Chapter eight

Weyland-Yutani Facility
Rachel, Nevada
Off Hwy 375
November 31st, 2008

Ci'tde stood there, fixated on the closed door, his head tilting slightly to the side. He was certain he had heard something, but whatever it was, its sound had been muffled by the barrier. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Skl're vigorously searched for more of their equipment. Despite donning his thermal netting and armor, Ci'tde still felt strangely vulnerable without his weapons, as well as his mask.

"It's quiet," he rumbled, the words mostly directed at himself, knowing that Skl're wouldn't share his concern. His mandibles clicked together, each sound echoing his mounting worry, matched by the clock's steady ticks on the wall beside him. The truth was, he disliked having his female companion out of his sight. Every time she ventured away, it seemed to lead to trouble.

After wrenching open a locked drawer in one of the desks, Skl're glanced over his shoulder, frustration etched across his face. He dumped the contents onto the floor, his agitation evident in the curl of his mandibles as he realized the drawer held nothing but meaningless items. He had thoroughly ransacked the room, desperately searching for their missing equipment and weapons, but luck hadn't been on his side. Thankfully, the small human female had brought back some of the scattered pieces she had found, sparing them from being completely defenseless.

Sensing his brother's concern, even from across the room, Skl're turned his attention back to Ci'tde. He noticed Ci'tde standing halfway to the door, completely focused on the closed entrance, as if he could will the human to walk back through it.

His mandibles clicked together as he pondered the situation, turning his head to follow his brother's gaze towards the closed door. "I will check the other rooms, and you can see to your female," Skl're finally relented. He knew there was no use in trying to dissuade his brother's infatuation with the human female, especially since she had proven herself a skilled warrior on multiple occasions, much like his own female.

Ci'tde didn't need to be told twice and immediately started towards the door. His brother was right behind him as he turned the handle and opened the door. The smell of blood was the first thing he noticed, the next being the unconscious female lying sprawled on the ground in the hallway. Ci'tde growled, the sound coming out menacing as his head whipped from side to side, looking down each end of the hallway.

He could smell his female's blood, and there was a faint trail leading to the right. Clenching his hands into fists, he felt his talons biting into the hide of his palms. He snarled at his brother, sending him a sharp look before he stalked after the trail. "Find our weapons."

Skl're's hackles raised at the hostile demand of his brother, the tone promising death to anything in his path. He tipped his gaze down to the fallen female and then to his brother's retreating form down the hallway. There had been a time when he saw his brother as reckless and brash, more brawn than brain. But their trial had sharpened his brother, honing his strength into a lethal weapon, backed by maturity instead of youthful impulses.

Reaching down, he grabbed the unconscious female and tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. He trusted his brother to return. For now, he would search the rooms for their missing equipment. With one arm gripping the female's legs to keep her steady, he started towards the next room.

OoOoO

A sharp tug on her scalp dragged her out of the darkness, jolting her awake as if a splash of cold water had been thrown on her. The sensation of burning spread from the back of her arms to her fingertips and the heel of her foot, making it feel like her skin was on fire. Even the slip of skin where her top had ridden up sent a jolt of pain through her. She winced, and the pain in her scalp intensified.

Opening her eyes, she found herself being dragged along the ground, her hair gripped tightly by one of the guard's fists. Another sharp tug elicited a cry of pain, causing her to tilt her head back to see the determined guard hauling her down the hallway. As they reached the door leading to the stairwell, Elaina attempted to grab onto the doorframe to prevent herself from being dragged through it.

He turned on her then, his face devoid of any emotion, and twisted his grip in her hair, intensifying the pain. Instinctively, she let go of the doorframe and reached up to grab his hand, trying to alleviate the agony by scratching him with blunt nail, but his leather gloves offered the perfect resistance to her attempts to free herself.

Through gritted teeth, she shrieked at him to release her, clenching her teeth to endure the pain. Desperate, she grabbed for the railing, only to miss, fighting him as he dragged her up the stairs. Each step bit into her back, buttocks, and legs. Despite the agony, she managed to hook a hand onto the railing when he yanked her onto the landing, and she held on with all her strength.

