Hello, everybody! I guess I'm not all the way gone yet, 'cause I suddenly got the urge to write on this story some more!
Questions: Okay, DarkXeno, it is NOT supposed to look like that at all! (staggers from horrifying mental images) Nooooooooo! I just put them near each other for the size referance, andI drew them individually and on opposite ends of the paper! (bashes head into desk a few times to clear it) Okay... well, it's not supposed to look that way, even if I now realize that it sorta does (shudders).
I have very little idea about your other question... perhaps I should write some situation and find out?
As for other comments: (huggles all) I'm so glad that you like the fluff and aren't going to flame me for it! (dances happily) Plus, Lashanan and Telca, I wasn't relly expecting you to come and read anything here XD Plus, this is just a small project compared to the one I'm working on for you guys, and I didn't think you'd really want to read it (shrug)
Wow, eight different people reviewed the last chapter! I feel so happy, 'cause i think that's the most I've ever gotten for a single chapter! Thanks all of you, especially those who have been reading this and just decided to comment. I really appreciate it.
(oh, and I have officially figured out how this is going to end. Yup, just need to get there. Probably be another five, maybe even nine more chapters of this length. Then, there will most likely be some sort of sequal or at the very least a one-shot set in the future)
No translations needed today!
"But sir, we have no idea what the genes would do to a creature in it's position!" protested the small, timid man from behind a slew of paperwork and large, half-moon glasses, "The Project is only half developed, and-"
"I don't CARE what it'll do!" shouted the man in the shadows, two fists slamming down on the desk in front of him and cracking the wood slightly before they were withdrawn, trembling, "I don't care. Initiate Project 4-1-18-11 and give it the new treatments. I am officially drawing the deadline forward on this assignment!"
"I…I… very well, sir," the timid man said slowly, gathering up his paperwork and turning to walk out the door. The man in the shadows chuckled softly, making the other turn back slightly upon hearing the sound. A hand came from the darkness, fingering the splintered wood before drumming on it a few times.
"And Beltherough," he said silkily, the glee in his voice plain, "If the project is unsuccessful, I will take great pleasure in feeding you to it myself."
The timid man –Beltherough- flinched back, knocking over the large, padded chair in the process. It clattered loudly to the floor, scattering all his papers. The man looked undecided as to whether he should bend to pick them up or apologize for the chair when a laugh from the shadows spooked him, and he ran out the door, white coat flying behind him. The chilling laugh followed him from the room, growing in volume until the man in the shadows was shaken in almost uncontrollable bouts of mirth. Finally, he quieted almost as suddenly as he had begun, his fingers again drumming on the wood as he picked up a single sheet of paper that had fallen onto his battered desk.
The fingers of one hand ran over the picture attached the sheet longingly before he snarled, leaning forward into the light just enough to illuminate his features. Cold, hard green eyes stared out from beneath his clear cut brows, tinged in a dark red color around the edges of the iris that should not have been possible in a normal human. His hawk-like nose flared out slightly, and his pale lips pulled back in a feral snarl, revealing the unnatural points on his teeth. He growled, a sound that conveyed nothing but raw emotion, and set the paper back down on the desk, crossing his hands together in an arch.
"It's only a matter of time now," he hissed, "Only a matter of time…"
"Turbulence encountered. Attempting to stabilize. Attempting to stabilize."
The creature blinked dimly, aware that the mask was no longer feeding it the sleeping gas. It saw the green lettering flashing above it, as well as an urgent red light above and a loud buzzing that signaled something was wrong. Instantly it shook off the last remnants of sleep, rousing itself so that it was sitting up as much as it could in the cramped space of the capsule. Outside was a flaring mix of fire and ice, with frost forming on the glass and being burned away to nothing but steam before it could envelope the pod.
Grekthee gasped as he looked out upon the chaotic world, blinking as a bright flash of lightning momentarily blinded him. It vanished in an instant, however, leaving the surroundings dark and dismal. Snow began hitting the side of the superheated pod, emitting billows of steam as the water was instantly evaporated.
"Stabilize failed," the computer blared, "Fatal crash imminent!"
"Shut up!" snarled Grekthee, punching more buttons at a furious rate.
"Manual override confirmed."
