Chapter 5: Escape (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

Like meteorites falling from the sky, the whole wall crumbles to the ground as a blue flash emitted the entire room. It blinded all the soldiers except for the Yautja guards that stood still as statues, unfazed by all of this and made Maria wondered for a moment. It didn't have much effect on Maria thanks to Weyland's body shielding her, but she sees him holding the master control in his hand. This was her chance!

She reaches out and rips it from him. Weyland notices this, but before he had a chance to call for help, Maria kicks him right in the chest, sending him falling on his back. Maria wastes no time as she picks up Ana from the ground, dragging her to the door. Her foot ached after the kick on Weyland since he felt like a concrete wall. Maria hoped that there wasn't any damage so she could get her and Ana out of here. One way or another . . .

As Maria and ana enter the hall, it was like a war had ensured on the entire facility. Pieces of concrete littered the floors, and some of the rooms were obliterated entirely with half of its walls still standing. Soldiers hustled around like madmen while prisoners ran free among the facility, screaming profanity or praying. There was no order to be found, but Maria was glad for it since the soldiers didn't pay much attention to their presence. Still, she didn't know where to find an exit, but it was better than here. Maria wraps Ana's arm around her shoulders while she holds her waist with hers. It wasn't easy since Ana had trouble moving out, but Maria couldn't blame her. Whatever Weyland did to her, it wasn't exactly the most pleasant treatment ever, but she needed to make sure Ana stayed awake.

"Stay with me, Ana! We'll get out of here!"

They lock eyes with each other and Ana nod weakly, doing her best to keep her legs under her. Maria does the same as she begins walking through the hall. But only taking a few steps forward, another blast hits the side of the facility, breaking another wall and forcing Maria to duck to shield Ana from the aftermath. She wastes no time and gets both her and Ana on their feet again, using all of her strength to get out of this damned place. All of a sudden, a buzzing starts up on the side of her waist and Maria groans, knowing what and who is calling. She gets Ana into one empty room for shelter, placing her friend on the ground with her back on the wall as she pulls out the device from her hip. She answers but Walter didn't get the chance when Mara rants in anger.

"What the fuck is this, Walter!? Is this your plan for an escape? I don't think bombing the whole fucking place where we are is exactly the best scenario to use!"

She hears Walter's voice falter in confusion, trying to communicate as the explosions in the background made it harder for Maria to, but she was having none of it.

"Maria, I don't—"

"But what!? You think I was just going to follow with this plan of yours? Maybe then I should—"

"It wasn't me, Maria!"

Her mouth opens, but upon hearing his words and the meaning behind them, she freezes on the spot. She glances at Ana who was watching her with shock and horror. Maria turns around and plugs her left ear, hoping to hear him better. She takes a couple of breaths so she can ask the critical questions.

"What do you mean?"

Another blast shakes the ground and Maria had to hold herself up so she wouldn't fall. She checks to make sure Ana was alright before listening in to what Walter was saying.

"This wasn't planned. There's a ship that came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, the ship started attacking the facility."

"What ship?"

Walter hesitated for a second, but it was too long for Maria. "What ship!?"

"An alien ship. Looks like from the same one that took off the day you were captured, and they aren't happy."

When Walter spoke of a Yautja ship, time around her stopped in an instant at the realization. Could it possibly be Za'taan? Has he finally come? Maria didn't know what to think, but her heart began to dance in her chest at the thought that it could be him. Her eyes close for a split second as she remembers the smell of cinnamon in her nose and those fiery red eyes that burned like the sun. But another blast snaps her out of it. She needed to find a way out and to the ship that Walter mentioned. She places her mouth next to the device.

"Alright. How do we get out of this chaos?"

She heard shuffling in the background so she could only guess that Walter must be running. Another blast hits again, and Maria holds herself by placing a hand on the wall for support.

"There's a way through the labs that is northwest of the facility. It's far away from the chaos, and there's a secret pathway to the outside, but we don't have much time. The soldiers are moving fast and locking down the facility soon. I'll meet you halfway."

The device goes silent after that, but Maria had many questions, but for now, all she could do was trust Walter. He was her only lead out of here. She puts the device back to her hip and reaches down for Ana who was slowly gaining some strength but far too weak to move on her own. She lifts her friend up and positions her with an arm around her shoulders before continuing on. Going back into the hall, Maria pushes on and checks with Ana once in a while to make sure she was alright. She didn't speak but gave a slight nod like before, and that was enough for Maria to keep going. She kept telling herself to go northwest, but with so much chaos, it was becoming a challenge. The hallway was endless as she kept pushing despite her legs beginning to ache with pain. Once in a while, a prisoner or someone would bump into them in an attempt to escape from the attack and Maria tried her best to steady herself and Ana from toppling over.

