Disclaimer: Alien (1979) , Alien: Isolation, and all its characters are owned by 20th Century Fox.

The oc's (all two of them) were created by me.

Chapter 8: Supply Run Pt. 2

Ripley and Mils arrive at the dispensary, more driven more to find supplies, yet still cautious as they know the creature may be nearby. Their caution is reinforced when they hear movement nearby. They round the corner to the left and the sight in front of them gets their attention. Near the left side of the hallway there is nothing but body bags lined up one after the other in an organized row. They make an immediate right to see a locked door. Typical. In the corner of the door wedged in between the frame and the door itself was some sort of object. The object looked like a cattle prod of sorts. They walk up to it, look at each other, and then Mils grabs the prod, yanks it out of the door frame and hands it to Ripley

"Here, trade ya" Mils says, as he and Ripley exchange the prod for the jack she's been carrying on her back.

"What is it?" Ripley asks, as Mils backpacks the jack

"Looks like a homemade cattle prod...think it still works?" Mils says with a humorous look on his face.

Ripley pokes Mils on the thigh and he jumps with a slight yelp, rubbing the spot on his thigh and giving a dirty look.

"What the fuck...was that for...Ripley?" Mils says through clenched teeth.

"You asked if it worked..." Ripley replied quietly.

"You could've poked anything else, and you chose me?" Mils said showing irritation.

"I wanted to see if it did anything against living things" Ripley replied innocently.

"Of course it does, it's a fucking cattle prod" Mils added showing more irritation.

"My point exactly"

"What point...you don't have a..." Mils said ,but is cut off by the door opening, now free of the prod jamming it.

Come on Skippy...let's move" Ripley says, walking past Mils into the office. There are several canister-like objects located to the left and right of the room. It looks like one canister is missing from the pair on the right. They take mental notes, as Ripley accesses the terminal. There is a message about a woman in the dispensary with a "chest wound". It also mentions the cooling system. The coolant tanks are missing and without them, Ripley and Mils can't get into the room next to them.

"Mils...there was a message that mentions a woman with a chest wound"

"Just like the bodies...near transit...when we first got here." Mils observe.

"That can't be a coincidence" Ripley deduces

"Unless our friend prefers breast meat...something else is going on here Rip".

Ripley groans over the remark, rolling her eyes, "Let's just get going."

"Too obvious?" Mil says, as he walks over to the left side coolant tanks. Ripley shakes her head.

"You ever use these before?" Mils asks, looking at Ripley.

"Once or twice" Ripley answers.

"Good. On three we activate. One...two...three" Mils says as he and Ripley place the coolant tanks into place The room in front of them shows signs of life as the temperature changes and the door unlocks. The duo exit the office and head inside. There are about a half dozen body bags on the floor and on gurneys. There is still an eerie mist in the room; however one object stands out, that of a coolant tank on the floor.

"Bingo...one coolant tank...still full too" Mils says, examining the canister as he picks it up. Their joy is short lived as they hear movement above them. They exchange worried looks and hurry to the main office. With the fourth canister put into place the main cooling system can be activated via the terminal. Ripley does the honors and the temperature situation inside the dispensary is brought under control.

"That's taken care of..." Mils says with a slight sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but we've got another problem," Ripley says looking at the map of the area nearby on a terminal.

"What now?" Mils asks with worry.

"The access to Dr. Lingard's office is sealed off. We need to get there to get an idea at where some supplies might be."

"No access through doors...well I hate to admit it...but the vents may be our only option," Mils admits with a shrug

"Glad to see you've overcome your fear, Mils"

"I'm not scared of vents it's just...I'm tall and they're short and narrow...it's just not comfortable" Mils admits

"I can't argue with that...never thought I'd be happy about being short," Ripley retorts

"First things first though. We need to get the vents online...they looked powered down when I saw the entrance to one nearby. It had a red light near it so there should be a panel nearby" Mils states calmly.

"Let's try the other room" Ripley suggests. She and Mils move into the room to their right and immediately find an electrical panel. Mils opens it and rewires power from the air purification system to the air vents. They hear the radio crackle.

"Ripley? Mils? This is Samuels! Any news to report?" he asks

"Samuels? Uhh yes we found a doctor...but that thing took him...we're currently in the dispensary looking for supplies." Mils says, placing his index and middle fingers on his right hand onto his earpiece.

"How's Taylor, Samuels?" Ripley asks

"She's not good Ripley...I've tried to treat the wound as best I can...but you need to hurry."

