Chapter 2
Synopsis: After reuniting, Scar questions Lex about the killed facehuggers. Lex explains her predicament with Weyland's company. Trent tries to find Lex before the rest of the group does. The Yutani company makes an unexpected appearance. Scar makes a decision for Lex.
"I thought you died." Her voice cracked slightly. A series of clicks followed. She thought he might be laughing, but there was no way to tell. Even though she could not see his eyes, she knew he was looking at her intensely, almost as though he was studying her. It was almost awkward.
"No." a gravelly voice finally replied.
"You could speak this whole time?"
"No."
"Is 'no' all you know how to say?" she asked.
"No," Scar replied. Even without speaking hardly any English, he definitely had a sense of humor. Lex laughed and shook her head.
"We talk… need.. you and I-" Scar snarled frustratedly before he clicked another button on his mask. This time, the voice sounded automated and artificial. It was the translator Oshun had given him.
"I can speak my own tongue. Your tongue is hard but I am trying to learn. I have a translator equipped to my mask if we need to speak, but it uses a large amount of power to my suit. I wanted to know enough human speak without it, but…" he stopped, and turned the button off. Scar walked past her towards the entrance of the underground pyramid. Lex followed, bewildered.
"Are there others?" she asked as they trekked deep into a crevice in the pass. Scar shook his head.
"Alone," he growled.
"Did you signal us?" she asked. Scar nodded.
"Why?" Lex asked. The predator did not respond, instead leading her to a more secluded room deep in the temple. She knew where he was taking her when she caught the scent. Dead, rotting facehuggers lined the acid ridden floor, a decayed Queen shot to a pulp hung from the chains of the ceiling.
"I killed these months ago," Lex stated. Scar whirled around. He pointed at the queen and then back at Lex. She nodded. He turned on the translator Oshen had given him.
"To slaughter the kiande amedha when there is no hunt? This is an offense," Scar said. He seemed angry and bewildered. "Why?" Lex would ask him later what kiande amedha meant, but for now she wanted to ease his outrage.
"These things… I mean, kiande amedha, threaten human existence. If even one were to get out, all of us would be killed." Scar growled slightly, pointed to the button on his arm, and made the hand signal for an explosion. She knew it was the killswitch for all life within miles, his way of saying 'we would never let that happen'.
"It takes one human to find this temple, or any other on the planet. One human comes in contact with an egg, and we all die. That aside, this was not my idea. I didn't have any choice in the matter," she explained. Bitter tears stung the edges of her eyes. A year of being Weyland's slave and the exhaustion of the day finally broke her down. Scar's mask cocked in worried confusion. "Weyland… the older man that you killed… His company is forcing me to exterminate the kiande amedha. I know too much. They want to use me as a pawn to get their hands on your technology. They threatened to kill me if I refused, so… here I am." The predator tensed angrily.
"Kill them. You," he growled in his own voice, his finger meeting his cheek to match where he'd marked her as a warrior. "Them," he shook his head violently in his disapproval of the rest of her species.
"It doesn't work like that on Earth."
"Why?"
"It's more complicated than that. You can't just kill another human on Earth, you go to jail or get executed. I belong to the corporation now. If I refuse," Lex gestured her hands into an explosion. Scar tensed. She could see him shaking slightly.
"I kill man once… Kill again," he growled.
"Weyland has endless copies of himself. No matter what I do or where I go, or how many times he dies, he will find me and make me do whatever needs to be done for the company. You can't help me… I'll be fine. I can handle myself. I'm sorry about killing these, but if that's all you wanted to know… and if you're not going to give Weyland your technology…" The predator shook his head.
"Against code," he said gruffly.
"Then you need to leave. Weyland said he wanted to trade peacefully, but there are twenty armed men behind him, and I know if they can't get your armor peacefully they will take it by force." Scar's shoulders slouched, crestfallen, but not at the challenge against humans. He just didn't want to leave her. He hesitated, standing still in front of her.
"Scar, I don't want you to get hurt or killed." The predator scoffed, offended she would think he would be the one being hurt against a mere twenty humans. Instead of leaving, he sat down on the floor and sprawled out relaxedly. Lex began to feel frustrated.
"I'm serious," Lex said sternly. The predator began to fake snore. Lex rolled her eyes.
