The Reaper Wars - The Nest Ch. 01-05

Doing his best impression of a fish he managed to say. "W-wow."

It looked back at Alex with what appeared to be a satisfied smile.

With the lock no longer in place the door swung open. Careful of the acid he walked over and grabbed an unopened box of ten disposable pressure syringes full of Morphine.

Pulling out a syringe he pulled off the cap and stuck it into his thigh. He soon felt the drug take effect as the pain in his chest all but diapered. With that problem taken care of he looked at the Reaper who had been watching him with wrapped attention.

"I don't know if you can understand me but um... Thank you."

He wasn't sure what to do now so Alex turned and walked over to the door stuffing the syringes into a pocket. Checking outside the room for any signs of more Reapers and seeing none he stepped out into the hall.

He didn't get very far before he heard the clicking of claws behind him. Glancing back he saw the Reaper sitting right behind him, tail twitching side to side.

He debated trying to lose it but something told him it wasn't going to be that easy. "I'm not gonna get rid of you, am I?"

It's tail stopped twitching and slowly it crawled over to him. The message was obvious, it was going to follow him whether he liked it or not.

With a sigh he thought 'This is gonna be a long day.'

***

(Twenty miles away from the colony at a large research station.)

Deep within a research station built within a mountain sat a rather large Reaper Queen. She was restrained by shackles, which held her against the wall. At the moment her large crested head rested on her chest. When she had awoken the day before she had tried in vain to break the chains that held her. A thick muzzle prevented her from melting the restraints with acid so she had relaxed and started thinking.

After about an hour her mind drifted to thoughts of her children. Somehow they had completely severed her link to the hive. She could feel only the few they had captured alone with her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of her children cried out to her. "Mother!"

In as soft a voice as she could she comforted her daughter. "Shh, calm yourself and tell me whats happening."

Screeches of agony echoed through the dark corridors before she received a response. "Why are they doing this to us?"

"I don't know but be strong, I'm here."

Another agonized screech reverberated through the halls before there connection was abruptly severed. No longer could she feel the presence of her daughter. She knew that meant her child was dead.

With a roar full of pain, loss and unbridled rage she again tore at her bindings. The chains started to creak and moan but her restraints held.

She promised suffering of the worst forms ever known to all who dared hurt her children. But her cries fell on def ears. Those who were near took a involuntary step back in fear of her.

Bowing her head she let out a sad moan of sadness.

"Well, well, still have some fight in you? That's good." The Queen snapped her head up at the sound of the voice.

Before her stood a man looking at her through a glass barer. He was wearing a buttoned up white lab coat with the Voss-Pyun logo on the top, jumpsuit pants, and a pair of boots. He looked like he was in his mid forties, he had black hair with graying sideburns on the side, a salt and pepper goatee around his mouth, and a pair of glasses.

"Do you think it wise to anger her? Do you not remember what she did before we were able to capture her? All the men she killed?" Said a Tall women with short blond hair. She wore clothing identical to her colleges.

The Doctor glanced at her and responded with a southern accent. "Indeed I do my friend. But I have taken every precaution to prevent her escape."

She glanced wearily in the queens direction. "Still, I wouldn't antagonize her too much. You still want her for your experiments don't you?"

He smirked. "But of course. Now how long before she starts laying again? It would be a shame if we got a hold of a Queen that couldn't lay any cocoons. Wouldn't it?"

Larson consulted her data-pad. "All the tests indicate she will start in one week."

The Doctor's smirk grew into a satisfied grin. "That is good news. If there are no problems, I do believe we should be able to move ahead on schedule."

Both fell into silence they stared the alien Queen. Larson however capt glancing at out of the corner of her eye. She hated both him and the 'Research' he did. It didn't stop with just animals, no it continued on with humans. The word immoral didn't even begin to cover it. She sighed wishing she could do something about it.

Turning to the doctor she flashed a fake smile. "If that is all then I best get back to work. Good day sir."

Waving a hand vaguely in her direction he said "Yes, yes go."

