by Ian Woodhead
God, where did all this anger come from? The guy obviously had problems. He jerked his head back, so he didn’t have to cope with this madman’s peppermint breath. “Okay, I’ll admit that I might have made a couple of dumb mistakes. What do you expect? I mean, just look around you. I was scared, okay? Come on, admit it. We’ve all made mistakes. It doesn’t mean we should be put to death. Hell, you’re making a mistake right now. Come on, I’d be on my knees if I could. Stop this now. This doesn’t justify a revenge killing. It isn’t even that. This is cold-blooded murder, plain and simple.”
“Are you done, Desmond?” inquired the mall manager. “We want to get on.”
Desmond glared at the woman holding his arm. He so wanted to bite off her nose. “You need to think about what you’re doing! You’ll all be sent to jail for this. The police will be here any second. Stop this madness before it’s too late.”
Mo laughed. “Yeah right, like anybody’s going to turn up. Even if they did, who’s going to tell them, Desmond? You’ll be dead in another few minutes, and we won’t be saying anything.”
This so wasn’t fair. Desmond hadn’t done anything wrong. He certainly didn’t deserve whatever fate these maniacs had in store for this poor janitor. The security did have a point, though. They would get away with killing him.
Zinik-Tow had already informed him that the hairless vermin infecting this planet would be too distracted with other events to care about the misfortunes of the last few survivors within this building. Apart from saying that his great enemy’s plan was now unfolding, he refused to elaborate. After what Desmond had seen so far, he doubted that the bastards would be organising a charity gala.
Even if by some miracle somebody did get in here, how long would they last before the rampaging dinosaurs ate them or the soldiers on the next level turned Desmond’s rescuers into horse glue?
Desmond lunged for the bitch’s face, but her reaction was far too attuned. His snapping jaw clacked on fresh air and he ended up with a tight fist crashing into the side of his head.
“Do that again, you little shit, and I’ll—”
“You’ll do what, you fat cow?” he spat. “How can you make it any worse?”
Mo stopped and grinned at Mrs. Killmore. “I know you said you wanted to feed him to the dinosaur in the furniture shop, but maybe we should do this ourselves.”
“Mo, I thought we had already decided that throwing him off the balcony would be too quick.”
“I know that, it’s just I thought we shouldn’t let something else do the job for us. I thought that maybe we should grab some sharp knives and slice him up a bit. You know, like one slice for every poor sod who’s died because of him.”
The middle-aged aged man nodded eagerly. “I’ve heard of that. It’s called a death of a thousand cuts. It’s meant to be one of the worst ways to die. Yeah, I reckon we should do that to him. It’s what he deserves.”
The woman sighed. “Fine, whatever. Why don’t you three go have a look what you can find behind the eatery while we keep hold of him. Just be careful in there. There’s still a few of those nasty little ones scampering about.”
Desmond watched the others run off, leaving just him with these two. He figured that all he had to do now was to find some way of disabling just one of them. The cleaner’s entrance was only a few minutes from here. Desmond could lose them in the passageways behind the walls. They’d never find him in there.
“Can I slice him first?” asked Mo. “You know, for old time’s sake.” His dark eyes focussed on Desmond. “To show this dirty little thief that I’m not an idiot, and I know he’s been stealing food for months.”
The woman told him to be quiet. “Don’t let her speak to you like that,” said Desmond. “By the way, I once crapped on your desk. I wiped it everywhere too.”
“I’m going to enjoy cutting you up, you vile little man.” He drew his index finger along Desmond’s forehead. “That’s where I’ll make the first cut.”
“I mean it, shut it, both of you.”
Desmond had no intention of being quiet, not now he’d seen what the woman had spotted. “You like to spy on people. I guess that’s part of your job, but I watch and notice things too. Like that time when you were rubbing yourself this morning when that woman bent over in the eatery. Bet you even have a camera installed in her office too. In the toilets as well, I bet.”