The guard turned on her again and forcibly brought her up to her feet. Seizing the opportunity, she tried to kick out at him. Starting with an attempt to stomp on his foot, but her bare foot was no match for the steel-toed boots he wore. Grimacing at the zing of pain in her heel from hitting metal, she shifted her tactic and aimed to slam her knee into his groin.

To her horror, there was little effect. Her attack seemed to have no impact on him, and she realized with fear gripping her heart that he couldn't be human. The memories of how difficult it had been to kill the last non-human assailant they faced flooded her mind, making her cry out in desperation as she thrashed around, trying to break free from his grip.

Clawing at his face and doing anything she could to force him to let her go, her efforts seemed at first to be in vain. Only for him to suddenly use his firm grip on her hair to shove her back, finally releasing her.

Elaina gasped, her feet stumbling under her, and she teetered on the edge of the landing they were on. Her arms flailed, desperately trying to regain her balance. The guard moved forward, impossibly fast, and delivered a powerful punch to her gut. She cried out, spittle flying from her mouth as she struggled to gasp for air. The impact caused her to lose her footing, and she crumpled, curling into the new wave of pain.

Barely having time to tuck her knees to her chest and shield herself with her arms, she went tumbling down the stairs to the landing below. Each step felt like a brutal impact, stealing her voice, and bruising her skin. Finally, she hit the landing with a loud thud and continued rolling until the wall brought her momentum to a brutal stop, smacking her in the face.

She moaned, lying there curled up as best she could with every part of her body hurting. Letting out a whimper, her lungs slowly remembered how to draw in air again. Shaking uncontrollably, it took her a minute, maybe longer, to realize she could still feel her fingers and toes. The sound of boots on the stairs jolted her into action, and she scrambled up, pressing her back against the wall.

Thankfully, it seemed nothing was broken. At least, nothing felt broken. However, she felt like one giant bruise, her whole body aching from the ordeal.

Her eyes frantically searched the stairwell for anything she could use as a weapon, but there was nothing within reach. As the guard drew near, she felt a tremor of fear coursing through her, but this time, she refused to let it paralyze her.

What the fuck are you?" she snarled at him; her defiance evident in her voice.

Contrary to the clichés in movies, the guard didn't feel the need to indulge in a monologue about his existence or his sinister plans. He simply reached the landing she stood on and closed in on her with a terrifying speed that sent her heart pounding beneath her ribcage. She couldn't bear the thought of him grabbing her again; she knew she couldn't take him on, in hand-to-hand combat. In a desperate attempt to escape, Elaina swiftly ducked to avoid his reaching arms and began to scrabble away on her hands and knees.

Fear had her heart ricocheting in her chest, creating tunnel vision, so she wasn't prepared for the kick he threw at her. His steel-toed boot connected with her stomach, causing her to flail and collide with the wall behind her. On her hands and knees, she curled inward, the pain so intense that she couldn't hold back and ended up vomiting.

A menacing growl served as the only warning to the approach a a familiar Yautja, and Elaina jerked her head up just in time to witness the guard swiftly turn to confront Ci'tde head-on. The two grappled, and if she hadn't been sure before that the guard wasn't human, seeing him go head-to-head with the Yautja solidified the fact.

Ci'tde and the guard grappled fiercely, the Yautja's talons slicing through the guard's gear as if it were made of nothing. A spray of white fluid rained down around them as his talons found flesh beneath. Then, they locked their hands in a test of brute strength, each trying to overpower the other.

Snarling with fury, Ci'tde planted his feet firmly into the ground, and with a loud snap and wrenching noise, Elaina gasped as she watched Ci'tde dislocate both of the guard's arms at the shoulders. With his opponent weakened, he released the broken appendages, letting them hang limply at the guard's side. Strangely, the guard didn't appear to be that phased, emitting a series of whirring noises and beeps.

Ci'tde reached for the guard's head, his muscles bulging with effort as he tore it from the body. What could have been mistaken for a human spine was revealed, but it appeared more like metal plates joined together, forming a spine-like structure. As the head came off, a spray of white fluid erupted, coating both Elaina and Ci'tde in the gory, arterial spray. The guard's lifeless body fell to the ground beside where Elaina cowered against the wall.

