Blood. The scent of fresh blood, not the stale, old fluid that ithey/i excrete. Voices reach my ears, and a man enters the area. My area. My hands grip the sharp shingles of the roof, tightening and untightening in anticipation of the hunt. He is old, with crinkled skin and a beard like snow. He wears a green jacket and some sort of hat. He is considered elderly in human years, but his eyes…he is not the one I want to mess with. Two more enter, both men. The first is dark-skinned, in contrast to his bright shirt. The other is another predator, even worse than the first. He is large, towering above the horde, death following him wherever he goes. My lips raise over my gums, and I let loose a small growl, low enough that it cannot be heard by the prey, but filled with anger none the less. This is slightly aggravating. I may have to fight for my prey. But then another comes into sight. Small, supple, slim…most definitely female. The sweet, tantalizing smell of her flesh beckons me towards her. She will be mine.
The others are only good enough for them to sacrifice themselves for me. They fall countlessly and numerously at the feet of the survivors. Pathetic. It is not long until the horde lies dead at their feet, the few stragglers running off, realizing the battle is fruitless. Sliding off the dark surface, I swing into the shattered window of the building below. Sliding back onto my haunches, I wait in the cold, cool darkness for my prey to pass.
"Weapons over here!" The voice of the old man comes from down below. Who would be careless enough to leave firearms lying helter-scelter everywhere? Disgusting. This is a setback, but the woman will be mine none the less.
"Zoey, first-aid over right here." The female, Zoey, walks over to the black man, but pushes away the red package.
"Let Bill have it. The pills he has are wearing off." To the old man, she yells: "Bill, come here!" He scampers over to the two, and the girl walks off leaving the other three behind. She must plan to scout ahead. A fatal mistake on her part. The others do not realize they are gone, or do not care. Most likely the former. The humans stick annoyingly close to each other these days. She enters the dark alley besides my building, my nest, and I let loose a growl, loud enough to make the girl jump and turn, her gun raised.
"I hear a Hunter! Come out, ya wussy!" She smiles, like this is a silly game. She should know that this is much more than a game. I open my mouth wide, and let loose a scream from the back of my throat, throwing myself out the window, shattering the glass. But suddenly, a form is slamming into me, and I go flying into the ground. Another of us, wearing a ripped jacket held together with shiny strips, sits in front of me. The girl is gone. This thing made me loose the delicious fresh flesh, something of a rare delicacy these days. He will pay. Leaping, I slice over his dark green skin, a scream of pain reverberating through the neighborhood. He was weak.
That stupid weakling had put me behind, but eventually I found the four again. The girl is even more delicious looking, her red jacket fluttering in the breeze. Oh yes. I will have her. She will be mine. Licking the almost non-existent lips around my mouth, I scream more, but stay put, sliding into the inky darkness once again. Something comes up behind the four; a large, disgusting, blubbery form. It shoots a sickly green ooze at them, and then explodes at the prodding of a bullet. Its purpose is done. The smell of the bile brings the horde, and the underlings claw at the humans, pushing and pulling their weak, mortal forms. They all die within minutes, but they have become useful: the four are weakened, especially the girl. Another scream, one much like mine, comes from behind them. The bolt, obviously unprepared. Unfortunately, they don't see the red slash on the girl's leg. She lags far behind. This is my chance. She will be mine. Letting loose a primal, horrifying scream, I jump farther and faster than any of the four would be able to, and land on the girl's chest. She screams, but none of the men come to her aid. My claws rip across her chest, leaving oozing red slashes. She screams once more, this time in pain. In the heat of the moment, I don't realize the sound of a shotgun loading. The large man pulls the trigger, and then all I see is black.