Chapter II: Hunt

I dreamt heavily in my unconsciousness. In my dream I was being chased by a large xenomorph through the twists and turns of some chemical processing plant.

I never saw the xeno, just heard it's hissing and other guttural noises. I finally came to a dead end, running into the railing of the platform I was on.

I turn around to see the eyeless, smirking face of the xenomorph that attacked my high school and it shoves me over the railing.

"NNNOOOOOO!" I yell out in distress as I fall into a vat of xenomorph acid.

In a cold sweat I finally wake up in the small bed of my foster home sitting bolt upright. Panting I look around and let out a breath of a laugh internally scolding myself for being so distressed over a dream.

I lay back down wiping the sweat from my brow. Suddenly I feel a stinging pain in my chest and I cough slightly, the sensation feeling much like heartburn.

I look at my chest, something was pushing against the skin causing brief strange unnatural growths. Something wanted out.

My eyes widen in protest as a chestburster explodes out of my ribcage and that's when I really wake up.

I was not, in fact, in my bedroom but in a hospital room. I look to my right as I see movement, bright light flooding into my eyes.

I see movement on my right and watch as my foster mother Rachel smiles. "Hello Knox, you've been asleep for awhile. The doctors started to suspect that your concussion had knocked you into a coma," I manage a weak smile.

"With my luck I'm surprised I didn't." I mumble. Rachel still smiles, "Hey come on you're lucky you escaped that school with your life. That damn psychopath with the gun that attacked the school escaped before the police got there," I frown at this.

"Wh-What? Psychopath with a gun? Rachel what the hell are you talking about, a xenomorph attacked the school-I-I saw it killing people!" Rachel chuckles.

"Oh come on Knox, you know the only xenomorphs are on Mars slowly growing extinct thanks to the colonial marines, and besides, what else would explain the gunshots everyone could hear from 5 blocks away?"

"Rachel that was probably the giant military helicopter shooting the damn thing!" Rachel has a vicious anger in her eyes by now.

"I have had enough of your lies young man! That bump on your head must have seriously done some damage because you are talking nonsense!" She grabs her purse from the chair besides her.

"Now, I'm going home to get Brad and we will discuss this further when you wake up." A nurse walks into the room from behind Rachel and injects a syringe of something into my IV. A few seconds later and I've fallen asleep again.

This time I don't dream, but when I wake up again, it's slowly. A shower of golden light from the night lights of downtown Sarasota shine through the open window but the rest of the room is dark.

But the thing that really caught my eye was the xenomorph hanging from the ceiling upside down, looking over me almost curiously.

In an instant my hand darts for the panic button on the side of the cot I was laying on. But the xenomorph is too fast and it grabs my arm tightly as it smirks, starting a low hiss.

'I wouldn't try that unless you want to lose your arm.' It stares at me with a taunting look.

I open my mouth weakly, "What do you want with me..." I croak and the xeno slowly crawls down to the foot of my bed.

'Well, normally I'd be here to finish the job, but since someone can finally understand me...I have a playmate.'

I shudder at the xeno creeps forwards tilting its head as it uses a single clawed finger to tilt my chin.

I grit my teeth as I try to slip out from underneath the xenomorph but to no use. It let's out a hiss-like chuckle.

'Oh humans, so ignorant. Even if you were to escape where would you go? The door is locked from the outside and the window leads you two dozen stories to your death. Its just you and me.'

I look at the xeno with the most spiteful look I could muster up from the bottom of my heart. "If we're going to be spending as much time together as you propose, can I at least have the satisfaction of knowing my tormentors name?"

The xeno gives a hiss-chuckle again. 'My creators labeled me Anubis, after the Egyptian God of Death,'

His smirk grows wider, showing his deadly set of teeth, 'and you my dear?'

The way he said that set off a dozen not-ok alarms in my head but I give him the benefit of the doubt and show him the kindness of response.

"I'm Knox... Knox Ryker..." I say hesitantly and I see his tail swishing excitedly behind him, making me more uncomfortable.

'Ouuu, I like it... Gritty...but it pops,'

"Uhhh...thanks but... If you don't mind me asking...how are we able to speak to each other?"

'Ahh, good question, honestly I don't know myself. Perhaps its more of a question for my Creators to answer.' Anubis says straightening his ink black body.

"Your...creators?" I raise an eyebrow.

