Author's Warning – This chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence.

Chapter 8 – Frantic
Minas Tirith
(Ariedel's POV)

Too much time had passed. It was dark and they should have been back by now. Aragorn said it would be about a three hour ride there and three hours back. Six hours, give or take one to do the deed. The moon was high above us, telling me that it was around midnight, so twelve hours had passed. I expected Legolas to be back or I expected the aliens to appear. Neither did.

I stood like a sentinel just outside the main gate, my arms folded over my chest. Aragorn was leaning against the wall, kicking at the stones by his feet. Then a sound up ahead made me jump. Aragorn quickly moved to stand beside me with his sword drawn.

My heart was racing and my breath was coming out in gasps. "Legolas?"

Out of the darkness appeared Arod and several of the other horses. And they were riderless.

"No!" I ran to Arod and vaulted onto his back before spinning him around and heading into the darkness from where he had just come.

"Ariedel, nay!" yelled Aragorn.

I laid flat on Arod's neck, letting the horse fly as if he had wings.

A minute later Aragorn was galloping beside me. "Stop!" He pulled closer and grabbed at the reins, twisting Arod's head and forcing him to halt. "Are you out of your mind? You cannot go there alone!"

I was hyperventilating, tears spilling from my eyes like faucets. "He's still alive. I know he is. I have to get him out of there!"

"Ariedel, we must wait until light."

"He'll be dead by that time. We have to go now!"

Aragorn looked at me with clear pain in his watery eyes. "There's nothing we can do for him," he said, his voice barely a whisper to control his own emotions.

I broke down hysterically, knowing that he was right. If we went now, none of us would survive. I couldn't breathe anymore.

Aragorn pulled me off Arod and held me against him. Then he nudged forward the horse he had mounted.

When we reached the gate, he slid off the saddle, still holding me. Arwen was standing at the gate and he handed me off to her. "Take her. I must remain vigilant for another attack."

Arwen nodded and slipped an arm around my shoulder, leading me away as my sobs continued.

The Mountains of Shadow
(Legolas's POV)

When I regained consciousness, I slowly opened my eyes and lifted my face. I found that I could not move anything else. My left arm was locked up over my head while my right arm was at my side. I was encased in a sediment that seemed harder than rock. How did I get here?

It was dark and a thick fog seemed to float above the ground. A large number of oval objects were lying on the ground in sloppy rows. The tops of some were open. As my eyes adjusted more to the darkness, I was able to see my surroundings. And then I wished I never had.

My fellow companions were lodged into the walls, encased in the same sediment as I. The chests of two had been blown open as if something had crashed through from the inside. I recalled Ariedel's words. Flesh colored serpents that burst from the chests of their victims. This was impossible.

Further down along the wall I saw more encased men. Some were women, their chests blown open as well. They appeared to have died many days ago. These were the Ithilien villagers.

My head ached terribly from whatever blow I had received and I closed my eyes, trying to will the pain away. A sound forced me to open my eyes again. It was coming from the objects in the center. The eggs. Three of them split open at the top and long-legged creatures rose out. These were the facehuggers, the crablike creatures Ariedel had described. I watched in complete disbelief and horror as the creatures crawled out of their eggs and moved on quick legs to their intended victims…my companions. It was surreal as the creatures attached to their faces for several moments. During those moments, the men awoke and struggled.

I fought hard to free myself from the sediment. But it was no use. I simply could not move. More of the eggs opened and more of the creatures crawled out to attach themselves to the faces of their victims. And I was powerless to stop it from happening.

There was another sound to my right…the sound of heavy breathing. An erratically extended jaw with white jagged teeth came into my line of sight. The creature's jaws dripped a clear fluid with an extremely foul odor. It opened its mouth and hissed menacingly at me, drawing closer. I struggled in the confines of the sediment, trying to free myself. I was helpless, not able to fight against it. What would it do? Would it tear the skin off my face with its jaws? I closed my eyes and waited for the blow as it snarled and hissed again. I turned my face away and felt its breath brushing my cheek.

