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After Roy left, the others didn't let their guard down, staying vigilant. However, they had no idea what kind of enemy they were facing, so they aimed their guns at the tunnel entrance.
No one noticed something crawling through a small passage in the corner.
Well, almost no one. Heather and Penny both caught a strange scent, but they couldn't pinpoint its source.
The creature's body was designed for hunting. Its black, hardened exoskeleton was impervious to most weapons. The shell didn't reflect light and was invisible to thermal imaging.
So, when a small Xenomorph suddenly appeared and silently bit into the neck of a Black Mountain mercenary, no one noticed until he screamed.
The mercenary, acting on instinct, pulled the trigger, but the creature on his back was out of reach. The other mercenaries hesitated to shoot, fearing they'd hit their comrade.
With no other choice, Heather drew her cursed dagger and charged. Seeing her approach, the small Xenomorph released its prey and leaped at her.
But it picked the wrong target. After a summer of trials, Heather was no longer an ordinary woman—she was a calm, seasoned warrior. As the Xenomorph jumped, she hurled her cursed dagger, pinning it to the stone wall.
The gray curse energy spread through the creature's body, making it roar in pain.
The roar seemed to attract something else, but the mercenaries were distracted by their injured comrade. Only Penny noticed another Xenomorph creeping up from behind.
This one was much larger, standing over two meters tall when upright, its movements creating a faint whoosh in the air.
"Watch out! Another monster behind us!" Penny shouted.
The Xenomorph, its ambush foiled, switched to a direct attack. The mercenaries turned their guns on it, but its durability was beyond anything they'd expected. It charged through the gunfire from four rifles, heading straight for Charles, who was isolated.
At the critical moment, Roy reappeared, throwing the Leviathan Axe in its spinning blade form. He chose the blade over the axe head for better control—throwing the full axe risked hitting Charles.
The blade sliced the Xenomorph in half, its corrosive blood splattering the ground, filling the tunnel with a pungent smell that made Heather and Penny grimace.
"Roy, you're back!" Heather and Penny exclaimed, looking at him with joy.
Roy nodded to them. "What happened?"
The mercenary captain answered, "Some weird thing ambushed one of my men. He's… gone."
The small Xenomorph had bitten through the man's throat, causing him to suffocate. It was still pinned to the wall by Heather's dagger.
Roy sighed. If he'd been there, he might've saved the man, but some things were unavoidable.
"That's the thing," Heather said, pulling out her dagger and handing the restrained Xenomorph to Roy.
In just a minute or two, the dagger's blade had developed a black oxide layer from the creature's corrosive blood.
Roy was surprised. Wasn't this a Runner Xenomorph from the Alien series? (Runners include those birthed from cats or dogs.)
A Xenomorph's size typically depends on its host. A human host produces a human-sized Xenomorph, while a cat host results in a cat-sized one. These smaller ones are weaker in strength and endurance but excel at stealth attacks due to their size.
The Runner in Roy's hand was still struggling, so he snapped its neck.
"Charles, does Lucas Barnes have a habit of keeping pets?" Roy asked.
Charles nodded. "Yeah, he's got a Ragdoll cat and a Dachshund. He takes them everywhere."
That explained it. The Ragdoll cat was likely infected by a Facehugger.
The mercenary captain had a question. "Mr. Blake, do you know what these things are?"
He'd noticed Roy's calm demeanor and figured he knew something.
He wasn't wrong.
"I just had a fair fight with some aliens," Roy said. "After I beat them, they told me about this pyramid."
It was a wild explanation, but after everything Charles and the mercenaries had seen, they bought it, no matter how absurd it sounded.
"Those things in the tunnel were aliens?" the captain asked.
"Yeah. They're a spacefaring civilization with a hunting tradition. They come to Earth for their coming-of-age trials. This pyramid was built in ancient times with their guidance to primitive humans. Their trial involves killing one of these creatures, called Xenomorphs, alone."
Charles frowned. "Sounds like a barbaric civilization."
"Who knows? But they respect strength, so they probably won't bother us anymore. Now we just need to watch out for Xenomorphs and The Thing."
Charles thought for a moment. "Roy, this is way over my head. Can you get me out of here?"
Among the group, Charles was the only one without combat skills. The mercenaries had guns, but he was just a fifty-something man who wanted to make history, not become a martyr.
"Sure, but the pyramid's layout has shifted. Getting out won't be easy."
The pyramid had mechanisms that periodically altered its structure, designed to force Predators to confront the Xenomorph Queen. Even with Roy's photographic memory, finding the exit was tough.
Charles sighed. "Do what you can. I'm starting to regret this expedition."
The trip to Antarctica had yielded discoveries, but nothing Charles could publicize. He'd basically wasted a fortune.
