ALIEN: HARD-HEADS
Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.
CHAPTER 11: MURPHY'S LAW
DATE: AUGUST 19th, 2137
TAROS STATION #04, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-E AIRLOCK
Stepping into the EVA suit, Marvin Garfield silently asked himself just what the hell he was doing. Garfield glanced over and saw Elliot and Milo also suiting up. Rains was already in his EVA suit and was waiting for the others to finish. Burns and Bowman were standing by the open lockers holding onto the weapons and motion tracker for the group. Standing near the airlock's manual controls was Green.
After Garfield and the others were finally suited up, Burns and Bowman gave them their weapons and motion tracker. "You guys watch yourselves down there," Burns said. "Don't worry about that," Rains said as he opened the inner airlock doors.
The four men quickly gathered into the airlock before Burns closed the inner doors and began the air recovery system, pulling as much air as possible back into specialized vacuum containers inside the ventilation ducts lining the airlock before the outer airlock doors opened. Burns let out a sigh as she looked over at Bowman, who was also leaning back against the wall opposite of her. "So... think they'll... you know, make it?" he asked her hesitantly. Burns furrowed her brows in thought before closing her eyes.
As the outer airlock doors opened, the four men activated the magnetic grips on the bottom of their boots before stepping forward. Whatever air hadn't been recovered by the vent system was quickly flushed out into space, allowing for the briefest sound of wind blowing against the EVA suits and the open-air elevator platform in front of them before everything became silent. The four men stepped forward, holding their motion tracker and guns in their gloved hands.
Garfield looked out across the almost barren landscape of Taros as he saw a small set of solar panels set up less than a kilometer away from the station, with cables running from the panels over to a large shed that was connected to the station on the ground. Farther ahead, Garfield saw Station #05, which appeared as a small dot to his eyes given the vast distance between the two facilities. Garfield then looked around at the elevator platform and the outside of the station. Situated next to the elevator platform in front of him were a ladder and a metal fire escape hugging the side of the station. "You know, I've been wondering," Garfield said over the helmet radio.
"Yeah?" Rains asked him as he stepped onto the platform. "Why is the ground level called the third level? Shouldn't it be the first level?" Garfield asked curiously. Rains looked at Garfield curiously before a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Huh. You know, in all the time that I've worked here, I've never once thought about that," Rains admitted.
"Neither have I," Milo said over his suit's radio. "I have, but I could never find the time to ask anyone about it before now," Elliot said over the radio. "Bullshit, dude. You're the second-in-command of this place. You can ask anyone that question whenever the hell you feel like it," Milo proclaimed as he followed Elliot onto the platform.
Once all four men had gathered together, Rains reached over and accessed the control panel, pulling a level and turning a knob before pressing a button to cause the elevator platform to slowly descend to the ground. All four men gripped the safety rails of the platform as they descended, letting go only after the lights on the control panel switched from red to green. Walking forward, Elliot pressed himself against the outer airlock doors and peered inside.
"I don't see anything in there," Elliot said over the radio. Stepping to the side, the droid reached over and accessed the control panel next to the right side of the doors. He performed a brief safety check to make sure that the inner airlock doors were still closed before opening the outer doors, causing a brief burst of air to exit the station. The four men soon walked inside the airlock and closed the outer doors.
The red LEDs above the doors began to blink as the doors locked, and then air began entering the room. Soon, there was a buckling noise. "What was that?" Garfield asked worriedly as he glanced around the inside of the airlock.
"That's just the pressure system adjusting itself to the change in atmosphere again. It's supposed to do that," Rains said reassuringly. Garfield slowly nodded his head in understanding, although he was still wary.
As several more minutes passed by, the four men took turns looking out the relatively small airlock windows to check the small lobby area for signs of the alien. "Is it out there?" Milo asked Rains as he finished checking the room. "I don't see it anywhere. Just keep that shotgun ready, though," Rains replied as he held his own shotgun in his gloved hands.
When the re-pressurization was finished, the airlock doors slid open and revealed an empty room to the four men. Slowly walking forward, Elliot gave the motion tracker to Garfield before he began taking off his EVA suit first, signaling for the others to wait, just in case. After he was finally free of the suit, he gestured for Garfield to return the motion tracker to him. Garfield then began taking off his EVA suit next, followed by Rains, and then by Milo.
