Species: The Survivor

by WeAreHarbinger

Post Species II/III: Eve survived and escaped. After years alone on the run, and a few close calls, a powerful, disturbing presence has begun to haunt her dreams. After waking from the most recent disturbance, she muses on her eventful journey, unaware that a war for the future of humanity is about to begin.

14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 - THE AWOKEN

4 AND A HALF YEARS EARLIER - SONORA - MEXICO

Eve had lingered here too long, there was the scent of death everywhere, some human, and something else. It was similar to the scent and sense she got when she walked into Patrick's nest… but it was different, weaker, diluted, incomplete.

When Eve arrived in the area, she knew she sensed a presence, more than one, it was weak, but it was a cacophony of echoes. She had been cautious, she felt like there were eyes on her. Those like her had been here… possibly were still here. The sense echoes she picked up were faded, muted somehow.

This place had been a lab of some kind. Here, someone had been creating and experimenting on those like her… Eve couldn't help but think, would they never learn?

Now, at least, she knew why she had felt unexpectedly drawn to this town, even though she had missed the action, the residual sense lingered. It was a psychic echo, an innate knowing, an instinctual pull… Eve cursed herself for going to it.

The night she escaped to get to Patrick, she had run through a maze of hallways and corridors before reaching the outside of the base. Every time she took a wrong turn, the feeling diminished, it was the same here… something had drawn her to this place.

This place, however, was not like the lab that she had come from, the lab where she was raised by Laura. Eve sometimes caught herself wishing she was back with Laura and often thought of her, but then she remembered what things were like in the lab and shook off those feelings. If being in Laura's familiar and comforting company meant being a prisoner and an experiment, she would be happier on the run.

Something very bad had happened here, something horrific. Eve sensed residual emotion everywhere, anger, anguish, deep sadness. She had dug around in the dirt and ash from the collapsing structure until she had come across a safe. It wasn't hard to break it open.

Inside she had found the notes, files and data that the scientist kept. His name was Forbes McGuire.

There were three sets of handwriting on the notes. One large file recorded genetic transfers, as well as his thoughts and theories on isolating different aspects of the alien genome. Which aspects were in-fact alien, and which one's came from the human side that were accentuated by the genetic crossing.

There were sticky notes, Forbes and someone called "Azura" whom Eve could only assume was his assistant leaving notes for each other.

The notes went back several years, Eve noticed the third set of handwriting appeared in the notes dated this year. Each note in this 3rd distinct handwriting pattern was always signed "Des". Whoever this "Des" was, they appeared to have briefly assumed authority over Forbes for roughly a four month period, six months ago. Eve noticed Des's notes did not appear at all in more recent entries.

Six months, Eve had been free now for six months since she awoke on that conveyer, staring into the fire and broke out of her imprisonment for a second time. In that time she had never staying in one place for long, she had always been moving. After an incident in the Midwest that saw her being shot and falling from a 3rd story window, followed by a four day chase across country, she had finally evaded her pursuers and decided to head south to Mexico. There was no plan, only possibly to free fall through South America until she found a place she could disappear.

She had sat in the dirt reading through the files for roughly an hour before she had been confronted by a young, female police officer who walked up on her from behind.

It wasn't easy to sneak up on her, she was so enraptured in looking through the notes of this apparently rogue scientist that she wasn't paying attention. Besides, the place was so full of different scents, it was an assault on the senses.

After her third refusal to cooperate, the officer had pulled her sidearm and begun ordering her to comply.

Eve ignored the officer's order to raise her hands and stand up. She packed all the hardcopies and data-drives away into her pack for safe keeping. She had to find somewhere safe for this material, clearly the project had somehow leaked and individuals with the right skillset were creating new life… like her… it all appeared to have gone wrong for this scientist. His lab was now a smoking ruin.

"I SAID PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS ON TOP OF YOUR HEAD AND TURN AROUND!" The young female officer bellowed "ÁNDALE! LET'S GO!".

Eve half turned, paying little attention to the officer, she was no real threat "You shouldn't be here, Officer… go home". Eve heard her rack the slide of the Glock20 she was aiming at the back of her head "I'm not going to tell you again!".

Eve rubbed her hands together, knocking the residual ash off of them, then stood and turned to face the officer, unconcerned, "Yeah? I don't like repeating myself either" she picked up her pack and shouldered it "I'm leaving now, Officer, shoot me in the back if you like".

Eve regarded the officer for a moment, she was strong, fit, a fighter… and would be quite attractive, were she not pointing a gun at her… of course.

The officer had no way of knowing that if she discharged that weapon, it would do absolutely nothing "I'm just passing through, I don't want to hurt you… unless you make me".

Eve turned and took one step away when a single shot rang out, followed by a crackle of a radio, now things had the potential to become problematic. The officer called into the radio in Spanish "This is Lieutenant Álverez, I have a Female, uncooperative, warehouse district at the location of that fire last night". There was a response over the radio and Eve knew that more officers would be arriving soon.

Eve turned "That was a very silly thing to do, now I have to run". "You're not going anywhere" Álverez said. Eve tilted her head slightly, "Listen officer… "Álverez"..." Eve read the nametag on her chest "Apart from digging in the dirt, what have you got on me?". "Breaking and entering, tampering with a crime scene, theft, take your pick? Now, put your hands where I can see them". Eve shook her head "Look, I don't have time for this, I'm not armed, and I'm leaving…".

Eve turned and made to leave again when suddenly she sensed it. Eve stopped, and froze, this feeling, this sensation, this knowing… was familiar…not quite the same as before, but it was there. The officer lost her patience and took a quick step forward "I said get your hands on your head!" - "SHHH" Eve held up a hand cutting her off.

"Don't you fucking Sush me, who the hell do you think you are?" Álverez shouted, but quickly trailed off when she began to feel it too. A movement… underfoot.

There was a vibration beneath their feet "What the fuck is that? What did you do?" Álverez shouted. Eve looked up and locked eyes with her "Run…". Álvarez looked like she was about to protest, she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a clawed hand shot up out of the rubble and seized Álvarez by the right ankle.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Álverez screamed and unloaded her entire magazine into the hand that was grabbing her. Eve turned and considered running, leaving the officer to her fate, but something, she didn't know what, that same irritating moral pull… whatever it was, it made her stay.

Eve made her choice, and silently hoped it wasn't the wrong one, she darted over to the officer, and wrapped her hand around the alien appendage protruding from the dirt, wrenching it back until it let go, then snapping it like a twig.

There was a faint, muffled scream from beneath the rubble and the rocks began to move. Eve looked around, it was happening all around. "What's under here?" Eve shouted.

"I don't… there were Cartel smuggling tunnels beneath this area, we shut it down a couple of years back". More of them began to crawl out of the rubble, these weren't like her, they weren't even like Patrick's Brood, these were feral, chaotic. Álverez flicked away the spent magazine and reloaded.

Eve had read through enough of Forbes notes. His assistant, the one called Azura, had made a few references to "Burnouts" being stored in the tunnels below. Meaning that the destruction of the lab coupled with her presence here now, had caused these "Burnouts" to stir.

Álverez swept around with the gun, aiming at the movement below the rubble, waiting for a target to present itself.

"That's really not going to help, NOW RUN!" Eve shouted, and pulled the Officer's arm. Eve ran at her full speed, aware that the officer was now many yards behind her, and darted between two of the dirty prefab factory buildings.

Eve heard one of them scream out behind her. A shrill, guttural sound that sounded like it had been reverberated through a plastic pipe. "What the fuck are those things?" Álverez said. "Why don't you go over there and ask them?" Eve said.

Just at that moment one of the creatures dropped down behind Álverez, having used it's arms and legs to brace and slide itself down the narrow gap between the buildings. Almost out of instinct, Eve grabbed the officer and pushed her out of the way just as the creature opened its jaw unnaturally wide, and shot out a disgusting, slimy barbed tongue.

Eve knew that was coming and this time, she was faster, Eve caught the slimy tentacle in her hand before it reached her neck, she was under no illusions that was where it was aimed "Yeah, done that before!" Eve said.

In one motion, Eve yanked the tongue towards her and kicked out with her right leg, the creature flew ten feet backwards, hitting the side of the warehouse, and falling to the ground. A jet of blood and ichor flew up and splattered the walls, as all six feet of the tongue was ripped out of the creature's gullet… Eve added "...And I'm not a fan".

For the first time, Eve got a proper look at one of these "Burnouts". Evidently, these were failed experiments of some kind. Eve had learned how to control her other side, her darker alien side, she could control when she allowed herself to let her true form show.

This creature was something… less. It looked like it was permanently stuck in a limbo state between its human form and its chitinous, sharp, armoured alien form.

Eve threw the remnants of the tongue down and turned to see three more of them approaching the gap from the deserted street. Eve was now able to make another observation… no two were alike.

One had four large six foot tentacles protruding from its back, ending in sharp spikes. One looked mostly human, but its arms were thick, chitinous and armoured, covered in razor sharp spikes. The 3rd was the size Patrick had become when he began to fight with Laura and her friend Press.

Eve moved off in the opposite direction, stepping over the one she had just brutalised. As she did, it reached up and clutched at her leg, its scream was now a horrid gurgle as most of its throat had just been torn asunder.

Eve stomped it down with the heel of her boot. Its head went to pieces on the rocks much easier than she thought possible… These creatures were an inferior experiment of some kind. However, they were clearly dangerous.

Shots rang out behind her as Álverez moved up the alley, following and sending shot after shot into the approaching creatures, it wasn't slowing them down. Eve reached the end of the narrow alley and broke left "Hay!" Álverez shouted after her.

"They won't stop, I have to get away from here!" Eve shouted. "What the fuck are they!" Álverez called out.

Eve ran across another deserted street when everything went white. There was pain, an immense impact on her left side sent her reeling and she felt her head bounce off of something metallic. She was aware of being thrown several feet through the air and landing on her back.

Her arm and leg were both broken from the impact and Eve slowly looked up, the haze clearing, to see a dark blue Ford F150 Pickup with what appeared to be a large frame in the back, no doubt so that armed officers could stand up and hold on. The Police vehicle's doors opened and two other officers got out and ran over to her.

Eve was faintly aware that Álverez was just a few feet away, still shooting, meaning that the creatures were still advancing, she needed to get up and move.

Eve didn't scare easily, but she wasn't going to stay and fight those creatures, she was under no illusions what they would do to her if she became overwhelmed, and because she was so focussed on getting away, she had forgotten possibly the one thing that was as much of, if not more of a threat… humans!

The officer knelt over her and began to render aid, but no sooner had he touched her, Eve's leg snapped back into place with a wet cracking sound as the compound fracture repaired itself and the wound closed over leaving no traces, the same happened with her arm.

"Ay dios mío!" one of the officers exclaimed, before he was pulled off his feet and decapitated by one of the creature's tongues. The second officer turned, pulled his sidearm at the newcomer and fired.

The creature staggered as round after round slammed into it's body, but it did not go down. The officer eventually ran out of bullets, ejected a mag and was in the process of reloading when he too was seized by the creature's tongue around his arm. The barbs bit deep and he screamed.

Eve looked over and saw Álverez firing at the three creatures who were following up the street. Eve jumped up and looked around for her pack. It had fallen off in the impact.

When Eve spotted it, she felt a rush of both fear and anger, it had fallen near where the creature was standing. It was busy reeling the officer in with its tongue around his arm. The officer was screaming, and there was now a trail of blood along the floor.

One thing Eve was sure of, she needed what was in that pack, she needed that material she had just found, it could be a useful bargaining chip if she was ever captured, especially if Laura was still involved with the Project.

Eve dashed to her left, to the edge of the gravel road, picked up a hefty rock the size of a standard American Football and hurled it at the creature. The rock flew straight and true, as if it had been fired from a breech cannon and obliterated the creature's head on impact. The officer it had been reeling in fell to his knees, clutching his, now horrifically mangled arm.

In the time it took for the creature's body to slump to the ground, Eve ran back and retrieved her pack. Next to the creature was the headless body of the other officer whom had attempted to help her. His car keys were still on his belt.

Eve grabbed them and got into the Pickup. Officer Álverez rounded the truck, grabbed her wounded fellow officer, who was bleeding heavily from his arm and they both dove into the flatbed as Eve threw the truck into reverse and put her foot down. Had they not been there in time, she had no intention of waiting.

Eve leaned around and saw another creature run out behind the truck only to get smashed and ploughed down beneath the back wheels. She felt a bump and then saw it's twisted body roll out under the front as she reversed at full speed.

Eve stared back down the street as they reversed, they were all coming out now, she counted sixteen of them now, they were emerging from between the abandoned buildings.

At the end of the narrow gravel street, Eve threw the wheel, sending the truck into a spin, flipped it into gear and slammed her foot down, unconcerned with Álverez and the stricken officer being hurled around in the flatbed.

They had made a serious error by getting into the back, she wasn't going where they wanted to go. Eve reached an intersection at the edge of the old factory district and tore through, heading out of town. It only took a matter of seconds before Álverez began beating on the back window "STOP! FUCKING STOP! HE'S BLEEDING OUT, GET US TO THE HOSPITAL!"

Eve ignored her, she wasn't going back, she only ever moved forward. She had lingered in that place too long and paid the price. The back window suddenly exploded next to her head as Álverez smashed her way through. "I SAID FUCKING STOP! HE'S DYING!". "And so will we if we go back, they won't stop".

"How the fuck do you know what those things were?" Álverez bellowed, then, after a short pause, added "I saw your leg broken, how…". Eve cut her off "Because I'm FUCKING ONE OF THEM!" Eve shouted. Álvarez looked stunned, confused and looked Eve up and down. Eve wasn't showing her other side and so Álvarez could be forgiven for not believing her.

"I'm not stopping, jump out if you want" Eve said. Eve felt Álverez's rhythms spike with anger and she threw herself through the gap and grabbed the wheel "Fucking stop!". While Eve was impressed at her tenacity, but she was becoming an annoyance "Let go!".

Álverez pulled herself in further "No! Pull over!". The truck swerved as they fought over the wheel and Eve's anger started to boil over "Get off the Fucking wheel!".

Álverez was practically on Eve's lap at this point, Eve could easily end this, and though her patience was fast reaching its limit, she had no wish to hurt the young officer. In all the struggling, Álvarez managed to get an arm down between Eve's legs into the footwell and pumped the brake "NO!".

The truck lurched and before Eve could grab her, the officer snatched the key out of the ignition.

The braking coupled with the loss of the key caused the truck to jump, and the engine cut out. The truck swerved and coasted to a halt, only stopping when it hit the sign for the town and the mile marker.

Now Eve was angry. Eve grabbed her by the throat and pulled her wriggling body up off her lap, just then, Eve realised she had made an error, as with her free arm, Álverez tossed the key through the back window into the flatbed.

Eve felt a stab of rage and almost let her other side out, her frustration was reaching breaking point. Eve clenched her fist and wound up for what would have been a killing punch… yet something in Álverez's eyes stopped her. She was only trying to save her friend "Please, he has a little boy" Álvarez managed to croke. "Yeah, I had a little girl, people like you took her away from me. So what the FUCK do I care!"

Eve shoved Álverez away and she fell against the passenger door, holding her throat. Eve threw open the door and marched around the back of the truck to get the key. Álverez wasted no time diving back through the smashed rear window and their hands landed on the key at the same time.

Álverez drew her sidearm and aimed it at Eve's head. They stared at each other down "You're one of them?" Álverez panted "Those things?". "Did I fucking stutter?" Eve growled.

Eve clenched her jaw, she had never had a human irritate her so much, at least not while she was free, she knew what could happen if she completely lost her temper and was trying desperately to keep a lid on it "Go ahead, pull the trigger, see where that gets you!" she said through her gritted teeth.

In times like this she had to tell herself Remember who you are, they see you as a monster, a thing, a lab experiment that got away. Don't make them right.

Álverez looked like she was considering it, but Eve's hand shot forward and grabbed the barrel. There was a muffled crack as the gun went off.

Eve pulled the weapon free of Álverez grip and nonchalantly tossed it over her shoulder, then held up her hand so the young officer could watch the bullet wound through her palm closing over and healing, leaving no trace it was even there.

"What the fuck are you?" Álverez gasped. Eve pulled the keys out of her grip and leaned in close to her face "I'm leaving". Eve pulled back and began making her way around the side of the truck to the door.

Álverez stood up "Wait, please, he needs help, we'll never make it on foot". "So call for backup or something" Eve said. "My radio was smashed" Álverez shouted. "Well, that's another problem that's not mine. My advice, get as far away from that town as you can, they won't stop, oh and, you really don't want one of them to get its hands on you… trust me on that!".

Eve sat back in the driver's seat and Álverez rushed to the window, she reached through and put her hand on Eve's shoulder "Please". "Let go". Eve rounded on the young officer and grabbed her arm, pulling her through the window so they were nose to nose. Eve let out a low guttural growl and spoke through gritted teeth "I… am not… fucking around… get out".

Álverez looked more hurt than scared, something Eve hadn't been expecting. Eve opened her hand and Álverez backed away slowly, with tears in her eyes as she grabbed her fellow officer and had to drag him out of the flatbed. Once out, she hefted him, pulling his arm over her shoulder and tried to help him walk. He was very weak.

Eve started the engine and put her foot down. She was going to take this truck as far as she could, she had no idea which direction this was, just get as far away as possible.

Eve glanced up and saw the two officers limping away behind her, shrinking into the distance. Álverez was practically dragging her friend. There was something about that Officer, Álvarez, she had a drive, a tenacity, a fire. She would stop at nothing to help her injured friend, admirable.

It was all for nothing, those creatures were loose and they had her scent, they'd get to her soon enough.

Eve didn't know why, at that point she thought of Laura, she remembered sensing that dark presence rising inside Patrick, she couldn't convince him to leave Laura alone Eve, I know you're in there, please help us Laura's words echoed in her head.

Eve found herself physically shaking her head, attempting to shake off the thought… but it wouldn't work. Perhaps it was just… in her, for better or worse. "FUCK!" Eve screamed and stood on the brake.

Eve threw the truck into a turn and once again put her foot down. It took just over a minute to find Álverez and her partner on the road.

Álverez's face practically lit up when Eve pulled alongside them. She pulled the door open quickly and hefted her partner into the seat, propping him up between them while she kept pressure on his arm.

"Where's the hospital?" Eve said sharply. "Muchas Gracias" Álverez said. "Just show me the way".

Álverez lit up the siren and gave Eve the directions to the town's medical centre. Eve had one speed whenever she drove anything, flat out. She tore through the town. She noticed Álverez holding on for dear life at several points before they ground to a halt outside the Medical Centre.

Álverez got out and began calling out for a doctor. Despite her misgivings, Eve physically picked up the injured officer and carried him through the door behind Álverez.

Álverez turned and looked genuinely surprised to see Eve doing this. It wasn't long before a Doctor and several nurses burst from a side hallway with a gurney and Eve placed the Injured officer onto it.

Álverez attempted to follow, but one of the nurses barred her. There was a short conversation and the nurse told Álverez that they needed to do their work. Álverez's head sank and she turned around, rubbing her temples, then looked up at Eve.

Both of them stared at one another as Doctors and nurses hurried around them in the waiting room, both of them now covered in the same man's blood.

There was nothing else to do, nothing else to say, it was past time Eve left. She took a step to one side and walked past Álverez who did not attempt to stop her this time. "Muchas Gracias" the young officer uttered when Eve was several paces away. Eve felt obliged to say it and looked back "You should get out while you can". Álverez fixed her gaze "This is my home, you should go". "Fair enough" and with that, Eve turned and strode out of the waiting room.

Eve picked up her backpack from the driver's seat of the truck and left the keys. The Truck was too conspicuous, she needed another vehicle and a way out of this town, this whole area, she could sense them, there were more now, like they were awakening beneath the town. Forbes must have been at this for a long time.

There was no time to spare, she was leaving. In the back of her mind, she felt a pang of sorrow and guilt for what the young officer Álvarez was soon to find herself facing, but Eve had been through it all before and she was going to do the only thing she could, move and survive.

---

This was it, this was their time, THEIR AWAKENING! Without the power from the lab, they would all thaw out. They would rise to the surface and take this town apart.

Roach felt her presence, she was something more powerful than he had ever felt. He had only glimpsed her briefly. After the lab burned, the humans had come to put out the flames. The local officers had put up their markers and then everything had gone quiet.

Then she arrived. She was more beautiful than he had ever imagined, she felt more powerful than he had ever dreamed, who was she?

Roach had watched the tall, slender woman with short blonde hair arrive seemingly from nowhere. She came in from the north, possibly hopped off the nearby train line. She went straight to the abandoned part of town with the warehouses and found the remnants of the Lab.

Roach perched on a distant vantage point and watched her poke around in the ashes, he lost sight of her as she went deeper into the building. It wasn't long before one of the local officers arrived and began to confront her. Roach had watched this local officer too, her name was Consuela, and she too, was beautiful, strong, he had watched her since his escape, always waiting for an opportunity to get her alone.

Roach knew that if he didn't act now he would lose his chance. The system had failed, the tanks had thawed and he knew that below the streets, his brothers and sisters were beginning to stir.

Roach had watched it all happen. All Roach ever did was watch. It was once his job to watch over his frozen brethren, the one's Forbes and Azura called The Burnouts, the failed one's.

He wandered the tunnels beneath the town, checking on their tanks by day. By night, he would go up to the surface and wander the town. Always being careful not to be seen. He covered himself with rags to hide his partially chitinous visage, and stuck to the shadows. He had gotten to know the layout of the town very well, and was very good at moving around without being seen.

He felt their pain, their anguish, the liquid nitrogen had frozen them, but it did not put them to sleep, they felt the passage of time.

Forbes told Azura what to do, and in turn, she told Roach what to do. It wasn't always this way. A few months ago, things began to look more promising, another had arrived, her name was Destemona, and she had taken charge.

Unlike himself, Azura and the rest, Destemona was not created by Forbes, she was born free. Destemona was a child of the one who crossed the void of space and returned to Earth changed, the father of The Brethren.

Destemona was kind, and Roach would often sit outside her tank and talk to her, sometimes sing to her. Destemona was the one who kept Forbes under control, she was also kind to Roach.

She worked for someone who's name was always half whispered with a kind of reverence, someone with the will to force change upon this rotten world, someone called Arianna.

Roach knew next to nothing about Arianna, save for the fact that she had helped Forbes get his lab set up in Mexico. She had even sent people to install the equipment that was used to create him, and all the others.

The good times under Destemona had not lasted long. She had briefly left for ten days, called away on an urgent matter. While she was gone, Forbes and Azura had begun using the Alien Genome to make facsimiles of dead humans for their own profit, they had known that Destemona would stop them. Upon her return, they had betrayed her, drugged her and put her in one of the frozen tanks with the rest of the Burnouts.

Roach had wanted to warn her, but they had locked him below the lab and threatened to put him into the tank with her if he tried anything.

Then, more recently everything had changed again. Someone called Miranda had arrived. She was like them, but she was weak and she was dying. The human that brought her, a man named Hollander, had implored Forbes to help him save her.

