Chapter 39
Teresagatan (Michael's apartment)
Michael is sitting on his couch waiting for Simon and Josefin to come into his apartment because they decided they would go for a walk together. Josefin was going to get her medicine and Simon was going to change clothes. Michael fingers his cell phone and thinks about whether he should try to call his parents again but he doesn't. Michael wants to save his cell phone's battery now that there's a power outage.
Michael still feels strange in his body but he chooses to ignore the feeling. It feels as if his nerves are constantly on edge and can't relax and his sense of balance is off. Michael went on a boat across Denmark and it rocked a lot and when he got back on land the ground continued to rock and he has about the same feeling as then but without the annoying rocking.
Suddenly the alarm for an important message to the public sounds and Michael jumps on the couch because the sound comes so unexpectedly. There is a large speaker that transmits the sound in Zinkensdamm and the speaker is directed towards the road where Michael lives so the sound is loud. Michael knows exactly when the speakers are tested so he can be prepared for the loud sound but now it comes very suddenly. Michael gets worried when he hears the sound because it could mean big problems.
Michael goes into the bedroom and looks for his crank-operated radio and he soon finds it. The radio doesn't need batteries, it's cranked and each crank gives 20 minutes of radio listening. The sound on the radio isn't particularly good, but it still sounds okay if someone is talking. A voice starts talking and it sounds almost mechanical.
"This is an important message to the public in Solna and the rest of Stockholm County."
The voice falls silent and is replaced by the Prime Minister's voice, and he sounds tired but also serious. The Prime Minister gets straight to the point without any tentative introduction.
"Thousands of Alien monsters are pouring out of Solna Hospital and they are on their way to the villa area below the hospital. Residents in the area are asked to evacuate the area as soon as possible. If this cannot be done, residents are asked to go into their villas and close all doors and windows and, if possible, barricade all entrances and exits so that the Alien monsters cannot enter the villas. The Alien monsters are numerous and very dangerous. If you have to engage them in close combat, do so, but beware of their corrosive blood. The Alien monsters come from a so-called "PredAlien" that multiplies extremely quickly and the defense has been given the go-ahead to bomb the hospital. If you are near Solna and the hospital, get to safety as quickly as you can."
The Prime Minister takes a short break in his speech.
"For the rest of Stockholm, the following applies. Do not go out unless you have to and if you do go out, pay close attention to what is happening and flee if any Alien monsters come near where you are. Please report if you see an Alien monster near where you are. The Swedish Defence Force has opened a special line for reporting Alien monsters and the number to that is 1665. Only call if you see an Alien monster. If you have to engage in close combat with the monsters, do so but beware of their corrosive blood. There have recently been reports of many Alien monsters near Mariatorget so avoid moving near Mariatorget. The Swedish Defence Force and the police will kill every Alien monster as quickly as they can. If you see an Alien egg do not approach it but leave it but report where you saw it"
The Prime Minister pauses again in his speech.
"Large parts of Stockholm are currently without power and this is due to a major short circuit in an electrical cabinet in Zinkensdamm. Workers are on site and trying to solve the problem as quickly as possible and the latest update says that the power may not be back until midnight because the fault is so big. We ask residents to be lenient with this. The workers are working as quickly as they can and the police have blocked off large parts of the road so that the workers can work in peace without being disturbed. Please respect this."
The Prime Minister falls silent but starts to speak and he says exactly the same message he started with so that those who have just started their radios can hear what is happening.
Michael sits quietly and listens to what the Prime Minister says and he thinks that there will probably be no walk with Simon and Josefin. But he also thinks that it is his own fault that this is happening because it was Michael himself who wished that PredAlien would exist for real and he gets irritated with himself. Wasn't all the Alien monsters and the Alien Queen enough?
Michael decides to end this and he concentrates and wishes that PredAlien does not exist and he puts all his strength into the wish. The only thing that happens is that Michael gets a headache but he tries again to make the same wish and he puts more strength into his wish. It almost starts to flash inside Michael's head when he wishes but he doesn't feel that special feeling like he did when he wished that PredAlien would exist in reality or when he wished that the Alien monsters would exist. Michael can't wish PredAlien away and it makes him frustrated.
