Chapter 20 Chapter 20 There Was One, Now There Are Many

"AAAAAAAAAH!" The sound of a pained scream of horror and agony was heard followed by flesh ripping and an animalistic screech.

This very scene would soon repeat itself over and over again as the hours continued to tick by. The sound of whimpering and crying could be heard from the unfortunate victims as they awaited their time of doom, the time when the creature growing inside of them would erupt outwards in a gruesome display as it burrowed its way through their still living flesh. Although at that point they welcomed death, they welcomed the end to all of their torment.

All of this was observed by a gargantuan creature surrounded by dozens upon dozens of eggs, strange figures hidden just out of sight and a few hand-like entities that scuttled through the dark. The creature in question was the cause of this, it was a queen, the ruler of this place, even if such titles weren't exactly something that fit me all that well.

At first the scene before me had sickened me down to my very soul, the screams alone would have given me nightmares for the rest of my life, thankfully however I barely need to sleep at all nowadays. Anyway, as time passed by I found myself growing numb to it all, I just found myself caring less and less about their suffering, eventually I stopped paying attention to them and focused my mind elsewhere.

I began to formulate a plan for moving forward, thankfully I now knew about the area thanks to the gangsters we had interrogated previously. The city and railway system had been split into dozens of small territories with larger gangs bossing and bullying around the smaller ones. Fortunately guns were actually quite hard to find and most people had weapons that were far more crude and melee based, something that I was more than happy to hear. So all things considered this place was down right perfect for me to rapidly grow my horde, even more so when you consider the fact that I can do it away from the prying eyes of more dangerous opposition.

(I wonder what kind of wildlife I'll be able to find on this rock...) I hummed in thought as I mentally blocked out the sound of screaming in the background. 

[What are you thinking about?] Goldy asked but I could tell that he was still mostly focused on watching the on going and gruesome display. He could be quite morbid at times to be honest but I had figured that out a while ago so I didn't really care anymore.

(Just trying to figure out what kind of new strains of xenos I'll be able to create here.) I hummed, I was attempting to remember any creatures I saw previously that would be big enough and useful enough to use as hosts.

[Probably should have asked the trash about that huh.] Goldy muttered while seemingly motioning towards the thugs hanging from the walls with their chests brutally torn open from the inside. [You know, before you used them as your personal incubators.]

(I get it, you don't have to keep reminding me.) I growled not exactly in the mood for this bullshit at the moment.

[Anyway, what about your plans? What exactly are you going to do from here?]

(I still haven't exactly figured it all out yet.) I mused with a slight shrug.

[But you have a framework, you have a goal in mind don't you.]

(Yeah, yeah I do.)  I sighed before continuing. (For the short term I mostly just plan to expand, I need to get a proper foothold on this world if I am to move forward. As for the long term, well, I already have my thralls putting some framework in place but I'll need to wait and see before building on those ideas any further.)

(Thankfully though my new little swarm can help with my short term goals, however like nanitics in an ant colony they'll have to shoulder quite a lot until I can actually increase our numbers any further.)

[What about that one?] He asked and I turned to see what he meant. I had honestly gotten much better at noticing what exactly he was gesturing towards even though I couldn't actually see him, a fact that barely even registered to me at this point.

Anyway, it took me a second to see just what exactly it was that he was talking about, however I eventually did find it and when I did, well, I couldn't help but let out a slight "ah" sound in acknowledgement. The very thing that he was speaking of was actually a drone that was currently curled up on the wall, it was kind of hard to see to be honest. Even though its exoskeleton was a dark violet instead of the usual black the xenomorph still blended in rather well with the oddly shaped patterns and colour of the hive resin that surrounded its form.

(Oh, this one.)

This was the first of my...well, my children, the first that had emerged and the first that I had given birth too. She was also the only one of them who I had given a kind of nickname too, something I had done on a whim mostly out of boredom. Her name or nickname was Alpha, a bit cliche I know but whatever. 

She had already malted into a fully adult drone about half an hour ago but she wasn't the only one, in fact there were already a few others that had completed their metamorphosis as well. Other than those lot there were also several of the chestbursters that were now undergoing their own transformation into a drone and the others were sure to follow soon.

(She seems to want to stay close to me as well as the central part of the hive as a whole, so in the end I was just planning on letting her do as she pleased for now.) I knew this not because she told me or anything like that, no, I knew because I could almost feel her emotions, her desires through the link we shared without even really meaning to.

[So you have favourites now do you?] He chuckled, causing me to shake my head in annoyance.

(I'm not going to name every single one of them, after all there may end up being thousands of them in the future but I can at least name one or two when I feel like it.) 

[Fair enough I suppose, still though, a mother shouldn't show such favouritism to her children.] I could practically feel him grinning in amusement at this.

(Fuck yo-) I tried to curse at him but got cut off all of a sudden.

"Pl-please...g-god...please no..." One of my captives groaned out in agony as their body jerked forward violently. "AAAAAAAAHHH-!" The scream that escaped them was almost immediately cut short when his chest burst open causing blood to spray everywhere.

[Your horde grows even further.] Goldy hummed as the chestburster pulled itself free of its unwilling host.

(Yeah...just remind me not to put any of the hosts inside of the central chamber next time, their screams are really starting to get annoying at this point.) I muttered coldly.

[Look at you, it would seem that you've really taken to your xenomorph side.] Goldy hummed pretending to sound like a proud parent.

(Just shut up already!) I hissed, I was honestly somewhat at my limit with his damn antics.

[Alright fine, no need to bite my head off.] I sighed and I could tell almost immediately that he probably wouldn't stop for long.

Anyway, after saying that he quickly continued on to the next topic. [So what are you planning to do now?]

(It seems that some of the marines are gathering together, which is both a good and bad thing for me in the long run but it is still something that needs to happen either way.) I muttered while taking note of what exactly Rosanna was currently doing before moving on. (Once Connor and Ashley meet up with the other three and their tag alongs I should have what I need to start my little idea I've cooked up.)

Talking about those two I had ordered them to go and meet up with my other thralls that were on their way here. The three of them were bringing along some more potential hosts, hosts that would be playing a large part in my plans.

(If my idea works, and I think that it probably will at this point, not only will I have more time to finish this bloody tutorial but it should stop Weyland Yutani from trying to cleanse the whole planet with nuclear fire to cover this all up once they find out what happened here.) That was honestly my main concern at the moment to be honest, if things just continued on how they currently were I could definitely see something like that actually happening in the near future.

[And what, pray tell, would that "idea" of yours entail exactly?] 

(I'm hoping to get them so interested in me that they can not afford to kill me until they get what they need.) I explained with a shrug.

[What exactly are you planning this time Carmen?] Goldy asked, sounding far more curious now.

(In the end all I really need is the right bait to pull them in.) It was kind of like fishing in a way, well, fishing mixed with a game of keep away. (Of course I'll need to make sure they can't get their hands on said bait for as long as possible.)

(As for the bait in question, well...) I paused for a second before smiling slightly. (They want to use xenomorphs as bio weapons, so all I have to do is show them that it's possible to do just that.)

(A/N. If any of you feel like it, can you please give a Review? It helps a lot.)