Tapping the headset on his head, Elliot looked at the still-intact security camera on the wall in the corner of the room. "Hansen, have any other security cameras been destroyed since we exited the airlock?" Elliot asked. "Negative. I still have four cameras left. One of them is in the maintenance garage, another one is in the shuttle bay next to the maintenance garage, and the last one is in the vehicle garage. Those are all I've got left, and I've seen no signs of the alien on any of them for the past two hours. I have no idea where it is right now, so tread carefully. Hansen out," Hansen replied over the headset.
"Understood. Elliot out," Elliot said into the headset. Setting their EVA suits on racks, the four men slowly began making their way out of the small lobby of the airlock, setting up the motion tracker before slowly stepping forward into the dark hallway in front of them. Elliot went first, holding the motion tracker, while Rains went behind him, carrying a shotgun, quickly turning on the flashlight attached to it.
"What happened to the lights?" Milo asked as they entered the hallway. "We shut them off, remember?" Rains responded quietly. Milo went over to a light switch and flipped it, illuminating the hallway.
The other three men all glanced at Milo before returning their attention to the hallway in front of them. They slowly moved forward, one foot at a time, with Elliot glancing down at the motion tracker every few feet. The screen was blank and the machine was quiet, with only a faint pulsing hum emanating from the device as it scanned for movement.
After fifteen minutes, the group came upon a corridor with an open door on the side. It was a storage closet, with various boxes of supplies sitting around the room. The four men looked at each other curiously. "Should we... should we inspect it?" Milo asked cautiously.
Elliot moved over to the doorway and inspected the controls, seeing traces of something wet and slimy on the wall. "It's been in this area," Elliot noted out loud. "Recently?" Milo asked him as he looked at the slime on the wall.
"Hard to say," Elliot responded as he looked around the interior of the storage room. "Let's keep moving," he finally said before reaching for the door's controls. He glanced down at the motion tracker before pulling his hand back.
"I wonder..." he muttered quietly to himself before walking away from the door. The four men resumed their slow and methodical trek to the maintenance garage, soon happening upon an intersection for sections 03-E, 03-D, and 03-C. "We'll take Section C, and that should lead us to an intersection near section Three-A that we can use to get to the maintenance garage," Elliot said.
The others nodded their heads in agreement as Elliot began leading them through Section 03-C, carefully monitoring the motion tracker each step of the way.
After another half hour of walking, the four men finally reached the maintenance garage. Opening the doors and stepping inside, the four men began setting up their cover and weapons. "Move those crates a little further from the doorway," Elliot said as Rains and Milo pushed said crates back another two feet.
Looking around the room, Garfield noticed a blood stain on the floor near the crates. "Hey, didn't Burns say that Brooks was killed in here earlier?" Garfield asked out loud. Rains, Milo, and Elliot stopped moving the crates and looked at him.
"Yeah, why?" Milo asked him in response. "Where's the body?" Garfield asked. The men all looked around the room, scanning for signs of Brooks' corpse.
"It's not here anymore," Elliot said after a minute of searching. "The alien must've taken his body," Rains concluded. "Why?" Milo asked him. "Milo, haven't you been paying any attention?" Rains asked the fellow engineer.
Garfield followed the trail of blood on the floor, seeing it lead back to the doorway. "Well, assuming that it's using the bodies for producing more eggs, then following this trail should lead us to the nest," Garfield surmised. Elliot glanced at Garfield and nodded his head in agreement.
"Alright then. Elliot if you join me in the halls, would you be willing to find the nest while I lead the alien back here so that Milo and Rains can kill it?" Garfield asked the droid. "I'd like to follow the alien back here so that it can't escape before we go searching for the nest," Elliot replied.
Milo and Rains both nodded their heads. "Yeah, I think we'd better stick with the plan," Milo said in agreement. "Let's not make things more difficult for ourselves. Things have already gone pretty wrong for us. Let's not make the situation worse by thinning our numbers when we don't have to," Rains added.
"Right," Garfield said, nodding his head in understanding.
"Come on. Let's finish setting up our cover. I don't this thing's blood hitting me when we shoot it," Rains said as he and Milo resumed re-arranging the crates on both sides of the doorway. Elliot and Garfield helped them gather some sheet metal to place in front of the crates as well, with Garfield periodically checking their motion tracker and glancing at the doorway every few minutes.
THE SECURITY CENTER...
