Snatcher - Unharmed by Thermite and Lye

  There’s a flash as the thermite lights inside the crate, filling the air with acrid, flickering orange smoke. One whiff of the flames and acid, and he can no longer smell anything but agony. Blistering heat washes over D ck’s exposed face, chapping his skin, and still he pushes back. The blast of lye is coming soon, powerful enough to dissolve his flesh.

 The creature loosens its grip and D ck twists free, collapsing to the ground on his side. He lands on his right eye, finishing the job. He knows he won’t be able to run, that his internal bleeding is probably going to kill him if he doesn’t get to a doctor within the hour. He’ll be dead before then when the creature finishes lamenting the fiery crate.

  That’s when a miracle happens.

  It tries to rescue the egg.

  Like the anguished parent of an endangered baby, it reaches inside the boiling thermite and catches the splash of distilled lye and molten metal across the front of its body. The egg is doomed, its deadly payload leaking from the sides of the collapsing crate, foaming white. The creature’s rage manifests in a bright, piercing shriek, and its tail whips about like a spear, striking anything it can find.

***

Alien: The Cold Forge, Interlude, D ck