Sorry for the long break, my beta reader recently came back, so I'm more than happy to put this chapter up right now. Expect Chapter 10 the latest of next weekend, with Chapter 11 to follow. I apologize greatly if this message seems a bit rushed, but currently I've got hurricane Irene here and the storm has cut the power twice while trying to upload. Enjoy the chapter! And, thank all of you guys for sticking with this story! (I swear, even a hurricane wants to get in the way of this, jeez.)
Disclaimer: I'm still not awesome enough to own Dead Space. XD Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.
Italics: Vi's thoughts
Bold: Zillia's thoughts
Chapter 9: Parting Words
So, we waited... and waited, and waited.
As time passed, I grew anxious of talking to the doctor, wondering what exactly he's been keeping from me.
Of course, Mercer could be lying instead. He's done it before. Would Kyne really keep things from me?
The thought bothered me. Probably more than it really should. To be honest, I absolutely hate being left in the dark. It's the only reason why I bother with hacking the Ishimura database at times.
Then again, there was something more important for me to attend to.
Aiden nudges the side of my face, wanting to be cuddled and loved instead of me just standing around doing nothing. Maybe even waiting for nothing.
"Okay, come here," I tell him, having to help him a bit. It was a bit of a... heart ache to see him struggling from his wounds. I prop him up, having his head lay on my shoulder- swaying back and forth, my anxiety building up every moment. (Babies liked that right? Would Necromorphs?)
Then, before I could pull up my RIG's menu again, a voice link opens up with Kyne on the other end. "Vivien, I'm coming now, please open the shuttle doors. Once the Marker's been loaded, I'll send a message once it's safe to come down. Hang tight for a little bit longer," Kyne stated, hints of excitement peeking in here and there.
I open my mouth to reply, but before I could, the line falls dead and the silence continues on again.
Time escapes me faster than it should, than I want it to.
All I could do was watch from the control room up above, watching Isaac take on multiple Necromorphs. Jumping at him this way and that. I'll admit, he was clever quite a number of times; using things like explosives to hurl at them... other times, it seemed like the Engineer jumped out of the just in time before being nailed by blade or shot at by the troublesome barbs- inching his way on the track with the Marker.
Somehow, he managed to pull it off and, I'll be quite honest, I'm impressed.
His tour of the Ishimura must have been... interesting, to say the least. Undoubtedly made easier with the Cutter.
Aiden's purring picks up, reminding me of what I have to do.
You're gonna kill him aren't you? He was cute to tote around while it lasted, wasn't it?
I... You, I would never kill him. Hell, I risked my life already for him; shouldn't that mean something to you?
Now, now, Vivi. Don't get your suit in a bunch. I was curious and need to be entertained, after all.
I swear, you are going to drive me insane...
But, aren't we all insane?
I sigh, feeling inched to the breaking point with her... but, wasn't that how she got the better of me last time? How mad I was at those survivors? My fellow co-workers that just... wanted to live?
You know they deserved it... The little one just wanted to help. The thought of him being dead just broke your little heart to pieces.
Yes, thank you so much for the recap.
I walk over to the vent, prying Aiden from my shoulder- being tougher than I expected... While I was distracted with Zillia, Aiden had gotten a hold of some of my hair to play with. I release my hair from his tiny, reluctant grasp before holding him out at arm's length. I try to think of a way to phrase my instructions, just so that he won't follow me again...
"Aiden, would you like to play a game? A game of hide-and-seek?" I asked, putting on a fake smile on my face. Of course, Aiden shrieked happily. Whether it was from the smile or the proposed game, I don't think I'll ever know. "Okay, Aiden," I began to hold him closely, walking back to the window over looking the Flight Hangar. I point at the shuttle, "You see that? You have until it leaves to hide, all right?" And, Aiden shrieks once more, seeming to comprehend the rules.
Another message is sent to my RIG, the text message told me to head down to leave. We're this close to leaving this horror story. I send a reply that I would need help leaving the room due to the Necromorph waiting right outside, it doesn't look like he'd be moving anytime soon.
Once the message was sent, I held onto Aiden a little tighter, walking back over to the vent. My last time holding him... I put him down into the vent- already he's looking around, thinking of which direction to go in for hiding. I pull the grate back on, and I can already hear him crawling through the vents. "Be careful, Aiden," I whisper, before pulling out some gauze in my inventory, mindlessly walking back over to the window.
A shame, you never did see the child's full potential. Are you sure you wanted to let him go?
I shrug at her, focusing on wrapping my hand up to pass it off as an injury. I look into the Flight Hangar- it took a moment, but I spotted Dr. Kyne gesturing to Isaac to hurry over.
How do you know he's just going to leave you behind? You trust him about what Mercer's said?
I busy with my hand once more, completely ignoring Zillia's suspicions. "He's probably telling Isaac right now, since when was Mercer completely honest? Besides, since when did you become my conscience, anyway?"
I tie up the ends of the bandage and steal another look out the window. At first, I dismissed the scene to get a good look at my hand, but then I realized something was amiss and looked out again.
Dr. Kyne had been shot.
...And, undoubtedly dying.
The shot was to the chest, no doctor could slow down such a wound. Kyne had his hand held out, seeming to reach out to someone before falling to the ground. Then, that's when I realized the shuttle had flown away...