Michael gets really dizzy in his head and weak in the body like when he hasn't eaten in a very long time and he starts to break out in a cold sweat. Michael feels that he has to lie down in bed for a few minutes until he feels better and he half lies in bed and turns off the radio. The dizziness disappears after a few minutes but Michael still feels very weak all over and he turns over in bed and looks out into the bedroom and sees the large chocolate bar lying by the computer desk and he thinks that the chocolate gives quick energy. Michael crawls out of bed and takes a large piece of the chocolate and puts it in his mouth and when he has swallowed it he goes back to bed again.
The signal for important public announcements falls silent and it becomes completely silent. Now that there is a power outage, the small, usual sounds from the ventilation and the sounds when the fridge and freezer start and stop are not heard. The neighbor who lives below MIchael does not play his annoying Asian music and the family who lives above MIchael is quieter than usual.
Michael remains in bed for an indefinite time but when there is a knock on the door he gets out of bed and he feels a little better. It is Simon and Josefin who knock on the door and they explain that they do not dare to go out when there are Alien monsters nearby and Michael accepts their wish not to go out. Simon and Josefin go to their apartments and Michael closes his door again and thinks about what to do.
Michael calls Sven to tell him what has happened but all the lines are busy so he cannot get through. Michael is unsure of how Sven will react when he finds out that it is Michael who has wished for PredAlien to exist in reality. Michael really just wanted to get revenge on Mahom and his pregnant wife, but what's happening has gotten out of control and Michael wonders if PredAlien can even be stopped. Reine told him that the Alien Queen might be able to kill PredAlien, but first she has to be found, and Michael doesn't intend to look for her now that it's so late.
Michael goes out into the living room and looks out the window, and there are no Alien monsters moving around on the street and everything looks normal. But then Michael sees something strange. There are some kind of large cocoons hanging from the two trees closest to the apartment building, and there are two cocoons in each tree, so four in total.
Michael looks at the cocoons and wonders what they might contain, but then he remembers that he saw four chestbursters being born from four people's chests and it happened near the two trees. Michael suspects that the cocoons have something to do with the Alien monsters, but he doesn't know how. No such cocoons were seen in the first three Alien films and the Chestburster that was born on the ferry to Gröna lund did not form a cocoon, but the more Michael looks at the four cocoons, the more certain he becomes that they are related to the Alien monsters.
Michael decides to leave the group accommodation and go outside to inspect the four cocoons and he walks towards his front door and puts on his sneakers. Michael thinks that the staff doesn't need to know that he's going out and taking a closer look at the cocoons and he sneaks out through the fire door closest to his apartment and goes down the stairs. There's no one moving on the stairs and it's very dark but Michael can see without any problems.
Teresagatan
Michael goes out through the lower entrance and walks straight towards the two trees where the cocoons are. Two of the cocoons are high up in the tree and Michael can't reach them even if he stretches his hand very high. But two of the cocoons are further down and Michael can reach them if he wants to. The cocoons are dark brown and transparent slime is constantly dripping from them and there are large pools of transparent slime on the ground. Michael picks up some of the slime that is on the ground and holds it in his hand. The slime is lukewarm and feels very soft and malleable and Michael likes its consistency.
Each cocoon has a smaller opening on the bottom and Michael thinks that a full-grown Alien monster could not possibly squeeze through that narrow opening but he walks closer to the two cocoons hanging further down and he looks up at the small opening but sees absolutely nothing of what is inside the cocoon.
Michael looks around the street to see if anyone else is moving there but the street seems completely empty. An hour ago there was still a lot of movement on the street but now it seems completely dead. Michael looks up once more towards the nearest cocoon and he catches several larger lumps of slime with his outstretched hand. This slime is so incredibly nice against the skin and he wants more and more of the slime. Michael is tempted to put the slime in his mouth and taste it and he presses a smaller lump of slime in and moves his tongue and the slime dissolves with the saliva and becomes like water but it has no taste. Michael swallows the slime but does not dare to press more slime into his mouth
Seravägen Zinkensdamm
The door to a gray-brown older house is opened and an eager dog starts to walk out from the open door. It is a yellowish Golden Retriever and his name is Max. Max is very eager because he wants to both relieve himself but he also wants to meet the females in the neighborhood. Two of the neighbors nearby have golden retrievers but they are both females and Max can smell them and he wants to mate with them. Preferably as soon as possible.
