she groped at her gut , whimpering desperately , feeling , sickeningly , as though an alien were inside her , something malevolent eating her very essence , waiting for the moment to burst out in a scarlet bubble of blood and flesh and rage ... a searing , swirling sensation in her chest , in her heart , rising rapidly into her neck , into her cheeks , into her temples , into her brain and then , before she could react , could scream , sure the alien was coming out , the entire universe went blue .