"Fine, maybe I don't want you to hurt them." Scar groaned, slightly annoyed.
"No. No leave."
"Why?" Lex asked. Scar shrugged.
"You can't help me. Please, I want to prevent anyone from being hurt," Lex pleaded.
"I leave, Lex hurt."
"You stay, Lex hurt," she retorted.
"Leave. You, me. No hurt then," the predator said bluntly.
"Where? And do what? No matter where I go, Weyland is going to find me. He has a tracker implanted in me, Scar. There's nowhere on the planet I can go and hide. You don't understand, you can't help me" Lex teared up. Scar paused before pressing a button on his arm. A red light scanned Lex, and he saw the small piece of metal embedded into her spine. He ran his hand up her shirt.
"What are you-" Lex paused as she realized what Scar was doing. He brought a finger towards the scar it left, gently tracing it with his nail.
"Hurt," he warned.
"Do it. Get it out of me" she ordered. Scar nodded slightly before pulling the back of her shirt fully up exposing her backside. He pressed another button before a blade sprung from his armband. Carefully, he began to cut into her flesh. Lex let out a pained yelp, jolting slightly. Scar turned on the translator.
"You have to be still. The tracker is right against your spinal cord, and if I am not precise in removing it, it will paralyze you," he warned. Lex nodded, her teeth clenching as he continued to cut deeper into the wound. Carefully, he pulled the small metal piece out and crushed it in his palm. Lastly, he pricked his own finger and let his neon green blood fill the wound before carefully bandaging her back. When Lex turned around, her face was stained with tears from sheer pain.
"Thank you.. fuck that hurt," she cried. Scar gently wiped the tears from her face with his finger which caught Lex off guard. She looked up to meet his face, her heartbeat quickening slightly.
"You, me, leave," he said softly. Scar pointed to her and then pointed to the stars beyond the skylight. Suddenly, Lex understood what he meant.
"I… can't."
"Why?" Scar almost barked. He was once again disappointed. Lex opened her mouth to reply, but had no good answer. Because going to an alien planet full of a species who hunts humans for sport with a stranger - who is also an alien - is a bad idea? she thought. Staying on Earth under Weyland's thumb, on the other hand, also sounds like a bad idea. She felt trapped no matter what she did.
I don't want anyone to be killed. Weyland's not even technically alive anyways and everyone else are just foot soldiers, they're not worth your time," she murmured. Scar ignored her and continued to pretend to sleep. Lex sighed irritably.
"You're so damn stubborn, you know that?" she sighed in vexation. "Well, if I can't change your mind I guess I'll just sleep too. Or try to, at least." Lex was exhausted, and she had a feeling tomorrow would be even more eventful than today. She laid down beside the predator, her back turned to him as she tried to sleep. Several minutes passed before she realized she was freezing. On the damp, cold stone floor of the temple buried deep in the permafrost of the tundra, heat drained from her quickly. Her body shivered. Scar could see in his mask that her body temperature was dropping, especially around her extremities.
"Cold to die," Scar murmured.
"I'm freezing to death," Lex corrected him through chattering teeth.
"Freezing to death," he repeated. Scar suddenly stood up. "Wait."
He stalked off quietly until the temple grew silent. Half an hour passed before the shivering Lex heard the faintest whisper of movement inside. Suddenly, a grizzly bear pelt dropped in front of her along with the predator looming over. Lex let out a small shriek of surprise. The Yautja laughed in a series of low clicks.
"Scaring me is a hobby of yours, isn't it?" she asked. He seemed pleased with himself. Lex touched the bear pelt, perfectly scraped of its flesh and soft to the touch. In all honesty, it grossed her out, and she felt bad he killed this poor animal just for her, but she knew it would offend him if she showed any displeasure.
Scar placed it on the ground next to her and motioned for her to move. She did so, and once she was atop it Scar draped the other side around her. An eight foot tall alien who hunts humans for sport is tucking me in, she thought, suppressing a smile at the oddity of the situation.
"Warm?" he asked. Lex nodded.
"I will be soon… It's so soft. Thank you," she yawned, sleep finally demanding her to surrender. Scar preened beneath his armor, pleased with her admiration for his kill. He sat next to her, watching her sleep. Lex felt him watching her. She looked up at him with hooded, half-asleep eyes.
