Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 125

This week's picture prompt is from sculpture/artist Rob Mulholland who made these out of perspex, in 2009. He calls the project Vestige and you can read more about it here. 

This turned out milder than I thought. I seem to have lost my dark streak at the moment. I want to change that. We will see what next week brings.
The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here.

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Visitors

Can it see us? Adrienne moved to her left to see better round the foliage.

I don’t think it can. Ralph moved towards the creature but there was no reaction until the bushes were disturbed. The creature paused, looking in his direction, but then returned to what it was doing. I think it can hear though.

How can it hear?

Those fleshy flaps covering holes on either side of their heads, they call them ‘ears’.

Ralph and Adrienne watched the creature, wondering what it was doing; it kept bending and putting things in a gathering pouch and occasionally in an opening in its head.

This was the first time anyone had been on the ground. They had done simulations and learnt as much as possible but there was something totally awe inspiring actually being here, and standing inches away from a real creature.

Observations had been ongoing for some time but there’d been no physical interaction attempted as they were considered highly dangerous, their volatile nature having been recorded many times.

A high shriek cut the air.

Ralph what is that? He could feel Adrienne wince.

I don’t know.

Another creature appeared, smaller than the other, balancing on four poles rather than two. It emitted a keening sound from its opening, revealing white barbs inside.

Does it see us?

I think it does.

It kept moving towards them and then back. Then they heard another sound, it was low and drawn out and seemed to emit from the other creatures mouth.

“What is it boy? You sense something too? Yeah, I thought I saw something earlier.”

The creature moved toward them to where the smaller one was still making a strange sound. It touched the smaller creature and the sound reduced, although it still emitted a high pitch that Ralph and Adrienne struggled to tolerate.

Did you record that?

Yes, I got it. Adrienne replied.

Excellent. We can analyse it back at the lab. Come on, I want to get away from that noise.

Me too.

As they retreated the sound stopped, both creatures appearing to sense their absence, and retreating themselves. Ralph and Adrienne were excited; they had a lot to impart to their collective.