Under This Thing’s Maw

The tears are impossible to hold back as she watches this… this thing, eat away at all the corpses. The corpses of her co-pilots. Her… closest friends.

With clawed, kaiju sized hands, it shovels their remains into its gaping maw, not stopping even for a second. For the past few minutes, all its done is rip, bite, chew, and swallow what’s left of her companions.

Minute by minute, second by second, it only gets more… agonizing, more distressing, to witness.

She sits statue still, sweaty, trembling palm on her mouth, putting a stop oncoming cries. Her eyes veer upwards after another moment of watching, right up to the things mouth.

Bits and pieces of the others are stuck between the gums of its flat teeth, its two fronts especially. Blood can be seen dripping down its bird like snout, some it falling all the way down to its knees.

She rips her gaze from the gruesome sight, looking down at the elbow she’s currently tucked into, thankful that her brown, red stained locks fall over her eyes.

She just… can’t bear to look at it, not yet. Not ever…

She so, so badly wants to release one sob, just one. The one that has been pounding at her chest and throat, itching to escape.

But she won’t dare. No, she won’t utter even a peep, not in the presence of this abomination.

It takes her a solid few seconds to calm said itch, squeezing her eyes shut, inhaling the moist, musty air into her nostrils… and immediately gag, bile reaching her mouth.

Dear, merciful Christ! She can’t tell if it’s the monstrosity, the body, or both. Either way, it fucking reeks!

Its another few seconds before she swallows it back down, attempting to expel some of the nausea, utilizing slow, drawn out breaths from her nostrils, giving her all to ignore the stench.

Finally, after what must have been two, maybe three whole minutes, she’s somewhat able to repress it. This allows her to chance another look around, pupils shifting on over to her left.

Their ship, microscopic from the height she’s held, remains where they arrived, the crimson rays of this planets light beaming uncomfortably into her eyes. So much so, that she has to raise a hand over her brows, shielding herself from the retinal assault.

Squinting, she swears that she can spot the emergency communicators they brought, resting all cracked up on the hard, pale surface that makes up the ground of this place.

If only she could reach her equipment somehow. Actually… could she do that?… Could she think of a way to make this thing release its hold on her?

Let the adrenaline take over, run inside the ship, contact the calvary, get outta here… Not exactly the best plan, given the, uh, circumstances, but…

It might be crazy enough to work.

Her eyes begin to dart around the morbid sight, there’s gotta be something she can do, something to distract it, or even hurt it enough to…

Wait, could she maybe attack its arm somehow? Would that even do anything to such a beast? Peering close into its paled, reddish skin, it looks like it might be…

Too thick to do any actual damage with her bare fists and nails, and she dropped her standard issued knife when the beast had grabbed her earlier.

Looking forward, she can only release the sharpest, most exasperated breath a human could muster. Something, there’s gotta be something, anything!! What in the fuck can she do to get out of this-!

‘Plop!’

The squishy, nausea inducing noise stops her panicked mind its tracks. Slowly, and cautiously, she twists her neck back down to the body pile.

Judging from the position of the half-eaten corpse, and the fresh blood pouring from the things wretched mouth, the body, a female one, has slipped through its jaws, landing haphazardly beside the stack.

She leans over the arm as far as she can, focusing all sight on her uniform. The stitched in name tag is partially smudged in her own bodily fluids, but most of it still seems legible.

“_ena Banks?” she mutters.

Ena Banks… Serena Banks.

Her best friend.

All she’s able to do is gaze into the fresh corpse of her closest friend, her life partner…

All the memories they shared flash through her mind. All the laughs, the visits to the bar, their college graduation, her immense, pride filled smile upon being accepted into this voyage…

She can’t hold back anymore. The tears begin to stream- no, gush, down her face, releasing a single, ear-splitting scream. Terror, sorrow, and agony… all collected in this one cry.

Why? Why is this happening to her? To them?! what did they do to deserve this little slice of hell?!!

Her bawling continues on, all thought and consideration of the abomination starting to fade. All that remains are the faces, those once smiling faces, of her vibrant, life filled friends… and the thought of them coming to such an end…

This is soon replaced by the loudest yelp though, as the elbow she’s tucked in shuffles, the harrowing chewing sounds of her captor… stopping? Huh?!

