My first Alien Isolation fanfic. The game itself was amazing, but I found myself absolutely loving the xenomorphs. So much in fact, that I went ahead and watched all four Alien movies. After that, the idea for this story was bugging me so much that I had to write it.
There will be xenomorph lemons.
One more thing. "If any spoken lines are written like this," That means they are spoken through the minds of the characters
Please enjoy.
…
Amanda growled and wiped the sweat off her forehead as she stepped into the room with the space suits. She had just gotten in here after coming from the control room that was on fire, full of smoke, and if that wasn't bad enough, full of bloodthirsty aliens.
Well, there were only two or three, but still.
Avoiding one was bad enough. Trying to avoid more when they went in and out of the vents in a smoke filled room was asking for death. Especially since she had no flamethrower fuel left. She was lucky she hadn't been caught. Hell, she couldn't even tell if it was the same two or three aliens coming and leaving the room. All of those vicious beasts looked alike.
'Except for one,' she thought, but shook her head before that thought could progress any further.
'It doesn't matter,' she told herself, right hand throbbing slightly. 'That alien has been dead for a while. I don't care how tough these creatures are. None of them would survive being sucked into the gas giant.'
Now realizing that she had been standing near the doorway for a few seconds, Amanda shook her head again and approached the compartments where the suits were held. After quickly glancing around to make sure no enemies were nearby, she pulled the lever and opened the door of the case.
She took the helmet out and held it in her hands. She was about to put it on when a thick but watery substance dripped on the see-through glass. Amanda froze and looked up when a couple more drops of liquid splashed on the helmet's surface.
'No. Please no,' she thought.
But unfortunately for her, it was.
Above her, inside the vents, stood an alien in all its full glory. With teeth barred and a soft but threatening hiss escaping its throat, it looked absolutely murderous. Before Amanda could move a muscle, the alien grabbed her by the leg and pulled her into the vents.
She screamed and dropped the helmet while she tried to grab onto something, but wasn't able to due to the fact that she was thrown around like a rag doll. Amanda almost passed out with how many times her head was hit the sides of the vent, but somehow managed to stay conscious. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually the alien dropped down into a room and threw her to the ground.
Her vision swam and a pain-filled whimper escaped her lips as her head collided painfully with the floor, but somehow managed to fight the urge to pass out. She sat up and gritted her teeth, head pulsing as the edges of her vision turned black. After a few seconds, she attempted to get to her feet, but froze when a strangled hiss cut through the thick silence of the room.
Headache forgotten, Amanda was on her feet in an instant and whirled around to face the alien, who was simply observing her. She gulped and tried to make a break for it, but before she even took a step, the alien was blocking her path. With its arms outstretched, legs bent, and teeth bared as it hissed, it looked like it was about to pounce on her. With the memory fresh in her mind of others she had seen killed by the aliens, she was immediately backing away, but only managed to get so far before her back hit a wall.
She was cornered with nowhere to run.
She was going to die.
The alien, seemingly knowing that she wasn't going to try running again, returned to its normal posture and calmly walked towards her. Seeing the creature coming closer sent fear and panic coursing through her veins. Out of desperation, she tried to put more distance between them, but the wall prevented her from going anywhere. Once it was close enough to reach out and touch her, the alien stopped and stood in front of her.
Amanda squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the pain to come, praying that the creature would make it quick. Surprisingly, she felt no tiny jaws piercing through her skull or sharp tails stabbing through her midsection. As far as she could tell, the alien hadn't moved at all. When she opened her eyes, sure enough, it was standing there staring at her, hissing softly. Almost like it was waiting for her to make the next move.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered. It was barely audible to her own ears, but somehow the creature heard it. Amanda had known for a while that these aliens were very intelligent, but she didn't think they could fully understand human speech. It surprised her greatly when it responded by tilting its head to the side and looking at her as if to say, 'Are you serious?' Her eyes narrowed.
"Well," she snapped. "Are you gonna kill me or are you gonna stare at me?"
Not the wisest decision to make when faced with one of these aliens, but she was probably dead anyway and wanted the creature to get it over with. The alien growled at her a little before turning to the side so she had a perfect view of its left arm. Still not understanding, Amanda raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
It gave her the, 'Are you serious?' look again before pointing to something on its upper arm. She had to step away from the wall and get a little closer, but she could now see a light grey scar that stood out painfully against its dark skin. Her eyes widened as understanding hit her full force.
"I…It's you," she whispered as her back hit the wall again. Memories of the medical bay flashed through her mind, as well as her encounter with the alien, and what she had done to give it that scar. She involuntarily glanced down at her right hand, which she swore was painfully throbbing again. When she turned her attention back to the alien, it was smiling at her. Or she thought it was smiling. It might just be baring its teeth at her again, she couldn't really tell.
But then how…
"How the hell are you still alive?" For the moment, Amanda forgot her fear. All she cared about was knowing how it managed to evade being sucked into the gas giant. The alien stayed still for a moment before closing the distance between them. Amanda squeaked at the sudden invasion of her personal space, but didn't dare make a move. Even when it leaned closer to her, all she did was shut her eyes.
Just like before, no inner jaws shoved through her skull. She only felt something smooth and cold press against her forehead. She opened her eyes to see the alien's head pressed against hers. Before she could question what it was doing, something sudden but excruciatingly painful tore into her head. It felt like electricity was running through her body and burning her brain from the inside out.
Amanda screamed and tried to push the alien away, but it pinned her arms and legs to the wall with its hands and tail. Her nails dug into the creature's arms, but if it felt any pain, it gave no indication. After a few short moments, the pain stopped and the alien let her go.
The second it wasn't holding her against the wall anymore, Amanda's legs gave out and she landed painfully on her rear. Whatever the alien had done, it had stolen her breath and turned her bones and muscles to jelly. Not to mention it left behind a nasty headache.
