RISE UP (Revised 12/16/23)

Something brushed Dahl's shoulder, chasing a shriek through the eerie darkness. She leapt up, darted away and struck an immovable object. Dahk bounced back, landing back where she began. In the lap of a monster.

The grainy screens in Dahl's glasses slipped sideways on her face. The topsy-tervy images revealed the large hole left by the fleeing raptor. The penetratation was her last chance to get away. Dahl considered making a run for it. But the knowledge that hungry things beyond the range of her glasses had undoubtedly heard the earlier commotion and were on their way there right now, left her with nowhere left to run. Tough luck for her. Good news for her recent acquaintances. One in front of her, the other, beneath her, and both focusing their full attentions on her, terror seized her. There would be no chance of escape.

"You may get up, now." a strangely familiar voice said, coming out of the darkness beneath her.

Dahl's eyes widened, her heart galloped wildly and a hot sense of disbelief spread through her chest. She knew the voice. But it belonged to someone who could not be there. The momentary pause in carnage gave Dahl little reason to feel safe. Thefeeling she was surrounded by hungry bellies remained .

"Dahlia," the voice came again. "Get up." And with the voice came the chilling realization that the thing beneath her knew her name. Dahl drew in an astonished gasp and choked on her own spit. The creature clapped her on the back like a mother clearing a baby's airway. "Breath." it said, giving her a forceful wack. The monstrous entity bubbled and distorted like a wax figurine placed over an open flame. It shrank beneath her, its hard exoskeleton morphing and diminishing by three.

Dahl reached back, probing the darkness with a trembling hand and touched something decidedly not xenomorph. But still, whatever this thing was, it was no human being, either. Xenomorphs don't change, but neither do humans. Dahl had a pretty good idea of who she was going to find beneath her, and thought dont be fooled, just because it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, doesn't mean it's Lilith Hemmingford. Lilith is on the opposite side of the Galaxy.with Johns.

"Today, please." the voice said, a tinge of impatience coloring its tone.

Dahl hadn't imagined the familiarity. The woman's voice had an unmistakable haute, that Dahl had never appreciated. Even if Lilith was a blue blood royal. Although, there was an uncharacteristic trepidation in the voice. It was as if the speaker had awoken from a dream.

Dahl thought about the day the crew had last spoken to Lady Hemmingford. On that day, Lilith was in command of both her voice and her people. That Lilith was aways in control. And if one thing could be said of Lady Hemmingford it was that she was not prone to uncertainties. Mission oriented, that was Lady Hemmingford. But this thing. This impostor's voice sounded disconnected. Unsure.

Before Dahl had even met Lilith, Johns told her Lilith was blessed with otherworldly abilities. Abilities no one would believe. Lockspur called Lilith a bruja with all the powers of hell at her fingertips. Dahl thought they were both full of shit. But now, she thought the truth probably lay somewhere in the middle.

Lilith can't be here, the tiny voice in Dahl's mind protested. That makes no sense. She didn't come with us. And she'd never send two ships on the same mission. So what gives? First she's there; now she's here. But nothing explains the shape-shifter sitting beneath me.

It was in that all-consuming moment of contemplation, when Dahl forgot the horrors of the earlier battle, that a very feminine, very human hand came into view. It was not the slender fingers that caused Dahl to leap to her feet, but the ornate black onyx ring on its ring finger. She recognized the ring well. It belonged on the hand of the Lady in Black.

Dahl reeled in shock, peering down wide-eyed at the alabaster face staring back at her. The dark beast had gone. In its place was a black-haired beauty who looked to be in her mid-thirties. "Auntie!" Dahl shouted, mouth falling open in shock and amazement. "You're here." she stammered, squinting at the woman through the green hue of doubt.

Lilith Hemmingford's eyes blazed like the two suns outside. Her shined pupils pierced the green screens of Dahl's night vision glasses, pixelating the screens and causing her to ose hsr eyes. "Yes, and no." Lilith said.

"Which is it?" Dahl snapped.

"Both."

