A bullet cracked off a wall right next to my head.
"Whoa! Hey!" I shouted, raising my hands. "Don't shoot!"
I glanced down the intersecting tunnel and saw the crew of the Betty, now fully armed, Johner, the handicapped Vriess strapped to his back, Distephano and Call.
Johner raised his thickly muscled arms, aiming straight for me.
The man cocked back the hammer on his weapon. We never really had established a good rapport.
My alien companions probably could have rushed in and taken the guys down, but we weren't on good terms at the moment, so they just stood around, trying to see which one of us would die first.
With a scream, Sarah came running to the humans. "Help me! Help! They're trying to kill me!"
The man fired around the girl, attempting to kill us while providing her cover. We pressed ourselves against the walls. Ernie, though, remained in the tunnel behind us, because she was too big to go anywhere.
"What do you think about that little brat now?" I muttered to Ssunamrozedrah.
"I think whatever happens next is your fault!"
Ripley handed her baby to Ruth, stepped in between me and the men, spreading her arms. "Stop!"
"Out of the way, Ripley!" Johner shouted. "We ain't got nothing against you, but these things have got to go!"
"I am one of those things."
The man didn't lower his weapon. "Why did she say you tried to kill her?"
"Because she did!" Sarah cried.
The man's trigger finger moved.
"Johner, don't!" Hissed the little man on his back. "She might be able to tell us what the fuck is going on!"
Johner kept pointing the pistol. "You got to the count of ten to explain this shit, starting now."
Ripley frowned. "You should really ask the alien you're trying to use for target practice. She's the one with the answers."
"Fine. I don't care who talks. Just give me some damn answers. For starters, where the fuck are we?"
"Um..." I stammered.
"Well?"
I swallowed. "I...don't know."
Johner gritted his teeth, kept the gun steady. "That's not an answer. Nine."
"Look! All I did was will the station to go somewhere where aliens could peacefully exist in safety without harm to themselves or human beings! I didn't stop to think about the location!"
But then the answer popped into my head anyway. "It's Pathilon."
Johner furrowed his brow. "What?"
"Um...I thought we'd be safe if we moved somewhere near my friend's planet! Pathilon!"
"My God!" Vriess cried. "We're orbiting a whole fucking planet of those things?"
"That's not where they come from, dumbass." I frowned. "At least, I hope not."
"She's right," said Ripley. "I've met a human who came from that planet. It should be safe."
I gawked at her. "You actually know what I'm taking about? Did you meet Pillow?"
The woman nodded. "The memories I have before arriving here are hazy, but I do seem to remember speaking to both her and her human friend...Barnes, I think his name was. I visited him every day. Nice guy."
"Okay, so maybe we won't die if we go there, but it's not earth."
"Why be picky?" Vriess asked.
"You sayin' you actually believe there's a safe place out there?"
"You're right. There wasn't anything damn close. We did look."
Johner scowled at me. "You got us here. Send us back!"
I didn't want to go back into the throne, but I knew that Mara could possibly move us without the need of me getting my brains smashed in again, if only... "No can do. Mr. Wren's in the control room. He's got a thing that can drop me to the floor before I make a step."
"Brain implant," Ripley explained as she picked up her infant.
"Let us take care of that. Show us to the control room."
Ssunamrozedrah growled. "Wait. What about the guns?"
Although heavily accented, the words had been in English. Johner waved his pistol around. "What, this ain't good enough for one man?"
I frowned. "I...don't know. He's kind of powerful."
"Wait," said Vriess. "What guns?"
I gave Ernie an apologetic smile. "Maybe you should stay here for the time being. This operation needs a kind of surgical precision, and you're like a gigantic hostage."
"You sure about that?" Johner asked. "That thing looks like it could rip the guy's head off like a beer top."
"Like I said, Wren's got a device. Last time we tried anything, she ended up writhing on the floor."
The small man looked nervously at his friend. "Maybe a couple extra guns wouldn't hurt, eh, Johner?"
Sarah pointed to me. "She tried to kill me! You can't trust her!"
"I'm not trusting anyone, kid," Johner said through his teeth. "She's a means to an end."
"So you'll shoot her later?"
"Count on it."
No one could see me glaring, which was probably just as well.
Johner and his team were understandably nervous around us, Johner pointing a gun at me as I and Ripley followed the holographic bird down the corridor. Vriess, hanging from the man like a backpack, kept his eyes, and a pistol, trained on my `kindred.'
Distephano looked jumpy, but he kept his weapon holstered. Not sure if that were confidence or fear that he didn't have a chance.
The man pointed to Spider Boy. "What's with the thing?"
"He's a clone. Kind of a hybrid, but not from our genetics." I winced. I'd just identified myself with the aliens. "So what did you do with Purvis?"
"Got him in refrigeration. Gonna pull that thing out of him once we find the right type of doctor."
I thought about how I and Ripley died, and wondered if it were really possible to remove such a thing.
Johner frowned at Ripley's baby, which incidentally appeared to have aged a few years since I last took a good look at it. "So...you and that thing back there..."
She smiled. "I was not expecting it to arrive so soon, but I'm pleased to have him. He's adorable."
The man blew a raspberry.
"Literally a face only a mother could love," Vriess whispered to him.
Both men laughed.
Ripley glared at them, looking like she intended to do something violent, but I just shook my head. "Ignore them. I personally think he's cute."
"Thank you." She gave Johner a sideways glance. "You know, I overheard that Christie's still alive."
Distephano stopped in his tracks, gaping at her.
Johner reddened. "Bull shit! If he's alive, why the fuck isn't he with us?"
Call opened her mouth to say something, but I didn't want her getting in trouble. "He's very sick. He didn't trust me. I'm sure he'd love to see you again."
"He's not in a good condition for any fighting," Ssunamrozedrah growled. "We should destroy this `Wren' human first!"
Johner froze.
"What do you think?" Vriess asked. "Should we go after him? Or get the guns first?"
"We left him for dead. Whatever we do, he's not going to be fucking happy to see us."
Vriess disagreed. "We're saving a guy's life."
"It's your choice," I said. "As far as I can tell, he's safe. All of us alien monsters are with you."
"It will waste time," said Ssunamrozedrah.
