Chapter Thirteen:
Weyland Residence
Jupiter Island, Florida
October 6, 2008
Daphne Weyland stared absently at the newswoman on TV who was currently going into a lengthy detail about the political campaign happening this fall. She wasn't really hearing what the woman had to say though, with the words jumbling together making little sense to her sleep deprived brain. Every night she would stay up to watch the political debate, keeping track of the different campaigns that were running. She liked being up to date on these kinds of things, to better prepare herself for when she hosted a charity ball or auction in the Weyland's name.
This evening however, she sat frozen on the couch with her eyes staring blankly at the TV but not really watching it. She was dressed in one of her nightgowns, a thin silky gown that hugged her curves and despite the fact that she was in her fifties and widowed, she still looked good in the slinky little number. Not that she wore it to impress men these days. She just liked how they felt against her skin and how cool she stayed beneath the covers at night but now she hardly suffered from night sweats anymore. Her long auburn hair was pulled back into a half hazard bun that evening, not the usual thick braid she would pull it back into after a good twenty minute brush to keep it from becoming a rat's nest in the morning.
Daphne had spent most of the day sitting on her couch, only getting up long enough to use the restroom or grab another cup of coffee from the kitchen. The maid had left a few hours ago and she found herself without coffee and unable to turn away from the TV. She just sat there watching and waiting, but not really watching it either. She was too preoccupied in her thoughts to really watch the interview taking place outside the White House. Right now, Daphne could care less who was going to win the Election this year or that it was going to be in the high eighties that week.
Dropping her gaze from the TV she looked at the cellphone she gripped tightly in the palm of her hand. Pressing the button she swiped her finger across the screen. The screen turned on and she stared at her daughter's face. The background picture was an old one. A few days after Elaina was born, Charles had come home from a business meeting and held his daughter for the first time. Daphne had taken the picture when she woke up in the middle of the night to find her husband holding Elaina in his large hand like he was afraid he would hurt her if he held too tight but so clearly wanted to hold on tight and never let her go.
The screen indicated that there were no texts, no calls.
Daphne swallowed and looked away from the phone. The wait was the hardest. She knew she hadn't been the greatest mother and that she had years to atone for. She had made a lot of mistakes and this would be her punishment. Her grip tightened around the phone and she clutched the device to her chest. Please call, she begged silently, her head bowing. She just wanted her daughter to return one of her phone calls. Answer one of her many text messages.
She hadn't heard from Elaina in two days. Two days!
This wait was worse than when she had been stuck in the waiting room at that hospital four years ago. Getting the phone call that her ex-husband had been killed during his expedition in Antarctica and that her only daughter was in critical condition had been a splash of freezing cold water on the juvenile life she had been living. She had sat there in that waiting room for three days waiting to see Elaina, getting little information from the doctors about her daughter's condition. But at least then she knew where her daughter was and that she was close by and that she had a chance of making through it.
A strangled sob escaped her and Daphne struggled to swallow it back. She just wanted to hear her baby's voice. She just wanted to know she was okay.
I will be a better mother, I will- I promise, please- please just let me know she is okay, Daphne begged, her head lifting to stare at the ceiling of her home.
OoOoO
Old Mill Bed and Breakfast
Lex's Room
Gunnison, Colorado
October 6, 2008
Ci'tde stood in the hallway waiting for his female to return to him but she hadn't. Dropping his gaze, he huffed beneath his breath as he shifted from foot to foot. What could be taking her so long? He could hear Skl're searching the other room for the rest of his belongings and Warkha was fiddling with his comp. Other than that it was quiet.
"Ci'tde," Warkha spoke gruffly without looking up from the screen. "You are as antsy as a newborn pup."
Ci'tde huffed again, his head ducking as he was being yet again compared to a baby. It seemed everything he did was wrong in the Arbitrator's eyes. Standing up for his female, seemed to only piss the older Yautja off and Ci'tde just did not understand the hostility.
Pauk, even Skl're mated with an ooman female, he thought as his spines bristled. Why were his thoughts towards Elle so wrong? Why did Skl're and Warkha treat him as if he was a newborn pup?
A smack to the back of his head had Ci'tde startling. Growling, he looked over his shoulder to see Skl're was giving him a reproachful look. "Mei'hswei calm yourself," his brother hissed at him. His head inclined to where Warkha was still in the room.
Ci'tde deflated on himself.
"Check on the females," His brother said before turning to head back into the room and leaving Ci'tde alone once more in the hallway.