"How did you get here?" Dahl went on, shaking her head as if trying to erase the woman she knew shouldn't be there. "You didn't come with us."

"A better question would be, what makes you think I'm her?"

Dahl stared at the identical copy, taking in every feature in the woman's face. "Are you trying to be funny?"

"I am trying to make you understand. Lilith Hemingford is not here; she is on Sol Luca. I am here. I have always been here. The Lady Hemmingford you know, came here as thought stored in a crystalline matrix." Lady Hemmingford 's doppelganger said, holding out a hand for Dahl to help her up. "She came as a message intended for me. A message, I should have deleted."

Dahl stepped away. Distrust erasing the good deeds of their not so shared pasts. The day had replaced her fondness with an empty sense of doubt. This woman is an imposter, Dahl thought. Lilith would have told us she was coming. "I don't understand." Dahl blurted, frowning down at the impostor, who sat holding her right side with a blood-soaked hand. Dahl studied the gaping slash and thought her glasses were malfunctioning because in the grainy green light of the glasses it looked like Lilith's armor was not armor, at all, but instead, torn open skin. "What's going on?"

"You have arrived at a nexus in space/time. A point where multiple time streams are about to converge. Hers... mine... and others. I am from an ancient time stream. Your Lilith is from a much newer time stream. And the others, soon to be here, are from a time in which we all spring." Not Lilith explained.

"Carlos wasn't lying. Youre noy buman, are you?"

Not Lilith ignored her question. "An unfortunate side effect of moving through space/time is that if one remains in any time stream too long, they will inevitably meet an alternate version of themselves. Such an event is happening now. These events are dangerous at the best of times. As you may have noticed, we are not in the best of times." Not Lilith said, trying to get up again. Her comrade came to her aide, helping her to her feet. "Compounding the disastrous effects of excessive meddling is that the more one interferes, the more these dangerous nexus points can form. Like unstable bubbles threatening to burst and destroy the entire Galaxy. That is where you now stand."

"If you're not her, why save me?"

"I heard you scream and could not stop myself. The memories she tricked me into ingesting are swirling in my mind. She cares for you. Therefore, I care for you. She and I are one now. So, when I heard you in need. I could not stand by and watch your demise." 

"Are you messing with me?"

"I can assure you. I am not messing with you. You believe your biggest problem is being trapped in the dark with these creatures. That is simply not the case. What Lilith Hemmingford has done in sending that shard to me is nothing less than arming a nuke and handing the detonator to an infant. The fate of the Galaxy will be decided by what happens here." Not Lilith said, struggling to stay upright. A line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and out if her right nostril. The crippling damage to Lilith's abdomen forced her to revert to her human form. "Had things gone to her nefarious plan, I would be nothing more than a vessel for her use. An eternal lifespan erased for the selfish purposes of another. As it happens, things did not go to plan. The shard given me was damaged during the collapse. It uploaded many of her memories and her purpose driven plan, but failed to erase my memories. Now, thanks to your Lilith's little gift, I now find myself of two minds. Hers and mine. Still, the blame lies with me. After all, different time streams not withstanding, she and I, are the same woman. In the end, I fucked myself, and in doing so, fucked the entire Galaxy at the same time. Quite an accomplishment if I say so, myself."

Dahl heard something far off and looked at the gaping hole in the bulkhead between compartments.

"You are safe for the time being." Not Lilith said, watching Dahl's wandering eyes survey the other woman in the compartment. "We pose you no harm."

"You call this safe." Dahl said, gesturing around wildly. "You sent the three of us into this shit storm and now, you can't even protect yourselves." She pointed at Lilith's cohort in slime and added, "And that's saying a lot, considering you're both..." She paused, not knowing how to finish her thought.

"Monsters." Not Lilith said, finishing the sentence for Dahl. "And do try to remember, I did not send you here. Had I known you were coming, I would have warned you away. Although, I doubt anything I had done wkuld have dissuaded you from your mission. You failed to take the hint when I set my little friends on you."

"You sent those things after us. You tried to kill us."

"It was the purpose for which I, and the raptors, were placed here. Keep prying eyes away. But fortunately for everyone involved, your team proved to be quite resilient. Imagine my trama had I ingested the shard only to realize I killed you."

"How lucky for us"

The bony, black creature lying beneath Dahl had indeed vanished, and in its place, this familiar but confusing woman had appeared out of thin air. Dahl rubbed her head as if suddenly stricken by a thundering migraine. Nothing made sense. This woman spoke as if they had never met, but Dahl knew her well. The battle Dahl just witnessed was both beyond belief and undeniable. Lilith Hemingford was the creature, but people don't change into monsters and monsters most definitely do not change into people. Certainly not the ones she loved. That sort of thing only happened in stories. "Lockspur wasn't making it up,." Dahl said to herself more than Lilith. "You really can change."

"Fraid so," Lilith replied, shrugging her shoulders as if Dahl caught her hiding a dirty little secret. "Do me a favor, Love. Keep that little secret between us, won't you?" She gestured between herself and the other woman and added, "There are few with our abilities and for everyone's sake, it should remain that way. If our abilities were to... get out... this universe would be plunged into chaos."

"Are you for real?" Dahl asked, the sarcasm in her voice cut through the darkness like a slap in the face. "You let everyone think Carlos was a… a fucking fool and a liar."

"I didn't..." Not Lilith began and paused. "She... I am sorry. It was necessary at the time." And with that admission, Lilith's download finished and two separate Liliths became one. "It was decided long ago and by others more powerful than I," Lilith said, suddenly unable to control the frosty contempt in her tone. "to conceal some of my more unique abilities."

"Hold it." Dahl shrieked. "If you're not Lilith, then how do you know about a conversation with Carlos that took place twenty years ago?"

A spasm of racking coughs exploded from Lilith', and she covered her mouth. Blood oozed through her trembling fingers. Droplets spread across the floor. "Carlos brought me a memory shard."

"Carlos brought you the shard ? But how? He was trapped during the collapse and only caught up to me a few minutes before the raptor attacked me. Hey, wait., Carlos knew you were here?"

"I sent him with the understanding he would meet someone on site. He did not know who he would meet."

" You said you sent him."

"I did send him."

"You said, you weren't her." Dahl said. "So, if you're not Lilith. Why say you sent him?"

"The download completed. It's still integrating into my neural framework, but Lady Hemmingford and I are becoming one. At least, in mind."

"So, you are Lilith?"

"More like a neural clone. A hybrid version of mine and Lady Hemmingford's at the time of her upload. I am becoming a tapestry of two separate minds woven so tightly, neither is distinguishable from the other anymore. Each mind with its own beliefs, desires, agendas. Each willful and fighting for dominance. Both frazzled and uncertain. It's quite confusing. I do not recommend trying it for yourself. The process has not been a pleasant experience. "

"How's that possible. You said the crystal was broken."

Precisely." Lilith replied. "It is for that very reason, we now find ourselves in this mess. This," Lilith said, gesturing around at the carnage. "Is ot the outcome Lady Hemmingford was looking for."

"How so?"

"The memories Lady Hemmingford forced upon me were supposed to completely overwrite my mind. The transfer failed. In fact, it was because the memories were incomplete that I did the things I did." When Dahl offered a confused expression, Lilith continued, "Like the rest of you, Lady Hemmingford used me to complete a covert mission, no one was supposed to know about, but her.. However, receiving incomplete instructions, I could not complete said mission. Instead, I made a crucial error in judgment that now threatens the very existence of every lifeform in this Galaxy."

"What did you do?"

"I healed the old friend I only met today and altered a creature I have known since the day of my birth. Both decisions have weakened me to a point where I can no longer heal myself. At my current rate of blood loss, i will perish in a few hours."

"You're dieing?"

"Not without a fight."

"What possessed you to ingest that crystal,?" the other woman snapped, shaking her head in disbelief. "How much data was on it?"

"From what I have gleaned from Lady Hemmingford's memories, ot was intended as a full neural download."

"No one has ever successfully transferred that .uch data in one download. "

"And they still have not ," Lilith began, "I had no idea what the shard would do to me. Had I known, I would have never done this to myself."

"So, let me get this straight." Eve said. "You meet some strange dude, that you didnt even know, and he tears something out of his body and says eat this. Gross by the way. And you did. Is that right?"

"As a result," Lilith said, glaring up at her. "There are now two lifetimes of intermingled memories fighting their way to the surface at the same time." Lilith turned to Dahl and added, "Lilith... your Lilith... had infinite plans in her head. I was not prepared for the joining."

"You think." Eve said.

"Her scheming pushed me to do things. Things I now know were dangerous mistakes."

"Well, maybe one of you could make sense of what is going on. " Dahl demanded. "Because none of this acid trip makes sense to .me."

"You may not remember this.'' Eve said, cutting Dahl off with a raised hand before her rant gained a strong foothold. "But your counterpart assured me, she is a quick study." Eve squinted at Dahl, shook her head in doubt and turned back to Lady Hemmingford offering a raised brow snear. "You promised me she would not freak out."

"I am a quick study." Dahl snapped, taken aback by the passive aggressive put-down from someone she had only just met. "And for the record, I am not freaking out."

"I suppose, I sent you here, as well." Lilith said to Eve. "Is there anyone in this Galaxy I didn't send here?"

"Doubtful," Eve snapped, looking at the hole in the bulkhead. "You said you had a plan. You said you had it all worked out. You said..."

"Im not freaking out." Dahl blared, cutting Eve off. 

"Perhaps, you're not." Eve said, staring her down before turneing back to Lilith. "But this wide-eyed princess shit she's doing is not my idea of holding it together. And right now, we need clear heads, not whatever this shit is. A d from where im standi g, you're not doi g any better than she is."

"I am not freaking out." Dahl raged, leaning down beside Lilith, trying to help in whatever way she could. Lilith patted her hand and offered a weak smile. Dahl took her hand, fighting to push off the tear enducing shock of what she had just been through. It's not every day the monster you think is there to eat you is actually there to save you.

A thousand complicated and confusing thoughts screamed for attention in Dahl's spinning mind. She imagined it must be close to what Lilith was feeling. The maelstrom of confusing thoughts chiseled her expression into a frantic what am I supposed to do now look that betrayed her tenuous calm.

Even though Dahl had never met the woman at Lilith's side, she could not take her eyes off her. There was something familiar about the tone of her voice and the shape of her face. She couldn't pinpoint what made Eve familiar, but she felt a strong connection to her, and that long-lost cousin feeling wasn't improving her mood or composure. 

Lady Hemmingford, aka, The Lady in Black, operated the largest Mega Corp sanctioned mercenary services in the Galaxy. Her company outnumbered every other private agency 5 to 1, and her 125,000 strong, private militia rivalled that of Mega Crops Company Rangers. Her security forces filled more than half of all private and corporate security positions in the known galaxy. 

Dahl stared at Lilith, slowly coming to the conclusion she knew very little about the woman. Lockspur was right. Lilith 'snot a woman at all. At least, not the woman I believed she was. And her sidekick isn't normal either. What are they? Women? Monsters? Both?

Eve shook her head and said, "I told you she'd freak. They always freak."

"Stop saying that! I'm not freaking." Dahl fumed, reeling on Eve as each word stretched to its sarcastic breaking point. "And who the hell are you, anyhow?"

"Eve Logan." she said, holding out a hand in greeting. Dahl didn't take it. The idea of shaking a hand that could change in mid-grasp actually freaked her out, but she managed to control the urge to jump back.

"Just tell me what the hell is going on." Dahl demanded.

Both women looked at her, eyes shining back in the absolute darkness. Dahl had heard of eye shines before, but had never actually met anyone with a shine. She thought they were bullshit stories made up by macho military types, trying to make themselves sound cool. Shines were, as explained by her uncle Johns, an expensive and dangerous medical procedure only used by company black ops teams in times of absolute need. Furthermore, eye shines were not permanent and could, if performed improperly, lead to vision loss or total blindness.

"Lilith ingested a memory shard containing a massive cache of raw data." Eve said, helping Lilith into a more comfortable sitting position. The blood trickling from Lilith's ears and nose flowed quicker. Her body was coming apart at a subatomic level. "The data stored in the shard your associate gave her is trying to overwrite Lilith's current memories, and to do that, it is using the energy stores in every cell in her body. That's why her body cannot repair itself. The shard wasn't broken. It just couldn't access enough energy to function properly. "

"Function properly. " Dahl repeated. "Anything else you do?" Eve shook her head and frowned. "I am not freaking, dammit. It's just a lot to take in all at once." Dahl said.

"I am diminishing quickly." Lilith said in a wavering whisper. "There is little time left to act. I gave Carlos too much of my blood." Lilith gestured to the immobile puddle of blood she half sat/half lay in. "My cells will soon enter a state of self-preservation."

"You gave him your blood.Dahl blurted. "Why would you do that?" 

"He would have died had I not done so." Lilith replied. She looked to Eve and said, "There is only one way this ends now. I need energy, not of the host."

"Host," Dahl thought aloud. 

"There are only corpses nearby. And I doubt there is sufficient time for me to drag you through the ship, looking for suitable candidates."

"Do not bother." Lilith said, shaking her head no. "My cells no longer possess the ability to break down genetic materials."

"Are you suggesting-"

"It's the only way."

"What's the only way?" Dahl asked. The scowl on her face suggested she thought this was all a stasis induced fantasy, and that she was still laying in the medbay having some kind of brain embolism. "Fuck. I wish I could wake up."

"You and me too." E e said.

"Direct genetic interface." Lilith said. She held out a hand, gesturing for Eve to pull her up right and said, "I am not strong enough to call out."

"I will." Eve said.

"What's happening?" Dahl demanded, looking between the two women and trying not to freak out.

"The cells in my body cannot assimilate enough energy." Lilith replied. "Therefore, the energy must assimilate me."

Although Dahl had no idea what Lilith meant; she didn't like the sound of assimilation. Lilith gestured for Dahl to come steady her. "Now, if you would, help me into the middle of the room and leave me there before it is too late." Lilith said, holding out an unsteady hand to Dahl, who took it as if it were a giant, hairy spider. Eve took Lilith's other arm, and helped support her weight, all the while glaring at Dahl as if she were being childish.

Lilith faltered, began sinking and caught her and lifted Lilith into her arms with little effort. Dahl watched in wide-eyed amazement as her body grew larger. She suddenly had the looks of a linebacker. She gestured to the center of the room with her chin and said, "We can leave her over there."

"Are you fucking nuts? We can't do this. I cant do this. She'll be defenseless out there." Dahl shouted, grabbing Eve above the elbow.

"Thats kinda the point." Eve snapped, reeling on Dahl and baring a mouthful of shark teeth. "Let go. And shut your mouth. You don't know what's happening."

"She's dying." Dahl blared.

"Nothing can stop that now." Not Lilith said." "She tricked me good."

"Who did?"

"Lilith. She knew this would happen. Knew I would have to make a choice." Not Lilith looked at Eve and said, "God, I'm such a bitch."

"What choice?" Dahl asked.

"To either accept my own death or release enough energy to fully become her forever. Either way, when this is over, I will no longer exist."

Eve carried Lilith around Dahl, moving into the center of the room. "There isn't much time." Eve said, gently laying Lilith down. "The choice is yours."

Not Lilith leaned cloze to Eve and whispered, "Not really. I can't get you off this moon, but I'm certain ady Hemmingford can. She knows what happens next. I don't. So, the real choice is do I save you all or let you die with me." She smiled weakly and added, "I will always choose life."

"Thank you." Eve said.

"They will eat her alive." Dahl seethed, staring towards the giant hole in the wall. She turned to the hatch, thinking of Lockspur hurt and alone, and then prayed for Moss to come to put an end to this lunacy. Someone had to stop them. Someone had to stop Eve.

