Chapter 10: Parasites From Another World
The morning alarm sprung Alexa awake for her job at Weyland-Yutani, yet it surprisingly did not wake Scar. As she dragged herself out of the bed after hitting the snooze button on the alarm, Alexa took a glance at the resting Yautja who was apparently still sleeping like a log; even after the blaring sound of an alarm clock that was sure to wake just about any latent human.
Alexa had always thought that Scar looked so intimidating even when he wasn't trying to be; but here he appeared rather… peaceful. The light sound of him snoring further added to the calming ambience of the bedroom in the early hours of the day; to which Alexa just smiled at. She then walked out of the room and continued with her morning routine; taking a shower, eating breakfast, brushing her teeth and getting dressed. By the time she was almost ready to head out the door, Alexa heard the heavy footsteps that she knew belonged to Scar. She turned around and saw her Life Mate still dressed the same way he went to bed with her the night before; wearing nothing but a loincloth and a traditional Yautja necklace around his neck.
"I'm off to work now, Scar. I'll be back this evening, I promise." She said in an effort to convince Scar that she was not going to abandon him in this alien world.
"Oh, and please don't try to follow me this time." Alexa added as she opened the front door and walked outside.
No part of her wanted a Yautja hunter following her into work and risking a potential security breach at the laboratory. Scar watched from the door's small window as she closed the door, got into her car and drove off to wherever the location of her job as a human could possibly be. He remembered that Alexa said that her occupation was an environmental technician for this Weyland-Yutani corporation, but he could not quite understand what exactly that meant. Was she someone who simply studied the environment of planet Earth? Scar was not sure and decided not to focus on it for very long. Once Alexa's car could no longer be seen within his line of sight, Scar walked away from the window on the front door and headed into the living room.
He glanced at the alien skull kill trophies he had still laid out on coffee table and thought to himself Can I really give up hunting for Alexa? She is my Life Mate and a blooded hunter, yet she resents killing her own kind; even if they truly deserve to die.
This was by no means an easy sacrifice to uphold, and even Scar himself had doubts that he would be able to keep it that way for Alexa. Nonetheless, he decided that he must do something with these alien skulls just lying there. He then looked over at a shelf in the same room that was displaying some framed photographs that obviously belonged to Alexa. Scar knew that he should not destroy these objects because he figured that Alexa must've held sentimental value towards them; so instead he opted to swap them around.
He was finally putting his kill trophies up on a proud display in his new home; regardless if Alexa approved of it or not.
On the drive to her place of work, Alexa tried desperately to get Scar off her mind. No part of her wanted the Yautja hunter to follow her into her place of work, as it would indubitably place her in jeopardy with Weyland-Yutani and also the government for hiding secrets of extra-terrestrial life. She still loved him, but Alexa could not let another human being know about his presence within her home. If she did, there was a high risk that her career in Weyland-Yutani would be over.
Trying to calm herself and take her mind off Scar, Alexa reached into one of the compartments and pulled out a compact disc containing a playlist of classical music burned onto it. Inserting the disc and letting the music play, Alexa already started to feel tranquil once again. The thoughts of Scar along with the Yautja species soon left her head as she continued to listen to the soothing sounds of the classical music composed by the greats; Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin.
However, it did not last long as Alexa soon found herself stuck behind a convoy of trucks that were apparently all headed for the same Weyland-Yutani research detachment where she worked. There seemed to be at least 8 of them, all bearing biohazard warnings on the rear that cautioned of immensely dangerous cargo being aboard; despite not revealing what exactly was being shipped inside. This left Alexa confused, wondering what could possibly be transported there in quantities as large as this and why it was so lethal to begin with.
Was there some kind of scientific breakthrough made while she was stuck in outer space with the Shadow Hunter Yautja clan? She could only wonder the possibilities of what the truth could be, for Alexa knew that she would in time know once she had reached her place of work; or at least that's what she thought. Eventually, the convoy of trucks turned away from Alexa and headed along a path that led towards the rear entrance of the building; which was where shipments would normally be brought in. Alexa took the opposite road, this one directing her to a parking lot for employees of the detachment.
Alexa had finally arrived at Weyland-Yutani's detachment based in Colorado; as the main headquarters of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation was stationed in London, England. It was a large grey building with a sleek, modern design. As she approached the front door to the building, a sudden chill was sent down her spine. All she could contemplate now was how would her co-workers react to seeing her walk through those doors once again after they had all presumed her to be deceased for nearly a whole week by now. Understandably, they would be shocked to see once again, alive and well; but Alexa needed to think of a way to cover up her sudden reappearance without revealing her knowledge of the Yautja, the Shadow Hunter clan or relationship with Scar. Exposing any of that put place her in jeopardy with the government along with Weyland-Yutani for hoarding secrets to an extra-terrestrial species. She couldn't think of anything at the moment, so Alexa decided that improvisation might be the solution to keeping these confidences under lock and key.
Taking a nervous breath of air, Alexa pushed the front door open and walked into the lobby of the Weyland-Yutani building. Once inside, faces from all over began to turn towards her, conversations came to sudden halts and brief second of uncomfortable silence filling the lobby ensued. That was soon interrupted when a man approached Alexa and started talking to her.
"Alexa Woods? We all thought you and the rest of the Antarctic expedition crew were dead! And what's with that weird scar on your face?" He spoke to her in a voice that proved he was beyond stunned at her presence, being one of many employees at Weyland-Yutani who believed her to be deceased.
Alexa had no recollection of this man, as he did not look familiar to her at all.
"Um, who are you?" She questioned the man, requesting to know who he really was.
"I'm Pablo De Rosa, Sebastian's brother. I heard that he never made it back from Bouvetøya, is that true?" The man said, revealing himself to the sibling of the Italian archeologist whom Alexa was forced to kill in a mercy killing back on the pyramid; pleading to know the truth about his now deceased brother.
She knew that she had to tell this man about the fate of his brother, but Alexa felt that she couldn't risk revealing the fact that she was the one responsible for his untimely demise.
"I…I'm sorry, but he didn't make it back." Stated Alexa, informing a bleak yet discrete answer to his forlorn inquiry.
"If he and the rest of the expedition team are dead, then how the Hell did you survive and find your way back to Colorado?" Pablo demanded to know, as he suspected that Alexa was hiding something she didn't want him to know at all.
Alexa, knowing that she would have to rely on her own hits in this given situation; quickly thought of a way to lie about finding a way back home.
"I found some old row boat and basically used that to row myself to land. It took me days to reach the Falklands Islands, where I took a plane to Brazil and another one to reach America again. Believe me, it was tiring and I don't want to talk about it anymore." Said Alexa, making it up as she went along.
Pablo De Rosa didn't seem entirely convinced with her alibi, but that was not what he was planning on discussing with her. Something far more serious was at stake and since she was the only known survivor from the Bouvetøya expedition; she needed to be informed about this vital information as soon as possible.
"Ms. Woods, do you recall what you and your team encountered on that island? Did it perhaps involve…aliens?" He asked her, surprising Alexa that he knew about the presence of alien lifeforms on the pyramid buried beneath the ice of that uninhabited island.
At this point, Alexa had no idea how she was supposed to react. She was…baffled to put it lightly.
"What?" Alexa questioned him, utterly confused in her tone of voice.
"We found out that there was some kind of ancient monastery hidden under the ice of Bouvetøya, and most of it was apparently destroyed. However, there was one chamber that remained intact and inside we came across these strange looking eggs. They didn't look like anything we had ever seen on Earth before; so we shipped those eggs to various Weyland-Yutani research stations across the globe to be analyzed." Explained Pablo; while another unknown figure approached them both from behind.
"We received a fair amount of those alien eggs, but they are clearly nothing like we would have ever thought." The voice spoke, this time belonging to someone whom Alexa knew and recognized instantly by the sound of his speech.
Turning around, Alexa was met with none other than the founder and now the recently appointed CEO of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation; Peter Weyland himself.
"Mr. Weyland! I swear, I can explain everything about my sudden disappearance." Alexa said to her new boss, planning to tell him the exact same fabricated truth which she had informed Pablo about.
He raised his hand, assuring Alexa that she had no need to inform him; as there were more important matters to discuss for the time being.
"That won't be necessary, Ms. Woods; we have much more urgent business to deal with right now." Replied Mr. Weyland. Alexa was mystified by his declaration, as it was incredibly vague in whatever he was trying to notify her about.
"What do you mean, Mr. Weyland?" She questioned him, unsure with what he meant in his statement.
"Follow me and you shall see." Said Mr. Weyland as he walked down a corridor with Alexa and Pablo following him from behind.
Both of them had no idea what to expect but knew it was best to follow their new boss towards wherever it was he was leading them towards; which just so happened to be the conference room of the building.
Inside the conference room was a TV VCR combo long with two unlabelled tapes lying in front. He grabbed one of the tapes and held it up before addressing the two employees in the room with him.
"I should warn you both, what you're about to see is…highly disturbing." Stated Mr. Weyland as he inserted the tape into the VCR.
Alexa could only wonder what exactly the new CEO of Weyland-Yutani was going to present them, and she feared that it could only be unsettling from the sound of his voice. She began to recall a memory from the Yautja mothership; when that strange alien parasite burst its way out of Scar's chest while he was still recovering in the ship's infirmary. For some reason, that was all Alexa could think about at the moment; for she was frightened that the footage captured on the tape would essentially the same thing only with a human being the victim instead of a Yautja.
Pablo on the other hand didn't know what to expect, so he didn't have the same kind of shivers being sent through his veins like Alexa was.
An image appeared on the television screen, displaying security footage from one of the labs at the detachment. Inside the lab was a bunch of alien eggs; the exact same ones which had been found on the pyramid of Bouvetøya. There seemed to be at least 6 of them present in the laboratory, as that was the number visible on the screen.
Suddenly, one of the eggs began to open; not by cracking open its shell like the way most animals born from eggs on Earth would, but rather opened itself almost like it was some kind of odd flower. Alexa and Pablo leaned in closer to the screen to see better, as this was a sight that neither of them wanted to miss even it was supposedly unnerving according to the words of their CEO. A worker from inside the lab approached the one egg that had now began to unravel itself, flashlight in hand and ready to inspect whatever strange alien life form could be housed inside.
Unfortunately for the lab worker, he was about to meet a painful and gory fate. Some kind of small yet monstrous creature flayed out against the worker and latched itself the lab worker's face. Alexa and Pablo both gasped in shock as they saw the truly frightening security footage that showcased the fatality of one poor, luckless soul. The man thrashed around like he was being strangled by the alien creature; which in fact he was and the muffled sounds of him screaming could also be heard. His co-workers present in the lad with him did nothing to help him; as they too were shocked by the horrific spectacle right before their eyes. After about 10 whole seconds of the man thrashing around while screaming at the top of his lungs behind the alien creature wrapped around his face and neck; he collapsed on the ground, now unconscious.
At his point during the footage, Pablo looked away and put a hand up to his face; almost as if he had just thrown up in his mouth. Alexa however, continued to watch as the man's co-workers began to cut the alien creature off their colleague's face before dragging him away off screen. Mr. Weyland then ejected the tape from the TV VCR combo and placed it back on the table. Pablo then looked back at him, clearly not happy to have witnessed that particular video that his boss had presented them with.
"What the fuck was that?! Did you seriously just make us watch some kind of snuff film?!" He snapped at Mr. Weyland.
At first, Mr. Weyland did not say anything in response. He simply just took the other tape and inserted it into the VCR; to which he said
"If you're looking for a snuff film, then this is what you should see next".
Pressing play, a different image was shown on the screen this time. It was still security footage, but this time it was coming from the cafeteria. The footage showed a group of people sitting at table, most likely eating their lunch and they were clearly recognizable as the lab workers from the previous tape. Everything seemed to be normal at first, just a bunch of fellow colleagues engaging in some friendly banter.
Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worst when the man who fell victim to that horrifying alien creature in the previous tape without warning started to act like he was violently ill. He collapsed on the ground once more, but this time he was still conscious and was lying on his back instead. The man began to scream in pain and agony before something burst out of his chest; splattering blood and guts everywhere. Numerous people could be seen running away and screaming out of terror from the grotesque sight they just witnessed; like any normal person would do in a scenario as such.
The creature that emerged from the man's chest looked almost like some kind of serpent, coated with human blood and its skin appeared to be a light shade of yellow. It hissed at the air around itself before slithering out of the barely alive man left alone on the ground to die in excruciating agony while his exposed and ruptured enteral organs bled out. At this moment, Mr. Weyland ejected the tape and put it back on the table. Alexa looked over and saw Pablo standing near the garbage bin, hurling from the incongruous and highly disturbing imagery presented before him. He was clearly not taking it in very well with a weak stomach as such.
"Are you alright, Mr. De Rosa?" Mr. Weyland asked his employee, concerned for his well-being.
Pablo looked back at his boss, completely dumbfounded that he would even dare say something like that after showing him those unnerving and gruesome security tapes.
"No, I'm pretty fucking far from alright. What made you think that showing me footage of some kind of alien parasite killing one of our lab workers was a good idea in the first place? I mean, have you honestly lost your goddamn mind?!" He spoke sharply towards Mr. Weyland. Pablo then looked over towards Alexa before continuing on his rant.
"And how the hell did you manage to watch that shit without feeling nauseous?" He questioned Alexa out disbelief for her reaction towards the footage as well.
Alexa just said nothing in response, as she knew it was best to keep quiet about anything in regards to the Yautja species and how she witnessed an alien parasite just like the one shown in the security tape rupturing Scar's internal organs and bursting out his chest. She knew what to expect, but that didn't prevent her from being sickened by the video; at least not to Pablo's extent that was. With that first impression, Alexa figured that Pablo De Rosa must've been a very sensitive man.
"Now, do you two understand why I showed this security footage to you both?" Mr. Weyland questioned the two of them in a strict, yet somewhat concerning tone of voice. They were both silent for a moment, not sure how to answer a question as such. Was it because this said security footage revealed some dark, sinister secret only recently discovered by humanity? It was quite possible.
"I showed you this security footage because it is a turning point for the human race as we know it. We are not the only ones in the Milky Way Galaxy." Pablo no doubt seemed astounded at this shocking revelation; while Alexa on the other hand found herself saying no shit, Sherlock in her head. She clearly knew this after her experience with the Yautja; but the strange species their kind referred as Kiande Amedha still remained a mystery to her. Alexa didn't know what to make of those horrifying creatures, other than the fact that they were the very manifestation of her worst nightmares wrapped into a monstrous behemoth of the night. She didn't even know if they were truly sapient like the Yautja or if those monsters really were just animals. Whatever the hidden truth was, it was indisputably going to be revealed soon enough; or at least that's what Alexa imagined.
"W-what do you mean, sir?" Pablo asked his boss out of being utterly flabbergasted.
"Those creatures clearly aren't from Earth, they must be extra-terrestrial beings no doubt." Replied Mr. Weyland.
"But what exactly are those things?" Alexa questioned as well, for she knew that she wouldn't be able to refer those black behemoths as Kiande Amedha among the likes of other humans. There had to be another name, one which the humans would use now that they had discovered the existence of these parasites from some other unknown world.
"Well, we don't have a name for these creatures just yet; but most of our scientific experts are tossing around the term of 'Xenomorph' as a possible title for these aliens." Mr. Weyland responded.
That name, Xenomorph. Something about it just made Alexa feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was because she was now going to associate that name with the parasites she fought against on the pyramid, or perhaps it was because of how that word on its own sounded so…unnerving. Pablo De Rosa on the other hand found himself scratching his head at this term.
"Xenomorph, sir? What is that supposed to mean?" He questioned Mr. Weyland once more.
"According to our lab workers, these alien creatures are parasites that are spawned from a host after being attacked from whatever that thing was that emerged from the egg. They say that whatever species the host is, the spawned behemoth will assimilate some of the host's DNA and essentially morph itself into an imitation of that particular species. That's why they're considering Xenomorph as the potential name for these alien creatures." Explained Mr. Weyland, trying his best to summarize what information the research teams working in the laboratories informed him about.
It was official. Xenomorph was now the true name of Alexa's worst nightmares and the mere thought that Weyland-Yutani could possibly have them contained within this very detachment here in Colorado undoubtedly made her feel on edge. What if there was a containment breach and they all got loose? This thought found itself running through Alexa's mind and it gave her goosebumps. There was also a possibility that if those Xenomorphs somehow managed to break free of their containment cells and began running amok throughout Colorado, some Yautja hunters might even try to intervene. It seemed likely since Alexa knew that the Yautja considered the Xenomorphs or rather the Kiande Amedha in their tongues to be the ultimate prey. Wherever there were Xenomorphs infesting, it was a guarantee that some Yautja would try to hunt them down.
"Are there any of these Xenomorphs here, Mr. Weyland?" Alexa asked her boss out of fretful curiosity. She figured that there might be some correlation between that convoy of trucks she saw arriving at the research detachment while on her drive to work that morning.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Ms. Woods, we've received word from Weyland-Yutani's head office in London that we are to study these Xenomorphs and keep them contained within this very facility. If you noticed a series of trucks heading there way here this morning that would be why." Replied Mr. Weyland, bringing an explanation to some previous events this morning to which Alexa found to be most confusing.
This however did not make her feel any less comfortable, knowing that those monstrous alien behemoths were here at her job. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to work with Xenomorphs, especially inside the labs after viewing the graphic and disturbing security footage.
"So now that the two of you know about the alien parasites we encountered, we are going to need volunteers to help with the lab teams." Stated Mr. Weyland.
Pablo and Alexa simply said nothing in response, just looking at each other with fear clearly present in all of their eyes. Neither one of them wanted to step close to one of those Xenomorphs, dreading that a creature of such would maul any human being to death if one got too close within its proxemics. Mr. Weyland could tell that they were truly petrified of what he had just said, so he decided to elaborate on it.
"Don't worry you two, I'm not asking you to work inside the labs containing the Xenomorphs. What I am requesting you to do is to analyze samples that the lab teams extract from the subjects instead." Mr. Weyland elucidated on the matter at hand.
With this news from their new boss, Pablo and Alexa realized that they would now be co-workers; examining samples of flesh, blood and other such bodily constituents of the Xenomorph species. They were clearly not fond of this sudden shift in their duties at Weyland-Yutani, but admittingly were grateful that they would not have to step within 10 feet of one of those black alien behemoths.
"So…when are we starting, sir?" Asked Alexa, eager to know when she and Pablo would get to work in the laboratory.
"You'll be starting right now, there are some samples of Xenomorph blood that we would like you two to analyze immediately." Replied Mr. Weyland. "We'll get right on it." Stated Pablo.
"Oh, and just for a heads up, that Xenomorph blood is extremely dangerous." Said Mr. Weyland, informing them both with a warning about what exactly they were getting their hands into. This confused Pablo, as he was not quite sure what Mr. Weyland meant by this.
"You mean, their blood is toxic?" Inquired Pablo.
"I wouldn't exactly call the blood of the Xenos toxic, Mr. De Rosa. More like, acidic and highly corrosive. Be wary of it" Replied Mr. Weyland. A look of alarm came across Pablo's face upon hearing this disturbing reality about the biology of the Xenomorphs.
"Where the hell did these aliens come from?" Questioned Pablo out of incredulity.
"I thought I told you earlier that we found them-" began Mr. Weyland in response, only to be interrupted by Pablo again.
"That was a rhetorical question." He retorted to his boss.
"So if you found out that the blood of these aliens is highly corrosive, you want us to study it and find out why it's like this?" Alexa queried.
Mr. Weyland nodded. "Precisely. We are going to need to develop specialized research tools that are resistant to the Xenomorphs' blood, so we're counting on the both of you." He affirmed in reply to Alexa's question.
It seemed like a plausible reason to have someone analyze the samples of Xenomorph blood, but Mr. Weyland's words still didn't explain why he didn't just have the lab team study them instead of utilizing Alexa and Pablo. This was something that both of them could not ignore.
"Hold on…why are we being tasked with this instead of the lab teams? Wouldn't it make more sense to have them handle this, since they're the ones working with these Xenomorphs?" Questioned Pablo.
"Under normal circumstances, that would be the case. However, we require additional help inside the labs and the work that I request you both to do is relatively harmless when compared to the work that the lab teams will put up with; should you not be reckless with those Xenomorph blood samples that is." Replied Mr. Weyland.
"Now if you excuse me, I have business elsewhere to attend." He said before exiting the conference room, leaving Alexa and Pablo behind.
Knowing that the two of them needed to get to work in the labs immediately, they both looked at each other, understanding what must be done.
On their way to the laboratory where they would be working with samples taken from the captive Xenomorphs, inhumane screams and hisses could be faintly heard in the distance. Chills were sent down both of their spines as Alexa and Pablo continued traversing down a corridor together; which ultimately led them to a large metal door guarded by two men. These men were dressed in dark blue combat uniforms with the Weyland-Yutani logo printed onto their body armor and they were both armed with MP5 submachine guns. As Alexa and Pablo approached them, one of the men reached out an open hand in a signal which meant halt.
"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to access beyond this point. It's extremely dangerous in there." Stated the guard, providing a clear warning to Alexa and Pablo about the menaces that lurked right behind that large metal door. This confused them both, as they thought they had been given clearance to work in the labs with an urgent task to examine blood samples from the captive Xenomorphs.
