Chasing Cthulhu (Urf Oomons #2)

Something is terribly wrong. I think my human has been attacked. It is hard to tell from my vantage point. Usually I try to remain hidden as I watch her, but now I have floated up from the seafloor to spy on them. I am still too far away to know the details of what is happening. Perhaps it is Earth-Human mating behavior? Many species engage in courting rituals that would seem violent to an ignorant observer. I do not like it, but if this is consensual then I need not concern myself. But the way she is hanging limply in their grasp, and the pungent medicinal odor hanging on the breeze—this does not feel right.

Drifting closer to the dock, I move nearer to the surface, so my head is out of the water. Now I can hear that noisy little animal of hers screeching and snarling in its high-toned way as it bounds around their feet. And now one of the males kicks out with his lower limb and strikes the animal! This cannot be right. She would never allow her animal companion to be damaged. Obviously, these miscreants are not breeding partners, they are predators that mean her harm.

Without making a conscious decision to do so, I surge up to the rocky shore, next to the dock. They are wrestling her limp form into their land vehicle, and I must hurry, or they could drive off. They can’t escape. How would I track her then? How would I save her from this attack?

I am not a violent male. I have never struck another being in anger and I always work to find peaceful solutions to conflict. All that is forgotten now. They have harmed this delicate little female. My female. The thought of mercy does not occur to me. After silently sneaking up on them, my tentacles working quickly to get there before they can close the door. They have carelessly tossed her in the rear seating area of their conveyance. I grab both males in my tentacles and squeeze the very breath out of them before they can protest. I hear their bones snapping and grinding together as I apply more force, then lift them both high into the air and bash them together. I have surely killed them, but I bash them together one more time to make sure. I heave and toss them as far as I can out into the ocean. I hear a distant splash and hope that one of those great sharp-toothed sea predators disposes of them so that my female does not have to see their corpses wash ashore. Perhaps it would have been better to weigh them down somehow.

Stilling for a moment now that the threat is gone, I take a deep breath and relax my tentacles. I look around, making sure there are no humans who might have witnessed my violent, murderous outburst. There are none. I feel calm. Should I not be dismayed, having just murdered two beings? Soft little human males no less? This was not fair combat. I try to think it over and I feel justified. These males deserve no mercy, no consideration.

I should leave though.

In the conveyance that those males arrived in, my female is still unconscious, thrown over a lumpy seat she looks very uncomfortable. Looking around, I see a length of fabric stretched between two trees and attached with some rope. I have seen her recline there before. That would be a much better place to rest her form until she wakes from this drugged sleep. I carefully move her out and over to the fabric. As I carry her in my upper arms, her weight is warm and lush. Her mane is soft and fragrant, and holding her close is a pleasure. I am tempted to hold her until she wakes.

No. That is a terrible idea.

I deposit her gently in the tree-sling and then I go find her animal. It is alive, but unconscious as well and seems to have a contusion on its brow. And another by its ear. Poor little beast. I place it on top of its human.

It is then that I notice I’m covered in bright red blood. I have gotten quite a bit of it on the human when I carried her. It’s all in her hair. It’s covering my tentacles and upper torso. How did that happen? I must have squeezed the lifeblood right out of those males. Gross.

A swim is obviously in order. But I feel like should do more to ensure the comfort of my human. Will she feel alone and disoriented when she awakens? I should maybe stay and comfort her. No. That would terrify her. I must keep squashing this impulse to reveal myself to her. It would serve no purpose at all and only upset her. Especially since I am coated in the blood of her enemies. I recall that my podmate’s human was so easily startled. No, I cannot allow her to see me. But neither can I let her out of my sight until she awakens. What if those males I disposed of are not the only ones who mean her harm? What if more come and she is not even awake to defend herself?

I waffle, not knowing the right course of action. I need to be near, but hidden. There is a copse of trees on the other side of the outdoor pool. I decide to duck into the shade there and camouflage.