CHAPTER 1. TRAGEDY AT XP
Several armed men stood around the holding pen, weapons in hand. They all had nervous expressions and were trembling. Everything had to go perfect otherwise people would die. Only one man stood out from the rest, he was an ex-colonial marine by the name of Robert Muldoon. He was the chief game warden at the park, and the one man that the animals feared. He held his M56 at the ready as a forklift appeared through some trees and approached the holding pen.
The forklift stopped at the huge Iron Gate and lowered its cargo; an acid proof animal container. The cage rocked back and forth as it was lowered and many men raised their guns in alarm.
"Calm down..." Muldoon called out.
The forklift dropped the crate on some rails that lead to the pen gate, and then it reversed away. A group of men wearing hardhats and armor approached the crate, and prepared to push.
"Loading team you're up." Muldoon said to the already working men.
The men grabbed onto the handles on the side of the crate and started to push. Suddenly a loud hissing noise broke out, making everyone jump back in fright.
"Come on, get back in there...It's safe for crying out loud." Muldoon said angrily and they started to compose themselves. It better be safe. Muldoon thought to himself.
The men got over their fear and started to push the container towards the gate to the holding pen. Finally, the crate locked into place with the gate and a green light flashed above them, indicating it was safe to raise the gate now. Each an every member of the loading team exhaled in relief and wiped sweat from their foreheads.
"Loading team step away...Gatekeeper you're up." Muldoon ordered.
The loading team scrambled away and a solitary man approached the container, then climbed up it and onto the wall next to the gate. He glanced at the warning sign on the crate that read: CAUTION, LIVE XENOMORPH. He gulped and turned a key in the gate control panel. A green light flashed on the panel, and he pressed a red button that read: GATE RELEASE.
A loud cranking of gears and machinery was heard and the gate started to retract up the wall, making room for the crate's vicious inhabitant to enter the holding pen. Sure enough, the alien charged through, but not into the pen, but at the gate itself. It slammed into the gate, creating a huge dent that prevented it from retracting properly. Malfunction alarms buzzed around the holding pen and the emergency eject feature initiated. Is something were to go wrong with the gate, the container attached to it would be ejected. There was one major flaw in this system.
The crate lurched backwards with the front hatch opened, and the recoil of the launch sent the gatekeeper flying off the wall and flat down in front of the open crate. All the workers and soldiers were stunned; they were in real trouble now. Oh shit. Muldoon thought and ran over to the scene. The gatekeeper lay on the floor, hardly conscious. He pulled himself up, only then did he realize his mistake. He heard a terrible snarling noise behind him and saw a large black shadow rush over to him. Uh oh. He thought.
He was grabbed by the ankle and dragged back into the crate with incredible force. Just as he thought he was done for a human hand reached out and grabbed his. Muldoon stood there and yanked him back in his direction. Muldoon was now in a game of tug-of-war with an alien. He gripped the gatekeeper's hand and struggled to keep him alive. He turned his head and saw the look of terror in his eyes.
"HELP ME OUT HERE NOW!" He shouted out, but most men were too terrified to move.
Meanwhile, the alien was starting to get the upper hand and more of the gatekeeper's body disappeared behind the crate wall. He screamed out in pain as the alien's huge teeth sunk down into his leg. Muldoon started to panic and shouted out:
"IT'S TOO LATE! SHOOT HER!"
Soldiers rushed up to the crate and aimed their rifles through the gaps in the metal cage. It was too late though, the Gatekeeper's hand started to slip out of his and he was yanked into the crate.
"SHOOT HER!" Muldoon yelled out again.
He heard the terrified cry of the gatekeeper inside the crate but the Xenomorph killing him quickly silenced it. The soldiers finally managed to aim through the side of the crate and fire. The loud and distinctive RATATATATATAT! sound of the pulse rifle broke out, and was followed by the shrill shrieking sound of the alien, and the sizzling sound of acid burning the crate floor.
Muldoon put his head in his hands and sighed, the boss wasn't going to be happy. One of his precious monsters was dead, and there was probably going to be a major lawsuit by the family of the worker who died.