Trent Bowman glanced over his shoulder at Burns, who was resting in a chair next to a table in the center of the room. Hansen had left the room a few minutes earlier to use one of the bathrooms on Level 01, and so Bowman and Burns had volunteered to stay in the room until he returned. Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, Bowman looked out again at the security monitors for the remaining four cameras on Level 03.
LEVEL 03...
Carefully peering around a corner, Garfield held his flashlight and wrench close to his body, glancing at the various signs on the walls and forcing himself to memorize his path from the maintenance garage. Elliot stood a foot behind him, holding the motion tracker steady. Seeing that the corridor was empty, Garfield stepped forward, glancing down at the thinning trail of blood on the floor.
The two men slowly made their way over to the entrance to the miners' quarters, stopping just outside the doorway to the room. Shining his flashlight into the large room, Garfield glanced up at the ceiling and the walls, searching for signs of the alien before slowly creeping into the room, one foot at a time. Garfield briefly stopped walking to glance over his shoulder at Elliot and the motion tracker before continuing onward, heading towards the door that led to the locker room.
The door to the locker room slid open with a hiss, setting the motion tracker off. Both men stopped moving and glanced around their surroundings before the motion tracker went silent once more. "Let's keep moving," Garfield said before he stepped into the locker room.
The lockers were spread out in 4 columns in the room. There were a total of 60 lockers, twice the number of miners employed in the station. Each column was dual-facing, with the lockers arranged in a checkered pattern so that the the space next to one locker was the back of another facing the opposite direction. There were benches on each side of every locker column.
Looking down at the floor, Garfield soon noticed that the blood trail had become almost non-existent. "The trail's almost gone," he said before looking up at the ceiling of the room. The room was much smaller in height when compared to the room housing the miners' quarters, in addition to being somewhat more cramped as well.
Over on the far side of the locker room, Garfield saw set of sliding doors. "That's... that's the, um... that's the... shower room, right?" Garfield asked Elliot. Elliot looked up from the motion tracker and glanced at Garfield curiously. Garfield held one hand forward, pointing his flashlight at the sliding doors ahead of them.
"Yeah. That's the shower room," Elliot said, nodding his head in confirmation. Garfield slowly nodded his head in response before quietly moving forward, walking around the various lockers and benches to scour the room, with Elliot moving to the left side. As Garfield made his way around the perimeter, he saw a few lockers that were slightly ajar.
Carefully creeping over to one, he gently pulled it open, shining his flashlight inside. There were pictures of naked women taped to the inside of the locker, along with some tissue boxes and a plastic bag with some stains on it. Closing the locker door, Garfield opened the next one. This locker had pictures of naked men taped to the inside, and there were two vibrators and a bright blue dildo sealed inside a zip-lock bag, along with lubricant and cleaning supplies. Garfield quietly closed the locker door and prepared to open the next one, before shaking his head and ignoring it. He had more important things to think about at the moment.
He made his way around the rest of the lockers, soon meeting up with Elliot. "Find anything?" Elliot asked him. "Um... nothing important," Garfield answered. Elliot smirked at him. "People have needs, Garfield. They're only human, after all," Elliot said knowingly. Garfield nodded his head quietly in response.
"Alright, let's see what the shower room has in store for us. Shall we?" Elliot implored, carefully reaching out and pressing the button to open the doors to the shower room. The doors to the room slid open, once again setting off the motion tracker. "Stupid tracker," Garfield muttered in contempt for the device.
In front of the two men, there was a short wall several feet back from the door. "Wait... this is a co-ed shower room, isn't it?" Garfield asked as he failed to see any signs for men or women on any side of the walls. "Of course," Elliot replied.
"These men and women work together for a living. Why wouldn't they bathe and dress together?" Elliot asked.
Garfield ignored Elliot's question and slowly pressed forward, walking around to the side of the wall and carefully peering over a corner. When Garfield saw what was hidden behind the wall, he almost dropped his wrench and flashlight. "Elliot!" Garfield whispered urgently, catching the droid's attention.
"What is it? Do you see it?" Elliot asked Garfield in a whisper as he carefully crept up behind him. "No. Look," Garfield replied as he pointed his flashlight at the sight before them. Elliot looked over Garfield's shoulder and saw what had alarmed him.
The first few shower stalls on either side of the room near the wall were clean and empty, but beyond them, the room became twisted and unnatural. A secreted resin had taken over much of the walls and shower stalls, covering the floor and parts of the ceiling. The resin had a biomechanical look to it, organic when industrial at the same time.
