Bob Smith 2: Fear and Self Loathing

Memories

At the top of a four-storey building, a lone figure stood.  This rooftop held special memories for the man.  He walked to the middle of the roof where, unseen to the public below, a space ship once sat.  Some months ago, a Trivekkian had landed there and kidnapped the woman who had since become his close friend.  After that, the alien had gone to his house and made hostages of his neighbours.

He stooped down to look at the marks in the roof where the ship had landed, wondering.

"Now, what would bring you to a place like this?"

He turned his head to see where the new voice came from.  He already knew who it was, it was another alien who he had fought earlier that day.

"Sentimentality."

"This might be a good place to hide from them..."  The alien gestured toward the ground below, indicating the normal people down there.  "but you can't hide from me up here."

"I don't need to hide from you.  You don't even warrant my concern."

Insulted by his lack of attention, the alien ran toward him, but he was ready.  He ducked at the last moment and threw the alien up into the air, crashing down on the roof.  A moment later, the man leapt off the building and onto the next building a storey lower.  When his pursuer got up to follow, he kicked it out of mid air, causing it to fall three storeys to land in the alley below.

In another, much more obscure part of town, the same man sat the parking lot of an abandoned building, remembering another alien who had come for him.  Thinking he was alone, he began talking to himself.

"Maybe I should have let it.  I would've saved a lot of trouble... for a lot of people."

"No, it wouldn't."

He wheeled around at the sudden realization that he was not alone, lunging at the voice.  A fraction of a second before connecting, he realized who it was and stopped himself.  It all happened so fast that she didn't even have time to scream.

"Eek."  Alex was so startled at having deadly talons coming directly at her face that her voice couldn't even manage a proper scream.  It would barely even qualify as a squeak.  After that, she stood there, just staring at the claws like a deer in the headlights.

"You see, I really am dangerous."  Bob pulled away from her, retracting his claws.  "You're right to be scared."

But Alex still didn't want to believe it.  "No, Bob.  You're not a monster."

"An hour ago, I threw a bounty hunter off the roof of a three-storey building."

"You're just in a bad situation.  I'm sure you were just defending yourself."

As far as he was concerned right now, she was simply not listening to reason.  His patience was running short.

"A few seconds ago, I almost tore your head off!"

He didn't wait for her to respond.  He simply turned and leapt up the side of the building, climbing the rest of the way.  Upon reaching the top, he turned to look at her.

"I told you before to stay away!"  He heaved a big sigh, draining some of the frustration from his voice.  "It's for your own good."

With that, he disappeared over the rooftop.

Alex stood there for a second, remembering this place where she had spent a week.  Like Bob, she didn't realize that she wasn't alone either.  Bob was still being hunted, and his predator had followed him to this spot.

And knowing that it couldn't win a fair fight, it was time to play dirty.