He hid behind a tree and hoped that she wouldn’t be able to spot him. His comrades would find it hilarious that he was being stalked by a human and that too by a female. But then again they were not in his situation; in an inhospitable environment being chased by an irate being armed to the hilt.

Steamy breaths evaporated in the chilly air of an unusually silent forest as he shivered and looked around trying to locate the hunter. He tried to remain inconspicuous in case he was spotted; he didn’t want to become shish kabob or what ever humans ate.

As she moved closer towards his hiding spot he moved back and closed his eyes. If only he had checked his mini-pod before boarding it, but he was in a hurry to finish a mission he had thought was a babe’s play. How long would it take to pick up a few soil samples and go back to the headquarters?

Now he was stuck with a crashed craft and without a survival kit. How long would it be before he was missed and a rescue squad was sent to search for him? He could be dead by then.

A twig snapped under her feet. They both cringed. He didn’t want to be caught and she didn’t want to lose track of him..

The wretched weather reflected her mood. She would have preferred to remain back home with her boisterous brothers rather than brave this chilly sullen forest that gave her the creeps. She had been camping for three wet miserable days waiting for something to happen.

It had been rumored that alien activity was the strongest around this area, making it fertile grounds for an easy hunt, at least for seasoned hunters; her brothers had smirked and said to her.  

Being the seventh born, the only daughter, she had taken the bait. She was as good as they were, if not better. She had to prove them wrong but the wait was proving to be tiresome. Time seemed to tick by at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Early in the morning on the fourth day, she heard a sonic boom just a few miles away from her campsite. She grabbed her rifle and felt the heady rush of adrenaline rush through her lithe body. The hunt had begun.

Reaching the crash site, she found the pod to be empty. Small footprints the size of a toddler’s feet led into the forest. The pilot had survived and she was glad; a dead alien was worth no more than road kill - she was no armchair hunter.

A feverish smile twisted her face, giving it an ugly, predatory grimace. She was on the scent of an alien and she had never felt more alive.

He felt his fur stand on its end. She was so close that he could almost hear her breathe. He didn’t want to die or land up in some sterile enclosure with humans in white smocks poking at him. What was taking them so long? He wondered frantically and felt his two hearts pump blood rather frantically causing him to feel dizzy. Without his group he was helpless. Where were they?

She couldn’t believe how easy it was. She felt a passing twinge of regret. This was not a hunt – even a dog would have given her better chase. The footprints stopped in front of a tree and she saw little eyes and a fluff of fur bob up and down.

Putting her rifle away, she took out a stun gun and waited for the creature to come out. She would be heading back home soon.

Put the gun down human a voice spoke in her head. She shook her head and wondered if she had gone mad.

“This is a last warning -, surrender, human and nothing will happen to you” the voice was louder this time. She saw a batch of small white furry bodies head in her direction. They were no more than three feet in height and looked like white teddy bears.

She grinned and trained her guns on them. This was hilarious.

The voice buzzed again “We don’t want to hurt you.”

She laughed and replied “Oh yeah? I’m going to take you all back home with me. Dead and skinned, you’d make good trophies on my wall.”

A collective sigh heaved from their small bodies. Closing their eyes they sent a wave of combustible energy towards the human.

She felt a warm feeling, and then a hot spot grow within her body. Her skin seemed to be on fire. It was getting too hot to bear and before she could cry out in pain, her body exploded.

Silence seemed to shriek loudly through the forest. Regret passed through the little bodies. This is not how they wanted things to end. This was the fourth human they had destroyed. They would continue to kill to protect their kind and their home planet from these cruel aliens who merely killed for the sport if it.

This was not going to be a congenial hunting planet for the humans - they would make sure of that.