The twisted walls 

{no pictures} {disclaimer in author notes} 

Within agony, blood dripped… within agony the alien coughed up black blood…. And within agony, hypertension filled its lungs, while the dim fire steamed its drool… with an empty mind, it sat there in hyperventilating breaths… there with twisted bones and torn skin, the alien heard the sounds of the living! Smelled their scent… heard their steps… and craved their meat! And with a roar, it disappeared into the vents! 

As for Aaron, the invisible smoke clouded his breaths, while choking his lungs, which deceived him… as the darkened corridors confused him, all while Marvin limped with his infected leg to a stop. 

[we can't stop Marvin! Who knows when another one of those things… will come running at us!] said Aaron with a somber head turn. 

[cough… you think I don't know that! Sigh, it's not like I want to stop… aw…] replied Marvin as he looked at the bleeding bandages. 

[ha… you and I both know… that at the end of all this… there will mostly likely be a hard choice to make…] continued Marvin with a spit. 

[don't talk like that Marvin…] replied Aaron with an empty face. . 

[just…just promise me…one thing…. Only one… that should it ever come to that…] 

[I know… I won't let them take you…] replied Aaron with resolution written on his face. 

[no... not that you fool! Let them take me… just don't look back! Every second matters…] replied Marvin with stern eyes. 

While the ceiling above their head's creek! And with a silent stare, the pair looked behind them to see a panel suddenly fall from the roof! Its fall broke the silence and awoke the dead as the bodies on the floor turned their heads! And with their choirs of moans, came the sound of a low hiss that sounded sickly… with a mix of a gurgling sound as a prefix… 

And with that sound, another panel fell… then another in rapid succession! With their little fire, the pair ran with what they could! But the panels were catching up to them! When the last one arrived above Marvin's head, out came pustular hands with skin tears! 

Yanking Marvin away, Aaron shot a round into the empty space! Hitting the alien square in the chest! However, it did not react as Aaron had wished! It didn't scream, as it didn't care about the hole in its chest, it only wanted to feed! 

Though Aaron could not see the alien through the small light of his fire, he could hear it chasing them! He could hear it pushing away the other dead at its feet! He could hear the sickening noise as it snorted… 

He could feel the thump of its steps… as it was getting closer with each zombie it killed! With each sharp turn of the stairway, Aaron felt the vibrations of the alien slamming into the rails! Berserk and consumed with hunger, the alien ran as its flesh left it, while it trailed off its blood behind its steps, its horns just barely out of reach of the slow-running Marvin! 

As gunshots echoed in the halls, fate seemed to smile on the pair, as the wooden beans above their heads came crashing down! Bring with it zombies and metal! Right between the alien and his horns! But undeterred the alien let out a mighty roar! 

Smiling at fate's gift, Aaron rushed to add more obstacles in its path! But seeing the old bookshelves, and abandoned dirty drums of cabinets, Marvin knew better…that this… all this that Aaron was doing…was just a waste of time! 

[Aaron…stop] called out Marvin as he put a hand on Aaron's shoulder. 

[what do you mean stop? Better yet… why did you stop!] replied Aaron exhaustedly 

[come… you know as much as I do this is just a waste of time! Once it gets through all those zombies these child games won't stop it…] 

[Ah!!! I know! but what else can we do? The stairway... It's gone…] replied Aaron with hopelessness as the pair stared at the empty space that connects the next set of stairs. 

[your right... There is no we… only you…] replied Marvin 

[Marvin… no…] said Aaron in denial 

[did you already forget?] replied Marvin with a smile 

[I said no!] called out Aaron 

[sigh, look Aaron… I'm already a dead man…] 

[what do you mean! You're fine! It's just a leg injury!] 

[Hmph…. It wasn't just a leg injury] replied Marvin as he showed his badly bleeding leg. 

[As you can see Aaron… that bastard horn… it….it reached me!] 

[so, what! What does that have to do with anything!] 

[Gosh dammit Aaron! Look at the wound! Even a guy as dense as you should be able to tell… I'm infected…] 

[infected with what?] 

[Oh! Come on now, Aaron... Even you must have heard the stories…] 

[Ah! Those are just bedtime stories! No one knows if they're true!] 

[Ha! Look around you, Aaron! We've been a bedtime story since the beginning! Cough…] 

As the pair argued, the alien slammed itself against the bookshelves! Hearing the bang, Marvin began coughing out blackish blood clots into his hand! While staring into his hand, Marvin looked at Aaron and said: 

[cough… Aaron. I'm done arguing! There is no time! Leave me and go! You can make the jump! I'll hold it off…] 

[with what! That tiny handgun of yours! No! If you're staying so I'm I] 

[You idiot! Like I told you before I'm already a dead man! Just look at me! Look at my hand!] 

Staring at the blood clot in Marvin's hand, Aaron knew but didn't wish to acknowledge it… until he heard a slow creaking of the bookshelf as it was breaking apart! With an alien arm swiping and grasping at the air…. 

With eyes closed, Aaron took in one last long breath, before looking up and saying with much heartache: 

[good luck…] 

With a smile and a subtle chuckle, Marvin helped push Aaron across the large crevice! As Aaron landed on the other side with a stumble, he turned around to say his last goodbyes, when a bag suddenly came flying at his face! Catching it, he opened it to find Marvin's gun and ammo! 

Confused he looked up to see Marvin smiling while holding another gun in his hand, he then yelled with a cheer: 

[ha! That's my gun sister… take good care of her!] 

With those words as a final exchange, the bookshelves crumbled as the drums of cabinets were pushed aside as mere pillows in the wake of the alien! And so, with a hungry growl! The alien pounced toward Marvin as he let out his final rounds! 

