Chapter 6
Terre moaned as she felt her arm being poked. She opened her eyes lazily to see Dan. She screamed and pulled the covers over her. Even though she was still dressed from the day before, she didn't think like it was a reflex.
"Hey! I was just getting you up."
"What are you doing in my room? How did you get into my room?"
"Wow! Relax!" He put both hands up and smiled. "You slept in. you need to get ready for work. Today is a big day."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the Queen will be in surgery today."
"Erm, why?" Realising she was still clothed she got to her feet and rubbed her eyes. Why would the Queen be in surgery?
"Well, you of all people should know why. She is bleeding internally so we are going to open her up and try to help her."
"But...opening her exoskeleton will be life threatening. That alone would kill her!"
"Well the General doesn't seem to think that."
"The fool! He is going to kill her!"
"Well you have 30 minuets before they operate."
"DAMN!" Like a shot Terre ran to her draws, ignoring Dan and ran to her bathroom. Moments later she ran out, her hair in a clumsy bobble, a new set of clothes that were identical to the day before, black casual trousers, white work shirt and lab coat. She struggled and hopped around the room to get her shoes on and fell over, into Dan. He caught her and she blushed, yelped and jumped away. She finished putting her shoes on and opened the door. Dan came after her and found her storming around the basement. He caught up to her just in front of an empty pen. "Where the hell is the Queen! I thought you said I had 30 minuets! I still have 15!"
"They must have already started, early."
"WHERE!" she ran forwards and grabbed him by the collar, with a look of 'lie to me if you dare!'
"I will take you if you let me go." She released him and he ran, in fear she would hurt him, to the surgery room. They ran in and saw a huge window, looking down on a large metal table. The Queen was strapped down, face up with metal bolts around her neck, tail, arms and legs. She banged on the glass to get the attention of the surgeon, who was about to bring a rather nasty looking scalpel to the Queen's stomach. She wasn't struggling so she must have been pumped with drugs before hand. And that would kill her if they kept her overly sedated before they even finished!
When no one paid her any attention she looked to see a door on the far side of the room. "Terr, don't even think about it!"
"I never do!" She ran with all her might and burst through the doors. She almost jumped down the stair case and ran through the doors. She made it. The surgeon had only just brought the scalpel to the Queen's skin, not even cutting it yet. "STOP!"
"Terre? What are you doing here? This isn't your station, who brought you here?"
"That doesn't matter. HEY YOU!" Terre ran past the confused general, round the large table and didn't notice that the Queen's head followed her. She ran to the surgeon and smacked his hands. The scalpel fell to the ground and she scowled at him.
"Terre Jones! What is the meaning of this!"
"Do you want this Queen to live? Yes? Then don't you dare touch her!"
"What? Why not? We are trying to."
"Trying to kill her!" Terre stomped her foot with emphasis and put one had on her hip in a fist, and the other pointing accusingly at the general. "The protective structure of the Queen is made of a case like exoskeleton that protects her insides from tampering. It is vital that you do NOT open her exoskeleton or you will kill her from the drugging needed, or the physical stress on her body, or the mental stress on her body, or the bleeding you would cause to burn right through her, or all her vital systems shutting down, or."
"ALRIGHT! Damn it Jones we get the message. Take her back to her pen. And Jones?" Terre didn't move as she watched specialist marines flood in and unshackle the Queen before taking her away, probably to the pen. "Jones?"
"Yes Sir?"
"Well done. We would have lost her today if you hadn't stopped us. Well done."
"No problem sir. I did it for..."
"For her?" Snide cocked his eye brow and saw her grow quiet. "You wouldn't...care for it, would you?"
"No sir."
"Good. To your station Jones."
"Yes sir." Terre gladly ran to her seat in front of her panel, with the life signs of the now sleeping Queen.
