Chapter 3 Taz
The aliens had Penny. Or at least an alien had Penny.
The massive red male had appeared in a cloud of dust and chaos and snatched my friend off the floor with barely a glance at me.
I'd gotten an eyeful of him though. All my optimistic hopes about little green men went up in smoke when I saw the huge horns, bodybuilder physique, and the brutal scars on the male's face.
I'd made the split-second decision to retreat as soon as he turned his back.
Crawling over the shattered bricks and crumbling drywall, I kept low to the ground until I reached the front of the pharmacy and then I sprinted across the street.
With every step I expected the red male to come charging after me, but the street remained silent.
Heart in my throat, I slipped in the front door of a hardware store and hurried to the window.
Across the street, I could see the back of the pharmacy that had collapsed on us.
The smoking alien ship was still parked halfway in the building and Penny's kidnapper was standing next to it talking to another extraterrestrial jock.
This male looked just as buff, wearing nothing but a loincloth.
From my post across the street, the only distinguishing characteristic between them was their hair.
Penny's captor had loose black hair to the middle of his back, but the other male was sporting a short mohawk.
They were motioning to the collapsed pharmacy, still talking and I wanted to scream in frustration the longer I stood there doing nothing.
I shouldn't have left Penny. She was clutched to the male's chest, unmoving and I couldn't tell if she was hurt or frozen in fear.
I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a weapon, and there was no way I could run out there and attack the two males.
They were so big it'd be about as effective as a squirrel taking on a pair of pitbulls.
But I couldn't abandon Penny. She was my best friend, and come hell or high water, I was saving her ass.
How was another matter. I needed a machine gun and a freaking tank.
The long-haired male finally turned around and walked off, Penny still trapped in his arms, leaving Mohawk behind. Mohawk poked around the pharmacy, probably looking for me. I wished my heart would stop pounding, the damn thing was going to lead him right to me, it was beating so loud.
I crept behind the counter, trying to keep Penny in view, but the male that had her was moving too fast. I caught a single glimpse of her terrified expression before he disappeared around a corner and I lost her.
Fuck.
I couldn’t chase them down, even if I caught up I had no way of saving her. She was screwed if I didn’t figure something out. I held my breath, listening for the sound of hooves on pavement, but the town was as ghost silent as it had been an hour ago.
Hope probably got snatched up by aliens just like Penny. Those fuckers were picking us off one by one. I scanned the hardware store, my gaze stopping on a shelf of ratchet straps.
If aliens had both my friends, then they might be in the same place. If they were in the same place, I could rescue both of them at the same time, and we could get the fuck away from this part of the apocalypse.
I needed a plan, and the beginnings of an idea were quickly forming. There had to be a functioning vehicle somewhere out there, but a glance outside confirmed that Mohawk was still looking for me.
Straightening up, I grabbed a cart and started filling it with supplies. All I needed was a few hours to get my plan sorted out and then Mohawk could go ahead and find me. I was going to catch me an alien.
I rolled past a rack of cattle prods and grabbed the biggest one. The tables were about to turn.
He’d never see it coming.