Chapter Two:

Elaina's Apartment
Eureka, California
October 3, 2008

Elaina opened the door to her apartment, stepping inside with her mind on other things, such as how incorrigible her mother could be. It wasn't until she kicked the door shut behind her that she realized just how dark it was inside. She paused in the threshold, her breath catching in her throat. She struggled inwardly with herself, trying to ignore the building fear rising up inside her.

Ever since the expedition out on the ice, Elaina couldn't stand being in the dark. Whether it was a hallway light, the light over the kitchen stove, or one of the various nightlights plugged into every outlet throughout her apartment, she always made sure to keep a light on somewhere.

Reaching over for the light switch on the wall, Elaina flicked it up then down before repeating it several more times to be sure.

The ceiling light refused to turn on for her.

Swallowing thickly, Elaina stepped away from the front door, her hands outstretched in front of her as she tried to feel her way through the darkness. Her heart leaped into her throat when she bumped into something, but the familiar feel of leather beneath her hands reminded her of the lazy boy in the room.

"Come on, Elli," she scolded herself, her hands gripping the chair as she tried to slow down her breathing. "This is your apartment. Get ahold of yourself."

Closing her eyes, she counted to ten, like her therapist had told her to do when she was scared, before opening them again slowly. She felt her way around the chair, easing her way across the living room to where her desk sat in the corner. She was relieved when she bumped into its solid surface. Feeling around, she searched for the drawers. Finding the one she wanted, she pulled it open and reached inside for her flashlight.

It's gone.

Panic began to rise as she felt around the drawer, searching it desperately. It was empty. Slamming the drawer shut, she jerked open the other drawers and searched them as well. All of them turned out to be just as empty. It made absolutely no sense.

"Fuck!" she cursed, slamming the last drawer shut. She tightened her hands into fists on the surface of her desk, dropping her head down as she struggled to breathe. "Breathe in, breathe out." She struggled to remember the breathing exercises her therapist had taught her to do when she started to panic. Dr. Mathews had been able to help her through the roughest part of her recovery after returning to the States; he had taught her several different coping mechanisms and, so far, they had yet to fail her.

A sudden noise in the room had Elaina lifting her head slowly in response. With her eyes wide and fearful, she turned her head to try and see out of the corner of her peripheral vision. Her living room was eerily quiet now, the darkness around her stifling. Very slowly, she turned around, her back to her desk as she faced the living room. She searched the darkness, but could barely make out any discernible shapes.

From across the living room something moved, slowly stretching to its full height. The solid wood of her desk began digging into her back as she pressed herself against it, wanting to climb over it to put something between her and the thing across the room.

A familiar hiss sounded, a noise she'd only ever heard from one creature, as it lowered its body back down to the floor. The black alien. Elaina sucked in a sharp breath, not allowing herself to breathe now. With its body poised, much like how a lion did to its unsuspecting prey, it leaped towards her. Elaina jerked back, clawing her way across her desk and began to scream and scream and scream–

Elaina sat up with a scream, wrestling with her blankets as she fought off her attacker.

"No!" she cried out, throwing the blankets off of her, her eyes opening at last to see her bedroom. The soft glow of the nightlight across the room cast shadows around her, but lit up the darkness enough that nothing could hide from her terrified gaze. She searched the room, trying to find her attacker, knowing the alien was still there; such a creature wouldn't just leave her alive, after all.

There's nothing there.

Rubbing at her swollen eyes, Elaina blinked and cleared her blurred vision to take in the familiar surroundings. Realization was slow to clear up her foggy mind. She breathed out a weary sigh, her body shaking as her anxiety wilted. Dropping her head into her hands, Elaina drew in a shuddering breath as a hysterical laugh escaped her.

"God, it was just a dream," she muttered.

It had been a while since she had one of those. Usually in them, she found herself back in the pyramid, only without help and trapped in the darkness with the aliens. This one had been more horrifying than they ever were. She had never had a nightmare where the aliens got into her apartment. She had been as terrified as she had four years ago, felt just as helpless and weak as she had when she was eighteen.