Azura had become noticeably more irritable and perturbed since their arrival. Roach had remained below, out of sight while they worked to save Miranda. Then he sensed it. Roach had listened. Below the hatch. Forbes had prepared the lab while Azura and Hollander had taken a woman off the streets.

They had performed a Stem Cell Infusion that made Miranda's presence burn brightly, her weakness washed away, replaced by a new vibrancy, and a new danger.

Roach had felt her stretch out with her senses, she had known he was there, but she had rejected and ignored him, just like everyone else.

Roach was a Burnout, Forbes and Azura had made it very clear to him that he was a failed experiment, he was strong, but his body was malformed, imperfect, for this reason, Miranda had rejected him. It hurt. The rejection hurt so badly it made Roach want to die.

And so, Roach had watched. He watched Forbes, Hollander and Azura go into a panic and search the town for Miranda when she went missing. Then, he got a lot of satisfaction when he snuck up to the surface just in time to watch Miranda confront Forbes in the scrapyard adjacent to the Warehouses. First she fucked him, then she killed him, then she returned to the lab.

Without Forbes, Roach knew that Azura would quickly lose control. She may have been tough and strong, and smart in her own right, but she was reactionary and let Forbes walk all over her like he did everyone else. Alone, Azura wouldn't know what to do.

Roach had never dared go against Forbes and Azura, he was afraid of them both equally, but Forbes had scolded Azura for having "No forward thinking" on a number of occasions. If Roach could agree with him on anything, it was that. Roach on the other hand, had been thinking about this for a long time.

When Miranda returned to the Lab, she was confronted by Azura, who in turn had been killed by Hollander. Roach stayed below, he had more important things to do, caring for his sleeping charges.

He hadn't expected Hollander to burn the lab. Hollander hadn't known about the tunnels, or the Burnouts below… he had effectively sped up the process.

Roach had shut down the generator and the backup Cryogenic system that Destemona's people had installed before he was created. The fire burned above, but below, in the dark, his brothers and sisters were slowly waking.

Roach knew exactly what would happen when they broke free, they would head straight for the surface looking for mates, for food, for LIFE!

Destemona would be among them, he would pave the way for their arrival, he couldn't wait to be reunited with Destemona, she was kind… and she would see the efforts he had gone to and be happy.

Tonight as the sun set on this town one last time, Roach would see his brothers and sisters unleashed onto the streets like never before. Roach reached the Cell tower on the edge of the town and ripped the padlock off the gate. From here, what he had to do was easy.

Roach raised his claw and swiped with all his might at the base of the tower. His claws bit deep into the metal. He swiped again, and again until the first stanchion was nothing but jagged and twisted metal. He moved on to the second stanchion and repeated his attack, he would make sure there were no calls for help.

The second stanchion gave way with an almost deafening metallic groan as the other supports began to buckle under the strain.

Roach stepped back and looked up, admiring his work as he watched the two hundred foot tall structure beginning to sway, and then finally toppled, bringing down a shower of sparks as it tore free of its remaining attached cables and smashed down through the roof of a nearby garage. There must have been something flammable in there, because the entire structure promptly exploded.

Roach growled in satisfaction, a growl that became a chuckle, that became howling laughter. He was excited, soon his brothers and sisters would be everywhere in this town and the small token police force would be powerless to stop them. As for him, he would return to Destemona's side.

No more Forbes, no more Azura, no more threats, no more sneaking around and being afraid, now was his time, now was their time. This place would soon be theirs.

Roach admired the flames for a few more moments, then shook himself out of it, he still had work to do. There were only a small group of local officers, but if they began calling out to nearby departments, others would come looking.

Fortunately, the Radio tower was just a couple of miles away. He had to get there, he could already feel them rising.

As Roach began to move in the direction of the radio tower, he began to hear the first screams and shots ringing out from the residential areas on this side of town and picked up the pace. Within the next thirty minutes, the radio tower would be consumed in fire, much like Forbes lab, and then the night would truly begin.

---

The intelligence about Forbes McGuire had turned out to be spot-on. He had been experimenting with the Alien Genome in this town.

Ben Grayson may have missed the incident that brought down Forbes McGuire's Lab, he had seemingly arrived within hours of it burning down. Something else was happening now. He had been monitoring local police communications.

Something about an uncooperative female at the site, followed by a flurry of emergency calls and unintelligible screaming. Shit he thought something bad was happening here. This was Sonora, the region had seen a number of Cartel related skirmishes over the years.

Burgess had assigned Grayson to track down reports of a rogue scientist in Mexico, but Forbes, as it turned out, was a careful man and rarely showed his face. Nobody seemed to know where to find him.

Then, out of the blue, he has been seen searching frantically all over the town just before his lab went up in flames along with all the related material. Grayson had been preparing to leave and deliver his report to the Colonel when she appeared.

There she was, out of the fucking blue. He had her image burned into his brain from all the briefings. He thought he had been assigned to a wild goose chase, and now he was staring at the biggest prize of all.

He had been returning to his hotel room when he stopped at a crosswalk just near the centre of town and Eve S1L-2.0 just walked right across in front of him. Pulling up a thin hoodie. She didn't seem to notice him staring at her… or perhaps she was so used to being stared at by men that she simply ignored it.

He slowly drove his car around the block until he was able to see her moving down the street. She turned one corner, and then another until she was on a quiet residential street.

Grayson knew he only had one chance at this. Luckily he was properly equipped. He had several vials of Dr-Baker's toxin and even more tranquiliser rounds. He had a semi-automatic Rhino Revolver, as well as his MP5 should things go badly.

Grayson selected the tranq rounds and loaded them into the Rhino. The Toxin rounds were for if the shit really hit the fan. Then he quietly parked the car and got out, staying low and followed the hooded figure around the corner.

He took the additional small device out of his pouch, it was a small sedative pump designed by the lab for just this type of occasion. Eve couldn't be restrained by conventional means, so he would have to tranq her, then attach the sedative pump to her neck to prevent her from waking up.

The pump was designed to administer a particularly strong sedative and operate for 12 hours, in that time he could have her safely secured for transport.

Eve looked preoccupied, she was looking around, and clearly unnerved or spooked, Greayson didn't think it was him, but tried to act as casual as possible. He had to remember all the briefings, these creatures had heightened senses well beyond human range and also potent Telepathic abilities. He had to be careful, time this move just right.

Grayson reached the corner and poked his head around. Eve was walking along the sidewalk looking at the cars that were parked there.

She stopped and looked back and forth, prompting Grayson to duck behind the wall. She wasn't far away, only about fifteen feet, and seemed distracted. This was the only chance he was going to get. He readied the pistol, and took the safety off, the darts were chambered… he had to make this shot.

Despite being a part of a major, top secret project like Project: Athena, Greyson had been overlooked for promotion on several occasions. His reviews had been lacklustre and he was getting the sense that his days were numbered… but he was about to be the one who brought Eve S1L-2.0 in ALIVE!

If Grayson could make this shot, he could write his own ticket.

---

Eve was so focused on finding a vehicle that she must have failed to notice that she had been followed, she was aware of a man on the street and was attempting to look like she wasn't about to steal a car when she heard a loud POP! and felt a sharp pain in her neck.

"Uugh" Eve had been looking into the window of a car and was about to break in when this man leaned around the corner and fired something at her. Eve reached up and found a cold, metal cylinder sticking out of her neck. She pulled it out and looked at it, seeing that it had already injected whatever was inside.

Eve looked up and saw the man, white, 30's in a sweat stained shirt and jeans, shouldering a military style backpack. He had an eager, excited smile on his face. Eve was going to turn it inside out. She took a step towards him and felt the ground fall away below her, the effects of whatever was in her system. No matter, she needed to get to him.

Eve used all her strength and focus to rush forward. POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!. The man fired several more darts into her chest and one into her cheek. Eve was still trying to get to him but was aware that she had sunk to her knees. Everything was going blurry.

The man strode over to her and she tried her best to focus on his face "Well, look at you" The man said "Don't worry babe, you'll be back where you belong soon enough". The last thing Eve saw was the man wind back his arm with the pistol and bring it down hard into her face.

---

"Come on Sis, pick up" Alejandro Álvarez had been trying to get his sister Consuela on the phone for the past hour, he knew that her shift had ended two hours ago and now something weird was going on. He could hear shots being fired at the other end of the neighbourhood. He went to the bedroom and rooted through the drawer to grab his gun, a vintage classic Colt 1911 with a Aztec skull grip.

He Checked it, loaded it and grabbed all four magazines and a box of bullets.

"Hay, what the fuck is going on up there?" Alejandro called out as he saw his brother Carlos coming back down the street. Carlos shrugged "I don't know". He looked back up the street then added "I heard Sophia from around the corner screaming, but I couldn't find her… and across the street, there's this big trail of blood… I don't like this, man".

"I called Consuela, she isn't picking up" Alejandro said "Maybe we should go to the station". Carlos thought about it, looked around and heard another scream followed by several shots two streets away in the opposite direction "Let's do it, Bro, your car!".

Carlos already had his Colt Python, like Alejandro's he'd had it decorated with Aztec skulls. All three siblings had matching Aztec Skull tattoos on them somewhere.

They both climbed into Alejandro's 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark4 and made for the station. Both brothers had chequered pasts but nothing too bad. This town, at one time, was rife with Cartel activity, Consuela's solution was to join the local police and fight back. The two brothers had fought back in their own way.

One of the cartel members was a local bully who had made their lives a misery growing up, they had hit his stash house, taken his powder and his money and gotten out without being seen, then it was a case of sitting back and watching his Cartel bosses come down on him.

They had made a tidy profit from their act of revenge, but Consuela had made them both promise not to do anything like it again as long as she was in the force, otherwise her superiors would come down on all of them. She was determined to do her job right and not become like so many other officers and end up in someone's pocket.

"You think another Cartel is doing this? Moving on Sonora territory?" Carlos asked. "Who knows, let's just get to wherever Consuela is, I'll feel better when we're all together" Alejandro said and put his foot down.

As they drove through town it was getting dark. They could hear more screams and shots, but couldn't see what was causing it all. Alejandro handed Carlos his phone to try Consuela again, he dialled her number, but all he got this time was a tone "Shit man, phone's completely dead now, you got your shotgun in the trunk?" Carlos asked. Alejandro nodded "Always".

They pulled up to the station. It had been rebuilt three years prior after being firebombed by the Sonora Cartel after the local Authorities had fought back. It had been fortified against attack for that reason all three of them had agreed, if anything bad happens, get to the station, Consuela worked at the most secure building in town.

Alejandro and Carlos knew all the local cops that worked at the station, some good, some bad, some in between, but they were familiar with every one of them.

As they made their way inside, both of them immediately saw Consuela running back and forth, trying to get everything together. What was immediately apparent, her uniform was covered in blood that didn't appear to be her own.

"Guys!" Consuela shouted "Get over here!". "What the hell is going on out there? Who's blood is this?". Consuela was leaning over a younger officer, Emilio Gomez who was operating the computer and the radio.

The nearest town was thirty miles south, and Emilio's expression spoke to his rising frustration, he was attempting to raise that police department on the radio but evidently not having any luck "I dunno, Consuela, it's dead, I don't get it. It was working fine half an hour ago". Consuela stepped away from him and tried her cell phone "Keep trying, Emilio, we need help".

Consuela stepped away and pulled out her cell phone "Someone is fucking with us" she hissed, then she attempted to dial someone on her phone but all she got was a tone. Consuela checked her signal and upon seeing that it was also down, she cursed and almost slammed her phone on the desk before taking a deep breath and collecting herself.

Carlos looked around, and saw that Felipe Morino came out of a side room with some guns and ammunition, then placed them on a table. Apart from Consuela and Gomez, he was the only other officer present.

They knew both Gomez and Morino, but there were usually more officers here "What's happening?" Corlos asked. Consuela turned and looked at them sternly "Look Guys, I'm swamped here, but stick around, don't leave the station tonight".

"No, tell us what the fuck is going on, why are people shooting all over the place, and who's blood is this all over you!" Alejandro demanded. Consuela's expression softened, she took a breath "I… I was on patrol over in the old warehouses, some weird shit went down". "What kind of weird shit?" Carlos asked.

"Look, someone was doing something fucked up, I dunno… and these… I dunno, these things started crawling up out of the ground. I barely got out of there, Marco was hurt, Ramerez was killed… Captain Rayas took Ramon, Perez, Lopez, Aguilar and Flores to check it out, now we can't raise any of them on the radio and they're not picking up their phones either".

Alejandro looked at Carlos, who shrugged, they were both equally confused "What things?". "I don't have time to explain, I gotta get out there and see if I can rescue any more survivors, but those things, they're all over the fucking place, when you see them, you'll know. Don't let them get hold of you".

Consuela holstered her sidearm and picked up an FX-05 Xiuhcoatl from the rifle rack at the back of the station. "Guys, stay here with Gomez, Felipe, you're with me". "Hay, no way, we're coming…". Consuela cut Alejandro off "I need you both here… I need to know you're safe… please… Alejandro, go get your shotgun out of the car".

Before the brothers could argue any further, Consuela was heading out the door. They both knew not to argue when she made her mind up. She was capable and tough, but that didn't stop them from worrying.

They both stood at the barred window and watched as she took off in the station's last Armoured truck and disappeared around the corner.

Just like Consuela asked, Alejandro went to his car and came back with his KS-23 and a box of shells, he closed and locked the door, then stood by it, waiting. Gomez stared at him with wide eyes "Be careful with that goddamn thing!".

---

After attaching the sedative pump and dragging Eve into the back of his Car, Grayson knew he had to move fast. He didn't know what was going on, but he began to hear gunfire and screams from the nearby streets.

Clearly something was going on, but this was Sonora, he wasn't going to let some two-bit gang bullshit get in the way of his grand prize.

"Alright, sweetheart, off we go" Grayson wiped the sweat off his brow and got behind the wheel. He hadn't gone but two streets when he found his path blocked by a burning truck "Fuck, unbelievable".

He reversed and tried to make his way back to the highway, but his route took him though the decrepit warehouse district where Forbes McGuire had based his lab. He made it one block before he found his path blocked again, not by a burning truck, but by a hulking Chitinous, malformed creature.

He had seen pictures of the remains of Patrick Ross, it resembled that monstrosity, but one of it's arms was twisted and his face was misshapen. It unleashed a deafening roar and began to lumber towards his car. As Grayson kicked it into reverse, he hit another, smaller creature, possibly a female, that had been approaching from behind.

Soon there were more. Greyson reversed at full speed and turned the car at the intersection and put his foot down "Shit.. SHIT SHIT SHIT! FUCK!". This was BAD… monumentally bad, the creatures were everywhere. He reached for his Satellite phone, he needed backup ASAP!

Just as he reached the end of the next block, his passenger side window exploded. Another one of the creatures, this one was in human form… partially. It reached in through the window with a slimy chitinous arm and was roaring, screaming with unrestrained rage.

It immediately looked into the back seat and fixated on Eve. It's mating drive was making it hyper focus, but it quickly realised it needed to eliminate the driver… Him!

It swung it's claw and swiped at his face. Grayson only narrowly avoided having half his face taken off, had he not had the phone to his ear, he would have. The phone was instantly smashed and clattered around the dashboard before falling into the footwell.

The creature was momentarily off balance after letting go of the door to take a swipe at him, he used that precious few seconds to raise the MP5 across his chest and let loose two 3-round bursts into the creature.

Grayson was hit in the chin by a couple of hot spent casings as they bounced around the car but managed to keep on the road. The creature lunged and made another attempt to reach Eve, this time it managed to reach its claw over the back seat.

Greyson saw a low stone wall coming up on his right, and with it, his only chance. He pulled the wheel to the right. The creature was so hyper-focussed on reaching Eve, that it didn't notice the stone wall coming up until it was too late.

The creature screamed as Greyson smashed it into the low stone wall, it was instantly ripped away from the car, taking the passenger door with it. To his surprise, when Grayson looked in the rear view mirror, he saw it getting up and roaring at him… "Yeah… FUCK YOU TOO!" he shouted "This bitch is mine! My golden goddamn ticket, asshole!".

Grayson didn't get much further, as he attempted to cross the centre of town, he was blocked by cars, some of which were burning. It seemed the creatures had already reached the town. By design or not, they had managed to block the highway in both directions by attacking passing traffic.

He could hear gunfire and screams in the surrounding buildings. The street was blocked by the abandoned cars of people who had either been dragged out or fled. There were splatterings of blood all over the street.

In the back of his mind, he knew it might be best to cut and run, but his prize was worth it. He had to get Eve safely back to US soil and get his Kudos. He loaded up his MP5, his Rhino, then grabbed both his backpack, and hers out of the trunk. She had been carrying documents and hard drives that could be valuable.

Things were FUBAR, very FUBAR, but when Grayson pulled Eve out of the back seat. He realised things were much, much worse. The first thing Grayson checked was the sedative pump on her neck, to make sure it was secure.

"Oh fuck… Fuck… FUCK! This isn't fucking happening!"

To his horror, he discovered the creature had managed to hit it with that last desperate swipe. The device was still strapped to her neck, but the creature's claw had slashed the battery housing and the connector for the capsules.

Without the sedative pump functioning, he reckoned he might have two, maximum three hours before she started waking up, then he would have to use the tranq rounds, and if they failed, he may have to use the toxin.

There was nothing for it, he was going to have to carry her to the local police station, secure her there, somehow and call for help from there.

---

Consuela stopped the truck and got out, shouldering the Assault Rifle "¡Hola! ¿Hay alguien ahí?" [Hello! Is anyone there?]. Felipe got out of the passenger side and looked around "I don't like this, Consuela, how big did you say these things are?". Consuela scanned the buildings "Different… some are the size or a man, others, the size or a fucking horse".

Consuela moved down the street, sweeping right and left. The town had fallen eerily silent. There was a burst of gunfire from the town hall and Consuela picked up the pace with Felipe falling in behind her. He was a good officer, and had always watched her back.

Consuela emerged into the cobbled square, the town hall sat in the middle, next to it was the church, there were flecks of blood on the white buildings and on the cobbled street. A car sat in front of the town hall and it looked like it had been set upon by a pack of tigers with steel claws, it was completely shredded.

There was more gunfire from inside. "Ok, follow me" Consuela moved forward and crossed the square, kicking the door and sweeping left with the assault rifle, Felipe swept right. Another gunshot from the room upstairs drew their attention.

Consuela knew there was a large meeting room above them that connected to the Presidente Municipal, the local Mayor.

Consuela had known the Presidente Municipal for several years, she couldn't really remember a time when he wasn't in his current position, kept there through his "Connections".

She had drawn his ire on several occasions when she intercepted shipments and sometimes cash, she knew she was putting a target on her back, but didn't care. People like him were the problem, people like her were the solution, but there may be other survivors.

Consuela made her way up the stairs and, sure enough, Miguel Santos, the local Mayor was standing with his back to the glass window that overlooked the main hall. He was aiming a Korth NXR .44 Magnum at the door to his office.

When Consuela reached the top step, she saw that there were already several large holes in the office door, there was also extensive damage to the room. "Miguel, coming in on your right!" she called out. Santos rounded and almost aimed at her, before taking a breath "That thing" he said in a hushed tone "It's in my office" and only now did she see that he was drenched in sweat.

Behind him, huddled on the ground were six more people, his secretary, Carmen Torres, with whom he was having an affair, it was an open secret. Two of them appeared to be student backpackers.

Miguel was not the only one who was armed. Leland Fisk was also present, and was aiming a small .38 Special at the door. Fisk was a man with a shady reputation, with whom Consuela had had several dealings over the past couple of years.

One of the first things she noticed about him was that he was sporting one hell of a black eye.

Fisk modelled himself as an entrepreneur, but was known to her for being involved with dangerous people and facilitating under-the-table deals. He was no doubt involved with the Cartels on some level but Consuela had never been able to prove it. He was, no doubt, in the middle of some sort of deal with Miguel when the shit hit the fan.

With his sharp suit and Stetson hat, Fisk had been a known face around the town for the past few years. Miguel was panting and, from the sound of his voice, he was well past the point of panic "They don't die, I must've shot it ten times, they don't die". "Yeah, this bitch is durable as hell!" Fisk said.

The last two were two older women, Elina Cano and Camila Cruz were widely known in the community, they owned the local bakery and florists respectively and were good friends.

"Come… come to me… all of you" Consuela beckoned them to come and make their way out the door. "I am done and done with this bullshit!" Fisk growled out in his dry Texan cadence, despite the situation, he was as brash as ever, but he was the first to get up and make for the stairs, he ran past Felipe and half way down to the main landing. Next were the two backpackers, followed by Elina and Camila and finally Carmen.

"Miguel, come on!" Consuela said, trying not to raise her voice. His eyes were fixed on his office door, just at that moment, something roared inside and tore a hole in the door from inside, Miguel raised his 44 Magnum and took a shot. It struck whatever was on the other side, causing it to fall back and scream in a strange shrill tone.

"Will you move your ass… we gotta go!" Consuela said, but before Miguel could move, the creature exploded out of the door, and landed on a crouched position in the middle of the room. It was female, it's skin was chitinous, it's hair looked like a crest of tightly packed tendrils and her eyes were like those of a reptile and deep, angry crimson.

Razor sharp dorsal spikes ran up her spine and when she locked eyes with Consuela, she bared her teeth, not in an aggressive snarl, but a sadistic grin. She was wearing long, torn rags, the remnants of what may have once been an elegant ankle length blazer, but now was torn to shreds and hung off her disturbing spindly frame.

Miguel raised the 44 Magnum and pulled the trigger again, this time he was rewarded with a lacklustre click, he was empty. The creature responded immediately with an inhuman cackle followed by a ferocious hiss.

As Miguel began to fumble in his pocket for more bullets, the creature stood up to her full height, easily 6ft, with long spindly arms that ended in long, razor sharp claws.

Her mouth contorted into a wide grin, full of needle-like teeth and to Consuela's surprise, she spoke, not only that, but her accent was American, not local… definitely not local "Don't you just hate it when a man shoots his load a little early and fails to make it count?".

The creature took a step forward, dragging the tattered rags she was wearing across the floor. Consuela didn't give her the chance to take a second step, she brought the Assault rifle up and let fly the entire magazine into the creature in several sustained bursts.

The creature let out a shrill scream as she was battered by a barrage of 5.56NATO. She took several to the chest and face before going down. "Miguel, will you FUCKING MOVE!". This time, Miguel did move, he moved faster than she had ever seen him move.

Consuela got everyone together on the stairs "Ok, we're going to the police station, everyone stay low, stay quiet, and stick together" she noticed that Miguel apparently had several reloads worth of bullets on his belt, and was reloading his revolver. "Miguel, be careful what you shoot at". Fisk grimaced "Now wait just a minute señorita".

Consuela didn't give him the chance to carry on "That's Lieutenant Álverez to you, Fisk!". "Well excuse me all hell" he said, "But we shouldn't go to the goddamn station, we oughta get our asses outta this town and call in the Mexican Army or something, these things are everywhere!".