Max's female owner sticks her head out the door to make sure there are no Alien monsters nearby. Max's owner is Jeanette and she is 40 years old. Jeanette was listening to the Prime Minister's broadcast on her battery-powered radio and she would rather not go out at all but Max has made it clear that he has to go out so she has no choice but to walk the dog. If there had been a garden at the villa she could have let the dog out there but this villa is one of the townhouses that are connected so there is no garden.
Jeanette closes and locks the front door when she has come out and Max pulls on his long leash because he is so eager. Jeanette has a boyfriend who usually walks the dog because he is the one who bought the dog but he is in Germany right now and will be home in two days. Jeanette didn't want a dog but her boyfriend persuaded her.
Jeanette thinks about what the prime minister was talking about and she knows that this started two days ago. That rude, sleazy guy who always rode a moped was probably the first victim of the Alien monsters, but luckily the monster was killed by Jeanette's neighbor. The monster almost got into Jeanette's house and she still remembers how terrified she was when the monster pushed its heavy body against the front door and its drool ran through the letterbox. The neighbor who killed the monster called the police when the monster was dead but they never came and it is still on the floor inside the neighbor's house. The neighbor has joked and said that he can take out the monster's body parts and stuff it with lots of paper and other things and give the monster to Jeanette as a souvenir but she has said that she doesn't want that.
Jeanette avoids going towards Mariatorget because the Prime Minister warned that there might be Alien monsters there. Meeting the Alien monster two days ago was more than enough for Jeanette and she doesn't want it to happen again. Max pulls on his leash and Jeannette tells him to calm down a bit. Max stops and pees. He can't wait any longer. He would have preferred to pee on the large lawn by the playground. Max's leash is sloppily attached and it's quite loose in two places but Jeanette is not inattentive and she doesn't notice it. Max and Jeanette continue on and they pass the combined hostel/hotel and it seems to be full with tourists. The low price attracts many tourists.
Jeanette's mobile phone pings and she picks it up and holds her mobile phone in one hand and the dog's leash in the other. Jeanette's friends Rebecka and Miriam have posted a picture on Facebook where they are sitting together with candles lit and cuddling and they have called the post "Nice cuddling despite the power outage" Jeanette is going to like the picture but then she remembers that she is still angry with Rebecka and does not want to pay attention to her. Jeanette has forgotten to remove her as a friend on Facebook and she fingers the name while walking forward.
Jeanette and Max pass the first villa where a Golden Retriever females lives but Max doesn't smell any new scent from the dog since the previous day and it doesn't seem like it's home but he turns his head around as he passes the villa and the leash becomes even looser. Jeanette is fully focused on her mobile phone and doesn't care what Max is doing. Jeanette and Max arrive at the large playground and Max shows that he has to poop and Jeanette follows him on the lawn and he relieves himself. Jeanette picks up the poop in a dog bag and throws it in the bin at the playground and then they move on and they approach the villa where the other Golden Retriever female lives.
The dog's owner is out in his garden and the dog is on a leash near the front door so that it can't escape and Max can see the dog as he passes the villa. Max decides to try to escape now that Jeanette isn't focused on him and the dog manages to wriggle out through the leash and finally he is free. Max starts running towards the villa and jumps over the small fence and approaches the female. Jeanette starts running after Max and she drops her mobile phone but it has to wait. She doesn't want Max to mate with the female. Max is at the female but she is not willing and growls angrily at him and Max gets confused. She smells like she is willing but acts like she is not. The dog's owner has given his dog a substance that makes her not willing towards male dogs but Max doesn't know about that.
Max is confused but he sniffs the air and smells another female and he starts running towards the scent and jumps over the fence. Jeanette is at the fence and she almost manages to catch Max but his fur slips out of her hands and he runs away across the street and he runs towards Mariatorget. Jeanette calls out to Max to stop immediately but he doesn't listen and keeps running and Jeanette starts chasing the dog but her exercise isn't very good and she gets further and further away from the dog. Max loves his newfound freedom and there are so many scents he wants to investigate but the scent of the female is the most important right now.
