This chapter is where the story begins to really get complicated. Taking notes is recommended! I have to speed things up slightly to get this story done so I can work on my other unfinished works.
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Chapter 11
Ground Rules
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Things change very fast, and before you know it you might find yourself lost in a war you don't know who's fighting what in.
At first my grandfather didn't make much sense when he said these words; but ever since Spine came I've known that those words have some (senile) truth in them. How I wish that my life was back to normal…how I wish I had never gotten up to go and investigate a strange noise…
Fate has a way of making things interlock like a huge puzzle; it doesn't make sense until all the pieces come together. I like to think back to one of those days…back when I first met Spine. It was strange then, I thought that he was just an alien at the time, but it didn't take me long to figure out otherwise.
He was much more than just an alien.
-Sara H. Jefferson
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"Spine, what are you doing?" Sara asked, grimacing. Spine looked up…down…at her from the ceiling, where he was tapping on the surface he held onto.
There is something inside this area of the ceiling. It is a small rodent, and I think it has been chewing through some wires in this house. Spine replied, returning to his tapping.
"Well…if you kill it, don't leave a mess for me to clean up."
I will lick my plate…
"You mean that literally, don't you?"
…yes. Sara sighed, turning from him to walk into the kitchen. Soon, however, Spine followed her through the door, still in his usual position just above her on the ceiling.
"You never cease to amaze me. How come you don't find anything about humans strange?"
Because I am forty-five percent human instead of the usual twenty. Spine hissed.
"So what are we going to do now? Watch a movie? Sit around? Talk?"
I think that we should do something that won't make too much noise. Spine said, dropping from the ceiling and to all fours.
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"Are you crazy, Johnson?"
"Nah, man, I told you I saw a fricken alien!"
"This is Roswell; there are aliens all over the place!"
"No, I saw this one; it had hair and a freaking rifle!"
"You dumbass; you must have seen Philip on the roof."
"Philip? Oh yeah…the hitman we hired."
"Dumbass…"
Frizak chuckled to himself; these humans were fun to play with. They would often overreact at the sight of a Yautja, and this made them all the easier to kill. And it was a great way to entertain oneself. Frizak crawled down the side of the building, using the gaps in the bricks to reach the body below. He had killed the human on the roof…it had been in his way…and now he had to decide what to do with it.
A siren wailed in the distance as Frizak picked up the dead, black-clothed human in one hand, but he dropped it when the siren grew close at an alarming speed. Frizak tapped his wrist computer and vanished into the night.
A black and white human vehicle came down the alley, the lights on the top shutting off. It slowed to a stop, a black-clothed human stepping out of the car. He took one look at the body on the ground and jumped back in his car, grabbing his radio with panic in his eyes.
Frizak left then; he didn't want to see any more. He had made a mistake, and been discovered. At least he still had the element of surprise…the humans didn't know who or what he was.
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"…there is still no sign of the three children that vanished three days ago, and nothing as to their whereabouts is known." The reporter said on the television. "They are eight-year old Thomas Paulson, fifteen-year old Mikah Paulson, and fourteen-year old Sebastian Hooper. They were last seen three days ago heading north on a blue wind-sailer, and have not been seen since.
"What do you think is happening to them right now?" Sara asked, turning down the volume.
All three are dead, and three new drones or warriors are now part of the Hive. Spine hissed. They are dead, there is no doubt. Their remains will have been destroyed. The Xenomorph growled and twisted around, hooking his tail on the ceiling light and flipping upwards to the ceiling.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Sara looked up, following his form from the room.
I'm going to find something to eat.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Spine changed direction, running to the area just above the door, his tail positioned to strike if someone entered. Sara sighed, following him to the door and opening it. Her neighbor, a bald man in his mid-forties, stood on step.
"Sorry to bother you Sara, but have you seen my cat anywhere? I haven't seen him for a few hours, and he usually shows up right about now for canned food…" Sara glanced upwards.
What does he look like? I might have seen it. Spine said privately to her.
"Your cat's black with white stripes, right?"
"Yes, and he doesn't wear a collar."
…oops.
Spine…did you eat him? Sara thought, hoping that the alien was reading her mind at the time.
If I said yes, hypothetically, what would you do to me?
"No, I haven't seen him." Sara said, smiling slightly. "Sorry, I'll tell you if I do."
"Thanks, sorry for bothering you." Sara closed the door, suddenly jumping up and grabbing Spine by the tail, yanking him off the ceiling on her way down.
