Post-apacaloft

[Manofevil]

Codename Requiem -The Strange Fate of Gunnison, Colorado 2004 (Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem)
(PART 2)

Alien Life Cycle

Alien Egg
The Alien Egg can survive for an undetermined length of time in various and diverse environments. The egg’s outer skin is translucent, flammable, and is unarmored.
The egg potentially detects a host that is within close striking proximity by sound, movement or vibration. As this occurs, the egg and accompanying organism within are awakened by the viable opportunity to perpetuate the lifecycle. The four petals at the top of the egg open, preparing for the next stage as the so-called facehugger emerges. If necessary, the prey is ambushed. However, the Facehugger may take its time in approaching the host if opportune conditions (ie: a cocooned host) are present…
Facehugger
The Facehugger phase of the Alien life cycle is a creature that has been likened to a hybrid of a crab and spider. It appears to be comprised of an abdomen, legs, and tail with no visible head or sensory organs. It has no equivalent in earth based fauna, so the name 'Facehugger' has stuck even with the few scientists who have become aware of it. The creature is approximately 1.55 meters in length (including the tail), with a long retractable tube-like mechanism extruding from the mouth, that can extend to an approximate length of .5 to .75 meters.
An aggressive physical assault method seems to be what the Facehugger is best suited for when it comes to attacking and subduing a potential host. In this assault, the Facehugger is usually still inside the egg when the potential host “discovers” it. The extremely powerful tail that is coiled beneath the parasite is used as a spring to launch the creature from the confines of the egg and toward the potential host. The creature's expulsion from the egg is so violent and aggressive that the attack is often times overwhelming – in the sense that the victim has little to no time to react to the attack, and is usually subdued within seconds.
However, should initial contact with a host fail, the Facehugger then relies on its legs as a very effective means of locomotion. This creature can react with astonishing agility and speed once on open ground. It has also exhibited a certain degree of stealth while stalking mobile victims so as to gain the upper-hand and potentially catch the prey off-guard. As with its adult counterpart – it seems to have infinite patience. It has also shown the ability to climb.
During an instance where the potential host is either cocooned into the Alien hive walls, or is in some other way incapacitated, the Facehugger has been recorded crawling from the egg, as opposed to leaping from the egg. In this means of acquiring a host, the Facehugger actually takes on the characteristics of a passive creature: it’s actions are slower, and seem to be executed with a certain degree of care – as if to avoid harming the potential host.
The means by which the Facehugger locates its victim are believed to be identical to the means by which the adult Alien acquires a potential host: a combination of heat, smell, sound, and vibration. However, it has not been established where the Facehugger’s sense organs are located.
Speculatively, within the hive, the Facehugger may be responding to a pheromone trace that has been excreted by the adult Alien responsible for the cocooning of the host.
Such a pheromone trace would serve a duel purpose: to be used as a means of locating the host when returning with an egg from the egg chamber (employed by an adult), and to act as a “beacon” for the Facehugger once the egg is open. This would account for the larva’s apparent “nonchalance” in settling on a host so as to begin the process of depositing the embryo. After depositing the Alien embryo, the Facehugger departs from the host, generally dying within a short distance.
Embryo
It’s speculated the host’s body begins to grow the Embryo due to the Xenomorph’s altering of the host’s DNA. The Embryo grows in the chest cavity just behind the host’s sternum for protection, but unfortunately this means a very painful death for the host. Speculation also suggest the Embryo uses some of the host’s ingested nutrients causing the host to feel hungry upon regaining consciousness. The Embryo introduces a chemical into the host’s digestive system to keep others of it's kind from damaging the host. It’s also known that a host will experience a slight fever after removal of a Facehugger as their immune systems reacts to the foreign tissue but due to the altering of the host’s DNA the Embryo is able to develop unharmed.
The time it takes for an Embryo to develop is seventeen to twenty-four hours, and with a Queen Embryo the time is more than twenty-four hours which is speculated to be because of the Queen’s more complicated structure. Embryos can take only two to four hours to develop with a Queen Embryo taking only eight to twelve hours for development depending on the mixture of DNA. If a host dies with an Embryo inside it, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Embryo will die too because there’s no evidence to suggest that it’s tied into the host’s main systems. The life span of an Embryo has yet to be determined.
Chestburster
The larval stage, or Chestburster as it has come to be called, punches through the host’s sternum sending blood and fragments of bone everywhere killing its host. It has a long and slender body with small malproportioned limbs, yet possesses an undeveloped head. The Chestburster moves by using its tail to push it along much like a serpent. One of the first things a Chestburster will do is make its first use of its lungs by letting out a scream or cry. After it does this it will leave its host’s body.
