Decoy

Inspiration: "I feel it coming" by: The Weekend

I really needed to learn to control my anger; and my mouth. My chakras were completely out of wack, and I was suffering from a muddy aura. I could feel unhappiness building up inside of me, and if I didn't sit and mediate to clear my mind, my temper was going to get me a lot worse than sitting alone at the bottom of a pit, covered in blood, with last year's prey as my only companions.

I scratched at the tracking bracelet clamped around my ankle. It was big and clunky, and it rubbed angrily against my ankle whenever I stood up to pace the expanse of the pit. I'd been sitting in here for hours after the aliens had left me to my own devices. Kwei-Bhu'ja had cornered me on the edge, and pushed me down into the hole to land on my back. I didn't think anything was broken, but I was gunna be in a shit ton of pain running around with the other prey when they came to "rescue" me.

The moment Kwei-Bhu'ja returned to camp I marched right up to him and gave the best right hook I could manage straight to his side. I had caught him off guard, so he gave a quick grunt before looking down on me. He started to chitter in laughter as I shook my hand pathetically to ease the pain. He looked like he was made out of pure rock, and he felt like it too.

"Why the hell am I your pet you dick wad!?"

He tilted his head quizzically, then began walking around me to throw the dead corpses he carried into the hole on the other end of the camp. "I know you can understand me, and I can understand you now, so don't bother ignoring me."

As he threw the last body down the hole, he turned on me. "You are my pet, because I find you interesting. Is that not how humans find their pets?" He had a point, most humans decided they wanted an animal on impulse, found the cutest one, then dumped it on the first shelter they could find when they realized they couldn't take care of it.

"Well, yeah I guess. But that doesn't mean I want to be a pet. Why can't you just take me home and come visit me every once in a while? That would be preferable to hanging out with giant aliens who want to hunt my species." I crossed my arms for the millionth time since being around these guys, and leveled my gaze on Kwei-Bhu'ja.

He walked purposefully up to me, and stopped just a few feet away from my face, forcing me to crane my neck to maintain eye contact with his mask. "You are my pet. And you will go where I go, sleep where I sleep, eat when I eat, and go home when I say you may. And that…will NEVER happen." We stared each other down for what felt like ages, and my anger began to bubble in the pit of my stomach. The fact that he was implying that he would never take me home, that I would be stuck with this alien and his monster friends, forced to watch him kill and skin his prey for the rest of my life until I was old and dead, made my heart break in two. I would never see my friends again, never see my parents or spend holidays with them. Never go back to my apartment and go to work. I'd never have a normal life again. The thought made me feel sick to my stomach and like I wanted to break every bone in Kwei-Bhu'ja's body all at the same time.

Before I could stop myself, I had uncrossed my arms, balled up my fists and began to lash out at him. "If you don't take me home right now, I'm gunna lose my shit! I wanna be with other humans! Not stupid fucking huge ass aliens!" I punched him with every breath I took, and he stood completely still absorbing the impact of every punch. When I was done, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end, and my gaze traveled up from his abdomen where I'd been hitting him, to his silver mask. He stood eerily quiet, then very calmly began to speak.

"You'd like to be with other humans. Is this correct?" The way he said it made me shiver involuntarily. "Well…yeah. Please." I add, in hopes that I hadn't angered him enough to kill me. The blood drained from my face as he turned quickly around and began digging through a pile of weapons and equipment on a makeshift table a few feet away. He grabbed something from the bottom of the pile, and tinkered with it for a few second, before looking over his shoulder at me.

My back stiffened, and I stared at him like a deer in headlights as he turned with the object clutched in his hand. I began wringing my hands together like a reprimanded child who was dreading a spanking, except this was an 8 foot tall hunting warrior, and he was most likely going to break my neck. The closer he got to me, the slower he moved making me instinctively begin to back away from him. We played this game for what felt like hours, when my foot slipped off the ledge of the pit and I began falling backward.

