A corridor on one of the upper levels of Island North.

On the wall about halfway up, a trickle of water began to run from the bottom rim of a riveted metal panel, covering the opening to the elevator service hatch. Just a drop or two at first, but growing steadily. Then a rivet burst out like a bullet from a gun: ping! which released a thin stream water like a tiny geyser. It was followed by another rivet and another;

Ping!

Ping!

Crack!

As one struck the window opposite, hairline fractures appeared in the glass. Water was now shooting from the holes left by the rivets, forced through under great pressure.

Then something hit the panel from the inside, once, again and then again. It warped and bent out of shape as something struck it repeatedly until, with a rending squeal, the battered metal gave way and Scar and the hard meat shot out of the cramped tunnel like some lashing, hissing afterbirth. Along with them spewed a tidal wave of cold slime and filth, quickly turning the corridor into a swamp. Scar was on his feet first and a split second later the hard meat was up and on the attack. It launched itself at Scar and he just had time to look up and see it coming before its razor claws hit him in the chest, knocking him into the putrid water. The pair of them rolled over and over, grappling with each other, fighting to get a grip on skin that was slippery with ooze.

Dodging a slashing blow from its tail, Scar managed to struggle upright and with a snarl of fury he seized the bug by one arm and leg. Ignoring the vivid green gore flowing down his chest he swung the thrashing body, slamming it straight into the damaged window opposite. The glass shattered in a glittering shower as the drone went right through, dropping out of sight and disappearing into the pitch black.

The moment he was sure it had gone, Scar ripped his mask from his face so he could half cough and half vomit up the foul liquid that had all but drowned him.

When he had stopped retching he staggered to the edge of the window, still gagging a little from the taste of the polluted water, and gazed down. There was nothing to see but blood dark depths.

Scar stared.

He had never really seen the ocean before – he remembered a glimpse of something like this in Antarctica but at the time he'd been too preoccupied with fighting for his life to take much notice.

Now, as the huge waves rolled beneath him, he understood why this complex seemed to be in perpetual motion. Although Iversson had told him they were surrounded on all sides by water he had pictured something like a vast lake. He'd never before seen waves that looked like mountains looming up to meet him. It was really quite breath-taking.

There was no sign of the hard meat but he very much doubted it was dead – the kainde amedhe were strong swimmers.

"Who cares, for now it is out of my way." Scar shrugged, tossing his head, trying to shake off the last traces of the nausea though his stomach continued to lurch. He glanced at the hatch, still gushing water. He was ankle deep in frigid foulness already. There might be more hard meat on their way here right now, and the Queen was undoubtedly on the move. Her lust for vengeance and the flooding of the lower levels would drive her upwards, only a matter of time before she found her way to him ... or to Lex and Selim.

"I will not allow it!" He told himself "I shall carve my way to them, through the hard meat... and the soft."


Lex stumbled to one side, nearly losing her footing as the floor shook. She and Rathbone were now pressed up against the door, it was the only way they could stay upright

"It was the only way," She told him "Even if you and I end up dead, at least my boys have a chance now!"

"But what about those monsters?"

"This bridge is unstable, they're not stupid!"

He grabbed her upper arm "If I lift you up you could try to wriggle through –"

"Very flattering, but I'm not that slender!"

"Gotta be better than waiting here to die!"

Suddenly the door slid open, taking both of them by surprise and they fell forward. Lex looked up the barrel of the pulse rifle into Diana Weyland's eyes, chillier than the glinting gunmetal.

"Put your hands on your head Woods."

A quick glance to her right and she saw Farrell holding Selim and Isaac, a meaty arm around each of their throats so they couldn't move. In one hand he held her plasma cannon. She couldn't see Rathbone but she could sense him standing behind her. They stood at an intersection of three corridors, two of which led off into darkness. She could just make out a murky stairwell, away down the third.

Lex lifted her hands up slowly, no sudden movements. However little respect she had for the Weyland she had total respect for the weapon. Being shot in the head by a nervous amateur made you no less dead than being shot by a seasoned assassin.

"Alright Diana." She kept her voice level "Why don't you just tell Farrell to let the boys go? You're scaring them."

"I don't think so." Weyland snapped "You're all coming with me."

Lex felt another tremor in the floor, the sounds of the fire blowing in with the hot breeze through the ravaged porthole in the door to the bridge "If you let me go, I promise I won't hurt you."

"You're not the one calling the shots here Lex."

"How are you even going to get off this complex without me Diana?" She said reasonably. "Help won't be arriving from the mainland anytime soon. Now the copters are gone and Island South is all but destroyed there aren't any more aircraft apart from my ship – "

"You seem very well versed on what resources I have at my disposal," Weyland shot Rathbone an angry look, clearly guessing her source of information "But just so we're clear this isn't a negotiation! We've got your children so if you want them to make it out of here alive you'll shut up and do as you're told."

Lex thought for a moment, she needed to take the boys out of the equation somehow. Her eyes flickered over them, looking for some way to let them escape.

Farrell's grip on the plasma cannon was all wrong. He obviously didn't understand where the trigger was. Isaac was wild-eyed with fear but Selim… her son was watching her. Just like his father always did; calm and inscrutable, waiting to see what she'd do. Scar always seemed knew what she was thinking…

Subtly she began to shift her stance, ready to move "If I can just get that gun off her…" In the background she could just make out a noise, a low pitched groaning began to intrude on her hearing.

"Face it Diana," She said, holding Weyland's gaze "Without me you'll be stuck here with the monsters you've created, not to mention Selim's father. What do you think he'll do to you when he catches you?"

