Chapter 29: Right or Wrong
"Jolene...how...how do I know this is real?" Amun asked as he stared at the naked body of his old love. To many feelings ran through his head, too many things. He was having trouble focusing on what was happening around him. He could feel the bite of the warm wind on his face, he could feel the dirt between his toes and the wheat that tickled his legs. It all felt so...so real.
Jolene smiled as she approached him cautiously, he could tell that she was just as skeptical as he was. She approached anyway, keeping her eyes locked to him. As she got closer, he could see those blue eyes better, they were so familiar he almost hated it because it reminded him that his Jolene had died. Thankfully, most of him way very happy to see her again.
"It's...it's real." She said with a strange amount of confidence. "They used... the same gas on you that...that they have used on me...and my...my hive for a while now. I've learnt to...navigate it." She explained as she came to a stop right in front of him, looking up with those big eyes. He was so happy to see her again.
Amun could not help himself, he reached out and pulled the woman in close, squeezing as hard as he could. He could feel her slender arms wrap around him and pulled him tight. Amun buried his face into her long, blond hair and drowned himself in that moment. He was happy. He felt her hand upon the back of his head, stroking his short hair which calmed him. Not long after, he heard a whisper in his ear.
" I'm here Amun, shhhhhh it's ok. I won't let anything happen to you." Her words were soft and kind, just as they had been when he and Jolene had become lovers. However, he had heard that statement before, the last time he had been under the influence of this so called gas. How on earth had she known it?
"How...how do you know that phrase? You've said it to me before...in a dream." Amun asked as he kept his face within her soft hair. It was Jolene that pulled away so she could talk to him face to face.
"The royal aliens...are connected on a whole...d-different level than other...xenomorph. We can...can share memories, emotions, even dreams." Amun listened as she explained to him. He still didn't quite believe it, but he knew that Jolene had known a lot about the Xenomorphs. So there was no reason not to believe her.
"So you're in my head?" She nodded. Amun smiled, took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and focused. Suddenly, the two were no longer in the field of wheat, but within the barn where he had cocooned himself and transformed into a king. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was happy that it look just as he remembered it. "And this?" He asked, testing her a bit. He looked to her and noticed her smile. The two were on the second story of the barn, in front of a large pile of hay.
"My...families farm. This is the...barn you changed...changed in." She paused to look around herself, took a few steps away from him, then turned. "I spent...a lot of time here. Waiting...waiting for you."
"I remember...I remember your voice from the darkness, calling my name. I remember you telling me about your day, telling me who I was and what we were doing. I remember, so badly, wanting to see you." As he talked, he walked over to the ledge of the platform and then sat with his legs off the edge. He smiled as he remembered all that had happened in this barn. " I remember the first time we had one another. I cannot forget."
Jolene came to sit beside Amun and dangled her legs off the edge as well. She looked to the large pile of hay beside her and smiled. She then looked up to the roof that was much higher than they were. She caught Amun's gaze and pointed up.
"I remember...you...you took off with...my bra you...big bug." That drew a giggle from both of them. Amun had enjoyed being playful with her, she seemed to enjoy in and part of him didn't mind either.
"Remember in your house? When you came into the bed room?"
"And I was...naked? So...so embarrassing!" She broke eye contact with him as she went red in the face. Her smile told him that she was not upset in anyway. After a moment she pressed into his shoulder and laid her head upon it, let out a long sigh and grasped his hand.
"Amun...you need to...wake up. We...have to get out...of here." Her soft words were full of worry and fear. They struck him deep within his heart. Part of him knowing that she wanted to be free from this nightmare, free from the pain that she was enduring from the hands of the company. Amun took in a deep sigh as well, sad that this could not last longer.
"You need to kill me." He told her. The statement jolted Jolene up to look him in the eye. He could tell that she was a bit shocked and confused. "It's how Emilia woke me up last time. She ran a dagger into my chest."
