Crashlanded

Night fell swiftly. Only five of us left now. Rest had been shot or eaten. We'd abandoned the crashed ship, fled into the surrounding forest. Big mistake. Full of predators, some sneaky, others downright unstoppable. I could still see the captain's face as the big beast chomped down on his mouth.

A cry, from the distance. It echoed, bouncing off the far off mountains. Four of them loked to me. I was their captain, now. My job, to keep them alive. As long as I could, anyway. The cry grew louder. We'd seen sense; killed the big thing while it ate the rest of the captain. Raced back to the crash site. Our ship had scorched a clearing as she landed. A circle of flatened grass, so we could see for a mile each way. And hear. Everything.

The cry grew not just in volume, but in pitch. Like a girl, shrieking. A banshee seizing the night. I looked to Dom. “That's not an animal.”

He kept his eyes up and wide. “Aerial cruiser. Medium sized. Headed right for us.”

Two guns between five. Though the other three were mere cadets. Wouldn't want them pulling a trigger unless it was to off themselves; even then, couldn't trust them to do it right. They huddled, knees bobbling. Pants wet with urine, no doubt.

I spat. “You good at longshots?”

“Nope,” said Dom, raising his linegun and aiming at the heavens. “But I'm a bloody quick learner.”

“Good man.” I afforded myself a smile. Only luxury we had now, humour. No food or water. And a big bastard waiting to kill us. Fun time was over.

The scream reached painful levels. There was an underlying boom.

“Rockets!” I shouted. “Get down!”

Too late. Dom was just a foot away when he exploded. Bone and blood flew everywhere. My autoshield flared up and most of it was stopped but a few drops and splinters flaked my suit. I gagged. The three kids wailed. A roar overhead. She was coming around for another shot.

A mumble. I looked down. “Jesus, Dom...”

He was still alive. Half his face blown off, his body ending at the sternum. He drooled blood and other things as he chuckled, “Almost had him...blew his load too early, inconsiderate...” His only eye glazed. I gritted my teeth and swore a silent oath. The three calmed down, looked to me.

“Here's a gun,” I said to the oldest, Fred I think. “Aim it and fire it.”

“But I don't have any--”

“Follow fucking orders.”

The scream came again, hungry for more.

He nodded, pale as death. “Aye, sir.” He dutifully aimed her up, sweeping the skies.

I followed suit with my more modest handgun. Long range, but poor visual. Had to follow my ears, allow for delay. The scream filled our ears. I aimed for a spot, pulled the trigger three times quickly. Pop-pop-pop. Three purple bolts splashed against white metal. Another boom.

We were done for. I took enough time to give Frank-I-think a too-bad smile, a maybe-next-time shrug. The missiles never came. The ground shook, and a pillar of blue fire rose up a mile away, in the forest. I'd got them.

I'd nailed the bastards.

“Fuck yeah!” I punched the air, gave fred a hug, winked at the cute young cadet-ette sitting down. Things were looking up. OK, we were marooned on a nightmare of a planet, but for now, tonight, we'd kicked those pale-faced monsters right in the vulnerables.

Dom...well, plenty of time for mourning.

“C'mon kids, let's make sure they're dead.”

Fred looked at me like I'd turned into one of those ghost aliens. “Sir! The animals...”

“We got guns and guts, Fred. They're no match.”

The cute one raised a hand. “They'll send a landing party, sir.”

I flashed her my cheapest smile. “I hope so. Kill them, take their ship, fly back upto the bigger ship, and kill them too!”

I turned to run when Fred grew a set and stepped in front of me. “We want to go home.”

“You see any other ships here?”

The young lad took a moment to ponder, so while he did I drove my knee where the fresh set had descended. He groaned and doubled up. “Exactly, Cadet. Only way home is right through those bastard's hearts. Now follow me.”

No more waiting. No more fleeing. I holstered my gun and leapt into the darkness of the alien forest, straight for the ship full of corpses.

Animal Smiles

It's night so I'm walking the beat. Ten blocks around my house. I always bring my gun in case I come across a Thing. Body armour too, light on the shoulders but able to take a pounding. It's wintery, real frosty, so I'm kinda shaky. Plus it's my dead wife's birthday. Irene, all smiles til the Things came and chewed her face off. I'm sipping on a naggin. Kills the pain, steadies the shakes, makes that pretty smile fade away.

It's cold. I said that already. But it;s important. See they don't like the cold. They're hot-blooded, just like us. And they shed skin a lot faster than us (we shed skin---see dust? That's mostly yours, Reader). Whole layers just peel right off under their clothes, like snakes. Leaves them raw, exposed. They find warm nests, burrow deep, wait til the sun comes back. Weeks, sometimes months, of pure, unadulterated bliss.

But tonight was fucking different.

The whiskey's made my belly warm, and to be honest I'm a little dizzy. Only three blocks to go. Another sip, why the hell not. Happy birthday, love. Rest in pieces. I chuckle, then break my shit laughing. It's unfunny as fuck but I'm bent right over, ass to the moon, laughing hard, thinking she's up there now, shaking her head, trying not to laugh too. I'm heaving til my eyes sting, and I finally get my breath back and hear the noise.

It's like a dog panting, or those excited grunts before the big white splurge. I straighten back up and he's there, leaning against a car, breathless. I can't see his eyes, but I know they're blood-red, and I know what he is. My hads are numb with the cold and the booze, and like a pure green-horn I drop the naggin. The smash is loud enough to wake the dead. I panic, grab my gun and point it at his bowed head. Bowed---he isn't looking at me. Just at the ground. Eyes down. Can it be this easy?

I waste no more time. Two flicks of the trigger—pop pop—and the gunshots fill my ears, echo through the street. Head goes back, damn near snaps off. Body falls back too, legs comically up in the air. Bam bam, dead and down. He's not even twitching. They normally twitch. He's just a few feet away, but something says don't go over there. Is it my wife? I can hear her. Stay away. I tell her to fuck off, and I go over. The eyes are shut. The face is so relaxed, like he's just sleeping, and he could be, except everything from his forehead up is a mess. Skull-bits and brain-bits all swirling in dark blood.

I'm looking, and I'm realising. I'm starting to pani again. Where's the scars? Where's that constant, twisted grin the Things have? Where's the blue veins, the blotches, the fangs? Fuck.

Fuck.

When the craziness all started, info-packs were miled to everyone. ID the monsters real quick, get them before they get you. Some bore some tell-tale signs, most bore all. But this dead guy was just a regular dude. Probably going for a run.

A run.

He was being hunted. Oh shit. OH SHIT.

The eyes flick open, and now my heart's going nuts. The eyes have no pupils. Might as well be cue balls. The smile appears. Cheeks go up, teeth yellow. He lunges for me but I jump back and pop another bullet right between the eyes. The head literally explodes. Steam rises from the ravaged neck. He's dead. Really dead this time.

This is a bad fucking sign, ladies and gentlemen. They're playing games with us. They're roaming at night, in winter. And this fucker wasn't afraid to die.

I'm sober as hell now. Gotta run home. Ring the guys. Warn them before they get lured in like my schmucky self.

Still two bullets left in the chamber. I keep the safety off, turn towards my street and see five figures waiting for me. It's dark, but I can still see their animal smiles.