Eventually, they reach an open area that was filled with debris and a desk that stood in the middle. Maria looks ahead and sees a large, metal door that looked sealed tight with a code panel and a warning sign saying only authorized personnel may enter. Maria sighs in relief, believing that it might be the entrance to the labs that Walter mentioned. However, she hears heavy footsteps and shouts coming from another door to the side, and Maria fears it might be more soldiers. Thinking fast, she takes Ana and heads for the desk, gently dropping to hide from the upcoming company.

Maria peeks over the desk, and sure enough, a bunch of soldiers comes in with guns loaded and ready. She silently cursed that this would happen but remains calm for Ana and her sanity, but in reality, she has no idea what to do.

"Maria . . ."

Ana's voice calls to her, and she snaps her head back to her friend. Maria saw that she wasn't doing so well. Ana looked weak to the point that she seemed lifeless with her eyes struggling to stay open. Quickly, Maria kneels down to her side in worry.

"Ana. Are you alright?"

She watches Ana try to open her mouth, but it was a struggle. Maria waits patiently for her to answer.

"Just . . . Leave me. I'll . . . Only. . . slow you down."

"No! I'm not leaving you here!"

Maria quietly shouts at Ana, letting her know of her disapproval at her suggestion. After all that they have been through, she wasn't about to let Ana die in a miserable place like this one. She refused, even if it means she will die.

But their conversation was interrupted when some of the soldiers began to talk.

"Any visual on the intruder?"

"No, sir."

Maria couldn't see them, afraid that they might discover them if she tried to peek so all she could do was hear everything they were saying.

"Look harder! That fucking alien is somewhere in the facility and could be watching us now. Be on the lookout!"

She heard the soldiers yell in agreement as their footsteps got closer to the desk. Maria's heart raced like a horse on the track, and she believed that almost anyone could hear it. Taking a leap of faith, she peeked over the side of the desk and saw a dozen of soldiers walking by their side but she fears any moment, they will find them. Just as she was thinking about it, a hand covers her mouth, and Maria instinctually tries to fight off the unknown figure. She thrashes and tries to scream but the figure was too strong, and no sound could be heard. Despite that, she keeps on fighting with all the strength she had.

"Maria."

A familiar voice stops her in her tracks as she turns her head to see Walter behind with a finger to his lips in a silent gesture. She watches Walter look back at the soldiers for a moment before he removed his hand from her mouth. She rips away from him but is surprised to see him here.

"Walter."

He nods. "Sorry for the wait. Took a little longer to get here than expected."

"You could have given me a warning."

Walter doesn't answer, but Maria knew it wasn't the time to argue as the soldiers' footsteps got closer to where they were. Both peeked over to see that one soldier was looking in their direction but shrugged his shoulders and moved on. She takes a breath to calm down before addressing Walter.

"So . . . I assume that the labs are through that door."

Walter nods, looking into his eyes. "Yes."

"And how do you think we will get through that? Looks seal tight to me."

Maria grumbles in frustration, but Walter ignores it as he answers. "I have the code to get us through with no trouble . . . Assuming nothing has changed. Do you have the master control."

She shuffles through her clothes and feels it in her hand. She takes it out, displaying it for Walter to see as he looks in awe. He reaches for it until Maria pulls it back to her fast. The look of surprise reaches his face, but Maria leers at him.

"You forgot to mention that this controls the chip inside Ana."

A small hint of rage echoes in her words and is not lost in Walter. For an instant, Maria looks back at Ana who was watching from her spot, still trying to keep her eyes open. Maria glances back to Walter as he blinks a few times before coming up with an explanation for his lack of communication.

"I didn't know anything about it until recently. Remember . . . Weyland doesn't exactly trust his employees or his servants."

Maria tries to say something but can't think of any. She remembers him saying something like that, so he got her there, but it didn't mean she was going to trust him fully. He was still part of Weyland-Yutani, so Maria kept her eyes on him. For now, she hands him the master control, and Walter takes it willingly, twisting it back and forth in observation before stuffing it in his pocket. Once he got that secure, he looks back at Maria.

"Thank you, Maria. I know that you don't trust me yet but at least . . . to show you that I mean no harm, I have something for you."

It wasn't until now that Maria saw that he was carrying a backpack on his back. He swings it around until it's between them and unzips. When the bag is opened, she watches him shuffling around until pulling a silver object that she recognized immediately. In his hands was the spear that I'stih left her with. Her eyes glowed in surprise and awe since she didn't think she would ever see it again. The light from the area shined on the spear, almost gleaming in beauty and strength. Walter observes it for a brief second before handing it over to her.

