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‘Bobby, get away from that thing!’ Kat demanded.
‘I’m pretty sure it doesn’t appreciate you calling it a thing.’ Bobby said, approaching Captain Clark, who was perched atop a pile of clothes, its knees drawn to its chest and its hands tucked between its legs.
Captain Clark looked up at him. Bobby slowly extended a hand toward it. Kat covered her mouth with both hands, bracing herself for the worst. She was certain it was about to tear his hand off.
Bobby rested his hand atop Captain Clark’s hat before gently petting it. Captain Clark closed its eyes as it let out a low rumble almost like a cat’s purr. Clark stared in stunned silence, struggling to keep his jaw from dropping.
‘How are you doing that?’ Clark blurted.
‘I guess I just got the magic touch.’ Bobby joked, moving his hand down to the side of Captain Clark’s face. Captain Clark leaned into the touch, rubbing its cheek against his hand. ‘It’s pretty cute. Actually…it looks like you, Clark.’
‘I don’t know how to feel about that…’ Clark muttered.
‘Why would it look like him? What is it even doing here? Why is it letting you pet it?’ Kat rattled off, barely pausing between questions.
‘You’re asking too many questions.’ Bobby remarked, lowering his hand as he looked around. ‘This is obviously its den.’
‘It’s like a bird building a nest…’ Clark observed.
Captain Clark titled its body, its attention shifting toward Clark. Clark’s eyes widened as he realized it was looking at him. Crawling on all fours, Captain Clark began making its way over. Clark yelped, stumbling backward into Kat. Together, they retreated until their backs hit a wall.
‘Hey! Hey! HEY!’ Kat screamed, but Captain Clark ignored her, taking hold of Clark and pulling him into its embrace.
Clark yelled, struggling against Captain Clark’s grasp, but it was useless. Captain Clark was far stronger than him. It carried him back to the pile of clothes and settled down, trapping him in its lap. Clark stared at Bobby and Kat, his expression frozen in panic.
‘You guys… Help. Me.’
Kat rushed over to Bobby. ‘Come on, Bobby. Do whatever you did before to make it trust you.’
‘Ok. Ok.’ Bobby huffed, slowly extending his hand. As soon as he did, Captain Clark bared its teeth and snarled. He paused and pulled his hand back. In response, it tightened its grip on Clark.
‘Bobby!’ Clark’s heart hammered in his chest.
Bobby gestured helplessly. ‘I don’t know, man! It changed!’ He tried to reach out again, but Captain Clark snapped at him. Recoiling, he took a couple steps back.
‘What do we do, Bobby?’ Kat asked anxiously.
Bobby threw up his hands. ‘We have to abandon him.’
‘What!?’ Clark spluttered.
‘I mean–what else do you want us to do? It won’t let you go!’ Bobby argued.
Kat rubbed the back of her neck and gave a helpless shrug. ‘We’re sorry…’
Clark’s jaw hit the floor as they both awkwardly shuffled away, continuously mouthing ‘I’m sorry…’
And just like that, Clark was left alone with Captain Clark. Captain Clark nuzzled against the back of Clark’s head, sniffing him before pulling away and licking his hair. Clark felt his soul leave his body as Captain Clark continued grooming him.
...
...
...
Captain Clark crawled over, lowered its head, and let an arm slip from its mouth onto the ground in front of Clark.
Clark laughed nervously, his whole body trembling. ‘Wo-wow.’ He swallowed. ‘...Is this for me…?’
Captain Clark nodded, nudging the arm closer with one hand. Clark shakily picked up the arm and examined it. It was still encased in the sleeve of a hazmat suit. The stump had already stopped bleeding, so it wasn’t fresh.
Clark gulped. ‘Thank you, but um…’ He set the arm back on the ground. ‘I don’t think I’m hungry.’