Eve transformed into the creature and Dahl stepped back half in awe and half in terror. "That's the point. If she is going to survive what's coming, this needs to happen while she is still breathing."

"What needs to happen?" Dahl demanded, stepping in front of her before she could sit Lilith down.

"It's OK." Lilith said, barely keeping her head from falling to one side. She was fading fast. "Everything will be alright."

"You're both nuts!"

"You said you weren't freaking out. So, get your ass up there." Eve said, gesturing to a nearby hatch with her chin. "I will join you in a moment." Eve bit her forearm, swallowed the flesh, and let her blood drain into Lilith's mouth. Even beneath the dark glasses, Eve saw Dahl's defiant scowl. "You trusted us to save you from that thing, now trust us again and get up there."

"Fine," Dahl said, heading to the handrail. "But for the record, I didnt trust either of you. I just couldn't get away." She stopped beneath the handrail, looked up with a disgusted frown and added, "And you're going to have to help me up. I can't reach the railing. Some of us aren't 7 feet tall."

"Go, now." Eve said, looking at Lilith. Eve shook her head in disbelief and whispered, "She acts just like him. It's no wonder they fell in love." Lilith managed a feeble laugh as Eve stood in the middle of the floor and screamed. Dahl covered her ears in pain. The sound rivaled the violent noise during the collapse. It was inhuman.

Every raptor in the subterranean tunnels deep within the ship raced up towards the resonating challenge. Eve ran to Dahl, lifted her onto the handrail, and pulled herself up beside her. They readied themselves for the onslaught of rampaging predators.

Not Lilith stood up, transformed into the beast, and waited for her approaching fate.

"This may be a good time to look away." Eve said.

The faint sound of distant movement blossomed in the bowels of the labyrinth far below the wreckage. At first, it sounded like a gentle wind blowing through the trees. Then, it grew into a hurricane storm that shook the world. The staccato sounds of firing rifles, quaking explosions and screaming voices pierced the all-consuming darkness. There are people out there, Dahl thought. She hoped it wasn't Moss.

"Who are they?" Dahl whispered, as if they might overhear her.

"Necromongers," Eve answered. She had turned back into a woman so Dahl wouldn't have to sit with her Ms. Hyde persona. "They're here for you."

"Me?" Dahl blurted.

"Because in the future, you fall in love with the wrong man."

"I haven't fallen in love with anyone. Ever." Dahl protested.

"But you will."

"How can you know that?"

"You have no idea how important you are?"

Dahl had never heard of Necromongers. In this time, they were still a little known outcast faction of religious zealots living on Asylum. An out of the way mining colony bordering the for hidden planets region.

Nothing came. The darkness remained empty. But the war in the near distance raged on as if it would never end.

Lilith screamed so loudly, the twisted handrail Eve and Dahl clung to, dropped a few inches and swayed. Dahl was certain her ears had begun to bleed again. The din raged back. They were coming, and no amount of firepower could prevent them from reaching their target.

A deafening howl erupted from the darkness beyond the cavernous hole in the wall, and the lumbering raptor limped through the opening. Lilith mustered her strength, stood up, and screamed back, taunting the creature to return to the fight.

It moved cautiously into the room, dragging its useless hind leg behind it. The Three-legged raptor hugged the wall, taking care not to get too close to the enemy that had crippled it. It methodically scanned the vast room, looking for the other xenomorph and when it saw nothing. It inched towards the center of the room, returning to the fight.

Eve and Dahl had quietly taken refuge on the other side of the open hatch. Both of them peeked over the edge, ensuring the creature wouldn't know they were there.

Lilith snarled at the creature, baring her pointy teeth and clawing wildly at the dry air. She faltered momentarily. But kept herself upright, playing her part well. She barely had enough energy left to continue. Come on, she thought, waiting for the inevitable strike that would end her life.

Three giant raptors slammed through the opposite hatch, violently jostling for position. Each wanted to be the first to the prize. The circling raptor saw the oncoming horde, reared up to the ceiling and fell mouth wide open on top of Lilith. Its massive jaw slammed shut, severing Lilith's body just below the knees.

