The Nature of Predators - Omnivore Miniseries (6/8)

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Memory transcription subject: Lyben, Sulean Police Officer

Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2136

The store cashier said nothing about my frazzled demeanor, as she rang up my food stash. I had taken my time resupplying, since the thought of returning to the human made me shudder. The sedative bottle in my waistband beckoned to me, but it was too early to chance another dose. Thus, my instincts were only going to become stronger as the trip progressed.

Just keep moving, Lyben. It’s only going to get worse if you delay.

Nadia was tinkering with a holopad, as I returned to our patrol car. The predator was trying to connect her device to the radio, hoping that Venlil schematics would be recognized by my vehicle. I decided not to question her intent, and dumped my cartload of snacks on the console. Warm brown eyes darted over to me, with the infamous pupil movements that screamed foe to my brain.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, I brought s-snacks. Lots of them. Eat whatever you like, er, not me please!”

“Silly Lyben. I don’t want to eat you.” The human archaeologist sifted through my food stash, and pried a sugar stick from the pile. “Would you judge me if I had a sweet tooth?”

“No. Help yourself. I definitely do not want you getting hungry, at all. You feel unsatiated, please tell me and we’ll find food at once. I’ll put on my siren for that.”

Nadia appeared unhappy with my response, but proceeded to suck on the candy. Her binocular eyes drifted to the window. She waved to an Iftali kid who’d spotted her, and her shoulders slumped as the child began sobbing. The Terran risked a glance back at me, as though asking what she’d done. I merely sped out of the parking lot, focusing on breathing regulation.

“So we’re really like some eldritch horror to you,” the alien grumbled.

I tilted my head. “A what?”

“Er, nothing. Hope you don’t mind me trying to link up with your vehicle. I was bored, and thought I’d show you some human music.”

“Oh stars…uh, I mean, g-go ahead.”

Nadia ran a hand through her black mane, which was surprisingly well-groomed. I tried to think about anything other than her presence: the way the buildings tapered off near the desert, the pink sands which stretched as far as the eye could see, and the Iftali church by the town border. A gray plume ascended from its vicinity, which struck me as odd. It must be some ritual I was unaware of.

The human moved her nails across her holopad, and I noticed their shade was a glittery purple. That was not a natural Terran hue, as far as I was aware. Every one I’d seen had a pink texture, which matched their blood vessels. The glitter presented an obvious confirmation that this polish was artificial. Why would a predator paint their claws? Was it a way of highlighting their most important feature: their hunting accessories?

The Terran nodded with satisfaction, as a delicate instrumental flooded through my speakers. The notes were a quick-paced, logical arrangement, with emphasis placed at the end of each ascension. Low tones accentuated the ominous sections, imparting a tense mood. The built-in translator conveyed the human phonemes as “Beyven” and “Moonlight Sonata, 3rd movement.”

Nadia’s lips curved slightly. “This is what humans refer to classical music. One of our great composers, utilizing a beautiful instrument.”

“Classical? How old is it?” I managed.

“Over 300 years old. This music has that much staying power.”

I reflected on what she said, as Beyven’s piece proceeded through its arpeggios and stages. This was created when humans were fully a savage species, engaged in wars and brutality at all times. They were active predators, with little care for anything outside their base desires. How could a primitive flesh-eater have managed such an artistic, beautiful composition? The emotions it conveyed were worthy of a higher being.

I knew Beyven and the people of his time would have conquered us, had they been the ones to come to the stars. That was why I was so concerned about Terrans nowadays; they weren’t that far removed from the uncivilized past. But perhaps there had always been a trace of good, even in the brutes and wild humans. This wasn’t how I imagined predatory expression.

The song cut out abruptly, as I was directly paged over my radio. The call was coming from my partner Miztesh; my Iftali squadmate must be grateful he’d sat this one out. I appreciated him checking in, presumably to ensure I hadn’t been wolfed down the second the beast arrived. Nadia raised her eyebrows, seeing the incoming message.

“I’ve got to take this. S-sorry,” I gasped out. “It’s my p-partner.”

The human leaned back. “Of course. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

I took a calming breath, not wanting to alarm Miztesh with a shaky tone. My paw drifted over to the accept button, while conjuring up reassurances. Confusion melded with my demeanor, as sirens were the first thing that greeted my ears. My Iftali partner sounded like he was burning his tires off, from the squealing noise.

“LYBEN!” he panted. “You’ve got to get over to the church. It’s Elka…the jumper kid. He’s in bad, man, and I have no idea what he did at that protest.”