A metallic whirring started up as two long stick-like controls emerged from the panel, and Grekthee gripped them tightly, knuckles paling as he pulled back on them with as much force as he was able to, sending the craft into a screeching attempt at stabilization. The 'nose' of the pod groaned with the force of the wind as the ship angled into a fairly straight trajectory, but the battering winds sent it straight back into a nosedive the instant his hands left the controls.
With a growl, Grekthee hauled back on the controls once again, brutally shifting the pod back into its original course. The hull screamed, unused to such pressure, and the Space Jockey narrowed his eyes as he saw that small strips of metal were beginning to tear from the frame, letting the shockingly chill wind whistle into the interior.
"Hull breach! Hull breach at points a-9, e-7, d-2, u-27!" The computer screeched out, listing points where the hull was beginning to rip from the ship. The news wasn't good at all; Grekthee would be lucky if the ship survived the entry into the planet's atmosphere, much less the crash.
"Damn!" he snarled, holding both controls with one hand while he punched more buttons on the control panel. The screeching of the wind was almost to the level where it drowned out everything else, including the computer and anything the Space Jockey said. He snorted, a sound lost in the winds, and continued adjusting the control panel, ignoring the cold that was beginning to seep into his limbs. As long as it wasn't the cold of space, he could live through it.
The computer flashed, a message appearing on the screen while the pod bucked and jerked with more ferocity than ever.
"Turbulence encountered! Winds measured at 70mph, planet terms!" suddenly, the bucking stopped, sending the Space Jockey colliding painfully with the control sticks. He grunted and pushed a button on the panel, and soon after the two sticks had disappeared back into the wall of the pod, "Entering central vortex. Wind speed measured at 30mph. Attempting to stabilize… Auto-stabilize successful."
Grekthee grumbled slightly, glad that he had somehow steered the pod into a patch of clear air… the computer had labeled it as 'the vortex'. It wasn't exactly the most comforting name he had heard, but if it saved his life, it would end up being the most glorified word in his vocabulary.
The pod began to shake violently, jarring the creature. Grekthee strapped himself down in the pod as best as he was able given the conditions. He hoped that the computer would find a softer spot to land. As it was, a small image was being formed on the glass, plotting the approach of the pod with the planet. It was close, now, very close. Still, the pod wasn't slowing down. Grekthree cursed mentally; if the counter-boosters didn't come on he would die, and the ship would be lost completely, along with the entire history of his race.
And he had gone through far too much to end it, here. This planet would let him land, even if he had to use pure force of will to make it do so!
Suddenly, the boosters flared on, and a wave of heat and steam wafted in through the tears in the hull. To the Space Jockey it was a welcome relief from the intense cold of the stormy atmosphere, though the steam came close to choking him with the water particles it brought with it.
"Approach at 1000 km, planet terms," droned the computer, still flashing the message on the screen. Grekthee braced himself, muscles tightening into powerful cords as he gripped the armrests of the pod, "500 km, 200…"
There was a deafening roar of sound, accompanied by a bright flash of white light that slowly faded to a dull, emotionless black void where even pain could not reach.
I twitched, my mind slowly rising from my deep and rejuvenating sleep as a shockwave of incredible proportions vibrated through the ground, slightly shaking the barrels and other objects in the room. An image formed in my mind of the surrounding land reflected back from the vibrations, and I found that there was a large crater -one that I was certain hadn't been there before- in the mountains on the opposite side of the city. Intriguing….
I yawned slightly, trying to keep my movements as silent and soft as possible so as not to disturb the still sleeping Yautja I was curled around. Nonetheless, I chanced resuming my thrumming, hoping that the sound would send Kwei into a deeper sleep rather than wake him. The warmth that was radiating from both of us appeared to have spread within the room, somehow raising it to a temperature that was well above zero. It seemed that the heavy layers of snow caused by the storm had almost completely covered the building, insulating it better than the stone walls ever could.
Snow… I hoped that it would melt soon, bringing the human season known as 'spring'. The cold was too dangerous to live comfortably in, far too dangerous. Yesterday's events had brought that fact home to me; both Kwei and I had nearly died in that storm. It wasn't an occurrence that I ever wanted to repeat in my lifetime.
