Chapter 8
Edie was at home.
Not her apartment, but her house, the Brock house.
She looked in the mirror and smiled. She’d put on her new yellow sundress with the white ribbon at the waist. Edie gave a little twirl, letting the skirt flare around her legs. Behind her, she heard a laugh.
“You’re so cute, little sis,” a taller, thinner girl chuckled as she wrapped an arm around Edie’s waist and squeezed lightly.
Edie frowned. “I’m not that little anymore, Mary.”
“That’s right, you’re ten today.” Mary grinned and ruffled Edie’s hair.
Edie returned her attention to the mirror, her frown gone but her expression still somber. Mary glanced down, her own smile fading as she scanned her sister’s face.
“What’s wrong? Feeling old already?” she teased, pinching Edie’s cheek.
Edie’s lips twitched as her eyes dropped. “Do you think Dad remembers it’s my birthday?”
Mary rested her chin on the top of Edie’s blond bob cut. “Of course he does. He’s the one who bought all your presents, you know.”
“Did he pick them out?”
“…I helped. Point is, he knows it’s your birthday.”
Edie sighed. “So he just doesn’t care.”
It was Mary’s turn to frown. “What do you mean?”
Edie blinked, her reflection starting to blur as water distorted her vision. “He’s never wished me a happy birthday, Mary. I went up to him today, and I asked him, ‘Do you know what day it is?’ And he just said, ‘Tuesday.’”
Mary hugged her tighter. “Maybe it was a joke.”
“Dad never jokes.” Edie wriggled free of Mary’s grip.
“Edie-”
She turned and threw her arms around her big sister, closing her eyes as she rested her head on Mary’s shoulder.
“Why doesn’t he care, Mary?” she whispered as tears dripped down her cheeks.
Mary didn’t reply, couldn’t reply, except to return Edie’s embrace and let out a deep breath.
Then Edie opened her eyes.
She wasn’t at home.
She was in a cave, wearing a purple shirt that might’ve been Anne’s once, and her nice jeans. It was not her birthday, she was significantly older than ten, and the only other person with her was not her sister but an alien that was currently possessing- no, sharing her body. A very important distinction, that.
Speak of the devil, she thought as she felt something stir in the back of her skull.
Technically, you weren’t speaking.
Okay, okay, no need to nitpick.
What was that?
Edie blinked. What was what?
That memory.
You saw that?
She felt Vivi moving underneath her skin. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, per se, but there was something infinitely disturbing about the sensation of not-quite-liquid substance shifting around her bones, pressing against her insides just enough for her to be aware of it.
I did not mean to intrude. Was it a private memory?
Edie shrugged. Hey, you’re literally inside my head. I don’t think the typical definition of private applies here. Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal.
That memory was not of particular significance to you?
Not really, no.
You were crying.
Well, yeah. Kids get upset, they cry. I was upset.
You are not a child anymore.
I mean, depends on who you ask, but yeah, I’m legally an adult.
But you were still crying.
As Edie paused to try and make sense of this statement, she became aware of the taste of salt on her lips. She reached up so that her hand brushed her face. Her fingers came away damp.
It is not only children who react in such a way when their emotional state is negative. You were upset, and you were crying.
Seems like it, Edie agreed, her stomach suddenly tight. I guess parental neglect had a bigger effect on me than I thought, huh?
A black tendril slid out from her wrist and wrapped around her hand. She laughed nervously.
“Um, whatcha’ doing there, Viv?”
In your culture this a gesture of comfort, is it not?
“Oh. It can be, I guess. Thanks.”
You are welcome.
Edie let her eyes close again, only for them to snap open as a new thought occurred to her.
“Wait, so if you can read my mind, how come you don’t instantly understand everything I’m thinking?”
The tendril cradling her palm split into several tendrils, intertwining with Edie’s fingers. It is like…reading a book. Your thoughts are on one page, the meaning is on another. I can only see one page at a time, and I cannot always understand what I see.
“Reading comprehension. Only, thought-reading comprehension. Heh, sounds like a course in a school for psychics.”
Edie felt a rush of amusement, more vivid than her own.
You have a thing for lame humor too, huh?
I find your jocularity charming.
“Jocularity?”
Your humor.
No, I know what you meant, it’s just…“jocularity” is one of those words your teacher asks you to use in a sentence, but then you never use it again.
It is a word meant to be used only in an academic setting?
Not exactly…sorry, I’m explaining this badly. There’s nothing wrong with using the word “jocularity,” it’s just weird hearing it tossed out like that so casually. Most people don’t say stuff like, “oh ho, what a charming bit of jocularity.”
Is it inappropriate to do so?
Nah, it’s fine to talk like that. Most people just don’t. Anyway, it’s easier to use words that everyone knows the meaning of, so you don’t have to explain yourself.
