This is the first fanfiction story I've written that isn't in the Harry Potter fandom. As such, it's far from my best work - adjusting to writing in a completely different universe has thrown me for a loop, and I'm writing it as a oneshot with chapters for convenience only, so the chapter endings are rather abrupt. Nevertheless, I can tell you that it is amazingly fun to write. Hopefully it is a least a little bit fun to read.
Rating explanation: M for an astonishing amount of very bad language. It also has some violence and gore, but only at a T level really.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to anything Aliens-specific. Sob.
They stared at the motion detector as the clump of lights moved all too quickly closer.
"Twelve meters," Hudson said, his voice strained with a combination of nerves and adrenaline. "Eleven. Ten."
"Then they're right on us," Vasquez commented, her voice tense but level.
"Nine meters," Hudson continued.
"Remember – short, controlled bursts," Hicks reminded the marines quietly. Burke glanced at Gorman, who was standing beside him with his gaze fixed on the motion detector.
"Eight meters," Hudson went on. "Seven. Six."
"Can't be, that's inside the room," Ripley muttered.
"It's reading right, man, look!" Hudson said, his voice rising.
"Well you're not reading it right," Hicks replied, but Hudson shook his head, continuing to stare with increasing consternation at the motion detector.
Burke looked around quickly, staring at every shadow in the room as if he expected an alien to burst out at any second. While intellectually he knew there was no way that one could have gotten into the room without their noticing it, he was on the edge of completely panicking and his mind wasn't being totally logical at the moment.
"Five meters, man… four… what the hell!" Hudson exclaimed, his eyes popping slightly. Hicks seemed to realize something, and getting up on a cabinet, he raised one of the ceiling tiles and stuck his head through the gap, looking around with the help of a flashlight.
A second later he dropped back to the floor and opened fire on the ceiling. Yelling, Hudson joined in, along with Vasquez. Aliens were breaking through the ceiling, and as the marines held them off with bursts of machine gun fire, Burke lost it and ran towards the door that led to the medical lab. Locking it behind him, he backed up across the room to another door, jumping when he backed into a stack of boxes. He hesitated for a split second as he heard Ripley pounding on the door he'd just come through and calling for him to open it. Also just discernable in the distance was Hudson's voice, which seemed to be screaming for Hicks to do something or other.
Burke continued on into the next room, locking the second door as he did so. He felt a moment's relief at the thought that the marines would almost certainly not make it out alive, much less get off the planet and report his actions. While the plan of getting Newt and Ripley impregnated with the aliens had been indirectly sanctioned by the corporation (they had said to get some specimens back by any means necessary), he was entirely aware that should the events on LV-426 become publicly known, Weyland-Yutani would deny any involvement, and he'd doubtless have to take all of the blame himself – not a prospect he found particularly desirable.
Sliding open the next door, Burke froze as a dark shape emerged from the shadows on the other side of it. He recovered almost at once, but before he could actually move or otherwise try to evade the alien, its tail swept around and hit him directly in the chest, knocking him violently back into the door. He heard a crack, and a sharp pain shot through his right side. The alien leapt at him again, and he managed to yell just once before his head slammed against the floor and he passed out.
Burke woke up slowly and looked around dazedly for a minute or two. He was stuck in a very tight space, held there by tough, stiff strands of what appeared to be some type of secretion. With a jolt of fear he realized where he must be, and he stared around frantically, looking for any sign of an alien nearby. He didn't see any, but close to where he was trapped there was a large, leathery egg. As he watched, it began to move slightly, as whatever was inside (and he could guess all too easily what that was) shifted around and started to emerge.
With a strangled sort of yelp, Burke tried to snap some of the strands of secretion holding him in place. They didn't so much as stretch. However, as he shifted a hand slightly, trying to get a grip on the edge of one of the strands, he felt the zipper of the vest he was wearing. It was made out of metal, and was fairly sharp. Managing to hold on to it with the tips of his fingers, he moved it up and down as much as he could. Gradually, it began to saw through one of the strands.