Thankfully, these side effects quickly faded away. As soon as she could move, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She heard shifting in front of her as the alien crouched down to her level.
'Now what does it want?' Amanda brought her eyes up and stared at the alien as it tilted its head again. But this time, instead of a look, she heard something like static from a radio. It didn't hurt, but was rather annoying. She tried to block it out by covering her ears and shaking her head, but the noise was still there. After a few seconds, the static cleared up a little and she could make out a couple words.
"Hel…..Can…me?"
'What the fuck?' she thought. The static came back, but didn't last nearly as long before more words were spoken.
"Can you…me?"
Amanda shivered a little. This was starting to scare her now. Who was that talking? There was no one here but her….
And the alien.
But that was impossible. Wasn't it?
This time, the static lasted for less than a second before it stopped and she heard the question clearly.
"Can you hear me?"
Now that she could clearly hear it, she could tell it was low pitched and definitely male. Amanda whimpered a little. This was absolutely freaking her out. "Y….Yes?" she thought, hoping she was doing this right. "Who's talking?"
"What do you mean, 'Who's talking?' I am right in front of you," the voice demanded. Amanda froze as she stared at the alien in front of her. She couldn't believe it was actually…
"YOU CAN TALK?" she suddenly shouted. To her surprise, it seemed unfazed by her sudden outburst.
"Yes, I can talk. And I would be appreciative if you would never call me an 'it'. I am a he." Amanda simply stared at the alien, having no idea how to react to this.
"H…How come I've never heard you before?" She blubbered out.
"My kind can speak freely with one another through our minds. But in order to speak to a human, we have to establish a connection, for your minds are so closed off."
"So I can talk to any member of your species?"
He shook his head. "No. Only me."
Amanda thought for a moment. "Why connect with me at all?"
The alien gave her his degrading look again. "You asked how I escaped from the…gas giant as I have heard your species call it. Is it normal for your kind to forget things so easily?" Amanda bristled at the insult. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but took one look at his razor sharp claws and tail before deciding it was better for her health to let it go. She simply shook her head and allowed him to continue.
"I managed to get the doors open, but by the time I did, you were long gone." He gave her a blank stare as his voice turned icy, and she found herself squirming under his gaze. "Luckily for you, when I found my way inside the station again, I was far away from you."
Amanda's eyes widened at the alien's threatening words. Her curiosity abandoned in favor of fear as she tried to back away from him, only to be reminded that she was cornered with nowhere else to run. She tore her eyes away from his face and glanced at the scar on his arm.
'Of course he's still angry about that,' she chastised herself. 'And I probably pissed him off even more by launching him into space. Not to mention using the flamethrower on him multiple times.' Her body began to shake a little when she forced herself to look at him again. He was simply staring at her, but even with the blank expression, she could feel the intensity of his glare.
Amanda gulped as her body began visibly trembling with terror.
What was she supposed to do now?
Tell him how sorry she was?
Beg him not to kill her or ask him to make it quick?
Like that was gonna work.
Before she could decide, the alien hissed sharply at her, telling her that his patience was running thin.
"What are you gonna do to me?" Without even thinking, the question burst from her throat.
The voice inside her mind chuckled before he moved closer. She tried to move her head back, but it was quickly pressed against the wall. Before she could blink, the alien's head was right in front of hers. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, a last attempt to put more distance between their bodies, but it was all in vain.
Amanda whimpered when she felt him nuzzle her cheek in a mocking gesture. Then if that wasn't bad enough, he pulled his lips back and let his silver teeth rub against her neck, slightly drawing blood along with a loud shriek from Amanda as her nails dug into her palms.
To her relief, that only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled back. Cautiously opening her eyes, she watched him pull his lips back in a smirk again, teeth slightly stained with blood, obviously pleased at the fear he was instilling in her. He chuckled again before he pressed his palm against her cheek and turned her head towards him. His claws were digging into her, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to keep her still. His smirk disappeared as he gave her what could be described as a sincere look.
"Why, I think we should pick up where we left off. It was so rude of me to leave in the middle of our meeting, I would like to make it up to you."
The sarcasm was painfully obvious in his voice, but Amanda's eyes widened in terror all the same. She was shaking badly, and her mouth was so dry that it was hard to speak.
"No p…please. Whatever you want, it's yours. J…just not that. I'm begging you."
The alien simply ignored her pleas. "Do you want to know another reason why I allowed you to hear my voice? Because of our connection, I can hear your every thought as well as feel your emotions." He gave a pleasured growl at her fearful expression before continuing.
"That means, while I am torturing you in ways you cannot imagine, I get to hear every pain filled thought while feeling your fear and agony wash over you." Amanda gasped and tried to get around him again, but he grabbed her arms and pinned her to the wall. He leaned closer until the tip of her nose rubbed against the cold skin of his face. "Shall we get started? My blood is roaring in anticipation."
Amanda's eyes widened out of fear and she pressed herself more forcefully against the wall. She knew full well what the alien was thinking about doing to her. Despite not wanting to, she glanced down at his hand and winced softly as more flashbacks ran through her mind. She had been lucky to escape then, but it would take a miracle to get her out of this now.
He suddenly pulled back from her and let go of one of her arms as he held his hand up for her to see. His fingers dug into his palm and stopped just short of breaking the skin. Amanda began trembling, almost vibrating under the alien's scorching gaze.
She closed her eyes as tears nightmare spilled over her eyelids and ran down her cheeks. She hadn't managed to hold it together last time, and with everything that had happened between then and now, it had pushed her past her breaking point again. For the moment she forgot she wasn't alone, until the alien growled at her.
"Look at me Amanda." Her eyes snapped open, surprised that he knew her name, but was quick to stop crying and obey.
His wide smirk had returned, and he looked more than ready to start. "I will give you a choice. Your arm, or your leg."
She swallowed as his words echoed in her head. He really did want to pick up where they left off. But this time, it wouldn't be so short lived. He would torture her, make her suffer as much pain as he could before she took her last breath. Although she didn't want to, she forced herself to stare her future murderer in the face.
