I wake. The throbbing from my head hitting the back of my seat greets me. I look over and see Isaac. He's unconscious, but alive. It would be so terrible to die now just because of the not so subtle impact we have experienced. I release my harness and gasp at the tightness in my chest. I rub it feverishly trying to make the pain stop.
"Isaac." I whisper as I nudge his shoulder. I take a moment to examine him with my fingers. It was the first time I had touched him physically. The plates of his engineering suit are marred with multiple chips, gashes and dents from the onslaught of attacks that he was under. I sigh and watch him for a minute longer and nudge him again. "Isaac." I coo to him.
He groans and grabs my hand. My eyes grow wide as he stares at me. I know he's watching me to see my response. Examining me with his eyes and his own senses his grip tenses around my hand. He shutters with relief and releases me.
"Are you alright?" He asks. He releases his harness without looking at it; never taking his eyes off of me.
I nod to him and stand. I hold my hand out and smile. "It's almost over Isaac." He grabs my hand and I pull him up. He jumps up with such force that I nearly fall back into the seat behind me. He catches me and pulls me close to him.
Even through all the armor I can hear his heartbeat. It was rapid and his breathing was steady and calm. Like for the first time in a long while he's found peace. I look up at him and smile faintly. Foolish me for thinking that his heart is singing for me. He thinks that I'm Nicole. I pull myself away from his grasp and nod for the door. The sooner I get this over with the better- for both of us.
I walk on to the platform and look up. The hot sun beaming down on the remnants of the facility radiated its heat on me. I shield my eyes and survey the scene. We are far from alone in this place. There are things here. Monstrous things with jagged teeth and scythe-like claws that would love to disembowel us. I take two steps and stop. There are voices, whispering in old archaic texts. Some of which I can make out but others are like listening to old Sanskrit for the first time.
I look back at Isaac and smile. I'm dooming us both. I know this. Out of the frying pan and into the fire doesn't give the right context of the trouble that we are facing. Isaac has no clue, but I do and I want to apologize. Tell him everything, but every time I think of the words to say they are shoved out by the whispers and reminders; the orders that I am to follow like I'm some automaton. The air hints of rotting blood in the heat and I breathe it in heavily. Twenty-four hours ago this colony was booming and now it is a land of the dead.
"Bring the Marker, Isaac." I tell him as I make my way down the ramp.
I walk across the platform. My boots thudding and I look over my shoulder to the large crater from where we had cracked the planet. The massive hole that damned everyone stared back at me and a tingling sensation forms at the back of my skull. I shudder and keep walking. I try to keep from look at the chasm, try to avoid listening to the voices.
I hear the conveyer system stalling and the scraping of metal from the Marker. I hurry my step. I wouldn't be long now. I would be free of this place and the chains that bind me. I reach the control panel and press a button to open the shutters. There is no response.
"Damn it." I mutter under my breath. I look over at the breaker and see that it is blown and sigh.
"Don't worry about it. It'll be perfect." Nicole states amidst the swirling voices. "He'll have to get a new one."
I stop and watch as Isaac walks back up to me. He looks so exhausted, even with all his gear on. He looks over at me and then the shutters. He sighs heavily and crosses his arms. His posture tells me he's annoyed and frayed at the situation.
"We need power restored. Could you get another fuse?" I ask as I turn back to the control panel. I hear his footsteps walking away from me. I glance up and watch him walk through the door to a maintenance shed. I stop pressing buttons and lean against the control panel.
"Are you ready?" Nicole asks.
I rub my eyes and nod. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"
"I'm sure." Nicole answers.
"Are you going to take care of him?" I ask. "He's come so far-"
Nicole puts her hand up to stop me and smiles. "You've done what you are supposed to. His fate is out of your hands now."
Her words give me little solace. I'd saved his life countless times and relied on blind luck to save myself. Now I have to take the word of a dead person; one he doesn't even know is dead yet, to make sure that he's safe.
I walk back to the shuttle and grab a cigarette and my pulse rifle. Nicole looks at me from the door with a half-cocked smile. Something draws her attention from outside.
"Do it now. She's of no use to you anymore." A voice orders from inside my head.
I put the rifle in the seat and watch as Nicole stares at whatever is causing a commotion. One by one I remove my gloves and toss them next to my gun. I feel around my pocket and feel the scalpel that Nicole had placed there before we left the Ishimura. I pull it out of my pocket and take two steps towards her. She has no idea I'm there; ready to kill her beyond my own control.