"That's a great plan Fisk, except they've managed to block the highway in both directions, nobody is getting out of here in a vehicle, and good luck on foot, the police station is fortified, we'll go there and be safe". "This is a piss poor plan" Fisk scoffed. Carmen had had enough of his bellyaching by this point "Then you're welcome to stay here with that thing upstairs, cowboy!".

"Alright, everyone stay close" Consuela only took one step down the main stairs before a loud roar drew her attention upwards, the creature she had just shot was now at the window overlooking the interior hall. She had intended to try and get out quietly, but now they were all panicked, Miguel ran first, followed by Fisk, then the others. Felipe aimed his shotgun at the creature but Consuela grabbed the barrel and pulled it down "No, save the ammo, RUN!".

Consuela was the last one out of the building and she swore she heard the creature call after her in Spanish "Where do you think you're going, Bitch!… We're not done!". She hadn't expected them to be able to speak, but the woman earlier did.

A deafening roar went out as Consuela ran up the main street, dodging the cars and open doors, she could hear movement behind her and dared to glance around, there were now four of the creatures advancing up the street.

Two of them were the size of a man, one was much larger, lumbering and quadrupedal. The female she had shot at was behind them, and was pointing at her with a sadistic grin, she was laughing "This place is MINE NOW! You wanna come to my fucking house and play, let's play!" she called out in a mocking tone, followed by a shrill cackle.

Consuela ran faster until she finally reached the truck, by that point, everyone had piled into the back and were all screaming for her to get out of there. Felipe was in the passenger seat and looked terrified.

Consuela jumped into the driver's seat, handed the Assault Rifle to Felipe and turned the ignition. She kicked it into reverse and smashed her way past a parked car on the street, then turned, and made with all speed back to the police station.

---

Desdemona watched the truck reverse up the street, before turning in the square and speeding away and let out a roar of frustration, several of these feral Burnouts turned to face her, one of them, a male, made his way over to her side and sniffed her neck.

He placed his hand on her breast and began to caress downwards, she immediately sensed his inferiority and when she felt his hand nearing between her legs, she seized his arm and snapped it back.

The male let out a shriek and fell back against a car. Destemona reached out and took his head in her hand, twisting it around until she heard a crack, then let his body fall.

As the male's body slumped at her feet, Destemona looked around at the others and felt a sensation of freefall as her body returned to it's smooth human form. They all began to gather now, more and more. Her pheromones and psychic presence would get the message across, and if that failed, the look on her face said it all who's next?

Forbes was dead, that much was obvious, as was that bitch Azura, his lab assistant and part-time fuck toy, she could never measure up.

Destemona had no idea how long she had been in that tank. Days, weeks, but now she was free, and so were all the failed experiments. If Forbes had been alive, she would have killed him, that much was for sure.

Destemona had never felt rage like this, coursing through her like razor blades in her blood. She had been betrayed, used, violated by the man she was supposed to have been on her side.

Arianna had sent her to Mexico as soon as she was ready. She had been warned about Forbes's personality and that he could be unpredictable, but she thought she had a good read on him. She had taken charge, she kept Forbes' operation on track, he had a brilliant mind, but unstable, easily distracted by vices. She had been his steadying influence, keeping him focussed on Arianna's goals.

His purpose was to sift through the alien genome and isolate its different aspects, its morphology, which specific genetic codes were responsible for the infinite adaptability, nanocellular biology and genetic memory, as well as the healing, heightened strength, senses and instincts. It had led to the creation of many flawed beings, as she looked around, more of them were gathering.

Forbes mission was to create new strains and perfect the genome for dissemination to the wider population. Destemona sensed how unstable Forbes was upon their first meeting, he had already been established in this location for a while before Arianna had sent her to join him and oversee his operation.

Destemona had been with him for three months. She had left for a few days to deliver the latest report and returned to find him using the genome to create a facsimile of a dead woman who's wealthy husband he had befriended through his facilitator in town, a fast talking chancer by the name of Fisk… he had been in the town hall and was high on Destemona's hit list tonight.

Forbes had turned to using the Alien Genome for his own profit. The Alien Genome was the future, not some cheap back alley gimmick.

When she attempted to stop him, Azura had stabbed her with a needle full of sedatives and they had thrown her into one of the liquid nitrogen tanks that Forbes used to store the Burnouts. Destemona remembered the last thing he said before the agonisingly cold liquid enveloped her body "Sorry Love… onwards and upwards… sleep tight sweetheart!".

Destemona knew that it wouldn't be long before authorities arrived in this town, the burnouts would provide decent cover for her to escape, but for now, there were more pressing matters.

Destemona knew the Burnouts would rampage, and she was content to let them, she needed to go back and retrieve all of Forbes's lab notes and hard drives from his safe in the lab, she knew where it was.

"Well, boys and girls, don't stop on my account, GO TEAR SHIT UP!" she roared. A female hopped up on top of a car, threw back her head and screamed at the sky. Desdemona noticed her unusually long tendrils rippling as she let out a long, loud roar. It wasn't anger, or frustration, it was murth and excitement.

In unison, they all roared in excitement, with her display of force, she had established herself as the Alpha of this feral pack, and she had given her command, one they were all too happy to indulge.

She may be different from these flawed unfortunates, but they shared one thing in common, she had spent a couple of months down there in that tunnel, but some of them had spent years in those tanks, frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to see… but fully aware of each torturous second.

Liquid Nitrogen, it seemed, may immobilise their kind, but it did nothing to dull their senses. She had been aware of everything around her.

Now they were free, they would rip, they would tear, they would mate, and re-produce. Destemona would complete her mission and return to Arianna, to her Brethren… but why not indulge herself, this was a remote town in Mexico and this would be a night to remember…

As the pack dispersed, one remained. A male she recognised, he stood with her as the others split off in various directions to go about their individual vices. He was a few inches shorter than her, but wasn't intimidated… Life had not treated him well, but he looked happy to see her.

He wore a long ragged jacket and had a torn hood covering much of his face. She recognised him, it was Roach. Roach spent much of his time down in the tunnels, tending to the Burnouts and maintaining the cryo system that kept them in stasis.

He was unable to pass for a human. When Destemona had first arrived, she found Forbes and Azura treating Roach like a Dogsbody. She had put a stop to that with immediate effect. He was imperfect, but like all who were born of the alien message, he was deserving of respect.

What Roach lacked in looks, he made up for in intelligence. His face was ridged and partially chitinous, with spikes protruding from his skin along his jaw line and pointed, sharp teeth. It was as if he was permanently trapped in a state mid-change.

"Desdemona, Forbes is dead, Azura is dead" he said in a gravelly voice "Tonight is ours… then will you take me with you, fix me?". Roach looked up at her, two bright red eyes peering out from beneath his tattered hood. "I will, Roach, I remember you talking to me in the tank, keeping me sane, thank you".

Destemona took a step towards him and tilted her head "So tell me, Roach, did you see who killed him?". Roach nodded slowly "Her name was Miranda, she came to the town with a human, looking for help… she was weak at first, then she burned brightly… but she couldn't see me" he growled that last part for added emphasis and his eyes dropped to the floor.

Destemona actually felt his frustration, he had been overlooked by this female on account of his flaws, she understood, he hadn't asked to be this way. Then Roach added something "The other one was different".

Destemona's interest peaked "What other one?". Roach turned and pointed up the street in the direction that the police truck had sped away "I saw her after the fire, Miranda was dead, then she came, she was different, strong… Virile" he growled again. Destemona could hear the lust in his voice. She had no idea what had been going on, but was determined to find out.

"After the fire, did they recover Forbes' body?" she asked. Roach nodded again "He wasn't in the lab, she fucked him and then killed him… I watched… I saw everything…". Destemona considered what he was saying, Roach wasn't the easiest to talk to, but he was, at least, smart enough to know what was at stake now. They had to get what remained of Forbes' files and drives, then get as far away from this town as possible.

What was about to transpire on this night wouldn't go unnoticed and the authorities would come down like a hammer. Fortunately, Destemona knew that it would likely be kept secret, and chalked up to Forbes acting alone… this, of course, hinged on her being able to retrieve that data.

Destemona was genuinely impressed by what Roach said next "We have time, I smashed the cell tower, cut the lines and burned the radio tower, it will be a while before word gets out". "Well done" she said "Now, take me to Forbes".

---

The Police station was at the top of a hill on the opposite end of the town. By the time Grayson reached it, he was sweating and panting. In Eve's backpack, there had been files pertaining to Forbes McGuire's research, perhaps she had been involved somehow, and had remained in the town to clean up the mess, that was for the boys at the lab to find out. Grayson put on her backpack, then his shoulder bag and MP5 and then he had been forced to carry her.

He found himself praying the entire journey to the police station that she wouldn't wake up early. Upon reaching the police station, he found it completely locked down. Grayson had read an intelligence report that this area had weathered an attack by the Sonora Cartel and the police station had been rebuilt and reinforced. The heavy duty door was locked and the bulletproof shutters were down.

There were three people inside, only one of which was an actual officer, the other two looked like Cartel Sicarios. They had let him in and he explained that he was an investigator with the US government and that Eve was wanted. The young officer had been reluctant, but eventually they had allowed him to put her in one of the cells in the back of the station.

He then found out that the two other guys, despite looking tough, were the two brothers of the Police Lieutenant here. If those were his brothers, then Lt. Álverez must be a badass Grayson thought.

The station was right on the edge of town and from it's location on a hill, he could see fires as the sun went down. He could hear screams and gunfire, this was bad, the creatures were loose, this was the nightmare scenario that they had been trying to prevent.

To make matters worse, the town was remote, Forbes had chosen his location carefully. Cell phone signals were bad, there was one satellite phone which the Captain kept, it had been in his truck when he went to investigate the disturbance near the burned warehouse. With that phone, he could call in a QRF Team to wipe these creatures off the map, he needed to find a way to communicate with his superiors.

He was going to have to lay down the law to Eve when she woke up, if she tried anything he'd use the toxin. The toxin had been tested on a couple of Patrick's offspring they had caught in the aftermath of his death and the destruction of his nest. Grayson knew that if he used the Toxin, her death wouldn't be pleasant.

It was just under an hour before a police vehicle rolled up to the entrance and a large group of people piled into the station, all sweating, panicking and shouting. Grayson elected to sit at the end of the hallway in the back watching Eve in the cell. All the other cells were empty.

Grayson lit a cigarette and tried to relax. For a while, there was a cacophony of shouting and arguing out in the main office area of the building, then, after about twenty minutes, things calmed down and finally the door swung open and a young female officer entered the hallway with a face like thunder and a blood splattered shirt "Ok, what's your story" she asked.

Grayson stood up and looked at her, feeling no small amount of confusion. It was then, when she took a step forward, that he noticed her name badge, her shirt had been torn, and it was hanging at an angle but he could clearly see it said Lt. C. Álverez…. No goddamn way he thought "Wait…You're Álverez?" he asked.

"You were expecting someone else? I'll give you exactly one second to get over it and start talking, who are you and what's your business here?" she demanded. She had clearly just been through some serious shit and was in no mood to play games, Grayson knew he had to choose his words carefully.

He knew that if he gave her the whole "it's classified" routine, things would go downhill fast "Lieutenant Álverez, My name's Ben Grayson, an Investigator with the U.S. Government, I came here to locate a man named Forbes McGuire, who we believed was conducting Highly dangerous and illegal experimentation in the region".

"No shit" she said "What was your first clue?". Grayson continued "Look, I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence, given what you've seen here, but I must emphasise, this information is highly sensitive, so I cannot tell you everything".

Álverez stared at him for a few long moments and quietly nodded to herself, considering his words. This young officer was clearly a wily one and also somewhat of a live wire, Grayson made a mental note to tread carefully around her.

Álverez paused and thought for a moment "Forbes McGuire you said?". "That's right" Grayson replied. Álverez continued "About 5.6 tall? Slim? Dark hair, unshaven?" she asked.

That matched Forbes perfectly "Yeah, that's the guy". "He's dead, he's over in the morgue, they found him shot through the mouth in the back of a scrapyard around the corner from his building… I'd take you to see the body, but there are fucked up monsters running around, you understand". That last part was sarcasm. "Don't worry, I'll take your word for it then" Grayson said.

No, Forbes likely wasn't shot through the mouth Grayson thought These creatures liked to kill with their tongues, Sil did it once… in all likelihood, Eve was the one who finished Forbes off when he didn't meet her expectations.

He knew now that he had to offer her some information in return "Well, I was able to catch his accomplice, she's back here. She's highly sought after by the U.S. Government so… if you can help me get her safely transferred, I can see you get the kudos and the reward".

As Greyson talked, he made his way back to the last cell on the right and Álverez followed. What he hadn't been expecting was her reaction upon seeing Eve. Her eyes went wide and Grayson realised it was recognition "Wait, what the fuck? Her?".

"What? You know her?" Grayson asked. Álverez stepped past him and peered through the bars at Eve "I wouldn't say I know her, I was trying to arrest her earlier when those things started going to shit, she said she was one of them, but she helped me. She killed a couple of those things and got us out of there" Álverez let out a long breath "So you caught her? What are those things?" she asked.

Now, that was something he truly hadn't been expecting, Álverez had obviously witnessed Eve's abilities "Look, it's highly classified, but…". Álverez cut him off, holding up a hand "Hay, fuck that classified bullshit, Ok, I lost a lot of friends today, and people are dying as we speak, I want to know what you know… now".

Grayson had hoped to do this clean, but the situation had become a little too fluid, if he had been able to get out of town he would have, if they had been able to call for help, he would have had a team here by now and he would be on a helicopter out of here… but no, for the time being, he was stuck, and his main priority was keeping Eve contained.

"Look, I can see you've been through it tonight, and I really can't say much, but the US Government had been tracking Forbes McGuire's activities for a while, as for this one here, she's been a fugitive for months… I had reason to believe she had linked up with Forbes to conduct highly dangerous genetic research".

Grayson watched Álverez closely, he could see the wheels turning. Of course he had no proof that Eve knew Forbes McGuire, or was working with him, it was all speculative, for all he knew, she had been drawn here, sensing his experiments like a moth to a flame.

That was one thing they had found out, these creatures were able to sense each other through a psychic connection. Given how many of them there were, perhaps it was like a lighthouse beacon for her.

Either way, if Eve had, for some reason, helped Álverez, then Grayson needed to give the young officer incentive to help him, and not her by implicating Eve in Forbes's operations.

"Fine" she finally said "What do you need from me?". "Well, one of your guys told me that the only satellite phone was with your Captain, and now he's missing… what I need is communication". "We have the dispatch radio here, we've been trying to raise other police departments, the Radio has been out since just after the initial attack, cell phone signal isn't good here, but now it's non existent".

Grayson thought about this, they knew these creatures were highly intelligent. He had seen the Sil report, she had come up with a scheme to fake her own death inside a day, and had she not returned to hunt the task force, it would have worked "Is there a local cell tower or radio tower around here?".

Álverez shook her head "Yeah there is, but you might have noticed they're down". Grayson felt a stab of frustration, he needed to get into communication with someone, he didn't have long before Eve regained consciousness, after that, the only thing that would keep her in place would be the threat of the toxin… he loathed the idea of using it, he wanted to bring her in alive, what happened to her after that wasn't his concern, but nobody would ever question his abilities again.

---

"Forbes McGuire… you've looked better, Pumpkin… what's the matter, was she a little too rough with you… If you could hear me, I'd be saying something along the lines of "I told you so"… ah hell, I just feel like saying it anyway… I told you so… you arrogant little prick!" Desdemona leaned over the corpse of the man who had been in her charge and stroked his hair.

In the corner of the room Roach looked on, a wide, shark-like grin began to creep across his face, baring his sharp, jagged teeth. He had killed the town coroner as they entered the Morgue, his blood was pooling on the floor at her feet.

The morgue had been her first port of call. She needed to see what, if any, belongings Forbes may have had on his person at the time of death.

There was an evidence bag nearby marked with the matching number on his toe tag, it seemed they didn't know his name, all that was found on him was a syringe full of highly potent hydrochloric acid, a pack of cigarettes, and a burner phone which Destemona looked through, it only had two contacts, Azura… bitch Desdemona thought.

The other contact was Leland Fisk. It seemed they were the only two people Forbes talked to. Desdemona had seen Fisk at the town hall, after crawling up out of the collapsed tunnel, she had found herself closer to the centre of town, the tunnels were extensive. She had emerged through a sewer near the town hall and almost immediately caught a familiar scent of Fisk. Normally it was Azura who dealt with him, Destemona had only met him on two occasions.

The last item in the evidence bag was the one thing Destemona needed, the key to Forbes' safe, which he always kept on his person. Of course, she could tear it open, but why go to the trouble when you know where to find the key?

Destemona threw the evidence bag to Roach who promptly took out the pack of cigarettes, struck a match using his chitinous claw and lit one. Destemona could feel his emotions, clearly enjoying the sight of Forbes on a morgue slab.

Forbes was arrogant, but she had to admit to herself, after their initial clashes, he had been attractive and quick witted in a blunt kind of way, she had fallen for his charms. Then she thought what it had gotten her, drugged and thrown into a cold storage tank with a bunch of failed experiments while he went off the rails with his fuck buddy Azura, who he treated like a doormat.

Destemona folded her arms and leaned on his bare chest, prodding his mouth with her finger. He smelled faintly of another presence, someone pure and powerful, he had died while mating with her, whoever she was. Destemona could smell her sweat, and the discharge from her change.

She pulled his mouth open and inspected the damage. Ripped straight through, a fitting end for a talented but ultimately unworthy man. There was no way someone like him would ever be able to measure up in Arianna's vision "Well Forbes. I hope she was worth it. You sure fucked this up, and just like always, I'm the one who's gonna have to clean up your mess".

Desdemona now had one last visit to make, she needed to go back to the lab and retrieve everything from the safe that Forbes kept under his bed. Lab notes, hard drives and data from his section of the project.

There were many chemicals to be found in a place like this, Destemona had Roach go into the storage closet and find anything marked flammable, then she had him pour it all over every room. As they left, she took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it back into the room, it immediately went up in flames.

The fire reached flashover point as Destemona exited the building with Roach following behind "So long Forbes" she uttered "onwards and upwards". As they walked through the town square, the flickering orange light from the burning building lit up the blood in the streets, the burnouts were on a full scale rampage.

Destemona reasoned that there would likely be little to no human life left in this town when the sun came up.

---

It was beginning to sink in for Leland Fisk just how dire his situation was. He had seen these creatures before, that blonde who cleaned his clock in his hotel room after that Hollander guy had gotten away from Ronaldo, Azura's friend, and returned to confront him, she had changed right in front of him, beaten him, and then forced him to give up Forbes's location. Then just as quickly, she changed back and left with Hollander.

Also, that thing that appeared at the Town Hall, he recognised its voice when it spoke, he remembered meeting her on a couple of occasions a few months back when she joined Forbes and Azura's operation, although she didn't look like that.

He remembered, for a brief time, it appeared as if she was in charge of Forbes' operation, then she had disappeared… what was her name? Daniella, Dakota… wait… Destemona, that's it He thought.

That was it, all of this shitstorm tonight connected back to Forbes, and as the guy who got things for him, introduced him to clients and sometimes fixed deals for him, Fisk knew he had to be especially careful. Fisk didn't know what Forbes's operation really was, but he knew it involved these things. Up until tonight, he had been under the assumption that Forbes was working on designer drugs that gave people enhanced abilities. He didn't know for sure, but what he did know was that he couldn't afford to know Forbes right now.

Álverez and he had experienced a few run-ins over the years, and she was the rarest type of Cop around here, in that her hands were clean and she stuck to her ideals. Fisk knew that if Álverez caught even the slightest whiff that he was in any way associated with Forbes, and thereby this situation, he didn't even want to think about that.

Fisk watched as Officer Álverez came back out of the jail at the back of the station, looking more pissed off than when she had entered. "Alejandro, take your shotgun back there and watch that woman, and be careful, she's much stronger than she looks" Álverez told her brother.

Alejandro made his way through the door into the jailhouse and then another man appeared, he had an MP5 across his chest, and was wearing a gun belt, with short, military style dark hair but was unshaven. He glanced back into the jailhouse and leaned against the doorway.

Álverez went to the centre of the room and took a breath, setting herself to speak "Alright, attention everyone" she announced in Spanish. Fisk had been living in Mexico for years, he needed no translation. "So that everyone is on the same page, here is our situation, communication is down, the highway is out in both directions and there are 12 of us, now, we could try to go cross country in the truck… but Mr Grayson here has a prisoner, and I have to be open about this, she's like those things out there"...

At this, Miguel shot to his feet "What the fuck, you brought one of those things in here". The man, Grayson stepped forward and raised his hand "Please, Sir, try to relax, I have tranq rounds and lethal options if that doesn't work, but she has to go back to the US".

Miguel stepped forward and Fisk saw his hand go to his 44 Magnum, the American bristled and his hand inched closer to his MP5 in response. "If you have a lethal option, then go use it, and then we'll take our chances in the truck!". "Like I just told you" Grayson stepped forward "She's highly sought after by the United States Government, I need to get her back to US soil and get her properly contained, the device I was using to keep her sedated was damaged by one of those others, we may not have long before she wakes up, when she does, I'll have to keep darting her".

"Well then I suggest you stay here and have fun with your pet, the rest of us are leaving" Miguel shouted. At this, Álverez stepped between them, holding up her hands "Nobody is being left behind, not even her, from what I'm told, if those things get their hands on her, our problems will only get worse".

Fisk didn't know much about what Forbes was doing, all he knew was that he needed to think of a way to get out while he could. "I'm going to do everything I can to keep you all safe" Álverez announced.

---

The Burnouts were having their fun in the town, no doubt there were more of them by now, some of the males had taken mates, Destemona had more pressing matters to deal with.

As she made her way back to the warehouse, she saw two males and a female carrying young offspring back to the tunnel entrance. They would likely build a communal nest down in the tunnels.

Forbes had been using the old cartel tunnels beneath the town to store his failures, but those tunnels were older than that. Evidently, this town had started out as a mining town, there was a vast network of tunnels down there, and Destemona knew that the Burnouts would go to familiar ground and likely build a communal nest down there.

They lacked the intelligence to get far away before more authorities arrived, they could follow basic commands, but for the most part, they were almost feral, driven on instinct.

She arrived at the warehouse. Parts of the lab were still visible, she checked around, made sure there was nothing tying back to Arianna or the Monolith Network, then she went back to the area that Forbes used as his living space, he kept the safe containing all his files beneath his bed.

Everything was ash, but she remembered where it was, she had shared this bed with him on several occasions. "No… no! Where is it!" She said aloud. Everything had burned away, the bed, the frame, the wooden flooring beneath, exposing the safe… and it was wide open, empty.

"NO!" Destemona screamed. No, I have to find it! She thought I can't go back empty handed!

"She must've taken it" Roach growled. Destemona rounded on him "WHO!". Roach backed away a step "The one who came after the fire, I saw her with the cop".

