Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Alien Franchise.
Before you read: This story is set around the time of Aliens (1986) on the planetoid formerly known as LV-426, which from here on out will be referred to as Acheron.
P.S. If you've been reading this story since I first published it, it may shock you to see all the chapters are gone and I've updated this one. I've decided to rewrite the story and make some significant changes. I feel like I've grown a lot as a writer over the past few months and I'm ready to come back to this and dedicate more time to it.
A typical day on Acheron was like a stormy twilight on Earth. It was usually cloudy and the light of the sun was obscured by the dense atmosphere. By night, the sky was like a black cloth folding over the planetoid like a blanket. Not even the twinkling of the stars could peak through the darkness. Although there were light posts set up all around the colony, the settlers had put a curfew in place and nobody was allowed outside after the last hour of day-light. Each day after curfew, I would sit in my quarters and stare out the window at the dark emptiness that loomed above us. It was menacing and scary. I would think about Earth and how it's city lights would pollute the sky with their artificial glow. Sometimes, when I was feeling hopeless, I used to drive away from the city and camp out in my car. I would look up and count the stars until I fell asleep. I would think about life on another planet and how I longed for adventure and excitement. I should've cherished the stars when I had them.
Now, we were 39 light years away from Earth, the only home most of us ever knew. My family and I had arrived here only 2 months ago, after Weyland-Yutani hired them. As colonists, we were supposed to terraform this lifeless rock and make it habitable for humanity. It was expected to take decades, but Weyland paid well and they had an entire colony of the world's best scientists at their disposal. From biologists, to zoologists, genetic engineers and ecologists, Weyland Corp had every possible "–ologist" needed to carry out this mission. My parents were both biologists and were tasked with trying to grow crops, trees, and plants. They mainly worked in labs, but sometimes went outside to take soil samples from different locations.
There were about 60 or 70 families here, many of them had young children. They were the first generation of humans that were born and raised on another planet. When my parents received an invitation from Weyland Corp in the mail, they could hardly believe it. They had dedicated their lives to research and science and their hard work was finally being recognized by one of the most powerful companies in the world. People always said that if you were a Weyland employee, you were sure to retire early with enough money to live out the rest of your life comfortably. I was thrilled for them, obviously, but I wondered what it meant for me. Weyland Corp had always encouraged scientists to bring their families to colonize new worlds, so it wouldn't have been a problem if I wanted to go with them. For days, I had contemplated whether to go or stay. If I stayed, I might never see my parents again. But if I went, I was giving up Earth, the only home I'd ever known, possibly forever.
Only 2 weeks after they were hired, I found myself packing all my belongings in a trunk and we were escorted by military personnel aboard the USCSS Andromeda, the craft that brought us here in cryostasis chambers. As we floated peacefully through space, everyone I cared for back home went on with their lives on the planet they knew and loved and my dreams and expectations for my life were erased. Nothing would ever be the same again.
"Hey, put on your gear, I need you to come collect some extra samples with me." My dad said, leaning in the doorway of my quarters. "More samples? Don't we have enough already?" I whined. "Your mom says we need some soil samples from the mountain range." I sighed and quickly laced up my boots, standing up to put on the rest of the gear. We had to wear special attire whenever we went outside. The planet's air was technically breathable, but the outside conditions were still too harsh to go outside unprotected. I had to put on a protective suit that was made of some sort of flexible, thinly stretched rubber that had a zipper down the front. Along with it, I grabbed my helmet, which looked very similar to an astronaut helmet—it was large and white and had a clear window for me to see. The helmet came with some loose fabric around the edges that tucked into the neck-hole of my suit.
"Come, we'll take the vehicle this time. I've got everything we need right here." He handed me a large backpack that was filled with equipment and sample holding containers. I grabbed it and strapped it around my waist, slipping my arms through the back. "Where's mom?" I wondered. She usually joined us when we went outside to take samples. "She's in the lab. She's gotta write a bunch of reports. You know how it is with these people. She said she'll join us next time." Dr. Ledger, the "guy in charge" was a stickler for doing things by the book. Every week, we were expected to write reports on our progress and input data into the computers. It was boring and time-consuming, but it had to be done. The company wanted to make sure their money was being used properly and that they were getting the results they needed.