The egg moved again, and the strange slits at the top seemed to come open slightly. Burke's breathing was fast and uneven as he continued to try and cut through the secreted substance that was trapping him. His hand was shaking so much that he dropped the zipper twice.
The strand he'd been sawing at broke, and he managed to get the rest of the substance off just as the egg fell open and a facehugger alien leapt out of it at him. Trying to run backwards in order to evade it, he tripped on the irregular floor and fell over. The alien's spring carried it over top of him, and before it could turn around and attack him again he kicked it into a wall and then stomped on it repeatedly. It made a funny squeaking sort of noise and went still. Burke stepped back from it and then immediately fell over again, this time because of a burning pain in his foot. He realized that in the process of stomping on the alien, he had broken through some part of its skin or exoskeleton or whatever it was and gotten some of its acid blood on his shoe. He tore the shoe off and flung it away, following it with his sock. Only a very small amount of acid had gotten through both the shoe and the sock, and it stopped burning after just a few seconds, leaving a painful but not disabling injury on the side of his foot.
He got up, leaning on the wall, and surveyed the surroundings. They were not encouraging; the walls were covered by a dark, organic-looking material and that, combined with the dim light, made everywhere look pretty much the same.
As he tried to decide what to do, he heard someone yelling from a short distance off to the left. The voice had a familiar, slightly ridiculous tone, and Burke recognized it as unmistakably belonging to Hudson. He hesitated for a moment before limping off in the direction the yelling had come from.
Turning a corner, he saw Hudson stuck in a situation virtually identical to the one he had been in recently. However, the large leathery egg that lay near where the marine was trapped was not moving at all. It was still closed, as well, so he gathered that Hudson was not yet impregnated with an alien.
The marine paused in yelling, and noticed Burke standing across the room. "What the fuck're you doing here, man?" Without waiting for an answer, Hudson went on, "Get me outta here! One of those things is gonna come out of that egg thing any second, man!"
"How do I know you won't shoot me as soon as you're out?" Burke asked, looking warily at the pistol attached to Hudson's belt, just out of reach of the marine's hand.
"No way, man, I need someone behind me when I'm running from those things," Hudson protested, before giving a short, hysterical laugh. Burke nodded, thinking that Hudson definitely had a point. He walked over and broke some of the strands of secretion holding the marine in place, and Hudson immediately started thrashing around, breaking the rest of the strands and sending some pieces of the stuff flying into Burke's eye.
Hudson shot several times at the leathery egg. It broke, and the facehugger inside slid out, clearly dead. Burke was annoyed that Hudson had wasted so many bullets, but he was too busy trying to get a fairly sharp piece of alien secretion out of his eye to comment.
"What the fuck are we gonna do now, man? Where's the others?" Hudson asked, rotating on the spot a few times as if expecting Ripley, Hicks, and the rest to suddenly appear out of thin air.
Burke managed to get the irritating fragment out of his eye and replied, "I don't know, they're probably dead. We should try to get over to where Bishop is bringing the drop-ship down, that's our only way out of here."
Hudson stared at him, breathing hard, before glancing at his watch and groaning. "There's not enough time to get to Bishop! This whole place is gonna blow and we're right in the middle of it. We are in deep shit now, man…"
"Okay." Burke covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. "Okay, well what about a basement, there has to be something like that."
"Yeah? And how're we supposed to get there? I don't know if you've noticed, but there's two of use and about a thousand badass aliens. And we have one handgun with limited ammo." Hudson seemed to be hyperventilating, and his voice had risen to something resembling a scream.
"I don't know, alright?" Burke yelled. "Just shut up, Hudson, okay? You're a marine. I'm a civilian. Why are you the one panicking here?"
"Because you're fuckin' crazy, man," Hudson shouted back at him, stepping forward in an aggressive manner so that Burke had to back up to the wall. "Besides, you're not exactly staying calm and collected here yourself."