Strangely enough the Chestburster does not feed off the dead host’s body.
A factual reason for this behavior has yet to be determined. It has been speculated that the Alien instinctively flees the host on account of its vulnerable state, attempting to find a secure location in which to molt into the adult. What the Chestburster eats during the maturation process is unknown. It is known that the creature will molt its shell numerous times in achieving the size of a fully developed Alien.
The Chestburster has an astonishing metabolism rate that is significantly higher than at any other point in the life cycle. Based off of the available information, it takes roughly two to three hours for the Alien to reach its full size, an estimated two meters in vertical height.
Adult
The Adult is two meters tall with a strong tail that extends to the height of the body, and it’s generally bipedal in the specimens that have been encountered by humans. However, the movement and shape of the creature shows that it adopts certain physical attributes of the host’s anatomy. When infecting the species of mankind, the Alien may have adopted our characteristic “intelligence.” Speculation suggests that it emits no body heat. This is the assumption mainly because the creature produces no effect on heat-detecting devices. Note: The aliens in Gunnison did not show up on infra-red.
The long head of the Adult may be due to housing an enlarged brain. This does not necessarily mean that the creature possesses a greater natural or innate intelligence. However, this could signify that the alien’s brain is more complex than that of other Earthly terrestrial organisms. It has been speculated that a translucent, featureless cowl on the exterior of the creature's head shows it is young. As it ages, the smooth cowl is lost, exposing distinct textured lining . The reason for the cowl is probably to serve as a protective shell for the still developing cranium. The smooth heads of each alien(s) in observed specimens bears testament to this speculative fact.
Generally, the alien organism proved to be able to survive in settings that might be unfamiliar to its species. The work in the Caribbean lab provided unique insight as to the capabilities of the alien when a hive is established, thriving, and the alien is in its natural habitat. It was also observed that they possess the ability to climb on man-made walls and ceilings, as well as the textured camouflage resin of the hive. This is potentially possible because the alien possesses:
a) extreme physical strength in its appendages, or
b) suction-like, or textured structures on its hands, feet, and tail.
The Adult has five spine-like appendages extending from its back, and the uppermost can be seen to be no more than an exaggerated vertebrae which could aid in warding off rear attacks or just to make the creature seem larger. The other four tube-like appendages have been hypothesized to contain glands that secrete a type of resin much like that used to construct a hive which would aid the Adult in dropping down onto prey or ascending great heights while leaving the arms, legs, and tail free for use. It’s possible they are used to secrete the resin that the hive is constructed of, but it might be that they just regurgitate that substance.
The alien organism also has a tongue-like set of jaws contained within the elongated head. These secondary jaws of the alien which are part of the modified tongue are used in an offensive manner and can spring twelve inches outward from the creature's mouth. The primary purpose of these jaws is to immobilize a potential host. However, they can also be used to intimidate prey and perform basic motor functions. While tense, the strength is greater than bone, and once it reaches its maximum length its jaws close and the tongue is retracted.
The Adult is also able to spit a concentrated ray of venom toward a potential host that can dissolve flesh and enter their blood stream eventually rendering the potential host immobile.
The creature's tail is very powerful and it’s used for agility and balance, an offensive and defensive weapon, and immobilizing potential hosts with its stinger.
In aquatic situations it allows the Adult to move with spectacular grace and agility. The creature's detection organs are all located in or around its head, and are extremely acute. It appears the creature feeds upon any sort of animal life, but what its dietary needs are have yet to be determined. Also, what type of internal organs an Adult contains is unknown along with its life span.
Queen Alien
The Queen Alien is about four and one half meters tall with an extremely powerful tail that is equal in length to the Queen’s height. It possesses a large cranial crown which extends two meters behind the back of its head, and it has a second set of smaller arms. The Queen’s head is kept hidden in its cranium until awakened at which time the front portion of the head will emerge much like a turtle. The large crown may be used for communication between the queen and the workers of the hive.
The secondary jaws of the Queen are similar to the Adult’s secondary jaws, except they’re proportionately larger with a striking length of roughly thirty-six inches. The second set of smaller arms the Queen possesses were speculated to be used in a mating process, but Queens are actually born fertile. A mature Queen has an ovipositor which can reach a length of eight meters. Both the Queen and its ovipositor are suspended from the roof of a hive by thick strands of resin. From the end of the ovipositor, an egg is set down onto the floor of the hive. Ultimately, the Queen is responsible for producing a Queen-bearing Egg(s) but when she starts producing them is uncertain. Speculation suggests that when a Queen’s Egg laying abilities are nearing an end the next Queen born takes over.


