The Nature of Predators - Something About Blue (2/4)

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Memory transcription subject: Rivlia, Gojid Exterminator

Date [standardized human time]: March 2, 2137

Throughout the moderate ride to the park, I admired what was left of our colony. Fake bristles were advertised for balding Gojids; I doubted those looked any less phony than the prior sets, and I couldn’t understand the stigma around natural aging processes regardless. Other alien cultures respected age as a sign of wisdom, and we supposedly did too, but we tried to hide its markers? Nobody liked to feel the graces of youth leaving. When I was a child, I wanted to grow up, but now, I’d trade my flamethrower and go back to digging in the dirt in a heartbeat. Carefree, no responsibilities.

The park’s well-maintained trees were surrounded by bushes, many of which were planted by the Protector’s followers to bring her restoration to the colony. Our deity loved those who preserved peaceful lifeforms and brought beauty to the world. We were one of the few races that kept flowers and plants within our homes, as a sign of our attachment to nature. Few people were in the park, which should make the task of finding Blue easier. I checked my holopad for new messages, and sure enough, a notification was on the home screen.

You can smell the flowers in the air. Life is beautiful, and we don’t say it enough. How many people just walk past all of this gorgeous scenery, without giving it a glance? No appreciation? Blue had written.

I perked up, scanning the area with haste. I take it you’re off work, and at the park?

Yeah, almost. Everyone’s in such a hurry all the time, except when…they notice predators. Um, you’d think life would be about more than that.

There are predators nearby, Blue? BLUE?! Are you safe?

There was a long pause, as the typing icon stopped and started again. The reply seemed short and curt, much unlike the usual paragraphs of text he spilled. Yes. Why did it take Blue so long to type that one word? I racked my brain, realizing that he might be short-circuiting from fearful instincts. If there was a human in the area, I was not going to let them ruin this moment that I had been dying to actualize! I always hated those predators, but the disgust and abhorrence was at an all-time high now. Those cursed vermin needed to be dealt with, before they could hunt us, or the birds Blue and I adored so much.

The time of being a bystander to the Terran invasion was over. Doing the Protector’s bidding came before any Prime Minister’s mandate, and with Blue being tracked by a predator’s hungry eyes, frightened in his safe space, I finally had the courage to do what I should’ve done when they arrived.

“Denna? There’s a human walking about the park, terrorizing the neighborhood,” I hissed. “It’s going to ruin everything! We must find it, and put it down. We’re exterminators, dammit.”

Denna gulped. “Those are sapient predators. There’s two of us. I’m not sure we should go after it without more of us…safety in herd numbers.”

“Sapient. Compassionless, deceiving, plotting monsters that are taking over every planet they can get their grimy feet on. I’m tired of these so-called refugees draining our sanity and our resources, and hiding behind the guise of friendship. They’ll burn like any other beast, and we have the Protector’s blessing on our side. Are you in?”

“I have your back, Rivi. I don’t want to get close to one of those things; they’re beyond unnerving. Everything about them is wrong.”

“I’ll take charge. You just watch my back in case it lunges at me. Do you see the predator?”

“No. Are you sure Blue is at this park?”

“It’s the only large park in the area, with the kind of wildlife he’d be looking for. Everything else is out of the way—not where you’d go after work. Find that filthy human! If we don’t fight back when our loved ones are in danger, why call ourselves exterminators?”

Denna drew a calming breath, then flicked her claws in agreement. My exterminator partner hurried up a hill; as one of the more fit members on our payroll, her stout legs scaled the incline with impressive fervor. I trailed behind with a modest jog, and followed where she was already pointing. A Terran was ambling along the walkway as if it owned the place, wet secretions oozing from under its armpits into its pelts. I could only imagine how much it stank to the Protector’s Cloud. There were no Gojids around it, likely because its appalling, uncovered features scared anyone who passed by. Blue must’ve wisely vacated the area, which filled my heart with relief.

I’m slightly disappointed too…even though what matters is that he’s safe. I really wanted to meet him. I can’t believe this rotten fucking PREDATOR ruined it.

The human was unaware of our presence, seeming to be glued to its holopad. Its forward-facing eyes were trained on the screen, though I couldn’t tell what it was studying from this far away. Perhaps it had hijacked our internet, and was capitalizing on innocent discussions of the Protector’s beauty to pinpoint the best places to hunt. This creature looked more ungroomed than the ones I’d seen on television, with its curly, black hair a frizzy mess. It must like being dirty, since it clearly needed a shower about ten years ago. The longer I looked at it, the more horrific it became.

