Chapter 4

Hiram awoke slowly. His eyes were blurry and couldn't make sense of anything. He blinked several times and his vision came back. He noticed it was very quiet in the store. He looked to one side of him and found the female. She was sleeping next to him.

He snorted to himself, because she had no blanket or pillow.

She was lying on her side, showing off her figure. Her hair had fallen into her face, halfway concealing it. Hiram saw that he was covered by a blanket. He slowly sat up. It was painful, but not as much has he was expecting. He looked over his body.

His mask and chest plate were gone. He looked around for them and found them not too far from him, along with his trophies. He also saw that he had a pillow underneath his head. He tossed the blanket off of him. That's when he saw his body.

He remembered the fight and he remembered getting wounded badly. But all of his wounds were covered by strips of white fabric. He was confused by this. How did they get there?

Then it hit him.

The female had done this. She took the time to clean him up and wrap up his wounds. She cared enough for him to make sure he was comfortable. Oh shit. There was that feeling again. That feeling deep in his chest. He really needed to figure out what that feeling was.

Aleris yawned and opened eyes. She was startled to see her friend awake. She quickly sat up and scooted closer to him.

"You're not supposed to be up yet. You're still injured!"

Hiram didn't understand what she was saying, but he what she meant. He could read the emotions in her face. Hiram purred to try and calm her down, but it didn't work. Quite a stubborn Ooman she was.

Aleris grabbed his shoulder with one hand and slid the other around his neck. She gently pushed back on him, forcing him to lie back down. He succumbed to her power and laid back down on the floor. Aleris grabbed the blanket he had thrown off and covered him with it again. She slid her hand under his chin to make sure he was still alright. He was.

Hiram clicked his tusks together, telling her that he was happy she was there. She smiled at him sweetly. This made Hiram feel better. As long as she was there with him, everything would be fine.

Aleris let go of his chin. She slid it down to his chest, thinking of what to do next. She stopped it at the peak of his chest. She looked around them. She didn't know what to do or how to do it.

Hiram took this opportunity to raise his hand and flip open his wrist computer. He then realized he had been out for an entire day. Also, something else caught his eye. His Clan would be there in just a few days to get them. This surprised Hiram much. He thought his Clan might take longer to get here.

This made Hiram very happy. Now he could take this Ooman female back with him, forever. Wait a second. There was that feeling again. That was really going to bug Hiram.

Hiram was completely relaxed with the Ooman female by his side. Aleris, however, was not so relaxed.

The voice had returned. It was as loud as ever. She tried to tune the voice out.

Aleris placed her hand on her friends' forehead. Ever so gently, she rubbed his enlarged forehead. He purred unintentionally while half asleep. This made Aleris smile.

She never did feel quite at home among her fellow Oomans. There was always something she felt deep inside of her. Something that was hidden well.

Aleris lost the fight to suppress the voice.

'Get out!' It screamed

Then, it was silent in the store and in Aleris' mind. Except for the Jamaican's breathing.

Hiram was relaxed, but not asleep. He watched the mixture of emotions on the female's face. He wondered to himself if that was what he was feeling. An Emotion.

The sound of jet engines echoed in the empty store, disrupting the silence. Aleris realized they were going in to the direction of the school.

'Strange' Aleris thought. 'What would jets be doing going out there?'

Her question was soon answered.

The sound of the jets was heard again, but retreating this time. A deafening explosion followed them.

Hiram shot up off the floor. He didn't know what the explosion was of. He quickly grabbed Aleris in his arms, pulling her against his chest.

The shockwave hit the store next. The products that were perched on too the display shelves now threw themselves off in droves. The display shelves were next. They fell onto one another, trying to escape the shockwave's wrath.

Hiram and Aleris were lucky. They had taken refuge in the clothing department. They were completely surrounded by clothing racks. The worst they had to endure was being covered by clothes.

The shockwave past them quickly. The store lay quiet once again. Hiram looked around at the destruction in the store. He never once let go of the female.

