Chapter 7: The Enemy of my Enemy.
Macha was impressed by her new friend's ingenuity, high in the machine filled building she'd turned the highest point into her very own little hive, they were high above what her little friend called the factory floor, she had informed Macha that humans and various other species had worked at the factory making machines for making energy and for farming.
From the lobby they'd followed a winding path of gang ways and stairs that led up to what her little friend told her was the control platform, Macha had quite the problem with some of the gangways as they weren't exactly designed for someone as big or as heavy as her, fortunately they were made of very strong materials so they held her weight without a problem, but they swaying had Macha gabbing at the rails more than once, Missy seemed to love it whooping as the gangways swooped from left to right every now and then, but finally they reached the top and it was here that Missy had made herself a little hive.
All the weird looking consoles and tables of the control platform had been covered in various things that Missy had collected from her runs into the city, various little things like what appeared to be stuffed animals and what appeared to be crude looking representations of new born human hatchlings sat staring at her with glass eyes from some of the tables, for some reason they unnerved Macha, no matter where she was standing the things still appeared to be looking right at her, as she was focused on one rather large one that kinda looked like a feline she had failed to notice one to her right, when she turned and nearly hit it with her arm she jumped back and hissed at it in fright, she even primed her tail to strike the highly deadly china hatchling, Missy found this highly amusing, picking up the thing she called a doll and waving at it, Macha just hissed at it in annoyance.
Right in the centre of the platform missy had hung sheets from a few wires to create a sort of triangular cocoon, inside the cocoon she had arranged a few soft looking fluffy sheets into a sleeping area, next to it was a table and given the collection of drinking vessels and human eating utensils Macha figured that this was her eating area, though she didn't know what the young hatchling had been eating as she couldn't see the remains of any freshly hunted prey, but delving into Tyler's memories she understood that humans got their meats and food from packets, much like the ones she saw scattered around the table.
"So Whatcha think?" Missy asked gesturing around herself to the entire area, Macha looked around and realised that the whole place was like some sort of shrine to a life that she'd lost, there were pictures both drawn and other types of happy families of both humans and other species on most of the surfaces as well as the dolls, she'd also noticed that now the excitement of the outside had calmed off she could feel a deep sadness emanating from her, she was toying with the idea of penetrating her mind and looking at her memories, but something stopped her as she realised that Missy was looking at her with real hope shining in her eyes, "It looks comfortable, you've made yourself a fine little hive here" she said looking around trying not to look in to the eyes of the young hatchling, the pain that was hiding behind those bright eyes was fighting to break out and she didn't want to be the catalyst,
"Glad you like it, it is real comfortable, in fact I think it's more comfortable than the room I used to live in with my mom" Missy said, as she hit the end of that sentence her eyes stopped sparkling and instantly dulled, Macha knew there was real pain there and she decided that it was going to be up to her to help her face it and get through it, also she was being overwhelmed by an incredible urge to just hold the small hatchling in her big arms for some reason,
"What happened to your parents Missy?" Macha asked slowly and in as soft a voice as she could manage, the young hatchling glanced up at her and then down at her feet before turning her back to her,
"They died, just like everyone else I knew, those things out there got them and they turned into them, me and my mom were at our apartment, my mom was making tea and I was telling her about school that day, then there was this real loud banging at the door and screaming, my mom went to see what was happening but before she could get to the door it just burst in like it was made of paper and there were all these people, all crazy and twitch and stuff, before my mom could do anything they were on her and they were biting her, she screamed at me to run so I did, I went out of my bedroom window and onto the fire escape which led down to the street, I ran and I ran not stopping or looking back, I ran all the way to my dad's place but when I got there it was on fire, but there were no fire trucks or people putting it out just crazy people running around in the street biting other people, no-one would tell me what happened they just all ran past me and ignored me like I wasn't even there, I didn't know what to do so I ran and I hid in a park near to my dad's place that he used to take me to, I stayed there for I don't know two maybe three days, hiding in the bushes not moving or even daring to look out, but pretty soon it got really quiet and I came out, there was no-one, so I just wandered from place to place, I was really hungry and thirsty and the shops were abandoned, so I just walked in and took whatever I wanted, pretty soon I realised that no-one was coming back, whatever this thing is that makes people crazy it's from the bites, once they bite you it's too late, you're one of them, so I got together some gear from certain places and I wandered never staying in the same place more than once in case the crazies found me, well that was till I found this place, the crazies don't climb so good and this place is real hard to get into, so it's like perfect to hide in" she said sniffing but trying to smile at the end, Macha felt really sorry for her and she also hated herself for asking that question, she took a few steps towards Missy as she stood with her back to her,
"My dad left my mom a few years ago, but I lived with my mom and it was pretty cool, I mean yeah I missed my dad but I always got to see him on weekends, we were going to go to Earth on holiday this year and I was going to get to see the human home world, my dad was saving all his pay to take me there as I've always wanted to see it, but I guess that's not going to happen now….." she said and her voice trailed off, Mach sat down on the floor behind her and without warning pulled the young female into a tight embrace that forced her to sit back into her lap, for a second she felt the young hatchling stiffen as she was surprised by the hug, but then she seemed to relax and she felt her trying to turn around so she allowed her to, instantly the young female wrapped her small arms around her midriff and held on tightly while still seated in her lap,
"I miss them so much Macha" she said her voice welling with emotion, softly Macha began to stroke the back of the young female's head and her soft fur felt nice to her touch,
"I know" she said softly feeling her pain and loss as plain as day from her mind, then Missy looked up at Macha,
"Y-Y-Y-You're not going to leave me too are you?" she stammered in a soft voice racked by sobs, Macha felt her heart melt in her chest at the young hatchlings trust of her and obvious need of her, it made her think about how much she really needed her too,
"Never, I'm going to protect you from now on, nothing will ever harm you while you have me at your side, this I swear to you" Macha said in a voice filled with both defiance and softness all at once, without saying a word Missy just buried her face back into her chest and clung onto her tightly.
