The corridors of the old bunker were silent, apart from the steps of the executioners.

A group of five muscled figures, all the same height, marched rapidly through the tunnels, armed to the teeth with assault rifles, grenades, and shotguns. Their white, radiation-proof uniforms and featureless masks contrasted in the dark, but these soldiers couldn’t care less whether they were spotted or not; they were there to take out the trash, not to play hide and seek.

The industrial size fridge was empty. All the beds in the sleeping quarters were neatly made, and there wasn’t a single living soul hiding under any of them. The bathroom and the showers were also devoid of life, and so was the canteen and the medical bay, along with the gym, the lounge, the conference auditorium, and the laundry room.

“Where are they?” one of them asked while looking at the patterns and weird writing on the walls “They couldn’t have possibly known we were coming, right?”

“I’m not detecting any heat signatures,” said another, before wiping a line of dust on one of the laundry machines “Maybe they moved?”

“Hello~” said a voice out of nowhere, startling the executioners.

They pointed their weapons at a silhouette in the room’s corner. He was calmly leaning against the wall, wearing a brown fur hood that covered him from head to toe.

“Who are you?!” asked one agent.

“He doesn’t look like any of the monsters in the pictures they gave us,” said another.

“Oh yeah, the kids left a long time ago. You know, you guys should thanking me instead of pointing gun at me. If it wasn't for or the kids, this place would still be too radiated for even plants to grow,” he said casually, with a heavy French accent. 

“Where are the creatures?” A soldier asked, pointing their gun at him, the others following their lead and getting ready to fire.

“They have a name, you know? They’re Engniuts, or builders if you will. I created them to thrive where no life could flower. They eat and die and leave behind a clean and fertile paradise, ready to be seeded with life… Truly, one of my best creations. They do what my sister is too busy to even entertain.”

“Sister?”

“Yes, my sister Space. She's such a diva sometimes... But I love her anyway.”

“You... created them?”

“Yup.”

“Ok, that’s enough, you’re coming with us,” said the soldier with a golden armband.

“Hmmm… Nah, don’t feel like it~ Oh, and I lied, by the way, one of them is still there.”

“What?” before they could turn around, their head flew off their shoulders, along with the heads of the rest of the squad.

“Good job!” he praised, getting closer to the gooey creature the size of two grown men.

He patted the child on the head with his metallic hand, making them flinch.

“Oh sorry…” he apologized. 

The god looked at his hands, which had needles instead of fingers. 

It wasn’t fair... There were so many cute creatures he wanted to pet, so many of his creations that he wanted the cradle... But his hands were metallic and cold, just like the rest of his sharp bony body. 

He sometimes wondered why his creator gifted him with so much love for life and for all the cute creatures of the universe, only to curse him with a body that would make even his creations squeamish. The god did think once or twice about customizing it to his taste, as his siblings did with theirs, but he still had a job to do and couldn’t afford to forfeit either those hands or his cold insides.

“It’s… fine…” the red bioluminescent creature growled.

“Come on, let’s get you back to your parents.” the man said, taking a quick glance at the soldiers. Four of them were dripping blood, and the other was sparkling like a high tension power cable.

“Hmm… Guess they’re starting to fill out their ranks with humans… Well, that’s fucked up.”