He half expected the Kainde Amedha do be behind this shake-up. If the Kainde Amedha were behind it, they would surely be inside the store in no time and impregnate them.

Hiram found that whole process a bit disturbing anyway. No way he wanted to be any part of it.

Hiram reached for his mask and put it on. He immediately changed the vision to electrical and looked for invading Kainde Amedha.

Aleris noticed the Jamaican's cannon was armed and ready. She tried to break his hold on her, but she was no match for his alien strength.

"It's ok," She spoke softly. "Some jets just blew up something. They probably blew up the school trying to kill the dragons."

Hiram loosened his hold on the female. He also put his cannon back into the resting position. He trusted what the female said.

Aleris stood up. She looked to where the school would be. She heard many voices now. They were all speaking at the same time; no one stood out.

Hiram stood up painfully slow. His wounds, though a day old, were still open and bled slightly.

Aleris knew what was happening outside. The dragons were coming together. They were coming back together.

They were going to start to look for a new hive.

She turned to her friend. He stood painfully. She knew she had to get him out of here and help with his wounds. She walked up to him and grabbed his arm. She tugged on it gently, telling him to start walking. He took a step, but the pain consumed him and he nearly fell onto Aleris. She grabbed her friend around his waist and supported what weight she could. Slowly, they walked towards the front of the store, dodging fallen merchandise and display shelves.

xXx

The aliens were coming together just outside the crater where the school once was. The drones growled and hissed at one another. They were lucky. The casualties they suffered were low. Their Queen had also survived the blast. This made them happy, in an alien sort of way.

The Queen broke out of a pile of rubble that concealed her. She shook the dirt and dust off of her body as the drones surrounded her. They checked her over, making sure she had no serious injuries. All she had were minor scrapes and scratches.

She roared at the drones. The drones began to run off towards the town. The Queen soon started to run with them.

xXx

Aleris heard it. The order to move out was given. Her time was running out. She had successfully gotten her friend to her car in little time. He sat in the passenger seat, not moving much. She put the key in the ignition and started the car. She reached down to the radio.

"Hope you don't mind if we listen to some music." She wasn't asking him more than she was just informing him of her command decision

She turned o the radio. Good. Rock music was on.

The music thumped away in the car. Hiram noted how harsh the sounds were and how much the female relaxed when it started.

Aleris drove out of the Walmart parking lot. She got onto the surface streets and not surprisingly, there was not a person to be had. She looked down both sides of the street. All she could think was 'where to go…where to go…'

She turned down the street after deciding to take her friend to the hospital. Sure, no one would be there to help that was alive AND knew a thing about alien anatomy, but she knew enough about the medical field to help the Jamaican until help arrived.

IF help arrived.

Nonetheless, Aleris was relieved. She didn't hear any voices over the music. This meant there were no dragons near by.

All she saw next was black hitting her car. The car spun out and came to an abrupt stop.

Aleris looked out the window and saw a dragon. It crouched down, ready to pounce. She tried to yell out at it, but for some reason, it chose not to listen to her. It lunged toward the car. Aleris floored the accelerator. The car charged forward, evading the brunt of the attack. It still hit the back of the car, causing it to fishtail and spin out.

The car and the dragon now faced each other head on.

Hiram held onto the seat and chair tightly. He wasn't afraid that the female might crash and kill them. No, he trusted the female fully, even with his life. He was scared because the grounded ship was no real defense against the Kainde Amedha. It's not that he didn't believe the female could protect them effectively. It was just that she had no training to protect the properly and he was of no use.

"¡Muere puta!" Aleris yelled out as she hit the accelerator again. The car jumped forward towards the dragons. It hissed at the approaching car, unaware of the car's speed.

It leapt for the car and hit the front end of it. It tried to climb the hood, but it was sucked under the car. It was run over by two of the tires. The car sped off down the road away from the dragon. Being run over by the car didn't kill the dragon, but just left it temporarily incapacitated. It got up and hissed at itself.

xXx

Xerxes stood at the helm of his ship. It would still be two days before they would reach Ee-arth.

