No one paid attention to Ali as she walked through the city which pleased her. But after a few minutes she got bored so she decided to play a game with herself. She looked around at the people around her and tried to decide which would be good hosts for aliens. She found a couple of very good candidates and made a note to come after them if she ever went hunting again.
The bustle of the small town died down as Ali left the city boarders and continued down the dirt road that lead to the orphanage. The two aliens met up with her there and she smiled as the three of them made their way to the orphanage.
As they passed through the main entrance gates Ali looked off to the side and saw the small garden that she had buried the facehugger so long ago. The garden was overrun with weeds and Ali couldn't help but smile. With no help the flowers were easy prey for the weeds, just like people were easy prey for aliens. Turning back to the orphanage, Ali looked up at the giant doors. Taking a deep breath she followed the aliens inside.
Ali looked around as she walked through the orphanage. The bodies of fallen aliens were gone and the bodies of the soldiers were gone too. She slowed down when she saw a burned hole in the ground and knew that an alien had fallen here.
Ali found herself walking away from the aliens and toward one room. As she stepped inside she could see long rows of tables, the kitchen. Ali walked down one of the rows and stopped, staring at a spot in the ground that had a hole burned into it. This was the spot where she had died saving the alien race.
Ali ate the meal in front of her as she tried coaxing the Queen out of her. Suddenly she felt a painful spasm shoot up her body. She smiled and whispered, "Come on, you can do it!" As if in response the pain intensified and Ali fell to the ground screaming. Her chest burst right in between her rib cage and a small head poked out. Ali grabbed it and pulled the Queen out of her, screaming as she did. Ali took several deep breaths and stroked the top of the baby's head as it let out a high pitched screech. But her strength was failing her and she couldn't hold her hand up. As her hand fell, Ali heard the Queen say, Thank you.
My voice, Ali thought, The Queen spoke with my voice. The sound of soft feet on the tile floor reached her ears and she turned around to see the Runner Alien standing next to her. The Runner Alien nudged her with his head and hissed softly. Ali turned away from the scene and followed the two aliens as they lead her down to the basement.
The first thing Ali noticed when she walked down the stairs was the vacant throne where the Queen once sat. Ali had to struggle to hold back tears as she looked at the throne.
Welcome home, Mother a voice said softly in Ali's head. That's my voice, Ali thought as she turned around and saw the new Queen sitting in a new throne made of her own saliva, leaving the other one empty in honor of the former Queen. Ali walked up to the other Queen and gently touched the crest on top of her head. The Queen let out a gentle hiss and said, Mother, I am glad you are alright.
"Why did you call me mother?" Ali asked
Because you are my mother, you gave me life
"Is that why the aliens listen and obey me?" Ali asked. The Queen nodded and spoke, Yes, you are the savior of our race and they hold you in a high place of honor.
"I want to thank you, for coming and getting me. And you chose the alien retrievers well," Ali said with a grin.
I figured that by having a Runner alien come for you it would remind you of Timothy. But I did not mean bring back painful memories, so if that is what happened, I am sorry.
Ali shook her head and replied, "No, in fact it made me happy to be able to remember him."
I am glad that it pleased you. And Jordan is here as well, she is gathering humans right now but she should be here soon.
"Jordan is out hunting?" Ali asked, slightly confused.
Yes, she cannot hunt with aliens because they will try to kill her when they are not under my control, but she can go by herself, she is actually quite good at it too. And as long as she stays away from the eggs she is perfectly safe here.
Ali looked around and just now realized that the floor was littered with eggs. She also noticed that there were about four or five people hanging from the walls. As she was looking a door flew open and Jordan came running into the room. She was being chased by three aliens. Two more came out of the dark basement and came after her too. The Queen let out high pitched screeches and hisses. The two that had just joined stopped and backed away as the Queen hissed at them. But the other three ignored their Queen and continued chasing after Jordan. Ali ran to the aliens but one of them turned back and knocked her away with his tail. Ali went flying backward and hit a wall. As stars jumped in front of her eyes, Ali looked in the direction of the hissing. Jordan was still running and seemed, for the moment, to be unharmed. But why? Ali thought, Why haven't they gone in for the kill? Suddenly the answer hit her; they were herding Jordan to the egg patch. Jordan didn't seem to realize what they were doing until she saw them backing off. Jordan looked down and saw that she was surrounded on all sides by leathery eggs. Ali started to get up but her head swam and the room spun. She fell back to her knees as everything grew dark.