"How the hell did she-" Nicole starts. I grab her by the hair and slide the razor sharp blade across her throat. Nicole struggles little as the blade digs deeper into her flesh. Her hair coiled in my hand tugs as she turns to look at me. A spark of fear crosses her eyes and she reaches up towards her neck. Smearing the running blood up to her face she begins to panic. She pulls and yanks and tries to fight but I won't let her go. "You weren't supposed to do it this way." She chokes out. The gaping wound in her neck expands with each swallow of blood she takes.
"Plans change." I whisper in her ear. I throw her to the floor and pounce. Slashing and stabbing her, sending sprays and splashes of blood everywhere. In arcing strokes I feel the blade sink through the muscle and she gurgles violently as I begin to twist the blade.
She can't fight me no more. Her blood flows quickly and pools around her. "It was supposed to be you." She repeats over and over again. Her voice grows softer and softer with each round.
"I followed my orders, Nicole, just like you told me to. Just like you thought I couldn't." I respond as I walk passed her and into the bathroom. I take a drag off of the cigarette and look at myself in the mirror. My hair drips with blood and the cigarette jutting out of my mouth is saturated with blood. I pinch it between my fingers and flick the ash of it into the sink. My hands red with her blood leave more stains on the paper, but relaxing attributes of the long drags far outweigh the disgust.
I can see the change in me now- for better or for worse. Of that I am not certain. I'm no longer me. I am supposed to be me again. No more voices. No more Isaac trapped in my head, his pain my pain. His emotions my emotions. Yet they remain. Still lingering in my mind as if nothing had happened.
I roll my eyes and strip out of my armor and reach into the compartment and grab a jumpsuit and boots. Pulling the jumpsuit on and tying it at the waist with the arms I look out the door to see if anyone was coming. I can hear the noises and gunfire, but like Nicole said before: my job was done. He is in Nicole's hands now. At least she's out of my hair. I look over to see her crumpled body and she is gone.
"There goes another bit of my humanity." I half-jest to myself. I chuckle softly and close my eyes for a second. I hear footsteps outside and open my eyes. I spring to my feet and peek out the door. I see Isaac outside the maintenance shed with the fuse. I smile and start back towards my seat when I hear from outside:
"Nicole? Nicole? Where did she go?"
If I have any remaining free will at this point I refuse to use it. I walk to the shuttle window and watch as Isaac resumes towing along the Marker slowly.
"Make us whole, Isaac." I plea to him under my breath.
I shudder again and my skin begins to break out in goosebumps. I can't tell if the whole planet has shifted into an ice age, but I am freezing. It pains me to move my fingers or move in general.
"He's bringing the Marker." The voice says.
"I know." I respond.
"Is he the sacrifice?" It asks.
"I really don't know." I answer as I shake off the violent tremors I'm having.
I have put so much stock in what I've been told and what I have learned. It's more than I can bear. At the snap of a finger I can witness anything I want. I can control anything at the mere thought of it. I could kill him with one of those monsters if I really want to. Maybe I don't want him to be a sacrifice, maybe I want to say "fuck you," to everything. My life, that damned Marker, Nicole, Chris, and the voice with its seething words. So full of hate and loathing when it speaks to me.
It's blind and in the dark. I know that. The Marker fights it with all its might and is somehow inactive. What is the mystery behind this object? How does it work? How the fuck did I get in this predictiment? So many questions and not enough answers. And what of Isaac? How will he cope when he finds the truth? What will he do? What has Nicole been doing to him? More questions and no answers at all. I know how she twisted Kyne's mind around her finger to get him to do what she wanted. What about Mercer? That crackpot was right. Evolutionary steps take lives- the weak die the strong continue on.
I close my eyes tightly and feel a sudden pain in my gut. I gasp and it happens again. What is going on in there? The pain is so strong now that I feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I can't take too much more and my head grows heavy. Damn it, Isaac! Be more careful!
The ground shakes subtly and I can hear the Marker chiming in my head as it gets closer to its destination. Not too much longer and the monster in the hole will have what it wants. The sacrifice it's been waiting for. The destruction of the Marker. Its salvation. I smile almost gleeful that the damn thing will be destroyed.
"Where's Isaac?" I hear Kendra's voice behind me.
I don't open my eyes or turn around. I listen instead and wait for her to approach me. I hear her boots walking up to me and the subtle swishing sound of her hair.
"He went to the dig site, Kendra." I answer with a sigh. I'm bored of her already. Fucking bitch try to leave me to die. I half wish she had.
"You know who I am?" She asks with a shock in her voice.
