The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

"But why?" Ruby questioned. "Why wait all this time to make a move? If it wanted to kill all of us, it would have done it the moment it boarded the ship!"

"What happened on the Utopia?"

"When we got there, all the damage was already done. Fenris was fighting the monsters and protecting the survivors. Jack and Reaper thought it was protecting us, too."

"How did those things even get there? That creature probably brought them with it. Fed them with the people!"

"You think it's doing it again?"

"It looks that way!" The bird squawked. "It waited until we were all trapped. Sabotaged the ship! I bet it intended for all of us to die in the stasis pods."

"Yet we didn't, and from what I heard from Sparrow, Fenris hurt itself powering up the stasis cells."

"How do we know that's true? The ship has backup generators to keep life support functioning. It could be lying. Acting. That thing can't be trusted. It has a bottomless hunger and it will not stop. Never."

"Is it really Astradon?"

"I believe it is. The description is perfect. That thing is a black beast. It is chaos."

"What could we possibly do? Everyone else seems to trust it."

"We have to show them the truth! Show them that Astradon cannot be trusted."

"So, the rumors are true?"

"They must be. Who else would eat another person? Those bodies didn't disappear. They were eaten. It's only a matter of time before that thing decides to eat all of us."

"Well, we can't just kick it off the ship. It'll terrorize others."

"We have to find a way to kill it. We must be quick about it."

"That's gonna be difficult as fuck. Reynolds can't even stick a needle in it!"

Ianisse sat back, crossing his blackened legs over one another in a loose knot.

"There has to be something…."

"Maybe for now we can get it locked up so we can figure something out. If we can convince the Captain of the truth..."

"Captain!" Jackal pulled himself down the hall, keeping a hand out in front of him to catch anything before face planting into it. "Captain!"

Fenris was right behind him, giving him gentle tugs this way and that to help him avoid objects. Jackal was in a drunken hurry, cheeks flushed red. Uncoordinated with his motions. They flew down the halls at top speed.

More lights were on, though it mattered for neither. The repairs were just barely getting on. The easier things to fix were done first with teams full-time on priority repairs. Life support systems were down half through the ship. Their gardens were underpowered, causing many crops to fail.

They rushed into the bridge through the open door. Jackal grabbed the back of Reaper's chair.

"Captain?"

"Jack? Is everything okay? Wait." Reaper eyed him from his seat. "Are you drunk?! It's fucking nine in the morning!" He turned to Fenris. "What the hell have you been doing?! You can't be letting hi--" he stopped talking. What did Fenris know about taking care of someone, especially a human?

"Forget all of that." Jackal waved his hand. "I need to talk to you. It's important."

"Private matter?"

"Yeah. You have a minute right?"

Reaper barely understood a word. Jackal's speech slurred every syllable. With a sigh, Reaper took his jacket off and hung it over Jackal's shoulders.

"Put this on. You look cold."

"Oh, did I leave it here? Weird…" He fit the jacket on without much more of a question about it.

"Yeah." He looked up to Fenris.

The creature gave a shrug.

Jackal could barely dress himself. He didn't even have shoes on, or socks! Reaper was just happy he had pants on at the very least. He knew Jackal had a habit of stripping naked when he got too drunk.

"Meet me in my office. I'll be there in five." Reaper said. He then smiled up to Fenris. "I've missed our nightly gaming session. I think I may have figured out a new trick."

"Must show." The creature sounded pleased.

Fenris gently tugged on Jackal's jacket to lead him to the Captain's office.

When they left, Irzazee turned around. "Is this normal for him?"

"No... Not really. It's getting there though."

Irzazee hummed. "I wonder, why do humans turn to alcohol in times of boredom? Does it do for you what getting high does for verbenass?"

"We use it to cope with change, or trauma. Some because it's the only way they can smile." He raised a brow. "What do you mean by high?"

"On my home world, there are spiky urchins that use a toxin to catch prey. It doesn't affect us the same way it does their food. We get euphoric. Nothing better than floating in the shallows, basking in the starlight…." He sang.

Reaper chuckled.

"How are all the systems?"

"Everything is operational. Barely. I'm pinging for our current location now."

"Fantastic! We're getting somewhere!" He pushed up from his chair. "Let me know as soon as you figure it out. I'll be in my office for a while."

"Yes, sir!"

Reaper stopped on his way to get a fresh cup of coffee. That was his drug of choice. Sweet caffeine. It gave mankind the willpower to change anything. He would have never made it far without it. Too many sleepless nights while actively serving. He knew few people who disliked it.

In his office, Jackal sat in a chair, feet kicked up on the desk. Fenris was standing, no, sitting in the corner. Ears folded back with a droop.

He shut the door and locked it to keep anyone from poking their head inside. Once he was seated, he sipped the still piping hot coffee through the straw.

"What's so important, Jack?"

He seemed to be at a loss for words now that he could say them.

"Jack?"

No answer.

"Liam!"

He jumped and snorted. He wiped his mouth. "Huh? I'm here!"

"Christ, did you really fall asleep?"

"Haven't slept. Sorry."

Reaper sighed. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I found something out."

"About?"

Jackal's head turned away as he tried to come up with the words.

"Fenris confess." Fenris cut in.

"No! Wait!" Jackal piped up.

"Can explain self." Fenris insisted.

"Let me tell him. I can.. uh, word it better."

"What the hell is