Chapter 6: Escape (Part 2)
Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.
The darkness of the hallway didn't help much as Maria tried to navigate it with Walter close behind, carrying Ana who was still out of it and swinging from side to side when Walter turns a corner. At first, Maria had no idea where she was going, but it was too late to turn back now, especially with the soldiers and now kainde amedha around. All Maria could think was to find the ship and hope Za'taan was there, looking for her. She hoped . . .
Hall after hall, door after door, it was like a maze to Maria, and she was getting fed up with this. They needed to get out, and they can't do that when it's like going in circles to find the exit. While running, she turns back to Walter and shouts.
"Where the fuck are we going, Walter!?"
"Just a little further! We should see a solid door up ahead. Keep going!"
Although Maria was panting hard from the run, she can see that Walter hasn't broken a sweat, even with Ana on his back like dead weight. She shook her head to get rid of these useless thoughts and kept running forward, hoping to find the door that Walter mentioned. If not . . . Then they were fucked. But just as Maria was thinking about it, her eyes caught sight of a large, concrete door that was only a few feet away. Seeing it, it gave a small boost for Maria to run faster and get a few feet away from Walter and Ana. Upon closer inspection, she can see that it had a padlock on the side with a code that she hadn't seen before. It was high tech so whatever was behind the door must be very important to protect.
As soon as her hands were on it, Maria got to work in trying to open the door. However, it wouldn't budge, and he had no idea what the code was to get in. She turns around to find Walter right at her side and so quick. Maria had to keep reminding herself that Walter was a synthetic, so everything he did was unnatural.
Walter gets to her side and goes straight on getting the code for the door. His quick fingers got the light on the padlock to turn green, indicating that they had access now. With that, Maria lightly pushed Walter to the side, carefully making sure not to hurt Ana in the process. She unlatches the lock, and with a groan, the door slowly opens. It was too slow for Maria, so she decided to push it with all her strength. Usually, it would take little energy from her, but with all the years of starvation and torture, her body wasted a lot of energy to get the door a few inches open. In the end, Walter came to her side and pushed the rest of the way, moving Maria through it and closing the door afterward.
"Are you alright, Maria?"
Maria could hear a hint of concern in Walter's voice, but she ignored it, believing it would be a waste of time . . . Time that they needed to escape. So Maria just moved forward into the room that they were in, barely able to see with the little light that was on. It wasn't until Maria took another step that the automatic sensor lights turned on. When it did, Maria gasped at the sight that was before her.
There were several small tubes by the dozens stacked together in rows that seemed endless. The numbers weren't the only things that shocked her but what was inside them. Each container held a facehugger that Maria didn't know if they were alive, sleeping, or just suspended in death. She slowly gets closer to one of the tubes and taps on the glass and the facehugger jolts, making Maria jump backward in defense as she points her spear at it. The facehugger struggles a bit before slumping back into a sort of sleep. She couldn't believe that there were so many in one facility and right under her nose. The anger inside grew from just that thought as she twisted her head back to Walter so fast that one would think her head would come off.
"What the fuck is the meaning of all this!?"
Maria didn't get much reaction from Walter except for his eyes widening in shock for only a few seconds. Her breathing becomes rough as her blood begins to boil but all Walter gave was a small answer that offered minimal comfort or relief.
"I'm not sure. I know that Weyland has been studying the xenomorphs long before you arrived but nothing else. From the looks of it, he's been testing them for something."
Again, Maria didn't like that Walter was giving very little information to go on and it sparked another angry flare inside herself. However, the sound of clanking metal above them took both their attention. Maria looked up for a bit to see where it was coming from and realized horribly that the kainde amedha is right on their trail. She suspects that they might be using the ventilation system to get around locked doors and soldiers that were around. She brings her spear up and scraps it over the ground, sharpening it for the inevitable. She looks back at Walter for a moment as he spoke.
"We need to keep moving. The ship should be in the next compartment on the other side."
