They had reached the junction. It was a T-Junction, and it was getting hot. Hotter than for Paul to be comfortable with.
His shirt was clinging to his body with sweat, and his hands kept slipping on the bare metal.
Akkan crawled after him.
Now where do we go?
The Xenomorph rested his head on Paul's leg. I'd go right.
Why do you wanna go right?
Because going right feels better.
Why are you saying so?
Hey, I'm the predatory chasing ruthless killer alien here! If anyone knows how to creep around these tunnels it's me.
Paul snorted. How often have you been in tunnels like this?
Loads of times. I practically live in these things. Well… for the last hour I do.
Very funny.
Just trying to be helpful
Paul growled playfully at Akkan, and the Xeno hissed back.
Right is it then.
He slowly worked his body around the corner. The Alien followed him, albeit with much more grace.
After another few minutes only interrupted by Paul's heavy breathing and the scraping of the Xeno's body on the bare metal, Paul set down his head and stopped. This was getting to him.
The adrenalin of freeing his friend was replaced by tiredness.
He had only slept a few hours, and crawling around ventilation shafts didn't improve his state.
He stared into the darkness, at where he felt the alien head lying.
What are you thinking, Akkan?
Well, for once, I'm kinda worried.
Worried? About what?
Everything. The Xeno's tone was somehow grave.
Like for instance?
Us getting out of here.
Paul yawned.
Oi, don't fall asleep!
Just... wake me in a few minutes…
And with these words, Paul Cromwell fell asleep.
Weyland, after having given the soldier a verbal stuffing, had followed them to their barracks.
On the way, he racked his brains for a solution. The soldiers were bound to inform their superior of the Xenomorph outbreak.
That would cause a host of other problems.
They would notify HQ. If HQ found out, He'd be in trouble. Glancing at his watch, he noted the time. 5 a.m.
Two hours since he had set his plan in motion.
The ship would take at least another six hours to reach the surface of Sigma-44 and between him and his target lay twelve kilometres of rock an ice-cold winds.
If HQ found out they might give the Soldiers orders he could not override.
Worst of all, he himself might face detainment. He didn't know where Cromwell and his Alien were, except that he had shoved them into a maintenance tunnel leading past the generators, whose cooling systems he himself had disabled.
It would be hot in there, very hot.
Hot enough to make the soldier's motion tracker malfunction and give off no clear reading.
A thought suddenly struck him.
As long as the generators stay off-line, Colonel Marker has no chance of sending any distress message whatsoever.
They had a time window of maybe two hours if he had acted fast.
"Private, has the generator yet been brought back on-line?
"We've sent a team down, but so far no report yet."
Shit.
"Private, I need to talk to my father."
"Strange. It was your father who contacted us around two o'clock"
"What did he tell you?"
"That we were to find and quarantine the person in said quarters. Then wait for the extraction ship due at 1000 hrs."
Weyland stopped momentarily. "10 a.m.?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I will have to speak with the ship's captain. As fast as I can."
"First you will have to speak to Colonel Marker.
"Why do I have to do that?" Weyland enquired.
"Because you are under detainment."
"For what?"
The Soldier smiled "You sabotaged the generator. We have footage of that. And I suppose you were the one who let loose the alien, being fully aware that it wouldn't hurt an android.
Weyland stopped, and turned around, facing the way he had come.
He uttered a small laugh.
"You are correct in all but one statement. I'm NOT an android." He swirled around.
Akkan had also rested his head on Paul, and felt his consciousness drift in and out of sleep.
Until he heart the rap of a gun. To his sensitive ears, it was like a chisel was driven through his head.
As far as he could, he twisted his head around.
Then he heard a second one.
He put his talon on Paul's belly. Wake up! Wake up! Shaking him carefully he caused Paul's eyes to open
"Jeez, Akkan, won't you let me sleep?"
NO, I WON'T, He heard the answer being shouted into his head.
What's wrong? What happened?
Whilst you slept, I heard something. Someone shooting.
Who was it?
Do I look like I can hear that?
Paul yawned, and raised his head No you can't, of course not. I'm doing you injustice.
Listen, we have to get out of these tunnels. I'll push you, if you let me.
Hey, we hugged, remember?
I do… his voice had slurred slightly at the memory, but he brought his mind back to more pressing matters. Put your legs on my shoulders.
Paul obeyed, and Akkan put his talons around the human's waist.
Oi, be careful what you're touching!
I am careful. I'm not even pressing hard..!
Oh forget it. I'll tell you later about human reproduction organs…
Reproduction organs? Akkan was interested, but didn't ask more. The heat was getting to him as well. He started to push Paul forward, not too fast, so his tender skin would not rip on the hard metal. Breathing a sigh of relief, at last they made good distance.
You'll tell me if I'm about to hit a wall, won't you.
Akkan smiled. I won't let you hit a wall.
That's sweet of you.
He pushed his friend onwards, being careful not to go too fast. After what seemed like an eternity, Akkan had to stop.
Why'd you stop?
It's a dead end. He looked at a wall. A flat wall
I can't see. The human's hand touched the wall, feeling over it. It's not a wall. It's a hatch. Much like the one we came in through.
Looks like a wall to me.
It's not. Look, if I press against it, I can feel it moving. Gimme a second!
Don't worry. I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere.
Oh, and Akkan?
Yes, Paul?
Stop being so sassy.
Sassy? I'm not sassy.
You're doing it again.
No I'm not!
Yes you are
No I'm – Just go on and get that panel open will you?
He heard a groan from Paul, as he tried to force the panel.
I can't get a hold on it! Every time I push it, I just slide off!
Akkan sized up the panel. If it was a hatch, it would probably not survive if he punched it.
I can get it open.
You probably can, but you're behind me
Turn on your back.
Why?
Just do it.
He saw Paul flip on his back, and then, Akkan started to step over him. Ignoring the fizzing sensation from his dorsal tubes as they contacted the roof of the tunnel.
What are you doing? Hell!
Pipe down already! Not like I'm that heavy anyway.
EWW! Now you slobbered into my eyes.
I'm sorry, I can't really help myself.
He extended his inner jaws and slurped up as much drool as he could from Paul's face.
Is that what I think it is?
Yeah it's the little mouth.
God!
Why? You started complaining.
Akkan now was lying on Paul, and, pushing against the panel, he felt it move.
It just needed a few proper hits, and then it would burst.
He pulled his talon back as far as he could, and slammed it against the panel.
Again and again, until, finally it burst open.
Hey, look! I opened it! He exclaimed, with a hint of pride in his voice
Yeah, good! Except I'm not seeing anything since its dark and your chest is in my face.
The hatch had blown into a room, a middle sized one. It wasn't a corridor, just a room.
Akkan quickly jumped out of the tunnel, and tasted the air. There was no recognizable scent on it, and his senses told him he was alone.
Paul extracted himself from the tunnel and stretched
Gah, I feel totally destroyed
Yeah, you smell totally destroyed as well. Akkan crouched down low, and hissed at the human
So what's human reproduction organs? How do they work? You promised you'd tell me.
That made Paul smile.
Well. The guy, that humans like me and Weyland for instance. Males.
Yeah, I know what a male is. There are male and female xenos too.
Anyway, the male has … really, this is too embarrassing…
No, it's interesting. I want to know...
Well, the male has something called a penis. He puts it inside the-
Paul had turned red again.
Akkan decided to tell him something about himself Well. Male Xenos have something similar. Well yeah... He decided to stop. Heat shot up into his head, and he turned away.
Akkan?
You're right this is really too embarrassing. Forget it.
But Akkan hadn't just turned away out of embarrassment. Talking about this topic had some unwanted effect on him.
Behind him, he heard Paul get up, and walk around the room
You really can't see a thing, can you?
Well, no. I can't. Humans can't see in the dark.
If you go on like that, you're gonna walk into a wall.
With a dull thud, he heard Paul connect with the wall. Yep, told you.
Paul shook his fist and growled. Akkan hissed in return.
How about you carry me?
What?
Carry me. You know?
I'm not a horse you twat.
Well, as long as it's night-time, and I can't see a thing, we won't be getting anywhere. And we need to find those coordinates Weyland mentioned
All right. I'll carry you. But no touching!
He saw Paul shrug I wouldn't know what to touch anyway.
Slowly, Akkan moved towards Paul, and lifted him up. He put him carefully against his shoulder.
You're hard.
I'm not! The xeno exclaimed indignantly.
Your shoulder is hard.
Well yours is soft so it'll be okay.
The xeno pushed open the door and slunk out into the corridor.
Smirking to himself, he continued up ahead, feeling Paul go to sleep on his shoulder.
Hunger started to twitch within his belly, and for a split second he thought about hiding Paul somewhere, and going for a hunt.
Sniffing the human on his shoulder, he suddenly felt ashamed of his urges. Paul smelled so sweetly, it almost made him want to shriek.
He wouldn't hunt yet. His hunger was detainable for a few hours, and then he could eat the weyland human. There wasn' t much meat on Paul anyway. At least he didn't look like that.
The xeno smirked again. Oh what he wanted to do with Paul. There were so many things the two of them could do, once the running was over. Maybe find a safe, warm place to rest…
Gashing his teeth on his imagination, he tried to rip himself away from the nice images he saw in his mind.
Weyland had, after a formidable, brisk walk, arrived at Colonel Marker's headquarters.
The emergency lights were on in the military complex, bathing the whole atmosphere in a sickly red. The whole place was on battery power. That meant no communications to the outside world. Still his whole plan was upset. He couldn't wait for his friend to fetch him, he had to take matters in his own h* ands. He passed a few soldiers, dreary eyed, and asked the way to the Colonel's HQ.
Passing through the door of the room, and looking at the Colonel, he instantly felt a distaste for the man. Colonel Marker was small, his head showed patches of balding, and the had an extensively trimmed moustache.
"Frederic Bishop Weyland. How nice of you to come here. If you're wondering when the generators will be fixed up, don't worry, they will be.
But if you hadn't sabotaged them in the first place.."
Weyland did his best to look shaken. "The generator is the least of our problems."
"What? No toilet paper? Oh, I'm so sorry the grand executive can't wipe his-"
He decided to go all-in. "THERE'S A FRICKIN ALIEN ON THE LOOSE!"
Marker was taken aback by his sudden outburst. The sneer dropped from his face, like butter sliding down a window pane.
"What did you say?"
Weyland repeated "One alien escaped. I don't know how. I saw two of your men. They never stood a chance." He looked at the floor. This act was taking him a considerate effort, but it gave him a good excuse not to know where the bodies where.
Marker's shocked face floated into his vision.
"Which one escaped? Do you know that?"
"No. I don't. It must have killed the electricity. Maybe it's more than one. Maybe all four. I don't know. Can't you call for help?"
Marker shook his head
"We are on our own here."
To all of my readers, Merry Christmas!
And a huge thanks for all and every comment, they are very much appreciated!