"Kay is that an alien!?"
Tyke was wide eyed, mouth agape, looking as Kaylin dragged the unconscious mass into the hut on her sled.
"Kay are you crazy!?"
The young boy watched as she struggled, out of breath and pulled the sled across the dirt floor and into the section of the hut that had been built for the children, pushing the cloth aside.
"Kay it's gonna eat us!"
"Shh," Kaylin hurried out and dropped to the ground by the boy, grabbing his shoulders despite the painful rope burns on the palms of her hands.
"Tyke, I need you to listen to me," the boy's dark eyes looked straight into hers without protest, "it is an alien, but it's hurt, you know how I help everyone who's hurt even though their different?" Tyke nodded, quietly, "alright, I need to help it. And I need you to promise me two things, okay? Just two things."
Kaylin swallowed a shaky breath. She was trying to keep her voice even, though she was most assuredly panicking; her body was shivering and her heart was crashing against her sternum, she felt light-headed but forced herself to stay on focus, "don't go into its room. And don't tell anyone it's here. Okay? Can you make me those promises?"
Tyke looked from Kaylin to the cloth over the shabby wing of the hut. She couldn't imagine what the boy was possibly thinking, having just seen an alien easily bigger than any man he'd ever seen. She was worried that he would refuse. He then looked back to her and sighed as if he had been defeated, "okay Kay, I promise I won't bug him, and I won't tell no one."
Kaylin saw that he was still uncertain about this, but she trusted the boy. She bent down and wrapped Tyke in a tight hug, exhaling heavily, before pulling back holding his shoulders, "keep guard for me, tell me immediately if anyone is coming, then hide."
Kaylin saw his look of confusion before she stood and ducked into the dark wing of the hut, snatching a small lantern, really just a small pot of burning oil, on her way in. The dull orange glow cast strange shadows over the dark-colored body of the alien, but she could see his chest rising and falling. She had fear that his hunters may have overdosed it on ketamine, or whatever other drug they had used to tranquilize it. Employees of Weyland had already shown that they didn't care about something like that.
She set the lantern on the floor and rushed out into the hut, not immediately seeing Tyke, but then catching the shadow of the boy sitting outside the open door, facing the road. She felt bad about giving a child such a responsibility without explaining more to him, but she would have the chance later. She grabbed everything that she thought that she would need, refreshing herself on all the things she knew about the alien's biology and anatomy.
It had been a long time, and she felt herself worry over making something worse over making anything better.
She was back into the wing and knelt down by his side. She took out a pair of needle-nosed pliers, one of the many gifts that someone had smuggled to the planet, and found it had a better use with the doctor. She carefully examined the way the darts punctured his skin. She touched a few bowls before grabbing a numbing salve and rubbing it around the needles. She kept track of which applications were first, so that they would have the longest to set before she began to work out the darts with the pliers.
She was careful to move the dart back and forth to work the barbs out without tearing too much skin. One by one, they came out with difficulty, but eventually all eleven of them were out, dropped unceremoniously on the ground. She sighed and put away the pliers but did not stop. She laid her hands on its chest and began to crudely check its vitals. She brought back memories from nine year ago; the rate its triplicate heartbeat should be at, its temperature, how often it should be breathing, the coagulation of its blood.
Its heart was slower than it should be, but not to the point that the alien would suffer hypothermia. Its body was covered in scars of various degrees of healing, but no other wounds were apparent. Its right arm had several hotspots in places, and she'd watch it for infection, but for now, she would make it comfortable.
She walked outside with her medical supplies and put them back in their places before moving to her bed and grabbing her blanket. She looked out the door at Tyke's back, the boy dutifully staring outside. She frowned and moved back to the wing, placing the blanket over the alien. She reached for his mask to remove it, but stopped. The alien could not easily breathe the air she was breathing now. So while it might have been uncomfortable she left it on, and walked back outside.
She joined Tyke outside, sitting down on the ground and looking at the dirt. She recalled the berries and everything else that she left in the forest so that she could transport the alien, and felt sorry for leaving the boy's treats behind. It was necessary; she could get him more later, whenever she had the chance. If they didn't find her first.
Tyke looked over at her, turning his head to try to see her face.
"Kay? You okay? You're crying."
"It's alright Tyke," she said, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve and pausing to look at the mutilated flesh of her right hand. She sighed but shut her mouth, grinding her teeth. The dark skin of Tyke's hand appears like a shadow on her pale palm and she looked over at the boy.
The child didn't say anything, but leaned over and rested his head against her arm, "it's okay Kay," he assured and took a heavy breath, "but you're sure it won't eat us?"
