Nervous, shaking. Kaylin descended in the elevator, able to hear clearly the war going on above. It filtered through the open gates to the shaft, and bounced off the concrete. She didn't want to think about how much death was going on. Didn't want to think of what was waiting for her down below. The scream of the queen was fresh in her mind, and she now understood why the elevator was so large.
She knew that the power being out meant that the cages on any of the xenomorphs would remain sealed, at least, they would be if they were designed like that, if the people who built this place thought ahead to that sort of problem.
Kaylin pushed the thoughts from her mind and flexed her fingers before curling them around the chair leg in her hand. The earpiece in her ear was working now, she could hear a soft static sound coming through and occasionally orders and reports were coming through the line. She didn't know why it hadn't been working before.
Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself down, but jumped when the elevator slowed down, expecting the worst. The elevator stopped and she stood frozen for several seconds. When there was no sign of shiny black shells coming for her she stepped towards the gates and opened them.
The joints and wheels pushing the gates back sounded like screams compared to how quiet it was down here. This place opened up immediately to a hallway the same width and height of the elevator. She let out a shaky breath and stepped forward. She could hear the soft sound of her shoes hitting the concrete ground. The sounds of battle behind her fading quickly.
The hallway didn't take long to turn down at a gentle angle, and she could see the end of the hallway before her, not far away, where two giant metal doors were. She stepped forward more hurriedly and saw a smaller door to her right. The large doors loomed before her, a parasite of a lock sitting to the left-hand side. She swiped the marine's card and said a prayer. The light turned green and a small alarm sounded. She stepped back as the doors opened, and she was suddenly hit with heat and humidity. In front of her was darkness. She rushed in, slowing and looking around at the place she found herself in.
The walls were segregated, serrated, webbed. This was what the inside of a hive must look like. She stepped to one of the walls and put her hand against it. Concrete. Concrete made to resemble the creature's natural habitat. Her fingers slid down the smooth imitation and looked up. Her brow furrowed. She saw the glint of metal. She took a step and reached up, feeling the cold inside curve and stepped back with horrible realization. They were shackles, and in the dim unnatural light, she saw an entire line of them.
Her breath caught in her throat and she took her makeshift weapon in both hands and ran down the hall in a panic, trying not to breathe too hard, or make too much noise. The false nest was extensive, and there wasn't any surface that was devoid of restraints. She was sure she was lost, sure she had circled a couple of times and felt hot tears and sweat run down her face.
She didn't dare call out for Jitar, unsure if the xenomorphs were in the hive with her or in separate cages. She couldn't imagine why they would spend the money to by this huge nest and not fill it. She also was wary of any noises she didn't make, keeping in mind that the sergeant said Weyland had been watching the 'show,' and it was possible he would materialize out of the shadows soon.
She couldn't stop, though, she had to find Jitar. She forced her tired and aching legs to move, taking her down a path she was pretty sure she hadn't turned down yet and was lost again. She hoped that Jitar would make a noise soon, some sound or call so that she could find him, though that could get her just as disoriented with the echo the concrete caused.
Suddenly she stumbled into a large room, gagging on a smell that smacked her in the face. She held her breath and kept herself from coughing. Steadying herself and looking up to see where she was. Her blood froze. She was in a huge expansive room easily ten times the size of the hallway, all made of the same decorative concrete. Before her, across the room, suspended by bars and cables was the mother herself. The massive creature was curled as if in sleep, her hind legs bent and secured to support her massive pulsating sack. Behind her Kaylin could see the eggs being laid on a sort of conveyer belt and taken swiftly out of the chamber. To where? She didn't want to know.
The massive carapace that was the crown of the queen shifted, and the sleek head of the mother extended out. Kaylin froze and held the leg of her chair close to her, wide eyes on the creature as it shifted, swinging her head left and right like she was dizzy, and then she gave out a screech, a terrible sound that Kaylin felt in her chest. The queen struggled against her bonds, fought their hold, but could not move.
Kaylin knew that the mother was aware of her presence, and she stepped back into the hallway she had come out of. After so many steps the creature stopped moving. The human woman looked at where the eyes of the creature should have been, that vacant space on its brow. It hissed, fountains of drool slipping from her teeth. Then the head retreated back into the crest and the creature was still again.
Kaylin held her breath and strained to listen. There was nothing, no skittering of claws against concrete, no answering cries. The queen was alone in this prison.
Kaylin let out her breath and turned to look from side to side, before turning back into the tunnels.
"Jitar!" she called, her voice bordering on shrill and echoing harshly against her own ears as she ran, "Jitar!"
There was no answer. Kaylin stopped running, the back of her throat burning. Was he not down here? Where else could he be?
"Hey, he— ay. I see you."
Kaylin froze at the voice that came from her earpiece. She looked around for who saw her, for any cameras or shadow of someone behind her. She didn't recognize the voice, and it was broken and distorted.
"—urn right."
Kaylin looked to her right and saw some distance ahead was a tunnel. Hesitant she stepped forward and turned down the tunnel. She kept going, hearing static and the broken voice seemingly encouraging her.
"—kay tu— eft here."
Kaylin looked down the dark hallway and hesitated. Was this a trap? Was Weyland leading her to the xenomorph cages to open them up and watch them devour her? She stepped back and the voice hissed at her.
"Al—ost there Kay. –eep go—."
Kaylin paused and her mind whirled with trying to recognize the voice. She set her jaw and looked around for a camera. She saw a small gleam in the ceiling and stared into it, not entirely sure if it was the lens. She turned down the tunnel and moved quickly, her legs sore and threatening to cramp. She followed the voice without hesitation now as it directed her through the tunnels. Her speed increased and her heart raced. She dropped the chair leg with a loud clatter and grabbed onto the smooth skin of the alien.
