Hunted by the Alien Vampire

by A. M. Griffin

  Her mouth twisted. “Why would I leave with you? So we could play house and pretend we’re a family?”

  Fanian barked out a laugh. He couldn’t help himself. A family was the furthest from his mind. “No, Mishka. You aren’t for me. You’re for Az’ud.”

  He took another step forward.

  “What’s an Az’ud? Is that another planet or something?”

  He moved again. Almost there. “No, Az’ud is a rich merchant who badly wants a human pet to bear his children. He’s paid a lot of money for me to capture you.”

  Her facial features contorted and pinched together again. “You...you want to sell us?”

  “Well, not actually. The credits are already in my account. Expenses need to be paid for upfront and all.”

  She squinted her beautiful round eyes at him. “So, I guess I’ll just stand here and let you ruin our lives.”

  “Ruin? I don’t know about that. But yes, stand there.”

  He reached out and grabbed her. Finally.

  “You really need to learn about sarcasm.”

  She stepped back and to the side while simultaneously grabbing his wrist and wrenching him toward and past her. He overstepped, trying to avoid the hole she’d dug and landed awkwardly on his heel.

  The human used his unbalance to her advantage. She pushed him to one knee and leaned over him with a snarl. Before he could regain his footing and launch toward her, she pulled a small device from a front pocket. She pressed it hard against the skin on his arm and a bolt of electricity shot through him. His muscles went rigid and he slumped to the ground.

  “Quick! Hand me that rock!” she yelled.

  If he could dislodge the device from his arm, he could escape the continuous jolts.

  Her son handed her a rock bigger than his small hand.

  “What damage could such a small weapon do?” he said through gritted teeth. “My skin is much stronger than the other hunter.”

  “Oh, no. I’d never hurt such a strong hunter.”

  She slammed the rock on his head. His chin hit the ground and sunk into the soft earth. She bashed his head again. Warm blood rushed over his forehead.

  “Sarcasm,” she said, then hit him again.

  Maybe I should figure out what sarcasm is.

  There was another sharp pain on his skull. Then everything went black.

  MIRANDA SLAMMED THE rock on his head again. This time the crashing sound was replaced with sounds of wetness. Dark green blood gushed from his head, covering his face and ran down her hand. She tightened her grip and pounded even more.

  Adam’s pitiful whimpering from behind her was the only thing that pulled her back. She stopped. Her breaths escaping in shallow pants. Her hair clung in clumps around her face. To wipe it away meant she would smear his blood on her face.

  Blood.

  Alien or not. His blood was on her.

  But he wants to sell us.

  Anger coursed through her. She lifted the rock high above her head, ready to slam it down again.

  “Mommy. Stop,” Adam cried.

  Miranda stilled. Her chest burned. The alien deserved this. She hadn’t done anything to him. She snarled, wanting to bash and bash.

  “Mommy?”

  She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the sprawled body of the hunter.

  “Please, mommy.”

  She took a deep breath, slowly coming back from the darkness. The hunter’s head was split open and what she could only guess was brain matter spilled from it.

  She blinked. What am I doing? I’m a monster.

  No. She wasn’t a monster, but a mother doing her best to protect her children. She pushed guilt away and opened her hand. The rock fell to the ground. Even though he deserved to die, emotion overwhelmed her. Miranda hung her head, letting the sobs tear through her. Adam dropped to his knees by her side. She immediately pulled him into a hug, squishing Lexi between them. Blood be damned. She needed comfort.

  “I think you killed him,” Adam whispered.

  “It’s okay, my baby. Remember?” she said between sniffles. “He isn’t real. He’s just a robot.”

  “But he looked and talked real.”

  She wiped her nose and forced herself to smile. “Your dad paid for the very best adventure. I told you that.”

  He turned to look at Fanian. “He expects us to kill people?”

  “Not people, honey.” She nodded toward Fanian. “Look at him. Does he look like people?”

  Adam shook his head.

