tiny body.
Instantly, Magali saw why. A few
feet away, a brilliant red-and-purple Shrieker was engulfing a pile of lakeweed
that they had left for it, its dull black eyes completely oblivious to the two
humans in the cavern. Everyone else on the team had fled, probably crowding
the exits and banging on the doors in a panic unheeded by the foremen and
soldiers outside, terrified the thing was going to Shriek.
It took Magali only a moment to
take this all in, and even less to react. She threw herself at the senior
foreman and they went down together, sliding through the mucus toward the
feeding Shrieker.
“Stop! It’s right—” Anna cried,
sitting up behind them. Her words choked off and her eyes went wide.
Magali wrestled out of the other
foreman’s grip and froze.
The Shrieker was looking at her.
Its lumpy, egg-shaped body was turned inquisitively, its damp black eyes fixed
on her torso. A headache was building, the constant fuzz at the back of her
mind becoming an all-out migraine from the Shrieker’s proximity.
“Don’t move,” Anna whispered
behind her.
The chief foreman—a cranky old
woman by the name of Gayle Hunter who had been working the mounds for over
seven years—scrambled to her feet, spitting insults, not even noticing the
Shrieker. When Magali glanced at her, slowly, trying to motion at the
Shrieker, to show that it was listening for them, the woman ignored her.
Something about her face wasn’t right. The woman’s eyes were too round, with
little crescents of white above and below the iris.
Magali gasped. Anna was right.
The woman had Egger’s Wide.
“How dare you?” Gayle
snarled. “I’ve been a foreman seven years , girl. I could take you to
the Director and get you carted off to the stocks for touching me. How dare you touch me?”
“The Shrieker,” Magali whispered,
motioning with a twitch of her finger. Every other part of her body was still.
Gayle turned to face it fully,
then sneered at the knee-high lump of brightly-colored flesh. “You think he
scares me, you little shit?” She glanced back at Magali and snorted laughter.
“That’s David. He’s not like the other ones. See that notch in his tail? Got
it when a guy ran over it with a food cart. Never Shrieked, never did
nothing. He never hurt a soul. Did you, David?” She looked back at Magali,
her too-wide eyes staring out at her above a beaming smile. “See? David
wouldn’t hurt you. He’s just curious.” Cooing back at the Shrieker, she said,
“Aren’t you, my little angel?”
“Magali,” Anna whispered. “Let’s
get out. Now.”
Magali started to back away, but
Gayle caught her by an arm. “You afraid of Shriekers? Don’t be ridiculous.
They’re just babies.” Then, before Magali realized Gayle’s intent, the older
woman shoved her hand down at the Shrieker’s brilliantly-colored flesh.
Magali bit back a scream as her
fingers touched cold, sticky skin. The Shrieker flinched back and its whiplike
tail thrashed, dragging it away from them, into a hollowed-out pocket of the
cave.
Gayle laughed and started to
follow. “Don’t be scared, David. She won’t hurt you, little baby. I’m
here.” Her hand was like a vice on Magali’s arm as she started walking toward
the cornered Shrieker.
Magali yanked her hand away and
stumbled backwards. The Shrieker’s big black eyes were still fixed on Magali’s
torso. Shriekers, Magali knew, had horrible eyesight. Their black eyes were
simply a collection of nerves grouped together in order to detect motion. It
didn’t know what she was, just that she had touched it.
“Magali, careful,” Anna
whispered.
Behind her, her sister looked
terrified. Unlike everything else in her life, Anna could not pull the
Shriekers’ strings to make them dance to her tune. She was just as helpless
around them as everybody else. Several times after a shift, Magali had
Instantly, Magali saw why. A few
feet away, a brilliant red-and-purple Shrieker was engulfing a pile of lakeweed
that they had left for it, its dull black eyes completely oblivious to the two
humans in the cavern. Everyone else on the team had fled, probably crowding
the exits and banging on the doors in a panic unheeded by the foremen and
soldiers outside, terrified the thing was going to Shriek.
It took Magali only a moment to
take this all in, and even less to react. She threw herself at the senior
foreman and they went down together, sliding through the mucus toward the
feeding Shrieker.
“Stop! It’s right—” Anna cried,
sitting up behind them. Her words choked off and her eyes went wide.
Magali wrestled out of the other
foreman’s grip and froze.
The Shrieker was looking at her.
Its lumpy, egg-shaped body was turned inquisitively, its damp black eyes fixed
on her torso. A headache was building, the constant fuzz at the back of her
mind becoming an all-out migraine from the Shrieker’s proximity.
“Don’t move,” Anna whispered
behind her.
The chief foreman—a cranky old
woman by the name of Gayle Hunter who had been working the mounds for over
seven years—scrambled to her feet, spitting insults, not even noticing the
Shrieker. When Magali glanced at her, slowly, trying to motion at the
Shrieker, to show that it was listening for them, the woman ignored her.
Something about her face wasn’t right. The woman’s eyes were too round, with
little crescents of white above and below the iris.
Magali gasped. Anna was right.
The woman had Egger’s Wide.
“How dare you?” Gayle
snarled. “I’ve been a foreman seven years , girl. I could take you to
the Director and get you carted off to the stocks for touching me. How dare you touch me?”
“The Shrieker,” Magali whispered,
motioning with a twitch of her finger. Every other part of her body was still.
Gayle turned to face it fully,
then sneered at the knee-high lump of brightly-colored flesh. “You think he
scares me, you little shit?” She glanced back at Magali and snorted laughter.
“That’s David. He’s not like the other ones. See that notch in his tail? Got
it when a guy ran over it with a food cart. Never Shrieked, never did
nothing. He never hurt a soul. Did you, David?” She looked back at Magali,
her too-wide eyes staring out at her above a beaming smile. “See? David
wouldn’t hurt you. He’s just curious.” Cooing back at the Shrieker, she said,
“Aren’t you, my little angel?”
“Magali,” Anna whispered. “Let’s
get out. Now.”
Magali started to back away, but
Gayle caught her by an arm. “You afraid of Shriekers? Don’t be ridiculous.
They’re just babies.” Then, before Magali realized Gayle’s intent, the older
woman shoved her hand down at the Shrieker’s brilliantly-colored flesh.
Magali bit back a scream as her
fingers touched cold, sticky skin. The Shrieker flinched back and its whiplike
tail thrashed, dragging it away from them, into a hollowed-out pocket of the
cave.
Gayle laughed and started to
follow. “Don’t be scared, David. She won’t hurt you, little baby. I’m
here.” Her hand was like a vice on Magali’s arm as she started walking toward
the cornered Shrieker.
Magali yanked her hand away and
stumbled backwards. The Shrieker’s big black eyes were still fixed on Magali’s
torso. Shriekers, Magali knew, had horrible eyesight. Their black eyes were
simply a collection of nerves grouped together in order to detect motion. It
didn’t know what she was, just that she had touched it.
“Magali, careful,” Anna
whispered.
Behind her, her sister looked
terrified. Unlike everything else in her life, Anna could not pull the
Shriekers’ strings to make them dance to her tune. She was just as helpless
around them as everybody else. Several times after a shift, Magali had
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