In the Past
Corthos and Megan did not meet under the best of circumstances.
Everything seemed lethargic under the desert sun. Her garden was shriveling, her house was a mess, but Megan didn't feel like dealing with any of it today. She worked six days a week, two different jobs, just to keep her house-and this was her only day off. She kicked up the AC and flopped down on the couch. However, as soon as she relaxed, there was just the faintest scratching noise at the back door.
Megan lept up, "I forgot to feed the cat!"
She hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a can of cat food, and plopped it onto a paper plate, "Here kitty kitty kitty!"
She slid open the back door. Megan expected the plump grey tabby to come rocketing inside at full speed, but he didn't. Megan shuffled to the door and peeked out. There was no cat in sight, and she could have sworn that was him scratching at the door like usual. She placed the food outside and shut the door.
A moment later, as soon as she heard the plate sliding across the concrete, Megan went to let the cat inside. It was hotter then usual outside and Megan wanted some company on the couch with her. She froze in frear as soon a she opened the door though. Megan couldn't even comprehend what she was seeing. The massive black creature was nothing like she'd ever seen before.
A sizzling hiss escaped the creature, bringing Megan out of her stupor. She slammed the door shut and went running for the phone. She screamed as she heard the door splinter behind her. The sleek black creature easily caught up to her an its claws took a swipe at her leg, bringing her down. Its elongated head lowered to her face, close enough that she could see the tuffs of grey fur caught in its teeth.
Her heart went out to the dead cat, but she had to act fast or share is fate. All she could hear was the rushing pound of her heart in her ears. She wedged her legs under the black creature and pushed, just as a scary set of inner jaws shot towards her. The creature stumbled back, but wasn't fazed at all. It jumped at her, and Megan cowered under the coffee table.
The table broke under its weight, and Megan had to scrable away before she got trapped under it. She ran for the front door but had to pause and unlock it. Dread flooded in on her, feeling that her life was so close to ending. Instead of a bite or slash from its claws though, the creature slid across the rug over the hardwood floors, and slammed into her back with enough force to break down the door.
Megan spilled out onto the concrete, her body aching. Though she was dizy and her aim was off, she grabbed the closest terracotta pot and chucked it at the monster. Then, she jumped to her feet and ran without looking back. The police station was too far away. Megan went to a neighbors house instead and began pounding on the doors and windows. She stiffened though, noticing a trail of blood on the carpet inside.
Her chest was heaving with paniced ragged breaths as she backed away. A scream down the road alerted her to more of the black creatures. There was two of them-one chasing down another neighbor, but the other was headed straight for Megan. That wasn't her only problem though. There was something else behind it.
It's body shape was like a human man, but he was obviously alien. He had brown fleshy dreds, green mottled skin, wore metal armor, and had sophisticated weapons. Whatever he was, he had obviously brought the black creatures to Earth with him. The black creatures wern't friendly, so that told her that the humanoid alien wasn't friendly either. Megan bolted around the back of the next house, and kicked in the back door.
She heard hissing and crashing close behind her. Megan headed to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife she could find. The black monster lingered in the doorway for a moment, then lunged. Huge claws shreded through her clothes and its inner jaws shot through her thigh. Pain settled in her limbs like molten iron, and she fell to the ground under the black creature.
Megan screamed and jammed the knife into the black creatures throat. The metal sizzled and melted in her hand. She quickly scrambled away as dull yellow blood oozed from the creatures wound and melted the floor. She stared at the acid coming from the dying creature, horrified. An airy clicking floated through the air and sent chills down her back.
Megan glanced up to see that humanoid alien hovering over her. It looked very different since she'd seen it in the road, meaning that there were more than one of them. This one's skin was various shades of brown with black markings, creating a disruptive pattern rather then mottling. It's dreds were black, and a cruel metal mask stared her down. Megan cried out with the pain as she forced herself upright.
A startlingly loud growl erupted from the humanoid alien, stealing away Megan's breath. She twisted around to grab more knives and began haphazardly throwing them at the alien. When she ran out of knives, two serrated blades shot out from a device on the aliens wrist. She quickly threw open the fridge door to cower behind it. Megan shrieked as the blades plunged right through the door, reaching for her stomach.
She grabbed jelly jars, grapes, cheese slices, even a stick of butter, and threw them in his face. In a panic, she skirted around him as he retracted the serrated blades and zipped out of the house. Two black creatures spotted her as soon as she reached the grass. Her breaths were heaving as she ran down the street in a panic.
She snatched up a shovel leaning against the side of a house, but when she turned around, she faced one of the black creatures and that brown-patterned humanoid. She knew she couldn't win. Megan ran inside another home, looking for help, but almost tripped over the bodies. She cringed and turned her face away, but her fists tightened on the handle of the shovel. If she was going to die too, she would at least take one of those humanoid aliens with her.
She scrambled down into the basement and hid beside the hot water heater, poised and waiting for the alien to come for her. She could hear fighting and snarling upstairs, then there was an explosion. The walls shook, and then the ceiling began to crumble. One of the black creatures tumbled down the stairs, but then was crushed under rubble. She jumped towards the small basement window, but it was too late.
When she woke up, dust clouded her vision and her head was pounding. Her collar bone felt like it was broken. She winced as she sat up, and drug her leg out from under splintered wood and drywall. Boards began to shift on the other side of the destroyed house, and her eyes settled on the wounded alien man. There were deep gouges in his chest that didn't look like they'd come from the explosion.
She wobbled as she stood, and used the shovel like a crutch. A disentigrsted pit had formed around the black creatures body from the acid blood, and Megan was sure it was dead. She shuffled closer to the humanoid alien, trying to see if it was still breathing. Unfortunately, it was. It's head tilted in her direction and it growled like a feral animal.
Megan gulped, and her heart raced, but she didn't back away. These aliens had to have brought those black creatures, and they had killed her neighbors. She lifted the shovel into the air despite her aching shoulder, and swung it down at the aliens face. Metal slammed into metal and the impact rattled her bones. She didn't stop until his head went slack and the expressionless metal mask tilted back against the rubble.