With no time to waste, Maria turns and sprints forward, keeping her spear high in the air in case there was a sudden attack. After experiencing these black creatures firsthand, Maria couldn't afford to loosen her guard . . . Not now or ever. All three raced through tubes after tubes of facehuggers while trying to avoid knocking one over accidentally. The painful memory of losing her mother . . . Ending her misery with her hand . . . Maria would kill any that tried to escape without a second thought. She wouldn't even want her worst enemies to go through that . . . Well. . . Maybe except for Weyland who has already crossed that line with her. She would love to make him suffer for what he has done to both Ana and herself. But right now, she needed to focus on getting out of here alive and with her friends intact.
After a few moments of endless running, they made it out of the tubes but run into another door that was already wide open. To Maria, it was an alarming sight to see when she noticed massive dents in it that reminded her of sharp claws. She knew it belonged to a kainde amedha since there was nothing else that could make those dents so deep into solid metal. The fear inside began to send chills down Maria's spine as she knew they were very close if not already near but hiding in plain sight. She motions Walter to take Ana through, and he does so without hesitation. After they were clear, Maria thought it best to shut it behind them, and so she pushed with all her might and managed to get it somewhat closed despite being it so heavy.
When she saw the next room, the terror of Weyland's dark secrets kept growing. Instead of tubes filled with facehuggers, the room filled with several cages that seemed designed to trap dangerous creatures. The walls of each enclosure were made of thick glass that Maria figured even a bullet couldn't penetrate. Inside, it was just plain concrete with a massive trap in the middle, designed to lock something in bounds. It was confirmed when Maria looked into the next one that held a kainde amedha in the same trap, hissing and trying its best to break free but to no avail. Maria was disgusted by this, unable to comprehend what went through Weyland's mind. Whatever he is plotting, it's never good when involving these abominations along with trying to obtain information about the Yautja.
The scene entirely absorbed her mind that the clanking noise slapped her out of it. Again, it sounded like it was coming from the ventilation shafts, but then, Maria heard hissing right on the ground and her body jolts in alarm. There was a kainde amedha nearby, and Maria had no choice but to confront it since the noise came from the direction that they needed to go. She turns to Walter and whispers enough for him to hear but also to stay quiet.
"Find somewhere to hide. I'll take care of this."
Walter didn't move as Maria anticipated, making her frustrated beyond limits and she was tempted to push him out of the way roughly, but she also remembers that he carried Ana on his back.
"But Maria . . . it's dangerous to—"
Walter was cut off when Maria swung her spear right between his eyes, glaring at him with all the anger inside from just him tiring out her patience. The silence grew between the two until Maria leans her head closer to Walter so that he could hear what she had to say.
"Go."
She said it slow but profound, and that is all Walter needed to take off into one of the cages that were empty, leaning down until they were out of sight. Maria turns back towards the direction of the sound, swinging her spear back and forth in a circular motion to get the feeling of it. After all, it had been years since she touched the weapons that I'stih and Ya'stu left behind and she hoped that her skills didn't rust much during her imprisonment here. She lowers the spear and takes her free hand to feel for the knives that were on each side of her hips, making sure in case she needed them. You never know with these creatures . . .
The hissing sound echoed again, and Maria tenses up, getting into a fighting stance with her feet apart and knees bent as she looks forward, bringing the spear back up in front of her. While she did that, she glances back towards Walter who was peeking out from the bottom of the window to the cage. He nods to her in the reassurance that they were safe and Maria nods back. She looks back towards the front, waiting for what seemed like a long time before she caught a glimpse of the black creature's tail slithering across the floor and out of sight. Maria stays right where she is as she anticipates its every move, remembering her training with Za'taan about patience. It was one of the few lessons that she took to heart.
"Come on, fucking bastard . . ."
Maria waits until another hissing sound echoed that seemed closer than the others she has heard. She looks forward into the darkness, and sure enough, the elongated head of a kainde amedha emerges. She growls in the back of the throat, making sure that the creature knew she was there. It hisses in response as its full body comes right into the open, stalking Maria with all the hatred in its features. She could see its teeth bared out and ready for battle, but Maria was too. She points the spear right at it, and when she did, the kainde amedha roars and as fast as lighting, sprints towards Maria as its claws dug into the ground.
