This is the chapter where we added something in Maryanne's life other than learning about her brothers affairs. I thank Burke123 for this chapter and will be able to write another one...meh, one month from now.
XXX
Ian felt things were working perfectly.
He had a bigger gun, which was a start. He could spray lots of blood out of the spiked xenomorph's with its power. He still had his motion tracker though. Weapons were the tools to ending a xenomorph's life but motion tracker's saved them from surprise attacks. So many marines were saved by these things.
Eventually, the ten men, including Ian, Decaf, and General Santiago himself, were ready to go.
" Those bug crawlers are as good as dead. Remember that men if we so encounter them." the general said.
"Sir, yes sir!" they shouted.
The general made sure he was the first one to leave and be the leader of the marines. He was the one who lead them outside. Some of the marines were not used to the feeling of being outside, but Decaf was a veteran, he had the scars to prove it. His worries were more on Ian.
Ian was a natural pacifist and did not like killing things. He couldn't be squeamish in a open battleground like this. He had to be strong. The time came they spotted a xenomorph. The good news was they weren't spotted by him.
He heard the unique sound that a pulse rifle makes, and then he heard the xenonorph shriek. It was a spiked xenomorph they shot.
They kept moving.
A little bit of adrenaline in their bodies after an aliens death. Things were quiet until they reached the sewer tunnel. A bit of that unquietness came from marines complaining. It WAS a sewer after all. That was what they were walking in and it was filthy. Needless to say they were happier once they got into the hive.
Well happier was an exaggerated word. In the hive could kill them but at least it was more slimy than smelly. Ian got his tracker. So far it went along steadily.
It was deadly quiet.
Marines were clicking their guns trying to keep their safety's off. They were ready.
" I'm getting a reading," a marine said.
"So am I," Ian stated.
The marines waited for a sign that a xenomorph really was going in their direction.
Ian spotted two pureblooded xenomorphs, thankfully they were Lucy and Amy. They stopped moving and disappeared from the motion trackers. A question that made Ian sweat was why were those two in these sewers and how they got out.
" Enemies ahead, open fire!"
The shooting began with a spiked xenomorph standing right before the front marine's eyes being shot through the elbow and its head. The spiky xenomorphs emerged from everywhere. A scream was heard out of the dying first victim marine. They fell back to the tunnel. One marine shot so fast three xenomorph's fell down together.
They ran through the tunnel. Little did they know that Lucy and Amy were covering their escape.
Xenomorph's would be hard to escape from even if they made it out of the tunnel. Thankfully, most of them did. Ian and Decaf were covered in sweat from the shock of seeing so many xenomorph's in a once deserted place.
When they got back to the base they talked to the General about what happened.
"And how many did we lose?" General Santiago asked.
" Four men General Santiago," Decaf said.
"Four," he repeated.
Ian and Decaf were silent at how gruesome four good people's death was. Lucy and Amy were still outside the compound surrounded by xenomorph's that were nothing but bad. They went underground while the auto turrets finished off the spiky xemomorphs.
Ian hoped none of the xenomorph's finished off were Lucy or Amy, or were hit by the turrets. He felt no warm feelings in any part of his body. He needed to find his family. His family of three when he brought Serena into it. Even though the were not married, Ian considered Serena to be a part of the family.
The problem was he was away from his family and scared of the snarling acid bodied aliens outside. He needed them. Something was going to happen and he would need their help. They were in the cafeteria. He approached them with Decaf behind him.
"Hey," he said weakly, he was exhausted from running.
" Hi." She said to her brother. " Is something wrong?"
"Lucy and Amy escaped," he stated.
That news gave her something to worry about. It was more concern than fear, but she did not like it.
" I know this is a bad time to ask but how is James Edward Morrison Jr. doing?"
"He's fine," she stated, "how are you?"
" Not good." He said in a way that was unintentionally said tersely.
" Well we should just be lucky we are all safe," said Maryanne.
"Agreed," Decaf stated.
He also was glad he could have a reason to spend time with Julia. It also gave Ian time with Serena, but it left Maryanne with no one.
She had eyes and could see that. Maybe she would hook up with an engineer. There was an engineer that she liked.
He did the military a great survive and was good at remembering books. He was also very adorable in her eyes, but she did not know his name. No one here could tell her what his name was so she had to look for him herself. She found him welding mini guns to a power loader.
She had to be careful when a man was wielding those. She knew from experience that welding sparks burn. By being careful she managed to ask him if he would talk to her. He yelled at her though over how she was too careless.
So she waited.
Finally, he met up with her at the spot she asked him to meet her in dressed in cleaner clothes. She tried unsuccessfully to hide her blush. He didn't care about her blushing just what went through her mind when she asked him to meet with her.
"Would you like to eat together sometime?" She blurted out.
" Sure. I usually eat fake stake so a nice meal with someone is better."
"Alright!" She shouted.
She finally had someone to spend time with other than her brother. She was so relieved.
While Maryanne was getting to know that person the rest of the group were trying to take care of problems involving Lucy and Amy. They had escaped and no one had seen them since.
They couldn't fight any kinds of spiked xenomorph's at least by themselves. Who was going to keep them safe? They were not weak by any means, but they were outnumbered. They were also foreign to spiked Xenomorph's homes.
They were in danger. But he could not do anything about it. What would he say? 'Excuse me General Santiago, but I need to go to the place where we just lost three marines to rescue two xenomorphs, one of which is my daughter'? No.
General Santiago was not just going to give him permission for that willy nilly. He had to be clever, and he also needed Serena. He would need to lay down what came to his mind, every bit of it to her.
He needed sleep first.
XXX
That was a very pleasant sleep for him.
He needed to find Serena.
If she was a heavier sleeper than him she would be in her room. She snored loudly. Ian was reminded of his mother hearing her. It made Ian smile. He knocked on her door to wake her up.
She twitched.
She knew it was Ian but that knocking sound surprised her.
She did not want to wake up, but his constant knocking got to her.
She blinked her eyes excessively because a part of her wanted to do nothing while the other wanted to get up. Eventually she stood up.
She opened the door like Ian wanted her to.
"Lucy and Amy are loose," he said.
That was horrible news she wished happened less often.
"We're going out there," he said, "tonight."
Serena felt surprisingly eager to go back outside to that wasteland.
"I'll go if I have a rifle to protect myself," she said.
Ian wouldn't just give her a weapon since she was a civilian not a Marine. She needed some actually training with a weapon. He took her to the firing range. He set her up easy with a close target.
"Do you know the essentials of firing a gun?" Ian asked.
" Ignore the thought in your head that makes you shoot the wrong people?" She asked.
"Well there's that," Ian said, "and you need to know the basics of firing a pulse rifle."
Serena truly had no idea how to fire a pulse cannon. She had to be taught. Ian walked her through which buttons to press and how to aim along with several tips and tricks. By the time he finished explaining she was shooting the bulls-eye on the target.
She was a natural, but practice and in the field were two different things. For one xenomorph's were more terrifying than a shooting poster. In addition to that they move very fast. It's bad the way they move.
She needed more training. Xenomorph's are afraid of fire so he taught her how to use the flamethrower. He kept away from her so she wouldn't accidentally burn him.
Several hours after she started training, she was ready for the field. She was sweaty and her fingers were shaking before Ian helped calm her down.
"With any luck, Lucy and Amy will find us," Ian said. She felt so relieved to hear that. "But if they can find us, surely the others could too, and there's no way to tell them apart."
At least she knew spiked xenomorph's weren't them.
"Let's go," he said.
XXX
Ian needed help from more than just Serena. But they were only searching the boarder, he felt that they would be fine on their own.
He led on while Serena followed him holding his hand. According to Ian these next place could smell so he told her to be ready.
It was not the sewer tunnel... it was a rotting greenhouse. How could he be so blind and not see it as a greenhouse. None of the trees were standing. He had to actually look closer at it.
Something moved under a pile of rotten wood, a pure xenomorph stood, raining chips of wood as it did. Ian took out his gun to try shooting it in the head. But he felt something in his chest, something familiar.
"Lucy?" He asked.
The xenomorph turned to him and just watched him. It did not attack, that was a good sign. It must be Lucy otherwise they would be in a bloodbath. The xenomorph approached.
If it was Lucy Ian had to show her he wouldn't use his weapons on her, but he kept his pistol drawn, just in case.
" Hey Lucy. We are out here because we were worried about you."
She bumped her dome into his head, no doubt it was Lucy.
What proceeded from there was snuggling from the xenomorph who managed to get both her arms around him; before that he lowered his gun. No need to scare Lucy with marine weapons.
"Where is Amy?" Ian asked Lucy. At this point he knew for a fact that she could understand him, even though he could not understand her.