Alien Beast

“I’m up,” I growl, wiping my eyes as the pod door slides open for me.

I step outside my pod, feet planted against the metallic ridge-capped floor. Still half-asleep, I shuffle toward the dashboard window and gaze outside.

Another day in search of a mate. Not just any mate. The mate.

Will today be my lucky day?

The navigation lights are on, obscuring my peripheral. My reflection shines back at me, face holding an even, bitter gaze as I press a series of buttons and shift my craft into neutral.

A sphere of blue and green containing a myriad of tiny little lights fixed in the land masses appears before my eyes.

Earth.

“The Milky Way,” I mutter, blinking to see with more clarity. “Not again. System, stabilize magnetic thrusters and turn this ship around.”

Error. System malfunction. Entering Earth’s atmosphere.

“Bastard,” I growl. “Turn around, please?”

Error. System malfunction. Prepare for landing.

“Repair thrusters. Dammit. Turn around, you son of a bitch!”

The compartment lights flash. An alarm breaks through the stalled cabin, so loud I’m forced to cover my ears. The ship hits Earth’s atmosphere, and a brutal lurch throws me across the compartment.

My craft zips through grey clouds and thunderous ices, and the village below looks like it’s straight from a nightmare. My spacecraft, hot as the sun’s flames, heads for the ground.

No stopping this now.

There's a clang on the side of the ship as the exit hatch snaps and bends above me. It opens, and I am shot backward by gravity’s wretched hand. I have to fight with physics to keep my eyes open, but I can't quite make out the terrain.

Prying my head up to see the landing screens, I see two ragged figures stick their heads out of the brush below, scanning the outside air. They raise their weapons and wade out from the forest that separates them from me.

They are careful not to attract any attention, but their bravery and determination will be the first challenge I will be forced to end.

My memory is coming back to me. I know what to do.

Suspense, anticipation, and menace seem to accompany my every move, but when I hit the ground, a force to reckon with knocks me out of my senses.

I’ve landed. Lucky me.

With my craft out of commission, a bright yellow sunlight hits the window, flooding over my body. The cabin door, wrecked from the impact, falls onto the grassy null. I’m rocked pretty good, but I’m not injured.

I peer out to find t

he two men staring at me, their faces twisted with deranged wonder. They force their rifles against the bridge of my nose.

They both look about the same. Rugged and unshaven, bound to a lonely narrative that ends with their death. I’ll be the one to kill them because I am an alien.

I am designed for this.

The confident one of the bunch is tall and thick-gutted. His beard ends near his heart, and his tattoos pick up where it stops. He grins, revealing a set of yellow, cracked teeth.

“Well, look what dropped in on our hunt. We found us a savage, Carter,” he says.

I try to appear innocent, but then realize that my untamed beauty prompts them to act with sordidness, and my newfound restraint collapses.

I try to run.