The Gastropoda Imperative by Peter Barns (parable of the sower read online txt) 📕

Conal could see that the boy was close to loosing his grip. “Show me,” he said.

Kneeling beside the body on the beach, Conal gently moved Kirsti aside. Pushing the tips of his fingers into the boy’s throat, Conal sought the carotid artery. He couldn’t find it. He tried again at the femoral artery with the same result.

“I’m afraid he’s dead,” Conal said, shaking his head.

“No. No he’s not. He can’t be. Look, I saw him move,” Kirsti said through her sobs. “Look, look at his nose.”

Conal saw a large drop of blood ooze from the boy’s nostril. It ran down his philtrum, following the edge of his lip before it easing down his chin into his clothes. Another drop appeared.

Conal’s buttocks tensed and his breath caught in his throat when he saw movement, but it wasn’t the boy that was moving.

Something was easing its way out of the boy’s nose!

Troy pulled Lyra into his arms, trying to subdue the trembling that shook her whole body. “Shush, it’s okay. It’s alright. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“No it’s not,” Lyra snapped back, shaking her head in despair. Her hair whipped across Troy’s face. “Fin’s dead. You heard Conal. How’s that okay, Troy?”

He could see the tears on her cheeks, hear the panic in her voice. He had to be strong for her. “No. Shush. Kirsti said she saw him move. We’ll get him to hospital and he’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

“You promise?” The look in Lyra’s eyes pulled at something deep inside him and Troy nodded. “I promise,” he said.

Troy liked the way Lyra felt in his arms and laid his cheek on the top of her head, breathing in her scent. Lyra looked up at him and their lips brushed. He felt a jolt rush through his chest. Looking down at her, he wondered just what she was feeling.

“You should stay away from Piers,” he whispered, realising it was the wrong thing to say as soon as he’d uttered the words.

Lyra’s eyes clouded over and she gave a sort of quiet hiccup, pushing him away. Walking over to Betts, she linked arms with her.

Troy turned his gaze on Piers, his body smouldering with tension.

***

”See, look there,” Kirsti said, pointing at Fin’s face. “I told you he was alive. His eyelids are moving.”

Fin gave a shudder and his body arched off the sand before he landed back down with a thump, throwing Kirsti off balance. She landed on her butt, hands digging deeply into the sand either side of her legs. The whites of her eyes were large, glowing in the moonlight.

As Conal watched, a small Sycler slowly eased itself from Fin’s nostril. Conal gasped, unable to stop himself backing away from the boy. He quickly swallowed back his lunch and moved closer again, both compelled and disgusted by what he saw.

The Sycler popped from the boy’s nose like a cock from a bottle, scooted down his chin a dropped onto the sand. Conal leaped aside. Kirsti set up a wail that brought the others rushing over.

Another Sycler appeared and Conal heard a muted gasp from behind him. Fin’s eyelid bulged upwards. Something was pushing at it from underneath. It rose higher, slowly rolling upwards as Fin’s eyeball dropped from the socket. Two Syclers pushed their way out, leaving slimy, bloody trails as they followed the first Sycler out onto the sand.

They were all on their feet now, backing away from Fin’s body. Conal reached forward, grabbing Kirstie’s arm, forcing the hysterical girl away from Fin. Then suddenly the Syclers were everywhere, erupting from Fin’s mouth; his ears; even through the hole in his cheek.

Kirsti was screaming uncontrollably, tossing her head backwards and forwards as she wailed, her cries so loud they hurt Conal’s ears. He heard someone heaving behind him and the spatter of vomit on the sand.

Conal backed further away, one hand stretched out behind him, but still unable to tear his gaze away from the shaking, trembling body on the beach.

The boy’s face looked as though it was melting into the sand.

“Quick, over here. Quick. Get on these rocks.” Piers’ voice brought all heads turning in his direction. “Get off the sand.”

Not stopping to argue, wonder, or even think, they all ran across the beach and jumped up onto the rocks alongside Piers, Conal almost having to carry Kirsti.

“Keep close. Hold all your lanterns together. The aliens don’t like the light. They’ve eaten, so we’re safe for awhile. If we keep off the sand that is.”

“And what make you the fucking expert all of a sudden?” Troy growled.

“Listen to what he’s saying.” Conal’s voice carried a hard edge.

Sensing the animosity Troy felt towards Piers, Conal let go of Kirsti’s hand and stepped between them, a warning on his face as he stared at Troy. The last thing they needed right now was a fight.

“Oh bloody great,” Troy muttered when Kirsti broke away and ran back across the sand towards Fin.

“Oh my God, what’s that? What are they doing?” Betts shouted, pointing across the beach at the boats.

An enormous ball of orange creatures sat in front of the boats, wriggling around and through one another - a mound of slimy, writhing bodies that sucked and slurped like a mischievous child drinking the last drops of milkshake through a straw. There seemed to be hundreds of them.

“What are they doing?” Lyra whispered, afraid she might attract their attention if she talked any louder.

“I’ve seen them do this before,” Piers said. “They do a sort of dance before they attack, but I don’t know why.”