Now Destemona stepped closer to him, uttering a deep guttural growl and spoke through gritted teeth "What Cop!"

---

Eve slowly became aware of two things, the first was the pain, her head was splitting, all the pressure was focussed behind her eyes, the second was the light, it wasn't bright, but it was enough that she was aware of it even though her eyes were closed… just like the lab… THE LAB NO!

The thought of being back in the lab provoked so much fear that Eve sat bolt upright. Her eyes snapped open and she winced in pain, holding up her arm to block out the light source. She squinted as her vision began to clear.

Some kind of cage.. No.. NO!

Eve's vision cleared more, there were bars, like a prison… her body felt weak, she braced herself and crawled over to pull herself up on the bars. It was only now that her vision cleared enough for her to take in her surroundings. This place looked like a jail, like the ones she saw in the back of a sheriff's office in westerns, only this one was modern. There were several cells in two rows, what did they call them in the movies… The thought suddenly came to her "A Bullpen".

A voice shouted in Spanish near her "Hay… HAY! She's waking up, what do I do?". Eve heard another sound, the distinctive racking of a shotgun "Hay, hay, don't you move… I I said don't you move".

Eve leaned against the bars and pulled herself around to see the source of the voice. A man was standing a few feet away in the middle of the space, he was aiming a very large shotgun in her direction. The next sound she heard was the sound of several feet running down the hall and someone shouting "Don't shoot, that thing will only piss her off".

Three more figures came into view down the call and arrayed themselves in front of the cell. Eve's eyes were adjusting now and the pain in her head was beginning to subside, she recognised two of them, the first was the police officer whom she had driven to the hospital with her wounded friend. Another was the man who had attacked her in the street, there was a third man, he was heavy-set, hispanic and wore a suit, he smelled heavily of sweat.

"Well, there she is" the man began "Welcome back to the land of the living Eve… for now at least". Eve looked around the space again, looking for a way out. Her attention was drawn back to the man when she heard several loud clicks. He had reached through the bars and was clicking his fingers "Hay… look at me, now Eve, I want you to listen good" the man leaned on the bars and took out a heavy duty looking revolver from a holster on his hip.

"Now, you see this… there's a lot more Tranq where that came from, and if that doesn't work, remember that really cool toxin that Doc Baker made for your boyfriend, Patrick… well I got some of that too. So if you so much as twitch in a way I don't like, I'll happily dose you up and watch you dissolve from the inside".

The man was chewing gum and had a big grin on his face, a grin that made her want to smash every single tooth out of his mouth. Eve couldn't help herself, she pushed herself off the bars and took a step towards him, she never made it. The effects of the powerful tranquilliser were evidently still in her system, her legs buckled and she fell face down on the cold cell floor, letting out a loud, angry growl of frustration.

Eve heard a click and knew he had cocked the pistol "Whoa, what did I just say, now that is a perfect way to earn yourself a dose of the good stuff". "This one looks like a person. Not like those others outside" came another voice, Eve surmised it must've been the larger man. "Yeah, but you heard that noise she just made right, a little giveaway. My guess is that the one's outside are some kind of defective brood. Listen, Mr Mayor, the only reason you know about any of this is because we're all in this together until it's over, but you'll be asked to sign an official secrets document… there may be a small kickback in it for you if you play ball here".

Eve began to slide her hand along the floor until she could grip the bars nearest to her and pull herself over to them. As she did, she heard the man say in a stern voice "Hay, what are you doing". Eve thought for a moment it was directed at her, but then she felt someone touch her hand, Eve raised her head to see it was Officer Álverez. She was staring at her through the bars. In her free hand Álverez was holding a small plastic cup of water. Eve reached out with a shaky hand and took the water from Álverez who cupped her hands under Eve's to assist her as she lifted it up to her mouth to drink. "That's a perfect way to lose your arm, Álverez" the man said.

"I'm responsible for everyone in this station, including you, and including her" Álverez retorted. "Your name is Eve?" Álverez asked. Eve managed a small nod. "It's probably best if you don't talk to her" the man began, but Álverez shot him a harsh look "This is my station, you don't tell me who I can and cannot talk to in my fucking station".

"Don't… don't let him" Eve slurred her words. She knew she may only have one chance at this, she felt strength in her limbs, but she remembered something she had heard a homeless man say in a box car on her way down here "When you're strong, appear weak, when you're weak, appear strong…".

Álverez's hands were still cupped beneath Eve's chin, assisting her shaking hands as she drank the water. Eve shuffled forward ever so slightly and wrapped her fingers around the officer's wrist.

Before Álverez could pull back, her whole arm was pulled through the bars up to her shoulder. Eve reached through the bars and wrapped her arm around the officer's neck "Go ahead, do it, but I promise I'll take her with me!".

The man with the shotgun ran up to the bars and the barrel was inches from Eve's face, he was bellowing in Spanish "LET GO! LET HER GO! RIGHT FUCKING NOW!". There was a cacophony of shouting and bellowing voices, her own included. The man with the shotgun racked it and chambered a round, and Eve was aware that the other man was aiming the revolver with the darts at her from the other side. "GO AHEAD!" Eve shouted "KILL ME NOW! I'D RATHER DIE HERE THAN BE TORTURED TO DEATH IN THAT FUCKING LAB… GO ON, DO IT!".

"LET MY SISTER GO" The man shouted and inched the barrel closer to Eve's face "I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF BITCH, LET GO!". Eve felt a calm wash over her, if this was it, she was ready, there was no way she would allow herself to be taken back to that lab… no way. "You people have two choices, you can start shooting, and I guarantee, I'll take her with me, or put the guns down and let me walk out of here!".

"Eve, look around you, you had a good run, but now it's over, you're going back where you belong. Doctor Baker misses you… now I guarantee, I won't fucking miss, unless you RELEASE THE OFFICER RIGHT FUCKING NOW!". Eve turned and locked eyes with him. She could tell he meant it, but so did she. If this was the end, she wasn't going to just let him have his way.

The larger man, the one who she heard called the Mayor stepped around and aimed his own revolver at her face now. Eve took a breath, one she thought might well be her last and uttered in a smooth whisper "Shoot me then, go ahead". A silence fell over all of them at that point, with nobody willing to back down and nobody really knowing where to go from here. Only the man who attacked her in the street, the one who mentioned Laura must have known who she truly was. He must have been sent by the people at the compound, the military.

They had so many soldiers guarding her, because they were afraid of her, what she could do, and she had shown them the night she escaped, they were right to be afraid. An idea formed in Eve's head, she had never done this before, but perhaps now was the time to leverage her own infamy in their eyes.

"You" she said, looking at the man "You mentioned Laura… you know who I am? You know what I am?". "That's right" the man hissed. It was clear he had lost what control he had over the situation and was now very angry.

Eve glared at him and let her inner self begin to rise to the surface, just a little, just enough to show a ripple beneath her skin on the cusp of transformation, her eyes would also take on a more interesting appearance. The big man with the 44 Magnum actually crossed himself

"Then you know I don't go down easy. All those guys who shot me the night I escaped, they barely slowed me down… so tell me, how much damage do you think I can do to her before the toxin takes effect? Because I'm betting, it's a lot?".

"Don't do this" Álverez murmured "You don't have to". "I just wanted to be left alone" Eve said through gritted teeth "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it had to be you" and tightened her grip on the officer. Álverez took an audible gasp and Eve felt her entire body tense and began to tremble. Álverez preparing for the inevitable.

In that moment, Eve felt a deep surge or regret, this had once been her. Strapped to a steel chair in the test chamber, awaiting the whatever agonising, burning, suffocating concoction that would soon fill the air, working it's way into her lungs, her eyes, her blood, until her entire body felt like it was boiling from within. Every test could have been her last and that fear she felt, she now felt from Officer Álverez. Eve was inflicting that fear upon her, that these were about to be her final moments.

Like her, however, Álverez sucked up that fear and forced it down, like her, she wasn't one to scream or beg, she would accept it. I knew there was a reason I liked her, Eve thought, but none of that mattered now. What mattered was the next few seconds.

Álverez shifted in her grip, and then did something Eve didn't expect, she started to raise her arms. Álverez cleared her throat as much as she could and uttered to the man with the shotgun "Alejandro… put it down". The man she called Alejandro looked at her, and then at Eve "Fuck that Sis, not till this bitch lets go!". At this, Officer Álverez gently reached out and put her hand over the barrel of the shotgun "Alejandro, it's ok, all she wants is to leave… so she can do that".

Alejandro slowly lowered the barrel. Upon seeing this the other two men began shouting at him "What the fuck are you doing?". Álverez turned to both of them now "Alright, both of you shut the fuck up!... This is my station, and I'm making a fucking ruling on this right now… if she wants to take her chances out there… then it's one less problem we have to deal with… right Miguel?... Go ahead, put it down". When the big man didn't immediately react, Eve felt a jolt through Álverez as she bellowed at him "PUT THE FUCKING GUN DOWN MIGUEL!".

The big man backed away a few paces, looked at Alejandro, and then at the other man before he just turned and left the jailhouse. "And then there was one" Eve said. "What, you think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?" the man asked. "Put it down, Man, she's my sister" Alejandro shouted at him. The man merely glanced at him "And you have no idea what's at stake if she goes free, what's out there, it'll be everywhere when these things breed".

"I don't give a shit, she's got my sister, that's what I care about, now put it down and she'll let go" Alejandro then looked at Eve, actually acknowledged her for the first time "You will let her go right?". Eve nodded. The man with the revolver was growing ever more angry "Look, I can't just let her go, half the US Government is looking for her". "Well this ain't the US, hombre, this is Mexico, and Consuela's in charge of this station".

"Yeah, it really looks like she's in charge from here" the man said sarcastically. Alejandro had finally had enough and raised his shotgun again, but this time, it wasn't aimed at Eve, it was aimed at the other man "I ain't playing homes, you drop that Gat, or I drop you". The man practically bristled "You are fucking kidding me, you are, you are actually fucking kidding me".

Eve hadn't expected this situation to develop in this way, they were turning on each other, now was a moment to just observe, to see where it went, she need only intervene if it dosen't go her way.

The man looked at Alejandro with an angry scowl, then his eyes moved to Officer Álverez and finally to Eve. "Fuck!" he shouted, but he hadn't lowered his gun yet, Eve decided to give him the final push "Put the gun on the floor by the cell… NOW!". Eve felt another jolt go through Álverez at this. The entire situation was fluid. "I'm not going back there" Eve added "If I die, it's going to be on my terms, not yours, and certainly not in that fucking lab".

The man's eyes glanced around all of them one last time, he started to realise he had play in this situation, the shotgun that Alejandro was holding on him was especially large. The decision to relinquish his weapon looked like it almost caused him physical pain, he winced and finally put the gun back into it's holster "NO!" Eve shouted "Not there, on the floor!".

Reluctantly, the man took the gun back out of the holster and put it down on the floor. Eve knew that the weapon contained the only thing capable of actually harming her, she needed to get control of it. "Over here, slide it over here". When the man didn't do anything, Alejandro was the one who marched over, picked it up and then actually moved over with an outstretched arm, and handed it to Eve.

This was the first time Eve had ever held a gun in her life, it felt strange. She knew how to operate it. There was a small armoury in plain view of her enclosure in the Lab, she had watched the guards field strip, maintain and re-assemble a number of different weapons in that small area of the lab. "Ok" Eve finally said "Now, I want both of you to go get into a cell on the other side and close the gate".

Alejandro and the man both moved reluctantly into an adjacent cell, Eve heard the lock snap automatically as Alejandro pulled it closed. Once he did that, she finally let go of Álverez. The young officer rubbed her throat and stepped away. Eve aimed the gun between all of them. Álverez raised her hands again as Eve exited the cell and moved around to take hold of her again.

"Hay, you said you'd let her go!" Alejandro shouted "Hay, you're a lying bitch!". "What did I fucking tell you?" the other man was leaning up against the side of the cell looking very, very defeated. "Relax, soon as I'm out the door, I'll let her go".

Eve walked Álverez up the hallway towards the door that led to the main police station, she knew that the big man was likely in here, as were a few others, Eve smelled eight distinct scents in the next room "Go ahead, open the door" she ordered Álverez. "You know, I'm sorry about this, I had no idea…". "Yeah, save it" Eve cut her off "All you are the same".

Eve knew it wouldn't be over until she was outside the building and away from here. Álverez had her hair tied back, a lot of it had come loose in the struggle, Eve took the officer's hair and wound it around her hand causing her to flinch and issue a short, audible yelp of discomfort "Shut up, move" Eve barked and kicked open the door.

Instantly, there were two more police officers, the mayor and another guy with tattoos all aiming guns at her. A fifth man in a suit stood up in the corner and pulled out a small .38 Special and aimed it at her. The two police officers and the guy with the tattoo's all instantly started screaming at her in spanish to let Álverez go, put her hands on her head, get down on the floor, Eve ignored it all and stopped.

The men stood there, shouting a range of orders at her for almost a full minute before Álverez began to raise her arms. Eve took in the other people in the room, one smartly dressed young woman, two more elderly women sitting together, a couple of younger people who looked like student backpackers, she had seen a few as she travelled around and knew the type.

"Everyone, just calm down…" Álverez said in a measured tone, when the men didn't stop shouting, she raised her voice "Calm down… CALM THE FUCK DOWN! All of you…". All five of the men fell silent as Eve shuffled Álverez around and across the space towards the door. There were a number of desks with computers, the standard things one might expect to see in a smaller police station. Eve manoeuvred across the space, keeping all of the men in her sight. It was only then that she noticed her backpack was leaning up against one of the desk drawers. "That's mine, bring it to me!" Eve ordered.

The guy nearest her pack was the tattooed guy with the Colt Python. He looked at it and then back at her, but didn't move.

"Just do as she says" Álverez said "Carlos… bring her damn bag, now!". The guy Álverez called "Carlos" grabbed Eve's pack from the floor, then cautiously came over to them with his arm out stretched. Eve was keenly aware that he still had that massive Colt Python in his other hand. Eve didn't know if she could shrug off a round of that size, she could heal from it, but probably not before they regained control of the pistol with the toxic rounds.

It wasn't lost on Eve that once she was out of the station, the creatures had overrun the town, she still needed to get clear, this pistol with the toxic rounds may come in handy.

Carlos handed Eve's pack to Álverez. "Open it, show me" Eve barked, she wanted to at least make sure those things she took from that building were still there, that way she'd have something to work with if she ended up in a situation like this again.

Álverez unzipped the backpack and held it open, Eve looked over her shoulder. Once she was satisfied that it was all still there, she told her to close it up and moved them both backwards towards the door. All five of the men followed cautiously, they had lowered their guns but all looked ready to pounce on her. "Back off!" Eve shouted "I'm leaving".

Álverez tilted her head just enough that she could see Eve and said "Hay, Eve, don't take this the wrong way, but don't fucking come back". "Don't you worry" Eve snarled "Between the things out there and the idiots in here, there's gonna be nothing left to come back to… I hope you all have fun" Eve tucked the man's revolver into her waistband and reached behind her for the door handle, she twisted it but found it locked. "Let me out… LET ME OUT! NOW!".

Álverez kept her hands up "Alright, alright… Emilio, get the switch, open the door". One of the police officers began to cautiously move over to the desk, Eve realised they must have a buzz in and out system in this station. It made sense.

The officer was only three paces away from the switch and beginning to reach out when Eve began to sense it. A presence, an echo, someone like her. It was unmistakable… they were coming.

"STOP!" Eve barked, and half turned, Álverez also turned, no doubt she picked up on the change in Eve's demeanour. Everyone in the station startled and flinched as a loud bang reverberated on the bulletproof shutters across the main window. The shutters were solid, but visibly shook.

The two elderly women and the young backpackers at the other end of the room all shuffled back. The loud bang was followed by another, and then another. Then a grinding metal-on-metal sound, like someone was dragging a pitchfork along the outside of the shutters.

"Little pigs, little pigs… let me in!" came a cheerful, confident sounding woman's voice from outside the building.

Everyone stood in silence. Eve fought down the urge to panic, she had run out of time, and now the others were outside. This situation just got exponentially worse. The Voice came again "You're gonna have to let me in or else… I'm gonna huff… and I'm gonna puff… and I'm gonna BLOW YOUR FUCKIN HOUSE DOWN!".

The voice was a strange combination of Murth and Malice, someone who was enjoying every moment, knowing that they held all the cards "You have something of mine, and I want it back… if you give me what I want, I'll go away… I promise" Whoever it was outside was clearly enjoying this, they continued "I'd say scouts honour, but it'd be a mute point, I was never in the scouts. How about, we pinky promise? What do you say?"

Nobody said a word, Álverez, despite being held hostage, raised her hand to her mouth and put a finger on her lips, then motioned for everyone to get out of sight. There was only one point, the glass slit in the door which someone could peer inside.

Álverez began to crouch down and Eve found herself following suit, the five men who a moment ago had been ready to shoot her, all moved quietly to crouch behind desks. Eve saw the younger of the two police officers move to a wall and hit the light switches.

Eve felt more trapped than ever, if she let go of Álverez, the others might open fire, she wasn't worried about that but for the risk that they might knock her down long enough to get the gun away from her and use the toxin rounds.

---

There was definitely someone like her inside, someone very strong, someone with a lot of vitality. Destemona circled the building and raked her claws along the mental shutters. This building was secure and may not be easy to breach, she may need more of the Burnouts to get inside by force, for now, all she had was Roach.

However, there was something else, among the scents leading into the building was one she recognised. She had seen Leland Fisk earlier, it seemed he had arrived here, and was still here.

After her calls and knocks went unanswered, Destemona decided to step things up. "Roach, make sure they aren't going anywhere" she said, gesturing to the police truck.

Roach wasted no time in tearing off the hood of the vehicle and then proceeded to tear the engine to pieces. Meanwhile, Destemona made her way around to the front door. Time to sow a little discord, she thought. Destemona knew Fisk was in there. She was going to call out to him and shake things up.

---

Consuela couldn't ever remember a time in her life when she was this scared, but she couldn't afford to show it, or lose her cool. Everyone in this station, in this town, was depending on her making the right decision.

Allowing this "Eve" to go was the right decision. They were in the middle of a siege and Consuela knew it wouldn't help to have a potential hostile in their midst. No, getting her out of the situation was the best move. If that American agent didn't like it, that was his problem.

On top of that, despite the fact this "Eve" was holding her hostage, using her as a human shield, she did feel a small amount of empathy for her plight, the few bits of information she had managed to pick up, both from things she had said and what that Grayson guy had mentioned painted a picture of Eve having escaped a horrific situation in America, only to end up in the middle of this. She may not be fully human, but she was clearly more than those things outside.

Right now, with the station in the dark, all Consuela could think about was Alejandro and Carlos, they had overcome some pretty heavy shit together in the past, it was only together that they would be able to get through this. She needed to get Alejandro out of that cell, he was helpless back there.

Consuela turned as much as her hair would allow and faced Eve, only now noticing that her eyes were reflecting bright green in the dark. Consuela took a moment to process it and then whispered "I need to get Alejandro out of that cell, we need everyone". "Shut up" Eve hissed. In that moment, Consuela actually forgot how dangerous Eve could be, her hightened strength and power and drove her elbow into Eve's ribs out of sheer frustration "Hay, fuck you, he's my brother!".

It was enough to make Eve let go of her hair at least, if only to grab her in a near choke hold and clamp her hand over her mouth. Eve's lips got very close to Consuela's Ear, and she whispered "I said be fucking quiet".

The station was fortified, but it was so quiet now. Consuela listened, she could hear something outside. The banging and grinding had stopped, and it appeared as if who, or whatever it was out there was just wandering around. "There are two of them…" Eve whispered "But more are coming".

The only light was the floodlight that covered the gravel parking lot around the station. It was beaning in through the small slit in the door just above where Eve and herself were now crouched. Consuela saw the light suddenly get blocked out. Someone had their face up to the glass, peering in through the slit in the door.

They remained there for a while, then the light returned. Consuela was close enough to the door that she heard crunches in the gravel outside as whoever it was stepped away from the door. Eve's hand began to release, just enough for Consuela to whisper to her "Are they gone?". "No" Eve whispered back "She's still there… she's just waiting". Consuela half turned and locked eyes with Eve "How do you know it's a she?"?.

Eve tilted her head slightly "I sense them".

Nobody moved, Consuela couldn't see the other end of the station, but she knew that everyone else was doing the exact same thing as she was right now… just hunkering down and hoping that who or whatever was outside would just go away. Consuela knew that was unlikely. There were a few clicks and clacks in the dark, Consuela knew the sound, a couple of the guys were checking their weapons, she knew that Emilio and Felipe had likely taken positions and were covering the entrance, and also her.

Her fears were confirmed in an unexpected way when out of nowhere, the silence was broken again, the voice from outside spoke up again "Leland… LEEEEEEELAND?". Consuela knew where Leland fisk had hunkered down and heard a slight shuffle from the corner by the desk. "Leland Fisk… I know you're fuckin in there, I know your scent, and that god-awful cologne, what is that essence of sunbaked asshole…".

Consuela felt a sudden rush of fear when Fisk actually responded "What do you want?". "Shut the fuck up Puto…" Consuela hissed. There were a collection of shuffles and angry hissed voices all telling Fisk to be quiet, but it was too late, the damage was done. "Listen, because I'm such a nice person and in touch with my inner child, I'll give you a chance… come out and talk to me, all I want is what was taken from the lab… you give it to me, and I'll go away".

"She's lying" Eve whispered. "Yeah? You got a sense of that or do you just know bullshit when you hear it?" Consueala retorted "Let go of me" she nudged Eve hard in the ribs "I'm gonna try to talk to her".

Eve didn't let go and her tone turned harsh "She'll kill you Álverez, if she gets in here, she'll kill everyone". "And what about you?" Consuela asked "She's offering us a way out, and as far as I can see, the biggest threat in here is you… now fucking let me go". Consuela swiped at Eve's arm and to her surprise, she actually let go, allowing Consuela to stand up "Fine, suit yourself".

Consuela peered through the gap in the door. There was someone out there "This is Lieutenant Álverez, I'm in charge here, you want to talk to someone, you talk to me". The figure outside moved forward until she was no longer silhouetted in the parking lot's floodlight. She was tall, with black hair and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed in rags that dragged along the floor, she raised a hand casually and pointed at her "Oh it's you… the one from the town hall… I never forget a face, especially one as pretty as yours… you're adorable!".

"Just tell me what you want" Consuela said. "Oh… what I want is a hot shower, a good hard fuck, and a cold vodka, lady… but before I get what I want… I need what someone took from that lab… files, hard drives, notes… you get where I'm going with this?". "I give it to you, you leave this station, and the people in it alone" Consuela told her in as measured a tone as she could.

The woman took an aggressive step forward now, causing Consuela to instinctually jump backwards. The woman leaned on the outside of the glass slit with her face pressed up against it "Oh, for you, you gorgeous, sexy little firecracker… anything… fuck I like a woman in uniform, one who takes charge, it's very impressive".

