Goddamn, I am speedy. Here it is, Chapter 2! Reviews are like cats: you can never really have too many, no matter what the nosy bobbymen say!
A deep, bone-rattling hum filled the air. At first most of the Poleepkwa in the camp ducked into their homes, assuming that a human plane or copter had arrived and that it was time to hide. As the sky darkened, though, and the humans began to nervously call out to one another on their radios, it became apparent that this was not planned. One by one the prawns peered out and scrutinized the sky hopefully. A shape blotted out the sun as the hum resonated. A few guards tried to urge the gathering aliens back into their tents, and were ignored. When they began to threaten the prawns and call for reinforcements, the onlooking extraterrestrial crowd turned on them, tearing limbs from the humans' soft, unprotected forms and wrenching organs from their easily-opened bellies.
The ship filled the sky as it descended and came to a halt, hovering over the camp. One of the human cannons fired its missiles in a panic, only to be destroyed by a single casual blast. With a sound like the sigh of some colossal beast, a huge ramp reached out and contacted the ground. There was a collective intake of tense breath. Then it was as if a floodgate had opened. A wave of armed Poleepkwa soldiers emerged from the vessel and headed for the camp as the Earthbound prawns poured simultaneously through the gates toward them. The remaining humans were unarmed, corralled into a few tents and threatened into submission. Poleepkwa warriors flowed through the streets with precision and determination, gathering the creatures that were too ill or old or cat food euphoric to make their way to the ship and carrying them out.
Wikus stirred sluggishly at the commotion, crawling dazedly from his stupor and peeking outside. For a moment he thought he must be hallucinating. A healthy, armed prawn paused, crouched, and offered assistance. Wikus stared up wonderingly.
"Christopher? Christopher Johnson, is he with you?" He croaked hopefully.
The soldier cocked its head. "I don't know. Do you need help, brother?"
Wikus waved the prawn on and pulled himself to his feet. He staggered towards the ship, his pace quickening. He did come for me. He didn't lie. Have to find him. He grabbed another soldier, a tall, muscular, blue-black creature, by the arm and asked again where Christopher was. The soldier blinked and shook his head.
"Christopher Johnson? He is not with us. He came here ahead of us."
"What?!" Wikus froze and the larger prawn started to walk on. Wikus grabbed him again. "Wait, what? Say again – Christopher Johnson came back before you lot got here?"
The soldier clicked his mandibles in affirmation. "He requested a small ship and left only a day after he arrived home. Something about a promise to someone on this planet."
"But he… he didn't…" Wikus trailed off in confusion.
"The Queen didn't want to let him go before she arranged a guard to accompany him, but he was very insistent on leaving as soon as possible. He made certain his son was safe at home, then left." The tall Poleepkwa glanced at the former human. "Why do you ask? Do you know him?"
"I'm…" Wikus wasn't sure what to say. "W-who did he come back for?" He had to be sure.
The soldier twitched his antennae casually. "A human. I don't know its name. Christopher was adamant that that human be protected, and he said that it needed some sort of medical aide, so he went to find it."
"But I—" Wikus hesitated, not wanting to let the prawn know that he was really human. "But… I mean… did he find the… the human?"
The Poleepkwa looked at him quizzically, as if surprised by how many questions he had. "We don't know. We lost all communications with him when he arrived – almost two months ago. Once this prison has been cleared, a group of us have been assigned to locate him and offer help, or to bring his remains home if, as we suspect, he has been captured by the agency he warned us of."
Oh fuck. The thought of that room, that cold laboratory filled with blades and corpses, snuck into Wikus' mind and made him shiver. He imagined Christopher, peaceful Christopher, chained and dragged onto one of those vivisection tables, bleeding, screaming – Captured. Oh fuck.
"Y-you're going now?" The smaller Poleepkwa asked suddenly, catching the soldier's attention once more.
"What?"
"You're going to find Christopher now, you're gonna go look for him?"
"Uh-" the warrior wasn't sure what to make of this persistent Earthbound Poleepkwa. "Well, not just yet; first we must go to the building that he told us of, to free those that have been enslaved for the humans' tests." A look of disgust and loathing crossed his face.
Wikus knew, somehow, in his gut, that Christopher was there. Whether he was alive or not…
He squared his broad shoulders and looked the soldier in the eye. "I want to help," he decided. "I've been in that building before; I can show you where they're being kept. I want to help you find Christopher."