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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/ScoobiSnacc on 2024-11-02 18:20:24+00:00.

Ka’gar made his way through the crowd, his mind set on his next delivery. As he walked, he turned his head 270°, cautiously surveying his surroundings. As a Xila, the thousands of small bones in his body allowed him a great degree of flexibility. Combined with a 3 chambered heart and adhesive setae on his hands and feet, the Xila were especially elusive, a necessity considering the predators on his native planet. Perfect for survival and perfect for his line of work.

Ka’gar saw nothing suspicious. Still, he clenched the package and held it close. Not only was this narcotic highly illegal, the client had requested a very particular narcotic that was difficult to obtain on this backwater slumworld. As he arrived at the designated bar, he gazed around once more; no patrols, no observers, plenty of places to hide, enough room to run, and the wretched stench of the slums would mask his scent. Ka’gar made his way inside and looked among the patrons, searching for a human. Humans were the newest species to join the galaxy, yet even among the multiple sapients, humans stood out. No tentacles, scales, feathers, fur (except on their heads and faces) and no claws, venom, webbing for swimming, setae, or natural armor. Ka’gar dimly remembered hearing a galactic report on human physiology and something about “unique thermoregulation” and heart chambers, though he cared little for such details. How such a hideous and ill-equipped species survived to reach a Tier 1 civilization level, Ka’gar did not know. But as hideous as they were, this one was paying and that’s all that mattered.

Near the back exit, Ka’gar spotted him; a lone human sitting at the bar. Ka’gar made his way to him and sat down: ”I’ve brought your ‘food’, human. Payment is due.” The human did not budge but uttered a gruff ”I didn’t order any food.” Ka’gar briefly flexed his scales upwards, both to vent his body’s excess heat and as a sign of frustration; amateurs infuriated him. He leaned closer to the human and hissed ”You know what I meant and you know who I am. Payment. Now.” Without missing a beat, the human replied “No, I don’t know you, buddy.” Ka’gar flexed his scales once more, much more obvious this time. ”I am Ka’gar the Scab” he seethed “and you know what I do to those who waste my time” For the first time, the human turned towards him and smiled, baring his repulsive, yet comically blunted teeth. ”I know. I just needed to hear you say it.” The human stood, blocking the exit door and pulled out a small badge: “Ka’gar ‘The Scab’ Mak’raa, you are under arrest for…”

Before the human could finish his sentence, Ka’gar leapt to the ceiling. As he ascended, Ka’gar noticed the human had already begun reaching towards him, nearly catching his foot. An impressive reaction time, he thought, but not fast enough. Ka’gar landed on the ceiling, sticking to it briefly before jumping again towards the exit. As he burst through the door, Ka’gar noticed the human had already recovered from his failed tackle and was running towards him. Ka’gar ran through the alleyway, quickly outpacing the human. Ahead of him, a barred fence blocked the way, sealed with a lock he did not have time to breach. Ka’gar turned his body sideways and squeezed himself between the bars. A narrow fit, even for him, but his lead on the human gave him more than enough time. Ka’gar smiled at the thought of another successful escape and turned to taunt his pursuer. However, instead of stopping, the human continued to sprint before jumping sideways, placing his foot on the wall, then jumping off of it while reaching out for the top of the fence. In one fluid motion, the human pulled himself up and over the fence.

Ka’gar immediately sprinted down the next alleyway, barely comprehending what he just saw. Did humans have adhesive setae too? It didn’t matter at the moment. He could still outrun him. Ka’gar sprinted through alleyways, changing directions, knocking over as many objects as he could without stopping, anything to slow down the human. After a few minutes, Ka’gar turned his head, but did not see the human. Suddenly, he became aware of the suffocating heat within his body, a sign of impending exhaustion. Ka’gar flexed his scales to cool off. He must have run over a quarter of a mile to build up such heat. Never before had he expended so much energy on an escape. Just then, Ka’gar heard the quick rhythm of footsteps running towards him. As he turned, Ka’gar saw the human rapidly approaching, leaping and sliding over every obstacle before him.