My heart rate was elevated from this cursory overview; like Blue had done, all I wanted was to flee away from it. My spines were at full bristle, trying to escape their fixed places, and my fur was standing on end. The skin-crawling sensation I got from its diabolical visage was as if the bugs, which no doubt inhabited its mangy scalp, had burrowed into my pelt. Seeing its fingers wrapped around its holopad, tightening enough that its harsh-looking knuckles turned white, made it obvious that it was fantasizing about strangling prey. Those binocular eyes were turning more wild by the minute, tempted by the overstimulating allure of scents in the air.

If it lost control of its all-consuming instincts now, it could track Blue’s scent! By the time that thought crossed my mind, I was already racing down the hill with my flamethrower out. Catching the predator by surprise, as I barreled into its back, it stumbled onto all fours. It yelped in surprise, and I was grateful the Protector cursed these creatures with such pinhole vision. My stomach flipped, realizing I’d touched its slimy back, but I managed to keep my lunch. The predator had dropped its holopad, and snapped its head around to train its gaze on me. It looked horrified that prey had turned the table, rather than it being the one to pounce on me for a taste of blood.

“Stay down!” I channeled my anger over Blue’s fright to keep my voice steady. Everything has gone wrong in his life; he doesn’t deserve to deal with human filth, on top of that. “Don’t make a move, or I’ll cook you.”

The human’s voice was breathy, and it raised two outstretched palms like it was resisting the urge to throttle me. When it finally spoke, its growling voice was as discordant as a Gojid could imagine, like it was designed to cause mental damage to any innocent listeners. I almost wished my translator wouldn’t try to tell me this thing’s barks had actual meaning, because how could that throaty snarl be true speech? Its pitch was threatening, regardless of whether its words were; it must have practiced this low, gravelly baritone to assert dominance over lesser creatures. This thing was undoubtedly a hunter, and the overwhelming sense of dread it imparted in person was unspeakable.

Its canines, pointed daggers embedded into its very gums, were visible as it spoke. “Please, don’t hurt me. I…I d-don’t want to die. I’ll do whatever you ask…I don’t have a lot of money, but you can t-take my credits. I know what you are. I swear, I’m just trying to live my life. I haven’t hurt anyone. I’m not a threat…”

“If you were trying to live your life, you wouldn’t have come somewhere you aren’t wanted!” I snapped, moving the flamethrower close to the green lines in its temples. Its skin was nearly translucent, showing the untoward outlines of its veins. Red patches clung to its cheeks, and that blotchy, slimy appearance was a visual assault on my senses. “What is your name, filth? Give me your ID.”

“Giannis Samaras. H-here.”

The predator kept one hand raised, and inched the other toward its lower pelt. I tensed even further, with a stance that was rigid and locked. It gradually raised a card from its pocket, which I could tell was a Gojid census ID; its own picture had scarred a camera lens, capturing it with its menacing teeth on full display. This was how it presented itself, the second prey weren’t around! I snatched the item from the predator, wiping the plastic against my firesuit with disgust. Its sweaty fingerprints, along with the contaminants on its prey-killing hands, were all over this thing. I snapped a picture with my own holopad, before throwing the card to the ground.

“What does ‘living your life’ mean to you, Giannis? Whetting your appetite on local birds? Scouting potential Gojid kids to eat?”

“I like nature. I like the park. I, we, would never—”

“Save that rehearsed speech. It won’t work on me. We’ll see if you’re ready to talk after I start burning you up; all predators scream beneath the Protector’s cleansing fire.”

“…that’s what the Great Protector faith is about?! Uh, wait, I didn’t mean to cause offense, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. You can’t just, um, I, er…”

The human sounded like it was hyperventilating; seeing it squirm, terrified out of its wits, was a satisfying reversal of the natural order. Denna angled her small ears toward the holopad on the ground, which was unlocked. Check what it was doing when we caught it. I peeked at my own device first, looking for any texts from Blue as to his condition, but he was silent. There were no signs of blue Gojid blood beneath Giannis’ grimy nails or between his teeth, so hopefully that meant he hadn’t gotten a piece of my friend. It wasn’t like Blue to go radio-silent out of nowhere, or not to gush about what he saw on his walks. As soon as we finished up with this monster, I’d check in with him.

I kept the flamethrower trained on the human, as I sidestepped toward the holopad. “What were you doing on your device, predator? Plotting a so-called ‘predator stampede,’ complete with bombs? I heard about that. Watching videos of dying prey, drowning in their own blood?”

“I was talking. To a friend! A g-good friend, um, about flowers—and uh, look, it’s all innocent. Please, check for yourself. I’m telling the truth. We’re not what you think we are,” it stammered.

I snorted, reaching down to the ground. “About flowers. As if. Why do you lie, when it’s going to be disproven in mere seconds?”

“Please look, ‘cause that’s the real topic. I’m really trying to comply with you, and not do anything wrong, and I won’t come here anymore if this is your spot. What can I do? What do you want from me?”

