-Disclaimer-
This story is based after the events of Dead Space 3 and will contain spoilers. You have been warned.
I do not own Dead Space or EA Games Entertainment by any means.
I reserve the right to change or edit this story at any time.
Epilogue
"A frozen tundra of destruction."
"Let's go!" shouts a distant voice.
"I'm behind you!" His partner calls back.
"The devastation this moon's impact will cause will make planet cracking look like a walk in the park!" shouts a bloodied Isaac Clarke as he struggles to remain balanced on a plate of shifting earth. Jumping onto the more solid ground, and continuing his panicked sprint.
"You must not have seen my walks in the park then!" Retorts Carver, following closely behind Isaac in a mad dash from the crumbling planet.
"You're telling me!" Isaac replies, when the frozen earth underneath him gives way, falling deep into cracks and crevices in the already destroyed planet surface. Isaac's eyes dart from left to right. He spots a ladder ahead of him, hanging onto a catwalk above. He makes a mad leap for the ladder, grabbing onto it with his right hand, reaching out to Carver with his left. "Jump! Grab my hand!"
Carver hesitates for a moment, but upon the planet surface giving an initial warning rumble, Carver makes a heavy jump off the falling rock, and reaches for Isaac's outstretched hand. Their hands collide, and Isaac grabs Carter, pulling him onto the suspending ladder. The planet's rumbling does not end there, however. The ladder threatens to give way with the added weight. Isaac and Carver climb up the ladder as fast as they can. Isaac reaches the top first. Right as he surfaces, the ladder gives way. Carver threatens to fall, but Isaac throws his arms down, grabbing Carver by his shoulders and heaving, lifting Carver onto the hanging catwalk.
"Let's go. This place isn't gonna wait for us to catch our breath." Isaac huffs, scrambling to his feet.
"Where do we go?" Carver cries out, above the ear-piercing sound of the planet's crust shaking and breaking. A piece of the mountain top above them crashes nearby, shaking the ground even more. Knocking the two men off balance for a moment.
"Off the mountain! The ground will be more stable there!"
"I'm following you!"
The two men continue their mad dash for safety, as the unstable rock under their feet threatens to throw them into oblivion at any moment. Holding their hands in front of their faces to keep the snow from their eyes. They keep running for what feels like an eternity, jumping gap upon gap. Surpassing obstacle to obstacle. Soon, stable ground is found, where the rock does not crumble away at the lightest footstep, but the ground's rumbles still provide instability that is most unsettling. Time for a short breather is made, as Isaac doubles over, huffing for breath.
"How do you suppose we get off the mountain?" Carver inquires, almost equally as exhausted. His ragged breaths for air are almost unheard over the heavy rumbling of the planet surface. This rumbling seems to have no end!
Isaac pauses for a moment, his eyes scan the hazy white surroundings. Almost nothing is discernible from rock or snow. Except for one spot, a bit of a walk away, Isaac spots a door through the heavy snow. The iconic blue "OPEN" is seen labelled on the center. "Through here." Isaac replies. Already eagerly beginning his trek towards the inviting doorway.
Approaching the doorway is less than inviting, however. The iconic blue "OPEN" on the door is easily noticed, as the rest of the door is either snow white, or crimson red from bloodstains. Upon nearing closer to the door, Isaac, presses the palm of his hand on the blue icon. It shifts to "IN PROGRESS..." and moments later, it slides open. The building inside is yet to be entered for roughly 200 years. The interior reeks of stale air and dust. Isaac can't help but cough as the rumbling has stirred the dust and he inhales a lungful of the particles.
Carver steps past Isaac. The doorway closes. Carver's eyes scan the dimly-lit room. It is a small resource terminal. "This must be some kind of information center." Carver mutters, approaching a small computer console. The rumbling outside continues, closely audible from the interior.
"Good." Isaac says, recovering himself. "Can you look for a way off this godforsaken rock?"
"Uhhh.. Let me see.." Carver taps his fingers on key portions of the computer screen. The typical blips of sound emit from it as he taps. Moments pass.
Isaac has a moment of time to sit down, and regain his thoughts, recalling the past 45 minutes of events. "Hey, you know how to use that thing?" Isaac retorts jokingly.
"Of course! But- Isaac, you remember that little shuttle you could use to travel between ships in orbit?" Carver asks.
"Yeah. It was called a SKIP. Or something. Really old." Isaac replies, acknowledging the little transport birdie.
"Check this out." Carver adds. Tapping once on the screen, and an enlarged picture of a SKIP transport shuttle comes on-screen. "If the green stuff means good, then this thing looks like it can fly." He points out, noting the green marks on each of the components of the SKIP's hull. "Could it get us out of here?"
"It's no use. That thing would never be powerful enough to break us into orbit." Isaac responds.
"What do you suppose we do then? You've got some jerry-rigging talents in that head of yours. Could you whip up something usable? I mean, we hijacked an engine once already.
"-And replaced it with the bad one.." Isaac stands, beginning to pace. "This is a once-in-a-million chance." He adds.
"You could do it again!"
"No, I doubt it. The hull of the SKIP would never fit a shuttle engine."
"Duct tape?" Carver responds jokingly, trying to ease the situation.
"Funny, but n-.." Isaac stops. "Actually." He adds, shuffling next to Carver in front of the computer screen, pointing at a key point in the middle of the SKIP's hull. "I could actually rig an engine setting on the top of the hull here, if we found a spare. I'd need a kinesis module for balance and a stronger power source to run the engine." Isaac mutters, almost faster than Carver can understand.
"Look- Can you make it work or not?" Carver asks.
"I can. With time."
The ground of the planet's surface rumbles again, signaling the lack of time these two men have. "Something I doubt we have much of." Carver responds.
"No no! It's no use!" Isaac retorts. "We'd never know where to find an engine on this rock."
"What about the engine from the shuttle we rode down here? The thing tore in half, but we might be able to salvage something."
"That might work." Isaac adds. "I think I know where the crash is from here, too." He opens his RIG, and marks a point on the map at a particular set of coordinates where he believes the shuttle crash site could be. "If the shuttle is still there, it'll be here."
"Good. Let's go." Carver finishes. The two men shuffle off to continue their spastic endeavor to survive the crumbling planet.