The Nature of Predators - Nova's Children (3/10)

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There was more blissful ignorance that once existed between the children, aside from not realizing they were from two separate species. Ari wasn’t raised to think of himself as a predator; the importance of his binocular eyes was lost on him and Elia. Aside from the occasional question about why her brother got different meals, there wasn’t even a hint at anything tangentially related to humans being predators. That would change in school, when kids shied away from humans. While there had been much improvement in Skalga, and especially its capital, there were still holdouts of bias—things that children that young could only pick up from their parents’ whispers.

“Avoid the predators. They’ll eat or hurt you if they’re hungry or in a foul mood.”

“Humans are a violent species. If their binocular eyes are pointed at you, don’t make eye contact. It’s either a challenge or them sizing you up as a meal.”

“Maybe humans aren’t as cruel as the Arxur, but they’re both predators. All predators eat people sometimes, whatever they say.”

“Any normal Venlil is afraid of predators.”

Comments like that were still whispered around many families, with humans on Skalga cited as a reason not to wander too far from home or talk to strangers. Ari noticed the children that avoided him, on that first day of class, and wondered what he had done to frighten them. It didn’t escape Elia’s notice, since the duo walked to school together. The young Venlil wanted to get to the bottom of why some peers were mistreating Ari, so after informing him of her plan, she approached some of them to get answers. The human crouched behind a corner, eavesdropping on the conversation.

Elia scowled, stomping up to a group of children with vindictiveness. “Why are you avoiding my brother?”

“Because he’s a predator, obviously,” a child answered. “Predators have nasty diseases from eating flesh. Those will kill people even if they don’t!”

“Humans are just ugly. They’d be bad enough not having fur, but those eyes are scary. Look how they move all over the place—to track prey!” another shouted.

Elia shoved the kid, causing him to land on his rump. “Take that back! My brother isn’t ugly.”

“You…live with him? Get away from me! It’s clear that predatory aggression has infected you.”

“What aggression? What do you mean about tracking prey?”

“You don’t know? Predators have bloodlust. They desire to eat living things, and enjoy the suffering of their prey. Anything with forward-facing eyes is dangerous. When your brother grows up, he’ll want to eat you.”

The other anti-human child flicked her ears. “They can’t help it. They’re monsters. Some of them learn to control those impulses, but there’s a reason we burned predators for years. Killing them is the only way to stop them from hunting Venlil, or contaminating us with traces. Everyone knows that.”

Was this true? Ari…didn’t want to eat people. He didn’t want to be a monster, a predator. He covered his eyes with shame; partially to hide those forward-facing pupils, but also to hide his tears. Elia was confused more than anything, unable to relate her brother with what those children said. The duo agreed to ask their parents whether this rhetoric was true, and if Ari might eventually want to do terrible things. It was all that was on the young primate’s mind, all day. Would other Venlil—maybe even his mom and Elia—burn him alive? That thought terrified Ari! When the human kid came home sobbing, Tarva and Noah rushed to comfort him, just as they had when his ribs were broken.

Elia sniffled. “Mom? Dad? What’s a predator?”

Noah’s shoulders slumped at once. “It’s…a term used by people who don’t like humans. In nature’s terms, a predator is any animal who hunts another animal for food.”

“I take it you learned this at school?” Tarva prompted, waiting as Elia nodded in the human way. “It’s used by people who wrongly believe that the humans are dangerous, and will eat people. There was…another predator species that did this, but it was never humans. Some people will always hate Ari, or be afraid of his eyes.”

“We didn’t want you to think of humans like that, Elia. We’re just people. There is nothing wrong with or dangerous about Ari and I; hateful children who ignore all scientific proof and want to be stuck in fear are wrong.”

Snot bubbled in Ari’s nose. “Am I going to have…bloodlust? I don’t want to hurt Elia.”

“Of course you’re not. You’re just a person, with the same complex feelings as your sister. If anything, Elia is probably more aggressive and physically dangerous than you.”

“What about with sicknesses? Why did they say predators carry diseases?” Elia swished her tail from side-to-side, recalling what they’d said. “They said meat gives him diseases. Is that why you feed me differently? Why would you make Ari sick?”

“Ari needs to eat meat to get certain vitamins. Venlil are herbivores, which means you need, and are supposed to, eat plants alone. The Kolshians wanted to blame binocular-eyed creatures for their diseases, and started those disease rumors. Part of why we cook meat is to kill bacteria, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Humans have been great friends to the Venlil, and have become a species I love dearly,” Tarva interjected. “You know that you’re different, Ari, but what you need to eat to stay alive doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter to anyone that’s worth your time.”

“They said that Venlil burn predators alive!” Ari blurted. “Should I be…scared of Venlil?”

