[I sadly DO NOT OWN Predator or Aliens…or else I'd have a lot more fun with this…and be PAID…so…Read and Review…and ABOVE ALL ELSE…enjoy]
Chapter Four 'Playing Doctor'
The Xenomorph crashed into me, stopping the downward plunge of my blade. We went rolling down the hill due to his momentum combined with my weight. He hissed, snapping his double jaw at me. We broke several trees on our way down to the parking lot. Then I proceeded to bounce on the pavement, sending us both in separate directions. I landed heavily onto someone's mustang. The Xenomorph? He got the pleasure of breaking someone's jeep. Bet his hurt a lot more than mine. I rolled off the car, broken glass crashing to the ground. I spotted the Xenomorph as it raced towards the mall.
"Nu-unh…We're still playing," I called after it, thundering across the parking lot after it. In case there was any confusion, I preferred my claws, blades, shuriken. ETC. Rh'vage liked his guns. I liked getting up close and personal, Rh'vage would pick you off from the sideline. We were different like that. Part of me wondered if the Xenomorph was leading me somewhere as I ducked in after it through the broken door into the mall. A small side entrance. It would've been easily forgotten by the ooman at a time of panic. I camouflaged myself and eased my way through the many boxes and crates, this must've been the storage? Now, how to get to the main body of the mall? My scanners revealed a rough floor plan but then there was that interference again. I couldn't rely on that anymore. I'd have to chart it was I went. I switched it to manual charting. Now it was a blank slate. Mark the door I'd gone through. Set up motion tracker. Bingo. Still in business. The ache in my chest was getting worse though.
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An icon blinked steadily on the star chart before him. A transmission of a crashed cruiser. Supposedly two young blooded Yautija had taken it to the planet Earth chasing after some Xenomorphs. They spread like a plague. What Mh'dur didn't understand was why these two particular Yautija were doing out in this star system. Considering one of them was his own student. The two had been forbidden to travel as of yet. He sighed, scrunching his mandibles in thought as he sat with his helmet resting in his lap. He would get there soon enough. Perhaps not soon enough to prevent casualties. When concerning Xenomorphs there were always casualties. When concerning ooman…there were usually casualties. Put the two together and yes, there would indeed be casualties. He sighed.
"What are you planning?" He asked no one in particular as he gazed out upon the stars. The mystery of space. The cosmos of birth and destructions. The two went hand and hand. An alert flashed on his screen, his approach to Earth's atmosphere wasn't going to be a pleasant one. Apparently the ooman were having one of their many storms. He sighed, suiting up and making sure his helmet was in its proper place before donning the plasma cannon to his shoulder. He was a bit irritated to say the least. He was suppose to be enjoying his day of rest. Not hunting down Xenomorphs for improperly prepared Ooman. Now his student needed to be rescued. Not only that, Rh'vage had dragged his brother Vis'chus into this. What nonsense had Rh'vage spread that would have Vis'chus agree to this?
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"Come on…We're in a mall…and the ONLY weapon you have is an aluminum bat?" I cursed at no one in particular as I hefted the bat. First store we'd come across with anything worthwhile in it. I couldn't particularly imagine myself beating the snot out of the cat-thing either.
"Thank god for Spencer's and Hot Topic," Terra muttered, catching up with me. She had a whip and my eyebrow rose up as she offered it to me. I switched the bat to her. "Batter's up~" She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows," Man…you're like Catwoman or something with that thing…"
"Let's pray to god it works," I muttered hurrying across the mall. We'd lost sight of Victoria, and I could no longer hear her screams…for all I knew, she was dead. But the kitty-thing was no one's friend.
"AH! DIE EVIL SCORPION! DIE!" Terra screamed and I whirled around to see her smashing the yellow thing with the tail and many legs. She was beating it into the ground. There was a slight sizzling and her bat was melting. She tossed it aside.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered going over to it and kneeling to look at it. Yeah. Sure enough the thing was melting part of the floor. Only a little of it though. "Holy sh-" A hissing growl interrupted my next words as I looked up. Coming slowly down the pillar connecting the second floor to the first floor was one of those cat-creatures. It's lip was peeled back and quivering as it crawled its way down to us. Something seemed to tell me it wasn't the same one as Victoria's friend. I swallowed, slowly getting up and backing away with Terra. The whip was still in my hand and I swallowed hard, fingers trembling. I wasn't even sure I could use this thing. I had experience with it, when I was younger I wanted to be Indiana Jones. Don't ask.
