Chapter Text
Space. A lone starship - the “Costaguana” - slowly drifts along a backdrop of twinkling stars, dust and gases from within a stunning purple and blue nebula.
“Where are you?” a lone figure whispered to himself. Everything was a pitch black, with only the man’s flashlight shedding a narrow beam of brightness on the interior of the ship. The only sounds were an artificial humming that worked its way through metal guts, accompanied by the slow, clanking steps of the man. He shone his light on every surface to no avail, causing him to swear under his breath. If only he had bothered to memorize the ship before making the getaway.
A distant, echoed clatter of metal caused him to snap his attention back down the hallway. There! It had to be. Gripping his flashlight tightly, the man moved forth carefully, trying to keep the sound of his footsteps quiet. He scanned the hallway again, looking for anything he might have missed. “I know you’re here,” he murmured. “Here, kitty, kitty...”
The man looked up. A spindly hand darted out of the circle of light. He looked over more, revealing his target. A nightmarish black mass menaced at him from above, bearing its sharp teeth at him with a hiss. A stream of animalistic spittle ran down its chin, spattering the floor. The creature dropped from the ceiling with a loud thud and stood back up; its monstrous form towering over the man.
“Found you.”
It lunged forward, grasping him tightly.
“Well done, my love. It only took you thirty minutes to find me this time,” it spoke softly as it nuzzled into the man’s head. “I must be running out of places to hide.”
“Or maybe I’m getting better at this,” the man replied, returning the affectionate embrace.
The alien pulled away and crouched slightly to reach the human’s eye level. “Maybe you are.” It leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips.
“Just two more days to go.” The man switched off the flashlight and dropped it to the ground.
“Then let us make the most of them.”