Forbidden Lore

What the American Government never learned was that after the events on Bouvetøya, a Predator ship left Earth carrying Alien facehuggers. A chestburster with traits of both species quickly matured into an adult crossbreed and started killing the Predators on board. The hull was punctured and the ship crashed in a forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado, killing all but one of the Predators. Severely injured, the Predator sent a distress signal before being killed by the crossbreed.
That crossbreed and several facehuggers escaped and implanted embryos into several humans. On the Predator homeworld, a skilled veteran Predator received the signal and decided to kill all the Aliens on Earth. He arrives at the crashed ship, uses an acid-like liquid to dissolve evidence of the Aliens' presence, and triggered an implosion to destroy the vessel.
Meanwhile, a Gunnison woman, Darcy Benson, began searching for her missing husband and son, unaware that they were killed by the Aliens and a local waitress Carrie Adams discovered she was pregnant.
The Predator started killing Aliens in the sewer, but four managed to escape. He pursued some to the power plant, where the fight causes the citywide power outage. At the same time, an Alien killed several people at the high school swimming pool and another invaded a home and killed the homeowner while his family escaped. Aliens also attacked the diner where Carrie worked, and she was impregnated by the crossbreed. Darcy discovered her body in horror. Sheriff Morales then arrived and took her with him.
Sheriff Morales and others gathered at a sporting goods store to collect weapons while troops from the Colorado Army National Guard arrived to battle the Aliens but were quickly massacred. Several Aliens arrived at the sporting goods store but the Predator killed them. As survivors attempted to escape Gunnison, they learned Colonel Stevens was staging an air evacuation at the center of town. Sheriff Morales and Darcy headed to the evacuation zone. However, the hospital was invaded by Aliens and the Crossbreed, who impregnated some pregnant women to breed more of it's kind. The Predator arrived at the hospital and dispatched more Aliens. It was then attacked by an Alien and both tumbled down an elevator shaft.
It somehow survived the fall and battled the Crossbreed on the roof in hand-to-hand combat. The two mortally wounded each other just as the F-22 executed the tactical nuclear strike. The Predator activated it's own self-destruct mechanism at the same time and the resulting release of energy did something nobody has since been able to define.

The Day and Night After

When the sun rose over Gunnison the next day, most of the residents were surprised to see it. All woke up, as they would remember it later, laying on the ground where they had been about to die the night before. This applied to the to Predator, Aliens, and Crossbreed amongst them as well. The sunlight drove all Aliens and the Crossbreed down into the sewers, old mine shafts, and caverns under the city with the Predator hot on their trails. It was then that the horrors began. Aliens began to burst from the chests of every person who had been attacked by facehuggers or the Crossbreed. Sometimes, right in front of the victims’ families. Fortunately, since it was a bright sunny day, the chestbursters all fled into the underground and harmed no one else, but the vision of people being torn apart from the inside by these creatures is burned into the minds of all those unfortunate enough to have witnessed them. This was especially the case with those who saw it happen in the maternity ward of the hospital. Meanwhile, the power was still out, communications were still cut off, and about the only thing preventing a mass panic was that most people were gathered at or near the center of town for the evacuation that was announced, though sadly, that was also the place where most of them saw their first chestburstings.
Fortunately, Sheriff Morales and several other city leaders were there and managed to bring some order to the assembly. It was quickly recognized that they were dealing with an unheard of situation. The first thing everyone tried was returning to their homes to call for help. This sadly proved to be impossible as the internet was down, like the cellular network, and even the hard lines. It was discovered that local calls could be made over the landlines but nothing outside of town. By noon, all of this had been discovered and the impulse to run for their lives took hold of the populace. Everyone hastily packed their cars and headed for the town limits. When they arrived, however, they found themselves confronted by a thick fog bank impossible to see through. The drivers wisely slowed their cars as they approached, but then when they were just feet away from the fog, all their cars stalled out and wouldn't restart no matter what was done. Some of the people grew desperate and ran into the fog bank determined to get away from the monsters.

