She sat for a minute more, but then began to edge forward anyway. After all, since when did reporters do anything that was logical?
Immediately, one of the things swung toward her. She froze. It could have been staring right at her, but it was impossible to tell with those weird glassy eyes that were all black like those of a bug or shark.
She looked hard at it, but couldn’t tell exactly what the things reminded her of, as they were still basically human shaped, in that they had two arms and legs, but their large heads were receding into their shoulders now. This meant the facial features were spread over a much larger area. The original two large, disc-shaped eyes were now central to a ring of smaller eyes that reminded her of a creepy close-up of a spider.
Morag edged back, but the thing still seemed to watch her. She swallowed dryly. Look away, you creep. But she couldn’t look away either — if the obsidian eyes weren’t bad enough, now the nose was also gone, leaving a single hole covered in a small flap, above a mouth that was the real abomination. It was circular hole that puckered together in a tight ring. When opened the mouth telescoped outward on a cartilage scaffolding, and showed a red, circular gullet ringed all the way down with needle-like teeth. It was the mouth of a deep-sea creature, not a human being or anything else that walked on Earth’s surface.
At last it turned back to the asteroid fragment, and Morag carefully raised herself up to see better. Inside the long shard of glittering rock, she could just make out something glistening purple that throbbed like a muscle or an exposed organ. She lowered herself and snuggled in tight to Anne.
“Listen, we need to get the hell out of here.”
Anne seemed transfixed by the creatures and didn’t appear to hear her. Morag nudged her.
“Hey.”
“Wha…?” Anne’s eyes were wide, but she seemed more spellbound than frightened.
“I said, we need to get out of here. Now.” Morag shifted closer to the NASA scientist and felt things crunch underneath her.
“Yes, I heard,” Anne hissed back, and pulled away from her. “I still think we should try to communicate with them.”
“What?” Morag grabbed her arm and tugged. “Look down — see what we’re sitting on? Fucking piles of bones. I think this is their kitchen. We’re not here for pleasant conversation, we’re here as food, you fool.”
She shook her head. “No, no, no… not me.”
The woman is an idiot. Morag looked toward the opening in the side of the bay area; the creatures had jammed the makeshift door back in place, and she could just glimpse the darkening mist that led to the outside.
Even that tiny crack gave her hope. She felt around beneath her and then grabbed what she at first thought was a stick, but turned out to be a long bone — possibly human. It was a pitiful weapon against the monstrous creatures.
Anne suddenly got to her knees. “Don’t worry, they don’t want to kill us. I know it now.”
“What? How do you know?” Morag’s brows snapped together as Anne then started to push to her feet. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I think they may just want us… for mating.” Anne’s eyes were glassy and fixed on just one of the huge beings.
Mating. Morag felt her stomach flip at the thought. “I’ll fucking die first.” She lunged at Anne, but the woman was already moving away.
Panic welled in Morag’s chest and her head snapped toward the door again. There were shadows passing by outside. It was then she knew her fate was sealed — even if she somehow managed to get past the creatures inside the shuttle, somehow found a way to dislodge the heavy door, and then somehow made a run for it, there’d be even more monstrosities waiting for her outside.
Don’t think you’re going to be able to gab your way out of this one, girl. She gripped the length of bone even harder.
“Mitch?” Anne shuffled a few more steps toward the three beings. “It’s me, Anne.”
Her eyes were glazed, but a watery smile touched her lips behind her facemask. “I came, Mitch. To find you.” She stepped closer and held up her arms. “I know you recognized me out there, before.” She opened her arms wide. “Mitch, darling, I can help you.”
“Mitch?” Morag swung to look at the monstrosity. She was horrified to think that this thing might have once been the human astronaut with the matinee-idol looks she had seen smiling back at her from the NASA publicity shots. And worse, was Anne’s fiancé. One thing she knew without doubt; it sure as hell wasn’t that guy now.
“Get back here, you idiot. That’s not Mitch anymore,” Morag insisted.
It was then all three of the Morg turned to the women. They were so big now they had to hunch beneath the eight-foot tall roof. The one closest to them still had the vestiges of an orange suit stretched over one shoulder and hanging around its knees. Its skin looked plated into insect-like segments, and pencil-thick hairs poked stiffly from its shell-like skin.
The closest Morg leaned its neckless head toward Anne, and she held her arms out wide, her face beaming.
“Yes, that’s right, it’s me. I said I’d always be here for you. I love you.”
The thing just stared with its multiple black eyes, its mouthparts moving feverishly. Anne looked over her shoulder to Morag. “You see, I told you we had nothing to fear.” She turned back. “They’re just as confused about what’s happened as we are.”
The creature almost lovingly held out one hand that had only three thick fingers, all ending in cruel, dark talons. It grasped her upper arm, and pulled her toward it. The others stood and watched.
“Yes, yes, it’s me, Mitch.” Anne grinned madly. Her eyes were almost luminous now.
The creature reached up to grab the top of her head, and then tore her environmental protection hood free, taking some of her hair with it. Anne yelped.
“No!” Morag yelled, grinding her teeth. She held up the long bone, but knew she’d never have the courage to attack.
Anne just stood there as the thing let the hood fall to the ground, and she coughed and held a hand over her mouth. Her eyelids fluttered as if she was going to pass out, but after another moment, her jaw set and she lowered her hand.
“I’m ready, Mitch.”
She waited in its grip, eyes streaming and face red from trying to breathe the foul spore-gas surrounding her, and undoubtedly mixed with the smell of rotting meat and the odors of the things themselves.
The creature craned forward, seeming to examine the woman. Morag felt her sanity stretching — should she try to save Anne, or make a break while they were distracted? It was an easy decision — there was no way she could save Anne, who might even fight her if she tried. The NASA woman had made her choice; she would too — it was time to beat it. She began to creep toward the door.
“See, I knew it.” Anne spoke over her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay; we’ll be safe with them. In fact, better than safe. I think they want to mate with us; start a whole new race. It won’t be so bad.” She grinned like a lunatic at the monstrosity. “We’ll be like their queens.”
Morag shuddered and inched a little more toward the door, but couldn’t drag her eyes away from the abomination and his willing disciple.
The thing that had been Mitch had Anne by the neck and dragged her toward the meteorite fragment, and bent her over it. Anne struggled, grimacing, her eyes screwed from the pain of the Mitch-thing’s grip. But then they widened as she stared down into the split in the rock as she fully beheld what was inside for the first time.
“There’s something…”