Something drew its attention and it moved away. I gasped in relief at its departure from my personal space. But my eyes happened to fall on one of the men. He cried out in pain and then could no longer breathe. A sudden spot of red appeared on his chest, spreading like a wave. I saw his body jerk wildly before his chest blew open to release the flesh-colored chestburster that quickly slid away into the shadows.

Two others were experiencing the same effects before they birthed the creatures inside them. Was this to be my fate? I tried to move again, using every bit of strength I had within in. The fingers of my right hand, which was encased above my head, touched something. It was my knife, still in its sheath on my back. If I could only grab it…

More eggs opened and the creatures inside found their hosts. Those that had already attached fell away. Soon there would be more creatures to contend with. I had to do something to stop this vile threat from spreading. My fingers reached slightly further until I was finally able to grasp the tip of the handle. I pulled the knife from its sheath and maneuvered it around to awkwardly hack at the sediment holding my wrist in place.

Minas Tirith
(Ariedel's POV)

I felt completely numb. My eyes couldn't shed anymore tears. Everyone that moved around me seemed so far away, like I was watching them in a dream. Maybe I was in a dream. Maybe none of this had ever happened. I was in my bed at home on Avalon. One of the suns was starting to come up. I could feel the heat on my face.

And then the heat was gone as a shadow fell upon me. I looked up. A dark-haired Elf stood there, brows knitted together, studying my face intensely. "What're you looking at?" I asked in a foul mood.

The Elf crouched in front of me and as his face began to take focus, my eyes widened. Before me stood Randle Dorian…my old flame. The bastard had wined and dined me for six months, got me to finally have sex with him and then made up some excuse to break up with me. "What're you doing here?" I asked, quickly noting that he wore a wig and his ears were fake, which meant he hadn't transmutated into another body. He had actually translocated his own body from Gateway Station.

"I came to take you home."

"Home?" I had forgotten what home was like. "You know I can't possibly leave right now. Can't you see what's happening here?"

"I have weapons. We can destroy the aliens and then get the hell out of here before anyone realizes what happened."

My only thought was that Legolas had to be dead by now. I kept picturing him cocooned, his chest blown open and it tore my heart into a million pieces. It never should have went like this. It had been a routine mission…one bug to exterminate. And now hundreds and hundreds of people had died, including an Elf I had fallen deeply in love with.

Randle dragged me up on my feet and pulled me away by the arm. No one paid us any attention because the room was full of activity. We headed into the corridor and down a flight of stairs to the avenue below. When we made it to the stables, we found our horses and mounted up. The guards never questioned our departure as we galloped down each level of the white city and then raced through the plains beyond.

The Mountains of Shadow
(Legolas's POV)

I fell forward on my hands and knees as I came loose from the resin that had cocooned me. A wave of nausea suddenly came over me and I vomited on the ground, over and over until I had nothing left inside me. I felt a pain in my chest and stilled myself in shock, wondering if I had one of the creatures inside me that was about to burst out. But the pain subsided, to be replaced with an even greater one on the side of my head that made me dizzy.

I raised my left hand to touch the spot on the side of my forehead that ached so severely. My fingers touched torn and mangled flesh surrounding a deep hole. I was afraid to probe any further for fear of feeling my own exposed skull. When I looked down at my fingers, they were sticky with my blood. The wound sent me into a panic. I had never received such an injury and hoped it was not going to kill me before I had a chance to finish what I needed to do here in this cave.

My eyes narrowed at the sight of a facehugger scrambling closely passed me as if it did not even see me.

"Help me…"

I turned to the source of the voice. One of the men was still alive and cocooned. I rose to my feet unsteadily and walked over. Long knife still in hand, I began hacking away at the resin, occasionally glancing over my shoulder for signs of any approaching creatures. The resin came away in chunks which I lifted away from him.

Just as I reached to pull him out of the cocoon, my fellow companion suddenly lurched forward and coughed violently. I took several steps backward and stared at him with wide eyes, feeling the panic overwhelm me once again. Seconds later the man's chest exploded, spraying blood and gore all over me.

