36
Florian woke up lying face first in dust.
He coughed. His entire body felt like it was hit by a spaceship. Every bone ached.
He looked up.
He was in the netherscape.
High in the sky, the sucking mouths roared.
“Aaagh,” he said.
Those damn Planet Eaters!
He stood, and looked around.
Tatiana and Huxley lie next him, groaning. The rest of the crew was littered around, unconscious.
“Wake up!” Florian cried.
Tatiana rubbed her eyes. Her glasses were broken and her face was covered in scratches.
He helped her up.
“You all right, Tati?” he asked.
“Aside from being nearly blind, I'm fine.”
Florian squinted and look around. There was nothing—just the bleak, negative landscape. It was a long way up to the mouths, and the spaceship was gone.
A gray ink figure appeared in the sky, a
