Seasons

Rage... blind and steadfast coursed through the older man as he watched numbly, blinking through the slight drizzle that had started nearly an hour ago, watching as the flag-covered casket was lowered into the damp earth. A dark-haired woman in a black dress opposite was sobbing uncontrollably, an older woman putting a hand to her shoulder comfortingly. Gary's memory finally provided an answer and he sighed.

Mrs.Goldstine... Now a widow to his friend the late Jones. What a waste... His features turned into a sneer. This was the least that they could do. It was almost ludacrous. For all of the show and the ellaborate burial, he knew that the casket before him contained only a vial of blood, all that was left, and given by feds so that they mght have something to conduct a funeral. After all, nothing had been found at the lab's remains after the blast nearly a week ago...

He shook his head.

That thing was going to pay. He swore on Jone's grave that he was going to make that thing pay...

Only moments seemed to pass, but he found the presence of the mourners slowly dissipating as the sky turned dark, until all that was left was one suit-clad man standing next to a large stone cross in the distance. He bit his bottom lip.

It was Garber.

Slowly, he approached the man. The two of them, had plans to discuss.

_________


"Geez... why am I now confined to this room?" Sharon's tone carried the hint of agitation as she glared at the hunter standing guard. He offered no explanation. "Is there some problem that your kind seem to be immune to the courtesy of answering people's questions?" she raised a brow.

So rude..

Tzukra stepped toward her and she found herself taking a step back. He made a move as if to take another step toward her but halted, instead fixing his gaze, stance straight, guard stick in hand. She was still useful, K'tch had declared. She was not to be let out of his sight until he devised another use for her.

Sharon sighed. How annoying. There was little she could do, or even for her to do, locked there with only a slab in the corner, the mysterious mist clinging to the floor of the room. With a heavy sigh she walked over to the farthest corner of the room and sat upon it. After a moment she lay back against it, turning onto her left side and closing her eyes. She didn't even recall dosing, let alone falling asleep. She remembered vaguely a nightmare involving the lab before she became aware of the movement. Something rough was testing the smooth skin of her cheek, the contact waking her. She was surprised to find herself slowly rousing from a much-needed sleep, vision blurry as she blinked slowly, the hand against her face receding. The sudden formation of the alien creature so close to her with little warning served to jar her severely as her eyes widened and she shrieked. She bolted upright, backing away quickly before recognizing him, heart beating fiercely in her sudden panic.

Unlike K'tch, the warrior would not express distaste at her reaction. Instead, the shorter warrior seemed a little...dissappointed by it.

"My God..." she gasped, catching her breath. "Why you...god-damn it..."

Tzukra stepped back slowly, eyes lowering as he returned to his position at the door. There was silence for all of several moments before she heard a voice that she was not familiar with.

"Do I..."

Sharon's gaze whipped over toward the short warrior, almost doubting she'd heard him say something in English to her.
"Huh?" she questioned. "Did you just... what did you say?" He lifted his gaze slowly to her from his post at the door. He might as well take a chance while no one else was there to taunt him. There was silence for a moment before he attempted her language again, speaking slow. His voice was a tad softer than K'tch's but still had that strange low guttural quality to it.
"You are..Scared... of me?"

It sounded more like scarred, but at least he was trying. She simply stared for a moment in shock, trying to comprehend the reasoning behind his very unexpected question.

Scare? Distress was clear across the young woman's features. She'd assumed that Tzukra didn't speak a word of English up until that moment. Quite frankly, she was at a loss for words. Why would he be asking her that? Did he want to scare her?

She swallowed, backing up into the corner.

"Wh-Why do you ask?" she inquired suspiciously.

With a grunt, he shook his head, unable to answer.

___________


A terrible silence emmanated from the shorter warrior as he refused to say anything more to the human female, unsure of what would happen if he did. K'tch had not lost faith in him yet, his new assignment was proof of that. He hadn't expected company, but that was K'tch's idea. Why he had instructed him to bring the girl along, he did not know. All he was aware of was the older warrior's constant messaging across the screen of his mask.. directing him... advising him.

Sharon stood next to him in the clothing she had worn when she was first brought upon the ship, small flat object in hand. Underneath his mask the muscles in his face formed a frown. If he was going to be taking this soft creature with him, then he seriously needed to discuss getting her some armor. It would be entirely too easy for her to be injured. He purred. Perhaps this too was part of his training. He was instructed to bring her back to the ship unharmed after his business down here had been concluded.

He uncloaked his camoflauge as he crept up to the door behind her. The back entrance to another Weyland facility. She seemed worried as she slid the small flat object into a slot and the screen beside it flashed green, much to her relief. The door slid open and she tip-toed into the dark lab. In the room adjacent, a bright light seeped from under the door. Someone was still here. Tzukra activated his camoflauge once more as Sharon crouched into a corner behind a table. The light beneath the door suddenly disappeared and she heard the knob turn. Taking her chances, she peered over from the side of the desk as the man in the white coat slowly emerged. An object only yards from him crashed to the floor in the dark and the man whipped out a gun.

"Who's there...!" he shouted. Sharon swallowed, shrinking back behind the counter nervously. What was she doing here. What was Tzukra doing here. No one had bothered to tell her much of anything.

A shot rang out, startling her and she held her breath.

Tzukra purred behind his mask at the act of violence. That was all he needed to proceed. Slowly, he peeled himself out of his camoflauge.

Tzukra approached slowly and Sharon watched in horror, eyes widening as she heard the sharp scrape of the claw-like weapon attatched to his wrist slide forth. Was he really going to kill this man? She swallowed, turning away from the scene. The scientist was positively horrified, eyes insanely wide as he fired. One...two...three shots, all of them wasted.

In mere moments he was cornered, eyes glued to the long sharp claws coming toward him.

"Please! I don't want to die... Don't do it... I have to see my kids..."

Sharon inhaled sharply at the words, putting her hands over her ears to block out the man's scream of horror as Tzukra lunged forward with a growl of excitement.

Time seemed to stand still as the screams died and all that was left was the droning sound of her own blood rushing through her body. She didn't know how much time had actually passed before she was startled by the feel of a claw resting careflully upon her shoulder, eyes snapping open and body jerking. Tzukra was kneeling before her silently, head cocked. His hand left her shoulder and reached forward tentatively, claw-like finger smearing the salt-water leaking from her eyes. He brought his finger up to his masked eyes to examine it, thumb rubbing against it for about a minute as it evaporated. He then turned his attention back toward the young woman. He reached forward to pull her up but she tensed in his grasp. Almost immediately he released her. After another moment, she slowly rose to her feet, eyes overflowing as the man's last words began to gnaw at her.

He'd had children...

Fighting to keep the actual sobs from coming she turned away. Refusing to go any further. "Take me back to the ship..." her voice wavered, eyes shut tight. "I can't do this... Please... take me back..." she brought herself to look up at the warrior through tears, relieved when he nodded, eerie voice surprising her.

"Yes..."