The man clenched his fist and swung his arm back. “One more word,” he yelled. “Go on, I dare you!”
Mo obviously hadn’t noticed the blood draining from the woman’s face or that they now had company. Who’d have thought it would have been so easy to aggravate a security guard? Desmond thought that having a thick skin kinda came with the job. Like a thick hide that comes with that dinosaur currently sneaking up behind Mo. A dinosaur which Desmond had seen before. He wanted to hum a happy little tune. It turned out that somebody did love this poor little downtrodden cleaner after all.
The woman had already removed her hands from Desmond’s clothing and finally, the penny dropped with Mo. Desmond wasn’t sure if it was the sight of his accomplice backing away, Desmond pushing out his tongue, or that perhaps the feathered animal had unintentionally made a noise in its approach. The security guard slowly turned at the exact same time as the dinosaur jumped five feet into the air and performed a vicious roundhouse kick. Its elongated talon sliced through both of Mo’s cheeks. It followed this by disembowelling the man before he even fell onto the tiles.
Desmond dropped low when the animal leaped over his head. He stopped grinning at the sight of the dying man’s hot blood spreading out from his body and turned to watch the dinosaur jump onto Mrs. Killmore’s back. Its jaws fastened around the back of her neck, and within seconds, her shriek was cut short as its curved teeth ripped through skin and muscle.
The rest of Desmond’s ill-fated execution squad looked over the sandwich bar counter and, bless their cotton socks, they even had found a couple of knives. Desmond so wanted the dinosaur to run after them too, but it just flipped the woman onto her back and bit out her throat before trotting back over to where Desmond stood. The temptation to pat it on the head was so great. In the end though, he decided against it. He wanted to keep his hand attached to his wrist.
The dinosaur squawked a couple of times, and then ran over to the corridor which led to the toilets. The other three still stared at Desmond from behind the counter. How dumb were they? He gave the buggers a mock bow. “I’m living with the enemy, you bitches,” he screamed. Desmond spun around and kicked Mo as hard as he could in the balls before running after the dinosaur. Oh God, he couldn’t wait to join up with Zinik-Tow again. He could even forgive his pal for leaving him all alone in that timeship now that he’d sent his pet dinosaur to kill the people wanting to murder this poor janitor. “You need a name, I think. If you don’t mind, I’m going to call you after my mother. Yeah, Susan. It’s such a fitting name for such a nasty violent bugger like you.”
Chapter Fifteen
That one was never going to stop begging! She so reminded Gloria of Jessica, her ginger cat. That old thing never knew when to quit either. Still, at least with Jessica, she didn’t have to worry about the cat’s teeth snapping off the tips of her fingers. “You are such a greedy little monster, Julie,” she chided. “For that, you can miss out on your next turn.”
She stopped feeding her gathered collection of little brown dinosaurs to watch a larger monster run down and catch a dinosaur with a large frill on its neck. She hadn’t seen one of those in here before. It sure did look familiar. Lordy, Gloria so wished David was here with her. That clever young man knew all their names. She remembered just a couple of weeks ago when the store refreshed the stock for the toy fixture. He got so excited when one of the boxes contained a bunch of plastic dinosaurs. He then did something very naughty and ripped open one of the packets. David just smiled at her and said it must have been damaged in transit when she raised the issue.
Gloria tore off a str
ip of meat and threw it at Jasmine. Unlike Julie, that one hadn’t moved off the red plastic chair. She was such a good girl. David had lined up all the little dinosaurs on an upturned box, and then flicked three of them onto the floor. When she had asked why he’d done that, David explained that those crappy Chinese-made toys weren’t anatomically correct. He said that a Stegosaurus, a Diplodocus, and an Ankylosaurus never had teeth like a pissing lion. She looked into the mouths of her new friends. Both Julie and Jasmine belonged to the same species, and they certainly had teeth like a pissing lion. Her new friend dwarfed Julie and Jasmine. She had named her Jane, and her teeth were even larger. “You lot aren’t crappy Chinese made toys, that’s for sure!” She giggled when Jane put out her forearm. Gloria clapped in delight. “That is so cute!” She threw Jane a larger piece. “David would know what you were called.”