Distefano hadn't said much of anything up until this point, probably because he was scared shitless, but now he offered his observation. "That thing is right. It could be a wild goose chase. How do we know it's not a trap for them to kill us all?"
"They're about to lead us to a bunch of guns. It'd be real handy for us to kill them at that point."
"Maybe the gun thing is a setup too. Maybe they don't even have guns, and we're going straight to their lair!"
"Whatever happens, someone's going to eat a bullet if they're wrong." Johner's glaring eyes bored down on me. "Show me to Christie."
"Your human friend is of no importance," Ssunamrozedrah snarled.
Johner opened his mouth to say something (and threaten her with his gun), but Mary spoke first. "Ssunamrozedrah! What would mother say? She cares for humans deeply! Let's not dishonor her, especially so close to where she can hear what you are saying!"
Ssunamrozedrah let out a frustrated animal noise.
"She will go with you," Mary said. For someone of such little skill in English, I was surprised she could communicate this to the man, but I guess, in between me, her family and Ernie, she'd picked something up.
Big Bird knew how to locate the man. I suppose, with all or most of the people in the station gone, it wasn't that hard to use a couple sensors to find a heat signature.
"Do we need to worry about Spider Man here?" Johner asked as we crossed a passageway. "I mean, does he drill holes in people's heads and lay eggs or something?"
"I'm not really sure," I said. "We've never had to test it out."
Matthew gave him a naughty smirk. "Worry."
We followed our feathery digital alien guide to a maintenance ladder inside an elevator. We tried to take the elevator, but it refused to respond to the call button, something either to do with the flooding, or Father's meddling in the system. I caught no sign of Mr. Freeze this time.
Ripley climbed ahead of me, a bit slowly due to cradling her baby in one arm.
"You knew about this long before we left in the Betty," Johner said below me. "Didn't you?"
"What was I going to do?" I asked. "I see a big monster bundling him up in a cocoon, and he looks dead. I almost thought he was dead at first, and, don't forget, the station was about to wreck into Antarctica, and you only had a couple minutes to get to safety. That's why I didn't say anything. I came back after you guys were gone just to see if anything more could be done to save him. He got out, but he doesn't look great."
"What happened to him?"
"You'll have to see for yourself."
"He's dead," Vriess muttered.
"No, no, he's just...not great."
"Can he walk? And hold a gun?"
"Yes, but I don't think he'll be able to shoot worth a damn. It's...hard to explain. The thing that attacked him, it wasn't one of...these guys."
"I want to hear this shit from his own mouth."
"Fine. Let's keep moving."
We suddenly heard mechanical groaning sounds.
"What was that?" Vriess cried in alarm.
"Just the elevator," I said.
Johner flinched. "Jesus! Now you tell us!"
"We're not going to get out of here any faster if we all panic."
The took awhile to come after us due to all the water. By the time it reached us, we were jumping through a maintenance hatch.
Matt screamed. I rushed back to check on him, but it appeared to be a false alarm. The elevator zipped past the ladder without doing him the slightest amount of injury.
"Waste of time," Ssunamrozedrah grumbled in annoyance.
"It would be more efficient if we just killed and ate the humans," Jeremy agreed. Luckily, that comment was not spoken in English.
Mary frowned at them. "Mother would not want us to do that."
"Are we supposed to eat grass?"
"I have heard of meat substitutes. We must ask her about it when we return."
"Thanks for covering for me," Call whispered to me. I've caused them so much trouble in the last few days..."
I swallowed, giving her a nod. "You had my back, so I thought I'd return the favor."
We strode down a corridor.
"So," I said to Ripley. "You knew Barnes."
"Yeah. He told me some crazy story about marrying an alien." She glanced at her baby. "I suppose anything's possible."
"You don't need to kill all the aliens," I heard Sarah muttering to Johner. "Just Newt. She hurt me."
The man eyed her with suspicion. "I'd feel a lot safer if all of them are dead, but if they leave us the fuck alone, I'll think about it."
"I'm glad to hear it."
I clenched and unclenched my fists, keeping my comments, and anger, to myself.
Ripley smirked at the android. "You're taking all of this pretty calmly for someone that came here to kill me."
Call swallowed. "I saw what Perez and the others did to those frozen people we carried in." She cast my Ss'sik'chtokiwij companions an uncomfortable glance. "I don't know who the monster is anymore."
"Maybe there's something of a monster in all of us."
Without warning, a door exploded, an immense fireball blasting into the hallway. Water gushed out, carrying the smashed up monitor and the chair I'd used against someone as weapons a few hours ago.
Apparently the unattended Bunsen burner had caught one of the fuel tanks on fire somehow. The drawings Claudia had crumpled up and thrown away floated out like little boats, some becoming fireballs that puffed out when they burnt to water level.
A second explosion obliterated a wall.
I shoved Distephano to the floor, shielding him with my body. Small shards of metal stuck into my shell. They didn't appear to have hit anything vital. I didn't feel any pain.
The man had landed in a couple inches of water, which is a lot better than burning up. I gazed at him, admiring his handsome face, the strong muscles, running a claw over his stubbly hair.
The man stared at me, bug eyed in terror.
"Hey," I chuckled. "I'm not going to hurt you."
I helped him to his feet, pulled him into a corridor, away from the fire.
The guy kept gawking, bulge eyed, like a rabbit. "Uh...thank you." He swallowed. "Thanks for saving my life."
He gave me a nervous smile. I should have read it as an impulse to turn away from me and run like hell, but the dumb preteen (or teen) within me stupidly thought that we were having a moment.
Smiling, I wiped steaming drool away from my lips, gazing into his eyes. "So what's a cute guy like you doing with..." Not wanting to offend, I stopped myself. "These guys."
"They're my buddies," he said. "They've had my back for as long as I can remember. We've pulled off some amazing heists together."
I nodded. "Cool. Guess they're not so bad once you get to know them, huh?"
Johner laughed. "Don't look now, `Steph, but I think that thing has the hots for you."
As an alien, I knew I couldn't blush, but I felt warm, like I was doing it. I decided to fight down the embarrassment and persist, gently placing a clean claw on Distephano's shoulder. "To eres muy guapo." I paused. "Did I say that right?"