Looking over her shoulder Missy looked up at Macha, she was smiling now, "Are you hungry? I have food" she said, Macha cocked her head curiously, thinking about it she was pretty hungry she hadn't eaten since her return to the city and she hadn't really had time to go hunting, that also got her wondering what sort of prey would be found in the city anyway,
"I am kinda hungry, thank you" Macha said,
"Actually what do you eat?" Missy asked,
"Pretty much just meat but saying that I haven't really tried anything else if I'm honest" Macha said thoughtfully, she knew most other sentient species were omnivores and ate a verity of things from Tyler's memories, weirdly the taste and texture of Tyler's favourite snack popped into her head like she'd been eating them her whole life, he absolutely loved strawberry Poptarts and straight away she could taste them as if she was actually eating them.
Missy jumped up from her lap and went over to a large pile of boxes that was next to her little nest, she rummaged around for a bit and then she brought out quite a few packets, "I don't know if these will do, meat is kinda hard to get these days as it all went off when the electricity went off and the shop fridges messed up, I still have some stewed stuff in cans but this would probably taste better to you" she said walking over to her and holding out the packets, taking them Macha was confused by the packets at first till she realised that she had to rip the top off by using the strip that passed through it, the first packet she tried she tore in half but she still managed to get what was inside out, it looked like dried skin to her eyes but it smelled like meat, sort of.
Holding it up she opened out her mandibles and poked out her inner jaws to take a bite, as she did she was aware of Missy staring at her in surprise, glancing at her "What?" she asked,
"You have two mouths! That's sooo cool!" Missy said as Macha took a bite with her inner mouth and pulled the tough meat into her mouth, after a couple of chews the flavour hit her in a wave, Macha's face froze mid chew and she looked at the expectant young girl,
"Well? Is it good?" Missy asked, Macha forced herself to swallow the foul tasting salty mess that was currently lodged in her throat, slowly she put down the other half and pushed it away from her,
"Not really to my taste" she said diplomatically, Missy looked at another of the jerky packs,
"I'm not much of a fan either" she said turning to place it down on the table, as she did she missed Macha franticly rubbing at her tongue and inner jaws trying to get the foul taste out of her mouth.
It turned out that the tinned stewed steak was much more to Macha's palate, so while she gobbled up the contents of her second can of that Missy sat eating something called Chilli and rice, which was apparently a human delicacy, to be fair it smelled rather spicy and she really didn't fancy it herself.
After their meal Missy declared with a rather adorable yawn that it was time for bed, now came the challenge of finding a space for Macha to sleep comfortably, as it turned out the best place and really the only one big enough for her was the big nest that Missy had made for herself out of salvaged blankets and other materials in the centre of the platform, with a little readjusting and moving of some of the blankets, quilts and cushions they made something that sort of resembled a giant four poster bed crossed with a tent, although Missy was making out that she was doing Macha a favour by sharing her sleeping space with her Macha could feel that the young girl was secretly happy that she got to cuddle with her while she slept, so now Macha was laid on her side in the middle of all the blankets and quilts with the young girl pressed against her stomach and chest, the young hatchling yawned cutely again, "Goodnight Macha, sweet dreams" she said,
"Good night Missy" Macha replied softly as she cradled the youngster in her arms, pretty soon the both of them were snoring their heads off.
