Page 5 of Invasion of Sorority Z

Keeping his large hand over his heart, he says, “I am of Aprix. We have come to your hu-nim planet to eat.”

“Eat?!” I squeak, flinching.Robots are trying to eat us now too? My God, we cannot catch a break!

“Yes.” He cocks his head again, looking confused by my fear. “Your planet has many dead creatures. Aprixians, my people, enjoy this as a delicacy.”

Oh that’sdisgusting. “You want toeatzombies?”

“Is that what you have named your unliving-carcasses?”

What?“I didn’t name them! That’s just what they’re called. Whatareyou?” I repeat. Because robots do not eat zombies. I cannot accept this knowledge to be fact. Robots don’t eat. Period.

“I am of Aprix,” he tells me again. “Hu-nims have named others from faraway ally-ins, yes?”

Oh Jesus Christ, he did not just say that!

“You’re an alien?”I’m going to faint. There is no way I’m not going to faint.

“Affirmative.” He nods. “My fellow men and I will not be bothering you, we are just surprised to see a lifeform with a proper beating heart. There are others of you here, are there not?”

Shit. Do I lie? I’m supposed to lie, right?

“Umm…”

Shivers run down my spine and my toes begin to feel numb.

“You may tell them to unworry their minds. We will keep your dwelling safe from the impending pack of dead. They will make for a hearty first dinner.”

Dizziness swarms into my head, sickness churning in the pit of my stomach. My eyes become heavy, and before I can think to sit down, blackness claims my vision.

3

Crowberry: A low evergreen shrub with small purple flowers and black berrylike fruit

Marrec

The small female drops to the ground before my eyes, almost as if someone has shut her down remotely. Like a machine.Hu-nims are not machines, are they?

Something similar to panic sets into my ribs, and my chest aches at the sight of her. I can’t imagine she has done this act purposely, and she didn’t protect her head, allowing it to smack against the ground of her dwelling. Her long hair has draped around her body, having messily flown around as she dropped to the floor moments ago. She is very small, and wears a peculiar fabric around her middles. Given her state, I should find this repulsive. Weak creatures are dead creatures. Yet all I feel inside my heart muscle is concern.

I am sliding open the poorly-secured clear barrier to reach her before I really understand what I am doing. Entering without invitation.Invading.

Looking down at the glow on my wrist, I tap a swift message to the others. Informing them that I may need assistance but to quickly discard the incoming zom-bays without me. The last thing that I need is to figure out what is wrong with the hu-nim while fighting off the undead ones.

Dropping to my knees before her, I set a large gray hand to her arm. Shaking softly, I frown when she doesn’t rouse.

“Wake, hu-nim,” I demand, shaking once more. She does not obey, but she does breathe. Slow and shallowly, but taking in air nonetheless. I feel a sickness I have not felt in many turns of the season, noticing a red liquid painting the ground beneath her. She is bloodied.

A flash of a life long forgotten plays behind my eyes, disappearing as I shake my head, refusing to let it stay. Carefully taking hold of her frail body, a swarm of outrage nearly takes me over. She is incredibly soft. This hu-nim could not survive the swipe of my claws to her skin. What kind of Maker would create such a defenseless life form? Who could put a whole race of living beings into this galaxy with such delicate forms?

Swallowing the anger before it consumes me, I turn her into my lap. Brushing hair—sticky with blood—from her face, I almost do not believe what my eyes are showing me. I have seen pictures of her kind before, in our pre-exploration research. I hadn’t seen a face like this one. No, I would remember seeing features so…appealingin the past.

I only have a small mender’s kit on hand, but if I am unable to fix her small head, I will take her to our craft. There will be things to put her together once again so that she may wake and explain why she decided to collapse in front of me. The offending split into her forehead is small but lets out much blood. I will stop it with a cinching bandage.

A little ripple of sound echoes in her throat, never leaving her mouth while I work, sealing shut the affected area. I assume this means she feels pain from the small injury.

I do not like these frail hu-nim forms, I decide. I cannot imagine feeling pain from such a little piece of my face hitting the ground. This is an unfathomable inconvenience, having such soft skin. It is causing me great stress to think about.

Aprixians and many species alike have thick, tough skin to ensure the safety of our kind. Our Goddess must be much more merciful than the hu-nim’s creator. And I do not favorThe Mother, so this is a concerning revelation.

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