"I-I thought we were granted clearance to study Xenomorph blood samples from Mr. Weyland himself. What the hell is going on here?" Questioned Pablo, outright dumbfounded at what the guard had to say. The guard then lowered his hand, as he understood the confusion taking place at the moment.
"The labs are on the other side; so you two must've taken a wrong turn." He said in response to the puzzled employees.
Alexa and Pablo suddenly realized that this was the new containment branch where the Xenomorphs would be held captive under constant surveillance. This was clearly not the right place for either one of them to be; especially since the images of the Xenomorphs she encountered on the Antarctic pyramid started to pop back into her mind once more. She felt like she was on the edge of having a panic attack if they didn't turn around and head towards the labs in the opposite direction almost immediately.
"We'll be on our way then." Alexa blurted out before nervously walking away as Pablo just followed her, confused with her actions.
Even though he just met her this very morning, something didn't seem right with Alexa Woods at all; yet Pablo himself couldn't quite grasp the why about it. Maybe it had something to do with her surviving whatever kind of ruckus sparked on the island of Bouvetøya where the rest of the expedition team vanished. It seemed like a probable explanation to Alexa's unusual behavior in the presence of these alien parasites, it just had to be.
Inside the laboratory, Alexa placed a sample of Xenomorph blood under a microscope and began to examine it with a precise amplification of 1000x. The microscopic structure shown looked nothing like human blood at all, or even any life form found on Earth for that matter. Instead of showing circular red discs like a human's blood cells, Alexa saw what appeared to be millions of cells in the shapes of hexagons. To say that the sight of this bizarre cellular structure of an alien's blood was shocking for Alexa to see would be more than just an understatement.
Even though those alien parasites terrified her, she still had to admit that looking at a microscopic image of their blood was immensely fascinating. Perhaps there would be a way that she could learn to overcome this fear of the Xenomorphs…or maybe there wasn't. Alexa had no idea what to make of it and her train of thought was soon interrupted by the voice of her new co-worker.
"The structure of these Xenomorphs, they really are alien. I've never seen anything like them before." Stated Pablo as he gazed into his microscope.
"They're alien alright, but those Xenomorphs are monsters to me." Replied Alexa, stating that she had a contradictory opinion towards the alien creatures.
Assuming that she was referring to her experience with those aliens firsthand on the island of Bouvetøya; Pablo had to agree with her. The security tapes were merely enough to convince him that these aliens were a threat to be reckoned with, parasites that could be spawned from just about any human being unlucky enough to cross paths with one of those facehuggers.
"Yeah, these Xenomorphs really are monsters, Alexa. But we still need to know what they really are for Weyland-Yutani." Pablo said as he looked away from his microscope, affirming that he was indeed determined to uncover the truth about the mysterious and cryptic nature of the Xenomorph species.
As much as Alexa reviled these alien vermin, even she wanted to know what these aliens really were. The Yautja she meat referred the Xenomorphs; or rather Kiande Amedha as the "Ultimate Prey" but not a single one bothered to tell her what those black behemoths really were. It was almost as if even those Yautja hunters didn't actually know their ultimate prey as much as they themselves had claimed. But who was Alexa to judge the intellect of the Yautja? She knew that they were intelligent beings no doubt, yet that didn't stop her from having speculations if whether or not this was true.
Knowing that she would half to ask Scar once she returned home from work, Alexa figured that she might as well get Pablo's view on the Xenomorphs since after all; he was going to be her new co-worker for god knows how long at this research detachment.
"Any theories about these Xenomorphs, Pablo?" Questioned Alexa.
"Honestly Alexa, there's not much we can really say about them right now. I mean, we only have so much evidence at the moment and we can't even decipher if these Xenomorphs are truly sapient creatures like human beings or if they're really just animals." Pablo said in response to Alexa's inquiry. From that moment, Alexa knew that her new goal for work was to uncover the reality of these Xenomorph creatures. Maybe in turn, she would better understand her fear for these alien monstrosities; or perhaps the fear of the unknown to a greater extent.
After an examination of the molecular structure of the Xenomorph's blood, Alexa and Pablo began to run the next experiment to test the acidity levels present in the samples they received. They recalled Mr. Weyland warning them about how Xenomorph blood itself was supposedly highly corrosive and decided that they must assess it to see if that bold claim was indeed true. This of course, prompted a danger in the workplace as the chemical properties of Xenomorph blood technically labeled it as hazardous waste. Nonetheless, they continued on with this immensely risky experiment as this was another aspect of the Xenomorph blood samples they would need to test for.
