So, dead space... SSspppoookkkkyyyyyyyy... Anyway, I'm taking a turn from all the romance I've been writing and decided to write a badass gritty story, and what better place to start then dead space? The story and characters are all original, but I do not own the rights to DEAD SPACE!
"You guys are fixing the tram, right?" A Voice boomed from the Walkie Talkie on a young woman's thigh. The slender brunette reached down and grabbed the small radio and held it to her ear.
"Yeah, Synth, we got it. Tram is up and running." The woman said sweetly. "Now we wait for Maxwell to finish hooking up the destination receiver at the other end, and the U.S.G Repercussion will be up and ready for business."
"Alright, hooking uuuppp... now!" A male voice says over the radio. "And we are done, tram is now ready for action."
"Alright Rona, Maxwell. Head back to the hangar, lunch is on me." Synth says from the radio.
"Hey, Synth. I gotta skip this one, Alex is home alone tonight, and I can't pay the baby sitter extra with a Engineers salary." Rona grumbled, she had to pay the girl in the room next to them for babysitting now that she has been working late.
"Come on, Rona. I'll pay whatever you need, you need to relax." Maxwell's kind voice said through the radio. Rona let out a sight, she was pretty hungry.
"Fine, just this once. I'll see you at the hangar?" Rona gave in.
"Yeah."
(***)
"Synth said he would be here..." Maxwell moaned as he shoved his hands in his jumpsuit pockets, his pale skin was reflecting the light from the corridor. "You think an old coot like him would be on time."
"Don't be so hard on the guy, I'm sure he has... I don't know... Arthritis or something." Rona said, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
"I'm only 47, you know. And I ran track back in high school." A middle aged man walked over and punched Maxwell lightly on the arm, the man's name was Synth, a nickname he earned when he lost his left leg in a spacewalk and had it replaced with a synthetic limb.
"Hehe, sorry Synth." Maxwell said sheepishly, he rubbed his arm and smiled at him.
"Where are you treating?" Rona asked, wanting to get straight to the point. Synth gave her that 'Just Relax' look before he answered.
"Let's hit the bar." Synth said with a smile, Rona and Maxwell gazed blankly at Synth. "What? I could use a good beer!"
"Synth, your enthusiasm for everything never ceases to amaze me." Rona said, she smiled brightly and nudged Maxwell with her elbow. "Come on, let's loosen up. Hell, work is done for the day!" Maxwell let out a faint smile and shook his head.
"Fine, a few beers." Maxwell said, finally giving in. The three walked to the newly working tram, all laughing and joking together about their life problems, how they got stuck on a ship like the Repercussion.
"Did you guys here about the attack at Aegis 7? Apparently some miners discovered a 'marker' and it drove whole bunch of people insane. It took out the Ishimura!" Maxwell said, his voice booming with amazement. "The galaxies biggest mining vessel, just went out like a light."
"I'm sure it isn't as bad as the stories say it is, Max." Synth laughs.
"I wouldn't be too sure, no one has seen the Ishimura in months, and apparently, we have a survivor somewhere in the medical bays on the sprawl." Rona added, her expression showed extreme concern.
"Medical bays, is he injured?" Synth asked, still skeptical on the whole situation.
"Ask me as if I have a damn clue, Synth. All I know, is that he isn't well." Rona said smugly. They waited patiently for the tram to arrive at the station, no one said a word. The tram eventually came, the doors opened and people began to flood out.
"Whoa! What's with all the people?" Rona hollered over the conversations of people.
"Hell if I know!" Synth yelled back as he bobbed and weaved through the crowd. The three eventually made it into the now empty tram.
"And now no one is on board." Maxwell noted.
"Thanks, didn't catch that." Rona snapped back sarcastically. Rona pressed a button on the tram as the doors closed, the Tram jerked to the right and began to speed towards its destination like a bullet.
"I wouldn't go down there." A little girl said, not a hint of emotion in her voice, Rona turned and looked at the girl, she sat on the bench in the tram, not looking at the three.
"Why is that?" Rona snapped at her, unexplainably aggravated.