"If you take a picture, it will last longer" she whispered. A moment passed before she heard a camera-like click from inside his mask. Lex smiled and heard another click a second later. She weakly smacked him. Scar turned his head and let her sleep, purring softly and contentedly with her next to him. Whatever the morning would bring, they would deal with it later.
xxx
Only a few hours had passed when Lex was jolted awake to the sound of footsteps. The predator beside her was gone. Daylight still had not come, and the temple was dark. What worried Lex wasn't that there were footsteps, but what kind of sound they were making: clunky, loud, like a human wearing boots. Certainly not the quiet panther-like footsteps of Scar. Someone's here, she thought anxiously, and it wasn't Scar.
"Lex?" a whisper called out into the darkness. The light from the scope of a machine gun entered the room, the footsteps coming within a few feet of her. She knew who it was at that moment, and knew who was surely watching close behind with invisible eyes.
"Oh, fuck," she cussed. Trent heard her voice and turned to face her.
"What, not happy to see me or someth-" his sentence was cut short by Scar's outline appearing suddenly between him and Lex. A large clawed hand smacked the machine gun out of his hand and picked the much smaller man up by his throat. Lex futilely pulled on the predator's heavily muscled arm.
"No, please don't hurt him!" she begged Scar. He paused just short of eviscerating the man before turning to Lex, then back to Trent. Petulantly, he threw the human male in the opposite direction and turned towards Lex. The predator put his hand gently on the back of Lex's neck protectively and pushed his forehead to hers.
"I'm alright," Lex murmured.
"Get your fucking hands off her you monster!" Trent screamed as he ran at the predator with a bowie knife. Scar turned around and grabbed him by the head, the knife clattering off his armor without even a scratch. The human realized that this beast could crush his skull like a grape if he wanted to. Scar turned on the translator.
"Why do you ask me to spare him if he is working for the one who threatens to hurt you?" Scar asked her suspiciously.
"He's not here to hurt me, Scar."
"I came to rescue her from you," Trent interrupted. Scar regarded him icily and dropped him.
"Me?" he snarled astoundedly.
"You sick fucks hunt and kill humans for sport, yes, from you," Trent screamed at him.
"Trent, Scar's different. He saved my life before. He isn't here to hurt me or anyone. This isn't a trap; he just wanted to know why the facehuggers and queen were killed. That's it, and then he's leaving." Scar glanced at her briefly.
"Oh what, is he your fucking boyfriend?" Trent half-laughed, half-mocked. This piqued the predator's interest. Lex's eyes narrowed angrily.
"Go, Trent."
"If you think Weyland's letting him leave, you're crazy. We're going to blow this animal to pieces and take whatever's left of him when we're finished. I'm going to keep that mask for myself," Trent spat at Scar. Scar clicked lowly, growling something to himself in his own language. Whatever he was saying, it sent chills up Lex's spine.
"Anyone who comes to this temple, Scar is going to kill. Go relay that to Weyland and see if he still wants to try to get his armor," Lex gritted. "Also, tell Weyland I'm done working for him. I don't care if he wants me dead." Trent stood still, gobsmacked that she stood by the predator instead of him. He felt embarrassed now by his failed attempt to rescue his hypothetical maiden.
"Leave," she added. Trent's lips grew tight.
"You're going to regret this," he spat before leaving.
"We need to leave now. Please. I'm begging you," Lex pleaded to the predator.
"Us leave," he pointed to the stars once again.
"I can't."
"Can."
"And do what? I'm not meant to be on another planet. We're not even the same species. Your kind hunts my kind for fun," she argued. Scar stood in front of her awkwardly, almost shyly. He tentatively reached out his clawed hand, and with a gentleness that surprised Lex he caressed the mark he'd given her. Lex knew he viewed her no differently than any member of his own species, perhaps even higher.
"Please," he almost begged.
"I'm sorry."
He growled irritably. As stubborn as the young Yautja was, he finally relented, his shoulder slumped in defeat.
"Okay." Lex let out a sigh of relief. She just wanted to get out of here before a bloodbath started.