Xerxes didn't like this. A fellow warrior from his Clan was stranded on a planet with few supplies.

He didn't know how, but the Kainde Amedha had somehow gotten to this planet and began to multiply rapidly. He had investigators on the case, but now, that didn't matter. All that he cared about was getting Hiram off of Ee-arth.

A lower Yautja soldier came up behind Xerxes.

"Sir" He said loudly

Xerxes turned his head to see the soldier. "What is it?" He was slightly aggravated at the moment

"The Kainde Amedha population has doubled since primary infestation"

"What about Hiram?"

"He has been detected near the initial infestation." The soldier picked up a clip board and flipped through some papers. "Seems he has a Pyode Amedha with him"

Xerxes sighed loudly. "That'll be all"

The soldier nodded in respect and walked away.

This was more than bad. Yautja and Pyode Amedha could never get along with one another. The Pyode Amedha were a primitive specie that were only good for being host to the ultimate prey; the Kainde Amedha. That was all they were good for in Xerxes' eyes.

The ship sped off towards the planet to save Hiram from this Pyode Amedha and the Kainde Amedha.

xXx

Hiram awoke with a headache. He didn't feel any pain, but as soon as he tried to move, he felt it rush at him. So, needless to say, he didn't move much. He laid silently, unaware of where he was and where the female was. He just hoped he was safe. He tried to look around, but everything was a blurry white.

His thoughts were interrupted not soon after he awoke.

"Morning sleepy head"

It was the female. Her voice was soft. Hiram relaxed, knowing they were in no immediate danger if the female was so calm. He slipped back into sleep not soon after.

Aleris looked down at her friend. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or just ignoring her.

Aleris had gotten to the hospital just fine. No more dragon attacks along the way. When she got to the hospital, Her Jamaican friend had pasted out. God knows WHY he did, but who was she to judge? She didn't know the first thing about Alien anatomy.

She had grabbed a hospital bed and pulled it next to her car. She had to struggle to get him out of her car. She knew she had to do this quickly, just in case the dragons came back. She got him onto the bed and rushed him inside. Once he was inside, she blocked the doors with furniture, trying to keep the doors covered more than blocked.

She rolled the unconscious Jamaican into a cold white waiting room to stay. She shut the door behind her and quickly went back to her friend.

He wasn't seriously hurt, or so she thought. She grabbed a blanket from the nurse's station and covered him with it.

Then she thought for a second. The only thing she's seen him eat was that apple a few days ago. She didn't know if he had eaten since then. She decided that she would fetch some applesauce while her friend was down for the count.

She walked to the doorway that led out of the room. She gave once last look back to her friend and walked out.

xXx

Hiram awoke again a little time later. His pain was completely gone now. His regular vision had also returned. He looked around the room and saw nothing but white. He noticed only his face was cold. He tried to reach up to touch his face, but the blanket caught his attention. Then it hit him.

The female brought him here. She got him out of danger yet again and cared for him. He turned his head and his left arm was above the blanket. Sticking out of it was a plastic tube. He reached for it, but his hand was stopped. He slowly moved his head over to see what had stopped him. A small, pale hand was wrapped around his dark, reptilian one.

The female, he remembered. She was still there with him.

"No, don't touch the I.V."

Hiram could only stare at her. He didn't have a clue what she was saying. He shook his hand loose of the female's grip. He brought his hand up to his face, laying it flat.

Aleris understood and crotched down for a second. She stood up quickly with the Jamaican's mask. She figured that the mask had some sort of translator for him. She set the mask gently on his face and secured it in place. She waited for him silently. She didn't know what he was doing, but she knew he was ready for her when he turned his head back t him.

"Don't touch the tube from your arm. It's an IV. It's giving you fluids, nutrients, and some pain killers"

Why was this female being so caring towards him? It's not like they had any special bond of warriors or were part of the same Clan. No, they were complete opposites in almost every way. The only thing that held them together was the fact that he was stranded on this planet and was running from the Kainde Amedha with the female.

But she was helping him. Keeping him alive and well. But one burning question wouldn't leave him. Why was she doing this?