Rubbing at her eyes, she was upset to find that she was crying. After getting to her feet, Elaina left her bedroom and headed straight towards the bathroom. She immediately reached for the switch on the wall and flicked the lights on before stopping at the sink to splash cold water onto her face. Patting it dry with a hand towel, she lifted her head to look at her reflection.

There were dark circles under her eyes and her face was a sickly, white color. Her eyes were bloodshot from a combination of lack of sleep and crying so much. Placing her hand over her reflection's face, she looked away from the person she had become. Will this nightmare ever be over, she wondered. Would she ever be able to look at what happened to her four years ago and see it for what it was? Something that had happened to her years ago, that it was over and she had survived.

Not even Lex, who poured herself into her work by filling her schedule with expeditions and tour guides, could seem to shake it from her mind. If the tough, no-nonsense woman had a hard time forgetting what happened in that pyramid, what were the chances that Elaina ever would be able to?

Elaina looked at her reflection once more. Her eyes stared at the spot over her left eyebrow that was usually discreetly hidden under her bangs. At the moment, her bangs were wet and plastered to her forehead, slightly exposing the scar she kept hidden.

The mark Ci'tde had drawn there was as conspicuous as it had been the day he marked her. The acidic blood of the alien she had killed had been used to etch the symbol into her skin, a permanent reminder of what she had survived. Lex had one similar to it on her cheek. It was a rite of passage, Ci'tde had told her.

A symbol of honor.

Elaina had looked it up on the internet to help her understand it better. She had learned that in some tribes, hunters would mark themselves with the blood of their kill. It was their transition into adulthood, like when a boy became a man. She could never picture Ci'tde as a boy, though. The image of him fighting that alien was forever etched into her mind. Fierce and predatory, she couldn't see him as anything else.

Looking away from the mirror, Elaina patted her face again with the towel and made sure to place her bangs back over the mark before she left the bathroom. She headed down the hallway and to the TV in the living room. She turned it on, keeping the volume low, before she went to her computer. She stopped at the desk, her eyes staring at it for a moment, before she reluctantly sat down in the chair. Instinctively, she looked at the desk drawer to her right. Her dream had left her feeling vulnerable and shaky. Slowly, she pulled the drawer and looked inside.

Elaina breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her flashlight right where she always kept it. Shaking her head, she slid the drawer shut and turned her monitor on. Sometime during the night, the video download had finished. Clicking on the link, she expanded the image as the video started playing.

A river appeared onscreen before the cameraperson began panning around to film the surrounding area. It seemed to be a forest or, at least, a wooded area. After a few aimless nature shots, the camera finally came to focus on a bunch of kids camping out nearby. In the background, Elaina could make out tents and a fire pit.

One of the guys at the fire said something, the words muffled by the sound of the river, when suddenly there was a loud explosion.

"Holy shit!" the guy holding the camera shouted. "Oh fuck, look at that, oh my god!"

"What the hell is that?!" a girl screamed. The group of teens stood at the edge of the river, staring up at the sky.

Elaina watched the image, her brows drawn together. It looked like a large cloud growing in size as it drew across the sky. The camera followed the large burning shape as it flew pass, disappearing over the treetops and then the video ended.

Elaina rewound the video, replaying it from when the cloud flew over the group of kids. She slowed the image, breaking it down into parts and eyed it carefully. She watched as the cloud and flames formed a solid object. Reaching over for her glasses, Elaina slipped them on and peered closer at the screen. She started the video over, watching it in slow motion once more.

"Holy shit," she whispered, freezing the image. Within the burning flames and thick, black smoke, she could see the familiar designs of an alien spaceship. Elaina leaned back from the screen, pulling her glasses off as she stared at the image. "They're back."

"Oh my god, they're back!" she shouted. Scrambling across her desk, Elaina reached for the phone. She turned it on and quickly dialed Lex's number.

"Lex, Lex!" Elaina shouted into the phone when the woman finally answered.

"Elli, what the hell – do you know what time it is?"

Elaina glanced at the clock on her computer screen. "In Nepal or wherever the hell you are, no, I don't, but Lex, listen to me; they're back."

"Who's back? Elli, what are you talking about?"