He jolted awake and roared at her. She moved her hands across his body, checking for injury, moving from his neck to his legs. That's when she saw the curled husk of the parasitoid under Jitar's feet, and the opened egg some feet away.
"Oh god," she whimpered and looked up at Jitar, his eyes looking at her but the light in them was gone. That fire had been extinguished. It took them nine years, but they did it, they finally broke him.
Kaylin's brow bent as she stepped up onto the concrete and put her ear to his chest. She could hear the embryo inside moving, muffling the sound of his triplicate heartbeat. She closed her eyes tightly, a tear escaping and running the line where her cheek was pressed against the scar on his chest. She had been too late.
Her eyes opened, and were hard.
"Okay," she said leaning away and reaching up to his shackles, "it's okay Jitar. I can get it out. He watched her silently, his mandibles tightly closed over his mouth. Her fingers pried at the metal but kept slipping before they even gave way.
She grunted and stepped back, stumbling and almost falling. She ran to the chair leg and ran back, trying to pry the locks open using the back wall as a brace, but it wasn't enough. Growling she fell back down and looked at the metal rod that was now belt slightly. The light caught oddly on the broken end.
She thinned her lips and bent, grabbing the tail of the parasitoid and dragging it down to the flat part of the ground. She stabbed at the tail with the broken end. There was enough pressure in the dead thing that the acid spat out weakly and burned into the ground. The end of the rod was smoking by the time she broke through and severed the tail.
Gasping and holding her breath against the acrid smell she walked back up and carefully drew the bleeding end of the tail against the shackles. She reapplied whenever the acid diluted enough to stop melting.
The shackles snapped and Jitar fell forward, landing on one knee with a fist planted on the ground. Kaylin threw the tail away and moved to Jitar, touching his arm to help him stand but he pushed her away with a rattle.
She felt her eyes burn as she looked at him. He thought all hope was lost, she could see that he was looking at the body of the parasitoid. She walked back up to him and touched his shoulder. He looked away from her, dropping his head. She felt a lump in her throat making it hard to breathe, and it burned.
"Hey!" she yelled, smacking his shoulder. His eyes jerked up to her and she balled her hands into fists for a moment before bending down to her knee, "I can help," she said quietly, "I can cut it out," she looked into his eyes for understanding, turning and pointing at the parasitoid, then putting her hand on his chest where the embryo was incubating, "cut it," she drew a line down his chest, then drew her hand away like she was holding the creature itself, "out."
Jitar looked at her hand then back at her. She licked her bottom lip and put a hand back over his heart, "live. You'll live."
A screech echoed down the hallways and Kaylin looked around. The scream was accompanied by another sound. Heavy solid thuds. Footsteps.
"Oh god," she whispered, "she's out."
"Get out— Kay!"
Kaylin stood and grabbed Jitar's shoulder. The alien stood to his feet and swayed. Some of the drugs must have been in his system. She pulled on his arm to walk him forward, positioning herself to catch him if he fell.
"Come on Jitar," she encouraged as they sped to a jog, "come one!"
Soon they were running, Kaylin using her memory to navigate and listening to the panicked voice's directions as it frantically cried which way to go. The giant footsteps stopped but the scream sounded like it was right behind them. Kaylin dared to look.
The queen hissed.
"Oh god, run Jitar! Run!" She tried to encourage him to go on without her, knowing he was faster than she was, forgetting for a moment that he needed her to remove the embryo.
The large alien looked over his shoulder and growled. He stopped for a moment, his arm snapping out and grabbed her wrist, hoisting her up into one arm. It took him only a split second to readjust his steps and then he was off, much faster than she had been going.
Kaylin looked past Jitar's arm and saw the queen gaining momentum as she sped towards them.
"Left! Le-eft! Le—! Go go g—o—o –go!"
"This way this way," she pointed and Jitar's claws scrapped the ground as he turned. He took off running as the queen slid behind them, large arms catching herself on the walls of the hive as she nearly toppled over, the spear end of her tail gouging the walls as it swung for balance. Ahead of them was the door. She pressed her hand to her earpiece.
"Close the door! Close it close it close it!"
Obediently the blinding light began to shrink with the whirr and groan of metal. Jitar snarled and leaned forward, pushing himself forward and Kaylin's hands grabbed onto what she could. The line was almost gone, they weren't going to make it. Jitar roared as the queen putrid breath screamed against his back and Kaylin's face, the inner mouth within striking distance. Kaylin closed her eyes. A great force hit her with the feeling of weightlessness. The sensation of falling was short and large arms wrapped around her just before the ground met them. She opened her eyes as she tumbled out and rolled a couple times, looking at the shut doors.
The queen's fury mixed with the sounds of her beating against the doors. She looked over at Jitar, gasping for breath as she stood to his feet. They had made it. She scrambled to her feet and he looked at her, hands balling into fists.
Kaylin fumbled with her earpiece and pressed the button to allow her to be heard, "okay guardian angel, where to now?"
The voice laughed, loud and clear, the disruption cause by the interference of the false hive gone, and Kaylin's eyes widened.
"Damn Kay, give me a heart attack why don't you?"
"Adolfo?" she gasped, smiling.
"Yeah."
Her brow furrowed, and she asked seriously, "Where's Weyland?"
"Upper levels."
"Where are you?"
"Central levels. Come on up, bring your buddy, we got to get the hell out of here."