"O Amun," Jolene said as she placed a hand on the side of his face. "There is a...better way." With that, she came in fast and kissed him. Her soft lips caressed his and felt wonderful and warm. It sent shivers down his spine. Something began to tickle him mind at the same time, then grew larger and larger.
Then, Jolene sent all of the breath she had into Amun, which filled his lungs and puffed out his chest. Amun pulled out of the kiss just in time to see a pure white figure against a background of darkness. The figure look at him for a short moment, smiled, then gently floated away from him. He felt something warm on his chest and looked down. To his surprise a light grew from within his chest and started pulsing. It did not hurt, it actually felt rather nice. Warm and comfortable.
He smiled and looked back to the figure made of light. She still had her smile and Amun could tell that she was happy. She clasped both her hands over her bare chest and the light from within her grew to a blinding lever. He had to shut his eyes, it was too much to look at.
In and out. In and out.
Amun could not see anything strait away, it was too blurry. So he focused on his breath.
In and out. In and out.
He slowly felt himself wakening up from his forced dream state. He could tell that he was moving, not by his own doing, but because he was upon something that was taking him. As his vision began to sharpen more and more, he realized he was on the back of a transport truck that was now bumping up and down in the man-made corridor. He did not move, not wanting to let anyone know that he had awoken from his slumber. Instead, he reached out with his mind for Jolene.
"Jolene...Jolene are you there?" A few stressful moments of silence went by.
"Yes! You...are awake! I...did...didn't know if that would...work on you! I've never...never tried it o-on anyone but my...own hive!" Her voice filled his mind, it was soothing. He had to smile, she really was created from the DNA of his dead love.
"It's interesting. Your stutter gets worst when you are excited, just like hers did."
"It is...a bit weird..kn-knowing I'm not...her, that I'm...not human. But hay...it's all I-I've got." He could feel the smile from her and it brought back so many good memories. Part of him was happy, the other parts were confused. It was something that he would have to deal with later though, he had more pressing matters at hand. He reached out again in attempt to locate Jolene.
After a moment, he felt a force pulling him forward, down the path they were traveling. Good, as he suspected, they had decided to take him to her without delay.
"Jolene, they are bringing me to you. We need to get out of here...can you tell your hive to be ready, we need to all move at the same time."
"They are... standing by already. We...we have been planning. Since...since we la-last saw you." Part of that statementhit Amun in the best way. That she had never given up hope that he would find her.
"You...you have kept hope this whole time?" At that moment, all the hardship and pain had been worth it.
"Of... of course yo-you big bug. I k-knew you would...come." Her words gave him a boost of courage and drive. They were going to do this, they were going to get out of here!
"Ok, so I think I have a plan. What we need to do is-" His thoughts were cut short as an ear piercing alarm started to wail from the PA system that lined the corridor. Whoever was driving the truck Amun was on slammed on the breaks and came to a violent stop. It almost sent the three story alien over the cab of the vehicle.
Amun could hear the driver and the passenger exiting the truck, but something didn't seem right. He slowly tilted his head so that he could see what was going on, and he was surprised at what he saw. The driver was reaching out with both hands, making sure that there was nothing in front of him. He realized that the light must have gone out.
"What in the world..." He thought to himself, something was going on. "Jolene, did any of your daughters do this?"
"No, they did...didn't. They are...taking advantage of it...but...di-did not do it." Strange, if her hive was not responsible, then who was?
His attention was grabbed by motion from above, upon the metal roof of the corridor. He took his chanced and moved his head to look, he watched as a dark shadow ran across the smooth surfaces of metal that made up the ceiling. He watched as the xenomorph drone silently made its way towards him. Amun watched, thinking it was one of Jolene's hive come to help him. However, something was off, their color was not how he remembered Jolene's hive to be. It looked...it looked like his own hives color! He mentally reached out and could not feel their presence, and knew exactly who it had to be.
"Bobby?!" He said excitedly.
"Hello Father." Bobby called down to him from the roof. He watched as her attention was grabbed by something on the ground. She leapt through the air like an owl descending upon its pray, silent and deadly. The driver who had made his was beside the flat bed, had no chance as the xenomorph landed upon him, claws digging into his. Amun watched as her tail came up to finish the man quickly.
