A/N: Sorry viewers for not updating. I've decided to change this story up just a little. Future chapters shall be updated soon. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Dead Space or Gears of War. They are own by their own respectable companies.
A fate worse than dying
Chapter 1: Lazarus
SOS Broadcast: This is Captain Davis Chamber Reed, commander of the USG Continental Bell. We were dispatched to recover the USG Ishimura, but what we found was scraps and…and a fragment of the Marker. And now an unknown outbreak has occurred on my ship! The crew and cargo are being slaughter like cattle! Too many people have died, we need assistance… Captain Reed, out.
Time: Unknown/ Date: Unknown/ Aboard USG Continental- Security Cryogenetic chamber, 5th deck…
At first there was absolute darkness. No sound to disconcert him, no conscious thoughts to concern him. Then awareness came, all around him he could feel enclosure, as if confined in a tight space. Then fear consumed him.
John had awoken. His breathing was shallow has he thrashed around inside the cryotube. He tore off the respiratory gear from his face, sucking in the small amount of air inside the tube, and then proceeded to rip the rest of the life support monitors from his body.
A red hue light lit up inside the cryotube, startling John, but also calming him down. Pressurized air escaped the seal of the lid as it popped open. John fell hard onto the grated deck. He groaned as he lay naked on the cold decking, curling into a ball, trying to keep the warmth within him.
His vision was blurred and his eyes were not adjusting to the light fixtures in the chamber. But he could hear an alarm amplifying over the speakers.
"Quarantine is in effect. All personnel please precede to the nearest escape pods on all levels. Remain calm, help will be along shortly. Thank you."
The message was a loop; it continued to broadcast over and over again.
This doesn't sound good, he thought. I need to get the hell outta here.
John grabbed on to a bench and pulled himself up to the seat. He rested, back arched, face planted in his hands, patiently waiting for his vision to return. As soon as his eyes cleared, John pushed off the bench seat and walked over to a group of lockers gathered at the back of the chamber.
He paused in front of a locker, it read 75390. John gripped onto the latch, which read his palm print and allowed itself to open under John's demand. The inside of the locker wasn't entirely cluttered, three security uniforms, boots, a holster, a pistol and a personnel size mirror on the inner of the door. But what gripped his attention was a photograph no bigger than the mirror.
The picture was of John standing next to a woman; his arm draped over her shoulder. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, blue eyes, and short blonde hair. She was beautiful, John couldn't argue with that, but who was she?
He examined the pictures more closely and noticed the name above her left breast pocket. Opposite of the name was USG C.B.
Continental Bell, he thought. She's on this ship?
John ripped the photo from the door. He turned it over and found a message on the backside.
My hero!
Thanks for the job big brother.
Anna.
Annabel… Holding the photo between his teeth, John began to suit up. He placed the picture in his breast pocket. Wrapping the belt holster around his waist he secured it tight. He then drew out his sidearm and loads a fresh magazine in the receiver of the pistol. Cocking the gun, John was about to holster it back when the vent overhead rattled violently!
Reacting fast, John crouched, leveling the barrel toward the source of the noise. It reminded John of two cats fighting in close quarters. As the ruckus drifted, he recovered as he holstered his weapon.
What the hell was that? He thought to himself. But he knew he had no time to investigate. As he headed for the exit, he noticed the other cryotubes were either empty or completely frozen. John couldn't help but feel sorry for those who were resting in their own arctic coffin. Their life suppose only read zero.
Off to his right, the bulkhead to the exit parted open. John immediately swiveled his head to the entrance.
"John…" an elegant voice whispered from beyond the entrance. "John, please get us home."
"Anna?" he whispered. But his eyes couldn't penetrate through the darkness of the corridor. "Anna, is that you?"
The light flickered and a slender figure walked away.
"Annabel, wait!" John took pursuit, but as he reached the corridor the woman was gone. He looked from left to right but the entire corridor was empty. Realizing he was alone, John felt like his heart was hollow once again.
Anna, why are you on this ship? John wiped the tears from his eyes and regained his baring. He then set off to find any survivors.
A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this new segment of my story. And please review. I would like feedback. Criticism is greatly welcomed. Thank you again.