"Okay...Samuels...there's a Dr. Lingard, she's senior medical officer. She should be able to find out where they're keeping everything in her office" Ripley adds.

"Good luck you two..." Samuels answers.

"You too Samuels...stay safe" Mils says as he and Ripley move to the nearest vent. Mils turns to Ripley.

"Hey Rip, would you mind going first this time?" Mils asks nervously.

"I don't mind...but why?" Ripley asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I wanna watch your back for a change," Mils answers straight-faced.

"Oh...so that's how it is" Ripley says sarcastically.

"What...oh God...not like that...you perv." Mils says annoyed.

"Oh just relax Mils, I'm fine with going first" Ripley says going into the vent.

"Uhh...Women...mind's always in the gutter" Mils says getting in behind her. The vent is in worse shape than the others they had encountered earlier. Sparks from damaged lights and electrical wires are firing off and on nearby, with numerous panels destroyed. They come to a ladder and Ripley goes up. She hears Mils mutter something behind her.

"Okay maybe a little happy I'm in the rear this time" he mumbles.

"What was that?" Ripley says.

"Nothing" Mils replies quickly with a slight blush on his face, which Ripley never sees. After climbing the ladder, Ripley sees a drop in the floor to another room, similar to the one Mils and she fell out of earlier.

"Mils there's a drop ahead...don't fall okay?" Ripley whispers back to Mils who has reached the top of the level they were on.

"Wasn't planning on it, Rip" Mils deadpans. Ripley drops down, with Mils after her, this time with no collision. They look around the area. It is very much a crew quarters, but in total disarray. Blood, debris and other signs of carnage line the room. Perhaps most importantly though, the tracker is going haywire, Mils picks it up, and a bead of sweat falls down his forehead when he sees the single dot on the screen in front of him.

"What? Mils what?" Ripley says with worry in her voice

"We're not alone" he states looking her dead in the eye. She is instantly concerned, but calms herself down nodding to Mils, keeping her gun and the prod at the ready. They move cautiously as they hear sounds of movement nearby. They turn sharply, hearing a hissing sound to their right. They slowly move into Lingard's office, past a dead body. Mils stops to close their eyes. When they enter the office, they check to see if it is clear. They gather around the terminal as the door closes. There is a message for Lingard from Morley about the responsibility of the supplies being solely with Lingard. There is also a death certificate and a video report from Lingard herself.

The screen turns on showing a woman. In her eyes there is fear, dread, and panic; almost a common trait among Sevastopol staff.

"This is Lingard, senior medical officer, Sevastopol Station, I want to... (interference)"

"I want to state for the record that I have been placed under duress with the compromised Patient Zero.. (interference)"

"Rasnome, Seegson's head of operations, he..."

"...he made certain threats toward my career and certification. I want that on record! But God help me, that woman needed help. I didn't know what type of parasite she had encountered, but it had planted something inside her."

"I am so sorry. I had no way of knowing what would happen..."

(Transmission End)

...

Mils and Ripley look at each other in shock and confusion.

"Parasite...that thing's a parasite?" Ripley says with disbelief in her voice.

"That doesn't make sense...a parasite lives off the host...usually if the host dies...so does the parasite. She mentioned that the parasite had planted something. Maybe our friend IS that something, " Mils theorizes.

"It doesn't matter, it's here now...regardless of how" Ripley sighs, trying to get her mind back on track.

"Right, let's find those supplies. They could be in the operating theater," Mils says, readying the tracker for their next move, they head out of the office. They move to their right, but suddenly a pipeline on the wall explodes. Mils shields Ripley from the blast.

"Shit!" Mils and Ripley say almost in sync. They quickly move back, checking each other for injuries.

"Mils...you alright?" Ripley asks.

"Eyebrows still intact...so I think I'm good. Are you?" he replies.

"I'm fine...thanks for the save back there" Ripley answers.

"No problem Rip...after all what are partners for", he replies with a smile as the two move back the other way. They round the corner toward faculty administration. Ever weary of the creature's presence, they enter a room and find the door they need to get into requires a key card.

"Looks like we'll need card to get in and if I was a betting man...I would say that there must be some security protocol with all the dead bodies around" Mils proposes.

"They would have to check their cards in and out" Ripley says connecting the dots.

"Which means the security desk is our next stop" Mils announces. He and Ripley leave the room and hang a right to the security desk. There is a storage locker of sorts with a statue of a mountain lion and the key card.