I nod and look at her. "Of course I do." I stand up from my seat and take a step towards her. I rest my hand on the back of the chair and stare at her. "I know all about you."
She folds her arms across her chest. She takes a standoffish posture and smirks. "You are a very smart girl. Too smart for your own good."
I smile at her and take another step towards her. She in turn takes a step back. "I'm glad you think so." I look at my watch and back at her. "You are running out of time."
She glares at me and shakes her head. "You have no idea why I'm here."
"You know who she is. Look at her." The voice finally chimes in.
"You work for EarthGov." I respond. Her mouth drops open. "Yes. I'm not that stupid. You want the Marker."
"How can you-?" She stammers.
I look at my watch again and then back at her. "You are wasting time dealing with me."
She nods and smiles. "I have some loose ends to deal with first." She starts to pull her pistol and I grab her wrist.
"You won't be doing anything that stupid now would you?" I hiss as I squeeze her. She looks at me and shakes her head. "That's a smart girl." I pause and look her over. "What are you going to do with Isaac?"
She pauses as if she's thinking of an answer. "He's going to be marked as a casualty of the disaster."
"Sounds fair. Keep talking." I respond. I blow a strand of hair out of my face and release my grip on her. "I want out of here."
"I can do that." Kendra states. She starts back towards the door. "Do we have a deal? The Marker for your life?"
"We have a deal." I answer. I sit back in my seat and close my eyes.
I already know she's lying. She'll try to get the Marker and then she'll come back to stab me in the back. Typical EarthGov shit. I'm not stupid.
Isaac has left the warehouse. Necromorphs are reaching his location in droves. He stops and fires. He's afraid. Terrified by the amount of fight these bastards have.
"I'm doing this for Nicole." He mutters.
He keeps firing and slowly makes his way to the tracks. In an instant arms shoot from the canyon. Large ropey arms that seem to go on forever. It is a beautiful sight. Isaac is scared. His heart races and he fires to make them leave. Each one that falls another one takes his place further up. He can hear screams behind him and he sees two necromorphs crawling out of the window.
"Damn it." He utters as he opens fire on them. When they fall he turns back to the skyward tendrils.
The Marker is vibrating and the earth beneath his feet shakes. I can feel it too all the way over here. The monster awaits. They all await the return of the device.
"At last." The voice hisses.
"Yes, yes. A deal is a deal." I answer flippantly.
"Isaac you've done it." Nicole says. She glows with raw energy. There's something not right about this. The way she looks like an angel a total lie. "Break the connection and bring down the sky."
"Are you sure?" Isaac asks.
Nicole nods and I scowl to myself. He walks over to the console and pushes the button to deactivate the tether. A warning klaxon starts and I jump from my seat.
"Damn. She actually did it." I smile to myself.
"It is time for the sacrifice!" The voice bellows in my ears.
"No." I answer. "Not yet."
"We long for-" The voice starts.
"I don't care what you are longing for. I said not yet." I argue.
The voice growls in my head and I sit back down.
"You never finished that video." Kendra's snide voice comes through. "You really have no idea. Play it Isaac."
The earth shakes violently and I can hear metal pipes clattering to the ground. I care not. If the pit monster wanted to kill something or someone; why not me? I'm right here. I'm the one that's arguing with it.
I gasp and I start to cry. Is that- Isaac? He's crying?
"I'm sorry you had to find out this way Isaac. But EarthGov wants the Marker and I'm the one to take it back." Kendra explains.
The slow reverberations from the Marker start to die off.
"You need to run Isaac." I tell him.
"The sacrifice!" The angry voice screams at me.
"Don't worry. I'll be it." I respond. "You need one. Then take me." The voice goes silent. The whispers and alien languages die away as well. "I take it we have a deal by your silence?" There is no response.
The conveyor starts to whir as Kendra starts to bring back the Marker. I smile when I realize that my end has come. My job was to save Isaac and that's what I'm doing with what little energy I have. The cart stops near the shuttle and I hear Kendra approaching the door. She peaks in and I'm standing there with a smile on my face. The time has come and we are all going to pay for it. She turns back and the smile she had is now gone.
"You are going to stay, Isaac. I'm sorry." Kendra calls to him
I grin and take my seat again.
"She's trying to take the Marker." I tell the voice.
"She can't. It is ours." It says.
A long tentacled arm shoots from the pit and picks Kendra up. I close my eyes and listen to the glee that the monster has. He shakes her violently and throws her to the deck. I smile. She's not the only one who can play the game of deceit. I just happened to have a behemoth of a monster on my side.
