chiv-id: Okay, haven't updated this in a while, so I hope you all enjoy!
Gr'aal: We have been waiting for an eternity, ooman! Give us the chapter!
chiv-id: Alright, alright, jeez...put the spear down and let me do the disclaimer and then you can read:
Disclaimer: chiv-id doesn't own AVP, but she does own the village of Moon's Guardian and Umpala Gwi and all of the rest of the villagers. Continue.
The Soft-Hearted Are Not Weak
Chapter 3: Losing Our Own
There was no glass on the window, unlike her grandfather's hut, which was good because the silver-tipped claw would have broke it and the glass would have rained down on Little Loon. Little Loon screamed as she turned back to the window to stare, the black claw reaching for her and she swiveled around to run. The claw was accurate, however, and quickly snatched the back of Little Loon's sleeveless shirt, her body being dragged back through and Shandra could only scream and sprint forward in an attempt to get to her. Damn, why did there have to be so many fleeing women and children?!?
"UMPALA!!!" was Little Loon's last cry as the claw managed to pull her in, her hands and feet scraping along the edges of the window. Shandra finally managed to get through the crowd and she burst forward, sliding into the health bay and found that one grown black Alien had managed to somehow get in and was now watching over the newly formed ones. Face huggers were coming in and attaching themselves to the helpless victims, prone and defenseless because of their wounds. Looking up for a brief second, Shandra realized that it had broken though the roof. She saw her sister in its clutches, holding out an eager face hugger, its impregnating tube waving back and forth from under the creature. Little Loon was so scared and stared at it, but she constantly was edging away, despite the Alien's hold on her. Upon seeing her, Little Loon screamed, alerting the Alien to her sister's presence.
"UMPALA! HELP ME!" she cried out, the Alien dropping her and flinging the face hugger at her, the white spider-like creature's tail flailing for its new victim.
"Imeala! I'm coming!" Shandra yelled to her, trying to keep her calm while pulling out a machete and cleaving the face hugger in two. Glancing around, she was glad that her grandfather was moved to his own hut for medical attention, but was sad to see so many suffer. She immediately went for the Alien, since she'd have to kill the Alien to get to the face huggers and their victims. The warriors behind her were invisible, proceeding to slice the face huggers off of the wounded villagers' faces. Some were lucky, coughing up the birthing fluid and the fetus, others were already too advanced in the stages and the Predators had no choice but to give them a merciful death. Shandra was stalking towards the beast, acting true to her name, slinking like a panther readying for a kill. The Alien went on all fours and began to slowly crawl its way towards her, its lips curling back and revealing its sharp silver teeth in thrill of its newest rival. Then, they stopped and they faced each other, Shandra's muscles visibly quivering with anticipation, the Xenomorph's tail whipping around crazily.
Finally, they sprang forward, bursting with energy and vigor and they smashed against each other, Shandra trying to stab the beast while the Xenomorphs clawed and bit at her. She managed to get her machetes in an X-shape in front of her which stopped the head from plowing into her, but the claws were raking at her sides, its inner mouth slipping through the machetes and snapping at her. Snarling, she used her machetes like a scissor and closed on the inner mouth, easily separating it from its host. The Xenomorph screeched in pain, backing away and slamming its tail into her, sending her into a few tables and knocking some of the dead patients to the floor. She looked at the Xenomorph with rage from her sitting position at the wall and stood up, her blood leaking from the sides of her, a painful reminder of how she forgot to get her armor. Shandra managed to climb over the knocked over furniture and stood before it again, this time, with a bigger clearance space, circled it. The creature did the same, accepting the challenge.
"Umpala…" Little Loon cried, her high-pitched whines and sobs were getting to Shandra, knowing that her safety was first on the to-do list. Moving forward a little, she managed to make the black beast move back, a little intimidated after losing its second mouth. Little Loon looked up at her sister, who was motioning with her elbow to get out. Little Loon's escape was narrow, but this was as good as the going was going to get. Little Loon stopped crying for a second, wiping away the tears before preparing to launch herself threw the opening of the hut. Shandra then began running diagonally, helping to block her sister as Little Loon ran. The Alien sprang forth, angered that Shandra was trying to make an escape with his other prey. Shandra flung one machete after the other, one catching on its neck, the other in its leg, making the creature crash into the floor, hard. Squealing in pain, the Xenomorph opened its mouth and flung out its decapitated second mouth, the end still attached flinging out the acidic blood. Shandra had turned when she had downed the creature, but cried out in pain as she felt the acid eat at her back. Quickly applying the milk of magnesia, it cooled the effects somewhat, but it already had done its job. A claw sank itself into her ankle and she pushed Little Loon out, who scrambled away. Happy for a moment, angry at the next, Shandra looked down on the floor, she found the Xenomorph preparing to shoot more acid at Shandra. A last resort, she took the spear still strapped to her back and used her back as an angling tool, as if she were playing pool. Giving a grunt, she shoved the stick back, her hand soon leaking blood as she shoved the blunt end of the spear into the Xenmorph's mouth, the metal and stone end cutting her hand. It screeched for a moment and let her go, giving Shandra the time to slip the weapon out and use the real end. She rammed the pointed end through the monster's mouth, twisting until it came out the back, though the head of the spear was now melted off. The Xenomorph fell dead, the acidic blood leaving no trace of the weapon that had killed it except for the end Shandra held. Tossing it, she sighed and ran a hand through her wild hair, getting out her marker and marking it, still keeping to tradition.