"Alright, Xeno, we're going to lay down some rules."
Shit…
"One…no eating things unless I say you can. That includes pets, not just humans."
I'm fine with that. Spine yanked his tail from her grasp. Next.
"No leaving blood in places that people will see…in fact, no blood at all."
I will lick my fingers.
"Three…no spraying acid on anyone or anything, no slitting throats, and no, and I mean no, laying eggs in the attic. I don't want a bunch of facehuggers running around."
One, I can't lay eggs; I am male. Spine interrupted. Two, I haven't slit any throats as of yet…and three…how did you know I can spray acid?
"Wild guess."
Well, you're right. Fine, I accept, but I think that we should be able to bend the rules in the case of the mailman…
"No."
Damn…well, there goes my plans for Friday.
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Mikah opened his eyes to the setting of the sun, which blinded him by coming into through the passenger window. He had found a pair of blue-jeans that fit reasonably well in the floorboards, and he was wearing them now. The sand creature was asleep on top of the truck from what he had seen, but he didn't dare try to escape for fear of waking it. The doors were still jammed, but the ventilation still worked, and so it didn't get nearly as unbearable inside the truck as it would have. Still, he was beginning to get a little stir crazy.
The truck rocked as the alien jumped onto the hood, yawning mightily and displaying blood-stained teeth. Human…come…we waste time. Daylight fading…night animals dangerous to our kind. And yours too…they can break glass…we would not harm human…predators will.
"I'm staying right here, thanks. I think that whatever your Queen has in mind I don't want any part in it." Mikah said calmly, lying back down. The alien sighed.
We will make you then…
"How? You can't get in here, and even if you could there's no way for me to get out."
Drones will return from city soon…they will get you out. Farewell, human, we tire of this game and the Queen wishes to see us. The alien hopped off the hood, vanishing into the ground. Mikah didn't open the door, knowing it was a terribly set trap. Anyone with half a brain would stay in the truck.
The sun sank lower in the sky, and Mikah waited for rescue, doing his best to ignore the vultures that attacked the squad car no more than thirty feet away. As the sun finally vanished behind the flat horizon, Mikah heard the screeches. He sat up in the driver's seat, looking towards the city, and saw four black forms moving towards him. There were four small aliens, each one with a distinct difference. One had a very large head and massive teeth that protruded from it jaw more than the others. One had a left foreleg missing, and hobbled on three feet. One was very small and grey, and it seemed to be the leader, and the last was fairly average.
The four aliens swarmed the truck, hissing and snapping their teeth, Grey jumping on the roof. It gave a snarl to Tripod, who leapt to the hood and growled at Mikah, but he didn't react. Long-tooth used his massive head to try and ram the truck from the front, and only succeeded in crushing the radiator. Really, this was nothing more than a nuisance.
Then the normal-looking alien leapt into the bed of the truck, smashing the window with its tail. The glass shattered and rained down on Mikah, and the creature wrapped its claws around him from behind. As Mikah pulled himself away the claws cut into him, leaving bloody scrapes on his bare chest. The alien was suddenly set upon by its fellows, who hissed and beat it with their tails and closed fists. Mikah took his chance.
He crawled out of the rear window, running towards the squad car that was in front of the truck, opening the door and jumping in. A vulture that was still inside hissed and hopped out the broken passenger window. The car was stained with blood and bits of flesh, and Mikah nearly threw up. Thank god for desensitizing video games, or I would have. He thought, starting the car and wiping blood from the windshield. The alien drones now took notice, turning from the one that had attacked and running after the car as Mikah threw it into reverse, the tires throwing up dirt and gravel.
As he hit the red on the RPM gauge he spun the wheel, throwing the car into second gear. He kept moving the same direction, now driving forwards. What the hell, that actually worked! The aliens were right behind him, and then he realized he was heading east, not south, at eighty miles per hour. He turned the wheel far too quickly, the tires catching on a rut in the ground.
The next few seconds were blackness to him, noise barely filtering through the haze that he saw before him. He did vomit at this point, and he knew he had done something stupid. The car was flipping over in an endless barrel-roll, the aliens running after it. The average one ran ahead of the flipping vehicle, and was crushed as it flipped over it. The car came to a rest wheels down, the exterior distorted nearly past recognition and the inside a black mess of what had been a squad car. Mikah struggled to regain consciousness, seeing the blood of the crushed alien was melting through the roof of the car…but he gave in to the darkness as the aliens tore at the car, trying to reach him…
