.”

Zoreth’s head briefly turned in his direction, and the male grunted in agreement despite the incredulous look their female gave both of them.

“You can’t just decree something and then it magically be true. You don’t know how you might feel if faced with a swarm of infected people bearing down on you.”

Talech peered at her in confusion. “I would feel the desire to destroy them all and honor you with their heads,” he replied.

“Not their heads,” Zoreth countered with a rapid click of distaste. “Infestations do not make worthy trophies to honor a female.”

Talech grunted in acknowledgment. He had a point. His eyes narrowed on a distant figure. No, it was three figures, not one. Three Kaze. They stood listlessly side by side, their heads slightly hanging but close enough that their hands grazed each other. His nostrils flared, his mandibles gaping in an attempt to scent them as Zoreth’s responses to Beverly’s fascinated questions about mating trophies retreated from his awareness. Talech snarled quietly to himself. To his frustration, there was nothing in the zombies’ scent that provided any information. There was nothing but sweat and the dirt that accumulated on their flesh. No detectable hormones, no fear, no excitement. Nothing that betrayed even the smallest hint as to their purpose for standing there as they did.

Puffing out his vibrissae with an annoyed huff, his gaze swept away from them and continued to scan the ground until it fell upon an even larger cluster. Some of these wore less than tatters and a few among them were completely naked. He frowned as their stench seemed illogically stronger—closer. His vibrissae rose into the air, his mandibles flaring wide as he followed the layered scent. Only a fraction of it was coming from them. It was separating as the wind shifted, revealing a stronger imprint that was nearer and... different.

Talech jerked his head as he spun around, his spinal limbs drawing up lethally around him just as something large flung itself at him. Beverly’s shouted curse filled his ears as jaws snapped dangerously close to his face, sharp black teeth flashing. Powerful limbs slammed into him as it tried to gain purchase, its claws slashing against his armor. Talech roared as he flung the creature away from him, his top pair of spinal limbs stabbing forward and squelching as they found the meat of his attacker.

The animal did not cry out in pain. Its body twisted, and he could see the evidence of the parasite at the base of its skull as it jerked against his grasp, skewering itself further upon the metal limbs as its spiked tail whipped through the air. Ripping one of his metal limbs free from where it was imbedded, Talech brought it down again, driving it through the throat. Blood sprayed and the animal dropped to the ground with a wet thunk . Talech did not stop, however. He twisted the claw deeper and opened it so that the meat of the neck tore and severed the head completely as he yanked it free once again, the severed parasite left twitching among the broken bits of stone and building compound.

A blaster fired, and several parasites that wriggled from the body dropped half-emerged against their host as Zoreth drew nearer. Talech glanced at the male and then over at Beverly. She stared at the animal in horror, her chest heaving.

“What the fuck is that?” she demanded.

“An ambrek, a popular companion animal for the Kaze,” Zoreth remarked as he drew back, his eyes scanning the rocks from where it emerged. “According to my database, they are raised in packs no fewer than two for the health of the breed,” he remarked as another growl rose in the air, followed by a third and a fourth.

Talech hissed warily and whipped around, his vibrissae rising. They had drawn too close to a pack of animals and alerted them to their presence.

Three ambreks emerged from over the broken rock. Hairless and boasting a thick, leathery skin with a pebbled surface created by numerous hard scutes, they had four long limbs, each with hooks that extended from the back of their legs. The spined tails were likewise long and slender, almost as threatening as the broad muzzles filled with overlapping teeth. Talech could not see its eyes, but he knew that they were looking at them. He heard metal striking stone, and he turned toward Beverly as she dragged a short metal pole from the pile of rubble beside her. The animals tracked her movement, their attention focused entirely on her until Zoreth kicked over a pile of stone, drawing their attention his way as his blaster snapped to them.

The ambreks charged, their bodies moving quickly as they raced down the short incline. The blaster fire slowed them, but they twisted at the last zec so that the shots went wide of their heads, plowing into their shoulders instead. With their thicker skin, they did not immediately drop but slowed as they closed the distance between them and their prey. Talech bellowed as he raised his spinal limbs in defense. Beside him, he could hear the frantic beat of Beverly’s heart and her sharp, fearful breath as she lifted her pipe. He would not let harm come to her—but still she stood with them, and admiration for the female rose within him as he darted a look of approval at her.

As much as he wanted and needed to protect her... he was proud of her. She was a mate any warrior would be proud to have.

His limbs collided with the nearest ambrek, jerking it out of the air and pinning it roughly to the stone. The animal jerked in an attempt to get away, but she jabbed the jagged end of the pipe down into its head. It caught the creature in the soft tissue above the muzzle, driving deep as the ambrek thrashed—bone crunched when Beverly pushed forward on her weapon with all of her weight. Talech observed her, his mandibles vibrating in a purr as he lifted a limb and stabbed it through the chest of another of the beasts jumping directly for her neck. Its blood sprayed everywhere, and Beverly made a sound of disgust as she dropped away as the blaster fired again, making a meaty mess of the creature’s head. Zoreth stormed forward as he fired on the fallen creatures, killing the parasites that wriggled free before holstering his weapon, his eyes narrowing on the dead ambrek as the third lay discarded on the ground behind him.

“Fuck, fuck!” Beverly cried out as she began to desperately wipe the blood splatter from her face and arms.

Talech made to go to her, but Zoreth raised a hand, stopping him as the male’s concerned gaze turned toward Beverly. “ Garanga , scan for any sign of parasitic larvae in the blood.”

A blue light ran over the female who stood steadily, her eyes wide with fear.

“Negative. No detection of parasitic life form.”

“Thank fuck.” Beverly sagged as Zoreth reached out at the same time Talech did to steady her.

Talech growled at the other male, infuriated that he had dared to stop him, and even angrier that he had paused to listen for reasons he did not understand. Zoreth lifted his head with an unapologetic glare, but the moment was broken, and they both startled when Beverly clung to each of their arms and gave them both a grateful smile.

“Hey, we’re okay.” She squeezed Talech’s hand reassuringly. “Talech, relax. He had to stop you to make sure you didn’t get infected if there was something in its blood. As freaked out as I was, I wouldn’t have wanted you touching me and risking contaminating yourself.”

Talech’s head whipped around as he fixed a skeptical look on the male in question. Zoreth powered down his blaster as he met his eyes and slowly inclined his head in acknowledgment. Talech dipped his chin in response, recognizing that the male had safeguarded his life and in doing so, he had demonstrated that Talech’s life had value. That would not be forgotten. There was now a kinship between them that they would both be forced to recognize. Zoreth’s mandibles clicked softly in a gentle rebuke that made the corner of Talech’s mouth curl.

Beverly laughed weakly. “This is sweet, guys, but we’d better keep moving just in case we accidentally woke up anything else.” She glanced at herself. “And maybe find somewhere to clean up?”

Grunting in acknowledgment, they turned away from the bodies and gore littering the stones, their heavy feet scattering debris as they continued on course. It was unlikely that the blaster had been loud enough to draw the Kaze from where they had huddled together at such a distance away, but Beverly was right. It was not safe to linger. Not there or anywhere that he could not personally see to fortifications.