On our way to the mountain range, we chatted about current events and about their work at the lab. Apparently, mom and dad were making a lot of progress and they were both very excited. They had successfully grown some plants, which were transferred to the greenhouse the colony was equipped with. Nobody expected the plants to grow this fast, but the company was pleased and so were the settlers. It made me happy to hear some good news for a change. For the first few weeks after we arrived, there were a lot of complications and failures. My parents had even thought about returning to Earth. I wanted to push them to go back, but seeing their disappointment was crushing. I told them to give it another shot. To stay here longer and if things were still bad, we could always go back. I feel selfish, but I sort of regret doing that now.
The ride was bumpy, to say the least. There were rocks everywhere; small hills and dips along the planet's surface that varied in size. It was difficult to drive on the terrain, but dad had experience and knew his way around. Besides, this was a military-grade vehicle with bullet proof windows and the tires were almost indestructible. I have no idea what kind of material Weyland uses to build their stuff, but all of it is damn-near unsurmountable. The windows were 2 inches thick and they could withstand almost any blow. "We'll be there in about 15 minutes." My dad talked into the radio the vehicle had built-in. My mom had been wonder what was taking so long. She was not the most patient woman.
"How far is the mountain range?" I asked, trying to pass the time. My dad glanced at the GPS sitting on the dash board. "It says it's about 2 more miles from here." He slowed down a bit as we came to a large boulder and swerved around it. "Has anyone else ever been there? I can't imagine the other doctors going on a hike." I looked at the GPS and back at the window, seeing the mountain range approaching in the distance. "I asked around before we left and apparently, nobody else has bothered to go exploring. They're too busy in their labs with paperwork, I mean, we just got here so there's a lot of reports that need to be written about the initial state of things. The company really likes to record progress." He sounded amused. "What does mom say about the 'initial state of things'?" I laughed. He chuckled in response, "Your mom says the place has potential, but we're going to need some sort of direct sunlight." I scoffed as I looked up at the grey sky. "Does the company think you guys can make it happen? You're biologists, not magicians."
"There are so many possibilities, actually, we don't really need direct sunlight. We could experiment with artificial lighting or try to create genetically engineered plants that can grow without direct sunlight. At this point, I think anything is possible. I used to think it'd be impossible to achieve long-distance space travel and here we are." He laughed and nudged me with his elbow. I smirked a little and looked down. I was still getting used to it here.
"Do you we'll ever return to Earth?" I asked. My dad gave me a sidelong glance and frowned.
"Do you miss it that much?" He asked, quietly.
I nodded.
"Me too." He said simply.
I looked at him, surprised. "But, I thought you liked it here?" I questioned. "We like having a purpose and feeling like we're doing good work here. But we also love Earth," He sighed gently and the vehicle came to a slow stop in front of a mountain.
"I honestly think it's worth discussing this with your mom tonight, over dinner." He stopped pressed the brakes and stopped gently a few feet away from the mountain.
"Come, let's get this done," He got out of the truck and walked over to the mountain base and kneeled.
I sighed, got out and kneeled a couple yards away from him, taking out a petri dish from the backpack. I started scooping up sand and rocks, until I saw something strange a couple inches away. I squinted and moved closer as I noticed a bizarre, green goo that had pooled next to a large rock. "Hey! Come, quick. Check this out!" I called to my dad. He trotted over calmly and kneeled next to me. "What's that?" I asked him, pointing at the gooey substance. He laughed, "It kind of looks like melted gelatin or something, right?" He pulled a large, glass container out of the backpack and a tiny metal spatula. "Whatever it is, we'll take a sample of that." He handed the container to me and I started scooping up the goo, as well as the soil surrounding it.
As I tried to scoop it into the container, the metal seemed to melt away and smoke staring coming out of it. I quickly dropped it and fell on my posterior as I tried to crawl away. Luckily, my dad caught me and helped me stand up. "What was that? What happened?" He asked, clearly confused. "I don't know," I shrugged, "I think that green goo melted the metal." He shook his head and whispered, "Impossible," as he carefully stepped in front of me to have a closer look. Over his shoulder, I could see that it was still smoking and melting.
"That shouldn't be happening," his mouth was open and his eyes were wide.
"Only acid can do that, right?" I asked.
He nodded and stared, mesmerized, as the goo completely eroded the metal. "We gotta let Dr. Legder know about this."