"Maybe, but at least I'm trying to figure out what to do!"
"Why don't we ask the aliens nicely if they'll just step aside and let us get to the basement? Huh? How about that, pal? Or why don't we just send them a goddamn invitation card?"
"That doesn't even make sense!" Burke shrieked.
"Yeah, I know! I wasn't fuckin' finished, I was gonna say why don't… wait… fuck, I don't remember."
Burke groaned and slid down the wall, resting his head in his hands. "You've totally lost it, haven't you? It just had to be you who ended up down here. We are going to die."
"I don't think so, man. No way am I letting those things take me out."
"Just a second ago you were being completely fatalistic," Burke said in a muffled voice.
"Yeah, well, you can stay here if you want, but I'm getting my ass to the basement." Hudson's footsteps receded down the passageway. Slightly shocked by how quickly the marine's attitude had done a total 180º, Burke stayed where he was for a minute before pulling himself up on the wall and limping off after Hudson. He caught up with the other man at a fork in the passage. Hudson was staring alternately right and left, apparently unable to decide which way to go.
"We don't have much time. Just try one or the other," Burke suggested.
"I know we don't. That's the problem, man, if I don't pick the right one we're screwed!"
The marine seemed on the verge of freaking out again, and Burke noted that this was presumably why Hudson had not been in a position of command in the corps; he appeared to have a great amount of trouble making decisions, particularly under stressful circumstances.
"Let's go right," Burke said, and walked in that direction. Hudson followed him and then sped up and pushed past.
"Don't want those things coming up behind me," he mumbled.
"Yeah, it's lucky you're stuck with me instead of Hicks or someone you actually want to keep alive," Burke observed. "Or would you just act the same way? You know, I've noticed you care a whole lot about your own life. You didn't even seem that upset when I told you the others didn't make it."
Hudson stopped dead in his tracks. He stood in complete stillness for a moment before spinning around with a hoarse sort of yell and slamming Burke into the wall. "Fuck you, man, don't even try to say I didn't care about Hicks! Or Vasquez, or Drake, or Frost, or any of the others! What about Ripley, huh? What about the kid? You think I wanted them to kick it? Hell, even Gorman was – fuck, don't say that. Just… fuck. Don't."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt that strongly about it," Burke told the marine, holding up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. His right side hurt quite a lot, and he guessed that he had a broken rib and also that Hudson had just jammed it into a panel on the wall. The marine glared at him a minute longer, with what were either tears or droplets of sweat gathering in his eyes. Burke suspected the latter.
They continued down the passage, and Hudson gave a whoop of joy as a flight of stairs, leading downward, appeared off to one side. Burke looked at them somewhat suspiciously, trying to determine whether they actually did lead to a basement – he wasn't entirely certain that he and Hudson were on the first floor. The stairs were closed in by walls, however, unlike those that led from level to level above ground, and there was no sign of light emanating from the stairwell.
They started down the relatively long staircase, and Burke cursed quietly as the sharp metal of the steps irritated his injured foot. Hudson, jumping and immediately looking around to see what the problem was, noticed that Burke was only wearing one shoe.
"What the fuck, man?" he asked, staring in confusion at his companion.
"Some of the acid from the aliens' blood got on it," Burke explained. "The stairs are not comfortable."
"Put your other shoe on that foot," Hudson suggested.
Burke shot him an annoyed glance. "It's the wrong shape; it would be almost as uncomfortable as the stairs. Besides, I get the feeling this isn't the time to be worried about… you know, about footwear. We should get moving."
"Fuckin' A," Hudson muttered in reply, turning and continuing down the stairs. Burke limped after him.
At the bottom of the staircase was a long, grimy passage with doors set into the walls at intervals. Hudson stopped in front of a particularly sturdy-looking door and stood against the wall across from it, aiming his pistol at the center.
"You're gonna have to open the door, man. I'll shoot anything that comes through it."
Burke stared incredulously at him. "Yeah, sure. What if there's a xenomorph right on the other side of it, huh? Even if you manage to shoot in time we'll both get sprayed with acid."
