Chapter 10
"Terre...Terre...Terre. Wake up Terre. Come on now. You've been a stubborn mule so far, don't you dare let me down now."
"K.K..." Terre tried to speak but her throat was dry and horse. It also felt numb so she couldn't make the right sounds. She tried desperately to answer the kind voice. It was familiar to her, like she had heard it before and liked it. It was kind and soft, gentle to her ears. Her mind was a blank and she didn't even know her own name. At first she felt all fuzzy and numb. But soon, sensation returned to her body and she felt sore, then hot and sticky. Then her eyes burned in her sockets. She was pretty sure she had them closed but still, light shone down on her face from somewhere and stung her delicate lids. Her face scrunched up and she immediately yelled out on pain. "AAAAAAAAA!" Stabbing jolts of pain pulsed in her abdomen and her head felt like it was wide open with someone picking at it with an axe. She arched her back and thrashed from side to side, screaming and screeching loudly.
"Terre! You're awake!"
"Out of the way sir. We need to sedate her." Terre stained her hearing past her yelling to hear another male was near her. It had a stern demanding voice and didn't sound half as pleasant as the first voice. She felt a cold sensation run down her left arm and then flowed around her body. Her pain didn't vanish, but lessened greatly and she stopped yelling. She was panting and could feel the sweat beads run down her face. Then something soft and flat brush across her brow, wiping her sweat and no doubt tears away.
"Terre? Can you hear me?"
"I am sorry sir but the sedation will knock her out for a while. If you like I will alert you to the next time she wakes up?"
"No, that's ok. I will stay here."
"Very well sir..." Terre stained her hearing even harder as the voices became muffling and mumbles. Her burning limbs became familiarly numb again and she relaxed into the sheets. Her mind faded to a blank and she slipped into a deep slumber once more.
"Oh Terre..."
Dan had been sat with her ever since she had been brought here, to this infernal medical ward. The doctors kept trying to make him leave but he just pulled his rank on them and told them to leave him alone. When one male doctor got stropy with him he simply told him that if he didn't leave him be, that he himself would need one of the beds after he was done with him. Then he told him to fuck off and go suck someone's dick that cares.
Dan didn't usually swear, but he didn't usually stay with a girl he hardly knows in a ward either. So he made an exception.
Dan leaned forward as Terre relaxed and brushed one of her long blonde locks out of her face. He sighed and sat back in his chair.
"Afternoon."
"General Snide sir!" Dan shot to his feet and offered his chair. The General took it and focused on Terre.
"At ease."
"Yes sir." He relaxed brought another chair over, sitting beside the General.
"Report. How is our resident brain box doing? She still with us is she?"
"Yes sir. She suffered a lot of blood loss but we have her hooked up to a full bag of blood. She had eaten her way through two bags already in the last 5 hours and this is her third. And it's nearly empty."
"She really lost that much blood?"
"Yes sir. She I continue?"
"There is more?"
"Yes sir. She is suffering from the blood transfusion as for some she isn't accepting it well. She is rejecting the blood cells and she is almost over her concussion. It was only a slight one thank goodness."
"Won't she die if the blood doesn't take?"
"Actually sir, she seems to be producing her own blood cells at a rapid pace. So much so, that she won't be having anymore blood after this bag is done."
"Anything else?"
"Only her acute migrant from the head trauma. But that will subside before she even wakes up."
"Our little nerd seems to be indestructible doesn't she?"
"Yes sir. She is very lucky. She must be the only person in history to have survived an encounter with a Queen alien, hand to hand in combat with no weapons. Extraordinary really."
"Yes...too extraordinary."
"Sir?"
"That Queen had at least a week left in her from the last bio readings. We have looked over the charts and it goes like this. She is healthy enough to last for a while. Then, compared with our surveillance footage, Little Jones gets drawn into the cage. Then her vitals don't change until she gets her tail wrapped around our little girl and what do you know? Her vitals start to build, exponentially!"
"Then...why did she die?"
"She started to get healthier and healthier. Then well, her army attacks thanks to momma bug telling them to. Then we are way to busy to notice than the Queen suddenly loses her strength and her heat energy shifts."
"Shifts sir?"
"Well boy, I had to be told twice about this too. When you look through your infra red goggles, where is the main heat?"
