Alien Breed

“The planet is big, Naomi. Maybe it’s smarter to stay hidden in the jungle. Zakar or Fassbender will win the hunt. If it’s the human, we will have an easier fight ahead of us,” he says.

As tempted as I am to follow through with being lazy, I can’t accept it. I’ve seen the horrific body of Zakar. I’ve seen what he can do.

Without any extra supplies, Fassbender will have to think of other options. I have no doubt that Fassbender will lose this fight.

I pull away from him, jogging through the forest. Reluctantly, Turin follows.

As we reach the yelling, I lay in the tall shrubbery and feel my stomach tighten when I see that ugly bastard’s face.

The more I think about it, the more I think Fassbender is the worst person I’ve ever come across.

He has found another facility, unfinished and rundown. Roy and Hugh have been tied to a tree.

Fassbender paces like a man who is about to get caught.

I listen to his insanity. “He couldn’t have gone far. The man is an imbecile,” he says, tone dropping to butter them up.

He tears the gags away from Roy and Hugh’s mouths. “You saw where he ran,” he says. “Tell me. Where is he?”

Roy’s face is covered in dark bruises. Welts have formed around his eyes, and his nose looks broken. Despite his physicality, he chuckles. “Go fuck yourself,” he says, annunciating each syllable proudly.

Yep, he’s the same Roy I knew. Nothing about him has changed.

Hugh hangs his head. He’s older and disabled. That doesn’t make him weak. In fact, he’s one of the toughest guys I’ve gotten to know. But even he looks defeated.

“Look,” he says. “You need not worry about Halloway. It’s Naomi you need to worry about,” Hugh says.

My heart flashes. Turn grabs my hand and squeezes. “All right, let’s go.”

“Not. Yet,” I mutter, teeth clenched.

Fassbender leans over Hugh. “The bitch is dead,” he says. “Raped, killed, her body used as a sock puppet.”

“Lies,” Hugh says.

Fassbender raises his voice again. “You think I’ve betrayed you, but I’m the only one you’ve got,” he says. “These aliens are the cockroaches of the universe. I was trained to stomp them out, and I’m going to do everything in my power to do that. But I need my crew to stick by my side. I need to know the captain isn’t going to bust out of the leaves with a semi-automatic. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” Hugh says. “But you know the captain. He’s not well-trained in the art of survival. If Naomi is dead, he’ll be dead, too.”

Throughout the year, I’ve gotten to know Hugh pretty well. He hasn’t turned on us. I wonder if, he’s working out an escape plan. The thought gives me hope because if it’s true, we might have a shot at winning this thing.

Fassbender turns and rests his hands across his forehead. Whispering something to himself, he looks into the jungle.

He’s never looked so scared.

He’s staring right at me, though he has no clue. The vegetation provides enough shield, but it doesn’t stop my stress levels from skyrocketing.

When I get back to Earth, I’m booking a long session with a psychiatrist.

“Well, you have given me no choice,” he says. “If you can’t do anything to help move along our mission, I have to keep you locked up.”

Roy spits. The saliva splatters Fassbender face and lips. “Scum bucket,” he sneers. “I hope he ruts you to death.”

Fassbender wipes away the thick phlegm. Afterward, he nods as if he’s made a final decision. “Tonight, I will leave you here.”

Hugh’s face lights up with panic. “What?”

“I’ll leave you here as bait, and when the disgusting lizard arrives to eat your bodies, I will take him out,” he says.