"Ali," Sophie whispered. There was more than just fear in her voice, there was desperation and pleading too.

Ali blinked. For some reason, she had a sudden flashback to that moment on the rooftop, just minutes after she had killed Sophie's brother, Thomas. She had confessed to Sophie then that she feared the darkness growing within her and how she hated that people would always fear her. She remembered the words Sophie had spoken to her, how she had tried to reassure her that Ali could find a way to make things return to normal and that not everyone feared her. Sophie had believed in her. And that thought was what snapped Ali out of her blood-crazed trance.

What the hell did I almost do? Ali thought to herself. I was about to attack Sophie!

She tried to back away, but was hit with a wavy of dizziness and nearly lost her footing.

"Ali?!" Sophie asked in alarm, "Are you okay?"

"Stay back!" Ali cried.

She could feel the bloodlust still lurking in the back of her mind, like a hungry animal waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting prey. The thought of ripping Sophie apart, and then moving on to Gabbie, was getting to be too much. She had to get out of here before she actually became the predator she was imagining. Before Sophie became another victim.

When Ali met Sophie's gaze she had to admit she was a little surprised to see the look of concern and worry. Sophie looked like she actually wanted to approach her. Had she forgotten that fast that Ali was just about to kill her? Why wasn't she afraid? Why wasn't she running away?! She should just run away.

"Ali, what's wrong?"

Ali shook her head and backed away, back toward the window. "I'm sorry, Sophie, I'm so sorry!"

"Wait, Ali, don't go yet! What's wrong?!" Sophie asked again.

It was too much, she had to get out of here now! Ali turned her back to Sophie and rushed to the window, gripping the edges of the sill. Scorpio scuttled out of her hiding place and crawled up Ali's arm. Not wanting to give Sophie a chance to say anything else, Ali pulled herself over the edge of the sill and jumped out the window.

The air rushed in her face as she hung suspended in free fall for only seconds. Her feet touched the ground, the impact traveling up her legs, and she was running; she had to get away from the hospital, and fast. Her feet carried her across the lawn and through the nearly empty parking lot. Her mind was clear for now and she used it to her advantage to carry her as far away from the hospital as she could get. However, the rushing returned all too quick and only a block from the hospital she was forced to come to a stop. She managed to stagger over to a bus stop before her legs finally gave out on her and collapsed into the seat. Her head was pounding and the world spun dangerously around her. She curled into a ball, letting out a small noise of discomfort, as her hand reached out for some kind of support. Her fingers curled around the metal arm rest and she clenched it like it was her last life line. She hardly felt Scorpio as the Zabin jumped off her shoulder and perched on the arm rest just above her hands. The creature was concerned and let out small squeals, but Ali could hardly hear them. Her chest felt tight and she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Jaws clenched, she tightened her grip on the arm rest, the metal straining beneath her fingers.

"I shouldn't have gone there," she mumbled to no one.

It had been a mistake to try and talk to Sophie, she knew, but she had to know what happened to Gabbie. She thought she could control the urges, but it had been harder than she thought. The moment she caught on to Sophie's fear and saw the way Sophie looked at her she had wanted to tear her apart. When she had spilled Charles' blood she had had a moment of clarity, when the bloodlust was only a minor buzz in the back of her mind and the desire to kill had been almost nil. But at Sophie's house, and en route to the hospital, she had felt it growing once again. She would never have a moment of peace in her life ever again. She would be trapped—

"Hello? Are you alright?"

A voice permeated the sea of red.

Ali's eyes snapped open. She was still on the bus bench, still curled into a ball, but something was different. It was still dark out, but it was now early in the morning, with the sun set to rise in a few hours. Time had slipped past her while she had been trying to get the bloodlust under control. Ali looked around and up, her gaze settling on the face of the woman looking down at her in concern. The woman's hair was pulled back tightly in a ponytail, the end hanging down over one shoulder. A black piece of fabric wrapped around her head to hold the hair out of her face. She was dressed in tight clothing. Her cheeks were red and flushed. Her breathing was rushed, but not labored, and her heartbeat was pounding quickly in her chest. Ali had seen her kind before, joggers, but could never understand the appeal, especially when they ran at night.

"Can you hear me?" the woman asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm hungry," Ali muttered.

The woman's face crinkled in concern. "I'm sorry, do you have someone you can go to? Have you tried the soup kitchen?"

"Not that kind of hunger," Ali said with a shake of her head.

"What—?"

The woman's voice was cut off as Ali's hand latched on the dangling ponytail. There was fear in her eyes as Ali pulled herself up from the bus bench. She yanked harder on the ponytail, forcing the woman's neck to bend at an awkward angle, exposing her throat. The woman's heartbeat began to pulse erratically, no longer the smooth upbeat tempo of a good workout, but the spasmodic cadence of panic.

"Please!"

Ali's eyes remained glued on the curve of the woman's neck. Her skin was pale which made her veins stand out blue against her skin. The largest vein pulsed in time to the woman's quickened heartbeat. That was the one Ali was aiming for when she opened her mouth and latched on. The woman tried to scream, but Ali got her free hand up and clamped down hard over the woman's mouth. It was too early in the morning and the sounds might be heard and noticed. Hot blood burst forth from the wound, filling Ali's mouth, running down her chin. It tasted pleasant at first, but just as she was beginning to swallow, the taste went sour. Ali squeezed her eyes shut tightly and tensed her body, but she didn't let go. The blood eventually filled her mouth and with nowhere left to go, began running down her throat. She was determined to drink it this time, in hopes the relief will last more than just a few minutes. But just like always, she was forced to pull away.