"Uh…Catwoman…Whipping time," Terra murmured, hiding behind me. I flicked the whip out to the creature. A second mouth shut out at the whip, scaring me. It hissed, the light rippling off its shiny black exterior. Its tail flicked slowly from side to side. We were easy prey. This thing was built for killing. What were we built for? Dieing came to mind. Something heavy landed beside the creature as it started crossing the floor. Twin blades appeared out of nowhere, dicing across the creature. Liquid sprayed out, eating through everything it touched. It splattered on my jacket, hissing as it ate through the material. I stripped out of it quickly, managing to get out before it ate completely through it and my arm. I tossed it aside, watching as my favorite jacket disintegrated. The black creature hissed angrily, second jaw snapping out only to be grabbed by something. The other creature became visible. Tall with ripped muscles and abs, he had on some kind of fish netting across his body. OH wait! The thing from my house. I stared wide-eyed and speechless. The black creature struggled, spraying out…acid blood. Yeah. Acid blood. Then it turned tail and ran off. I thought the other guy was going to chase after it but he merely turned to us.
"Are you okay?" He asked us. Terra's mouth opened and closed, resembling a fish. I felt myself trembling slightly. I felt…faint…and tasted something sour in my mouth. I couldn't remember how to breath either. What was it? In and out right? That's easy…in….and out….in and out…in-out-in-out-in-out…Calm down. Slow breaths. "Are you okay?" He repeated again. Seeming annoyed.
"Swe-abhf," Terra mumbled before her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell down. I didn't bother trying to catch her. I had to stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake.
"Are you okay?" he demanded again, more persistent. I nodded slowly, not trusting myself to speak just yet. "Good…Now…I need to-ugh…" He doubled over, grabbing at his chest. Oh. That looked a little too familiar. I started backing away from him. "NO! Please…don't…I need your help…My brother-"
"The other one?" I asked, amazed," Are you human? What the hell was that thing? Are you hurt?" The questions tumbled off my tongue before I could help it.
"The other one…is my brother Rh'vage…I am Vis'chus…we spoke before…" the one named Vis'chus said, seeming to have trouble speaking. "I am not…human…I am Yautija," My eyes widened," The thing you…" He chuckled but it was a pained one," The thing you faced off was an Xenomorph…Bad news…I'm…hurt…The Xenomorph queen got me…I have…one of them in me…"
"Just like the other girl," I muttered and his masked head tilted slightly to the other side.
"You've seen…this process before?" he asked in a strained voice. He was in more pain then he was letting on. I nodded. "Good…then you know what will happen…I…I don't want to die." It seemed so logically. Just like us. Was this thing really not human? A glance at his feet and hands revealed that yeah…he WAS NOT human. I swallowed, feeling like my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen for some reason. Breathing. Must remember how to do that. Just…inhale though your nose…exhale through the mouth. Repeat.
"What uh…what do I do?" I asked, trembling nervously. It seemed like the right thing to say. But, I wasn't a doctor. I didn't have the first clue about a C-section. Shit. A C-section. That's basically what was about to happen right?
"Glad you…are willing to assist…We must…do surgery," he informed me and I felt my face drain of blood. I was getting pretty dizzy. "Uh…ooman…you should probably breath…" I gasped in a deep breath and he chuckled lowly. "Do not worry…I will…walk you through the procedure…." Then he started talking and explaining things to me. Okay. Whoever the hell thought it'd be funny to make me a doctor? I sent a silent prayer to God or whoever was out there that this worked. Shakily I accepted the knife he'd given me. He'd assured me that the gooey gunk in the can would heal him…and that the shot like thing would also help him. I've never been so scared in my life.
