Translations:
H'chak : mercy
H'dlak : fear
Ki'cte : enough
H'ko : no
Pauk : fuck
Thwei : blood
N'dhi-ja : goodbye
Kiande Amedha : hard meat (xeno)
Nain-de : hunter
Sain'ja : warrior
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Just do it. It's the final test. The final trial. Then I'll be home free to stay until I can get a ride back... If I want to go back.
Why can't I get up? What's this feeling? It knots my stomach and has the room spinning.
Why? Why do I feel like today's going to be my last day here? Why do I feel death so near yet so far away?
Why?
Lex finally managed to get up. It had been a week since she'd passed the second trial and now she had to face the third and final test.
Scar had already left and would wait for her at the cafeteria, per usual. So, Lex took her time getting up and washing before dressing. The hallway seemed long to her and the fog that hung around her ankles seemed to be foreshadowing something terrible.
The lights darted across the wall and allowed a dim glowing light to guide her.
"You alright Lex? You seem distant today." Molten clearly pointed out her distress.
"No. I'm all good. Just lost in thought."
When did I get here? Wasn't I just in the hallway a little while ago? I don't even remember ordering food...
Lex quietly ate and when done, followed Scar to prepare for her final trial. Once dressed in her normal training clothes and her ki'cti-pa was strapped on to her hip just like instructed, Scar pressed his forehead to hers.
"I do not know why you are distant and worried today. I'm a little worried myself. But I know you will make it. I do not know what this trial is based on but you will pass. You must." They stayed like that for a little while until it was time to go.
Slowly moving from each other, they headed for the door.
"Scar." Lex reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stiffened at the hug. "I've got a bad feeling. Just know that I'm grateful to you. Even if you forced me here."
"H'ko h'dlak." They headed off.
Upon reaching the room, both Elder K'ash and Elder N'nagara-ze were there to greet them. They bowed respectfully before the elders opened the door and waved Lex inside.
Scar stopped frozen and with a loud roar charged forward but two unknown Yuatja stopped him. He bellowed in rage and Lex stood confused at his actions. Soon enough the door closed but his roars of protests echoed in her ears.
Death is near...
A familiar scent wafted through the room.
No fear.
No mercy.
H'ko h'dlak.
H'ko h'chak.
N'dhi-ja, Scar. Thank you for caring and helping me.
Lex turned to face the darkness.
"N'dhi-ja h'dlak."
"Why? She's earned her mark! My mask's video proves that! You send her with no mask or armor! She can't even see or hear them before it's too late!"
"Calm yourself Scar. If she's done this before, do you not trust her to do it again? This time she had more training and she has her ki'cti-pa. I see no reason why she cannot do this," Elder N'nagara-ze explained in a bored tone. Then ordered Scar to be jailed as to not to disturb the trial. He turned back to the screen to watch Lex.
"This is wrong and unfair N'nagara-ze. You know it. To want to pass a trial but from the beginning be set up for failure, is that honorable? Has she not earned your respect? You give her these trials and you give her a hard time while she's here but she still says that she likes you. She believes you to be a good leader and intelligent. Yet, her words seem to be false as now you send her to perish only because you believe that she cannot ever prove herself when she already has." With that K'ash walked off to calm Scar down.
Lex stood in the darkness completely terrified. She tried to stop shaking but she only managed to make her knees quiver even more.
She felt them. Just like she felt them in the pyramid. Their eyeless skulls watching her. Tails silently swishing in anticipation. Claws tightening, just dying to rip her open.
The flashbacks came. Mr. Weyland's brush with death in the tunnel. Picking up the artifacts, ancient weapons.
Sebastian sticking to the wall. Shooting him between the eyes.
Miana's back being washed in the acidic blood of the Queen. Scar nearly dying from the Queen's tail.
It all danced in the back of her mind. Closing her eyes didn't help as they only became more vivid with each breath she took.
A hiss filled the air followed by two more. Lex wasn't fooled. There were obviously more than three. A slight scrape of claws to her left had Lex jumping into a crouch. Adrenaline filled her veins, fear shook her nerves until they were shot.
I can't win this. I'm too scared. Too jumpy. I need to calm down but how? H'ko h'dlak. H'ko h'dlak. H'ko h'dlak. H'ko h'dlak.
The air swirled and a tail swished through the air with a low whistle.
H'ko h'dlak.
Lex dodged the attack and moved right under its belly. A single light led her way as she weaved around the claws and tail. Then, just by chance, the creature reared up on its hind legs.
H'ko h'dlak.
It fell to the ground and the acidic quickly burned it's way through the floor and moved towards Lex. Its green texture glowed in the dim light.