'Well, grandfather would scold me if I didn't do it anyway…' she thought, tearing the marker away after it sunk itself into the flesh of the creature.
"We managed to save some of your people," rumbled Gr'aal, his invisibility distorting the air, then turning off, "But the rest, we had to give them peace." Shandra came over to her dead comrades, some she recognized, others she didn't. After praying for the Moon Goddess to take them into their kingdom, she turned to her now visible allies. She nodded, understanding what would have happened to them. She noticed that a few of the Predators were carrying the now dead corpses of the baby aliens.
"These are called chest bursters," Brech'Tinith explained, seeing her coming over and inspecting the odd and tiny alien life-less in his hands, "They dwell within the confines of the chest until they are ready." She nodded in understanding before walking past them, going through the outside of the tent to look for her sister. Little Loon was in her hut, as Shandra had guessed, since that was the place Shandra had always told her to go to whenever there was trouble.
"Imeala, there you are. It's alright, the monsters are dead…" Shandra told her, Little Loon running into her arms and Shandra picked her up, holding her while she carried her over to her grandfather's hut. Little Loon was crying and sniffling, telling her sister of her fears and Shandra just nodded to them. They entered the tent, seeing their grandfather on the bed with his eyes wide open. He had heard every last scream, every terrified man, woman, and child that had been at the medical hut.
"I…I wasn't there…" K'emph said, feeling as though he had betrayed his village, "I did not protect them…" Shandra knew that his misery stemmed from his inability to fight, and she let Little Loon down. Both girls went to their grandfather and hugged him. He was the only family they had ever truly known, the leader of their village. To see him break down…it only dimmed their hopes.
"Grandfather…you were injured, it is not your fault…" Shandra told him, Little Loon nodding in agreement, "Do not blame yourself…"
"Oh my grandchildren…" K'emph smiled for a moment, then it fell, "If I do not survive…you must take my place…"
"What?" Shandra blinked, confused by her chieftain's words. What was he talking about? Wait…what was that noise?
"Grandfather…no…" Shandra heard odd cracking noises, as if bones were breaking. She began crying, Little Loon sobbing as well as they hugged their grandfather, still holding on as if that would stop the noise.
"Umpala…Gwi…you are…the new…aaahhh!" he yelled, the cracking abruptly growing louder as an odd swelling appeared in the middle of his chest. The girls screamed, seeing their grandfather in pain. K'emph was thrashing about, making groans and grunts, the swelling growing bigger and bigger. Shandra just shook her head in denial, Little Loon hugging her sister for support as silent tears streamed from her eyes, wide open and staring at the chest burster-to-be. K'emph screamed out in agony, his mouth open wide as it burst forth with a spray of blood, the chest burster screeching in a tinny voice.
"Chief…tain…" his last word, dubbing her the leader of their village. The chest burster quickly slithered away and Shandra only sat on the floor, clutching to her sister as she was clutching to her. They cried, the traumatic moment only lasting a minute or two, vanishing and leaving two girls with their dead grandfather and an evil Alien baby slithering away. Shandra just sat there, not believing that it had happened all so quickly…and yet, in those few moments, her grandfather, one of her last relatives and certainly last elder, had died. She looked down slowly, tears coming to her eyes quickly and they dropped on her sister's head, buried in her chest. Meanwhile, Gr'aal and the others were discussing what to do.
"The hard-meats are obviously pulling their young from the oomans surrounding this particular temple…this temple…" Gr'aal was contemplating the implications, "Hun'ett, bring up the map for this area." Hun'ett, a smaller Yautja, held out his arm, a band stretching from his wrist to his elbow, the band being a computer and it brought up a green holographic map.
"Pauk…I knew it," Gr'aal cursed, "This is one of the temples we used to hunt at before the Great Defeat." He sighed as he sat on a man-made chair, glaring at the map.
"Well, I suppose we should finish up then," Gr'aal said, "Everyone, prepare your gear. We go to hunt!" Several enthusiastic roars were issued, alarming many of the villagers, but continued on in preparing the burial of their dead with fear and grief. They had lost many and those who were close to losing their loved ones were even more thankful that they were still here. Shandra watched all the proceeds with a cold look, gritting her teeth, her heart hardened as she swore that she would avenge her own. They would pay…oh, how those black beasts would pay…
Shandra: ...
chiv-id: Uh...Shandra? You okay?
Shandra: You killed my grandfather, how else am I supposed to react?
chiv-id: Yeah...sorry...let's give Shandra a few breather moments and then I'll update the next one. Reviews, I need 'em!