CHAPTER 10: LEARN, ADAPT, LIVE

Crested Butte Main Street, Gunnison County, Colorado. October 14th, 2004.

-"Oh right! Everyone get in the vehicle!" Kelly yelled from the roof of the Stryker, and quickly dropped down the hatch. The rest, including the newly arrived children, climbed into the back. "I'll drive," Kelly informed, as she got into the driver's seat.

Dallas, at her side, looked at her questioningly. "Are you sure you can drive this?"

She looked back and winced, tilting her head slightly to the side. Dallas smiled, he remembered seeing her arrive in her battle dress uniform. "I'll handle the gun," He said.

Kelly started the engine and the rear ramp closed with a metallic hiss.

-"Hold on!" she warned her, stepping on the accelerator. The Stryker's triangular bumper pushed past cars blocking the road, sending them spinning sideways, before it jolted down Main Street toward Gilliam Circle. They would arrive in about ten minutes.

Kelly looked into the cargo compartment. The survivors had been through a lot, her daughter had lost her father. The woman, Darcy, her husband and son. Sheriff Morales was just hanging his head, hands massaging his forehead. But still, they hadn't given up hope, in twenty minutes, a National Guard helicopter would get them out of that hell.

He glanced sideways at the screens on the Stryker's mobile command center. All showed static and a few were black. But something caught his attention. In the lower left corner, a counter was displayed in white numbers that read: Mission Time: 13:20:17.

Something was wrong, if the distress call had been sent just five or six hours before, why was the mission time showing thirteen hours? Questions fluttered through her head. Furthermore, the nearest National Guard base was in Colorado Springs, a two-hour drive away...

Kelly hit the brakes. The Stryker screeched to a stop.

-"What's going on?" Eddie Morales asked, "Why are you stopping?" The rest of the survivors looked up at Kelly, their eyes questioning.

-"It doesn't really make any sense," She said. "Gilliam Circle is right in the middle of town. We'll be surrounded by those things."

-"What are you saying?" Dallas asked, "What do you mean?"

-"I think the Colonel is lying." Kelly stated.

The survivors looked at each other, confused. Darcy broke the awkward silence. "That's not true," he said, "The National Guard is here to protect us."

But Stevens had specifically identified himself as an Army Colonel, not as a joint chief of staff, Kelly thought. The operation had changed from civilian command, represented by the Governor of Colorado, to a military one.

Nimbly, Kelly analyzed the data in her mind. Stevens had said that land routes were in danger, which in military jargon meant blocked. Of course, if the creatures followed them to Gunnison and at the rate they reproduced, they could wipe out the city in a day or two.

-"The army is thinking of containment," she said, "they won't risk this spreading."

-"Help is at the end of the street and they are waiting for us," Morales replied, and raising his voice, he added, "if you don't take us, I will."

-"If she's right..." Dallas turned from the passenger seat, "that Colonel is sending us to the location where those things will have us surrounded. And we don't know how many of those things are."

Kelly nodded, remembering her last tour in Iraq. A scout team had been ambushed, and she was piloting the extraction chopper. The soldiers had taken refuge in the remains of a building surrounded by enemies. A column of orange smoke indicated their position. Bullets flew everywhere, making the landing difficult. Their position was overrun as the helicopter hovered thirty feet above the ground and Kelly yanked the stick, just in time to avoid an RPG fired by one of the rebels.

Those things may not be mujahidin, she reminded herself. But unlike the primitive rocket-propelled grenades, the alien warrior's laser weapons certainly wouldn't miss.

-"You're not considering…" Morales chimed in, looking at the rest of the group. The lives of these young people depended on them.

-"What I'm considering," Kelly cut him off, "is what's going to keep us alive."

-"Which is getting out of the city." Dallas added.

-"What about the local airstrip?" Darcy intervened in the discussion.

-"No, no no," Morales said, "that's even further than Gilliam Circle."

-"The hospital…!" Kelly snapped her fingers. "Search and rescue has a chopper there. Right?"

-"It is possible that they had used it to escape." Morales replied.

"No," the boy they'd rescued earlier whispered. Morales turned to them. His sister held him tightly, "It's there."

Everyone was looking questioningly at the pair of boys who had survived the encounter with one of the monsters.

-"How do you know?" Dallas asked. Who vaguely remembered them after his brother's fight with Dale, that afternoon. The boy had hurt his hand in the sewer and now he was wearing a bandage.

"W-we were there," the girl chimed in, clinging to her brother. "But I wouldn't go there if I were you." and she began to relate what had happened to them.

- o -

Earlier.

-"There it is," the nurse said, as she adjusted the bandage on Curtis's arm. The dark-haired, middle-aged woman turned to Kendra. "You guys have to be very careful. It could have been infected."

-"Thanks," Curtis murmured.

Kendra had taken her brother to check on the wound after he'd tried to get the phone out of the sewer in the afternoon. A ragged pipe had scratched his wrist. The nurse had washed and put him on an antiseptic pad. Luckily, he wouldn't need any stitches.

-"Let's get back home," Curtis pleaded with his sister.

-"We can't," she told him, "Nurse Helen said we have to wait for our parents."

The sun was setting and soon there would be too late to take the bus back home. A few minutes ago, nurse Helen had telephoned the parents of both boys, asking them to pick them up. The kids had taken the bus to Crested Butte Medical Center, and Kendra assured her that they could go back, but since they were minors, their parents had to sign.

-"I'm bored," Curtis complained, "and hungry."

Kendra's stomach growled, she was hungry too. They had been there for a few hours now.

-"Okay," She admitted, reaching into her pocket. She still had some coins left, enough to get something out of the vending machine. She remembered seeing one down the hall. "Let's go," Kendra said, dragging her brother out into the hallway.

The lights went out unexpectedly, and after a few seconds they flickered on, as the generators kicked in. Kendra found the machine at the far end of the wing, and used the coins to get a twinkie and a soda for each of them. They both returned to the waiting room with their loot. Through the windows they saw some ambulances speeding towards the center of the city.

-"We have an emergency at the Power substation!" Voices exclaimed all around. "Prepare for burn injuries!" A doctor ordered a couple of technicians. "Somebody check the generators," another asked. "Power is down in the whole city!"

Kendra and Curtis exchanged glances and she spotted a landline phone. "We'd better call Dad," she said. "All lines are busy," a voice said when she picked up the auricular and dialed the number. She repeated the operation two more times with the same result. The teen cursed.

The sound of breaking glass reached their ears, followed by a low growl, like an animal's. It came from inside a room designated as a laboratory.

-"What was that?" Curtis asked.

-"I don't know," she responded, walking to the door. A crash of metal trays and glass flasks hitting the floor echoed through the room, followed by the heavy thud of footsteps.

-"L-let's get out of here," Curtis begged, backing away from the door.

Something big pounded the door, making it creak. Kendra let out a scream, which was followed by another blow and the metal of the hinges bent. She took her brother's hand and ran to the nearest door, leaving behind the groceries scattered on the polished floor.

The door opened onto the stairs, and they climbed up running to the second floor. The lights flickered again and this time They went out, leaving the place in darkness. The growls were heard closer and closer, coming from down the stairs.

They had to hide soon, and both brothers tried to open the doors along the corridor, but most of them were locked. A hospital in a town as small as Crested Butte was empty most of the year, only in high seasons was more activity seen.

Finally, a door opened and the children entered. It was a nurses' station, with carts full of dirty sheets and gowns. Kendra was hyperventilating, looking for a way out. She walked to the window. It was raining outside, but it was better than being stuck with whatever lurked in the hospital. In a flash of lightning, she saw a helicopter on the roof of the opposite wing. Kendra groaned as she tried to open the window, pushing with all her might. It was in vain, they couldn't escape through there.

It was then that the screaming began. Screams muffled by the hospital walls. Kendra looked out the window again and saw the empty parking lot. No one fled the hospital despite the blood-curdling screams.

With nowhere else to go, they huddled behind a rack full of dirty sheets and towels, praying the thing outside wouldn't find them. The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway, but it wasn't the heavy thump from before. Kendra heard the rhythmic clapping of heels on the smooth floor.

-"Hello?" A woman's voice came from the hallway, "Somebody in there?" It was the voice of Nurse Helen. The nurse opened the door and came in, she had a flashlight. "Hello?" she asked her again.

Kendra breathed a sigh of relief and almost got up from her hiding place when the nurse gasped loudly. The girl peered over the table and held back a cry of terror, covering her mouth.

A horrible, dark thing grabbed the nurse by her head with both hands. The monster -there wasn't a better description -was huge, with sharp claws on its hands and a long, bladed tail. Hose-thick hair hung from a long, smooth head. The beast hissed and brought Helen's head close to her mouth, which had pincers on the sides, like the head of a giant insect.

Helen was sobbing and the monster looked at her curiously, tilting her head slightly to one side. Suddenly, It bit her, wrapping his jaws around her face. Kendra could hear Helen's muffled moans.

-"What's going on?" Curtis whispered, trying to get up to see. Kendra covered his mouth and crouched down even lower.

She looked around, there had to be a way out. The monster was blocking the entrance, there was no escape… She then saw it, there behind one of the laundry carts, was a laundry chute.

Over there , she pointed to the tiny door. He nodded and they both crawled, trying not to make a sound and taking cover behind more shelves and carts.

Kendra opened the door, luckily it was just the right size for both of them. The kid shook his head, but she forced him to. Behind them, the demon released an unconscious Helen, who fell cleanly to the ground, then continued its stalking.

Analyzing the alternative, he reluctantly crawled into the cramped space. The noise he made as he fell through the metal duct immediately attracted the monster, which erupted in a series of terrifying roars. Kendra barely had time to launch herself headfirst into the unknown, for seconds avoiding the beast's grasp on her foot. Brother and sister fell into a cart full of dirty clothes in the hospital's basement.

They did not know how many hours had passed before the screaming and screaming ceased, and the brothers dared to come out of hiding. The laundry room door opened onto the basement parking lot. There was a car there with the keys in it. Ignoring the red stain on the upholstery, Kendra turned the key and hit the gas.

- o -

-"If you're wrong and it's not there," Dallas heard how Eddie tried to reason with Kelly. "We will all die." It was obvious that opinions were divided and they would soon have to make a decision. Time was running out and the military would not wait long.

-"It's a risk we have to take!" She said.

If the children were right, the helicopter would be there, in a place crawling with monsters. And they would be in precisely the same situation as in Gilliam Circle. However, if she was right, the creatures would be the least of their problems...

-"We'll go where we think we have the best chance of surviving." Dallas seconded her, looking at his own brother

-"Hey! Hey, someone's coming!" Jesse announced behind them, spying through the tank's periscope.

Kelly pressed a button and one of the screens showed the same periscope view. The survivors saw a pickup truck approaching down the main street heading toward downtown. Climbing to the rear, several men stood guard armed with pistols and hunting rifles. The vehicle stopped next to the Stryker.

Kelly opened the rear ramp and Morales stepped out into the rain. Two men got out of the truck. Dallas could see that they were townspeople, survivors like themselves looking for a way out. A few people, men and women, covered in camouflage-patterned ponchos were crammed into the cargo bed.

-"Sheriff!" One said, "What are you doing here?"

-"It doesn't matter," Morales replied, going to the driver's window and asking him. "Heading downtown?"

-"Yes," The driver replied. A voice came from the dash-mounted radio. "...the emergency evacuation point..."

-"Then follow us," Morales told him. "We do not have much time." The driver nodded.

Morales returned to the ramp of the Stryker and addressed the rest of the group. "Listen," he began, "We have to decide now."

-"I'll go to the hospital," Dallas said, "in the tank." He looked at the rest. They had been through so much together in the last six hours.

The kids walked to the truck in silence, someone helped them climb up. He understood, after what they had been through, they didn't want to go back to that place.

-"I'm going with my brother," Ricky said.

-"And me," Jesse seconded, looking at Ricky.

A man poked his head out of his raincoat and stood up, leaping to the ground and heading for the Stryker. "I-I'll go in the tank!" Ricky recognized a gaunt and dirty Drew, the Pizza One manager.

Dallas looked back at Eddie, his lifelong friend, with a pleading gaze. Sheriff Morales turned to the truck, to where the boys covered themselves with the ponchos. "What kind of sheriff would I be if I left them alone?" He said.

Dallas smiled slightly and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Darcy climbed down from the tank, taking her gun with her. "I'll go with you, Sheriff." The woman headed for the pickup.

-"We're running out of time, sir!" The driver of the vehicle yelled at Morales.

-"Wait!" Eddie motioned with one hand. "We'll be leaving in a moment."

"Hey," Dallas stopped him with an arm, went back inside the tank and pulled out the National Guard VHF radio and handed it over to Morales, so he could communicate with Colonel Stevens and the rescue team. "Take care..." He told his friend, and looking at the frightened citizens, he added. "And take care of them."

Morales nodded and climbed into the back of the truck. Dallas climbed onto the Stryker's ramp and flipped the lock lever. "Let's go!" He yelled, taping on the metal plate. He didn't take his eyes off the truck until the door had closed.

- o -

Vrka'yu jumped into the street and threw the r'ksa's limp body onto the pavement. The fight in the tent had cost her one of the plasma cannons, which now sputtered from his right shoulder.

Not that he was defenseless, he still had a plasma cannon and two cha'kras for long-range combat and the ki'cti-pa and whip for close combat, in addition to his standard dah'kte.

The possibility of stopping the infestation seemed more and more remote. By his calculations, he had already killed more r'ksa than had originally escaped from the crashed ship.

The only thing left was to activate the device on his wrist and erase and sterilize the area as quickly as possible. But first, he must find the abomination and destroy it in one last civ'kvvar.

He climbed to a high place, a metal tower that supported a large deposit filled with liquid, and looked around. His mask's HUD was flickering and it was difficult for him to get a target. The fight had possibly damaged the sensors.

Vrka'yu growled, snapping his fangs in disgust. Without the targeting system working properly, his plasma cannon wouldn't be able to lock on. He disassembled the weapon mount and deftly reconfigured it so that he could hold it in his hand, like the ghomon's primitive kinetic blasters.

He then took one laser from the destroyed vaj'ra's tracking system and power source and attached them to the makeshift pistol.

With one movement, he closed the mount until he heard a click and the beep that indicated the gun was charging. Then he aimed and fired. The fireball flew through a vehicle, leaving a glowing orange hole where the metal had melted.

Satisfied, he resumed the chase. The r'ksas were meeting in a building not far from there. Vrka'yu could see several of the foul beasts crawling up the walls and into the windows. He hung the pistol from his belt and headed there.

- o -

A/N: Here's a new chapter. You may not like this one because I changed a lot of it. First, the infamous scene of the maternity ward is gone, and not for the reasons you think of. In the original scripts and deleted scenes, there is a scene of these kids in the hospital. In the scene, they watched the predalien staring at the babies and then they are chased by it, only saved when the nurse came by and is killed instead. I changed it, giving the kids a reason to be at the hospital alone (where were their parents?) and the predalien stalking them right after the power went down. No pregnant women scene either, but I kept the chestburster vomiting vague (the kids saw it but don't fully understand what they saw).

The other scene involving the kids were right after the survivors found the tank, and the alien chasing them is killed by Kelly with the tank's machinegun. Anyway, I hope you like the changes and don't forget to comment below.