Chapter 52

The tension was suffocating, like a sword ready to cut down anyone who made a wrong move. Jhonny and his colleagues hid behind a pile of large, long-unused tools in a narrow hallway, their breaths held and their heartbeats racing. Ahead of them, heavy steps and strange gurgling sounds were coming closer. The aliens were getting closer towards the door where Alice was locked up.

Jhonny sharpened his hearing, trying to calm himself down, though the anger boiling inside him was hard to contain. Alice was behind that door-his wife, his lover, his soulmate-and now these creatures wanted to touch her, make her part of their breeding stock of disgusting creatures.

Rian turned his head slowly, signaling everyone to stay calm. Fredy was busy attaching an extraterrestrial language scanning device to their earpods. They had to know what these aliens were planning before they could act.

Heavy steps were heard more and more clearly, and they could finally see the huge shadows of the aliens moving towards them. Their bodies were towering, giant-like, reminiscent of the powerful and fearsome Vikings, but with slippery, slimy bodies.

Their skin looked wet, glistening in the dim light of the hallway, and most disgusting of all were the tentacles growing from their backs, moving organically, waving and slithering through the air like living snakes.

"Oh my God," Denada muttered, her voice barely audible. She refrained from vomiting at the horrifying sight before her eyes.

Jhonny clenched his hands into fists, his eyes not leaving the alien that walked ahead. It looked bigger and scarier than the others. Its body was straighter, its face filled with strokes that made it look even more sinister. The tentacles on its back seemed longer and more actively moving, as if it had a life of its own. He was clearly the leader of the other aliens.

The alien leader stopped in front of the door where Alice was locked up. He stared at the door with a cold and meaningful look, before one of his subordinates approached him, speaking in a language foreign to Jhonny and his colleagues.

"Come quickly, Fredy, can you translate?" whispered Rian anxiously.

Fredy inserted his earpods into his ears, pressing a few buttons on the scanner. "Wait a minute... In a minute..."

Suddenly, the alien's voice started ringing in their ears in a language they could understand. The sound waves were automatically translated by the language scanning device they were using.

"The babies are born. Their seeds are ripe, ready to fill the new vessel," the alien's speaking voice sounded low and deep, full of cold satisfaction.

Jhonny felt his hair stand up. "Damn it!" he hissed under his breath, knowing exactly what that meant. They had used the bodies of innocent women as vessels for disgusting alien babies. And now, Alice could be the next victim.

Denada bit her lower lip firmly, trying to restrain herself from screaming. "This is disgusting," she whispered angrily.

"Calm down," Rian said in a controlled voice. "We don't know what they'll do next. Let's not be rash."

The alien leader, who was still standing tall at the door, then turned to his subordinates. His tentacles moved wildly, stretching and shrinking back, as if they were alive and responding to his thoughts.

"I can't wait anymore," the leader's voice echoed in translation. "The container in this room... its body looks strong. My seed will develop well inside her."

Jhonny gripped the plasma pistol at his waist, his face flushed with unstoppable rage. The alien leader's words instantly made his blood boil. They were talking about Alice. They wanted to use Alice, his wife, as a vessel for the seeds of these disgusting creatures.

Fredy saw the anger on Jhonny's face and immediately held him back. "Wait, Jhonny. We're not ready yet. We can't act rashly."

"But Alice-"

"If you act now, you could jeopardize Alice's life," Rian cut in firmly. "We have to think more carefully. We have to find a way to save her without causing more harm."

Jhonny held his breath, trying to calm himself down even though his whole body was shaking with anger. He knew Rian was right, but it was unbearable to hear the aliens talk about Alice as if she was just an inanimate object.

The alien leader took out a small device from his pocket, a round object that looked like a control device. With a single motion, he pressed it against the panel next to the locked door, as if preparing to open it.

"We have to do something," Denada said frantically. "They're going to open it!"

Fredy stared at the control device quickly, his brain spinning. "That... that's some kind of genetic scanner. They used a special genetic code to open this door. We don't have the code. If we attack now, we won't have time to stop them."

"Shut up," Rian hissed. "We have to wait for the right moment. If they open the door, there might be an opening we can exploit."

Jhonny held his breath again, his hand tightening around the plasma pistol. He wanted to rush in and crush the aliens' heads. But he knew that one wrong move could mean the end of Alice's life.

The alien leader pressed a few buttons on the device in his hand, as if preparing to open the door. Jhonny could see that the creature's face was full of disgusting greed and lust. The alien was actually planning to fill Alice's body with its seed.

In the corner of his eye, Jhonny could see Rian's hand starting to reach for his gun, ready to act if the situation worsened. Denada and Fredy were also on standby, waiting for Jhonny's signal when they would attack.

But just as the alien leader was about to press the last button on the control device, one of his subordinates suddenly approached and spoke something. Jhonny and the others immediately put on their ears, hoping that the translation of the alien language would give them some information.

"We detected an anomaly in the southern sector," said the alien subordinate. "There may be intruders. Should we investigate immediately?"

The alien leader seemed to think for a moment, his tentacles waving, before he finally retracted the control device and put it in his pocket. "Let's solve that problem first," he said coldly. "I'll be back here once the intruder is found. The woman in this room isn't going anywhere."

Jhonny clenched his fists tightly. "Damn it, that could be our chance!" he thought to himself. The aliens were gone, but they would be back. Jhonny and his team were running out of time.

The alien leader finally turned around and started walking away, followed by his subordinates. Their heavy steps began to fade away, and there was silence again. But anger and fear still raged inside Jhonny's chest.

"We don't have much time," Rian said, taking a deep breath after the aliens had completely left. "We have to find a way to open this door before they come back."

Jhonny nodded slowly, his face full of tension.

Rian stared at the locked door for a moment, then turned to his friends. "I have an idea," he said in a serious tone. "If we can't open this door from here, there's most likely a control room in this base that can control all the security systems, including this door."

Fredy looked at Rian. "So, you want us to find the control room?"

"Yes," Rian replied firmly. "This could be our only way to save Alice before they come back."

Jhonny nodded quickly. "Alright. We'll find the control room."

Denada and Fredy agreed too and the four of them left together.