Weyland bared her teeth, perfect little pearls against the blood red of her lips "Don't bullshit me Mommy! I know you'd do anything to protect your two little hybrid bastards but I only need one of them to make it out of here alive. And as for the exotic - "

Suddenly Lex's gaze flashed over the other woman's shoulder to something behind her "There he is!"

It was a cheap trick but it worked. Weyland swung automatically round to see what she was looking at.

As her attention wavered, Lex's foot shot out and kicked the gun barrel sending a line of bullets raking across the ceiling.

At the same moment Selim bit down on the fleshy part of his captor's arm. As Farrell screamed Selim twisted violently to free himself, and the minder lost his hold on both children. Without hesitation Selim snatched up the plasma cannon the man had dropped and took off down the right hand corridor with Isaac on his heels.

"Get them back you moron!" Weyland shrieked as Farrell lumbered after them, still clutching his bleeding arm. The CEO barely had time to raise the assault rifle before Lex was on her, knocking the weapon out of her hands so it clattered to the floor.

She was about to spring after Farrell and the children when the low groaning suddenly intensified and the floor beneath them jumped, jarred by a huge impact. She, Weyland and Rathbone were all thrown violently to the floor as the bridge between North and South collapsed into the sea. For a moment all she could hear was the screech and moan of rending metal, the crashing and rumbling. A thick cloud of dust billowed over them as the ceiling fell in, blinding everyone.

When she could finally see again, Lex gasped in dismay. The corridor the children had run down was cut off, completely blocked by fallen debris.

"Selim!" She screamed "Isaac!"

She began to claw at the pile of debris blocking off the tunnel, desperately digging, flinging lumps of rubble and metal aside, when she suddenly felt the hard muzzle of a gun in her back.

"Freeze Beautiful."


Selim heard the roar like thunder behind but he didn't turn to see what it was. His mother had told him to run so he ran, hearing Isaac's light tread as he kept pace.

He ran through puddles of faltering light and shadows that swayed as the complex trembled and shook. Farrell's footsteps thudded down the corridor behind them, loud and clumsy in his ears.

Despite what his mother had said Selim knew that running away made him a coward. He could hear his father's sibilant growl inside his head "When you fight an adult male you cannot afford to hessssitate, you must ssstrike when you have the chance!"

His grip tightened on the plasma cannon.

The two boys rounded a sharp bend and suddenly Selim stopped dead, Isaac skidding to a halt a few paces further on. Before his friend's astonished eyes, Selim turned and raised the plasma gun. His breathing was deep and even and his hand was steady.

Before Isaac could even ask his friend what the hell he was thinking Farrell thundered around the corner and Selim opened fire, the bluish white plasma burst lighting up the corridor. Farrell was caught off guard but with a speed that belied his large size he hurled himself down, rolling as he hit the floor. The blast missed him by inches scoring the metal wall behind.

As the minder dived for cover, Selim flattened himself against the wall pulling Isaac along with him. Next to them was an elevator shaft, the doors stuck half open, and the two children ducked inside, Selim still holding the gun ready.

Isaac his arm "Selim what are you doing?" He hissed anxiously "We shoulda kept running, now we're trapped!"

"Yautja do not run, we fight." It seemed to his friend that Selim's voice had change. Somehow, it sounded deeper, his strange accent stronger than usual.

"Fight?" Isaac hissed "But Farrell's gonna –"

"We fight here. Now."

At that moment the minder's voice rang down the corridor "Give it up you little pussies!"

Isaac opened his mouth to speak but Selim shook his head very slowly, his yellow eyes fixed on his friend's, willing him to find courage.

"Get the fuck out here!"

"I have a gun!" Called Selim in a trembling voice.

Isaac was astonished. Selim sounded like a scared little boy but then his friend grinned and it was clear the fear was an act.

"You ain't got the stones to shoot me you mutant rugrat!" Farrell bellowed "Come out now and I won't beat you black and blue!"

As he watched his friend, Isaac's own breathing had slowed until it was in time with the other boy's.

"Get out here before I drag y'out!"

Selim stood up, everything about his stance suggested he was sharp and ready for the attack. He darted his head round the door for an instant. Seeing the corridor was clear, he slipped an arm round – plasma gun ready.

"Alright, we're coming out!" He called "But you have to promise not to hurt me!"

Selim's attention was now focused wholly on the corridor outside the elevator when he heard Isaac make a strangled noise.

Turning reluctantly from his ambush, he saw his friend; eyes bulging, focusing on something behind him. Following Isaac's petrified gaze he saw a shape uncurling itself from a dark opening in the roof of the elevator. A long spindly tail descended, the razor point curving towards them like the head of a snake.

Selim grabbed Isaac by the shoulder and dragged him bodily into the corridor, at the same time bringing the muzzle of the plasma caster swinging round to cover the hard meat. It straightened up until it seemed to him it filled the elevator, tall and menacing. Then it lunged, jaws gaping hungrily.

Selim didn't hesitate. As soon as he felt his heels touch the wall opposite he opened fire, throwing himself and Isaac to one side as far away from the creature as possible. The hard meat took the blast in the chest and its ribcage shattered, hot plasma vaporising the blood in an acrid cloud that blew into the elevator. It hit the deck lifeless, the smell of burning metal and plastic filling the air.

Selim turned to Isaac in triumph, his friend's expression mirroring his own joy "I killed it!"

There was a feeling like a wasp sting on his thigh. Looking down he saw a large black feathery thing sticking out of his left leg. Then Isaac's aghast face was falling away, as if he were disappearing down a long dark tunnel.

In reality it was Selim who was falling, blacking out as the strong drugs took him over.