Rusty Hinges

Stone’s fist, secure in the combat suit and hidden by camouflage, impacted the Hyrocanian mouth before it closed around the baby. Stone grabbed the helpless piglet with his free hand and tossed it to a startled female. The piglet, the last of her kind on the delivery shuttle, grabbed the baby and ran.

Stone twisted his fist, trying his best to break every tooth in the Hyrocanian’s mouth. Hyrocanians have four sets teeth, two for chewing vertically, and two for chewing horizontally. Suddenly, his fist broke free from the shattered teeth. Opening his fist, he felt something soft and squishy at the back of the alien’s throat. He closed his fingers around it and yanked.