A ragged breath emerged from the female on the floor. She jerked to life, righting herself almost instantly upon regaining consciousness. A hand rushed to her throat instinctively as flashbacks reminded her of the dire situation she was now confronted with. The woman wavered as she rose from the ground to stand, the hall around her in shambles. The lighting flickered as the ship's reserve power was evidently in use. Her eyes darted around in search before resting on the hideous pink creature that was now belly up on the floor, it's corpse stiff with the passing of an unknown amount of time. With a brief pause of caution, she poked at it with the toe of her shoe. The motionless creature did nothing more than shift stiffly with the movement. Relief washed over her and she expelled a soft sigh. The harsh breath caused her raw esophagus to tighten. She gasped for air while the ripple in her throat continued to gain momentum until frothy, yellow liquid erupted from her guts. It burned, her eyes and nose watered from the stinging sensation. With time, the gagging turned to dry heaves and then to softer pants as her stomach calmed. She had leaned against a nearby terminal and was finally relieved when her throat relented it's protest. Slowly dragging her arm over her mouth, she noted the smears of blood across her soiled lab coat.
"How long have I been out?" she whispered. The memories were coming back in small snippets, nothing completely clear but her eyebrows shot up as she remembered something very important. Quickly she began searching through the rubbish on the floor, tossing panels and other pieces of the ship aside.
"Thomas? Tom?"
After shuffling things about, she had found a man's body and shook him with the panic she was feeling creep upon her. "Oh, Thomas, please say something," she whispered hoarsely to him. Dropping to the floor quickly and pulled him closer to her, she rested his head in her lap. It had started tentatively, but with the wait for a response growing unbearable she soon began to continuously shove and rock the man's shoulders and chest. Her hands began to tremble and her lashes fluttered quickly to fight back the tears that were beginning to well in her eyes. "Answer me," she squeaked, her lips quivering with the fear of her loved one not waking. She pressed his eyelids open frantically, searching for a sign of reaction. His pupils were dilating properly, the bluish grey irises slowly adjusting to the assault from the overhead lights. She released them and leaned to listen to his breathing.
A loud gasp erupted from him. The sound and sudden movement elicited a loud yelp from the woman but it was soon followed with a soft sigh of relief. She patted his cheek gently as she looked down upon him, taking a moment to survey him overall. Tom was a poor sight with so much blood all over him. Most of it had come from a large gash in the back of his head but that wound had already coagulated and matted into the dirty blond hair. The lab coat he wore was in a similar shape as hers, as were his trousers and loafers. The couple sat there quietly, taking inventory of each other carefully and exchanging gentle motions of affection. There was a faint hum from the broken air ducts and other lines that had been gutted from the panels of the ship's corridor but they seemed to be alone. Instinct told her this was an incorrect assumption. She looked down upon Tom, shaking him once more when she had noticed his eyes had closed.
"Ugh, I'm awake, Mira. Please stop." He reached, placing a hand over hers, and she stilled.
Thomas sat up, his own breath harsh and ragged after speaking. His hand gently stroked over his throat as he coughed from the exertion. He leaned and stood, Mira quickly scrambling up after him. Tom slowly turned about, his hand absently smoothing up the back of his neck and passing over the ragged scab that had developed. He hissed a noise of discomfort and searched his palm for the obvious smear of wet blood that was present. Frowning, he smoothed the mess over the breast of his lab coat and dusted his palm against his thigh a few times noisily.
"Where is everyone," she whispered. The realization of the couples situation seemed to hit Thomas and he suddenly felt on high alert, the hairs that covered his flesh standing on end as the fear crawled through his nervous system. The lethargic state he was in left him quickly as he darted down, ignoring the nauseating sensation that washed over him, and quickly wrenched a metal pipe free from the exposed innards of the ship.
"Like this will do any good against those monsters," he snorted at the thought, only to cough harshly from the agitation this produced in his vocal chords. As he took a few clumsy test swings the young woman followed suit, searching a small distance away for another gutted panel. She spied a relatively loose pipe and jerked at the stubborn rod until it relented it's protest and came loose from the floor. She caught herself before stumbling too far back and gripped her new weapon tight, her knuckles turning white as she shivered in the humid air. Tom noticed her tense position and calmly closed the space between them, gently cupping her shoulder in his palm. "Mira. Calm down, Love." She gently flinched at his touch but her body recognized his warmth as a safe sensation and she relaxed. As his thumb gently stroked down to the bend of her arm she felt the shivering inside of her slow to a dull, anxious thrill beneath her surface. When Tom was satisfied with her body language and her more steady breaths, he tucked the metal bar beneath his arm and pulled Mira to him. Tipping her chip upward, he looked into her golden, glossy eyes.
"The plan is still the same. We're going to the pod and gonna get the fuck out of here. Got it?" He lifted her hands into his own, both now grasping her improvisational weapon, and looked to her for understanding. They were in this together and they would escape this awful mess the same. She jerked her head in a small, sharp nod, causing her now matted hair to fall gently into her face with the motion. He smiled and paused a moment. Such beauty had no place here, in this nightmare born of his own scientific ignorance. What an idiot he was to even think that those creatures could be held capture. Even more ridiculous to think that the scientific team he led were planning methods of domesticating the horrid things! Mira had helped, but she had participated under the false security that her dear husband could keep her safe. A shudder passed through him and he cupped his hand to her cheek, a small tear slipping free of her composure as she seemed to watch the guilt twist his face into something disheartening. They had only been married for a year now, yet Tom felt just as lucky as when he first met her. Smart, funny, and an obvious bombshell. Mira was everything and more that he could ask for in a companion, more than he ever felt he deserved. How a middle aged nobody caught the eye of such a young and lovely person such as her would always baffle him, but he never squandered her love or affections. Having her by his side always seemed to make him want to aspire for more. He could look down at her, like at this very moment, and her golden brown eyes would inspire such courage and perseverance that Tom would literally feel his chest puff up with pride. That is how he felt now. Like he was the hero and he was ready to save his dear, precious princess from the black shelled dragon slinking around the ship.