The village is being replaced by grey concrete apartment buildings but Max continues forward while letting his nose lead him in the right direction. Max hears Jeanette calling out to him but he intends to investigate this before running back to her. Max approaches Mariatorget but he doesn't see a dog anywhere and that makes him confused. His nose tells him that there is a female here but where is she? Suddenly Max finds a fresh trail of a female and it is a Labrador but it is almost the same as a Golden Retriever. Max eagerly follows the females trail and it leads to a larger underground tunnel and Max goes down into it.
The underground tunnel.
Max is inside the underground tunnel that Michael wished would be open and the dog continues to follow the enticing scent but Max also smells another scent that is very strange and he has never smelled such a scent before. Max can faintly perceive the faint whining of a female but the echo in the tunnel confuses him and he does not know where the sound is coming from but the dog that is whining sounds scared. Max does not feel the least bit scared and he wants to show his fearlessness to the female and walks forward with quick steps.
When Max has gone a little further into the tunnel, he sees a funny creature and whatever it is, it is not human. Max is both scared of the creature but also curious and wants to know what it is and he walks closer to the creature but moves more slowly. When Max gets closer to the creature, he sees that it resembles a giant insect and has an elongated and curved head and it seems to be giving birth without interruption and small monster babies land on the floor behind the creature. Max thinks it is absurd that the creature is giving birth all the time and he barks at the creature and it seems to be looking at him. The females whining is heard louder and Max looks around and sees a black Labrador near an entrance to another tunnel. The female has also seen the creature and she is significantly more scared than Max but Max makes a calming noise and approaches the creature to show his toughness.
PredAlien heard Max bark and it looks curiously at the dog but PredAlien has also seen the scared Labrador a little further away. PredAlien has never seen a dog before and becomes curious about the animal and sniffs the dog. PredAlien can smell an interesting scent from the dog and it seems fearless. PredAlien feels a certain fascination with this fearless animal and it stops birthing and gets up from its throne. PredAlien approaches the dog and lowers its head towards the dog. The dog starts to smell as if it is afraid but it chooses to remain in front of PredAlien. PredAlien considers whether to kill the dog or not but chooses to see what the dog does.
Max is unsure whether to run or not. There is something about the creature's scent that calms Max but at the same time makes him terrified. The creature doesn't seem to have any visible eyes and that worries Max. He wants to be able to look the creature in the eyes but he can't. The creature sends out strange energy waves that confuse the dog. Max starts to wag his tail to show that he is happy and not dangerous. Maybe the creature understands his tail wagging.
PredAlien looks at the dog's tail and that special scent gets stronger and it reminds him of something and it takes a few seconds for the monster to recognize the scent. The scent reminds him of how some of the pregnant women in the hospital smelled and PredAlien thinks that this is a female and can therefore easily give birth to its offspring. The black dog also has a similar scent but it is further away in the tunnel and PredAlien decides to vomit its eggs into the dog's mouth now that it is so close.
Max watches as the creature lowers its head further and further down and is soon at the same level as his. Large amounts of transparent drool drip onto Max's back and he shakes himself because he thinks the drool feels unpleasant against his fur. Max sees that the creature has long growths around its jaw and they remind him of an stag beetle and Max knows what it feels like to be pinched by an stag beetle. It hurts and Max doesn't want to be pinched by these two growths.
PredAlien intends to hold the dog's head with the two growths, but the monster realizes that the dog's head is too small for the growths to be used. Instead, PredAlien takes a finger under the dog's head and lifts it up while opening its jaw. The dog lifts its face and is soon right in front of PredAlien's open jaw. The inner jaw extends and penetrates deep into the dog's jaw and PredAlien takes a firm grip on the dog's head to keep it still.
PredAlien makes several chuffing sounds and its throat swells as something moves through it at high speed. The dog's jaw fills with a foul-smelling goo but also with five large eggs that resemble Easter eggs. The first egg runs down the dog's throat and is followed by another and another until all five eggs have left the dog's jaw. The PredAlien's inner jaw presses so hard against the dog's neck that it starts to bleed in the dog's throat but it doesn't affect the eggs but they move through the throat and down towards the stomach. The PredAlien pulls its inner jaw out of the dog's jaw and the inner jaw drips with the dog's blood.