"Near the heart and vitals sir."
"Then why was it like that on the Queen one minuet and then the next...in her throat?"
"Her throat?"
"Yes Dan you broken record player, her throat. We have the footage of it shifting in her body and moving up to her head. Then back to her throat and into her mouth. Her Inner mouth."
"Inst that..."
"Yes Dan. That is how she tried to 'kill' Young Jones. She tried to suck her brains out you say? Then why did she pump something into her? Surely if she wanted to eat her, she would suck, not push and blow."
"Sir?"
"From our footage it shows she takes in a deep breath before leaching onto Jones and then using the breath to push something through her inner mouth. Then we see on the infra red screen that her body heat leaves her through her inner mouth...and enters Jones. Have you noticed her sweating?"
"Yes sir. The doctors say she has a slight fever."
"Well then why is her body temperature, her entire body temperature, higher than it should be? Any human would be dead at that temperature, and yet all she has is a fever."
"She is strong and the doctors tested her immunity and say that."
"She has an inhuman immune system. That she would never fall ill of anything, right?"
"Yes sir."
"Then why did she get the chicken pox when she was younger if her immune system was so good. Or was it?"
"I'm afraid I'm not following you sir."
"She has changed Danny boy. Her 'near death encounter' has changed her entire body structure. Her pain threshold is higher, her blood flow is faster allowing more adrenaline, oxygen and energy to get round her body quicker and her muscles are starting to increase in mass. I have reason to believe she has changed...into one of them."
"Sir that is outrageous!"
"Is it? Look at the facts."
"Coincidences sir, purely coincidences."
"I do not believe that and I need a demonstration to prove otherwise." Dan had sprung to his feet as the mention of her being one of them. He sat down again and looked to his leader, who he was starting to lose confidence in, and fast.
"What do you have in mind? A blood test?"
"No." The General stood up and looked over to a doctor. He beckoned him forwards and he came, a large needle in hand. "Now."
"Sir?" Dan watched in horror as the doctor plunged the needle into her arm and quickly removed her blood pack. She instantly started to whimper and toss around; her pain was present on her face and demanded attention. Her eyes flew open and everyone stood back. Her eyes. Her beautiful, blue eyes that spurred hope and joy into the hearts of whoever saw her...were black and cold. There were no whites, no pupil or iris. Her eyes were completely black and had a devilish gleam to them. And pain.
"Is that proof enough for you Danny my lad! You! Get her in chains now!"
"No!" Dan tried to get to her but the general's men came from no where and apprehended him. He struggled but could only look on as the fragile, thrashing Terre had shackles clamped around her neck, stomach, wrists and ankles. Four men lifted an arm and leg each and carried her out of the room. Dan was finally released and stared murder at his General.
"Now boy. She is not human. It is just as bad is a face hugger planting an embryo in her. She isn't the girl you once knew. She is dead and not coming back. We must monitor this development and record it. If we are in luck, this may make up for losing the Queen."
"You say that like this was the best thing that has ever happened to this base!" Dan spat, his fists clenched tightly, fighting the urge to punch his better in the face.
"Actually. It is." Dan was once again restrained by the Generals men as he tried to launch at Snide. He was brought to his knees and the General eagerly ran out of the room, after his new 'pet'.
It's cold. So very, very cold.
Terre shivered and held herself. She had been thrown into the same huge pen that the Queen alien had once occupied after a few female marines pinned her down and dressed her into an over all. It was like a black version of the orange jump suits that prisoners had to wear. And she was a prisoner. At least she felt like it.
All she remembered were terrified faces, looking down on her and then being dragged, dressed and dumped into the cell. There were too many bad memories of this cell and being here made her recall them over, and over, and over again. At least, as she went over what had happened in the cage, she got her memory back to what had happened to her. She felt her head and ran her fingers over a soft, thick material on her forehead. She took a tight hold of it and ripped it off, throwing it to the floor in rage. She was being kept like a rat and looked at like she was a school experiment. Lab coated scientists, a lot like she used to be, were surrounding the cell. Her eyes darted from one side to the other and she looked them all up and down. They were all scrawny and slender. Weaklings! If they were in here I would snap them in two!