“There are people that will want to hurt you, but burning is a cruel and forbidden method. Humanity has fended off past attempts to kill you, so that it wouldn’t be your experience. You and Elia can learn how to protect yourselves, but I hope it won’t come to that. You don’t deserve that for existing.”

A growl rumbled in Elia’s throat. “That’s all so unfair, and so stupid! My brother deserves better. I won’t let anybody hurt him.”

Memory Transcription Subject: Elia Williams, Venlil Athlete

Date [standardized human time]: October 2, 2152

When Ari told me that the results had come in, I was frustrated that he’d chosen to have them mailed to a pickup station, rather than sent digitally or mailed to our house. Before he spilled the truth about the ancestry test at the dinner table, he hadn’t wanted our parents to see it—and he said he knew that Noah had monitoring software installed to watch our computers and holopads. I hadn’t caught onto the fact that our father was surveilling our digital whereabouts, but I assumed Ari had a measurable degree of certainty if that was his claim. Now, the need for secrecy was over, so I agreed to accompany him to retrieve the results and told my parents where we were off to. The anticipation was eating my sibling alive.

“You sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Tarva asked.

Ari crossed his arms. “I don’t. This is something I want to figure out for myself.”

“Okay then.” Noah was scrolling through his holopad, pulling up a particular message with an upward swipe. “Hey, Elia! It looks like you got into the University of Michigan! We should add that to the list for college tours, next time we go to Earth.”

I groaned. “I told you, Dad, I don’t want to go to university. It’s worthless for athletes. I just submitted those applications so you’d leave me alone.”

“It doesn’t hurt anything to check it out, and have the option available! If they’re giving you a full athletic scholarship, it won’t cost a thing; you might as well learn as much as you can, and use what’s basically free training. You could raise a lot of awareness for alien athletics on Earth too. Maybe even take some sponsorships!”

“Whatever. Can we go now?”

“Elia! You won’t disrespect your father like that,” my mother hissed. “How exactly do you plan on making a living income, outside of the ‘once every four years’ Olympics—which might not happen again, if the event doesn’t draw enough support? You’re a talented runner, and we’re proud of that, but you need real skills too.”

“Running is a real skill! Maybe I’ll start a parkour channel—”

“‘Parkour?’ Like those crazy humans who jump off buildings and roofs, often endangering their lives?”

“Yes! I’m considering my options.”

“Young lady, you will not pursue such a stu—”

Noah raised a hand, spotting Ari’s anxious stare. “Let’s have this discussion later, Tarva. Ari wants to see those test results, and we shouldn’t keep him in suspense over our views on his sister’s choices. When we go to Earth for those college tours, we might be able to visit any of his biological relatives that he locates—if he wants to.”

“I don’t know what I want. Just let me think about it,” Ari sighed. “Bye, Mom, Dad.”

“Walk safe. You need anything, whether it’s to talk or to be picked up, you call us.”

“Yes, sir.”

My brother shuffled out the door, starting the walk several blocks down to the pickup facility. The two of us had each donned hoodies, in order to disguise our identities; neither of us felt like being recognized, as the well-known figures we were. My running shoes thudded against the pavement, as I jogged several steps ahead of the human, who refused to give chase. I thought about teasing him about predator instincts—being driven to dash after the fleeing prey—but I wasn’t sure how he’d react to that right now. Ari didn’t want to be reminded that he was a predator, even as a joke; he felt like enough of an outcast.

Maybe these results will help him find a sense of belonging, and conceptualize what humans really are. So he can throw back at any doubters what’s really in his genes: I don’t have to see the test results to know it’s not eating Venlil.

I was grateful that we’d finally have answers, and that with any luck, we could put these troubled thoughts in Ari’s brain to bed. The poor human looked queasy, as though he could barely bring himself to find answers. If there was something negative in the results about his parents, or why they’d given him up, that would make finding out the truth a mistake. I didn’t think he needed his worst fears confirmed. Maybe I should look at the test first, and scope out the info, in the hopes my brother wouldn’t get hurt. However, Ari might have objections to that, so I should only offer that as an option.

As we walked past the shop entrances and octagonal buildings, I noticed the reflection of four Venlil tailing behind us, who seemed to be pretending not to stare at us. Someone must have recognized us despite the disguises; the Terran garb was a giveaway, in many ways. They didn’t have the courage to approach us, which was fine by me, since we were in a rush. I wasn’t sure Ari could put on his dad’s mellow, salt-of-the-earth mannerisms right now. Actually, I hoped they weren’t reporters, though; the last thing my brother needed was for this excursion to wind up plastered on a tabloid.

