Page 2 of Ragnar

“No.” I all but growl, shocking them and myself. We are usually mild tempered with one another, Michelle being the usual hothead. Steph is already shaking her head before I get another word out.

“You are not some god-forsaken avenging angel. You do not have to constantly save us. I’m the one who used the medicine, I’ll replace it.” Steph snaps back her anger beginning to match my own. As the eldest sister, she has always felt like she needs to be our mother figure. Almost as much as I feel the need to be a protector. Each of us assumed a role that was left empty when our parents died. It leaves us butting heads more often than before.

“Take it down a notch Steph. You can’t even wipe your own ass. How will you fight monsters while carrying supplies?” Michelle mocks, rolling her eyes at Steph as Kaine smothers a badly hidden laugh.

“Excuse me?” Steph questions, stubbornness twisting her features. She hates it when we gang up on her.

“You heard me. You can’t go out and get the supplies even if you wanted to. Monsters for miles would be running at the smallest whiff of the infection in your arm. Remember what happened when one of us went out to grab vegetables and accidentally cut ourselves? We barely made it inside before that beast broke in. The warehouse still bears the scars. That leaves me, Kaine and Reggie.” Michelle waives Steph’s building arguments away before turning to face Kaine and I.

“I can’t go out either.” Kaine sheepishly admits, her cheeks turning pink. Confused, I open my mouth to ask the question we all have before she points down at the junction of her thighs. Understanding makes me and Michelle gasp and nod before facing one another. Going out on a mission while on your period is a hard no. The monsters would smell her immediately and she would be lost to us. Now I only have one sibling to convince. Michelle opens her mouth to speak but I cut her off.

“You went out last. It is my turn if the other two cannot. End of discussion.” I flood a sense of confidence I don’t feel into my words, hoping she won’t argue with me. Her eyes glare daggers at me as she crosses her arms and I prepare myself for a verbal beat down. Whatever her argument is, it will not work. I am going out whether they agree or not. I cannot lose them.

To my surprise she takes a deep breath before nodding slowly. Steph lets out an angry curse before running out the room, angry that I got my way after all. Deep in my heart I know that her love for me makes this a hard pill to swallow, but I’d rather die knowing they were safe than sit idly by while they risk their lives.

“I know she hates that you feel like you must go out so that we do not, but in this instance you do. My period is going to start soon. If I got trapped outside, then I might not come back either. Make no mistake, I do not want your ass going out, but we have no other choice.” Her tone is grim but inside I am celebrating.

Chapter Two

*Ragnar*

The warehouse is cramped and smells like musty, forgotten human technology. It is a hard cry from comfort, but I do not complain as I crouch in a far corner, watching the covered stairs that lead down into the human dwelling. It is the only source of entertainment in this foreign hell. A dangerous one, considering the weapons this group of humans has at their disposal, but one I am willing to take.

I can hear them now, the vibrations as they move around calling to my baser instinct. Ignoring the predatory voice in my mind that demands I kill, maim and murder, I focus on the logic and intrigue. Just to be sure, I crouch further behind the machinery, a tractor, so that not even the sail upon my back is visible.

Some of the human women wouldn’t notice even if it was, traipsing out and about with no care in the world, but there are two who wouldn't hesitate to spot my sail and spikes. They are the ones that intrigue me, calling to the male within me, shutting out the snarls of the beast.

I’ve watched these particular humans for months now, the only highlight in my otherwise dim existence. This part of Earth is similar to my home world, but the air quality and weather patterns are miserable. Right now, the weather is so hot as to feel like my organs are boiling beneath my skin. How the humans dealt with it for so long is a mystery to me.

The shadows of the warehouse are simply a perk to watching them. The other perk is that I have something to do, something to focus on rather than the slow descent into madness that plagues my kind. It was one of the main reasons we were picked for this cursed experiment.

A whole slew of human curses come to mind, but I refuse to use them, hating the translator that was shoved into my brain before I was dropped on this hellish world. The trek from Prulen to here was long. Much like the invasion on Earth, Prulen was lost to these invaders, its people torn apart and spread across galaxies for one reason or another.

My fate was better than most of my kind, treated as brutish beasts used in brutal fights to the death. Our nature demands it of us. Even then, this is a horrific fate. We weren’t the most technologically advanced species, but we were happy. We were curing our ailments, including the nature of the beast. The insanity that attacks more and more of the males of my species.

My claws dig into the concrete, flexing involuntarily against the surge of hatred I feel towards the beings responsible for all of this. For taking us from a world that held all the answers, for dropping us here against our wills. The Gilgamites. An unimpressive species with little in the way of natural defenses. Their strongest feature being their minds. The same minds that came up with this “experiment” they wished to perform on Earth. An experiment we weren’t made aware of as they collected all of the different species to dump here.

“They are so loud, I’m sure they can be heard for miles.” A clicking voice grumbles from above me. Fighting the urge to jump up and snap at him, I instead tilt my head all the way back to glare into the darkness of the cavernous ceiling.

“Your clicking whines will be sure to drown them out.” I respond in our shared language, the guttural words conveying my annoyance.

“You could always leave my home. Then you wouldn’t have to hear me at all.” Rolcor responds, his clicking sounding far too amused for my liking. Not that I have any true anger towards him. In some ways he is a reminder of the world I lost. A thread that tethers me to my lost reality.

His species is from the northern part of my world, a reclusive kind that keeps themselves apart from others, but together as a community. He also keeps well out of my reach should I lose my temper. Blasted web building monstrosity.

Humans would call him spider-like with his massive eight legs and hard carapace. Though I must give it to him, his torso and neck are more human-like than not. His mandibles on the other hand, are what nightmares are made of, even for someone as fearsome as me. I’ve been on the receiving end of one of those bites, the venom makes for some nasty side effects.

“We’ve been through this already. I was here first, Rolcor. I simply let you live in the rafters like an insect after I realized you interloped on my territory. Goddess knows you are as obnoxious as one of them. Constantly buzzing in my ear.” My voice is gravelly, my irritation growing.

“You would be bored without me, and you know it. Even a beast as unsophisticated as you can appreciate company every now and then.” He rumbles back, his good nature unflappable. If he were any other manner of creature that was even half as volatile as I, we would have torn each other apart months ago. As it is, we coexist, both of us drawn to the odd grouping of humans that live below us. And as loathe as I am to admit it…the company is nice.

One look at his ugly, smug face makes me resolved to not tell him though. He wouldn’t leave me alone about it for the rest of our days, I’m sure. Our people are not enemies in our home world, but we aren’t exactly companions either.

Our natures are far too different for that. His species, Grexarians, are social beings with a complex social hierarchy. My kind, Memnars, are mostly solitary, fighting our own natures too often to have a companion for long unless we are packed bonded or unless that companion is our mate. Though, even then our nature is to be violent and protective over them.

The sound of the lower door scraping open has both of us snapping our heads in that direction. Mine with rapt attention and Rolcor’s with unbridled curiosity. If he were any other, I might worry he intended to eat the small beings and yet we have both protected them since we arrived. Our combined scents drive all interlopers away.

The first few days were filled with fights and the constant need to mark our territory, but our peace was hard won and long lasting.

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