Hey guys so sorry I took ages to update. I only finished typing this up earlier but I had a fun little holiday while doing it! I got some excellent news! Xeno fans will finally get Xenos into the picture and those threatening me for longer chapters…you're looking at this one to be…what?…about 6 ½ pages long! WHOOT! Oh and guess what…I FINALLY GOT AVP ON DVD! –runs around in circles screaming- SKWEEEEEEEE!
Anyhoo enough of that chatter. Go and immerse yourselves in this suspense-filled chapter…
oOo
We are not alone.
Later in the crash sight…
Darkness was the only thing that existed right now, draped over everything like a black curtain. Sparks blazed and spitted out of cracks around the control board and the other equipment lining the walls. A separate computer terminal had fallen over in the crash, it's screens smashed to pieces and sparks spat out from the exposed circuitry. The door to the control room was open and beyond it was a red siren light flashing on and off, casting the control room in a temporary red haze and causing shadows cast by the debris littering the floor to snake their way towards the control board, fading in and out with every passing of the light.
Tania was the first to wake up, take in the scene, and was on her feet before the second was even over. The co-pilot and pilot lay unconscious in their seats. Weyland was beginning to stir in a dark corner and Storm was no-where to be seen.
Tania ran to Weyland's aid. She held his arm as he tried to get up.
"Mr. Weyland, are you alright?" Tania spoke urgently with worry lacing her voice.
Weyland coughed as he stood up. "Where's Storm?" He asked after he got his breath back.
"I don't know…" Tania said lifting her head and scanning the room once more. That's when she saw the tangled heap of blue-black feathers and white fabric on the other side of the fallen computer terminal.
"OH MY GOD…STORM!" Tania cried out and was already closing the four-meter gap between herself and the computer terminal in just three leaps. Weyland whipped his head around in Tania's direction and was already running to help in any way he could.
Tania literally leaped over the terminal and crouched besides Storm's crumpled body. Storm was laying in a loose recovery position facing the one side of the terminal. Weyland rounded the terminal and crouched beside Storm immediately. He gasped when he noticed a thin trail of blood was seeping from her nose.
"Can you heal her?" He said looking up to Tania.
"I can heal the wounds…" Tania said moving her hands just over Storm's wings. She was 'feeling' for broken bones but luckily, Storm wasn't graced with the fragile bones of a bird, even thou they were hollow for easier flight, they were still a bitch to break! Tania only found sprained muscles on the wrist part of Storm's right wing. Her hands went hot and she felt the muscles knit together again.
Tania moved her hands over Storm's back and 'felt' deeper into her chest cavity. There were no broken ribs.
Tania carefully rolled Storm onto her back, taking care not to damage her wings and repaired the damaged tissues in Storm's face. The bleeding stopped.
Weyland seemed puzzled for a moment. "Why isn't she waking up?" he said afterwards.
"…I can only heal the wounds…not the mind…" Tania exclaimed in-between gasps of breath, as healing drained energy, "…Storm must do that herself…and decide when she's ready… to wake up."
Weyland sighed in defeat and silently urged Storm to wake up while Tania tore away the lab coat from Storm's body. 'No more secrets', she thought to herself 'It's time the rest of the ship deal with what we are.'
oOo
Tania was the first to hear faint footsteps running towards their direction. She turned to look at Weyland but he didn't seem to notice them yet.
"What?" Weyland said when he noticed Tania looking at him.
"I can hear footsteps…" Tania trailed off and both turned to face the open doorway. Approximately 30 seconds passed and only then did Weyland manage to hear the heavy footfalls getting louder and louder. They both stared at the door expecting a hideous beast to come in and tear them to pieces but quite suddenly, two marines barged in, waving their pulse rifles and shining their shoulder lamps across the room.
Tania shot her hand up to shield her eyes. To think that such a weak light seemed like a halogen lamp in the darkness.
'To hell with these genes,' She thought 'You can't even act 'normal' around here anymore! -'
A groan came from before her and she looked down to see Storm twitch and slowly open her eyes and Tania gasped in realization.
"Did we make it…" was all Storm managed to utter before the two lights beamed directly onto her. She hissed softly, squinting her eyes from the blinding lights and shielded them with her left hand.
"What the hell?" exclaimed one of the marines, raising his pulse rifle.
The marine had the motive and that was all Storm needed to actually sense the probable danger that could be afflicted on her. Instantly her eyes flared like electricity and the air warped in a static blue haze between her and the barrel of the pulse rifle.
