Everything felt so still. As Ciro stood frozen, his breath catching in his throat, he watched the gray humanoid take a heavy step forward; the floor creaking amid the shifting of weight. Ciro couldn’t help but maintain eye contact as it edged closer. The figure’s eyes felt snake-like and predatory. The only thought that raced through Ciro’s mind was that of survival. He knew he was face to face with something dangerous. His life was in danger, and he needed to do something.

  But what?

  With his mind blank, the only thing filling his vision was the creature’s muscular frame, too big to ignore, yet big enough for Ciro to know this was reality. Its broad shoulders heaved as it exhaled through the gill-like slits on its neck, its hissing breath only drowned out by Ciro’s slow heartbeat.

  For a moment, they stood staring at each other. Ciro’s throat felt constricted from the tension in the air that threatened to strangle him. Come on Ciro, move your body. Run. Move, damn it.

  Ciro’s muscles only slightly twitched before the monstrosity lunged forward towards him. Shit. His body moved on its own. Born out of pure instinct, Ciro pivoted on his heels and bolted back towards the cracked door, his feet threatening to buckle over from the uneven flooring. His heart hammered in his chest as adrenaline flooded his system. The only way to escape was to leave the way he came.

  The balcony’s faint outline grew closer, but just as he reached for the doorframe, something clamped onto the back of his collar. His vision whirled, while he felt himself getting yanked back, his feet left the ground, before he crashed back down onto the floor. A wave of pain surged through his body. He clutched at his back, where he felt the initial impact. The gray creature dragged him deeper into the room, not giving him time to soothe his pain; their grip was unyielding.

  “Let go of me, you damn monster!” Ciro screamed, his voice cracking under the fear. He clawed at the hands, grabbing him, flailing around with the only purpose of freeing himself, but it was all pointless. The creature’s grip was iron.

  The gray being seemed unfettered by Ciro’s desperate scramble. It spun him around with practised ease, slamming him against the adjacent wall. Dust fell from the ceiling, landing on the creature’s face, marring its gray skin with brown undertones, only amplifying its snake-like appearance.

  Ciro’s wind left his body. He gasped. His vision blurred. A massive hand clamped around his neck, pinning him in place like a nail in a coffin. Up close, the creature was even more terrifying. Its gray, mottled skin had an almost stone-like texture, and its inky black eyes bore into Ciro with an intensity that made him want to look away. The gills on the sides of its neck flared open and released a sharp hiss before it spoke.

  “You’re a funny looking Anoran,” it growled, its voice deep and guttural, like gravel scraping against metal.

  Ciro’s eyes widened, his feet kicking furiously in the, still trying to escape. “You can speak English? What the hell,” he rasped.

  Ciro felt his airway tighten even further. Saliva pooled in his mouth, leaking out from the corner of his lips. The damn monster. No, Ciro was sure of what it was.

  An Alien.

  The alien drew its face closer to Ciro’s. Its breath smelled like rotten fish, with his throat almost completely shut, the scent clogged his nostrils. The gray alien’s mouth crumpled into a smile, its gills seemed to contort into curves synchronously.

  It felt almost like three mouths were mocking him for his weakness, a feeling that Ciro had grown used to. When the alien opened its mouth, he could see the jagged teeth that seemed capable of biting through a steel beam. The words that came out of its mouth weren’t entirely shocking to Ciro.

  “Don’t waste your breath.” It caressed Ciro’s forehead with its free hand, an act of bizarre tenderness. “You’re already dead, Anoran.” Its face morphed into what Ciro could only comprehend as pure hatred.

  Panic surged through his body like a rocket. Ciro had seen that look before. He knew it all too well, the look of someone who was going to take pleasure in murder. He clawed at the creature’s hand, his nails digging into its tough skin. His lungs screamed for air, his chest heaving in a desperate attempt to draw in oxygen. Ciro refused to be treated like a toy. He left that life a long time ago.

  His actions were futile. Ciro’s vision blurred at the edges, and he felt his strength draining away. “Don’t save yourself,” the creature said coldly. “Perhaps you’re not Anoran, but it doesn’t matter. You’re already dead. Curse your species’ similar looks.”

  Feeling desperate with no other idea of how to fight back, Ciro resorted to the oldest trick in the book. He only hoped it would work. Summoning what little strength he had left, Ciro swung his knee upward with all the force he could muster, aiming for the Alien’s groin.

  Please have a dick, please have a dick. Ciro prayed, before a sickening crunch resounded within the room. Ciro’s knee connected with something—he wasn’t sure what, but the immediate reaction allowed him to easily guess.

  The alien let out a guttural roar of pain. Its grip on his neck loosened just enough for Ciro to slip free and collapse to the floor. He gasped for air; he coughed violently, spit flying everywhere. Quickly, he wiped the corner of his mouth and crawled away on his hands and knees, putting as much distance between himself and the creature as possible.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “You dirty little… And they named us after Xyphers!” the alien snarled, clutching its groin as it staggered backward. Its voice trembled with rage, its dark eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. “You’ll regret fighting so dishonorably, when you’re here on the Exofront.”

  The Exofront? Ciro recognized the word, the man that called himself Arius had mentioned it. Someone had selected them. Selected for something that clearly put their lives on the line, even with Ciro’s limited intelligence, he could gather that much. Yet this alien talked about honor, as if it, or rather he didn’t decide to kill him without so much as a warning. The irony left a bitter taste in Ciro’s mouth.

