The Space Spoon

12. Confusion

Pain is never pleasant, yet it is one of the most important aspects of existence. Without pain, it is impossible to claim one actually lived. Tejeda had the ability to make changes to his body while it was still in the metamorphosis stage. It was too late to make further changes to his physique once the procedure was completed.

He once became sick of agony and developed a body with no pain receptors. That was one of the most traumatic moments of his life. Tejeda believed he was invincible, even if he was not. His body was perpetually covered with bruises and sores. Older ones were regularly swapped out for fresh ones.

Because of blood loss, the Nubilae squandered that body. He had his hand severed in a struggle, and before he knew it, huff, he was dead on the ground, with too little blood to keep him alive. He promised he would never do it again. Tejeda cursed his decision when the first drop of acid rain reached his flesh.

He softly hissed when his left cheek muscle painfully twitched. Only two steps he made since he had left the main dome. Another one hundred or so more he needed to reach the west dome. The raindrops were burning through his clothes and blackening his skin.

When the coughing and dizziness started, Tejeda understood that he had inhaled some of the smaller particles in the air. His lungs were disintegrating the same as his entire body. Almost all of his muscles twitched and a full-body seizure was not far away.

The Nubilae fell to his knees only two steps away from his destination. He tried to get back on his feet but his tibia was visible with the naked eye. Tejeda bit his tongue so as not to scream, although he did not know if his lungs were still in the position to do that.

He crawled another step and had another one to go. He needed to get inside before he could return to his natural form. That state wasn't immune to acid either, and his condition would have become really precarious.

When he wanted to seize the doorknob with his hand, he realized he couldn't move it. Tejeda was on one knee, with one leg and both his hands unusable. His skin had disappeared long ago, and now he could feel his muscles starting to melt. He didn't notice when his nose fell on the wet ground and he grabbed the doorknob with his teeth, opening the door with difficulty.

"Hey, what did you hear in the hallway? I think I heard the outside door opening or closing," said Krantz.

Pelt looked at the young recruit in disbelief. "There is no one coming from outside. It is acidic rain outside. Damn it. Calm down or you will drive me crazy. "

“What if someone manages to survive the rain? Maybe with a special suit or a robot.”

“Krantz, damn it! Go and check and leave me alone,” Pelt shouted, pulling his cap over his face. "Excessive rookie zeal," Pelt whispered before trying to fall asleep.

Krantz advanced down the dark corridor, lit only by the flashlight mounted on his laser rifle. The west dome was intended to house all of the equipment and pipelines that were too hazardous to be installed outdoors and too unsightly to be housed in the main dome.

The rookie clicked his tongue as he realized that surveying the entire area would take him hours due to his restricted field of view. He was surrounded by wires, ducts, and pipes, and if he turned around too much he would not know how to return to his comrade.

Krantz sighed resignedly and was preparing to return when something fell on his shoulder. He touched it with his hand only to find a gelatinous mass that resembled a piece of meat in the process of decomposing. He rapidly moved his arm to shake it off from his fingers and then began to look up at the ceiling.

His terrified gaze found the alien, which was clinging with multiple tentacles to the pipes on his sides and standing in a fixed balance above him. Krantz lost his mind when he saw those purple eyes and opened his mouth to scream as his finger prepared to pull the trigger. He didn't have time to do either because one tentacle covered his mouth while another wrapped itself around his arm, breaking his tendons.

When Krantz returned, Pelt was snoring with his hat pulled over his eyes. But the recruit didn't care about his comrade's sleep. He tossed the brown cap and lifted Pelt by the collar. The latter looked with bulging eyes and saliva flowing from a corner of his mouth, not understanding what was happening.

"What are we doing here?" Krantz asked.

Pelt froze. The rookie had crazy purple eyes and his voice was way rougher than his usual one.

“We guard the entrance to the meeting room, of course! What got into you?” Pelt could barely mumble that while his toes scarcely reached the ground.

Krantz put his hand to his throat, desperately feeling his collarbone. “Something is missing. I always had something important here and now it is gone. Where is it?”

Pelt was already terrified. Something was definitely wrong with the recruit and his strength was enhanced. He tried to unhinge Krantz's finger from his collar from the start, but it was useless. "Krantz, wake up man! I don’t know what you are saying!"

The rookie frowned menacingly and threw Pelt onto the wall, or better said, into the wall, because after the impact, his head merged with the concrete. Krantz admired the red flower decorating the wall with its human pistil hanging out motionless. He tilted his head as if he was an animal trying to understand something that was out of his reach. "My name is not Krantz! Hmmm... But what is my name?"