CHAPTER 3
She was writing with her fingers on a dusty floor and singing a song with her soft voice. He watched her for a moment, puzzled by what he sees. She did not even notice him standing in front of her.
He looked at the floor and tried to read: Forgive us our sins ", she wasn't finished yet, she was struggling with their letters. Her voice became quieter. She began to cry, almost screaming in pain. Her tears began to drip on what she had written wiping words from the floor. Then she fell unconscious laying in front of him.
He froze in place in disbelief from the scene. Still couldn't process everything he saw from when he came back to the planet. He approached her and raised her from the floor. Her body still trembled in shock. He pressed her close to him while holding her in his arms.
"Calm down." He whispered her.
"Mom, dad, is that you?" She asked. He did not understand what she was saying. She talked in delirium. He took her into the control room and put her in one cryo pod.
"Sleep." He whispered.
''Stay!'', she said in their language. "Stay here!" She didn't want to be alone. She felt that someone is with her even though she wasn't conscious. She could feel, he was gentle to her.
''Stay! Please!'' She was still mumbling.
He partially understood what she said so he put his palm on her forehead. It was hot. But his touch calmed the shiver. Her mumbling ended. She looked like a child, frightened of punishment for being mischievous. There was a felling of sadness in him. She was not guilty of what had happened. He knew that, felt it. She had a heart of a mother, mother whose child was taken from.
He gently caressed her forehead until she completely calmed down and fell asleep. Elizabeth turned to him and braced herself with both her hands. Like holding a child. She began to sing quietly. Tears dripping from her closed eyes.
He watched her with wonder.
Something was wrong with her. He was observing her body. It was incomplete. He laid his hands on her abdomen and felt a strong feel of emptiness inside her. She had no gift of life. She was dead inside. He tried to feel why.
Elizabeth felt his touch. Her body tried to connect with the energy of his body. It began to absorb it. The pilot felt a strong energy loss. He moved away from her fast, looking at her in shock. She was still sleeping inside their pod. But she looked different. More alive. Color returned to her cheeks.
She continued to wrap her belly with her hands, as though trying to keep someone to herself. He went to the control desk to take the flute and crouched by the pod looking at her and quietly playing it all night.
Storm was getting stronger. Wind could be heard in the ship, occasionally shaking it, but he wasn't afraid. It was built to withstand extremely difficult conditions and interstellar travels.
David searched the inner walls of the city. It was well protected from the storm. He was holding scrolls of the parchment he had collected when he came inside. He found a room that looked like a hospital room. On the walls there were anatomy sketches of the city inhabitant bodies. Sculptures of individual body parts around the walls and on the shelves. In the middle of the room was a large stone table full of medical supplies.
In the corner was a large stone block with a metal door. He opened them. Cold mist emerged. In front of him were shelves full of metal jars, hermetically sealed. There were instructions on the door. He managed to read something. In the boxes were egg cells and embryos of city inhabitants.
There were glass containers with some translucent liquid too.
He took the jar and glass container and tried to open it. After several unsuccessful attempts he succeeded. He took out one embryo and put it on the metal tray, then, he dropped a few drops of liquid out of the glass container on it. It immediately revived. The blood vessels began to beat like a primitive heart.
"What do we have here?" He thought. "They are so advanced, and they have hardly found a cure for their infertility." He thought remembering what he had read in one of their facilities when they came from Prometheus.
He smiled. "This will certainly serve me to accomplish my mission.'' He said to himself.
He pulled out of his pocket an ampoule full with black liquid. He opened it and put a barely visible drop onto a living embryo. It quickly started to grow. The shape of the embryo deformed creating a long tail and something that looked like elongated head, three of them. But it didn't lived for long. Few minutes later it died.
''Nevermind.'' He said. I have time to make it work.
He sat down at the table and unwraped the parchment papers, to thoroughly study what they wrote about this.
