Chapter 7 *Cara*
Cara awoke several hours later, feeling rather nauseous. Her mind was a blur of events and it was simply sickening to her at that current moment. However, she came to when she felt movement by her feet and saw a large black mass. She gasped and curled up into the corner of the bed. Four looked upwards, cocking his head to the side. Then it hit her. "Jesus, Four… you scared me half to death." Four hissed softly, in a gentle, soothing way. Cara shook her head and lied there a moment longer. Her leg no hurt which was a blessing in and of itself but, she couldn't get over the attack, now that she was back to a clear head. How did she get so lucky? That thing was so close to killing her, and it could have too, but it didn't. Thankfully Four was there to save her but the fact is, she was pinned by death….literally.
She stretched and inhaled sharply as all her muscles began to betray her. "Great." She uttered, obviously displeased with the feeling. Four stood on all four legs, making his way to Cara and she accepted him with open arms. It was comforting, knowing that a creature such as himself was there for her, protecting her. Cara smiled at the thought and snuggled into the alien. Despite the hard exoskeleton, he was quite comfortable...if you can ignore the feel of his prominent ribs. The door hissed open and Four responded with his own hiss of disdain. "Hey, saw you were awake." Cara's eyes opened wide and she shot away from Four to hug the man before her. "Oh god, Michael!" She clung to him as if her life depended on it. Even if she did have an attraction for Four, Michael was still her first love and that doesn't disappear overnight.
"Hey." Michael glanced over her shoulder at Four who raised his lips to bear his blade-like fangs. Michael shivered and reluctantly let Cara go in fear of the alien attacking. "Did the rest of those things follow or..?" Cara trailed and Michael shook his head. "No, thankfully." Michael took Cara's hand and gently squeezed. The others are worried for you. You should come see them." She glanced at Four who sat there on his back haunches, his tail swishing slowly, as if he was analyzing something. "Well, I don't want Four to be by himself quite yet… is it okay?" Michael hesitated a moment before sighing. "Cara, everyone is already on edge about it. I mean with everything going on, you can't blame them." Cara pursed her lip and thought a moment before nodding in disappointment. "Alright." The thing is, she felt safe with Four. She had after everything and now after that near-death experience, she was afraid to leave without him. "I'll meet you over there. I just gotta do something."
Michael nodded. "I'll wait outside the door." With that, he exited the room and Cara whined, plopping onto the bed. Four tilted his dome to the side, gently nudging the human female. "Four," She began, looking up at the xenomorph. "You have to stay in here, okay?" Everyone is scared of you.." Four hissed and began to pace around the room. "Listen, I would much rather have you be with me but I gotta worry about everyone else for right now." Four hissed and flicked his tail in defiance. "Four, I swear to god, if you don't listen…" THis time, however, Four plopped down, staring at Cara. At least, that is what if felt like. It felt as if he was staring right into her soul. With an audible huff, Four jumped right back onto the bed, curled up, and rest his head on his arms. "There." She pecked the top of his dome before smiling. "I'll be back soon." With that, she left the room and walked with Michael down the hall.
*Four*
Four watched as the pair left, watching as their heat signatures faded into a dim light. He growled and looked at the ceiling, finding a vent in the corner. It would be a tight space for the tubes on his back but, his body was made for tight spaces...that is what made his species such excellent stalkers. He lunged into the vent, snapping the barrier, and made his way through the tunnels, following his mate's scent and the distant heat signatures. He could vaguely hear their conversations and so he stiffened up his tail to prevent clanging. "How are you feeling?" Four crept closer and could identify seven humans. But, his mate was easiest to pin-point. She was the smallest of the group and one of the few females there too. He shivered as her scent drifted towards him. It was intoxicating for him. Honestly, it was nothing like he had ever smelt before. He crawled through the tight crawl-space and stopped when in the vent directly above the humans. He wanted to be there just in case something went wrong and more of his hive found his mate.
"Decent. Feel like I was hit by a semi but overall, ok." He could see a couple humans shifting before sitting. "You know, that wound was pretty brutal. You are lucky to be standing here right now. To be honest, I am kind of glad that creature was there to save you." He saw his mate smile and her eyes glazed over. He felt proud, knowing that he made her full of happiness and glee. That is all he wanted for her. He wanted her happy and safe, with him. "But, how did you come across him? I mean, you must have been in a pretty sticky situation." Four couldn't help but let the snicker of a hiss out. It was an incredibly situation. His tail flicked ever so slightly and clanked against the metal lining. All soldiers grabbed their guns and aimed upwards. "Four?" He sighed in defeat. He really was a ope when he thought about his mate… he became careless. He pushed the grate down and jumped from the vent, landing on his two hind legs. "I told you to stay in the room." Cara reprimanded and Four huffed, plopping down. He wrapped his tail around her waist and pulled the tiny human into his lap, cradling her. Now that he was known, he was going to show that Cara was his and his alone.