tobadzistsini
The giant mantis aliens smelled like #prunes and gasoline.
Through the broken door Sophie spied the queer light from the craft pulsing along with waves of heat despite the December chill.
Living off-the-grid with Libby, an elderly tortie who chose her cabin as a new home, stressed her pretentions of self-reliance.
Hauling to the big box once a month in her beater pickup was her only contact with the outside world.
Now she was in contact with another. 1/x
#wss366
Dec 2 at 9:31pmWeb
Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
Sophie watched from her closet, timing the invaders' comings and goings. Every 156 minutes and 36 seconds they changed guard.
Only three times since they busted in.
Libby snoozed in a box, blissfully unaware of the immanent, existential threat.
Sophie held her breath and prayed they'd eventually lose interest.
She shifted to get the blood flowing in her legs again. Something soft pressed against her shoe followed by an ugodly howl.
Shouting "fuck" was cathartic after eight hours. 2/x
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Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
The jig was up.
A pair of the bugs skittered into her bedroom and threw open the closet door. Each leveled something at her as Sophie cradled Libby and nuzzled her head in apology.
One apology for stepping on her wayward tail.
Another for dooming them all.
The mantises looked at each other. Buzzes and whistles must've been their language.
The smaller extended a tarsus aa Sophie curled into a fetal position around the elderly cat. 3/x
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Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
She struggled not to scream, but it leaked out as whimpers and sobs.
Libby resigned herself to the overbearing embrace.
Something poked and Sophie tightened her ball.
More buzzes.
More whistles.
More skittering followed by plodding footsteps.
An accented voice spoke over a burbling sound, "Rise, human. You are in no danger."
A muffled "no" was her only response.
"Please rise" The voice's inflection was kind. The burbling underneath lacked nuance. Sophie decided to get it over with. 4/x
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Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
Precariously balanced upon three spindly legs was a blue entity with tufts of green... hair? Luminous green eyes studded their body as something flapped at the intersection of their legs. "We come in peace."
All the things she imagined she'd yell at the invaders while she played Anne Frank were now forgotten. She wiped her eyes against Libby's fur.
The old cat growled with tempered annoyance.
"You surprise us, human."
Sophie decided the alien should be called Asshole. 5/x
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Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
Asshole squatted, positioning themself to reveal three rugose lips flapping as they spoke. "Felis cattus. Not your offspring. Not considered a 'person' by your society at large. You are Homo sapiens. Ascendant species. You had 3 options available to you."
Sophie stared. Libby clawed her shirt and perched upon her shoulder.
"Attack the —" Asshole warbled something, "— in a desperate attempt to escape or kill them." They paused. "Distract with then abandon Felis cattus as you escape." 6/x
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Show threadtobadzistsiniDec 2
As she imagined that scenario, Sophie strokes Libby's fur and felt the sharp angles of her bony body underneath. "Protect Felis cattus with your life without endangering others." Eyes blinked in sequence, "You chose the latter."
Sophie noted the front of her pants were wet.
As if things couldn't get worse.
"You chose to sacrifice your life for the security of another being wholly unrelated to you." Asshole sounded accusatory. "Congratulations!"
Sophie fainted. 7/7
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