There was a pinch and Enid fell forward through the asphalt into spinning black. She flailed until invisible claws stilled her with sharp warnings. Shivering, she allowed momentum to carry her where she didn't know. Eventually, time stopped. When it began again, she lay sprawled half-naked on top of her comforter. Her head throbbed with the tempo of dehydration and sun-poisoning.

     Eyes clenched shut against the low sun streaming through the apartment window, Enid tried to piece the day together. That morning she had left to hunt. She hated to take the risk but she had finally run out of options. Apparently it took a person to six years to eat through all of the stores within waking distance. A week passed since her final trip to Miles Drug and Grocer. She would find packaged food in those quiet suburbs but she forbid herself from entering the homes of the dead.

     When Enid tried to remember the events that led up to her being in bed with no memory they stopped shortly after her shotgun went off. She had been dragging the corpse home... then what? The only sensation she could recall was dread. Palms shoved into her eyes, she tried desperately to come up with an explanation that didn't mean brain damage and came up blank. God she wanted to sleep, but between a possible concussion and thirst that was a no go. She braced herself to stand knowing it was going to hurt. Then something hit the floor outside her door and her body was miles away.

     Enid was already on her feet, blindly grabbing behind her for the revolver on her bedside table. She heard shuffling then hard clicks on tile, perhaps her dinner had been less dead than anticipated. Focus narrowing on the weight in her hand, Enid stood steady at her door and pictured herself sending a clean headshot into her unwanted house guest. One, two, three- Door swung wide, she froze. Where her eyes were settled she had expected to find a head but she had to follow the alien's body up and up until she found its antennae flattened by the ceiling. The creature’s high, curved back faced her, bent legs raising it to at least eight feet. Large, translucent wings twitched softly, making clicking noises as they hit its hard carapace. Its form was silhouetted by the fading light of the living room, alien shadow person come to haunt her kitchen.

     Enid let out a soft gasp, barely stopping herself from screaming, and backed up. It turned around, large faceted eyes surveying her and held up its hands. They locked eyes and the panic of its unfamiliar gaze helped Enid find her voice.

     “Get out!” she yelled, gun purposefully aiming up.

     The creature looked from Enid's face to her gun and for some reason decided to reach toward her. She screamed at the movement and it was enough to to get the alien to back up. She stepped forward to regain some ground. Enid took another step forward, forcing the thing to take a step backward as it slowly held open hands to her. “Out,” she barked, finger heavy.

     The exo tried to communicate, clicking and buzzing rapidly, but the blast of a gunshot silenced it. Hand lifted with the revolver barrel to the ceiling, Enid came through the kitchen as the alien stumbled into the living room. She followed, gun settling back to aim for the kill. Her bare foot crunched something as she went but she ignored the inert device they had dropped earlier.

     Heart beat pounding in her ears, Enid aimed between the alien's eyes. It refused to look away and a poorly placed pair of shoes unbalanced it. It overcorrected and fell forward, an arm slipping easily through the drywall when it made contact. Enid swore. This was about to get out of hand and she didn't want to clean.

     "Fuck out of my HOUSE!" Enid bellowed, punctuating the command with a shot over its head.

     Buzzing, the alien yanked its arm free to duck. It finally turned and scrambled at the door knob its hands could barely grasp. Under the pressure of another report from the revolver, it held tight and pulled. The door swung in with the sharp crack of splintering wood. The alien fled into the dark hall, Enid's primal screams and a single gunshot following its progress.

     Desperate with frustration, Enid's finger spasmed against the trigger. The final bullet disappeared into the dark hall before clicks joined the ringing after the blast. An abbreviated sob trailed her as she dropped the gun and rushed to close the door. It wouldn't latch anymore so she dragged a shelving unit from the wall to prop it shut. She needed weight. She went to grab the sofa next, but stopped when she saw the living room.

     Frozen on the other side of the couch, Enid was initially terrified but quickly settled to bewilderment. The alien had left her something. Between the back wall and the coffee table lay a deformed corpse. Enid recognized it instantly because the markings on its head made it look like it was balding. She took a few curious steps forward to confirm the hole her own rifle had made in its head.

     Unsure how to process the last few minutes, Enid simply turned around and headed back to bed. Sound and sensation blurred into the background. She could have almost forgotten about the inexplicable encounter until she stepped on that hard object again. A piercing pain jolted from her heel to her knee and she jumped back. It was the tablet. Spiderweb cracks almost obscured the word on its white screen.

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