Devon peered around the building, keeping his back pressed up against the brick wall. The alien had been able to use its keen sense to track their destination; a strange, otherworldly ship that sat in a large clearing.
"This is it," Devon said.
The alien hissed in eagerness and shifted from one foot to the other. Devon wished he could share the alien's fervor, his stomach was in a knot of butterflies that viciously swarmed around inside him. As planned, the alien took the lead, moving close along the building, with Devon right behind him. They already had a defense plan in case the Hunters were to be aware of their presence and come out to meet them, but the ship was still as they drew closer.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Devon mumbled.
The alien hissed in agreement. They moved closer to the silent ship and Devon began looking for a way onboard the ship. The alien nudged against Devon's shoulder and gestured to several air vents a few feet above them. They were most likely used for cooling the ship during flight, but the vent shafts would lead to easy transportation through the ship.
After receiving confirmation from Devon, the alien began scaling the side of the ship in order to reach the air vents. The alien's tail snaked down for Devon to grab on and the alien hoisted him up to the vent. Once inside, they followed the winding trail of the vents.
"This ship is huge," Devon commented, "How are we supposed to find Ali?"
The alien shook his head and ran his claws along the metal surface of the shaft, letting out soft cries. His meaning was clear enough, the metal hull was interfering with his senses; he wouldn't be able to find Ali. However, the alien's extra senses weren't needed as a terrible scream punctured the air. The sound echoed off the walls, making it hard for Devon to locate the source, but the alien took off in an instant. They only ran for a couple minutes before the alien stopped in front of a grated cover that lead into the halls of the ship.
"Is the coast clear?"
The alien nodded and slammed into the grating with all his strength, sending it into the hallway. Devon winced as the sounds of the clatter continued to echo down the halls. The alien dropped down into the hallway quickly and Devon followed suit. They both knew they were going to have to get as far away from that area as they could; someone would have heard the noise.
"Come on."
The alien took off for the end of the hallway with Devon in hot pursuit. They didn't get far before another wretched scream filled the air. It sounded close, which was a slight relief to Devon, it meant they were heading in the right direction. He picked up his pace, eager to find Ali so he could get out of here. The alien suddenly stiffened and came to a halt just before coming to a bend in the hallway. The alien stopped so suddenly that Devon nearly smacked into the alien's back. Ali's screams were at their loudest and Devon knew they were very close now. He moved in front of the alien and stuck his head around the corner. There was a door around the corner and down the hall from which Ali's high pitched screams were originating.
The alien growled as Ali let out another scream, this one more agonizing than the one before. He started to surge forward, forcing Devon to quickly put an arm in front of him.
"Not yet! We can't just barge in there! We don't know how many of those Hunters are in there with her."
The alien growled, but obeyed Devon and stepped back. However, Devon found it very hard to follow his own instructions as Ali's screams rose to higher pitches. Despite his innate fear of the Hunters, he wanted to charge into the room and tear them apart as they continued to torture Ali.
Silence suddenly rang out and Devon felt himself stiffen. He waited one minute, two, with anticipation. The silence dragged on for a few more minutes before the metal door slide open with a hiss and a massive Hunter stepped out. Being that it was the first time he saw one in person, Devon was overcome by a wave of fear at the sight. The Hunter immediately turned left down the hallway and disappeared for sight. Devon waited until the sound of the Hunter's footsteps had faded away before racing toward the door, the alien in hot pursuit.
Unfortunately, as Devon got closer, he found himself faced with another hurtle; how was he supposed to get the door open? The door was smooth and seamless without any trace of a door knob. All he could see was some sort of keypad next to the door, but when he tried putting his hand on it, nothing happened. It could probably only be opened by a Hunter.
"Now what?"
The alien hissed and stepped around Devon. He gave the keypad a sniff, and cocked his head to the side. His second mouth shot out with powerful force and smashed the keypad. It sizzled and crackled with electricity, shorting out. The door slid open the next second.
"How'd you know that would work?" Devon asked.
The alien looked at him and gave a shrug, indicating that he had just guessed. Devon didn't give himself time to think about how lucky that had been, choosing instead to use that time to run into the room. What he saw made him and the alien both stop in their tracks.
