Alien- Backstab

But before she could raise her makeshift spear, fire erupted at the base of her spine. She felt something thrust its way inside her and then lift her off her feet. Before this moment she thought she’d understood what pain was, but this was an entirely different universe of agony hitherto unimagined.
The tail!
She’d lost sight of it, and now she knew why. The creature had snaked it around behind her and plunged its barbed tip into her back.
The monster brought her close to its face—she couldn’t believe how strong it was—and she was glad. The dumbass thing brought her close to its mouth, and she would use the last of her strength to ram the metal rod…
She couldn’t feel the IV pole in her hand. Looking down, she saw the hand was empty. She looked past it and saw the thing lying on the floor amidst splatters of her own blood. She’d dropped the rod when the tail stabbed into her back, and she’d been in so much pain that she hadn’t realized she’d done so. Miriam looked back to the monster in time to see its secondary mouth coming at her face.
At least she wouldn’t have to worry about her headache anymore.

Prototype, Chapter 16