”Impossible!” he huffed. No species could have recharged their stamina that quickly, yet the human didn’t even seem phased. With no other option, Ka’gar relaxed his scales and sprinted forward again. If alleyways offered no safe haven, then perhaps it was time to climb. Ka’gar ran towards the nearest wall and jumped, his setae clinging to the surface. As he climbed, Ka’gar looked back and met the gaze of the human as he continued to run after Ka’gar. For the first time since he saw him, Ka’gar felt not disgust, but fear. Even from this distance, Ka’gar could see the look in the human’s eyes was one of deadset determination, as if he had locked on to Ka’gar. Almost like…a predator.

Ka’gar shook off the feeling and climbed faster. It was not possible for this coddled, misbegotten freak of evolution to be a predator. As he reached the top of the building, Ka’gar vented his body heat once more, hopefully for the last time. Just then, he heard a clanging sound and rhythmic thumping from below. He glanced over the edge, expecting to see the human feebly attempting to climb or destroying his surroundings in frustration. Instead, he saw the human climbing, not along the wall as he had, but using objects, pipes, railings, and ledges to slowly ascend towards him. For a brief second, Ka’gar was stunned as he watched the human effortlessly jump from point to point, using his momentum, distributing his weight, and an uncanny flexibility in ways Ka’gar had never seen. ”NO!!” he wheezed. As he ran across the rooftops, he felt the beating of his heart punching him in the chest. If he did not shake the human soon, Ka’gar feared his body may reach its limit.

It did not help that the tightly clustered buildings of the slums forced Ka’gar to jump every few feet, the constant leaping only adding to the massive exertion he was placing on his body. Ka’gar swiveled his head and saw the human had reached the rooftops and continued to pursue him. Unlike the massive lead he possessed before, the human was only 100 yards behind him now; Ka’gar was getting slower. Ka’gar snapped his head forward and saw a Taxnag passed out from intoxication on the roof ahead of him. Fortunately, they had left the roof door open. Ka’gar leapt with as much strength as he could muster, and dove through the door and down the stairs. As he reached the hallway, an elevator greeted him on the other side, its open doors as welcoming to him as open arms. Ka’gar sprinted with all his might, crashing into the elevator’s wall and hitting the ground floor button.

Ka’gar could barely flex his scales this time as the elevator descended. What kind of species was this? What abomination of nature could run without tiring and move with such dexterity? Ka’gar thought back to the galactic report on humans, struggling to remember the details that may help him. He remembered hearing that the humans’ home planet was a death world, brimming with predators that would make even the fearsome Kevnej tremble. And yet the humans, for all their lack of natural adaptations, were somehow the dominant species? Clearly they could be physically surpassed, so how were they not hunted to extinction by their planet’s predators? No prey species could survive so long, especially on a death world. But that look in the human’s eyes was unmistakable. Only a predator could possess such a gaze.

As the elevator reached the ground floor, Ka’gar summoned what little energy he had left and punched the control console, destroying it. While the doors slid open, an automated voice proclaimed ”Elevator malfunction. Maintenance required.” Ka’gar smiled weakly, ”Hope you have a parachute, human” he uttered. As he walked slowly towards the exit, he heard a familiar clanging sound coming from the stairs. ”No…no…no no!” Ka’gar cried. His body instinctively ran towards the exit while his gaze remained on the stairs, only to be met with the sight of the human on the outside of the staircase, rapidly descending by leaping from rail to rail. Ka’gar burst out into the street, knocking over several pedestrians. He was desperate now, with no consideration for where he was running or what was in his way. Ka’gar could scarcely breathe and his body felt as if it was on fire. If he escaped, he would never again deal with humans.

As the human emerged from the building and sprinted after Ka’gar, he failed to notice a garbage transport traveling down the street. The transport’s brakes screamed as it came to a near instantaneous stop, but had enough inertia to bump the human, knocking him to the ground. What fortune! Ka’gar thought. Humans had no natural armor and Ka’gar hadn’t seen the human wearing any. He slowed his pace, but did not stop. The transport had stopped quickly enough to avoid dealing fatal injury to the human, but even from here, Ka’gar could tell his shoulder had been dislocated. The human slowly rose to his feet, grasping his shoulder. The hum…

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