  “See? He’s not a man in a scary custom. He’s just an excellent robot.”

  “Are they going to fix this one too?”

  She wiped the hair from her face, leaving thick, sticky blood on her skin. “Of course. They cost too much to leave broken.”

  “Wow. We beat two robots in one day. I think we’ll get the biggest medal they have at the end.”

  Miranda took him by the hand and stood. “I think we should leave this place. If two of them found us so easily, this definitely isn’t a good hiding spot.”

  “Which direction should we go? Do you think there are any more robots close by?”

  Miranda looked down the path they were on. It was wide and well used. Were there more aliens waiting for her that way? She didn’t know if she had it in her to kill anyone else today.

  A sob hiccupped from her throat as fat raindrops began falling again. Why wouldn’t it stop raining?! She shook with rage and fear. Her legs refused to move and she couldn’t make her hand call for a pod. She was essentially paralyzed.

  Adam tugged her arm. “We can go this way and find another place to hide. We have to get out of the open if we want to avoid the robots.”

  “O-okay.”

  How she was able to put one foot in front of the other, she didn’t know. Her gaze scanned everything. Every loud squawk or the smallest rustle coming from a bush made her jump and clutch Adam’s arm tight. She feared the worse. Then it happened.

  A giant sasquatch looking alien stepped onto the path about ten feet in front of her.

  “Please don’t hurt us. We didn’t ask to be here,” she said with a cry. She couldn’t kill again. She just couldn’t.

  “I’m not here to hurt you or your children. I’m here to help,” the hunter said.

  Adam wrapped his arms tightly around her leg.

  “I’m begging you to let us go,” she whimpered. Tears fell steadily down her face, blending with the rain pelting her.

  “I’m here to help you,” he said.

  “H-help? Wh-what do you mean?”

  “There’s a trap ahead. It’s been set by a hunter. Don’t go that route, or you’ll end up as his mate.”

  “I-I don’t want to be anyone’s mate.” She lifted her chin a notch, finally finding her courage. “Not even yours.”

  “I’m not here to claim you. I’m here to warn you. Stay off the trails. I know it’ll be difficult with the children, but the hunters expect you to take the easier routes. You’ll have to outsmart them.”

  Why is he helping us? What does he have to gain? She chewed on her lip, weighing her options. She didn’t have a choice. She had to find another area. “I can call a pod and get out of here.”

  He gave her a curt nod. “That would probably be for the best.”

  He was too agreeable. Every other hunter so far had wanted to catch her. “What’s your angle? Do you want me to call a pod because if I do, I’ll end up in a trap set by you?”

  “If I wanted you, I would have you, female. You aren’t faster than me, and the children would surely slow you down. Trust me on this.”

  She eyed him carefully. “Is your name Xrez?”

  He nodded.

  “You talked to Esme and told her how we could win the game.”

  He stiffened. “As I said. I’m trying to help.”

  “I have a question.”

  “Ask it.”

  Fanian had said this one lied. She needed to know the truth. “If we make it through Level Three and wi
n The Hunt, will we get to return to Earth?”

  “Yes.”

  Miranda didn’t know why he was helping them or what his motive was. She was too exhausted to think about it now. What she did know was that Fanian was a liar.

  “Thank you.” Miranda pressed her transportation icon, and they dropped into a waiting pod.

  The trip lasted a few minutes but felt like seconds. They were deposited into a watery cave. Miranda immediately assessed their surroundings, noting one way in and one way out. Was that a plus or negative? Pushing that information to the side, for now, she crossed the short distance to the entrance and peered outside. The cave was located on the side of a mountain. A lake, dark blue, and inviting was below them, a short jump away.

  She turned to survey the cave. It was small but large enough not to feel claustrophobic. She stood in water. It wasn’t high enough to reach the fabric of her gym shoes. Luckily there were plenty of ledges to stand, sit and sleep on if needed.

  Turning again to look outside, she inhaled deeply as a bright pink, cloudless sky greeted her. It would be pretty here if it weren’t so alien.