"A deal is a deal. End it." I tell the monster.
"We can't." It says.
I jump from my seat and look out the window. The whole area is shrouded in darkness as the monster that makes up the second half of my conversations rises. It slams a tentacle down around Isaac and grabs at him.
"That's not-" I start.
"We agreed on nothing." It growls.
"Fuck!" I yell.
I hear gunshots and watch as Isaac runs from side to side trying to avoid the onslaught of attacks. My ears start screaming in pain and I feel the monster recoil. The whispers are intense and painful. They scream and shout and I realize it now. I'm inside of its head.
It picks Isaac up and flails him around like a rag doll.
"He will be ours." It hisses.
"Put him down!" I screech.
It is a long and arduous fight. I hear the click of Isaac's rifle and I start to panic. He can't take too much more of this. It picks him up again and pulls it closer to its angry mouth. This is my only chance. I take the clip out of my rifle and run out of the shuttle. I lob it over and yell for him to take it, but with the warning alarms and roaring from the beast I doubt he can hear me at all. Isaac pulls his plasma cutter and takes aim but mid shot the giant growth flings him and he loses it.
I run over to it and pick it up. I hear the rapid fire of the rifle and I point and aim. I only have one round. I have to make it count. I squeeze the trigger and the hive mind yowls in pain slamming Isaac to the ground. I want to run to him and see if he is alive, but we are all but out of time.
I run back to the shuttle and get ready to leave if need be. Quick on my heels is Isaac. He's gripping his side and limping, but he's alive. I hide in the seat at the back and don't make a sound. He sits in the pilot's seat and starts the launch sequence. Fifteen seconds till that large hunk of planet falls back to the planet and destroys us all. He slams the button and we're off. It was more violent than reentry and I smack my head into the wall. I see stars and then black.
I don't know if we made it. I really don't care at this point.
I awake to Nicole's voice. It's sad and remorseful.
"Damn. She survived." I mutter to myself.
"I loved you. I always loved you." She says.
The cabin goes dark and I peer over the seat at Isaac. He had put his helm down and his head hangs low. I can hear the whispers. I thought they would be gone. There is something here. Isaac can sense it too. He looks over at the co-pilot seat and there it is staring at him.
"Nicole?" He stammers.
In an instant the necromorph pounces and throws him out of his seat. He struggles with it but his body is starting to give out. I stand from the seat and walk over to the pair of combatants and smile. Isaac looks up me and is stunned.
"Ah, Nicole." I start. The necromorph screams and its spine flails wildly. "You just have a magically way of always appearing at the most inopportune times."
I grab the rifle off the seat and open fire. It's a stupid thing to do; given that we are in space and all. Nicole yowls and jumps off of Isaac and lunges at me. I take a step back and keep firing. Isaac lays there watching the whole scene.
"How?" He questions.
"A little help and then I'll answer your questions." I yell to him. He springs to his feet and grabs his own rifle. He opens fire and Nicole shrieks and falls to the floor. Its black blood oozes out of every of every orifice. I sling the rifle to my shoulder and smile. "Not bad."
Isaac says nothing. He looks at the bloody matted hair of Nicole and then at me. I smile meekly at him and slip a cigarette in between my lips. He starts to protest and I shake my head as I light my cigarette.
"Who are you?" Isaac asks dropping the gun to the floor.
"Ondrea Markum. Second engineer of the USG Ishimura." I tell him. "I'm the one that saved your life."
He stares blankly at me. His confusion marked by the lines on his face. "I don't understand."
"I know that it's a lot to take in." I confess to him. "Trust me, I know. I'm not quite sure how this all works either."
"But-" Isaac stammers.
"Look I've had a long fucking day. I've dealt with the bullshit longer than you." I bark.
He looks back at Nicole and stares.
"Sorry about Nicole." I whisper.
He shakes his head and sighs. "I just wish I'd gotten here sooner."
I cock my head at his remark and my shoulders slump.
"I understand that. She was the driving force behind both of us." I say. He gives me a questioning look. I shrug and walk over to him. I let the barrel of the rifle fall into my hand. "There's a lot to explain and not a lot of time to do it in." I suddenly and abruptly butt strike him to the side of the head. He falls to the floor unconscious. "I'll explain it tomorrow." I take a drag of my cigarette and sit down in the seat. I look down at Isaac and sigh. "Tomorrow you are going to save my life." I prop my feet up and sigh.
Here's hoping that the final order actually works.