At first glance, I thought Isaac had betrayed Kyne. However, that was impossible, he was standing right next to the dying man while the shuttle had flown away. After all, a shot from a Plasma Cutter would've been a a linear cut, not a gaping hole. (Of course, I would know this, being a nurse whose seen those types of wounds helps.) Who else was there? A person kind enough to leave us on this, filled with over a thousand infected crew members?
Looks like you'll never get to interrogate him, huh?
Zilia's voice was cold water bringing me back to reality- she was right, I'll never know the truth behind his side of the story. Is it bad that I'm more upset about not having answers compared to grief over an innocent man's life, someone who's helped me for years, being over?
"Isaac! It's Fay! I need you to help me, I'm in the flight control room. Please, Isaac hurry!"
What are you planning?
I glance over at the vent, hoping that Aiden would stay put. "I'm going to get the Marker back... maybe even get a hold of whoever shot Kyne," I explain, getting to work at the controls, trying to call back the lost shuttle. Luckily, no one had changed these passwords, my small plan had a chance.
A few moments passed before a shots were fired in the neighboring room. I pause at the controls and look at the door- my heart racing in great panic. Was that Aiden? I froze, holding my breath. Half believing I was truly going to crack upon hearing his cries.
But, all I could hear were the wails of agony from the Wall Guardian.I sigh of great relief at such a horrible howl.
I pull a new glove on over my hand. Not too long after, the Engineer comes through the door- holding his Plasma Cutter up, expecting another Necromorph. I don't blame him in the least, you never know what could be waiting around the corner...
Or, hiding in plain sight... Like, you and I.
I ignore her and focus on the Engineer, "Isaac? Is that really you? I never thought we'd make it here, alive..." I trail off, thinking of everything that had happened since we lost saw each other down in Mining. I wait for him to respond, but he doesn't. I had forgotten that it's almost impossible to make out what anyone says when wearing one of those suits. "...But, I need you help to pilot the shuttle remotely." Something that I found to be a flaw in the system that you needed two people.
I turn to my own controls as Isaac walks over to his. Once the shuttle call back was activated, a voice link opened up from Isaac's RIG. "Isaac, what the hell are you doing?" A familiar, female voice shouted. "You're making a big mistake. This is not over!" The line was quickly cut from there.
"Escape pod away, crew shuttle USG-09. Repeat, shuttle has ejected escape pod." The computer's warned, the news couldn't help but make me out right pissed.
She got away, karma's sure to get her. "It doesn't matter. She can't escape her fate," I reassure Isaac, glancing over at him at the controls. "None of us can..." The last thought sent shivers down my back.
Not too long after, the shuttle had returned. "Here it comes!" I pointed out enthusiastically, the thought of a plan actually working a-okay was incredibly relieving. We should return the Marker... it's what Kyne wanted. The hunk of rock is just a bad omen, anyway... "I'll reprogram the shuttle so we can fly down to the colony. We're so close, Isaac. Now, go. Get on the shuttle, I'll meet you there."
After some hesitation on Isaac's part, he leaves the room to get to the shuttle. Leaving me to finish up the shuttle reprogramming and a last minute peek into the ship's classified files. The programing didn't take too long, so I go to the list of crew members; showing their RIG statuses. Eerily enough, Dr. Kyne was right, my RIG wasn't listed on this list at all... In fact, Isaac's was the only one. Which meant Nicole was probably dead... unless she was lucky enough to get onto a shuttle. After all, Kyne had ruined everyone's chances by shooting out all the escape pods.
I sigh, wishing for the best- while I change the passwords on the ship. Just as an extra precautionary measure if the Ishimura did survive. No one should get their hands these files... nothing about the Marker should be passed on, so that it won't become a plaything of people pretending to play God. Or, more importantly, any files Mercer may have left behind; another Brant or another me shouldn't exist.
Once everything was set up, I quickly walk over to the door and pause for a moment. "Aiden, I'm sorry, that I can't stay,"I stalled, wanting to say more... but, I move on- heading down to the Flight Lounge.
I peer out at the platform, seeing scattered remains of more Necromorphs. I step around them, feeling as if I were being watched- despite the fact that they're dead.
Good, Vivi, because you are. Necromorphs don't "die", we just get dismembered to the point that we're incapable of moving. We twitch, and our innards writhe-
"That's all wonderful to know," I cut her off, truly not interested in the least. The awkward eye contact with the Leapers didn't help one bit.
Then came the part of the stretch that I was going to hate; Dr. Kyne's remains. I pause at his side, taking a small moment of silence before moving on. After all, why should I say anything good of him now when he might turn out to be quite hated later?
I hurry onto the shuttle to join Isaac, sitting in the second chair in the shuttle. As I sit down, I try to pick up on some small idle talk... Might as well, right? The ride's a good ten minutes down to the colony. "You're doing great, Isaac. With how you handled those Necromorphs? Nothing can stop us now," I comment, trying to be nice... but in such a situation, everything came out awkwardly... After all, we're not in the clear yet... Besides, how can I really be positive? I just lost five people I loved and cared for, another I had to let go... and, I had received a souvenir that I never wanted.
Isaac didn't respond, he got the shuttle going to send us to Aegis VII. It wasn't until we left the Ishimura behind that he had pulled the helmet off him. The poor man was pretty banged up, it was the first time I ever saw his face, too. "Nicole..."
Did he just...
I told you everyone's insane...