Shortly afterward, they ran back out of the fog even more terrified and told everyone else that the fog was filled with the very monsters they had been fleeing. The refugees retreated back to the center of town to compare notes with those who hadn't fled and figure out a new plan.
Sheriff Morales, his deputies, and some volunteers had been busily gathering and identifying the dead while power company technicians had been hard at work trying to get the power restored. The Sheriff’s department began to take statements from those who had witnessed the Aliens and their actions and were still coherent enough to speak. The more people heard about the creatures, the more scared they got, and it was universally decided by all to arm themselves. Even those who were the most fearsome gun opponents one week earlier were taking the crash course in guns that the local gun enthusiasts offered them. Responsible people like Sheriff Morales made sure safety rules were followed but the level of fear in everyone made more than few worried there would be accidental discharges that might injure or kill. All of that ended after the sun went down, and the creatures began to come out. The power had been restored late in the afternoon so the street lights were up, but there were plenty of shadows for them to hide in. So much planning had been done that the entire population of the town was still gathered in the center of town. Sheriff Morales had managed to put rudimentary plans in place. The city center had been fortified with crude barricades and vehicles had been parked over every manhole. The Sheriff led experienced shooters out of the fort to pick off the creatures then fall back to resupply. The inexperienced shooters stayed behind to guard the children, injured, and others unable to shoot.
One of the children, a little girl named Sara, noticed one of the vehicles parked over a man hole cover was shaking violently. She tried to tell her mother but was ignored until the street beneath the vehicle erupted upward, the vehicle overturned, and the Crossbreed landed right in front of Sara and her mother. Before anyone could move, what would later be named the 'Shuriken' clove the Crossbreed apart at the waist and splashed it's deadly acid blood back on the overturned vehicle melting much of it away, then the cloaked Predator stepped out from behind Sara and her mother toward the remains of the Crossbreed.
"Look Mommy, there's the invisible man I saw earlier," said Sara. The Predator caught the returning shuriken in front of the whole assembly which caused it's cloak, damaged from the previous night, to short out again and the Predator was revealed in all his ferocity to everyone inside the city center fort. At that second, another Crossbreed leapt from the hole in the street only to be beheaded by the Predator shuriken again and it's remains cast down into the hole.
The Predator looked down into the hole and three more crossbreeds hissed up at him. The predator stepped down into the hole and began slashing and shooting left and right, massacring the crossbreeds. Only one of the townsfolk was bold enough to look down into the hole and witness what was happening. The entire exchange took less than two minutes.
When Sheriff Morales and his men returned from their latest sortie to reload their guns, he was shown what was happening in the hole. He drew a bead on the Predator but Sara's mother, Connie, stopped him.
"I don't think he's here to hurt us," she said, and told him what had happened with her daughter. A professor from Western Colorado University in Gunnison advised 'The Enemy of my Enemy' and the Sheriff reconsidered, although he did leave some shooters behind to watch the hole. One of those, Darcy Benson, decided to shoot down a Crossbreed that was moving in behind the Predator and for this, he was spared a one second look from the creature that she claimed was gratitude.
When that first terrible night was finally over, the Predator again disappeared into the underground, presumably, to hunt more Aliens, while Sheriff Morales and the surviving population of Gunnison that could remain conscious- everyone was exhausted after twenty-four hours of terror- compared notes and tried to form another plan for the coming night, For the sun could only set again.

The Isolation of Gunnison

Gunnison is effectively cut off from the rest of the world. There is, and can be, no communication with the outside, if the outside is even there anymore, as some wonder. The people of Gunnison had to work hard to adapt to their new situation. Once the power was restored, everything in the city was put to the test. It was discovered that, for the most part, everything still functioned. This included the telephone network, local radio and television stations, the cellular network, even the internet. It all still worked, it just couldn't reach the outside. People quickly found ways to make use of these facilities to keep each other informed and to verify each other's well being, which has led to much needed boosted morale in the populace as well as many other practical applications. Even the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport is still operational though any attempts to fly over the Barrier have failed. Also, another thing that hasn't really been affected is the water. The Gunnison River and Tomichi Creek both flow out of the Barrier, alongside Gunnison, and back into the Barrier.

The Barrier

No one can even begin to guess what the Barrier is. It's clearly something that has never been seen before. It resembles a large storm cloud that sits at the edge of town, with occasional bolts of lightning travelling across the surface. Anything electrical or electronic shorts out within roughly 15 feet of it including all vehicles. Even the Predator's technology is not immune. No animals will go near it, not even the Aliens. The Predator is not even comfortable around it. This does make it something that can be used against the Aliens, for when a person is being chased by the Aliens and runs up next to the Barrier, the Aliens will not approach them. They fear the Barrier too much. This allows the fugitive to wait for sunrise when the Aliens will withdraw. This has already save several lives.