Shining his flashlight around the room, Garfield illuminated the horrific sight of what appeared to be a developing egg, with small patches of hair near the top, indicating that it had once been Vincent Hoffman, whose body was being used as a source of nutrients for the egg. Cocooned to the wall nearby, Samantha Goodwin was also in the process of being absorbed by a developing egg, with her head and right arm sticking out of the object. Garfield and Elliot could just make out the bloodied hole in the corpse's forehead.
Shining the light further around the room, the two men saw a cocooned Kendricks, unconscious, but possibly alive. It was hard to be sure, as the resin covered most of his body and made it difficult to see any chest movement. Looking around further, the two men saw the corpse of Ryan Brown in the beginning stages of egg development. His cocooned body had been positioned in a fetal manner by the alien so that the developing egg would fit around him.
Garfield quickly tapped his headset. "Hansen, can you hear me? This is Garfield. Hansen, come in!" Garfield whispered into the headset, before he saw a cocooned Fred Marcus on the wall. He also appeared to be unconscious as various slime and fluids covered him and dripped down from the "ceiling" of the room.
"This is Burns. Hansen is on the shitter right now. What do you need?" Burns asked over the headset, having been woken up by Bowman seconds earlier. "We... we found the nest," Garfield said carefully as he looked around, soon eyeing the body of Carl Brooks, also in the early stages of egg development as his corpse was propped up against a shower stall door while sitting on the floor.
"You... you found it? Have you found Marcus and Hoffman in there?" Burns asked over the headset. "Yeah. We... we found everyone," Garfield said with a gulp. "Are they alive?" Burns asked him.
"I... I think Marcus and Kendricks are alive. The others... they're all dead. And... you were right, Burns. They're being converted into eggs. One of them is almost finished. I think it was Hoffman," Garfield choked out, fear and anxiety beginning to overwhelm him. He could feel his heart beginning to pound in his chest as he saw how close the Hoffman-Egg was to being finished, at least on the outside.
"Okay, where exactly is the nest located? What section?" Burns asked him. "We're... in the shower room. It's converted the shower room into its nest," Garfield explained as he looked around at the twisted landscape. "Jesus Christ," Burns muttered over the headset.
Stepping around Garfield, Elliot slowly moved forward to inspect the nest closer. "So, what should-hey, Elliot! Get back here!" Garfield hissed at the droid. Elliot turned around and set the motion tracker on the floor before grabbing the wrench from Garfield. "Hey, what are you-" "Shh. I'm going to rescue Marcus and Kendricks. You just keep an eye on the motion tracker for me," Elliot said abruptly.
"Well, shit. I'm joining you," Garfield said after a minute. He and the droid both began walking over towards the cocooned Marcus and Kendricks. "Garfield? What's going on? What's happening?" Burns asked over the headset. "Elliot and I are going to see if we can get Marcus and Kendricks out of here," Garfield replied, once again bewildered at the words leaving his mouth.
"Wait, what about the plan? You need to lure the alien into the maintenance garage and kill it before we do anything else!" Burns snapped over the headset. "Burns, these eggs could be be ripe by then. We have to get Marcus and Kendricks out of here before that happens," Garfield replied.
"Rrgg! Alright, but keep your eyes peeled, and if that thing finds you, make sure to lead it to the maintenance garage. If you encounter the alien, go back to the plan and lead it into the trap," Burns said firmly. "I will. Just... just let me try to make things right. Garfield out," Garfield said softly before tapping the headset.
Walking up to the cocooned Marcus, Garfield gently set down the motion tracker and reached up to pat the man's face. "Marcus? Marcus, can you hear me?" Garfield asked. Marcus slowly began to stir, wheezing and moaning uncomfortably before his eyes fluttered open.
"Uh? Huh?" Marcus asked groggily as he looked around. Marcus glanced over to his right and looked at the Hoffman-Egg, grimacing in realization of his fate before he noticed Garfield and Elliot. "E-Elliot? Garfield?" Marcus asked, confused by their presence.
"W-What are you doing here?" Marcus asked them. "We're, uh, looking for the alien," Garfield replied. Marcus tilted his head and looked at him quizzically. "We're gonna lead it into a trap. We figure the maintenance garage has thick enough floors to withstand this thing's blood, so Milo and Rains are waiting in there with shotguns loaded with metal slugs. We're gonna lure the bastard into the garage, and then Milo and Rains are gonna fill it full of holes," Garfield explained.