"Stand down marine!" Weyland barked, commanding submission by the shear resonance of his voice. The marine didn't hear the order the first time, as he stood there mesmerized and practically dumfounded at the air warping in front of him. Obviously he realized, and remembered, seeing the same thing outside the windows of the ship before it crashed, but he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"I said STAND DOWN MARINE", Weyland repeated. The marine reluctantly lowered the pulse rifle but kept a watchful eye on the winged human. The marine spoke to his other comrade, "See Frosty…I was sure that we were dead and were just wandering spirits walking this ship because now we've just came across an angel."
"No Duke, I'm pretty sure we're all alive. Hell hasn't frozen over yet!" Frosty said, letting his left hand holding the rifle hang at his side. Duke opened his mouth to speak but no words came out as Frosty stepped forward extending his right hand to Weyland. "Good to see you sir." Frosty said.
Weyland took his hand and pulled himself up and Tania helped Storm up as soon as she let the field in front of her fall, but Storm was already on guard when she caught Duke staring at her again.
Weyland spoke next, "Andrew Harrison, if I remember correctly. I'm glad you're here. Andrew nodded and turned his gaze to the two women standing beside Weyland, "They are…?"
Weyland seemed puzzled at the question for he couldn't be sure if Andrew was asking their names or asking what they were. He decided to go for the intro. "This is Tania…" He said, placing a hand on Tania's shoulder, "…and the lady beside her is Storm. They're story is too long to tell at the moment but I can assure you that they are both on our side. They've been with me for almost a year. Tania, Storm…this is Andrew and Duke."
The marines nodded and Andrew's comlink started beeping, "Blackwell report."
"All clear. Five survivors. Two down cold, three are ok. Weyland is all right. Control room is secure Major."
"Nice work marines. Bring the survivors and meet back at the mess hall."
"Orders received and understood. Harrison out."
Andrew returned the comlink in its rightful place and turned to Duke. Duke nodded in confirmation and both turned to look at the three standing before them.
The two pilots were beginning to rouse from their cold sleep. Andrew spoke next, "We must all make our way to the mess hall."
Tania and Storm nodded and helped the pilots to their feet while the marines checked their ammo supply. When they were all ready to proceed, they made their way out of the control room, Andrew in front, followed by Weyland, the two pilots who didn't quite know what was going on yet, Tania, Storm and Duke taking up the rear. Of course, Duke was always distracted and kept on gawking at the wings somehow attached to Storm's back. This annoyed Storm because she absolutely hated the feeling of being watched with a passion.
Through the maze of corridors they went. The marines seemed ready to blow anything that would probably leap at them every time they rounded a corner.
Hisss……tap tap tap tap…tap…
/Did you hear that Storm/ Tania asked, opening the link between them
/Yes…/ Storm replied back across the link / I sense it is danger… /
/What kind of danger/ Tania asked
Realization hit Storm like a ton of bricks, /…WE'VE GOT TO GET TO THE MESS HALL NOW, THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE SHIP/
"Perhaps you two should keep up with rest of the group." Duke stated
Weyland turned, "What's going on?" then he noticed Storm's eyes were glowing.
Tania focused her eyeson him, "There's something threatening lurking in the ship Mr. Weyland.
Storm couldn't help gawking at every conceivable corner of the ceiling, the danger seemed to be coming from everywhere behind that metal sheet!
"Storm?" Weyland asked, noticing her edginess.
Storm snapped her sights to the mess hall door at the end of the corridor. The edges of her vision darkened and it seemed that the door was the center of attention of a powerful spotlight. Thou the door was approximately 50 meters away and two more corridors flanked either side of the corridor they were in, it seemed to her that they were all going to be running through no man's land in the middle of World War Three.
The door seemed so far away now with that prospect in mind.
Faint voices started to enter Storm's mind…
/Get her…get her…get her…/
Storm looked at Tania, their eyes met, she could hear them too…
/…get her…get her…GET HER/
BANG!
As one, the group spun around to face the other end of the corridor from which they had come. An air vent was buckled and protruding towards the ground. The florescent light between them and the edge of the vent sparked at the hinges touching the vent. The lights dimmed, flickered. The eerie sound of strained metal being torn, creaking all around them even, perhaps, from the floor beneath their feet.
The sparking hinge of the light ahead exploded, the light swung like a broken limb off the ceiling, hanging on by only a few wires, struck the wall, the florescent tubing shattered and the fine glass rained onto the floor. The lights above flickered once, twice…and went out.
The marines fumbled to switch on their shoulder lamps. As they did so, there was another bang and the crash of something big hitting the floor.
Storm watched intensely ahead, because of her good night vision, she could see the dark form slipping silently down from the ceiling onto the floor.
The lamps came on and beamed down the passage…and came to rest on the creature ahead.
