Baby

its species to hurt living creatures. Its species revered all life. For an eternity, their sole purpose was to study and enhance life. The Elders had been fiercely ambitious. The creature suspected its mission had something to do with the changes in its species’ priorities since the life altering mistake of the Elders. Their attention turned from their business in the stars to their own survival. At the moment, the creature had no idea how the details of its mission could be recovered. So it decided one necessity at a time.
    The creature tried to lift its head, bringing on a sharp pain accompanied by dizziness. He had somehow been damaged. It felt its useless wings crumbled and cramped under its tiny body. It tried desperately to remember something about the life forms of this planet. Unable to focus, it wondered if it was due to the unexpected presence of its offspring, the atmosphere of the planet or complications during the Emergence. As the creature drew in the life form, it planned to take what was needed, leaving the life form essentially unchanged for now. The current in its veins quickened as its antlers picked up the distant sounds. The sounds were very faint, the entrance to its shelter being so far away and at a different elevation. Soon, the next chapter of its mission would start, but sadly, it had little hope for its success, as its death, due to the Emergence, was not far off.
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    Netty labored long and hard to remove stones and larger rocks from what appeared to be the entrance to a tunnel. She felt dog tired. How or why she continued was beyond her comprehension. The sun set hours ago and the cold numbed her fingers. Who in the world dug a tunnel way out here and why should I care? Her poor feet screamed, her sores begging for a good soaking. Netty found she could now stand in the mouth in the tunnel.
    Straightening up and standing tall, she realized she could actually see inside what should have been a pitch black interior. Reaching out, she touched one of the walls, quickly withdrawing her hand, as the wall felt squishy and wet. Examining her hand, she found it bone dry. Quickly moving away from the strange wall, she took tiny steps into the tunnel. As she shuffled along, she noticed the absence of debris on the floor . Odd, she thought. And why is it that I have no trouble seeing in the dark? Actually, it no longer appeared to be night. It seemed to be more like daylight. What is this place?
    She trudged on, noticing the tunnel branched off the main artery, into many other directions. A quick peek astonished her with the breadth and the height of the other branches. She must be careful or she would get lost. Time past as she continued on, sticking to the main artery. From time to time, she rubbed her hand along a normal looking wall. The harder she pressed the wall, the deeper her hand disappeared. Yet each time, her hand remained dry when withdrawn. She eventually noticed a distinct change of grade, signaling her descent. Her shivering ceased as the cave began to chase away her chill.
    Netty suddenly stopped her trek. She turned to the right, noticing a small opening to what appeared to be a chamber. Puzzled about an irresistible compulsion that suddenly gripped her, she stopped and entered the chamber. Clearing the little opening, she gasped at the sight of what appeared to be a dead infant lying on a rock ledge. As she approached the child she realized her first impression had been wrong. It was not a child after all. She could clearly make out a tail. She edged closer, her heart going out to the poor creature that had probably found an opening to the cavern and crawled inside to die, safely away from the forest predators. But what such creature is this? The tiny shriveled body was unrecognizable. It was obviously female, as she did not see signs of any genitalia. She strangely saw no overt signs of decay. Cradling the creature’s head in her hands, she prayed over it, asking God to accept another of his children into his arms.
    As Netty’s eyes were clenched with prayer, she failed to notice the creature’s tail rising. She tenderly cradled the creatures head, feeling warmth. Opening her eyes, she saw the little creatures limbs had unfurled and taken on a rosy golden hue, although the texture still looked like that of dissected leather.
    Suddenly, she spotted the tail hanging in the air. The end now shaped like a large bulb, extruding a thick fibrous membrane. She felt a wave of