Kim froze and listened closely. The moan suddenly turned into screams and someone began pleading. "Hello?! Is there anyone there? Damn, someone please help me!"

"That sounds like Ben!" Kim said and she moved in the direction of the voice, "Ben?! Ben, can you hear me?"

"Kim?! Where are you?" Ben asked, his voice frantic.

"I'm nearby, where are you?" Kim asked.

"I think I'm in the Hive," Ben said.

Cobra hissed angrily and tried to leave in the opposite direction. He paused when he realized Kim was no longer holding on to him. The pain in her leg had completely evaporated as she thought about Ben being in danger; she wasn't going to let the Warriors get him. She turned toward where she heard Ben's voice and limped forward. Cobra screeched and raced forward to block Kim's path.

"I have to help him!" Kim shouted.

Cobra hissed and swung his tail back and forth.

"I don't care if it's dangerous!" Kim said, "I can save him!"

Cobra shook his head.

"If you don't let me try, then we'll never know," Kim said and she stepped quickly around Cobra and limped on.

Cobra hissed a final time before giving up and moving to trot ahead of Kim to scout the area ahead of time. The trees cleared and Kim came upon a grisly scene.

The opposite side of the clearing in which Kim had just entered was completely covered in a black, resin-like substance. A couple humans were cocooned in the resin. Each human had a gaping hole in the center of their chests. Ben was at the far end of the small group of people. He was awake and struggling against the resin material that covered his body save for his face.

"Ben!" Kim shouted and she hurried to his side. She bumped something with her foot and when she looked down she saw the dead body of a fleshy looking cross between a spider and a human hand. She shuddered at the sight of it, she had always hated spiders, and turned her attention back to Ben.

"Kim! Thank god you came!" Ben said, relief filled his voice.

"I'm going to get you down!" Kim said and she started to pull at the resin.

At that moment, something strong barreled into her side, knocking her away from Ben. At first she thought it was the Warriors from the Hive. But when she looked at her attacker, she realized in shock that it was Cobra.

"I have to help him!" Kim said frantically.

"Kim, save me. Kim!" Ben shouted and his body began jerking and twisting just as he let out an agonized scream.

"Ben!" Kim shouted and got back to her feet, but Cobra refused to allow her near her friend. "Let me up! I can help him!"

Ben's body arched in his cocoon and he threw his head back, letting out another howl of agony. Kim's eyes widened as she watched a bulge appear on Ben's chest. The bulge moved around underneath Ben's shirt and he screamed again as a red stain appeared on his shirt. Cobra stepped off of Kim and allowed her to rise slowly to her feet, but stayed on his guard in case Kim tried to run in. Suddenly, Ben's chest exploded outwards, spraying Kim in blood, and a small, screeching pink thing crawled out of Ben's chest.

Kim was horror struck as the baby alien continued to crawl out of Ben's lifeless form. Cobra hissed at the small alien and made a move to kill it when, from behind, a chorus of hisses sounded. Kim spun around to see the clearing swarming with Warriors. Cobra hissed to Kim and she climbed on his back. Cobra took off, scaling over the wall of corpses to avoid the charging of Warriors. He jumped to the ground on the other side and took off again as more Warriors appeared through the trees. Suddenly, Cobra stopped, hissing in fury and spinning around, looking for another escape. Kim didn't understand what was spooking Cobra so much until she heard the loud hiss. It was much louder than the Warriors and it made Cobra halt in his tracks. A shiver passed through the alien, shocking Kim; she had never seen Cobra react that way. The hiss came again and Cobra turned toward the sound of it, hissing in anger.

In front of them was a massive alien. It had had an extra pair of arms and was held up by strange looking resin supports. It had a large flat crest over its head which was tucked underneath it. Now, however, the it was slowly extending out past the crest, revealing a large head full of sharp, clear teeth.

"The Queen!" Kim gasped.