King of the Hive

Chapter 8: One Guy, Two Girls

Jake groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His chest hurt like hell. He felt a pair of lips come in contact with his own. His eyes drifted shut as he felt Advena’s tongue roll over his own. It was good to be back.

“I love you Jake...” What?! Jake shoved the Xenomorph off him. No no no no no nononononono NO! His eyes were wide as he stared at the Xenomorph in horror. Definitely not Advena. It was the other one who’d just busted his chest recently.

“I-It’s y-you...”

“Yes, but you can’t keep calling me ‘you’ all the time – I need a name.”

“How about... bitch, he’s already got a mate!” Advena snarled as she entered the room.

“Okay, maybe I should do the naming,” Jake suggested, shooting Advena a look. He turned back to the newbie. “How does Ostea sound?” Ostea pulled him into a tight hug.

“I love it,” she purred. Advena snorted and waited impatiently for the embrace to end. Eventually, Jake separated himself from Ostea’s clingy arms. He gave her a quick pat on the head.

“I’ve chosen a spot I think will be a good place to go camping,” Advena told Jake, excluding everyone else from the conversation.

“Advena, I’m sorry, but now that Ostea is here –” No, those are the words that no Xenomorph ever wanted to hear.

“Jake, please no! I can do better – I promise. I’m sorry for how I treated you on the ship! It’ll never happen again! Please, I –”

“What are you talking about? As I was saying, now that Ostea is here, we’ll need to find a home for her... which might be more than a little hard, considering, I, her host, am still alive.”

“Oh!” Advena cried in relief. “Yes, of course!” Why had she though he was going to abandon her? Surely she knew him better than that! Jake turned back to Ostea, making the conversation public once more.

“Ostea... this is my wi – er, mate, Advena,” Jake introduced. Ostea bowed her head in greeting.

“Good morning... Advena,” she said, rather icily.

“Good morning... Ostea,” Advena returned in much the same manner. Jake could sense the tension between them.

“Okay!” he clapped his hands. “Well, we know each other better already!” He laughed nervously. “Now Ostea, how about we give you a tour of the islands?”

“I would love to!” Ostea squealed in delight. She bounded over to Jake and quickly took his hand in hers. Jake started walking, pointing out all the different places and explaining their purposes. Advena hung back behind them, keeping an eye on things. Her back ached, and she knew that Jake’s chest would be giving him hell, but soon Ostea would be gone and they would be lying on the soft, mossy grass next to the waterfall she found. The small clearing in the forest would allow them to stare at the stars... Advena suddenly snapped out of her daydream and ran to catch up to the others, who had moved on to the tavern. The three of them went inside and Jake started introducing Ostea to their friends. Advena slunk over to the bar when Jake and a few of his mates started getting into a lengthy conversation, Ostea never leaving his side for a second.

“Hi Advena,” Garry greeted her. She grunted, not even bothering to talk to him. She picked up a half-empty beer bottle someone had left behind and downed it in a single go. “Whoa, what’s the matter?” Garry asked, feeling a little concerned for his friend. Advena grunted again and laid her head on the delicate wood of the bar. She twirled her finger around the lip of her bottle moodily. She heard laughter, and saw Jake looking like he was having a great time with Ostea. Advena looked back down at the wood and rested her forehead against it. What chance did she have? Ostea was younger, and she wasn’t crippled like Advena was. She was going to win Jake over, and that would be the end of Advena and Jake.