Page 31 of Xefe
“I see that look, Hera.” Nieve blinked wide, honey-brown eyes, and said in the carefully manicured voice she used on the field, “I’ll do anything to survive. I’ll blow his brains out. Fuck him till he’s dumb. Anything.” She crossed her arms, her full lips turned down in a frown. “And so would you.Bothof you.”
Damn.Nieve spoke the truth. All of us were survivors, and we’d had to fight for any piece of happiness. “Well, you might want to reevaluate the plan.” I shuddered, remembering my lonely night.
“Why?” She eyed me suspiciously.
I spun around, unable to hold onto the secret for one more second. “I have something so juicy to tell you.”
“Wait.” Querida pulled out a few nutrition cubes they’d given us when we first started working in the soup room. She handed them out and then delicately bit into the squishy green block. We were told it had the perfect combination of water and nutrition. “I’ve had worse. Go on.”
I didn’t bother with the food. After my infusion of Oro, I felt satiated. “Are you ready for this? The Aavvee have dick-tongues that are rancid! The feathered aliens, like the supreme. And the warriors… they’rewithout cock. No dick a saurus.Nada!”
“What?”
“Hello, earthers. I am Loxo. Do you remember me? From the day past?”
We screamed and spun around.Busted.Mr. Annoying stood before us, his long arms crossed, his lips tilted in a toothless grin. He had removed the spiked part of his uniform, and his dark hair was uncovered. The messy fall reached past his hips. He was absolutely cover-model gorgeous in a goofy way.
“No, sorry.” I recovered first, annoyed he’d stolen my thunder. Right when I was about to spill some serious tea to the girls. “Never seen you before in my life.”
We ignored him and turned back to watch the racers move to another piece of equipment. They ran along a narrow beam, fighting for purchase because of their bony feet. And when I squinted, I realized their knees bent backward like a bird.Eww.
“You do not? How is this possible? Even you, little one? Do you not remember me?” Loxo looked at Querida, and I swore I saw little hearts flying around his head. “What a shame. I had hoped to speak with you before I returned you to Nime. He is quite…upset.”
Return us?I spun back around and nudged Querida. With a big smile plastered on my face, I said, “Dios mío, Loxo? Is that you?Of course, we remember you. Especially Querida, right?”
“You do? That makes my nethers warm in appreciation.” His purple eye swirled as he watched Querida, who refused to make eye contact.
Made his what…what?”
“You should not be out here.”
“We’re watching the other racers compete. There’s no harm in us sizing up the competition, right?” I continued to nudge Querida. She stood like a stubborn mule with her arms crossed, refusing to interact. “I mean, we could get hurt during the race if we don’t know what to expect. Especially Querida because she’s so small and weak.”
Querida rolled her eyes.
“I would never want that. Perhaps I can answer some of your questions. But hurry, Nime will be furious.” He looked so hopeful and sweet.
“Perfecto,papi chulo, er… alienchulo. Which of these machines will we be using tomorrow?” Nieve sidled over to Loxo and rubbed his arm. He smiled brightly but continued to peek at Querida.
“The Floating Stones. Look there, to the right.” He pointed at a rope ladder leading to the long beam we’d seen earlier. Just beyond it, white stones floated in midair, a few feet apart, some higher, others lower, but always further and further apart. “It is the simplest of the challenges. You climb the rope, run across the plank, and continue over the floating stones as quickly as possible. The first four teams will move on to the Great Race.”
“Earthers! Return.Now.” Nime stormed through the entrance, surprisingly fast for such a massive being.
CHAPTER 14
We huddled behindLoxo, shoving Querida next to him to ensure our safety. For once, she got with the program and clutched his arm.
“Greetings, brother.” Loxo puffed out his chest, clearly ecstatic that Querida was touching him.
“Loxo,” Nime said. “You found them. Thank the stars. If they had escaped their duties, it might have started a mutiny. Why must I always deal with these addled aliens?”
Loxo switched to his growly warrior language to respond, “Fear not, brother. They were with me the whole time. They simply wanted to watch our champions to better understand what they must endure. Surely you can understand their desire to learn?”
“I understand they are useless. And causing trouble in my kitchen! They are not able to do thesimplesttask assigned. They had to stir soup. Nothing else. They are far dumber than I ever could have imagined.”
I clenched my teeth to stop myself from mouthing off. Honestly, I was happy he underestimated us, but I was getting tired of hearing all these insults.
“Return them now.” Nime turned back toward the kitchen. “They will be punished for their actions.”