She waits until the right moment to strike when the kainde amedha is close enough to get a fatal spot but just far enough that its blood won't touch her. That thought when one of them jumped on her a long time ago still affected the scar on her shoulder begins to burn. But it was almost a fatal mistake. Maria was distracted for a split second until she heard another hissing just above her and she looks up fast and in some way, glad that she did. Another kainde amedha had crawled onto the ceiling and waited for Maria to lose her focus, dropping down onto her while baring its claws and fangs at her just like the other that was racing to her on the ground. In an instant, Maria managed to dodge it by rolling out of the way and the two kainde amedha crash into one another.
Maria gets back on her feet as the black creatures scramble to break free of one another, crying and whipping their tails around in a frantic motion. She takes the opportunity and races towards them, gripping the spear tightly as she points it at the nearest one. However, she was one second too late as one of the kainde amedha breaks free and whips its tail at her. Maria skids to a stop and positions the spear horizontally as the barb of its tail hits the shaft hard. It was enough to throw Maria on her back far from them, and she screams in pain when her back hits the concrete floor. Unfortunately, the end of her head slams down as well, sending a jolt of pain throughout her entire body and down to her toes and fingers. She seethes in agony but shakes it off when a kainde amedha charges once more. She rolls out of the way as its claws try to cut into her chest but bury into the floor. Maria sees that its claws were stuck and the black creature scrambles to try and pull it out while hissing at Maria. She growls once more and points her spear at the center of its head. The creature hisses once again in warning, but Maria took it as her chance and so she brings the spear over her shoulder as she readies to throw it.
But just as she was about to release it, the other kainde amedha jumps in the air and almost lands on Maria's back. With quick reflex, she turns and launches the spear right into its abdomen. It screams painfully in Maria's ears as it hits the ground and skids to a stop right in front of her. The smell of burning acid filled her nose as the gurgling sounds it made became silent. She takes a deep breath to calm her senses but just as she was about to turn, the kainde amedha that was stuck before jumps on her back, pushing her stomach down on the ground.
Maria's instinct kicks in again, and she twists around until she was looking up towards the kainde amedha. It hisses at her for a split second until it opens its mouth to reveal its inner jaws. She knew it was going for the kill so without pausing, Maria reaches for one of the knives and swings it around, plunging the blade into the side of its mouth and lucky that it didn't bleed out. The black creature throws its head back in agony and Maria had no choice but to let go of the knife. However, the black creature only became angrier as it looks back down at Maria. She just about to reach for the other knife when the kainde amedha clamps its arms and legs on her own, pinning her to the ground. Maria struggles to release herself, but it was no use. Her body wasn't strong enough, and panic overwhelms her as its inner mouth comes out and ready to pierce her skull.
"Maria!"
The cry that sounded like Ana's draws Maria's attention back to the cage. She sees her best friend struggle to get on her feet while Walter tries to pull her back into the safety of the cage. Maria's eyes widened at the thought that Ana would try to help in her condition and she wanted to scream to get her back inside. Maria turns back to the kainde amedha that was coming closer to her head, and she couldn't help but think that this could be it.
She didn't want it to end like this. She wanted to escape and see Za'taan again. To view his beautiful red stripes glowing all over his body . . . To smell his sweet scent of cinnamon in her nose . . . And to see his glowing, red eyes looking at her with all the love he could give her.
Maria can't let this happen . . . Not like this. She won't let it end with her death!
She glares right at the kainde amedha, waiting for it to make its attack. Suddenly, the creature is pulled off of her and Maria became confused at what just happened. With the heavyweight gone from her body, she gets back on her feet and looks to see the kainde amedha pinned to the wall with some razor-sharp disk in its chest. Maria was baffled at what could have done this, but she has a guess. She has never seen a weapon quite like that but the handiwork is very similar to her spear and knives, and that could only mean one thing . . . A Yautja.
It was confirmed when she heard clicking just behind her, and she froze but not out of fear. It sounded familiar but not really. Maria wondered if it were the person she hoped it would be. Za'taan?
Slowly, she turns around and sees a silhouette that would have been invisible to the untrained eye, but Maria knew better. With a deep inhale, she clears her voice to call out to the unknown figure.
"Za'taan?"