Kwei-Bhu'ja caught my right foot mid flail, slapped the object onto my ankle, and then let go of me, forcing me to land hard on my back. The wind was knocked out of me, and I rolled slowly onto my side. When I had righted myself, hand clutched over my chest from the pain, I looked up out of the pit and found all 3 of the aliens staring down at me.

"You wish to be with other humans, and so you will be. Our new season's prey should be landing as we speak. We have been told that they almost always wander into this camp. For this, you will be bait. When they arrive, get them to help you out of the pit. If they don't, then you'll just stay down there until every last one of them is a trophy on our walls." And with that, Kwei-Bhu'ja turned and walked away. Thwei-Sain'ja stood and stared at me, head tilted for a moment before also walking away. Kuj'hade stayed the longest, and I stared up at him with pleading eyes. "Please don't leave me down here. Please!"

Suddenly he reared back and let out the most blood curling roar I'd ever heard. I ducked down and covered my ears, placing my head between my knees, when suddenly there was a distinct ripping sound and a thick liquid came raining down on me soaking my body, followed by two large thumps on either side of me. When he had quieted down, and I could hear his footsteps retreating, I had looked up to see I was covered in blood, and there was the carcass of some unknown animal on either side of me.

I had cried for hours, screaming, pleading and clawing at the side of the pit. I felt stupid now after replaying the way I had reacted back in my head. It was completely justified, no one wants to be told you've taken them from their home to be some pet, then that you're not going to allow them to go home all in the same sentence. Granted I could have groveled a little more. It would have hurt my pride, but at least I wouldn't be in the situation I was in now.

I resorted to sitting with the head tucked to my knees, and my arms around my legs. My back protested from the prolonged position, but it was better than staring at the now rotting corpses around me. My head snapped up at the distinct sound of voices that grew closer. I knew it wasn't the aliens, the footsteps were too heavy. The boys moved too quietly to be so easily distinguished. I stayed seated, listening harder. I hoped I could tell if they were friendly or not. I WAS on an alien planet, surrounded by unknowns on all sides, and I didn't feel like throwing myself into the middle of a group of murderers, crazy people, or horny men who hadn't seen a woman in years.

It sounded as if there were 5 people, and most of the voices I heard were from men. I stood slowly, willing blood to pump back through my legs, as I strained my ears to listen closer. They were inspecting the far end of the camp, commenting on the piles of organs laying around, and the stench it was creating in the heat weighing down on our backs. There was a cluttering of metal, and one of them probably started digging through the pile of weapons.

My heart began beating faster as I prepared to yell for them to help me. I was raised to be cautious of people I didn't know, and even now, stranded on an unknown planet at the bottom of a hole, it was hard to decide between 3 aliens I already knew, and a group of men I had no idea about. Damn Stockholm syndrome. I could hear their voices begin to drift off, and Kwei-Bhu'ja's last words echoed in my head. "When they arrive, get them to help you out of the pit. If they don't, then you'll just stay down there until every last one of them is a trophy on our walls." I didn't know how long that would take, and he didn't make it seem like he was going to feed me between that time. I didn't really wanna sit around here to find out.

"Hey! Hey down here!" I started yelling, hoping they weren't already too far away to hear me. When there was no return calls I began mentally punching myself for waiting so long. Now I was going to have to sit my anxious ass down here until these bodies began growing maggots. I forced the feeling down and I doubled over prepared to vomit, when suddenly a voice rang out above my head.

"It came from over here! Theres someone down in this hole!"

I looked up and almost cried. There was a man, looked to be in his mid 30's staring down at me. "Are you O.K down there?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just kind of in pain. I got thrown down here." I hesitated in referring to Kwei-Bhu'ja as an asshole, in fear that the man would realize I was something to him.

"Alright, hold on. We'll find a way to get you out of there." He stepped away from the edge, and I could hear him yelling to find vines or any kind of rope to pull me out. I paced back and forth anxiously, listening to the movements above me. A few minutes later, a thick vine was thrown down against the side of the hole. I grabbed ahold, and began pulling myself up, thankful for my yoga upper body strength.

