Her kind hands and soft voice were what my soul needed when I laid in the dirt.
Even if my body refused to move, my eyes showed me every moment of kindness from the red-haired stranger, her family of four, and her pet cat.
Water was trickled down my throat and the chickens my family had slaughtered were pushed into a pit to hide the scent.
What wasn't devoured was gathered together to be cooked and fed to me still out at the fence.
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In boiling sun and cold rain, the woman came out to nurse me back to health. She even threw a blue tarp over my body to try and keep some of the icy coldness from reaching my already numb bones.
She put out bowl for my three oldest to gobble up greedily. They ate beside the cat who was too old to be bothered by them.
My babies were already lost causes. With days gone, so were they. I only had one left, just like the first time with Ethel.
She named it Ester. It was one she was saving for her own future daughter, but wanted to give to her sister instead.
I thought it was beautiful. I didn't have any names saved because I knew how painful it would be when no-one got to hold onto something so precious.
Ester was just like me too. Black fur all over and purple eyes. I couldn't be prouder of my little one so determined to keep up with her older siblings.
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With the sweet scent lacing every breath I took, I could feel my strength returning as my body became restricted by the false skin growing over it.
With the woman constantly caring for me, she realised the moment she lifted the tarp and saw my nakedness underneath that I wasn't the animal she had taken me for.
The eggs I had guarded beneath me were now laying on the ground. They remained under the tarp where it was warm and dry.
Her three sons dragged me inside and onto their couch where I regained the energy that had been drained from me in my hunt for a safer future.
She plucked out my bullets, cleaned the wounds, and ran her hand over my head so tenderly.
She was fascinated in me. I was too guarded to be the same with her.
Humans couldn't be trusted. She was only doing it to save her family from my spite if she had rejected to help me.
Her three sons were always watching me from somewhere in the house. Her only daughter, the youngest, was still old enough to know that avoiding me was the best thing to do.
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When my children refused to come inside, they gathered at the door to make sure I was safe. Astrid gripped Ester who was screaming for food in her tiny Skin.
She was so precious. That had been each of them once and they had grown far too quickly.
The woman cared for Ester too. She managed to convince Astrid to hand her over so she could feed her.
She had even gone into town to get the formula she needed. Her rearing years were long gone, yet she dragged out a rocking chair and set it up beside me so she could feed Ester and keep me satisfied she wasn't hurting my daughter.
Ester had everyone curious when she took the bottle. The boys even looked over her and asked all sorts of questions while she fed. The daughter watched too, confused on the baby her mother held like Ester was her own.
In another time, she might have been. I wasn't stupid enough to make that mistake again.
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Soon, I was sitting, but not strong enough to walk without faltering from the pain of the bullets or the effects of starvation for so long.
I watched from the couch as the woman loved to knit from a spare bedroom she had converted into a craft room.
She made bears to send to children in the local hospital. Each one had little button eyes she handpicked and held up to show me from across the room.
She played old music and cared for her teenagers, the three boys of which were triplets. Her daughter was cautious wherever she saw me, but had her own hobby of drawing she liked to delve into on the other side of the room.
Their cat was too lazy to do anything other than lay around the house. It laid on me since I had a blanket over me it wanted to curl up into. Other times, it stalked along to flop outside the door for my children to run their hands over.
The woman fed me so much hot soup I felt like I was going to burst. She told me her name was Yvonne and beamed when I said mine back. She didn't learn the names of my children. They were too cautious to give them to her, and I wasn't going to have another human closer to them by handing them over either.
Yvonne didn't give the names of her children either. In a way, she had to distance herself from me and my family so we could continue on without her. It was harder for her kind heart than it was for my closed one.
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Eleven days after collapsing on her now repaired fence, I was strong enough to leave the couch and walk without gripping desperately to furniture.
My children were much happier from the constant stream of food in both forms they made sure to keep full. They snuggled into fresh clothes and enjoyed sweet treats every night after Yvonne reported on how my chances were going under the tarp.
When Yvonne brushed the cat's flurry of fur at the door, I saw Avery offer her a leg to move the brush to with a giggle.
Yvonne spoiled them. She didn't win their complete trust, but she did make it easier for them as they waited for me.
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When I tore from my skin and joined them, she had sadness in her eyes. She was happy to see me go, but something about her watching me outside gathering up my chances to nestle them back under me made me feel guilty for not showing more appreciation for her.