It didn't feel like she'd been asleep very long when she was woken by a loud screeching noise, sitting up bolt upright Macha narrowly avoided tangling herself up in the sheets of their nest, Missy fell off her and woke up as well, "Huh? What's going on?" she asked sleepily as she untangled herself from the quilts, Macha held up a hand to her lips to silence the young girl as she struggled to hear what had woken her, then it came again piercing the air, a loud grinding screeching noise, like metal scraping against metal, now Missy hear it too and a look of fear passed over her face, "What's that!?" she exclaimed, Macha motioned for the youngster to stay put and she climbed out of the nest and moved slowly and stealthily to the edge of the platform, looking down at first she saw nothing, but then the slow movement and the noise drew her attention, it was coming from the blast door on the bottom level.
Macha became aware of Missy standing to her left, "Oh shit, it's coming from the door!" she said with fear permeating her voice, as they watched they could both see the door inching it's way upwards,
"The monsters are going to get in!" Missy said her voice staring to fill with panic,
"Don't worry, whatever comes through that door I will protect you" Macha said her voice gaining a hard edge that made Missy look at her, she could see that her big Xeno friend was standing defiant and ready, this helped steel her nerves, she nodded and then looked back down at the blast door just as it opened a little more, now there was enough of a gap ender the door for something to crawl under it and in fact that's exactly what happened, but it wasn't what either of them was expecting, as the creature pulled itself under the door and got to its feet both Missy and Macha looked at each other,
"That's a human!" they both exclaimed in unison.
As they both watched in silent shock from their high perch the human who was dressed in some sort of battle armour pulled himself up from the floor and quickly turned back to the door, straight away he began lowering the door back into its closed position once again securing the factory floor from the monsters in the subway, Missy found herself in awe of this human, it would have been no small feat to have made it through that place alive. After he had secured the door he pulled a weapon from his back and placing it into his shoulder he began to move into the factory floor.
"We should go down there and say hello!" Missy exclaimed turning to go towards the gangway, Macha grabbed her shoulder and stopped her,
"Caution young one, this human is a soldier and he's armed, we don't want to surprise him or he may open fire on us before he even knows who we are and besides Xenos and humans don't have much of a good relationship" Macha said, Missy smiled at her broadly,
"Don't worry about that, leave it to me!" she said, Macha turned and looked at her strangely, but before she could stop her Missy turned and grabbed hold of a rope next to the gangway and locking her foot into loop in it swung herself out and over the platform.
As Macha watched in horror Missy zipped down the rope towards the ground floor, it appeared to be a pulley with a weight on the other side that slowed her decent but it was still rather quick, Macha went to grab the rope to stop her but just as her hand was about to close around it she realised that if she did the sudden stop of the rope could cause Missy to fall, so she was left with no other option than to watch her new friend descend into danger, but that didn't mean she had to go alone.
Missy zipped down the rope with butterflies swirling around in her stomach, she hadn't really thought this through and only now as she zipped towards the ground did it hit her how badly wrong this could go, 'Well no point worrying about it now it's happening whether I like it or not, better put my best smile on' she thought to herself, then before she knew it she hit the ground of the factory floor only fifteen feet from the soldier who upon hearing her instantly snapped his weapon towards her and trained it on her, Missy braced herself for the shot, but it never came.
After a few tense seconds Missy spoke to break the awkward silence that had filled the air, "Errr hi" she said slowly raising her hand in greeting, slowly the human lowered his weapon and eyed her cautiously,
"Errr hi" he replied in a surprisingly soft voice, this bolstered Missy's confidence and she moved slowly from the rope and towards him, she could see his eyes tracking her every movement in the dark and she could also see his hands tensing on his weapon, but he kept it lowered,
"My name's Missiltine but you can call me Missy" she said giving him her best smile as she offered her hand for a handshake, he looked at it curiously before slowly lowering his weapon completely and letting it swing on its strap, he brought up his hand and took hers in his and shook it, instantly as he took hold of her hand she noticed that there was something different about his hand and his grip was really strong.
"Nice to meet you Missy I'm Reaper" the human said, her smile broadened as they shook hands for a few seconds before he released her hand, before they had a chance to say anything else there was a heavy thud from their right and they both turned just in time to see Macha disentangling herself from the pile of wires and circuitry that she'd landed in, she kinda looked like she was fighting a giant mechanical octopus.
"Holy fucking shit! It's a fucking Xeno queen!" Reaper said instantly throwing Missy behind him and bringing his weapon up and training it on her, he was about to pull the trigger when Missy jumped in front of him and grabbed the end of his gun,
"No! Don't shoot my friend!" she yelled,
"Hey what the fuck are you doing?! Move kid!" Reaper yelled as he tried to disengage her grip on the end of his gun barrel without hurting her,
"No! I won't let you hurt her!" Missy yelled hanging on for grim death as Reaper shook the barrel left and right trying to dislodge her, by now Macha had disentangled herself from the wires and had turned to see what was happening and she instantly saw Missy in danger, without thinking she let out a mighty roar and charged forwards towards them, upon hearing and seeing this Reaper flicked the young girl aside with remarkable strength and brought his weapon up on Macha, but it was too late Missy had bought her enough time to close the gap between them, with a mighty flick of her long tail she sent the human sailing sideways and slammed him hard into a large machine with multiple arms that held various tools, he hit it full force with his back hard enough to dent the metal considerably and she heard the whoosh of the air being knocked from his lungs, his weapon skittered sideways along the floor, "How dare you hurt a hatchling in front of me you animal!" she roared and she ran forwards she brought her tail up ready to strike the stricken human down, that was until Missy jumped in between them,
"Stop it!" she yelled, holding her arms up in the air, Macha screeched to a halt her claws marking the metal and stopped her attack, she stood with her tail swaying in the air ready to strike,
"B-B-But he hurt you!" she exclaimed looking at the young girl,
"I'm fine and I don't think he meant too, he was just scared. Just like I was when you dropped out of the sky on me back in that alleyway" she said looking at the now unconscious human behind her on the floor, it looked like he'd hit his head pretty hard when Macha had hit him into the machinery, Macha looked from her to him and back, then slowly she lowered her tail and bowed her head in apology, as soon as she saw that Macha was no longer going to attack him Missy turned and quickly went to Reaper's side, she touched the side of his throat that was exposed from his armour,
"He's still breathing, looks like you just knocked him out but he's really gonna have a headache when he wakes up" she said examining him closely, she couldn't see any blood but he did have a lump on the back of his head where it had hit the metal.
"Let's take him upstairs I've got some medical stuff up there we can bandage his head up there" Missy said, Macha hissed in caution and Missy shot her a glance,
"We hurt him, he didn't know you were friendly, all he saw was something coming down from the ceiling to attack us and to be fair you do look pretty scary at first, he even tried to protect me when he pushed me behind him away from you. So we have to help him, if he survived the monsters down there then he must be tough, we could use his help and maybe he could use ours, but we have to show him that we're friendly and don't mean him any harm, then he won't attack us, so that means best behaviour ok?" she said, Macha sighed heavily but she nodded slowly, but there was definitely something strange about this human, his aura felt almost familiar to her and that was peeking her curiosity,
"Take his weapons away" Macha said, Missy nodded,
"Good idea" she said and she quickly pulled what looked like a pistol from a holster on his leg and went to retrieve his rifle, "Wow this is a lot heavier than it looks" she said as she picked up the rifle but she could barely lift it properly, instead she ended up having to use it's sling to hold it on her back, meanwhile Macha scooped up the unconscious human and cradled him in her arms, now she got her first good look at his face and she got a sudden rush through her, this surprised her greatly, there was only one other human that had ever caused that.
Back upstairs in Missy's hive Macha set the human down in the nest, Missy set about putting lotions and creams on his head before wrapping it in what looked like white cloths, Macha noticed how peaceful he looked as he slept, she hovered over Missy's shoulder curiously as she watched her, she had to admit that the human had a very aesthetically pleasing face much like Tyler had, it was strange it was like certain humans had features that reflected their personalities, Tyler's had reflected his kindness and his loving nature, while on the other end of the spectrum the man who she'd killed who had imprisoned and experimented on her had rather twisted features, this human called Reaper had very similar features to Tyler in a lot of ways, his face looked soft and kind but there was quite a few scars visible, especially one rather mean one that ran straight through his right eye that gave him a much harder edge then her Tyler.
But there was definitely something very different about him from other humans, his aura seemed to glow vibrantly even though he was out cold, as she watched closely his eyes snapped open causing her to recoil in shock, instantly they locked on to her and he scrambled backwards and began to pat himself obviously looking for his missing weapons, instantly Missy was there, "It's ok, it's ok she won't hurt you" she said in a surprisingly soothing voice for one so young, Reaper's eyes flicked from Macha to Missy and back, Macha decided to follow Missy's lead and lowered herself to ground level before sitting down and making a show of being non-threatening, now the human looked seriously confused,
"See? She doesn't want to hurt you, she only hit you because she thought you were attacking me" Missy said, now Reaper looked at her with a look of serious concern and confusion plastered all over his face,
"You do know she's a Xenomorph queen right?" he said slowly, Missy looked at Macha almost accusingly,
"Well I knew she was a Xenomorph, but she never told me she was royalty" she said in an accusing voice, Macha sighed guiltily, Reaper watched this with a raised eyebrow,
"Well this is gonna get interesting" he said and Missy turned to him with her award winning smile back in place again,
"Yup" she said.