Page 95 of Alien Jeopardy

I know, without a doubt, that my mate is in trouble.

I fly faster.

CHAPTER

FORTY-THREE

Ellison

Smoke billows beside the kaiju crawfish, the heat blistering my face. From the smell, I’m pretty sure I singed my eyebrows off.

“Well, that’s not what I planned on happening.” I blink, staring at the resulting fire from the arrow gone wide.

Explosive arrows, apparently.

I cringe because I’ve already fallen on them once.

I’m pretty sure I do not want to land on my back.

“Ellison barbecue is very much not on the to-do list.” I tilt my head. “It could be on the crawfish’s to-do list, but it’s not on mine. Just FYI, Ken No Privates.”

I think I might be in shock.

The crawfish does its weird little clicky thing, staring at the flames in the remnants of the trees next to it.

“I don’t think I can eat seafood again,” I manage.

Do I dare try to shoot another arrow at it? I missed pretty badly, and I banged up my arm when I let the string go.

It slapped me silly, and is probably why the arrow went wide.

A welt’s already forming on the inside of my arm, and I wince at the thought of aiming badly enough again to hurt it worse.

Then a claw slams down in front of me, and I decide that getting eaten by a swamp lobster is a worse fate than having a painful bruise.

“Here goes nothing,” I say, nocking an arrow and aiming carefully, trying to remember all the shit my camp counselors drilled into me all those summers ago.

The arrow flies when I loose the string, and while it does hit my arm, it doesn’t slap it nearly as hard.

The arrow explodes on the side of the crawfish’s face, a massive show of red and orange fireworks… that do absolutely nothing.

The crawfish screams, enraged.

Did you know crawfish could scream? I didn’t.

Did you know all those little legs can move pretty quick when they want to?

I’m not a fan.

“I didn’t know I needed crustacean-related nightmare fuel, but I guess I’ll be lucky to have a nightmare, after this.” I don’t know who I’m talking to, but it helps me feel slightly better to say it.

A massive shadow passes over me, blocking out the scorching sun, and a fresh wave of fear sends a chill down my spine.

Have thirty minutes already passed? Is the next threat aerial?

I nock another arrow, ready to fight for my life—then release it, sobbing, as Ka-Rexsh lands in front of me like an avenging dragon angel.

He takes me in his arms, and I cry like an idiot. “There’s a giant kaiju crawfish and I hurt my arm,” I try to tell him, wriggling so I can get space to fire another shot.