H'ko h'dlak.
A growl sounded this time. It's sound had Lex frozen in fear. It was directly behind her. And without warning, she flew through the air and hit the wall. Lex could feel her ribs crack and some broke.
H'ko h'dlak.
Getting up, Lex struggled to breathe. Her vision blurred but still, she could see the shadow that moved towards her.
The cool wooden feel of her ki'cti-pa felt like it vibrated in her hand. All she could feel was her weapon and her vision focused solely on her target. Her feet moved without permission. Her lungs burned in protest but she couldn't feel anything but her spear.
H'ko h'dlak.
It's tail shot forward but Lex took a step to her right, barely missing it. Her grip on her ki'cti-pa tightened until her knuckles were white. Lex kept hunched over to not agitate her ribs much.
H'ko h'dlak.
Tired of waiting, three hisses filled the air, urging the one before her on. They could obviously see her pain, her weaknesses. Why stop now? Why not end this quickly?
H'ko h'dlak.
It charged and leaped through the air. Lex stood almost without thinking and pushed her ki'cti-pa up to meet it with and deadly blow to the shoulder. The blow knocked it off course and skidded to the wall. Lex lost her balance for a moment before squatting back down.
H'ko h'chak.
Her feet moved forward. The lump on the floor grew closer with each step. It whined and began to shake off the pain.
Too late.
Lex raised her ki'cti-pa and struck.
H'ko h'chak.
It fell dead.
Three growls filled the air and Lex spun to meet them. They stalked her as one unit now. They no longer wanted to attack alone.
Lex slid back into her couch. She shook.
H'ko h'dlak.
They made a semicircle in front of her and it was like they agreed at the count of three to attack. Completely synchronized together. One unit.
Lex rolled underneath the one in front of her. The tip of her spear caught his hind leg and left a nasty gash. The other two whirled around and she barely missed the claws.
H'ko h'dlak.
A tail caught her by her shoulder and she flew to the other side of the room, shoulder impacting the wall. By the time she got back up, one jumped on top of her. Her ki'cti-pa barely held it off.
H'ko h'dlak.
Scared out of her mind, Lex began to struggle more and more as she tried to throw it off. Panic set in when a second shadow approached from the corner of her eye.
The one on top of her opened its mouth and the drool splattered across her face. When the second mouth made its presence know to Lex by trying to crush her skull, Lex had enough.
"KI'CTE!" With a burst of incredible strength, Lex pushed the creature off and raised her spear to hit the other one in the head.
Jumping up, Lex felt everything go still once again. She swore should have felt the pain from her jarring movements but couldn't. She didn't feel her feet move or her arm raising her spear. She had become numb once again.
H'ko h'chak.
One of the two forms on the floor stopped moving but her shoulder ached for odd reasons. A long spiked tail had pierced her shoulder while she had been distracted. Violently, it ripped itself out of her shoulder.
Lex fell to her knees. Green blood slowly crept it's way to her. Hisses and growls echoed in her ears.
Ki'cte.
Lex tucked herself into a ball and rolled off to the right. Away from the last creature and away from the acidic blood.
Lex stood on shaky legs. Her chest heaved, pain blurred her head once again, and the numbness that had granted her the strength she needed finally vanished.
Pauk. Too much blood. Thwei. Scar said blood was thwei. Too much thwei.
Lex didn't know but she'd been inside for a good two hours. Her own blood covered her from head to toe. The claws cut her flesh deeply and the tails had pierced all the way through her skin. She had been pierced in her side and in her shoulders. Claw marks covered her back, stomach, arms, legs, and a few on her face.
The elders watched as she struggled to stay upright. The blood loss was getting to her.
Elder K'ash clenched his fists and fought the temptation to close his eyes. He'd grown terribly fond of the human.
She could have blossomed as a Nain-de, a Sain'ja even.
The kiande amedha slowly stalked forward.
Lex didn't move.
They stood face-to-face and still she didn't budge. It's giant mouth opened to allow its inner jaw to shoot out.
Too slow.
The jaw stopped short of Lex's forehead. It fell back onto the floor, gurgling and whining before it fell silent.
Lex wobbled and fell back herself. Exhausted and bled out, Lex couldn't tell that the dim light in the room faded out.
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Hope you've enjoyed! I was told that translations were preferred at the top so that's what I've done. I think the top is more efficient so you guys can know the words and the sentences make sense. Hope Lex will be okay... I hate for her to die so soon in the story. That'd could just ruin everything huh?
7/25/19: I'm trying real hard to make sure any words in the dialogue are bolded that need to be and might make mistakes.