Terre found herself snarling and to her feet.
"What do you want from me? Why am I here?" Terre waited for her answer but raised an eyebrow when all she got was the sound of the 'lab coats' scribbling on their note pads. "What the hell is going on here!"
"So I was right! You are one of them!" Terre's eyes shot towards the door. General Snide waltzed in like he owned the placed and smirked at her through the bars.
"Coward! Come here and say that! How dare you keep my here!"
"You even talk like the buggers."
"What are you talking about?"
"So young and so useful. I wonder if you can talk to the others."
"Others? What others? And why aren't you answering my questions? Damn it why am I here!"
"Oh how I wonder what you are saying."
"Huh? Now I know I am not the clearest speaker in the world but."
"Sorry to interrupt your nail on a chalk board screeching but I can't understand a word of what you are saying. If you are even forming words that is."
"If you listen then you might here me! And what do you mean nails on a chalk board!"
"Not so loud!" Snide put a finger in his ear and tried to ease his pain. "I was knocked out this morning and my head is still ringing. Your screeching inst helping. Listen to me Jones. I. Can. Not. Understand. A. word. You. Are. Saying. Get it?"
"Yes but why not?" She cocked her head to one side and pulled a confused expression.
"Do me a favour. Nod your head if you can understand me." Terre rolled her eyes, tapped her foot and nodded. "Good now listen up you little she-bug." Terre scowled at him but listened all the same. "Some how, some way, the Queen made you into one of them. you are now an Xenomorph. Of what rank you will be I have no idea, if you even have one but I would love to find out. Your body has changed on the inside and you have changed. Have you seen your eyes lately?" she shuck her head and watched as He ushered one of the lab coats to bring him a mirror. He smirked and held it up to her. Terre jumped back and held her hands over her mouth. She looked normal, except for the two, huge, cold, black, deathly evil eyes that looked back at her in the place of her normal ones. She blinked hard, trying to get her blue orbs back but failed.
Snide chuckled and put the mirror back into the waiting hands of a lab coat. "So you see. You are no longer part of the human race. I would ask you how that feels...but you can't answer me. It seems that you can't even speak our language anymore." Tears welled in her eyes and started to fall down her cheeks. "Oh, don't worry little Jones. You seem to be in better condition than the rest of us too. So you are a lot fitter than us mere humans."
"What in Gods name is going one here and where the hell is my Queen!"
"Mr Ivan sir!" Terre watched as Snide span round, fear on his face. He gulped deeply and put his hands together in a submissive manner.
"That is me. I own you and your pay check and it's so nice of you to remember me. Now answer my question and where the hell is my QUEEN!"
"Well sir. She is...dead. But don't worry sir."
"DEAD! Do not worry; it is you who will be doing the worrying!"
"Sir, please." Terre looked the man over. He was over weight, covered in chunky gold rings and chains and in a white suite. He was tall so his pot belly wasn't too bad. But he was still butt ugly. In her view anyway.
"Please what general?"
"Listen. I have to tell you something."
"Well well well. Now who do we have here?" Terre looked down to her feet as she felt Mr Ivan stare at her. "Why is this young woman in a cage? Or is she a bit of an animal?" Ivan chuckled but Snide jumped in.
"Well actually yes sir. She is. The Queen did something to her and died in the cage. It latched onto her head and pumped something hot into her head and it travelled around her body, well the heat from it did but we don't have any idea what exactly was put into her."
"You said that too fast Jeremy." Terre chuckled at his first name and Snide scowled at her.
"Boys, give him the footage." Terre watched as two screens were past to the wealthy man, and how his eyes grew wide. At first she thought he was shocked. But when he started to grin madly she scowled again. Did no one care that I almost died this morning! As long as they have a play thing are they happy?
"Well J. you certainly have earned your monthly cheque now haven't you. Is she a Queen?"
"We don't know sir."
"Then put one of the blind bastards in with her and see!"
"But sir, if she isn't then."
"Then they will not harm her, they just won't worship her. If she is one of them they will not harm their own. Put one in. NOW!"
"YES SIR!" Snide ran to the next room where Terre had seen the eggs go to through the conveyer belt. He came back and held the two large doors open. "MOVE IT NOW! Ivan is waiting and he doesn't like to be kept waiting!" Terre watched in horror as buff marines appeared, pulling thick cords over their shoulders. Then she saw what they were pulling.
A large cage on wheels came in. it was like the ones used for lions at the circus, but there was no feline inside. Terre became entranced as screeching met her ears. It visibly hurt everyone else's ears but she didn't mind it. But she did mind what was in the cage. It was tall, long, had a long, skeletal tail and a smooth long head. It had no visible eyes but thrashed its head around at every single person in the room. Her heart beat quickened as the marines pulled the cage round and opened the door to her cage. She thought about running for it. That was until the cage came attached to the entrance and clipped on tightly. Terre fell to her knees as the door slid open. The marine on the left side was impaled in the side buy the creature's tail and fell to the ground. It turned and lashed out with its claws at the other one, but he managed to jump back in tine and it missed him by mere inches. It slowly turned its head to face her. She shuffled backwards until she came up against the back bars of the cell. She whimpered as it slowly crawled out of the cage. It walked around the right side of the cage, slowly. It's back hunched low and crawling like a panther, about to jump it's pray. In response Terre shuffled along the bars to the left. She came to the corner and it stalked into the centre.
She had no where to go.
She was trapped and the alien was going to kill her and eat her.
She shivered and held her sides, preparing as best as she could for imminent death. She hoped it would be quick. She had her eyes clasped shut and held her knees to her chest. Even her ankles were rattling together in fear. She heard the soft patter patter of the alien as it approached her and her heartbeat rasped faster in time with it. With each patter her heart went babum.
Patter
Babum
Patter
Babum
Patter Patter
Babum Babum
Patter Patter
Babum Babum
PATTER PATTER PATTER PATTER!
BABUM BABUM BABUM BABUM!
Then there was silence.
She had heard it come at her, she new she did. It should have been ontop of her but it wasn't. She slowly lifted her head and looked between the tops of her knees. She gasped as she was face to fangs with the creature.
It was just stood there, as close as it could get and wasn't doing anything. She remained still for a few minuets and still it didn't move. She took a large gulp and raised her head slightly. She froze as it raised its head with hers. She lifted up a little more and it did the same. Terre was sat straight up, her back flat against the bars and saw it sat straight up too. It was sat like an obedient dog, its knees of its back legs against its body like hers had been and its forearms in front of it. It was sat just like a loin would. She steadied her thumping heart and took a deep breath. It didn't want to kill her. Why, she didn't know. But it didn't. If it did, it would have killed her already.
"Marvellous!" Terre looked to the side of the creature to see Ivan, practically doing jumping jacks. She scowled at him. He was finding amusement and great joy in her pain and misery, her fear and emotional stress. She found herself baring her teeth and snarling at him. She stopped when she saw the creature move its head in the same direction and hiss at him. Ivan froze still and the creature turned back to her. She pushed back against the bars again and watched it. As it watched her.
"Talk to it Jones. You know you can!" Terre snarled at him loudly and the creature joined in, except this time it hissed and roared in malice. Ivan jumped back and hid behind General Snide, quivering. He peeped over the general's shoulder as the hissing roar dimmed to a threatening growl. "Jeremy, make her talk to it."
"Very well sir." Snide cautiously walked closer to the cage until he was stood inches away from the bars, on the opposite side to Terre and the creature. "JONES, TALK TO IT."
"Kiss my ass you fucking arsehole!" Terre screeched and the creature span round on its heels. It was now stood on all fours and hunches, ready to pounce. It growled dangerously and stalked slowly towards Snide.
"Jones! Call it off or Kim will suffer!"
"Kim? Where is she? What have you done to her!"
"Call it off or else!" Snide stepped backwards, feeling more than slightly intimidated.
"Why the hell should I call it off? It wont listen to me." as if her puzzled face spoke her words for her the general continued.
"Call it off like you would tell me to stop. You can talk to it so DO IT!" Terre flinched from the sudden raise in his voice and the monster took that as a threat. He started to speed up his advancing and went from a steady crawl to a pounding run.
"Erm, erm, s s s stop please?" to everyone's amazement, including Terre's, the creature halted and dug its claws into the floor, skidding to a stop. It didn't take its gaze from the general and he began to unconsciously shiver in fright.