“I want you gone, removed from my planet. Removed from existence. Now let’s see what you’re doing here, you slimy wr—”

My words broke off, as I studied the familiar website on the screen. Even though the words were in the unaesthetic human lexicon, the profile picture was unmistakable; it was one of my drawings of the Protector’s Cloud, abundant with fruits and vegetation. My fear, which had climbed to an overwhelming note, switched over to shock. Blue was…Blue is…no. The anonymous penpal I chatted with for hours, opening my soul, was a predator: this grimy, slimy predator that looked like it’d sprung from a vat. My flamethrower lowered with uncertainty, the righteous anger of protecting “Blue” gone.

Why would this Giannis beast have wasted so much time acting and deceiving me? Was it rehearsing its ruse, fine-tuning it for its adventures in the wild? Tears welled in my eyes, along with an extreme amount of pain; I suddenly could understand how the Venlil, and several others, had fallen for the predators’ ploy. I had underestimated how charming and convincing these vile simians could be. “Blue” had swept me off my feet, in a way no one else ever had, and I had never suspected I was talking to a flesh-eating wretch. My claws twisted with a mix of emotions too intertwined to decipher.

I hate it. I fucking hate this thing…it tricked me! But still, I can’t bring myself to burn “Blue.” I cared about the genuine person I believed it was, and our treacherous chats were the highlight of my day.

I threw the holopad back in its chest, and swept my flamethrower in a shooing gesture. “Go. Get out of here. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”

Giannis’ pupils darted around with eyes the size of moons, showing the horrid red veins in its off-putting whites. Its fingers fumbled with the holopad, and it nearly tripped over its lanky legs as it pushed itself upright. My directions to leave didn’t need to be given twice; Denna looked bewildered, as I released the predator I’d intended to cleanse from this planet. The human bolted away from us, faster than I’d ever seen its lumbering kind run on screen. It vanished down the sidewalk, not slowing or checking behind it, and took my hopes of a soulmate with it. I was trembling with shock and fear, wondering what signs I’d missed that Blue was a monster.

“What are you doing?” Denna gasped. “I thought you wanted to put it down. You were talking about burning it—”

I threw my arms up in frustration. “Ugh, I don’t know. I couldn’t do it. Just let me think! I…wasn’t sure what it’s playing at. Need more…more information.”

“You want to see what it’s up to? It left its ID behind, since it was in such a hurry to escape. We can search its info.”

I followed where Denna was pointing in a daze, and picked up the now-muddy card from the ground. My throat was dry, so I waved the plastic in acknowledgment and tucked it in my work belt. It was all I could do to resist the urge to block Blue on the forum, right here and right now. That wasn’t a rational thing to do, since the predator would just go prey on someone else; it was my duty to figure out what its objective was with me. Furthermore, nobody else in the exterminators office could know what I had just learned. What kind of decent person would have fallen so hard for a predator? This could never come to light with my colleagues.

Denna dipped her head. “Well, I’m glad that’s over. By the Protector, you’re brave, Rivi. Let’s go see if Blue’s still in the area; he’ll want to thank you, if he saw that!”

“I, um, don’t feel so g-good. That took a lot out of me, and it might’ve scared him off too, so I think we should try again another time,” I stammered.

“You really don’t look well. I guess I thought you were hardened to predators, but it must’ve been a lot to confront such an abyssal horror up-close. I’ll take you back to the station.”

I allowed my friend to usher me back to the vehicle with a guiding arm; a deep-rooted numbness was enveloping all feeling and cognition. Letting that human go was the wrong decision, and Denna was right to question why I didn’t put it down. How could Blue be a predator? As much as I knew that I had to let Giannis believe I was still falling for its ruse, I needed a few days of not speaking to it, regardless of my duty. It was difficult to fathom how I could ever play along again, talking to this animal like a person, when I knew a sadistic savage was typing the response.

When I collapsed into the passengers’ seat, I broke down sobbing. Denna put the vehicle in motion without a word, as I attempted to put a heart that was shattered into a million pieces back together. There was no way to act normal and hide these wounds from others. It would be a long time before I could ever trust anyone lurking behind a screen again.

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A/N - Part 2 of the tale! Rivlia finds out exactly who the "Blue" character she'd been pining over is, while holding him at flamethrower-point, and is left despondent over what she believes in predator deception. Meanwhile, from Giannis' perspective, he went through a traumatic experience--and as far as we know, is unaware of the link between this exterminator and his online friend. What will Rivi do, now that she knows Blue is a human? What will Giannis think if he finds out who she is?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! The one-shots that won the poll are: Thafki at a waterpark, Haysi POV looking at human artifacts, Yotul rebuilders, and the Human-Venlil actors story. My plan is for them to be released in that order. I will be discussing the possibility of the last two having multiple parts on Discord as we get closer!