'Well, perhaps by now you have noticed I'm quite the lone wolf. I was a lab experiment, one of the first xenos to be birthed from a human on Earth. The white jackets here studied me and experimented on my DNA. Whatever made them want to release me on that institution of yours is beyond me. But now I'm free, and have something to do. So I guess you're stuck with me, heh.' He nudges me with his tail.

'Anyways, you're not nearly well enough to go out yet. So lay down, and fall asleep most likely thinking of me.' He shoves me down with his tail a bit harshly and crawls off the bed strutting towards the window.

'I'll keep in touch.' And with that, he flips out the window slickly.

I look at the ceiling, my head pounding more as a migraine develops. What happened at my school wasn't an accident? And who are the white jackets Anubis was referring to?

"Nngh," Black specks dot my vision and I black out, all this being too much to deal with.

Two Days Later

Knox Ryker's Foster Home

North Sarasota, FL

I'd been out of school of course for the past two days. It was Friday now, and normally I'd feel relieved. But now I just felt empty.

My 'mother' and her boyfriend were in the Bahamas for their 5th year together, leaving the house to me until Wednesday.

I sat in a lawn chair on the patio in the back of the house. Sunglasses, shorts, and a grey v-neck all worn by me.

My bedrest had ended yesterday but I still felt tired and I had a nasty scar on my forehead from when I got my concussion.

I hear the click-clack of heels and the garden gate opening glancing to my left to see the blonde neighbor girl walking timidly as she manages a small smile.

"He-Hey Knox," she says with a small blush looking down slightly. I smile, sitting up.

"You really don't have to keep checking up on me like this Millie. I'm perfectly fine," I say.

"Well Mrs. Tatianne didn't want you to be left alone for a week without anyone checking to see if you were okay, she was a bit shaken up after that freak attacked your school. And besides, you're still recovering from that bullet wound and bump on the head." She says.

I stagger up snorting, "She just didn't want to admit that she'd rather be on her vacation than watching me,"

Millie purses her lips slightly and clears her throat slightly. "Well I uh...have a tutor coming at 6 so I'll have to be going, bye Knox." At that she turns around and leaves leaving me with my mouth hanging open slightly.

Finally, I scoff and pound my forehead. Murmuring "Stupid!" As I walk inside.

I put on a thin white dress shirt when I get inside and slip on the purple/white Supras I'd gotten for my 15th birthday a few months earlier.

Deciding to take a trip to the small Mexi-mart down the road, I grab my keys and some extra cash and walk out the door noting that it was almost 7 and the sun would be setting soon, wanting to get back before it was dark.

I don't know if it was the fact that I'd taken a bullet a few days ago or I was just getting slow, but it seemed like forever before I made it to the store.

When I do I grab my usual energy drink, even yawning as I grab it out of one of the store refrigerators. The store didn't seem too crowded, in fact there was no one in here save for the cashier who I'd seen walk out back as I'd walked in.

I walk up to the front counter tapping my drink on the glass counter absent-mindedly. I hear some thumping out back and lean over the counter to see if I could glimpse the cashier.

"Hey, amigo, customer!" I shout. I lean back and spot a new kind of gum they were selling up at the front counter. I pick it from the cardboard box it was laying in examining it silently.

I sigh, "Some time today por favor," I shout again as I put the gum in my back pocket tapping my hi-tops on the tiled floor.

At this point I just left 5 dollars on the counter and walked out of the store. I hang a left and pass the alley that led to the back of the store hearing a slight groaning.

I squint my eyes making out a limp body in the back of the alley, half of it hidden behind the wall.

I automatically sense something wrong with this picture as I slowly walk to the scene. "Uh...dude?" I say as I round the corner and then end up almost spilling my lunch onto the ground.

The man's throat and chest were torn open, his face unrecognizable, his name was Horatio, nametag having a single drop of blood on it.

I turn around only to bump into Anubis who stood a few feet taller than me smirking. I turn around again starting off only trip over Horatio's dead body.

Coming face to mutilated face I scream but nothing comes out and turn onto my back facing Anubis as I scoot away, the blood from the dead man having ruined my perfectly good shirt.

Anubis gets down to all fours and slowly crawls up to me obviously having taken great pleasure in this.

'You like my art? I made it just for you,' he purrs into my ear, making me more uncomfortable.

Spotting an opening, I headbutt him and tuck my feet in rolling to the side standing up again as he hisses, his smirk gone.

'What the fuck, I wasn't going to do anything.' He growls as he turns to face me still on all fours.

