Random short stories.

Intelligent life

I step out of the craft onto new ground. A new planet. Slowly I take in my surroundings. The new planet is hot. Much hotter than our home caves, or even the surface of our planet. There's a slight breeze but otherwise all is still. 

I start forwards and find that the ground is made up of large chunks of something rough and fibrous. It makes navigation difficult. I stumble into a pillar made of the same fibrous substance as the ground. 

That's when the smell hits me. It's a rancid, damp animal smell. Could this be an alien? I hurry towards it and come against something hard. 

It's made of something shaped but slightly pliable. I can't find a pulse or even a trace of body heat but it could still be alive. Maybe I've found a creature that doesn't need blood!

Could something live without blood? I ponder the question while I explore what I've found. Carefully I climb onto it. At first its straight up, but slowly the object levels out. Then I find something odd. A hole. Is this the creature's mouth?

The smell seems to be coming from the depths of the hole. It's so strong I think I might be sick. I lean over the abyss.

At that moment a shrill sound echos from afar. It seems like some sort of alarm and it alarms me so much I fall into the hole. 

I tumble down into smellier air. Not for long. I land with a soft thump and instantly freeze. There are noises all around me. Huge thumps that shake the ground. The cry of some animal comes from somewhere above. "Help!" I scream, hoping the crew will hear me. "Help!"

                                                                              _

I'm looking for my missing shoes when I find them. I find my shoes in the playground at lunch and can't help but scream. All over it, like repulsize ants, are thousands of scaly, winged things. When I look closer the creatures have ears that seem way too big for their heads and no eyes. Of course I screamed. Wouldn't you?