The man's Adam's apple bobbed in discomfort. He gave me a nod. "Would you be offended if I said I wasn't interested?"
"Now, it'll just rip a hole through your forehead," Johner joked.
"Jesus, don't say things like that!" The man crossed himself, to protect himself from the bad luck.
"You are in love with that human?" Ruth hissed to me.
"I...maybe? You know I used to be a human once, right? What's it to you?"
"Nothing. I just fail to understand how you would have children without killing him."
I sighed. "Thanks for bursting my bubble, Ruth."
The sprinklers came on, suppressing the flames before they could reach further areas of the ship.
Johner clicked back the hammer of his gun, pointing it at my head. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
I would have said maybe, but I didn't want another hole in my skull. "Not really. It was an accident. Damn near got myself blown up."
"Accidentally on purpose," Vriess muttered.
Johner lowered his weapon. "If she's dumb enough to do that, it might do us all a favor and blow itself up."
"Devil's advocate," Distephano said. "It did just save my life. The thing could have just let me get blown to bits."
Johner chortled through his nose. "Only because it's got the hots for you."
"You two of you should get a room," Vriess chuckled.
Distephano's face changed color. "Hey, fuck you. I'm just saying-"
The little man on Johner's back looked skeptical. "It could be an act. You know, get our guards down."
Sarah chimed in with an "It is an act!"
Johner gave her a nod. "Bet if I'd been in the path of that explosion, it would have let my ass die."
I crossed my arms indignantly. "And I bet you'd blow a hole through my head if I even tried to save you."
The look on Call's face told me she knew that all too well.
"Fair point," Vriess muttered.
"So...I gather that Christie is around here somewhere?"
I shook my head. "That's just my room. We got a ways to go." I would have mentioned how close we were to Wren, but the portal was closed, and we weren't prepared for a fight yet.
Ripley's baby started wailing, and it wouldn't shut up even when she bounced it.
"Could you do something about that...?" Johner asked.
In response, the woman held Sammy in front of him, smiling as the baby melted the carpet with its steaming urine.
"Oh sick!"
The baby quieted down.
"All better, Mr. Johner."
I followed Big Bird down the corridor, then stopped. "Wait. This isn't where we left Christie. We went down a floor or two, didn't we?"
The feathery electronic mosquito thing replied, "Correct. This is not where you left him. He has moved."
"But the man's half blind! How did he find his way here?"
"I had help."
Christie calmly strolled out into the hallway, giving Johner and his companions a friendly smile. "Hey guys! Long time no see! Miss me?"
Johner stared in worriment at the acid scarred face, the weirdly bleached skin, hair and discolored eyes. "Christie! Thank God! We all thought those things had killed you!"
Christie winced, like he were in pain or something, but then smiled in a way that seemed forced. "Hey! No worries! Everything's cool!"
Our holographic guide smiled at him, but I eyed the man warily. Everything didn't exactly look that `cool.'
"What happened to you? You look like hell!"
Christie shook his head. "Long story."
"Yeah? Well we'd like to hear it."
The android looked like she wanted to say something, but we both knew that Johner preferred to hear it coming from the horse's mouth.
Instead of answering, Christie stared at Ripley's baby. "Congratulations. Cute kid."
Johner looked like he'd smelled a fart. "Christie, you seem a little off..."
"I'd say a lot off," Vriess remarked. "Christie, did you notice that the thing's eyeballs were missing and it's got a mouth like a damn shark?"
"I got an open mind."
"Yeah? That's how your brains fall out."
Ripley rubbed her infant's head, giving it baby talk. "Don't let them hurt your feelings! Mama's baby is adorable!"
"Regardless," Call said. "He does seem a little out of sorts."
A moment later, Lacy came out to join us. My alien companions snarled.
Johner aimed his gun at her.
Christie raised his hands defensively. "Relax! It's cool. This thing is helping me."
"Bullshit," I said.
"Whatever you think of her, she saved my life. Back there, when I was drowning, when you and everyone else left me behind..."
"Hey!" I cried. "I'm the one that saved you, not her!"
"Tsk, tsk, Becky," Lacy mocked. "Memory's just not as good as it used to be, is it?"
Johner, Vriess and Distefano stared at me with discomfort. Call looked like she were having a headache. I gave Ripley a pleading look, but she said nothing.
I clenched my fists. "You're a bitch and a liar!"
"Often people create the most stinging insults out of things they don't like about themselves."
The other Ss'sik'chtokiwij murmured amongst themselves about this, but didn't step in to help me. "Fuck you."
Lacy only smiled. "It seems you are also a brilliant conversationalist."
"I hope this mean part of yourself burns in hell."
She just laughed at me.
Christie chuckled. "Ladies, please. No need to fight. Everything's fine. I'm alive, that's what matters."
"If you always behave like this," Ssunamrozedrah growled. "Perhaps it would have been better if Newt had not rescued you at all!"
Johner's eyes kept narrowing, as if he didn't buy Christie's act, but didn't voice his suspicion. "...All...right, well (ahem) we're going to gather..." He cast Lacy an uncomfortable glance. "Some supplies, and go to this place's control room. Apparently our friend here knows a way to move this whole ship across dimensions, so we can get back to earth."
Christie's vacant smile widened. "I'm well aware. In fact, it's a good thing we've met up like this. It'll save some time. You see, me and Wren have been discussing the very same thing."
"Smart man," Lacy agreed.
Johner furrowed his brow. "You what? Are you crazy? The guy tried to kill us, and now you and that wack job are hanging out?"
Christie winced again. "I know. He acts kinda cowardly sometimes, and he's a little selfish, but the man's okay. He wants the same thing we want, a way back to earth. He really doesn't want to kill you. If you keep the terms of the original agreement, and keep things hush hush, he's willing to let you go home."
"Provided he keeps my family as weapons for their government!" Ssunamrozedrah shouted.
Matt, literally possessing hackles, raised them.
Johner frowned, actually appearing to take the offer seriously.
Distephano looked disturbed. "You're actually going to go along with this shit?"
"I...I'm not sure we have a choice."
"The deed is done," Vriess agreed. "Whatever dark shit he's doing here, it's none of our business. At least we can walk away with some money...On earth."