The blood-soaked creature emerged from the cavity, screeching loudly. Out of pure reflex and fury, I swung my knife and sliced the creature in half. Then I stared at my dead companion for a long time before the hissing sounds of approaching creatures drew my attention away.

Three of the creatures appeared from around the corner. I swung my knife and carved the hands off the first one. It screeched loudly and rolled on the ground. I jumped aside to avoid the gnashing teeth of the second creature and slashed at its back before it reeled in agony against the wall of the cavern. The third creature held back, mouth open in a menacing hiss. I waited for it to attack and held my knife with both hands.

Sheer stupidity and rage forced my feet to advance and I jumped forward, slicing the creature down the middle. Heedless of the danger to myself, I realized too late that I had been too close. The creature's blood spilled out and splattered on my left leg. I collapsed on the ground and tore at the material covering my leg, but the damage had been done.

The pain of my melting flesh was overwhelming and I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming out. My eyes spilled tears of pain and I wiped at them to keep them focused, to see if any others approached. I breathed heavily, trying to block out the pain as I stood up on my feet again, balancing on my right foot to avoid putting pressure on my injured left leg.

A facehugger scrambled passed my legs and I hacked at it with my knife in fury before limping on. It briefly occurred to me to wonder why the facehuggers were not bothering me. They simply moved on as if I did not exist. I was not exactly being silent as I made my way through the cavern. But the thought soon left me as a new challenge arose. I stared at three tunnels up ahead, glancing at each one in turn, looking to the ground for any clue as to which led to the outside. All three had the same scattered prints of the creatures. I shook my head in confusion and then chose the left one.

Minas Tirith

Aragorn glanced around at the company of men preparing to mount their horses. Would they face the same fate that Legolas and the others had the day before? He saw Gimli standing with Thranduil, both of them looking lost and forlorn. He saw Arwen watching him from a window above, her eyes filled with tears. He saw Faramir checking his sword and armor before moving to check on his men.

What Aragorn did not see was Ariedel. He walked up to Gimli and Thranduil. "Have you seen Ariedel?"

"Aye," said Gimli. "I saw her a few moments ago. She made off with an Elf."

Aragorn turned to Thranduil. "Someone in your company?"

"The Elves in my company are all accounted for here. They ride with you."

Aragorn rushed through the assembly of men, Elves and horses and entered the stables. His worst fear was realized. Arod and Blade were not in their stalls. This meant that Ariedel had left the safety of the city with an unknown Elf escort and he knew exactly where they were headed. Aragorn rushed back out of the stables just as a trickle of rain started. "Mount up! We ride now!"

Ithilien
(Ariedel's POV)

The rain was coming down hard and the tracks were quickly being washed away. Randle and I drew the horses to a stop and he reached into a pocket to retrieve something. It was a locator, able to pick up the signature of the aliens within a hundred mile radius. It was also a piece of equipment that I should have had, along with an array of weapons, if Hawke had transmutated me correctly.

"We're close. Maybe another hour's ride," said Randle.

"What're you picking up?" I asked as I reached up to wipe the rain that pelted my face.

"We've got a queen, an alpha drone, eight beta drones, two facehuggers and four recent chestbursters."

My jaw dropped. "Really? That's it? Then we did them considerable damage in the last attack."

"We also have fifteen dormant eggs and an unknown number of embryos already implanted. But the good news is, the queen seems to have run dry."

"What's the problem? You said the alpha drone was there."

"Apparently he ain't doing his husbandly duties. Something must be distracting him."

I was afraid to hope that maybe Legolas was still alive and doing the distracting. To think it might jinx him. "Another queen somewhere else? Are any of the chestbursters queens?"

"Nope." He put the locator away. "Let's move on."

We urged our horses forward again.

The Mountains of Shadow
(Legolas's POV)

I wandered the left tunnel for a short while before coming to a solid wall. I cursed in Elvish and retraced my steps. Soon I found myself back in the original chamber. Before taking the next tunnel I stood vigilante for a moment listening for sounds. There was much movement in the right tunnel, coming closer. I took the middle tunnel, straining my eyes to see in the darkness.