  She could stay trapped in the cave, or she could take her kids into the unknown and hope she didn’t run into any more hunters.

  I don’t want to kill again.

  Her knees weakened. She caught herself before she crumbled. “We’ve had such a busy day already, haven’t we?” The lightness in her voice wasn’t believable. Not even to her.

  “And we got so dirty.” Adam picked at his shirt then ran a finger down Lexi’s leg. She squirmed and giggled. “We have robot blood all over us.”

  “Yes, robot blood. Luckily we landed next to a lake. We can take a bath and get cleaned up.”

  “A bath?” Adam grumbled. “Can I skip mine?”

  She jabbed her fists on her hips, making a stance. “Absolutely not. We have to get the blood off us.”

  “The robot blood,” he corrected.

  “Yes. That.”

  Chapter Six

  “Mommy, that blue robot is back.” Adam stood at her shoulder, eating a protein bar as Miranda crouched at the entrance of the cave watching Fanian. “They fixed him like you said they would.”

  They’d been hiding in the cave for the past two days, one day longer than she should’ve stayed, but after Esme hadn’t responded during last night’s roll call, Miranda had been too scared to move her family. They weren’t safe here, she’d seen plenty of hunters in passing, but they hadn’t seemed to notice the entrance to the cave.

  She’d pressed her luck in staying. She knew that, but the other option was packing up her kids and trying to find another hiding spot as good as this one. The thought of being out there in the open, looking over shoulders, having hunters lurking behind every tree, gave her the hives.

  Like seriously. Stress hives were splattered across her chest and arms. This wasn’t a good time to have itchy bumps on her body, with no treatment, and she couldn’t scratch them. Who knew what alien flora had attached itself to her jagged nails. The last thing she needed was to invite unknown bacteria into her body.

  “Do you think it’ll go away like the others did?”

  Miranda didn’t wince when Adam referred to Fanian as “it.” Since yesterday, she’d been correcting him when he’d first referred to the hunters who unknowingly passed them as “her” or “him.” She didn’t want Adam to associate the aliens as sentient lifeforms. She needed him to believe they were mindless robots, all part of their adventure. Most of all, she didn’t want him to know she was a killer.

  Melinda hardened herself against that thought. She had to do what was needed to protect them, and she would continue to do it. Each time she reminded herself of that, the guilt that gnawed at her lessened, and she lost some of the unsettled feelings that came along with it.

  “I’m not sure. This is the third time it’s been this way this morning.”

  Adam wasn’t surprised Fanian was back and walking around—her lie helped with that, but she sure as heck was. Spilling Fanian’s brains all over the ground should’ve sent him to alien heaven or hell. But, nope, here he was in the flesh. Head put back together.

  “Maybe it can smell us? No. Robots can’t smell.” Adam munched on his bar without a care in the world. “It can’t be following our tracks. We don’t have any, ’cause we were never over there.”

  Adam was smart beyond his short years. When other kids were happy to play hours on video games or watching cartoons, he enjoyed nature programs and playing with his toy animals. He knew a hell of a lot more than she did about animals and tracking.

  “Why don’t you call for more food?”

  “We have so much. Why do we need more?”

  “Just in case.” Just in case whoever was supplying the food decided to stop being generous with it.

  Adam’s feet splashed as he trotted to where Lexi was propped against one of the walls on a dry ledge, happily drinking her bottle. Miranda cringed. They didn’t need Fanian to hear him.

  Fanian didn’t turn her way, though. He continued studying the sparse trees that lined the lake.

  Plop. Plop. Adam activated his and Lexi’s food pods. More food. But that wasn’t on her mind. She wondered how Fanian had found them—or close to finding them, and how the hell was he was still alive?

  Fanian walked toward the tree line. Just when she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Fanian stopped mid-stride and paused. Miranda held her breath. Seconds ticked by as he stared off into the distance. Slowly and soundlessly, she maneuvered to the opposite side of the cave entrance to see what he looked at. Nothing.