Ci'tde looked down the hallway to the doorway where the females had gone through. Tossing his head, he decided to do as instructed and headed to the room. He stopped into the hallway, peering inside. He first scanned it with night vision but was unable to see the females. Switching to infrared he checked the room and every hiding spot and found no heat signatures.
Gone.
Ci'tde clenched his hands into fists and roared, unable to keep back the fury. He had known something was wrong. His female's scent had changed and he had known there was something wrong after Warkha had killed the ooman male.
Suddenly a heat signature jumped out in front of him from the open window and he recognized Warkha's bulk. The older Yautja had his wrist blades extended, ready for a fight. Skl're appeared at his side with his own weapons drawn, thinking Ci'tde had run into trouble.
"Females gone," Ci'tde growled his eyes narrowing on Warkha to lay blame on him. He had just found his female and now she was gone again.
Warkha scanned the room and switched to a different vision, scanning the room and then outside. He had gotten one of the female's blood and had used it to track the females the day before. He had used the DNA signature to add a new tracking device in his system that would help him find the females, once he could continue his hunt after disposing of the ooman male. He ducked out of the room following the signature to the front of the building.
Skl're and Ci'tde joined him soon after that.
"It appears that they are headed back to the city and are on foot," he said with a tilt of his head. He could track them to the end of the road before it curved off towards town.
"I will track the females," Warkha said as he closed up his comp and turned to face the brothers. "You both find the kiande amedha and dispatch each one you find. Our mission is to stop the outbreak before it gets too far out of hand and that is all."
Ci'tde wanted to argue but Skl're held him back and instead pushed him towards the tree line.
"Come Ci'tde," Skl're said and disappeared into the trees.
Ci'tde looked back at Warkha feeling hesitation keep him from following his brother. "What will you do with the females when you find them," he asked.
Warkha didn't respond to the question but instead started after the female's trail leaving Ci'tde to his own worries.
OoOoO
Gunnison, Colorado
October 6, 2008
Elaina followed Lex, letting the older woman lead her back to town. She tried not to think about how dark it was and how scary the gravel road had been without any light to beat back the dark shadows pressing in on her.
Once in the city however, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully the roads were well light with street lights and the occasional store still open gave enough lighting that she didn't feel like her chest would burst from the fear. Lex wasn't aware of her inner turmoil and Elaina made sure to keep silent, not wanting to worry the older woman any more than she already was.
"We should stop at the Sheriff station first," Lex said as the reached the main street. She looked East and West, not sure which direction to head. "Any idea which direction it is?"
Elaina pointed to the right. "About two blocks that way, I think," she said recalling the map she had studied earlier. "Why are we going there?"
Lex started across the street after looking both ways, though it seemed like pointless precaution with the streets as deathly quiet as they were for this time of night. "Because we are going to need help, I don't know how we will convince them, but we need to try Elle."
Elaina jogged to keep up, crossing the road and reaching the sidewalk. "Okay."
It took them a few minutes to find the station. It looked pretty empty with only one woman at the front desk manning the radios and one Deputy that neither of them had met yet sat at his desk filling out paperwork. Elaina wondered where the Sherriff might be at.
Lex stopped at the front desk, asking to speak with the Sherriff.
"He's not in at the moment, how can I help you Hun," the woman asked, briefly looking up from the crossword puzzle she had been trying to fill out.
"It's really important that we speak with him," Lex insisted. "Can you call him?"
The woman looked up, her brows knitting together as she looked between the two them. "What's this about," she inquired.
Lex sighed, her hands clenching into fists at being stalled. She didn't want to say too much and find herself locked up before she could speak to the Sheriff. "It's about what's going on in this town," she answered vaguely. "Can't you radio him or something?"
Elaina stepped back from Lex and she glanced around the small station. Her eyes landed on a phone at one of the deputies desks and she realizes how long it's been since she spoke to her mom. Oh, god-
Looking back at Lex and then the deputy, "Lex I'll be right back." She quickly turned to the deputy. "Sir is there a payphone nearby?" she asks him urgently.
"Uh- yea there's one outside, take a left and it's on the corner," he said without looking up from his paperwork.
"Elli," Lex asked from the front desk. "Why do you need a payphone, where's your cell?"
"Thanks," Elaina said to the deputy before she turned her attention to her friend. "I need to call my mom, I don't know where my cell is- Lex I need to call her. Wait for the Sherriff, I'll be right back I promise," she explained quickly, while backing up towards the exit.
