FLESH DIGGER

Length: Up to 3 m
Width: Up to 0.76 m
Height: 0.17 m (approx.)
Weight: Up to 2.72 kg
Speed: 16.10 km/h (approx. as adult) /
3.48 knots (approx. as larva)
Habitat: Variable


The Flesh Digger is an analog of Earth’s ancient mosquito. It is a “bug” the size of an earth feline with saws for legs. The Flesh Digger (“Diggers” for short) feeds by draining prey of their fluids. Death usually occurs before fluid extraction from a gaping wound of some kind. Adults are perpetually irritated and attack even if not in need of feeding. It is our firm opinion that the only true safety is tactical avoidance. Diggers offer a courtesy warning: the unmistakable beating of their four-wings which, in adequate numbers, creates a droning hum similar to the hypercopters of the mid 23rd century. It is the detection of that buzz, followed by silence, which must be immediately acted upon. The silence indicates the flapping has ceased and the Digger is in a power-dive at its prey. Lowering one’s phsical profile is not enough. Erratic zig-zagging towards shelter is highly advised. Merely falling to the ground makes you the ideal target. The Digger can be as opportunistic as it is a motivated hunter.

The larval stage of these creatures should not be underestimated. The toothy, translucent grubs swim in excess of 3 knots (give or take) easily catching any human in the aquatic medium. Larval Diggers possess a total of four (4) feeding proboscises; two of which lengthen and harden into what will become their frontal claws. The teeth, once set inside the outer pair of mouths, migrate to the outside. Over time, they form the serrated cleaving limbs of its adult form. The inner pair recedes to form mandibles similar to insects found on our own world and others. It is fortunate the two-stage beasts are outrageously cannibalistic in their youth, greatly reducing the numbers that will eventually take flight.

Diggers exhibit a strong preference for nocturnal hunts, though they won’t forego a midday snack should one foolishly present itself. We suspect an infrared-sensitive organ of some type, or some approximation thereof, makes night hunts more productive.

When a swarm of Flesh Diggers are on the prowl, few things are more comforting than a number of bodies around you. Such gracious company provides the demons with alternative targets. Ideal company would be proficient in fending off these tenacious predators. If not, the old adage holds true: “You don’t have to be the fastest in the group…just faster than the one next to you…even if you have to trip them…” We remain uncertain if the Monc elder who shared this advice was joking or not. As luck would have it, they’d suffered a stroke many decades before our arrival on Anomaly, preventing the proper conveyance of emotion.