"They're talking of imprisoning us again, aren't they?" Jeremy complained in Ss'sik'chtokiwij. "We should kill them all!"
"Jeremy," Mary scolded. "We talked about this."
To my absolute shock, Sarah wasn't going along with this farce. "Don't trust him! I don't like that man!"
"Yeah," said Call. "What about all those people he impregnated with those things?" She glanced at Ripley apologetically. "No offense...My point is, he's a mass murderer!"
Christie looked unphased by that comment. "You look pretty cozy with them right now. They were a bunch of wealthy venture capitalists anyway. No big loss!"
"You sure you're all right, Christie? You're acting kinda flaky."
"No, no, I'm cool. Everything's cool...Look, man. Okay, so the guy's a dirtbag, but he's got a way to send us home! You got to give him props for that!"
Johner was shaking his head no, but he still said, "...All right, so...where's this...control room?"
Christie led us down a corridor, where we got joined by Bruno and Claudia. Bruno, heavily bandaged, hobbled along on a cane.
"Nice of you to join us," said the woman.
Johner looked even more alarmed now, but kept his mouth shut.
None of my alien companions liked seeing the two any more than they had appreciated Lacy's sudden reappearance. They argued amongst themselves in Ss'sik'chtokiwij.
I frowned at the two scientists. "So you're working for Wren now."
"We always worked for him."
"Did you always know that he likes to include Satanism into his so-called `scientific research'?"
Claudia rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't care about his bias if he believe in Intelligent Design."
I sighed. "Yeah? Well maybe you're right! At least, with a bias toward a creator, a good creator, you wouldn't be sacrificing goats and children to attain evil powers!"
"Wren has never killed a child."
"Not yet, you mean."
"Just because he believes something different doesn't mean he's an evil man."
"No, he's an evil man because he impregnates innocent people with larva."
"Do you want to stand around and argue?" Lacy asked. "Or do you want to go home?"
I glared at her. "You're asking the wrong person. I'm fine where I am."
"This is a time sensitive matter, Becky. We don't have time for this."
"You're not convincing me to help you."
"Ladies," Johner scolded. "Can we please move this along?"
"You're making a mistake," I said.
The man pointed his gun at me. "Not as big as if you don't help us get back to earth. Move."
We continued to follow Lacy, Christie close at her chitinous heels.
After a few more yards, Johner sighed in frustration. With Vriess's weight on his back, it was a wonder he didn't get tired sooner. "How much further we got to walk?"
"Not much."
We turned a corner, entering a lab. Along one wall, a pair of golden posts glowed, revealing a shimmering portal to the throne room.
Lacy gestured to the opening. "Right this way, gentlemen and ladies."
Johner stopped in the middle of the room. "No dice. I hate when people act shifty, especially when trying to make me go through Skeletor's magic portal."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that." Lacy had a Magnum in a holster slung around her waist. In one quick movement, she had its barrel pressed to Christie's head. "You're coming with me, or your friend dies."
Johner pulled his own weapon, but Lacy was already dragging her hostage through the magic gate.
"Johner go!" Christie shouted. "Leave me! Wren's crazy! He'll kill you!"
His friend unthinkingly rushed through the opening with his weapon drawn, Distephano, Call and Ripley following after.
"You should probably go with them," Claudia said to me in a threatening tone.
Ssunamrozedrah growled and shook her head, suggesting in Ss'sik'chtokiwij, "We should go get weapons first."
Claudia had plenty of time to study the language. "That would be unwise. Wren's overheard you talking. The moment you even try to grab a weapon from downstairs, we'll drop your big friend on the other floor."
"Good luck on that!" I laughed. "We'll kill you before you even reach her!"
"I'm afraid we're already there." She showed a video on her phone, where the big alien queen sat surrounded by androids and small spider-like machines with assault rifles mounted on their frames. A second screen showed explosives cleverly hidden in the bulkheads. "One false move, and your friend will be floating space debris."
"How the fuck did you get down there?"
"The same way we can do this!"
I looked down just in time to see a shimmering hole open up beneath my feet. Somehow the glowing goal posts had expanded horizontally.
I fell, screaming, through the ceiling of the throne room, right into Wren's trap.
As I lay groaning on the floor, I heard Wren's voice saying, "Welcome back, Becky. Glad you decided to change your mind."
"Go fuck yourself."
"Amen, sister." Johner still had his pistol aimed at Lacy, though, with the hostage, he didn't have a clear shot.
I stared at the throne with dismay. "Mara! How could you!"
"I am sorry," the disembodied Android answered. "They are holding Sh'kassk'dwuissueblik hostage."
Johner's gun hadn't moved, and neither had Lacy's. Mexican standoff.
"Do it," Christie said. "You can't let the bastard win."
"I'd cooperate if I were you." Lacy shifted her grip on the pistol. "We can get you to earth."
"From what I hear, there's a safe planet nearby."
"You gonna believe some gay fantasy story about monkey people on an alien planet? Or do you want to go to a place that actually exists?"
"She's got a point, Johner," Vriess said. "Our scanners didn't even detect a planet nearby."
"Yeah? Well I take offense at anyone holding a pistol to a friend's head."
"Also a valid point!"
"I'll let him go if you drop your weapon," Lacy said.
"You drop yours first."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Then I'm afraid we don't have a deal."
Ssunamrozedrah and Jeremy tried to sneak around her back.
"Stay where you are! All of you!" Lacy yelled. "Our your friend gets it!"
Johner cast a sideways glance at Lacy's `boss'. "I don't know what game you're playing, here, Wren, but I'm not buying."
"You're fortunate that the `game', as you call it, no longer requires your involvement."
"But we do need his ship," Lacy said.
"Yes, there is that."
Johner snarled an answer through his teeth. "You're not getting the Betty."
"I am, or your friend will die."
"Just for giggles, why the fuck do you need it anyway? You can teleport shit."
"The machinery has a very limited range."
"You moved the entire station across the galaxy. Define limited."
"Our panicking crew took all the smaller vehicles, and this station wasn't designed to land on planets."
"Is that a fact? Well tough titty pal, you ain't gettin' my ship!"
"Now now," Wren laughed. "We all want the same things. If everything goes according to plan, you will all return to earth. Our business transaction will be honored, and you can go on your merry way."
