Unfortunately, sleep didn’t come easy to Thomas that night - when he finally awoke, drenched in sweat, he could still visibly remember his nightmares. Waves upon waves of… creatures with glossy black chitin over-running his position, with him running low on ammunition and hope.

It was weird, Tom didn’t have nightmares often - the only time in his life when he did was after his brother’s tragic death. Yesterday’s events had really pushed him over the edge.

Shuffling into the kitchen, he started to make breakfast for himself and Javqua. Speaking of Javqua, she should be awake by now. Thomas thought, turning to look at the reptilian’s room.

Putting the stove to standby mode so the food wouldn’t burn, he made his way to the door for her room. He knocked, only to receive silence. Worried, he decided to take a risk. “Okay Javqua, I’m coming in.” He said.

He slowly opened the door - hearing a squeak from the hinges he had an amusing thought. For a school made by a space-faring race, the doors are pretty shit. Taking a peek inside before entering, he saw that Javqua was still asleep. He approached her bed, planning to wake her up when he noticed that she seemed...off.

As Thomas got closer, he realized he was getting goosebumps. It was only then that he realized that it was quite cold in her room; knowing that she was probably in trouble, he rushed over to her side. Placing a hand on her head, his eyes widened - she was cold. Too cold.

Being cold-blooded really does have its downsides. Ignoring the bedroom heater, Thomas decided to bring her to the already warmed-up living room, straining to lift her thanks to her size.

He tried to put her down on one of the couches, but Javqua held onto him - her brain was probably detecting his body heat and acted accordingly.

Realizing she wouldn’t let go, Thomas slowly sat down on the couch, cradling Javqua in his arms. He grabbed a nearby blanket, placing it over her body. It was thankfully one of the three off days during the week, so he didn’t need to worry about being late for school.

While he waited for her body temperature to rise, he thought about his nightmares. Whenever he had nightmares, they were always the same. His brother’s death, from his point of view.

He had found his brother's implant records that had been sent back as a way to give his family closure, it was something he was never supposed to see. Which was why Thomas was able to witness his brother's final stand against hordes of what had been lovingly named Death Crawlers by human forces.

Thomas felt Javqua stir in his arms, pulling him back into the real world. He watched her eyes open as she blinked a few times - before turning to look at him. They stared at each other for a solid ten seconds before Javqua spoke.

“Morning Tom. What’s happening?” She said, and Thomas quickly realized how weird it must be to wake up on your best friend’s lap.

“Well, you forgot to turn on your bed heater, so I decided to carry you to the living room to warm up, but you wouldn’t let go of me.” Thomas explained slowly.

“Then thank you...I really mean it. Do you mind if we stay like this for a bit? It’s comfortable...and you’re warm.” Javqua said softly, giving him an embarrassed smile. Thomas smiled back.

Javqua was his only friend on the entire planet and the only other ‘predator’ in his grade. Of course, he wouldn’t mind. For the next half an hour, they talked - Javqua remaining in his lap, about whatever came to mind. Enough to make Thomas forget about his nightmares.

“So, how exactly did he see you?” The Headmaster demanded as Valus trembled.

“I-I don’t know! He just...when I was...he turned around when I was in the tree and stared directly into my eyes, it was s-” Valus stopped speaking as the Headmaster made a dismissive sound, throwing his wings up into the air.

“We need to know more about the human so we can get rid of him! His arrival has made it even harder to get rid of that Krakovak. We will have a predator free school, and one day a predator free galaxy - these meat eaters are nothing but a burden to the universe that need to be eradicated!” The Headmaster ranted, and Valus could only nod.

“Here - it’s called maple syrup,” Thomas said, passing Javqua a bottle of the stuff.

Javqua curiously took the bottle, squirting a small amount onto a few of the odd looking puffy disks.

“Now we pay our respects to The Democratic Nation of Canada.” He chuckled as Javqua looked at him, confused.

“They made maple syrup.” Thomas explained as Javqua took a small bite of pancakes, chewing. “It’s great!” She said a moment later, and Thomas let out an internal sigh of relief - starting to eat himself.

“So...what do we do today?” He asked, and Javqua’s eyes lit up. “There’s this virtual arcade I’ve wanted to go to! We can spend some time there!” She exclaimed, and Thomas reluctantly agreed, thinking about his dislike of heavily public areas.

While he didn’t really enjoy these types of public places, if it was with Javqua, he could at least try to like it.

Javqua looked back at Tom - it seemed like her choice had gone well with him, as he practically glided down the sidewalk.

When they finally made it to the virtual arcade, Javqua lead Thomas to the game she wanted to play - RUN. The R-Rated VR game was simple - survive a monster controlled by one of the staff as long as you could, exploring a dark jungle for supplies and tools to survive the night.

It certainly wasn’t designed for the weak willed, with only the strongest sentients playing. The monster couldn’t die, but it could feel pain. On the other hand, the players could both feel pain and die.

Javqua looked at Tom, seeing a predatory grin on his face. He had an idea - she just knew it.

When all the players had put in their VR implants, the game started, and Thomas looked around. He could hardly see anything, with the only light sources being random torches and lanterns on the ground.

The other Xenos looked terrified, their previous cockiness gone. They scattered, running through the foliage and tall trees, hopefully towards supplies and away from the hunter.

Thomas looked around, squinting. He spotted a broken-down hut and began running towards it, making sure Javqua was following him.

Tanvica liked his job very much. All he had to do was run around scaring Xenos - and he did just that, his scaly claws shaking with excitement, a predatory glint in his eyes. Looking around, he could see the tracks of his prey, and he began hunting.

He eliminated six of the eight players in only a short amount of time, picking them off one by one, but for some reason, he couldn’t find the last two. It was weird as if they -

“ARGHHHH!” Tanvica roared as his body was flooded with the sensation of pain. A long stick was protruding out the other side of his abdomen, blood gushing from the hole. From his extreme pain, he didn’t hear the footsteps coming his way.

Javqua watched in disbelief as Thomas threw his ‘spear’ as he had named it, with absurd accuracy, from an even more absurd distance. She watched as the spear flew through the air, before arcing down and impaling the now screaming hunter. She took a deep breath before charging at it, sprinting as fast as her claws would allow.

Distracted from pain, the hunter didn’t notice her, until she had already jumped onto their back, cutting away at them with her razor-sharp claws. The hunter’s screams intensified, and they began running away as fast as they could.

The sudden dash flung Javqua off the hunter’s back, and she braced herself for a painful landing. Out of nowhere, Thomas suddenly caught her, a big smile on his face as he helped her up, running full sprint after the hunter with several spears tucked under his arm.

The hunter had now become the hunted. Oh, how the tables have turned!

After the game had finally ended, Javqua and Thomas made their way out of the arcade, smiling and laughing about their fun experience.

Unbeknownst to them, the staff member, Tanvica, was being dragged to counseling by the other staff - his legs had given away, and he was trembling uncontrollably. With a thousand-yard stare and a growing wet patch on his pants, he could only say one thing over and over again.

“They are coming...they are coming...they are coming.”