Part 12
Mr. Hemsing had been gone by the time Henrietta woke. Without him, she nearly missed the bus for school. He had left a note, alleviating her worry for him which she read on the bus.
He had only left early for an early pick up to care for the animals in the back. Hopefully, he'd be waiting for her when she got back.
Henrietta sat alone on the bus, swinging her legs as she read a small book that would help her adjust to the culture. She had been reading it ever since she began school, just a week after arriving on the planet.
It had been territory claimed by the UNE or United Nations of Earth. Any country on Earth had access to land here but any unearthly humanoids had limited access due to the scientific purposes of the planet.
However, each planet had a set of laws and basic cultural aspects that everyone knew, but the details were uniquely theirs with the mixing of a variety of cultures occurring. Therefore, Henrietta had been graciously provided a book to educate herself on the cultural and social customs to avoid a repeat of her first week at school.
Thankfully, the teachers understood the situation at hand with the few children that had landed in their classrooms, herself included. Many know that ships celebrate and practice the basic customs of Earth such as Union Day, the day where the UNE had finally formed and space was to be shared between all the planets equally, without discrimination. Freighters had more of a leniency and were considered "moving planets" because of their uniquely developed culture and family customs (as referred to as clan ships for the same reasons). Henrietta's ship was more focused on science and despite its size nearly matching a freighter's size, they did not function like one.
These books had been distributed and the students informed of the "lack" of cultural education the new kids had. They laughed at that, poked fun, but nothing had been unnecessarily mean. Henrietta stuck closer to the familiar faces and despite not really talking or playing with them, off or on the ship, they allowed her to sit with them contently.
Since the three months she had been there, Henriette found herself smiling a bit more and interacting with fellow students. They had grown to overlook her improperness… eventually.
Mr. Hemsing had even comforted her with wise words that she really didn't want to hear.
"You know, sometimes, even adults, treat different things badly. You are different to the kids and so they poke fun until you change. Its human nature to get rid of the differences in the group, even some animals eat their own young if you spray them with a different scent. Humans are no different in the end. You'll be okay. Just show them your strength and they will back down." He had patted her shoulder and walked her to the school bus for her third day of school. "Go get them, kiddo." He gave her a big grin and waved bye as she boarded.
Those words made her think about Prince and the labs she had seen as a child. She didn't remember them very well but it looked cold and not a very nice place to stay. Perhaps that was human nature in itself. Her friend was very much different but they didn't want him to change. They had locked him in to study him and use him. The scientist had only explained the potential research value, new medicines, ways to live, and human advancements. It sounded much like they were using him despite their claims of their kind being as intelligent and consciously aware of the environment as humans were. More so, some claimed.
Mr. Hemsing had not been waiting for her at her stop. She warily left the safety of the bus, waving goodbye to the driver and a few of her friends who had called out their goodbyes from the back seats.
The old man didn't look to have come home at all and no new shipment of whatever could be seen by the barn.
Storing her stuff in her room, she headed to the animals to let them graze comfortably in the fenced area and clean the pen and stall areas. It had to be several hours and clouds blocked the sunshine, never alerting to coming at night.
The watched and creepy feelings from before hadn't returned and so, Henrietta spent her time with her book outside to keep an eye on their animals. She kept a little notepad nearby, writing down a few notes and questions to ask later.
Time passed and no sign of Mr. Hemsing. The animals were put safely up for the night and Henrietta attempted to call him or contact any who would have seen him. No one had seen him or even heard of the shipment he had to pick up.
The truck was not in the garage, proving he had indeed left and his letter was his handwriting…
After locking up the house, Henrietta sat on the back of the upper deck where the lamps lit the entire backyard. Shadows of the animals in their inside pens, danced in the lighting, making her eye jump up every once and awhile.
No predators looked to be out yet. Henrietta kept her book in her lap, barely reading as she focused on listening for anything to come at her.
Pursing her lips, she headed back inside to eat something for supper and try a few more people in town for Mr. Hemsing. No one had even seen his truck.
"Thank you. I'm sure he's just caught up in something." Henrietta hung up with a sigh.
As she placed the phone back onto its in-wall charger, the lights from outside cut off, leaving most of the house in total blackness. Henrietta could barely see anything with the small lamp on in the next room.