But I was very comfortable now, with the warmth of Kwei's steadily beating heart just below my sensitive neck. I wouldn't have moved for anything, so much was I surrounded in an indescribable warm ambiance that enveloped me like a cocoon. It reminded me much of the human family I had lived with when they had all sat together at night, watching the television and curling up next to each other. They had called it something… something important…
Kwei mumbled wearily, shifting slightly. I loosened my hold to allow him a more comfortable rest, still thrumming and still motionless, lost in thought. My tentative hold on the human word had left me, but I didn't mind. The emotion would remain nameless for now, until my memory was jogged later. Even if I never remembered, I didn't mind so long as the feeling was still with me.
I felt Kwei's heart rate speed up slightly as he began to wake, his eyes opening blearily as he stared in mute confusion around him. I could pinpoint almost the exact moment when the memories of the previous day returned; he stiffened, and then relaxed, bringing up a hand to stroke my skull slightly. I purred and curled tighter before wincing as my broken leg made a painful reassertion of its existence.
"Good morning, Screetee," he said, head tilted to the side as he stared at my neck, which was still situated directly on his chest, "Are you well?"
I turned my head slightly; still half-asleep from the warmth but beginning to wake completely due to both the fact that Kwei was awake and my leg was throbbing with pain.
As well as I can be, I answered after a pause, Are you well?
"I am the same as you," he said, smiling slightly in his strange way, "It is very comfortable here."
I grunted in answer, twitching the end of my tail slightly in a methodic rhythm. Neither of us made any move for a long time, but finally I sighed, remembering the snow outside and the need to protect the lair from more wind. I was no longer as warm as I had been, having burned most of the energy from the carcass to create heat.
We need to find a way to make this lair warmer, I said, uncurling slowly. Kwei moved, and I took my head from his chest, watching as he stretched before finally standing up. I noticed with pride that he was no longer acting as if he was cold. The trials of the day before had taken their toll, yes, but he was almost healed and stronger than I had seen him in days. He was almost as strong as he had been in the slaughterhouse, when he had killed the humans and the scientist.
I uncurled, stretching my tail and moveable limbs out to their limit before slowly standing, growling lowly at the slightly cooler air that encountered my warm exoskeleton. Having to leave that comfort was annoying, but necessary. I wished it wasn't.
"I can fix the thermal netting," Kwei told me, grabbing his mask and putting it back on his face. I growled louder, wondering why he still felt the need to use it; unless he couldn't breath without it, there was simply no need. He noticed my growl and paused while attaching the wires on the side, mandibles clicking together curiously as his head tilted, "What's wrong, Screetee?"
Nothing, I replied, feeling that it was better not to talk about it. Instead, I trotted over to the windows, rearing up and leaning against the wall with my one good leg while regarding the snow that was piled up outside. I sighed as the overwhelming deepness of it reflected back to me; we would be lucky if we could tunnel our way out of the exit. The carcass was rather ripped up, and we might be able to make another meal out of it. Well, we might if I ate the bones; it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to do so, anyway, given that we wanted to leave as little sign that we were here as possible.
Two more humans dead near the same area… even I knew that more would come soon. They would be searching, and would be heavily armed. I was in no condition to fight more humans, tempting though it may be, and their presence here would hinder our freedom to exit and enter the lair. We would have to cover our tracks, walk more on buildings than anything else, and try to go out only under cover of darkness. The effects of the storm were a mixed blessing, because though it had almost killed us and had effectively trapped us here, it would also keep the humans from discovering anything until they could clear the snow out of the way.
I wondered if I should find a new lair? The idea wasn't tempting, but if it kept the humans from finding us, I would gladly do so. I trilled as I pushed off from the wall, landing heavily on my good leg and shaking vigorously to straighten out my carapace. The room was quiet, and I saw Kwei was working on the netting with tiny, strange tools that I had never seen before. I left him to it, instead trotting down the stairs as well as I could to see if there would be something useful in the second room or if there was a door that I had missed behind one of the barrels or the mirror.
The floorboards creaked as I walked on them, the bitter cold of the room having seeped into them and made them stiff and possibly brittle. I sighed, and the steam that exited my mouth was reflected back to me in an image of thousands of tiny, separate particles that made an interesting whole. It looked a bit like an image of a bird… I had seen those when I went into the city. I knew that Kwei hated them, finding the flying creatures annoying. Still, it made me wonder what it would be like to fly, to have wings and be able to escape from the world below.