Max felt the large eggs moving through his throat and it felt terrible but now it feels good again except that it hurts his throat. Max doesn't understand why the creature vomited up the large eggs and forced him to swallow them. Max looks at the creature and makes a questioning sound and puts his head to the side which he does when it is something he doesn't really understand. But the creature doesn't answer and starts to walk away from Max. Max barks and the creature makes a hissing sound reminiscent of an angry swan and continues to give birth to its monster babies.
PredAlien gets up and goes to its throne and continues to give birth and 20 Alien babies pop out of its anus and they come one after the other in a continuous movement. PredAlien looks at the dog and it wants to see when the offspring is born. The dog's belly has already started to grow.
Max stands and looks at PredAlien and he feels his belly start to swell and grow incredibly fast. Max has eaten too much food at some point and his belly swelled up but it felt different than this new feeling. Max feels that something is wrong with his body and he starts to whine softly but the feeling keeps growing stronger while his belly grows and grows. Max's belly continues to grow continuously.
Max's belly has grown so much that it touches the ground in the tunnel and something starts to move inside the belly and Max's body shakes with the movements. The movements inside the belly are frantic and Max thinks it feels incredibly painful. PredAlien looks at the dog's belly and knows that its offspring will soon be born and it feels proud because this animal gives birth to its offspring at the same time as the monster itself gives birth continuously.
There are already a lot of Alien monsters in the tunnel and they are moving in different directions. 15 monsters have entered T-Centralen and the police have a hard job shooting all the monsters and they are starting to run out of ammunition. 20 Alien monsters have made it to Brunkebergstunneln but no one has discovered them yet but they are heading towards Sveavägen. 18 Alien monsters are moving towards Kungsträdgården in a united force and they will soon be there.
The movements in Max's belly are getting wilder and he can't stand still because the movements are too strong. The black Labrador also seems to see what is happening and she is even more scared than she was before and it doesn't help that Max makes calming sounds. He himself is not particularly calm but he wants to be tougher than he really is. The movements in Max's belly reach a crescendo and he starts to vomit violently but all that comes up is food that he ate before he went out with Jeanette.
Max's belly explodes in a big geyser of blood and five four-legged Alien monsters pop out of the belly and slide across the floor. These Alien monsters are more developed than the ones that PredAlien gives birth to and they can already fend for themselves. The five Alien monsters have a longer head but it is narrower than the others and even the inner jaw is narrower and smaller. The five newborn Alien monsters look out towards the exit of the tunnel and move towards it while slipping around in the dog's blood.
Trollgatan
Jeanette has reached the last villas before the apartment buildings at Mariatorget but she can't see Max anywhere and she is very angry at the dog and decides to bark at the dog when she finds it. She doesn't care what her boyfriend says about it because she is so angry at the dog.
Jeanette calls for Max but she gets no answer and the dog doesn't come running like it should. Jeanette believes that her boyfriend has spoiled the dog too much and that is why it doesn't obey.
There are three huge trees by the walkway and Jeanette passes them and when she has come a few centimeters from the last tree she hears a sticky sound and reflexively turns around and stands in front of an open Alien egg that was hidden next to the tree. Jeanette sees that there is something slimy moving in the egg and she backs away from it but too late.
The facehugger jumps out of the egg with a big explosion and lands on Jeanette's face and its long slimy proboscis immediately begins to penetrate her mouth. Jeanette loses her balance and falls to the ground with a hard thud and it hurts the back of her head. Jeanette gets strong feelings of disgust as the slimy proboscis continues to penetrate her mouth and down her throat and it continues to penetrate her throat in a continuous movement and Jeanette thinks silently.
This is just not happening. I'm only dreaming that this is happening.
But it's not a dream and the facehugger and its slimy proboscis exist in reality and it makes Jeanette angry. The slimy proboscis has penetrated far enough down her throat and is starting to swell to double its size. Jeanette toys with the idea of biting off the proboscis but she knows that this monster has acid like blood but she has a plan how she will survive this even if the facehugger fills her with its eggs.
The facehuggers proboscis begins to squirt out hundreds of small black eggs and the eggs resemble black caviar but have nothing in common with caviar. Jeanette cannot feel the eggs squirting out into her throat because the proboscis is at the bottom of her throat but she can feel them through the facehuggers proboscis as they squirt out through it.