My dad hurried back to the truck, where I heard him saying something into the radio. I noticed more of the mysterious substance leading away from the mountain range and decided to follow the trail. I walked just a few steps before I saw it. It was a man—one of us—from the colony. At first, I thought he had passed out, but as I stepped closer, I saw that the glass from his helmet had somehow melted into his face, making him completely unrecognizable. There were pieces of glass embedded into his flesh and his skin looked like it had been doused in acid. I could see parts of his skull surrounded by a pool of melted flesh and blood. His hands were also badly burned and I could see the exposed tendons.
He had on a protective a suit just like mine, with the Weyland logo on the right side of his chest. I stood, paralyzed, over his body. My feet refused to move and my throat couldn't formulate sounds. I wanted to scream, to call out to my dad, but somehow, I couldn't. I gasped and suddenly felt like I was being choked. Breathing became more difficult the longer I stared at the man's disfigured face. I heard my dad calling my name as he came up behind me. "Jesus—What the fuck?" He yelled as he gazed upon the man's mutilated body. "Victoria, come on, we have to get out of here!" I felt him grab me by my shoulders as he guided me away from the horrific scene, cursing under his breath.
In the safety of the truck, he started yelling into the radio. His voice sounded like a distant whisper as thoughts and questions raced through my mind. Who was that man? Was he someone we knew? Why had he gone to the mountain range all alone? What in the world happened to his face? What could have done something like that? I couldn't stop my body from shaking as I stared at the spot where I knew his body lied, just beyond the base of the mountain. There was no way he could still be alive if his face looked like that. The sight of his body lying on the ground wouldn't leave my mind. No matter how hard I tried to push it away, all I could see was his disfigured, bloody face lying in a pool of thick, red blood.
"Victoria! Victoria, say something! Are you okay?" My dad was panicking as he started the truck and sped away from the scene. We were driving back to the colony at full speed. "I-I-I don't know. He-he was just covered in blood. His face—" I stopped, feeling a wave of nausea overcome me. I tried desperately to hold back from vomiting as I twisted off my helmet and threw it to one side. I felt the contents of my stomach rushing up my throat and lost control. I threw up on the floor of the vehicle, gasping and coughing as it all came up. I tried to calm down and position my head between my legs, but it was impossible at the speed we were going. "Dad, please, slow down." I groaned.
A voice over the radio was barking orders, "Stay where you are! Don't move! We need to know exactly what you saw and where!" It was Dr. Ledger, the head of the colony and the colonist with the highest clearance at Weyland Corp. "Like hell we're staying here, we don't know what did that. We don't know what the fuck is out there!" My father replied angrily as he sped up and held the radio to his mouth. "You listen, and you listen well, I don't know what happened to that man, but I'm not sticking around to find out!"
"You're being foolish! I'm sending a team of men out there to retrieve the body and investigate. All you need to do is show them where to go." He said the last sentence calmly, clearly trying to appease both of us. My dad didn't say anything else as we sped back to the complex. I could tell he was trying hard to calm down and compose himself. As we approached the colony, we saw 3 more vehicles headed our way. My dad sighed heavily as he saw them stop in front of us. He turned to me and spoke softly, "I'm gonna drop you off and lead them to the site. I want you to put your helmet on and get inside. Sit tight until I come back. Can you do that for me, honey?" I nodded wordlessly as I locked my helmet back into place and felt the oxygen flowing through the suit. I took a few deep breaths and stepped out of the vehicle, sprinting toward the complex.
As soon as I reached the main entrance, a group of armed guards escorted me to the med-bay. A team of doctors and nurses were gathered around the room, anxiously speaking to one another. Even Dr. Ledger was there, giving orders over the radio to the units he had dispatched. He was very agitated and kept arguing with whoever was on the other side of the transmission. He'd wasted no time in preparing for our arrival since my dad first contacted the colony. He was also giving orders to a couple of military officers. "We're going into lockdown, now! I don't care what you have to do, you make sure everyone is inside the complex and inside their quarters. Nobody gets in or out, except the units that just departed." The two soldiers nodded and marched away, weapons clutched in their hands.
