Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.
Gotta hurry . . . She struggled to catch her breath. To the southwest gate . . .
The alarms buzzed in her ears, the destruction of the initial attack was worse than she thought as she ran through half-destroyed halls, ventilation systems and electrical outlets blasted out of their original places and swinging sparks, making it deadly to even be near them. She didn't have time for such worries. Her duty was far too important to be abandoned by an uncertain fear of death, far from it at this point, although her injuries refuse to relent stabbing pain whenever she inhaled or moved a muscle where the beast's spikes poke through like a porcupine. Get it together. Ignore it.
First, it was the screams mixed with gunfire and then the screeches of creatures that belonged to the ones she fought earlier. Those she encountered were powerful, brutal in their slaughter, and with no mercy as more came. She cocked her rifle and turned a corner, only to be driven into the middle of battle.
Sara dropped to the ground as a bullet grazed her cheek, leaving a burning sensation but lucky it didn't pierce. She crawled toward the nearest protection, which was a flimsy table that had been tipped over and equipment destroyed. Pressing her back against it, she cocked her M4 carbine and took a peek.
On one side, the soldiers fired bullets as a swarm of those creatures ran at them like a raging tsunami of teeth and claws, many had died but a few managed to break part of the defense line. The slaughter was nothing she expected when she signed for this job, men reaching for a grasp of freedom before their life is cut short. The beasts were merciless as they ripped into the flesh and bone of her comrades. If it was up to her, she would rush with the fiercest of hearts to save even one but the logical side knew it would be suicide and she had more to do in this life.
Sara glanced through the fire, blood, and gore until she spotted Commander Evans screaming commands to his troops behind broken concrete. There they are!
"Commander!" She yelled, relieved it was loud enough for Evans to turn in her direction. She signaled him and waited for a long minute until he waved his arm to come.
As soon as she saw the gap between the creatures' attacks, she ran as fast as she could. One of the blue beasts noticed and came after her, leaping over one of its fallen comrades. She immediately slid across the floor to avoid the attack and then shot into its stomach. To her surprise, they pierced into the creature as it howled, crashing into the wall before it was riddled with more. Sara didn't bother to look back, finally reaching the rest of the soldiers behind the makeshift barrier.
"Lieutenant Gibson!" Evans crawled through the firing soldiers, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I received the order, Sir!" She tensed when part of the concrete broke by a deflecting bullet, "The southwest gate is calling for backup!"
His reaction right after she said that was unexpected, making her nervous as his face contorted from confusion to pure rage. The change alone caused her to worry.
"You were supposed to be guarding the subjects!"
Sara pulled back, "What, sir?"
"I sent orders for you to stay with them! What fucking idiot played telephone during this—" He groaned, running the bridge of his nose, "Where are they now?"
"I . . ." She stuttered, somehow unable to provide a clear answer for a moment, "My radio gave the message. I was told all troops are to report to—"
"Sir! They've stopped!"
Both of them faced the open battleground, pausing to see the alien beasts standing there, growing but refusing to move an inch. The soldiers, in disbelief, stopped their firing as the eerie silence grew.
"Commander," One of the soldiers asked with a quivering voice, "Should we shoot?"
"Not yet."
Sara swallowed. It was never good when a battlefield was as blood-soaked as this turned quiet on a dime, the calm before a bigger storm would consume them all. It wasn't long until they heard a piercing sound, almost like a whistling, resounding throughout the area. The creatures raised their heads and then lowered, whimpering. That's strange.
Another few minutes passed and nothing happened. The impatience of everyone was at their limits. Sara could see a few soldiers twitching their fingers on the trigger, sweat dripping from their skins . . . and their eyes full of fear, no doubt about that. If we don't do something soon, we're fucked.
"Soldiers," Sara paused, turned to realize Evans was giving a command, "Take aim." The guns cocked and targeted the creatures, still refusing to move.
"Sir!" Sara grabbed his shoulder, "Don't do this!"
"Why should I, Lieutenant?" His glare was piercing, "Last time I checked, I'm in command of the troops and the enemy now sits on our doorstep."
"But sir, they wouldn't just stop their assault without reason. Something big is coming!"
"Lieutenant Gibson!" He spat in her face, the sudden surge of heat over her skin forced her to back off and that's when she heard a sound that confirmed her fears.
The familiar sound of clicking echoed in every crevice and rubble throughout the room, the creatures and soldiers alike raised their heads in the supposed direction. Sara had to do a double-take on the sound. Is that . . I'koh? Although she hoped it was him deep down, the dark aura she felt was completely the opposite, foreign and unnerving but familiar. The hairs on her arms stood up, even through her uniform.
Soon, she noticed an invisible silhouette, barely seeing an outline with squinted eyes but the size was no doubt massive. Probably eleven feet tall? Impossible! This isn't I'koh. It stalled closer, the creatures moved their faces following this strange entity's movement. Evans and the soldiers were oblivious and were falling into a trap.
