Page 22 of Invasion of Sorority Z

Marrec

“You speak truly?” I ask my friend, head full of confusion. S’rah and Stee-vee are where I left them while Terum, Al’rik, Drak and I stand in the cooking center aboard our ship.

“I have seen his soul seed glow with my own trained eyes, Marrec,” Terum explains. “Until he leaves, he is dimming it to hide it from the other hu-nims. But it is true, Rem is mated to the human S’rah. He is attempting to charm her on this journey of de-mating he has created.”

“Who knew Rem could be so quick in thinking up such a thing?” Drak teases, not at all meaning it. We have all seen in truth how quite clever our friend can be.

I give him an impatient look. “And no other seeds glow?”

Drak looks at me with a sly grin. “Why? Do you wish to hide your Stee-vee from our presence so they may not shine to her?”

I take a threatening step forward, and his eyes glimmer with mischief. Holding my anger at bay, I grimace. “Stee-vee is my friend. Do not speak of mating her.”

He chuckles, continuing to poke at me. “Or?”

“Find out,” I dare. “Testme, Drak.”

“Whoa,” a sweet voice interrupts. “It’s like a city of tension in here. Should I…” Stee-vee points her thumb over her shoulder in question.

“You should not,” I grunt, moving to her side. I’m nearly knocked back when I catch a hint of Rem’s scent on her. I cough it back, refusing to allow Drak to see me lose it. “Are you hungry?”

Stee-vee’s face becomes warm with blood, and it is for me. All pink for me. “I could eat. Got anything good?”

“Yoursistershave given us strange cans of food to eat. A dare, from your huntress,” Drak explains.

My new hu-nim friend laughs. I want to crush Drak’s throat for stealing her attention, or embrace him for blessing me with her sounds. “Annahatesthe food,” she tells us. “It’s not terrible. And you eat rotting flesh so, I doubt it’s unbearable for you all.”

Terum expresses our combined confusion. “Rotting flesh?”

“Uh, zombies?” she says as if it is obvious.

I resist the urge to reach for her hands. “Have you seen a zombie before, Stee-vee?”

“In movies…”

Drak bobs his head in understanding. “Mean Onementioned thismove-ees. She says they are much different in reality. Not so gross.”

“If you say so,” Stee-vee says, not sounding at all convinced.

“B’rook also questioned me about this,” Terum comments. “It took me many words to explain to her our diets. Aprixians enjoy a great number of foods. We do not survive on dead-living creatures like your zom-bays. Our planet has a plethora of nourishment sources. Zom-bays here are much like a creature that once roamed around the uninhabited parts of our planet.”

When she blinks at him, he takes it as a sign to continue speaking. “We have learned of planets being infected by diseases similar to the one that has ravaged your home. In the past, we have gone to these planets and observed the creatures the disease breeds. We decipher if they are edible, and if so, we dispose of them. It is good for the planet, and good for us.”

“Because you like the taste?”

“And the hunt,” Drak chimes, offering a grin.

“So you eat zombies… like atreat?”

“Yes?” Terum answers. “B’rook believes people of Aprix have developed tastes for survival purposes. We eat things that do not belong, to rid the world of them. I do not know the merits of her theory, but she is a master of food, no?”

Stee-vee chuckles. “She’s a chef.”

Terum gives her a puzzled look. “This is what I have said.”

She only chuckles once more. Her little fingers wrap around my arm, and I want to pick her up and hold my body to hers. “Let’s eat before I lose my appetite?”

I cannot say no to this creature. So I heat up the strange food gifts her sisters have provided, and sit with her close at our table once it is steaming.

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