"Celtic and Scar," Elaina explained further. "They're back, I have proof. Get on your laptop. I'm emailing you the video I just found –"

"Elli, calm down, just take a moment to breathe."

Elaina paused in her tirade. She could hear Lex getting out of bed and going to where she had her laptop set up. The sound of her friend's HP turning on hummed over the phone. Elaina finished attaching the video file she cropped to the email and sent it to Lex.

"I'm sure you heard about the comet hitting the Earth somewhere in Colorado," Elaina said to her friend.

"Uh, no, I haven't."

"Oh, well, that doesn't matter," she said with a wave of her hand, even though Lex couldn't see it. "Anyway, I checked it out and found this video of some teens. They were camping in Gunnison County and they saw what they thought was a comet, only it's not a comet–," she paused for a moment, listening to Lex clicking away on her computer.

"Did you get my email?" she asked her, nearly bouncing with excitement in her office chair. She could barely contain herself. Finally, after all this time, she had proof. "Lex?"

"Yes, Elli, I'm watching it right now."

Elaina could hear the video playing over the phone and waited patiently for Lex to say something. The two minute video seemed to take forever to play before silence fell over the phone.

"Well?"

"I don't know, Elli. It looks like smoke and maybe an asteroid or something to me."

"Lex, watch it again. I'm telling you, it's their ship. It has the same metal design and structure as that ship that picked them up. This one looks smaller, but I tell you, it's them," Elaina said seriously.

"Even if, by some weird chance, it is them, why does it even matter?"

Elaina closed her eyes, her hand tightening around the phone. "Matter...? Lex, don't you know what this means? If they're back, then it has to be because of those things, right?" she demanded. "I mean, they hunt those black aliens, why else would they come back to Earth unless there is more? What if there is another pyramid and it's another training ground for them? What if, this time, the aliens get out?"

There was a long moment of silence. "What if you're wrong?"

Elaina didn't even hesitate. "What if I'm right?" she asked her. "Those things almost got out last time... they could get out this time."

"Oh god."

"Even if I'm wrong, Lex, we have to check. This is why I've been doing what I've been doing these past four years. I don't want what happened to us happening to anyone else. I don't want to see everything wiped out because I did nothing to prevent it," she said into the phone.

"I know, Elli."

"I'm leaving for Gunnison today. If you want, I can let you know if I find anything," Elaina offered reluctantly. She had to swallow around the lump that had formed in her throat as silence echoed over the phone line longer than she liked.

"No, I'll catch a flight and meet you there. I'll call you as soon as I land in the States."

Elaina swallowed thickly. Before her friend could hang up, Elaina added quickly, "Thanks Lex." Even though she had been preparing herself for the possibility of their return, Elaina didn't think she could do it all on her own.

"Let's just hope it turns out to be nothing, Elli. I'll see you in Gunnison."

"See you in Gunnison," Elaina echoed before the call went dead. She stared at the frozen image on her computer monitor. Deep in her gut, she knew for a fact that this wasn't going to be nothing. She just hoped she was strong enough to survive the nightmare one more time.

Getting up from her chair, Elaina headed down the hallway to her bedroom to begin packing for her trip. She grabbed a duffle bag as well as the backpack she used for hiking. She packed a week's worth of clothes, making sure she had plenty of shirts, underwear, socks and pants. She made sure to pack for both nice and bad weather, just in case. She didn't know what Colorado's weather would be like in October.

She stored her hiking boots in the duffle bag as well as some basic hiking gear, in case they would have to hike through the woods. She stored the book she had been trying to read for the past month in the side pocket. It wasn't even worth it as a carry on for the long flight ahead of her, but it was a good way to put her to sleep when her insomnia kicked in.

In her backpack, she packed an extra set of clothes, gloves, a hat and her backup cellphone. From the bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush, hairbrush, some extra hair ties and other feminine products she might need. She had to go back and grab her deodorant and stored all the items in a Ziploc before packing them in her duffle bag. Taking her bags with her to the living room, she set them down on her desk. She grabbed her laptop which was stored in its case and packed it as well. Lastly, she went to the kitchen and retrieved her secret stash of candy she stored in a Ziploc bag in the kitchen cupboard; she made sure to store that in her backpack. Zipping her bags shut, she went back to her cellphone she had left on her desk and called for a driver to pick her up and take her to the airport.