I squinted in bewilderment. “I’m sorry, what? If Elka’s having a crisis, I’m indisposed right now. I’m taking a predator to her dig site, and I wouldn’t dare delay her…or bring her around you.”

Miztesh was silent for a long moment; I could picture the shock on the grizzled Iftali’s face. Why was he surprised about a well-known assignment? Nadia pressed a fist to her chin, and narrowed her binocular eyes. She could hear every word said over the radio, since it was on speaker as we drove. I hoped my partner would temper his disparagement of humans.

“W-w…wha…LYBEN, what are you THINKING?!” the Iftali screamed.

I rubbed my antlers. “Those were my orders. You know that.”

“They’re suicidal orders! Of the 35 officers assigned to pick up a human, 2 went through with it. Are you seriously telling me you’re one of those?!”

“Uh, yeah? The human’s not…so bad?”

“Listen buddy, you don’t have to do this. Please, don’t make me plan your funeral. Get that thing out of your car, at gunpoint if you have to.”

A slight gasp escaped from Nadia’s lips. Out of my periphery, I saw tears swelling in her binocular eyes. My paw had subconsciously tapped the brake lever; it would be a relief to dump the predator on the streets and be rid of her. If nobody else had followed these brutal orders, why should I suffer?

The human’s delicate hands were already reaching for the door handle, no guns necessary. Snot bubbled in her nose, but she wiped it away. The broken look on her face, twisted and grimacing, was enough to snap such thinking. I’d begun to believe the Venlil were right about these being emotional people, hadn’t I? Wasn’t that enough reason to care?

I reset the accelerator. “I can’t do that, Miz.”

“You can’t?” The Iftali’s voice rose in pitch, to match his escalating panic. “It’s holding you hostage then.”

“Correction: I can. But I won’t.”

“What?! First Elka cries on the phone about ‘attacking the priest’, now you’re beholden to a predator?”

“That predator did nothing wrong. You want me to cruelly throw her to the curb at gunpoint.”

“Lyben—”

“Good luck with Elka.”

Nadia flicked her pupils toward me, and I noticed how red her eyes had become. It would be pitiless to abandon her on an alien world, lost and with nobody to contact. This human was here to help us sort out Jild’s true history. We’d been listening to music on our road trip moments before, and I’d seen something good in that expression.

“I’m sorry you heard that, Nadia,” I sighed. “Don’t worry, we’re going to keep at it.”

The predator sniffled. “Thanks for not ditching me here, or being a no-show straight from the start. I had no idea how lucky I was, and I appreciate it. I’d give you a hug, but I suspect you’d hate that.”

“Please…no touching. Especially not with an, er, inappropriate gesture in Sulean culture.”

“Ha, I catch your drift; hugs are a hard no. Let’s go help your partner.”

“We can’t. I’m not going to delay you from getting to work! You don’t want that.”

“Apparently, per your partner, nobody’s going to be at the site anyways…most of my peers didn’t leave the spaceport. Besides, he said a kid is in trouble?”

“I stopped Elka from jumping off a bridge, the night Cilany’s interview broke,” I offered hesitantly. “He’s barely a teenager. He couldn’t live with being a freak…a predator.”

Nadia pursed her lips. “I see. Maybe talking to a human, someone like me, could help.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you. All of this is an inconvenience, for someone you don’t even know—”

“I don’t want someone’s death on my conscience, Lyben. There’s nothing on my slate that can’t wait a few minutes, don’t you think? We should go to the church.”

“Er, you said it. Try not to get motion sick.”

The human clutched her seat harness, as I switched on my siren. Dialing up the acceleration to a breakneck pace, our car careened down the roads toward the church. Nadia’s complexion turned ghostly, but she managed to keep her stomach contents down. I marveled at her selflessness; it was a knee-jerk reaction that was contradictory to human nature.

Miztesh is going to freak out when he sees Nadia. But we all owe it to them to try to be more tolerant.

The billowing smoke grew thicker with each block, and I wondered to myself what Elka had done. This was no Iftali ritual; it was an active blaze, consuming the storied building. Fortunately, we were near the town’s fringes already, so the church was minutes away. The Beyven song morphed to a foreboding backdrop, under the circumstances.

Nadia leaned her head back, groaning. I hoped bringing a predator around vulnerable, crisis-stricken people wouldn’t prove a mistake. My vehicle swerved through street traffic, and roared up an embankment to the cobblestone church. The fruit basket steeple icon was choked in flames.