She stumbled for the light switch on the wall when a large something hit the glass sliding doors. Henrietta shrieked in fright at the sound before she fell onto her bum. Without a second thought, she crawled her way under the bar where she opened a compartment. A loaded rifle awaited her, already equipped with a flashlight.
Mr. Hemsing had taught her well to defend herself with any hidden weapon in the house. The rifle had been the less ideal weapon of choice since she barely could contain the kick from it, but if she hit her target, the kick wouldn't matter too much.
Creeping towards the back doors, Henrietta toed it open before turning on her flashlight and scanning the area. Something rustled in the woods and with a panic, Mr. Hemsing warned against, she haphazardly turned the flashlight back and forth.
A black shadow moved in her rush and with a cry of fear, she shot off the gun. Screeches could be heard along with a snarl. The sounds fled to the return of the silence and Henrietta shakily scanned the area.
She sat on the deck, her back against house's wall. A stillness surrounded the area, even the animals kept a low profile in their pens.
Purring filled the area and a swishing could be heard just in front of her. Gulping down her fears, she steadied the gun against her shoulder and lifted light to the creature.
Black and taller than any man she knew of, her light slowly gave form to the creature in front of her. It purred and slowly approached, crawling along the ground. When Henrietta cocked her gun, taking aiming, the creature came to an immediate stop.
In the most human-like manner, it slowly raised itself up to sit on its haunches and brought its forelegs up in a surrender pose. Henrietta blinked at the sight before her.
The backyard lights flipped on and she covered her eyes from the sudden flash of bright lights. Eyes adjusting, she made out four figures in total. The largest among them, the one "surrendering", had spikes running down its back. The other three stayed a good hundred feet away.
With the light now flooding the area, Henrietta could see it much more clearly. The smooth, black, eyeless head all the way to the razor-sharp tail that lay still on the ground. Its spikes along its back and the enormous size is what caught her attention the most.
"Prince?" Only one creature could have such a unique body structure, especially compared to the ones behind him. Only one would ever respond to the name with a powerful purr of confirmation.
Slowly, he stood on all fours and moved to sit before her. Henrietta dropped her gun to the floor before launching herself into his chest where he gladly embraced her.
His siblings behind him came to semicircle them and watch the display.
"I'm so sorry I shot at you! I couldn't even see!" Her arms awkwardly grasped his neck to hug him.
Can't shesee in the dark?
Prince mentally chuckled at his young brother's question. No, they are very limited and need technology to help them.
So… she didn't mean to shoot at me? His young sister looked like she had been punched in the gut to find Prince's friend had shot at her.
You scared her and she couldn't tell it was me you were with. It's all good. She is still young, like you. She simply panicked.
Henrietta released him and wiped the tears from her eyes. Nervously, she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and looked towards the others.
"Who are they, Prince?"
He nudged her forward until she stood properly before them. Prince stood behind her, his stomach just barely touching the back of her head with their closeness.
"How can you tell the difference between them?" Prince mentally chuckled again before reaching out and writing letters in the sand. His siblings couldn't read or write like he could but Henrietta understood perfectly.
"So, you have two brothers?" She pointed to the two flanking their warrior sister. "And one sister?" Prince nodded to confirm.
"What are their names?"
I thought she was giving us our names. His brother with streak spoke, confused by her question.
Patience, idiot! It's not like she can communicate the same way! His sister slapped him up the head with her tail. He snarled in response.
Prince ignored them, trying to explain to Henrietta.
"So, they don't have names? Why don't they have names?" After a few more minutes of confusion, Henrietta's eyes brightened. "You want me to give them names like I named you?"
At their joyous shouts, Henrietta laughed, feeling slightly stupid at taking so long to figure it out.
"Well…" She pointed to Prince's brother without the streak, who immediately straightened to attention. "How about Rogue?"
What does Rogue mean?
I'm not sure but I hear it's cool according to the children on the ship.
Taking it as a good sign, Rogue pranced around, happy to be called something cool.
"You can be Sheelia," Henrietta pointed to his sister but before she could ask questions of her own name, Henrietta continued with an explanation, "she was an awesome pirate that single-handedly fought off fleets to continue pirating."
Ha! I got named after "an awesome pirate"!
I wanna name too! The very last of his siblings came bouncing up, whining.
"You got a cool streak on your head, ya know. I think you should be named Comet cause your streak kind of looks like one." She reached up, tracing it lightly with her finger. Comet purred in delight, his spine perking up at the attention.