Gloria wiped her bloodied fingers on the side of her uniform and thought back to when all this weirdness started. She knew David had sneaked off again. The little scamp was terrible for shying away when the store was quiet. Still, he was young though, and back then, she didn’t have any care about developing a work ethic either. As long as David didn’t pull his trick when there were lots of people in the shop, she’d keep his secret between themselves.
She turned around, watching some more commotion just outside the eatery. That was the mall manager and that security guard who’d helped her the other day. He was such a nice man. Gloria wondered why they had that janitor. She didn’t like him at all. The way those creepy eyes stared at you, it fair made her feel dirty inside. Gloria let them to get on with whatever they were up to. It had nothing to do with her.
Gloria hoped both David and Jefferson were all right. She had seen quite a lot of people come and go while she’d been sitting here, opposite the Chinese buffet stall. Gloria had seen quite a lot of people being eaten up as well. She pulled off another strip of meat; this time, she gave it to Julie. Thankfully, none of those eaten people were her fellow work colleagues. Gloria wouldn’t know if she’d be able to keep her usual chilled out state if David was dead. He always used to say that she’d make a fortune if she could bottle her placid composure.
Maybe if all those silly people would calm down and maybe stop running about then those dinosaurs wouldn’t be eating them. It was like dogs, really. Her mum always told her never to run from a barking dog. Not that dogs ever did bark at her. Gloria always had a way with animals, no matter what species they belonged to.
Both Julie and Jasmine had a long neck, a bit like an ostrich but without beaks attached to their small heads. Their lizard tails and thin, long arms made it clear that they weren’t birds. Yet, the new addition turned Gloria’s theory right on its head as Jane sported a plumage which belonged on one of those birds of paradise. Unless Jane had ripped the feathers off those birds. “Is that what you did, Jane, you naughty bully?” The dinosaur tilted its head to the side and let out a squeak. It then lowered its body and bobbed its head up and down.
“Okay, I get it, ladies. Stop it with the yapping and hand out more tasty bits.” She threw them all some more lumps of meat. “You are such funny onions.”
The event beyond the tables took a turn for the worse when another larger dinosaur sneaked out from the toilet areas. It looked very much like Jane but three times the size, and probably twice as mean.
Gloria busied herself with keeping her new friends happy when the blood began to flow. Thankfully, the fun and games only lasted a few minutes. While she threw another treat to Jane, Gloria wondered if it was bad of her to wish the ill-tempered dinosaur had chewed up the nasty janitor as well.
She switched her gaze from that horrid man’s departing form to give Julie such a look. “Now, you. Don’t start this again, little lady. I thought you’d already learned your lesson. I’ve only just given you a piece!” She jumped back in her chair when all three leaped onto the table, bent their heads, and hissed at Gloria before jumping down and darting in opposite directions.
“Well, that’s charming,” she muttered. “Leave me here and alone. See if I care.”
“Would you mind if I sat on your table?”
Gloria blinked away the surprise. Where had he come from? Gloria’s hearing was much better than most, but she hadn’t heard this one at all. Gloria smiled up at this handsome young man. Not that she was going to complain. He might have given creeping Jesus a run for his money, but this one sure was prettier.
“Not at all. Just mind the mess. My three previous fair-weather friends don’t have the greatest of table manners.” She clamped her jaw shut, aware that the sudden presence of this mysterious, pretty thing had caused her to run off at the mouth. Where had this one come from? He certainly didn’t look at all bothered about this dinosaur invasion or that the tiles were covered in bloodied chunks of meat.
“I find you fascinating. You do not fit into any of the several social behavioural categories that I have used to define your confusing species.” He placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Does my presence trouble you?”