"I didn't know that, and you seeing me now resolves my suspicion that I wasn't just hallucinating the first two times I saw you." I say standing my ground.

Anubis smirks again, and suddenly pounces on me. 'Is that so?' He grazes my ear with his inner jaws chuckling.

"And...why are you here...again?" I ask pushing his head away

'Well, I was looking for something to eat and saw you walk in there just as this lucky human walked out and figured I could kill two birds with one stone,' he grabs my arms and picks me up placing me against the wall of the alley.

'How about you?' He says inspecting one of his sharp claws.

"Well," I grab my energy drink that I'd dropped on the ground. "I was planning on getting something to drink and then heading home but obviously not anymore." I open the can and it sprays all over my already bloody shirt from the carbonation of getting dropped and then picked up in the small space of 30 seconds.

"Gah! Dammit! There goes half of my well earned money." I throw the now empty can off to the side. Anubis chuckles.

"Here, let me help you with that," He says taking a single finger and dragging it from the top of my collar down the line of buttons quickly popping them all, grabbing my shirt and putting it to his mouth sucking out the blood and juice before his acidic saliva burns up the rest.

I growl punching him in the shoulder, "You meant to do that." He grins.

'Maybe, but now I've allowed you an ease of movement, and that's what you're going to need if you're going to be hunting with me.' I'm confused.

"Wait, you barely ate the owner of the store now you want to kill more people? Hell no! I'm not becoming part of that, how about you just fuck off!" Anubis growls making me back down slightly.

'You're coming with if I have drag you there. Besides, if we're going to be rolling with each other in the near future you need to get used to this, because people will die. And you need to be ready for that.' He had me backed to the wall.

'Understand?' He says and I nod, that stupid smirk growing on his face again. 'Wonderful, now follow me.' He turns around his tail swishing past my face as he does so.

I follow him through the back alleys of my suburban neighborhood until we come to the back of a bar. No one was inhabiting the small space except for a man and a woman arguing under a lamppost next to a fenced in lot bordering the bar.

'What are you thinking?' Anubis says noticing that I'd been looking at the area for awhile.

"I'm thinking that I don't like being in the close proximity of a hungry xenomorph for an extended amount of time." I say bluntly and Anubis cackles.

'Hurry it up then, Sherlock.' He nudges me with his tail.

At that moment the man arguing with the woman under the lamppost had struck her down, his words were mumbled but I'd managed to make out a few choice ones. Obviously drunk.

Suddenly I bolt up stomping towards the man.

'Stop! What are you doing!? Let me handle this!' Anubis frantically whispers but I was already halfway there.

"Hey asshole!" I shout and the woman gets up and runs away while the man is distracted

"Get lost kid, you shouldn't be alone out at a time of night like this when monsters are a prowlin'" he flicks out a switchblade knife smirking as he creeps over to me.

With all my might I launch my foot back and let it shoot forwards into his groin. He drops his knife, falling to his knees, and suddenly the fence behind him breaks open and Anubis pops through taking the man to the ground ripping his throat out.

"The irony is laughable." I crack my knuckles as I let him finish, the look of terror still on the mans face.

Anubis looks up at me and grins, blood soaking his maw. Suddenly he springs up and grabs me hoisting me over his shoulder.

'You get the express ride home; so damn slow when you're walking' He says a bit rudely as he takes me home in about 5x the speed it would normally take.

When we arrive he sets me down in front of my patio door. "Uh...thanks...I guess," I say as I open my door and he glances inside curiously.

And then it hits me, he probably didn't have anywhere nice to stay if he was having to hide from the public eye.

"D-Do you... I mean, would you like to stay here... For awhile? My foster mother is gone until Wednesday and its a big house...you wouldn't be imposing," I say and he kind of tilts his head.

"Unless you try to eat me that is," I give a small smile and he simply walks in as I step aside. I follow behind closing the patio door and when I turn around he's probably already looped the house five times because he was running around the house like he was at a track meet.

He finally skids up to me knocking me over nodding. 'Its a keeper.' I give a half hearted look and get up after he rolls off me.

I walk up the stairs to my room, Anubis watching from the doorway as I change into a thin t-shirt and fitness shorts.

I notice Anubis start to curl up into a ball outside the door much like a dog does when it gets ready for sleep.

I get in my own bed only realizing how tired I felt when my head hit the pillow. I yawn and turn off the lamp next to me.

"Goodnight Anubis." I say through my yawn.

'Goodnight human.' I hear from the hallway, and then I fall asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED