Arrival of the Predators
Chapter two
Sarah peered around the corner and was surprised to see a group of predator, quickly pulling her head back when one of them turned around, obviously it didn't see her. She didn't know much about these guys, they were slowly becoming known to humans, she knew they were very brutal and lived by a strict code, like a hunting code or something like that. They were drawn to challenges, fighting against anything that would fight back. Not to mention they were ugly, from what she was told.
Turning back around gripping her X-30 tightly, they were heading to her hideout, a hideout that had a dozen frightened children in it. When the xenomorph (otherwise known as aliens or bugs) appeared and started attacking the colonists. Her survival instincts kicked in to over time. Grabbing as many kids as possible, found some weapons and ammo then hid. It had been this way for weeks now. There were rations that could last them for years but it was just surviving against the nightmare that was the problem.
Sending a distress call or a beacon of some sort would surely work but the communications room was destroyed when Rico, a former engineer, got trigger happy. Destroying over half the equipment when he fired, then the rest was destroyed by the xenomorphs acidic blood spraying onto the console's. Keep going. She said to herself.
They were almost to the door, the hair on the back of her neck stood up sending goose bumps all over her body. Quietly spinning around scanning the area behind her with her rifle lifted, nothing. Looking up and also saw nothing, she listened but heard nothing. Seconds later there was a squeal.
Her heart stopped as her eyes widened, listening for the sound again praying she was just hearing noises, she heard it again but louder, almost as if there was more then one. "No!" She screamed jumping into the corridor, jumping in the predator's line of fire, but she didn't care.
They all spun around at the sound of her jumping ontot ht emetal flooring, "Kids!" Running through the alien group toward the singular metal door. She didn't think why they weren't shooting, she didn't even hear them firing, if they were, all thoughts were focused on her precious kids. Pressing a button beside the door, the door went up for a second then stopped, gasping as she looked at looked at door and cursed to it, presing the button again but nothing happened. "God no!" Falling onto her side looking through the small crack barely big enought for her arm to fit through, their little hands grabbing onto her body and lcothes, she grabbed Carlos's hand. "Are you guys alright?"
"Yes." They all sobbed.
"We can hear them." Courtney cried.
Sarah now glad she took the time to weld extra metal all over the room, "Where are they at?"
"The ceiling." She replied, Ken-Kun crying to get him out, as were the others.
"I will. I'll get you out." Pushing herself to one knee slinging her rifle around to rest on her back then gripped the bottoms of the door and planted her feet. She had done this before and was successful but that was with another person, first time she tried it alone she was only able to get it up a few inches, which should be enough for their small bodies to fit through.
There was the sound of metal tearing quickly followed by screaming. Again, Sarah dropped to her side looking through the slot now seemed to be bigger than two inches. She saw knees laying on the floor and small, weathered tennis shoes running about. Then saw black, glassy like alien feet, the xenomorph.
"Kids!" She screamed grabbing her rifle and stuck half the rifle through the slot. "Everyone run to the side walls!" Looking through the slot and only saw black feet, she pulled the trigger, a millisecond went by until she heard shrills.
The X-30 jolted in her hands but she still kept it steady in her awkward position. Empty shells being expelled from the weapon bounced off the floor hitting her hands and wrists. Ignoring the burning pain and the booming sound as her ears began to ring.
She let go, sticking her arm under the door. "Kids!" Finally realizing some of them were screaming louder then the others.
They ran to the door. Aiko-Chan, the smallest, squeezed through with no problem, Keitaro-Kun, struggled for a few seconds then got through. Robert, Michael, Danny, Carlos, Ken-Kun, Wayne and Jennifer eventually got through. The last three were Richard, Adam and Courtney whom did not run to the door.
Looking through the slot but couldn't see them. "Run to the door!" They still didn't come.
Hearing more high pitch shrills from the xenomorph. Ever since the xenomorph had appeared she had grown very accustomed to the sounds they made. Wether they were trying to get to food, attacking someone or someone was attacking them. Each shrill WAS in fact a shrill but each one of the three was either low pitch or high pitch. The shrill she just heard meant someone was attacking them but who was attacking them. It didn't matter anyway, at least. They weren't after them.
Jumping back up and lifted the door some more. It moved with a grind. Her joints in her arms and hands were aching. The door moved up some more. All around her all she could hear was shrilling from the xenomorph the children crying and whimpering, even the sound of her beating heart and her now labored breathing but still stayed focused. She had to in order to survive.
Behind her, the kids were crying. From the room she heard blasts, shrills and screaming, screaming from her three kids, even hearing tremendously loud roars from time to time. Like a roar only heard from mythological creatures in movies.
The heavy door moved up some more. Again falling onto her side and realized she could fit through. "Stay here." She said to the kids then slid through.
Now on the other side, she stood up quickly examining the room and what the situation was. Five xenomorph was down. Their acidic blood had already eaten through the floor leaving parts of various limbs twitching on the floor that had not yet gone through the floor.
Looking up seeing more holes of different sizes that had also been eaten away by acid and were now eating through the floor she was on. Seeing the hole, the xenomorph had created by forcing their way through with an upside down predator hanging from it.
There were various cuts of different size on its stomach. Intestines were hanging from the wounds. As it's . . . it's bright green blood ran down its armored body splashing onto the already large pool of blood underneath it.
Turning her head away with disgust as her stomach did flips. She looked up slightly to the floor farthest away from her and saw a little body. Her heart stopped. Running to the body then fell to her knees when she got beside it.
It was Adam. A tear ran down her cheek. His face and throat had been torn open as the rest of his body was being burnt away by acid. "Oh Adam." She sobbed. There was a scream.
Snapping her head in the direction of the noise seeing a xenomorph approaching Courtney, she bared her teeth as hot raged flowed through her body. Before she knew what she was doing she was already on her feet running to the xenomorph screaming.
It spun its head around baring its own teeth with a hiss.
"Sarah!" Courtney yelled.
Sarah couldn't hear her or the kids in the hallway crying or the xenomorphs and predators battling it out above their heads. She was no longer in control of herself.
She saw what she was doing but couldn't do a thing about it. Watching in horror as she leapt on the xenomorph. Stop! Her thoughts screamed. Stop it! She raised the butt of her rifle repeatily hitting it with all her might. Feeling claws digging into her arms and legs as it swung its limbs about but she wasn't in pain. Her legs pushed themselves back into a jump landing three feet from the xenomorph. Her arms raised her rifle.
The xenomorph jumped to its feet running straight for her. Her index finger pulled the trigger. Watching small parts of its body explode where the bullets hit it, seeing the clear metallic like blood spray out in multiple bursts.
It fell.
Courtney being lucky, she was not touched by the deadly blood.
Sarah was about to look down but was able to gain some control of her body. Instead, she slung her rifle over her back running to Courtney and Richard. Quickly scooping Courtney up with her right arm then grabbed Richard with her left.
Spinning around and ran to the door. Noticing the predators and xenomorphs had moved onto Sarah's current floor.
A xenomorph jumped in front of her but was distracted by a predator.
She took in a breath and jumped, surprised herself when she did a clear jump over the xenomorph. Landing on her feet still running to the door then she stopped a foot from it and put the two on the floor.
Courtney slid through. Richard though just stood beside Sarah. "Your turn Richard." He still did not move. "Richard?" Looking at him and that's when she realized he was hurt.
His face and body had multiple cuts and burns. The largest cut was a gash running across the right side of his head blood running down the side of his face onto his clothes. He was in shock.
Picking him up and walked along her knees laying him down and crawled through the door with him in her arms. Kids came running to her hugging her legs sobbing.
"Come on kids." Walking through the corridor now having no idea where they would hide, her head shot up at the sight of blackness moving. Then realizing her eyes were playing tricks on her. A grate from the ceiling was missing and with her moving her head around. She thought the blackness from the ceiling was a xenomorph but then realized. That's probably how the predators got into the room. They must have removed this grate to get up where all the action was. Action she was wanting to stay out of. Looking down the corridor and at each door.
Where were they going to hide? There wasn't time either to stand around and think. Feeling a part of her shirt was being tugged. Looking down to her right seeing it was Courtney.
"Come on Sarah. Let's go."
"That's what I'm trying to figure out Courtney."
"No." She wined. "We already know a place to hide at."
Sarah's eyes widened when she looked to the side and seen Robert was trying to pull off a grate to the ventilation shaft. "Robert. What are you doing? This isn't the time to play." Saying that from when the kids use to go playing inside the ventilation system, something they weren't allowed to do in the first place, but that was before the xenomorp.
"I'm not." He said.
Robert was then joined by Danny who was helping trying to get the grate off.
Then, it clicked. Hiding in the ventilation system wasn't a bad idea. Some parts of the shafts were large enough for the xenomorphs to fit through. While others, one being this one, were so small the xenomorphs wouldn't be able to fit through.
It felt like her heart jumped out of her chest. Maybe they were going to survive this nightmare. She walked to the grate putting Richard on his feet. Knelt in front of the grate digging her fingers into the grate's small holes and gave it a good yank.
The grate gave way like nothing was holding it there. Which, the grates were flimsy anyway. She crawled in a few feet just double checking the shaft in case she was wrong. It looked safe. Half a minute went by until she crawled back out and sent the kids in.