Artificial

14 | Springs

My hand shoots to the blaster in Elias coat pocket, my already frigid body going completely cold. Through the flurries of white and biting wind, a creature that looks like a large, furry lizard takes a step forward, a serpent-like tongue flicking the air.

I want to believe it's friendly, but as more appear from behind it, their orange pupils narrowing into slits as they stalk forward, I know they're definitely not. The creature is strange-looking, like a crocodile and tiger had a baby, then mixed in platypus DNA, which was a shame, because I loved platypuses, and would probably never see one the same way again.

Other than the wind blowing in my ears, the clearing is completely silent. The fuzzy lizards take tentative steps towards me, like they think I'll bolt at any moment. With the snow-depth quickly reaching to knee-length, it was likely any bolting would result in a face plant into the snow.

There's only three, each one likely three-quarters or more of my weight. I point my gun at the middle one, and force my finger to move. It doesn't, and my lungs rattle as pain shoots up my index finger. Frost has formed around my eyelashes, tingeing the world a bright white.

The fuzzy lizard on my left tenses, and in the next second, it pounces, mouth open wide to reveal rows of sharp teeth. I twist to the side, and my shin is caught in a layer of snow, sending me toppling to the ground. Before the lizard can jump on top of me, I fire the blaster and the creature's head explodes, sending chunks of flesh and bone across the pristine snow.

My boot gets caught in the snow as I stumble to my feet, and I kick off the other one. The ice burns my bare skin, but it's much easier to move without the added weight. From behind, sharp claws dig into my shoulders and back, and I jump back before it can rake its claws downward. The butt of my blaster finds the lizard's nose, and it falls back, just before the second one, unimaginably fast, opens its mouth, and clamps down onto my ankle.

The blaster goes off several more times, and I keep shooting, until all three lizards are utterly still. Puffs of air escape my mouth in heavy clouds, and drop the gun, holding my hands close to my torso. I can't tell if the thundering in my ears is from my chattering teeth, or the pounding of my heart.

I need to find shelter. With that thought in mind, I move an inch forward. Every piece of snow brushing against my bare skin feels like sharp knives. I want to sit for just a couple minutes and give my legs a chance to rest. But the ground is colder than ice, and I'm sure any more time in the ice would result in frostbite.

I should put on my boots, but the thought of pulling my hands back out into the cold to lace the complicated boot-lace back up is too painful. So I leave them behind, it's easier to move in the snow without them anyway. There's lizard gore splattered across my legs, but I don't bother to wipe it off.

Move, goddamn it. My limbs stay frozen though, too cold to even move an inch in the snow. I hug Elia's coat closer to my body, but it does nothing. Another low growl reaches my ears, and I curse, knowing I'm dead if I don't run. Move, Mirabelle. You have to move. As if being out in the wilderness alone isn't bad enough, I'm now stuck with the corpses of delicious meals, waiting to be consumed. I'll be meal number four, if I don't get my limbs to start moving.

But it's too late, the blood, noise, and smell of a fresh kill has attracted a much larger creature, one I'm not delusional enough to think I can fight off. I don't see the creature, but I can hear its heavy footfalls, and its laboring breath as it nears.

I turn my head, just as fear forces my legs to unlock. I stagger forward, the couple steps I do take, unsteady, nearly tripping over the thick snow. I lift my blaster again, a simple movement that takes way more energy than it ought to. Pulling the trigger should be simple, yet the miniscule movement of a single finger feels like agony at the moment.