"Well hello beautiful...hey Rip, the key card's in here. My guess is the number for the safe is on the terminal" Mils says standing in front of the locker.

"How do you figure?" Ripley asks as she accesses the terminal.

"Well considering most of the codes we've used so far have been found on terminals, I'd say the chances are..." Mils says before Ripley interrupts him with a "gotcha"

"Mils the code is 2505" Ripley says, Mils types the code in and takes the key card.

"Alright Ripley let's get moving. Rip?" Mils slowly turns around to see Ripley standing still, looking through the window. He then sees what she sees - the creature dropping down from the vent and into the room next to them. He runs and grabs Ripley as they hurl themselves under a desk. The creature enters, surveying the room. It hisses and then jumps back into the vent.

"Well my heart is finally beating again, how 'bout yours?" Mils asked

"Same" Ripley whispers. They stand up and retreat back to the room with the locked door. They quickly move into the main dispensary area. There is a dead body in a wheelchair with a chest wound, numerous dead bodies in and out of body bags.

"Samuels, we're almost there," Mils says into the radio.

"Alright, how bad is it?" Samuels replies

"It's gone to hell in here Samuels" Ripley answers as the station shakes briefly. They move their way through various stations of the dispensary until they enter a room with a woman on an operating table.

"This must be the woman the good Doctor was talking about" Mils says looking over her ravaged body. Most noticeable is the wound to her chest. The flesh and bone bent outward.

"If the doctor was right, then something was planted inside her" Ripley states.

"Yeah, and this something must be living off the host. But that still doesn't explain the chest wound…" Mils says, trailing off.

"It doesn't matter, what's done is done" Ripley says. She sees the medical supplies, quickly grabs them and contacts Samuels via radio.

"Alright...Samuels I've got the meds" she says.

"We're at the transit station outside medical reception, we've heard gunshots...and if we've heard them, so did the creature," Samuels states.

"Copy, we'll see you soon," Ripley responds. She looks over to Mils who has a troubled look on his face as he looks at the tracker.

"What is it Mils?" Ripley asks.

"Either our friend is having a family reunion...or...we've got more scavengers" Mils says stating the possibilities.

"Shit...we need to move...fast!" Ripley states trying to hold onto the meds as best she can.

"Don't worry I've got you covered" Mils says as they head for the door at the other side of the room. They move through the door and hang a hard right, to avoid the scavengers, who can be heard talking among themselves about the state of the station. They hear movement and duck under some gurneys. A scavenger passes by them. They eventually arrive at the door to medical reception. It's locked.

"Fuck me! Samuels, medical reception's a no go. We can't get out" Mils speaks into the radio quietly.

"That's the only way through. This is a public hospital, there has to be an evacuation procedure." Samuels responds.

"That's gonna stir the whole hornet's nest...but we've got no choice" Mils states as he and Ripley retreat back the other way. They see a man with a gun down the side of the hallway. Mils takes an empty clip from his belt and throws it the other way. It gets the attention of the guard who goes to investigate. The duo eventually make their way to the ambulance bay, hanging a right to another room. It has a large observation deck. There are pieces of debris floating outside the station. There is a large pillar-like object in the middle of the room. It looks as if it powers the evacuation sequence. Mils spots two generators. He starts the one nearby and crosses the room and starts the other. The central console in the room activates with a loud rumble. They hurry over to the main console and Ripley hacks into it. With this, the evacuation sequence is initiated as sirens and yellow emergency lights turn on all over the area.

"Ripley you're clear. Hurry" Samuels says suddenly over the radio.

"Let's get moving Rip" Mils yells as he and Ripley head for the exit.

They are brought to a stop by the presence of an android before them.

"You should not be here." it states.

"Fuck...You!" Mils says, as he takes a jack to the android's head, bashing it quickly until it falls to the ground.

"Come on Mils" Ripley says dragging her along. Struggling to hold the box of supplies, they hurry as fast as they can through the hallways. They are spotted by the scavengers who begin open fire. They duck into the room with the woman's body as Mils blindly returns fire. Another scavenger spots them and aims at Ripley. Mils starts to fire but is out of bullets.

"Ripley!" Mils yells pushing her out of the way, just as the man's gun fires. The bullet rips into his left arm. He falls to one knee, grimacing in pain as the man looks to fire again. The scavenger raises his gun but suddenly the creature appears in the vent above him. It grabs him and pulls him upward. The man's screams are cut off as blood flows from the vent.