Jeanette feels the facehugger's tail against her neck and she knows it will strangle her if she tries to remove it from her face. The facehugger continues to squirt its eggs continuously for a minute and when it stops, its proboscis becomes normal again and starts to pull out of Jeanette's throat and mouth.
The facehugger loosens its eight digits and its tail is pulled away from its neck and when the facehugger is free it crawls away from Jeanette's face and runs away across the street. Jeanette quickly gets up and follows the facehugger and she places her foot hard over three of its digits and there is a crunching sound and yellow blood starts to flow from its crushed digits and Jeanette steps away so that the blood doesn't corrode her shoes and feet. Jeanette doesn't feel sorry for the facehugger. It was absolutely right that she hurt it. Jeanette feels a weight in her chest and she hasn't felt this weight before and she knows she has to act quickly.
Jeanette sees that there are people at home in the nearest villa and she runs into the garden and to their front door and knocks on it frantically. There are surprised exclamations from inside the villa but finally someone opens it and a man stares at Jeanette in irritation.
- Hey! Can't you knock like normal people? What is this about?
Jeanette's eyes wander and there are several people inside the villa and she sees a familiar face. The ex-boyfriend is here and he looks at Jeanette in surprise. Jeanette looks at her ex-boyfriend.
- Björn, I need a sharp big knife. I need to remove a Chestburster from my chest.
Björn stands and looks at Jeanette as if she were crazy and the man who opened the door definitely looks like he thinks she is crazy. Jeanette starts to beg Björn to help her.
- Björn, I've been attacked by a facehugger and I can already feel the Chestburster growing in my chest. Can you help me get it out, please?
Björn starts to stutter.
- But..but.. but I'm not a doctor and neither are you.
Jeanette stares at Björn in irritation. He should remember that she's taken an advanced course at the hospital even though she didn't choose to start working there, but it was mostly because a person she hated was going to start on the ward.
- But I can get it out. I know how to do it. Are you going to help me or not? The Chestburster will explode from my chest if you don't help me.
- O.o. Okay. But don't count on me being able to help you that much.
Jeanette goes into the villa's hall and she takes off her shirt and bra and feels her chest. Yes, she can faintly feel the Chestburster moving inside. Jeanette fixes her gaze on Björn.
- Björn, go to the kitchen and get a bigger, sharp knife. I'll lie down on the floor in the meantime. I have to lie down while this happens. When you come back, you'll get more instructions.
Björn goes out to the kitchen and the man who opened the door for Jeanette gets a sharp, long knife and gives it to Björn, who goes out into the hall. Jeanette lies down and watches Björn as he walks in.
- Can you hold the knife straight and in a firm grip? I could have done this myself, but it's easier if we help each other.
Björn nods quietly and Jeanette points to the chest where he's going to make an incision.
- Björn, push the knife down and make an incision here, but don't push too far in so that the blood vessels further down are damaged. I trust you.
- I don't dare. It's too much responsibility.
- Please, do it for me. You can do it. I know you can.
Björn starts to sweat and he swallows hard and takes the knife and makes an incision where Jeanette showed and he manages to make the incision big enough. Jeanette nods and she sticks her hand under the incision and she can feel her own chest and she sticks her hand under the chest itself and looks for something that doesn't feel right. The man who let Jeanette in stands and watches what's happening and he can't believe his eyes.
- Is this really happening? Is she trolling or does she actually have her hand in her chest?
- She has her hand inside her chest. I wouldn't have dared to do that.
Jeanette digs deeper. The Chestburster must be in there but she doesn't know exactly where it is but she's not going to give up now that the incision is open and she has her hand in her own chest. Jeanette doesn't know what a Chestburster feels like when she touches it but she knows how many of the normal organs feel. Jeanette continues to look for the Chestburster.
Where are you you little bastard? I know you're in there somewhere.
Suddenly Jeanette feels something strange in her chest and whatever it is, it's alive and resists when she touches the strange creature. The creature squirms away from Jeanette's hand but she stubbornly follows it with her hand. Jeanette takes a firm grip on the creature and pulls it upwards but she is careful not to damage any organs. The creature feels cooler than the other organs and the blood and Jeanette can feel that its head is snake-like without seeing it. Jeanette looks satisfied.