Cutting him open, I got to see more of that glowing stuff. I got to see a lot more. The alien thing pushed out through the opening I'd created for it, successfully NOT breaking open the ribs of the Yautija beneath me. Green blood squirted up bathing me in it. I really needed a shower. The creature in him seemed to be testing the air, little mandibles waving about as it let out a strange cooing cry. It skittered across my arms and out over the floor to disappear into one of the stores before I could kill it like Vis'chus had commanded. Fuck. One screw up already, and Terra was unconscious. I tried not to hyperventilate as I opened the small jar with gunk in it. It felt freezing cold to my fingers, like ice, so it burned a little bit. I pressed back the skin of the Yautija as I pretty much dumped the stuff on him and into the hole of his body. I was fascinated as everything seemed to fuse back together. I rubbed a little of it on the bruise on my arm…and poof…gone. Wow. Okay, so I don't recommend putting any type of alien substance on your body, but I was bathed in this guy's blood. I was totally fine. The one thing I WAS NOT sticking in me was the shot injector thing he'd given me. I stabbed it into his stomach like he'd told me to. His body jerked and his arm closed around my throat before I could react. He was going to choke me to deat-then he let go, slowly.
"Did it…work?" he asked me, almost seeming tired. I nodded, then he continued on in something that sounded like a series of garbled clicks and stuff. I smiled tiredly, and looked down at my hands. The gunk was still there, so I tried to scrape off what was left into the jar. "I owe you my life…"
"It was nothing," I replied reflexively. His clawed hands on mine stopped me.
"Ooman. A life is not just 'nothing'…I will see to it that you two get out of here alive," he told me seriously. I nodded, swallowing almost painfully. He stood up, and can I comment on just how tall he was? I felt like a midget to normal people. Introduce SUPERMAN and viola-you have me Elizabeth. "Wake up your slumbering friend…" I walked over to Terra, gently shaking her.
"mmm…are those abs real?" Terra asked after I'd woken her up and explained some things to her. We had been walking through the mall for a bit, my whip attached to my hip. She couldn't stop staring at Vis'chus. He didn't seem to mind either. Apparently he was just as curious about us as we were to him. He couldn't track Victoria down, something was interfering with his helmet's signals. Whatever that meant.
"Yes they are," I muttered quickly. She gave me a shrewd look.
"Well…what'd he feel like?" she asked me and I felt myself growing a bit red in the face. Gah. What the hell?
"I don't know," I replied quickly. Vis'chus was walking just ahead of us but I felt like he could hear us.
"How can you touch something and NOT know what it feels like?" Terra demanded. I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Fine fine…It felt…I don't know.." I said with a slight shrug. I was lying. I knew exactly how those abs felt. Rock-hard as if developed by years of practice and exercising. His skin…hadn't been as tough as I'd thought it might've felt. It'd been soft…and almost cool to touch. I'd marveled at the strength they told of.
"Hey Brain-dead," Terra snapped, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Hunh?" I said focusing again. We'd stopped walking and Vis'chus seemed amused as he waited for me to pay attention. I turned a brighter red of embarrassment. Here I was. Strolling through a mall thinking about some alien's abs. Gah. "Uh…sorry…What was it?"
"…My brother is nearby…He does not like Ooman," Vis'chus informed us and seemed to be looking around," He…is also molting." That sounded ominous.
"oh~" Terra said, suddenly seeming knowledgeable on the subject. I gave her a look and she shook her head, mouthing 'later'.
"We must kill the Queen…and purge the mall of her hive…none must be allowed to escape…," he gave us a pointed look. I think he did, hard to tell with that mask. My eyes traveled down from his mask to his torso. It was very broad, his shoulders were wide-set as well. Then they slid down to his exposed abs, with the faint scar across them from our 'surgery'. His legs and arms were nicely muscled as well. In comparison to humans that is. I wasn't too sure what Yautija males were suppose to look like. "Will you two STOP staring?" Vis'chus demanded, voice cutting into my thoughts. I blinked and Terra looked down at the ground guiltily. "It is like you've never seen anyone with muscles before!"
"Not this close," Terra snapped back defensively. I felt my face heating up again. She elbowed me in the side.
"Uh…You just…uh…are very masculine," I agreed and glanced at her with a 'WTF' expression.
"It's uh…horomones," Terra replied and I nodded, still with the 'WTF' expression on my face," See, we're young girls and-" Vis'chus cut us off.