“Oh my, you sure know how to charm a girl off her feet,” she replied sarcastically. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we start again, this time with an easier sentence? I know. Why don’t you tell me your name? I’ll go first. I’m Gloria. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It was weird to her how his face seemed to shift. One second he was the spit of that pretty boy advertising Cougar aftershave, who was currently gracing the window of Sandy’s store. The next he looked just like her father, back when she saw a little girl. Gloria had to look away before he gave her a headache.
“You wish to know my full name? I am not sure that is appropriate, considering you are just a herd creature.” He moved his chair to the side when Gloria’s three friends reappeared and danced beside her. “That is something which I did not think possible,” he said looking at the three killers.
She pulled off three more strips and threw them into the air. It was nice that the three girls had returned. Also, this new chap didn’t look all too bothered about his presence. “I’m happy with which name you give me, honey. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“I am Dailess-Zaid. Destroyer of Cetis Five, devourer of the Sons of Maulis-Bow, and first commander of the Soorlin-Del Quantum Capsule.”
“Well that’s a bit of a mouthful for little old me. Will you mind if I just call you Dailess-Zaid?” Gloria leaned forward and studied this rather charming young man. He was so out of place in here. In fact, if she wasn’t wrong, it might be more out of this world. “So, I take it all this disruption is your doing?”
“Why would you suppose that?”
She shrugged. “I guess your long name does kinda give away your job, honey. There aren’t many folk who wash cars or hand out fries who have such a fancy title.” The three girls had gone again. Not too far this time, though. They decided that the ex-mall manager’s ripped-open throat was a more attractive meal.
“This was my laboratory. I am a cautious individual. More cautious than others of my race. I believed study and experimentation was the desired cause of action in this alien environment. Yet, despite my cautiousness, nothing has gone to plan. My race is doomed to extinction.”
He looked up from the table.
“I followed doctrine for first contact. I sealed and subjugated this dwelling’s inhabitants. I learned everything I could about your present conditions as well as your extraordinary rise to becoming the top of the food chain. Doctrine is adamant regarding the cataloguing of a new species. Everything from the species genetic assembly to social and historical references. This needs to be complete before we remove you hairless vermin from the surface of the world you stole from us.”
Gloria nodded in sympathy. It was nice to see that someone else hadn’t been having a great day either. She wanted to tell him that at least he didn’t have to worry about the casserole she’d placed in the slow cooker before starting work. By now, it was bound to be burnt to a crisp, unless M
rs. Jackson from number ten had popped round to check on her. No, she decided not to share that with this handsome man. He had enough problems.
“I followed doctrine and yet I failed. Even the annihilation of your species has not gone to plan. My techs did not anticipate the vast amount of genetic diversity within the individual we used to seed the contagion. We do have two more infected, but they escaped before we could displace them to the other continents.”
Gloria patted the back of his hand. “Sounds to me like you haven’t had the best of days.” She slid her cardboard cup across the table; thankfully the three girls hadn’t knocked it off the table. “I think you need this more than I do.”
He ran a finger around the rim. “A liquid?”
She giggled. “You sure are quick. Yes, it’s a lovely cup of tea. A cup of tea makes everything better. That’s what my dad always used to say.”
“I still don’t understand what compelled me to speak to you. Doctrine commands that all lower forms of sentient life insult the Great Deity.”
“I wouldn’t let a little thing like that worry you too much, love. I’ve always had a way with animals.” She looked him straight in the eye. “And I think you fall into that category, love, because you sure as heck are not human, despite that fancy gadget you’re using to mask your proper face.”
“After a comment like that, I should strike you down.”
“You’d better drink your tea before it gets cold.” She lightly squeezed his hand. “Before you do that though, perhaps you had better finish what you started. You’ll feel better for it, believe me. Problems are always better when you share them.”
He tapped his finger on the table. “This one here, the one you call Jane. She is my ancient ancestor. My species evolved from her. She is a formidable predator. Her intelligence, speed, and cunning is matched with her bloodlust. This animal feasted on the vermin which would eventually give rise to your pitiful species.”