Kaylin chuckled softly, "it won't eat us. I promise."
They were quiet for a moment. Kaylin's eyes turning upward towards the stars. She then heard Tyke yawn and looked down at the boy.
"Hey," she said, nudging him, "you go to bed, I'll be the lookout for a while."
"Okay," Tyke said and stood lazily up. She watched him retreat into the dimly lit hut and crawl up into her bed, plopping down without any covers and falling almost instantly asleep. Kaylin's smile slowly faded. She was in a bad position, and it was no place for Tyke to be in. She didn't want to put him in danger, either from the alien, or those hunting it, but there was no where she could trust to take care of the child.
And then there was Julian. Julian she could at least maybe convince to stay with the Skulls, but it would likely be an argument she didn't want to have with the man.
Sighing she walked back inside the hut to retrieve the other lantern, and used it to light the lanterns outside to keep the bugs away. She walked back inside, shutting the door and moving to Tyke, gently touching is head and smiling again, before turning and entering into the wing again.
The alien had shifted onto its side, indicating that it was more actually asleep now rather than unconscious. It was a good sign. She bent to gather the needles and froze when the alien shifted again. She looked at him, waiting, then moved forward as it flipped onto its stomach and began to push itself up.
"Wait—," she said to it quietly, touching its shoulder. The lantern fell from her grasp and to the floor, flickering but not going out. A massive pressure and good deal of pain wrapped around her throat, and a steel beam lifted her off the floor. She grabbed at the fingers around her neck, looking pleadingly at the cold mask as a roar tore from behind it. She pulled at his hand, trying to move his fingers trying to breathe.
"Pl-lease," she gasped and he rattled. She moved her hand to place it over his, trying to show she meant no harm, "please I—h-elp you."
The alien drew her closer growling, grey eyes not reflecting her pained expression. Then suddenly it's rattling lowered and slowed. It's head tilted downward. It lowered her down to her feet, fingers releasing her neck and she gasped in her breath, coughing slightly away from him. When she turned towards him again, he was grabbing her hand, lifting it up. His fingers uncurled from her hand, and she felt the leathery skin rub over her hand and fingers, particularly where the one was missing and the other was shriveled. The rattling noise was strange to her, she had never heard the alien she knew before make any noise other than roaring or growling, and that one horrible whine.
He let her hand go and moved a hand to his mask. He removed first one tube, then the other, the hoses spitting out vaporous air.
"No stop, the air's not good for you," she said, reaching as if to physically stop it and it cocked its head. She retracted her hand and watched as it grabbed the edge of its mask on both sides. With a little force, the mask came loose and it lowered it down, revealing his four-mandibles and steel-grey eyes.
His tusks clicked together, tilting his head as he stepped ever so slightly towards her, reaching out and touching her hand again, then moving his hand to his chest, where a scar cut from his collar nearly to his pelvis.
Kaylin narrowed her eyes, then they widened.
"You."
She lifted her hand to touch the scar, remembering when they had opened him up on a table to look at his still-functioning organs. Of all the places for him to go to, with all of space at his disposal, why was he here? Especially where those who wanted to hunt him were here as well.
Unless… he was lured here and trapped.
His muscles tensed under her touch and he stepped back away from her, her hand sliding away from his skin. He lifted and replaced his mask and tubes before turning his head and staring at her. She nodded. That was a good thing for him to do.
"Kay?" came a panicked voice and Kaylin held a hand to the alien, whose head jerked towards the sound.
"Stay here please," she said and stepped out.
Tyke was standing just outside the curtain, brandishing the largest stick he could find and looked anguished.
"I didn't go inside," he whimpered and Kaylin bent down and hugged him.
"I'm okay Tyke, I'm okay."
"I thought that he was gonna eat you," sobbed the boy and Kaylin shook her head.
"No, no. You know how you have a nightmare and you wake up screaming because it scared you?"
"No," the boy lied.
"Well… that's just what it was; it woke up scared, okay? I'm giving him medicine, so you just go back to bed okay?"
"No," the child protested and sniffed, "I don't want to be asleep if he hurts you."
"It won't hurt me," she promised and petted his head, "but if you want to stay awake, go find Algae and give her something to eat okay?"
"Okay," Tyke whined begrudgingly, and turned to search for the white mouse. Kaylin sighed and turned to go back behind the curtain, coming face to face with the alien's torso. She put a hand on his stomach to try to signal him to step back and he roughly grabbed her hand. She grimaced and looked up at him. He rattled and with his hand pointed at his wrist, where an empty chassis sat.
"Oh," Kaylin blinked and her mind whirled, "um…."