"Yes yes…I know enough from Rh'vage about you Ooman and your…bodily functions," he replied and the way he said it had me giggling. Once I started, Terra started and then neither of us could stop. "What…What's funny?" We couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain. My sides hurt from laughing and we had to use each other as support so as not to fall over. "Ugh…Out of all the ooman I get stuck with…it has to be two teenaged females…Sheesh…" He walked off, muttering to himself in English," Dumb ooman…" Then he stopped and turned to give us a look," You two…are…impressed with me?" He asked, and it sounded so innocent and sincere.
"Oh…this is too rich," Terra said gasping for breath," Oh~ To us…you are a prime example of…fine~" The sultry way she said it had my face heating up even more. How could she go about so calmly saying things like that? To an alien none-the-less. "Well…Your…uh…body is…its…humanoid enough…Ripped muscles…Tall height…"
"Ooman like tall with muscles?" Vis'chus asked and let out a slight chuckle," Wait until you see Rh'vage…He more muscle than I…" He chuckled again and then muttered something in a series of clicks. Odd. I could probably produce some of those with my own mouth. Terra elbowed me hard in the ribs.
"Dibs," she told me.
"What?" I asked, startled and looked around quickly. What was she calling dibs on?
"Dibs on the new guy," she told me and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever…he's…That's gross Terra," I informed her, giving her a dark look.
"Oh come on…Not like you haven't been attracted to strange men before," She replied and her lips curled up into a predatory smile. "I know you better than that…" Then she sighed, patting my head," My young friend…You have much to learn about the ways of the heart…"
"I don't CARE what they look like," I argued," It's all about personality…Good sense of humor…Smart…You know…" I gave a slight shrug.
"AH…but they need a body of a warrior," Terra told me disapprovingly," You want to be able to breed respectable looking children…"
"…Terra…" I muttered and face-palmed," What is WITH you?"
"What? I like to think that genetics give me kids with muscles to survive on…Long legs to run…strong arms to climb…You know," Terra told me a little confused. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Okay…Whatever…I'd like my kids to have the BRAIN CAPCITY to survive…Brute strength won't get you everywhere," I informed her and walked past a very confused Vis'chus as I made my way up the stairs. Escalator that was stationary. Terra followed me.
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Rh'vage growled angrily at his scanners. Surely they lied to him. They claimed Vis'chus was here in this very mall with him. But that had to be a defect. He smacked the gauntlet device on his arm, and static filled his screen. He growled angrily, smacking the side of his helmet. The fuzzy blur cleared, showing him several things. One. His brother. Two. And yes, two ooman females with him. Further away, another ooman female. The one in cycle. She was hiding herself from the Xenomorphs that crawled along the mall interior. Then his screen went fuzzy again and the signals vanished. He grumbled under his breath, checking that his cameo was activated. He continued walking, scratching idly at his arms again. His entire body felt like one big itch and he felt way too hot. He was also restless.
Great. Stuck on a planet with nothing but OOMAN and going through a molt. Not that he'd ever actually done anything due to a molt. Even though female Yautija would've loved to have him. He suppressed a mental shudder at the thought of having to flee and lock himself in his room. It didn't help that Vis'chus made fun of him for it. Give the cocky idiot a few more years…then see what HE thought about the molt. He was approaching the first ooman female, the one with the purse. She had some sort of whip attached to her hip. A feeble weapon. Briefly he wondered if she could use it. She was saying something but he couldn't understand a word of his. Damn broken translator. Ah. He'd just have to have Vis'chus fix it, or else translate-no, they would just ditch these two useless ooman. They were most likely going to die anyway. His point was proven as two Xenomorphs crawled towards the Ooman. His brother was on some sort of stairway, complaining under his breath about interference with his equipment. Oh, so maybe his helmet wasn't busted after all. That was a relief.
