Note: I do not own the xenomorph, nor this is traditional xenomorph from the movies. Clearly, they are merely movie, while this is the 'real' grin

Note 2: This is a sequel to "Of Dream and Xenomorph", I would highly recomment reading that one first.

Of Hunt and Change

The Hunt

I am over-excited. This will be the first time I get to join a Hunt! I've been waiting for days for this opportunity. And it is a human target at that! They would not normally send a newly converted like me on a human Hunt since it is much more dangerous than simple animal targets. But I got luck out it seem!

The Hive has been watching this area for a while now. The human houses are far in-between, all surrounded by trees, with little to no road traffic. It is a bit far from the Hive, but not too far to operate. Mother wish us to clear out this area of human inhabitants. Eat them, or bring them back if possible. It need to be done before her plan could progress, she said. She won't tell us what the plan was when we asked, but we trust her all the same. She's the Mother and the Empress after all, she know better than us mere drones.

And so here I am, in the brush outside a lonely house on the mountain, watching the target patiently. The female creature seem to be alone, there is no sign of other humans activity nearby. Me and my hunt mates have cut the phone line going to her house, and we've made sure that nearby mobile relays are out of service. She won't be calling out for help.

This is almost too easy.

It is nearly midnight now and she's still staring at her computer screen typing furiously. I wonder if I should just jump through the window at her, though that would make too much a mess. We want her to be seen as disappeared, not get attacked by ‘unknown creature’ lurking in the mountain. I crawl out the brush and hidden right under the window she was at, peering in carefully. And I gasp in shock at the sight of my first target.

Sarah. My girl friend…the only one I ever had…

‘Mother, what do I do, ’ I whisper to the Empress, my thought-voice nearly in panic. ‘to her I…I can’t…’

‘If you don’t want to hurt her, then why not bring her back?’ She whisper back calmly.

I slump to the ground, thoughts going on in my head. I can’t kill her, no way. The order was to eat or capture. And it is far enough from the hive for us to not bring our targets back. No, leave her here is not an option either. If others think I have failed, they may decide to just kill her on the spot. The only way to ensure her alive is to bring her back to the hive.

I sigh in my mind. Of all the humans, it is her I don’t want to do this to. But it would be for her best, after all…

I raise up to peer into the window again, when she suddenly decided to turn my way. I quickly drop to the ground and hidden. I swear she saw me, the way she’s now looking around nervously. How should I do this? I can’t just barge in. I want her to be clear of the house first. Then an idea come to me.

I crawl around the house and come to the front door and carefully ring the bell.

I wait a while and no answer, so I ring again.

“Who’s there!” She yell back, clearly not expect anyone at her door at midnight. I make sure she could not peer out and see me out here, before ring the bell for the third time. Another pause.

“I’m calling the police right now if you’re trying anything!” She yell out. She is not calling anywhere tonight, we have made sure of that. “And I have weapon!”

Damn! If she has a gun and use it, it’ll make a loud noise alarming all other humans in the area! I can’t have that! I carefully move as close to the door as possible and be hidden from her sight, and ring again.

There is longer pause this time, before I finally hear clicks of the locks. And the door slowly swing open. She’s probably hiding behide the door herself, for I see no one inside. I keep myself hidden to the side as she probably trying to figure out who ring her door bell. She slowly come out of her hiding, her eyes looking to the darkness outside in confusion before closing the door again.

I took this opportunity and quickly dart through the closing door. She shriek. I quickly silence her with my claw-hands and hiss in my warmest voice possible, trying to tell her I’m not going to hurt her. But her eyes widen in shock and terrified and start pounding at me. I hiss again trying to calm her down, but it seem to have the opposite effect as I suddenly feel sharp pain in my side. Melting knife dropped to the floor with a clank as I release her from my grasp and feel acid blood oozing and threatening to drop to the floor and make a clear evident of alien attack to any investigator who will be coming.

I hiss, trying to stop my acid blood when I realize my target…Sarah, I correct, has already darted out of the door and taken her bike with her, obviously trying to out-bike a xenomorph’s chase. A can’t help but feeling amused at the thought.

‘As if she would actually escape me on such a thing’

Then the scene flash-back in my mind, of a night that feel like a lifetime ago. Of me run out of my room and on my bike, imagining it would out-run the xenomorph that was at my window. Its smooth, dome head with sharp and dangerous looking jaw that look like having a drooling problem.

And I look at myself for the third time…How I must have look grabbing her with my claws, holding her captive, and hisses at her with my teeth-filled jaw…

I had just done exactly what that xenomorph had try to do that night, except this time, I am the xenomorph and my girl friend is running away from me in terror. Maybe I could let her escaped, but that doesn’t guarantee she would be safe either. No. The only way to be sure of that would be for me to get her back to the safety of the hive, before mother’s plan set in motion.

I have to catch her before she reach nearby town!!

And I chase after her, using the darkness and the trees as my cover. The way is downhill and she seem to be pounding at the gear as if her life depended on it…well, in a sense, it is. I chase after her, gaining closer as the town drawing near. Xenomorphs are fast. But with her going dangerously fast downhill, it take time to gain the distant I lost while I was paralyzed. And there’re only a few more curves between her and the town, and all would be lost forever.

I run in my full speed, eventually drop my cloaking of the trees and come running on the road. Only the next curve, and she’s gaining fast! There’s no way I can out-run her before she reach the town and out of my reach!

When suddenly, my hunt mate come out of the brush just before the curve and wipe at the bike with his tail. She shriek as she fly and land face-first on the hard concrete. She moans in pain, cuts and brushes can be found on her face and her body as I stop and inspect her.

‘I’ve already deal with another target when I sensed this one come running. You want to bring her back, I presume?’ my hunt mate ask.

‘Yes. Let me handle her myself,’ I say and pick her up on my shoulder before start back a long way toward the hive. She has fell unconscious from the impact and the shock that follow, thankfully. So she couldn’t try to stab me with things or making noise again as I head back into the trees.

It take sometimes to reach the hive in the nearby mountain. She eventually woke up and start shrieking loudly once again, but we’re in a safe distant from any human habitation now. She eventually stop shrieking and try to struggle away from me, but I hold her fast with my iron grip until we reach the safety of the hive. I sense she freeze up in terror once again at the sight of my home.

I chuckles inwardly, remembering it was my own reaction that lifetime ago.

‘Don’t worry Sarah, it all will be for your own good’ I touch her with my mind, though I know she could not receive it, yet.

I bring us in through the dark tunnels and to a conversion chamber. I pin her up on a wall and restrict her with resin from my mouth, before start covering her with special hive-substance that that alien had used on me that night before. She begin to panic again, but I do not worry now. I shall protect her, the hive shall protect her, and she will soon wake up and be with me once again.

To be continue . . .

Annop ‘Nargus’ Prapasapong
Monday, May 19, 2008