Nodding she turned and left. As the door closed behind her with a faint hiss continued to stare at his newest test subject. "Not long now. Soon my research will begin."

Down in the holding cell The Queen heard him and hissed. "Not likely human."

***

(Back at the colony)

Alex stood before what at one point was the hall leading to the living area. The whole thing had collapsed in on itself. Whether it was intentional or not he didn't know. One thing was clear they weren't getting through this way any time soon. They had only been walking for an hour when they found this. With a sigh Alex looked at the alien to his left.

"That's gonna be a problem." It nodded in agreement.

Hearing something jingling by his feet Alex looked down, and saw bullet casings, clips, and what was left of a rifle. Kneeling he picked up a few casings, "Where did they get a pulse rifle?"

As far as he knew this colony didn't have weapons like that, only teargas and stun-guns. Something just didn't add up but he would figure it out later. Right now they needed a place to sleep.

Looking back at the wall of ruble he said "Well can't stay around here all day. Best get to someplace safe."

Looking around, Alex spotted a corridor a few feet back. "Let's try that way."

Standing they headed down the relatively undamaged corridor. There were considerably less rooms in this hall than others in the living area. He looked into a room from time to time to see if anything useful could be found but there wasn't much.

He had found a backpack in one room already packed. Unfortunately he didn't wear women's clothing so he had to dump most of its contents, save for a few bottles of water. He put the remaining Morphine syringes in and slung it over a shoulder.

He was about to enter the last room when a wave of dizziness washed over him. Alex stumbled and fell to one knee. Reaching up he wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He had been sweating profusely for the last thirty minuets. And now his stomach was rolling. He tried to stand, only to fall once more. He began to shiver as lay there, the floor suddenly so cold. Darkness began to creep in at the edges of his vision. With one last trailing thought of how much his life sucked, he blacked out.

***

Chapter 5:

The moment the human had collapsed she let out a loud hiss and had rushed over to him. She began to push him with her head in an attempt to wake him. When he didn't move she began to get concerned. She didn't know why she felt this way about this human. Her genetic memory told her to ether kill him or cocoon him. But she felt the need to help him and keep him safe.

He soon began to shiver as if cold even though the hall was warm. Looking around she searched for something to keep him warm. Not seeing anything she picked him up and walked over to one of the rooms. After looking for any sign of her brothers and sisters and not seeing any she entered. Smelling the air once more she walked over to one of the doors. This room smelt strongest of human than in the rest of the rooms. Stepping in she saw some of those odd second skin that the human wore scattered around the room. In one corner of the corner she spotted one of those long soft things she had left her host on earlier. Approaching it she set him down on it and stepped back.

She stood looking over him now as he lay there shivering. His face was pale and his hands looked even worse. She wasn't sure how humans were supposed to look but the foul smell coming off them told her all she needed to know. He was sick.

She watched as he groaned, and let out an strained whisper. "R-rika."

Staring at him she was unsure of what to do. If he had been one of her kind she would've just given him some of a substance her kind secreted. Normally, it was used to help them heal faster. However, with him being human she didn't know if there would be any side effects.

Deciding to take that chance, she stood and walked over to him. With her second mouth extended she leaned over and opened his mouth. Soon a whitish substance began to gather on her teeth. When enough had been gathered she dripped it into his mouth. Reflex made him swallow when it slid down his throat.

Stepping back she looked him over. Nothing seamed to happen for a minuet then all of the sudden he began to convulse and thrash around. Hissing she jumped back in surprise. She hadn't expected him to react so violently to the secretion. After one more violent spasm his body relaxed and he fell into a deep sleep. Stepping forward she sniffed him.

His breathing had evened out as he lay unmoving on the bed. With that, she scanned her surroundings once before climbing onto the bed and curled around him as he slept. The Reaper then unfurled her long tail and draped it over the humans fragile body.

***

For the next few hours Alex swam in and out of conciseness. He barely understood anything his senses told him. At times he thought he saw his mother. Other times he thought he saw the black form of a Reaper. At one point he thought he heard a women's voice. It was muffled to the point where he could only make out a few words now and then but was definitely female.