Dahl covered her gaping mouth with both hands, stifling the horrified scream that would give away their position. Two black half legs stood in the middle of the room like remnants of a broken Greek statue. Lilith was dead. The fight was over.

The enormous raptor roared in triumph while the other spread out, encircling it as a stream of lesser raptors flooded into the compartment. The raptors clicked and ticked at each other. A guttural, grunting language Dahl did not understand. Their intent was clear. The skulking raptors had come for a feast and their giant sibling was injured. Easy prey. On M6-117, only the strong survived and the limping hulk could no longer fend off his voracious kin.

Eve nudged Dahl. The unexpected touch almost caused her to scream. She pointed to Lilith's lower legs. They had turned an ashy gray, as had all the blood that spilled from her earlier. The upright stubs of Lilith's legs had petrified into macabre sandcastles on a dry beach. One of the larger raptor stepped sideways, slammed into the disembodied legs, and sent up a cloud of desiccated powder that covered the floor. Eve smiled all knowingly.

"Let's get out of here." Dahl whispered in Eve's ear, preparing to head back to find Lockspur.

"Not without Lilith." Eve replied, grabbing Dahl's right forearm before she could turn and runoff in the direction she had come from earlier.

Dahl peeled Eve's hand away and said, "Unless you're planning to wait around until that thing takes a dump. Lilith won't be out soon."

Eve rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the upcoming feast. "I used to be just like you." she said, pointing at the center raptor who was coughing and gagging as if something had caught in its throat.

"You mean hot and irresistible?"

Eve laughed. "I mean... shut the fuck up and watch. Maybe you'll learn something."

"Rude much?"

"Only since I met you." she threw up her hand before Dahl fired back. "Just look." she said, gesturing towards the imminent violence.

A torrent of hot, sticky bue bllood exploded out of the mouth of the giant raptor, staggering in an odd circle at the center of the slowly descending pack. Its shaking front legs buckled beneath its tremendous weight and the others seized the opportunity to attack. They swarmed the helpless titan, tearing bits and pieces of bloody flesh away and running off to eat before returning for more. As the frenzied blood letting grew in intensity, so too did the horde, and as the room filled with all sizes of raptor, the strong began attacking the weak. Torrents blood mixed with the dust from Lilith's legs and it turned to black ooze the spread across the floor. Raptors ran through the fluid, splashing and tracking it everywhere.

The steaming pile of half picked through bones and steaming guts at the center of the room bubbled explosively. The fizzing, popping mass exploded, covering every creature in the room. Those closest to the mass froze, each of them turning to the screaming puddles of now hot goo that swirled at the center of the floor like a vortex. It filled the compartment from wall to wall and corner to corner, mixing with the blood of the dead and dying.

A split second later, the original three raptors fell to the floor, melting into the rising puddle of guts and blood. Many of the others tried to run. Some tried to fly away, but fell from the air in writhing masses of splattering goop. After a few minutes, the compartment fell silent. The pitch black puddle lit up as neon blue bolts of electricity criss-crossed beneath its murky surface.

Dahl watched, mouth agape, as something shiny and black rose out of the center of the chunky stew. As a writhing column emerged from the pool, the edges of the pool pulled away from the walls, shrinking in towards the center of the room. Two neon blue lights burst out of the column, sending out eerie blue tendrils of sparking flames. They're eyes, Dahl thought, as the entity rose higher, revealing blood drenched slender shoulders and full, round breasts. It's a woman, Dahl thought. It's... it's Lilith.

As the naked, blood drenched figure raised out of the pool, the coagulated stew of dozens of dissolving raptors rushed up into the bottom of the ascending body. After a few moments, the growing spectre hung a few inches above the now scoured clean floor. Its eyes opened to reveal silver/blue irises. The pool vanished. The blood trickling down the woman soaked into her smooth alabaster skin as if she were a porous sponge. A second later, her skin became clothing. Lilith Hemmingford had risen from the dead.

"Lilith," Dahl said.

Lilith smiled darkly. "I am now."