The figure clicked, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Maria calls again, and in response, she hears buttons being pressed and the cloak begins to dissipate. She waits impatiently, opening and closing her hands back and forth to try and calm herself. All she wanted was to leap into his arms and hold him tight. But when the figure finally reveals herself, the warm feeling disappears, and dread takes over.
The figure was Yautja, but it wasn't Za'taan. This person was shorter in height with armor that was rusted on the edges to give it a unique look. His mask had horns protruding from its edges, and when Maria took a big sniff, his scent was that of wood . . . Not the sweet cinnamon she was hoping for. What made this Yautja more different is that one of his dreadlocks was cut in half and looked like two were growing in the same spot. Maria had never seen a Yautja quite like this, and she worried if he was friend or foe.
The Yautja clicks again and tilts his head to the side in curiosity. Maria didn't know what to make of the action until he began to walk towards her. She tenses up and slowly reaches for the other knife, instinct telling her to keep her guard up. The Yautja clicks again, and Maria didn't know what to do. She calls to him once more.
"Who are you?"
Again, the Yautja clicks and moves to press a code into his wrist gauntlet. At first, Maria didn't understand until she heard a recording of her voice.
"Who are you?"
She looks back at him with confusion, but then she remembers about what I'stih and Ya'stu told her about Yautja learning the ooman language. Maria figures that this Yautja doesn't understand her and doesn't know how to speak her, so she attempted to communicate further in the hopes of finding out who this Yautja is.
"Friend . . . or Foe?"
Maria spoke slowly and clearly so that the Yautja could get some idea of what she was saying. He goes back to his wrist gauntlet and plays another recording that was fuzzy at first, but one word was clear to Maria.
". . . Friend."
Her eyes widened in surprise at his answer. So this Yautja is not her to fight her but why is he here then? It was a question that was eating inside her. She wanted to ask something else, but the Yautja beats her to it. However, the recording he played next took her by shock and surprise.
"You've already proven to be a great warrior, and you took down a Queen with only a spear. You have earned your place with me. Remember . . . I will never let you go . . . Maria."
Her heart beats faster, and her body burned when she heard the familiar voice of Za'taan in the recording. So he knows Za'taan!? That was the only reason Maria could think of cause how else could he have his voice. Maria takes a step forward, and the Yautja comes closer as well until they were only a few inches away. She stares right into his mask and swears that his eyes were on her as well.
"How . . . do you know Za'taan?"
The Yautja clicks and moves his hand to reach her. She freezes in anticipation of what he was going to do. His hand comes closer and closer until it moves to point at her cheek as his claw touches lightly. Maria's eyes widen bigger at what he was pointing at. On her cheek was the mark of the Uhri clan that Za'taan had given her a long time ago. She stays perfectly still as he moves his hand away to move a piece of his armor that was placed on his shoulder. When he does, she lightly gasps as she saw the same mark embedded on his shoulder . . . just like hers. She knew it could only mean that he belongs in the same clan as Za'taan.
She couldn't wait anymore, and the gates inside her mind broke and all her thoughts flooded into words that came out of her mouth uncontrollably.
"Where is he!? Where is Za'taan!? Why are you here?! Why are you attacking the facility and everyone in it!? I don't—"
But she didn't get a chance to finish as the Yautja hits her on the head but just enough to knock her out cold. All she could remember before passing out was Ana screaming her name.
[Raith's POV]
Raith had enough of the female ooman's ranting of questions as his patience was growing thin. He may not understand her language, but the sound of her voice was enough to drive him insane. With a swift hit on her head, he knocks her out cold, and he catches her in his arms. He clicks his mandibles in curiosity at looking at the female ooman that has gotten everyone's attention, including Za'taan of all Yautjas.
She looked so fragile that even a small smack from him, which would only bruise a Yautja just a little bit, knocks the female out cold. Raith could see how thin her body was. How could this ooman possibly kill a kainde amedha when he could easily break her in half? Not many Yautjas could pull off a stunt like she did before he interrupted her. Raith was amazed by her skills during her fight, but he had a mission to complete. He needed to bring the ooman female that carried his clan's symbol back with him, and he's known for getting things done.