"Please no," she whimpered as one of her hands gently grasped his wrist before running her fingertips over his balled fist. "You don't have to do this," her mind added.
His smirk turned into a frown before digging his claws into her arm, the tips breaking the skin and causing blood to trickle from the wounds. She yelped and let go of his fist to pull uselessly on his other hand. He stopped, but his claws remained buried in her flesh. His fist disappeared as all six fingers straightened out.
Her eyes misted and she shook her head when she realized what he was doing. "No. Please don't."
"If I get to zero, I will decide for you."
A choked sob escaped Amanda's lips as she shook her head, fear overtaking her mind as the reality of what was about to happen set in.
"Six."
"No please. H...Have mercy," she begged.
One of his fingers went down. "Five."
"God…n…no." Her voice was no more than a strangled whisper. She began crying again as she bowed her head before the alien, trying to look as submissive and pleading as possible.
Another finger went down. "Four."
"Anything else. I'm begging you, please." Sobs were wracking her frame now, making it impossible to speak out loud.
One more. "Three."
Amanda screwed her eyes shut as her body shook violently in terror. His claws dug deeper into her arm, drawing fresh blood from already bloodied wounds.
A sharp hiss cut through her cries. "Two."
Her eyes shut tighter as more sobs tore through her throat.
"One."
Just as most people's lives flashed before their eyes when they knew they were about to die, Amanda was suddenly hit with the memories of her and her mother back on Earth before she disappeared, as well as the recording that she had left for her. Thinking of her mother's voice calmed her down a bit. She thought of Samuels, Taylor, and Ricardo. People who she cared for or had done so much to help her through this hell, only to be rewarded with death. She even thought of the other humans on Sevastopol. Even if they managed to survive against the aliens or the androids, they would still die when the station…
'Yes, that's it!' Amanda's eyes flew open and she stared death in the face again. "Wait…"
His final finger went down. "Zero."
"The station's gonna be torn apart!" She knew she'd reached him in time, for the alien immediately froze. He didn't move for a few seconds, but then got closer to her again.
"What did you say?"
Amanda couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. Although she could tell he didn't really believe her, she could detect an unexpected twinge of emotion in his voice.
Fear.
He was afraid.
Her smirk widened a little. "You heard me. The station will be torn to pieces, and everyone onboard will die along with it." He ground his teeth and growled at her, obviously not liking that look on her face, or the fact that she was threatening him now.
"That is not true," he finally said. "How would that be possible?"
Despite knowing it wasn't a good idea, Amanda giggled at the alien's reaction. It was about time she got revenge on the slimy bastard for what he put her through. Maybe the terror had finally driven her mad.
"Even if I explained, I don't think you would be able to understand the specifics."
He was immediately in her face with his bloodied teeth bared and posed as if to bite. "Watch what you say to me," he hissed, though Amanda didn't even feel threatened by it.
"I am telling the truth. The station will be pulled into the gas giant's gravity well. Everyone will crushed and incinerated. Yours and my species alike." The alien closed his mouth and pulled back a little.
She didn't really know what he would do now, but she was hoping he would either let her go or quickly finish her off before leaving to look for a way out. To her surprise, he did none of these things. His lips pulled back into another grin before ripping his claws from her arm. A pained shriek left Amanda's lips as she clutched her bleeding arm.
"Well then, I suppose you and I will be spending our final moments together." He leaned closer to her again. "But know this. Once I am done with you, you will regret coming here. Do you understand?"
Her eyes widened in shock. "Y...You're fucking insane."
He only chuckled. "Maybe. But I am going to enjoy this." His fingers on his left hand stretched out before forming a fist again. "I get to decide which comes off first. And I choose…"
"No. Wait please. I…" she begged, but was cut off as the alien slapped her. Hard.
Her head slammed into the wall with a loud thump. Amanda's eyes rolled as her body began to go limp. Before she could succumb to the darkness, his claws were back in her arm, digging deeper in the already swelling wounds. She straightened up immediately and screamed in pain, now wide awake and pleading with him to stop. After a few seconds, he pulled his fingers away and hissed at her.
"No more interruptions. Now I choose…"
"Please. What I have to say is important. I swear."
He bared his teeth again and growled as he brought his blood soaked hand up to her face, resting it on her cheek and smearing the crimson liquid all over her in the process.
"You really know how to make things worse for yourself, do you not?"
Amanda shivered before continuing. Out loud. "What if I said I could get us both out of here? Alive." The alien stayed momentarily still before pulling his hand from her and letting it rest by his side. He stared at her for a few seconds before leaning in and invading her personal space again.
"Continue," was all that he said.
Amanda pursed her lips. "There's a ship here. And it's…" She paused for a moment as she searched for the correct words. As intelligent as he was, she didn't want to confuse him and make him think she was spouting nonsense. "…attached to the station," she finally clarified. "All I need to do is go outside and release it manually. Then we'd both be able to climb aboard and leave the station." He simply stared at her for well over a minute. His face may have remained blank and expressionless, but she could tell his mind was racing as he tried to decide whether to believe her or not.
Finally, his lips parted slightly as a soft hiss escaped from him. "That is why you were messing with those…outer layers earlier? So you could go outside?"
Amanda didn't answer right away, but then realized he was referring to the space suits. "Yeah. Humans can't survive out there without them." This seemed to confuse him greatly, but he simply shook his head as he pulled back from her.
He hesitated for a second, but finally made up his mind. "Alright," he said as he rose to his full height and backed away from her. "I accept your offer."
She nodded before shakily getting to her feet. Once she had her balance, the alien turned from her and began walking in the opposite direction. Amanda made a move to follow, but stopped in her tracks as something crucial crossed her mind.
"Wait," she called to out to him. He turned around and stared at her.