But if I say I enjoy how you uphold your jocular demeanor despite disfavorable circumstances, you understand me without need of explanation, correct?
Well, yeah. I’m a journalist, so knowing fancy words comes in handy if I want to spice up a piece I’m writing. Besides, the more words I know, the easier it is to sniff out BS when some billionaire CEO is using fancy vocab to pretty up the garbage they’re spewing.
You do not generally use ‘fancy vocab,’ I gather.
I’ve always been a more ‘say what I’m thinking and regret it later’ type of talker. I guess that’s what got me into this mess in the first place.
The tendrils twined around Edie’s hand withdrew only to slide up her arm and onto her shoulder, artificial fingers resting at the base of her neck.
How so?
Edie turned over. Unfortunately, the cavern floor wasn’t any more comfortable when lying on her other side.
I…it was just supposed to be an interview. I could’ve just asked him a few softball questions, been in and out, left the rest of it well enough alone. Instead, I poked the bear.
She startled as she felt something move around inside her head. There was a slight pressure at the base of her skull, a mild tickling sensation moving slowly upwards to her brain, then- nothing. No- not quite nothing- mental sensations taking place of the physical, the feeling of Vivi flipping through her memories.
Drake had you brought here.
Far as I can figure, yeah. Apparently he sent one of his assistants to make sure I was thrown in here properly or something.
He wants you dead.
Yep.
He thought…
Edie could sense there was more to the thought, but it was cut off before she could tell what it was.
Thought what?
He thought I would kill you.
Edie shrugged. To be honest, I thought you were gonna kill me too.
There was a shock of pain, of hurt, and Edie found herself blinking back tears as her chest tightened. She shook her head a little, reaching up and touching the nape of her neck where she’d felt Vivi climb up to her brain.
Because you thought I was a monster.
I mean, what was I supposed to think you were? A unicorn?
Did you know about the others?
She frowned. Others?
The ones before you.
I’m not the first? And here I thought I was special.
They thought I was a monster too.
Edie rested her palm on the back of her neck. Vivi didn’t exactly have a hand to hold, but hopefully the sentiment of a comforting gesture would get through to them. “I don’t think you’re a monster, you know.”
Vivi seized up, unsure how to respond to the irrational anger they felt at her words. She was saying what they’d wanted to hear, wasn’t she? They should be relieved, grateful, happy even.
Instead, they let the pulse of rage flare through their bond, hissing as they withdrew from her.
Oh, you don’t?
Edie suddenly felt a rush of heat, then a chill, and then…emptiness. There was a hunger in her bones, one less distinct but more violent than the one in her stomach: a dull pain as her body cried out for something to fill the void that had opened up inside her.
Her eyes flickered upward. There was a mass, a seething, roiling black mass, looming above her. It simultaneously seemed to be drawing toward her and pulling away from her, and she got the impression that it was tearing itself apart.
She should’ve been scared, and she was, but not for herself.
“What are you doing? Cut it out!” she snapped, sitting upright.
The mass swelled in response, thrashing and twisting in a way that made Edie wince.
“Quit it! You’re going to hurt yourself!”
The mass stilled instantly. Two white spots formed at eye level with Edie, then vanished as the mass melted onto the floor and slithered over to her, sliding into her skin. Warmth spilled through her, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
You really don’t think I’m a monster.
Well, duh. Didn’t I just say that?
You meant it.
Mm. I say what I think, for better or worse. What, did you think I was lying?
Vivi stirred a little, oozing out from between Edie’s fingers to coat the back of her hand. The two white spots reappeared, staring up at Edie with more expression than she would’ve expected what looked like a couple of paint splotches to have.
I thought you were different from the others. I was right.
Yeah…speaking of the ‘others,’ what exactly happened to them?
The eye spots blinked. It was such a cartoonish gesture that Edie might have laughed if not for what Vivi said next.
I ate them.
Edie choked. “Wait, what?”
I ate their bodies, Vivi explained, squeezing around Edie’s hand in what was presumably another attempt at comfort. They were always dead beforehand.
“Oh, okay, good. I think. So, when I’m dead, are you gonna eat my corpse? Because I’d like some evidence left behind when the police find out what happened to me.”
I will not eat you.
“Mm-hm. Then when my body’s found-”
You say that as if you’re going to die.
“Yeah I’m going to die. Everyone dies. Thing is, I’m going to die because of Carlton Drake and the Death Foundation, and when I’m gone I want everyone to know that.”
You are not going to die.
“Unless symbiosis keeps me from starving or something, I’m pretty sure my life expectancy is not great.”
I will not let you die.
“…Thanks, but can you actually stop me from dying? I mean, I need stuff like food and water. Hey, do Klyntar need to eat?”