"Rona, she is just a child. What's your name, little girl? Are you lost?" Synth asked, extending his hand to the young girl, she wore a black civilian jumpsuit, her red hair was in a ponytail. Her face was emotionless, her eyes were dark brown and seemingly lifeless.
"Don't go down there, or the boogey men will get you..." The girl said.
"B-Boogey men?" Maxwell stuttered out, his voice echoed with despair.
"Little girl, we need to get you to your family, can you tell me where you live?" Synth asked, being as sincere as possible. The girl didn't even move, there was a long pause of silence as the girl sat there, motionless.
"You won't come baaaaacccckkkk..." She finally said. The three felt their hearts sink.
"... the fuck?" Rona looked at the girl, something was obviously not right, but there was something more behind the shroud of mystery on the outside. The three turned their gaze away from the girl and looked at eachother, their expressions beamed terror and worry.
"This is not normal, we should tell someone she is here..." Maxwell suggested.
"No shit, but she is just so... uncooperative..." Rona added, Maxwell frowned and nodded in agreement. They turned to look at the girl, but she vanished.
"Gah! Fuck! Where did she go, Where COULD she go!" Synth screamed in shock.
"Ok, We should go." Rona suggested as the Tram came to a stop, they hastily made their way off and looked around. "Where is everyone? This is one of the most popular districts on the ship!"
"I'm calling this in to security. This isn't right" Maxwell said, pulled out his radio and turned the dial.
"You do that, I'm gonna look around..." Rona said, she wandered off and began to look in the corridors for any sign of life. She saw a shadow of a person. "Hey! Are you alright?" She called out, she waited for a response, the shadow looked around and suddenly vanished. There was just something surreal about the way that shadow was hunched over...Rona thought to herself, she shook her head as if waking up from a trance and walked back to Maxwell and Synth.
"This is Lead Engineer Maxwell Watson, repeat, does anyone read me down there? Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit!" Maxwell repeated these words, their echo sent a chill down Synth and Rona's spine. "No one is answering!"
"Here, let me try my radio..." Synth suggests kindly, he pulls out his radio and turns a few dials. "..."
"Anything?" Rona asked impatiently.
"Nothing..." Synth said solemnly. "We need to get back, everyone on the tram."
"I need to get back to Alex!" Rona screamed. "He isn't safe!" Synth grabbed her arm before she could get away.
"He'll be fine! We will stop to get him on the way, but right now, we need to stick together!" Synth yelled. Rona pulled her arm free and stood there.
"He's my son, Synth! WE need to hurry NOW!" Rona snapped back. Synth nodded in agreement.
"I know, but one thing is certain, if something bad IS happening, we need to stick together, so calm down, and work together." Synth said as calmly as possible. Maxwell walked onto the tram and pressed a button.
"We can head to the apartments first. Rona, everything is going to be alright." Maxwell assured her, Rona let out a faint smile and crossed her arms.
"Thanks, Max." Rona muttered under her breath. As the tram doors closed, a blood curdling scream rang through their ears.
"Oh my god..." Rona mumbled, she backed up against the back of the tram and covered her ears. "This isn't happening! This isn't happening!"
"Synth, we need to get to the Security station, it's the safest bet." Maxwell said, trying to ignore the scream. He pulled out his radio. "I'm going to try and contact the Hangar." Synth rubs his hands together and coughs.
"Well, you'll hear no objection from me. We need to stop by the apartments, Alex may be in danger." Synth said, remembering his promise. Rona let out a sigh of relief, she will go grab Alex and head to the security station with the others. The tram stopped at the apartments and opened the door, revealing blood splatters all over the walls and floor.
"Alex!" Rona screamed, she bolted down the bloody corridor without hesitation. Synth and Maxwell dashed madly after her.
"Rona wait!" Maxwell hollered, but Rona didn't even slow down.
"All blood... but no bodies..." Synth said quietly. Rona took a sharp left into her apartment, the girl from next door who was babysitting Alex was dead, slumped over on the floor with her gut torn up. Blood was everywhere, Rona covered her mouth in disbelief, she closed her eyes and began to gather her thoughts. Synth and Maxwell caught up to her.