Now that she wasn't fearing for her life, she noticed that right above his mouth, the skin there seemed to stretch over oval shaped bone, making him look like he had eyes underneath the skin. She had never noticed it before, but then again she'd never seen him under direct light. At the moment, the skin there looked like it was slightly pinched, making him look like his 'eyes' were narrowed.
"What is it?" he asked, sounding agitated.
Amanda's own eyes narrowed as she meet his gaze. "You can come with me, on two conditions."
The alien slightly tilted his head before dryly chuckling and walking towards her. She felt a strong urge to back away, but forced herself to stand her ground.
"You think I will let you tell me what to do?" he asked, stopping directly in front of her.
Her frown only deepened. "If you want to survive, then you will follow my rules." He growled a little but let her go on. "Condition one, you will not physically harm me, or anyone on the ship."
"What makes you think they will not harm me?"
"They'll listen to me. I'll explain everything to them." Or she hoped they would let her explain everything.
The alien stayed still for a moment before nodding. "Alright. What is your other...condition?"
Amanda couldn't help but mentally snicker at the way he was acting. She could tell he was hating this.
"You're the only one that comes. No other alien is allowed on board the ship but you."
He seemed to hesitate greatly at this. She guessed that he didn't want to leave his other alien friends behind, but still. Trying to convince Verlaine to take him alone was likely to be impossible anyway. Trying to convince her to take multiple aliens on the other hand… Verlaine would probably try to eject them all out of the airlock.
A harsh growl from the alien broke her train of thought and brought her back to the present. He still seemed unsure but answered her regardless. "I accept your rules. I will not harm anyone, and I will be the only one accompanying you on the ship."
Amanda nodded before looking up at the vent they had dropped out of. "First off, I need to get back to where I was before. Can you take me there?"
He started to say 'yes', but then looked up at the vent and then back to her. "You can travel through the…" Not knowing the proper word, he cut off.
"Vents?" she asked.
"What?"
"They're called vents," Amanda said, pointing to the one in the ceiling.
"Yes, the vents. You can travel through them at a… decent speed. Right?"
She took a sharp breath through her teeth as she shook her head. "Not really." The alien hissed softly before looking up at the vents, deep in thought. Amanda stared at him, pondering what to do. Thanks to the tubes on his back, he couldn't give her a piggy back ride. And there was no way she was letting him drag her through the vents again. More than likely, she would pass out on the way back. But they had to figure something out. It might take too long for her to crawl through the vents with him.
"I have an idea," he suddenly said. She broke her train of thought and looked up at him, relieved that he managed to think of something.
"What is it?" Now that she was focusing on him again, she noticed that he looked rather uncomfortable.
Instead of answering, he simply grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. Amanda froze for a moment then tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he tightened his grip on her and gave her a look that made her rethink her actions.
"Wrap your arms around my neck," he instructed.
She still didn't understand what he was trying to do, but did as he asked, though it was awkward because she had to bend her wrists and hands over the elliptical shoulder spikes on both sides of his head. He let go of her arm and let his hands rest on her waist, still keeping her pressed against him. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment and she tried to squirm away again, but a sharp growl from him was enough to make her stop.
"I am not enjoying this anymore than you are."
Amanda glared at him. "Then why the hell are you doing this?" she demanded.
He gave her his, 'Are you serious?' look again. "We will travel through the vents this way. You will have to hold on to me."
It took a moment, but it finally sunk in. Now she was getting what he was trying to do. But there was still one problem.
"What about my legs?" she asked.
The alien simply stared at her. He didn't know what to do about that either. Then, Amanda had an idea. She didn't want to do it, but she couldn't think of anything else.
"I know what to do," she said.
He nodded at her, telling her to go ahead. With that, she jumped up and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, making sure their bodies were pressed firmly together. She also adjusted her arms so that they wrapped around him and grasped the tubes on his back with her hands instead of wrapping around his neck. "You can go now."
The alien tilted his head. "Are you sure you can hold on?"
Amanda grinded her teeth in frustration. "Yes. Just go." She paused for a moment. "Are you sure you know the way?"
He growled at her a little. "Yes. I am not stupid."
She had to bite back a sarcastic remark at that, not wanting to piss him off. He let go of her waist and launched them both into the air, grabbed hold of the vent, and climbed inside.
Amanda had told the alien she could hold on to him. She was telling the truth, but it was easier said than done. When he was standing still, it took little effort on her part to hold on. When he was crawling through the vents on his hands and knees, she was lucky she hadn't fallen off. His knees were constantly hitting the back of her thighs and butt cheeks, which forced her to tighten her grip on his waist, causing her crotch to be squashed uncomfortably against his armored belly. She was also glad she hadn't kept her grip on his neck, otherwise his arms would be constantly bumping into hers as well.
Plus, since he wasn't standing up straight anymore, every movement he made caused her body to swing back and forth, regardless if she was pressed against him or not. She had to keep moving her arms and legs to insure they didn't slide off or let go of him. He didn't like her constantly adjusting her limbs or pulling on him, if his annoyed grunts and growls were anything to go by, but what was she supposed to do? After a few minutes, though it felt like eternity for Amanda, the alien dropped down into the room with the space suits.
The second he was standing upright again, Amanda was ripping herself away from him and standing on her own two feet. Her face was still bright red with embarrassment. Feeling her body pressed against his cold, hard flesh was still sending shivers down her spine. After a few seconds, she leveled her eyes on him.
"We never do that again," she stated flatly.
"Agreed," was all that he said.
Amanda sighed before turning back to suits. She picked up the helmet that she had dropped and commenced putting it on as well as the suit, all the while the alien was watching her curiously. Once she had it on, she turned back to him, only to be met with mocking laughter echoing in her head.
Her eyebrows pinched together. "What's so funny?" This only made him laugh harder as her frown deepened.
"You look so strange and bulky in that thing. And your voice…"
Amanda growled. "Well I can't go outside otherwise. What, did you think these suits were for display?"