Ali was lying shackled to a large, metal table. Fresh, dark blood covered the table's surface, spilling over the side and dripping on the ground. Unnerved by the fact that neither the table nor the floor was being affected by Ali's acidic blood, Devon moved closer. Ali appeared unconscious, her breathing very shallow and her head turned away. She was almost completely naked, the majority of her clothes having been burned away by the massive amount of her blood. The alien remained at the door as a lookout.
"Ali?" Devon called, fearful that Ali wouldn't move.
But, to his relief, her head turned towards him and her eyes opened slowly. He rushed over to her side. Up close he could see all the damage inflicted to her and it was the worst sight he had ever seen. Ugly gashes ripped across her body in cruel, twisted patterns. In some places, it was obvious that a straight-edged knife had been used, while others looked as if the blade had been serrated. Some of the lacerations were blistered and puckered, a sign that something white hot had been pressed against them. One particularly nasty cut on Ali's arm had been completely blackened by something and a sickening smell appeared to be coming from it.
"Devon?" her voice sounded so weak.
"It's alright, I'm here."
"Why did you come?"
"You didn't think I'd just leave you here, did you?"
Ali looked away. "After what I did to you I wouldn't have been surprised."
Devon ignored her and focused his attention on figuring out the shackles holding Ali down. They looked simple enough, just a thick metal cuff that was hinged on one end. The problem soon became clear when Devon saw no sign of any locking mechanism, it looked as if it had been welded in place. He tried ripping them off, but wasn't strong enough.
"Hey!" Devon called over to the alien guarding the door, "See if you can get these cuffs off."
The alien cast one glance back toward the open door before hurrying over to Ali. He glanced at the cuffs for a second before hissing.
"This might hurt—" Devon started to say, but Ali gave him a withering look and he shut his mouth.
The alien glanced between Ali and Devon, as if waiting for confirmation. He only started working at the cuffs when Devon gave him a nod. As the alien tinkered with the shackles, Devon began searching for something to cover Ali up with, eventually spying a large cloth covering a small table. He ripped the cloth off and instantly reeled back in shock. On the table was an array of sharp implements and vicious-looking tools. It was very reminiscent of a deranged surgeon's table. A sharp, short cry sounded behind him, followed closely by the clanging of metal. The alien had finally gotten one of the cuffs off and had moved on to another, but the process was taking too long.
"We have to get her out of here," Devon told the alien, "We don't know when they'll be coming back."
"They probably won't," Ali answered.
"I don't want to take that risk. What if they decide to interrogate you more?"
"They won't," the anguish in Ali's voice was painfully obvious.
"What do you mean?"
Ali flinched and let out another cry as two more cuffs around her ankles hit the floor. The alien moved to the last cuff. Recovering, Ali opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again, unable to get the words out. Silent tears started falling down her cheeks and Devon stared at Ali in shock. He had never seen Ali cry like this before, had never seen her so broken. The only time she had seemed this vulnerable was when she thought Aisha had killed Emery, but that had been a different kind of broken. For the first time, Devon saw her as a frightened, normal-looking girl.
"Don't worry about it," he finally said, "It doesn't matter."
Ali turned her head and looked Devon straight in the eyes. She opened her mouth, about to speak, but instead a final cry came out as the last cuff clattered off the table. As the sound of the cuff continued to echo around the walls, Devon threw the make-shift blanket over Ali, praying that it would be resistant like the table and floor. Thankfully, nothing happened when the blanket covered Ali and he carefully tucked the ends underneath her so that it would be easier to lift her.
"Get to the door," Devon said to the alien, "Make sure the coast is clear."
While the alien stood guard at the door, Devon thought about the best way to move Ali. She seemed to be in pain without moving so he knew it wouldn't be pleasant for her if he were to pick her up.
"Alright, I'll go as gently as I can, but this is going to hurt," Devon said.
Ali didn't respond so Devon took that as an invitation. Moving slowly, Devon snaked one hand under Ali's legs and another behind her neck. Ali's hand flew out from under the cloth and grabbed on to Devon's shirt. Trying to move as slowly as he could, Devon pulled Ali off the table and pressed her close to his chest. She screamed as the wounds on her body strained and pulled, fingers clenching into Devon's shirt.
Devon turned around and started walking back toward the door, but he didn't go far before the floor beneath him gave a violent shudder followed by a far off rumble.
"What was that?" Devon asked.
"It was the ship taking off," Ali answered.
