The Spec-Fic SmackDown 2024

For his eyes only

There were six of them, if not more. Vermilion with black and blue veins creeping up on their sides, the cubes were now at least fifty feet high. The closest settlement, Comp1L6, barely a mile away, seemed unaware of its existence.

No one on Que1101 could see the cubes. It was not in their DNA. For the billion or so inhabitants, the Highland on the northwest of their planet looked no different than it did days, weeks, or years ago. The clueless ones went on with their lives ignorant of the storm brewing just under their noses, intending to gobble up their entire civilization.

Unfortunately for the tricky invaders, Xu was different in the way he noticed things that others overlooked. Therefore, it was no surprise when the Lowlander, having closely observed the cubes growing larger each day, hurried to his eldest mother and exclaimed, "AaiA, it's still there. In fact, it has multiplied. How is it possible for cubes to grow? Can cubes produce other cubes, similar to how you produced us?"

Xu's mother had grown weary of her offspring's endless chatter about the cubes. She couldn't, however, ignore the four-eyed troublemaker. She had already put off giving heed to his words as long as she could. Her fourth head from the left fixed Xu with exasperated eyes that could write essays about her utterly exhausting day... no, week. "I can't answer that unless I can assess your cubes."

Four purple eyes blinked one after the other. "AaiA, they are not mine."

The act reminded the eldest mother of the humans she had witnessed in her time on planet Earth as a high schooler on a school-organized field trip centuries ago. Xu's eyes were inexplicably human. Before a smile could touch her lips and encourage the young one to pester her further, she returned her gaze to where she was assisting the youngest mother in sewing nets that helped her family earn their living. It took precedence over everything else.

AaiA had twelve mouths to feed. Now that her third husband had gone missing, she had to shoulder his responsibilities as well.

"I know they aren't yours, Xu. How about you approach BaaA," she suggested, guiding the child's third mother, AaiC's, sixth pair of hands in pulling the needle through the web covering her lap.

"He hates me," the youngling said; pouting, he stomped his feet, signaling his frustration. "BaaC would have listened. He would have believed me."

"AkkA," the younger female called, making the wise, older one look at her. "Why don't you go with Xu? You know how persistent he is. You will do it anyway"-she smirked at the young child and added-"eventually."

"Pay attention to the net. Don't try to teach me wisdom." The eldest mother chided, making the youngest mother giggle.

Ignoring the exchange, Xu left. He had had enough of being ignored. "I am sorry to have bothered you, AaiA!" he yelled, turning heel and stomping out of the women's sight. None paid attention, for none had any to spare; they should have.

Now it was up to Xu to save his planet. A place where everyone was unique, and the ones with intelligence had multiple parts of their anatomy that their biology deemed strongest, only Xu's eyes saw what lay in plain sight, all thanks to his eyes. All four of the purple depths were a gift from his father, no, not BaaA, or BaaB, or BaaC, but a human male named Jack Somerhalder, a poor metal worker from a long-gone planet. Earth.

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Word count: 595