His laughter died down a little at that. "I may have," he said, chuckling at the look on her face.
She shook her head before turning towards the airlock. "We can do this later. Right now we should get going." Upon being reminded of why they were there, the alien sobered up and followed Amanda into the airlock. He stood beside her as the door shut behind them, and waited until the one in front of them opened up.
At this point, she took the lead and led him to the elevator. It took a little bit of coaxing, but when he was finally beside her again, she pushed the button and they ascended. He hissed a little at the sudden movement, but otherwise didn't do anything. When they reached the top, Amanda took the lead again and they began the long trek to the Torrens.
After a minute had passed, the alien let out a loud, annoyed hiss. "This is taking too long," he said as he came up behind her. Before she could ask what he was doing, the alien had picked her up and was holding her, bridal style, in his arms. She kicked and squirmed at him, demanding that he put her down, but his grip only tightened.
"We will get there quicker this way. Tell me where to go." After a few seconds, Amanda sighed in defeat and pointed him in the direction they needed to go.
Even though she hated being carried around by him, they were moving much faster this way. Eventually, they came across a transportation cart. This time the alien boarded without any protest, and with a push of a button, they were on their way to the other side.
On the way, Amanda couldn't help but wonder how the alien was holding up right now. She knew he was strong, far stronger than a human, but it had to put some strain on his arms to be carrying her around like this. Not that she herself was overly heavy, but the suit wasn't exactly light.
"You are wrong," he suddenly said, sarcastically sounding tired and rundown. "Your body mass is so great, I will need to rest for days after this."
Amanda's face turned an embarrassed shade of bright crimson before striking him in the face.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled. "IF YOU EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO ME AGAIN, I'LL SHOVE MY PISTOL UP YOUR ASS. YOU MOTHERFUCKER."
A feral growl tore through his throat. She'd really pissed him off now. Realizing what she'd just done, she quieted down and apologized. He looked like he wanted to say, or more likely, do something to her, but at that moment the cart came to a stop.
The alien quickly exited, but instead of going in the direction she pointed to, he walked over to the side of the platform and held Amanda over the edge. She panicked and gripped onto him for dear life, begging him not to drop her. After a few seconds, he pulled her back into his arms, but turned her so she was facing him.
The alien bared his teeth. "If you ever physically assault me again, you will find yourself floating in space." He paused for a moment. "Without your suit." Amanda was quickly nodding her understanding and apologizing again.
To her relief, he finally turned and went in the direction she had pointed out earlier. A long set of stairs stood in their way, but with his speed, they were at the top in no time. When they approached the release mechanisms, he put her down and let her do what she needed to do. In under a minute, she had primed the mechanisms and blown the emergency release bolts, effectively releasing the Torrens. Amanda beckoned the alien to follow her again and they both entered the ship through the airlock.
Her first thought when they stood inside the ship was that something was wrong. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she hadn't heard Verlaine's voice in a while. For some reason, the woman had gone silent since she'd been in the upper control room. This worried her greatly.
"Verlaine. Are you there?" she asked through her radio. "Please answer me." Suddenly, the alien grabbed her and pulled her behind him. A loud and surprised shriek left her lips to which he responded by hissing in her face.
"Be quiet," he growled. Amanda glared at him for scaring her, wanting to ask him what his problem was. Though something about his tone made her straighten up and remain silent.
She wanted to ask him out loud, but sent to him instead. "What's wrong?"
He growled low in his throat as a response. "Some of my kind have been here," he finally said.
Her eyes widened in alarm, but as she looked around, she couldn't see any sign of an alien's presence; not counting the one beside her.
"H…How do you know that?"
He simply pointed to something on the floor. It was hard to see it against the white floor, but she could see a puddle of a clear, sticky substance. 'Shit. It can't be.' She tried to contact Verlaine through the radio again, but a sharp growl from the alien cut her off.
"I thought I told you to be quiet," he hissed.
Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Well what are we supposed to do? What about Verlaine?" When he tilted his head in confusion, she clarified, "The ship's Captain." He still seemed confused. "Look I'll explain it to you later. We don't have the time right now."
He stared at her for a moment longer before taking her by the arm and pulling her deeper into the ship. "If we run into any of my kin, act like a terrified prisoner. Let me do all the talking. Do not speak. Just follow me."
She nodded and allowed him to lead her around. After ten minutes, they had searched everywhere but the bridge. They found no signs that a fight had taken place, but still no Verlaine or Connor. This both relieved and worried Amanda.
When they finally got to the bridge, she prepared herself for the worst, but she knew that no amount of mental preparation could ready her to see their bloodied corpses. Even the alien was doing some preparation of his own. He had let go of her arm and was crouched down, ready in case he needed to defend himself. Knowing that torturing herself by putting it off wouldn't make it any better, she took one final breath to steel herself against the horrors as the alien ran into the room with her close behind. And what she saw was…
…absolutely nothing.
To her great surprise, there were no corpses in the room or a drop of blood in sight. It didn't even look like anything had happened in there. For a moment she felt relieved, but that quickly disappeared as harsh reality set in.
"Verlaine," she called out, ignoring the alien's glare. "Are you there?" Nothing. No response, just complete silence.
"I sense nothing nearby," he informed her. "And we already looked everywhere. There is no one here but us." He said it so casually, as if it meant nothing, but Amanda hung her head in sadness all the same. She hadn't really cared for Verlaine and she'd never spoken to Connor, but she was hoping that someone familiar had made it out alive.
She had refused to acknowledge the feeling before, but now she felt more alone than ever. She glanced towards the way that they came. After all that she'd been through, she thought she would know better, but maybe they were still…
A cold, six fingered hand brought her out of her thoughts as it turned her head to face its owner. Even though he didn't have eyes like a human, she could still feel something watching her every time he looked at her. "We cannot. You know they have been impregnated by now."
Amanda swallowed. She knew full well what he meant. Going into the alien hive had shown her what they did with their captives.