The corpse folded in on itself, looking much like a tossed-aside toy than a human being. Ali collapsed next to it, gagged, and threw up. The woman's blood, which had once tasted good, burned Ali's throat as it came back up. She threw up again, the rest of the blood coming up this time and she felt her stomach finally settle once again. She remained hunched over, breathing hard, her eyes closed. Her arms were trembling slightly, but she couldn't move. The roaring was gone, the initial taste of the blood had pushed it away, but she didn't let herself feel happy about it; she knew it would be back.

Eventually, she found the strength to rise to her feet, using the bench as support. She had to leave now; the sun was starting to rise. A gray haze was illuminating the surroundings around her and it was only a matter of time before people started appearing. Ali looked down at the woman's body, at a loss. She didn't have time to dump the body in the lake, nor did she even think she had the strength to drag the body up to a rooftop where it would remain hidden and unnoticed for a long time.

"Scorpio?" Ali asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

But she already knew the answer; the little Zabin was still full from her meal of Charles. It would be a bad decision, but she found herself not caring. She held out her arm for Scorpio to crawl up, then turned her back on the corpse, and let herself vanish into the shadows.

When Ali got back to the Hive, she was met with silence. For once, the aliens didn't come running up to welcome her like they normally do whenever she returned. They would usually throw themselves on her, hissing excited greetings, but always treating her like she was some kind of fragile doll, even though she was just as strong as them. Now, they were hunched over, low to the ground, submissive. She couldn't even see them at first; they chose to press themselves up against the side of the Hive, their black bodies blending in perfectly with the walls, but she could sense their presence. They were anticipating the fight.

You were gone a long time, Tilda finally said.

Ali turned her attention to Tilda. The Queen was speaking with her full authority, which meant Ali was in a lot of trouble. "Yeah, I know, I didn't mean to be."

What have you been doing? Tilda questioned. You were blocking me. I could not locate you.

"I'm sorry," Ali replied, "I was just making my usual rounds. And I ended up in Sophie's neighborhood. Something happened."

What?

"They walked in on a robbery. Sophie's daughter was shot."

This had caught Tilda's attention. Her daughter, what was her name, again? Little Gabbie?

"Yes. I got there right as they were taking Gabbie away to the hospital. She's in something called a coma."

Tilda let out a hiss. That is terrible news.

"Wait, you actually know what a coma is?"

Of course. You remember that man, my original host?

"Yeah."

He had been a nurse. I learned everything he did when I was born.

"Oh," Ali said. "Are they reversible? Sophie seems to think Gabbie won't wake up."

It depends on the severity of the injury. Gabbie is young, so she has a better chance, but if there is a lot of damage done to her brain, it could be a lot worse.

Ali decided to propose her idea. "Sophie mentioned that Gabbie wasn't like me and that her brain couldn't heal itself from an injury like mine can."

Yes, that is true.

"So what if she was like me? Wouldn't her brain be able to heal itself?"

Tilda didn't answer right away. She seemed to understand Ali's train of thought, even though she couldn't read her mind. What are you saying?

"What if Gabbie was a hybrid, like me?"

There was a longer pause when Ali spoke her idea. Tilda's mind was working around the idea, but her lips were curled up in a scowl. She didn't like the idea. How would you even propose you do it? You cannot give her your blood, it would burn her from the inside out.

"I know, but what if we used a facehugger?"

There were some startled hissing from the aliens and even Tilda let out a startled hiss. That is very risky! If you took it off at the wrong time, Gabbie could still become infected and she would die.

"I realize that, but if I timed it right, I could get the facehugger off just after the DNA processing is added, but before the chestburster is actually implanted."

She had thought this over long and hard after killing that woman at the bus stop, actually, ever since Sophie's declaration about Gabbie not being able to heal as fast as Ali. She should have been there when the attack first happened, should have been there to stop it. This was going to be her way of making things right.

Alright, Tilda finally said. You can try it. But the DNA in a facehugger might be too much for Gabbie. If she were a newborn, it would not be so bad, but this could be an overload.

"I thought about that too. What if you created a blank facehugger for me? You could just lay the egg before your DNA is added to the egg and I could add my own. I already have diluted DNA, plus human DNA, which would make it a little milder and easier for Gabbie's system to absorb it."

Tilda seemed to be thinking about it. Finally, she spoke, Why were you not there to intercept the shooter before Gabbie was shot?

It wasn't the kind of question Ali had been expecting and at first she didn't answer. When she finally found her voice she said, "I was taking care of other business. I was on the other side of town and only arrived—"

What were you doing?

"Like I said, my usual rounds. I was monitoring. Look, I don't see what this has to do with Gabbie? Are you going to help me or not?"

Of course I will help. Sophie has done so much for you, it would be a shame for her to have to suffer like this. Have you spoken to her?

"We talked a little, but I decided not to tell her of my idea. I wouldn't want to get her hopes up if this doesn't actually work."

That is probably best.

"Do you even know if this is a good idea? Do you think there will be any negative affects?"

You know this will change her in more ways than just healing her brain. She will start to become like you, Ali, although how long the change will take is hard to say. Not even I know what will happen.

Ali let that sink in. "I want to do it anyway."