Page 31 of Monstrous Rampage
Swallowing my dread, I held out my right wrist. While Snyder put the teleport bracelet on and adjusted it to stay locked, I gave myself a pep talk.
This is just a first date. You’ve survived bad first dates before. He can’t be worse than Brandon. Though he didn’t try to eat me on our first date. Ha. He never ate me. Not once. Not that I wanted him to.
“The training room is programmed to simulate the jungles of Guatemala,” Snyder said. “We thought it might put you more at ease to be in a familiar location. Take a stroll, enjoy the scenery, and talk. That’s all.”
Nodding, I took a deep, steadying breath. “What is?—”
Everything went black. All my senses. I couldn’t hear or feel or see anything.
Then jungle sounds washed over me. The screech of night birds and insects. Lush vegetation. Humid, warm air.
“—Teleportation like?” I finished the sentence I’d started.
“It’s like jumping, if you’ve traveled with a BGR,” the same male voice I’d heard earlier replied from behind me. Because of course I got dumped into this exercise with the threat fucking behind me.
I whirled around so fast I staggered. The dynos’ head jerked back slightly, his black eyes widening, though no whites showed. He stood ten paces away. Close enough to easily chase me if I decided to bolt, but not close enough to breathe down my neck.
“Though there are limitations,” he said slowly, lifting his hands, palms out. “Am I conversing in the correct language, Holly?”
For a moment, all I could do was stare. He was bigger than Snryx. Wider, thicker, built with heavy shoulders and tree-trunk thighs. I’d seen the picture, of course, but it hadn’t captured the sheer scale of his size. Even his feet and hands were huge. His skin was a deep, vibrant red. No hair, as expected, but noimplements, either. Not like Snryx’s tentacles that coiled down his back whether he was his SPX or humanoid.
“Where are your implements?” My voice quivered a little, my heart still pattering far too fast. Though my brain was engaged in question mode.
He turned his head to the side and pointed to a black circular spot where his ear should be. “They’re retracted inside until I need them. Since I only have two, they’re more sensitive to damage and are safer inside my skull.”
Which explained the more hammerhead oblong shape of his skull. I ran my gaze down his barrel chest and tried to skip over his penis but it was absolutely distracting. The longer I looked at it, the more he—it—responded.
There’s no way that’s going to fit inside me.Blushing, I dragged my gaze away to the trees.Oh really? Pretty sure Syko was even bigger.
“In hindsight, my designers should have engineered my genitals to be retracted as well. Though I suppose they didn’t expect me to ever need to use or protect them, not like my implements. Some dyni can retract theirs inside their bodies, depending on what they’re crossed with.”
“Rizan has two dicks,” I blurted.
Then immediately blushed even more, my face so hot I resisted the urge to fan myself. “Sorry, never in a million years should first date conversations include genital comparisons.”
“We can converse on any topics you wish. If I’m unfamiliar with the subject, I’ll query my databanks or ask Snyder for access.”
I snuck a quick glance over at him. He didn’t appear to be embarrassed or upset, though his erection was still half-mast. “How do you know Snyder?”
Rekt blinked, red eyelids completely concealing both of his eyes for a moment. “He’s an agent representing unknowncontrollers outside of DSC. That is the extent of my knowledge. Who’s Rizan?”
“He’s a Comms specialist in Natalie’s squad. Pteron class.”
“One of the few dyni that are still hatched in large numbers.”
I started to walk toward the trees. Rekt fell into step beside me. Close but not close enough I felt the urge to put distance between us. “Not engineered, then. Why in large numbers?”
“Culling. Natural selection at its finest. It’s not uncommon for an entire aviary to be exterminated until only the survivors are passed on into the program.”
Aw. Poor Rizan. Or maybe not. How many little pterodactyls had he eliminated to make it into Dynosauros? I probably didn’t want to know. “You were engineered, not hatched, right?”
“I am experimental, so yes, completely engineered.”
“What was your life like before this?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Slowing, I paused beneath a large ceiba. Thick spikes covered its bark, and it towered over us, easily a hundred feet tall. Thick buttress roots spread across the ground, making treacherous little valleys and holes.
“Regretfully, I’m unable to answer your question, Holly. I have no memories of missions before this one.”
