LOCK, STOCK, AND 30 SMOKING CARCASSES

CHAPTER 8

Janet's feet pounded against the steel grated floor as she raced through the halls of the barracks. 'All that carnage!' she thought. The image kept flashing through her mind.

The beast grabbed hold of Steven's shoulders. He kept thrashing about, trying to get loose, but the monster just held on tighter. All he could do was scream. No strength of arms could stop it. Janet saw the fear in his eyes. The kind of fear that melts your limbs to goo. And you can't run, you can't hide, because your body is frozen. And all you can do is scream, just scream.

She shook the image away, and pushed on ever faster. "Kyle!" she called out. Her heart was racing, and her lungs gasping for air. The xenomorph was almost on top of her now. She threw the empty pulse rifle aside, hoping to gain some speed. Janet growled, pushing her legs to their top speed. She grabbed the railing of the wall as she rounded the corner to the weapon's storage room. All the rest of the marine were holed up there. The best place to make a last stand.

Kyle opened the door, screaming down the hallway, "Get down!" Janet leapt to the ground, and the xenomorph pounced, staying right behind her. Kyle fired one shot from the XR-12 Assault rifle. The bullet spun through the air, missing Janet's head by only centimeters, and plunged itself into the aliens wide open mouth. The bullet tore through its brain and ripped out the other side, imbedding itself into a nearby wall.

The xenomorph's body hit the ground hard, skidding almost 6 yards before coming to a halt. Kyle raced out to Janet. He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back to the door. "Come on Janet, just a few more feet!" He glanced down at the motion tracker. It beeped loudly, show enormous amounts of motion coming their way. "We've got company! Lot's of fucking company!"

He pulled her through the door, and fell back onto the grate. He held her in his arms, cradling her. Janet gasped for air, clinging to Kyle's shirt. He watched as two marines closed the door and began welding it shut. He watched the motion tracker, as the image grew nearer and nearer to them. "There were only twelve face huggers last week! How in the hell are there so many of those fuckers!"

The general took his hat off, and drew a long puff of his cigar. "Because one of them bred a queen." he said solemnly. He headed to the weapon racks. Eying the different types of firearms, he motioned to Kyle to join him. "We have to take her down."

Kyle jumped to his feet, and stomped over to the general. "Sir! Have you lost you mind?"

The general grabbed him by the collar. He pulled his cigar out of his mouth, and brought Kyle face to face with him. "Do you think these things are bad? This is baby shit compared to her!" He let go of Kyle. "She's ruthless. She will destroy anything standing in her way. She's ten times stronger, and ten times more intelligent." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "And if we don't kill her now, it will be 100 times worse when the transport gets here."

Kyle nodded, replying "Yes sir!" He looked back, hearing the beasts as they began to pound on the door. Kyle grabbed his pulse rifle and ran to aid his remaining marines.

The general grabbed a holster strap, and attached it to his back. Then he slid a shotgun into it. He ran his fingers down the railing, stopping at the G3AL machine gun rack. He grabbed the heavy gun, and threw the strap over his shoulder. "These mutha fucka's do NOT know who they messin' with!" He slammed the loading shaft, locking the 400 round magazine in place.

The general turned to the opposite weapon rack, opening a drawer. He reached in pulled out a box of 'H.I.,' or 'high impact,' grenades. He liked to call them 'pounders'. They packed all the punch of a high explosive grenade, but limited the amount of fire. They would be great for taking out the nest. He grabbed another holster, strapping it to his side. Then he looked over to the emergency exit.

Kyle looked back as the general walked away. He ran after him. "Sir, where are you going?" The general smashed the case next to the exit, and grabbed the fire axe, sliding it into the holster at his side. He turned, putting his cigar back in his mouth. "To kick some ass my boy! To kick some ass!"

Kyle grinned, replying "Not without me!"

The general let out a loud laugh, and pointed at him. "That's my boy!"

Kyle raced back to the group, shouting. "Ok men! I want you to empty out these racks! Barricade the doors with them. I'm talkin' I want them welded to the damn wall. That way, when they break in here, you can shoot them, but they won't get through. I want it triple layered. The acid will eat through the metal. Weld these vents off! Terry, you're on motion tracker!"

Kyle tossed the device at her. "If you see anything coming from the left or right, alert the men."

"I want automated turrets blocking off the emergency exit. We'll need to leave that open. Riley and Parker! You two start welding the grates down to the floor as soon as they're done with the door. I don't want anything coming up from below. Get the ceiling too!"

Janet climbed to her feet. "I know you're not leaving without me!"