. I have it in my hand now. I just have to pull it out of the chest.
The creature starts to approach the top of the chest and it twists and turns but Jeanette has a tight grip on it so that it can't slide back down into the chest. The Chestburster feels slippery because it's covered in blood but Jeanette holds it in a tight grip. Jeanette continues to pull the Chestburster up and its snake-like head becomes visible through the incision and the man who let Jeanette in turns completely pale and starts to walk away from the hall and into another room. Björn stares wide-eyed at Jeanette and at the creature she is pulling out of her chest and he is deeply impressed.
- Oh my god. Shit just got real. I've never seen a Chestburster this close before.
Jeanette moans slightly.
- Me neither. This is the first time I've held a Chestburster. It feels colder than our skin.
The Chestburster pops out of the incision with a wet sound and Jeanette holds it high in the air like a trophy and she feels so proud that she was able to take it out of her chest before it was born.
The Chestburster is yellow/orange and looks full grown and it wasn't long before it started eating at her chest and pushing itself out. Jeanette thinks it looks both terrifying and beautiful but she doesn't see it as her child. Jeanette doesn't exactly feel like Rafiki when he shows off the newborn Simba in the movie The Lion King even though she holds up the Chestburster in a similar way. Jeanette is surprised that the Chestburster is so long. She thought it would be considerably shorter because it has fit in her chest without feeling cramped inside. Jeanette holds the Chestburster in such a way that she can't be bitten by its sharp steel teeth. Its strong tail lashes against Jeanette's stomach and chest and it opens and closes its jaws at regular intervals but it doesn't make any sounds. Large amounts of transparent drool drip from the open jaws and sharp steel teeth. In a way, the Chestburster looks like a long, thick penis, but also like a long, thick snake. The Chestburster's belly and tail look ridged, but when it moves, the ridges disappear. Jeanette is surprised that the Chestburster has no scent at all. Jeanette can't help but shudder at the thought that this creature has grown so big in her chest, and in such a short time.
Even though the Chestburster is out of Jeanette's chest, everything is not finished yet. Björn has to sew up the incision before Jeanette is out of danger and the beast has to be killed, but maybe the man who opened the door can do that. Jeanette focuses on Björn.
- Björn, you have to sew up the incision and I have to lie down while you do it. It can be done with regular sewing thread. I know you can do it. Someone has to kill the Chestburster as soon as possible before it grows into an adult Alien. Is there a volunteer who wants to kill the Chestburster?
A dark voice is heard behind Jeanette and she thinks she recognizes the voice but she can't quite place it right now.
- I can kill the Chestburster. I have strong hands.
The person with the dark voice moves into the hall and stands next to Jeanette and now she recognizes the voice and the person. It's her old boss Bosse and she's surprised that he's here because he was going to move abroad. Jeanette gives the bouncing Chestburster to Bosse.
- Be careful not to let its blood land on your skin because they have corrosive blood.
- I know. I'll kill it in the garden.
Bosse takes a firm grip on the Chestburster and goes out through the open front door. The Chestburster makes several screaming noises and tries to wriggle out of Bosse's grip but he holds on to it tightly and avoids being bitten by its sharp steel teeth. Bosse finds some thick gloves that he puts on to protect his skin.
The man who opened the door for Jeanette has a wife who introduces herself as Vera and she runs to get sewing thread and a sewing needle that Björn can use when he sews up the incision. The man who opened the door for Jeanette has gone into a room and is not visible from the hall. Björn and Jeanette are left alone for a while and they look at each other but neither of them says anything. Björn seems much more grown up than when Jeanette left him and their last argument feels extremely silly when she thinks about it. Björn has cut off his long hard rock hair and has a nice haircut.
Vera comes back with sewing thread and sewing needle and Jeanette clears her throat discreetly.
- Excuse me, but is there any liquor or strong alcohol here? I'm not going to drink it, it's needed to clean the incision so it doesn't get infected.
Björn smiles with his whole mouth.
- Yes, of course there is liquor. I have a bottle of liquor with me. It's in the living room. I can get it if you want.
- Thank you, you can use a cotton swab and moisten it with the alcohol when you clean the incision.
