There had never been a worse time to sneeze.
The two were sitting in a tree in the dark woods. The girl leaned against the tree trunk high among the branches. The boy sat next to her, tapping his fingers against the limb. Branches snapped and leaves crunched all around them, and they knew they were goners. The Xenagons were quick and approaching at a fast rate. The pair both wondered why they even thought it was a good idea to leave the ship in the first place.
The planet had been so beautiful. After 7 years of space travel they finally reached the place they've been training to go to their whole life. Who could blame them for being thrilled?
Planet Xenonon was everything and more than they were promised. The oxygen levels were strong enough to support human life. Trees grew faster, taller, and stronger than on Earth. Water flowed at an ample rate. Xenonon was the perfect replacement for their dying planet.
After years of investigations and probes sent to the planet, the scientists determined it was safe to send humans to it. Little did they know, it was far from safe.
Xenagons were far more intelligent than originally proposed. They were smart enough to never let a probe find their hideouts. Smart enough to never let the scientists know that they eat anything that comes in their path. Smart enough to trick the scientists to send their bravest warriors as their first human snack.
The second they had arrived on Xenonon, they knew they would have trouble. The Xenagons quickly found their ship and searched the surroundings. They were far scarier in person. Xenagons had dark, scaly skin. They had the same body structure as human, with some minor changes. Their long black tail was pointed at the end, perfect for slicing up their victims. Two strong arms came from each side, and then two legs fit for running long distances. They could walk on two legs or four; it didn't matter to them. Given their six eyes and large nostrils, their hunting abilities were far more than humans were capable of. The left collection of two eyes had the skill to petrify anything that makes eye contact with one. The other four were normal, slightly more enhanced eyes. It's mouth had two rows of sharp, black teeth and a long, blue tongue. Xenagons were truly creatures from hell and below.
Mikki and Wes were the first known humans to come into contact with the inhabitants of Planet Xenonon. They were also the first known humans to be completely devoured in front of their six other crewmen by the Xenagons.
Mikki and Wes were by far the strongest and most intelligent members of the crew. They had been sent out to take samples of nearby plants and wild life, but were attacked minutes from stepping outside the ship. The Xenagons had hidden in the brush and blended in with their surroundings, waiting until the ship was closed and the two humans were far enough away from it. The crew sat in the ship in horror, watching three beastly Xenagons jump out from the forest and feast upon their life long friends.
The crew went into panic after Wes and Mikki were killed. They had to contact the scientists back on Earth and tell them everything, as they were instructed to do once a week or if anything bad occurs. This was a time of crisis in which a call must be made immediately. The six people all gathered in the main room of the ship. After several attempts of contact, they realized their communications were down. The satellites on the roof were busted. They could only assume the Xenagons had broken them, somehow knowing that was one of the most important parts of the ship. The only way to communicate would be to have someone go outside and fix the satellites. After a night of rest and long conversations, two people volunteered to go out.
Clyde, the mechanic. He could fix anything in the blink of an eye. He knew this was his job to help successfully contact his home planet. Trinity would be going with him. She was a strong warrior, and very skilled with guns and hand to hand combat.
The two would go out together. Clyde would fix the satellites while Trinity protected him from any trouble. She would go with weapons galore, and if it got too bad, they would come in through the emergency hatch in the roof. A foolproof plan, the six thought.
What they didn't account for was the Xenagon's speed. Clyde successfully got to the roof and started working. Trinity watched for any attackers. When Clyde was almost done, the Xenagons struck. One jumped down from the trees, tearing Clyde's left arm right from his body. He screamed in agony and fell off the side of the ship, only to have the Xenagon follow him to finish him off.
Trinity was fast. She pulled out her gun and shot three bullets into the back of the Xenagon's head as it jumped down. She went to follow it, but heard a strange hissing from behind her and knew she was no longer alone. She turned to see a long, black tail swing at her neck. Trinity had a painless death; the Xenonon version of the guillotine. And just like that, half the crew was down in a matter of two days.
Without a way to call the scientists, there was no way home. The ship was programmed by the scientists and only they could control where it traveled.
