Fortunately, it seemed as blind as the monsters on Sanctuary, shifting from side to side. Did it hear me? Just in case, I slid farther along the wall, away from the cupboard I’d pulled open in the dark.

As I moved, something caught my peripheral vision. I angled the flashlight to my right in time to see another of the creatures stalk past the alternate exit. My blood ran cold. Mere minutes ago, I’d crept along that wall, using it as guidance in my progress around the room. How close had I come to touching one of those things? I hadn’t heard a sound from them, not a click of claws, nothing. Had they only recently arrived? How? From where? Did they open portals like me? Or were they hunting me, waiting, tracking my movements in complete and utter silence?

I cast the light the way I’d come. I’d planned to leave through the far door, but that escape route was no longer an option. My only hope was to retreat and make my way to the holding cells in the corridor outside. I stayed low, crawling at a snail’s pace. The creatures didn’t do anything, simply hovering in what almost looked like suspended animation except for the occasional quirk of their heads. I was afraid to even breathe too deeply. Aside from the occasional flicker of my flashlight over my left shoulder to make sure there weren’t more of the things, I kept them in my spotlight.

It was the closest I’d seen them. The bright light did nothing to make them less horrifying, bringing them into sharp relief: glistening skin, curved fangs, sinewed limbs. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but I didn’t dare. I moved as slowly as my racing heart allowed, my soft-soled shoes nearly noiseless against the floor. After every halting step, I paused, waiting to see if they’d noticed.

I’d made it about halfway across the room when something changed. My heart stuttered as the alien by the far door jerked its chin up, sniffing the air. It tilted its head and screeched to its partner. The other creature slapped its tail against the wall and howled in response. I froze in utter terror. I’d understood just enough of those cries to catch the sense of prey, a call to hunt.

A surge of adrenaline burned through my caution, and I bolted for the exit. The monster behind me screamed, and I barely had time to register surprise in its tone. They hadn’t been reacting to me after all.

They were now, though.

I was still ten feet from the door when one of the aliens vaulted into the air. Its mottled head grazed the ceiling panel, but it must have somehow sensed the proximity, controlling its height to land directly in front of me. It hunched on its hind legs, a long, pointed black tongue protruding from its mouth, tasting the air like a snake. I skidded to a halt. A clatter from behind warned me just in time, and I threw myself to the side as the other creature landed directly where I’d been standing.