Chapter XV
The Yautja was fast, but when he saw his prey escaping in a hurry in one of the Pyode Amedhas' combustion-engine ground vehicles, he knew he needed something fast. He finished tearing out the skull and spine of his latest prey as he made way to the bay of his ship.
Tyler knew he needed something fast to escape this thing. He decided that the best thing to do would be to go back into town and hope the National Guardsmen who were imposing the martial law because of the rampant killings would be of help. And if they didn't help, then at least he knew the area of the town.
He didn't care about speed limits. He saw the speedometer read ninety-five miles per hour, which was about top speed for his Dodge Ram.
This thing was a hunter, and Tyler knew that. But he was a hunter himself, and he wouldn't go down without a fight.
His foot was an anvil on the accelerator, trying to force every inch of speed out of the truck.
Larry and May kept a close watch out the rear and side windows, just in case they found themselves in pursuit.
They all were breathing heavy after running from the ship while Walker distracted the creature. That was the only sound in the cab besides the monotone of the engine, the pattering of the rain, and the thunder from the storm.
"I can't believe," said May while breathing heavily, "He gave his life for us."
Larry spoke next, "He did what was best for all of us… The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one."
Tyler nodded, and on a whim looked out his rear view mirror. A strange glint appeared, and seemed to be approaching.
"What is that behind us?" Tyler asked his companions.
May stared hard out the rear windshield. "I'm not sure," she said, "Hold on…"
"Whatever it is," began Larry, "It's coming fast."
Tyler's gut instincts suddenly spoke for him. "I think our alien has his own form of transit."
As if in response to his statement, a strange transmission came over his radio. It sounded like a twisted laughter, but in ways had a cohesion that made it sound like a language. Then suddenly, something recognizable came over the radio.
"Freeze," said Tyler's voice in a strange, distorted manner.
"What the hell was that?" screeched May.
Tyler suddenly had a realization, "The pot smokers!"
"What?" asked Larry.
"It must have been there when I stopped a bunch of teens smoking K-Weed. Something scared them all pretty badly… It's imitating me," Tyler thought aloud.
Suddenly, the glint behind them rushed up in an incredible burst of speed. Tyler looked out to his right side to see a large bipedal creature upon some kind of vehicle. It resembled a motorcycle in ways, except it hovered four feet about the ground. It had handlebars very similar to a bicycle or motorcycle, strange green and red markings on the side, resembling tally marks as if it were a fighter jet, grooves for two more creatures to sit behind the pilot, with back rests for each, and a large canon-looking apparatus on the front of the vehicle. A bloody human skull and spinal cord hung from the creature's side.
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Tyler in surprise upon seeing the vehicle.
"Oh my god," gasped May, "Is that T.B.?"
"Let's not find out," responded Larry.
The creature slowly turned its masked head and stared straight through the window at him. The black holes on its mask, where the eyes on a man would be, suddenly flared up in a sinister bright green. The creature turned the handlebars it was gripping with its clawed hands so that the side of its hover bike bumped into the side of the Ram.
May screamed at the sudden jolt. "Faster!" she yelled, "Faster!"
"I can't go faster!" Tyler yelled back.
"Then we'll fight!" Larry said, picking up a pistol off the floor of the cab and rolling down the back window on the right side of the truck. He leaned out and began firing at the creature. He seemed to hit it a few times, for it flinched in pain several times. It reached for one of its shoulders as a fluorescent green blood began flowing from beneath its fingers. The creature slowed its vehicle so it could regain control with one hand.
Tyler attempted to push the Ram to higher speeds, and managed to get it to about one hundred and four miles per hour. He sighed with relief as they entered the town.
"We'll stop at the courthouse and make our stand there. The whole town could probably see us there," Tyler said as the Ram plowed through several roadblocks left by the National Guard.
The Yautja applauded his adversary's cunning. He was retreating to his own territory, the place he knew best. But the Yautja was determined to capture his prey. He only assumed, as a good hunter would, that a hunter being hunted would go to its own territory to make its final stand. His mandibles rose underneath his mask in a twisted smirk and he kicked the accelerator of his hover bike as he entered the Pyode Amedha settlement.
Tyler stopped the Ram as quickly as possible outside of the courthouse, despite being pursued by an alien hunter and the National Guard. He, May and Larry broke through the doors and ran immediately for the stairs leading to inside of the clock tower. Tyler suddenly turned and looked at his companions, "Stay here, it wants me, and I doubt it'll use the door."
The reluctantly nodded and stood in place as Tyler went into the inside of the clock tower.
He opened the door with a skeleton key and found himself surrounded by metal and gears. He could see lightning flash through the glass of the four clock faces around him.
He caught his breath, for he knew the creature would be there right behind him.
BANG. BANG.
Gunshots outside. It was coming.
Suddenly something broke through the western clock face, which Tyler happened to have his back to, and pulled him outside.
The rain poured down in his eyes has he looked up to see a seven foot tall alien before him while he found himself with his back on the roof of the clock tower. Lightning struck a tree nearby as he got to his feet.
"Okay you son of a bitch!" Tyler shouted at the creature above the rain and the thunder, "I'm here! Come and get me!"
The creature stood staring down at Tyler for what seemed to be an eternity, and slowly reached up, and removed its mask, revealing its face.
It had long dreadlocks, which Tyler could with the mask on anyway, but the face was the most striking. Four mandibles with tusks at the end of each covered its mouth. There was no apparent nose, but it had nostrils. There was a row of spines running up its large forehead, going from between its two piercing, reptile-like, yellow eyes all the way to the back of its head. It then spread out its mandibles in front of its face, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Upon examining his adversary's face, Tyler thought aloud while shaking his head. "You are one ugly mother-," but was suddenly cut off from a kick to his chest. The force of the kicked and the slickness of the room from the rain cause Tyler to slide down closer to the edge of the room. He scrambled to his feet, looking for balance as the creature walked slowly towards him.
Then spotlights suddenly shown on them, the National Guard was watching them, likely attempting to make a strike on the creature. Tyler's eye's quickly adjusted to the light, but it did seem the creature's had, so he took the opportunity to attack. He punched the creature in the face and then made a high kick to its stomach.
The creature stumbled, paused, and from what it looked like to Tyler, smiled. It then copied Tyler's volleys, giving him a punch in the face and then a kick to his stomach.
Then, in a sudden fury, Tyler ran forward and plowed his shoulder into the creature's stomach, and somehow knocked it off of its feet.
The wet roof caused the creature to slide on impact and it slid towards the edge, grabbing the rain gutters as its body slid off the roof. Tyler slowly approached the creature as it pawed at the roof to lift itself up.
He had no mercy for it.
Pete Jacobson.
Blake Cooper.
The drug dealers.
Terrance B. Walker.
It killed so many, and mangled their bodies for prizes.
It deserved no mercy.
So he lifted his foot and stomped on the creature's hand, causing it to loose its grip on one of its hands.
He stomped again and lost his balance.
And down it fell, and so did Tyler.
Tyler closed his eyes as he and the creature fell screeching to the ground below. He braced himself for impact, and the last thing before going into darkness was the creature being impaled upon the spear of the Native American statue to the side of the courthouse.
Tyler awoke in the Army hospital at nearby Fort Riley. A stern looking man with a lot of metals on his uniform stood near him. His vision somewhat blurry, but he could hear fine.
"Sheriff Tyler?" asked the man standing over him, "I'm General Thorton. I'd like to inform you that you did not see what you think you saw. You fell apprehending a dangerous serial killer. You saw nothing but a lunatic bent on killing. But please, do not speak of the details with anyone. Understood?"
Tyler nodded and slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Thank you for your work."
What Tyler didn't realize until later was that the legend that the Elder spoke of had come true.
Centuries ago, a star fell out of the sky. This star was a carrier for a wicked demon. He killed many brave hunters, and only hunters, and took their heads as trophies. He sometimes left their bodies out, skinless, as if drying them for jerky. It fed on the buffalo, for many were found dead. Many hunting parties went out to kill the beast; they knew they could kill it because it bled. But many of these hunting parties never returned. Their bodies were often found later when the tribe moved on to find buffalo. All who had seen the demon only saw its form, for it was not solid, but almost as clear spring water. For a year, man upon man died, until one day a young warrior decided to take vengeance for his father's death. He left at night with nothing but a hunting spear and food for himself. For a week no sign of the young warrior had been seen and all thought he was dead, but the he came back soon after a large flash and a mushroom shaped cloud. His face was cut and bruised and his spear was covered in green blood. The boy said he had tracked the demon back to its fallen star and attacked. He injured it severely and when the demon touched his gauntlet, a sound that the boy could only think of as a warning started. He ran as fast as he could. When the flash came, a great explosion of fire came and destroyed the creature and its star. The boy's name meant Man of Stone, and since then the tribe has believed it would take another man of stone to kill the demon, should it return.
The Yautja had fallen open the spear of a man of stone, and never hunted again.
The End.