In the Garden of the Glugdug

In the Garden of the Glugdug

Trevor Prescott

“Stay down!” Kevin put his hand on Darren’s shoulder. Darren ducked just in time to avoid being seen by the Glugdug.

“What’s he doing?” Darren asked, his voice a whisper so soft that Kevin almost didn’t hear him.

“Harvesting.”

The Glugdug lumbered across the yard, his navy blue scales shimmering in the early morning light. His footfalls caused the ground to tremble beneath Kevin’s knee. Please don’t pick Maxine, Kevin thought to himself.

The Glugdug came to a stop in the center of the garden. Rows of bare feet protruded from the soil all around him. He leaned down, prodding at the instep of one foot with one long, gleaming claw.

“What now?”

Kevin usually Dug on his own, but this time he needed Darren. Allegedly, he could identify Maxine just by her feet. Still, he was a novice--and a liability.

“Starvation causes the body to shrivel. If he finds someone too bony, he’ll throw them away.” Kevin shuddered. He’d been down there once, trapped in a cocoon of packed soil, starving and living off of whatever rainwater happened to dribble down his breathing tube. He'd been one of the lucky ones; the Diggers had liberated his garden about a year prior.

“Maxine has only been here for two days. What if he picks her?”

The pitch of Darren’s voice was rising, the tone shuddering. His fingers trembled.

“Calm down. There are at least two dozen people here. The odds are in our favor.”

The Glugdug found a suitable human and gripped his ankles, yanking him up out of the ground with one swift motion. Dirt and soil flew as the man exploded from the ground, the breathing tube flying from his mouth. The man burst into a string of screams.

Kevin swallowed hard. Every time he saw this, only one thought came into his mind: That could have been me.

The Glugdug yanked the adjacent pair of feet from the ground. A screaming woman burst free, her naked body coated with dirt. Content, the Glugdug--clutching the man by his ankles in his one claw and the woman in his right—started back for his house.

“Was that Maxine?”

Darren shook his head. “Maxine has dark brown hair.”

The Glugdug plodded back inside.

“Now--make it quick!”

Darren sprinted across the garden with Kevin behind him. A Hilton hotel had stood here once, in a time before the Glugdugs had landed, when watching the Red Sox lose the World Series was Kevin’s only concern.

“Here!” Darren called in a loud whisper. “This is her! This is Maxine’s toe ring!” Darren fell to his knees to claw at the dirt around Maxine’s calves with his bare hands.

Kevin joined him, digging with a rusty spade while keeping a close eye on the Glugdug through the window. He’d deposited the man into a basket and laid the woman flat on the counter.

Kevin had seen this enough times to numb the screams. Sure, the first time had been traumatic--watching a Glugdug hold down a woman and cut away her breasts and buttocks with one razor-sharp claw had left a pretty deep psychological scar--but nowadays these shrieks bounced off Kevin’s ears like bullets deflected by a Glugdug’s scales.

“What’s he doing to her…?”

“Getting rid of the fatty bits. Keep digging.”

Maxine started to kick when they freed her knees. Kevin took hold of her ankle and patted her calf. Be still. You’re one of the lucky ones.

Kevin grabbed at Maxine’s loins, pulling away clumps of dirt by the handful and brushing pebbles from her vaginal lips. He cast a glance at the Glugdug again. Being trimmed had his breakfast in shock, but the hot surface of the cooking pan renewed her screams. The Glugdug held her against the metal with the back of his claw until the screaming stopped. Kevin breathed a sigh of relief.

When they could see Maxine’s breasts, Kevin and Darren grabbed her ankles.

“One. Two. Three!”

Together, the men pulled upward and yanked Maxine free. She spat the breathing tube to the ground and broke into a series of sputtering coughs. Kevin pressed his hand over her mouth. “Quiet. You’re not safe yet.” He turned to Darren. “Let’s go.”

“We can’t…”

Kevin helped Maxine to her feet and took her by the hand when she stumbled. “The blood is rushing out of your head. You’ll feel dizzy for a while. Now Darren—come on!”

“Look at all these people…” He wandered toward the feet next to him. “We have to help them…”

“Don’t try to be a hero! You’re lucky to have gotten Maxine back! Now come on!”

Darren dropped and began digging at the next pair of legs. Kevin looked over his shoulder just in time to see the Glugdug peer out the window.

“Darren! Shit!”

The Glugdug roared and came crashing out of the house. All six of his eyes were trained on Darren. Kevin took off running, clutching Maxine’s hand in a white-knuckle grip. She stumbled after him, doing everything in her power to keep from tumbling.

The Glugdug charged, scooping Darren up in one meaty claw. Darren’s ribs crunched and he vomited blood. His arms and legs went limp. The Glugdug looked their way just as Kevin dragged Maxine around the corner.

Maxine panted and keeled, bracing her hands on her knees. “What’s happening…” Her voice was soft and distant.

“You’re in shock. You’re going to have to trust me.” Kevin extended his hand. “We have to get out of here. There’s a bunker about a quarter mile north.”

Maxine wiped a spot of dirt from her cheek and examined Kevin with trembling eyes.

“Please,” Kevin’s voice was soft. “Trust is the only thing mankind has left.”

Taking a deep breath, Maxine took Kevin’s hand and they started running. Content that he'd killed one of them, the Glugdug returned to the kitchen and resumed making breakfast.

The man's screams followed Maxine and Kevin all the way home.