The People of Gunnison

Gunnison, Colorado had a population of over 5,600 people in 2004. There were over 2,300 households, and over 900 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,829.4 inhabitants per square mile (706.3/km2). There were over 2,500 total housing units at an average density of 826.6 per square mile (319.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.9% White, 0.6% African American, 2.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.2% of the population.
Of the over 2,300 households, 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.6% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 57.2% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.9.
In the city, the population breakdown was 26.1% under the age of 19, 23.4% from 20 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8 from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 128 males.
On the Day After, almost 150 deaths were attributed to the Alien Monsters and 16 more to various forms of violence like gunshots. When the population reassembled that day after trying to reach the outside world and/or leave, a quick census was taken with everyone there signing their name in a book and parents signing for their small children. This has become a record of all survivors that is checked daily to make sure no one has been lost to the Monsters.
Gunnison had large hunting, gun enthusiast, and survivalist, cultures beforehand so the population has reacted to these circumstances perhaps better than most others would, but the nightly sieges by the Alien Monsters wore heavily upon everyone's health and sanity. As survivalist thinking took hold of the population over the continuing cycle of night sieges and day's rest and preparations, a certain set of rules emerged:

-1. Everyone in Gunnison must look out for each other. Our only chance to survive is together.
-2. Never go anywhere alone. The Monsters look for lone people to capture and use to reproduce. We must do everything we can to deny them that.
-3. Stay out of dark and shadowy places, especially the underground. The monsters strike from the shadows. Stay out of them. Every one of us that's lost is one of them that's born.
-4. Be somewhere safe at sundown. Check in with family and/or central tracking if not at your expected place. Only exception is hunting parties
-5. Everyone of age will have and be able to use a gun. No exceptions. Every one of us taken is one of them born.
-6. Everyone will have a cell phone, keep it charged, and use it. Follow check in procedures every day at sunrise and sundown.
-7. Report every sighting of a Monster. No exceptions. False alarms are better than lost lives
-8. Parents, keep small children close at all times. Children, stay close to your parents. This is no time for games.
-9. Food and ammunition are communal property to be shared and rationed equally. No exceptions. Anyone caught hoarding will lose their gun for a month. (Note: loss of gun means having to be defended by others for a long time and an inability of self defense. A stressful way of life for any length of time in Gunnison.)
-10. No predatory behavior toward humans will be allowed. Predatory behaviors include rape, child molestation, extortion, etc. Full list available to residents. Punishment for proven violation is public execution.
-11. New rules may be proposed at any morning meeting. New rules are adopted or vetoed by majority vote at the Sunday Morning Meeting which everyone must attend.

Those in charge try to foster a can-do attitude in the populace. They want to convince everyone that a future can be built for themselves if they try hard enough. Every night that passes when no one is lost helps feed this, but every life lost nearly shatters it. Whatever the case, Almost everyone accepts that they must work together to survive. If anyone feels differently, they haven't said so.

The University

Western Colorado University had enrolled approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state and 171 faculty. These people do everything they can to improve life in Gunnison. Physicists study the Barrier, biologists, the Alien remains, mathematicians, rationing.
Computer scientists and programmers from the university were the ones who helped get the local internet and cellular network up and running. A program was also written by a programmer to record every call or text sent to the central computer every sunrise and sunset and send an alert to the Sheriff's dept. when someone doesn't report in. Chemists brew ethanol gasoline for when the gasoline runs out. Engineers try to create new engines that will run vehicles when fuel runs out.

The Lost

Some who witnessed the chestburstings on the first day and the night raids afterwards have had complete mental breakdowns. Their reactions have run the gamut from paranoid delusions to complete catatonia. Some are still functional and are allowed to carry guns and fight the monsters, but the non-functional ones must be carefully guarded lest they be taken by the Aliens and used to procreate. When television and radio services were restored, Old TV shows and music began to be broadcast and watching and listening to this has helped some of them, but most of them have a long road of recovery ahead of them if they can even survive.