As I continued further, I realized the ground of the tunnel was pitching downward. I was moving deeper into the mountain. This way was most definitely not the way out. When I turned back, I heard the hisses close behind me. They were tracking me, possibly forcing me in this direction...into a trap. The tunnel was narrow and would be difficult to fight them in. I gripped my long knife tighter and wondered what had become of my bow and quiver. With no other choice left, I moved deeper into the tunnel.

Minas Tirith

The Elven king stood at the wall of the highest level of the white city, overlooking the valley below. His heart was aching. He assumed Legolas was dead since he had never returned the night before. His son had been all he had left. Now he had no one to tie him to Middle Earth, no reason for him to remain and not heed the calling of the sea to sail West with his kin.

Gimli wandered over to stand beside Thranduil. The dwarf looked up at him, knowing that he was grief-stricken. "I grew quite fond of that lad."

Thranduil swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions in check. "He hated dwarves with such a passion before he met you, Gimli. I suppose it was of my own doing. Much of his likes and dislikes were of my doing. When he returned from the quest last year, he never ceased speaking highly of you."

Gimli looked down and felt his lips trembling. "Aye, he is a good lad and you must not speak of him as if he is already gone. We do not know his fate just yet."

"Do you truly believe that he still lives? He deserved better than the fate he received."

"There is always a chance. Legolas has survived worse odds. He is never one to sit idle when there is killing to be done."

"Something stirs in the air, Gimli," said Thranduil as his blue eyes darted left and right over the valley.

"The creatures approach?" asked Gimli, reaching for his axe.

Thranduil shook his head. "Nay. I feel a sense of victory is close at hand."

Gimli grumbled to himself as he walked away, mumbling things about Elves and their idiotic premonitions.

Thranduil watched Gimli's departure and then turned back to the valley. His skin prickled at the back of his neck. His son had to be alive. He could almost sense it as clearly as he could sense the stone wall his hands rested upon.

The Mountains of Shadow
(Legolas's POV)

The tunnel opened up into another cavern. Even in the complete darkness I could make out faint shapes in the center. More of the eggs. I counted fifteen of them. Nothing moved, but I could clearly hear the angry breath of an alien…a much larger one than the creatures I had encountered thus far.

My foot struck something solid on the ground. I carefully bent down and felt the object, quickly realizing that it was my quiver of arrows and my bow was still attached to it. It was covered with the sticky saliva that dripped from the jaws of the creatures and when I picked it up, the dried saliva crackled as I stretched it. I slung the strap over my shoulder and the sound of movement drew my attention to the left.

Something heavy was coming toward me.

I gathered my strength and blocked off the severe pain coming from the side of my forehead and my leg. There was no light in this cavern and even with my sharp eyes, it was difficult to pick out the shapes around me. Then I felt something else on the ground. It rolled when I kicked it.

The heavy breathing was still somewhere behind me, moving closer. I could not see what it was. As I slowly crouched and felt around the ground, I came upon an oilskin. There was still some lamp oil in it and a flint stone tied to the lip. Perfect. I grabbed the oilskin and spilled some of the oil out over the eggs. No sense in wasting good lamp oil when these eggs needed to be destroyed. I struck the flint stone and the sparks ignited the oil. As the flames rose out of control and lighted the dark cavern, I fell backward and scrambled out of the way.

The eggs burned easily and as I felt solid rock against my back, I pushed myself up on my feet. My eyes widened in terror as I saw the heavy creature that had been lurking behind me.

It was the size of a cave troll. The creature walked on two long skeletal legs and had arms that could have easily spanned the entire cavern. It opened its mouth and screeched in fury at the burning eggs. This creature had to be the queen. It had an enormous crest at the back of its head that moved up and down as the creature walked. Its long skeletal tail swished back and forth for balance and quivered in anger.

When it had finished screeching at the burning eggs, it turned its attention to me with a furious hiss. More screeching came from the tunnel. She had called to the others. They would be coming for me.

I needed to get to higher ground. I needed space to maneuver. A quick glance around the cavern and I found what I was looking for. A ledge jutted out of the cavern wall to my right.

Trying desperately to ignore the pain in my head and leg, I turned to face the wall and started climbing it. The ledge was further up and when I was able to touch it with my fingers, I turned and jumped. My strength was slowly leaving me, but I managed to lift myself up. The next thought on my mind was whether I would have enough arrows to eliminate the creatures that spilled into the cavern from the tunnel.

I notched an arrow, aimed my bow and released. One creature went down. They were crawling on the walls and on the ceiling, trying to avoid the fire in the center. I notched another arrow and aimed at a creature making its way toward me on the ceiling. The arrow embedded in its head and the creature fell into the pit of fire with a blood-curdling screech.

The queen was agitated, arms waving frantically, her crest lying flat against her back as she opened her jaws and hissed at me. I let another arrow loose, another creature came off the walls. To my relief no others came out of the tunnel. I counted six remaining. Then I spied the serpent bodies of those that had recently burst from the chests of my companions. I took aim and my arrow pierced one of them in the head, pinning it to the cave wall.

The remaining creatures were leery now that they knew I had a weapon. I looked at my quiver. Ten arrows. But I still had my long knife with the mithril blade. I notched another arrow and aimed at a creature creeping along the right wall. The most effective shots seemed to be in the head, so I released the arrow and it went between what I imagined the creature's eyes were, even though they were not visible to me.

The queen screeched and hissed louder than before and the resonance seemed to be splitting my skull. I covered my sensitive ears from the sound. It was all the time it took for another of the creatures to reach my ledge in a rush. I had just enough time to swing my knife at it, slicing it at the arms. It fell to the ground below and I kicked the twitching limbs off the ledge in revulsion.

Then I aimed my next arrow at the chestburster trying to take refuge behind the queen. The arrow sailed down into the queen's leg, killing the infant creature on the other side of it. The queen screeched and reached down to pull the arrow out. I sent another arrow into the side of her face. But I knew it was going to take a lot more than just two arrows to bring her down.

My eyes narrowed in the direction of one of the other creatures. I could hear it hissing at the other three who tilted their heads, as if it spoke to them in their minds. Two quickly scrambled up the walls. They came at me from opposite walls at the same time. I pulled two arrows from my quiver, one notched on my bow, the other clenched in my teeth. The creature on my right got it first and I quickly set the second arrow and sent it into the creature on my left just as it jumped at the ledge. The arrow went into its mouth and I ducked away to avoid the spray of blood coming at me.

The third creature came at the ledge from below and grabbed at my left leg, digging its claws into the already mangled flesh. I could not stop the scream that came out of my throat at the sudden blinding pain. The creature pulled at my leg, tearing flesh and muscle and I lost my footing. As I reached for my knife, it continued to drag me toward the edge. I swung the knife and hacked at its elongated skull and cracking it open, ignoring the splattering blood.

It finally released its death grip on my leg, but not before it had dripped its sticky saliva into my wounds, making it burn even further.

The pain was excruciating and I could not catch my breath. There was a buzzing in my ears and my vision blurred. Nay…if I gave into the pain and the darkness, I would not get another chance to make it out of this alive. I breathed and breathed, but never once taking my eyes off the remaining creature and the queen. They appeared to be speaking with each other.

Another chestburster slithered along the far wall. I grabbed my bow and an arrow. I took aim and shot the arrow. It slammed into the chestburster and it screeched and tried to free itself from the wall it was imbedded into. A few seconds later it was dead. Another chestburster appeared near the queen. It scrambled up the queen's back to hide behind the large crest. I sent an arrow into the chestburster and it lay lodged into the side of the queen's neck.

The queen screeched loudly again and I closed my eyes to the sound vibrating through my aching skull. This sound was far worse than any Fell beast ridden by a ringwraith.

I glanced at my quiver. Two arrows. Two creatures remained and one was the queen. Both stood blocking the tunnel that I needed to escape through.

The queen turned to the remaining drone. This one looked different from the others. While the others had looked large and built almost like Uruk-hai, this one was sleeker, had vertical grooves in its elongated head and had sharper teeth. This was similar to the creature I had seen over two thousand years ago in the snowy Udun valley. But it could not be the same creature after all those years. This creature could not be immortal.

I reached for one of the two remaining arrows in my quiver and took aim. If I could kill the queen, then that left one drone to deal with. The drone looked in my direction just as the arrow sailed into the queen's head. He did not look happy as I notched my last arrow and took aim at the queen again. His screech echoed throughout the cavern and I followed his progress as he rapidly moved along the wall.

The arrow I had intended for the queen now went sailing at the quickly approaching drone. My aim had been good, but the arrow imbedded in its head did not stop the creature's motion. It continued to advance upon me. I reached for my knife and before the creature reached me, it moved to the ceiling and dodged my swing. But it managed to rake its claws over my left shoulder, tearing clothing and flesh. I quickly turned and sliced a portion of its tail off. It swung the damaged tail in my direction, blood splattering the air and the front of my tunic. I watched as it ate through the material and felt the burn of it as it touched the flesh on my chest.

The creature screeched, drawing my attention away from this new injury. It had paused several feet away, turning to train its sightless eyes upon me. It reached up and pulled the arrow out of its head with an angry hiss.

Then the queen advanced toward my ledge. I scrambled to my feet and backed into the wall. The queen stretched her massive arms and tried to grab me with her claws, not quite able to reach. I twirled my knife and hacked at her hand, two of her fingers coming off.

Just as a look of satisfaction crossed my face, her tail lashed out at me, catching me across the back of my legs. The power in her tail sent me flying off the ledge to land hard on the ground below. The wind came out of my lungs and I gasped for air. The heavy footfalls of the queen told me that she was approaching. I did not have the strength to move as I felt myself being lifted and slammed into the nearby wall.

My face erupted in blinding pain and I tasted blood in my mouth as well as what dripped from my nose. The queen picked me up by the face, her large hand covering my entire head. Through her fingers, I saw her open her gigantic jaws.

Summoning up my dwindling strength, I swung my legs up to attach to her arm and slammed my right foot under her jaw. I could feel my toes breaking upon impact, but the blow knocked her senseless and she opened her hand. The moment I was free, I realized my mistake as I fell far and landed hard on my back. She raised her foot and I rolled out of the way as it came down to crush me.

Every bone in my body ached and I did not know where I drew the power to scramble to my feet. The queen spun her massive head in my direction and hissed angrily. Without thinking I launched myself at her neck, locking my feet into her skeletal frame as she weaved back and forth in an attempt to dislodge me.

I reached down and pulled out the arrow I had lodged into her throat earlier, still finding the dead chestburster attached to it. I shook the creature off and dodged the queen's hand as she tried to reach me. Then I clenched my teeth in fury and buried the arrow in the back of her crested head. She screeched in surprise and waved her arms frantically. I pulled the arrow back out and buried it again with an angry cry. Her lethal blood splattered around me and I ignored the sizzling heat wherever it landed. It was as if an evil force possessed me as I plunged the arrow into the back of her head over and over and over. Her screeches turned into gurgling sounds before she finally collapsed beneath me. I held the dripping arrow up in triumph as I stared down at the tangle of skeletal limbs.

Then something slammed into me with the force of a warg and knocked me into the wall. I stared into the face of the last drone and knew it was a bit upset that I had killed his queen.

The Mountains of Shadow
(Ariedel's POV)

Something beeped in Randle's pocket and he dragged Arod to a stop. I pulled Blade up beside him as he reached for the locator.

"What is it?" I asked.

He frowned at the readings. "You're not gonna believe this but the queen just blinked off radar. She's gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone…as in dead. And not only that, but we've got zero drones and zero chestbursters. All that's left are two facehuggers and the alpha."