  With the gray humanoid still reeling, Ciro forced himself to his feet. Ignoring the burning ache in his ribs, he made a break for the door. Let’s live to see another day. His legs felt like jelly, but fear drove him forward. If he could just get to the balcony, maybe he could climb down, or at least find a place to lie low and hide. Maybe find some alcohol, Ciro wishfully imagined.

  Almost like the alien could read Ciro’s happy thoughts, it screamed, letting out a blood-curdling cry. “You’re not escaping weird, Anoran. You will die for harming my reproductive organs.”

  With a roar, it lunged at him, tackling him to the ground before he could reach the door. Both crashed onto the cold, hard floor from the impact, knocking the air from Ciro’s lungs for the second time.

  “Get off me, dammit! I did the world a favor, you ugly fuck.” Ciro shouted, his voice hoarse as he thrashed beneath the alien’s weight. He flailed his fists, aiming for the creature’s face and torso. Ciro felt the force of his punches reverberate back through his body, as if his fists were a clapper and the alien was the bell.

  It felt like punching a brick wall. Ciro’s knuckles became red and raw. He ignored the pain and continued his assault, adrenaline driving him. Yet the alien barely flinched, its hands clamped onto Ciro’s shoulders to pin him down.

  “You’ve wasted too much of my time now. I commend the effort though,” it growled, almost amused. “But my friends are waiting for me, so give up, or I’ll be late.”

  Being disregarded as only a nuisance only shattered Ciro’s hope of getting out of this alive. However, his sheer desire to fuck this alien over overpowered any thought of surrendering. He gritted his teeth, every muscle in his body straining against the creature’s strength. He felt its weight pressing down on him, crushing him like a dropped anvil. His arms trembled as he tried to push it off, but to no avail.

  Ciro closed his eyes. Digging deep, he tried to find a hidden reserve of strength. Then, instantly, a strange, unnatural rush overwhelmed him; it felt like someone pressed a button, sending an unnatural electrical current through him.

  Life or Death Scenario Detected

  Temporary Boost To All Stats

  His muscles caught ablaze with new, wild strength, pure clarity taking over his mind. A feeling of fogginess that Ciro never knew was there being lifted. This window. What the hell did it do? Ciro wished he had the time to really analyze what had happened, but he needed to use this newfound strength that was coursing through his veins, otherwise he felt like he might explode.

  With a slight grunt of effort, Ciro shoved the alien off him, causing it to stumble backwards. Its eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting to be overpowered. Ciro didn’t stop to think about what he did. Instead, he pushed off his feet and swung an uppercut, using his hips to generate as much power as he could muster. His fist connected with the alien’s jaw, sending it reeling.

  “That damn system…” the alien hissed, spitting a dark fluid onto the floor. “It must’ve given you a temporary strength boost. But it won’t be enough to save you. I promise you.”

  The blue transparent screen that floated in front of Ciro’s vision had saved his life. He understood that, but he had no time to thank it, with the alien charging at him again. This time, anger did not power his attacks, but the deadly desire to kill.

  Ciro quickly ducked under its swinging arms, transitioning into a slide, where he darted to the far side of the room. He scanned desperately for a way out, his gaze landed on another doorway on the opposite wall.

  Please let it open, Ciro prayed, before he bolted towards it, his boots pounding against the floor. The gray alien kept pace. It hissed while chasing him. Ciro burst through the doorway only to find himself on another balcony, the cool air doing very little to calm his nerves.

  He looked below only to see a dizzying height, where the only thing waiting for someone who jumped were jagged rocks and twisted debris.

  Nowhere left to run.

  Ciro sighed, turning to see his killer step onto the balcony. Its hulking frame blocked the entire door frame. “Nowhere to go, little Anoran,” it sneered, as it cracked its knuckles. “You’re finished.”

  Ciro backed away until he felt the balcony's flimsy railing. The alien's snake-like eyes seemed to protrude as he charged towards Ciro’s, its body becoming a locomotive of force.

  Ciro braced himself, but he never closed his eyes. Just as the alien was a breadth of hair away, his body moved on instinct. He gripped onto the railing and tucked in his legs. At the last second of contact, he threw them out, aimed directly at the alien’s shoulders.

  The alien grabbed onto Ciro’s legs, but summoning all the strength from his core, he lifted them up, overpowering its strength. The alien hovered in the air for only a split second before Ciro pulled his legs upwards. A motion so fast that the alien lost its grip and spiraled into the air over Ciro’s head.

  The alien let out a deafening scream as Ciro turned to watch it plummet into the abyss below. The sound of its body hitting the ground was distant and sickening, leaving only a loud silence.

  He couldn’t yet celebrate. With his grip on the railing still tight, Ciro could feel a creak and then suddenly the railing snapped, crumbling down the massive height. He felt like he was being pulled along with it, before he snapped in realization and scrambled away from the edge.

  He collapsed in the doorway, his entire body trembling. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his chest rising and falling as the adrenaline faded. He peered from a safe distance, looking at where the alien had fallen, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.

  Ciro leaned back against the door, his head spinning as he continued to catch his breath. “What the hell was that?" What was that window, and why was he here?

  As if on cue, the transparent window reappeared in front of him.

  Congratulations You Registered The First Kill

  You Have Been Awarded A:

  [Mystery Box]