Utilizing several materials of varying densities, Alexa and Pablo began to test how acidic and corrosive the alien blood really was. Unsurprisingly, the Xenomorph blood melted with ease through just about every non-corrosive-resistant substance the two of them tested in the experiment. A small drop of the Xenomorph blood however found its way to the floor of the laboratory and melted through it.
"Well Mr. Weyland wasn't kidding when he told us that their blood was highly corrosive." Stated Pablo in a joking manner. Alexa however did not find this even remotely humorous at all. She just continued on with her lab work as if nothing had happened.
"Just cover it up with something and hope that they don't find out about that hole in the floor you just created." Alexa said, not wanting to get in trouble for Pablo's careless activity in the lab.
Pablo then noticed that something just didn't seem right with Alexa; even though the two of them had only known each other for such a short amount of time. Not entirely sure what it was though, he felt the need to ask her about it. He felt obligated to do so since they were lab partners in this new job after all.
"Hey Alexa, is everything alright? You seem…" Began Pablo, only to then stop when he realized that he just didn't have the right word to say.
"I seem what?" Questioned Alexa in response with a tint of annoyance present in her voice. "I don't know…uncomfortable about something, that's for sure." Replied Pablo, not quite certain on what it really was that found itself crawling underneath Alexa's skin. She knew that he could not know about Scar or her experience with these Yautja hunters, so she quickly thought of something else to say in an attempt to cover it up.
"Well of course I'm uncomfortable. No offence, but I don't enjoy working with people who I barely even know and for your information, Pablo De Rosa; I am still traumatized by what those Xenomorphs did to the rest of the expedition team on Bouvetøya! Do you understand that?" Alexa explained irritably towards her co-worker.
She wanted him to come to terms with a fabricated truth; which admittedly wasn't entirely false. Alexa still felt on edge in the presence of a Xenomorph, although she was able to cope with examining samples of these alien parasites in a concealed laboratory. The traumatization she was experiencing was rather mild since Alexa knew that Xenomorphs could be killed using the right tactics and weapons; but nonetheless she still felt like her heart would stop beating if she ever came within 5 feet of one of those black behemoths. Fortunately, Pablo understood her words very clearly and shook his head in response.
"Ok, I'm…sorry, Alexa. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. We're co-workers now, and Weyland-Yutani is depending on us to find out why the blood of these Xenomorphs is so corrosive. I don't to make you feel distressed or anything like that while we're working on this together." Replied Pablo, trying to convince Alexa that he grasped the reason for her problems and hoped to aid her as a fellow collaborator in the laboratory.
Alexa just smiled in response to his words.
"You seem very genuine and honest. Pablo, maybe in time I'll come to respect you as my colleague…maybe even as friend eventually." She stated, giving Pablo a sense of hope of a clean relationship between them both. He however did not find Alexa attractive because of how she just wasn't his type and the Yautja Mark of Honor; while unknown to him was a bit off-putting due to just how odd or rather alien its appearance was.
Nevertheless, Pablo was still in the hopes that he could eventually develop a friendship with her. Of course, only time would tell if that would indeed happen or not. The two of them continued to examine the Xenomorph blood samples before moving onto some bits of Xenomorph flesh that the lab teams had provided them with. Both of them were surprised to discover that the flesh of a Xenomorph actually felt somewhat like leather, as Alexa had always pictured them as very slimy like some kind of bipedal alien worm creatures ever since she first came into contact with them. This further added a question about how exactly their flesh and eternal organs were resistant to the acidic properties that their blood possessed.
With every small detail that Alexa and Pablo uncovered about this deadly yet surprisingly intriguing alien species, Alexa found herself combating her greatest fear in this world; or rather galaxy in this case. As a blooded hunter by Yautja law, Alexa might finally start to see more of that in her own reflection once she feared of the Xenomorphs no more.
Or maybe, that would not be the case at all.
Author's note: Hey everyone, Cosmic Sword11 here with another chapter for Predator and Prey. I know it was a bit of a wait for this chapter, but I was working on other non-fanfiction related projects as well. Plus, I had some other delays in regards to some computer problems that prompted me to put my writing on hold for a brief period of time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter for Predator and Prey. So please remember to R&R if you're reading this story on either FFN or Wattpad. That would be greatly appreciated. So anyway, this is Cosmic Sword 11 signing off and hopefully not coming out with Chapter 11 much later than I would anticipate.