"Please, sit down, Miss Watkins." He tried to sound calm and collected, but his voice was uneasy. As I started to sit down, another doctor interfered, "Wait, a minute, shouldn't we examine her? Make sure she's alright?" It was a woman who spoke. I didn't recognize her, but a badge clipped to her coat said she was a physician. "Examine her in Room 008. I'll join you when Dr. Watkins gets back with the others." He decided.
The woman put her arm protectively around my shoulders and directed me down a corridor and into an examination room. She closed the door behind her and asked me to remove my suit. "Make sure you put your suit in the medical waste basket. We don't know if you've encountered alien matter that might have left traces on you." She handed me a clean hospital gown, "Here, put this on. You can go over there and draw the curtain if you want some privacy." I did as she asked, removing my helmet first and proceeding to peal the protective suit off my body. I felt light-headed and leaned against a wall for support, stepping into the gown and tying it behind my back. "I'm ready," I pushed back the curtain and stepped out. She motioned for me to sit on the patient bed and slipped on a pair of latex gloves. "I'm going to give you a quick physical to make sure you didn't sustain any injuries. Sometimes the adrenaline doesn't let you feel pain when you experience something traumatic." She said quietly. I sat on the bed and she checked all my vitals and gave me a standard physical; poking, pushing, and probing at me, asking me if it hurt here or there.
She grabbed a tablet from a nearby table and started inputting patient data. She scanned my iris with a tiny camera on the device. "Victoria Watkins, 20-years-old, right?" I nodded. "Looks like you were due for a physical soon, anyway. We killed two birds with one stone." She smiled. We talked for a few minutes and I answered a series of questions relating to what I had experienced out there. "I'm gonna go ahead and have a nurse take a few blood samples, just to make sure everything is ok. I'm also going to prescribe something for your nausea and we'll have a follow-up appointment next week. That ok?" She asked, typing away into her skinny tablet. "Yes, thanks doctor." I said.
There was a knock at the door and a nurse walked in with Dr. Ledger and my dad trailing her. "Is everything okay, Dr. Rose?" My dad asked as they stepped inside the large room. "Yes, Dr. Watkins, your daughter appears to be fine. Nurse Reagan will take some blood samples from her while I examine you." She said, changing into a new pair of gloves. "That won't be necessary, I'm fine—" My dad started to protest, but Dr. Ledger cut him off and insisted that he must be examined. "This has turned into a full-fledged investigation, Robert. I have not alerted the company yet, but I will. When I do, I need to prove to them that we're handling the situation in the most professional manner." With that, Dr. Ledger exited the room, leaving us in an awkward silence.
"Well, that's that, I guess. Go to room 007 and wait for me there. Please, remove your suit and put this on." Dr. Rose presented my dad with a hospital gown just like mine. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to protest, but he took the gown and went into the room next door, instead. The nurse silently finished taking my blood and bandaged my arm. "Alright, Victoria, you're free to go back to your quarters. Your results should be available by the end of the day." Dr. Rose typed a few more details into the tablet and walked into the adjoining room where my dad was waiting to be examined.
Just when I thought I could have a moment alone with my thoughts, there was another knock at the door. It was Dr. Ledger again, but this time he had a soldier with him. I crossed my legs uncomfortably and folded my hands in my lap. For a moment, we were both silently staring at each other until I cleared my throat and he spoke, "Miss Watkins, I understand that you have experienced something traumatic. Perhaps, you're not quite sure what you really saw out there," He paused, waiting for me to say something.
"I saw a dead man." I replied, voice quivering.
"I want to assure you that we're doing our best to come up with answers. I've informed the company, already. They've asked me to persuade you to keep this information to yourself." He stared at me, searching my face for signs of cooperation. I thought for a moment before replying,
"Of course. I understand perfectly."
My answer seemed to satisfy him and he grinned, "Excellent! This gentleman," he gestured at the soldier standing behind him, "will escort you back to your quarters. We'll be in touch soon." He turned around and marched back out of the room, leaving me alone with the young soldier.
"I'm Private Daniels, ma'am," He introduced himself, somewhat shyly.
"Victoria." I said, doing a mock salute.
He smirked, "We better get going, Victoria. We're on lockdown."
I worked really hard on this new version of the story over a couple of weeks and I'm working on another chapter that's coming soon. Please leave a review with your thoughts on this new version. If this is your first time read it, let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks.