She could have easily let me die when we killed her livelihood. Still, she cared for me and my family so willingly and with so much passion. All I gave her was silent glares and grumbles when I thought her gentle hands were being too rough with Ester.
Her daughter and triplets watched too when I lowered myself down to let my children scurry back up onto my back. Ester gripped near my head; still so small she could easily be detached with a rough jostle.
I filled with pride at how heavy they were against my back now. Fat with food and happiness, this woman had saved their lives.
I crooned to her and extended an arm out for the cat to rub against with its own demanding noise.
Turning, I gave her one last look, before continuing past her house to follow the sweet scent trailing through the air with renewed purpose.
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The scent led me to something I thought I'd never see again for many more years.
Spores filled the air and clouded it the closer I got to the source.
The golden dust coated my throat and painted my body in its powder.
I let the sensation sweep me towards it. Of everything I had, I wanted a mate who wouldn't give me restrictions my human one had.
It wasn't the time to think of that, and I know the influence spores had over the mind of a male, but there would be no other chance. I had only come across one other female like this, and that had also taken days to hunt and claim as my own.
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Of course, this one already had a mate and horde of children.
I saw it guarding her in their little nest of trees. The webs strung around them caught some of the spores, but not nearly enough to stop them from filling the air.
They had set up in some orchard too. Fruit was stripped from the trees around them. Others were crawling with children eagerly eating their fill through the kilometers of available food. I couldn't even see the human's house that would have owned this land they occupied.
This was good. A mate to hatch my chances, a safe haven, and a constant food source. Something was looking down on me after all.
But, the male was in the way. He was huge too and wasn't going to be held back like I was.
He had his competition already stripped and piled around their nest as a warning.
Blood was dried on his fur like warpaint as he kept watch.
I saw a few older ones bordering the trees that would be close to leaving the nest themselves. They would be a problem too when I approached the male. I could see three nearby, and more further out. It was hard to see how many with half my vision gone. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDnnSpAMGG
His family spread across the grounds. Mine clung to my back in silence at the sight.
Cautiously, I backed up to think over my strategy.
I wasn't passing up something this good.
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"Children, I need you to stay here and be quiet" I told them gently when I dropped down to let them clamber off "no matter what happens, you can't make a noise. Cover yourself in the dirt to hide your scent."
It was strong too. Even though I loved the reminder of my children truly being mine, it wasn't going to go well with a rival male who would kill them if I let him past me.
"We aren't fighting that, are we?" Ethel whimpered at the sight of the male still keeping guard "we can go around, like last time."
"Darling, this is bigger than anything. This could get us everything. He won't be so hard to take down. I protected you before against someone that size."
"But we've already had enough food" Astrid mumbled up to me "don't go."
"I'll be fine" I smiled back as I unhooked the eggs to stick to the backs of the trees behind them "I'm tough."
"But, he's so big" Avery whimpered.
"And I've taken down giants" I reminded him, returning to my frightened family "you all have nothing to worry about. Cover yourself now and get behind the trees."
They dropped to the dirt and smothered themselves.
"He's the shark" I pointed to the male "you do not want to be caught by him."
"This isn't a game!" Astrid cried "I'm scared!"
"Babies" I gathered them all together "It'll be fine. Just don't get caught. If something does happen, you have to go somewhere safe and stay there."
"But..."
"You have to, no matter what" I growled now "you will do as I tell you."
There was going to be no leniency with something that was life or death. They had to listen to me, even if I scared them into it.
"You will not step in."
I hissed at them, flaring.
So help me if one of my children decided to rush the male and were killed because they thought they were helping.
I checked them over and was satisfied I couldn't pick up my own scent on them.
Now, all they had to do was listen.
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They didn't interfere when I peeled from the trees and towards the bones scattered on the ground.
Jaws and skulls cracked when I stepped through them to size up my opponent now fully aware what I was here for.
He was massive now that I was up close. I had to be at least half his size. His fangs could easily skewer me or break a bone if they seized me.
Still, I wasn't going to back down. With his family now creeping closer, I couldn't. My children would have to remain hidden until I sorted this out.
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He was the one to make the first move and charge at me. Fumbling, our bodies clashed and fangs bared at each other. Our arms grappled, trying to topple the other to get to the soft underside.
