Zombies Vs Aliens: Respawn

Chapter 8.1

Chapter 8

            In the list of fucked up sights I'd seen since the beginning of this trippy nightmare, Fred gorging himself on fresh alien brain was on a fast track to the top. Transfixed, I watched him scoop up a handful, the flesh glistening in the sunlight, shoving it into his mouth in a mindless, mechanical frenzy. The real horror of the moment crept up on me as I stared, the moment my stomach clenched and I realized what the sight of those slimy purple chunks did to me. For the first time since I woke to this existence, I hungered.

            What the hell was wrong with me? I found my hand lifting, reaching towards Fred and his victim, my mind beginning to fizz around the edges. I dragged forward, my sight tunneled on the alien body. A growl brought me up short, like a slap in the face puncturing the instinct trying to blindside me. I reared back, stumbling away, covering my mouth. Fred was crouched over his victim; his eyes catching the sun, luminous as he snarled at me, feral, gone. We faced off, the moment on a knife's edge.

            "Are you going to attack me?" I asked, attempting to evince a response, a hint he was still in there. My speech was slurred. It was difficult to form words. My jaw must have shattered during the alien smack down. Fred stiffened. At first I thought I got through to him, until he arched his back with an agonized scream. The hole in his chest writhed.

            Flesh moved, threads spearing across the gap, knitting the wound closed. I sat down; arms limp at my sides, as Fred healed. Not just his wound either, skin flushed up his neck, covering the exposed bits from before. He didn't seem to enjoy the sensation, clutching the side of his head, screaming himself hoarse as his body fixed itself. The process concluded and left him palming his chest. Was he panting? His head snapped up, startling me. His gaze came into focus as the alien began to dissolve into the pavement. He frowned, his eyes darting around, comprehension dawning. He glanced down at the alien.

            "Shit," he said, frantically scooping up a bit of brain before the body turned to a puddle. I couldn't figure out what the hell he was doing until he jumped to his feet, rushing to my side. So he could shove brain in my face.

            I pushed his hand away, even as my stomach tightened. "What the fuck are you doing?" The words were a garbled mess, the pieces of jaw bone created an unpleasant grinding sound in my ears. The face I got was classic annoyed Fred. Despite the attempt to feed me alien flesh I was so happy to see it.

            "Would you trust me and eat the damn thing." His eyes widened as the handful began to give off the tell tale smoke. "Come on Li, this is a limited time offer!"

            My body shook from the effort not to reach for Fred's offering. Heal us, maybe, but Fred's reaction to the "medicine", the wild look in his eye as he ate, the pain in his voice as his body recovered, gave me pause. Did I really need to talk? Fred drew up, his eyes hardening as he saw me hesitate.

            "Please don't make me force you," he said softly, bringing the handful to my lips once again. A smell hit me, almost like coffee sprinkled with cinnamon, slightly spoiled by a sulfur chaser. My stomach clenched again, sending a twinge straight up my throat and my thoughts drifted again. My body was giving me an opt out, I could surrender to this rising hunger and let it carry me through the motions, or I could make the conscious decision to open my mouth and eat brains.

            Despite the nightmare fodder quality of the moment, I opened my mouth, staring into Fred's animated face as he fed me, careful not to jostle my jaw. I didn't chew or savor the taste, swallowing the fleshy lump as fast as possible. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. While my mind went into overdrive being disgusted with myself, my veins sizzled. I seized up as the familiar feeling of ants crawling beneath my skin rose, except this time the sensation was amplified, like the ants were on fire. I gasped, reaching out to find Fred clasping my wrists, letting me grip his forearms to ride out the wave of pain. I could feel the bones in my jaw realigning, fusing back together, while the hole in my ribs created another immense flare of pain before subsiding.