Penny spoke up. "Haven't you forgotten someone?"
They all remembered the unconscious member of Lucas Barnes's team on the ground. This guy was unbelievably lucky—not infected by either The Thing or a Xenomorph.
After waking him, he tried to shout, but the mercenary captain clamped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet! Noise attracts the monsters. If you want to live, keep it down!"
The man calmed down and nodded frantically.
Roy began questioning him. "Are you part of Lucas Barnes's expedition?"
"Yes, I'm Mr. Barnes's chef!"
Charles's eyes lit up. "I remember you. Bruce, right?"
Bruce nodded like a bobblehead. "Yes, yes, I'm Bruce! You're Mr. Charles Weyland?"
Surprisingly, Charles knew him.
"Bruce, no time for pleasantries. What happened to Barnes's team? Tell me everything," Roy said.
Bruce hesitated, glancing at Roy and Charles. "If I tell you, will you get me out?"
"As long as you're not infected, we'll take you with us," Roy promised.
Bruce spilled the details. The previous day, after getting coordinates from Mike Dean, Barnes's team headed straight to the site, arriving just before midnight, before the blizzard hit. To prepare for exploration, Barnes ordered the team to set up a camp and planned to drill through the ice at dawn.
"But as soon as we set up, a blinding light flashed, followed by a loud noise. We went to check and saw a huge tunnel in the ground. We were terrified, but Mr. Barnes was obsessed—he insisted on going inside. The mercenaries escorted him, but I stayed at the camp. Then Barnes's girlfriend turned into a monster and attacked everyone. I had no choice but to flee into the tunnel…"
Barnes's girlfriend was likely infected by The Thing, which was notoriously hard to detect—its most dangerous trait.
Bruce's luck was unreal, surviving this long.
"So, nothing happened to you after you entered the tunnel?" Roy asked.
"I planned to hide near the pyramid's entrance and wait for Mr. Barnes. But then, a bunch of weirdly dressed things—like aliens—came down the tunnel. I got scared and ran inside the pyramid. I've been hiding ever since, until I ran into you."
Talk about a mix of luck and misfortune. Surviving hours in a pyramid with The Thing, Xenomorphs, and Predators was nothing short of miraculous.
"How'd you manage to stay alive this long?" the mercenary captain asked, eyeing Bruce's frail frame skeptically.
Bruce gave an awkward laugh. "I don't know. I'm a cripple—I never thought I'd make it this far!"
He showed them his prosthetic leg.
Roy understood. Honorable Predators don't kill women, children, or the disabled unless provoked. They likely spared Bruce because of his disability. As for why the Xenomorphs didn't attack, maybe they were busy with The Thing.
Roy was curious about what would happen if The Thing infected a Xenomorph, but the priority was getting everyone out.
"Let's go. I'll find a way to get you out."
Just then, the pyramid's layout shifted again. Since the group was spread out, a moving stone wall separated them. Heather, Penny, and Charles were on one side; Roy, Bruce, and the mercenaries were on the other.
"Mr. Blake, what do we do?" the captain asked.
"No problem. Step back."
Roy punched the stone wall, smashing right through it.
Charles jumped, and Bruce and the mercenaries backed away, startled.
"Good God, that's a fifty-centimeter-thick wall!" Bruce stared at the hole, looking like he'd seen a miracle.
"Don't make a fuss. I'm just naturally strong," Roy said casually.
Heather and Penny weren't fazed—they knew Roy's strength intimately.
Roy mentally mapped their position in the pyramid. Despite two layout shifts, they weren't far from the entrance. If they moved in the right direction and broke through any walls in the way, they'd reach the exit.
"I know the way. Follow me."
His 85 memory stat kicked in, letting him pinpoint the exit's direction. Roy then smashed through every obstructing wall, leading them straight to the pyramid's entrance.
"Heather, Penny, take Charles and get out. Charles, once you're on the surface, take the team and get as far from here as possible!"
Charles paused. "Roy, don't we wait for you?"
"No, it's too dangerous to wait. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Roy recalled the Alien vs. Predator movie, where the heroine escaped with a Predator's body but was nearly killed by other Predators until they saw her mark of honor. Half a day had passed since the Predators arrived, so the trial was likely nearing its end. If Charles's team waited and ran into Predators, it could be trouble.
"Alright, we'll wait for you at McMurdo Station for a few days," Charles said decisively, heading toward the vehicles with Heather and Penny.
The scientists on the vehicles were still arguing, oblivious to Charles's return.
Roy glanced at Heather and Penny's retreating figures, then turned back to the pyramid.
"Heh, the hunt's just getting started."
Deception Space, activate!
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