Consuela looked down… the pack containing the materials that Eve was trying to take was still in her hand. Eve had moved back against the wall, so as not to be seen through the door. "I have it here" Consuela said. The woman bit her lip and grinned "Yeah" she uttered "Are you gonna… give it to me?".

Consuela stepped closer to her, there was only the glass slit in the door separating them "I have people in here who are scared" she told the woman "You agree to leave us alone and I'll give this to you". The woman uttered an audible growl and stepped back, putting on an obviously feigned pout "Oh… If I really must".

Consuela looked over at Eve and considered her options, they were limited. They had no communication, there was only one, untested weapon capable of killing these things, and Eve had it, she would likely not relinquish it. There were 12 people in this station, including her own two Brothers. There was nothing for it, if this woman, this creature was offering a way out of this, she had to risk it.

Eve's expression was imploring "If you give her that pack, she'll kill us all". "And what happens if I don't?" Consuela snapped back at her. The creature outside could evidently hear them as she came back to press her face against the glass "I know I sense someone special in there… someone strong, someone virile, who's that with you?… Come on, don't be shy, step out where I can see you. I've been hearing about a tall, good looking stranger who just appeared in town… let's have a look".

Eve bared her teeth in a pained grimace, then let out an exasperated sigh. Reluctantly, she stepped up and faced the woman at the door. "Eve…" the woman breathed, the expression on her face was pure shock. Consuela watched as slowly, her lips peeled back into a wide grin and then, to her surprise, the woman punched the air and let out a short WHOOP! "AS I LIVE AND BREATHE!…" The woman pushed herself off the door and grinned "I'm feeling all starstruck… do you have ANY idea how many of us are looking for you?".

Eve said nothing, but Consuela could tell from her body language that she was becoming incredibly tense, she was scared, and trying desperately not to show it. Consuela looked down and saw the Rhino revolver clenched tightly in her hand. "And you are?" Eve asked. The woman outside came back up to the door and tapped on the glass "Me? The one and only Eve wants to know me? I'm flattered?".

Eve let out a frustrated breath and shot Consuela a hard look, she shook her head very subtly before turning back to face the woman outside. "I'm Destemona" the woman announced "And I'm a huge fan of how you, ya know, broke out of a super secret lab, ran all night to fuck my Father, then you turned on him and get most of us FUCKING KILLED IN THE PROCESS!".

Eve jumped back as the woman slammed a clawed Hand against the door just above the glass slit. Consuela saw the five points of her claws in the indentation she made.

Eve instantly had the Rhino revolver up and flush with the glass, aimed right at the woman's, now snarling face. Eve was breathing very fast and Consuela could see she was starting to lose her cool "You wanna join them, do that again!". Destemona's expression slowly twisted back into a wide grin and she tapped a clawed finger on the glass "Got ya!"

Consuela couldn't see what Eve was looking at, but she noticed that Eve's eyes were now looking off to one side. Consuela moved around to the side of her and looked outside. She could see now that there was another one outside, a male. He was carrying the steering wheel of the truck and grinning with big red eyes out from beneath a ragged hood. "Fuck!" Consuela shouted.

"Oh yeah…" Destemona grinned "That's Roach, he likes you Lieutenant" then she got very close to the glass, as if she was trying to impart a secret to a friend "He really likes you, said he's been watching you… I think he wants to fuck you… have you ever had one of us before? Trust me, you don't haven't lived until you do… oh and don't worry, he's sterile… meaning he won't, you know, ruin your figure…".

"ENOUGH!" Eve shouted "Do you want this stuff or not… take it, and him, and all the others and leave us alone". Destemona looked at Eve with the expression of a scolded child for a moment, then her expression turned serious. Finally she looked back at the one she called Roach, and then back to Eve.

Destemona held out her hand "Fair enough, you hand it over and I'll go away… pinky promise". "Give me the Backpack" Eve said after a few moments. Consuela cautiously handed it to her, then stepped away, she was unarmed and didn't want to me within arm's reach of that door when it opened.

Consuela gestured to Emilio to hit the buzzer for the door. He stood up, reached over the desk and pressed the button. There was a loud metallic buzz and Eve pushed the door open a few inches. Just enough to place the backpack outside, then pulled the door closed again, holding it until the lock snapped.

Consuela craned her neck to look over Eve's shoulder to watch as Destemona smiled and retrieved the backpack. Eve put the gun up to the glass and cocked back the hammer "Just take it and go". "Aren't you curious what we're doing here? What Forbes was doing?" Destemona grinned. "I don't give a fuck, just go, leave me alone".

"Alone? Nobody should be alone" Destemona's grin only intensified, as did the red reflection in her eyes. Eve banged the barrel of the revolver against the glass "JUST FUCK OFF!". Despite knowing what Eve was, and the fact that not five minutes ago, she was being held hostage by the woman, Consuela moved in next to her to look out though the door. Destemona put up her hands and pouted "Well, if you insist on being no fun whatsoever" and began to back away.

As she did however, Consuela noticed several sets of glinting eyes in the dark on the edge of the parking lot, beyond the glare of the floodlight. Destemona let out a giggle "I said I'd leave you alone… I never said anything about them… have at it boys and girls".

"Oh FUCK!" Consuela cursed as she saw the creatures on the edge of the dark begin to advance into the light and gather in the parking lot. She counted at least ten of them. Some looked human, some looked partially human, others didn't. They had a hard chitinous, ridged carapace for skin, dorsal blades and tentacles. They were all growling and snarling, some were salivating. Two of them were huge, quadrupedal, easily the size of a horse, with massive bodies and long muscular limbs covered in armour plates.

Eve punched the reinforced glass out of the slit to aim the revolver out through the door. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" she bellowed, then added "I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!". Consuela saw the pained expression on Eve's face, she meant it, she had no wish to do anyone harm, but in that moment, it was likely the worst thing she could have said.

At that, one of the males stepped forward. His eyes were glinting a bright yellow, he was bald, but his head was reidged beneath his skin and the spikes also protruded from his jawline. He opened his mouth, wider than humanly possible, his jaw dislocated like a snake preparing to devour a rat, and a long barbed tone slithered out. "I FUCKING MEAN IT! I DON'T WANT TO BUT I WILL!" Eve shouted, her voice was breaking, that fear was beginning to show.

Without any further posturing, the male broke into a sprint and charged towards the door. Eve instinctively backed up, her resolve breaking "JUST FUCKING SHOOT HIM!" Consuela said, as the male slammed into the door. It was steel reinforced against explosives, but it buckled.

Both Eve and Consuela were thrown backwards but Consuela was caught on something, preventing her from falling. She looked down and saw Eve, laying on her back, staring at her with wide eyes. It was when Consuela turned that she saw the male had slammed his entire arm through the broken hatch and had seized her around the upper arm.

The barrel on the revolver raised in Eve's shaky hands and Consuela did her best to duck out of the way. Consuela didn't see Eve pull the trigger, but she saw the muzzle flash which lit up the corner of the room momentarily and then she felt the pressure from the grip release. The male let out a shriek as his arm began to moulder and dissolve, and retracted it through the hatch.

Consuela turned and stepped up to the hatch to peer outside. It wasn't over, he wasn't finished. He grabbed his mouldering arm with his good hand, and with three quick tugs, tore his stricken arm free with a mighty scream. Throwing it down onto the gravel. The creature roared and began marching back towards the door.

Consuela felt a hand grip her shoulder and barely had time to register that Eve had stood up behind her before she was shoved to one side. This time Eve took a proper aim through the broken hatch and pulled the trigger.

Consuela watched as the toxic round struck the creature in the sternum. He staggered back and tore open his shirt and could only watch as his chest began to bubble and moulder. He screamed and tore at his chest as his rotting organs beneath were exposed and spilled out amid his thrashing. Consuela could no longer watch and turned away. The screams were near deafening and she covered her ears.

The screams became gargled growls and eventually faded away. Consuela looked up to see Eve with her back up against the wall and floods of tears in her eyes, looking at the revolver in her hand.

"Thanks" Consuela finally said. Eve was still staring at the gun and shaking her head "That's what they want to do to me. They made me in a lab so they could test these weapons on me…". Consuela had no reason not to believe her, and if that was true, it was barbaric.

They were given no time to consider it before the entire door frame buckled and the top corner of the door was bent inwards. A long bony, chitinous arm smashed its way in. It was one of the giant males, it had come up and shoulder checked the door. Consuela threw herself down and Eve also dropped into a crouch as Emilio, Felipe, Miguel, Carlos and Fisk all unloaded their guns into the creature's face.

It roared and swung the one arm it had through the gap, but couldn't gain purchase. Consuela heard a wet sucking sound and once again felt something grip her. She wrenched herself away only to see that the creature had extended a tentacle of some kind from it's back and it was coiled around her upper thigh, dragging her back towards the door.

Consuela finally lost her cool and screamed, grabbing at the slimy appendage and bracing her leg against the door. From here, the creature could reach her. Its long arm came down hard on her chest and she felt its clawed fingers grip around her neck. It had no discernible jawline, only these two massive mandibles that opened wide as it roared. It uttered a single word through its growls "Mine".

Consuela closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable, the gunfire subsided as they were all reloading. Suddenly, the felt the weight lift off her chest and opened her eyes to see that Eve was now crouched over her. Her hand was wrapped around the creature's wrist and she was slowly pulling it up. The creature pushed and strained but it was not winning this arm wrestle.

Consuela saw Eve's hand begin to transform, taking a similar chitinous, translucent carapace to the creature, but hers looked sleeker, more defined and with hints of green and a light pinkish hue.

The creature pushed itself closer to Eve's face and roared as hard as it could, Consuela saw her hair being blown by the intensity of the exhalation. Eve was unphased and in fact had the look of someone who had just had enough. Without any warning, she raised Grayson's revolver, jabbed it under the creature's chin and fired once.

The creature's roar became a shriek and it instantly let go, the tentacle around her leg began to convulse. Eve let go of the creature's arm and took hold of the slimy coiled tentacle before ripping it free. Consuela scrabbled back away as the creature writhed and convulsed. It's chitinous skin began to roil and rot right before her eyes. Eve stepped back.

The creature threw back its head and let out one last agonised bellow before slumping down, hanging in the buckled doorway.

"Emilio" Consuela said in a shaky voice. After a few moments his own shaky voice replied "Sé". "Get the lights". He cautiously made his way over and hit the lights, only half of them, so not to make it too bright, not that it mattered, the creatures knew they were here.

Consuela pulled the coiled tentacle off her leg and threw it aside "Fuck me!" she exclaimed in spanish. To her surprise Eve replied in Spanish "That's exactly what he wanted to do".

There was no way to know whether Eve had acted in her own self interest, or in defence of her, but there was only one thing Consuela could say "Muchas Gracias". Eve's response was a subtle shrug. Consuela got to her feet and shook herself off before approaching Eve. "Really I mean it… If we get out of this, I won't get in your way" Consuela looked up at the rotting creature hanging through the gap in the door "Shit… for that, I'll drive you wherever you want to go".

"We're not out of this yet" Eve said in a low voice "That scared them off but they'll come back… and there are only three of these bullets left". Consuela nodded and considered her options "I'll go see if he has more in his pouch" and started back towards the jailhouse "If we're alive when this is over" Eve called out behind her, causing Consuela to turn "I'm not going back".

Consuela gave her an understanding smile and nodded, but then something occurred to her and she slowly turned around to regard Leland Fisk, who was standing with Miguel, reloading his gun.

Consuela turned back to Eve "Hay… mind giving me a hand with something?".

---

This was the second time in a week that Fisk had found himself at the mercy of one of these things. The first time, when the woman with Hollander had damn near cracked his skull in his hotel room, trying to get the location of Forbes' place, and now, in this goddamn jailhouse.

He knew it was coming since that bitch outside had called him by name, but he wasn't prepared for the other blonde bitch to get involved. It seemed in the space of just a few minutes, she had gone from prisoner, to hostage taker and now she and Álverez were working together.

His ears had been ringing from all the gunfire, but he had been talking to Miguel while they reloaded, ready for whatever came next, when he looked up to see that Miguel was looking past him with a worried expression. Lady Cop Álverez, her Brother and the Blonde had approached him a little too quietly.

The blonde had swiped the gun out of his hand and grabbed him by the throat before dragging him back into the jailhouse portion of the station and throwing him into this cell.

Now, he found himself facing Álverez, both her brothers, and the blonde, they all closed ranks on him, backing him up against the wall. The American guy, Grayson was leaning on the bars of the next cell over. They had freed Alejandro, but the blonde had demanded he be kept locked up.

Officer Álverez stepped forward "Forbes Mcguire" Álverez let the name hang in the iar for a moment before continuing "That bitch outside… these creatures… you know something… I need to know everything you know right now Fisk… otherwise you can go join your friends outside".

Fisk knew the stakes here, tonight was going to be all about survival, but he also knew that Álverez had nothing on him apart from the fact that the one outside knew his name, and he wasn't going to be bullied by this little upstart bitch.

Fisk stood up straight and adjusted his jacket "Now you wait just a minute" he began "That bitch outside could have gotten my name from anywhere, I'm a fixture around these parts". "Yeah, with all the wrong people" Alejandro cut in. "You think we don't see you in your fancy suits and that ugly ass hat while you play the Texas bigshot among all us poor Mexicans" Carlos lit a cigarette and continued "I've known assholes like you around here all my life".

"All I am is a businessman, I travel around, I meet people, but I choose to live here, I'm an entrepreneur, and I ain't involved in this science fiction bullshit" Fisk growled. He had had enough and it was time to prove a point "We're all in this ain't we, and I won't be pushed around by the likes of you". Fisk straightened himself and saw a gap between them, he was going to walk right out of this cell… he never made it two paces before the blonde slammed her hand onto his chest and shoved him back against the wall.

She was instantly in his face, and there was a low guttural growl in her throat. "Hay look, I ain't got no beef with you, but I ain't involved in this shit". It was as if the Blonde was studying him, looking right down into his soul with those beautiful blue/grey eyes of hers. She finally uttered "He's lying". Alejandro racked his massive shotgun and stepped forward "Consuela I've had enough of this shit, let's just put this asshole out the door".

Fisk had been around long enough to know where this was going and knew he had to give them something otherwise this was going to go even more downhill "Look, alright… alright, I knew Forbes, I steered some clients his way". They looked at each other before Álverez finally asked "What clients? What was he doing for them?". The blonde pushed hard on his chest, holding him against the wall, prompting him. Forbes was dead, and Fisk owed him no more confidentiality, if he didn't tell them, he knew the blonde was more than capable of killing him in a number of wholly unpleasant ways "He was bringing people's dead relatives and pets back alright".

The blonde almost laughed "How?". "I don't know" Fisk began "He was doing some weird science shit that I don't understand, but it worked, he let me sit in once. All he needed was a sample from the deceased and he could grow them all back from next to nothing, sometimes it went wrong and he stuck them in cryo tanks underground alright, that's all I know".

The blonde stepped away and looked at them "My… my kind… I can regenerate, that must be how he did it". "Your kind?" Carlos asked "What are you?". Grayson pushed himself off the bars and let out an exasperated breath "Here we fucking go, Eve, I hope you know, even if these people here somehow survive this night… if you answer that question, they're all dead… hell they might all be killed just for having seen you".

"He's right, the people I'm running from, they might kill you just for having seen me, or those others outside" Eve told them. "Yeah, well fuck them!" Carlos retorted "I saw what you did in there, Consuela would be dead if you hadn't done what you did… so come on, tell us" he directed what he said next at Grayson in the next cell "We'll deal with those assholes later".

Eve looked over at Grayson and then back at Álverez, who nodded "We need to know, Eve, it might help us". "Believe me, it won't" Grayson said, sitting won on the bunk in his cell "Knowing will only ensure you meet an unfortunate accident, of course that's assuming anyone survives this at all". "You shut the fuck up!" Álverez kicked the bars "You and your it's classified bullshit!" Álverez turned back to Eve "If we all know, they can't silence all of us".

Eve took a breath and leaned against the far wall "What I am is… I'm not fully human" she began. "No shit" Fisk said despite his situation, prompting a hard look from the young lieutenant "Shut the fuck up, you speak when spoken to" she then made her way over to Eve's side "It's ok, tell us". "They created me" Eve began "Part of me is Human, but the other half… it's from somewhere else". "Where?" Alejandro asked. Eve looked up "Nobody knows. There is no real name for what I am… or those others outside".

"Ahh fuck it" Grayson stood up and leaned on the bars "She means Alien, alright, they got this DNA sequence in a message from space, they synthesised it and blended it with Humans, and now that you all know that, you're just as fucked as she is… congratulations!".

For a long time, none of them said anything. This was also news to Fisk, he had no idea where Forbes got his materials or what it really was he was using to create those creatures, Alien… that was at once the weirdest and most fucked up thing he'd ever heard. "What? Are you serious? Aliens? As in from space? That's what Forbes was working with all that time, bringing those people back?".

As Fisk listened, he realised had one final card to play, he knew that even if he got out of this alive, his time in Mexico was at an end. The only reason why he was down here was because he had trouble with the authorities back home for his past dealings with the cartels. "Hay, government man" Fisk began "All the people I dealt with who went to Forbes to have a dead relative or pet back… I still got all of them up here" Fisk tapped his temple "Say I got some legal problems back home, I give you those names, you can make that go away right?". "If the leads turn out to be genuine".

"HAY" Álverez suddenly had him by the lapels on his jacket and shoved him up against the wall, she was smaller than him but god damn she was strong "You don't make deals here, as far as I'm concerned, you had a hand in what's going on out there! If you think I'm letting you walk away from this, think again!".

Álverez gave him one final shove and let go "Everyone out". Her two brothers and the blonde backed up out of the cell. Álverez was the last one out and slammed the door bars closed "Both of you better understand one thing, someone is going to pay for what's happening out there tonight" with that she turned to the others and gestured for them to follow her.

Only Eve lingered for a few moments, eyeing both of them before following the others back into the main station. "Well…" Grayson uttered "Looks like it's just you and me, cowboy".

---

Destemona lit one of the cigarettes that Roach took from Forbes' at the morgue "Well, that was a fuckup… " she groaned as she sat back on a rock. She had climbed the small hill near the station. From here, she could see the corpse of the large male hanging half out of the front door, mouldering, none of the others would approach for fear of the same fate befalling them.

She could also smell the corrosive poison in the scent his body was giving off. The other male lay nearby, with his chest ripped open and his organs festering, his face locked in a primal scream of agony. Roach climbed the hill and hopped up onto the rocks next to her "They have some kind of poison, it eats and rots". "Thank you, I can see that" Destemona said, not bothering to hide her frustration any longer. "You have what you came for, we can leave now, yes?".

Destemona's gaze was fixed on the station "Not yet… not without the biggest prize of all". "What prize?" Roach asked. She could tell from his tone that he was growing impatient "Her… Eve". "The one inside, who is she? Why is she so important?".

"Roach, you were grown in a tank, but me, I was born, and I had a family, I have my Brethren… and perhaps, soon, you can be one of us… but first… blood for blood". Roach tilted his head like a confused Dog, it was clear he didn't understand "That bitch inside there, she was with my Father, but she led humans to our home and turned on him… they laughed as they burned us… and now I've got her… she pays in blood for what she did".

Destemona stood up and shouldered the backpack with all of Forbes files and started back down the hill. "We don't have time for these games, we have spread through the town, but soon more humans will come". "Then we're going to have to end this quickly, then you and I are going home".

---

She was getting strange looks from them all, none more than the big man, Miguel Santos, who Álverez called the town Mayor. Eve made a mental note to keep an eye on him. The two other officers Emilio and Felipe seemed to have, for the most part accepted her presence, though she could tell they were still cautious around her. The same was true of Alejandro and Carlos, Álverez' two brothers.

Álverez had Grayson's bag and was rooting around inside. She came out with six more of the Toxin rounds and handed them to Eve "You'd better make them count".

Eve joined Álverez, her brothers, and the two officers at the back of the station "Alright" Álverez said "Listen up, two of our number are cooling their heels in the jailhouse, where they will remain as I suspect they had involvement in this" she paused and looked at Eve, then continued "Those creatures are still out there, but we have weapon that can kill them, but we only have nine rounds and there are more than nine of them out there". Álverez let that sink in for a moment before continuing "We have two spare guns, that our friends in the jailhouse won't be needing, so, who knows how to use them?".

The young woman stood up "I can use the MP5" she said confidently, pointing at the weapon on the desk. "Are you trained?" Álverez asked. "After a fashion" she said "I grew up in Tennessee, my old man owns a Range". With this, the young man who was with her put up his hand "I met her there, I can handle that guy's .38". "We didn't get your names?" Álverez asked. The young woman picked up Grayson's MP5 and checked it with the muscle memory of a professional "Sophie Li, I'm a medical student, that's my boyfriend, Will".

Álverez nodded and smiled "Well, as of now, you're deputised, that means you do as I say, when I say it, help keep an eye on these others and each other… maybe we'll get out of this". "Then you can enjoy the rest of your vacation in Mexico" Alejandro added. This drew a smirk from Carlos, who followed on "Yeah, after tonight, you'll be able to go home and say you're real sicarios". Álverez shook her head and gave them both a stern look.

"Just keep each other covered and we have a chance. The gun that Eve is using is loaded with rounds containing a toxin that will kill those creatures, so everyone, cover an entry point, if something starts to come through, you hold it off and call for Eve".

"So she's one of us now?" Miguel asked. Eve needed nobody to speak for her "I'm not like those one's outside, if I go out there, they'll do the same thing to me… or worse, so for the time being, I'm stuck here".

Miguel's expression softened and he seemed to accept this. "I've known Consuela since she was a little girl, Eve" one of the Elderly women said, her name was Elina "I saw how you saved her". At this, the other Elderly woman stood up and joined her, Eve knew her name too, it was Camila "We all saw. I may not know who you are, but bless you. You have a good heart".

Eve nodded, unsure of how to respond. The woman's words forced her to take stock for a moment, all she wanted was to survive and find her baby, but she had gone against her own to save Laura. On the way down here, she had stopped a man getting hurt. She had gotten Álverez and her partner to the hospital earlier this evening.

"Alright" Álverez said "Miguel, you stay back here with Elina, Carmen and Camila. Sophie, Will, you go watch the fire Exit in the back. Emilio and Felipe watch the door at the back of the jailhouse while Alejandro and Carlos… guys you watch the front… Eve and I will roam… now, remember, Eve has the gun with the toxin rounds, so if anything comes at your door, you call out for her".

Eve felt the weight of this, they were relying on her, placing their safety in her hands. She still had the urge to just make a break for it, but she knew the one's outside had smashed the vehicle, she didn't like the idea of being chased down and forced to endure more of what Patrick had done. Álverez seemed to be aware of this and fixed her with a look, as if she was studying her. It was clear at this point they understood one another. Álverez was dutiful and would do anything, including risk her own life to protect everyone in her charge, while Eve only wanted to survive and remain free.