Wolf the Predator

The Night After, as it came to be remembered, was the beginning of the alliance, even friendship, between the Gunnison people and the ‘Alien Hunter' as the more educated of the population finally thought to call him. During the first days after the explosion, He was closely observed by all who witnessed him do anything at all. The first thing noticed was how efficient a killer he was. People saw him surrounded by dozens of monsters at once and still be the last one standing. The next thing they noticed was that he seemed to be willing to protect their lives. Several times, it had intervened to save someone's life. Some pointed out that he may have his own reasons for doing that, such as preventing the creatures from using people to procreate. This argument was immediately countered with the point that that was a common goal for everyone. One morning, Sheriff Morales stepped between the Hunter and the nearest entrance to the underground, put down his gun, and approached the creature.
"Can we talk?" he asked. The creature growled in response.
"You do a lot to keep us alive. Maybe we could do better if we worked together," said Morales.
The creature growled again, as if considering it. The two studied each other briefly until the creature growled, "Come with me." then walked away. Amazed that the creature could even speak, Morales fell in behind the creature and followed right down the street in broad daylight in front of God and all the people.
As residents saw the Predator walking down the street followed closely by the Sheriff, those with gumption enough to do so began to follow along. A decent crowd had gathered by the time they'd gotten the trees to the north of town. The creature seemed to notice this, turned to the crowd, and removed his mask. His faced shocked the whole crowd into taking at least one step back.
The single exception was the Sheriff who said, "Not exactly the most handsome fella, are you." which caused the creature's mandibles to spread wider and a series of growls sounding very much like laughter came from the creature. This laughter spread to many in the crowd who also smiled and laughed. The creature then put his mask back on and continued his walk with everyone following after.
When they reached the trees north of town, the creature suddenly stopped, pointed to its right, and growled, "There!"
Everyone looked and saw a beautiful doe step from the forest, heavy with fawn and otherwise unremarkable. To everyone's shock, the creature threw it's shuriken which neatly beheaded the deer. The creature then stepped toward it, caught the shuriken as if it were an afterthought, and growled, "Look."
The creature then used the blades of the shuriken to cut open the doe's belly and reveal several embryonic crossbreed monsters. The creature stabbed one and the acid blood burst out and scorched the earth. He then systematically destroyed them all. One of the university students took some of the remains back for study but the creature ignored this. It, instead, pulled off it's mask, cut some raw venison from the deer's carcass, and devoured it right there.
"Damn, you're a WOLF!" came a voice from the crowd.
The creature looked over at them in puzzlement and repeated the word 'Wolf''
"Yeah," said the Sheriff, "That's what we'll call you. Wolf."
The Creature nodded and growled, "Hmm. Wolf.," and continued to eat.

Forbidden Lore: Like all of his kind, Wolf hunts to live and lives to hunt. He is currently committed to killing all of the creatures in the underground but should he succeed, there is no telling what his subsequent actions towards the people of Gunnison may be no matter what attachments he may make among them. Many suspect this. He can hunt for days without food or rest and frequently does. Many of those in Gunnison see him as a friend, especially those who have joined him in hunting and killing the monsters, but others still fear him.

The 'Bug Monsters' and the 'Crossbreeds'

Allying with Wolf allowed the people of Gunnison to get a better handle on their situation. Communication was difficult at first, one of the university art students thought to use crude pictures to communicate, but through Wolf, they learned of the life cycle of the ‘Bug Monsters’ (as one of the children had called them and the name stuck) from egg to adult. This also meant that there was a Monster Queen somewhere in the underground which was not a pleasing thought.

Wolf also explained how the Monsters attacking pregnant women and animals was a ‘Bug Monster’ born of his own kind. The people tagged them with the name ‘Crossbreeds’ because of that and added a new rule to those above:

-12. All women who discover they are pregnant must inform the community. No exceptions. Remember that the monsters consider you a high value target.

There has not been a single night since the bomb when Bug Monsters have not been on the streets. Sometimes, like the first night, the streets have been overrun and the populace have been fighting for their lives. Other nights, have been sparser. The Sheriff's department and a regular group of deputized shooters have been obsessively patrolling the streets looking for the Monsters and how they're coming to the surface. Manholes and doors to the sewer system have been welded shut except for a few chosen points which the hunters use to ambush the creatures as they come up. A few weeks after the Bomb, the cattle ranchers who also lived north of town went out to their ranches to see what had happened to their herds. About half of the cattle had been lost to the monsters and then only because they were too big for them to drag underground. The eggs had to be brought up from below by hive worker monsters to hatch and infect the cattle instead. Empty eggs and dead facehuggers were all around the dead cattle. It was decided that an attempt would be made to salvage the meat from the dead cattle, so heavy machinery was used to bring them into town and refrigerator trucks trapped in town were used to preserve them. Fortunately, a lot of local hunters knew how to butcher their own meat and this much needed food source was in place to keep people fed. Some are afraid to eat the meat for fear that it may have been poisoned by the monsters but most are desperate enough not to care. The cattle ranchers have now set up a fortified corral for the cattle with it's back to the barrier which they must defend from the monsters every night. Since this is an important food source, the town supplies this corral with ammunition every evening and one of the first duties Sherriff Morales has every morning is to drive up and see how the ranchers have done. The cattle are released every morning to graze off the land and rounded up every night to be defended. The local wildlife has grown very sparse. The usual elk and deer that hunters chased for years grow fewer and fewer though nobody misses the coyotes which were nothing but trouble. Almost every mid sized to large pet dog in town has vanished as have most smaller pets but those are believed to have been eaten. All know the vanished animals have been used by the Bug Monsters to reproduce and it feeds the low mood of the populace who are barely holding together as it is.

