Part 2
"Uh-oh." She stopped her crawling as she took in the large, feral creature in front of her. "Xenomorph…"
Its eyeless skull turned towards her, a hiss of warning. It laid curled on her blanketed nest, her favorite pillow under one of its claws.
"Um…" Crawling forward, it hissed again but made no moves towards her. It's why they never found it. It had never moved, meaning it wouldn't appear on their sensors.
Henrietta tried to reach for the pillow but this time it hissed, its tail snapping from its position to wave in front of her.
"I just want my pillow." Her fingers grazed it, grabbing it with just the slightest pinch of her fingers, she tugged. It let the pillow go, allowing her to scramble back. Its tail dropped to its side.
Though Henrietta should go and tell someone, the unfortunate thing would be locked up again. Reaching for her little snack box, she pulled out some beef jerky and threw it a piece. It opened its mouth, a second one appearing to take a little nipple of the meat. Finding it satisfactory, it gobbled it down and turned to her, hissing.
Reaching out, she gave it another strip. It took it from her hand this time. After it finished that, the second mouth came out slowly, reaching for her hand. Squealing, Henrietta jumped back, unsure of its motives. It straightened up at her sudden movement before it slowly approached her. Henrietta grabbed another meaty piece and flung it at it.
Catching it mid-air, the meat was gone in seconds. Again, the creature scooted towards her, slowly approaching her. Pushing away her fear, Henrietta reached out a hand, curiosity taking hold. The second mouth reappeared and gently nipped at her outstretched fingers. With a contented purr, it settled against the blankets once again. Henrietta left more beef jerky on a pillow near it before settling to color.
For a nine-year-old, Henrietta has heard a lot of things a child shouldn't have. Her love to explore vents did that. At first, she kept holed up in her room until, during class one day, two boys had been absent but then brought in by her father. They were caught skipping school by hiding in the vents.
After doing her own exploring, Henrietta learned from their mistakes. They were being loud and had been caught when under the grates. Keeping quiet and staying away from the grates as much as possible, she hadn't been caught yet. If she was careful and lucky, she wouldn't be caught ever.
The xeno across from her munched on the meat from time to time but otherwise stayed still.
Henrietta finished her coloring of a jungle scene and taped it on the wall with the rest of them. Pulling a spare blanket to her, she got comfy on the floor. The tail whipped out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her onto the nest of blankets. It released her as soon as she laid next to it. Lazily, it laid across her waist, pinning her to the floor.
Henrietta gulped but when the large creature began to purr, she felt a sudden calmness wash over her. When she woke, the lights were dim, signaling the night cycle of the ship. The xeno was snuggled against her back, snoozing away.
Stretching, Henrietta moved away to go back to her room. By now, her father would be wondering where she had been. A few voices were heard and footsteps sounded just above her. People were still up and judging by a few short conversations, the night cycle had just begun.
Leaving the xeno behind, Henrietta made it back to the vent entrance/exit and slid up onto the floor unnoticed. Hightailing it back to her room, she ran right into her father.
"Time for bed, Rita." Walking her back, her father opened the door and kissed her goodnight. They didn't share the same room or even have connecting rooms. Those were mostly families with smaller children and one was currently being used as a nursery. There had been an incident where a few crew members died, leaving behind children. The ship would raise them.
Henrietta's father, Watts Winston, slept just a few doors down from her room. No biggie really and it left her able to sneak out at night when it was quiet on the ship. Dressing in her orange onesie, she crawled into her cot that was connected to the wall and turned off her lamp.
Tomorrow would be interesting.
Henrietta accompanied her dad to the cafeteria where most received their breakfast. The food and drink dispensers were customizable for meals but also held combo like deals.
Henrietta made sure to get extra sausages and a few strips of bacon. She had grabbed a baggy to store them in. No one bothered her since it wasn't uncommon to grab extras as a snack for later. Keeping it strictly by her side, she ate her breakfast and waved goodbye to her father once it was time for him to work.
Once no one was around, Henrietta slipped inside the vent and crawled to her spot. However, all her blankets, extra food, pillows, and pictures were taken down. Panicking, she looked for any evidence of where they could have gone.
Did someone find it?
Did someone find the xeno?
Stopping, she kept low in her crouch, listening. A little noise came from another area in the vents. Following it, Henrietta made sure to keep track of where she went lest she gets lost inside. Making the final right turn, she was greeted with not only a dead end but all her stuff stored up. The blankets were laid out with pillows everywhere, her food was stacked in a pile at the edge along with a few bundled up blankets. Even her pictures were placed back up on the wall. However, no xenomorph could be seen.
A hiss was her only warning before something bumped into her, sending her to the floor on her stomach. Claws moved past her, ones she recognized. The xeno settled itself against the dead-end wall.
Huffing, Henrietta sat, pouting at the creature and what it had done. It snorted at her before nuzzling itself against her stomach.
"You're not so bad, are you?" She rubbed its smooth head, smiling as it contently purred.
Smile widening, an idea came to the young kid.
"Well there Mr. Xeno, if you're gonna be my friend we need to establish names and nicknames! I am Henrietta but my daddy calls me Rita for short. What should I call you?" Of course, the xeno never answered but purred instead, content in her presence.
Quiet as she thought, Henrietta, petted him absentmindedly.
"I'll call you… Prince!" Giggling, Henrietta leaned against the wall, feeling sleepy. For a moment, she blinked, the usual haziness drifting through her mind before she closed them altogether.
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Sorry for the long wait on this but I had a lapse in exactly what I wanted. However, I know how to continue this story so no worries about me just leaving it. To answer a few questions and some future confusion (describing xenos as we go through the story is tough on you guys to keep up because it takes her a while as well and even then she doesn't understand everything) here's some info:
Yes, Rita is in the 7-10 age range, I haven't finalized her age just yet but I'm leading towards nine-ish.
Xenos are just as smart as humans, even more so I'd say. Like many animals, the xeno can feel the change in mood in us, like dogs and cats. However, this little guy is in his "teen" stage, not quite an adult yet. That does not make him any less dangerous but he will act much like a child or in some cases a puppy. Once again, he is still intelligent, more so compared to any average human child or teen and does recognize that not all humans are bad much like we recognize that not all dogs are bad and want to rip us to shreds. But, he is still willing to kill in order to survive or if he feels threatened.
I hope this helps without giving too much away. Please PM or comment if you have any questions about this. I'll gladly answer via author's note on my chapters for everyone to see and understand. Thank you for reading and encouraging me! Please Enjoy!