"No- it's not safe," Lex tried to argue, but Elaina was already out the door before she started talking. Once outside, Elaina looked right and then left, spying the payphone just where the deputy said it would be. Jogging down the sidewalk, Elaina fished into her bag for some loose change she kept in the side pockets. Picking up the handset, she tucked it between her ear and shoulder as she pushed the coins into the dispenser. Dialing her mother's cell, she listened as it rang three times before there was a familiar voice answering with a shaky, "Hello?"
Elaina drew in a sharp breath, her heart lurching in her chest as she gripped the side of the phone booth for support. She tried to speak, but when she opened her mouth, the words choked in the back of her throat and she was forced to cover her mouth with her hand.
"Elaina!" her mother cried into the phone.
"Mom," she whispered.
"Oh god Elaina, thank god you're alright- why haven't you returned my calls I've been so worried-."
"I'm sorry mom," Elaina butted in. "I'm so sorry. I lost my phone- mom there's something I need to tell you. In- in case something happens. Just please let me talk-"
On the line, her mother fell silent, giving up on trying to talk over her, or demanding more answers.
"Mom," Elaina began, running a hand through her hair nervously as her eyes darted up and down the road. It was so quiet and she realized the street was completely empty. Void of any cars, of any people. It wasn't even that late out.
Suddenly an explosion sounded and Elaina shrieked, despite how far away the noise had come from. She dropped the phone while ducking her head. She could hear her mother shrieking into the line demanding what was that noise. Calling out her name.
And then the lights went out.
Elaina stared wide eyed into the darkness as the lights in the building behind her shut off and the street lights went out. She was thrown into darkness; the only sound is her mother's distant voice.
"Oh god," Elaina drew in a shuddering breath, her hands grasping desperately at the pocket of her bag and pulling out a small hand held flashlight. She flicked it on, shooting the light up and down the sidewalk and to the building behind her. It took a moment as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, before she didn't feel completely vulnerable in the dark.
"Lex," she whispered and ran towards the station. Before she could reach the doors however, there was gunshots and screams from inside.
"Lex!" Elaina reached the doors as blood splashed across the windowpane. Shaking, she took a step back, shaking her head in denial. Behind the smeared blood, movement caught her eye. Elaina took another step back, watching as a spindly shape straightened to a tall hulking figure.
Elaina turned on her heels and bolted across the street. The sound of shattering glass sounded behind her, and she could hear the familiar hiss of the alien as it scrambled to its feet and gave chase.
Elaina reached back behind her head, pulling out her blade, as a solid weight suddenly crashed into her from behind. Crying out, Elaina fell forward, scraping the palm of one hand and the knuckles of the one that held onto her weapon. With a terrified shriek she rolled, throwing the weight on her back off of her and she scrambled away.
She was jerked back however as her bag was still attached and she struggled to work her arms out of the straps before breaking away.
The alien hissed, dropping her bag now that she was no longer attached to it. It crouched and lunged, before Elaina was on her feet. She barely raised her weapon, gripping it with both hands. She angled the weapon and with a snarl to match the alien's screech, thrust the blade into the alien's mouth, as it neared her. The blade sunk in and the alien lurched to a stop, impaled on her blade. She twisted the handle and the body went limp.
Elaina used her foot, placing it on the alien's face next to her where her blade was imbedded and pulled. With a sickening squelching noise, it came free and she stumbled back. She expected to find the weapon smoldering, the acidic blood eating away at its surface. To her surprised it was in perfect condition, minus the fact that it was covered in alien blood. She wiped the remnants off onto the alien before looking around her.
It wasn't a good sign in her opinion with how empty the town was. Weary, she walked to where her bag had been discarded and shrugged it on over her shoulders. She looked back towards the sheriff's station.
"I need to look," she argued with herself. She needed to see for herself if Lex was alive or dead. She inched towards the building, her throat closing up and her eyes burning with tears. She reached for the door handle, her hands shaking. Through the broken glass, she couldn't see much into the darkness beyond. Except for the blood. There was blood everywhere, thick and covering every surface. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she could make out bodies.
Three of them.
Elaina stumbled away from the door, choking back a sob. "No- no no no no," she shook her head in denial, walking backwards away from the door. She stepped out onto the street and the screeching tires and bright lights illuminating her on the dark street, had her gasping in surprise. She whirled around, facing the truck as it came to a stop in front of her.
The driver side door opened and the driver peered out at her. "Jesus, what the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the street," the woman asked, sounding just as shook up as Elaina felt.
Elaina squinted peering at the woman as the glare of the headlights made it hard for her to see very well in the darkness. She recognized the woman, however she did not know her by name, but she knew her from watching TV. She was the mother of the missing father and son.
