Inside Outside

The aqua-pod thrummed as it veered away, still rocked by the intense currents surrounding the alien creature. They watched it recede in the rear-view cameras.

"Dear God, Thorenson," said Cornelius. "What is that growing all over its skin?"

Dr. Thorenson shook his head. "That's not skin. It's stomach lining."

"It's wounded?"

"No. It's meant to be that way. Its vestigial limbs are within its involuted body. The tail is intestine; it swims by peristalsis, summons the inflow of water with its esophagus. As far as it's concerned, we're all already in its stomach. It's only a matter of digesting us."