Miztesh had his car parked near the front entrance. The Iftali cop was gawking at the inferno, shaking his head in a daze. Elka was sobbing on a curb, while wearing handcuffs. Firefighters were nowhere to be seen. Response times would be slow, since exterminators hadn’t notified them to be on standby.

Nadia teetered out of the car. “Thank heavens. I…don’t want to see how you drive when you’re not sedated, Lyben.”

“Wait here, please,” I said, as I sprinted toward Miztesh. “What happened?!”

“You b-brought..a…a…” the Iftali stammered.

“Not the time for this! Snap out of it!”

Elka choked out a sob. “I wanted the p-priest dead, but a Sulean stole my dad’s flamethrower. I fetched some g-gasoline instead. And I feel guilty, but I can’t stop it!”

I digested the news, unable to comprehend an innocent kid taking such drastic measures. The anger against the church was understandable, but that didn’t excuse potential harm to bystanders. What was Elka thinking? Actually, I don’t think he was thinking at all.

Miztesh was useless too, more enamored with Nadia kneeling on the pavement. My partner had been shell-shocked even before her arrival, so that wasn’t an excuse. Our job was to take control of the situation, and ensure public safety. The Terran archaeologist was just minding her own business.

“It’s a human. A r-real human. It’s massive,” the Iftali cop whispered. “You’re riding around with a demon like that?!

I shook Miztesh by the shoulders. “LISTEN! Is anyone inside that building?”

“The p-predator…should be.”

“What?! I’m not pushing Nadia into the fire; that’s twisted.”

“No. Other p-predator. Another one of those things is running around…s-snarling at crowds…”

“It captured Priest Wullara,” Elka chimed in. “Both exits are b-blocked.”

My bewilderment was intensifying by the minute, and the blaze was growing brighter. This exchange was wasting crucial time. At least I’d figured out something about ‘Wullara’ needing to be rescued. Allegedly, a human was wrapped up in this somehow, and could be holding an Iftali priest hostage. This just kept getting better.

How do I try to rescue them, with no way in or out?!

Miztesh took a deep breath, as though steeling his nerves. He retrieved a gun from his holster, and balanced on unsteady hindlegs to aim at the human. A single shot pierced the air, like a thunderclap. Nadia shrieked, ducking behind the patrol car. Outrage surged in my brain, when I realized my partner was trying to chase her off…or worse.

I snatched the sidearm out of Miztesh’s grip, and ran over to the archaeologist. The predator was curled up in a ball, shielding her head with her arms. Her lithe body trembled with fear. This preylike reaction baffled me, given what I knew about the human affinity for chaos. Hiding in such a cowardly manner was unbecoming of a hunter.

“What kind of predator are you?” I breathed.

Nadia swallowed. “One that d-doesn’t want to die. And doesn’t like g-guns.”

“Not what you signed up for, is it? Sorry about all this.”

“It’s okay. T-there’s people inside, Lyben. We have to do something.”

“Yeah. Glad someone agrees with me there. Both exits are sealed off by flames, and I don’t see another way in.”

“Then make one. Drive your car through the wall?”

I chuckled to myself, amused by the predator’s unhinged suggestion. So much for skittishness. Of course a human’s first thought was to smash through a problem. It might be the only way to make an entrance, in any reasonable timeframe. I didn’t have a better idea, and I resigned myself to seeing my car totaled.

My shaking grip pried open the driver’s door. Nadia backed away, astute to my intent. Grabbing a stray brick, I placed it atop the acceleration hammer. It was all I could do to spring away from the car, and watch it barrel into the church wall. A chunk of the aged exterior crumbled, leaving a ragged opening behind.

“I’ll help if I can. Let’s get moving.” The predator shouldered her way inside, and glanced back at me. “Are you coming?”

I trotted into the smoldering ruins, with a reluctant sigh. Rescuing people from the fire, alongside a predator, wasn’t a job I was qualified for. Nadia had shown she wasn’t cut out for dangerous situations. However, it was a relief that someone was willing to help; even a flesh-craving human.

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A/N - Part 6 of the miniseries! Lyben's road trip is cut short by news of the arson attack...which happened to be orchestrated by the jumper Iftali kid from part 2. Miztesh proves less than fond of Nadia too. Will our human-Sulean duo be able to rescue the priests?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! Next part is likely the last full one, with a possible brief epilogue to follow. I'll announce the new bonus content with the special main chapter tomorrow!