"Don't run off like that! Do you not see the blood every...where..." Maxwell trailed off, the sight before him was too much to take in. Maxwell bent over and vomited uncontrollably at the sight.
"Alex..?" Rona began to call his name, she trembled from fear. "Alex... honey? Are you here?"
"Mommy!" A small brown haired boy ran out, he wore a torn up civilian jumpsuit. Rona picked him up and swung him around.
"Alex! I'm so glad you're alright!" Rona yelled, she hugged her son close as tears poured from their eyes.
"Mommy, the monsters got her..." Rona felt her heart sink, monsters... the word kept ringing through her mind, haunting her thoughts, consuming her feelings.
"You don't need to think about that anymore, you're safe now." Rona assured him.
"Mommy, where are we going?" Alex asked, his voice as innocent as ever, despite the circumstances.
"Somewhere safe... Alex... somewhere safe..." Rona wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face her two friends.
"We should get going..." Maxwell suggested, rubbing his nose. Rona nodded and began to walk out, but a shadowy figure began to lurk around the corner. The three stared at the figure, it was tantalizing, but terrifying. It turned the corner, revealing a disfigured face, its gut was torn open with organs flopping out. Its back was hunched and arms extended upwards, sharp, bone like claws protruded from its palms. It let out a howl at the sight of the four humans and began to advance on their location.
"T-T-This is so fucked up!" Synth yelled. He grabbed his friends arms and dragged them along. "Run!" The creature stumbled after the fleeing humans. Rona held Alex close, making sure he didn't see the horrific shit fest behind them.
"Get on the tram!" Maxwell screamed out. Synth jumped into the tram and slammed his fist on the button. Maxwell and Rona dolphin dived into through the closed doors, leaving the creature behind them.
"What... what the... what in the HELL was that!" Maxwell screamed, regaining his breath.
"Synth, we need to get to the Security department now!" Rona screamed, Alex held on to his mother tightly. Rona gave him a comforting hug. "It's alright sweetie..."
"Mommy. I'm scared." The boy yelped out, he was only 6 years old. "I want to go home."
"I know, sweetie, I know..." Rona said, her words soothing the boy.
"Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I think that thing was hostile." Maxwell noted. "And I, personally, would like to find some weapons."
"Let's just focus on getting to the security station first." Synth said, he sat himself down on the bench of the tram and sighed.
"What did I teeelllll yoou?" A girls voice said rhythmically.
"Who are you!" Maxwell screamed in the air. No response. "Answer me god dammit!"
"Max! Stop! No one said anything!" Rona screamed at him. Maxwell felt like he was just kicked in the gut.
"N-no one heard her?" Maxwell stuttered.
"Heard who?" Synth asked with concern.
"T-The girl..."
"Max... here, sit down." Rona suggested sweetly, Max complied and set himself down on the bench, his long brown hair was damp with sweat.
"Don't worry son, I don't feel right after seeing that either." Synth said, a false sense of security washed over Max when he heard the reassuring sound of his friends voices.
"Y-You're right..." Max held his face in his hands. "I'm just on edge..." Rona rubbed the back of his head, she held Alex's hand, making sure he never left her sight. Moments later they arrived at the Security station. The automatic doors slid open, revealing the largest crowd of people anyone has seen.
"God, there must be half of the ship here!" Synth hollered above the crowd.
"Don't get lost!" Rona yelled back, the sound of panicking people was overwhelming. Rona helped Maxwell back to his feet and dusted him off. They pushed and weaved through crowds of yelling, irritated people before finally reaching a security officer.
"Hey, Rona, can you believe this mess?" The female security officer began. "It's a total shit storm here, apparently, something attacked down in Apartment complex C-B and everyone is on edge for it."
"Jenn, We just came from there, I don't know what the HELL happened there, but whatever it is, it ain't good. There was some sort of... alien there, it was a lot worse than here!" Rona yelled over the crowd.
"Are you shittin me?" Jenn replied, a look of skepticism on her face. "You're sure about this?"
"We need to seal that place up, whatever it was... it was NOT human." Rona said, her face was dead serious. "You need to send a team in now."