Kyle slapped her on the shoulder. "Let's get ready then."

Kyle reloaded his XR-12, and loaded his pockets with ammo. He tossed a pulse rifle to Janet. She loaded it up and grabbed some extra clips. He slung a spare pulse rifle over his other shoulder. And grabbed two handguns. Janet grabbed a case of grenades and poured them into her jacket pockets. Kyle grabbed her by the shirt and headed out the emergency exit after the general.

They caught up with him at the end of the hallway. He looked back at Janet, smiling. "Welcome to the party, can I take ya' coat miss?"

"No thank you sir, just here to kick some ass." She replied.

The general laughed, pulling his cigar out of his mouth. He glanced at the motion tracker, and then looked at Kyle. "Ok this is how were gonna do this. I'm gonna take point. I'll mow down any sombitch that hall the balls to cross our path. Janet, you keep up the rear. I don't want anything comin up behind us. Kyle, since you got the XR-12, you stay between up. Watch that motion tracker and I want to take down anything from above. I don't want any lone wolves trying to catch us off guard from the shadows." The general dropped his cigar, stomping it out. "Alright people. Let's lock and load."

The moved around the corner quietly, heading to the right. Janet scoped out the opposing hallway and followed them. They could still hear the far off commotion from the Armory. Kyle watched the motion tracker as they neared the elevator. The general stopped to peer around the corners of an intersecting hallway.

As he looked to the right he saw a hoard of Xenomorphs outside the front of the Armory. He looked back to Kyle. "Ok, I see them. Tell the marines to get back and take cover from acid splatter."

Kyle clicked the com on, speaking into the headset. "Ok, I need everyone back from the door. Take cover from acid splash. Over"

Parker came back over the com. "Affirmative, over and out."

Kyle nodded to the general, taking a step back. The general swung around the corner and tossed two grenades at the alien group. They rolled under their feet and into the thick of them. The general backed around the corner, counting under his breath.

The floor shook violently as the grenade went off. An alien head with no body flew passed their view, into the wall. After the explosions were over, they looked around the corner. Janet wiped her head back and forth nervously. Kyle put his hand on her shoulder. "Stay frosty."

Something landed on Kyle's shoulder lightly. He reached up, touching some strange wet goo. He pulled his hand away, stretching trails of the disgusting substance. He saw Janet eyes widen. Kyle looked up sharply, seeing the open jaws of a xenomorph waiting to pounce. Kyle rolled out of the way as the alien hit the floor hard. He lifted up his rifle to fire, but the thing pounced on him.

Its drool rolled out of its mouth and all over Kyle's chest. He kicked it over his body, but the alien grabbed him, rolling him over as well. Kyle pushed the alien's head down against the grated floor. The alien squirmed, but Kyle had the advantage of gravity.

Janet aimed her rifle, waiting for her chance. She couldn't risk hitting Kyle, or letting the acid touch him. The general moved to help him, but the alien whipped its tail around, smacking the general into the wall. He landed, knocked out cold. Janet glanced down the hallway, doing a double take. There had to be eight or nine xenomorphs charging at them.

Janet raised her pulse rifle, firing wildly. She backed away, loosing her nerve. Kyle gritted his teeth, holding the arms of the xenomorph down. He lifted his foot up, grinding his heel into the side of the alien's head. He pulled his handgun, putting 6 rounds into its banana shaped skull.

Kyle rose to his feet, grabbing his pulse rifle. He fired rapidly, backing up toward Janet. He looked back, seeing an Alien drop down behind her. He screamed in terror, unable to hear his own voice.

Everything seemed to slow down. Janet spun around. Her jaw dropped and she let go of her gun, frozen. It hit the ground with a loud clank. Kyle watched helplessly. The Xenomorph put both hands on the sides of her head. She grabbed its wrists as it lifted her into the air. Kyle bellowed with all his soul. "NO!"

Its mouth slowly opened, letting saliva roll down its chin onto the floor. Janet kicked helplessly, letting out a sob. It pulled her closer, face to face. Kyle reached for his pulse rifle, but it was too late. The alien's inner jaw shot out, breaking through her skull. Janet shook violently, but her body soon went limp. Kyle screamed out in agony. "NOOOO!" He fell to his knees in sorrow. "OH GOD!"

Kyle looked back as one of the aliens pounced. He turned to run, but the xenomorph grabbed him by the shoulders, taking him down. Kyle cringed as his face slammed into the grating on the floor. They skidded down the hallway, grinding Kyle's face on the grate. Skin tore away from his cheek as they slid. They connected with the wall, and his head slammed into a support beam, knocking him out.