"A xeno-what?"
"An alien."
"Well why the fuck didn't you just say that, man?"
Burke rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Look, you have to admit I have a point."
Hudson nodded a few times. Then he moved down the hallway so that he was standing at an angle from the door, a much safer distance away.
"That still doesn't help me," Burke pointed out.
"Whatever, man. Just open the door."
Abruptly, an alarm sounded throughout the basement, causing both men to jump. After regaining his composure and briefly considering the pros and cons of being killed by an alien versus being blown to smithereens when the complex exploded, Burke mentally shrugged and took hold of the door handle.
"Okay. Okay, I'm going to open it," he warned the marine. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he counted to three in his head and then pushed the door open, jumping backward and to the side immediately afterward.
Nothing happened. After a few seconds, Hudson approached the doorway, cautiously, aiming his gun in front of him. Burke followed a few steps behind him.
The room beyond the door was small and dim, lit only by the light from the hall. A few metal shelves, supporting what appeared to be mainly spare light bulbs, lined the walls. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all cement. No sounds came from the room. The only noise audible was the alarm sounding at intervals in the background.
Hudson slowly let out the breath he'd been holding and entered the room. He got out a flashlight and turned it on as Burke shut and locked the door behind them. The beam illuminated the room fairly well, but it left a number of rather ominous shadows in the corners and behind the shelves.
Burke limped over to one set of shelves and attempted to slide it across the floor, in order to place it in front of the door. It didn't move, and on closer inspection he found that it was bolted to the walls and floor.
"There's nothing we can put against the door," he informed Hudson.
"Well that's just… fuck. Will the room hold?"
"I don't know, it might if it's reinforced. If it's just cement…"
"I don't like those chances, man."
"They're the best ones available."
Hudson shook his head, muttering, and then walked over and sat down with his back against the wall furthest from the door. After inspecting all the shelves to ensure that none of them were movable, Burke joined him. The alarm continued to sound.
"Hey," said Hudson after a few moments. "How'd you get here, anyway? I mean, last thing I remember was getting dragged under the floor by those things and then I hit my head on some goddamn beam or something. No one else was dead, man."
"Oh… yeah…" Burke replied vaguely. This, he thought, was awkward. "Well, there was an alien in the passageway that they were heading down. Actually there was probably more than one."
"Maybe they got past them, though!" Hudson's eyes lit up. "They might still be alive, man! Hicks and Vasquez are pretty badass when things get rough, and Ripley's fuckin' amazing for a civilian."
"I don't think it worked out that way. One of the doors was locked."
"No it wasn't, I went through those doors earlier."
"Well it got locked later," Burke replied shortly. Hudson looked at him with growing suspicion, but before the marine could say anything there was a deafening bang from somewhere above them. Pieces of cement rained down from the ceiling, and most of the light bulbs on the shelves fell off and smashed apart. Burke was jolted around as the entire room shook, and his head collided painfully with Hudson's. Amazingly, the marine was yelling loudly enough to be heard over the sounds of the explosions and breaking glass.
This chaotic situation lasted for what was in reality about a minute or two, but which seemed much longer to the two men in the basement room. Finally, the tremors died down, and everything went still. It was probably silent as well, but Burke couldn't confirm this because his ears were ringing at an alarmingly loud pitch.
Hudson slowly picked up the flashlight from where he had dropped it on the floor and shone it around the room. The floor was covered in broken glass and pieces of debris from the ceiling and walls. The center of the door was bowed in, but it had stayed firmly in its frame. Most of the shelves were warped due to the walls moving around.
I did warn you all it ended abruptly. I should have the next chapter up within a week or so. The choice of characters is rather bizarre, I know, but hey! Why not? Anyway, I hope this didn't bore you to tears, and of course I'd appreciate it if you'd review - even if all you have to say is that tears of boredom are now clouding up your eyes and preventing you from reading any more fanfiction.