"I don't know if that's possible at the moment, we kinda have our hands full here." Jenn said, she shrugged her shoulders. She looked behind Rona and saw Alex, Maxwell, and Synth.
"You guys were there, also?" Jenn asked.
"You need to send someone down there now!" Synth hollered. Jenn stepped to the side and stared at the middle aged man.
"Look, I'm sorry, but we have to maintain our stations here, we can't just- HEY! HEY STOP!" Jenn pulled out her handgun and ran towards a group of trouble makers. They were climbing up in the vents to get inside the Security department. A man no older than 25 began to climb into the their new access point.
"Come on! Let's Go- AAAAGGGGHHH! GOD! NO GET IT OFF- GET IT! AAAHH-" The first man's blood curdling screams were toned by the sound of others, panicked, screams. The crowd of people backed away, Jenn shoved through the crowd, her pistol at the ready.
"Back up! Back UP!" Jenn shoved through the crowd, what she saw was hell. Everyone was crowded around the man who entered the vent, his body was torn and mangled. But the most terrifying part was the creature above him, rapidly impaling him with bone spikes protruding from its palms. Like the other creature, this one had a torn open gut, organs flopping out. It impaled the corpse with its long spikes, one after another, reducing the chest cavity of the corpse to pulp.
"Holy...fuck..." Jenn muttered, the crowd began to dissipate as the creature turned to face them.
"Run!"
"Get the FUCK out of here!"
"Run for your lives!"
The crowd yelled wildly as they fled, they didn't know where they were going, their instincts told them to get the hell out of there. Jenn held up her pistol and unloaded her clip into the mangled creature in front of her.
"Jenn! That's one of them!" Rona screamed, she picked Alex up and stumbled back. "Kill it!"
"Go into the Security station!" Jenn screamed, reloading her pistol, The four dashed madly into the now open security door. The creature was unaffected by the bullets, but Jenn proceeded to fire at the beast. The creature stumbled back, temporarily disoriented by the bullet force. It regained its balance and proceeded towards its assailant. It howled a terrifying scream, the shrill sound sent a chill down Jenns spine. She fired at its head, 4 shots hit the disfigured face dead on. Blood gushed from the wounds, but it didn't even slow down. Jenn shot at it blindly at this point, 2 shots landed in its shoulder blade, the creatures right arm tore off from the impact. The creature staggered back and looked at its limb. It let out another scream and dashed at Jenn, it's free arm swinging madly. Jenn dolphin dived to the side and aimed up. She emptied the rest of the clip into the creature's left leg, blowing it clean off. The creature stumbled to the ground. Jenn stumbled up, she was out of ammo.
"Jenn!" Maxwell screamed from the door. "Run!" Maxwell motioned for Jenn to run to the open Security door. He clutched a fully loaded pulse rifle in his hands. He aimed at the now crawling creature and fired a barrage of supersonic bullets. The creature was completely dismembered, it thrashed around, gushing blood everywhere, before finally settling down and died. Jenn dashed madly over to the door, the horrific events that just took place were enough to scare anyone. Jenn ran through the door as Maxwell slammed the button, shutting the thick steel door.
"Jenn, are you alright?" Rona ran up to her, Alex asleep on her back. "You did good."
"What the FUCK was that!" Jenn screamed, no longer able to contain the question. Synth walked over, clutching a pulse rifle tightly.
"Hell if we know, We just need to get the hell out of here." Synth said, a sense of terror boomed with his voice.
"Look." Maxwell said this one word, and everyone rushed to the window. "What the..." Some sort of creature was flapping its wings towards the middle aged mans body. It appeared to be a flying corpse, bent and twisted to a sick deformity of its past self. It latched onto the corpse and stuck a boney needly into its brain. Maxwell and Rona turned their heads in disgust. Synth watched, unsure what to think. The corpse sprang to life, it thrashed about, spikes pierced through its palms, its gut was ripped open by two small hands. It fell apart and disfigured itself, the creature vomited blood and looked around, adding onto the alliance of hell.