"I believe this is important to you."

Maria grabs it swiftly, laying it on her lap to see it better. Her hand glides over the shaft and the Yautja writing that is engraved. Her mind plays glimpses of I'stih when he was alive and told her to keep on fighting. Oh . . . How she misses him so much. That wise, mature Yautja who became like a brother and friend to Maria in such a small time. She was interrupted when Walter cleared his throat, holding another object in his hand.

"And this is yours as well."

Her heart skips again when the dual knives come into her view that once belonged to Ya'stu. Another memory of his sweet laugh fills her, and she felt the happiness inside her grow, heating up her body. Walter waits as Maria rips of a piece of cloth from her gown, wrapping part of it on the spear and tying it on her back to create a pouch for it. She then takes the knives from Walter and places them on her hips, tugging to make sure they were secure. When all that is done, Maria looks back at Walter but this time, she was grateful for him returning her weapons to her. She gives a small, sincere smile to him as a sign of appreciation.

"Thank you."

Walter lightly smiles back. "You're welcome but we really need to get out of here, and your friend doesn't look too good."

That is when Maria turns to see Ana just as she was but hasn't improved. The chip in her head must have taken a toll on her, and that sent Maria's blood boiling. All she wanted was to tear Weyland apart with her own bare hands and feed him to the wolves, but that had to wait later. Maria nods in agreement and goes to Ana. Walter watches as Maria gets her friend to kneel at least to get ready. Maria sees Walter turn around to look at her.

"Alright. The soldiers are almost gone. As soon as they pass, we need to run as fast as we can to the door. If all goes well, we'll slip past them without notice."

"Fine. Let's just do it."

Maria gets Ana to move closer to Walter who watches as the soldiers leave one at a time, going through another hallway on the other side of the area. Although she can't see them, Maria waits until Walter gives them a signal, turning around with a nod.

"Let's go."

Like a mad dash, Walter runs past the open area and makes it to the metal door. He checks back to see if anyone noticed him before waving Maria to do the same. Maria takes Ana in the same position as before and hobbles across. It was painful to endure when Ana began to whine a little but Maria senses she's trying her best to keep quiet. Maria whispers to her.

"We're almost there. Hang on."

"Yes . . ."

Her weak voice begins to break pieces of Maria's heart. All she could do is get her out of here and get help. She silently prayed in her heart that Ana will make it out of here. But just as they were halfway to Walter, a stern voice yells out.

"Stop right there!"

Maria freezes in her spot as she saw a lone soldier coming from the direction of the hallway that the others went through, pointing the gun at her head.

"Shit . . ."

Without hesitation, Maria swings Ana around so that she was in the front but still holding on to her. She looks with her eyes to where Walter went and found that he hid behind some debris near the metal door, poking his head out to see what was happening. She turns back to the soldier who called for backup with his radio and not a moment passed when the rest of them come running in, pointing their guns as well. It became a standstill, and Maria could only hope but think of a way out of this mess and Walter can't help at the moment since they have no idea that he's helping them. But things got worse as Maria sees the one man come through the group that made her all the angrier.

"Well . . . Well. Looks like you got caught."

She glares as Sergeant Wilson comes strolling in like he owns the place and Maria couldn't suppress the growl vibrating from her throat. He hears this, and that just made him chuckle harder, tempting Maria just to kill him right then and there, but with Ana involved in the mix and with a dozen of soldiers ready to shoot, she might as well commit suicide. Wilson comes closer to Maria and Ana, but she steps back, instinctually going into fighting position.

"Try it, Maria. I know you have a death wish doubt you want your friend to get killed. No point in all of this."

He smiles and Maria groans in disgust, grinding her teeth to suppress her anger.

"You fucking bastard . . . You're nothing but a dog!"

"You are in no position to speak like that. I can kill you right here and now despite Weyland's command to bring you back. In my opinion, you nothing but a waste of space and should be disposed of."

Maria watches Wilson walk back and forth in front of them, rubbing his chin between his fingers while his eyes are closed, most likely debating on whether to do so. He stops and opens his eyes, and Maria knows those eyes all too well. She knows what's going to happen next.

"I think I should. I'll just bring your body to Weyland and say that you wanted this. He'll believe me, and I don't have to see your ugly mug face ever again."

