Alternative version of: An Arrettian's Solitude
It’s a good hour for lunch, he thought. Perry L Linus was just delivering mail a few days ago and now he was sharing a lunch break with an alien companion.
Atop the ruins of a sanctuary in an abandoned city, Linus and the alien both sat. They never conversed; they couldn’t. It was quiet, and the only sounds that accompanied the two were the light desert wind, and the awkward chewing made by the both of them as they ate. On occasion, Linus would take a glance at the alien. They were bizarre in appearance – something like a creature with the body of a vulture, the limbs of an octopus, and the face of a mantis. Linus had no idea such life-forms existed, so he just classified the being as a ‘chimera-person’.
Despite their monstrous appearance, Linus figured that the chimera-person clearly wasn’t as primitive as most would assume. This chimera-person appeared to be the only one that he found nearby the makeshift transmitter that he was directed to, so surely they were the one who created it. If not for their oddly stylish sock-like garments and intricately-crafted cutlery, Linus would have thought that the distress signal that he heard in space must have been released by complete accident!
Linus ate noodles today, with soup on the side – a more favourable option among the stash kept back on his rocketship. Maybe they’ll like noodles, he thought, and he brought up his fork towards the chimera-person.
“D-Do you want to try…?” he muttered.
The chimera-person stopped eating their food for a moment. Now, their meal, Linus couldn't describe outside of ‘steel wool intertwined with starry pearls’. Maybe it was arrogant of him to want to share his own food because he would definitely think more than twice about trying the chimera-person’s peculiar meal. But if the chimera-person were to offer to share too, Linus considered that he should at least try to be polite.
Linus continued to hold up his fork and tilted his head curiously.
The chimera-person looked at the fork.
They then looked at him and tilted their own head.
Eventually, Linus scrunched his face embarrassedly and slurped the noodles from his fork in defeat. At least, maybe, tilting your head means ‘confusion’ for you, too, he thought. The chimera-person continued to eat their own food.
Eventually, the two strangers’ lunchtime was over. They now only stared into the distance at the city below, halfway buried beneath the sand. They did this for an hour more.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled.
Then, a deep, mechanical BOOM.
Something had landed nearby.
Linus suddenly turned to the chimera-person, who looked at him back. Linus assumed that they were also suspicious of the noise, but their face was too alien to read that he could only hope that was the case.
Whatever it was that had just landed nearby must be a threat. Linus’s heart pounded even at the thought. He jumped down the ruins and ran – the chimera-person following soon after. Now, his main goal now was to reach his rocketship, and if he wanted to leave the planet with the chimera-person, he had no choice but to take the risk and trust them now.
As he ran, Linus clumsily patted around his hip to find his holster. A second or two, and finally he grabbed his pistol. He always feared the day he would ever need to use it. Now, he feared more that his measly firearm may not be close to matched by whatever that ground-shaking rumbling was coming from.
The rumbling grew, and grew. A shadow loomed over Linus and the chimera-person behind him. Linus’s heart sank. The rocketship was right there! He sprinted faster, and then the chimera-person close behind.
But suddenly, the rocket was blocked from Linus’s view – a giant limb fell in front of him like a redwood log.
Behind Linus and his companion was a giant. Linus couldn’t bear to look at the beast, but he was too paralysed to turn away. Shakily, he drew out his miserable pistol, knowing that its bullets could never pierce something so mighty. He did nothing but look upwards.
But, something wasn’t right.
The beast’s body… like a dragon’s. Its limbs… like a kraken’s… And its hideous face! Ginormous compound eyes! Linus only turned to see the chimera-person once again. They and the beast were identical!
“Who are you?!” Linus shouted. “Are you one of them?!”
The chimera-person struggled to make a sound. They only backed away slowly.
Then, he found the pistol in his hands were soon pointed towards the chimera-person.
“What are you?” Linus shouted again, “W-What ARE you?!”
He asked again the same question, loud, then louder with each repetition. Now it no longer sounded like he was asking anything. His words drew out longer and distortion scratched his throat. He now only knew how to scream.
Then, suddenly…
BANG!
Linus saw a hole blast through the chimera-person’s chest. He felt the suddenly warm pistol in his hands, quivering out control.
And then, the world shrank around him.
In an instant Linus ran back towards the sunken sanctuary, taking advantage of the giant’s attention to the chimera-person who now lay motionless. He hid behind its rocky walls, crouching, and knees drawn to his face. But he asked himself why he was in the ruins again. Then he asked why his companion was now lying down with a gaping wound in his body. He cursed the stars and everything they had to offer.
Now the giant was approaching.
Linus knew he was dead, he just hadn’t felt it yet.
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