Milky white fluid spread from the body, covering the stairwell, and staining the leggings of the pants she wore. The sight left her shaken and terrified, unable to comprehend the true nature of her attacker.

Elaina turned over, her stomach cramping as she heaved again, trying to expel what little was in her stomach—mostly bile. Gasping through the burning sensation, she reached up with a shaky hand to wipe her mouth clean. Once her stomach stopped quivering, and she was sure there was nothing left to come back up, she grabbed onto the wall to try and haul herself up.

Throughout her struggle to stand, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the guard's lifeless body. It was evident that this creature was definitely not human. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks—what the hell was her father's company up to? And then it dawned on her that this was all her fault. She had allowed Yutani to buy up her father's business, unknowingly playing a role in these dark and dangerous experiments.

Lifting her eyes to meet Ci'tde's gaze, she stared at him as he stood there before her. He was looking down at the guard, a threatening growl rumbling from his chest. He dropped the guard's head, and Elaina tried not to watch as it rolled towards the edge of the landing. The sound of it bouncing and splotching down the steps with a wet noise threatened to have her tasting more bile. She swallowed back the urge.

She forced herself to focus her entire attention on the Yautja before her, instead, the sight of him causing an ache to form beneath her breastbone. "You're always having to save me," she said out loud, feeling a pang of frustration and disheartenment. It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that she could never measure up to him. How he could even consider her as an equal was beyond her comprehension.

He rumbled a word to her, but without the computer to interpret her own language or his limited English words, she couldn't discern the sentiment behind it. As if sensing her troubled thoughts, he reached out and lightly grazed his talon over the marking he had given her. The scar was visible with her bangs plastered to one side of her forehead, from sweat and blood. She wasn't ashamed of the scar; if anything, she was proud of it. To her, it was a symbol of her resilience and survival—a rite of passage.

She wasn't the scared kid in the pyramid anymore. While she might not possess the same strength or bravery as Ci'tde, she knew she was a survivor too, and that realization gave her a newfound sense of confidence and pride.

Elaina managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Celtic," she whispered the words, her eyes welling up with tears. She watched his head tilt to the side, and a soft trill of curiosity escaped him in response. Despite all the differences between them—two different species, the immense physical disparity, and the knowledge that he could easily overpower her—none of it mattered at that moment.

With determination, she crossed the small space between them, carefully skirting around the twitching body on the ground. She bravely wrapped her arms around the large alien, embracing him as a gesture of gratitude and connection. The act symbolized an unspoken bond between two survivors.

She pressed her face against his chest, her head barely reaching the metal plate he wore as a chest guard. Her fingers gently pressed into his back, feeling the texture of his pebbled hide against her fingertips. As soon as she made contact, he started purring, and the soothing sound sent a comforting wave straight to her bones. Tipping her head back, she looked up at him.

He didn't have his mask on, revealing his formidable face, but it no longer unsettled her like it did in the beginning. His mandibles flexed, the tusks at the ends clicking together, and he looked down at her with a fierce yet protective expression. There was a sense of understanding and camaraderie between them, as if they had developed an unspoken connection that surpassed the boundaries of language and species.

"Thanks for letting me hug you," she said with a small smile, appreciating the fact that he didn't pull away or reject her gesture. Even though he hadn't hugged her back, his arms had hung unsure at his sides while she had clung to him. Despite that, the fact that he allowed her to embrace him was enough for her. It was a silent acknowledgment of the bond they shared and the understanding that transcended words.

"Elli," he rumbled her name, his purr kicking up a notch and ending in a trill. "Hurt?"

Elaina looked down at herself, taking stock of her injuries. While she had definitely experienced much worse, like having an alien tail punch a hole through her shoulder or almost getting run over by her mom, she wasn't too badly hurt from this recent encounter.

"I'm fine, Big guy," she answered, trying to reassure him. In an act of familiarity, she should question, she reached out to pat his chest.