"I'm sorry..."

"...didn't... for this..."

Slowly he slid into a dreamless sleep.

***

Alex awoke and immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the door, not even noticing he had just been laying in a bed. Nor hearing the startled hiss and following thump of something hitting the floor. Not stopping to figure out where he was he ran strait into the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet just in time he vomited the contents of his stomach, what little there was.

After a few minuets of dry heaving he started to feel better. Sitting back against the wall he glanced around the room. It was a standard colony bathroom with a sink, mirror, toilet and shower. Almost absently he asked "Wasn't I just in the hall?"

He remembered passing out. Then strange dreams, well not as strange as others but still strange all the same. But most of all he remembered the voice. Thoroughly confused Alex decided to leave the room and find out where he was. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he stood. Blinking he glanced down and found both his hands healed, not completely but better than they were. The swelling had gone down and they were no longer a purplish color. Slowly he flexed his fingers and winced at the stinging discomfort. But was happy it wasn't a throbbing pain any more. At first he had been shocked but then he just shrugged. While it did freak him out it wasn't the strangest thing that had happened over the last few days let alone his whole life.

Looking up he glanced in the mirror. His skin was a bit pale and he needed to shave but that was normal. at some point he had apparently also suffered a nose bleed, though it had already dried. Other than that he looked normal. After washing his mouth and face he stepped out.

Slowly he look around, and found himself in a living room/office. The room was in was furnished with a number of expensive items. A long couch rested against the wall to his right with a large picture hanging above it. Two small tables sat at either end. Against the wall by what he assumed was the front door sat a desk covered in papers and miscellaneous junk. On one end of the room were two doors leading into other rooms. One led to a kitchen area the other to a bathroom he had just been in.

Something felt different to Alex, though he couldn't tell what. Shrugging he attributed it to paranoia. Then the fact that he hadn't bathed in a few days made itself known. With a sniff and a grimace he said "Wow, I need a bath."

Turning he walked back to the room he had run out of. He decided to try and look for some new cloths before he showered. The room was simple with a bed with simple whit sheets and a red comforter. A medium sized dresser sat against one wall to his right. If the scattered clothes were any indication the previous owner of apartment had been a male.

Walking over to the dresser he opened the top drawer and rummaged around. Letting out a sigh of relief he grabbed a long sleeved shirt and bluejeans. As he gathered the cloths he wondered where that Reaper had gone. It wasn't like he was worried about it, but still. He couldn't shake this feeling that they were somehow connected.

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin when something bumped into his back. Spinning around he sighed in relief at the sight of his new friend sitting on the floor behind him.

Placing a hand over his thundering heart he glared at the alien. "Are you trying to give ma a heart attack?"

Slowly almost lazily it tilted its head and looked at him. Sighing he smiled and stretched his arms above his head, joints popping all the way. Sighing in relief as his back pops he looks at the Reaper he said "I'm gonna go take a shower. You stay. Right here. In this room. You know what I mean."

Turning, clothes in hand, he left to take a shower. Stepping into the bathroom he opened the shower door. He almost laughed in delight when a stream of hot water sprayed out as he turned the knob. Stripping he stepped in and let the hot water run over his body. Slowly the tight muscles all over his body loosened.

Fifteen minuets later he stopped the water and stepped out. Grabbing a towel off a rack he dried himself off and dressed. Looking at himself in the mirror he he decided not to shave this time. Slowly a small smile crossed his face. For one small moment it seamed like a normal day. Like nothing over the past few days had happened. But sadly nothing lasts forever. Sighing, he opened the door and chuckled. Over in the by the desk the Reaper sat holding a small paperweight. It was a simple glass orb modeled after old earth. Alex himself had one in a box somewhere in his apartment.

Setting the glass orb back down it leaned over the side of the desk. What happened next had him laughing hysterically. The Reaper hissed and stepped back with its head stuck in a trashcan. It shook its head in a vain attempt to remove the annoying object. This only served to make Alex laugh harder. Tears streamed down his face as he watched the alien fall on its back.