One girl had the genius plan to check other probes to see if they had any ways of communication. Valencia had always been the girl to come up with a plan when all hope was lost. Her idea put light in the crew's hearts again, and they went straight to work. Keegan looked in every manual they had on the ship; sadly, none had the answers. He searched through endless cabinets until he found a book that didn't really seem like it belonged. He read it and to his surprise found a history of every probe sent to the planet. Twenty years before this trip, there was an unspoken journey. One human was sent to the planet, but never made it back.
Their ship happened to land only two fields over from where theirs was. Valencia and Keegan decided to venture out in the Orb to see if they could get help. The Orb was a small, circular container on wheels that would act as the crews' car on the rough terrain of Xenonon. The two volunteered to drive to the other ship,
send a message to the scientists, and come right back.
Two days later Keegan and Valencia were all ready. They each had a rifle and a knife within their reach, and a small gun on their belt. They sat in the car and sealed the doors tight. They turned on their cameras and checked the signal. The two other crewmates, Raelyn and Maxx, sat in control central and watched them in the car. With the cameras, they could see everything that happened. Once they got the thumbs up from Maxx, Valencia and Keegan were off.
Their trip was going well. They made it to the ship without seeing any of their beastly foes. They made sure the coast was clear, parked their Orb, and hugged. Keegan decided he would go in first and make sure everything was okay. If not, Valencia would already have the Orb running and he could just hop in. Keegan ran inside and waiting for him was a disgusting ship, overrun by Xenagons. Turns out the creatures were using the ship as a habitat. Keegan barely had time to react before he was torn limb from limb.
Valencia screamed. She put the Orb in gear and drove off as fast as she could. When she was almost there, she turned back to see two Xenagons following her. When she looked back, she saw a terrifying sight. A tree was right in front of her, and her Orb crashed into it. She struggled with her seat belt and ran out of the Orb, hoping to make it back to the ship in time.
Due to the cameras on the Orb, Maxx and Raelyn saw everything that happened. They ran to the door of the ship and opened it. They went out and we're ready to help Valencia back into the ship when she arrived. Just as she was nearing the ship, a Xenagon grabbed her by the arm. She shot at it with her handy gun, but it was too late. It pulled her back and started to devour her. The other Xenagon continued to race passed them, coming straight for Maxx and Raelyn.
The two didn't have time to run back to the ship and close the door in time, so they ran into the dense forest. They hoped the Xenagon's large size would give them an advantage in maneuvering through the woods. The two ran deep into the woods and then stopped at a gigantic tree. They climbed up as far as they could and waited.
Now here they sit, waiting in the tree. The two sat silently and listened. They heard the Xenagon approaching fast. Other noises came from all around them; Xenagons by the dozen were roaming the woods, waiting to find them.
Raelyn's breath caught in her throat as she saw two Xenagons walk past their tree. She looked at Maxx who had a strange expression on his face. Before she could register his funny face, he sneezed a sneeze that echoed through the whole forest. The Xenagons heads snapped back and ran to the tree. They started shaking it with all there might. Since Maxx was holding his nose and not the tree, he slipped back and fell far and long, landing with a loud crack. Maxx didn't move. One Xenagon ran over to him.
Raelyn couldn't bare to watch. She jumped from the tree to a lower branch on another. She kept doing this until she reached the grassy floor. Raelyn ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She ran until she was out of the forest. A clear field appeared ahead of her, the ground stopping and dripping down at the end. She tried to run to dip in the hill, hoping to find somewhere to hide in there.
She turned back and let out a cry. The last thing Raelyn saw as she ran was a white blur with a gun. Whatever it was shot her, hitting her right between the eyes. She fell and her body rolled down the slope. The crew was officially all dead.
The Xenagons reached the top of the hill and watched Raelyn's lifeless body roll. Then they turned back, watching their master come and stand next to them.
She straightened out her dirty lab coat. She sighed as she looked at Raelyn. "Poor, poor girl."
She put her hand on the Xenagon next to her and scratched behind its ear, just the way it liked it. "Don't worry. They won't try to hurt you anymore."
She turned on her heel and walked back deep into the forest, Xenagons right behind her. She would wait until her fellow scientists sent another batch of food for her pets. In the meantime, she will just sit and wait.