"David!" Ripley yells rushing to his side.

"Ahhh...shit, we've gotta go Ripley, come on" Mils throws his gun behind him and uses the jack to stand. Ripley grabs Mils, helping to support his weight as the two rush as fast as they can to medical reception. Suddenly ahead of them, the creature jumps down from the vent. Ripley screams as Mils trips and falls rough on his arm and screams in pain. Ripley backs away from the beast with pure fear in her eyes. Suddenly, the main hub of consoles behind the creature explodes with a huge blast, briefly knocking Mils and Ripley out.

"Come on Rip...don't do this...come on Rip!" Ripley hears Mils muffled voice; she awakes to see his worried face.

"Mils?" Ripley asks, still making out his face.

"Oh thank God...you scared me there," Mils replies trying to sound calm.

"Where is it?" Ripley asks frantically as she remembers the creature.

"Don't know...not here though" Mils answers, as pieces of the room start to fall.

"Come on; let's get the fuck outta here!" Mils yells as he helps Ripley to her feet. Mils tosses the jack and straps the supplies to his back.

Through thick smoke, they dodge fire and debris, frantically looking for a way out. They spot it in the form of a ladder above the debris in the center console hub.

"That ladder's the only way out Rip...you go first...I'll throw up the supplies" Mils yells.

"You're hurt Mils, let me help you!"

"No time Rip...get up there" Mils retorts, getting down on one knee forming a step with his good hand. Ripley uses this to hoist herself up onto the ladder; she utilizes her limited parkour skills to make it to the top. Mils struggles to get onto the ladder. Though his arm bleeds with every move, he continues focusing on Ripley's moving form. She barely dodges an exploding panel, which sends bits of wall towards Mils.

"Mils watch out!" She screams, as he barely dodges the debris himself.

"Keep moving...Rip...I'm right behind you" he replies. She keeps climbing, jumps over to another ladder that is descending from the ceiling. Part of the ladder extends and she briefly losses her grip. Regaining it, she reaches the top of the ladder which leads to a vent. She looks back at Mils who, as he jumps, the wall begins to give way. Mils' arm is almost numb as he struggles to move up the ladder. Ripley offers her hand.

"David...take my hand..." Ripley yells. Mils give her the supplies instead.

"What are you doing?!" Ripley yells with shock.

"Just in case I don't make it...so the trip wasn't wasted" Mils says with a slight wink and smirk. He then grasps Ripley's hand; it takes all of her strength to pull him up high enough for him to grasp the floor of the vent.

"Oh God...fuck this day" Mils says. Ripley helps him get into a good position, they look into each other's eyes, but before anything can come of it, there is an explosion.

"Later?" Ripley says as Mils leads the way through several different sections of the vent and down into the room they had been before with the elevator. Mils falls against the wall and slides down to the floor. Ripley runs to him.

"Mils...hold on...there's probably something from the supplies we can use" Ripley says frantically.

"No...Taylor" Mils argues.

"There's plenty to go around...now hold still," Ripley says as she injects Mils and begins to go to work on his wound. She bandages it quickly.

"That will do for now," Ripley gathers the supplies. Mils is weak from blood loss but slowly stands.

"Thanks Rip...if the engineer thing doesn't work out...maybe go into..." Mils says, but is embraced by Ripley with a tight hug. He's taken aback, but returns it, eventually.

"Thank you...David...thank you for saving me...I don't wanna think about what would've happened if you weren't here"

"I should be thanking you...you pulled my ass out of the fire," Mils replies.

"Then I guess we're even" Ripley says pulling away from the hug.

"Thank you again" Ripley says, looking into his eyes.

"Well if this is how I get repaid, I'll try to save you more often" Mils is clearly a little taken aback by the hug.

"Don't push it"

"Now let's get these meds to Taylor," Mils says as Ripley hits a button on the control panel of the elevator. The doors close as they head back to Taylor and Samuels.

Mils Audio Log 3

We're on our way to the dispensary. We need to find those meds fast. Ripley and I have been through a lot. It just feels like we get hit at every turn with something. The creature, androids; hell even just other people. They all have it in for us. Maybe it's just our timing or luck, but at least Rip's here to weather the storm with me. I don't know why, I don't know what, I feel something for her. Is it lust or love or….it's security. I feel safe with Ripley around. It...it just feels good to have somebody watching my back. And I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful partner in crime.