“Police are investigating another missing persons case, this time Tania Hayes, a 41 year old woman, went missing in East Winnog three days ago. This is the seventh person to go missing in the Trentbrook area. Police are suspecting…”

Geez, how hungry are you? Seven in 5 weeks huh? Anya turned off the TV, pushed off her desk with her feet, and wheeled over to her map of New York with her swivel chair.

“At least I know you’re in Winnog now, heading upstate?” She got up and put a red pin on the small district of Winnog. She figured that he would try to go deeper into the city, where there’d be lots of people. But every incident so far had been getting closer and closer to the north of Trentbrook. She glanced at her digital watch; it was getting late, almost 10:00pm. It was only a short train ride away but she didn’t even know if he’d still be in the area.

She shrugged and grabbed her leather jacket and sunglasses. Even if he wasn’t there anymore, she was bound to pick up his scent; it had been getting stronger and stronger with every incident. She was sure to be able to track him down this time. She locked the door to her stuffy apartment, put her key in her back shorts pocket, and headed outside to the nearest subway station. She garnered many looks as she walked by.

The bright lights of the subway car illuminated her short, neon pink hair. And anyone wearing sunglasses at night was bound to look strange. She wasn’t exactly trying to look inconspicuous. She actually liked the attention. The subway car was empty except for an old man sitting at the last seat on one end, a hobo trying to get some sleep on the other end, and a couple of young women who seemed to be on a night out. Anya could see them glancing looks at her and whispering among themselves. Part of why she liked wearing sunglasses was because she could look wherever she wanted without anyone realizing she was looking there. And she could see quite fine with them even at night, they didn’t hinder her sight like they did for humans.

Anya continued to stare at the group of women while keeping her head angled straight ahead. They smelled salty. Not a particularly strong smell, but a smell nonetheless. Most humans liked to mix their salty smell with the smell of sweet perfumes or minty colognes. But they all smelled the same to Anya, even the hobo. It was a dirt-and-soil kind of salty smell that few humans would be able to pick up. She could hear their conversation from a few seats down despite their hushed tones.

“Maybe it’s to hide the fact that she’s high? Eyes are a dead giveaway.” One of them said, referring to Anya’s sunglasses.

“Eww. If she can afford that trash, you’d think she’d be able to buy a new jacket, look at it.”

“Jacket? Do you see her sneakers? They’re coming apart.”

One of the women sniggered, while another one tried to hush her. Anya tried to hold back a giggle of her own.

“What a shame. Wasting her life with drugs.”

“It’s because of people like her that this neighborhood has gone so bad.”

It was true that Anya always had a worn-out, junkie look. But only because it was the look she could afford on a cashier’s salary. Anya continued to hide her smile as they whispered about her. It was always humorous watching humans. So many of them functioned on a kind of hierarchy. Whether it was a social one, a political one, or even a familial one. These women seemed to function on the social one, the most common hierarchy. Judging from the look of their bags, their jewelry, and even the way they did their make-up, they seemed to be the type that thought pretty highly of themselves.

Not that that was a bad thing. It’s a great thing to have confidence; Anya thrived on confidence herself. But the fragility of humans combined with their puny lifespan made their high and mighty attitudes almost adorable.

They had no idea that there were hundreds of different alien species currently inhabiting their planet, waiting, observing, and learning. Some humans even had the audacity to believe that they were the only intelligent life forms in the Milky Way Galaxy. Anya wondered that if they knew what she was, would they still feel as confident as they did? She could take all their fancy clothes and jewelry if she wanted to right there, without them even realizing what was happening to them and no amount of money, status or beauty would be able to stop her. She could, but she wouldn’t.

Humans didn't know any better. It wasn’t their fault that they forgot about who they once were. The species that first came to earth were no longer around. These humans were something new entirely. It’s no wonder they were so ignorant. Unfortunately, that meant that planet Earth was now Open Conquest. The reason so many alien species were now living on Earth was because they were researching about the planet, researching and learning what would be the best method to conquer Earth. That was the original reason Anya had come to Earth too, to represent her species. But she no longer had interest in any of that. All she wanted right now was to catch the alien responsible for eating her friend.

The train slowed as it reached the next stop. Another passenger came on the train and sat on the bench opposite the women. Anya turned her head slightly to get a look at him. He was haphazardly dressed, had an unkempt beard, one hand hidden in his jacket and he fidgeted. A lot. Oh boy. 

His eyes darted back and forth between Anya, and the only other men on the train. A hobo and an elderly man would surely not give him much of a fight if they gave him one at all. An almost empty train car must look easy to rob. He was clearly not confident enough to rob a packed train even though it would obviously be more profitable. He definitely wouldn’t be able to get anything off of Anya except maybe a few bucks in change. The young women however, must have looked very promising.

The man got up from his seat, and sure enough, pulled a small gun out of his jacket. The women screamed and shot up from their seat.

“Don’t move!” he yelled. “I want everything from everyone’s pockets! Now!” he waved his gun around. The elderly man clung to the pole near his seat. The hobo didn’t budge at all. “You guys first, purses n-now!” He grabbed at one of the girl’s purses and wrestled it out of her hands as she yelled.

Well, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve done any vigilante stuff. Too bad I don’t have time to take him to the station. Anya got out of her seat slowly, she didn’t want him to get startled and start shooting.

“HEY! SIT BACK DO-“ Anya flicked her wrist and spread her fingers. The man flew back a little and suddenly froze in mid air. His jacket flayed out and his hair spread out behind his head. The woman’s purse was suspended in the air, frozen as well, the contents spilling out as they floated around. The women went silent as they stared at the man. The man’s eyes darted around trying to figure out what was going on, the rest of his face was just as stiff as he was. Anya walked right up to the purse and plucked it out of the air, she started collecting the contents that were floating around as well. When she collected everything, she handed it back to the woman. She took it, her hands shaking a little.

Ah, I should probably take this too. Anya looked at the gun still in the man’s hand. She pried his fingers open and took the gun. She still wasn’t quite sure how these things worked, just that they were dangerous despite how primitive they looked. Guess now’s as good a time as ever. She slowly took the tiny gun and stuffed it into her inside jacket pocket carefully. If the gun were to go off in her jacket, it would probably hurt a lot, and she wasn’t that great with pain. The thought made her nervous but curiosity made her take it anyway. She looked at the man, spread her fingers, and then clenched her fist. The man fell, crashing onto the floor just as the next stop approached. He darted out of the train as soon as the doors opened, stumbling as he did. Anya watched him go and saw the sign on the wall. Oh hey, this is the stop.

Anya turned to exit the train but right before she did, she turned to the women still staring at her with their mouths agape, and raised her sunglasses to her head so they could see her bright, clear, green eyes.

“You’re welcome.” She said with a genuine smile and exited the train.