When had this become her normal? She pondered silently, realizing how much her life had changed and how she had adapted to it. Her bond with the Yautja, once seemingly unimaginable, had become an integral part of her life, and she had come to accept it as her new reality.

Ci'tde purred in contentment as Elaina's hand rested against his chest. He cherished the feel of her touch, and it seemed that her gestures had grown more frequent, causing his body to tense with pleasure. "Good," he purred in response and displayed the same thumbs-up sign she had shown him in the past, indicating that he understood her affirmation.

Elaina smirked at his thumbs-up response. "Yeah, good," she replied, returning the gesture.

"Where are Scar and Kelly? Are they both okay?" Elaina asked, her eyes scanning the stairwell for any sign of their companions. She figured that Ci'tde's brother, Skl're, would have appeared by now, as he was known for quickly interrupting any moments of privacy they might have had.

"Follow," Ci'tde clicked to her, signaling that they should go up the stairs together. He turned to lead the way, and Elaina followed closely behind, anxious to find out the fate of their companions.

Elaina followed after Ci'tde, her face contorting into a grimace as her body protested each initial step. However, with every stride, it seemed to get easier, as if her muscles were warming up and stretching in response to the movement. She kept up with him, following him up the stairs to the landing above. As they reached the door to the hallway where she had been dragged from, she tried not to notice the scratch marks her nails had left on the paint job as she had desperately tried to resist the guard's dragging.

Her Yautja companion led her down the hallway to a doorway that looked like it had been nearly ripped off its hinges. It hung half-hazardly, a clear indication that it hadn't been that way before. Ci'tde guided her through the damaged door, and inside, they found Skl're. He was in the process of putting on his mask, securing the hoses in place as they walked in.

He looked up at their entrance and rumbled his pleasure. "I found our weapons, Mei'hswe," he informed his brother.

Elaina searched the room and spotted Kelly sitting up in one of the chairs, holding her head between her knees. She seemed unaware of their arrival until Skl're's rumble caught her attention, and she lifted her head. Pain was evident in Kelly's eyes as she touched the back of her head, indicating her discomfort.

"Elaina," Kelly whispered her name and attempted to stand, wincing from the throbbing pain in her head even with that small movement.

"Kelly, thank god you're alright," Elaina said with relief as she hurried across the room. She carefully examined the injury at the back of Kelly's skull, but it came away with no sign of blood at the injury site. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, testing for any signs of concussion.

"Three," Kelly muttered, seemingly alert and coherent. "I'm not concussed. Jesus, Elaina, what happened to you?" she asked, concerned, as she noticed the cuts and bruises on Elaina's body.

The other woman was carefully examining her, and by the concern in her eyes, Elaina realized she must look pretty rough.

"One of the non-humans knocked us out. I woke up to find him dragging me down the hallway. I'm bruised all over, but I promise I'm fine," Elaina explained, trying to reassure Kelly.

Kelly pursed her lips but nodded in understanding. "Can we leave now?" she asked instead. Her weariness with the place was palpable. She had endured Gunnison and Afghanistan, but she was done with this place. Kelly wanted to get out before this new location would be the death of them.

Across the room, Ci'tde gathered up his wrist guards and combistick, but his mask wasn't among the rest of the items, which meant he'd have to be careful of any gunfire. Both Yautjas stood tall, fully dressed in their armor, and armed once more. Skl're did a scan of the facility with his mask, ensuring it was still in working order.

Kelly observed the two Yautjas, still unsure about the situation she had found herself in. Waking up to find herself slung over an alien shoulder like a sack of flour and Elaina missing had been alarming. The last time she dealt with these creatures, she had been running for her life while they tried to kill her and the others. The sudden change in their behavior, with the Yautjas treating Elaina as an equal, left her baffled.

Shaking her head at the surreal turn of events, Kelly knew she'd have to process it all later. For now, her focus was on sneaking all of them out without getting caught. The plan had been to extract only one person, not one person and two formidable aliens. They would need to be cautious and discreet to get out alive, without raising any alarms.

AN: This chapter was originally much longer, but it was definitely too long so I split it in half, which means I should be updating the next one fairly soon. I hope you liked it. Let me know if you like/loved/hated it.

Inky out!