"Ok, everyone go to your positions" Álverez said "Emilio, Felipe, don't listen to those two assholes in there, if they start talking to you". Everyone picked up weapons and dispersed to their various positions around the station. Álverez checked and loaded her FX-05 Xiuhcoatl and her sidearm "Can I really trust you, Eve" she asked. "Can I trust you not to turn on me when this is over? Assuming we survive at all" Eve asked.

Álverez' expression softened "I like to think of myself as a decent judge of character… You got me out of that place earlier, you took my friend to the hospital, and then a few minutes ago, you stopped those things from taking me…". Eve cut her off "Last time I went out of my way to help someone, it cost me everything, I had a baby girl, and someone took her… I never even got to hold her… they kept me in a glass cage, Álverez… I'll die before I go back".

Álverez nodded, never breaking eye contact "It's Consuela". Eve managed a little smile "We might have a chance". "That's the attitude" Consuela grinned "Now come on, tell me more. That guy said you were part Alien, I never met an alien before, I'm curious".

They began to walk together, making their rounds "Eve managed a laugh now, Consuela was tough, but she had a lot of personality and despite her situation, was trying to remain upbeat". "What's there to tell, like I said, they kept me in a cage most of my life". "Well, why don't you tell me about your baby girl… who was her Father?" Consuela asked.

At this, Eve stopped and locked eyes with her "I could tell you, but you'll never believe me". "Try me?" Consuela said. Eve hesitated before finally uttering a name she didn't like to invoke "Patrick… Patrick Ross". Consuela looked confused for a moment and then Eve watched the penny drop "Wait… no… no way! You mean the Astronaut guy… The Mars Mission!".

Eve's eyes dropped "Yeah… I escaped to be with him…". "I don't blame you" Consuela laughed "He was sexy, I'd break out of a goddamn supermax to get at him!" Consuela then leaned in closer while they crossed into the back hallway "Or that other one, Sampas… my personal preference". Eve tilted her head and didn't know what to say, at this Consuela grinned. "Really?" Eve asked "It might interest you to know then, that when they came back from Mars, they were both like me".

Now it was Consuela's expression that was the picture of confusion "Wait… that's where you're from? Mars". "No" Eve shook her head "Somewhere a lot further away, I don't know where… but whoever sent me… they, well I overheard the scientists in the lab talking… My species… my kind, they were on Mars billions of years ago… they turned it into the barren rock it is now".

Consuela took a moment to absorb what Eve said "Fuck me… so that's what those things outside will do?". "No, they won't last long, they're weaker, I sense it when I'm close to them". "So, come on, tell me about Ross… what was that like?" Consuela asked "I'm in the mood to learn all this secret shit… I'm guessing the whole plane crash story was bullshit". "Yeah, I was there when he died… he.. He… it wasn't" Eve trailed off, lost in the memory of that night.

She had never felt such passion and then to have it turn into the worst kind of horror, it was unintentional, perhaps brought on by tonight's experience or just talking about it for the first time, but it came up like a wave and she couldn't stop it.

Eve remembered how he had held her down and what he had done, how he had forced himself on her, choked her and slipped that disgusting phallic tendril down her throat. Her eyes stung with years and she felt nauseous. As they rounded the corner, Eve saw the sign above the door to the bathroom and shoved it open.

---

Consuela didn't know what came over Eve. She had revealed the name of the father of her baby to be none other than the famed captain of the Mars Mission. Not only was he famous, but he was also very attractive. Consuela had also seen fit to confide in Eve, as a way of perhaps making her feel more comfortable if they were going to rely on one another, that her own preferences were… fluid, but leaned towards women, and Anna Sampas was her preference.
However, when Consuela had pressed Eve on what it had been like to be with patrick Ross, it elicited a sudden and very negative reaction. Seemingly without warning, she became very uncomfortable, which had been enough for Consuela to get the message that she was pushing on a difficult memory… but then it had gone further. Eve had abruptly pushed past her, gone into the women's bathroom and begun to throw up.

When that was over, she slumped onto the bathroom floor and sobbed uncontrollably. "I've never told anyone before" she was inconsolable. Consuela did the only thing she could in that moment and hugged the woman tightly, it was partly due to her feeling genuine empathy at that moment, and partly due to the fact that she couldn't afford to have Eve going to pieces on her.

After a while, she managed to get Eve calmed down and sat with her on the bathroom floor. That was when Eve finally started to talk "The first time I saw him, he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen… he broke into the lab, we were separated by an inch of glass… and he demanded they let me out… him… the one the entire world was calling a hero… and he wanted me… and he was like me too…".

Consuela handed her some towels from the dispenser, and after a few moments Eve continued "When we… when we were together, it felt so good at first… then I started to sense it, it wasn't him, not really…". Consuela reached over and took her hand, not prompting her, she would continue in her own time "There was something else there, in him, something older, darker… I can't explain it".

"So you tried to get away?" Consuela asked. "Not at first" Eve said, but then a man came, he was a friend of the woman, the scientist who took care of me in the lab… he yelled at me to get out of the way… then… then Patrick went berzerk… I tried to stop him from hurting Laura… and he… he held me down and he… he" Eve trailed off and couldn't bring herself to say it, but Consuela knew.

It wasn't the first time that Consuela had sat with a woman who had gone through this. The only difference was the people and forces involved, but it was fundamentally the same ugly, disgusting and traumatic experience which had been forced upon Eve.

Consuela saw in that moment that as much as Eve had been running from the American government, she was running from that too. All of this evening's events had brought the entire trauma back to the surface. Consuela felt a stab of guilt that she had inadvertently tipped it over the edge by asking her about Patrick Ross. She should've picked up on Eve's tone when she mentioned his name and taken the conversation elsewhere.

"That was it" Eve said "I don't remember much after that, I woke up in the back of an ambulance and I was giving birth, one of Patrick's offspring was in there and he attacked me… for a split second, I saw my daughter, I saw her blue eyes and then…".

Eve lowered her head and broke down into a long, deep sob. Consuela threw her previous caution to the wind and recognised that whatever else Eve was, she was a person and she was in pain. A pain she couldn't pretend to know. Consuela reached over and put her arm around Eve, pulling her closer.

They sat there for a while in silence. Consuela could only think of one question that could possibly get Eve's mind away from it all "How did you escape?".

Eve caught her breath and after a few moments, she collected herself "I woke up… I was back in another building, some kind of lab… but they had me on a conveyor, getting ready to burn me… I got up and I just started running. I had nothing, no clothes, no idea where I was, what was going on… I just ran and ran and didn't stop until I couldn't hear the helicopters anymore… then over time I started looking for food, clothes, supplies… I moved around… six months I've been running… I can't let them take me back… because I know what's waiting" Eve held up the revolver.

Consuela had seen what those toxin rounds had done to the others, but Eve appeared to be more powerful. It was obvious, however, that she would be treated like an animal if she were to be caught, it was also obvious that she had been through enough and didn't deserve it. "Assuming we get through this" Consuela began "I'll make sure you get away safe… and Eve… for saving me, my door's always open".

"Thank you Consuela" Eve said, wiping her eyes. "I'll watch your back Eve…" Consuela said. "I'll watch yours" Eve replied, sounding more sure of herself now. Consuela looked at her and brushed back her hair. Despite the situation, Consuela couldn't help but see how beautiful and attractive she was, and wondered who could do these kinds of things to her. Consuela found herself having to shake off those thoughts and look away before Eve sensed it. It might make things more awkward than they needed to be.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Eve asked. Shit Consuela thought and allowed herself a smirk too late, those senses of hers picked up on my damn feelings Consuela thought. "Nothing" Consuela said, trying to hide her embarrassment "Hay, you feeling ready to get back out there, they're gonna wonder where we went". "Sure" Eve said and stood up. As Consuela got to her feet, she checked herself and her gear, as she did, she glanced up slightly, just enough to catch the reflection in the bathroom mirror, Eve was staring at her up and down with a slight smile. Unbelievable Consuela thought, she's checking me out too.

"Hay guys!... HAY CONSUELA! EVE!" Consuela heard Alejandro calling out from the front of the station. "Shit… here we go… you ready?" Consuela asked, and looked up to meet Eve's gaze "Yeah" she said, sounding determined. Consuela nodded and they both ran out to the front of the station.

---

The mouldering body of the creature was unnerving, but Alejandro could deal with it. It made it difficult to see out of the broken hatch in the door, and obstructed the field of view to the right, but for a while, there had been no activity out there.

He hadn't personally gotten a good look at the woman-thing that Consuela and that woman Eve had spoken to outside, but roughly an hour had gone by, it was now 1:30am and when Alejandro looked out through the slit in the door, he found himself almost face to face with her smiling face.

It startled him and he threw himself back onto the floor, his shotgun was instantly up, but Carlos was jumped up and ran over, aiming his Colt Python out through the slit and looking around to see if he could see her "I saw her too, Bro, she's gone… like a goddamn ghost". "Hay Consuela… CONSUELA… EVE!" Alejandro called out.

A few moments later, Consuela and Eve came running "It was that woman, she's back". Eve stepped up to the door and looked out. Then she sniffed the air before turning to face Consuela "She was here, she looked pissed. The one from Earlier who called herself Destemona".

"Is she still here?" Carlos asked "Can't you like… feel her or something?". Eve looked back out through the slit and then back at Carlos "She's toying with you… stay back away from the door". "Tell me, Eve" Consuela began "It's gonna happen soon right?". "I think so… I smell them, they're angry, and excited… they want what's in here… They want us…".

"That makes me feel better" Alejandro said. For a moment, nobody said anything else and then the silence was broken. "Eve… Eve…" came a sing song call from outside, unmistakably Destemona again.

Alejandro racked his shotgun and chambered a shell. "I gotta say, Eve, I'm impressed you found this place. It's true isn't it, they enhanced you so you could find others like us… and you come running like a little moth to the flaim ain't that right? So… they made you their little bloodhound… Father mentioned how you led them to him at that supermarket… What did you get for that? Did they give you a treat?" Destemona's voice took on a mocking tone, as if she were speaking to a puppy "Good girl… oh yes you are, such a good girl here's a tasty treat".

Eve did a good job of hiding it, but Alejandro could see it, she was quietly seething. He knew that the longer she put up with Destemona's taunts, the bigger the explosion would likely be if she decided to confront her.

"This shit is eating into my drinking time you know, you people are really starting to piss me off!" Destemona continued. Everyone flinched and looked up when they heard the sound of bumps up above. "Shit, Fuck! They're up on the roof" Miguel said in the back. Consuela held out her hand and shushed him "Carlos" she whispered "Run around to the others and tell them they're up on the roof and to get ready".

"You don't need to be afraid of those big bad government people getting their hands on you, Eve… for what you did to my father… our Father… you're coming with me! My Brethren and I are gonna put your ass through an entire theme park of darkly pleasurable payback for that night, Bitch… we're gonna make you wish you'd died in the back of that ambulance".

Miguel wandered up to the front and looked up, with his 44 Magnum aimed at the ceiling "What the hell did you do to piss her off?". "Shut up Miguel, get back there!".

Alejandro, Eve and Consuela were all momentarily distracted by Miguel's interruption, but when Alejandro glanced back to the door, he saw her face again. "THERE!" He yelled and brought his shotgun up to aim. Eve was faster, she drew and fired straight through the slit in the door, Destemona ducked out of the way.

A moment later she appeared again. Eve pulled the trigger a second time, but Destemona was a fraction faster, Eve hit nothing but air. "Eve, save the ammo, she's trying to make you waste it" Consuela said, and racked the charging handle on her assault rifle. Consuela was slowly stepping back, watching the ceiling.

Eve too took a step back and replaced the two spent casings in the Rhino. Destemona's voice came again "Whoa… you're fast Eve… almost got me… but Almost just dosen't quite make the cut around here".

This time it was Consuela who answered "I thought you agreed to leave once you got what you wanted? Now we all know your word is worth shit". "Well that's because I haven't got everything I want yet…" Destemona called back "Now, I want Eve… and if my keen senses are right, and they usually are … so do you Lieutenant Consuela Álverez… Pheromones don't lie".

"Pheromones may be" Consuela retorted "But you don't seem to have a problem with it, do you, you lying bitch… I gave you what you asked for under the agreement that you take the others and leave, you really think someone won't eventually come, why not just go while you can?".

"Because we're dealing with things bigger than ourselves" Destemona said "Your friend agrees… isn't that right Marco?".

A moment later there was a pained groan and a familiar voice called out "Con…. Consuela! Help me!". Consuela rushed up to the door and peered out, It was all Alejandro could do not to raise the shotgun again as he saw Destemona's face appear on the other side again, with that same shit eating grin.

"MARCO!... Destemona… please let him go…".

---

What Consuela saw when she peered past Desdemona's smiling face outside was truly horrifying. Two of the creatures were holding Marco up, he was evidently still very weak from the blood loss. Destemona must have used the time since to go over to the medical centre and drag him all the way back here. The one that Destemona called Roach was one of the once's that was holding Marco in the middle of the parking lot, the other creature was a female.

She was naked, but her figure was sleek and inhuman, her skin was the same chitinous carapace as the large one which was still jammed into the doorframe, but her figure was distinctly feminine, with long tendrils for hair which flowed down to her ankles. There were also several others standing around Marco.

"Marco… You.. You don't hurt him, you let him go!". Destemona smiled "That depends entirely on you… you give me Eve, and I'll give you Marco". "CONSUELA, WHATEVER SHE WANTS, DON'T DO IT! SHE'll KILL YOU ANYWAY!" Marco screamed. Roach dug his claw into Marco's shoulder which caused him to scream out.

"NO! STOP!" Consuela yelled "Just go… We had a deal, you leave EVERYONE in this station alone in exchange for those files… Eve was in here then". "I'm altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further…some of the males have a real thing for you…Consuela".

Consuela watched as Roach grabbed Marco by his head, and his claw began to bite deep, sending trickles of blood down Marco's face. Marco fought the urge to cry out for a few moments but ultimately lost "CONSUELA!".

Destemona turned and laughed "Oh, come on Marco, you scream like a girl, do it like this… CONSUELA!". Her mocking scream was long and piercing. Consuela beat her fist on the door "He has a kid". Destemona tilted her head and rolled her eyes "Yeah, he wouldn't shut up about the brat on the way over here… matter of fact… You two, go to Marco's place and get his kid, if there's a Mom, get her too, bring them here".

"Stop this, please, just stop this!" Eve screamed behind her. Consuela's eyes were full of stinging tears as she felt Eve's hand on her shoulder, gently ushering her out of the way. Eve stepped up and faced Destemona "Tell those others to come back, leave that Kid alone… I'll come with you". "Eve, don't" Consuela pleaded. "It's the only way… because if I go with her, you really will keep your word, won't you Destemona… and you'll leave these people alone".

"Well" Destemona said "When you put it that way… I guess I'll have to". "Bring Marco over here" Eve said "I'll open the door, you have them hand him over and I'll step out".

Eve held Destemona's gaze through the small slit in the door, and so Destemona couldn't see what Eve was doing. She slowly drew the Rhino revolver and extended her arm, holding it out to Consuela. This was clearly Eve's last play. Eve never broke eye contact with Destemona, but Consuela figured out what she was planning. The second the door opened, Consuela would shoot for the two holding Marco and any others while Eve took on Destemona.

Consuela looked behind her and saw that Carlos was coming back, she held out a hand and pointed at the desk which hand the door control. Carlos seemed to understand without being told and stepped over to the desk.

As Consuela took the gun gently out of Eve's hand, she noticed that Eve was once again beginning to transform. The Armoured, Chitinous Carapace was reforming all up her arm until it disappeared under her sleeves, where Consuela was sure it was still continuing. Consuela knew she was likely going to completely transform this time and readied herself. Beside her, Alejandro also braced himself. They could head the footsteps on the gravel getting closer until finally Eve reached for the door handle and slowly nodded to Carlos to press the door button.

---

Like the buzzer that sounded right before the shot that released olympic runners or swimmers from their mark, the door buzzer set Eve, Consuela, Alejandro and Carlos into action. Eve felt the sensation of freefall and completed her change just as the buzzer sounded, she pulled the door open with her left hand, while she struck out with her right.

Her claw passed through Destemona's chest and lower abdomen, causing a deep gash, from which spilled red ichor. Destemona threw herself back and began her own change. Simultaneously, Consuela leaned around the door with the Rhino and took a shot at the female holding Marco. The round stuck her centre mass and she screamed and started to thrash as the Toxin took effect, Marco fell onto the ground as the one called Roach dove clear, narrowly avoiding Consuela's second shot. The second shot wasn't wasted as it struck a skinny make standing directly behind right between the eyes. He did not thrash or scream, merely slumped to his knees and fell to the ground.

It wasn't over. Marco was still out of reach, there were now at least ten of them advancing across the parking lot and Eve knew that Consuela's bullets were limited. Alejandro took a step out to her left side, raised his huge 4 bore shotgun and took a shot at the nearest one. The report from the weapon was immense and Eve actually felt a concussive wave go over her shoulder.

One of the Burnouts to the left of her, the closest one, was blown backwards off it's feet and sent reeling across the gravel. Destemona was instantly on her feet again and came back at Eve with a renewed ferocity, slamming her back against the side wall of the station and pinning her.

Before Eve could get an arm up to stop her, Destemona leaned in and sank her teeth into her neck and shoulder, she bit deep and ripped out a large chunk of flesh, Eve shrieked despite herself as she could hear muscles tearing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Consuela come out and try to find a clear shot. Destemona also saw this and kicked out with her left leg, knocking Consuela backwards, Alejandro caught her and they both went over onto the ground.

Eve took the opportunity while Destemona was distracted, hooked her leg around Destemona's and pushed, while simultaneously sinking her claws into Destemona's chest.

Destemona let out a long roar, staggered backwards several paces and toppled over. Eve was instantly on top of her, pounding and tearing with everything she had. She was only partially aware, through her extended senses, that Consuela and her brothers had managed to recover and get out to reach Marco. She heard several shrill screams, no doubt Consuela had shot a few of the others while making her move.

Eve knew it was time to get back inside and pushed herself up. Eve turned and saw Consuela at the door beckoning her to get back inside.

Eve had only taken two paces when a large male, similar to the one that had attacked earlier appeared on the roof of the station just over the door. Before Eve could get out of the way, he shot out a long barbed tongue that wrapped around her arm and latched on tight, Eve struggled and pulled but just as she felt his grip loosening, she felt another one coil around her leg and pulled her off balance.

Eve roared in frustration and fell to her knees. No, these things, these Burnouts were not going to best her… not again, Eve surged forward and tore at the tongue around her arm with her free hand. It split, sending out a gush of yellow, bile and the large male screamed.

Now for the other one. Eve looked up and saw that it belonged to Destemona, she was still on the ground, but she wasn't giving up. Eve took hold of her tongue and sank her claws into it. Eve wasn't usually one to enjoy inflicting pain on anyone or anything else, but in that moment, she couldn't help but enjoy the agonised expression of Destemona's face. That should shut you the fuck up for a while Eve thought, and pulled. Destemona lost her composure and finally let out a piercing shrill scream.

Eve was about to tear Destemona's tongue free when another seized her by the throat. She felt it coil tight and instinctually let go of Destemona's tongue to grab at the new threat. More came, coiling around her arms, legs and her abdomen. The two that had her by the legs retracted with enough force to pull her over onto her back and the large male on the roof took that opportunity to jump down on top of her.

Several more piled in. Eve thrashed and roared, but against their combined strength it was futile. Over the roars and screams that she was only faintly aware were her own, she thought she heard Consuela call out her name.

The next thing she saw was Destemona standing over her. Eve pulled with all her strength but they were too strong. Destemona's features partially melted back into a more human form and she smiled "Check it out boys, she looks good on her back don't you think?" The one she called Roach fell in next to her as Destemona leaned down over Eve "A lot of lonely guys here Eve … I'm really gonna enjoy watching this… get this bitch back down to the tunnels".

It looked like Roach had been waiting for the go-ahead, he immediately wound up and brought his fist down hard into Eve's face, that was the last thing she saw before it all went black.

---

Consuela let Carlos drag Marco back into the station as she fired the last of the Toxin bullets, killing four more, but there were at least nine of them left. Consuela could do nothing as Destemona and two of the larger males dragged Eve's limp body away down the hill. "I'm gonna deal with this bitch" Consuela heard her say to Roach, patting him on the shoulder "Don't do anything I wouldn't do… but hay, fun fact, there's nothing I wound't fucking do… have fun boys".

"Oh shit, this is it" Alejandro said. "They're coming! Everyone get ready!" Consuela bellowed as loud as she could to make sure everyone throughout the station heard her. Consuela looked outside and saw the others gathering around Roach. His eyes were glinting Red from beneath his tattered hood and he had a wide grin, Consuela could see he was salivating. He raised his arm and pointed at her "I've been waiting for this all fucking night". "Well fucking come on! Hija De Puta, you disgusting motherfucker".

Consuela backed away from the door and raised her assault rifle, there was no longer any question how this was going to end, but she wasn't going down without a fight.

---

Eve faded in and out of consciousness, she felt herself being dropped and falling a long way before the crushing impact of hitting something hard and then finally landing in the dirt. She felt herself being grabbed by one leg and dragged through the dirt before being heaved up and thrown into a cold, hard surface. There was a deep cold, unusually cold. Eve began to feel that familiar internal shift, her muscles tightened and she felt suddenly more alert.

She woke up in a darkened space. It looked like a makeshift lab. There were large tanks attached around the walls and an intricate network of pipes. She was laying in a foot of water, in which chunks of ice were floating. Eve's vision came into focus and she saw the cool fluid leaking from the pipes around the ruptured tanks. This must be where Forbes stored these Burnouts when his experiments weren't to his satisfaction.

Where Eve was looked similar to a half-finished swimming pool, six feet deep dug out by hand and the base was solid concrete. She could see equipment strewn around, it was obvious this was a backup lab floor of some kind, but the liquid coolant had leaked and flooded the area when the Burnouts escaped.

"Roach was in charge of the Cryo system down here" Destemona's voice broke the silence "He did a pretty good job… I bet your friend the Cop is giving him a pretty good job right about now". "Consuela… you leave her and the others alone, you've got me" Eve said. Destemona laughed "Where's the fun in that? Besides, a whole town, this is already a clusterfuck, we can't have witnesses when the suits come sniffing around, which, sure as you're a backstabbing bitch, they will do!".

Eve winced and tried to stand, only now she saw Destemona and the two larger males were standing up on the corners of the sunken area looking down at her. "You wanna know the truth?" Eve asked "The man you thought was your father, there was something dark inside him… I only saw a glimpse of it, but I saw that it would consume everything. That's why I turned on him… I wanted Patrick Ross… all I got was a puppet".

Destemona raised a hand and rolled her eyes making a talking mouth gesture with her hand "What's that, are you trying to get me to understand you, empathise with your bullshit… are you gonna beg… go ahead, I'd actually like to see it". Destemona gestured at the larger male to her left "He likes it when they beg… I saw him earlier in town… You're gonna enjoy this… well maybe not, but I will".

"I never begged them to stop in the lab… what makes you think I'll do it for you? So what happened? Did Forbes turn on you? Stick you in one of these tanks with these cheap knock offs?". At that, the two males began to growl in anger. "Oh listen to that? She thinks she's better than you boys… maybe you ought to get in there and teach her some manners".