"Then don't waste your time with me," Marcus said tiredly. "No way. We've found you, and we don't know how long it'll take before that egg over there-wait, was that... Hoffman?" Garfield asked as he took a closer look at the developing egg. "It was," Marcus replied somberly, glancing at the Hoffman-Egg with an expression of dismay on his face.
"As I was saying, we don't know how long we have before that thing is done growing. By the time we get back, that thing could hatch, and you'll be a host for another facehugger," Garfield said as he grabbed at the resin covering Marcus's arms and pulled at it. "Come on! Break," Garfield grumbled as he tugged against the resin.
BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP...
BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...
BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...
Marcus looked around before seeing the motion tracker on the floor, listening to the beeps as they got louder and closer together. "Uh... guys?" Marcus asked in alarm. "Just hold on," Garfield grunted as he kept tugging at the resin. A small fracture had begun to form in part of the resin he was pulling back.
BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...
BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...
BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...
Garfield and Elliot both stopped what they were doing as they turned around to glance at the motion tracker on the floor. Elliot walked over and picked it up, seeing a blinking white dot moving closer to their position. "Garfield... hide," Elliot said as he looked at the wall near the entrance of the shower room.
BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...
BEEP... ... BEEP... BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
Garfield picked up his flashlight and slowly watched the corners of the wall by the entrance waiting to see which side the alien would appear behind.
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
"Where is it?" Garfield asked as the beeping continued, until he heard something above him. Glancing up at the ceiling, Garfield and Elliot saw the smooth dome of Yellow Bill as it pulled itself out of a maintenance duct. The two men stepped back as the creature crawled along the ceiling, before it finally let go with its front limbs and lowered itself down to the floor, hands first.
Yellow Bill was soon crouched on all fours, its tail being the last appendage to reach the floor, before it slowly began to stand up. The eyeless beast faced its domed head towards Garfield and Elliot before slowly curling its lips to reveal it metallic teeth. Elliot glared at the alien and stepped in front of Garfield.
"Slowly, make your way to the wall. When I give the signal, run like hell back to the garage," Elliot whispered to Garfield. Garfield quickly nodded his head as he stood behind the droid.
As Yellow Bill stood up to its full height, it slowly walked forward, one foot at a time until it was face to face with Elliot. It could detect the pheromones of the prey hiding behind the figure in front of it, but the figure in front of it, which looked and sounded like its prey, had no pheromones. Yellow Bill tilted its head and closed its lips, confused by this development.
Garfield slowly began to inch himself away from Elliot, keeping his eyes on the alien as he backed away, making as little noise as possible. Elliot kept perfectly still as he glared at the alien, standing up straight and broadening his shoulders as much as possible to intimidate it. Because he was still shorter than the alien, this had very little effect.
Yellow Bill leaned forward to sniff Elliot using its almost imperceptible nostrils and other sensory organs lining its head. The image that was projected back into its brain and collection of cognitive organs was that of prey that did not feel like prey. This was confusing to Yellow Bill, and warranted further investigation as it reached a hand out and grasped it around the front of Elliot's head.
Elliot made no response, and his lack of pheromone reaction caused the alien to let go of him and back away, turning to look at Garfield as he tried to slowly sneak away. Yellow Bill hissed at the man, causing his pheromone levels to jump as he became frightened and surprised. Yellow Bill had found prey that it was familiar with now, and its lips curled up into a smile as it slowly stepped forward, drawing out Garfield's fear and anxiety as much as possible.
"Garfield... RUN!" Elliot snapped, causing Garfield to sprint forward, dashing towards the wall as quickly as possible. Yellow Bill quickly followed him, leaping onto the wall and then jumping onto Garfield's back, pushing him onto the floor and smacking his headset. Garfield cried out in pain and surprise.
"Garfield?" Burns asked over the headset. "Garfield, what's happening!? Talk to me!" Burns exclaimed over the headset as Yellow Bill stood up and lifted Garfield off of the floor. Elliot rushed forward, charging the alien and knocking it over, grappling with it as he tackled it to the floor with his android strength.
