RINGS OF ELECTRIC-RED suspended in orbs of abyssal blackness gazed absently at their mirrored twin selves through the dust-covered surface of the helmet’s cracked visor. Yet, the hallowed-out sockets of the desiccated skull within, held no words for the monster crouched down over it in passive curiosity.

  Scaly alabaster hands reached out with clawed fingers towards the dusty, black metallic headgear.

  The alloy was of excellent make, designed to withstand the demanding conditions of a spacewalk, and strong pull was all it took to separate it from the roots of the growing, prolific biomass that had bound it to the cracks in the concrete.

  The tiny white tendrils writhed vigorously for a second as if in silent pain when they broke away from the inner lining of the metal. However, since the skull was still within the clutches of this brownish plant-like growth, the matted network of stems wove their now exposed parts into the cracks of the bones instead.

  The helmet was no longer as viable, but there was a chance that the electronics within still had potential to be repurposed.

  I spared a glance at the purgatory of eternal dawn. An orange glow, low in the eastern skies over the urban break of the horizon where the suns never rose.

  I needed to move a bit faster.

  The last storm had gone on for three weeks, and I didn’t think I could bunker down for that long for the next one if things remained as they were.

  I paused momentarily in front of the glass doors of a dilapidated building, arching my ears towards the sounds of crumbling rock and shattering glass that came from inside…

  My array of multiple senses, easily zeroed in on the metal scaffolding of an elevator shaft within the building that had corroded away.

  I could see through certain solid objects with relative ease – depending on their material structure that is.

  The thick walls did little to obstruct my view.

  In the quiet that followed the humanoid silhouette in the mirror-like surface scrutinised me.

  I stared back at the lone, statuesque figure who was regarding me with the same critical intensity. And although we both stood deathly still, my reflection seemed a tiny bit more intimidating than I felt.

  Balanced on digitigrade hind legs, my bipedal form supported its own weight entirely on the front pads of its feet and four toes. They were scaled, in thin, chitin-like armour, and had partially retractable claws.

  From my knees to my torso my legs were covered in small and finer flat scales, which glossed like a thousand tiny shards of broken frosted crystals when they caught the light at a proper angle.

  A pair of flat, sizeable twin tails, trailed from the end of my spine all the way down behind me, and the pointed tips that harboured flat, crystal-like razor edges, swayed a brush above the ground. My extra appendages were about a metre and a half in length… or perhaps slightly more. And they were quite hefty in weight, and their lengths obviously made a huge impact on my centre of gravity.

  I kept both tails pressed against each other, meshed as a single moving appendage – unless otherwise needed.

  Nestled just above the circumference of my tails, were two thick rope-like limbs – one on either side of my spine just above my pelvic region. Each one was about two centimetres in diameter, and they measured a little more than three metres long each.

  One would label these ‘tails’ as well, if it wasn’t for the distinct feature that set them apart from the lower set.

  Four, long and flat, chitinous digits, that were as nimbly and as flexible as fingers, were at the end of each of these additional ‘tails’. The digits on either tail were all razor sharp and came in two pairs of two long, and two slightly shorter petal-like extremities.

  These extremely dexterous extra-long tails armed with quad claws each, had most of their lengths coiled around my hips.

  When the leafy-like fingers on each end lied closed, they concealed the fact that the inner surface of each had needle-like rows of tiny, curved, venomous barbs – perfectly hidden in the tiny flaps of the pads that resembled oversized fingerprints.

  It was only when I tensed them taunt that the little razor bristles stood out from the fleshy pads under the sharp chitin covers.

  And from my lengthier, thinner tails – the rest of the way up my back – there were two sets of gradually bigger floppy, fin-like appendages, rested flat against my back. With the biggest pair, fifteen centimetres long and four or five centimetres at their widest, right below shoulder level. The two others below those were two-third of the bigger ones’ size. And at rest, they lapped over each other upon my back.

  I could move these flap-like fins individually.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  My modest chest defined my feminine features further. Two smaller and inferior version of the fins were nestled beneath each breast, almost to the side of my ribs. These could also be moved individually.

  As if having four tails were not enough, I had four arms.

  The lower ones – nestled right beneath the upper ones – were slightly smaller and the hands there only had three fingers and a thumb each. Whilst my main pair of hands had four fingers and opposable thumbs respectively.

  My human-like hands had fingertips clawed sharply with metal-hard chitin-like covers. Unlike my feet, these were not retractable.

  I kept my lower arms pressed against my sides, opting not to move them around unless necessary.

  The same principle was used in regards to my other limbs and attachments, since I preferred to save what sparse reserves of energy my body had to consume in terms of food.