The room stank, and I remembered the old egg that had been here since I had first arrived. As I approached it, I realized that somehow it had only just begun rotting, and a sickly puddle of thick, gooey liquid now sat around the withered and disgusting shell. I snorted and curled my lip back, mentally making a note to have Kwei burn it. It would make good fuel, and we could probably move the barrels out of the way enough to minimize the danger of the lair catching fire. As much as I wanted the egg destroyed, I didn't want a chance of the building turning into a roaring inferno like the one that had sheltered me in the storm.
But it seemed that I had found my heat source. Even though it would smell awful while burning, the warmth would be good for the lair. All we needed to do was vent the rooms well so that we didn't suffocate. That would be easy enough, I hoped. All I would have to do would be get out of the lair and dig down to the windows, and then have Kwei open them. I would try to make it look like the holes were natural by digging out some stray boards near the entrance and setting them at an angle by the windows.
But now that I knew what I was going to do, I found that I didn't feel like going out into the cold right away. I lashed my tail back and forth as I swung my head around, sending out sound waves towards the stairwell. I had never truly explored it much, besides learning how to maneuver around stairs, and now that I did I saw the two handles on the wall at my level. But there was a problem with these that I hadn't encountered at the slaughterhouse.
For one, the doors were boarded with thick planks of wood that, though they wouldn't be much of a problem and were exactly what I needed for my heating scheme, covered something even more important. The handles on these doors were round, and as such were impossible for me to open. I glared for a moment, wondering if I should just knock these doors down as well, but common sense told me no. Having more space to heat would make it colder in the rooms that we had already warmed slightly, and would make it harder for the heat from the burning egg to spread to the areas we needed it in.
With a sigh, I decided that Kwei could deal with being interrupted in his work to do this small thing for me. But before I went up to ask him, I reared on my hind legs, gripping the first board and hauling back on it. It ripped free easily, the wood and nails being quite old, and I repeated this process with all the others. I had amassed a large pile of these when I had finished, and I moved with a quiet trill to ask Kwei to open the doors.
Suddenly, I stopped, seeing that the Yautja was already at the top of the stairs, looking down at me. His laughter drifted down to me when he saw that I had noticed him, and I bared my teeth half-heartedly, my tail whipping back and forth as I glared.
"Do you need any help, Screetee?" he asked, looking at the ripped out boards and back at me.
I moved my head to point at the door to my right, and shrugged slightly.
The doors, I said, I can't open them.
"Wouldn't it be easier to remove them completely?" he asked, head tilted to empathize the question. I shook my head.
Not unless you wish to lose what little heat we have in this place, I answered. Kwei paused for a moment before nodding and walking down the stairs, his weight making them creak more than mine had. It was the work of a few seconds for him to curl his hands around the handles and twist, opening the doors with ease that I was instantly jealous of; It must be nice to have thumbs.
He chuckled slightly as I stared down at my own foot, the talons flexing as I dug them into the floor below. Yes, thumbs would be nice to have; they would be helpful in just about any situation and allowed the use of weapons beyond those that were natural, such as the spear that Kwei used or the guns of the humans.
"It must be nice to have telepathy," he replied, trilling as I tilted my head in shock. I realized that yes, I had talents that no Yautja or human could ever have, just as they had certain talents that I didn't. It was all a method of balance, I guessed.
Have you fixed your netting already? I asked, changing the subject.
"No, but it seemed that you were working on something more interesting," he said, pushing the door on the right open and looking inside. I did so as well, trilling loudly, and saw that the room was filled with boxes. Boxes stacked upon more boxes upon even more of them. Down the middle of the room there was a narrow path, cluttered with dust and old paper, and large cobwebs hung in every available corner. Nothing had been in that room for a long, long time.
We turned as one to open the other room, and found much of the same, except for a large metal machine that was placed right inside the door. I touched it with my muzzle slightly, investigating the strange smell that reminded me of the cars of the city. I didn't like those cars, and I wondered if this machine was anything like them. I hoped not.
"Ancient Ooman technology," Kwei said, laughing and using his race's word for humans. I watched curiously as he lifted the contraption easily on one shoulder, though it must have weighed as much as a full-grown human in itself, and trudged up the stairs with it. I followed out of pure curiosity, wondering what in the world Kwei could have planned for the bulky machine that smelled of cars and gasoline.
He set the machine down in a cleared corner, investigating strange controls on the side and pushing a few experimentally. The machine suddenly roared to life, making me jump back with claws skittering on the stone floor. The Yautja looked up at me and growled in amusement, then gestured to the machine. I tentatively stepped forward, and was surprised at the heat that was beginning to waft from the device.