"Commander Evans. Please listen to me. Something's there and the creatures know it. We have to retreat to a better spot for a counterattack or else—"
"Are you questioning me?" He stared with such silent anger, the heat and fury behind the emotion were strong but she didn't expect the coldness within his eyes, almost as if holding back what he'd wanted to do.
"This is an order."
Unable to stop him, Evans raised his rifle and aimed for the creatures, "Ready! And fir—"
Without warning, the soldier standing next to Evans choked and gurgled. At first, he stared at both the Commander and Sara until he suddenly fell backward. Another soldier tried to catch him but as soon as he did, the body split into two, clean cut through the torso. Evans held in a gasp and Sara glanced back at the unknown being but it was too late.
She was knocked away by something solid and hard, crashing into a pillar, aggravating the wounds that were sore and painful already. She let out a short scream and fell to the ground, her head getting most of the impact and her vision going dark for a few seconds. When she finally got it back after fighting the urge to pass out, all she could see was a blur of the gruesome massacre that was happening. The creatures resume their attack, soldiers being ripped apart while Evans' desperate cry resounded in a failed attempt of giving commands. Something crimson hit her face, coating it in a smell of iron and heat, the taste she knew all too well.
They're being slaughtered. Get up, Sara. Get up.
It took almost all her strength to get to her knees. Whatever hit her was strong . . . very strong and unrelenting in its pursuit to kill, its roars that rumbled the ground were indicating enough.
Despite the soreness and pain renewed, Sara pushed her body to get back on her shaky feet, taking a second to focus on the chaos. The soldiers and Evans were pinned to the corner of the room but the few that were scattered got picked off by the monkey aliens and blue beasts. She focused hard on the invisible being that lurked around. If I can find it, then we might have a chance.
It didn't take long before she caught sight of it from the corner of her eyes as it passed around the center and heading for where the last of the troops were standing their ground. There you are! She aimed and waited for the right moment, pulling the trigger just as she noticed it jump into the middle of the creatures. Its screech of agony was so piercing that she had covered her ears, everyone gasping from the sound for a brief moment. A growl grabbed back her attention and her eyes widened as sparks popped over the figure and when the cloak was gone, it revealed what she expected and also terrified her.
The being was gigantic, close to eleven feet as a rough estimate, almost humanoid as it stood but the rest was a far cry from any human. Its bluish skin was decorated in red stripes and small spikes with hardened plates covering the limbs and torso, claws sharp on each hand and feet, and a metal belt of some kind wrapped around its waist. What . . . is that?
When she met its face, her whole body froze as if she plunged into cold water like a frozen lake. Four mandibles with shark tusks clicked against each other over a pit of teeth that was its mouth, red eyes sunk in a pool of darkness. It hissed as it found me, tube-like hairs with bands slapping across its shoulders as its whole body crouched to the ground.
Oh shit!
The M4 carbine in her hands was smacked away, her throat squeezed tightly as the being raised her with a solid grip. She struggled to release the claws digging into the sides of her neck but it was an impossible task. It flared itsmandibles slowly as it emitted a low, deep growl.
"Lieutenant!"
In the corner of her eye, Evans and a few soldiers charged at the creature, guns, and knives raised to stop it. You fools!
In a split second, the being lifted its arm, and from a wrist gauntlet it had, snapped out two, serrated blades and cut a couple of soldiers down like butter. An overflow of blood sprayed across the floor, pieces of muscles, intestines, and even bone scattered like confetti and it frightened her to an extent.
Evans, dodging the initial attack with a roll, slid between its legs, "Fuck you, bastard!" He tried to slash the back of the legs to sever the tendon but its armor broke the knife into pieces. The creature grabbed his collar and threw him across the room like it was nothing. Commander!
With the last of the rescue attempt gone, Sara turned to face the beast, slowly squeezing the breath out of her as she went in and out of consciousness, pulling its face closer to hers, hot and sticky breath breezing over her cheeks. It then did some weird thing, opening its mouth and mandibles, inhaled, and then paused in bewilderment.
"W'ura turi-rah, pyode amedha?"
Sara stared in confusion. What?
Everything happened in a mere millisecond. The hand around her neck was gone and her body fell to the ground, instincts kicking in to get her to cough despite the soreness of her throat. As soon as she got her breath back, she lifted her gaze and noticed the being was knocked out of the way and had slammed into the wall, grunting and shaking its head while covered in dust. Sara felt a new kind of pain that tugged at her ribs like a vice, looking up quickly but met by something she didn't expect.
Rather . . . more like someone.
Standing in between her and her assailant was the blue-striped warrior she'd grew familiar with in a short time, angry and eager for the grueling fight ahead.
"I'koh?"
Hi everyone!
A new chapter for all! Hoped to get this posted last night but had a few hiccups on the way with the plot but all sorted out as I like it and hope all of you do too! :)
More is to come for all my stories and the action/bloodshed has just begun. ;)
Good Hunting to all!
Normal = Human speaking human language
Bold and Italics = Yautja speaking Yautja language
W'ura turi-rah, pyode amedha? = Where are they, Soft Meat?