In all the shouting the Queen had been watching, secretly watching like she had always done, waiting for just the right moment to strike. Which had yet to arise. But this fair haired female that had recently arrived, she was...different. How she couldn't tell from appearance. She looked just like the rest of them. But yet, she didn't. It was how she acted and how she looked at someone that was different. The dark skinned meat had looked on her like she would it, with disgust. Yet this female meat was different. She seemed to care. At first the Queen thought her to be false and wanting appeal from the others. But after the way she had come in to save her life, she knew this one was special...and could be useful. If used in the right way, this different meat could be quiet useful. She knew she had to escape and soon if she had any hope for her offspring. If she were to die, so would they. The hive doesn't survive without her, the Queen. And she felt all her female children die, like part of herself was killed too. She felt everyone of her children die, along with part of her. She felt and shared their pain as they died by the hands of these trappers. But she wouldn't take it any longer. They all thought her to be a stupid animal, a reproducing machine. Like all she did was make more of her own kind. She was also the military leader of her children and head of the hive. So she was far from stupid and far from weak. She would have her revenge for all her fallen children. She would do what ever it takes to ensure that her beautiful children survive, even if she must die in the process. They would live! She was after all a mother. What mother wants their children to die? No mother wants to sit back and let her children be picked off, one by one and dissected for the sheer reason to satisfy the trappers nerves that it was just like the last one, and was like the last and the one before that.
She was tired and knew she was running out of time. She was dying and she knew it. She had little time left and didn't think she would survive more than a week. And that was only thanks to the kind trapper.
The Queen winced and watched the kind meat look up, concern written on her face as clear as day.
Terre heard the Queen wheeze and wince with pain. She immediately looked up to check if she was alright. She looked back to the vital signs and frowned. From all the man handling she had been put through this morning, the Queen's condition had decreased to seriously hurt to close to dead. Her already failing vital systems were now close to shutting down. Her brain waves were lower than the day before, her blood flow was barely moving and she had clots forming in vital arteries and veins. The ones she had left anyway.
A single tear escaped her eye as she did the calculations. The Queen will die before the week was through.
She wondered if this Queen had once been free or born in captivity. Either way, being forced into a cage was wrong in her view. She didn't know what was worse. If the Queen had been born in isolation and never had the chance to experience freedom, in the wild with her children and without a care on some distant planet. Or if she had once been free, in the wild with her children, without a care on some distant planet, only to bee ripped from freedom into slavery, cold metallic bars and forbidden to see her children grow. Tears ran down her cheeks silently.
People protest about Lions and tigers locked up in a pen, simply because they were fun to look at and a danger to humans. Yet here, a creature from another race is locked up for the same reasons and no one cares. No one stands up and shouts their views against it; no one holds a march or protest stand to be heard. No. everyone simply looks the other way and eats in all the crap about it 'being for the good of humanity'. Bullshit! Humanity my arse! They locked her up to rip her children apart and poke around their inners. They condemn her to a never ending labour, just for their own selfish needs. No, this was not for humanity. This has nothing to do with humanity. This was quiet frankly inhumane and immoral on so many levels. Why is it right for them to do this to her and her kind and not right for people in other countries at war with one another, to torture for information or what they want? Isn't that what is happening here? Aren't they torturing the Queen to get what they want? These Generals and Marines walk around with a clear conscious and all smug, just because they believe that this is 'for the good of humanity'. That they are heroes because they can beat up an already dying creature. I hate them. I hate them all. They should be thrown into a cell, forced into permanent agony and left there to die, because it is convenient to others needs. Then they would uproar that it isn't right. Then they would march and liberate their people. Maybe that's why they do it. Because this Queen isn't human. They think that because she can't speak or doesn't look like us, that we can do what ever the hell we like. Well I won't take this anymore. This is wrong!
The Queen watched in pride. She could use her telepathy to hear the thoughts of whomever she pleased, her children or the meat. She had been listening to everything Terre had said and watched her cry. This meat was touching. She really, generally cared.
The Queen crawled her aching body to the side of the pen. She laid down flat, exhausted from the one meter journey and placed her back to the bars. She moved her large head until she was looking out of the pen. She growled quietly and green blood shot from her mouth. It touched the bars and simmered until there was a large hole, big enough for the meat to crawl through without the acidic blood touching her. Terre saw this and got to her feet slowly. She cautiously started to walk slowly, no faster than a crawl. She kneeled down and came close to the Queen.
Once the meat was only inches away, the Queen whimpered. Terre instantly reached forwards, without thinking and placed a hand on the Queen's skeletal head. She stroked it and began to hum to her. The Queen smirked to herself, the meat was fearless for touching her. that was good. She needed her to be fearless. The Queen caught Terre off guard and a huge tail came to life, leaving the ground and coiling around Terre's waist. Terre's hand paused and so did her humming. The Queen waited until her stroking resumed. Her humming was a little shaken, but she continued. Then the Queen started to draw her in. Bringing her tail back ever so slowly and bring the kind meat into the cage.