The woman frowned and left the safety of her vehicle to approach Elaina. "Are you okay," she asked her, her eyes taking in Elaina's appearance, her eyes widening at the weapon she wielded in her hands. "Jesus is that a sword?" the woman ask her looking alarmed suddenly.
Elaina blinked, shedding a few tears as she glanced down at the weapon she had forgotten she had been holding. Swallowing thickly, she shook her head, quickly stowing it in the harness at her back. "I-I use it for when I go hiking," she quickly answered with a planned lie. She had used it on many occasions. "To cut back the brush you know- I tend to hike in really dense areas." Elaina took a moment to wipe at her eyes, riding herself of the last of her tears before the woman noticed she had been crying. "The power going out spooked me I guess." She added meekly, drawing in a shuddered breath.
However the maneuver was pointless as the woman's eyes tracked the motion, her expression softening as she noticed the tears and had heard the slight tremble in her voice. "Hey- can I give you a ride somewhere?" she offered gently, her motherly concern showing through, despite the fact that Elaina was a stranger.
Elaina looked at the woman's truck, then towards the darkened Sherriff's station. Reluctantly she nodded her head. Lex was right, they needed to find the Sherriff and warn him, before this got any worse. "I need to find the Sherriff- but I don't know where he is right now," Elaina answered her question.
The woman nodded and indicated to her truck. "Hop in," she says heading to the driver side. As Elaina moved to the passenger door, the woman added, "With the power out in the city he would have headed to the power plant. I just need to stop at my diner and check on Carrie, she's not answering her cellphone and I'm really worried she might have gone into the woods to look for Ray."
Elaina climbed into the passenger seat as the woman slammed the driver side door shut. She was buckling her seatbelt when the woman shifted into gear and pressed down on the accelerator. Elaina didn't need to ask who Ray was, as she had overheard the conversation at the diner that morning about Carrie's boyfriend not coming home.
The deputy from the woods- her mind supplied traitorously. Her arms wrapped around herself, as guilt plagued her. All these people were dying and she wasn't able to do anything to stop it.
The woman mistook her huddled form as an indication that she was cold and she reached over to the heater, jacking it up a couple notched and adjusting the vents to blow to the hot air directly at Elaina. The woman steered them onto the main street that ran directly through town, glancing over at Elaina as the silence waned between them.
"I've- I've seen you at the dinner a couple times- or it might have been around town? You're new here right? Or just visiting," the woman said for conversation. They were drawing near the diner now, just a couple blocks away.
Elaina looked over, her hands falling to her lap to keep herself busy. "I'm just visiting," she added after the cab of the truck had gone silent as the woman waited for her to answer. "Just hiking in the woods for a couple days."
"And that's why you carry a sword with you all the time," the woman asked her incredulously.
Elaina shook her head. "I had just gotten back from a hike when the town's power went out and I heard a sound," she said carefully, taking her time to answer the woman's question without raising an alarm. "It was just instinctual to have the machete out incase whatever made the sound wasn't friendly." At this Elaina shrugged her shoulders.
"My names Darcy," the woman said as a way of introducing herself as she pulled the truck into the diner's parking lot, pulling into a vacant spot next to an old station wagon.
"Elaina," Elaina said in reply, as she woman shut off the engine. They both climbed out, Darcy pausing to look at the station wagon.
"That's Carrie's car," she said quietly, her brows furrowed with concern. "Her shift ended hours ago, she shouldn't still be here."
Elaina looked towards the darkened diner, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as if she was being watched. She looked around the parking lot, not seeing anything, though that meant very little. "Let's head inside and see what's going on," Elaina offered.
Darcy nodded and lead the way, the front door left unlock despite the sign being turned saying they were closed. Elaina had a very bad feeling about all this.
As Darcy pushed open the door, she held out a flashlight in front of her, sweeping the room with the beam. "Carrie," she called, causing Elaina to wince. Her eyes darted quickly around the room, but couldn't see or hear anything lurking in the darkness. "Carrie the powers out- are you still here?"
The woman moved to the back of the diner, calling out the waitress's name as she approached the swinging doors. Elaina was close behind her, her eyes following the sweeping beam of the flashlight. She wasn't sure what to expect, as the woman opened the doors, but the sight of the familiar slime streaked across the linoleum, had Elaina tensing. As the flashlight followed its trail, they found Carrie, slumped against one of the cabinets.
