Marc Cerasini - AVP - Alien vs. Predator

Miller pushed and squirmed against the cocoon. Then he saw Verheiden’s gun, still in its shoulder holster.

With one eye on the twitching egg, Miller stretched his arm. He could just barely touch the butt of the weapon.

The egg quivered and its lips parted. Long white legs emerged, probing the air.

Summoning all of his strength, Miller threw his body forward until his fingers closed on the handle. As the hugger leaped, Miller pulled the gun out of its holster and fired off a shot.

The hugger blew apart in midair.

Yet when it struck the floor—even with half its legs blown away—the stubborn creature still struggled to rise. Miller fired off two more rounds; each smashed the thing like a hammer.

“Score one for the Beakers,” he said.

Though sweet, Miller’s triumph was short-lived. Just beyond the dead face hugger, the stone floor was littered with dozens of quivering eggs, each one pulsing with unearthly life.

Lex watched through the peephole as the Predator who had just bloodied himself now gutted and dressed its kill in the adjacent chamber. The thunderbolt he had seared onto his own forehead had not only earned him his warrior status but it had also earned him the name “Scar” to the sole humans who had witnessed the events—Lex and Sebastian.

Using its ceremonial knife, Scar stripped the black, rubbery flesh away from the Alien’s jaw and severed the tissue holding the monster’s inner mouth in place. Then the Predator doused its trophy with a liquid solution that neutralized the Alien’s acidic blood. When the task was completed, Scar lay the grisly relic aside and suited up for battle.

For a moment, the creature vanished from sight. Lex pressed her face closer to the peephole, straining to see it. Suddenly, the Predator reappeared—staring through the very peephole she was using. The monster’s sharklike eyes were only inches from her own.

Lex gasped and jumped backwards. After a second or two, she regained her courage and peeked again.

The creature was ready to return to the hunt. It had reattached its metal faceplate, covering its still-seeping, self-inflicted brand of honor. Despite the gloom in the adjacent chamber, Lex could clearly see the same thunderbolt design etched into the creature’s metal mask.

Armor donned, the Predator hefted its spear, draped the trophy around its neck, and moved to the stone slab that separated the chamber of the pillars from the room the humans now occupied.

“He’s out there. Waiting for the door to open,” Lex whispered as she quickly slid on her backpack. At that moment, Sebastian realized they had another pack with them. The one Weyland had carried—the one that contained the Predators’ weapons.

“I think when we took the guns, we upset the order of how things work down here. We tipped the scales.”

Lex retrieved the pack. “He needs his guns back.”

Sebastian glanced at his watch, then shook his head. Time was running out. “When that door opens we’re dead.”

“Not if we set things right.”

Sebastian was astonished. “You can’t be serious.”

“This pyramid. It’s like a prison. We took the guards’ guns and now the prisoners are running free. To restore order, the guards need their guns.”

Sebastian shivered. “Don’t ever use that metaphor again.”

“When the door opens, we’re going to give that thing his gun back.”

“Are you crazy?” Sebastian cried. “You want a metaphor? During a big game hunt, the animals being hunted don’t arm the hunters.”

“They’re not hunting us. We’re in the middle of a war. It’s time to pick a side.”

“We’re on a side. Our side.”

“We have to consider the possibility that we might not make it out of here,” said Lex. “But we have to make sure that those serpents don’t reach the surface, because if they do, everything, everywhere could die.”

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Lex nodded too. “Look. We give him his guns, and if he leaves us alone we can get out of here. All we have to do is hold it together and make it to the surface.”

Sebastian’s watch alarm rang out. Next came the sound of rolling thunder and scraping rock as the pyramid began to reconfigure itself.

“Let’s go find our friend,” Lex commanded.

Sebastian took her arm as they both faced the door. The rumbling continued, but the portal did not budge.

“What happens if this door doesn’t open?”

Lex frowned. “Try to think positively.”

Just then, the stone slab behind them lifted into the ceiling. Sebastian looked over his shoulder. A door on their left had opened too. Beyond it they saw a shambling shape moving through the darkness toward them. It was not humanoid.

“Come on,” Sebastian urged. “We have to get out of here.”

The two ran into the empty corridor, once again lost in the maze of stone. As the pyramid continued to rumble, the walls shed layers upon layers of blinding dust.

Sebastian, who was in the lead, rounded a corner and spied the deep chasm that had opened up in front of them. The pit seemed to be close to a dozen feet across.

Even running at top speed the leap seemed impossible, but they had no choice.

“Get ready to jump!” Sebastian cried.

Without hesitation he hurled himself forward, arms outstretched.

As he arced through the empty air, Sebastian realized how impossible a jump it was—yet he almost made it. Almost.

The breath exploded from his lungs as he slammed into the far ledge. The impact shattered ribs, but he fought back the stabbing pain and clung to the edge nevertheless. His fingernails dug into the joints between the flagstones as he fought to gain a purchase.

Lex struck the wall a moment later, but much lower than Sebastian—so low that her fingers were not able to reach the ledge. Gloves scraping along the rock, Lex slid down the wall, poised to fall at any moment.

With one hand, Sebastian reached out and caught Lex. It was a harsh jerk that stopped her fall. More pain exploded in his chest, but Sebastian refused to let go. Groaning, his fingers dug into Lex’s sleeve and clamped tight. Lex twisted and dangled precariously over the dark abyss.

Hanging there, neither human noticed Scar approach from the opposite side of the chasm. It squatted on its haunches, observing their struggles. Activating its thermal vision, the Predator focused on the woman’s back. Inside of the backpack the plasma gun Lex carried was clearly visible.

Gasping from his Herculean efforts, Sebastian managed to throw one leg over the ledge. He then endeavored to pull both himself and Lex to safety. As sweat poured down his face and burned his eyes, he heard a scrabbling sound—like a hard-shelled crab crossing a rocky beach. He turned to see an Alien face hugger, its barbed appendages clinging to the sheer side of the ledge, closer to Lex than to him.

Sebastian shouted out a warning.

Another face hugger scuttled out from an opening in the rock wall, its tail lashing, slapping at Sebastian’s arm.

“Hang on!” he cried, trying to keep away from the hugger while dragging Lex to safety at the same time.

Looking down at her, Sebastian noticed movement in the shadows. Behind Lex, yet another face hugger was scaling the wall, its tail reaching out to fondle the tip of her boot.

Sebastian lashed out with his fist to smash the spidery horror tittering near his head. Knocked from its perch, the face hugger emitted a shrill shriek as it plunged helplessly into the abyss.

Only two face-hugging monsters remained. One scrabbled up the wall, its tail slapping Sebastian’s cheek as it passed. He nearly slipped from the ledge, but he caught himself just in time. Sebastian’s jerky movement came close to dislodging Lex as well.