"Garfield! Go! Get to the garage! I'll hold it off long enough for you to get a head start!" Elliot yelled out as Garfield tried to push himself up from the floor. Yellow Bill hissed at Elliot and pushed the android off of it. Elliot quickly kicked at Yellow Bill's legs as it tried to stand up, sweeping it off balance for a brief moment.
Deciding that the non-prey was now a threat, Yellow Bill turned its attention fully to Elliot, who was now picking himself up off the floor and retrieving Garfield's wrench from the floor. He held the wrench defensively as Yellow Bill began to circle him, snarling before opening its mouth to reveal its inner jaws. Elliot glanced over and saw Garfield running over past the wall at the entrance, before returning his attention to Yellow Bill.
Elliot then dropped his defensive stance. "Well? Go ahead. Chase after him," Elliot said, imploring the alien. Yellow Bill tilted its curiously at Elliot, before lunging forward with lightning fast speed, knocking the android to the floor. Elliot swung the wrench upward, hitting Yellow Bill in the side of its domed head, causing it to shriek.
Yellow Bill quickly swung its tail around to smack Elliot in the head before grabbing his right arm and placing its right hand on Elliot's chest to apply pressure. Yellow Bill then smiled cruelly as it began to pull on Elliot's right arm. Elliot grimaced as the artificial nerve endings and receptors in his body relayed the pain of his arm being pulled out of its socket to his artificial brain. He began hitting the alien in the side with his free arm and hand, trying to place his left hand around the alien's throat as it leaned its eyeless domed face closer to his own.
"You... son of a... bitch!" Elliot spat at Yellow Bill. Yellow Bill merely let out a hiss before pushing the arm back towards Elliot... and then violently wrenching it away, causing white fluid to spray out from the socket. Elliot cried out as his pain receptors went into overload.
Yellow Bill let out what sounded like a defiant and victorious squeal before it dropped Elliot's arm and placed both hands around the droid's neck, twisting it and snapping it off of his body, spilling white fluid everywhere, spraying it onto Marcus's face and the walls. Yellow Bill's front was covered in android pressure fluid, or synthetic blood as it was commonly known. The alien reached back down and began tearing the rest of Elliot's limbs from his body, throwing them across the room to make sure that he could not interfere anymore.
Standing back up, Yellow Bill looked over at the shower room's privacy wall blocking the exit doorway. It then glanced up at the ceiling before leaping up and crawling over to re-enter the maintenance shaft. Meanwhile, still attached to the wall, the Hoffman-Egg began to slowly pulsate as it entered the final stages of its development.
Garfield grabbed a hold of the wall as he sharply turned a corner. He glanced back over his shoulder to check for the alien as he made his way back to the maintenance garage. "Keep moving, Marvin. Keep moving," Garfield panted to himself.
"Garfield! This is Burns! What's going on!? What's happening!?" Burns asked him over his headset. "The alien... is chasing after me," Garfield replied, almost out of breath as he kept running through the corridors.
"I'm almost-shit! Oh shit!" Garfield exclaimed as he realized that he had taken a wrong turn. He couldn't remember the correct path back to the maintenance garage. "What is it!? What's wrong!?" Burns asked him. "I... I-I think I got turned around!" Garfield panted into the headset.
"I'm not... not familiar enough with this place," Garfield said in dismay. He then heard rattling in the ceiling above him. Looking up, he saw a maintenance hatch begin to open. He quickly bolted for the nearest intersection seeing a sign for Section 03-C. Garfield quickly took the path and ran through the corridor until he slipped on something.
Falling onto his back, Garfield cried out in surprise and pain before rolling over and raising a hand to rub the back of his head. He looked down at the floor where he had slipped and saw some kind of slime on the bottom of his shoes. "Son of a bitch," he muttered as he slowly got up and began to turn around.
His progress was halted when a black six-fingered hand slammed into his face and sent him stumbling back. "Gyahh!" Garfield cried out as he fell back against the floor. He quickly rolled over and pushed himself back up into a semi-kneeling position, with one knee on the floor and his other one in the air with a foot on the ground. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder as Yellow Bill stepped forward, its domed head angled so that he could see the ridged structure underneath it.
"Burns... I can't make it," Garfield said into his headset. "Why?" she asked him. "It won't let me get there," Garfield answered as Yellow Bill raised its head and curled its lips into a snarl. It took another step forward, its tail swaying on the floor behind it.