Storm continued to increase. Night passed, but there were no indications that it would soon be over. He couldn't get out to go to Elizabeth, so he continued to study parchments. He had difficulties to read it , because their letter was differed from what he saw on Earth and on that moon. Probably changed over time. He managed to decipher the part and get to an interesting conclusion.
Like the creators, these people began to be infertile. But it was some illness that attacked them. They managed to stop the process for a while, but they could not stop it completely. They made the serum from the stem cells of their creators and theirs. Combined, they had a stronger and almost complete effect.
He found some other tissue samples and detailed explanations what had to be done to make the serum work.
The puzzle has begun to unfold and with it and his plan. He'll create his own creatures and Elizabeth and that Engineer will help him. He needs to fix the serum, then try to create the creatures with black liquid.
He has to take Elizabeth's stem cells, and reproductive cells of the pilot. He could make an operation and impregnate Elizabeth with his reproductive cells, if he can fix it with serum.
Searching huge rooms of the city, David has found a tiny passage near the city. It was covered with something, but he could feel the air flow from it. ''There seems to be another room here. '' He thought.
He followed a stream of air and he found himself in a small cave. Somebody lived there. There were table and chairs. Several shelves on the wall. Small decorative stones on it. The light stones illuminated the ceiling.
''Perfect place to create. '' He thought.
He looked around the room and decided to move everything he needed for his plan inside of it. Around the table he prepared the parchment papers and accessories he had found in other rooms. He sorted them up and properly. He'll have to be patient until the storm passes.
For now, he'll try the effects of serum and black liquids on a few more embryos, to see the pattern of events and results as possible. He had to be ready, because if he made a mistake he might not have another chance of success.
That pilot is stronger than he. It could easily disassemble him, like the last one. And this time, Elizabeth will not cooperate.
Night passed, but the storm continued to gain strength, taking the hurricane proportions. Elizabeth was still sleeping in the cryo pod. Her uterus healed.
Pilot felt terrible tiredness. What her body did when he touched her left a trace on him. His body has suffered a great loss of energy.
He looked behind himself. The woman was safe. Fever and delirium which tormented her stopped several hours ago. Now he has to recover. He lied down in one cryo pod. The tubes in it started connecting with his bio suit automatically. He immediately felt the effect and fell in a deep sleep.
Elizabeth started waking up few hours later. She felt better, but she still had no energy to get up. Her body felt different. It was more alive than ever. She opened her eyes slowly. She was in the pod. She thought she had dreamed all of it.
Her vision started to recover. There wasn't blur in her eyes anymore. She sat down and looked around. She was in the ship, but it looked somewhat different. She saw another open cryo pod behind her.
"David, you don't have to pretend to sleep anymore. I'm awake. ''
Still sleepy, she came closer. The scene in front of her shocked her. Cold sweat rolled all over her. Looks like she wasn't dreaming. She looked around herself again. She was in another ship, with the pilot that brought her here. How long has passed since?
Elizabeth approached the pod he was in. He slept. Fear was written all over his face. Like he is fighting a nightmare. She crouched by the pod to watch him. He looked like a Greek god. Marble face. Body like sculpture. She stretched out her hand, but she did not have the courage to touch him.
He started to whisper something. She did not understand completely what. She could only identify a few words. "Danger…. Creature… black death…." She did not know what he was talking about. She saw the flute in his hands. He held it firmly.
In her dream she dreamed of her mother singing an unknown song to her. Someone in the distance played some instrument similar to that. Did he do that?
Still in fear, she stretched her hand towards flute. She caught one end of the flute with her fingers and tried to pull out of his hand. She did not succeed. He felt some kind of movement. He quickly turned, still in dream, and grabbed her hand, then pulled her into the pod with his body wrapping her with his hands. He pressed her closer to himself.
Elizabeth almost died out of fear. He squeezed her tightly. She started to lose breath from the strong pressure of his hands. He was holding her unconscious of what is happening.
He dreamed his return to the planet when a creature came with their ship. It started casting the black liquid around the city. He was near looking helplessly. His daughter was at his side. He pressed her firmly to himself.
She wanted to run to the city to save her friends, but it was too late. He held her firmly in his hands. A few moments later, his daughter took a form of a woman he found on that ship. Smile was on her face. His daughter was holding her arm. He ran to them and quickly dragged them to the ship to save them from black death that was swallowing the city.
''No no! Do not go there. '' He started shouting in his sleep.
He pressed her even harder. He started to hurt her. She realized he is having a nightmare. So she started to sing a song trying to calm him down. He slowly released the squeeze, but he still held her firmly. She could not move. Elizabeth sang the song she heard in her sleep.
She closed her eyes and cried than fell asleep still tired of everything.
She dreamed David. He was standing in front of her cryo pod in Prometheus, watching her dreams. It seemed like she was outside her body. She was watching him. He smiled. He held something in his hands. A child, still undeveloped, but alive. He took the scalpel and slit her womb them put it inside her and closed her abdomen. She couldn't do anything. She was paralyzed.
Something has begun to grow in her. Her belly swollen. Like a few fetuses are inside. He took the scalpel again, opened her and pulled three babies out. One had an elongated and deformed head, the other had only a head and a long tail. The third was like a human child but bigger, with completely black eyes. She lifted her hands to that child and then everything disappeared. Only the deformed babies remained alive and began to devour her body.
Elizabeth started to wake. She was bathed in sweat. He was still holding her, but not that strongly like before. She managed to get out of his pod and slowly calm herself down. She took the flute and tried to produce tone of the song she heard in her dream. He slept quietly and in peace.
She did not know that they can have nightmares too. It looks like he's gone through a lot of pain. He said the entire city was destroyed. She was horrified by that too, even though she still hopped it's not the truth.
If he does not kill David, she will for sure.
She saw the space around her. It was a little smaller than the ship they came with. She was wondering whether he was holding a biological weapon in the ship too. She should have destroyed it as soon as she found that ship. Then it would not come to this. But now it was too late.
She decided to find a weaponry. She walked in the corridors. Rooms were slightly different. She looked all over the ship. But she didn't find anything. Only a room filled with their equipment and something that looks like a ceremonial room.
She started to feel hungry. Didn't even remembered when she had her last meal. She found several herbs that grew in one room. It was similar to the one that grew on the ship with which they came. Weird fruits have grown on it. She did not know if they were edible. But better to die of that than from the black liquid, she thought. She did not have much left to live for anyway.
She quickly put them in her mouth. They were delicious. She felt better. They were quite tasty. An unusual sensation started to form in her belly. Suddenly she felt as if some fluid ran out of her between her legs. Light pain spread around her abdomen.
''Impossible. '' She had only one period in her life. The doctors told her she won't have it probably never again.
Quickly she found their bathroom. Though different, but will serve the purpose. She quickly removed her suit and looked down. Her panties were stained with blood. ''But how? ''
She couldn't believe what she sees. It was said to her that only if she began to have menstruation she might have the chance to become pregnant. But that never happened again.
She went under the water springs that was coming out of the wall. It was very pleasant felling. She quickly washed the blood from her body. She felt better.
She tore off a few pieces of cloth from the shirt she was wearing and folded it several times than put it in her panties. For now it will serve till she manage to think of something else.
Hope began to form in her. Maybe she can be a mother. But how? She was god knows how far away from Earth. And on this planet, there was only crazy android, probably a mass murderer and a being which had decided to destroy them long time ago.
But she could not wipe the smile off her face. She'll find a way to come back. To become a mother.
She put a suit and came back. That being was awake. He was sitting at the main desk and watched something. Hologram. The city appeared in front of her. Huge. Clouded with storm. Something was on the ground. Bodies. Dead.
The horror appeared on her face. Tears began to flow.
''Did they ... '' It was the only thing that she managed to say. She lost her balance from nausea and fell to her knees whispering. "I did not want any such thing to happen. I took him with me because he learned to handle the ship. He tricked me. Used for his plans. ''
He turned to her and stood up like someone interrupted him in important mission. She got up and quickly started to walk backwards. She was frightened of what he would do to her. She ran back to the long hallway looking for shelter.
He was approaching her fast. She ran with all her strength, but he caught her shoulders. She was shaking with fear, stuck to the wall and waited. She didn't have the will to fight, it would be futile.
She was ashamed by what she had done last time she met being like him, even though she was only defending.
Surprised by her reaction, he moved away a little. She did not know what he was waiting for, why didn't he hit her, didn't pull her head off. She caught his hands and put his palms on her cheeks.
"What are you waiting for?" She told him loudly, hoping to understand. Her body stiffened with fear.
He lowered his palms. He did not say anything to her. He just watched her. "I'm not a killer." He quietly said and turned. He went back to the control room. ''Come.''
She didn't know what to do, so she followed him. He didn't kill her.
They went back to the control room. The city hologram still filling the room. The scene was horrible.
"You look different." He told her. "What happened to your body. You are not whole. You can't have children. ''
Though she wasn't speaking fluently nor fully understood their language, this question needed no translation. The question froze her. She watched his cold expression, as if he was asking is she hungry. She did not want him to find out what had happened few moments ago with her body. She did not even know how this was possible.
She was silent, her hands wrapping her belly as if trying to protect it.
"I saw you yesterday. While you were in shock. I tried to calm you down, but your body reacted. Like wanting something from me. ''
She tried to turn the subject. "Did they die because of the black liquid?" She asked. Her pronunciation was bad, but he understood the question.
"Yes." Discomfort began to appear on his face.
''How did your people die on your military facility? What happened? You were going to destroy us?" She asked him.
He was looking at her, like penetrating her body with his eyes, then came closer to her. She knew he knows she is just changing the subject not wanting to answer him, but she wanted to know what had happened too, and why they decided to destroy them.
He was speaking and walking towards her not moving his eyes from her abdomen."One of our people has been infected by a virus. The parasite quickly developed and killed him. He quickly infected other members. It is extremely effective in multiplication. I think you've already found it there. ''
"When I was on that moon, my boyfriend and I were infected by it. Some kind of embryo developed in me. Was that that being? "She asked.
''It's similar to that. It works differently on every organism. ''
He approached her very close, closing the distance between them, but this time she did not escape. He watched her stomach. She did not like it. He moved her arms away and touched her abdomen.
She stepped back and turned. Her tears started to appear on her face. "Don't." She said quietly. He caught her hands and turned her to him. She put her hand back on her belly but he moved it avay again and touched her again.
''What do you think you will find?'' She asked him crying.
He did not understand what she was saying. ''You are healed. You've become whole. "He removed his palms from her belly. He remembered what had happened a few hours ago.
"What now?" She asked.
He did not answer her. He didn't understand how that happened. Nothing like that have ever happened.
This time he turned the subject not knowing what to answer her.
"We need to find and destroy that deformation of life before it flies away and destroys another civilization. You will have to come with me to my planet. The council will have to be held.
Have you developed any more of this artificial creatures?" he asked.
"No, this was the first model. But we are perfecting it and eliminating difficulties. We will probably change them over time. What's going to be with me? "She asked.
"I do not know. I'll explain to them what happened. They may show mercy.''
Elizabeth was afraid of what she heard. She'll have to escape from this planet somehow, and go back to Earth. To warn everybody.
He was going toward the computer. He will try to summon others. He sent signal, explaining what happened here. He hoped the storm won't make interferences in sending. He will leave all channels opened so that the message signal is continuously emitted. It will take some time for it to come there.
In the middle of the city there was a hangar with two ships. He'll have to make sure it does not get there. He hoped he wouldn't discover the hangar so quickly. It was well protected.