The Underground

The underground is not just the city sewer system. Gunnison was an old gold and silver mining town and there are many old mine shafts that were sealed when they were mined out. It is somewhere in these old shafts that the Aliens are nesting.

Current Sketch

It has now been six months since the bomb. The people of Gunnison still battle daily to reclaim their city and save their lives. Nights are filled with gunfire and pitched battle. Days are filled fear and dread. Morale in Gunnison is a house of cards that can crumble at any time and has. Emotional breakdowns are frequent. People make allowances for them since breakdowns are preferable to suicides, of which there have been several. Buildings and houses have become crudely armored fortresses that must have quick escape routes available to the outdoors should the monsters take them. The constant siege mentality is wearing heavily on everyone’s health. To combat this, many things are being done to hopefully boost morale.
The Alien Hunter Wolf has taken the best hunters, shooters, and fighters under his guidance and, after training them, has lead them on some of his nightly hunting trips deep into the underground. These excursions are extremely dangerous and only the most skilled are allowed to join. This includes only those trained to check above, below, left, right, and behind themselves. There have yet been no deaths but there have been serious injuries on these hunts due to acid splash and monster attacks. Wolf has been convinced to wear a cellphone with a running camera on it so there can be a record of the hunts. Wolf is actually impressed with this idea and has begun fiddling with his mask so he may see the videos that are taken. Every morning, the footage is downloaded and studied by members of the community. More of the underground is mapped and more monster kills recorded along with those killed in the streets. The only reason more people haven't been killed is that the monsters are clearly trying to take captives for reproduction. It places them at a disadvantage they might not otherwise be at.
Among those who have qualified to join the hunts are Sherriff Morales and Darcy Benson.
Edward "Eddie" Morales is the town's Sheriff. Eddie received a call for help during the alien invasion, but did not believe it until an alien broke into his house and killed his wife. He later joined a group of survivors, waiting for a rescue. The government presumed him dead when a nuclear bomb was dropped on the town. He assumed a leadership role in the town.
Darcy Benson was the wife of Buddy and mother of Sam, both of whom were out hunting when they witnessed the first ship crash. From there, they went to investigate but were soon chased by escaping facehuggers. Sam fell and gave the parasites an advantage; they circled the pair. Buddy managed to kill one (at nearly point-blank range), which resulted in his arm being melted off by the acid. Another facehugger attacked and succeeded in attaching itself to Buddy's face; with his father being rendered unconscious, Sam was unprotected and was also attacked by a facehugger. The pair were later killed by the chestbursters that erupted from their chests, and their dead bodies were melted by Wolf. Darcy is unaware that her family were killed by the monsters. She became involved in the Alien outbreak and was later presumed by the government to have been killed by the bombing.

If Wolf has anyway of telling her about what happened to her family, he hasn't done it, yet. Darcy is not so naive as to believe here family is still alive somewhere but keeps looking for evidence of what happened to them.

