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Part 3
They were moving again. At eighteen, Colin couldn’t count the number of times they had moved to different caves. Humans panicked like turkeys when they thought the aliens might attack. A night sentry had thought he had seen signs that the aliens were coming close to their homes, thus, it was time to run. Colin shook his head in disgust. Humans were so easily panicked.
“Hold.†The call came from ahead. They were probably checking a cave to see if it would be suitable. The tribe had been walking for about six hours now, and supposedly it was dangerous to spend so much time above ground. Colin felt something brush against his arm. Crissy, her blond hair pulled back, had stepped close to him. It was an unconscious move that she did whenever she was worried. This habit had started five years earlier when Colin had saved her from his rapist father.
After a few minutes of silence, another call came from ahead. The cave had checked out, they were moving in. Colin silently picked up his belongings and followed the crowd.
As he entered the cave, the rest of the tribe gave him a wide berth. Colin was feared, and that was fine with him. Rumors spread around him, people spoke of him killing animals for fun, that he was a cannibal, and that he killed children as they slept. It was common knowledge that Colin had murdered his father, though the tribe elders had decided that, under the circumstances, the murder would be overlooked. Throughout all of it, Crissy had stood by his side, more devoted than ever. Colin’s mother had committed suicide shortly after her husband’s death, though more rumors spoke of Colin possibly coaxing her into her demise.
As he rolled out his cot, Colin felt Crissy’s hand on his back. “Are you unpacked?†Her devotion, at times, unnerved him. He could not understand why she felt the need to be around him so often, and to touch him at odd times. Colin found her attractive, and rarely spurned her advances, but he could not understand her need for constant contact.
“Mostly. I’ve volunteered for sentry duty tonight. You should probably get some sleep.†Crissy swirled around him, like a mist, and gently kissed Colin. He did not return her kiss. She had long ago forgiven his oddities, and wasn’t hurt by his lack of affection any more.
Colin shrugged himself free of the girl and made his way out of the cave. He nodded to the other sentries making their way back into the cave. “You want a gun?†one of the younger ones asked. Colin gave the boy a cold stare, then moved his hand to reveal the blades strapped to his belt.
“I’ve got all I need here.â€
After an hour of uneasy silence, Colin realized what had him on edge. There was no game out tonight. Nothing so much as a rat had passed by. Animals instinctively sensed danger, humans weren’t so lucky. Colin had an itching at the back of his skull. He headed back towards the cave.
When scouting for a cave, it was general practice to only scout perhaps a half mile into the cave, with the rest of the exploration occurring over the next few weeks. Colin supposed that the rest of the tribe believed that the aliens would be stupid enough to simply attack as soon as the humans were sighted. They probably believed that the aliens wouldn’t stoop to using a trap.
As if to confirm his thoughts, screams erupted from the cave. Colin stopped a moment. There was nothing forcing him to go into the cave. If he ran, he would definitely survive, at least for a while. If he entered the cave, it would probably mean death. Colin looked away for a moment, and then turned back and walked towards the cave. What kind of life would one be on the run anyway?
Colin entered the cave, and took in the full scene. The battle had been going on for some time now. He counted three of the alien suits, but two had already been downed. The tribe’s losses, however, were much worse. The bodies of humans littered the cave. The remaining suit was fighting three guards. The suit sustained a massive shot from one of the guards, the same young boy that Colin had spoken to earlier. The alien’s shoulder was heavily damaged, and the armor began peeling away. The beast began falling back, protecting its damaged side with its armored arm. The boy took a leap foreword, trying to be a hero, and in response the alien batted the sentry away, probably to death considering the loud crunch coming from the back of the cave. The other two guards, apparently forgetting where they were, watched in horror as their compatriot flew back, and were promptly wiped out by a blast from the alien’s weapon.
Colin looked on curiously. He hadn’t been noticed yet, though he stood a mere thirty yards from the alien. The armor continued to deteriorate, falling away in chunks from the alien’s flesh. Underneath, the alien was a sickly yellow.
A moan from the corner drew both the alien and Colin’s attention. Crissy. She had apparently survived, mostly unharmed. Her head was bleeding. She looked up, disoriented, and saw Colin.
“Colin?†The alien turned to where Crissy was looking, seeing the man for the first time. For a moment, man and alien stared at each other. In a mad dash that probably drained the armor of the last of its power, the alien moved the ten feet to Crissy, picked her up by her arm, and pulled her in front of itself, using her as a shield. She barely had time to scream. The alien’s weapon was leveled neatly at her head.
“Colin!†Crissy was screaming hysterically. “Save me! Please, like you did last time.†Colin instinctively had a dagger in his hand already. The alien’s armor was falling away like ash, but would a dagger even do anything to it? “I know you’re a good person Colin, that’s why I love you.†Out of the corner of his eye, Colin saw movement. The boy, the hero, was still apparently alive, silently dragging his broken body towards the alien, apparently hoping for a better shot at close range. “Colin, you can save me. Please!†Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Colin’s mind began calculating. Colin was good enough to hit the beast and miss Crissy, and that attack would provide the distraction for the boy. Even if the daggers didn’t kill the alien, the boy’s shot surely would. But then what? The boy would surely die from his wounds; none of them was a doctor. “Colin?†His eyes closed for a brief moment. When he opened them, the boy was lining up his shot, grinning like a fool. Colin made up his mind.
The dagger flew with amazing precision. Crissy screamed, and the alien flinched, but there was no time for anyone to fully react. The blade flew cleanly toward the alien, missing it by mere millimeters, and found its mark in the hero’s forehead. “Bullseye.â€
Colin walked calmly towards the alien, who had stopped for a moment to check over its shoulder. With confused eyes, it turned back to face Colin, who now stood mere feet in front of it. Crissy screamed again.
“Oh, quiet will you?†Another blade had found its way to Colin’s hand, and fast as lightning he used it to slit Crissy’s throat.
She coughed up a small amount of blood and looked at him with her big brown eyes. “Why?†she managed, and then her head hung low.
“Because I could.†Colin said simply.
The alien adjusted his grip on Crissy, positioning its hand around her throat, bringing her dead eyes to his face. “If you will not answer the girl,†it said in Crissy’s voice, “you will answer me. Why attack your own kind and not me. The boy could have killed me, you could have killed me, yet you did not. Why?â€
So the aliens could not speak. Interesting. Colin turned his gaze away from the dead girl’s face and stared into the hollow eyes of the alien. “I know a winning side when I see it. If I had killed you, what would that have gotten me? That boy wasn’t long for this world, and then I would have had to go on the run. Well me, I’m tired of running. I’m tired of people. Besides, you and your kind need me.†Curiosity again showed in the alien’s eyes. “Think about it. You have to hide here to kill people, and it’s not exactly like you blend in. You lost three today, losses which I’m sure you don’t like. How long were you hunting us? At least ten years. Imagine what you could do with someone like me, someone that blends in, someone willing to kill even a girl who swore she loved me. You need me, because I’m the best assassin you could ask for.â€
The alien stared at Colin for a long time, then casually tossed Crissy aside. Touching something on its remaining armor, Colin was faced with a roaring noise coming from behind him. The alien began walking towards the noise, and brought a single finger up. Colin took the motion as an order to follow, an order which he obeyed eagerly.
A spherical ship waited for them, and as soon as Colin stepped aboard, he lost consciousness.
When the human awoke, he was seated, surrounded by perhaps a half dozen of the aliens. “We have allowed you to awaken human.†The voice was inside his head, and instinctively Colin reached up and touched his temples. Beneath the hair, small metal protrusions had been added. No bigger than thumbtacks, they were well hidden on his skull. “What you feel will allow us to communicate with you. They also allow us to delve into your thoughts. If you attempt to betray us, we will destroy you without hesitation.â€
“Oh, I don’t want to betray you. Just give me food, a nice place to sleep, and the occasional girl to have some fun with, and you can tell me to do whatever you want.†Colin began to chuckle.
Pain wracked Colin’s head, and dropped him to his knees. “We will provide you with these things, but you are ours. You are not our equal; you will speak only when asked to do so. We have stripped you of your original name. Your new name shall be,†pain wracked Colin’s head again, “Bullseye.â€
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