  “Keep walking. Move along. Nothing to see here,” she muttered under her breath.

  Fanian took another step toward the trees.

  “There you go.”

  He stopped again and angled his head in her direction.

  She ducked away, pressing her back against the wall. Adam was sitting next to Lexi, toward the back far left of the cave. From where Fanian was, he wouldn’t be able to see them.

  Maybe he didn’t see me either.

  She peeked around the corner. Fanian was making his way toward the cave.

  She’d spoken too soon.

  Calling for another pod was definitely a possibility. While she didn’t have any left, Lexi and Adam still had theirs. But then what? He would come looking for them again and again until they were out of pods and couldn’t run away. Her stomach twisted and her heart raced. He hunted them.

  Literally, the name of this game. The Hunt.

  It was time for them to leave anyway, but first, she had to kill this guy. For real this time.

  “Mishka,” Fanian called when he was close enough. “I’m not upset that you hurt me. I would’ve done the same if I were in your circumstance.”

  That voice. It made her want to go to him and listen to him talk all day long.

  She growled, shaking the false sense of calmness from her head. Not this time, motherfucker. “Shut up talking to me!”

  Lexi whimpered at her tone.

  “Stop yelling,” Adam whispered. “You’re scaring Lexi.”

  And by the sound of his voice, she scared him too. Miranda forced the corners of her mouth upward. “Just part of the adventure, honey. The robot Fanian found us again. I’m just trying to make it go away. Are you ready to go home?”

  Adam’s eyebrows pinched together. “No. This is the best adventure ever.”

  “Neither am I. Not until we win.”

  Adam lifted his chin. “Okay, make him go away.”

  “It, baby. Remember, that the robot is an it.”

  “Mishka,” Fanian’s voice drew closer.

  Miranda turned to find Fanian just outside the cave, wading in the waist-deep water. He looked the same as she’d seen him last time, not a wound or even a scar in sight.

  His dark eyes held her gaze. “Don’t be alarmed. Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Yeah, right. You’re not going to hurt me like I didn
’t hurt you.”

  He narrowed his eyes on her. “But you did hurt me.”

  Miranda rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “Sarcasm.”

  He smiled, and she caught her breath. If she thought his voice made her feel good, his smile was positively breathtaking. He was beautiful in a weird kind of way.

  “Ah, I remember.”

  “You got what you deserved. I don’t want to go to that Az’ud guy,” she seethed.

  He lifted his shoulders. “It’s going to happen eventually. You might as well stop fighting it.”

  Any woo-woo feelings she had for him were gone and replaced with rage. She’d never been one to advocate for guns, but she wished she had one now. One-shot. Right between the eyes. “I won’t let you take us.”

  “You don’t have a choice. I’ll come up there so we can talk about it more.”

  She had the feeling that she would’ve agreed if she wasn’t so mad. Anger overrode whatever calmness his voice pumped around her. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Miranda. Why are you trying so hard to resist me? Don’t you want to be friends?” He smirked, and she wanted to knock it off his face.

  She’d never been a violent person before, but she really wanted to kill him. “No.”

  He tilted his diamond-shaped head to the side. “What’s to stop me from coming up there anyway?”

  “You could, but you would find this cave empty.”

  “I’ve guessed you don’t have another pod. If you did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He snapped long fingers together. “Is there another entrance? A way for you to escape?” He chuckled. “You could run, and I would chase you down. I like chasing my prey.”

  His eyes gleamed when he spoke the last sentence. She could never outrun him. There was no avoiding this. She had to kill him. That thought was firmly in her head. No emotion was behind it. “You’re not as smart as you think you are.”

  He used his long, blue fingers to count off. “You used one pod to leave your group. Otherwise, there’s no way you would’ve gotten as far as you had. I tracked you to the far east end of the arena, but you were already gone when I got there. Your trail went cold. That was the second pod. The third pod was used after you attacked me.”