Sobik lead the way to the entrance of the ooman construct. The door controls were laughably easy to override. It was no wonder the oomans here had been overrun.
Inside was a maze of halls. A quick sweep of the area indicated heat in various places throughout the complex, especially below them. But Sobik was not about to enter the hive without first clearing out the rest of the area. Leaving the way open for prey to close in behind you invited death.

The first attack was mere moments after they had entered. The Kiande Amade who attacked were on the small side, not fully mature and likely wandering out from the nest for the first time. The acidic blood hissed as it degraded the walls around them even further. No injuries in the first skirmish, but then if there had been Sobik would have killed the first injured himself for being so weak and stupid as to be injured almost immediately into the hunt.

They were near some kind of ooman living quarters. The smell was almost rancid. Bodies with their chests mangled littered the halls. That was unusual. Normally the Kiande Amade were more organized than this, taking prey back to their nest and attaching them to the wall with resin before implanting the embryo. What made this hive do things differently?
The shrieking sound of a dying creature nearby had them on alert. Holding up his hand for silence, Sobik then motioned them forward. It wasn't fear but caution that made them move slowly. It was stupidity to rush into a situation without surveying it first.
A door slid open and Sobik stopped in shock at what he saw within...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyra heard the skittering and held her breath. It was one of them. The monster-spiders that hugged people's faces and made their chests explode. The door of her cupboard started to creak and she heard footsteps along it, then taps, then bangs.
It knew she was there.

Lyra started to cry silently. It wasn't going to go away. Not when it knew she was there. What was she supposed to do?
The cupboard started to open, the long finger-like legs of the spider working it open. Doing the first thing that came to her mind, Lyra shoved the door open and against the other cupboard. The spider squealed as she pressed her whole body against the door, squishing it against the hard surface. The tail and fingers flailed. The tail whipped her body, trying to wrap around her. Scattered around on the floor were broken plates and other kitchen appliances. Lyra spotted a long sharp fork on the floor, like the kind used for serving meat, but it was too far away for her to grab without moving away from the cupboard. If she moved away, the spider would get loose and come after her.
It was really fast. Could she be faster?

Taking a breath Lyra lunged for the fork. The spider dropped to the floor and skittered after her. It launched at her right when she got hold of the fork. She rolled away, causing the spider to miss her. Getting to her feet, she faced the monster spider as it turned to launch itself again. Lyra jumped on it's tail to keep it from moving, then stabbed it repeatedly. Even when it stopped moving she stabbed it. Even when it's green blood hit her arms and chest, burning through her clothes and hurting her she stabbed it. Even when her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't see it anymore she stabbed it.

That was the scene Sobik and the others walked in on : a small ooman girl-child, little more than a suckling, stabbing a face-hugger repeatedly like someone possessed.
The pain from the acid finally became too great and she had to back away from the mangled corpse of the spider. Lyra hugged her knees and cried, her small body shaking. Then she finally sensed someone else in the room. Looking up she froze, her eyes wide in terror.
There were new monsters. Bigger and scarier.
A scream escaped her throat as she darted towards a vent.