Hello! So this is my first Dead Space fanfic, as I am still relatively new to this fandom. I've been dying to play the first game for a while, and eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. I have to say: it's a great game so far (I'm already on Chapter 7 as I'm typing this).
So you know how people write stories where people from our world get pulled into a videogame? I haven't seen any of those for Dead Space, so I've decided to try to write one of my own. But don't worry: this won't be like a lot of those stories that you see here (you know, where the OC teams up with the protagonist and falls in love with him/her in the span of a few missions). No romance, and hopefully, I haven't written a Gary Stu in here (but you are free to let me know if I have). I'm going to tell you: you may not like my OC at first, and if you don't, good: you're not supposed to like him right now. I won't tolerate flames, but constructive criticism is welcome, so if there's anything I'm doing wrong with the story, or if there are any Dead Space facts that I messed up, let me know (I still don't know everything about this game, as I'm new to it). With that in mind, enjoy! :)
Oh, by the way, Isaac Clarke will speak in my story, just so that there can be more interaction not only with my OC, but the other canon characters as well.
DISCLAIMER: Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.
WARNING: There are Dead Space spoilers throughout this story.
NOTE: When I first wrote this story, I was new to the franchise and didn't know too much about the backstory, but now that I've played through most of the games and seen both Downfall and Aftermath, I'm going to go back and make a few revisions to the first two chapters of this story. I'm not changing anything else (including the sequel, which will be the same as before), but I want to fit more of the canon timeline.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
"Ugh!" I growled as I turned on the car radio and stumbled upon one of the stations that was playing that nursery rhyme, "Mom and David must have been listening to this station recently." I rested my head against the driver's seat as I waited for my thirteen-year-old brother, Allen, to get out of school. Ever since I turned sixteen and got my license, my parents allowed me to drive their car around until I got my own, which I was hoping would be soon. The girls at school would dig my new ride, you know?
"Timmy! Timmy!" I heard Allen call my name, and I looked up to see him sprinting towards me.
"Al!" I cried, opening the passenger's side and letting my brother climb into the car, "What's going on?"
"Are we still going?"
"Of course! I've got to whet my gaming appetite! You know, since I'm one of the greatest gamers in the world." I grinned, which made my brother roll his eyes. It wasn't my fault he couldn't understand. Besides, since when did he become so modest?
When it came to videogames, I was the man. Every game I've ever touched in my life, I've been able to beat with relative ease. I'm not kidding; you can ask my younger brother, Allen. I've played all sorts of games: children's games, survival horror, war games, you name it. We were on our way to Game Stop at the moment to see what games were there this time. Hopefully, there was something good.
"Timmy!" Allen cried to me once we were inside, "Get a load of this!"
"What?" I asked, walking over to my brother and staring at the game he was pointing to. We were perusing through a few used Playstation 3 games. After beating Resident Evil 5 God knew how many times, it was time for a change.
"Dead Space," he read, squinting his eyes, "This looks like your type of game."
Frowning, I picked up the jewel case and studied the bloody hand on the front cover. "Nah," I said, "It looks just like Resident Evil."
"But scarier," Allen insisted, "Just look at some of these enemies on the back cover."
I peered over his shoulder and smirked. "I bet I could take them all on," I told him, "If I can beat Resident Evil, then Dead Space should be a joke. Let's go so that we can get home."
"But Timmy!" Allen whined, "How are you going to buy the game? You're not seventeen yet!"
"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Al!" I growled, "I know how to turn on the charm. See that girl at the register?" I pointed to the girl, who was flipping through a game magazine.
"She's hot, and she's into videogames like I am," I continued, "Just watch and learn." Smirking, I dragged my little brother along as I approached the counter.
"Hey there, sweet thing," I greeted, "Think you can ring me up for this game?"
The girl looked up, frowned at me, and snapped, "Do I know you?"
I faltered for a minute. I wasn't used to any girl shooting me down like this. "No," I replied, "But once I buy this game, maybe you and I can get together and shoot some zombies. If you know what I mean." She took the game from me, found the disk, and slipped it into the jewel case.
"I've played this game before, you know," she explained, "And these aren't zombies."
"What do you mean, babe? Of course they're zombies!"