If he flipped me, I was dead. I used the same tactic to kill that giant creature for my own family.
His didn't step in. They stayed at the trees, hissing and lunging when I was dragged too close or he stumbled to the outer circle.
The female did nothing. She remained in her cocoon between the trees, watching in fear. There was nothing she could do anyway. If she stepped in, she could be killed in the feral fight over her. She'd have to see who the victor was, and determine her, and her family's, fate from there.
The warpaint on the fur smashing into mine really rattled me. I could smell all the other challengers smeared over him in their own desperate desire to stand where he was. I was already struggling with trying to peel him out of my blind side, let alone having the thought of being nothing more than an added layer of paint on his body scatter through my brain.
He picked up quickly on my weakness. Being surrounded in skulls and crushed bodies, this male was quick to find the vulnerabilities in his opponents. But, in his clashing and snapping at me, I also found his.
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Fights had taken there toll on him. He had a bleeding gouge through his back leg at the joint. His face was mangled with scratches and bites beneath the warpaint covering them.
He tried to hide where another had pierced through his side with the blood. I saw it glistening with fresh blood that wasn't being flung from either of us or during our tearing of each others flapping flesh.
A lame leg, a bleeding side, a mangled face...
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Backing up, we broke to size up each other again. This normally would be a chance for the challenger to admit defeat and make a hasty retreat, but I was not going to back down so easily when I had him figured out.
We were locked to the death.
We charged again, smashing into each other and tearing at the exposed parts of each other's faces.
My arms grappled his while my legs kept me up to his height determined on overpowering me.
He was much tougher than some herbivore giant beast. Knowing this male could kill and strip me of my skin and bones made the severity of losing hit so much harder.
If I did, my whole family was dead. There was going to be no mercy.
He knew it too. He tore into my skin and stabbed at my eye to try and completely blind me. The way he fought was filled with confidence, but tainted with indecisiveness.
Snapping my fangs into the underside of his throat, I felt his pierce through the top of my neck and rip through me. I gouged deeper, trying to snap his windpipe or hit a vein.
His arms smothered me and forced me over, tipping me back to the dirt.
I remained buried in his throat, flinging out all of my legs to keep him from reaching my vitals.
I shoved against him as I tore free, face smothered with his spilling blood.
I felt mine drown over my back and pour down my legs that threw me out of his way so I could launch myself at his back to stab at it before being tumbled.
He thundered over before I could recover and had me swarmed in arms again to keep me from moving. With my side forced into the ground, the male snapped his fangs through my throat.
Screaming only made him dig further. I tried to kick him off and tear at the back of his neck to try and get him to release me, but he was relentless.
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I felt the fangs tear their way through my body and sever everything as they snapped deeper. They crushed my windpipe, threatening to rip it from my choking body, until he suddenly snarled and released me.
The male turned around, my gaze following, to see a little spider with its mandibles pierced into the lame leg.
"ASTRID!"
She hung on for dear life when I lunged for the male abandoning me for her. I frantically tore into his side to bring his attention back to me, but only briefly.
He kicked Astrid free and tried to crush her.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Astrid screamed up at the male who I seized the leg of to drag from her.
She lunged again, climbing up the lame leg to sink into the segment that caused him the pain.
The male roared against my fangs piercing his side, trying to kick her off with his other legs.
Smothering him, I stabbed along his face in the blind search for his eyes. My fangs sank through his body when I managed to find one and slice through it.
The blood spilled into my mouth before choking him. He whipped around, trying to unhinge me and my daughter who was soon thrown into the dirt again.
"ASTRID" I growled to her "GO AND HIDE!"
"I'm not leaving you!" she hissed back, rearing up against me when she got to her feet.
I saw the ring of the male's family lunge for Astrid who had been thrown too close. They dragged her by her back legs towards the frenzy of fangs waiting to tear her apart.
I left the male to rush for her screaming body flailing for me. My leg was pierced through by the male who dragged me away from her.
Our arms reached but didn't come close to touching the other.
Astrid was lifted into the air by the family who pulled her apart, limb by limb. Her head was fought over by a wave of hungry mouths, as her body and arms were stripped in an instant. Her eyes looked like peeled berries between the mouths of the horde fighting to claim them.
Just like that, she was gone. She didn't even have time to choke out my name or fight back.
"ASTRID!"
