Chapter 7
The transporter doors loomed out at them through the darkness. John shot a look at Alexia. She looked steadily at the doors that would carry her to her death, and walked forwards. He felt something stirring in the pit of his chest. He drew up beside her, and they stood side by side, looking at the glowing portholes. Neither of them spoke, but John had never felt that close to the woman who had saved his life in all his time with her.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alexia looked at him, her face perfectly calm.
"I wouldn't let you die alone," he answered gruffly, looking down into her eyes. She smiled at him, and slipped her rough, cold hand into his. She ran her other hand up the back of his neck, and whispered "If I could undo all the things that happened, I wouldn't miss a second." She lifted her face up to his, and kissed him.
The nurse who was checking John's chart suddenly looked up as the heart monitor speeded up it's beeping. She was about to call Dr Keller, but it subsided, and went back to normal. She shrugged, and went back to work.
Alexia lowered her head. She looked away, smiling slightly. John was feeling a little bewildered. She noticed, and waved a hand in front of his face. "Wakey wakey!" She grinned. "We gotta be alert." The transporter doors swished open, and Alexia took a step forwards, but stopped. "Listen."
John paused. "What?"
Alexia stepped out. "They're coming."
John listened. In the distance, he could hear the growing shrieks and howls of the creatures echoing across to them. He grasped his gun, "Hell!"
"Take cover!" Alexia yelled at him, and they scrambled behind the sharp corners.
A group of creatures came bounding around the halls, grotesquely pouncing on each other, and howling with madness.
"Open fire!" Alexia sent a rain of bullets through the air. The leader fell, and so did several others, but three tackled her over, and she screamed. John turned, and leapt across to her, pulling them away. She managed to fire a bullet into the leg of another, and they turned to her, shrieking with ungodly rage. John fired a bullet into the back of one, and it looked him directly in the eye. It launched itself through the air, and he jumped aside. It landed on the floor with agility, and roared again. He let fire without holding back, and it fell, it's mouth still open. John looked for Alexia, and saw her fighting two of them. He started towards her, but she yelled at him "Get back! Look out for more!" She pulled out a hand-gun, but it was knocked aside. She pulled out a long knife, and slashed right and left. She flipped over mid-air, and slit the throat of one before she even landed. The other cowered to the floor, and she mercilessly plunged her knife into it's back.
John looked on as she walked calmly towards him, covered in blood. "Let's go," she croaked, and stepped into the transporter. John followed her, and the last thing he saw was the bodies of the creatures, beaten down by Alexia. He looked up, and saw a vision of himself in the hall. His eyes widened as the other John fell, shot by thousands of bullets in his back. The blood dripped from his wide open mouth, as the transporter doors closed on his own dead body.