That is why I consumed the others after they died. There was no hope of saving them, and I needed to sustain myself.
“Okay. How long has it been since you’ve last eaten?”
…I do not know. Time is difficult here.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be dead of dehydration long before anyone figures out where I am. So when I’m dead, if you really, really need to-”
You are very morbid. And I already said I’m not eating you.
“Hey, I’m in the underground cave headquarters of some death cult with an alien who’s been eating corpses to survive. Excuse me if I’m not all sunshine and rainbows.”
Why would you urge me to devour your remains? That seems a step removed from mere pessimism.
“I’m not urging you. I’m just saying, if I die and you start starving to death, I won’t be mad if you…y’know.”
You aren’t disturbed that I’ve admitted to imbibing human flesh?
“Heck yeah I’m disturbed, but you did what you needed to do to keep going. I respect that. Anyway, you already said none of them were alive when they landed on the menu. And they were humans, right? It’s not like you were eating other Klyntar.”
Vivi spilled down between Edie’s fingers into her lap, reforming their eyespots on top of her knees as she pulled her legs up to her chest.
You’re awfully calm for someone in your situation.
“Trust me, I’m panicking on the inside.”
As the words left her mouth, Edie realized how true her statement rang. A swell of panic that she’d been holding back determinedly, refusing to acknowledge, was rushing forward full force.
Oh.
She felt her throat clench.
I’m going to die here.
She wrapped her arms around herself. Her skin was cold.
No one knows where I am.
I might not be found.
She forced herself to breathe. In, out. In, out.
My body could rot here for years and years, and no one would find me.
Her breaths were coming and going too fast. She couldn’t stop.
I’m going to die.
I’m going to die.
I’m going to-
No.
Edie blinked. What?
No. You will not die.
She laughed, a dry wheeze that made her stomach hurt. Because you won’t let me?
Yes.
And why is that, huh? Why do you care so much? Why should it matter to you if I become a corpse?
Edie felt a faint pressure on her cheek and realized there was a tendril cradling her face. Her immediate instinct was to flinch and pull away, which clashed with the irrational, sudden temptation to lean into the touch, to trap the tendril between her cheek and her palm and prevent the end of the contact. Instead of committing to either extreme, her body compromised by remaining totally motionless.
The others died because they would not let me help them. You are letting me help you.
Edie stared at the white eyespots gazing up at her, trying to identify the emotion they were conveying. You’re avoiding the question.
Vivi formed another tendril to mirror the first, framing the lower half of Edie’s face. The black of their form contrasted against the near-white of the human’s skin, highlighting the blotches of pink in her cheeks and turning the blue of her eyes so bright it burned.
You are beautiful.
Edie laughed again, though it was more of a good-humored giggle that she had tried and failed to restrain. Vivi basked in its warmth and soaked up the heat of her skin as Edie’s face flushed scarlet.
“So you won’t let me die because you’re a sucker for a pretty face, huh?” she teased, running a hand through her hair.
Vivi followed the track of her fingers with their eyes. Her hair looked soft.
Yes.
Edie raised an eyebrow. “You know, for a goop alien who’s been living in a cave for however long, you’re pretty dang smooth.”
Smooth, they echoed absentmindedly, most of their attention still focused on the shock of blond that was sticking up at odd angles since its disturbance.
“Yeah. Like, suave, not literally smooth, though I guess you’re that too.”
Impulsively she stroked between Vivi’s eyespots with two fingers. The texture was smooth- slick as ice, but soft and warm and pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat given solid form.
Vivi shivered, withdrawing their tendrils.
Edie blinked as she felt a throb of discomfort, uncertainty, fear, spill across their bond, biting her lip so sharply she didn’t realize it hurt until after she tasted blood. “Crap- sorry, did I hurt you?”
Vivi shivered again, seeming to relax as they did so. No. It’s fine.
“If it made you uncomfortable, I won’t-”
It’s fine. That was…unexpected, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
Edie wrapped her arms around her knees, curling up so that she was eye level with the white spots watching her unblinkingly. “Can I do it again?”
…If you like.
She lifted a hand towards the black mass coating her legs, but hesitated before she made contact. Vivi rippled gently, reaching a tendril to pull Edie’s hand onto their mass. As she began to stroke, they pressed into the touch.
This is comforting for you.
Yeah. It’s kinda like petting a cat.
I like this too. It feels nice.
They stayed like that for a while, Edie running her fingers along Vivi’s form in long, slow strokes while Vivi pushed up into her hand, reveling in the rough-gentle scratch of her calloused fingertips.
As Edie’s eyes drifted shut, she was dimly aware of her hand being caressed by the near-liquid dark flowing over her body.