Without pause, Wilson raises his hand up and the soldiers behind raise their guns higher to get a good aim at Maria. Her heart drops in her chest as the thought that she was going to die but more so that Ana will be killed as well. She doesn't want this to happen. She promised Ana that they will get out of here no matter what. She won't allow this to end . . . Not like this! Maria stands tall in front of them, moving her body so that if they do shoot, at least Ana will be protected. Wilson sees this and smirks, but Maria doesn't care. She glares right into Wilson's eyes, waiting for the command to fire.

"Have fun in Hell, bitch."

He raises his hand higher, and Maria doesn't move a muscle. In her heart and mind, she recalls the time with Za'taan for that brief moment, wishing that she got to see him one last time. Maria hopes that he's alright . . . And that he knows she loves him . . . Always. . .

All of a sudden, a shrilling cry fills the room, alerting everyone to it. As the soldiers twist and turn to find the source of the sound, Maria sees a black figure zip between the soldiers, grabbing one in its grip and smashing into the nearby wall. The unfortunate soldier cries in agony as Maria heard the ripping of flesh and smells the stench of blood. But what made her freeze in horror was the screeching sound that followed afterward. That sound was all too familiar to Maria, and it was confirmed when the figure raised itself from the ground. Its tail whipping behind while its broad forehead rises to look at them. Although it had no eyes, Maria could see its intent to kill . . . A feeling that would never go away, making her whisper its name.

"Kainde amedha . . ."

The black alien stood tall as Maria saw the disemboweled body of the soldier behind with his guts ripped out and half eaten, spilling onto the floor. Her attention draws back to the kainde amedha as it screeches towards the soldiers who look on in fear. However, when it did, more of the black creatures showed up, popping out from the cracks in the walls. Soon, several kainde amedha stood in front of them, and Maria knew it was only a matter of time before chaos ensued. Sure enough, Wilson reacts quickly by saying the only thing a soldier would think of.

"Open fire!"

On command, the soldiers fired, and gunshots erupted throughout the area. However, the kainde amedha leaps to the ceiling, faster than the bullets that flew and hit the adjacent wall. Maria takes the opportunity and moves Ana to the metal door that was just a few feet away. She glances back and forth as she watches the kainde amedha slashes each soldier one by one, creating a pile of bodies with blood spilling all over. It turned Maria's stomach a bit, but she kept her focus on the metal door, seeing Walter coming out from his hiding spot to greet them.

"Hurry!"

He waves to Maria, and she goes as fast as possible with Ana in her arms. Once there, Walter gets to work on the lock, pressing way too soon for Maria to follow. She, instead, looks back at the fight as the soldiers kept firing at the black creatures but failing miserably. But then, she catches a sentence that one of the soldiers shouts before being pierced by a tail through his chest.

"How the fuck did these things get out!?"

Her eyebrows raise up in confusion at what the soldier said. Were there kainde amedha here, to begin with? What the fuck is going on? She didn't get the chance to think further as Walter finally gets the code and the door groans, opening slowly like a ship's door.

"Come on!"

Walter calls out once more, and Maria hustled through the open door, making sure to keep Ana close. As she could hear the fighting intensify, Walter pushes the door shut and it locks behind them. He punches more codes in, and a clicking noise is heard. Maria turns to Walter as he looks back with a look of relief.

"It's sealed shut. We're safe for now."

Maria takes a few breaths as she hears faint cries of pain and agony from behind the door. She knows that the kainde amedha will finish them off and in some way, she was glad about it. Despite those creatures being the ones who killed her mother a long time ago along with I'stih, she instead sees the soldiers eaten by them. It scares her a little on how her mind can think of such things but then again . . . after being trapped for three years in this prison, who knows if anyone would think otherwise?

She hears Ana groan on her side and Maria whips around but keeps her hands on her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"Ana . . . are you alright?"

Her friend groans again, but this time, her voice sounded stronger a little, which gave some relief to Maria.

"A little better. Guess the pain in my head is wearing off now . . . I don't feel so good."

Suddenly, Ana slumps against her as Maria sees her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Maria gasps and tries to hold her up, but with her friend's body feeling like dead weight and her body not being as healthy as it should, both fell to the ground. But then, a pair of hands grab onto both of them and lifts them back up with incredible strength. Maria looks up to see Walter had caught them just in time, mostly holding Ana but grabbed onto Maria's arm as well. She had to tell herself that he was a synthetic and has greater strength than any reasonable human being. Still, it did shock her with how strong he really was.

"Are you alright?"

Maria stares into his blue eyes for a moment before she shakes her head and answers.

"Yes, I am. But what about Ana?"

Her focus changes on Ana who is slumped over Walter's forearm like she was some sort of blanket. Walter sees Maria's attention shift to her and moves to get his arm wrapped around Ana's waist.