"T t t t. (cough) tell it to back off. Do it!" Terre was still in awe from how the serpent like creature had stopped because she asked it to, to listen. "TERRE!" she snapped to attention and her brain finally registered what he had said. She thought about just staying quiet, but then she thought back to his threat about Kim and decided otherwise.
"Could you, please, back away from him?" Terre squeaked pathetically as she knew if it backed off, it would come closer to her. and it did.
It turned to one side, still baring its fangs at Snide and skulked off. Directly for Terre. She whimpered and started to hyperventilate as it approached her again. Her over breathing caught its attention and it started to run to her. She screamed (screeched to other people's ears) as it came at her. She clasped her eyes shut and whimpered between pants. Then, she felt something smooth and cool against her mouth, closing it. the smooth material brushed her lips from side to side and she could hear a soft, deep purring. Daring to risk it, Terre opened her eyes and saw what the creature was doing. It was brushing its smooth forehead lovingly over her mouth and purring at her. She raised a worried eyebrow and wondered why it was acting this way. Then she realised that the purring was to sooth her and rubbing its forehead on her mouth was to calm her breathing. And it had worked as her breathing was now back to normal. Once it realised that she was no longer whimpering or shivering, or over breathing, it pulled away slightly, sat like a lion again but still leaning over her.
Terre pulled herself back into a sitting position and held her knees to her chest. She hid her mouth behind her knees and focused on it. It had its head to one side and was cooing at her, in a coaxing manner.
"So she IS a Queen!" Terre didn't need to look to see who it was, the horrid chubby sound of his check flapping was enough to tel her it was Ivan again. "this is even better than a normal Queen. Now we can smuggle her anywhere and we don't need to look for places of open areas, we can chuck her anywhere!"
"Sir, that creature with her is the last one." Snide turned away from the cage, walked up to Ivan and whispered so that she couldn't hear. But the creature could hear every word and tilted its head to one side, letting Terre know it could hear them. "We can't continue with your project, if we don't have any Xenomorphs to experiment on."
"Then breed the bitch."
"But sir?"
"How do they breed Snide?" Snide decided that if he told Ivan how they bread that he would reconsider.
"Well the female in a normal circumstance would in a nest. Then before it runs off, one of the warriors would fertilize it, ready for it to make its own nest. Then it would give birth to thousands at a time for about 6 months if it want to. then it waits another 6 months for al its 'children' to grow up. Then it is disgusting and chooses one of its grown sons to mate with and so on. So you see why we cant breed her?"
"No. get that devil tongued bastard to fuck her."
"Drones don't have any gender. Only the warriors do and they all died this morning in the attack. The old Queen told them to."
"Yes yes yes I know all that from your report screen. so how do you get a male?"
"We wait and see if that particular drone becomes a male. But that is a slim chance as out of the thousands we had, only about 4 of them were male."
"Is that the only one left?"
"Yes sir."
"Then I will get a male from another planet. I have observation colonies at nests across the universe. I will have one shipped here within the week."
"Very good sir, do you not want to just send for a queen to? I mean, a male is alright if you have a Queen."
"But Jeremy. We have a Queen."
Terre couldn't hear what they were saying but she instantly thought that to be a blessing from the evil look Ivan gave her and the growing snarl coming from the creature's throat.
"Sir? But it would have to rape her to."
"You know what I want and you know how to get it. I will supply you with a male before next week. Good day to you Snide." Ivan turned to leave but Snide put his hand on his shoulder aggressively.
"Sir. Please don't tell me that my new mission is to let her get raped by an Xenomorph."
"It will sense she is a waiting Queen and take her straight away won't it?"
"Yes but."
"Then do it. and I hope after all these years of study that you haven't developed a soft side or a conscience Jeremy."
"Then I bid you good day." Ivan smugly waltzed out and left Snide, furious as hell.
Terre simply returned her gaze to the patient creature before her. it had stopped snarling and looked quiet content now. Its mouth was closed over its fangs and its tail waved from side to side occasionally. Just like a happy dog. Now Terre thought over what had happened with her, the Queen, this creature and registered what Ivan had called her.
"I'm a Queen?" she said aloud and nothing could prepare her for what happened next.
"Yes my Queen."