Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,25

as instructed.

“That should do it for now,” Koyanara says. “Sorry for being so business-like. He’s closer to death than he thought. Some of those holes go all the way through.”

Shit. “Will he make it?”

Koyanara snorts. “He better, or I’ll disinherit him for being too weak to be my grandson. Yes, I think he will. He’s a resilient type. Which is why he’s lasted this long. The medicines will work. Give him some time.”

I sit down in my seat. Zaroc is breathing slowly, but I’m not sure if he’s conscious.

“Who are those centipedes?”

“The Gurandu,” Koyanara replies. “They are just what they look like. Ugly centipede aliens who hunt other species to extinction for sport. When they were done cleansing their own planet of every other creature, they turned their compound eyes to the galaxy. Our species – we were the Lancefers, for what it’s worth – was the seventy-sixth species they set their target on. That number is very significant for the Gurandu, for reasons nobody cares about. And so whoever kills the last of us wins the game and gets a lot of points. Then they move on to the next species. Zaroc is the last of the Lancefers. When they get him, it’s over for us. But for the Gurandu, the game keeps going.”

I’m shocked. “He’s the last of his species? So what he’s doing now is just running from the hunters?”

“That’s right. The hunt is intense. He has no time for anything other than trying to evade them.”

“That’s cruel. Can’t he get some help? Is there something like a space police?”

“Oh, the hunt is fully legal. The hunting license has an expiration date. But that’s so far into the future that the Gurandu will certainly get him before then. You saw how close they are.”

“And still he was willing to give himself up if they would take me back to Earth,” I marvel

I can’t help it. I reach over and stroke a lock of hair out of his face. I had no idea his life was this bad.

His skin is warm and smooth, not snake-like at all.

“Make no mistake,” Koyanara says sharply. “He’s not typically that self-sacrificing at all. I was genuinely surprised when he went back out to get you. And then I was even more surprised when he gave himself up. He still had a chance to escape. Don’t expect anything like that again.”

I nod. That makes sense. “I won’t. Koyanara?”

“Yes?”

“I have a lot of questions.”

“I’m sure you do. But I’m not an answering machine. Nor am I your grandmother. Despite my politeness, your welfare or understanding of the world is not high on my list of priorities. You want to know something, you can ask Zaroc when he wakes up. He will answer if he finds it appropriate. His vital signs are improving, by the way.”

His scales are a brighter red now, and he breathes deeper.

I sit back in my seat, a little calmer. “Fine. I’ll ask you one question, and then you can answer or not as you please. Fair?”

“Ask.”

“He’s the last of his species. But you’re his grandmother. So there are two of you, really.”

The ship is very quiet except for the hum.

“I think you’ll find that was not a question.”

“Oh. So, what I said. Is it right?”

Koyanara laughs drily. “No, not at all. But I understand the confusion. You see this little metal casing that blinks when I talk? Where my voice comes out? Small enough for Zaroc to keep in his pocket? The thing that you probably think is some kind of communication device similar to your own?”

“Yes, of course.”

“That is only a very advanced computer simulating my personality. Doing it incredibly well, too, if I do say so myself. But it’s not the real Koyanara. I’ve been dead for seven years.”

My jaw hangs open. “You… but… dead?”

“Yes. Killed by the Gurandu in a pretty horrific way.”

“Then… if you’re dead… huh. I mean, seriously… why?”

Koyanara chuckles. “Because, young female, our strong and confident and frankly unbelievably capable alpha male Zaroc just can’t bear to be without his grandmother.”

- - -

I stroll around the spaceship while I wait for Zaroc to wake up. In the living section, I find a small food station that I figure out pretty fast, and it serves me a far too hot meal of a rice-like substance and something that I’m hoping is a vegetable of some kind. There’s water, too.

I sit down on my bunk and take the phone out.

“There’s been a lot of action. I’ll