'No matter what we do now, they are still going to die.'
Even though it practically killed her inside, she nodded and turned away from him as she sat in Verlaine's chair. With a push of a few buttons, the Torrens roared to life and flew forward, leaving Sevastopol behind. When that was done, she stood up and faced the alien again, who for some reason was looking at her impatiently.
"Are we going to leave?"
She cocked her head in response. "We are leaving."
He hissed a little. "No we are not. I have brought you this far, now you fulfil your end of the deal."
Amanda's eyes narrowed at his ignorance. She was in no mood for this and he was starting to piss her off. With a loud sigh, she beckoned the alien forward and walked towards the back of the ship. "Follow me."
"Why?"
"I will show you that we are moving."
He hesitated, but followed her without question. Once they reached the back, Amanda pointed the alien to a large window. Through that window, they could see the station drifting further away from them. She tried to give him an 'I told you so' look, but he was no longer paying attention to her. Instead he stepped forward and placed his hands on the glass, his head turned slightly to the side and mouth agape.
He looked so much like a curious cat that Amanda quietly giggled at the sight before leaving the room to remove her space suit. When she returned, he was still staring out the window, his tail twitching slightly and dragging itself across the floor. She made great care to step over it before approaching his side.
"What is it? You haven't seen space before?"
The alien jumped at the sound of her voice, apparently he hadn't heard her leave or come back in, but quickly relaxed and turned his attention back to Sevastopol. "I have seen the outside, just not the whole station." His attention turned back to her for a brief second. "Where is your suit?"
Amanda shrugged. "I took it off." There was silence for a few seconds. "It's amazing. Isn't it?" He only gave a low-toned hiss. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that so she remained silent.
Both of them stood there, silently gazing at the space station. With debris flying all around and constant explosions that wracked its structure, it looked like it was ready to fall apart. For nearly an hour, both Amanda and the alien watched Sevastopol grow smaller and smaller, until the station lit up like a match and began to disappear.
"What is happening?" the alien asked.
Amanda swallowed past the lump in her throat before answering. "The station is being pulled into the gas giant." She briefly glanced at him before turning back to Sevastopol. "That big glowing ball behind the station."
As soon as she was finished speaking, the station disappeared into the gas giant and silently exploded. A huge rift of gas and dust appeared before settling down again. Now there was no longer any trace of Sevastopol, only flying debris that would either be pulled into the gravity well or lost in space.
There was silence for a few moments. "It is gone." She didn't know why she thought he sounded sad.
Amanda only nodded her head in acknowledgement. She stared at the now empty space were Sevastopol used to be before turning from the window and leaving the room. Without glancing back at the alien, she made her way to the control room again. Once there, she set a course for Earth then sat back in her chair, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now.
Or more specifically, what to do with the alien.
He couldn't go back to Earth with her. Even if she wanted to, she would never be able to hide him, at least not for long. The company would surely keep a close eye on her after what happened at the space station. They wanted some live aliens, and if they thought she could lead them to some, she wouldn't even be safe on her own home planet. Perhaps she could find some nearby world and drop him off before returning to Earth on her own.
'I can't let it live. And I'm not letting the Company have it or they'll just start the whole thing over again.' The speech Marlow gave on his ship suddenly came to mind. She agreed with him, although at the time she didn't think it was necessary to blow up the ship and the station. She had wanted to handle it in a way where more humans could walk away alive.
God, she was so stupid then. If only she'd simply let Marlow overload the reactor, then at least it would be over.
All the horrible things she'd seen and done were starting to come back to her now, beginning to take its toll. What was it called? Survivor's guilt? She definitely had that. She'd never forget the fear and stress she was forced put up with these past few hours. More than likely, all she'd be able to think about for the next few decades were all those people she killed. Their blood staining the walls and floor when she shot them in the face with one of her guns, or in a few instances, her hands when she beat them to death with the maintenance jack.
Christ she just… she didn't want to suffer anymore.
"What do you mean by suffer?"
Oh god. Not now.
"Do you not know what suffer means?" Amanda asked, inwardly groaning as she stood up.
A soft growl answered her question. "Let me word that differently. How are you still suffering? You are not in danger anymore."
For a few long seconds, Amanda remained in a stunned silence. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that the aliens were cruel and sadistic, but this was just…
"How could I not be suffering?" she hissed. "I'm gonna remember this for the rest of my life." By now she could feel anger boiling in her blood. Did these beasts truly have no concept of morality?
Honestly, she wasn't surprised when he tilted his head. "Why does it matter if you do? They tried to kill you, so they deserve what they got." Then he gave her a scrutinizing look. "Humans. Always latching on to such trivial things."
Oh no. He did not just say that.
Amanda's nails dug into her palms. She felt like a volcano ready to explode. "There's that. And there's the fact that your kind are all heartless bastards," she growled, voice rising slightly with every word.
A harsh snarl tore through his throat as he approached her, teeth bared and ready to bite. "You will watch what you say…"
"Why the fuck should I?" she interrupted. "Give me one good reason."
"You are testing my patience, you little…"
"FUCK YOU," she yelled. "FUCK YOU AND ALL YOUR KIND."
Amanda didn't have time to blink before he grabbed her arm and flung her into the wall. Her shoulder collided with it painfully before she sunk to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and crying out as she did so. She heard his footsteps come closer before his hand tangled itself in her hair and slammed her head into the ground. Not hard enough to knock her out, but still hard enough to hurt. Badly.
Her eyes shut even tighter from the pain in her shoulder and head. She could feel the alien above her, hissing angrily as hot drool coated her neck. Thanks to being at such a close proximity, she heard his jaws creak open before his inner mouth shot out and clamped down on her neck. Amanda screamed, thinking it was all over, that she would be killed just like the others.
'Oh mom. If you can hear this… I'm so sorry.'