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"Oh come on…We'll get out of this alive," I replied back to Terra who was complaining about all this walking and running being the death of her. Vis'chus was doing more odd clicks. Maybe his native language. I held up a hand to stop everyone as I got this odd feeling of danger. You know that feeling you get just before something bad happens. I had it. My hand went to my whip, not that it would do much good against acidic aliens. I stepped free of the escalator and started down the walkway. An Xenomorph hissed, landing a few feet not too far from me. I turned around to see another one crawling towards us. Terra backed down the escalator quickly. A third one dropped down on to the escalator and had the two backing even further down, leaving me stranded with two of the scariest things in my life. I backed away from the escalaor entrance and towards a store opening. The door was locked though. One of the Xenomorphs leapt at me and I dodged, rolled and hauled ass away from them both. They scrambled after me. Being the graceful queen I was, I tripped and slid across the ground, going headfirst over the feeble railing that prevented people from falling in the first place. My foot somehow snagged in the railing and a jarring pain revealed that my left anklet had indeed not been prepared for that. I wind milled, waving my arms like an idiot as blood rushed to my head. A fourth Xenomorph was on the ground level, making its way towards me. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. I was going to die. Either this thing would jump up and bite my head off, or its two buddies would eat me. Then I noticed something sliding down the pillar closest to me. Another yellow-scorpion thing.
"FUCK!" I shouted loudly," FUCK FUCK FUCK!" I glanced up and tried to get my foot untangled, not a good idea-but I was panicking. "HELP ME! HELP! FUCK IT! FUCK YOU!" The yellow thing leapt at me and I shut my eyes, prepared to die. It never came. I opened my eyes to find that the yellow thing was nowhere to be seen. I glanced down to see its two halves withering on the ground as if it'd been cut in half. I glanced up and saw my rescuer. Another Yautija. The one who'd killed John, and given me my purse back. "Help me up! Help me up!" He was reaching for me, then I noticed he hadn't dealt with the two Xenomorphs. "WAIT! GET THEM! GET THEM!" I couldn't tell if he understood. I was pointing and gesturing like an idiot. He turned around and was tackled by one of the Xenomorphs. Both flew over the railing that was suppose to prevent these things and crashed to the ground. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. I glanced up and spotted the second Xenomorph slowly climbing onto the railing. Too bad for it that the railing had gotten too much abuse. The strain of its weight plus mine was too much, the railing pitched, sending the Xenomorph flying off but bringing me closer to the ground as I hung there. Now there were two hungry Xenos pacing the ground and staring up at me. The railing gave out a little more and slid further down. Both of their tails lashed back and forth in anticipation.
"HANG ON LIZ! WE'RE COMING! DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" Terra shouted out to me, not too far away.
"OH HELL NO! WHERE WOULD I FUCKING GO?" I shouted back at her, and the railing gave out. I screamed as I was hurtling towards the hungry Xenomorphs. Something like a spear whizzed past, 'spearing' both of them and flinging them out of my path. Okay. That took care of them eating me. But I was going to bash my head against the ground and die. A fitting way to end my life-I was jostled out of my last thoughts as someone caught me. Someone with really strong, REALLY HOT, I'm talking temperature wise, arms. I was being pressed against a very thickly muscled chest. A distinct odor came from him. I couldn't describe it. It was an almost delicious smell…reminded me of that fresh mix of melted chocolate…with golden caramel…the deep rich scent of earth basking in the sun…A mix of things went through my brain but none of them matched what my nose smelled. I felt giddy and carefree. Not myself. I clung to my savior, head resting against his chest, inhaling deeply his wonderful scent. A thought pierced my hazy mind-Hadn't Vis'chus said something about a 'molt'? It faded as my brain seemed to quite literally melt on itself. I felt like doing nothing else but basking in this new sense…actually…I felt like doing several other things that shocked even me. It must…must be this molting thing.
[Okay children. Let's be mature here. This is a mature series. And this goes along with my 'molting' concept. I'll try explain more in story in the next chapter…but trust me…It's that strong…that powerful….Mwah ha ha…I'm an evil writer…Oh yes, all hail the wonderful Rh'vage…Ooman hater…Not really, he just doesn't see the point in hanging with them…Vis'chus is like that sweet kid that wants everyone to be friends.]
Review Response up to date ((the sites a bit touchy)):
RubyDracoGirl: I laugh every time I read one of your delightful reviews…and o-O…I seriously don't know if Preds molt…but in my story, yes. Yes they do. I appreciate all the help you are providing and REALLY REALLY hope you are enjoying this story…Yeah…I have grammar errors…All the time…*hides* Here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you as much as your stories entertain me.