What is it? I asked, amazed.
"A heater," he answered simply, prodding the device once more before going back to where he had set his netting and tools, "It uses fuel to heat a small area or a room like this one. We are lucky that you found it."
I purred happily; already the warm air was beginning to circulate in the room, making me feel better than I had in days. No longer was I so stiff or irritable; in fact, I felt downright giddy with the sudden heat. I looked towards Kwei, and saw that he was working again on the thermal netting. It would be useful to him if he had to go outside again.
I limped over and sat down next to him, watching silently. He paused for a moment, but when I said nothing, resumed the work. I was fascinated by the delicacy needed to repair the strong netting. Kwei had to search each individual square; looking at the strands and fixing any that were disconnected or had snapped wires. After a while of watching this, I began to recognize what he was searching for, and slowly I began searching on the parts of the netting near me. My echolocation was useful for pinpointing irregularities in the material, and was much more effective than Kwei's method of having to search each square. Soon, he had begun asking me where he needed to repair, and I was glad to show him.
Even my method took time, however, and several hours had passed before Kwei proclaimed the netting to be restored. I thrummed contentedly in my own version of approval, and suddenly realized that I was now lying on the floor where I had only been sitting before. Also, my tail had somehow moved to curl around the Yautja again without my knowledge. I jerked in surprise, and Kwei absentmindedly ran a hand over my domed skull in a gesture meant to comfort me.
Suddenly, his hand froze, and I heard him stare down at me in shock, finally noticing the tail and the fact that his hand was running over my head. I purred louder, leaning into his hand slightly before uncurling my tail and standing.
I'm going to go investigate those rooms, I said, limping to the stairs, There may be more useful things hidden there.
He looked at me blankly, the mask over his face motionless and mysterious. Though it annoyed me that I couldn't see his expression, I found that the mask itself had a type of beauty all its own. It was so smooth and clear cut, except for the most prominent edges, which were slightly serrated. It fit him, somehow… As I disappeared down the stairwell, he sighed, shrugged, and went back to putting his tools away.
"Daddy!"
The man pulled his head up from his hands, unnatural eyes that had been lost deep in thought pulling back to reality quickly and lighting up with a joyful expression as he heard the voice. He stood, although his movements were rather stiff and shaking, and smiled widely as the tall, lean form ran through the door, leaping over the scattered papers and the fallen chair to latch onto him with long, graceful arms.
"Scarlet!" he laughed, hugging his daughter back and ruffling her hair, "Just the thing I needed to brighten up my day!"
"Mom said that you'd like it," the girl said, her bright green eyes twinkling. She stepped back, looking at the cluttered room, and winked slyly at him, "Need any help cleaning up before she gets here?"
"Of course," chuckled the man, bending down stiffly to set the chair back on its legs. Scarlet promptly gathered up the papers, arranging the steadily growing stack into a semblance of tidiness on the desk before catching sight of the large crack running through the wood. She ran her fingers over it, wincing as she encountered the jagged edges.
"Daddy, what happened to your desk? Did something fall on it?" she asked, "It needs to be fixed before you get a sliver from it!"
"Oh, that," the man said in a nonchalant way, gesturing with one hand while he picked up a paper that had escaped the girl's notice and set it on the pile, "Someone brought in a machine they were testing, I think it was someone from the space department. It slipped a bit from it's stand, and it hit the desk wrong," He ran his fingers over the crack and frowned, "I think a bit of wood glue will fix it right up, so don't worry."
Scarlet nodded absently, staring at the paper that her father had left on his desk. He noticed her stare, and quickly moved the document to a nearby folder, sending her a grin and lifting a finger to his mouth to tell her that it was a secret project. She smirked and began skimming through the other papers, thumbing across the research and investigating the pictures.
"Wow, the Xeno research seems to be going well," she commented, looking at a particularly detailed document, "I wish I could work on it…"
"Come on, Scarlet, I told you before that you're way too young to work on Xeno's," said the man, sitting down heavily in the chair and putting his hands into their familiar arch. He frowned sternly as his daughter looked at him with wide, pleading eyes, "It's far too dangerous! Even working on the Chestbursters is lethal work, and you know that I can't subject my own daughter to that sort of risk! I know you're smart, and I know you hate having to act like you're normal at school, but I'm not all powerful and there are laws about work conditions. Plus, what would the other scientist's think?"