Terre was petrified! Her entire body was shaking along with her humming. But she didn't struggle. There was no point. If the Queen wanted to kill her, all it had to do was squeeze and the spikes of her tail would kill her, without draining any of her depleted strength. The Queen slowly brought Terre through the hole, lowering her as she did. That was to make sure she didn't get burnt by her acidic blood on the bars. Once inside the Queen summoned all her strength and sat up. She towered over the little human, still wrapped in her tail, tightly. Her head hung forward to look down on her. Terre was still quivering and shaking. She had never been so afraid in her life! Right now she needed someone like Kim to tell her she would be alright. But Kim wasn't here with her, in the pen with the Alien Queen.
Terre closed her eyes as the Queen lowered her head, coming slowly towards her. Terre heard as all the air around her was sucked up into the Queen's mouth. She winched and held her ears tightly as the Queen exhaled with a mighty screech. The high pitch roar echoed and bounced off all the walls. Soon after, swarms of Marines, including Dan and General Snide ran in, guns at the ready. The Queen ignored them and continued her wailing, blood starting to seep from the inside of her mouth, dripping off her mandibles.
If the Queen didn't stop she would literally scream herself to death. This constant screeching would put such a strain on her lungs and blood pressure and she would just keel over. Yet the onslaught of yelling didn't stop. In fact they got louder and a chorus soon began as ramped rattling and banging on the walls joined in. then she heard other screeching. It was like they were all morning a loved one who had passed over. Or where they morning a loved one, who was about to pass over? The Queen kept her screeches up but her body started to sway. She finally stopped and the walls broke. Bright Green acid burnt through the walls and many smaller black heads with large teeth burst through the metal. But they didn't come out.
Terre looked round to see the Marines had aimed their weapons at the other aliens. She couldn't believe this! There were other aliens! Then it hit her. Of course! These must be her children, the eggs that are taken away from her egg sac, these are her children. But why are they just stood there? Waiting?
"TERRE!" Terre span her head round to see Dan, a huge plasma gun in each hand, one pointed at the Queen and the other pointed at the now open walls. "Terre get OUT of there NOW!" Terre looked from the worried Dan to the ever swaying Queen.
"You're dying, aren't you?" Her question was answered as the Queen arched her back, threw her head back and screeched again. "Stop that! You're killing yourself!" Terre wanted to do something, anything to save her. But the Queen wouldn't release her from her tight grip. The large, skeletal tail slowly pulled her towards the Queen and she placed her hands on it, scared out of her mind.
"TERRE!" Dan ran towards the Pen but stopped as a huge, black hand grabbed his shoulder. "General Snide sir, I have to get her out of there now sir!"
"You will stay here. If those miniature bastards make one move form their pens you are to lead my units to kill the bastards, understand?"
"But sir, Terre!"
"Is expendable! The Queen and my men are not! I will get her. Stay at your post!" Snide ran to the Pan and watched the drones at the wall. The were fixating at the Queen, who was still screeching. "Jones!"
Terre looked around to the General. "Stop her yelling with this!" Snide threw a tranquiliser gun at Terre and she caught it.
She moved back to facing the Queen and looked down at the small, delicate silver gun in her hands. She stared at it, both palms up and the light shining of its surface.
The Queen stopped and looked down at the fair haired meat in her tail. She lowered her head and Terre didn't look away from the gun.
Snide returned to his men and a worried Dan.
"Sir?"
"Damn it! Jones hasn't fired it yet!"
"Sir?"
"I threw Jones a trank-gun. If she doesn't use it soon she is a dead man."
"Sir! Let me go after her!"
"No damn it. Stay in your rank and that is an order!"
"Damn it." Dan filled his lungs and screamed towards the pen. "TERRE SHOOT THE DAMN BITCH BEFORE SHE EATS YOU ALIVE!"
Terre looked back at Dan. He cared about her, but obviously didn't care about the Queen. Then she noticed her. She looked up and saw the Queen was looking down at her, her head hung low as if ready for anything. Terre looked back to the gun and felt sick.
"They want me to use this...no. NO!" Terre screamed and threw the gun out of the pen and it skidded, to Dan's feet. All Dan could do was look at Terre and knew he may be looking at her for the last time. Why? Why didn't she shoot it? She will die now.
The Queen began her wailing again and threw her head from one side to the other.
Yes! She is the one. She will be perfect. She couldn't kill me and will never be able to kill my children! She would never kill them. She is not meat. As of today she will never be meat again.
As a mother now, I make the ultimate sacrifice! I will die to let my children live! I will let a new Queen lead them into freedom, a Queen that truly understands the need for freedom! Even if only one of my children live I will not have died in vain!
