Chapter Eight – Piss Poor Disguise

Chapter Eight – Piss Poor Disguise

“Some of these people, they treat us like gods, like saints. And some of us, we allow it, encourage it.

People need their hope, and sometimes that comes at the end of a katana. I don’t know whether believing in the god among men is better than worshipping some uncaring bastard in the skies. I just know that neither option feels right.”

— The late Silver Hoop, 2035

***

We needed to regroup.

I stared over Lucy’s head at all the kids milling about. They were giving the dead aliens a wide berth. Some were staring blankly at the two bodies just… left there. I counted two more adults, a few teens that were close to my age. The kittens were all accounted for, at least.

“We need to find a way out of here,” I muttered into Lucy’s hair as I held onto her.

“Can’t we just stay, wait for help, for a samurai?” Lucy asked.

I pulled back and smiled down at her. I wanted to tell her that things would be alright, but we weren’t in the habit of lying to each other. “We’ll figure something out,” I said. “I’ve got this thing, we can, uh, scout ahead for monsters, then escort the kittens… somewhere.” I waggled the hummingbird around.

“Where’d you get that?” she asked. “And what happened to your chest, you’re all bloody. Are you injured?”

“I’m… okay. It could’ve been worse.” I looked around again. “Junior? And the others. There were a lot more people here earlier. Bitchbot’s not around either.”

“She, ah, she’s crying somewhere. You know how she is about people seeing her like that,” Lucy said. “And the others? They left. Said they didn’t want to stay, that maybe there was a better shelter. I stay cause you were… you know. Um. I sent Bitchbot with them. She was being ah, herself.”

She reached out, and our hands met. She squeezed mine and I squeezed back.

Catherine, now that the most immediate threat has been removed, you might want to consider caring for your injuries. There are several options that would improve your situation immensely.

“Not now,” I said.

“Huh?”

I shook my head and waved Lucy’s concern off. A group was forming to one side, the remaining adults, some of the older kids. A pair of boys were dragging the corpses off to the side where they covered them with thin blankets they were pulling from a supply closet at the back.

“Wanna watch the kittens?” I asked. “I think I should be with that group.”

“They should be okay,” Lucy said as she looked over to our brats. “They’re tough, tougher than those religious kids and the preppy ones.

It only took a glance to see how the others were handling things. The religious kids were forming a little prayer circle. The preppy kids, all of them looking like they’d come fresh out of some shitty daytime tv highschool were panicking, some of them on tablets, others tapping at the side of their temples as if that would help their gear connect. I couldn’t imagine the net staying up with an invasion was ongoing.

Compared to them, the kittens looked alright. Not great, but alright. Nose was picking his namesake, the twins were huddled together, Daniel was talking to some of the others with big gestures and a smile on.

“Yeah, alright,” I said. We moved over to the group, Lucy hanging off my side and dragging her crutched behind her one-handed. I pretended not to hear the squelsh as we stepped on something wet.

“We need to stay,” one of the adults was saying, some bald man that looked like a poster boy for one of those before and after commercials where the guy started as a wimpy office worker and ended up some sort of super model.

“Our protectors will come,” a girl said next to him. She was pretty enough, with long blonde hair and a face meant for smiling. As it was, she was frowning at the man across her, hands idly fiddling with a rosary of all things. It fit in with the ‘almost a nun’ uniform she had on.

“What’s the sitch?” I asked.

Four pairs of eyes turned to me. The girl, almost-baldy, a teacher-looking woman that was trembling and an older boy that looked like he could have been from our orphanage.

“You’re the one that killed the monsters,” the nun girl said. “Thank you. Our protectors look fondly upon those that protect themselves.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “Yeah, sure,” I said. “I just happened to have the gun is all.”

“Are you certified to use that?” baldy asked.

I blinked at him, then looked at the three dead aliens in the room. “No. No I’m not. Wanna do something about that? Maybe call the local sec forces?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Don’t be belligerent,” he said.

“Do go fuck yourself,” I said.

Nun girl coughed. “Please, both of you. It’s not the time for this. We need to decide on what to do, and now. If we stay… I can lead the children in song and prayer while we wait, and if we go, then, then we need to decide where we’re going.”

“I don’t think singing will help,” I said. I frowned. My words sounded a bit slurry. “I… I’ve only got twelve rounds left in this thing. It’s a big room and…” I trailed off.

“Cat?” Lucy asked.

“I’m fine,” I said.

You are not. I’m afraid that the blood loss was more substantial than I had initially predicted. Or, as is most likely, you opened up your wound while running. Your blood pressure and temperature readings suggest heavy internal bleeding.