Melody watched on in horror as the strange spider creature latched onto Alice's face. Alice let out a muffled scream as she clawed at the creature before falling onto her back and going deathly still. The robotic beings were silent for a moment before Megatron broke the silence with a cruel laugh.
"Now we wait. Put it somewhere safe, Knockout," he said.
"That was…disgusting," one being said, grimacing at the sight of Alice.
"You mean fascinating, Starscream. I can't wait to see what will happen later," Knockout said while picking up Alice's limp body and putting her in a separate cage on the opposite side of the large room. The other beings went over and placed the eggs in the cage with Alice.
"Would you like to know what will happen to your little friend?" Megatron asked, smiling cruelly as he walked over to the cage. Melody and everyone else didn't dare speak a word.
"That creature is implanting an egg into her chest cavity. Once it's done doing that it will come right off and your friend will wake up eventually. She will claim to be okay, but she won't be in a few hours. After that, you will encounter something…wonderful," Megatron explained.
"You all will die horrible wonderful deaths as the egg hatches and a new being forces its way out of you. It will be very painful," Knockout added.
Melody heard an awful cry from one of the other girls. She wanted to cry as well, but her mind was racing. She had to figure out a way to escape. She didn't want to end up with a fate similar to Alice's.
"Whoever annoys me the most will be next," Knockout said as the others filed out of the room.
"Notify me when the parasite comes off, Knockout," Megatron said before leaving. Knockout nodded and proceeded to type away on a handheld device. Melody watched him for a moment before turning to the others.
"We have to figure something out," one of the oldest whispered.
"We should help that kid first," another said.
"I don't think she can be helped," Todd murmured.
Melody was silent as she looked at the door of the cage. The lock looked too alien to be picked with a normal lock pick. She reached into her pocket and felt her phone, but she wasn't too sure if she could even get a signal in a place like this. Melody looked over at Alice and shivered as she imagined herself in her place. She would think of something in time.
A very long day had passed. Melody went to sleep and had terrible nightmares of being in car crashes and she woke to hear whispers amongst the others.
"It just…came off," Todd whispered.
"She looks okay. I can see her breathing. She's alive," Jessie said.
"Alice, wake up!" Muriel hissed softly.
Melody groaned softly as she forced herself up, rubbing at her eyes.
"What happened?" She asked as she looked over to where Alice was being held. She was just laying there and the creature was no longer attached to her face. It laid belly up next to Alice. Dead.
"The thing came off of her. I think it's dead," Todd said.
Before anything else was said, the door opened and Knockout walked in, looking at some device. He looked over at Alice and smiled as he went over to her cage.
"Implantation is complete. Now we just have to wait for the poor little thing to wake up," he crowed as he opened the cage and pulled her out. He checked her neck and mouth briefly before placing her on the operating table and tying her down.
"Why are you doing this?" Todd demanded.
"Megatron needed a hot new weapon. Some research was done and we discovered this species called the Xenomorph. I've only heard stories about these things and the things I've heard are…fascinating. These things are a menace to organics, especially your kind. In a few hours, you'll see what I mean," Knockout explained as he went back to the cage with the eggs and picked out the strange spider creature.
"I can't wait to study this," he crowed as he went to place it in a container.
Melody held back the urge to sob and curled up in a ball while the others whispered amongst themselves.
A Few Hours Later
"Lord Megatron, it's almost time," Knockout said.
"Finally. Has the human woken up?" Megatron asked as he followed Knockout to the laboratory along with Starscream, Soundwave, and a few grunts. He had been pacing back and forth while waiting, growing more and more eager to meet his new weapon. He had sent out more parties to collect more viable eggs and humans. Soon, he would have his own unstoppable army.
"The little thing has woken up, Master. She's a scared little mess. It's kind of adorable," Knockout crowed as he led him into the lab. The child was strapped down to a table, looking around fearfully. She looked over at Megatron and began to tremble. The other humans seemed to have been talking with her, but they grew quiet when he walked in.
"I wanna go home," the girl cried softly.
Knockout pulled up an X-ray of the human and pointed to a dark mass in her chest.
"If I'm correct, this one is going to be a Queen. She lays the eggs and her children obey her every whim. I look forward to finally meeting her," Knockout said.
"Where was this Queen when you found the eggs, Starscream? Megatron asked, looking over at a nervous Starscream.
"Ah, she wasn't there, my lord. It looked like they were abandoned and waiting to be discovered," Starscream replied. Strange…
"That….That's inside me?" The girl asked in a voice that was barely a whisper.
"It is. In a few moments, it will force its way out of you through your chest cavity. It will be very painful and you will die screaming," Megatron crowed, smiling as he knelt down by the table to get a better look at her.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you and the others die," he chuckled. The girl stared at him in horror before whimpering softly.
"You're a monster!" One of the humans cried out. Megatron was about to go over to properly punish that human before the girl began to cough violently.
"I…I don't fee-feel so good," the girl stammered. She began coughing up blood and cried out in agony as she began to convulse with fear and confusion in her eyes.
"It's happening~," Knockout purred, getting some tools ready. Starscream along with some grunts stepped back as the girl began to scream. One of the grunts left before another followed. Megatron stayed by the girl's side, watching in fascination as the girl writhed in pain. His weapon was almost here.
"P-P-Please...Please! Please kill me! It really hurts!" The girl cried. The other humans were screaming along with her as they watched in horror.
"Let us go. My god! Just let us go!" One of the adults cried out. Megatron ignored them. He was too focused on the birth of his weapon.
"You're almost there, little one. Come on out," Megatron whispered to the creature. A sickening crack came from within her chest and the girl let out an unnatural scream as her chest began to bleed. He could hear the creature hissing angrily as it forced its way out of her. The girl arched her back, screaming as her chest suddenly burst open, spraying blood onto Megatron's face. The humans were sobbing now. He smiled when he saw the tiny creature curled up in the now still girl's chest cavity.
"So small. How big is this thing supposed to be?" Megatron asked, looking over at Soundwave. Soundwave was unresponsive for a moment before pointing at him.
"Such a tiny thing is going to be as big as me?" Megatron asked, chuckling softly as he reached down to carefully pick up the creature to get a better look at it. The creature writhed and hissed angrily in his clutches. It looked like some kind of eyeless snake as it glared at him and bared its teeth. The back of its head ended in what looked like a crest. It certainly was a queen. It wouldn't be long before she would grow up and became more aggressive. He looked forward to forcing her submit to and obey him.
"Knockout, set up one of the spare chambers for the eggs and the little queen and get the humans ready," Megatron ordered. He looked over at the humans and saw how horrified they look.
"Don't be too scared. You're all going to be a part of something wonderful," he crowed, petting the top of the queen's head. It snapped at his finger, but it did nothing to him.
"Feisty. Soon you'll be under my control, your majesty," he said. The queen hissed at him, extending her inner jaws.
Melody felt as if she was frozen in time. The others were sobbing and begging to be freed as Knockout cleaned the table off. He had been ignoring them as he ordered some grunts around. They were all going to die if nothing was done.
"Fuck," she hissed to herself. She couldn't panic now. She had to keep her cool if she wanted to survive.
"We're gonna die," Todd groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Melody ignored him as she thought of something. She had to wait for an opportunity. Her captors had to make some kind of mistake.
The Next Day
Miko sighed as she walked out of the assembly, looking around nervously for Jack and Raf. The principal and some cops had informed them of the kidnappings that took place over the weekend and told them to be safe during this time. Her first thought was the Decepticons, but she wasn't too sure just yet.
She eventually saw her friends across the hall and went over to them. They looked nervous as well.
"This isn't good, you guys. Do you think the Decepticons are behind these kidnappings?" She asked.
"I don't know. Why would they kidnap random people? Wouldn't they want to go after us instead of people that don't matter to them?" Jack replied as they walked out of school. Bumblebee and Arcee were parked outside, waiting for them.
"I guess the Autobots heard about the kidnappings too," Raf said as they walked over to them.
"Let's go, kids. You'll be safer with us," Arcee's holoform said. Bumblebee opened his car, letting Raf and Miko in. Jack sat behind the holoform and they were all off.
Melody was silent. It was just her and another girl left in the cage. Knockout had gone in and out of the lab over the past two days, taking her companions one by one. Some had tried to fight back, but they all suffered the same fate. Melody had tried to find a way out, but there was nothing.
"I'm scared," the girl, named Suzy, whimpered.
"So am I," Melody replied.
Knockout came back to the cage and looked in with a smirk on his face.
"Looks like we'll have to restock soon," he crowed as he opened the cage and reached in to grab Suzy. Suzy screamed and struggled in his grip, kicking and hitting whatever she could.
"It's useless to fight back, girly. Just calm down," Knockout said as he yanked her out. Suzy continued to scream and held on to the cage door for dear life.
"Help me!" She screamed, looking at Melody with pleading eyes. There was nothing she could do but pray for her and hope she wouldn't suffer too much.
"Let's go, fleshy," Knockout grumbled as he pulled her away and closed the door. Melody noticed something as Knockout walked out of the room. The door wasn't fully closed. Melody inched forward and pushed on the door and it fully opened. This was her chance. She waited for a moment before jumping out of the cage and onto the floor. All she had to do now was find a way out. She looked around the room for anything useful, but it looked like most tools in the room were simply too big for her. She couldn't defend herself.
"I…I can do this," she whispered to herself as she slowly made her way out of the room. She found herself in a huge dark hallway. Pausing, she looked to and fro and decided to go forward. She didn't dare make a sound as she walked. Where even was she? Everything about her surroundings felt so alien to her. She was about to turn a corner before she heard footsteps approaching. She moved into the shadows and watched as one of her captors walked by, mumbling to himself. Starscream...
"Such disgusting creatures. They better be useful," he muttered, shaking his head. Melody watched him go and waited for a few more minutes before she was sure the coast was clear. She came out of hiding and walked in the opposite direction of the large being.
She looked to and fro before she came across an open room. It was completely dark when she peeked her head in. She could hear the sounds of her companions from within. There was crying that was often interrupted by horrible screams.
"You and your children are growing up real fast, your majesty," Knockout's voice crowed. A multitude of angry hisses and animalistic screams filled the air. A shiver ran down her spine as she backed away. She had to get far away from this room. Another scream filled the air, followed by a crash from within the room.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Knockout's voice called out.
Melody felt her heart skip a beat and she turned to run. She didn't get far before she came across the one named Starscream. He seemed surprised at first before he smiled cruelly down at her.
"What do we have here?" He purred as he reached down to grab her. Melody gazed up at him in terror before closing her eyes and accepting her fate. She felt sharp fingers curl around her before they suddenly let go. Something rushed past her and Starscream let out a surprised cry. The ground shook as he fell and Melody opened her eyes to see a creature that was black as night attacking Starscream.
"Get off me, you disgusting wretch!" Starscream bellowed as he struggled to get the creature off him. Melody didn't waste any time before she ran off. She had to find a hiding spot.
"Find the human! That's what you're bred to do!" Starscream shrieked in the distance. That creature screamed and it sounded like it was after her. Melody wanted to cry, but something kept her from making a sound. She had to survive. She wanted to survive.
After what felt like an eternity of running, she came across an empty room. No one was in there. She could hide here and rest up. She ran in and went to the darkest corner of the room, hiding behind a large desk. She could hear those large robotic beings outside of the room, but none of them came into the room. Curling up into a ball, she sighed heavily as she thought of what to do next.
"Don't lose it now," she whispered to herself when she felt a wave of panic threatening to rise. She took a few deep breaths before she could relax. She could do this.
She felt something wet drip onto her shoulder and she touched her shoulder to find something sticky coating her fingers. Gross…
Her blood ran cold when she heard a hiss from above and looked up to see a black creature above her. She cried out and backed away as the creature lowered itself onto the ground. It was huge, probably around eight or nine feet tall as it stood over her. It stepped forward, reaching out to her with long bony arms. Melody couldn't move as it pulled her closer into a deadly embrace. She could only stare into its eyeless face as it opened its mouth to reveal incredibly sharp teeth and another set of sharp jaws within. A long sharp tail wrapped around her legs, immobilizing her even more. Melody noticed movement from the door and saw Starscream watching on silently, a disgusted look on his face.
"No," Melody whispered softly as the inner jaws shot out, silencing her forever.