I opened my mouth but no words came out. Someone was alive. Someone had killed the queen and the rest of them. Legolas…Deep in the pit of my lurching stomach I knew it was him. He was still alive…

The Mountains of Shadow
(Legolas's POV)

The mithril arrow I had used to kill the queen was still in my hand. The drone hissed angrily at me, his tail waving around behind him, still dripping the acrid green blood from where I had sliced the end of it off. I glanced in the direction of the tunnel. It was but a short run.

The drone lashed his tail at me and I ducked. It came from the other direction, this time lower and again I ducked, but was forced down to my hands and knees. The movement sent a wave of nausea through me, making me dizzy from both pain and loss of blood.

The drone made his move and rushed me. I buried the arrow into its chest and received a blow on the back of the head by its tail. The creature staggered and I turned and fell face first before rolling over on my back. It was difficult to breathe, but I needed to move and get out. I crawled up on my hands and knees. When I tried to stand up, I stumbled and fell back to my knees. Each movement sent sharp pains through me, enough to make me see stars. My hands touched something sticky. I was crawling through a pool of fluid draining from some of the burning eggs.

The screeching of the drone made me rise to my knees and turn to face it. It was staring down at the puddle of egg fluid, stepping back to avoid any contact with it. A sizzling, popping sound drew its attention and I turned to where it looked. There was a dead creature lying on the ground and as the fluid reached it and combined with its blood, it turned a ghastly green and melted the creature.

I turned to the creature and gave it a smirk. "So this is your weakness, is it?"

The creature turned to me with an angry hiss and glanced back down at the growing pool before it retreated to cling to the wall. I dragged my battered self through the sticky fluid, moving around the burning eggs. The creature moved parallel to me along the wall, hissing angrily. I came to the wall with the ledge and glanced around at the ground. When the queen had knocked me off the ledge earlier, I had lost the grip on my knife. Then I spotted it lying on the ground near the wall.

The creature followed my gaze and drew its lips up in a snarl, dripping saliva from its fangs. I knew the moment it charged that it sought to grab the knife before me. The only option left to me was to dive for the knife and then make a run for it. My body screamed for me to stop the abuse as I launched myself to the ground, reaching to grab the knife before the creature made it to the wall beside me. I rolled out of the way as it tried to grab me, the sticky fluid on the ground stopping it from proceeding any further.

I scrambled to my feet to attack the creature, but it moved higher up the wall and out of my reach. "Come down and fight!" It responded with a furious hiss, but did not move. I backed away, dragging my uncooperative mangled leg. If it was not planning to come after me, then I was going to leave it to burn in this cavern. I turned and headed for the tunnel.

Claws scratched on stone as I looked up to see the creature crawl to the ledge. I realized too late what its intentions were. It jumped and latched onto me from behind, wrapping an arm around my chest. I howled out in pain when it sank its teeth into my already torn left shoulder. Instinct drove me backward, slamming the creature hard into the wall. It released my shoulder and sank its teeth again, determined to tear my arm off. In desperation, I moved toward the burning eggs and slashed at one of them, coating my knife with its fluid. Then with a frantic howl, I slammed the creature back into the wall and tore myself from the creature's grip, feeling a piece of my shoulder go with its locked jaws.

I spun around and buried my knife into the creature's temple. It screeched and sent its inner jaws out at me. The blow would have struck the center of my forehead had I not leaned back at the last second. I pulled the knife out of its head and slammed it into its mouth. The creature frantically waved its arms around, clutching at me and trying to push me away at the same time. As the egg fluid on my blade mixed with the creature's blood, it sizzled and smoked, forcing me back with a spastic cough.

The creature finally slumped motionless. I fell on my back, gasping for air, but unable to fill my lungs. Darkness threatened to consume me as I lay there on the cold ground. My eyes darted around the cavern, at the still burning eggs and the dead carcasses of the demonic creatures I had killed. This was not where I wanted to die.

Everything ached…Pain…I had never felt such pain. I longed for numbness. I longed for darkness to claim me…But most of all I longed to see Ariedel's sweet face one last time. If I did not die, then she would surely kill me for volunteering to go on this suicidal mission.

My body shivered uncontrollably and I knew I would soon breathe my last breath.