ELMO
STARDATE 04.17.24
EVO-HABITAT
Elmo slowly navigated through the many space reefs full of corals, space kelp, cosmic algae, and star anemone that populated the Evo-Habitat. To his right, a school of deep space dwelling arrowfish swam together in unison like a cloud. To his left, phosphorescent star jellies floated in space as if suspended on strings like a marionette. Elmo was one of the Cuttleven, no longer a baby, but young for an adult. A thin fin encircled the entire mantle of his body, vibrating up and down like waves in the ocean to propel him forward.
As Elmo closed in on his favorite asteroid, he playfully swam with the many types of multi-colored space fish around him. He laughed to himself and tried to use his inborn telepathy to communicate with them.
<hello?>
<where are you going?>
<where are you from?>
<what is your name?>
But the space fish never answered him. Either they were not intelligent enough or they did not possess telepathy to respond.
On the asteroid, Elmo drifted through the green and blue star anemone searching for a modest-sized cosmic crustacean. It wasn’t long before Elmo found one. Each of the eight short tentacles that sprouted from the front of Elmo’s face projected short-range beams of light, driving the crustacean into an area where it had its back to a wall.
In the next instant, Elmo’s body began glowing with spectacular bio-luminescent energy. His light flashed with rolling waves of intense illumination, mesmerizing the crustacean until it was frozen in place. Suddenly, a long appendage shot out of Elmo’s mouth, snagging the hypnotized crustacean and drawing it quickly into Elmo’s mouth. Plasma toxin penetrated the crustacean’s shell, rendering it completely helpless for consumption. Delighted, Elmo floated backward with his delicious prize.
But in his zeal, Elmo grew careless. He accidentally bumped into a deadly anemone that released an electric shock through its tentacles. In his mind, Elmo cried out as pain as the electricity caused his body to jerk and spasm. Fortunately, Elmo didn’t let go of the crustacean that was to be his next meal.
While recomposing himself, Elmo stared straight ahead at a dark hole that led into the center of the asteroid. His mother warned him never to enter the cave and he had always listened. But Elmo always wondered what was inside. Perhaps whatever danger that had frightened his mother was no longer there? Curious, Elmo slowly floated closer and closer to the cave, trying to see if he could spot anything with his unusual w-shaped eyes.
Little did Elmo know that two eyes had been watching him like a hawk from within the darkness.
THE MONSTER LURCHED OUT OF THE CAVE LIKE LIGHTNING, INTENT ON ENDING ELMO’S LIFE IN ONE SWIFT MOTION.