"Where's Elliot?" Burns asked him. "I don't know, but I don't think he's in better shape than I am right now," Garfield said as he took in the sight of the white liquid splattered on the Xenomorph's front side. Garfield then tapped the headset and took it off before taking a deep breath to prepare himself.
Garfield slowly stood up and balled his hands into fists, taking a boxing stance. He knew he didn't stand a chance, but he also knew that running would be futile as well. "Let's see if you remember me," Garfield said as he glanced at his bandaged right fist.
Yellow Bill stepped forward, and Garfield charged, sending his right fist forward, only for it to be caught in Yellow Bill's left hand. Yellow Bill then grabbed Garfield's arm with its other hand and applied pressure, twisting his wrist. "Aaaarrrggghh!" Garfield cried out in pain.
Yellow Bill smiled at Garfield before letting go and grabbing him by the throat with its right hand, lifting the man into the air as it walked over and slammed him against a wall. "So, you do remember me," Garfield muttered. Yellow Bill soon revealed its metallic teeth as its smile widened, before opening its mouth to reveal its inner jaws with a gurgling sound.
Garfield gulped before narrowing his eyes at the beast. "Go ahead, asshole! I'll see you in hell!"
THE SECURITY CENTER...
"Garfield? Garfield!?" Burns asked into the headset. There was no response. "Is he...?" Bowman asked her hesitantly. "I don't know. His headset is turned off," Burns replied.
"What about Milo and Rains?" Bowman asked her. "We haven't contacted them yet," Burns replied. "Well, maybe we should check on them," Bowman suggested. Burns nodded her head in agreement, just as Hansen entered the room. "Okay, what'd I miss?" Hansen asked as he walked over to the monitoring station.
"Elliot and Garfield found the creature's nest," Burns said. Hansen stopped walking. "They... they did?" he asked her. "Yeah. And then the alien found them," Burns added. "Did they manage to... lure it to the garage?" Hansen asked her.
Burns turned around in her seat and looked at him somberly. "No," she said tersely. Hansen inhaled quietly and looked down at the floor before releasing a breath. "What about Milo and Rains?" Hansen asked her after a minute of silence.
"We were just getting ready to contact them," Burns replied as she fiddled with her headset. "Come in, Rains, this is Burns. Please respond," Burns said.
"This is Rains. I heard what happened over the open frequency. What do you want us to do?" Rains asked her. "Rains, I want you and Milo to stay where you are. I'm coming down," Burns said as she got up.
"Wait, what!?" Bowman asked her. "Someone has to finish the job," Burns replied. "You won't make it. Just call them back up and-" "No!" Burns snapped at Bowman. "This thing has to die!" she barked. "We've lost too much already to just back down and run away! This thing dies tonight! Understand me!? It fucking dies!" Burns yelled.
"Now, you can get your things and run away if you want to, but I'm staying. I'll kill this thing by myself if I have to, but it has to be done. So, go ahead. Run away with your tail tucked between your legs," Burns continued.
"I'll go with you," Hansen said. "So will I," Bowman said reluctantly. "Uh, Burns, do you mind not shouting into the headpiece?" Rains asked over the headset. "Fuck off," Burns spat. "Your concern is truly commendable," Rains said sarcastically.
"Just stay where you are right now. I have a new plan to get this thing into the garage where you can kill it," Burns said. "You do?" Rains asked. "You do?" Hansen and Bowman asked her.
"I do," Burns said. "Hansen, I need you to reset a few major systems for me," Burns said. "Which systems do you have in mind?" Hansen asked her. "I need you to reset the fire control system," Burns said.
"Wait, why?" Hansen asked her. "I'm going to use Garfield's suggestion. We're gonna use fire to push this thing where we want it to go," Burns explained.
"You're... you've lost your goddamn mind," Hansen said. "Whatever it takes, this thing has to die. We can't let it live, and we can't risk letting it escaping," Burns retorted. "And you think that means the rest of us want to die too!? Fuck you, Burns!" Hansen snapped back at her.
"Then tell Martin to call for someone to pick us up. I'll go down there and flush it into the maintenance garage where Milo and Rains can kill it, while the rest of you wait for a ride. Happy?" Burns asked him.
"Uh, Burns? Milo and I can both still hear you over the headset. I think maybe you should just let one of us go out into the halls and lure the thing back here to the garage. There's a lot less destruction involved that way," Rains said.