Vera goes to get a cotton swab while Björn gets the alcohol and Björn moistens the swab with some alcohol when he comes back and he cleans the incision as he did. Björn looks a little embarrassed when he touches Jeanette's bare breasts but she shows no reaction to him accidentally touching them. When the incision is cleaned, Vera takes out a pair of scissors and cuts a long piece of thread and threads it into the sewing needle and gives it to Björn. Björn smiles faintly.
- You'll have to excuse me if I don't sew so straight. I never went to sewing lessons.
- Heh. I didn't either. You know I skipped school a lot.
- Mmm. I remember you mentioning that when we were talking about our school days. Try to lie as still as possible.
Björn starts to sew up the cut he made and Jeanette is impressed by how good he is. Björn doesn't seem the least bit nervous, it looks like he's done this several times. Bosse comes in through the front door and he's wearing thick gloves but he's no longer holding the Chestburster and Jeanette guesses that it's dead. She doesn't need to know how it died. Björn continues to sew up the cut and Bosse stands and looks at it, seeming curious.
When the cut is sewn up, Björn gives Jeanette the go-ahead to get up and she feels very refreshed even though she took a Chestburster out of her own chest. The man who opened the door for Jeanette comes out into the hall and introduces himself as Zak and his face has normal color again. Zak looks alternately at Jeanette and at Björn.
- That thing you did before was the sickest thing I've seen in a long time, but it was good that you got that monster out of your chest.
- Well, otherwise I would have died and it wouldn't have been fun.
Jeanette looks at Björn and at Bosse.
- Eh, how come you're here, Bosse? I thought you had moved abroad.
Bosse laughs.
- Yes, I have so I'm just visiting and Zak invited me and Björn and we were actually going to drive to the trotting at Solvalla but Zak's car broke down so we had to watch it on TV here and that was lucky for us.
- Okay, what happened at the trotting then?
- Six Alien monsters were born from six horses and the monsters started attacking the audience. Horse number 12 died and it was horse number seven that won.
- Oh no, poor horses.
- It was more a pity for the audience that were attacked by the monsters. How come you're here? Do you live in the area?
Jeanette tells them about what happened when Max ran away and where she lives now and Zak asks if she wants to stay and have a meal with the whole gang and she does. Zak goes out into the garden and gets out his charcoal grill and Jeanette can see the dead Chestburster a little further away in the garden.
Jeanette looks at Björn and they step aside in the garden. Björn is the first to speak.
- Sorry for abandoning you. I should have known better.
- Oh, it wasn't just your fault. I was being stupid. Thanks for saving my life.
- It was the least I could do. Even though you have a new boyfriend, I still like you. You should know that.
- And I like you. You've grown up since we last saw each other.
- You too. I remember when you got so angry when I accidentally burned the pot while making gravy.
- Yeah, heh. I still have that pot even though the handle is gone.
- It's strange that we meet like this after so many years. I live nearby but haven't seen you.
- I live closer to Zinkensdamm. That could be because of that. You said you live near Mariatorget.
- Yes, that could be. Well, it's fun to meet again even if it happened under... dramatic circumstances.
- Hah, yes, you can safely say that.
- You're certainly unique.
- Well, how so?
- Because you took the Chestburster out of your chest. How many facehugger victims have done that, do you think?
- Hmm. You're probably right. That's probably unusual. Well, I got so angry that the facehugger tried to control my fate, so that's mostly why I did it. Besides, I feel like I'm too young to die.
Jeanette and Björn go back to the others and Zak has finished grilling and is serving cutlets and Vera has made a delicious potato salad. Björn offers his liquor and Jeanette pours a small glass of liquor and drinks it quickly. She needs it after what she's been through.
It's getting dark outside and Zak lights several candles and places them on the table where the whole gang is sitting. The incision on Jeanette's chest is a little itchy and she is deeply grateful for the help she received and that she managed to get the Chestburster out of her chest before it was born. Jeanette has no idea where Max has gone and honestly, she doesn't care. Her current boyfriend has to accept that the dog is gone and she doesn't want him to buy a new dog but that will be a later discussion when he gets home from Germany.
Disclaimer: Facehugger, Chestbuster, Alien, Alien Warriors, Alien Queen, PredAlien Bellybursters belongs to Disney/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation