Page 3 of Prize for the Alien Grumpus

The footsteps grow closer. My options shrink with each passing second.

What's worse - the devil you know or the one you don't? Mr. Gregor may act human, but those voices, this facility... who knows what he really is? Then again, the creature in this pod looks like it could tear a car in half.

Sam's face flashes through my mind. Her gap-toothed smile. The way she hugs me after a long day at work. The chocolate cake we're supposed to bake tonight.

If I don't make it home...

No. That's not an option.

My fingers find a control panel near the base of the pod. The symbols here glow brighter, almost like they're warning me away. One button stands out - larger than the others, covered in what looks like radiation symbols.

"Check the storage area!" A voice echoes from above.

Here goes everything.

I slam my palm against the button. The pod hums to life, its surface rippling with energy. Frost begins to melt away from the glass as the liquid inside bubbles.

Time to run.

I sprint behind a cluster of machinery, wedging myself into the shadows. The creature's massive form twitches inside its prison. Those horns could definitely impale someone.

The pod's seal breaks with a hiss of escaping air. The liquid drains away.

Please let this be the right choice.

The creature's eyes snap open - brilliant gold, like twin suns.

I press deeper into my hiding spot and wait.

CHAPTER 2

KRAMPUS

My muscles burn as consciousness floods back. Last thing I remember, plasma fire tore through my ship's hull. Now... cold metal beneath my feet and stale recycled air. A basement?

"Find her!" The shout echoes from somewhere above. Multiple footsteps thunder overhead.

I flex my fingers, testing mobility after the deep freeze. The cryo pod behind me hisses, venting the last of its preservative gases. Warning labels cover every surface - cute. As if anything could contain me.

An unfamiliar scent tickles my nostrils. Female, but not any species I recognize. Her chemical signature lingers on the pod's control panel, mixed with that artificial flowery garbage females insist on dousing themselves with. Harder to parse her true scent through it, but there's no mistaking who freed me.

I owe her for that. Honor demands it.

"Check the basement!" More shouting. Closer now.

I crack my neck, rolling massive shoulders. My fur bristles with anticipation. Been too long since I've had a proper fight. The female's trail leads toward a stairwell - she's long gone, butthese others... their footsteps draw near. Armed, from the sound of their gear.

Perfect. I'll start my debt repayment by eliminating her pursuers. Then I can track her properly, ensure she survives until I've finished cleansing this cesspool of a galaxy. She earned that much by freeing me.

The basement door crashes open. Time to remind everyone why they call me the Destroyer.

I bare my fangs in anticipation.

"Who's first?"

The Grolgath soldiershuddle at the doorway, their weapons trained on me but fingers trembling on triggers. The stench of their fear fills the basement.

"Get him!" The corporal's voice cracks.

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