I know, its been a while. Should be back on track with this one. Thanks for reading! Please R&R!

The morning had already gotten off to a bad start. Being awakened by the sound of a mine being tripped made you more alert than all the coffee in the world, Kelly had learned. She felt sorry for the unfortunate beast that had wandered into the zone, although she had no idea what the creature actually was.

“Some indigenous species… Marcross I believe they call them. Sort of like our deer back home, although this one seems to be missing… well everything.” Sgt. Banks spun around and headed back into the camp as Kelly continued to stare for a moment more.

A distant shot broke her concentration as yelling and return fire erupted from the other side of the camp. Kelly raced back to find Pierce lying on the ground. Half his head was missing, while the other side stared up at Kelly with a horrific expression.

Kelly grabbed Pierce’s gun and quickly ran over to a nearby box of crates. The sound of bullets whizzed by on each side, some of them shaking the crate as they impacted. Suddenly Kelly hated this. She felt trapped. Certain death was flying unseen on each side of her.

Sensing a sudden lull in the number of rounds, Kelly jumped up and sprinted over to Sgt. Banks’ position. He and Tanker were hunkered down behind a larger set of crates. “Alright Kelly, the shit has officially hit the fan. I can’t seem ‘em good enough to get a shot. I need you to flank them.” Sgt. Banks pointed to a nearby cluster of trees.

“Disappear into the tree line and make your way around. We will provide cover to get you over there.” Kelly looked over at Tanker as the man smiled and hefted a MX-31 rotary machine gun and gave Kelly a sly smile. “Got you covered sweet cheeks.”

“Sir, they got Pierce.”

“And they’ll get us too if you don’t get your ass over there. Now MOVE!” The MX-31 instantly began streaming bullets. Its rapid rate of fire sounded more like a continuous stream rather than shells flying out at fourteen hundred rounds per minute. Bullets continued to whiz by Kelly as she broke into a sprint. Air and heat from passing bullets brushed Kelly’s skin as she managed to run even faster.

At the last few feet Kelly threw herself into a dive and rolled into the tree line as trees splintered and showered her with dust. Staying low, Kelly crept through the foliage, scanning the area intently. The sounds of combat could be heard in the distance, but it seemed for the time that their attention was away from Kelly’s position.

Kelly suddenly felt something drip on her shoulder and instinctively slapped at it. She drew her hand back and noticed it was once again covered with her own blood. Pierce had done a good job sewing her up, but the little roll on the ground had managed to tear a few stitches loose.

The area around her was dense. Moss and vines hung down thickly, creating a canopy that was able to easily limit the sunlight. Light and dark intermingled with the other as neither had dominance over the area, but rather coexisted with the other.

Kelly thought of Megan. How she was glad her friend had not been assigned to the mission. Suddenly Megan’s cushy idea for a job didn’t sound so bad, although the amount of adrenaline coursing through Kelly gave her a high she hadn’t felt since that night with “Rainbow”. That was the last time she had ever had contact with the alien creatures, although she wanted it. She wanted to know about her mother. She wanted revenge.

A sudden snap caused Kelly to freeze as she brought up her rifle in the sound’s general direction. She kneeled down behind a nearby stump as a nearby bird-like creature began to emit a series of guttural clicks and squawks. Kelly paid it no attention, however, as she silently swept from side to side checking for threats.

A figure appeared to her right behind some more foliage. The dense vegetation did not lend itself to a shot, so Kelly shouldered her rifle and drew her knife. She quickly and quietly crawled to a set of trees just in front of the vegetation. Kelly’s blade was cool against her forearm as she waited. The soldier began walking closer.

The man reached out with and brushed some vegetation to the side and began to step through when someone called from behind him. Acting quickly, Kelly sprang up at the man. With one smooth motion she grabbed his head and cocked it sideways, immediately plunging her knife deeply into the man’s neck. Blood sprayed from the wound as she jerked the knife loose.

The other soldier, apparently having gone comfortable from being with the other soldier, was not ready as Kelly threw the knife. The knife sailed gracefully and quickly through the air, making soft but deadly wind in its wake. The other soldier quickly grabbed the knife that had plunged into his chest but suddenly found Kelly upon him as she grabbed the knife and pushed the knife up, slicing into the man’s heart and sending blood over the knife and down Kelly’s arms.