He slings Maria over his shoulder and moves to get his disk, her knives and then her spear, placing them in his belt. But just as he was walking off, another voice gets his attention, and he turns to see another female ooman coming but struggling to keep her footing. A male ooman followed hurryingly behind to try and grab her. Raith watched them struggle against each other, but the female was having none of it.
"Maria!"
Raith knew that was the name of the female he was carrying, but he had no idea who these two oomans were so he extended his wrist blades out in defense, growling low but enough to stop the oomans in their tracks. However, he stares right into the female's brown eyes as they show no signs of relenting. He waits as the female calls to him again.
"What are you going to do with her?"
Raith didn't have any obligations to tell the ooman anything, and besides, he didn't know exactly how to answer her. He never bothered to learn how to speak the ooman language so it didn't come to mind that he would use it someday. She wasn't his mission and so was just dead weight if he brought her along. He could see the male behind her was just as concerned as the female but more wanting to get out of there. Raith grunted in annoyance and began to turn around and get out of here when he feels a hand grab onto his arm. Instinctually, he turns and growls towards the female that was holding him, but she doesn't relent. Instead, her grip on his arm got tighter . . . Barely as she stares right through his mask and into his eyes.
"Please . . . She's my friend. I'm not going to leave her."
In that instant, Raith didn't know what was happening as his mandibles twitch a little while his chest began to burn. Whatever this female was doing, he needed to get out of there before all Hell breaks loose. Little did the oomans knew that Raith had planted a bomb into the facility and at any moment would detonate and destroy everything within the area. However, judging by the look in the female's eyes along with the male, they weren't going to let him off the hook just like that. Raith then thinks about what the female on his shoulder would think if he did leave her 'friends' behind. Another problem to deal with . . .
He grunts in frustration and turns towards the female holding his arm and nods followed by a motion of his head to follow. The ooman's eyes lit up in surprise but then relax as she understood his message. She looks back at the male who stood to wait.
"Walter. He wants us to follow him. Help me."
The female reaches for the male and he comes, positioning her to climb on his back. Once she was settled in, the male nods silently and Raith grunts. Without pause, Raith takes off into the direction of where he positioned the ship to be. His was designed with an automatic pilot so that it can stay on while he was out in case of emergency . . . Or a mission like this one.
Raith looks behind and sees that the male ooman was keeping up with his pace, amazing him that such an inferior creature could run that fast, especially with the female on his back. Curiously, Raith gives a quick look to see that she could barely keep her eyes open. She must have gone through a lot or at least he thinks so.
All of them kept running through the facility as Raith checked to make sure no kainde amedha or other oomans were following them. He looks back at his wrist gauntlet to see that the ship has moved towards the back of the facility . . . Exactly where he wanted it to be. It was the only area that had the least security, which gives a great chance to escape. As they kept running, Raith sees a large door that had some sign on the top. He had to look in the files that his mask kept to know that it meant 'exit' in the ooman language. It was the way out as so Raith sprints faster towards it. He looks back once more to see the oomans were still on his trail.
But just as he was about to reach it, several ooman soldiers with guns pop out in between them. Raith skids to a stop and roars in anger. He was hoping to get out of here without confrontation with the oomans but no such luck. However, he slightly grinned under his mask as he could see some of the oomans showed hesitation and even some fear. Raith pulls out his wrist blades, and some of them jump from the action. He hears the female and male behind him gasp in horror and grunts in frustration. The ooman soldiers aim their guns, and he's ready to fight until a single male comes through and Raith assumes that it's their leader.
"Finally . . . we have a chance to meet."
Raith growls in response, but the male ooman smirks and Raith wanted nothing more than to rip his head clean off his body and have it for a trophy.
"So you think that you can just come in here and take what is ours? That female on your shoulder belongs to us, and we can't let you take her."
Raith looks towards the side to see Maria still unconscious and hanging on his shoulder. He turns back towards the leader and growls once more. He presses on his wrist gauntlet and replays a recording.
"We can't let you take her . . ."
He waits for the leader in responding and all Raith gets is a laugh. He snarls right back, and the leader stops instantly but still grinning at him.
"Sorry, buddy. But we're not going to let you leave. Men!"
