Чужой

           ’What,Kane,what’sgoingondownthere?’Dallasforcedhimselfnottoshout.

           Atinynightmarewasnowclearlyvisiblewithintheovoid.Itlayneatlycoiledandfoldedaboutitself,compactanddelicateandallmadeofarubbery,filigreedflesh.ItlookedtoKanelikeafractionofsomeone’sdeliriumtremenspluckedfromthemindandgivensolidityandshape.

           Thethingwasbasicallyintheshapeofahand,many-fingered,withthelong,bonyfingerscurledintothepalm.Itlookedverymuchlikethehandofaskeleton,savefortheextrafingers.Somethingprotrudedfromthecentreofthepalm,ashorttubeofsomekind.Amusculartailwascoiledbeneaththebaseofthehand.Onitsbackhecouldjustmakeoutadim,convexshapethatlookedlikeaglazed-overeye.

           Thateye..ifitwasaneyeandnotsimplysomeshinyexcrescence..deservedacloserlook.Despitethefeelingofrepugnancechurninginhisbelly,hemovedstillcloserandraisedthelightforabetterview.

           Theeyemovedandlookedathim.

           Theovoidexploded.Propelledoutwardbythesuddenreleaseofenergycontainedinthecoiledtail,thehandopenedandleapedathim.Heraisedanarmtowarditoff,toolate.Itfixeditselftohisfaceplate.Hehadahorriblycloseglimpseoftheweavingtubeinthecentreofthepalmstrokingthefrontoftheglass,centimetresfromhisnose.Somethingstartedtosizzleandthematerialofthefaceplatebegantodeliquesce.Hepanicked,triedtotearthecreatureaway.

           Itwasthroughtheplate.Alienatmosphere,coldandharsh,mixedwithbreathableair.