Isla Matanzas is a 2022 short story written by Steven Sears, published by Titan Books as part of the anthology Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey. It chronicles the experiences of Jorge Rodriguez de Aviles during his time stranded on an uninhabited island in the Atlantic, an island which is subsequently chosen by a group of Yautja as the site for a Xenomorph hunt.
Plot[]
While returning from Spain to his home in La Florida in 1768, Spanish nobleman Jorge Rodriguez de Aviles is stranded on an uninhabited tropical island in a shipwreck which claims the rest of Hesperia's crew. After many months of isolation, Jorge finds the island suddenly beset with strange egg-shaped pods. The spider-like creatures that emerge quickly impregnate the native monkey population, leading to the gruesome birth of voracious black serpents that erupt from their chests. Jorge dubs the creatures Malvados ("the wicked"). At around the same time, three giant humanoid warriors appear and begin hunting the Malvados. Witnessing their titanic battle from the mountain-side cave where he has taken refuge, Jorge concludes that the Malvados are entities of Hell, and that the hunters are Angels sent by God to destroy them and prevent their taking over the world. As such, he names the hunters Nephilim after the giants mentioned in the Book of Genesis.
Despite their bravery and skill, Jorge soon comes to realize the Nephilim are losing their battle against the superior numbers of Malvados. One day, after two years of being marooned, Jorge finds himself watching the leader of the Nephilim, whom he has named Adelantado, fight atop a coastal bluff when he sees an English ship approaching the island. Seizing the chance to escape and fearful that the new arrivals will be slaughtered by the Malvados, Jorge rushes to the beach to find a landing party of slavers and their slaves already coming ashore. His attempts to warn them are interrupted by Adelantado falling from the bluff nearby, after which the Malvados he had been duelling attack, quickly slaughtering the slavers, including those remaining aboard the ship anchored offshore. Jorge and a lone surviving Englishman named named Edward momentarily escape the carnage by swimming out into the surf.
As they float helplessly in the water, they are stunned to see the chained slaves on the beach confront the Malvados with ritualistic chanting that seems to momentarily give the creatures pause, seemingly due to its similarity to the behavior of the Nephilim. Arming themselves with the weapons of the fallen slavers and releasing their shackles, the slaves engage the Malvados in battle, surrounding them and gradually wearing them down with swords and knives. A revived Adelantado joins the fray, finishing the remaining Mavlados just when it seems as though the surviving slaves would be overcome, before lapsing into unconsciousness once more. After the battle, Jorge and Edward are taken prisoner, Edward explaining that the slaves are in fact warriors known as Minos from the Kingdom of Dahomey in Africa. Jorge asks to speak to their leader, Nan, and finds the Minos treating the still-unconscious Adelantado's wounds with medicines sourced from plants found in the jungle. Through Edward, who speaks the Minos' language, Edward explains that he is a castaway and can help the Minos navigate their way back to Africa if they will take him off the island. Nan agrees, but insists they must kill the remaining Malvados first.
Adelantado eventually regains consciousness and flees back into the jungle. Nan has Jorge take her to the spot where he has previously witnessed the three Nephilim gather, whereupon she returns the equipment Adelantado has lost on the beach. Recognizing Nan as a fellow warrior, Adelantado gifts her his spear as a sign of respect. Using a map of the island Jorge has drawn, they then plan an attack to finish off the Malvados.
The following evening, the Minos lead the attack by burning the Malvados' egg clutches, then fleeing to the same cliff where Adelantado previously fell. Using chords fashioned from rope, the Minos leap back down to the beach, leaving the pursuing Malvados trapped at the summit where they are then ambushed by the Nephilim. The fighting is short and bloody, with the Minos finishing off any Malvados that escape down onto the beach. In the aftermath, Nan thanks Jorge in broken Spanish taught to her by Edward, while the Nephilim are not seen or heard from again. Jorge keeps his word and helps the Minos navigate the English vessel back to the Kingdom of Dahomey, where he and Edward settle and become friends.
Following Edward's death from plague many years later, Jorge returns to his native Spain, where he imparts his story to the church, asking for the Pope to be made aware of the battle between Heaven and Hell that he has witnessed on Earth. He leaves a Malvados skull as proof of his tale, before returning to La Florida. The story is brought to Cardinal Cartega, who dismisses the tale as potentially destructive and swears the priest who transcribed it to secrecy.
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