"What about the things?" Call asked. "You're going to use them for some military project, aren't you?"
Wren chuckled like she'd told a funny joke. "Military project? Why settle for some paltry sum from the Department of Defense when I can become a god?"
"Sorry, I don't make deals with lunatics. The Betty stays with me."
Lacy gave Johner a nasty smile. "I think you overestimate how much I value your friend's life."
"I don't!" In a lightning fast move, Ssunamrozedrah whipped the weapon out of Johner's hand, shot Christie in the leg, then, as the hostage doubled over in pain, Ernie's niece shot our surprised enemy in the shoulder.
Lacy fell to the floor. "Ow! The fucker pulled a Speed on me!"
As Call rushed to aid our wounded comrade, Ssunamrozedrah turned the pistol on Wren, fired twice, but the madman just turned into a smoke, and a crowd of shadow men appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh Jesus!" Johner cried. "What the hell are those!"
Thinking I could somehow use my gold hand to do something, I raised it and prayed, but I guess I didn't pray right. Nothing happened. I heard an ominous laugh in response.
Mary, however, seemed to be on fire for the Lord, or something, for she blew away the whole lot of them with her Godzilla routine.
Johner snatched up Lacy's weapon before she could use it on anyone else.
He pointed it at Ssunamrozedrah. "Don't ever touch my gun again."
The alien took it in stride. "I'll keep that in mind if we live through this."
The man aimed at Wren and fired, but the bullets only disappeared into the mist. Our enemy waved his hand, and the pistol flew across the room.
Mary turned to face Wren, opened her mouth for another deadly Godzilla breath attack.
The man smiled, reached into his pocket, and all of us aliens collapsed on the floor, writhing in convulsions, including Matt and Ripley.
Vriess aimed his gun at our foe, but again, no clear shot.
Okay, so not all of us aliens had been incapacitated. Lacy, for example, hadn't been affected in the slightest, so when Ripley's baby, born without a debilitating implant, came rushing across the floor (presumably to kill Wren), she could quickly pounce and hold the wiggling creature to her chest.
Matt tried to get up, but he could only spasm and scream.
Shadow men materialized in the chamber, one standing before each of my human allies. Johner inhaled, and one of the dark figures disappeared inside his mouth and nostrils, a second one invading Vriess. Distephano cried out prayers in Spanish, but I guess he lacked faith, because a third shadow man entered his own body.
Johner and Distephano, zombie-like, turned to face me. "Get in the chair, Becky," the two and Vriess said in unison.
"Don't," Call warned. "I don't know what this is, but -"
A second later, she dropped to the floor like a mannequin. Wren had pushed something on his little device.
"This can end anytime you want, Becky," Wren said in a booming voice. "I'll let your friends go. Just get in the chair."
I laughed. "If you can do everything I've just seen, why the hell do you need me in that thing?"
"These are mere parlor tricks compared to what the throne can do. You have only scratched the surface of its power. Get in the chair."
"Go to hell."
He pushed a button, and every part of my body erupted in pain.
"Did you know this device comes with more than one setting? I'd love to try out the other ones!"
"Big Bird!" I croaked. "Mara! Help!"
"I'm sorry," came the android's disembodied voice. "I love Sh'kassk'dwuissueblik too much to let her die."
"Sh'kassk'dwuissueblik's death would make me very unhappy," Big Bird agreed. "After all, she has taught me the meaning of happiness."
"Oh God," I groaned. "So you'd rather let me die instead."
"You would not die. You have placed your brain in the device before with no ill effect."
"No ill effect! Since you're clearly not carbon based life forms, let me spell it out for you: A harpoon stabbing you through the brain is technically a fucking ill effect!"
"I am sorry," said Big Bird. "According to that definition, the injury Wren proposes to do to Sh'kassk'dwuissueblik will have a vastly greater degree of fucking ill effectiveness. I cannot permit this to happen."
"Jesus," I muttered.
"As you can see, Becky," Wren said. "You have no options left. I suggest you cooperate."
For a moment, it seemed like Vriess's shadow man had weakened. "Why does she have to get in that thing anyway?" he asked. "Why don't you sit in it?"
"It's fatal to humans, simpleton." Wren waved his hand, and the little guy went back into zombie mode. "Claudia, bring it in."
I stared in bafflement as the woman pushed a cart into the room, laden with a giant strange looking egg incubator. Through the glass, I could see a mottled green-brown spheroid roughly the size of an ostrich egg.
"As you can see, Becky. I was telling the truth. Cooperate with me, and you can start your life over in this new body. You'll no longer be an alien bug, you'll have all the weaknesses and frailties you've been pining for all these days in confinement."
"It seems I'm an open book to you," I muttered.
"So you've decided to cooperate?"
"Yeah right. How will I do anything with your egg when you've got my brains mashed up inside that machine?"
"The same way I can bring back the souls of the dead."
"The guy has a point. If you can do that, you should be able to sit in that chair yourself. In fact, I disabled the alarm thing so it no longer poisons you to death."
"You know it's not that easy. My spirit still has a human flesh container. It wouldn't survive the stress. Plus I know what you're trying to do. The moment I made the attempt, your android friend would reactivate the poison trap."
I wish you'd do it anyway, I thought. It'd save me a lot of trouble.
I only considered his offer for a second. "I...can't. There's a child in there. I know what it's like to have your life ripped away from you before you even live it. No deal."
"You have two options before you right now. You can do what I ask voluntarily, or involuntarily. Believe me, you don't want to see involuntary."
Now, all of this time, the little girl had just been standing around, passively watching us with her arms behind her back. Despite being a fellow prisoner, the device hadn't seemed to work on her.
You don't expect much from a little girl, and I certainly didn't expect much from someone who had worms and treated me like shit. But now she spoke up. "Allow me. Perhaps I can convince her."
"You?" the man scoffed. "Intend to convince her? Why?"
"You have access to a power I want. I'm certain we can come to a mutual understanding."
"She wanted to bash your brains in! I'd be surprised if you convince her of anything."
I just stared. "I'd be surprised myself."
"I have my methods."