It's tail whipped from side to side and it was hissing at them.
oOo
The silver lines that pulsed and rippled along every surface, which was its way of seeing, was crystal clear. It was like gazing into a black and silver 3D image of your surroundings. It could make out every solid surface and see the hosts ahead of it, and of course…its goal.
It looked straight at the creature.
oOo
"Oh my GOD", Storm thought in dread. It was truly something out of a nightmare.
"It can't be", Andrew whispered to himself. Duke was clearly wide-eyed and gaping from disbelief.
It was a Xenomorph
It hissed again and surged forward.
"RUN!" Storm shouted
"OPEN FIRE!" Weyland shouted over Storm's voice.
The marines aimed and opened fire. The Xenomorph was already half way toward them when the hail of bullet's hacked the thing to pieces. It shrieked as its body parts and corrosive blood splashed onto the walls and the floor. A second passed and the rest of the creatures started to pour out of the vent like black oil and started to rush in a wave towards them!
The hail of bullets started again, cutting down more of the creatures, but doing nothing to cut down their numbers fast enough.
"BACK UP. WE'RE RUNNING LOW!" Andrew shouted.
The group ran towards the door and more Xenos were running towards them down the corridors flanking them.
They weren't going to make it. They still needed time to access the door's security system.
About 15 meters from the door, Tania pleaded with Storm, "You've got to do something."
Storm spun around at the 10-meter mark so quickly that it seemed like a black blur, and thrusting her right hand in front of her, she put up the shield before the black tide collided with them.
The shield arced through the air, sealing them in front of the door. The swarm of Xeno's made contact a split second later and bounced off the shield like little bugs bouncing off the windshield of a car. Unfortunately, none went 'splat' as what happens when the car is speeding down a clear highway at 180 kilometers per hour.
The shield held fast and rippled at every hard impact of the Xeno's. They spat, hissed and clawed at the force separating them from the their prey. The black tide tried to get a grip on the shield to climb up on its smooth surface, but it wouldn't permit their claws to puncture it. They would slip and fall onto one another and would seem to get more furious by the second.
Storm looked back to see the rest of the group gawking at what she'd just done. "WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE. GET THE DOOR OPEN!" she shouted.
"Oh…right…" Weyland said, snapping out of his trance and fumbling to get the card of his jacket pocket. His nerves were shot as he battled to slip the card through the security lock because it was very disconcerting to have ferocious aliens behind your back.
After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened to reveal three wide-eyed marines with their pulse rifles, and a smart gun, aimed out the door. Without further hesitation, the group ran into the mess hall to reveal the frightening scene beyond.
All the marines could do was gape.
Storm backtracked slowly to the door. As she had to keep full control of the shield, she needed to keep it at a controllable distance for it to be fully affective, so as she got two meters from the door, every back step she took from then on, the shield would slowly follow her…along with the swarming mass of aliens.
"Just keep that door open a little longer…" storm pleaded.
She stepped inside and Weyland was standing by at the security panel
"Ok. Close it." Storm finally said.
Weyland nodded and swiped the card and by the looks of things, he got his nerve back.
The door began to hiss shut and as it sealed, contact was broken, the shield disintegrated and a hollow 'BOOM' sounded at the door.
Weyland sighed in relief.
Storm turned to face her audience, eyes still flared.
By the looks on everyone's faces, they had finally managed to piece together what had happened earlier. It was all because of Storm. She was the reason why the ship didn't disintegrate in the crash landing…
"We need to get out of here." Storm said, interrupting their thoughts.
"Why?" asked a nervous bystander.
At that moment, two heavy dents appeared in the reinforced metal door. The air hummed with the thunderous booming of the metal straining under the force of the impacts.
Storm looked at the door, then back at the bystander. "That's why." She said, "The door won't last long."
Everyone got nervous at that revelation. An older man in a green suit spoke next, "But where are we supposed to go?"
Weyland answered for him, "There should be that abandoned station somewhere here Major McCane. It might still be of use. Perhaps we can use the drop ships to get there?" Major McCane glared at him, " Are you insane? We'll be risking our lives to get to the hanger."
Weyland looked at Storm for assistance.
Storm nodded, "We've got no other choice right now." She said, "Take us there."
oOo
Ooooh…wonder what's going to happen next? MUHAHAHAHAHA
Be sure to look out for the next chapter: Unexpected Discovery. In this chapter there's going to be a new twist! Although Prairiefire has figured out my scheme in this story (mainly where I got my idea for Storm) I'm so proud of you! –hugs Prairiefire- nice work! I'm hoping to bring in a very familiar (or unlikable) character/s into this, so hold thumbs!
-Storm