Eve wasn't done, she knew what was coming and she wasn't going to make it easy, it was clear that Destemona was one of a number of Patrick's surviving offspring, and that they all hated her… Destemona wanted to take her to them, but she wanted her all to herself first. Eve resolved that she wasn't going to make this easy. She had felt that internal shift, and her strength was returning "Well, I never met Forbes… it's clear from this that he was the Cheff's kiss to all assholes".

Destemona smiled "Well, look at that, we found a little bit of common ground". Now Eve had Destemona where she wanted her "There's no common ground. I bet he put you in that tank just to get you to shut the fuck up!". Destemona crouched down "Oh, there she is". "Patrick died what? Six, seven months ago now? How could you have learned so much bullshit, because that's all I've heard out of your fucking mouth since you showed up… so do your fucking worst!".

Destemona's face twitched and Eve knew she'd finally gotten to her. She needed her angry and off balance for what she planned to do. Eve had taken in her surroundings, the cryo coolant as off, but the tank was still cold enough to do the job. The Burnouts had evidently smashed this place up when they broke out of their tanks, and the hose leading from the main cryo tank was laying under a pile of lab equipment under the water on her level. If she could set it off, it wouldn't be enough to freeze them, but it would immobilise them long enough for her to run. "Well boys, you heard her… go get stuck in… oh and that was definitely pun intended!".

The two males jumped down and Eve picked the one on the right and sprang at him. Her true form manifested mid-leap and she landed on him ripping and tearing. The sheer weight and momentum of her attack took him down onto the lab floor, sending up a giant splash as he hit the resting surface water.

She could sense it, these males were large, but they were weaker than Patrick. They could only best her in numbers, numbers they no longer had to their advantage, Destemona was stronger, one of Patrick's direct offspring, though Eve sensed he system wasn't as strong, there was something diluted.

Destemona laughed and roared, cheering the other male on. Eve reached down, hooking her claws deep into the male's chest and tore open his ribcage. The make spat out a jet of disgusting ichor and roared in pain. Eve was back on her feet and ready for the second male. She wasn't fast enough to duck his feral swing and he backhanded her across the space. Eve impacted against the broken tiles at the back of the Lab space and splashed face down in the water. The big male didn't know it, but he had done exactly what Eve wanted him to do. She had landed right on top of the hose, she could feel it under her back.

Now, the male did the exact same thing Patrick did, it rose up to it's full height and dropped itself down on top of her, Eve slashed at it's face and tore at it's chest, but this male was stronger and wethered the assault. She half expected it's head to split and hold her down again, but that didn't happen, she had to remember, this male wasn't like Patrick, it was an experimental reject, a Burnout, imperfect and feral. It simply clenched it's massive fist and rose up to it's full height again, planning to incapacitate her by pounding on her until she lost consciousness again… Eve had other plans.

When it's weight was off her just enough, Eve grabbed the hose, brought the steel nozzle up and let the male's full weight come down on top of her. She jabbed it up beneath his massive ribcage and felt it pierce the soft flesh there. The male realised what was happening too late and Eve saw his eyes widen as he gripped her wrist in a feeble attempt to pull it free, but it was already too late, Eve twisted the nozzle and the male threw back his head, writhing left and right as Eve held him in place, all the while he let out an agonising feral scream which trailed off as his lungs began to fill with freezing cold liquid.

"You know what?" Destemona's voice came from behind "I just got bored". Destemona's claw wrapped around the male's neck and wrenched it backwards snapping it like a twig. Eve kicked herself free as the creature's body slumped forward and stood up to face Destemona.

Eve found it difficult to form words when she was in her true skin, but it didn't matter, she had no words anyway, she had also had enough, and she was more than resolved to end Destemona now. At the start of this, all she wanted was to get away, but between Destemona's sadistic actions and her constant taunts, she had finally pushed Eve too far.

Destemona stepped around her and the two of them circled one another. Destemona grinned again and slowly took on her true form, throwing off her torn rags. Eve had grown sick of seeing that grin and was more than ready to wipe it off of her face permanently.

Destemona uttered four final words before she fully changed "Let's fucking do this!". Eve was happy to oblige and sprang at her. Destemona surged forward and they met in the middle in a ferocious exchange of blows. Blood, water and debris were thrown in every direction as the two of them traded a furious exchange of claws, fists, teeth and lashing tendrils.

Eve screamed as Destemona once again managed to latch onto her and sank her teeth deep into her neck. This time there was nothing to stop her, she reached around, grabbed the tendrils on the back of Destemona's head and pulled. Destemona didn't come away easily and brought a sizable chunk of Eve's neck with her.

Eve knew she would heal in a few moments, she had to buy those moments. She stared into Destemona's rage-filled eyes and then delivered a savage headbut. Eve let go at the moment of impact and Destemona keeled backwards into the water.

Eve took a moment, stepped back and checked her neck wound. Destemona was dazed and rolled over onto her front, her first major mistake. Eve reached for the nearest tank and tore out the steel pipe which fed the cryo system. Eve strode over to where Destemona was trying to stand and brought the pipe down with all her might on the back of Destemona's head.

The resting surface water was sent up in all directions with chunks of ice as Destemona was smashed down with the impact. Eve wasn't finished, she hefted the heavy pipe again and swung it down on top of Patrick's bastard offspring with renewed force.

Finally, Eve was ready to deliver her hardest swing yet, she let all her collected rage build into the swing and hefted the pipe. She arched back her head and let out a long deafening roar, and brought the pipe down as hard as her immense strength would allow. The pipe never connected. Destemona kicked out with her right leg, catching Eve in the stomach and sending her back against the framework that housed the main cryo tank. Eve hit the bars and was ragdolled over and went face down in the water. The pipe fell next to Destemona and in her fury, she snatched it and hurled it.

Eve recovered just fast enough to duck as the heavy steel pipe flew at her and impacted the side of the main tank, causing a mild rupture. Destemona was also on her feet. They once again began circling and that was when Eve noticed, almost too late, that Destemona had stepped on the Cryo Hose. Destemona noticed at the same time and went for it. Eve dove as Destemona snatched up the nozzle faster than Eve could get to her and began spraying. The surface water turned to solid ice in her wake.

Destemona screamed in frustration as the pressure ran out and the sprayer stopped. Eve recovered and dove at her, taking her down to the ground where she held Destemona under the surface. She knew she woundn't be able to drown her, but she could do the next best thing, she took the hose and began wrapping it around Destemona's neck. Destemona struggled and clawed at her face. Eve had no more plans, she was just going to keep fighting until she no longer could.

Only one thing took her attention, a metallic groan behind her. She realised the force of her impact on the framework from Destemona's kick, coupled with steel pipe that the bitch had hurled at her had damaged the housing, the huge eight foot tank full of liquid nitrogen was going to collapse.

Eve knew that if she didn't move now, she would end up trapped, likely to be found by the authorities or worse, she needed to get out of here. Eve pulled the hose tight around Desdemona, who in her struggling, had also managed to tangle her arm into the hose. Eve grabbed her by the throat and picked her up so they were face to face. Destemona roared and bared her teeth. It was hard to form words in her other form, but Eve had practiced this, just in case she was ever captured "FUCK YOU!".

Eve balled up her fist and brought it up hard into Destemona's jaw, sending her head back and she fell into the water. Just at that moment, the housing finally gave way and Eve leaped clear, only narrowly making it up onto the upper surface before the tank collapsed into the lab floor.

Eve picked herself up and turned just in time to see Destemona, who was still struggling against the hose, begin to scream as the tank ruptured and the freezing cold liquid washed over her flailing form and encased her completely in the ice. After a few moments, her body stopped moving and her expression was frozen solid, locked in an enraged snarl.

Eve couldn't sense her rhythms any more. She neither knew nor cared whether Destemona would recover again when this Ice eventually melted, right now, she only had one thing on her mind, she had to get back to the station and help Consuela, help the others.

As Eve turned, she noticed something on one of the crates. It was her backpack. Eve ran over to it and saw that all the files and drives were still inside. She snatched it and ran out of the tunnel.

---

"DON'T LET THEM TAKE YOU!" Consuela shouted as the creatures renewed their attack. Sophie and Will had been forced back from their position at the back door. Consuela and her Brothers had lost control of the main station. Miguel, rather surprisingly had held his ground against several of them as they pounced on him, giving Elina, Camila and Carmen time to get out of the way.

Consuela kept up a steady steam of fire and retreat until finally everyone was in the jailhouse. This was their main fallback position, it was the only other door that was reinforced.

"Miguel" Elina was crying "I went to school with him, I knew him all his life". "He died to get us out" Consuela replied. In the back of her mind, she actually managed to find a new level of respect for the man, he had been corrupt, and she had considered him an enemy for years, but he went down firing to protect others, she never knew he had it in him.

Roach appeared at the partition window on the jailhouse door, pointing at her. "Yeah, bring it on motherfucker" Consuela shouted back "Eve, I'm sorry I let you down" she whispered under her breath. "When they come, give them everything you've got" Consuela ordered.

There was a massive impact on the door and it buckled under the first impact. The second impact smashed the frame. Consuela actually saw a steel bolt fly past her head fast enough that it would have likely killed her had it hit her. "Hold" she said.

Another impact on the back exit drew her attention. At this point, both Grayson and Fisk were both shouting and cursing at her to let them out. "They're coming in from the back now" Carlos shouted. "Everyone cover each other" Consuela barked.

The door at the back buckled and twisted and was finally ripped away. The figure that stood there was one of the female creatures. Consuela turned and noticed it wore tattered and shredded blue jeans that were splashed with blood, a torn white vest shirt and the remnants of a thin jacket "WAIT!" She bellowed "DON'T SHOOT!". Eve strode into the back of the jailhouse and stepped to one side, she gestured for the others to get out.

"Everyone out!" Consuela said "Emilio, Felipe get these assholes out of the cells and get everyone out… Carlos, Alejandro, go with them!" They both looked like they were about to protest "NOW!" she added.

Fisk and Grayson were removed from their confinement and moved at gunpoint out through the back exit, Consuela spotted Grayson give Eve a scowl as he was led out past her.

Eve made her way up to Consuela's side "Ready to finish this?" she asked. Eve uttered a low growl and crouched down, and poised herself to leap. Eve didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, the interior door buckled and was kicked off it's hinges.

Roach strode into the room and looked momentarily surprised to see Eve waiting for him, he was followed by a tall, skinny male. A burst from Consuela's assault rifle hit him squarely in the neck, and Roach staggered backwards Eve's leap was only marginally slower than the bullets, It was clear that she was aiming for Roach, but he managed to duck out of the way just fast enough to avoid her landing on him, the one behind him wasn't so fortunate. Eve raised her claw and delivered a deep slash which opened him from her sternum to his pelvic bowl, spilling his tentacle-like innards.

Upon seeing this, Roach growled and darted back into the station through the partition, which was now little more than a hole without the door frame.

Several more that were in the main station backed up, Roach took position in the middle. Seeing what Eve had done to the one in the doorway seemed to ebb at their resolve, Destemona was gone, and Eve was now the new Alpha, only this Alpha had no interest in leading them, only destroying them.

They all issued screeches and roars, but all the while, they were backing away from her, posturing feebly. Consuela stepped over the male who had incurred Eve's wrath, spraying him in the face with another burst from the Assault Rifle for good measure and then stepped through the gap into the station.

Eve's head snapped to the left where four of them had clustered, she wound up and pounced, throwing herself into them, ripping and tearing. Consuela swung right, throwing flashbangs and letting loose with the assault rifle, she aimed as much as she could for the heads, knowing it would drop them long enough for Eve to finish them off. She saw Roach, he was ducking from cover to cover.

The roars that came from Eve were almost deafening, her power and agility were many orders of magnitude over the others. Consuela realised that all this time, she had only held back because she didn't want to be what everyone thought of her, a monster, a killer, Eve knew her own power and had no real wish to harm others, only survive… but now she had been pushed too far.

Eve finished off the four by the corner and began tearing her way though the one's Consuela had shot until there were only three left. Consuela threw her final flashbang directly at the tall male to her left, but this one was marginally quicker. He swatted the flashbang away before it hit him and Consuela watched as it went off into Captain Rayas' side office, and detonated on his desk.

Consuela opened fire but this male was on her, it leaped over the desk, swatted the rifle off its line of fire and pinned her to the ground. Consuela saw long tentacles extend from its back as it began to salivate onto her face and chest. She turned her head to avoid the disgusting fluid from getting in her eyes and with her free hand, she reached down and pulled her Glock 20. Consuela unloaded the entire magazine of 45acp into the creature's lower abdomen and chest cavity before it grabbed her wrist and pinned her arm to the floor with her Glock still in it.

Eve roared from the other side of the room and bounded across the desk. She caught him by literally digging her clawed fingers into his spine and using it as a grip to wrench him backwards. Eve threw him off of Consuela who quickly reloaded her sidearm and got to her feet. Now they were down to two and it became a stand off.

The two that were left were Roach and a female, both posturing and growling on one side of the station, Eve ripped the male open and stomped his head to pieces, somewhere behind Consuela, prompting the female to roar louder. Eve finished him off and came to Consuela's side.

Eve bared her claws and uttered a deep guttural growl which grew until it was a near deafening raging bellow. Roach looked at the female and then they both made their move. Roach broke right, while the female went left, leaping up onto one of the desks where she was swiftly intercepted by Eve.

Roach was clearly a little smarter, he knew he wasn't as quick or strong as the others, and went further back into the station. Consuela got several shots into him and kept her weapon raised as she went after him. For the way he tortured Marco, he wasn't walking away tonight.

Consuela darted around the desk when she saw him dive, he was no longer there "Come out you sneaky fucker… you want me right? Here I am, come get me". Behind her, Eve had hold of the female and was smashing her down through the desks. The noise was indescribable and Consuela even felt several splinters of wood fly across.

"You know if I don't get you she will, once she's finished with your friend…". She finally got to the back of the station, from here, there was only one more desk, it was Emilio's desk from which he was trying to raise help earlier this evening.

Consuela cautiously approached, with her Glock 20 raised. She knew it may not kill him, but from the sound of what was going on behind her, Eve would be along soon to finish him off.

Consuela stopped when she saw something she didn't expect, she saw a bright orange flicker behind the desk and remembered seeing this asshole smoking earlier. Was this how he was going out, having one last cigarette. "I'm gonna tell you one last time you sick little pendejo, get up, get out!"

A few moments later, Roach did emerge, but it was no cigarette that he had lit. In his right hand was a bottle of Tequila with a lit rag "SHE SAID SHE'D TAKE ME AND FIX ME" He growled "SHE WAS NO BETTER THAN FORBES!".

In that moment she realised that if he hurled that bottle as the speed she knew he was capable of, there was no way she would survive. "Shit… Ok… just put it down!". Roach looked out beyond Consuela and she followed his gaze. Eve had finished off the female and was standing in the middle of the room panting angrily, her eyes reflecting an eerie green in the dark. Consuela saw for the first time how terrified Roach was "All I ever did was what he told me to do!... NO MORE!".

Roach sounded off a furious roar and wound up to throw the lit bottle. Consuela's adrenaline was at it's peak and it felt like slow motion as she pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the bottle while it was still in his outstretched hand which promptly exploded into a massive plume of fire, immolating Roach, and the entire back portion of the station office.

The scream that issued from Roach was piercing, it appeared that being lit on fire wasn't his plan, he was likely only going to throw it as a distraction so he could run out through the back fire escape. His agonised screams became roars of rage. He jumped over the desk and surged forward at Consuela, she emptied her magazine into him but it did nothing to slow his momentum. Nothing until Eve stepped between them. Consuela saw her stop him dead in his tracks by grabbing him by the throat. She ignored the obvious pain from the fact he was on fire, likely burning her arm and was struggling against her grip, but it was futile.

Eve's expression turned to something like disgust and she ripped her hand free, taking half his neck with it. His screams went silent, replaced by guttural gurgling sounds as he choked on blood. Roach closed his eyes as Eve raised her razor sharp claw and looked almost peaceful as she swiped downwards bisecting the stricken creature.

His body toppled back and landed on the ground, by now, everything around him was burning. Eve turned and grabbed Consuela as the fire intensified. Eve picked her up and shoved her, guiding her through the smoke towards the main entrance. Consuela rushed out through the door and collapsed on the parking lot as the fire took the building.

She felt hands grab her and it took her a moment to realise that it was Alejandro, Felipe. Her lungs felt like they were on fire too as she coughed and threw up. She felt them drag her across the parking lot and away from the building as several explosions took over.

When Consuela finally managed to look up, she saw that everyone had made it out. Carlos and Emilio were holding Grayson and Fisk at gunpoint by the corner of the road. The others were all gathered nearby.

Consuela looked back and saw the station begin to collapse. At that moment, she knew it was all over. Consuela managed to stand and looked out across the town. Several buildings were on fire now. "How do we come back from this" she uttered. "This is Mexico" Elina said "We are stronger than this". "I'm sorry Consuela" Eve said.

Consuela turned and saw that Eve's form had returned to normal, her clothes were shredded and charred but beneath, her skin was smooth and unblemished. Eve slowly turned and looked out across the countryside. There was the faintest blue hue on the horizon and it would soon be dawn. "I have to go now" she said "The world will wake up and see this, the people who are chasing me will think I did this". "We know that's not true" Camila said "Without you, we would all be dead… even them" she pointed at Grayson and Fisk.

Eve started to make her way down the road towards the town and Consuela caught up with her "I'm going to find whoever was backing Forbes and make them pay for all this". "Good luck" Eve uttered, then added "You know when the powers that be get here, Grayson is gonna tell them you helped me, that you let me go, and Fisk will probably back him up to save his own skin". "Let me worry about them" Consuela said "But there is one thing that I might need". Eve paused "The files?". "I see you found them" Consuela said, pointing to the backpack.

Eve thought about it, then finally slipped off the backpack and handed it to her.

Consuela looked back up the road, the others were a good distance away now, then she looked Eve up and down. There was no way she was going to let Eve go off like this, not after what she had done for her.

Consuela stepped closer to Eve and took out her wallet. She handed Eve her driver's licence, on the back was printed her address "Listen, you'll be noticed walking around like that" Consuela whispered "Get to my place on the other side of town and lay low, I have some clothes that should fit you". "Thanks but" Eve began, but Consuela closed her palm around the card "Please, it's the least I can do. There's a key under the porch". Eve's expression softened and she smiled "Thank you Consuela".

---

Grayson watched as Officer Álverez walked down the road with Eve and they appeared to say their goodbyes. She had no idea what was about to come down on her when he reported this to his superiors, in all likelihood, it would be a CIA blacksite for her, or even worse. He even saw the officer open up her wallen and pass Eve what appeared to be some money, he wasn't sure, their backs were turned. With that, they parted ways and he felt her brother's Colt Python jab into his back again.

While he and Fisk were locked up in the back Jailhouse together, they had come to something of an agreement. If Fisk told him everything he knew about Forbes and his operation, and his other contacts and clients, he would see to it that Fisk's legal troubles back home were washed away and he would be given a healthy reward from Uncle Sam.

Of course now, the only problem they faced was getting out of this situation. The Burnouts were gone, and Álverez was now in possession of the files Eve stole from the remnants of Forbes' house of horrors. It would be a while before he was able to get in contact with his superiors and there was still time to catch Eve. She would likely get to the Highway and keep heading south, as far away from the US as possible, it's what he'd do.

"After all that, and seeing what she really is, you're just gonna let that bitch walk away?" Grayson asked "Officer Álverez, you have precisely no idea the size of the shitstorm that's about to come down on your head when my superiors find out you let her go". "I don't answer to your fucking superiors" she retorted. "She serves the people of this town… and we say she did the right thing" one of the elderly women said. Grayson snorted "I'm telling you, the power these people have, we're talking about the United States fucking government here...".

Álverez' brother, the one with the Colt Python at his back laughed "Hay Homie, you lost? This is Mexico home boy!". "You think the people I work for give a shit about borders, they will hunt her to the ends of the Earth, Officer, you have fucked with the wrong people here".

"Well, you can tell me all about them while we go to our secondary police station… and while you're at it, think about what's gonna happen when I give these files to the press" she took him by the arm and began leading him back down the hill. "Secondary station" Alejandro asked. "Razor Eddie's Bar" Álverez grinned "Because I need a fucking drink… I don't think I'll be coming into work tomorrow". This prompted a laugh from the others and they made their way down the hill.

---

The streets were quiet when Eve arrived at Consuela's house. The Burnouts, it seemed, had focused a lot of their activity on the centre of the town and the residential neighbourhoods to the east and north, this area looked untouched. From here, she could see the police station, it was still burning.

Just like Consuela said, there was a key under the porch. Eve found it and let herself in. The house was quaint, well kept. Consuela liked Art, there was a lot of it on the walls, along with family photos. The recurring theme was an Aztec skull, earlier on, she had noticed that both her brothers had the same image tattooed on them, it was also on the grips of their guns.

Eve had no idea how long she could stay here, but she liked Consuela. Eve didn't switch on any lights, she didn't want to give away her presence here. She would stay as long as she could, then she would slip away and move on, but for now, she felt safe. Eve located the bathroom, she was exhausted and covered in a combination of blood, ichor and who knows what else from the fire.

She removed her ruined clothes and took a shower. After finishing, she noticed it was getting brighter, the sun would soon rise, and then this place would become a circus of activity with authorities all over the place. Eve found a basic pair of slacks and a shirt. They were tight, Consuela wasn't as tall as she was.

She had come to trust Consuela. She looked around the house one more time, making note of every point of entry or exit, then she slumped down into an armchair in Consuela's living room, seconds later, she was fast asleep.

Eve didn't know how long she had slept, but she was abruptly woken again, what felt like roughly an hour later by a familiar sense, a familiar presence, accompanied by the thunderous sound of distant gunfire. "Destemona" Eve gasped. A few seconds later, she grabbed a hoodie that was on the back of one of Consuela's chairs and darted out the door.

---

Razor Eddie's was a popular dive and watering hole in the town. A longstanding establishment that went back all the way to the founding of the town, some said it was there long before. Consuela and the others cleared the area and made everyone comfortable. Grayson and Fisk were seated in a booth in the corner, and Emilio set to watching them.

"Felipe, go over to that Warehouse that burned down, the place those things first came from. Captain Rayas went there to investigate, see if you can find his satellite phone, Alejandro, Carlos, you go with him". "What?" Carlos asked "We should stick together". "It's ok" Consuela said "There are no more, Felipe, if you find it, don't waste any time bringing it back here, just call for help, get everyone here, understand". Felipe nodded and left with Alejandro and Carlos.

Everyone began to settle in and for a while it was quiet. The sun began to cast a bright light over the rooftops. It was going to be a warm day. Consuela even took a moment to step outside into the empty street and enjoy a cold beer she had found in the freezer. It was the best beer she had ever tasted, despite how exhausted she felt.