Developments Since the Bombing

Several things have been tried against the Monsters that have had varying degrees of success.
Firstly, since the monsters were similar to arthropods, several different pesticides were tried. While none were lethal to them, they did have the effect of slowing them or even rendering them unconscious and easy to kill. This has become a useful weapon in their arsenal but a sparse one since there isn't a lot of these pesticides in town. Secondly, a powerful ultrasonic device was developed at the university based on ultrasonic pest controllers. The scientists set up a system of speakers around the cattle corral to the north of town and when the monsters attacked after dark, they ran up and down the sonic spectrum hoping to find a frequency, or combination thereof, that was painful, or even lethal to the creatures. They tried for nights at a time while the gunmen shot down any Bug Monsters that got too close. Finally, on the tenth night, they transmitted a frequency that drove back the creatures.
One scientist who had developed a belt worn version of the device and programmed in with the frequency, walked outside the corral and directly toward the creatures just to see them retreat before him. These devices have since been installed in the sewers and have driven the creatures out of them allowing the citizens to reclaim some of their homes. The scientists have warned, however that the creatures may develop a tolerance to the sound and reinvade, so all other defenses and evacuation plans are still in place, after all, they're only one more power outage away from being overrun again.
There have been other mysterious things that have happened. On one of the hunting excursions Wolf was leading, the party came across a group of special ops soldiers who were somehow in the tunnels and surviving fighting the Monsters. The party immediately led them out of the tunnels and up to Gunnison where the community got the first news from the outside they'd had in months. It was learned that the Monsters, or Aliens, as the government calls them, are making occasional appearances around the site of the Gunnison Incident as it's called. The Government has sealed off the area and the Special Ops Unit was one of those tasked with exploring it. They had followed the tracks of one of the Aliens through the mists that filled the hole that had been left behind by the incident to an old mine shaft which they entered with orders to search and destroy every Alien they found. By the time they met the hunting party, they were almost out of ammunition and were approaching the point of last round for themselves(suicide). They were able to recover and rearm in Gunnison and study the film footage of the tunnels to try to find the way back to where they came in. They were even willing to accept the guidance of Wolf and the rest of the hunting party as they went back into the underground to find the way back out. Sadly this proved to be the first of many failures. Everybody involved with the Unit and the hunting parties believes there's a way back somewhere in the underground.

This was further proved when a hunting party ran into two more of Wolf's kind who came to investigate his disappearance and met the same fate as the Unit. One sadly died in the underground but the other took his place beside Wolf and is called Sword for his choice of weapon. He is just as committed to destroying the Bug Monsters and Crossbreeds as Wolf.
The other important event in the months since the bomb is called The Kayaking. One of the townspeople who was a avid kayaker, reasoned that the water in the rivers had to enter from someplace and exit to someplace. In a Sunday morning town meeting, he suggested that people floating down the river in a boat might pass through the Barrier and escape back to the rest of the world. This idea fired the hopes of everybody who thought more about escape than killing the monsters, but thankfully more rational voices prevailed. It was pointed out that nobody knew where the water came out. They might come out in the middle of the ocean or worse. The idea was voted down for immediate action but adopted for reconsideration though there was no putting off the kayaker. That night, he left a note for the townspeople on his door, carried his kayak to the river, paddled out the barrier, and was never seen again. Some think he made it, others think he's dead, but to this day, there have been those who have tried this exit strategy and gotten the same results. One day, all the school aged children went to the river and each released a bottle with a message inside, then watched them all disappear into the Barrier. If anyone ever got those messages, they were never able to respond using the methods some suggested in their messages.

The Darklord

If anyone rules Gunnison, from above or below, no one knows who it is or what it is.
Author's note- For those who haven't figured it out, the first thing a Dungeon Master must do to use this realm is create a Darklord. The Neo-Red Death was triggered by Colonel Stevens heartless decision to use a tactical nuclear weapon on American soil and to gather as many people at ground zero as possible to insure near complete extermination, but because Colonel Stevens was nowhere within the area in question, the realm was left without a Darklord. It now floats in the ether between Earth and Post-Apocaloft waiting for a Darklord to rise. Given the desperate nature of the population, it shouldn't be hard to create one.

[KingCorn]

BRILLIANT, SIR!!! BRILLIANT!!! These are the sorts of things I was hoping to see here!! (must calm down before I sh-t myself) Anyway, re: demihumans, I'm afraid, as they do not exist in cyberpunk earth, they will not exist in Post-apocaloft, but if we want to go the non-human way, the movie to watch is District 9. Watch that one and see the Post-apacaloft possibilities just ERUPT in front of you.

The director of District 9 also directed 2 other movies (also set in South Africa): Elysium, and Chappie. Both are also Sci-Fi (Elysium being earth becoming a wasteland of unemployment and environmental hazards while the rich live in a space station, while chappie is about a police-robot gaining sentience and being taken in by a gang while being hunted down by a PMC-contractor played by Hugh Jackman)

[Mistmaster]

Of course I'd say the Darklord is a human turned Predalien queen mantaining her sentience.

[Manofevil]

Of course I'd say the Darklord is a human turned Predalien queen mantaining her sentience.

I wasn't sure I could do that and remain true to the source material. Looking back on it, I could have just blamed it all on the Neo-Red Death, but I think I actually like leaving it open to DMs to start by creating a Darklord and otherwise having this in-between place. YMMV of course.