Scar prowled the seemingly endless corridors of Island North, every sense on high alert. He wasn't especially worried about stealth at this point, not now the hard meat already knew of his presence. A fully grown yautja male in a nest of hard meat was about as welcome as a joint of putrefying meat in a dining hall. He doubted they would be likely to forget he was here.
"Sooner or later it will come to the knife edge and the bugs will attack," He thought "As long as they hold off for now, I have more important matters to deal with."
He was no longer up to his calves in polluted water. The further down the corridor he went the dryer it became, which was all to the good. It left him free to use his blades on any kainde amedhe that crossed his path.
In his younger days Scar would have revelled in this, the dizzying euphoria of the kill would have electrified him. Now, the thrill he felt was dampened by anxiety; for Lex, for Selim. Even for the strange facsimile of his son he felt… something. He wasn't able to quite put a talon on what that feeling was and yet it was there, a nagging little phantom limb. At the very least he was curious about the child.
It was his son that occupied his thoughts most. Lex could look after herself but Selim…
"He is too gentle in temperament, too slow to violence!" He brooded, the ever present churning of the waves heightening his anxiety "Perhaps I should have been harder on him. Beaten him! Treated him as R'Zuul would have. Perhaps it would have made him tougher, stronger! Perhaps…"
But he knew it was all nonsense. He only had to picture himself beating the boy as R'Zuul had done him to imagine straight away Selim's look of bewildered hurt. Something inside him shrivelled in horror at the thought of betraying his son's heroic ideal of him.
"She was right," He realised "She is always right about such things. Even if he does not become the greatest warrior ever to draw breath, even if he is soft and weak! I will never let pain enter his life. I will die before I let harm touch him."
At that moment, he heard plasma fire and then voices ringing down the metal corridor.
"Selim! Wake up!"
Scar stopped in his tracks. His fear had become flesh.
"Wake up Selim!" Isaac shook his friend frantically "Selim!"
He was cut off as Farrell seized him and smashed him across the face with a meaty hand "You crazy little shithouse rat!" He roared in Isaac's face "Fucking shoot at me would you?"
Isaac's head was snapped up and to the side. The shock and pain coupled with the stress of the last few hours did something to him. He'd been half out of his mind with fear, fleeing from those things over on Island South, the helicopter crash and the explosion and the fire and then the nightmare creature jumping out of the dark elevator shaft. Now Farrell was shouting at him and hitting him? Isaac lost control.
"You hurt Selim!" He yelled, lashing out with his fists and feet. He caught the man a glancing blow on the cheekbone whilst his foot connected with the unprotected part of Farrell's stomach. The man bellowed and hurled him away. Isaac crashed shoulder-first into the wall and fell heavily. Now at eye level with the floor he saw Selim's plasma cannon lying only a few feet away and scrambled towards it but before he could get to it Farrell's booted foot crushed down on his hand.
Isaac's teeth gritted together. His hand hurt so bad he could hardly stand it but something kept him from crying out. His insides felt hot – all bubbling and ready to boil over. He struck with his free hand, raking his claws across the back of the man's bulky, calf muscle. The talons easily sliced through the material of Farrell's trouser leg and gouged bloody trenches in the flesh. In return the minder dealt him a savage kick in the ribs. As Isaac doubled up, trying to protect his stomach, Farrell yanked him to his feet and punched him in the gut. He began coughing and retching as Farrell mashed him against the wall, bringing his face so close Isaac could feel the spittle showering his cheek when he spoke.
"You little freak!" He hissed "You've fucked with the wrong guy!"
"You don't – scare – me!" Isaac gasped in-between retches, even though he was scared.
"Weyland only needs one of you mongrels brought back in one piece," Farrell sneered mockingly in Isaac's ear "Payback time, spoiled bitch!"
The minder's hand closed on his throat but though Isaac scrabbled madly to break free, it was as if he had no strength. The iron fingers kept squeezing no matter what he did. Isaac's head felt as if it was about to explode, spots flashed in front of his vision and he could hear horrible gurgling sounds. A red storm of panic swept in as he realised they were coming from his own throat.
Then, something changed. Despite what Farrell was doing to him, Isaac was suddenly aware of the cold and the stillness in the corridor around them. Looking over Farrell's shoulder he saw a shadow standing behind him. One moment it wasn't there and the next it was, materialising out of the dark.
The minder didn't even notice the huge figure at his back until it growled; a strange clicking purr that didn't sound like any noise made by a person.
Farrell froze, his pupils pinpricks of terror. Then everything turned upside down and Isaac fell to the floor gasping great lungfuls of air as the minder was snatched up.
When Isaac had glimpsed the mask he'd thought for an instant Selim's mother had come to save them but now he realised it couldn't possibly be her. His swimming eyes travelled up… and up.
"It's not Selim's Mom," He thought "He's even bigger than Farrell!"
The giant lifted the minder by the throat as easily as if he were made out of straw or feathers, just like he didn't weigh anything at all.
Then, a voice like metal grinding on metal: "Payback time?"
Isaac suddenly knew who – or what – was standing in front of him. He had heard that voice before, in the hot prison cell that had haunted his nightmares ever since.
The monster brought its face close to Farrell's.
"Unpleasant… is it not," It snarled "To be at someone's… mercy?"
Farrell made a strangled noise, unable to answer. On the floor, Isaac began to grope desperately for the plasma gun, no more able to take his terrified gaze from the monster than Farrell could.
The huge clawed hand reached through Farrell's stomach and up into his chest. The minder gasped, the quiet noise somehow worse than screaming as a shower of thick, dark liquid poured onto the floor. Finally a strangled squeal did escape Farrell's clenched teeth and his legs started to kick as if he were trying to run in mid-air. Then the monster tore its hand free of Farrell's chest, a grisly lump clutched in its fist. It held it before the minder's purple face and squeezed.
Isaac watched in horror as Farrell danced a frantic jitterbug, twitching and jerking as a hot shower of innards poured down his legs.
The moment his struggles stopped, the monster dropped him – as if it had got bored. It wiped its gory hand on its leg, smearing sticky redness onto its pale, mottled skin.
Then it turned towards Selim.
As if by magic, Isaac unfroze. He dived forward, snatching up the plasma cannon from the blood-spattered floor and pointed it straight at the huge shadow.
"No!" He croaked, but the monster did not hear him. As it stretched out a massive taloned hand towards Selim's unconscious body, Isaac found his voice.
"Stay back monster!" He screamed "Or I'll shoot you!"