Despite the fact that it was three am and she had been up for an hour already, Elaina found that she wasn't even tired. The anxiety and excitement of what was to come had her feeling wired. Leaving her bags by the door, Elaina headed for her bedroom. She rifled through the clothes she had left in her closet, found an old yellow t-shirt and pulled it on over her tank top. She changed out of her boxers and put on clean underwear and socks before pulling on a pair of old jeans that had a hole ripped in the back pocket.

Stopping at her nightstand, she slowly pulled open the drawer to look inside. Rarely did she open this drawer anymore, and the few times she had were after rather nasty nightmares that left her needing some reassurance that she was still alive. Inside the drawer lay a spear, the spear, which she kept retracted to its smaller form. Elaina hardly ever sought out the object after she had placed it in the nightstand, but she kept it close to her ever since she left Bouvetoya Island. Pulling it out of its resting place, she gripped the weapon in her right hand, feeling its familiar weight. Also in the drawer was a holster she had designed to hold the spear, in case she ever needed to keep it on her person. Taking the holster, she slipped her arms into it and secured the front of it just beneath her breasts. The holster fit much like a gun holster, only the spear would be secured on her back within grabbing distance.

Elaina retrieved her jacket from behind her bedroom door and slipped it on. With the spear still in hand, she left her room and tucked it into the side pocket of her backpack. She was just double checking her bags when there was a knock on her door. Elaina looked through the peephole, making sure it was the guy from the service she had called, before unlocking her door. Carefully, she opened the door to find an older gentleman looking a little rumpled, as if he might have just rolled out of bed.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Elaina said and let the man inside. He grunted his reply and might have said something beneath his breath, but Elaina didn't hear it. The driver didn't waste any time gathering up her bags before starting for the car, Elaina following after him with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

The driver led her to an old, black town car with the service's logo on the driver side door. He had the trunk open, where he settled her duffle bag inside and slammed the lid shut. He then held the backseat door open for her and Elaina slid inside, tossing her bag into the seat next to her.

The drive to the airport was uneventful; at four in the morning, there wasn't much traffic and they had managed to get to the airport rather quickly.

Elaina climbed out of the back of the town car, not bothering to wait for the driver to open the door for her. She slung her bag over her shoulder and started for the plane she had standing by, one of the many perks she had inherited after her father passed away. It was expensive, but proved to be a lot quicker to take the personal jet to cross the United States rather than flying commercially.

Leaving the driver to gather her duffle bag from the trunk, Elaina carried her backpack onboard with her. She walked passed a couple lounging chairs, picking one from the back and taking her seat. She pulled her bag off her shoulders and dropped it into the spot next to her. The plane, she noticed, was prepped and ready for flight with the pilot already waiting in the cockpit as he set their course.

Pulling her cellphone out of her pocket, she sent a text to Lex telling her that she would have a plane standing by for her at the airport once she got back to the US. There was no response, but then again, it was possible Lex was already on a plane heading to the United States and wasn't able to send her a reply at the moment. As the plane started down the runway, Elaina turned her phone off and settled back into her seat. Closing her eyes, she let the slight vibrations from the plane ease her into a dreamless sleep.


AN: This chapter was revised on 12/01/2013.

Thank you all for the lovely reviews. They feed my writing soul with inspiration to write some more.

A huge thanks to my beta reader Welcome the Rising Sun, who is helping me with my horrendous spelling/grammar errors. Thank you so much for helping me out with this :)

If you haven't seen it yet, I posted an AU story to this series called Taboo. A little smut story for Nev'ka cause I felt so bad for killing him off in the beginning of this story. With the good feedback I have gotten so far, I may just add more to the story as inspiration hits me. But I will have to warn you, Taboo has no plot and will prolly never will. It's just pure smut to see if I can write it and post it ^^

Well tell me what you think, loved/liked/hated it. I accept them all.

Inky out