"Holy shit... so that's how they work..." Synth mumbled, he clutched the pulse rifle tighter. Jenn stumbled to the trash can and vomited uncontrollably.
"We need to get out of here, and the vents can't be used." Rona said. Realization dawned on them, they stared terrified to the vent on the wall.
"If they can use the vents like that... oh god, we need to secure that entrance, do we have a supply closet in here?" Maxwell asked. He gripped the pulse rifle with his hands.
"Back there, let me grab the rest of the force." Jenn said, as if on cue, a team of Security officers came rushing out.
"Shots fire, I repeat, Shots fired!" The chief screamed. She stopped at the sight of Jenn and the civilians. "Jenn, What the hell is going on? You should be at your station!"
"Trust me, sir, you won't last long out there." Jenn said, terror echoed in her voice.
"What are you talking about..." The chief said, he slicked his short hair back and looked out the window. "Where are the people?"
"Dead or Fleeing, sir" Jenn replied. The chief shot her a glance.
"Why?" He asked with a stern face.
"Take another look." Rona told the chief. The chief looked at the girl.
"You have no place in here mechanic!" He hollered, furious about the outcome of the situation.
"Sir, look through the window." Jenn said calmly. The chief sighed and gazed out the window, there was blood everywhere, but no bodies. A figure shambled over, the creature from before... but this time it brought friends. 6 of the necro-bastards wandered outside.
"What the fuck..?" He squinted to get a better look, but what he saw terrified him. "What in god's name is that!" The chief loaded his gun. He motioned for the other officers to come forward.
"Wait sir, they don't go down that easily. You're going to need better weapons."
"I'm trusting you on this, Jenn. Is it worth it?" The chief asked, testing her abilities to lead.
"Yes, sir. Bullets seem to have no effect, but if you hit it just right on the limbs, it will do some damage." Jenn replied, confident on her claim. "But sir, if I may add, we aren't equipped to easily defeat these creatures."
"What do you suggest we do?" The chief asked, feeling more confident about Jenn's opinion.
"We need to get something that can cut their limbs easily." Jenn suggested.
"I think I got what you need." Maxwell said, entering the room. He held a rivet gun for the vent and 2 energy saw's he found in the supply closet. "Found these Industrial Metal Saw's in the closet, only found two, though. They should get the job done."
"Close quarters combat? Me like." Rona said, grasping the energy chainsaw. Synth still grasped the pulse rifle.
"I got this baby." Synth said, swinging the rifle over his shoulder. Jenn took the other chain saw.
"I got this one then." Jenn said, smiling at the damage it will do to those freaks.
"What are you doing with military grade weaponry?" The chief asked, concerned. "You don't have access to this."
"Chief, its fine. These guys check out alright, they're friends." Jenn said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Fine, I trust you with this." The chief replied, he walked back to the 6 other security officers. "Everyone, grab a pulse rifle." The officers nodded and scattered to the armory. Synth turned and looked at his friends, Alex was sitting on the couch, swinging his feet.
"Plasma... Cutter..." The little girls voice echoed in through Maxwell's mind. Maxwell looked around, terrified. He began to think of her words.
"Of Course!" Maxwell exclaimed. "Plasma cutters, they can cut through metal!"
"There was a supply in the Hangar!" Synth added, realizing the importance of the tools. Maxwell took the Rivet gun and began to weld the vent shut.
"I'll go with the force, don't know what's out there." Jenn said. "Chief, permission to gather requested supplies?"
"Granted, who's coming along?" The chief asked. 4 officers armed their guns and stepped forward.
"We are."
"Good, I'll open the doors, make sure nothing gets in." Maxwell said. He slammed his fist on the button and the metal door whirred to life, it slid open slowly and loudly. Which earned the attention of the creatures. They turned their horrific faces and began to shamble towards them. The four police officers aimed their pulse rifles.
"Get ready." Jenn said, she flipped a switch and the chainsaw whirred to life, it shot out a solid beam of energy, capable of cutting steel in one swing. The creatures where at least 30 feet away, the blue light of the laser sights shone on the limbs of the creatures.
"FIRE FIRE FIRE!"