My voice wavoured from the blood spilling through it. My scream choked with saliva that splattered onto the dirt and strung with clots from my mouth.
The male peeled up the skin on my back and sank his fangs into it. He forced another scream from me before I lunged for him and tore into his face once more.
Blood and fur flew everywhere. The family that had snapped their way through Astrid scattered, hunting for more meat.
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Bones slipped up both of us desperately trying to kill the other. The male was faltering with his blinded eye, and I was barely keeping up.
My legs struggled to support me from the amount of blood I had spilled into the pool below us. I could feel the weakness threatening to paralyze me again in the bones.
The male staggered. His lame leg dangled now that it couldn't be supported. He charged when I did, veering to the side even though he was trying to run straight at me.
There was barely any power behind our clash. We snapped and bit at the bleeding skin, only to slip over it. A few nicks scratched along our skins, and a few more connected to frantically mangle what we could until being thrown free.
We were both weak. Barely standing when we panted and coughed blood over each other.
Staggering back, I felt my front legs buckle when I tried to drag in a breath that wasn't going to drown me.
The male tipped to the side and severed his lame leg with the others. He tried to advance now that I was down, but only fumbled forward uselessly.
His family swarmed from my back eagerly, but I easily crushed the smallest one going for my abdomen. I pushed myself upwards and snapped it's neck so I could toss it back to the scattering onlookers.
Now on my feet, I limped for the male still trying to get up.
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Every time I buckled and bowed to the struggling body I advanced on, the family would lunge and try to tear me down.
I shook off the horde following behind me, snapping and tugging at my legs to bring me to the ground. They weren't giving up as I approached their father and stood over his body trying to get back on his shaking legs.
With the horde piling onto my back and sinking their fangs into the torn flesh there, I forced the male over so I could fall into his smothering arms trying to squeeze me to death.
I mangled his exposed throat while mine bled over his. I ate my way through every severed vein and tendon protecting the thick windpipe gasping for life that I snapped in my mouth.
The arms lost their grip on my body and fell to the ground. The ravaging family still ate their way towards my spine while trying to dislocate and devour my legs like they had done to Astrid.
I couldn't shake them either. They clung on and swarmed when they saw I had ended the life of their father they started to tear apart from beneath me.
The only thing that stopped them from completely destroying me was the thundering of legs and snapping of a spine from above me.
I felt them scatter from me, one of the biggest ones kicking and screaming when I saw it in the mandibles of the female who towered over me.
She broke its spine and tossed it aside before leaning down to snap up one of my own arms to drag me through the bones towards the nest.
Dumping me outside it, she retreated back inside quietly to resume her silent staring from the depths.
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The children didn't dare to approach me. They tugged and fought over their gigantic father and dead sibling instead. Now that I had won his position, they were no longer needed here.
There was more than enough food here for my own children, I just had to make sure they were safely with me so they could take it.
Lifting myself up and instantly collapsing, I tried again.
My legs trembled and tried to give way again, but I remained steady.
With the female now unguarded, I had to make sure I could be strong enough to defend my new mate and home.
Dragging all of my energy forth, I let out a wavering scream of victory. My legs fought to keep me upright when I splattered blood through the air and over myself.
Triumphantly, I stood there, barely holding strong. With my new title gouged through me, I scraped aside the bones to reach the bloody mud underneath.
I packed it along my body and piled it into the gouges riddling me. It helped staunch the flow of blood to reduce it to a trickle.
Smothered, I started to stick the bones around me over the paste to form the armour I no longer had.
As weak as I was, I couldn't defend myself against a challenger tugged in by the spores. Until I got my strength back, I had to protect myself with what I had.
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With the new weight of the bone armour glued into place, I felt pride rush through me in a way I hadn't felt before.
I should have been mourning my lost daughter, but I wasn't. Instead, I was going to make sure she got revenge and lived on through the new life I'd give her.
Astrid hadn't been taken in a disgusting way like Maisie had. She knew what she was doing when she rushed to help me. She had accepted that fate even before I had left them back in those trees. She shouldn't have been killed while trying to reach me. They didn't give her a chance to defend herself.
Hissing, I charged for the infestation still swarming my land, gladly shattering the skull of the nearest one not quick enough to escape.
I'd clear this area of all these distractions and fill it with my own. I'd make sure nothing could hurt my family ever again, now that I had the chance to begin anew with the best possible start.
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