Darcy moved forward to help the woman, but Elaina was quick to stop her, her hand closing around the woman's wrist. This caused the flashlight's beam to stop over the woman's belly that was protruding abnormally.
There was movement from inside, something pressing out as if trying to break free, when suddenly blood blossomed across the uniform, skin tearing and clothes shredding. As the skin peeled apart, three oblong heads burst out from within, with shrill cries.
Next to her, Darcy stumbled back, her hand covering her mouth with a terrified gasp. Elaina struggled not to throw up as she watched three aliens burst out of a woman's stomach she had talked to just that morning. Forcing herself to look away, Elaina tugged at Darcy's wrist, pulling the woman out of the kitchens and back into the dining floor. The woman turned, only to muffle a scream, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
Turning at the woman's warning, Elaina found herself being thrown across the room by an alien's tail connecting with her gut. She landed on one of the booths, her back hitting the window, and splintering the glass from her sudden impact with it. Groaning, Elaina laid there gasping for air, her arms wrapped around her middle protectively.
Darcy's sudden scream, had Elaina struggling against the pain in her stomach, her eyes searching the diner till she found the other woman huddled up near the bar. Towering over the terrified woman, was the largest Alien she had ever seen, besides the Alien Queen that is. Grunting, Elaina reached behind her, pulling her blade free from its harness.
"Hey!" she shouted, her voice coming out hoarse and shaky, as she stood on trembling legs. She was absolutely terrified of the situation she was in, but too stubborn to just run and leave the woman to die.
The alien paused from its inspection of Darcy, something Elaina had never seen them do before. Slowly it turned its head towards her and Elaina got her first real look at the predalien. Elaina's eyes widened in horror at the face that stared at her with no eyes. The wide forehead swept back into the familiar oblong skull. The four mandibles pulling apart as it regarded her, its head cocking to the side, before they stretched wide and it roared.
Elaina took a step back her body bumping into the table behind her. This thing was huge and was not just an ordinary alien. Not that she was much of a match for the average alien to begin with. Raising her blade as a challenge to the creature, she tried side stepping to the right, away from the front doors and back towards the cash register. The predalien turned its back to Darcy and started talking after her, tracking her movements as she made her way backwards.
Once she had its complete attention and without taking her eyes off it, Elaina shouted, "Run!"
Darcy was dragging herself up from the floor, using the bar as leverage, having not listened to Elaina's frantic shout for her to run, she stood rooted to the spot. She looked to the predalien, shaking and crying before looking at Elaina, not sure what she should do.
The alien turned its head as if it sensed her movements.
"Darcy run!" Elaina shouted at her again and she charged the predalien, forcing it to turn back to her and defend itself.
Darcy screamed, running for the front door, as the predalien roared, accepting Elaina's challenge. Darcy shoved against the doors with her body, racing outside crying for help, and leaving Elaina alone to fight the monster by herself.
AN: And here is Chapter thirteen. Sorry again for the delay, but I don't believe it was as long as a wait as the last one. I will try my best not to leave you waiting too long for the next chapter either. I am in need of a beta-reader, if anyone is interested in helping me with The Hunt Begins, The Hunt Continue and eventually The Hunt End. If interested I could use some help on Taboo also XD. I know I am so needy!
Anywho, I would like to thank all of my readers. Your continued support keeps this story alive even in my darkest moments of writers block. Some of you help me push through the barriers and keep me focused. TRON0602 you are the best ^^ Finally finished this chapter! thank you so much.
Tell me what you guys think, did you loved/liked/hated it?
I am curious though. I got a few reviews upset with the way Elaina reacted to the predators killing the old man... I donno about you, but if I seen them kill an innocent old man, I would be freaked out, I don't care how hot they are lol. *shrugs* But that is just my take on it. I am trying to keep Elaina human. Because she is human. She's not going to be all okay at every given situation. She acts tough,and tries to brush things off like they don't bother her. But there are moments, when her resolve breaks, and she has a freak out session. I think this is pretty normal (in my opinion) in seriously terrifying situations. I don't think Elaina is a mary sue, or whatever that term is, because she is far from perfect. She has her flaws.
Hopefully you guys don't hate her too much. I know I didn't like her at all in the beginning myself and I wrote her! I created her haha.. but I wanted Elaina to be hated, and for you guys to grow to love her, as I have grown to love her as a character. She's grown up a lot since Chapter one of The Hunt Begins, but she still has a ways to go.
I'd appreciate the feedback, let me know what you guys think on the characters? How am I doing.? Thank you all so much, I hope you have a lovely day, and see you in the next chapter.
Inky out.