I knew full well how she intended to 'convince' me. I saw how that monster Ssorzechola dumped all those worms on Noah, using his house church to create that army of brainwashed worm zombies. I backed away in horror.
The girl lowered her voice, appearing to look directly into my eyes. "Becky. Trust me. I don't like him any more than you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
I froze, would have raised an eyebrow if I had one. "You're a bunch of worms."
Giving me a sweet, innocent smile, the girl asked, "You want him in charge, or me?"
I swallowed, not answering.
"Do you trust me?"
"Oh God no. I don't know what kind of trick you're pulling, but it's horse shit."
Wren materialized next to us suddenly. "I heard every word you said. If you try anything, you little bitch, I'll destroy you."
Sarah didn't reply. Instead, the girl just cleared her throat, making such an elaborate production out of it that I thought she were hacking up a hairball.
She vomited, a spray of tiny wiggling creatures as thin and as fine as thread or dental floss that went all over my chest. I tried to back away, tried to brush the fucking disgusting things off my exoskeleton, but they kept wriggling into the cracks and crevices, the ones on the floor curling up like little cobras before a snake charmer, diving into the open joints between my body plates.
The more worms gushed out, the less human the girl looked, her body seeming to deflate like a punctured soccer ball. The girl's eyes became sunken, shriveling like raisins inside their sockets, her plump face shrinking down to a skull, reminding me of that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
A lifeless bag of skin and bone dropped onto the ground as a mound of worms flooded my mouth.
I saw stars, then darkness.
I was...somewhere else. I and Sarah floated in a darkened void. I was human again, a reflection of the me on the inside.
"You asked if I trusted you," I said. "I don't. You just invaded my body. For all I know, my real body is running around killing people, just like those things did on Archeron.
Sarah watched a memory of me running from a thick limbed balding guy in camo, his eyes a solid white from the worm infestation. I punched the man in the crotch, diving into the maintenance tunnels.
And then came my mental image of her old friend. Ssorzechola.
"Not friend." Sarah said. "Mother."
"I knew this was a bad idea."
It was too late, though, she'd already gotten inside my head.
After Ssorzechola filled Noah with her worms, she attacked his little house church. The man's wife, Sweetie, tried to attack the monster with a can of bug spray, but it didn't work. She got shot full of the monster's paralyzing darts, cocooned, and later impregnated with a worm infested alien egg.
About ten people, all dressed for church, cowered around the monster, either paralyzed in fear, praying, or anxiously searching for the right opportunity to run out. The other people lay on the ground, impregnated with eggs, or sprawled over folding chairs with quills stuck in their bodies, one laid out on the carpet. A woman's baby cried.
I could see a couple more people guarded by Noah's Indian friend Kumar. He had a gun, but I doubted he actually had practice with it.
I had been hiding in a back bedroom, seeing all this through a crack in the door. My little brother was hiding in a ventilation shaft at the other end of the room. It seemed Ernie had been in the same vent with him, for a moment later, she opened the register and squeezed her body out into the Koreans' living room.
At first I thought for sure she had eaten my brother, but then I saw her tail shoving him back inside the vent, fully alive.
The bad part: Ernie had announced her presence by knocking over a chair. Also, Noah's friend Kumar had noticed, and was shooting a gun at her. Some religious talk made him pause his firing, for a moment. Ernie took the opportunity to speak with the monster.
I don't know what they talked about. At the time, I didn't know much of their language.
When I saw Ssorzechola idly murdering people with her tail, I shuddered and retreated into the room.
Hearing the sounds of breaking furniture, I peeked out the crack in the door again. Ssorzechola had just thrown Ernie through a pulpit.
Ernie had gained a weapon from somewhere, a nasty switchblade looking thing that seemed designed for aliens of her species. She flicked the blade out, growling threateningly at the monster.
She leaped, slashing Ssorzechola across the face with the blade.
Ernie got thrown into a plasma TV. The thing broke to pieces. She got up to do another attack, but only ended up crashing into a bookcase.
Kumar chose this opportunity to sneak a couple of his friends out. I gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head no and mouthed "Wait."
Ssorzechola was now holding Ernie's arms down with two claws, her extra set of limbs bashing her in the face. Ernie tried to cut her way out, but ended up with a dislocated shoulder for her troubles.
Kumar shot at the monster, distracting her. Ernie used the distraction to chop off one of Ssorzechola's arms. The monster bled worms, tried to amputate one of Ernie's limbs, but Kumar shot her again.
Ernie got thrown into the kitchen. I heard dishes breaking.
The Indian ran out of bullets at this point. He received a faceful of quills for his trouble.
Ernie climbed up on the ceiling, jumped down onto the big Ss'sik'chtokiwij's back, raising her blade.
I thought for sure that she'd kill her right then and there, but instead Ernie sheathed the weapon, making soft growls to the monster.
And then she kissed it on the mouth.
Both aliens slumped to the floor, appearing to be unconscious.
I rushed out their front door as fast as my legs could carry me.
I met up with Timmy. We crawled through vents, arriving at a HAB belonging to a fat lady named Becky Butler, or as kids in school called her, `Betsy Butterfingers.' Sunny yellow walls, framed pictures of family and children, posters of cartoon characters, dogs and kittens, children's toys.
We were hungry, so we sneaked into her kitchen, stealing food from the refrigerator. Betsy Butterfingers caught us, of course.
"You guys are in so much trouble!" Becky she said in mock serious tones. "You know what I do to little bandits that break into my home to steal food?"
I shook my head.
"Well...First, I call their parents. Then, as I'm waiting for them to arrive, I cook a nice meal for them. Maybe give them ice cream and cookies for dessert."
"Can I have some too, mama?" That was Landon, her boy. Timmy knew him, but he wasn't in my grade.
Betsy laughed. "Only if you want to hang out with a gang of outlaws!" She read our bodies with a scanner. "Where's your chips?"
"We don't have any," I told her.
The woman frowned.
"Dad says that Big Brother doesn't need to know every time he takes a shit," Timmy said.
"We're going to have to work on that potty mouth of yours." Betsy pointed a flat camera at me. "Hold still."
I should have run right then, but I didn't know what she was doing. "What's that?"