Ari pushed open the door to the post office, drawing a deep breath. “Well, this is it. I have the code for Box 7. Let’s…look at it when we get home, okay? I want to be somewhere private.”

“This is your decision, bro. I’m here to help you,” I assured him. “Would you like me to pick it up for you?”

“No. I’ve got it. I…have to do this.”

The human marched up to the box, numbered 7 in Venlil numerals, and punched in the correct code; several observers seemed surprised that he hadn’t needed to switch the language interface to English. He slid his slender arm into the slot, pulling out a weathered envelope, addressed to him in Terran script. Reading and speaking both languages proved helpful on occasions like this, in ways that translators couldn’t keep up with. In a society where convenience seemed to get more valuable by the year, not having to tote around a visual translator on either planet was handy.

“Right. Back home we go,” Ari mumbled.

I peeked my head out the door, spotting the four Venlil from before waiting outside the post office; they were attempting to pretend they were in a casual conversation huddle. Something about them was off-putting; a voice in my head was telling me that they were something more sinister than fans, though I hoped that was paranoia. Whatever the case, it was creeping me out, with what basically amounted to confirmation that they were following us. My plan was to walk around them, since we were in broad daylight, then attempt to lose them by scurrying off down an alley. We knew the roads of Dayside City like the back of our paw.

I can’t sprint too quickly to lose Ari, either. In short distances, I’m faster, so it’s my job to protect him.

I drew a deep breath. “Don’t stare, but those Venlil over there have definitely followed us from home. It’s like they’re waiting for the right time to…ambush us. Maybe that sounds crazy, but…”

“I saw them before, but I tried to shrug it off. I’m getting the same bad vibes,” Ari answered.

“Heading away from home is a bad idea, so we want to try to stay in the line of sight of others. This is a public square with lots of foot traffic. Let’s steer a little ways around them, huh, and then make a run for it down the shortcut. We can lose them.”

“This could be video number one for that parkour channel.”

I chuckled. “I’m not worrying about filming right now. Just keep close to me.”

The two of us marched forward, trying to steer a wide berth around the quartet; my fear was at an unreasonable level, with the chasm of dread growing as I peeked at their darkened eyes. They reminded me of something with the way they seemed to have a hierarchy, and even their huddle was a particular formation. I tugged my brother wide, walking in a diagonal line to the other side of the street. Our stalkers’ eyes darted toward us. As well-known individuals, and usually tagging along with a human in Skalga, I was used to keeping my head on a swivel. However, I’d never encountered anything that weirded me out like this did.

With sudden movements, as if they were springing an ambush, an unmodded Venlil took a leap in front of our position; he seemed to be the son, about my age, of a crippled female from the older generation. As we were startled by the stranger blocking our path, and signaling a confrontation, the other three circled behind us. I felt cool metal pressed against my skull. My first thought was that it was a gun, but when it dawned on me that it was a larger instrument, I figured it was a flamethrower. Those weapons were forbidden, and had been collected by the government years ago! Were these anti-predator individuals, here to hate crime Ari—maybe for being human, or perhaps singling both of us out for who our parents were.

“Don’t scream. I’ll light you up and give you a reason to scream,” the female growled. “Walk calmly into that alley to your right. Don’t draw attention.”

Ari gulped, seeming to have a flamethrower at his own head. “We don’t want trouble. If you want our money, you can just take it; I can transfer some credits to you right now!”

“We don’t want your credits, Ari and Elia Williams. We want you because your mother infested our world with predators, and she is the reason we lost our job in Tonalu City—why our guild closed down! None of this would’ve happened without Tarva. We traveled a long way, did a lot of research, and waited patiently for this conversation. Now walk, or the last thing you feel will be white hot flames!”

My heart hammered in my chest, as I weighed out options. Despite being in a crowded venue, the Venlil walking by were shockingly oblivious, too lost in their own world or their holopads. The handful that seemed to notice sped up, turning a blind eye. I didn’t like the idea of complying with these vindictive exterminators, who’d apparently gone out of their way to track us down, but I didn’t see another choice. If they were just going to kill us anyway, then I hoped they might not do it by flamethrower—for the sole reason that our screams would attract attention. Maybe Ari could talk them down, or I could find an opportunity to fight back.

Raising shaking paws over my head, I headed into the alley at flamethrowerpoint, and my brother followed.

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A/N - Part 3!  We see the children learning about Venlil views on predators, and how some Venlil even hurt predators...and it becomes relevant in the present. The test results are in, and as the children slip away from the latest argument over Elia not wanting to go to university, their adventure is derailed by a group following them: who know who they are, and blame Tarva for extermination guilds getting closed down. Will Ari and Elia be able to figure a way out of this? What do you expect their captors to plan to do with them?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!