To her surprise, instead of ripping a hole in her throat, the alien's inner mouth retracted and he pulled back, only leaving stinging and slightly bleeding cuts in her neck, while still straddling her midsection. After a few seconds, she cautiously opened one eye to see that he was staring at her. Seeing that he, hopefully, wasn't going to kill her, she opened both eyes and turned her head towards him.
"That was a warning," he said, getting a little too close for her liking again. "Next time you decide to insult me or my kind, know that I will follow through. Do you understand?"
After a few quick nods of her head, he stood and backed away, allowing her to rise to her feet and inspect the cuts with her fingers. They weren't deep, and had already stopped bleeding, thank god. Her arm though, was another story. It too had stopped bleeding, but the wounds were deeper and would need to be disinfected and bandaged. Wonderful.
'Did he really have to do that?' She thought bitterly, aches spreading throughout her body. 'A simple warning would've been good enough.'
"You think you are in pain now?"
Amanda's eyes widened in shock. She had forgotten, again, that he could dig into her mind and hear her private thoughts whenever he wanted. "Could you stop that?" she hissed. "You're invading my privacy."
The alien only shook his head. Of course he wasn't going to make this easy. After a few moments of silence passed, she realized he was still waiting for an answer to his question. "And yes. I am in pain. A lot of it, thanks to you."
He had the nerve to look pleased with himself. "Good." He paused for a moment. "You should be thanking me right now. After I showed you such mercy."
She was starting to head towards the bedrooms, but stopped in her tracks when she heard his words. "What do you mean 'mercy'?"
He shook his head and chuckled at her. "Foolish human. Had I thrown you with all my strength, your bones would be shattered right now."
Amanda simply stared at him, icy cold fear clouding her mind. He was powerful no doubt, much more powerful than her. But still… "No," she whispered, unable to believe it. "You're lying."
His smirk returned. "Would you like me to demonstrate?"
Her eyes widened as she backed away from him, arms outstretched and shaking her head. "N…No. I don't need to…"
The rest of the words stuck in her throat when he pressed close to her body and backed her against the wall. She started shaking again, not that she could help it when he was standing in front of her like that, powerful and intimidating as he was, it would terrify anyone.
"What was that, Amanda?"
"H…How do you know my name?" As if that was relevant right now.
He gave her a pointed stare. "I asked you a question and I expect an answer."
Of course. "N…no," she whispered, struggling to speak. "I'll take your word for it."
The alien smirked at her, but then his body went completely rigid. The sadistic smile disappeared as he adopted a more blank expression while he stared at her. For a few moments, neither of them moved, his gaze burning into her while she had no idea what was going on.
"What the hell are you…?"
She was cut off when he suddenly screeched in her face, barring his inner jaws and snapping it centimeters in front of her forehead. Amanda screamed just as loud and threw up her arms to protect herself. She heard him back away, but instead of pain, she only heard mocking laughter echoing in her head. Taking yet another risk, she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see him pointing and laughing at her again.
"Like I said, foolish human. I guess I can add gullible to the list as well." With one last chuckle, he turned and sauntered away, going to the window near the front of the ship.
Amanda almost couldn't believe it.
Was he going to do this often; jumping out of nowhere and scaring her to death like that?
'Why I 'otta…' She forced herself to stop that thought in its tracks.
He was really pissing her off, but she wasn't stupid, and she didn't want to give him a reason to gut her. Though if she really wanted to prevent that, she would have to constantly keep a lockdown on her thoughts. Great.
"At least you are not as idiotic as the other humans I have encountered." He gave a harsh chuckle. "One screams and the rest come running. Though I suppose it makes my job easier."
Amanda only glared at the ground. She could tell he was trying to bait her, but she wasn't going to risk doing anything he might find offensive.
'Their cruelty knows no bounds,' she thought, a lone tear making its way down her cheek. Out of everything, second only to killing other people, going through the alien hive was the worst. Seeing all those people, hearing their screams as…
She shook her head before that thought went any farther. No need to think about that.
With one last sigh, she turned and exited the control room. Almost immediately, she heard heavy footsteps behind her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
Amanda stopped in her tracks. "I'm going to bed."
The alien cocked his head. "What does that mean?"
"It means I'm going to sleep," she quickly answered, allowing irritation to seep into her tone. Then, to her surprise, he shrugged and backed away.
"Alright. I will see you in a little while." With that, he turned and went back to the control room.
Amanda on the other hand watched the door shut behind her before turning away and walking towards the bunk rooms, her bones practically screaming for rest.
…
He listened to the sound of her footsteps grow softer until he could hear them no more. Once he was sure the human would not be turning around, he returned to examining the room with abundant curiosity. The alien wondered what all these strange devices could be for and wanted to poke and prod at them, but did not want to risk making his situation any worse than it already was.
Once he had finished inspecting the room and everything in it, he went back to the front window and simply stared at the outside. After a while, though he tried not to, he found his thoughts were once again aimed at that human. Amanda, as he had heard other humans calling her.
He remembered when he had first seen her. She had been trying to open a door with that metal stick of hers, but then one of her kind had snuck up behind her and held one of those loud, metal weapons to her head. The alien did not think she would be worth much, therefore left her to her fate at the hands of the male human, only to be proven wrong when he saw them together later.
Deciding that maybe she was worth something after all and may provide good sport in the near future, he gave her a little scare, his own special way of saying, "Welcome to Sevastopol." It had more than delighted him to watch her whimpering and crying over her now dead companion.
Later on, he heard loud noises and came to investigate. There he found her again. She was trying to hide from him, but he had already seen her. Once again, he made the choice to scare instead of killing her. He heard her quiet gasps as he flung his tail over the metal structure, twisting it and making her squirm to avoid it. Once he pulled back, he had exited the room, making sure to show off while doing so since he knew she was watching him.
'She is quite foolish,' He thought to himself. Once he had left her, he returned to an upper level where he found three more humans, armed and dangerous with intentions to kill anyone they did not know. Had he not dealt with them, they would most likely have gotten her since she ran into the room, making as much noise as humanly possible.