Her pained screaming silenced, she throws another glance to the killers jawline. It’s frozen solid, right in the middle of another bite.

Why? What could have-

Oh.

Absently pressing her hands against the thing’s limb, she can feel how wet it’s gotten, soaked from her waterfall of tears.

Even those are put on hold now, as her heart begins to race, a freezing chill flowing down her spine, a just as icy sweat beginning to trickle down her forehead…

Oh… Oh God no… Please no….

She’s got and done it, hasn’t she? She’s done pissed. It. Off!

And it’s decided she’s worthy to sate its appetite after all…

Her mouth opens, ready to shriek, cry, protest, plead, that it’ll have some mercy in its heart. To spare her. To release her!

Her captor begins to move, however, stifling the attempt to do any of the above, only finding it in herself to shout in surprise.

At only a pinch faster than a snail’s pace, it brings over an organ-soaked hand, opening it up and placing it underneath her feet.

Her lips split apart once more, but only another frightened yelp is let out as she’s slid right into its palm… and into some of the remains of her friends and co-pilots.

Slow as before, the creature lifts itself up from its knees, though it remains crouched in a sort of ‘marriage proposal’ position, staring down at her.

She tries one more time to scream out at it, but she can only bring herself to shut it tightly as those… eyes, mere inches above it’s before mentioned snout, come into view.

Those sunken, yellowed eyes, just visible enough through its muddy bangs, dominated by neutrality. If she didn’t know better, she would say they look sleep deprived, desperate for rest in fact.

Her blood runs cold as those pupils scan her up and down. Like its checking out a relishing piece of candy…

Her breath picks up in speed, and her legs and arms drag her backwards on their own, as it inches its face closer.

“…Please,” she meekly says, voice so low that it’s practically inaudible. “Please, just-“

She crawls back a little further. “Please don’t-“ a paper clips length further- “don’t do this, please!”

And her back hits the massive, curled fingers of its hand. They make its palm look similar to that of a cage, and like an actual cage, that means she’s…

“Trapped,” she finishes under her breath. “Oh sweet mother of-“

She turns back to the damned monster, her soon to be murderer…

It’s almost completely motionless, it’s face hovering inches away, eyes showing something… different, almost… sorrowful or irritated, maybe?

“…Um, What-“

In less than a blinks time, the whatever lowers her to its stomach, arms wrapped around her entire frame, smothered in its elbow once again.

A soft, bellowing sound flows through the humid air. It’s almost… soothing?

Is… Is that noise coming from the creature?

With a bit of difficulty, she’s able to turn herself around, fighting against its appendages in doing so. Gazing up to the mouth of nightmares, it seems to be hanging open, and the sound from before… is at its loudest, confirming her suspicion.

What the…

Her thoughts are interrupted by something running along her back and head. Something kinda sharp, a bit painful even.

Needless to say, this gets her nerves back into full panic mode. Turning just enough to see…

The things claws, etching along her body, in a sort of comforting manner. What in the hell…?

Another noise, similar to that of a ‘calming ”shh,” sounds off just above her head. And is also, as she can see, apparently emanating from this here beast.

Again, what in the-

Her thoughts come to a screeching halt. It’s tiny, hardly audible at all in fact, but it’s there.

A deep, yet raspy voice enters the air. The tone is a pretty odd mix of calming, neutral… and menacing.

“It’s ok… hush now…”

…What in God’s name? What is it saying-

“This… will be over soon…”

…Again, what? Wh- what does that mean?!

“They look so… peaceful now.” 

“…Um…” 

Its smoothing stops, and it lifts her up into it’s hands, leaning her against its fingers once again. Caged, again.

Looking up, her breath ceases when those eyes make a comeback. This time, though, it’s more the look in them.

Though they mostly remain neutral, they seem… distant, pondering… Or perhaps-

The thought is banished once the creature lifts a finger up in the air, slowly bringing it down. She backs into the joint of it’s index as its claw stops, dangerously close to her face, pointing…

“And… you do too.”

Credit: Rd855