"Life is but a dream for the dead."
In the lead works part of the prison, the blast furnace was an immense space located in the bowels of the operation. Vaguely rectangular, the room was carved out of the very rock of the planet. In the center, there was an enormous pit. Flames were visible over beveled edges, as they descended to the depths. On one wall, a series of ducts and fans controlled oxygen flow into the furnace area. Cranes on tracks, that ran up and down the room could be loaded or unloaded from catwalks above the pit. Two prisoners stood on a crane, which was a short distance from the fire in the pit, and rippling heat rose from the floor below. The prisoners held between them a canvas bags, which contained Newt's body. Below them, the survivors stood at the front of the small crowd, on a catwalk. Ripley stood beside Clemens, Kendall beside Hicks, Masey beside Hudson, and surprisingly, Vasquez beside Gorman. All of them looked at the two prisoners on the crane. Aaron, Dillon, and several other prisoners were behind them. To their right, Andrews opened a book and he began to read.
"We commit this child to our keeping, O Lord. Her body has been taken from the shadow of our nights. She has been released from all darkness and pain..."
Andrew read.
Below the catwalk, there was a small claustrophobic space that was cramped with iron pipes, levers and pulleys. Prisoner Troy started to open valves.
On the wall of the furnace, a giant air-ducts slid open, and huge fans forced air into the chamber.
In the pit of fire, since it was now combined with oxygen, the methane flame rose, which caused the room to grow hotter and hotter. The color blitzed through the spectrum, going from red to white-hot.
On the catwalk, Ripley started to quietly cry, and tears ran freely down her face. Clemens turned to her, and he watched her closely. As Andrews continued to read, his voice rose.
"The child has gone beyond our world. She is forever eternal and everlasting...ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
Meanwhile, in the abattoir, the dead ox seemed to dance crazily, in a grotesque way. As if something inside of the ox tried to break free.
Back at the funeral, on the catwalk, Dillon shouldered his way through the others, as he stared out at the flames.
"Why are the innocent punished? Why the sacrifice? Why the pain?"
As Dillon spoke, Andrews put down his book, and he looked over at Dillon, who had, seemingly uninvited, had taken over the service.
"There aren't any promises. Nothing's certain. Only some get called. Some get saved."
Inside the furnace, the fire raged, and on the crane, as they reeled from the heat, the two prisoners, had reached their breaking point, and they hurled the canvas bag into the pit, and they beat a hasty retreat.
Back on the catwalk, Kendall turned her head to see her mother as she wept freely. Masey wasn't even watching, her head was buried in Hudson's shoulder. She wanted to go comfort the girl, but she felt her feet freeze on the spot, and the only thing that she could do at that moment, was rest her head on Hicks' shoulder, and she watched at what used to be Newt disappear into the inferno. Impulsively, Ripley took Clemens' arm for support, who gave it freely. All the while, Dillon continued to read.
"She won't ever know the hardship and grief for those of us left behind. We commit this body to the void with a glad heart..."
Back in the abattoir, on the table, the ox's body was stretched and distorted. Suddenly, in a moment of carnal frenzy, a chestburster exploded from the ox's thorax, and it rocketed out of the carcass and tumbled to the floor. The thing had four legs, an Alien head and a drooling mouth. Like a horrifying fawn, it struggled to get legs under it, as it wobbled round the room.
All the while, Dillon's voice seemed to be projected all throughout the prison.
"Within each seed there's the promise of a flower. And within each death, no matter how small, there's always a new life. A new beginning."
As it struggled to stand upright, the baby creature gurgled, as it clattered across the floor, and it disappeared into an air-duct.
Meanwhile, on the catwalk, Ripley could no longer maintain her composure, so, as a nervous gesture, she scratched her hair, before she scratched her ear, before she scratched her head again, despite the tears. She looked at her hand, and she recoiled, before she looked over at Clemens.
After the funeral, and after Masey had collected herself, Clemens took Ripley aside to shave her head. When he went back for Masey and Kendall, the both of them were persistent on not shaving their head. Clemens tried to reason, but was shot down when Masey asked if they had rosemary oil. Surprisingly, that was something that the prison had. When he questioned why, Masey answered that since the smell was so strong, lice retreated from strong scents. They had been told that when they went to LV-426, to prevent from lice. The only agreement that they could come upon, was if they cut their hair to a short length, so if this didn't work, it would be easier for them to shave their heads.
In the 'bug wash', Ripley, Kendall, and Masey were in an individual stall, after their hair-cuts. They had just finished, and none of them had seen the other. In Ripley's stall, her face appeared in a mirror above a steaming basin, as she wiped away the layer of condensation on the mirror, as she studied her appearance. She was bald.
In the stall next to her, Kendall finished scrubbing her face, before she found the guts to wipe away the mist on the mirror, to look at her reflection. The wet wisps of her hair brushed her neck, and she swatted at them. This was a new feeling, and truth be told, she hated her short hair, but it was better than shaving it all off. But, the hair cut did look a bit cute. Vasquez was lucky. Her hair was already short, so she just had to scrub her hair with the concoction.
In the last stall in the row, Masey let out a sigh of relief. She was glad that she had remembered something from the colony. Sure, she disliked the feel of the hair on her neck, but it was better than going bald. Rosemary and oil. That was all that was needed to keep her head of hair. Slightly.
A few moments later, they were each standing in an individual stall in the chemical shower, and they stood in the hard spray amid the swirling steam. Their chin's were high, and their eyes were closed over. It seemed to be an act of purification.
Outside the 'bug wash'door, Clemens stood guard.
Rosemary Oil, is in fact a way to get rid of lice, because of the strong scent. The fact that crushed Rosemary and Oil are just what is needed, is completely false, to may own personal knowledge. But, considering the environment, it's their only bet.