Aleris smiled at her friend. It wasn't everyday you had t help a kinky Jamaican reptile escape from mutated dragons. She figured that she was most likely going to die here and she might as well help someone survive. This way, her life might mean something.

Her attention was quickly diverted. She heard the voices. They weren't inside the hospital, but they were around it. They were searching, searching for a new hive. They Queen hadn't arrived yet. They still had some time.

She looked back to her friend. "Can you move?

Hiram sat up on the bed. He felt only a minor amount of pain. He reached to his arm to remove the plastic tube which was still in his arm, but the female stopped him yet again.

"Don't. Let me take it out"

The female walked around the bed. She grabbed a piece of white fabric that resembled a cloud. She placed it over the end of the tube to where is stopped at his arm. Hiram felt a strange sensation in his arm as the female pulled the tube away from his arm. He saw a metal point come out of his arm. The sensation ended and the female wrapped his arm with some white tape.

Oh, he thought. The female set up a way to give him the things his body needed. It wasn't the best, but great since the female was probably using him as a guinea pig. He jumped off the bed and faced the female head on. She barely came up to his chest.

Hiram chuckled to himself. This female had proven herself to him. She helped him escape the Kainde Amedha hive and took him to a fortress. She outran a Kainde Amedha and after his battle, wrapped his wounds. When something destroyed the fortress, she took him from it, killed another Kainde Amedha and brought him. Then she took care of him again.

Hiram couldn't figure out why the female was doing this to him. She kind, caring, and strong above all. Perhaps he would talk to the scientists about her.

This jogged something in his head. His Clan was supposed to be here. He flipped open wrist computer and typed in a something. His Clan was supposed to be here anytime now.

This is where he hit a wall. How was he supposed to tell the female his Clan was coming for them?

Aleris saw the Jamaican scratching head. She concluded he was thinking, but loosing badly. She thought about their impending doom briefly. There were now numerous voices surrounding the hospital. She looked up to her friend. He was still fighting to think.

"Do you have friends coming?" She asked

Hiram was surprised. She read his mind. He nodded slightly, his metal dreadlocks falling past his shoulders.

The female walked past him towards a small door. He followed her closely. Ducking underneath the door, he surveyed the hallways. White. Everything was white. The female walked on without him. He didn't have to walk very fast to catch up with her. She glanced at him over her shoulder and spoke to him.

"How are your friends getting here?"

Hiram pointed up towards the ceiling. She nodded and stopped short. Hiram had to swerve to miss her. The last thing he needed to do was run her over.

"If your friends are coming from up, then we should go to the roof"

The female stopped at silver doors and pressed a button on the wall that lit up upon contact. The doors opened and they walked inside of them. She pressed another button and they began to move. It wasn't long before they stopped moving and the doors opened again.

The female began to walk again. Hiram chased after her, still not sure what she was doing. She turned down another hallway, but stopped short again. Hiram just about ran into her again. He looked down the hallway. Ah, another Ooman.

Aleris knew this person. It was her male teacher that she had for History last semester. She never knew what his name really was. She always just called him Mr. S the jackass.

He wore a white hospital gown. Aleris joked with the thought that he was here to get castrated.

"You!" He pointed to her as he also staggered towards her. "What the hell are YOU doing here?"

Aleris took a step back. This guy always creped her out. Then the booming voice came back. She grabbed her ears, trying not to listen to it. God, she hated thi. She was being attacked from all sides. Then another sound came out. A deep roar echoed through the empty halls.

Hiram knew this roar. It was a Queen Kainde Amedha's roar. He really didn't like this. This meant a Queen was inside the building. He tried to grab the female's arm, but as soon as he got a hold of it, something behind him threw him towards the other Ooman. He quickly stood up next to the Ooman male and saw what hit him.

The Queen.

Damn.

Hiram took a step towards the female, but stopped when the Queen roared out.

The Queen herself had to crouch down in the hallway. Her long, smooth head hit the ceiling of the hallway. Her majesty knelt down to the female, nudging her softly.

