Page 10 of Fresh Flesh

8

Mlarx

I flingthe blood off of my ax with a short jerk of my arm, sending it to fall like rain on the crimson grass.

The grass was green until a few moments ago, when the culling began. I turn to look at one of my brethren still charging after the terrified humans.

“That’s enough, Ykiv,” I snarl. “Leave some of them so they can breed. We’ve got plenty to eat already.”

I gesture at the carnage littering the ground. Murah struggles to get them all stuffed into the meat wagon to be taken for processing already. Ykiv looks a bit dejected, but he lowers his bloody weapon.

I’m glad I got to cull some humans. They annoy me so much. Why are they always so sad and upset/stupid beings. They just need to shut up and live their lives…until it’s time for them to make a sacrifice, of course.

It’s not like they don’t deserve it, either. I mean, look at what they’d done to this planet before we showed up. Not to mention the fact that that they were killing each other a long time before we conquered them.

In fact, it’s fair to say that the human race was going to go extinct one way or the other. The way I see it, we at least spared the other lifeforms on this planet the fate of being collateral damage along the way.

I crouch down by a dead human and use their hair to clean the last bits of gore from my blade. Then I head back to the shuttle, whistling a tune as I go. I do love my job.

When I return to the house, the sun has been in the sky for some time. I open the door and see that the house is clean. More than just clean, spotless.

It makes me angry. I know who has done this. The human woman. They allowed that thing into our house?

I turn my gaze on Joras, whose too innocent copper eyes greet my steely gaze with feigned nonchalance.

“Ah, I see you have returned from headquarters, Mlarx.”

“Indeed,” I say, not bothering to hide the annoyance in my tone. “Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“Don’t be stupid with me, Joras. Where is the human woman? I told you to get rid of her.”

The sound of footsteps comes from the next room. Lurg arrives, his face drawn into a thoughtful frown.

“Mlarx, you are overreacting. I said we should let her clean the house and see if she could be of some use to us.”

“Clean the house? We could have cleaned it ourselves. We have no need for a servant. We never did before. What’s wrong with the two of you?”

They both have trouble meeting my gaze. Clearly this human woman has ensorcelled them somehow.

“She can do more than clean,” Lurg says.

“What’s she going to do, cook up some of her own kind for us?” I glare at them. Joras clears his throat.

“No, she’s been pretty clear she does not want to do that.”

“Then what good is she? I don’t want her disgusting vegetables, or her dirty human hands touching my food to begin with. She should be out in the corral along with the rest of her fetid, stinking race.”

Lurg heaves a long sigh.

“Come now, old friend. Just give her a chance, will you? Just give her a chance, and if she doesn’t work out we’ll throw her to the arena if that’s what you want.”

Joras flinches, but it’s not like I believe Lurg would carry out his threat in a moment.

“Oh, fine, let’s let it stay,” I snort. “I see I’m outvoted on this anyway. And I have to admit, it did do a fine job cleaning up the place. It looks like proper Grengoran warriors live here now.”

And so against my better judgment, we let the human stay with us as our servant. She comes down from the attic, where I knew she’d been hiding, and smiles shyly at me.

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