"Thank you," she murmured. Scar beckoned for her to follow him. She did so, and they quickly made their way towards the entrance of the temple. Scar became invisible, but she felt his much larger hand grasp on to hers. They took a few steps into the night. Muzzle flash from a sniper illuminated the bullet striking Scar's chest. He let out a surprised snarl of pain and his cloaking device faltered. Neon green blood oozed from his wound, and he quickly picked Lex up and stumbled behind the stone into safety.
"Scar? Oh my God, are you okay?" Lex panicked. The predator only gave a pained growl in response before a voice was heard outside the temple.
"This is the Yutani Corporation. For all humans in the temple, please exit and you will remain unharmed. We demand a full surrender of all Yautja specimens. This is not a request. You are surrounded and fighting will be futile," a woman's voice screeched over a megaphone. Scar pressed several buttons on his wrist, a light flashed outward and took a scan of his surroundings. There were not in fact just twenty armed men of Weyland Industries outside, but eighty from Yutani armed with anti-Yautja technology.
xxx
Scar snarled at her as he frantically tried to remove the bullet lodged in his shoulder. The woman with the megaphone continued to bark distant orders as Scar leaned on Lex, leading them deeper into the temple.
"Yutani is a different company, I swear to you I did not know there were more. I-I'm so sorry," Lex shrieked. This is bad. This is very, very bad. The Yautja stopped once the bullet was pulled out. It was not a normal bullet, and instead expanded into a wide claw-like shape within the body to cause more damage. It was clearly designed with Yautja in mind. Scar began injecting his oozing wound with some unknown substance. He breathed painfully and stood up to keep running but staggered, catching himself on the wall of the temple.
"Stop, you're bleeding too much," Lex pleaded softly.
"Come," he gruffed. She could hear his lung gurgling in his chest and his breath rasping. Lex followed him closely, endless echoes of footsteps following them throughout the stone temple like a war chant. Usually, the predator moved nimbly, but his gait was staggered. A green trail of blood stained the floor. The bullet had clearly done an immense amount of damage. The footsteps were gaining on them as they ran through the maze of underground tunnels.
Suddenly Scar stopped. He motioned for Lex to hide behind stone as she was unarmed. He waited until the first of Yutani's men entered. Two he shot instantly before they had a chance to fire and then he ducked behind the stone to a barrage of bullets. Scar threw one of his blasters to her. He was going to cover her.
The predator stood up and began firing rapidly. Most of Yutani's men ducked, but some continued to fire. Another bullet struck the Yautja, this time in the arm. His scanner took some of the shrapnel, and his mapping system completely went offline. He growled. Lex stood up and picked the remaining men off with each shot, three in total. The sound of footsteps paused for a moment before more could be heard in the distance. Scar beckoned her to run, and he followed close behind. She could hear his breathing becoming rapid and shallow.
"Close," he rasped, waving to a staircase. They climbed the steps quickly, several seconds later the sound of the footsteps behind them also met the stairs. Scar's step faltered and he nearly fell, catching his balance. Green blood oozed from out of his mouth under his mask with every breath.
"No, no, no… we have to keep going, c'mon Scar. You can do it. Please, I can't lose you again," the human cried, leaning under his arm to help support his immense weight. He was bleeding out. One of Yutani's men had caught up close behind them. Lex shot him, his deadweight falling down the stairs and knocking several other of Yutani's men down in the process. That will buy us some time, she thought.
When they reached the top of the staircase they were greeted with early morning light. It was serene and quiet, with gentle snow falling, the antithesis of the bloodbath behind them. Scar threw a grenade into the entrance, the beeping growing more distant until a large explosion collapsed the stone behind them. Scar pressed a button on his wrist to call the nearby ship. He knew Lex's wishes were not to come with him, but he was left with no other choice.
Scar was panting hard. Lex's relief was short-lived. A gunshot from a far away sniper rang out. This one hit Lex in the side, and she buckled to the ground with a scream. Out of range of his heat sensing and weaponry, the predator draped his body over Lex protectively. Two more bullets struck him in the back, and Scar snarled with each hit. The wind whirled around them until Lex looked up and saw the extremely large spacecraft above them beginning to land. A barrage of bullets hit the ship, and as it landed a ramp extended. Scar staggered with Lex in his arms, another bullet striking the back of his leg and causing him to fall to his knee. He quickly pushed on until they were out of the line of fire, growled something urgent to the Elder on board, then collapsed. The ship rose, zipping off at lightspeed into the blackness of space.