The moment my head peaked over the edge, I was grabbed by a pair of strong arms and hoisted the rest of the way. I collapsed onto my back, and took large huffing breaths, when I was touched softly on the shoulder by a woman. "We need to get out of here. Whatever lives here is obviously eating these things, and we don't feel like being on the menu. We need to keep moving." I groaned, but began pushing myself to stand as they headed into the forest.

I was glad that I wasn't just surrounded by men. There were more people in the group than I had initially anticipated. There were 4 men in total, and 2 women. As we walked, they began telling me their names but I didn't bother remembering any of them. They would just be trophies in a cabinet anyway. Or however the aliens stored the skulls.

A shudder went down my spine, and I forced my thoughts away from the deaths of all the humans around me. Instead I imagined what their ship would look like. Would it be stereotypical like in the movies? A stark white inside with flashing buttons, random machines and a giant table in the center of a room for probing humans? No, probably not. They didn't strike me as the type for pristine spaces. Their ship is most likely covered in guts and bones, with weapons thrown about without a care. At least if the campsite was anything to go off.

And their trophies probably went into a super secretive room. Each one, with their own sacred spaces where they mounted their trophies like in museums. With the planet name, type of creature and time of death written on some plaque. And they'd return every day to admire their trophies, and bask in the blood of the innocents. Or some bullshit along those lines.

"Maybe it did something to her mind? She seems pretty out of it. Like she's seen more fucked up shit than we have." The voice drew me out of my daze. I hadn't even realized we'd stopped in a clearing. It was the same one I'd been in a few days previous. Or at least what felt like a few days. One of the other men was trying to talk to me, but immediately I ignored him in favor of finding my socks and boots. The blisters on my feet were still killing me from running on 100 degree rocks.

I spotted them, laying in the same spot I had left them, and I gave a short yelp of glee as I ran over and began putting them on. One of the women walked over to me, watching me lace up my boots before speaking.

"So I'm guessing that thing caught you while you were here huh? You must have been the first one to land then." She had large doe eyes, the color of brown, and they gave off a real motherly vibe. It reminded me that Kwei-Bhu'ja was never going to let me go home. My eyes dropped to my feet, as I tucked my camo pants into my boots as best I could.

"Yeah, I guess." I replied sadly. I didn't know what she thought I was sad about, but it was enough for her to place her hand on my back to try and give me some comfort. A man walked up to us and kneeled in front of me.

"You were there at that things camp. It obviously captured you. Did you get a good look at the bastard? Or do you know how many there are?" He looked at me with hard eyes, but I could tell he was going out on a limb hoping I knew any information at all. It made me feel bad for him, and for a moment I considered telling them everything about the 3. I could tell them they were huge aliens, that they had muscles as thick as tree trunks. Or that they could take a punch like a breeze was just tickling their skin.

If I told them everything I know about the aliens, they might be able to defeat them. Escape the 2 hounds that Kuj'hade was so keen on using. Prepare for an attack from 3, instead of blindly hoping for the best. Either way I wouldn't be killed. At least I was hoping. But if I told them everything, that I was Kwei-Bhu'ja's pet, that he had slapped a tracking device on my leg, or that I had shared full length conversations with each of them, the people I was currently surrounded by might turn on me and use me for bait.

That was the last thing that I needed. I tried to ignore the small pang in my chest that just didn't want Kwei-Bhu'ja to get hurt. It disturbed me that I even had to shake a feeling like that away. He was an alien. A giant 8 foot tall alien, who wanted to murder these people, and keep their skulls like I kept crystal skulls. Other than the fact that he'd blatantly told me I was never leaving his side, and pushing me backward into a carcass pit, he'd never once reacted aggressively toward me. He'd even let me go to town with my fists on his gut, and they didn't strike me as the patient type.

I lifted my head, and tilted it to the side as if thinking as hard as I could. "There's only one as far as I know. I'd been here trying to air my boots out and wash off. It was so hot I was basically pouring sweat. I didn't get a good look at the thing, only that it was on top of me before I could even scream. It knocked me out, so I have no idea how I got down in that hole. I'm just lucky I'm alive." Telling half-truths, wasn't really a lie, was it?

"You are lucky to be alive. We ran into the damn thing and whatever it is, it can turn invisible. It speared a guy straight through the ribs. Why do you think it kept you alive?" I could feel his gaze hardening with suspicion, reading through the lines of my story.

"Your guess is as good as mine." And that was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The man made a humming noise as he stood up and walked away to begin talking with another man of the group. I watched him walk, and noticed the gun strapped to his back. Looking around, I noticed all the people in the group had guns, and they were also wearing camo. I looked down at myself, thankful that my clothes blended in with what they were wearing. I didn't want to seem like I didn't belong too much. I could just play it off like I'd lost my weapon when I was "taken".

"Don't mind Trevor, he's been playing leader since we all started working together. He's on edge, but who can blame him." She looked away for a moment before continuing. "My names Anastasia by the way."

"Grace." I replied shortly. I honestly didn't want to get to know these people any more than I needed to before they were killed. And the more she shared with me, the worse I was going to feel when it came down to it.

We had walked for a few hours, making a small camp after someone suggested we stop and rest. of coarse there always had to be that one person in the group that insisted we walk all day, until we either died, or found a way home. I went and sat with Anastasia on a log a ways away from the group. I could hear her talking, but had zoned her voice out. She had been telling me about her family of 100 from the moment we started walking, and i found that i couldn't care less. She asked me a question, and i was snapped out of my thoughts, staring at a strange rainbow color beetle on a branch beside me. I turned to her, feeling sheepish that i hadn't hear a thing she said.

I looked away as there was a sudden commotion ahead of us. Trevor and another man were fighting with each other, and seemed to be rolling on the ground throwing punches at one another. Anastasia stood up, then looked back at me expectantly to come join the group. I rolled my eyes internally, then we jogged over and began listening in on the argument.

"Why is it that once you place yourself in charge, people start going missing!? Two men just disappeared from under our noses!"

I looked around me, and noticed that there were no longer 7 of us. There was now just me, the other 2 girls, and the men fighting on the ground. The other girl stepped forward and began yelling at the 2 of them. She had dark black hair, and a tanned complexion.

"It has nothing to do with who's in charge! You know what that damn thing is capable of, its invisible for Christ sake! We need to keep moving. Not standing around watching you 2 idiots roll around on the ground!" As if on cue, there was a loud shink sound, as what looked like a ninja star contacted with the tree trunk next to the girl's head.

Next thing I knew, the men were off the ground, and the rest of the group were running like chickens with their heads cut off. My arm was grabbed in a vice grip when I didn't move immediately, and I was pulled out of my thoughts as I began sprinting next to Anastasia. That throwing star was strategically placed. I doubt either one of their aim was that off. They were flushing us out. Either into a larger area where it's easier to get to them, or into a more closed off area where it would be harder to fight back.

Anastasia was still running clutching my wrist, and it made it harder to sprint, not being able to extend my arm fully. Just as I went to pull my wrist free from her grasp, she was plummeting downward. My chest collided with the ground, and searing pain ran through my arm as I heard a distinct pop sound come from my shoulder. I wouldn't be surprised if my wrist was dislocated too. With my good arm, I dug my fingers into the earth on the edge of the hole, and my boots gave me some traction behind me to keep me from dropping face first into a thick metal pike.

"Let go of me dammit!" I screamed at her, beyond pissed at the situation I was in. She pleaded with me, grabbing my arm with both hands and began trying to pull herself up. I screamed harder, the pain making my vision blur, and I could feel myself sliding farther into the pit the more she held on.

I screamed profanity after profanity at her, enraged that this was the way I die. I wanted to live to be 90, surrounded by grandchildren and great grandchildren on my death bed, crying and hugging before taking my last breath. Surrounded by people I loved. Not screaming in pain, wishing I could shoot daggers from my eyes at the bitch who didn't know how to give up.

There was a loud gunshot next to my head, and the ringing in my ears disoriented me for a moment, when suddenly the weight on my arm was gone. Someone pulled me up by my good arm, and gave me a gentle nudge, implying that I needed to keep running. I cradled my bad arm, wincing the entire time. The bouncing was making my arm spasm in pain, and I didn't know how much longer I could stand it.

I cried out as I collided with a hard chest, the man in front of me stopping abruptly. I looked up, to see the second man who had been fighting, and the woman had both survived. It didn't take a genius to realize Trevor was dead. I went and sat on a rock, hoping the 2 wouldn't make me run again.

The three aliens weren't even hunting me. Why did I have to be involved and get fucked up in the process. I didn't know how to reset my arm, and I sure as hell didn't want anyone doing it for me. I'd seen plenty of movies, and I prayed to the god's above that I just keel over and die right now. My boot had come untied while I was hanging over the edge of that death trap, so I sat on a tree stump near-by, and leaned forward to try and tie it while we had the chance to sit around. I cried out, pinching my eyes shut as my shoulder pulled from the position, and abruptly straightened out.

I jumped in my seat, opening my eyes to see the black-haired girl leaning over me to quickly try and tie my shoe. I jerked my foot away as she lifted my pant leg to get a tighter knot on my laces, when she gasped and threw herself away from me. A look of horror washed over her face as realization dawned on her at seeing the ankle bracelet.

"It…It's been tracking us, hasn't it? You KNEW it was following us didn't you!?"

I stayed silent, my heart pounding in my ears as fear took over me. I didn't know how much more my heart could take. It was already beating a mile per minute, and I was getting woozy from the feeling in my dislocated arm. She cocked her gun, the sound of a bullet sliding into the chamber making my skin go ice cold. I began to cry, as the real sensation of staring death in the face hit me like a sledge hammer.

"Answer me. You knew, didn't you?" I nodded my head slowly, flinching away when she jerked toward me, forcing the barrel of her gun at my face.

"How many are there!?"

I stayed silent, more tears slipping past my lashes, when suddenly the butt of her gun collided with my cheek. I landed hard on the ground, vision flashing white as searing hot pain shot through my shoulder again, and I wished it would all just end. I cried harder, rasping to catch my breath.

"There's three of them." The woman squared her shoulders at me, shared a look with the man beside her, then stepped back to level herself with him. She brought the gun up to rest against the side of her face as she peered down the site. I began wishing I had remembered their names, so I could curse them to hell and back. She tightened her grip on the gun as I pushed upright to kneel in front of her. I made eye contact with her for a moment, before shutting my eyes tightly.

A few moments of silence went by, before there was a loud slicing noise, followed by loud thumps. The noise made me jump, and as I slowly peeled my eyes open, I came face to face with Kuj'hade's golden mask, with Kwei-Bhu'ja and Thwei-Sain'ja standing on each side of him; a dead body at each of their feet. Kuj'hade was kneeling in front of me, head tilted to the side and was making a quizzical noise at me.

I felt crazy for it, but I forced a laugh back down into my stomach as relief washed over me. I tilted my head back, took a deep breath in and yelled as loud as I possibly could.

"YOU FUCKING ASS-HOLES!"

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I was trying not to make it too dark, but i figured why not. haha Hopefully you guys have figured out that these guys aren't your average run of the mill yautjas, and they have some pretty fucked up sense of standards. As always, if you have any ideas of what you wanna see in future chapters lemme know in a review, and if you see anything wrong dont be fraid to tell me.

Miu-sakurai-73: Glad you like Grace!

Puffgirl1952 the 2nd: Well then this chapter is dedicated to you. Thank you for the idea, and hopefully you enjoyed what little punching kwei-bhu'ja received. haha

Sousie: I even feel bad for Grace when i'm typing sometimes!

Tenfangirl: Half the time i don't even know what he's up to until i type a chapter. This was however a little spur of the moment thing on his part. but she'll have to give him even more chances now. she's stuck with him for quite some time.

Saashi Samy: Glad you liked the chapter. :)

As always thanks to everyone who reviewed, and until next time!

Kuj'hade: Destroyer

Kwei-Bhu'ja: Sly-Ghost

Thwei-Sain'ja: Blood-Warrior