Once again, she watched him from above as he slaughtered all three of them. After they were dead, he went back into the vents. The second he disappeared from her sight, she ran to the lower level and began messing around with one of those moving rooms.
"Consider yourself lucky human," he had sent to her, though he knew she did not hear him when she stepped inside the room and disappeared. The next time we meet, you will not be leaving alive."
And she did not. Or she would not have if he had gotten ahold of her. From that point on, it seemed as though she was finally realizing her mistakes. He heard nothing from her again until he found and hunted for her in the strange place referred to as the medical bay, as he had overheard others calling it.
And the only reason he knew it was her was because he had almost grabbed her, but she had gone into another room and somehow made it so the door would not open before disappearing from his sight. By the time the door finally did open, he could not find her anywhere. (Later on, he learned that humans sometimes hid in those large, metal boxes around Sevastopol, and decided that she must have been in there.)
He kept trailing her, using the little noise she made to track her down and corner her. She had run into another room, trying to escape the other humans, only to have him drop down in front of her. He crawled over to her, but she jumped back and ended up falling on her rear.
Being absolutely pleased with the way events were playing out, he stood to his full height and slowly stalked towards her, trying to stretch the moment out for as long as possible. His kind might have thought him foolish, standing straight up and leaving himself more vulnerable, but to her, as he could see it in her eyes, it only served to terrify her more.
She had gotten up and tried to open the door, but it had locked itself behind her. He remembered she had turned to face him and backed up as much as she could, trying to find a way around him, but there was none. Once he had gotten within striking distance, he stopped and stared at her, wanting to observe her fear for a few moments longer, his inner beast feeding off of it.
Then, quicker than he thought her capable of, she buried a strange object in his arm, pushing down until the metal disappeared. Immediately, she recoiled when some of his blood landed on the back of her hand. Big mistake on her part. In seconds she was on the ground, back against the wall with a huge, red handprint on the side of her head from where he had hit her.
He recalled closing the distance between them, snarling viciously as what was left of her weapon clattered to the ground, the metal completely melted away. He grabbed her throat in one hand and pressed her more forcefully against the wall, choking her in the process. While she was busy gasping for air, he brought his other hand up to examine the wound.
It was not life threatening, but it was deep. Yellow-green blood was gushing from his arm and landing on the floor, leaving burning, smoking holes in its wake. He might have simply strangled her, had he not seen her staring at the floor, watching as his blood easily dissolved it into nothing.
The fear in her eyes was absolutely delicious, stirring up the animal deep inside him again. That particular emotion was something his kind loved to instill in their victims, and he was no exception. If she had not let that emotion show, in his anger he would have kept his grip on her throat, feeling it give way more and more until he had severed it from her shoulders. But now, seeing it written again on her face and in her eyes, he wanted more.
He wanted more fear. He wanted more time to watch her wear it like those outer skins. He wanted her in pain, no, in absolute agony. He wanted blood. Not a little, but a lot.
And he knew how to get exactly what he wanted.
With her fate decided, he took his hand off her throat and allowed her to breathe. Immediately she was taking in huge gulps of air, all while coughing violently, trying to make up for what she had lost. He took pleasure in seeing the marks he had left on the pale skin of her neck. When her breathing was somewhat back to normal, he let out a vicious hiss, causing her to completely halt her movements. Apparently she had forgotten about him due to the lack of oxygen.
She was looking up at him now, and he bared his teeth, grinning back at her, enjoying it even more when she shrank against the wall. Fear rolling off her in waves, she watched in absolute terror as he brought his blood soaked hand closer to her body. The human tried to dart around him, but he grabbed her and forced her back down with his other hand.
Her shrieks and whimpers got louder as he brought his hand closer to her chest, nearly brushing the heaving, protruding swells with it. She stifled her breathing, not wanting her movements to cause her chest to touch his hand. He was just readying himself to hear her screams when she, as if she could sense what he was thinking, grabbed his wrist and pushed it away from her. Surprised and not expecting her to do something so bold, she managed to push it a small distance away. A very small distance before he flexed and halted the movement.
Growling and snarling in displeasure, he snapped his inner mouth at her. She had to throw her head back against the wall to avoid the strike, but she kept her grip on his wrist. Until a moment later, when her eyes began to roll into the back of her head. The alien recognized what was happening and slapped her awake. Now annoyed and impatient, he waited until he had her attention again before bringing his hand up again.
This time though, he pointed to his hand. Then he gestured towards her head, or her chest.
She understood almost immediately, for she was instantly shaking her head, crying even harder while feebly bringing up her hands to protect her chest and head. The alien let out a series of high pitched hisses, slightly amused now.
Did she really think she could protect herself by covering her body further?
Foolish human. She was just like all her kind, and she would die along with them. Still, it had been fun while it lasted.
In the next moment, he grabbed her wrists and suspended them above her head with his left hand, bringing his right close to her chest again. She had started screaming then, along with her crying, terror ringing clearly in her voice.
"Please stop! Let me go!"
His version of a laugh came again, and he came a little closer, just to see what she would do.
The reaction was immediate. "NO, NO NONONONONO!" Her words cut off then, now too afraid to even scream, or to do anything but cry. Soft, harsh, and ugly cries echoed around the two as he came just a little closer again.
The human was shaking now, so hard that she was vibrating in his grip. The salty liquid from her eyes fell from her chin and landed on his hand. A soft sizzling was heard as the acid melted it away.
Her eyes shut tight, but she did not struggle. It seemed she had completely given up. The thought brought a grin to his muzzle, as he slowly moved his hand forward. His blood had dried some, but was still capable of melting human flesh. Hopefully it would be slow. That was exactly what he was…
"LET GO OF ME! LET GO! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
The sound of screaming, her screaming, tore the alien from his thoughts. And before he knew it, without even thinking, he was running towards the sound.