Alien- Liquid Nitrogen

  “I agree,” Dr. Hidalgo replied, but she had already resumed what she had been doing. She bent over Zak Li and sprayed something from the canister onto two of the spidery legs on one side of his face. The legs turned white with frost, as did the patch of Zak’s cheek that was visible between the alien’s legs.

  Liquid nitrogen, Sgt. Coughlin thought.

  “Go,” Hidalgo said.

  Navarro used the forceps to pry one of the frozen legs away. It snapped off, and everyone in the room went still.

  “No blood,” Navarro said.

  Dr. Komiskey stood up, sipped her tea, and crossed toward them.

  “Might be a way to get the damn things off them safely after all…” she said cautiously, “but you’ve just killed the flesh on Mr. Li’s cheek, as well.”

  The monitor began to beep loudly, and then to peal.

  “Damn it!” Navarro shouted.

  “The alien’s cut off his oxygen,” Dr. Hidalgo said, grimly resigned. “Back away. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

  So they stood there—the doctor, the scientist, her assistant, and Sgt. Coughlin—helpless to do anything. As the frozen portion of the alien’s spidery legs began to thaw, the stub of the snapped one began to bleed. Acid blood burned through Zak’s cheek, down through the cot, and into the floor beneath it.

  Zak Li couldn’t even scream.

River of Pain, Chapter 21