"She's unconscious but alive. We need to get moving . . . and fast so I'll carry her from here."

When Maria heard that last part, her body tenses at the thought of Walter carrying her dearest friend who was on the brink of death. Although he had done much to prove his trust, that sense of doubt still lingered inside herself. Walter moves to take Ana when Maria grabs him on the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. She glares right into the blue shades of his eyes, making sure he knew how she felt about this.

"I can carry her myself."

Despite showing her emotions as bright as possible, Walter doesn't even flinch for even a moment. That sent shivers down Maria's spine even though she had seen him do that before. Just the thought that someone who looked like a human . . . Talked like a human . . . But didn't feel like one . . . It didn't feel right to Maria.

But just as Maria was about to say something else, Walter grabs her hand in his gently to move it off of his shoulder but keeps it close to him.

"Maria. If I wanted to harm Ana, then I could have done so right from the very beginning. Do you honestly think that I would when she hasn't done anything to me?"

Maria's eyes widened in shock when his words sounded like an average person and not a synthetic. The tone it gave off was one of sympathy and Maria didn't know what to think about it, but she did know that Walter had a point about. He could easily hurt both of them if he really meant it or not help them at all to escape. Sure . . . There was that thing with the master control, but it was the only way to get out of the facility. With no other reason to justify against him, she pulls her hand away and steps back a bit, closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and raising one finger at him.

"If you do anything to harm one little hair on her head . . ."

Maria pulls her spear from her back, holding it out for Walter to see. She stares right at him as she squeezes the shaft, extending the ends until it stops. She watches Walter look at the spear before she swings it around to place the sharp tip right at the side of his neck.

"I'll make sure to pierce a hole into your neck for everyone to see."

Both stay still in front of each other, waiting for one to make a move until Walter breaks the ice. He sighs and proceeds to throw Ana onto his back like a piggy-back ride, holding her legs on either side of his hips, keeping his gaze on her.

"I understand."

Right then, Maria can slightly tell that he got the message as she pulls the tip of the spear away from him. She watches as Walter shifts Ana on him to make it easier to move and with one look between them, they take off into the dark path while Maria wonders if the ship that came was indeed the person she loved

Za'taan . . .

[Unknown POV]

He watches from a beam that crossed over the ceiling as the kainde amedha kills off the last remaining oomans except one that ran off in the opposite direction only a few moments ago. As he watched the black serpents crawl and sniff to find more prey, the thirst for the hunt was starting to get to him, and his clawed hand rubs on the hilt of his knife that resting on his belt. As much as he wanted to kill off every one of the kainde amedha and show the oomans who was superior, he had a mission to carry out that was given by his Clan Leader.

With that, he lifts his wrist gauntlet to his masked face and works on it. The visual display on the mask shifts from one spectrum to another until he finds the right one. The heat vision one takes over and it so advanced that it can detect heat signatures even from behind a wall . . . As long as it wasn't too thick.

He surveys in the direction where the metal door was and sees three red blotches moving fast through the labs. He looks over them twice before he finds the right one that he's looking for. Turning off the heat spectrum, he stands tall on the beam as his mandibles twitch and click together in planning on how to proceed. For now, he needs to keep it low until he's confident of his target. He clicks once more as he activates the cloaking device, shielding him from view as he extends his wrist blades.

He's got his target and is ready for action.

When he looks down at the many kainde amedha and finds an opportunity, he jumps off the building, letting himself fall down as he points his wrist blades to an unsuspecting kainde amedha.

Time to finish this . . . Once and for all.

Hello everyone! :D

Sorry for the slight delay on this. Been a rough week with personal stuff going on along with the end of the school semester on the way. Urg! :(

But as promised, a new chapter of Endurance is posted, but this one was a very long chapter together so I split it into two in which the second part will be posted by next week. I hope you love it!

So far, Maria is on her way to getting out of Weyland-Yutani facility once and for all with Ana by her side and Walter on her back. But will they all make it out in one piece? Or will more die? Who knows with the kainde amedha now in the mix again. Always have to be in the middle of these things lol. But there's more for Maria to worry as an alien ship begins its bombardment along with a fellow warrior looking for something.

What is their purpose for being here? Who is it that is trying to find something? Is it Za'taan coming to Maria's rescue?

Find out when Chapter 6 (Escape Part 2) comes along next week.

Enjoy! :)))

P.S. Love the ideas on the new stories from both Mariah and Anonymous-E but will be a while since there are more stories to be done that are listed on my profile but love your reviews.

Thank you! :))