This was a first for Aleris. A huge dragon was nuzzling her. She guessed it was a higher member of the specie seeing how it was so BIG. Either a warrior Dragon or it could be a Queen. Like a bee hive. That would explain a lot.

The Dragon kept nuzzling her. Aleris cautiously put her hand on its long head, rubbing slightly. It growled softly.

Hiram made a decision. He had to saved the female and get out of here so his Clan could save them. He ran up to Aleris.

The Queen saw the Yautja run up to them. She wasn't sure what it was doing, but she knew it couldn't be good. The Yautja always killed their drones, captured their Queens. No, she wasn't going to let the Yautja take their Queen again. She roared out.

This scared Aleris, because she thought it was going to kill her. It lunged out at her friend instead. She yelled out at it.

Before Aleris could do or say anything, her friend had retrieved a disk and threw it at the Queen. It breezed past her neck, cutting it deeply and attaching itself to the wall behind her. She screamed out in rage and pain as her acid blood hit the floor and ate it away. Her tail whipped about her, hitting the walls and floor.

Aleris ran up to the Queen. The Queen's tail got between Aleris and herself and quickly slashed Aleris across the stomach and threw her back. Aleris slid to a stop, clenching her stomach. The Queen pun around and roared an unusual roar. A roar of apology.

The Queen whipped back around to the Yautja. She lunged for him. Aleris, through her pain, cried out to the Queen.

"No!"

It stopped and turned to her. 'He's going to try and take you from us again' the voice said again

Aleris figured that the voices were the dragons talking to her. She didn't know how or why she was able to hear them, but she could. That's pretty much all she knew at this point. She took a quick glance to her stomach. Her shirt was ripped and soaked with blood.

"He's not going to kill me" She said breathlessly

The Queen cocked her slightly. Why was it her Queen was telling her not to kill the thing that killed her so many years ago?

"He is"

Aleris pointed to Mr. S the Jackass with a blood soaked finger. She hated him and would anything to see him die.

The Queen snarled at the man that was standing, dumbfounded. She leapt for him. He tried to run, but the Queen grabbed him with her claws. She stabbed him with her skeleton tail, keeping him from running away, and spraying blood behind him on the clean, white walls. She again grabbed him with both her hands and pulled hard in opposite directions. The two halves flew in separate directions, blood smearing along the white walls and floor.

Hiram took this chance to grabbed the female and run like hell. He ran down several white hallways, lost at the start. The female yelled out for him to which way to turn. This helped him. At least one of them knew where they were going. The Queen Kainde Amedha roared out again. Hiram ran faster. He was going to die if the Queen caught up to him. The female yelled out at him again, but this time to go through a door. He busted through a set of white doors. Behind them was a dark gray hallway. Hiram leapt up the metal stairs, flight by flight. He came to the top of the stairs. Another door stood in their way. He blasted through the doors, knocking them off their hinges.

They were now outside. Hiram set the female down gently. This Ooman was a formable opponent indeed. Hiram knew Oomans were the ultimate prey along with the Kainde Amedha because they had the ability to reason, problem solve, and shoot back. He now understood why blooded warriors that won against the Oomans did it just barely at most times.

Hiram flipped open his wrist computer. His Clan was supposed to be here anytime now. Damn. NOW would be the perfect time to get here. The Queen roared out again. They were running out of time. Sure, the female could keep the Queen from killing him, but could she do it again? He didn't want to find out.

Aleris watched her friend. His head darted from side to side. The booming voice came back. It wouldn't stop calling out for her. It wanted her to come back. Back to the hive. This was really going to get to Aleris. Now where on earth did she keep those happy pills?

She noticed her jeans were soaking up all of the blood. Strange. Why were her jeans beginning to smoke? Her shirt was smoking as well. She could feel herself start to fade away. She was loosing blood quite rapidly.

The sky grew dark above them. Aleris looked up. A huge ship was above them. She marveled at the sheer size of it. A football field at least. That was the last thing she saw as she sipped away.

Hiram sighed a sigh of relief. His Clan was finally here.