Terre closed her eyes as she saw the Queen finish her cries, and lower her head to face her once again. The Queen was now panting right in Terre's face. She could smell the thick, rotting blood from her mouth in her breath. Terre opened her eyes to see deep down the huge mouth of death. This was the end. At least in death she had stuck with her principles and morals. She knew she had done the right thing and didn't fear her death. At least it was better than being shot by the general for not obeying his order to shoot the Queen. At least the Queen would kill her quickly.
Terre whimpered as a long tongue slithered out of the gaping, fanged mouth before her. Once fully extended Terre saw the infamous inner mouth with all its glory, armed with many small but sharp teeth. It came close to her face and the walls came to life. The Drones spilled out of the shadows of their cells and flooded into the room. Plasma guns fired and bones were crushed, cracked, squashed and bodies striped of meat. Heads were battered, backs were snapped and limbs were scattered to the other side of the room from its original body. Blood was everywhere.
And that went for both human and Alien.
Terre however wasn't watching the stampede of Marines, clash and collide into the hordes of Alien drones. Her full attention was on the Queen's inner mouth as it came deadly close to her forehead. The shape teeth opened wide and she saw a hole open up in the centre of the mouth piece. She tried to raise her hands but the Queen's tail had coiled over them while she wasn't looking. She was being held to the floor and her hands were made useless. She was going to die.
The Queen brought its smaller set of arms at the base of her neck up from the floor and used her main arms to balance her weight. With her now free set of arms, she held Terre's shoulders tightly, holing her still.
Terre was streaming with tears. She knew death awaited her but she was still shaking with unexplainable fear. Only if you were faced with death, the mouth of death itself and the body of fear would you be able to comprehend the fright and flooding terror that now ran through Terre's veins. Her body was cold, her limbs were numb without feeling and her face was saturated in her own, salty tears of knowledge. The knowledge that she was about to die, painfully and hoped it would be quick.
Terre winced as a wet, cold sensation hit her forehead. She opened her eyes to see her worries were true. The Queen had now placed her inner mouth on Terre's forehead, the teeth pinching at her soft skin.
Then the Queen screeched again in pain, only for Terre to join her.
Many needle like shooting pains jabbed at her head and Terre screamed in agony. The chorus of both Terre's and the Queen's cries of torture were unnoticed by all in the basement. Marines and Aliens were at each others throats, knowing if they didn't win they would be killed. So far the battle was going evenly but unlike the Aliens, the humans were starting to tire. Dan and Snide were back to back, both shooting in all directions.
"Sir? They are getting the advantage. What are your orders sir?"
"In the cabinet, on the wall is a flamethrower. I will cover your back."
"Yes sir!" Dan shot another Drone in the chest, sending its bright green blood spattering through the gapping hole in the drone's chest cavity and sizzling through the floor as it landed. He jumped over it and pulled out his machete knife from his back. He sliced the head clean off another drone that was feeding of the remains of a fallen man. He reached the wall without having to kill anymore if the drones and pulled out the flamethrower. He activated it and watched the general shout to his men.
"NOW DUCK!"
Terre's entire body panged with searing jolts of pain, all from her head. The Queen was in even more pain but wasn't finished yet.
Terre felt like every bone, every blood vessel and every nerve in her body was burning. She was sweating madly and tears streamed down her face and it seemed like the pain would never end. Barely, she felt the inner mouth, that was now latched to her forehead go suddenly hard, like it was oozing something into her very head! She went into spasm as the Queen pulled back and released her.
Terre fell back and felt the tail around her waist loosen, letting her fall to the ground and her back. She panted madly, her heart beat racing a still rapid from over use. Every fibre of her being stung painfully and she couldn't move. She just about managed to open one eye through sheer grit. Upon looking out her only functioning eye she saw the Queen. She was laid in a similar fashion to Terre and even breathing like her. They were laid face to face, panting and unable to move. Tears still flooded form her eyes and made small pools on the floor.
Suddenly heard someone shout 'NOW DUCK' and she felt a harsh heat on her back, like a fire had been started near her and she had her back to it. Her eyes closed, her body finally winning her inner battle for rest. Her fatigue taking her mind's consciousness from her, leaving her world to fade into darkness. Only a strange voice could be heard as she slipped into a deep slumber.
"Rest my daughter. Rest and live. Remember to be true to the ones who love you and never let anyone forget your place. Live, be strong and make...me...proud."