"Take a look at the back cover!" She pointed to one of the enemies. "Does that look like a zombie to you?"
I scoffed. Who did she think she was talking to? I was the king of videogames! "Babe!" I responded, "I've played a lot of survival horror games, and I think I know a zombie when I see one."
She shook her head. "You clearly know nothing about Dead Space, then," she said, "Security!"
"Oh, no, don't call security!" I pleaded, "I was just trying to tell you that you're wrong!"
"No," the girl quipped, "What you need is an attitude check. A major attitude check."
Out of nowhere, a burly security guard ran into the store. "Is everything all right, Mercedes?" he asked.
"Please escort this young man and his brother out," she demanded, pointing to us, "Make sure you pay for the game before you leave." I threw some money down and escorted my brother out of there. As we walked out of the mall and back to our car, Allen looked up at me with wide eyes.
"Am I supposed to be like that when I'm sixteen?" he asked.
"Shut up," I snapped, and Allen looked away before I could say anything else. I felt a little bad for harping on my thirteen-year-old brother, but I couldn't help it. Mercedes pissed me off. All the ladies usually loved me, so what did she mean I needed an attitude check? She was the one who needed to change.
Allen and I drove home in silence. At least I still had Dead Space. I couldn't wait to try it out when I got home. Good thing it was only one-player; Allen wouldn't want to play it. Besides, he was always afraid of everything, and to be honest, it was annoying.
As soon as we got home, I jumped out of the car and ran to my room to begin the game. "Timmy!" Allen cried, "I thought we were going to watch movies all afternoon!"
"Sorry, Al!" I called back, "But Dead Space awaits me!"
"TIMMY!" I closed the door to our shared bedroom before he could say anything else. I didn't want to hear his whining again.
From downstairs, I could hear Mom and Dad trying to feed David, and I rolled my eyes. Why were they so mushy when it came to having family time? We could stand to have a little time apart, right? I mean, would it be the end of the world if I didn't see them for a few hours?
Setting up the game quickly, I waited as the Playstation 3 loaded and Dead Space eventually made it to the main menu. I decided that I would play with the lights off and the doors closed; the scarier the better.
Mercedes is wrong, I thought, These zombies will be a joke. However, as soon as I clicked "New Game", I began to feel dizzy, and before I knew it, everything was fading to black around me.
God damn it, I thought hours later, Why'd I black out like that? I felt like I was just waking up after a nice long nap, so I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. However, I instantly noticed that something was wrong.
"What the fuck?" I shouted, "Where am I?" Looking around, I noticed I was in a dark room with only flickering red lights above me. This was weird. Not my bedroom at all. Everything was quiet around me, which made me unnerved.
Sniff sniff. What was that? I remained tense, ready to react to anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Sniff Sniff. It was getting louder, so I slowly stood up so that I could be as quiet as possible. Come on, Timmy, I chided myself, You've played survival horror games before. This shouldn't be any different.
But something seemed odd about all this, and a little too convenient, if you ask me. I had to get to the bottom of this once and for all, so I willed myself to stay calm while I tried to find some answers.
The sniffing echoed even louder. "Shit," I muttered to myself, "Whatever it is is sniffing me out!"
Sniff sniff! Looking around, I spotted something slithering across the floor in the distance. It looked like a…well, like a skull with tentacles! What the fuck? I thought as I heard it sniff around for me. It was just doing its own thing on the floor, but as soon as I took a step, it whipped around to face me.
I scoffed. That was what was sniffing me out this whole time? That thing was puny! I could just step on it and kill it that way! "Hey there, little guy," I cooed, moving closer to it. It didn't move, but it continued to stare at me.
"I think I'm going to step on you now," I continued to coo, "You're harmless right?"
Wrong! As soon as I was close enough, it squealed, leaped up from the ground, and wrapped its tentacles around my neck. "AHH!" I cried, "Fuck you! Get off my head!" But the tiny creature wouldn't let go.
I struggled for quite some time, hoping that the beast would just give up and let me go. But it was strong. I could feel the wind being knocked out of me, and my head felt like it was about to explode, but somehow, I managed to break free from the little bastard. It leaped back down to the floor and retreated, although I somehow doubted that would be the last time I would see it. While it was distracted, I ran. I needed to get out of here!
