Earth Fathers Are Weird (Earth Fathers #1) - Lyn Gala Page 0,46

a high-pitched scream as its small tentacles all curled inwards, grabbing for that rod. Warm suction cups slapped against Max’s arms and hands before wrapping around him.

Max suspected that a few inches of rod wouldn't prove fatal, so he shoved up with all his might. He drove it deeper into the invader's body. Then he yanked down. Hard. The hook, designed to pull up plating, ripped through something vital. Max smelled the stench of rotten eggs as greenish yellow bile flowed over his hands.

Not willing to risk an enemy at his back, Max impaled the guard again, and his hands sunk into the torn underside. Flesh squished, and Max knew this would feature in his nightmares later, but right now he had an obligation to protect his children. The flunky’s screams turned into a wet gurgle. Death sounded the same in any creature.

Unwilling to prolong anyone’s pain, Max wanted to end it. He ripped the rod out again. The invader’s tentacles slowly uncurled as he sank to the floor. With one final surge, Max drove the hooked end deep into the alien body, this time right through one large plate-shaped eye. Sensory organs had to connect to a brain structure, and that must be the same for aliens because the body collapsed like an underinflated balloon.

Max felt squirming little ones at his back struggling to work their way up. One of Kohei’s tentacles reached around to the front of Max’s unbuttoned shirt, and the top of his head appeared.

“No,” Max said as he held the fabric against his skin with blood-stained hands. “You don’t need to see this.” He quickly backed away from the body, but he couldn’t lose too much time in an attempt to shield the children. He had to clean his hands off so he could climb and grasp tools and find water.

Those were on his short list of tasks to accomplish. His full list included slaughtering all the assholes who threatened his ship.

Chapter Sixteen

Max needed to get to water fast. He doubled back and headed for the nearest crew room. “Let’s get you guys wet, and then we’ll get back to the pool room.”

The clock was working against them. The second an enemy found that body, they would all go on high alert. Any advantage Max had would be lost. However, he had taken the risk in order to save the children, so letting them dry out was not an option.

He rushed to the nearest crew quarters. “Let's get you wet. Kohei, hold your brother.”

As he started untying the bottom of his shirt, he felt the boys shifting around at his back. There was a small service area under the pool room that had an open tank to feed the water filtration towers. The water ran too fast for comfort and Max worried that a stray tentacle could get sucked into the filter system, but that might be the safest place to hide the children. Once the invaders realized that Max was on the run, they would look in the pool.

Max toyed with the idea of leaving them in crew quarters with access to a sink, but he didn't like their odds of they were trapped in such a small space. At least in the filter room, mechanical pieces created niches and hiding spaces. And as James had already proven, the children knew how to hide.

Max slowly slipped the shirt off. The children clung to him, or Kohei did anyway, and he had a firm grip on his little brother. Max pulled the two offspring around. Sure enough, it was dry. Kohei wrapped his tentacle around the edge of the sink where Max had turned the water on, and he pulled himself and his brother up to the rim.

Xander was disturbingly pale, so Max scooped water over Xander before doing the same for Kohei. They were slopping water everywhere, but Max didn't care. He didn't even care if they left a trail for the invaders. He would care about that when they left the pool room. Once they got James, then Max could not risk having their movements tracked.

“Xander, query. Good?”

“No.” Xander said, and it was the most heartbreaking syllable Max had ever heard.

“Okay, let's get you to the water. Let's get to James.” Max lifted the boys onto his back before he rinsed the worst of the blood out of his shirt.

Xander made low belching noise that the translator completely missed. But Max had to put Xander's distress out of his mind and focus on