?We might be able to come up behind it.?She swung out onto the ladder and began climbing.

Not only was the ladder thick with encrusted grime, but the moist air rising from below had stimulated the growth of local algae and other microorganisms. The rungs were slippery and uneven. She made sure to grip the side of the ladder firmly with her free hand as she ascended. 143

143

The shaft intersected one or more cross-corridors approximately every three meters. At each level she shoved her torch inside, illuminating each tunnel for a respectable distance before resuming her ascent.

While he was trying to watch Ripley, Aaron’s concentration slipped along with his foot. Behind him Dillon quickly looped his left arm around the ladder and caught the flailing ankle with his other hand, shoving the assistant super’s boot back onto the nearest rung.

?You all right up there??he inquired in a terse whisper.

?Fine,?Aaron replied, albeit a little shakily. ?Just keep that torch out of my ass.?

?Funny you should mention that,?the big man replied in the half darkness. ?I’ve spent years dreaming of doing just that.?

?Save it for another time, okay??Aaron hurried himself, not wanting Ripley to get dangerously far ahead.

?One thing more, man,?Dillon murmured.

The assistant superintendent glanced back down. ?What now??

?Anytime you want to trade places, you let me know.?

?In your dreams.?Despite their circumstances each man mustered a fraternal grin of understanding. Then they resumed climbing, the brief feeling of camaraderie swept away in the desperation and anxiety of their situation.

Ripley glanced down, wondering what they were talking about. It was good that they could manage to smile under such conditions. She wished she could share in their amusement, but knew she could not. She was much too conscious of what might lie ahead of them. Inhaling resignedly, she ascended the next step and aimed her light into still another opening.

Straight into the face of the creature. 144

If her fingers hadn’t contracted in terror she surely would have fallen off the ladder as she screamed. Reflexively she swung her torch. It struck the horror square atop the gleaming black head… which crumbled into pieces on contact.

?What… what is it??Aaron was yelling below her.

She ignored him as she fought to regain her equilibrium. Only then did she pull herself up the ladder and step off into the tunnel.

Together the three stared at the collapsed, dried-out husk of the adult alien.

?Ugly sucker, ain’t it??Dillon volunteered.

Ripley knelt to examine the cast-off shell. Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched it, then steadied. It was perfectly harmless, a shadow of an enigma. There was nothing there. The skull where her torch had struck had been empty inside. Experimentally she gave the remainder of the shell a light push and the massive, streamlined form tumbled over onto its side. She straightened.