The hallways around me were the same as the room I woke up in: dark and creepy. All right, Timmy, I told myself, You can do this. Just stay calm. Just find an exit.
But where would I begin? Would that skull with tentacles somehow find me again? I didn't want to know. I ended up roaming around for hours, though. There were no exits in sight, and all I could see around me were remains of…people. I had to admit it was sick. And not the good kind, either.
Crash! Up ahead, I heard something slam to the ground, which, to tell you the truth, made me nervous. And I never got nervous in harrowing situations. How could I? I was the bravest one in the Stamford house!
Roar! What was that? I stopped for a minute, taking deep breaths in order to slow down my rapidly beating heart. I couldn't believe how scared I was right now! I decided to press myself against the wall and move as slowly as I could; whatever was lurking around was probably looking to kill me, which I didn't want to happen. I began to creep down the hallway, feeling like I was in some survival horror video game. Wait, I thought, Maybe that's why everything is the way it is! Did I…get sucked into Dead Space?
I couldn't have. It was physically impossible! Where was everyone, then? Why was I only encountering strange enemies? And did Allen think something happened to me back at home? How could I return, anyway? The roaring from a few seconds ago increased in volume as I continued to move stealthily down the hallway, and as I was rounding the corner, a monster appeared out of nowhere and lunged for me.
"Shit!" I cried, leaping back as it collapsed to the ground and began swiping at my legs with its sharp claws. I stumbled back, avoiding its attacks, as it picked itself up and ran towards me again.
"What the hell are you?" I asked, though I knew asking wouldn't do any good, "Go pick on someone your own size, asshole!"
I had said the wrong thing, for the beast suddenly roared and grabbed me, locking me in its grasp. "Not again!" I snapped, attempting to break free and find a weapon. Like the skull with tentacles, this creature also aimed for my head, but I ducked at the last minute, thankfully. I punched it across the face, stunning it for a minute before running away once again with the monster in pursuit. All right, Timmy, I chided myself, Find a weapon and learn how to use it. Or else run away and die.
"Oof!" a voice suddenly cried as I ran headfirst into someone. I was surprised that there was at least someone else in this hell besides me, and at least I wasn't going through it alone.
"Hey!" I snapped, "Watch where you're going! The Stamford man has to get out of here!" I looked up at who I had collided into and stopped my tirade for a second. The man I had run into was taller than I was, and he had short, black hair while sporting a black beard. He just smiled at me without saying a word, and I wondered why he didn't just move out of my way.
"Well, Altman be praised!" he petitioned, grinning at me as if the sun had just lit up his face.
I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "Altman?" I asked with disdain, "Who the fuck is Altman?" But I suddenly began to feel dizzy from the shock of my situation, and I found myself fainting once more as this mysterious man continued to smile at me.
"Allen?" I gasped hours later when I finally came to. Unlike before, this time, there were bright lights all around me as I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in an office of some sort, and I found I was lying on a lab table. But something felt different. I felt much colder. I then realized why I was so cold when I looked down.
"AHH!" I cried, glancing down and realizing I was naked. Not even just in my boxers, but completely naked with only a white towel to cover my lower body. Who the hell undressed me while I was asleep? I only wanted my girlfriend to undress me. Not that I had a girlfriend, but that was another story for another day.
Suddenly, I heard a door open, and the man from before walked in, smiling at me as if I were the best thing to happen to him. I just glared at him and wrapped the towel even tighter around myself. If this creep was the one who stripped me down, I'll break his hand, I vowed to myself.
"You're awake," he announced, "Good."
"Was it that obvious?" I snarled, "If I were asleep, my eyes wouldn't be open."
The man laughed. "You are quite outspoken, aren't you?" was all he said, clearly not affected by my words at all.
"That's not all I'll be when I-"
"My name is Doctor Challus Mercer. I am a research scientist aboard this ship, the USG Ishimura. Who might you be?" I sat up straight and tensed up.
"Nobody you need to worry about!" I fumed, "Now, what did you do with my clothes?"
"You won't be needing them. That's why I took them from you."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, "What are you going to do to me?"
Dr. Mercer didn't say anything at first, and I slowly realized he wouldn't until I revealed my name. "It's Stamford," I sighed, "Timmy Stamford. Now, what's going on around here?"
Dr. Mercer paced over to me and squeezed my upper arm, making me gasp and close my eyes. All I could concentrate on was my beating heart and how nervous I was. I didn't want this guy to see that I was scared, so instead, I thought about Allen and the first day I had officially come home from gaining some extra muscles at the gym. I remembered the amazed look he had given me, and the smirk I wore on my face as I ruffled his hair. "Hey!" I cried to the mysterious man, "No touching the cannons! The ladies at home won't approve!"
"You seem strong," Dr. Mercer commented, breaking me away from my thoughts, "Perfect for my experiments."
"Experiments?" I echoed, "Run that by me again?"
Pulling out a little recorder, Dr. Mercer began to speak into it. "Personal log, Dr. Challus Mercer," he said, "Phase Two of my experiments is about to begin. Subject's name is Timothy Stamford. Looks to be about sixteen years old, and strong enough to embrace his eventual rebirth. He has made no true attempt to resist as of yet. In fact, he seems to have appeared out of nowhere. He was found running away from God's newest creations. But now, he will become a part of it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, "What are you going to do?" If this is Phase Two, I thought, Then what happened with Phase One?
"Just relax, my boy," the mad scientist whispered, pushing me back down by my shoulder, "Your time will come. But for now, I must check up on Phase One. It will do you good to stay here." Patting my naked shoulder this time, he walked away into a side room, and since I was still feeling tired, I didn't go anywhere. Flipping onto my side, I watched as he crossed over into one of the other rooms, and as soon as he did, screams echoed throughout the lab, making my hairs stand on end. What the hell was going on around here? Was that Phase One?
"Dr. Challus Mercer once again," I heard him announce, probably into that recorder again, "Phase One does not appear to be reacting to the treatments as of now, but he is starting to show signs of infection. If this continues over the next couple of hours, he should finally pass on to the next life and begin to transform. If the transformation is successful, then I will move on to Phase Two. For now, I will continue to monitor Phase One's vitals for any abnormal signs." Another scream pierced through my ear drums, making me shiver.
Shit, I thought, I've got to get out of here. Tying the towel around my waist, I leaped down from the lab table as quietly as possible and began to pick my way around the office. Where would I go, though? Leaving this place would mean certain death, but I didn't want to stick around for Mercer's experiments, either. I hadn't been in this game for a long time and I already thought this man was a lunatic.
My feet hurt a little bit, but I knew I would be all right. I tried to find a lab coat to cover up until I found some clothes later, but I couldn't find anything. I still heard Phase One's screams from far away, but that didn't stop me from running. "Timothy!" Mercer suddenly cried, and I held my breath in anticipation.
"Timothy!" he called again, "Where are you?" Shit, I thought, Don't find me. Don't find me.
Suddenly, a foul smell caught my attention, and I tried not to throw up. "Ugh," I groaned, holding my nose. Shutting the door to the office behind me, I advanced forward through the small, cramped space, trying to find some clothing appropriate for an infected ship, but instead finding something worse. Much worse: a severed human arm.
"Ugh!" I repeated, stumbling backwards and taking in the rest of the severed body parts that were arranged around the office like my sports trophies at home. I had to look away for a minute in order to prevent myself from throwing up. Strange symbols were scrawled on all the surrounding walls, and eerie, red lights hung from the ceilings. This is fucking sick, I thought to myself, Now I really have to get out of here. I turned to go, but as I opened the door once more, I found myself face to face with Dr. Mercer once more.
"There you are!" he cried triumphantly, "For a minute, I thought you were trying to run away. But now I see that wasn't the case." You idiot, I thought viciously, That's exactly what I was trying to do. He seemed to know that already, though.
"You cannot fight your fate," he said, taking my hand into his, which was covered in blood, so that he could lead me back to the Chemistry lab, "No one can." Creep, I thought, feeling my heart rate pick up again at the touch of his hand.
"Get your hand off me," I snapped, reaching up and removing his hand from mine.
"Come along," Mercer whispered, "We have to watch Phase One." He led me into one of the side rooms and passed by Phase One, who was writhing in agony on the bench he was strapped to. I had a feeling this was the first of many horrors I would witness here, and I hoped that there would be some miracle that would get me out of here in one piece.