On cue, the other ooman soldiers raise their guns at Raith, ready to fire on command. Raith growls and readies his wrist blades, bringing it up to his face along with his other arm. But what they don't know is that Raith begins pressing a code into his gauntlet. The last resort in case something like this happened. He watches the leader raise his hand like a signal, but that is Raith is waiting for. The leader grins one last time as he yells into the air.
"Fire!"
In that instant, Raith taps on his gauntlet, and with that, the wall to their side explodes into a thousand pieces. Everyone, including the leader, drops to the ground to avoid the rubble although there were some unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got crushed. Raith wasn't fazed by it as he knew his ship was going to blast the wall. He does turn around to see the male curl around the female in a protective manner. Despite getting cuts, Raith could see that the male was unaffected by it and no blood could be seen dripping from his wounds. Raith concludes that he must be more than ooman, but he doesn't have time to think about it. However, when he sees the female looking grateful towards the male, his blood begins to boil at sight.
Raith turns towards the hole in the wall and smiles when he sees the outside with his ship hovering near them. With the remaining ooman soldiers barely recovering from the blast, he runs towards the ledge and commands the ship to let down the ramp. When it does, he motions the female and male followers to get in the ship. He watches them run into the ship, but just as Raith proceeded to follow, a bullet ricochets on the ramp right beside him. His head twists around fast and enough for his dreadlocks to swing. When he sees that it was the leader who shot at him with a handgun, Raith growls ferociously. He doesn't need this right now. The leader smirks and points the gun at Raith's head, ready to fire if he made a single more.
"I told you before. You're not going anywhere."
Raith growls once more and pulls his wrist blades out, ready to finish him off right then and there. But just then, his knife flies from his shoulder and goes plunges into the neck of the leader. Immediately, blood splatters out of his throat and the leader gurgles, trying to hold his neck together but it was no use. The ooman was already dead as his body falls to the ground with his eyes glossing over with death. Raith is quite confused about who threw his knife and turned his head to the side, and that is when he realized that the female on his should have woken up. Maria's hand stayed upright as if frozen at that moment. He could see her eyes were filled with fury but also exhaustion. She whispers right by his face but directed towards the dead leader.
"Take that . . . Sergeant Wilson . . . You son of a bitch . . ."
It was the last thing she said before she passes out once more. Raith thrills at how this female could do something like this and without hesitation. He began to wonder if Maria was indeed an ooman since her actions were similar to that of a female Yautja. Ruthless . . .
Raith wonders if he should take a trophy for her kill since he could see that the female showed deep hatred towards the leader . . . Like she had some vendetta. She did earn it after all.
Seeing that he had some time left, Raith walks over to the leader's body. He reaches down to grab the top of his head, and with a quick jerk, he yanks hard and fast. The head comes clean off from the leader's shoulder, and Raith looks at his head to see that it was perfectly intact. He places it in a net and hooks it to his belt, tugging a bit before looking back at the decapitated body. He chuckles a bit and walks up the ramp, pressing on his gauntlet once more to seal it shut.
When it did, the ship begins to take off into the stars and just in time as a blue light shines over the facility. In an instant, the bomb goes off and obliterates everything in its path, leaving a smoking hole in the ground.
Raith would look at the female one last time and wonder if this inferior creature was all worth it.
Hi Readers!
Sorry for the slight delay of this chapter but finally managed to get this written, edited and posted for all of you to enjoy.
I have to admit that Maria is a badass and will kill anyone in her line of sight or if you piss her off enough, but now she had made connections with a Yautja from the same clan as Za'taan. Is this her one chance to finally be able to reunite with Za'taan once more? Who is this mysterious Yautja named Raith? And does he have some interest in her friend, Ana?
Find out when Chapter 7 comes along!
P.S. Due to finals week coming around the corner, I won't be able to post any new chapters for my stories until two weeks. I know that seems like a while but got to focus on my school and then afterward, there will be more surprises waiting around the corner.
As for Anonymous-E and Maria, I got your messages on the new stories and hoped that you could wait a little bit until I finish these stories and the others that are following suit. But I hope both of you enjoy these chapters and I thank you for the reviews you post. It gives me the necessary motivation to keep on going.
Thank you and Enjoy! :)))