Pandora's Box

Less than two years after hatching, the shadowy figures would hardly have been recognisable as the same creatures as they emerged to hunt together in the fading sunlight.

An expert might – from a safe distance away – have expunged at length about them, marvelling over their form and movements. They were similar to normal xenomorphs, but slightly larger and sturdier, their chitinous hide so dark a blue it was almost black. They lacked a second mouth, but instead had a double row of needle-sharp teeth inside their jaw, along with a long proboscis-like tongue that they tasted the air with as a snake might.

A non-expert would have noticed none of that, but seen them for what they were; a trio of perfectly designed killing machines.

The oldest led the way, and although the space between their births was a mere handful of seconds he was still substantially bigger than they were, the spines on his back lengthy and sharp. The other two were close to the same size, but one appearing larger than the other due to longer back spines. A splotch of white under its jaw, almost like a birthmark, gave it a distinct appearance; almost as though it had been chucked under the chin by someone with white paint on their hands.

The eldest stopped for a minute, tasting the air. There was a new scent on it, salty and sweet, entirely unlike the animals they had been eating through their growth.

It was coming from the plains.


Liz was tired, and fed up. A student of botany, she had joined the Pandora colonisation program in the hope of discovering yet more beneficial or interesting plants on the continent, and had tagged along with a group of new settlers looking for a place to start afresh in the same hope. She would have better chance of finding anything off the beaten track, but the settlers, had other ideas – there were many dangerous animals in the forests around the established settlements, and they refused to let her wander off alone or even in a small group. She couldn’t really blame them, but it severely hindered her chances of finding anything useful.

They had stopped for the night, camping in a clearing covered in alien pine needles and speckled feathery shrubs. It was a warm night and, emboldened by the camp fires, most elected to sleep in the open, ensuring their privacy with gathered brush and blankets. There were a lot of couples, over half of the twenty-strong group, and they wanted a little time alone together at night. It amused Liz, even though it saddened her; her last boyfriend had been over a year ago, during university.

Liz spread her own sleeping bag and mattress out near one of the fires. Although she would rather die than admit it, the tales from the others about the beasts that prowled the night had frightened her, and she was rather glad of the fire’s comforting light as she drifted off into a pleasant doze.


The aliens gathered outside the circle of firelight as the moons rose bright and full. The wealth of soft, delicious-smelling creatures they had found both excited and frightened them; they had never seen or smelt anything like them before. It took the oldest of them to lead the other two into the feast.

The first pair of humans they found were entwined together, moaning and grunting as the one on top moved in and out of the other, the air around them rank and heavy. The eldest killed it with one slash, neatly decapitating him, then gutted the other as it screamed in horror. The sound awoke the others and excited his brothers, so when the humans rose to their feet howling in fear, they bounded in their midst and excitedly started to feed.


Liz started awake at the sound of screaming, looking around at the carnage. The fire that had saved her with its painfully bright light and heat also dazzled her, so at first all she could see were a pair of hungry shadows ripping and killing people she had been eating with only a few hours before.

Then her eyes adjusted, letting her see them in every terrible detail, and ran.


The two younger aliens didn’t notice her leave, too intent on slaughtering the last of the panicking humans, but their elder brother sensed movement as he feasted and looked up, before leaping into the chase.