"I'm surprised you don't know. It's for facial recognition. You have to have had some pictures taken for class. Little Landon just had his taken a week ago. Once I've got a match, I'll have your parents. Unless you want to be so kind as to tell me your names..."
I refused to tell her.
Betsy glanced back at her boy. "Do these two look familiar to you?"
Landon scrunched his face. "Uh...maybe. I don't remember." He gave an indifferent shrug.
The mother frowned, pushing a button on the device.
"Don't bother," I said as I watched her trying to search for my parents on the device. "They're both dead."
Betsy's device displayed an image of the Indian. "It says here that a Mr. Kumar Mahida is your temporary legal guardian."
"I don't like him," I said. "Him and his friends are all stupid bible thumpers. They don't even believe there are monsters on this base. When I said the monsters killed mom and dad, they said I was lying."
The woman frowned. "What kind of monsters?"
I knew Ernie had been spying on me, so instead of explaining, I just knocked on the ventilation register. "Ernie! You can come out now!"
The moment the alien showed herself, Betsy cried, "What in God's name is that thing doing out of its cage!"
Ernie explained the manner of her escape in English.
Betsy retreated, pulling me along with her. She threatened the alien with a serrated bread knife. "Don't come any closer!"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Find someplace safe to hide!" she hissed to me.
"I mean you no harm," Ernie said. "I am here to protect you."
And then Ernie's alien buddies came crawling out, and the woman fainted.
I and Timmy swiped some chips, some BLT's from the fridge, and dove into the air system. We weren't about to sit and wait for some madman to come grab us again. I mean, granted, Kumar tried to stop Noah, but I didn't want to touch anyone associated with that man with a ten foot pole.
We did, however, sit and wait in the darkness of the ventilation ducts. As we ate, we heard Betsy's husband come in, talking to Ernie.
"Where is she now?" I heard the man ask.
Landon pointed right at me. I should have put the register back on.
I saw Mr. Butler's bald brown head peering in, flashlight in one hand. "Hey! Little girl!"
I retreated, but he tried to crawl inside with me. I bit him.
That got him out of the vent!
"Little bitch!"
Me and Timmy fled through the air ducts, climbing out into the hallway behind the HAB.
A moment later, a pair of strong men were dragging both of us to Betsy's front door.
The door came open, and I found Noah grabbing me by the scruff of the neck, bringing me back to the bald guy. I didn't get to see what they did with Timmy.
"Now," Noah said with a grin. "I wish to tell you about the New Zion..."
The Korean took out a bible, launching into a weird Magical Mystery Tour of quasi-religious nonsense about the bug monster setting up a tabernacle to dwell with mankind eternally. Ernie tried to argue with the man, but when you're that far down the rabbit hole, rational thought doesn't really fit into the equation anymore.
"You should listen to Ernie," I urged. "The guy's insane!"
One of Noah's thugs grabbed me. "I think the Little Miss is just tired. Is there a bedroom around here somewhere?"
Mr. Butler showed him a door. "Right through there."
"I'm not tired!" I shouted. "Let go!"
Noah just gave a dismissive laugh. "Children."
I got dragged into the woman's room. Big king size bed, pictures of kittens, family members, a painting of horses, and a crucifix. The man threw me on the woman's bed, forcefully tucking me in.
"Blessed is the sleep of the laborer," the man quoted, or possibly misquoted. "For the worries of the rich and idle giveth them no rest."
"I'm not tired," I insisted. "And I'm sure as hell not going to sleep while there's some creep hovering over my bed! You'll probably try to take my clothes off and do something to me!"
"Honey, I ain't no child molester. Don't you know that men who do such things will reincarnate as fodder for Ssorzechola's belly in the coming kingdom?"
And then he starts preaching to me about his weird religious philosophy, kind of a mishmash of the kinds of things Jehovah's Witnesses talk about, but a lot more screwed up and alien centered. I don't know, I guess he was trying to make me sleep or something.
I jumped out of the bed, kicking him in the crotch as I clawed him in the face. He grabbed me, so I bit him. A lot.
The man screamed, carried me to a dresser, presumably to bash in my skull.
"Mr. Rockett!" I heard Noah calling from the other room. "We are going? Please bring the child along. She is necessary for our plan."
So then I'm being dragged back out into the living room. "She's a feisty one, but I still got her!"
"Let her go!" Betsy had her husband's gun, pointing it at my captor.
Noah only seemed mildly amused. "I would not do that if I were you. I believe you are aware this girl has a brother?"
With trembling hands, Betsy lowered the weapon. "If there is a God, and I certainly hope there is, I hope he throws you into hell first."
"That is impossible," Noah said. "Hell does not exist. When judgment come, God's holy angels merely consumes the bodies and spirits of the wicked sinner such as yourself. Good day?"
"I hope to Christ you're wrong. Because I want to be there when they throw your grinning ass in a lake of fire."
I tried to get away again, but Mr. Rockett was an adult, and a little too strong for me. "Isaiah 61:4 says they shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations, they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastation of many generations. Do you really think that God is going to be doing all of this building in hell?"
"Yes. And I hope he grinds your fat ass into the dirt while building it, too!"
"You're not so small yourself, Ms. Butler." Mr. Rockett took off one of his shoes. "I shake the dust off my feet in this place, and pronounce a curse from Jehovah upon this habitation of sin and wickedness!"
It takes one hand to remove a shoe. A hand that should have been holding me. I wiggled out of his grip and bolted down the outer hallway.
I didn't get far. Somewhere along the corridor, I got grabbed by this crazy guy named Rapchuck.
Older man, narrow figure, yellow hair cut to resemble a toupee, larger than average ears, glasses. He wore a black suit, a formality their house church apparently insisted upon long before they got possessed by worms. Pale face, skin stretched around his cheekbones in such a way that he appeared to be smiling even when he wasn't.
"Where are you going, Rebecca?" the man asked as he held down my struggling arms. "Can't have you running around the base without a guardian, now can we?"
A moment later, he's pressing a chloroform rag to my face, and I'm seeing stars.
When I woke up, I found my wrists and ankles had been bound together in rope. I pretended to still be asleep the moment I heard the man talking.
The stranger faced a wall. It seemed like a prayer at first, but no, he was actually having a conversation with the wall...Or something in his head. "The children are here. Should I wake them up?"
