Ripley- Explosive Thumper

  “Ripley.” Hoop handed her something from his waist pack, a chunky object about the size of a computer tablet. “Load it through the top. Real charges.”

  “We can’t just fire those things at random,” Lachance said.

  “Not at random,” Ripley said, plugging the container into the top of the thumper. “At them.” She braced again, took aim, and fired. The charge clattered along the tunnel, its echoes sounding strangely muffled as it ricocheted from the walls.

  Ripley frowned.

  Hoop grabbed her arm. “Time delayed,” he said as he pulled her to the side.

  The explosion thudded through their feet and punched the air out of Ripley’s lungs. Behind the rumbling roar of the mining charge, she was sure she heard the aliens screeching in pain, and a shower of debris burst from the tunnel, pattering from her suit, scratching her face.

  Smoke blasted after it, driven in streaming tendrils by the rush of air. Ripley swallowed to try and clear her ears, gasped at the stinging sensation across her face. Even as she stood up, Kasyanov and Baxter were at work with the plasma torches.

Out of the Shadows, Chapter 13