Devon crouched down under the swinging tail and kicked his leg out, spun it around, and knocked the alien off its feet. It screeched as it hit the ground and scrambled back to its feet, turning to make another strike.

"Enough!" Ali said, stepping forward.

Devon jumped back quickly and turned to face Ali. Ten years had passed since Ali had discovered him in the orphanage and he had grown a lot. His boyish features had hardened into handsome features of a young man. He was tall, taller than Ali, and slender, his body laced with hidden muscles. His hair was longer, but it didn't come down past his earlobes. He wore a tight fitting white polo shirt with black horizontal stripes and black cargo pants that he had taken from an empty room on a hunt. Ali had also grown in the ten years since she had landed on the foreign planet. Her childlike features had filled out, giving way to stunning beauty. She allowed her hair to grow out, keeping it at her waist. The only way she could manage it was by keeping it in a thick braid which she would drape over her shoulder. Her voice, however, remained light and feathery; the voice of a child. She wore an outfit that she had stolen from one of her victims, it was a black halter top with black pants; the girl whom they had belonged to was going on a big date when Ali took her. Neither Ali nor Devon wore shoes.

The alien Devon had been training with for the past three years backed away and walked to stand next to Ali.

"Great lesson," Devon said, smiling at Ali.

Ali nodded and made her way to the basement door. "You need to work on your attacks more; you still seem to be hesitating."

"I know, I just can't get that final attack thing down, I don't know what my problem is."

"I do," Ali said, "You're afraid."

"That's not true!" Devon shouted.

"Yes it is," Ali said as she opened the door to the basement and walked down the stairs. "You're too afraid to take another life."

What are you two fighting about this time? Emery asked.

"Same thing as always," Ali said.

"She thinks that I keep chickening out," Devon said.

"I know you do."

"That's a lie!" Devon shouted.

Enough! Both of you stop it! Emery's voice thundered in their heads. A couple of the aliens twitched as they felt the fury in their Queen's voice.

"Sorry," Ali said.

"Yeah, me too," Devon added.

Now, how about you go out hunting? It will give you both time to clear your head!

"Fine," Ali and Devon said at the same time.

Ali turned sharply on her heel and stomped up the stairs again. Devon stomped up behind her and it wasn't until she was at the top of the stairs that she realized he was mocking her. She groaned angrily and ran down the hallway to the front doors. Devon chuckled behind her and ran after her, gaining. He ended up beating her to the front door and out onto the dark, sandy world.

"I win!" Devon shouted victoriously.

"It's not a very fair race, if you're four feet taller than me!" Ali shouted back.

"I'm not that tall!"

"Whatever, close enough."

"Aw, Ali, don't get all moody on me," Devon said, patting Ali on the head.

"Don't touch me!" Ali said, batting Devon's hand away.

Devon just laughed and started walking. "Let's just get this over with!"

"What? Now you're thinking this as just a chore?" Ali asked, taking quick strides to match Devon's long ones.

"No, not all the time; just when Emery wants us out from underneath her."

"Oh, just deal with it!" Ali said.

"Fine, I will!" Devon retorted back.

Ali rolled her eyes. "We're splitting up again."

"Aw, come on! Why?"

"I want to hunt by myself!"

"Don't you enjoy my company?" Devon asked, draping an arm around Ali's shoulder.

"Only when you shut up and don't touch me!"

"My, my, we certainly aren't in a good mood today," Devon teased, "Guess you do need some time to yourself."

"Oh, thanks for being so considerate, Devon," Ali said, sarcasm dripping off her words like thick resin.

"No problem," Devon replied with a grin.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they got to the manhole cover in the middle of a deserted street. Ali shifted the manhole cover aside with ease and dropped down lightly into the hole. Devon dropped down after her and automatically turned to the right end tunnel.

"See you later," he said.

"First one to back to the Hive gets to sleep behind Emery's crest!"

The spot right behind Emery's crest was the most comfortable spot to sleep and Ali and Devon constantly made contests to try and decide who would get to sleep there, and who had to sleep on the floor.

"Oh, it's so on!" Devon said and he took off down the tunnel.

Ali laughed and ran down her end of the tunnel, determined to keep up her winning streak. The tunnels were empty; no sign of life. Not that Ali expected to find any, the people usually stayed deeper underground; only the insane would venture this far into waiting hands. Eventually, the walls turned from the concrete pipes of the sewers into natural rock walls where the people had tunneled deeper to make their homes. Lights in the ceiling of the tunnel lit the way and illuminated several doors, but there were no people around. Suddenly, a strange scent filled Ali's nostrils, making her eyes water. It was a scent she had come to memorize and avoid; the other Hive's aliens.

Ali stopped in her tracks and peered down the hallway, but nothing moved. She focused her attention on the smell and noticed that it wasn't that strong; any alien that had been here moved on long ago. She tracked the scent to a room down the hall and cautiously made her way to it. There was a thick trail of blood coming from underneath the door, leading off further down the hallway. Ali opened the door slowly and looked into the room.

Automatic lights flickered on and illuminated the gory scene. Dark blood was splattered across the walls in violent spatters. Ali's eyes continued to move through the room and she saw the bodies of two women. There were claw marks and chunks missing from their bodies in multiple places and both of them had identical gaping holes in their heads; holes that could only be made by powerful inner jaws. There must have been a third person in the room because the trail in the hall continued into the room, cutting through the blood of the two women, and stopping in a corner. Ali grimaced and shut the door; she hated it when the other aliens got to the people first. It meant that she would have to hunt deeper into the underground city to find prey. She sighed and continued down through the tunnel.