A loud clatter interrupted Thomas' daydreams, jerking his train of thought away from his lovely wife. Quickly, he jerked Mira's arm and bolted down the corridor. She yelped lightly at the sudden reaction but easily caught up with him and matched his pace. Their steps echoed loudly around them as they continued to barrel forward. Tom would pause briefly at signs on the walls but kept on quickly, too fast for Mira to see where exactly he was searching for. He pressed on, whipping her around corners almost painfully as he navigated their rushed path to the docking bay. Between the shocking stomps announcing their obvious presence to the world and Mira's heart pounding harshly against her ear drums, she was not sure how they had gone unnoticed for this long. Occasionally though, she would see from the corner of her eye the swift movements flanking them. She would risk loosing her balance to shoot quick glances at the flickers, only to find nothing plainly visible in the dark hall. She felt it though, even if here eyes could not prove it. She felt the shadows sneaking up on them, slinking after them in the dark corners just beyond her observation. Every time she stumbled though, Tom would surge ahead and steady her, forcing her to look forward and press on much harder than before.
Their marathon came to an abrupt halt. Mira staggered and frantically searched behind them as Thomas produced a pass card from inside his lab coat. He slammed the frail slip of plastic through the slot and stared at the panel, waiting for the little green light's approval. Both had been rasping hard to catch their breath but when the soft beep sounded and the gate opened, Thomas lurched forward in a quick resume of their flight. Not two steps had been taken before he halted to a standstill and Mira slammed abruptly into his backside, her attention still focused behind the couple when Thomas had pulled her along. She began to groan a complaint but was cut short as Thomas shot his palm tight over her mouth. "Shh," he hissed at her, pulling his wife around to view the room. Air sucked into Mira from between his fingers' tight grip as her eyes grew wide at the site of the main receiving hall. Small, familiar pods lined the floor before her. They seemed to pulse with even the slightest sounds, the noises taunting the frightening creatures within to come forth. There had to be between thirty to forty of them! Some were empty and still, the tops already had been peeled open and the contents released into the area. Human bodies were littered nearby, limp and cold looking in their final place of rest. Mira's eyes began to well with tears again as she noted the frozen expression of horror on a small corpse. The little boy's blank eyes bore into from the cold floor, mouth still agape from the tiny things final scream. Such a young life to suffer such atrocities. Mira's heart broke at the thought of what the child's last moments might of entailed. A long sigh slipped sadly from Mira.
"I guess we won't be going this way," she whimpered. Tom's hand had settled upon Mira's shoulder, only to clamp down tight when a hissing noise burst from behind them. Before Mira could even react Thomas had shoved her forward, her face landing into the opening of one of the gooey eggs nearby as she stumbled. Her only weapon clattered from her grasp and disappeared into a dark corner. She turned to her partner but could see nothing but shadows beyond the globs of creature excrement stuck to her. The screech of the large black beast and the clumsy sounds of Thomas were clearly heard though.
"Docking Bay C!" he bellowed as he slapped his hand over the manual switch to the door. The metal plates swished shut but the muffled sounds of struggle were heard for moments after. When all had gone silent, Mira was frozen in awe. The few seconds that had occurred before were replaying over and over in her mind. Time seemed to stand still until a sob broke through her cold silence. It felt as if a dam had broken loose inside, releasing the full strength of her sense of hopelessness and distraught. She felt her sanity begin to waiver. Mira continued to cry out, clawing at her face with frustration in an attempt to rid herself of the slime that had already begun to harden and flake on her cheeks. Her wails echoed over the main hall in booming ripples, the unborn quivering in their leathery egg sacs but never bursting forth. They continued to hold back, waiting patiently.
Mira's noisy display turned to softer sobs, those sobs forming into tiny whimper, until finally she had convinced herself into some semblance of composure. A final sigh, she smoothed the fallen hairs away from her face and tucked them behind her ears as best as she could. Pulling the open edges of her lab coat over her bosom, feeling a small bit of comfort from this action, Mira leaned and rose to stand.
A booming sound erupted in the hall as a large force crashed into the gate Thomas had disappeared behind. Mira shrieked and scrambled her way backwards, limbs flailing as she slipped in the previously found nest. Another slam vibrated the room, the heavy metal doors already buckling as she began her frightened howling and stuttering, "L-l-leave m-m-me A-A-ALONE!" Mira slipped and clawed her way across the slimy resin coated floor, palming blindly until she felt the cold surface of the familiar bar in hand. She flipped and braced herself against the nearby wall, watching as the doors began to buckle and bend forward under the efforts of the force behind it. A crack appeared and a black muzzle pressed inward, sniffing the air slowly. Mira readied the makeshift bat in trembling hands as she felt her heart banging around in her throat. The eyeless face seemed to bore sinisterly into her soul, she knew it knew! She was there, waiting to be ripped to pieces and devoured. "Just like my poor husband before me." she thought painfully. The jaw parted, thick saliva dripped from it in copious amounts, as the xenomorph released an ear splitting screech and departed. Mira released the breath she had apparently been holding this entire time and rolled to her side, prone on the floor. Her eyes kept themselves locked on the opening in the gate as she allowed her mind to phase out into blankness.