“Not so intelligent after all then,” Troy muttered.

Lee put his hand on Troy’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “Cool it Troy. This isn’t the time.” Lee’s hand was trembling, as was his voice.

“I can carry you to the boat,” Piers said. “I have my protection on.”

Jumping down from the rocks, Piers set off across the sand towards the boats.

“No!” Lyra’s voice was tinged with panic. “Please Piers, come back here. You can’t carry us all. And anyway the guys are too heavy.”

“The cave then,” Piers said, pointing along the beach.

“What’s the point in trapping us all in a cave, you bloody moron,” Troy shouted.

“No. We can get inside. Away from the aliens.”

“Inside? Inside where?” Conal almost stepped off the rocks in his excitement at hearing there might still be a way into the underground lab. Was this how the computer file had been accessed? “You mean, into the lab?”

“Yes, the lab. Come on, before they finish their dance.”

Conal jumped down onto the sand, running over and grabbing Kirsti’s hand, pulling her along beside him as he ran after Piers. She didn’t resist, just complied like a small child. Betts and Lyra quickly followed them.

“You going to let that idiot tell you what to do too?” Troy said, the scorn in his voice unmistakable.

“Well I ain’t going to stay here and get eaten by those bleeding things,” Lee shouted, running along the beach after the others.

Troy looked at the big, heavy, glistening mound of orange for a moment, licking his lips. He glanced along the sand, watching the bobbing lamps disappear into the darkness, then back at the writhing ball. One of the creatures peeled itself away, stretching itself out onto the sand, its tentacles waving in his direction.

Troy finally broke and ran, arms pumping at his sides.

Conal saw Piers duck into a large cave and splashed his way through the shallow water after him. Kirsti ran at his side. She hadn’t spoken a word on the long run along the beach and Conal could see that her eyes were blank, her face carrying no expression at all.

Piers was waiting by a big circular metal grid, its bars set close enough to exclude entry. As Conal drew level, Piers smiled at him, as though seeking his approval, pulling at one edge of the metal grid. It swung open on rusty hinges, squealing so loudly that Conal flinched, the awful noise rebounding back at them from the cave.

Conal felt Kirsti’s grip tighten. Then she cried out, pulling her hand free, backing away from the gate. “No, not in there. Not in there,” she whispered,

Then she was gone, running back along the cave, straight passed Betts and Lee, who had just entered. They grabbed at her, trying to stop the girl as she rushed passed them, but Kirsti wrenched herself free, disappearing into the night.

Conal swore and turned to Piers. “Get the others inside,” he shouted, taking off after Kirsti, his feet splashing water up around his waist.

Running out of the cave, Conal spotted a lamp bobbing up the beach towards him, realising that it must be Troy. “Stop her Troy,” he shouted into the darkness.

The lamp broke away from the edge of the cliff, moving out towards the water’s edge. It wavered for a second or two, then moved back a few metres. Then it disappeared and reappeared, as though somebody had walked in front of it. Finally it came straight up the beach towards him. Conal was out of breath by the time he drew level with Troy. The boy shrugged, pointing down the beach.

“I couldn’t stop her,” he said. “She was moving too damned fast.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Conal called over his shoulder. “Go join the others. I’ll fetch her.”

Conal sped down the beach taking deep breaths as his lungs struggled to get enough air. Holding up his lamp, he shook it. He could see the battery was nearing the end of its life and wouldn’t last much longer.

He found Kirsti on her hands and knees, scrabbling about in the sand where Fin had died. There was no sign of him now, not even a blood stain.

“Come on Kirsti,” he said. “There’s nothing for you here now,” Conal tried to pull the distraught girl to her feet but she shrugged him off, the tears falling freely down her face as she returned to her desperate hunt, throwing sand in all directions.

Conal tried again and this time she lashed out at him, catching him across the nose. His eyes flooded with tears, and he felt the warmness of blood on his upper lip.

“Get away from me,” she screamed, fending him off with outstretched hands. “I want to be with Fin. I want my Fin.”

Kirsti backed away, her mouth working over words she couldn’t form.

Conal’s eyes widened and his heart rate soared.

Bloody hell, she was backing straight into the dancing ball of Syclers!

Conal stepped forward, grabbing her wrist, but before he could so much as blink, the hatchlings broke apart and swarmed up over her body.

One second Kirsti was there, the next she’d been replaced by a seething mass of orange Syclers!

Throwing her head back, the young girl gave the most soul wrenching scream Conal had ever heard. It was primeval, from a world that existed long before man had walked the earth. Collapsing to the ground, she thrashed about, slapping at her body, tearing the creatures free, lumps of her skin coming away with their bodies as she threw them aside.

Conal stood transfixed, unable to move as he watched the girl systematically consumed. He’d seen footage of army ants attacking a mouse, and piranhas attacking a carcass in a river, but nothing as horrific as this.

In her final throws, the dying girl batted a Sycler away. It flew into the air, landing on Conal’s bald head and before he could move, it had sunk its toothed tongue deep into his scalp.

***

When Piers swung the grid aside, it had revealed a two metre