After a while, Consuela made her way back inside. At the other end of the bar, the two backpackers, Sophie and Will had helped themselves to some beers and were hugging each other "How's your stay in our town so far". That prompted a laugh from both of them "Not bad, but you should probably put the fucked up monsters on the brocure" Will said. "All but one" Sophie added "That Eve was good people… I hope she gets away".

"So do I" Consuela nodded "So do I", knowing in the back of her mind that Eve was likely in her house by now and thought about what the next few days or longer would be like living with her as a guest.

"Hay" Grayson said, "There a bathroom here?". "Emilio, take him in the back, watch him, I got Fisk". Carmen, Elina and Camila had chosen another booth on the opposite side, likely to be away from Grayson and Fisk, Consuela checked them over as she passed "You can drink for free Ladies, don't waste it, you've all earned it".

As Consuela stood by Fisk while Emilio took Grayson to the Bathroom, she saw Carmen get up and go behind the bar to grab some light beers "No, make it stronger than that" Elina called out, prompting Carmen and the backpackers to laugh.

"You know this is all for nothing" Fisk grumbled "That G-Man is right, what do you think is gonna happen when they find out you let that she-bitch go?". "It won't matter to you Fisk, you'll be cooling your heels in La Mesa Penitentiary by then, for your involvement with Forbes, and what happened here". "We both know they'll never find any evidence of that and you know it, his people will come in here and sweep everything under the rug". "Yeah, hopefully you too" Consueala snapped "Now shut the fuck up".

Carmen was part way back to the table when she abruptly gasped and dropped the beers she was carrying. Consuela looked up and immediately drew her sidearm. "Drop it" Grayson said "Or I drop him". Grayson had re-emerged from the bathroom using Emilio as a human shield "You really are a dumb bitch" he hissed. "You're going nowhere Grayson, give it up… put it down and back away". "Álverez, look at your situation, if you think this has a happy ending for you, or any of these other witnesses to a highly classified project… well, you haven't been paying attention".

Consuela glanced to the side and saw that Sophie was reaching for the MP5. Grayson turned Emilio to maximise his cover, then fired off a snap shot. Will abruptly doubled over and collapsed "WILL!" Sophie screamed and dove over to help him "Time to put that medical degree to use" Grayson said. Consuela took a breath and searched for a shot, stepping around him.

"Fisk, get your ass up, you're coming with me". Behind her, she heard Fisk start to move "Fisk" Consueala said in a calm voice "If you move another inch, I'll blow your fake cowboy fucking nuts off and watch you bleed out where you sit… go ahead, test me".

"You really think that bitch is gonna get away?" Grayson said "There's nowhere we can't go, nowhere we won't hunt her". "Good luck" Consueala said, she let calm wash over her because she was no more resolved than ever, Grayson was not walking out of here, one way or the other. Consuela continued "It's been an hour and a half since she left, if she got to a working vehicle she could be a hundred miles in any direction".

"Oh, I'll find her" Grayson said "And I'll get my fucking kudos for it, thanks for taking care of all these others, but it dosen't fit my narrative, see, I'm thinking, there were no survivors in the station". "Look around you, you fucking idiot" Consuela hissed "You really think you'll get out of this alive… and even if you do, you really think anyone will by that bullshit?"

"Dosen't matter, now, Fisk… I ain't gonna tell you again, get your ass up and get that gun on the bar, we're leaving". "Fisk, you wanna keep those cowboy nuts, you'll keep them firmly planted in that seat".

Consuela wasn't expecting what happened next. In the back of her mind, Consuela knew that if Fick moved, and she turned to follow through on her threat, Grayson would take advantage and shoot her. It all hinged on the next few seconds.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then the silence was broken by footsteps coming down the cobbled street outside. Grayson's attention, which a moment ago had been laser focussed on Consuela suddenly turned and regarded out on the street opposite the door.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me right now!" Grayson said. This time, Fisk did move and Consuela actually allowed it. Elina, Camila, and Carmen all gasped and moved as far away from the window as possible, they ran around the bar and ducked. They all saw the same thing.

"Well, look at this, what? Wasn't I invited to the fucking after party" Destemona strode across the street her figure had returned partially to it's human form, but her arms were covered in a hard carapase that, in the light, was semi-translucent "Where's my Eve, we have unfinished Fucking business!".

Consuela looked at Grayson and in that moment, they both made a silent agreement, their shit was back on pause, they needed to focus on the new threat before they could deal with this. A split second later, Fisk dropped to his knees and covered himself as Grayson threw Emilio aside and opened fire. Emilio wasted no time in going for the MP5 and firing off short controlled bursts.

For her part, Consuela aimed every shot she had at Desdemona's head. Her body jerked and flinched with the impacts but she wouldn't go down. In the next moment, she leaped forward. Smashing her way through the front window of the bar and was immediately on top of Grayson.

The man unloaded the last of the magazine into her chest and face but she was unphased, she swatted the gun out of his hand and grabbed him by the head. Her claw was so large, his entire head fit in her palm. She jumped up and in one fluid motion, pulled his head free of his body. There was a horrid ripping, crunching sound as part of his spinal column came away with it. Emilio ran dry "Where's the mag?" he shouted "In my jacket on the bar" Sophie screamed. Emilio never made it. Consuela flicked away her magazine and realised this was her last reload.

Destemona hurled Grayson's head at Consuela. It hit with enough force to knock her clean off her feet, her head hit the corner of the booth and she was dazed. She could only watch as Destemona went for Emilio and jabbed her claws into his abdomen, lifting him up off his feet "Shame" she uttered "You would have been good". Emilio went limp and slumped to dead weight in her grip "Oh well… " she said and threw him down to the floor.

Consuela felt around for her Glock. Her fingers found it about the same time Destemona gently nudged it away "Don't you people ever learn?" She asked. Consueala felt her strong grip as she grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up "Now, tell me, which way did my Eve go?". "Go fuck yourself" Consuela spat. "For what it's worth" Destemona said in a bored tone "I actually liked you…".

With that, Destemona's eyes widened and a deep guttural growl emitted from her throat. Consuela squeezed her eyes shut as Destemona's jaw distended like a snake and her tongue began to extend. She felt the slimy appendage slither up her shoulder and onto her neck but just as abruptly as it started, Consuela felt herself drop to the ground.

It took Consuela a few moments to realise she had heard a loud gunshot. "Leave her alone bitch" Alejandro's voice called out. Consuela looked up and saw Destemona had been knocked clean off her feet by a slug from Alejandro's 4 Gauge. She was picking herself up.

Destemona hissed and growled. She extended a claw and came back at Consuela only to be blown backwards again. This time the slug hit her in the neck and ripped out a large chunk. Destemona roared and scrambled across the floor "You're lucky bitch" she screamed as she burst out through the side door.

Alejandro leaned in through the open window and smiled "We did it, help's on the way". "About fucking time" Consuela groaned. A few seconds later, she heard what she Destemona must have detected long before due to her heightened hearing… the sound of police sirens. Destemona had only retreated because she heard the sound of more authorities on the way.

"Come on, let's go get that bitch" Carlos said "For Emilio". "Felipe" Consuela shouted "Stay here… Alejandro, Carlos… with me!"

---

Consuela recovered herself and gave chase after Destemona, there was no way Consuela was going to allow that bitch to walk away from the damage she had done. Alejandro and Carlos had accompanied her while Felipe stayed in the bar to watch Fisk and make sure the others were ok.

They had only gone two streets before Eve came running out of a side street and almost took a shot from Alejandro's shotgun "You came back" he said. "Which way did she go?" Eve shouted. As if right on cue, further down the street where the cars had clustered, an engine roared to life. Eve turned and ran towards the sound, Consuela and the others did their best to keep up.

Eve hopped up onto the first car and pounced, clearing easily 30 feet through the air. The car was already moving. Eve hit the ground running and clawed at the car, tearing a hole in the trunk and latching on, it was all for naught as Destemona put her foot down, Eve's claw tore free of the metal and she staggered to running stop.

Carlos, Alejandro and Consuela all took positions on either side of her and opened fire at the fleeing Vehicle but it was too late, Destemona disappeared around the corner and Consuela knew from there, it was a clear shot to the highway. The authorities were coming in from the other side of town, but the time they cleared the cars away to give chase, Destemona would be long gone. "FUCK!" Consuela shouted "I can't believe that bitch got away". "I have a feeling we'll get another chance" Eve panted.

By now, the sirens were getting louder "I need to go" Eve said and abruptly turned and ran the opposite way. "Eve wait! Stop!" Consuela gave chase after her up the street. "Alejandro, Carlos, get back to the others" she shouted over her shoulder. Eve looked through the other cars blocking the highway, but they were all ripped apart or burned.

Eve took off down a side street and Consuela followed "Will you stop, you can't get out of town this way… the highway is blocked and the other way is swarming with cops". "I need to get out, I can't stay, they're coming!" Eve's voice was panicked. Eve turned a corner and saw the police setting up a roadblock and a temporary command unit. She ducked behind a burned out car and Consuela got into cover behind her. Consuela reached out and put a hand on Eve's shoulder, the first thing she felt was that Eve was trembling.

Consuela knew there was nothing for it. She grabbed Eve forcefully and pulled her around so they were facing each other "Listen to me… this place is going to be covered in uniforms in a few minutes, everyone will be on the streets, they'll go door to door… get back to my place before anyone sees you". "But they'll find" Eve began. "No… I'll make sure they don't… now please Eve… go…". When Eve hesitated, Consuela pulled her closer and shouted "Go now!".

Eve finally nodded and moved back around the car to duck into a low wall that led to someone's driveway. She darted out of sight and Consuela checked herself over before standing up and approaching the command unit. She had no idea what she would say to the police commander in charge… but she would come up with something, the priority was the survivors.

---

8 HOURS LATER - SONORA DESERT - 67 MILES SOUTH

Destemona had made it out of that place just in the nick of time. She was still cursing herself for not being faster. It had devolved into a mess. Eve had gotten away, that Cop was still alive and all Forbes's files and notes were gone, likely taken by Eve.

She had gotten to a vehicle and driven south. She had found a lonely gas station where the clerk had taken an interest in her appearance. She hadn't given him the chance to ask another question before she killed him for his cell phone to call in.

They had all been given code phrases to pass through should the need arise. Destemona had spoken to Arianna and outlined everything that had occurred. Areanna had listened intently, asking questions at certain points, about Forbes, and then about Eve.

Arianna had gone on to tell her that it was becoming a mess. Arianna had links in the Military and Intelligence community, by now, word was coming in about what had happened in the town. It was a swarm of different Authorities and interests now.

Arianna had finished the call by telling her that everything would be fine and that someone would be along to pick her up shortly.

For her part, Destemona had taken on the Clerk's job for him. There had been a few customers, it had been relatively fun for the past few hours, pretending to serve the odd lonely traveller along this desolate stretch of highway, then killing them for being the filthy fuckwit human scum they were. All in all, despite a disastrous night, she had turned it into a pleasant afternoon.

Finally, a large black truck arrived on the edge of the forecourt. "Finally" Destemona said out loud "My ride". She hopped up on the counter and cracked open another beer as the individual made his way to the door. It wasn't one of the Brethren, she would have sensed if it was.

It wasn't until the hooded man opened the door, setting off the crude bell and strode inside that Destemona felt it. It was a feeling that encroached on her through her telepathing and empathic range, a coldness… a darkness that made her uneasy.

The man swept back his hood revealing a mane of black curly hair. He looked up with piercing blue eyes and Destemona spotted the Celtic Raven tattoo on his neck with a sword through it. A banner struck through the tattoo with the words "Tender Mercies" and the Roman Numeral XIII. "Your chariot awaits, Milady" he said in an English accent, with a the customary theatrical bow she knew he liked to do.

"Robyn" she uttered "I didn't think Arianna would send you". Robyn Morgan was human, but not Baseline human, they had spent some time together before she departed for Mexico to oversee Forbes. On the few occasions she had reported in, they had enjoyed one another, they had found each other extremely pleasing and truly understood one another on a level only they knew... they shared the same tastes and proclivities.

Robyn was Sighted and like her, he had a certain proclivity for absorbing the final thoughts and feelings of those he killed. "Desi, Desi… when I heard you were in trouble I had to come" Robyn said "I wondered why we hadn't heard from you in a couple of months... You said something to the Queen Bee about Forbes freezing you in a tank".

"It was Eve, Robyn… I had her" Destemona said. Robyn put his hands on her thighs and began to caress higher and higher "Well, you can tell me all about it while I have you". It was the best thing Destemona had felt all day, she closed her eyes and gave herself to it as his hands reached her buttocks and squeezed hard, at the same time, she felt him kissing her neck "I see you started the party without me" Robyn whispered.

Destemona followed his gaze down behind the counter where the body of the clerk and three unfortunate customers lay festering in the hot sun "Well, I didn't know you were coming or I'd have kept them breathing... at least for a while".

Robyn pushed her back until she was laying over the counter and began to unbutton her shirt and jeans which she had taken from the dead clerk. She felt his lips getting lower and lower and let out an loud growl of pleasure, unable to contain herself any longer "What do you say we get take all the tequila in this place and find some shithole motel somewhere" Robyn said and delivered a gentle bite.

Destemona growled and hissed in response "As long as it's further south" Destemona growled and pushed his head further down "I'm gonna find her again Robyn…". "No" he uttered "We are" and took her breath away as he began to devour her. Destemona began to writhe and roar and allowed herself to go through the change, feeling the sensation of freefall as her body transformed under his touch.

They became so lost in each other that neither of them noticed the police car arrive until the door opened, setting off the bell. Destemona looked up first, feeling frustration as the sensations dissipated from the interruption. The cop looked at her and his eyes went wide. Destemona then saw his gaze move down and to the left, where the blood was pooling around the side of the counter.

"¡fóllame!" [Fuck Me!] he exclaimed and went for his sidearm. Robin was quicker. Without even turning, Robyn whipped out a Spiral Bladed Tri-Dagger and threw it at the officer. The blade hit him right in the neck and he fell backwards onto the magazine rack and slumped to the floor, holding his neck. "That's what she said, and that's what I was trying to do until I was so rudely interrupted!" Robyn said to the officer.

Destemona let out a guttural laugh. Robyn turned and smiled "I'm serious, deadly serious" and began to trace her chitinous collar bone with one hand, caressing down over her breast and lower, causing her to arch back her head in anticipation.

He wasn't dead, and Robyn wasn't finished. Robyn stood up, and Destemona caressed down his shoulder with her claw as he opened his jacket, revealing another Spiral blade and his Tactical Tomahawk. The Officer made another attempt to go for his Sidearm, but Robyn had already sensed this and launched his second Spiral bladed knife in his direction. This one struck home in his shoulder, sending his shot wide.

Robyn strode over to him and twisted the blades out of his shoulder and neck, blood immediately began to gush from the officer's neck "Ohh… that looks like a bit of a nasty one, sunshine… Desi, shall we call for help?".

Robyn grinned and opened the door. Destemona giggled as Robyn stuck his head out, looked in both directions, where he knew there was not another living soul for miles and yelled "HELP!... PLEASE HELP THIS INJURED OFFICER!" Robyn made a show of looking back and forth, then closed the door "Nothing… nobody is coming… so here's what I want you to do… you need to own this moment now… give yourself to it". The officer made another feeble attempts to raise his weapon but Robyn gently took him by the hand and removed the gun, tossing it over his shoulder.

Destemona watched as Robyn stared into the officer's eyes as they began to glaze over "Yes, that's it, there's that fire… and there's nothing waiting in that void… only me" Robyn grinned. Destemona hopped off the counter and crouched behind him, smelling his neck and hair. Wrapping her claws around his shoulders. "This is my favourite part, the final breath, the moment the lights go out and the death of hope… it's like a fine wine… can't you feel it?". Destemona's body surged with sensation, the anticipation of what was to come.

Robyn slowly stood up, and she never broke contact with him. She was taller in her true form, but that didn't stop Robyn from picking her up by the thighs and pushing her back against the shelf. Their kiss was long and deep before Robyn pulled back "Go to the truck… I'll take care of this".

He let her slip out of his arms and she went to the truck, just like he asked. Destemona watched Robyn select a few bottles before he lit a cigarette and came outside. As he crossed the forecourt, he took one of the gas pumps and pulled the nozzle, letting the fuel spill out onto the ground.

By the time he had made his way over to the truck, he was almost finished with the cigarette. He flicked the remnants away onto the spilled fuel and got into the truck. As they drove away, the entire station went up in a gargantuan fireball that could be seen for miles around.

---

12 HOURS LATER

Consuela had finally gotten leave to stand down while the other authorities rolled in and took control of the situation. She had heard that American Authorities were already beginning to take an interest. There were already a number of investigators on site and the Police commander had been ordered by his superiors to give them full cooperation.

Consuela knew she would face questions in the coming days, but the others had all agreed on what they would mention in their statements, and what they wouldn't mention.

It was getting dark by the time she finally stepped into her house on the edge of town. Nobody was around everyone was staying indoors. This was good, it meant that Eve likely wasn't seen coming back here. Consuela unlocked the door and entered, instantly feeling the weight of being awake for almost 48 hours and slumped against the door.

The house was dark. "Eve, are you here" Consuela whispered. Consuela's eyes focussed and she picked out a tall female form in the shadows at the far end of her small living room. Eve stepped forward and her eyes caught a reflection, glinting green in the dark.

"You ok?" Eve asked. Consuela's eyes stung, once she made it through those familiar doors and into her own home, it all flooded up to the surface, Consuela slid down to the floor and cried "No, I'm not ok… all those people… my friends" Consuela sobbed. She felt Eve come over and sit next to her on the floor, she felt warm.

Just as Consuela had done when Eve broke down earlier, now Eve returned the comforting gesture. Consuela felt Eve's arm slip around her shoulder and she pulled her close. They had been through the worst that anyone could endure, and they had survived by relying on one another.

After everything, they only thing they had found was each other.

---

In the following days, after all her official statements to the investigators had been made, Consuela would take a flight to the US and track down this Doctor Baker who Eve had spoken of, she had spent several hours with her in the small hours of the night and laid out everything she had seen, handing over all the files and drives Eve had found. Laura had asked a lot about Eve. Consuela had told her the truth, what Eve had done, the people she had saved, and most of all, who she was, kind, thoughtful and when it came down to it, she put others before herself. Consuela had only left out the fact that Eve was still living in her own home back in Mexico.

After Consuela returned to Mexico, the days became weeks, and Eve had stayed. Eve had stayed because something had grown between them, unexpected at first, but the attraction Consuela had felt had been mutual, until it became more than just an attraction, and became a passion and that passion had become something more pure… it had become love.

---

ROSS FAMILY ESTATE - VIRGINIA

PRESENT DAY

Laura made her way downstairs, having wrapped herself in several layers against the cold. They had settled in last night but she knew she heard Eve and Consuela moving around in the night. Likely exploring. The place was magnificent, but standing empty like this with most of the furniture in storage and limited electricity from generators made it a creepy old house.

"Morning" she said "How was your first night?" Eve and Consuela were sitting in the study space Laura had set up, much like she had in Gamble's basement, she had learned to set it up in a hurry. Eve had Laura's laptop open and was searching for something. "Eve had another one of those dreams last night… it connected with her again".

"Are you ok, Eve?" Laura asked. Eve looked up from the screen and nodded "I'm fine… I think. But the one last night was different". Press came down the stairs and joined her, catching the tail end of the conversation. "Another episode? You alright?". "It's ok" Eve said "Like I said, something about the one last night was different". "What do you mean?" Press asked as he took a seat across the table from her.

Eve looked up and held his gaze for a moment before doing the same with Laura, her expression looked serious "It was Patrick" she finally said. "Patrick?" Laura asked. Her concern was already growing and she caught a side glance from Press, it was clear he felt the same.

"Patrick's gone Eve" Press said "You shouldn't let that thing mess with your head, like Dan said, it'll use whatever upsets you to gain a foothold". "I know, and that's why I'm only humouring something he said… I'm not saying I believe it, just a curiosity… Patrick mentioned something, remember when Dan was telling us about Whispers, and how he thought they were just a ghost story?".

Laura looked at Press, then Consuela "Eve, if it connects with you, it can use anything in your memory to confuse you, you should just ignore it". "That's what I thought, but Laura, it felt like… him, like it was actually Patrick… he even said it. He said that everything after the moment he was infected was like he was trapped in his own head, but he wasn't in the driver's seat… and I think that thing connected with him, and it absorbed his consciousness somehow… he reached out".

Press's eyes went wide "Christ, if that's true… that sounds worse than hell… this thing doesn't just want to consume everything, it wants everything that makes us who we are". Eve nodded "But I think… and like I said, it's just a curiosity, I know it might just have been that thing messing with me… but Patrick mentioned this".

Eve turned the laptop around and Press leaned forward. Laura stepped in and leaned down. Eve had pulled up an image search. It showed graffiti markings in various cities and of various quality, some were little more than stick figures and symbols, others were like professionally painted murals by prominent street artists. All dipicting the same thing, a faceless woman in a hood, her hands were razor sharp claws dripping blood, and her angelic wings were composed of hundreds of snarling, biting rats.

Eve stood up and leaned over the table "Patrick said, The Angel of Vermin will lead you to the Whispers… I've never heard of this, so it didn't come from me".

Press looked closer "Ok, well, I guess we'll be on the lookout for these murals, just in case, in the meantime, you should talk more about this with Dan when he gets here". "What about us?" Eve asked. At this, Consuela leaned in "Well, we gotta find out who tipped off Arianna about Hollander, it was someone in the Capitol, so for now, we gotta get that out of the way, we don't want someone to start asking questions about Gamble and linking him to us".

Eve seemed to accept this and closed the laptop "Ok, what's our move?" she asked. . .

---

Writer's note

My previous chapters have mentioned how Eve and Alverez met in Mexico. Essentially this "Episode" serves as Species 4.5. The add-on, the fix and the DLC if you will.

STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 15 - ALSO STAY TUNED FOR MORE ADVENTURES IN MY LINKED STORY, SPECIES: ANGEL OF VERMIN

There is now a Discord Server dedicated to this Fandom. It can be found by following this link: /BYkXYcYE

As always let me know what you think, like & share and I'll see you in the comments.

- This is also the first time that Robyn Morgan had actually been described, think of him like a modern day Ramsay Bolton, I do.
- Tell me what you think of Destemona and what you think is gonna happen when she shows up again (I have changed her name on several occasions but I've had her waiting in the wings for a while) I credit the name Destemona to our very own Marutectz552 (Writer of Species: The Unknown Strain). Other writers who keep me going on this fandom and to whom I owe a lot of inspiration are P141 (Species: Life in spite of Everything) Joshuajacobson95 (Species: Resurrection) and Sage1988 (Desperation).

Once again. There will be another episode that aknoleges you, the readers. Sara and Maya have now been featured in a video that has hit the internet, in Chapter 13, Maya was witnessed Shooting Half-Breeds in Napal with Sara. Have a read of the scene and write some comments in the reviews section as if you had seen the video. Sara will see them and react.

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WE ARE HARBINGER - WE ARE ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL