The Nature of Predators - Human Exterminators (2/9)

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Memory transcription subject: William Kane, Human Refugee

Date [standardized human time]: November 3, 2136

This was the moment of truth: I was about to be the first human to be hired as a Federation exterminator. My fingers rested around the door handle for a long moment, and I took a calming breath. Dressed in a collared shirt and nice slacks, I felt like a new person. Just looking put-together did wonders for my mental state.

My eyes swiveled over my shoulder, and I noticed that Venlil weren’t giving me as wide of a berth. The man reflected in the puddle had black hair, combed over to one side, still wet from a fresh shower. The scruff had been removed from his face; the peach-colored skin was smooth and childlike. This was someone who had places to be, and looked about ten years younger than yesterday’s drunk.

The good mood was spoiled at once by a torrent of memories. I could still picture my father teaching my sister to ride her first bicycle, as I was studying for my college entrance exams. Venlil universities didn’t have the stringent requirements, nor the restrictive fees American schools were known for. Perhaps that was because they were not coveted among Federation educational institutes.

I bet these herbivores would still say that our schools were rudimentary, without any actual knowledge. They’d probably say my dad was training my sister to chase down prey, on her predatory bike with pink tassels too.

With a disquieted frown, I wrenched open the entrance to the exterminator’s office. There was no sign of a firing squad waiting to put me down; there were more individuals present now, during busy hours. Many Venlil civilians waited in the receptionist area, filling out forms to report suspicious activities. Every pupil in the lobby snapped toward me, and I grimaced. The exterminator who’d recruited me last night lifted her head up.

“William! I was questioning whether you were going to enter at all. You stood outside thinking about it for long enough,” Volek quipped.

I forced an awkward smile, which earned a few gasps. “Just giving myself a little pep talk.”

The Venlil receptionist stormed over to me, and ripped the brown paper bag out of my hands. I hadn’t been expecting her to snatch my lunch, so I’d been gripping it lightly. Volek inspected the contents with rigorous eyes, and even scanned my water bottle with her visual translator. She tested the cap, making sure I hadn’t opened it and replaced it with another liquid. I realized, with shame, that she was checking whether I smuggled alcohol.

The recruiter waved my prepackaged tin. “What is this?”

“Why are you going through my things?!” I hissed.

“Because I told you, the guild can’t have its employees eating meat on company time. Answer my question.”

“Cheese and crackers. It’s not meat.”

“Define cheese.”

“It’s made from the proteins of animal milk. Nothing dead, see.”

“…I suspect this comes from farming?”

“Nonlethal farming, and only cows that feel safe and content produce palatable milk,” I deflected. “Now can I have my food back? I’m not a fucking vegan.”

“I don’t like it. If you’re going to bring stuff like this, you’re going to eat it out of sight. Let me introduce you to the team, and then we’re heading out. We have a call.”

“I just got here! I don’t even have any training, gear, or anywhere to put my things. Maybe I should sit this one out.”

“It’s a Terran animal…a dog. You’re more qualified than anyone, William. By the way, you clean up nicely.”

My ego purred from the compliment, and I could feel my military-grade defenses relaxing a tiny bit. If this was a canine loose on Venlil Prime, that call was something I handled on a regular basis in Los Angeles. There was no doubt I could devise a non-lethal solution, perhaps capturing the pup for a swift return. The question was whether the exterminators would even consider not going full-flamethrower on the situation.

Volek ushered me into the office section, as the Venlil civilians stared with confusion. She showed me to a desk, which was right next to the rear wall. I had to walk past every exterminator on duty to get there, and several employees glared with open hostility. The receptionist opened a spare locker, handing me a firesuit which was somehow my size. I figured she assessed my dimensions using AI on the security feed.

There was a full complement of weapons, including firearms, in my locker stash. I fiddled with the tranquilizer darts in my pocket, grateful that Volek hadn’t given me a full pat-down.

“LISTEN UP!” Volek hollered, swishing her tail with assertiveness. “This is our newest hire, William…”

I ducked my head. “Kane.”

My binocular eyes suddenly seemed like they were bulging from my skull. There were multiple Venlil sizing me up, like they were imagining the optimal way to roast me. There were also a few…things, that I didn’t even know what they were. It wasn’t like I’d learned the 300-odd species in the Federation overnight; it hadn’t exactly been a pressing priority. Right now, I wished I knew more than Venlil, Zurulian, Yotul, Gojid…and Krakotl.

I saw a Krakotl, now that I looked for one. This wretched avian had blue feathers the color of that Rio movie that they remade in VR in the 2120s. There was definite eye contact between myself and the bird. I wanted to take the winged freak, and string it up for what it had done to Earth. These were the people behind the extermination fleet; those monsters ignored all of our pleas for mercy.

Volek waved her tail. “William Kane. He is a human, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. You are to treat him with respect befitting a sapient ally of the Venlil Republic. I won’t state that again.”

I broke my staring contest with the Krakotl, and suddenly felt a bit hot under the collar. The exterminators’ expressions bordered on betrayal; not one exhibited positive emotions toward my hiring. This was an obvious mistake, given their feelings toward predators. How could we ever trust each other in the field?

“Glad we’re understood.” The receptionist made it clear from her demeanor that there would be no arguing. “Right, so I’m assigning William as Rauln’s partner.”

“What?! You can’t do that! It took all my control not to cleanse the school, but this is too far. I won’t work with it!” Rauln jeered. “Not now, not later, not ever! Look at its monstrous eyes! It’s the exact thing we’re trying to kill.”

“Rauln, I protected your ass at the school. You’ll either work with William, or I’ll let the UN prosecute you for child endangerment. Deal with one human or deal with all of them!”

“This isn’t fair. You can’t expect us to have bloodlusting beasts in our ranks!”

“You won’t complain about it, or start any issues with William either. I hear so much as a peep of this again, or see any anti-human reports across my desk…you’ll never work in the industry again. You’ll never kill another predator. Are we clear?!”

“Crystal.”

“Good. Now, there was a loose dog sighting out by the pastures. Rauln and William, you’re on this case. I’m assigning another pair to go with you for backup, since this one is a large beast.”

Please not the Krakotl. Please, God please, if you’re really listening, anyone but the Krakotl…

“Luala and Fyron,” Volek decided. “Pack your gear, and grab a truck. I want to acclimatize our human friend to a…variety of alien species.”

The Krakotl I’d been giving a death glare flapped their feathers. They squawked in alarm, and shot furtive glances at another creature that I didn’t recognize. The alien, likely the bird’s partner, had chocolate-colored fur; their floppy ears reminded me of a cocker spaniel. The unknown race sported a wet nose and loose jowls as well.

Well, at least Volek had assigned one adorable alien to our expedition. Though with humanity’s present luck, I’m sure this species would be a genocidal, predator-hating bunch across the board. My sample size in this occupation would be skewed toward those views regardless. It was similar to how the military wasn’t a lure for pacifists, and butcher shops weren’t attractive to vegans.

The Venlil receptionist gave me an expectant look, so I fetched my gear in a hurry. My thoughts were a scrambled mess; tumultuous emotions rose and fell like the waves. If I’d fled Earth like a coward, forsaking everyone I loved, why couldn’t I ditch this job? I didn’t think I could be around the blasted Krakotl for more than forty seconds without blowing a gasket.

Perhaps Volek wanted me to lose my temper at the bird, so she could say she “tried” to hire a human. It felt like the receptionist was setting me up for failure. Something about that stirred spite in my chest. I shimmied into my extermination suit, and followed a steaming Rauln out to the loading area.

The Krakotl rubbed their beak. “I’ll drive.”

“Good idea,” I said coldly.

The cocker spaniel alien was drawing a series of deep breaths, attempting not to hyperventilate. Rauln’s hackle fur was upended, and he climbed into the back of the truck. The Venlil sat as close to the cabin as possible, hugging the truck’s window. That was a discouraging sign, but Volek hired me to expose him to humans. If I was his partner, I had to make an effort to get to know him.

I raised a hand and strode over to him. “Hey, Rauln. Excited to be—”

The Venlil exterminator’s flamethrower shot up in an instant, aligned with my head. Forgetting that I was in a flameproof suit, I halted in my tracks. Rauln realized his usual predator threat was ineffective at the same time I did. He raised his sidearm instead, and clicked off the safety.

The bigoted herbivore scowled. “Not one step closer, demon.”

“Got it. Message received,” I grumbled.

I seated myself on the opposite side of the bench, at the truckbed’s edge. The hyperventilating fourth member of our posse climbed aboard, floppy ears and all. Their eyes darted between Rauln and myself; my “partner” was still holding the gun. The dog-like alien reached a decision, and plopped down right next to me.

My eyes widened in surprise. Even if they wanted to steer clear of the unstable Rauln, they could’ve picked a seating arrangement somewhere in the middle. A pang of loneliness stabbed at my chest, at the thought of an alien being my friend. As much as I hated them all…part of me longed for acceptance. And shit, this unknown creature looked cute in that fireproof suit.

“I’m F-Fyron. Is it…c-cool that I sit here? Or is it like your terr…territorial c-claim?” the adorable alien asked.

“Hey, I’m not stopping you.” Endorphins trickled in my psyche, for the first time in a while. “Sit wherever you like. Call me Will.”

“T-thanks, Will. I t-think I might be sick.”

“Just puke opposite my direction, alright? I don’t need you blowing chunks in my face.”

“Sure. Um, so you d-don’t have a p-problem with me…after the news?”

“What news?”

“…the news. You haven’t heard?”

The truck began rolling down the road, and I seethed at allowing myself to be driven by a Krakotl. Those Rio birds were willing to die to ensure that antimatter bombs got through to Earth. It was possible Luala would crash our vehicle in an attempt to kill me. Leaving an avian in control of my whereabouts left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Well, I’ve kinda been busy drowning my sorrows,” I answered to Fyron. “Heard the birds are omnivores themselves. Pretty fucking ironic.”

The floppy-eared exterminator slumped her shoulders. “The Farsul…you know, my race worked with the K-Kolshians to c-cure the omnivores. And control their past.”

“Oh.” The wind was swept out of my sails, realizing the adorable alien was from a puppetmaster race. “And this is affecting you socially?”

“Yes. Luala and I used to be like s-sisters…s-she blames me for what happened to her species. Now, everyone is avoiding me like a p-plague. It’s n-not like I knew!”

The blood rushed in my ears, as I considered the news in silence. If humanity had a different eye placement, Fyron’s species would’ve “cured” us due to their twisted worldview. It was laughable that I would agree with a Krakotl’s sentiments, but Luala had every right to be pissed. I wouldn’t like learning that someone tampered with my genome either.

A species that hated omnivores this much would want humans dead.

“Will?” Fyron risked a glance at Rauln, but found no support. The Venlil was watching us carefully, and had his gun poised in the event of an attack. “I was just t-trying to be honest. Are y-you angry about that?”

“Did the Farsul participate in the attack on Earth?” I hissed.

“I…yes.”

I was thankful that the suit obscured my expression, because my gritted teeth were on full display. However, the Farsul could see how rigid my posture went. She scooted away from me, and tears fell down her face, but I didn’t care. These monsters were part of the coalition that destroyed my home! They thought my species deserved death, even elementary school girls who loved karaoke machines and baking sweets with their mothers…

That got personally specific, quick.

…so why shouldn’t I return the favor? Why shouldn’t I smash the lights out of every Earth-killing monster I saw?

Fyron inched further back. “LISTEN! I h-had nothing to do with it. With any of it! Everyone h-hates me, for something I have no control over, and it’s not fair. I’m n-not responsible for what my species did.”

Those words made my fists loosen slightly, as they registered in my mind. That sounded like my personal experience as a human on Venlil Prime. There was nothing I could do to escape the accusations, because of horrible things my people had done hundreds of years ago. Some Terran somewhere did something awful, and it was my fault.

It sounded like a familiar script. Most of those words, I could’ve recited verbatim in a memoir. I cursed my sympathy, knowing that the aliens were taking advantage of our own feelings of isolation.

My uncurled hand quivered. “Did you personally agree with the attack?”

“I don’t with what I k-know now, and I didn’t contribute to it, not at all. Isn’t that enough? I w-won’t lie to you, Will.”

A disgruntled sigh escaped my lips, as I failed to remain livid with the cocker spaniel alien. It just wasn’t fair that they tickled all our nurturing buttons. After what they’d done to me, I should stick with pushing them away. Then again, I wasn’t going to get far in the guild if I didn’t make nice.

“Only my friends call me Will,” I grumbled.

“S-sorry, I—”

“But I said you could, Fyron. So I guess this makes us friends, right?”

The Farsul raised her head to the sky, and released an airy chuckle. I joined in with my own growling laughter, which brought Rauln’s gun upright. My mirth evaporated in an instant, and I resisted the urge to draw my own weapon. The incident that befell this Venlil’s mother didn’t give him an excuse to wave that thing at me!

The vehicle skidded to a halt seconds later, and the disgraceful bird hopped onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t fair to push Fyron away, especially since she went out of her way to talk to me. However, there would be no forgiveness or niceties given to a Krakotl. They had assembled and led the extermination fleet, so the universe should be cleaned of their kind’s existence.

Presently, our extermination squad had arrived at the site of the dog’s last-known location. I disembarked the truck bed, with Fyron close behind me. Rauln waited for us to abandon the vehicle, before scurrying out himself. This was the moment of truth: my inaugural assignment on the job.

It remained to be seen if this first mission could be steered toward a peaceful resolution.

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A/N - Part 2 of the exterminator series! William meets Rauln, who definitely isn't fond of his new partner. Volek gives him his gear and a tour of the office, before assigning a Krakotl and a Farsul to join his first assignment. How will William handle the dogs (alongside his new colleagues)? What are your first first impressions of our little ensemble?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!