"I don't care what those half-wit morons would think," Scarlet snorted glumly, "I just want to be part of the research, to be a part of something important to humanity!"
"I know, honey, I know," he sighed, "Just wait a few more years, and when you're sixteen, I'll hire you on part-time as part of the observation team, okay?"
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly, eliciting a warm chuckle from the man in the shadows. He gestured to the document the girl was holding, and she handed it to him with a giddy expression, still overjoyed at the news that she could soon work on the project that she had strived for since she had first learned of her father's job, soon after she had been classified as a genius by the mandatory tests given at her school.
That was when she had been given her most loved gift, a tiny kitten that she had named Diskette. The memory made her smile fade, and she lifted her eyes to her father almost pleadingly.
"Have you heard anything about Diskette?" she asked softly, wondering what could have happened to her cat since he had disappeared almost a week ago.
His eyes closed slowly as he sighed, and her face fell; she knew what he was going to say.
"No, honey, I haven't," he said, " And I think you're old enough to know that there's a good chance that he'll never come back, especially with the storm coming through. A lot of animals were frozen to death within an hour because their owners had let them out and couldn't find them again, and the hail killed even more. I'm sure you saw the birds outside…"
"I know, Dad," Scarlet sighed sadly, "but I can always hope, can't I?"
"Hey, how about you help me a bit, Scarlet?" the man said, eyes bright and sly as he caught sight of something on the document he was holding, "This is something for the new Xeno project we're doing, and I think you deserve a nice surprise."
"Really? I can do something for a Xeno project?"
"Come on, and I'll show you what you can do," he said, smiling widely down at her. Scarlet jumped from the chair and stood, limbs twitching in her excitement, as he made his way slowly out from behind the desk and had her follow him out the door.
The hallway was mostly quiet, with a few scientists darting this way and that and muttering to themselves over one project or another. The man frowned slightly as he saw this; it should have been busier since he had requested the deadlines be moved forward on many of the major assignments. Perhaps he should make them due even earlier, to get the slack out of the place. Lazy scientists were not good workers.
He caught one before they could go past him, grabbing their arm. The scientist turned, and the man was surprised to see that it was one of his top female executives.
"Good day, Ms. Jennings, I hope I'm not being too rude in asking you to do a favor for my daughter and I?"
She shook her head, smiling down at Scarlet, who raised an eyebrow.
"Not at all, Dr. Belkni," she replied smoothly, "What do you want me to do?"
"Call level six, tell them to wait on procedure two until I get there," he commanded, grinning approvingly when the woman nodded curtly and walked purposefully away.
The rest of the walk was uneventful, though Scarlet often paused to look through the large glass windows looking in on the several projects in progress. The scientists usually saw her, smiling warmly at the familiar face before going back to work. They knew that she would soon be with them, if she had her way.
"Ah, here we are," said Dr. Belkni, throwing open the large double doors to the room and immediately being surrounded by the roar of various animal sounds. Scarlet slowed and looked around at the cages full of animals tentatively, brow furrowing as she investigated the room she had never seen before.
"Why here?" she asked.
"We have plans for a new Xeno subject, and the egg has been altered and is now ready for hatching," said her father grandly, "and I want you to have the privilege of choosing what animal here will be its host!"
"Really?" Scarlet gasped, looking around wildly with mouth agape in surprise, "You'd let me choose?"
"Of course!" Dr. Belkni replied with a laugh, "You are my daughter, after all, and as such you should know what creature here would be best!"
Scarlet was already walking past the cages, running her fingers down the chain link metal and looking in at the creatures that stared balefully back at her with large eyes and pleading expressions. There were common creatures, like birds, squirrels, rats, and dogs, but there were also larger and rarer animals as well. The larges stalls in the back held a variety of cows, pigs, bison, horses, and even a donkey.
As she passed the furthest stalls, however, one of the doors bucked as an angry scream of rage came from it. Scarlet halted, walking back to the door and looking in through the small viewing window at the form silhouetted by the bright, sterilized lights of the labs. It screamed again, throwing its weight against the door and regarding the girl with bright, intelligent eyes.
Scarlet smiled.
"That one," she said, "I want the new Xeno to be made from that one."
Dun dun duuuuuuuun!