He paused, as if listening to the wall.
"I understand."
I spotted Ernie lurking behind the ventilation register, but continued to feign sleep.
Mr. Rapchuck sniffed the air a few times, marched to the vent, then growled at it.
The alien disappeared.
I heard a door opening. Someone called to my captor. I kept pretending to sleep, not even getting up to check what he was doing until I heard Rapchuck step out of the room and close the door.
Noting that the bed I lay upon had a pointy metal frame, I wiggled off the bed as quietly as I could muster, rubbing the ropes against the corner. It took forever just to even get part of them frayed enough to be of any use.
Outside, I heard someone making weird dolphin clicks. It almost sounded like a conversation. I heard Mr. Butler's voice right outside the door, but I couldn't trust him, so I kept sawing.
I managed to get through a sixteenth of one rope. I would have killed for a knife, but I hadn't seen any.
Hearing clattering sounds, I flinched, thinking the door would come open, but it didn't. I kept on working.
"I'll go check on it," I heard Mr. Butler saying. Whatever he said after that faded to a point I couldn't understand it.
I had now made it to the eighth mark. It made me tired, but no amount of chewing made the rope get any thinner, and I couldn't figure out how to reach the knot to untie it.
I flinched at the sounds of shouting, then a gunshot.
The door to my room slid open. I quickly jumped back in the bed, rolled over, feigning sleep.
It seemed I did a good job faking. Nobody came in. The door closed again.
I resumed sawing at the rope. I almost got to the quarter mark when I heard commotion in the other room. Loud growling, bodies thudding against walls.
At last my efforts paid off. Although the sawing didn't do much of anything, all that friction loosened the knots, and the fact that my hands were small eventually allowed me to untie myself. I undid the bonds on my ankles, then bumped into Timmy as he came running in my direction, all untied and everything.
We hurried to the door, peeking through the crack at the bottom.
Rapchuck was busy beating on Ernie like The Terminator. Nobody else seemed to be around to stop us from escaping. "Let's go!" I whispered to my brother.
The moment we opened the door, though, the man dropped his alien punching bag and yelled at us. "You're not supposed to be out!"
Ernie clawed at the man's chest, nodding us on as Rapchuck grabbed her by the throat, beating her against the wall.
We rushed to the front door.
Rapchuck turned his head. He looked like he couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill Ernie or grab us first.
Then a gun went off. Mr. Butler had finally come to his senses.
Rapchuck stiffened, grinding his teeth together as he turned to look at his assailant: "You should not have done that."
"You're done controlling me!"
Rapchuck clenched his hand into a fist, and Mr. Butler screamed, collapsing on the floor.
"The plans of the mind belong to man!" Rapchuck barked. "But action comes from the Lord Ssorzechola!"
I opened the door, rushing out into the hallway, my brother close at my heels.
The man didn't come after us right away because Ernie kept him distracted.
Unfortunately, only I got away. Noah caught Timmy before he could make it into the vent.
"Go!" was that last thing I heard him say to me.
...Okay, maybe he didn't say that. Maybe it just makes me feel better about being a coward and running away.
Sarah frowned as we reached the end of the memory. "I'm sorry. I did not understand what the main unit, Visjodro, was doing."
"And what the hell were you doing all that time? Off on some other end of the base playing video games?"
"After Visjodro infested Ssorzechola, I began to lose interest in the body, and wished to explore other forms. I joined myself with a guinea pig, and Mason Wren put me in a containment device, shipping me out to this space station for further testing."
"Did your `main unit' have any other `friends' that decided to go for a little joyride through the cosmos?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Great," I groaned. "Well, looks like you won, you little creep. You got control of my body just like that thing did to all those people at Hadley's Hope. Wren's going to make himself a god, and he'll have you to thank."
"I don't want that," she said.
"Yeah? Then what the hell do you want?"
"I've lost my main unit. You might not believe it, but I'm really just a kid. You have so much you can teach me. I want to coexist with other lifeforms...I don't want to be a parasite. I want to be a symbiote. I want to form organs, make things that help other organisms."
"Are you fucking serious? You're a flesh eating parasite! You can't learn!"
"You are referring to platyhelminthes cestoda, which has no intelligence. My species can learn, adapt, and with your help, construct organs from our colonies."
"You already had Sarah, and that didn't work out so hot. Why didn't she tell you how to...form Voltron?"
"Sarah was human. Her body didn't have the same kind of brain, skeletal and muscle structure, or the type of physical control that you currently possess."
"It's technically an exoskeleton, and you're crazy. I have no control."
"I can help with that."
I laughed. "How? You can't even form organs!"
A door appeared in front of us. One that seemed...weirdly familiar.
"Go in there?"
Sarah shrugged. "Only if you want help piecing things together."
I nervously turned the handle, stepping across the threshold.
I found myself inside a circa 2018 style apartment, cluttered with random shit.
Red leather sofa, two recliners, all framing a low coffee table covered with junk. A laptop, a pizza box, delivery menus, science paperwork and Chinese takeout containers. Bookcases were filled with science books, DVD's, game manuals, lots of novels and such a nerd would appreciate. Markerboard covered in equations...and a five foot tall molecular model.
As I stared at a dart board affixed to the bedroom door, the posters of DC superheroes and Einstein sticking out his tongue, I suddenly noticed a black cocoon had appeared on the sofa cushions, the narrow face and pencil neck of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper sticking out precisely in that spot he always told everyone on the show never to sit upon. Sticky black slime oozed over his Roseanne-esque crocheted throw cover.
My dad's favorite show. He had the whole series on a memory stick and he'd just keep watching it.
Sheldon wasn't alone. Raj's recliner, the one on the left hand side, had suddenly populated with the little girl, and, behind her, where Sheldon's extra bookcases, an anatomical model, or whatever the hell should have been there, stood the alien queen...with my face.
Sheldon's badly cut hair brushed up against the cushion's butt groove as his narrow, bored looking eyes glanced up at me. The whiny, nasal, generally inflectionless sounds that came out of his mouth were just as abrasive in this other world as they were on TV. "Well! Speak of the devil (if I actually believed in such a thing)! She's finally here!"
Canned laughter.