Hearing the gunshot shot at his back, Aaron ran with everything he had… 

But while Aaron made his way down, Breder looked at his children in their pods and gave out a big sigh, as he looked at all the points he had to spend on a gamble. A gamble that even if it worked, would only net him mediocre results… but for the sake of saving his own skin, it was a result he could accept. 

And with that acceptance came, what he feared most, as Vice chimed in his warning about how Breder had lost control of a 'unit'! Knowing this could happen, Breder needs to escape as quickly as possible and stop any more of his children from digging any further in this area! 

{it all needs to be purged by fire!} thought Breder to himself as heard the cracks in his children's cocoons! 

{finally, we can start moving! I was getting tired of waiting!} continued Breder 

While Breder hid his anxiety, with placating thoughts, his three children crawled their way out of their cocoons! Standing tall and with their crowns that symbolized their station, the three bowed to their father and glazed him with words of praise! 

{yes... yes.... I know you are happy about your sudden evolution, but will you all please come down!} screamed Breder in annoyance! 

Adhering to their father's wishes, the triplets calmed down and allowed Breder to give them a once over, to find anything abnormal that may have happened during the supposedly risky evolution. 

{vice! Is everything ok with the three?} 

[Bing! Scan shows that everything is as it should be... But there was some… kind of anomaly… it's in their bone structures… umm…] 

{is it bad? Will it affect their ability to fight?} 

[It shouldn't but…. In fact, it might even help them… if only a little bit… with their flexibility with their joints.] 

{phew, as long as it won't adversely affect them, then I guess it's fine.} 

But with those words exchanged with Vice, the kids were busy playing tricks with their abnormal joints, as they performed strange acrobatics even for an alien! And with a clap, the three stood at attention and followed Breder's finger as he pointed up. Confused and with a look that begged for question, Breder simply said: 

{were going up!} 

So, with a cheer of smiles, the group began the way up, by traversing the underground ceiling and avoided any needless confrontation along the way, even when some of the spitters in the group were having trouble holding in their overzealous drool, that dripped onto the heads of mindless creatures. 

However curious, Breder continued to stare at the beasts that walked with chains and spears and began to think: 

{hmm… those spears…I wonder…} 

With such wondering thoughts creeping into his mind, he formulated a plan, as if he wanted a spear for himself! Watching their father pause for but a moment, the kids looked below them to the sea of wandering beasts and then back to their father with questioning gazes. 

[Father… why are you looking at them? Are we not heading to the next floor?] asked the child warrior with eagerness to please 

{we are… but first… I need to get my hands on one of those spears! But how is the question?} 

[we could melt one with our acid… father] spoke a timid spitter 

{acid spit is not a bad idea but, instead of melting one creature in all that mess… hmm… how good is your aim my children?} replied Breder. 

With confidence both spitter aliens smiled and said in unison: 

[the best!] 

As to prove their confidence, Breder smiled back and pointed his finger at the chains on one of the slowest-moving wendigos of the group! Assuming to know what, their father wanted, the pair took aim and fired, however, one of them fired slightly later than the other. 

As one ball of acid hit the chain, melting it… corroding it… while the other one hit Wendigo's bare ankle! Chewing through its aged bones and decaying flesh! Causing the wendigo to fall to the floor free but unable to walk! 

With pride and satisfaction at his children's ability, he waited patiently on the dark ceiling, as the other wendigos left behind their kin. When the tunnel was silent but the cries of a single moan, Breder let go, and with a thud sound at his feet, Breder turned his tail into a spear and impaled the wendigo! 

The wendigo oozed his blood but not of pain, instead, it still kept its bord dead expression… until it slowly turned his head around… and when his deadeyes finally met flesh for the first time in centuries… a ravenous mutation took hold! 

With a horrid deer call, the weak arms of the wendigo… transformed into the arms of a monster! With burly hands, whose strength seemed to come from nowhere, grabbed hold of Breder's tail! Shocked and unable to pull his tail out! Breder saw the creature's jaw become like that of a shark, not one to hesitate with his life, Breder didn't waste a second to chop off his own tail! As the wendigo curled itself like a snake devouring the tail! 

Even as the acid burned its mouth and melted its bottom jaw clean off, the wendigo didn't care as it stared at Breder as if demanding more! A demand that it would see fit to fill no matter what, as the wendigo gave another screech as it pulled and dragged its body forward with such speed and a pounce, that Breder only had time to stab it once as his children pelted it with acid form above! 

But as the acid took its time to eat away at the wendigo, the wendigo bared its weight onto Breder, as it tried to bite him only using its upper jaw! For its arms were melted by the wrist! Thanking his children for their god-like aim, Breder held the Wendigo up by his arm blades, while holding the impaling spears with the palm of his hands. 

As Breder held him, his warrior child jumped down, ignoring his father's orders to stay, to push the big brute off his father! As the Wendigo slammed against the wall, more acid rained onto his body making it impossible for it to do anything other than to reach out with its stubs, as it melted away. 

But before it fully melted into flesh goo, Breder walked up to the Wendigo and grabbed two spears from its chest! And with an evil grin, Breder tore them out through its lung on either side! 

Seeing the charred remains made Breder tsk his tongue in annoyance at the creature's lack of pain… As he raised the sight of his poor tail, and said: 

{Vice… I hope this metal is worth my tail!} 

[Ding! Oh! But it is! It's not only immune to your corrosive acid but… it is made from 'alien metal' HA!] 

{Vice…} 

[yeah?] 

{shut up…} 

But while Breder was enjoying his victory, he never noticed… that the chains on the others… were melting away!