To formally introduce everyone. Sheelia, Rogue, and Comet, meet my dearest friend, Henrietta. They pressed their heads to her chest in a form of greeting, which she gladly accepted by attempting to hug them all at once.
At the sound of a truck, all five of them jumped to attention. Excitement coursed through her veins as she bolted back inside.
"Uncle Hemsing! Uncle Hemsing!" Throwing open the garage door, she greeted him with a bear hug.
"Oh! What a surprise!" Mr. Hemsing laughed at the unexpected greeting.
"I was so worried! I thought something had happened to you!" He patted her head, calming her fears before leading her inside.
"I left you a message, a voicemail on the phone. Did you not get it?" Henrietta looked up at him, confused.
She headed straight to the phone to see a blinking red light. He had indeed left a voicemail just before she got home from school.
"I guess I didn't think about checking the messages when I got home." She scratched her head sheepishly.
"Uh, well. My package isn't coming in until tomorrow it seems. I was waiting most of the day for it." Mr. Hemsing shrugged off his jacket to hang in the coat closet by the front door.
"Oh… that's too bad." Remembering her friends, just outside, Henrietta grabbed his hand. "You were right, by the way. My friend did make it down here! With his siblings!" The old man followed her outside, noticing the fallen rifle on the deck.
"Henri-"
"Prince! Sheelia! Comet! Rogue! Come meet my uncle Hemsing!" For a moment, nothing happened.
Mr. Hemsing squeezed her shoulder, beginning to wonder if her friend had been the imaginary type.
To his surprise and her delight, four shadows dropped down behind them. Massive with their bony structure, Mr. Hemsing eyed the rifle a foot away. These were not things he considered friendly.
Henrietta, oblivious to how her uncle felt, approached the largest.
"This is Prince. He stayed with me on the ship for the longest time before I got shipped down here with you. His siblings I met as soon as he found me, just before you got home. This is Comet, with the streak on his head, and this is Rogue. They're his brothers. The only girl is Sheelia." In turn, she patted their heads and they purred to her, keeping their tails on the floor and heads lowered.
"Henrietta…" A scolding was on the tip of his tongue, but as he watched Prince, the largest one of all, curl up at her feet as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he stopped.
"They can stay, can't they? You won't tell?"
Before he could stop himself, the words were pouring out, "as long as they are on their best behavior… I guess they can stay."
Whooping in joy, Henrietta ran inside, the siblings following to see her house and their new nesting spot.
Mr. Hemsing gently touched Prince's side, stopping him from following. The creature could feel, mentally, what the older man wanted. The older man knew he could.
"I know a great deal about your kind… Prince. I know you are, ironically, in your prince stage, turning into a queen. I also know, it doesn't take long for the transformation to happen. Judging by the events I know and what Henrietta has told me, you're the escaped warrior that we never found." Mr. Hemsing stopped for a moment, watching Henrietta explain the television to the xenomorphs inside.
"I know your transformation stopped which leads me to a very farfetched and absurd but clearly possible explanation. Your kind practically feeds off socialization, you need your hive, no matter the numbers. Henrietta became your queen and you two made a hive of your own. Now, you've added much younger ones to that hive." Pausing for a breather, Mr. Hemsing looked Prince in the eye. To Prince, it became eerie how he knew where their hidden eyes were located.
"I'll not tell a soul you are here, but you don't hurt my baby girl." Then, the elder man chuckled and shook his head. "If she is your queen, I know you'll protect her, what am I sayin'?"
Prince understood perfectly. Mr. Hemsing is the authority over Henrietta, his siblings' and his queen, and his dearest friend. He wanted to protect her, the same as them.
Moving to the yard, he dug his claws into the dirt to communicate the only way he knew how.
Henrietta is my friend and my queen. She is my siblings' queen. You are her uncle, a member of this hive, and while not traditional for my species, you are the head of the family - the hive, and Henrietta will be your successor.
Mr. Hemsing smiled before opening the door and welcoming the eldest xenomorph into the house.
It was absurd to even try and trust these creatures. However, they were intelligent and had a family structure that rivaled the whales on Earth. So long as he was assured Henrietta's safety, his old soul would rest easy at night.
Which led to another issue. With their massive sizes, where could they sleep and not tear up the house while they were at it?