Gasping he managed to say "Stop, please just stop."

Hearing his voice it stopped and looked in his direction. Still smiling he walked over and helped remove the trashcan from its head. Tossing it to the side he scratched the side of its head. Leaning into the attention it started purring.

Chuckling he asked "So, feel better?"

"Yes, thanks for asking."

Alex froze in mid scratch. He had thought they were alone. Slowly he turned to look around the room. Seeing they were indeed alone he turned back to at the alien sitting before him. In a voice that sounded like he was unsure of his own sanity he said "Either I'm going insane, which is entirely possible. Or I just heard you speak."

If a Reaper could look shocked this one did. In an unmistakably female voice it said. "You can hear me?"

His eyes widened in shock when he realized it was the same voice from his waking dreams. His mouth opened and closed unsure whether or not to believe what he had just herd. By the look of things she wasn't doing any better.

Alex stood looking at her and considered his options. Without taking his eyes off of her he debated jumping into the kitchen and locking the door, but through that idea out. The ones that had chased him before had torn through a solid steel door. Plus she had yet to kill him.

After a minuet she asked "Um... are you alright human?"

With a sigh he nodded. "Y-yea, I'm fine. And my name is Alex. Whats yours?"

"I don't have one." she answered with a sad tone.

Confused he asked "What do you mean?"

Looking at the floor she said "Mother wasn't there when I first awoke, so I was never named."

Not fully understanding he said. "I think a few things need to be explained."

***

Back at the research station sat at her desk looking over the results of the latest batch of tests she had run on the Reaper Queen. Something didn't seem right to her. The Queen had stopped eating and refused to even acknowledge any humans that got close. So she had ordered this round of tests to try and find out why. As her practiced eyes scanned the reports she sipped a cup of coffee.

Blood tests showed no infections or illness. Her diet was fresh meet like her kind was known to eat so that wasn't the problem. Her cell was kept at the same temperature as the hive she had been taken from. With a sigh Larson sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. Every single test said the exact same thing. There was nothing wrong with her.

Reaching for her cup she found it empty. Standing she walked over to the coffee pot she kept in her office. As she filled her cup her terminal beeped. Sitting back down she saw it was the last test she has asked for, an MRI scan. Opening the file looked it over. As she read her brows furrowed. The scans showed parts of her mind that governed the link to the hive had all but shutdown. Up to now it had been disrupted but never to the point of shutting down.

If she wasn't the center of the hive anymore would she still produce cocoons? The scientific side of her relished in the thought of might not be able to get his 'specimens'. The human side however hoped there was something that could be done to save her.

Standing she dumped the file to a portable pad, grabbed her lab coat and headed for office. "This should be fun."

Five minuets later she stood in front of his door a smile plastered on her face. On the other side of the door two voices were yelling at each other. They could be herd all the way down the hall. Though they were yelling she could only catch scattered words.

"Doctor give it time, you..." someone was saying, trying to calm him down.

"NO! you know... Deadline" was in a rage.

"But..."

"I won't take any excuses..."

"I'm sorry sir but..."

"NOW!" There was pure rage in his voice.

There was silence for a long time after that. Then the other voice said "Yes sir."

Suddenly the door flew open and a scared lab tech ran out and brushed past Larson. She schooled her face into a serious expression and stepped into the room. currently sat at his desk fuming.

Hearing her footsteps he looked up. "Ah, and what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Smiling the fake smile she used around him she said "I think I know whats wrong with our Queen."

That peeked his internist. "I see." He gestured for he to continue.

Nodding she handed him her data pad. "As you can see she is physically fine." Reaching over she scrolled down. "But the real problem is that she has somehow completely lost her connection to the hive. Her children."

He gave her a skeptical look. "Doctor, are you telling me our deadly alien Queen... is heart broken?"

She nodded "That's exactly what i'm saying. I'v seen it happen with hundreds of species."

He leaned beck and digested this new information. "Hm... Fine you are the resident xeno-biologist here. So what do we do?"