Page 36 of Xefe
“The Oro,” Nieve said.
“No.” Querida shocked us by interjecting, “I want to hear about these dick-less motherfuckers, first.”
I stumbled, my muscles already screaming from beating, and getting beaten by, these two. But I couldn’t hold it in. I laughed out loud—Nieve giggled, and Querida grinned from ear to ear.
“Tell us everything. How did you find out about his invisiblepito?”
United in our need to share, consume, and spill any and allchismewe could get our hands on, I prepared myself to tell the story of my life. For once, I would speak in detailed accuracy. “Welllll, I found out when he took me to his room and stripped down in front of me.”
Nieve slowed her steps. None of us were in a rush to get back to the warriors to find out all the reasons we’d probably die tomorrow. Because the possibility of us actually working together neared zero percent. We took the long way back, winding around broken equipment. “Did he want to get busy?”
“That’s what I thought. But no. He said he had to keep an eye on me because of the supreme. By the way, the aliens are called Aavvee, and this planet is Nozaroc. They’ve never been around humans, and the leader, the supreme guy, doesn’t trust us. Sunny leads the warriors. He asked me a bunch of questions.”
“Dios mío.We’re lunchmeat, Querida. If she’s been talking to that warrior, she’d sell us out in a second.”
As Sunny would say.Truth.
“How did you see the package—or lack thereof?”
“He let me take a shower after he took one, to get rid of the lice.Mierda.” I slapped my hands against my scalp. “Are you two still infected? I don’t want to catch it from you guys.”
“We’re good,” Querida said.
“They let us shower. We’re okay for a few more days until the eggs hatch.” Nieve scratched her scalp reflexively. Lice was a recurring problem in the racer dorms, so we were all far too familiar with the egg cycles of head bugs.
“Good. Now, back to the important stuff.” I scootched around a broken floater and clapped my hands. “I hate to tell you this, but it gets worse. There were two spikes right over his small mound. So even if some sparkling family jewels materialized, I might have lost an eye! Maybe it was a good thing there was a golden sack of…nothingness.” I pursed my lips out in a sad pout.
“All balls, no prick?”
“I guess, but it didn’t hang like balls.” I shrugged.
“Did he make you stay in the same bed as him? At least you were safe.”
“You don’t need a dick to hurt someone,” Querida added in a dark tone.
Nieve and I shared a look over Querida’s head. No one knew her story. She never spoke about it. But at every meet, there were never visiting family or friends. It didn’t take a hover scientist to understand Querida had been hurt. And probably abandoned.
“True. But he didn’t touch me,” I said. At that moment, Querida reminded me of Valentina, and it made my heart hurt. “There’s more.”
“What?” Nieve rubbed her hands together in glee.
“They smell really good. The warrior dudes.Delicioso.” I was willing to share a little of my pain,notbecause I felt bad for Querida and wanted to distract her from dark thoughts, but…just because. Two pieces of discarded metal, probably from the space junk surrounding us, materialized in her hands, and she scraped them back and forth like her throwing knives.
“They smell good? Like what?” Nieve batted away floating pieces of rocks and debris that hovered at eye level from the Floating Stones.
“Like spicycanela.”
They both groaned.
“I know. Try not to get stuck in a small room with one of them. The cinnamon smell makes you crazy horny.”
“Is that what happened to you?” Nieve giggled. “Sorry, not sorry. You deserved it.”
“Thanks. I just survived a coma, but you’re right. I deserved it.”Rude.“I shouldn’t have told you.” I peeked over at Querida, and she was smiling.Mission accomplished.
Nieve laughed harder.
“It was the worst night of my life,” I grumbled. “I think I was humping his leg at one point in the middle of the night.”