Life began to leave him quickly as the man’s eyes rolled back into his head. Kelly jerked the knife from the man’s chest and sliced across his throat.

“Now this is more like it.” Kelly couldn’t see the savage glee that had crept upon her face, but she could feel it inside. The rush of killing the two men made her feel invincible. Freckles began to adorn her face more heavily and her irises and pupils began to narrow, forming more of a slit than her normal eye.

Her breathing became more guttural and deep as she flung blood off her knife and sheathed it. Kelly’s vision was quickly altering, but in her mind it seemed normal. Her mind quickly adjusted to the change. Kelly could feel her other senses heightening as the world became colorless and details were lost.

Kelly moved quickly but with stealth through the dense forest. The natural beauty of a nearby stream with colored bugs skimming the water was lost on the focused soldier as she picked up a faint smell. A sinister smile adorned her face.

The smell of scorched earth and smoldering shells wafted through the air as Kelly crept upon the small encampment. Small and continuous bursts of gunfire continued to erupt as quickly as it was returned. Tanker had either ran out of ammo for the big gun or he was dead.

Scanning the area, Kelly saw four men in spread out positions along a treeline. There were several others unmoving on the ground, one almost completely torn in half from Tanker’s barrage. Multiple trees just beyond their positions were shredded. Confident there were no others, Kelly moved swiftly.

Kelly crept up behind the first man, who seemed totally oblivious to her presence. Her smile refused to leave. She pointed her barrel’s exit at the back of the man’s neck and watched as his head exploded in a shower of blood and gore. His body fell lifeless to the ground as the second man turned and aimed.

Kelly was faster, however, and placed multiple rounds through his chest. The other two had retrained and began firing as Kelly leapt behind some nearby crates and immediately began sprinting for the next bunch. She barely flinched as a bullet grazed her arm.

Kelly placed her gun around the edge of the crates and began spraying bullets. A scream filled the air and Kelly turned her attention to the last source of gunfire. Kelly once again shouldered her rifle and unsheathed her knife. She loved to kill this way. Shooting required no cunning, no stealth. Knives were harder. Knives were more personal.

She heard footsteps approaching, as suddenly the firefight was over. The footfalls were light, but the man’s breathing was heavy. Suddenly the barrel of the man’s gun poked around the corner. Stupid. Kelly grabbed the barrel, which singed her hand. She pulled hard, sending the man in a run past her. She quickly spun on her heel and planted the knife through the base of the man’s skull.

Sending her palm into the knife’s handle hammered the point out of the man’s neck as blood flowed from both sides. The man collapsed.

Placing a boot on the man’s back, Kelly yanked the knife free. Not taking care to shake it this time, Kelly walked over to the man she had shot previously. He had multiple holes peppering his body, but he was alive. Kelly squatted beside him as he continued to look and reach for his gun.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Kelly had no idea that she had spoken in another language, but the soldier did. The man’s terrified expression only worsened as his eyes met Kelly’s, and he saw the monster she was turning into. He could only manage a muffled scream as he looked at her, suddenly grabbing for his gun with renewed vigor.

“Scared of a little girl? For shame. Such a big strong man like yourself.” Kelly’s brain processed the Yautja language, and converted it seamlessly for her.

“Devil! Devil! Devil!” The man cried out with the same tired voice.

“Well that’s not nice. I guess we can’t be friends.” Kelly stood and swiftly brought her foot down on the man’s neck. A sadistic crunching sound was followed by the last breath escaping the man’s mouth.

Kelly stood looking at the blank expression on the man’s face as another sound caught her attention.

“What in the hell?” Kelly looked to see Tanker with a horrified expression on his face.

“At ease Tanker.”

“No way, what in the hell is she?” Tanker was quickly losing it.

“Kelly, calm yourself down over behind those crates. I will deal with Tanker.”

Kelly wondered what Sgt. Banks meant. Looking down, she saw that she was literally covered with blood. Maybe that’s it. Kelly saluted and followed with a “Yes sir” in guttural form, which again sent Tanker into a fit.

“Geez, some men just can’t handle women in combat.”

Kelly sat and began wiping her knife clean.