  The entirety of my body was covered in the same white, partially reflective scales. But this was only as a measure against the harsh radiation of the thin sky and weakened magnetic field. My scales would shift to black through the conscious control of my chromatophores if I ever needed it.

  Out of every part of my body, my face was where it actually got rather complicated.

  My eyes were my most noticeable feature. Since the rest of my body was entirely paper-white, the two black orbs – slightly bigger than a human’s – were without eyelashes, but I still had eyelids that could blink.

  Two big, luminescent-red haloes floating in complete blackness, were the only indication that I still had irises.

  Thankfully the bristlier scales arched above them still indicated eyebrows… which were an essential part of conveying facial emotions if nothing else.

  I had the shape of a small, narrow nose, which made my face seem less monstrous. However, the eight teardrop-shaped openings that ran alongside my nose to where cheekbones would have been, were sensory pits for smell and not nostrils for breathing.

  My cheeks were hardened, slightly-flexible flaps, divided into multiple sections on either side of my face, and they also extended their cover to the front of my face where the lips of my mouth should have been.

  The shape of what should have been my lips was nothing but a thin zigzag that stretched across the lower portion of my face.

  And if I were to part my jaw in the same motion a human would use to open their mouths. The sections of my cheeks would move aside and curl away to reveal twelve, long and dagger-like canines, nestled between four upper and lower rows of sharp, serrated teeth – stretching far wider than a normal mouth should open.

  My tongue was narrow, extended to nearly half a metre in length, and doubled as a proboscis when required.

  Above my forehead, where my hairline should have begun, were thick chitin-like flaps. They were folded backwards over the top of my head in the shape of a featureless-looking half-crown. These flaps were actually a single cowl that pulled down over my eyes when necessary.

  My cowl – when down – fitted over my sensory pits and flush against the wedges of my cheeks… which made it look like I was faceless.

  However, the cowl served another purpose. Once pulled down, it had tiny, membrane-covered orbs, hidden between the few folds that acted as more sensitive ocular organs.

  With the cowl down, I lost sight of visible light since they covered my regular black eyes – but I gained the ability to see electromagnetic disturbances in other spectrums.

  Adding my regular eyes to the sum of all these tiny orbs, made a total of twenty-one ocular organs.

  Where my hair should have been there was a mass of a thick, silky, milk-white, feather-like mane that stretched all the way down behind my neck.

  This was actually my only way to respire – and to a lesser degree – secondary taste and smell. It was split into five separations, two of which I kept lying over my shoulders, across my chest.

  The feather-like mass could be arched and extended like a ruffed-up crest to allow more air through it for better diffusion, or the feather-like mass could be retracted to prevent the delicate bed of fibres from being damaged.

  The five separations could also be manipulated to a degree.

  My ears were tall, bearing a rabbit-like resemblance. Standing at the upper sides of my head, like thin and long radar dishes.

  However, I could keep them lying down at the sides of my head when I wasn’t swivelling them around for better hearing.

  They were also covered in tiny scales that were a little on the softer side than those on the rest of my body.

  Where normal ears should be on a human were two smaller auditory organs, which were similar to that of most small felines.

  Inside all four auditory organs were thin, bone-like plates that could close access to my ear canals.

  They served a multitude of purposes, like preventing loud sounds from damaging my drums… water or dust from reaching inside… and to keep the inner pressure stable during rapid changes in elevation.

  I was a mix of different attributes that made no evolutionary sense.

  ‘A tailored weapon…’ the thought rose to the surface unexpectedly.

  A shiver ran through me at the sight of the monster I was, ruffling my scales and momentarily revealing the oily-looking, pitch-black skin beneath.

  I averted my eyes from the glass door, as my upper ears lowered and other pair flattened back, and I continued on my way.

  I wasn’t armed with much, except for a utility belt loaded with a few simple tools, a foldable mini solar charger, and an extra battery bank.

  In addition to this I had a large duffle bag in which I carried my meagre salvages.

  I did carry a data pad as well, which was the reason why I needed a charger and battery. But with no network to connect to, the best it could do was display a map and keep track of some of my more mundane tasks and notable points of accomplishments.

  The newly acquired helmet wouldn’t fit amidst all the clutter I had in the duffle so I clutched it aloofly in a tail-claw.

  The sudden crackling of static noise had me nearly jumping out of my own skin as the helmet beeped into life.

  Even as I had suddenly held it out at length away from me, I could still hear the distant chatter of voice coming through.

  I understood that I must have gripped the device on the earpiece in a way that activated it as it drew power from whatever remained from the dregs of its internal battery.

  The voices sounded snappy and urgent, but the choked into silence before I could make out anything coherent.

  The headpiece was nowhere near powerful enough to reach far, and the obvious conclusion brought no comfort – raising my hackles and pseudo-fins.

  I was no longer alone.