"No! Bobby, no! He is not a soldier, or a scientist. Just a driver! Let him live!" Amun cut in quickly, before the man's life was taken from him. Bobby's gaze left the small human that was now screaming in pain from her claws that were an inch or so within his flesh. She looked to her father, sent him her feelings of disappointment, then dropped the man to the cold floor. He did not hesitate and took off into the darkness, wanting to be anywhere but here.
Amun Rolled off the flat bed of the truck and stretched to his full height. He felt a bit insulted that he had not been strapped down, the scientists must have had full confidence in their knock out gas that they did not want to bother with it. Their mistake. After his stretch, he looked down to his first born and sent him every feeling of love that he could, he was beyond excited that she had stayed behind to help him.
"Bobby..."
"Mother was wrong..." She cut him off. " She was wrong to leave you behind just to keep us safe. I understand why she did it...but it was wrong. We are your hive, we are family. We do not do that to our own." Amun felt a surge of pride as his daughter spoke those words. He was proud that these were guiding morals in her life, he would not change that for anything. The king placed his hand upon her long, domed head and felt her press hard into it.
"The others?" He asked, wanting to make sure everyone was safe.
"On a boat, heading home. The scientist kept his word, no one was harmed, he just wants us gone. A few of us could not do it, we jumped from the boat and came back to get you."
"Others?" Just then, Amun heard someone from above.
"DADDY!" Abby yelled as she leapt and landed upon the kings crown. He reached up and took his daughter in his hands, brought her to his face and nuzzled her.
"O Abby! My daughter!" He said happily as he joyfully pressed his large head against hers. He could hear the soft thrum that she was giving off from her happy mood. Just then, he felt the presence of a few other xeno's traveling down the large corridor towards them and turned to face them.
"We came back for you, daddy!" Abby said from his hands as he watched more of his own hive appear from around the bend in the corridor. He could see Erica, Erin, Sara, and a handful of others, including the twins! He was a bit surprised when Scarlette and Molly came running into view from around the corner, their figures easy to pick out from that of their much smaller sisters.
Amun lowered himself to the floor and waited for his daughters to meet him, he wanted to run to them, but this was always the safer way to greet the xeno king. He watched as they all came to greet him, leaping onto his crown and back, crawling over his hard exoskeleton in a form of hug. He watched as the twins went to greet Bobby, surrounding her and rubbing against her. She stroked both of their heads.
"My daughters! I thought I would never get to see you again. I...I am happy that you came back!" He raised to his full height and looked to them when he could, they were crawling rather fast across his body that he could not keep track of who was who. He looked to Scarlette and Molly who were just approaching.
"You would not have left any of us behind. We could not do that to you father. Like Bobby said, we know why Mother did what she did, but it was wrong." The praetorian said as she came to stop in front of the king. He reached down with an open hand that she meet gladly.
"I broke open the door!" Molly exclaimed with glee as she came to stop beside her larger sister. " Bobby told me how and I didn't feel a thing!" Amun tilted his head, a bit confused with the statement. He looked to his first born for an answer. The small xeno drone looked up at her father, it almost felt like she was not sure why she had to explain herself.
"Her head. It seemed to make the most sense. She is very, heavily armored on her head, and being a quadruped, can gain a lot more speed than the rest of us. So I told her to ram the door, just like you tend to ram the trees in the forest when you run. It was how we got in. After Alex started blowing things up, they left the front door unguarded."
"Wait, Alex did what?" How long had Amun been under the influence of the gas? There was much that he needed to get filled in about. However, it would have to wait, Jolene's voice filled his mind.
"Amun, where...are you? I have...have control of my cage. I-I'm free." She said with excitement and anticipation.
" We are on the way, can you meet us in the large corridor? I have a feeling it should be right outside the room you are in."
"Yes, I...think so. I will find you soon, we will be free soon I promise."