"Do either of you have a motion tracker with you? Would you know where it is?" Burns asked them. "Shit. No, we don't," Rains admitted over the headset. "Then stay put. I'll-oh no," Burns said as she turned to look at the monitors. "Rains! Milo! Get your asses in gear! It's in the room with you!" Burns shouted as she saw the camera feed for the maintenance garage go dark.
Glancing over at the weapons on the nearby table, Burns grabbed a revolver and harness, along with a shotgun before loading it with some slugs and pocketing a few others in her jacket. She then quickly limped out of the security center as fast as she could, with Bowman and Hansen both close behind. "Burns, wait!" Bowman called out as he caught up with her.
"By the time you get a suit on and get in the airlock-" "I'm not using the airlock! Hansen, unlock one of the elevators!" Burns snapped as she listened to the sounds of Rains and Milo battling the alien over her headset.
"Milo, watch out!" Rains shouted before gun shots were heard.
"I don't see it anymore! Where did it go!?" Milo shouted over the headset. "It's above you! Look out!" Rains soon shouted over the headset.
More gunshots soon echoed over the headset, along with Milo's screams of terror. "Milo!" Rains screamed in horror before more gun shots were heard. "Just hold on, Rains! We're on our way!" Burns yelled into the headset as she pushed Bowman back and resumed hobbling over to the nearest elevator.
"Get back! Get away from me!" Rains screamed as he fired his shotgun.
When Burns arrived at the elevator, she began pressing the CALL button. "Hansen! Unlock this elevator!" she shouted as she looked at the man standing next to Bowman in the hallway. "HANSEN!" Burns shouted angrily.
More gunfire echoed over the headset, before an alarm went off. "WARNING. ELECTRICAL FIRE DETECTED IN MAINTENANCE GARAGE. INITITATING FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM IN MAINTENANCE GARAGE IN T-MINUS NINETY SECONDS," the station's automated emergency system announced over the speakers.
"Shit!" Burns swore. She soon heard weak coughing over the headset. "Rains? Rains!?" Burns asked worriedly into her headset. "It... I hit it, Burns. [Cough] I hit the bastard. But its blood hit some exposed cables on the floor and the wall," Rains said weakly over the headset.
"Rains, just get out of the garage and get back up here. You've killed the alien, and we know where its nest is located. I'll make my way down with Bowman and Hansen to finish the job. Just get back up here," Burns said into the headset.
"I didn't say that I-" Soon, there was a raspy cry over the headset and then the sound of plastic skidding over the floor. Burns could no longer hear Rains. "Rains?" Burns asked worriedly. "Rains, please come in. Rains? Rains, please!" Burns pleaded over the headset.
"FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM WILL COMMENCE IN T-MINUS TWENTY SECONDS."
Burns could feel a stinging sensation in her eyes before she reached up to wipe away the tears. "Hansen, I'm giving you one more chance," Burns said darkly as she turned around to look at the last remaining security officer. "Go back and unlock this fucking elevator," she ordered.
Hansen closed his eyes and sighed. "Burns, please think about this for a minute," Hansen said, before Burns pulled out her revolver and cocked it. "Hansen... I'm in charge now. Follow my fucking orders," she said darkly. "Burns... please, put the gun down," Bowman pleaded with her.
"I'm not leaving Rains down there to die," she said, choking up. "Give me the gun... and I'll go with you," Bowman said as he kept his hands raised where Burns could see them. "Promise?" she asked him.
Bowman nodded his head. "I promise," he said firmly. Burns then looked over at Hansen. "Hansen? Are you going to unlock this elevator?" she asked. "Fine. I'll go-" Hansen was interrupted when the lights blacked out.
"What the hell!?" Bowman cried out. "The electrical fire! It must have spread outside of the maintenance garage!" Burns cried out. "WARNING. EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN INITIATED. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST DESIGNATED SAFE ZONE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. WARNING. EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN INITIATED. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST DESIGNATED SAFE ZONE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS," the station's computer systems announced as red lights soon came on.
"Where are the nearest designated safe zones?" Bowman asked. "The security center, rec room, and operations center," Hansen replied. "Then let's head back to the security center," Bowman suggested.
"But, Rains-" "I'm sorry, Burns. But if the fire has spread... at least he killed the alien," Bowman said apologetically. Burns slowly let out a mournful sigh before slamming a fist against the wall. Bowman walked over and put his arm around her shoulder to begin leading her back to the security center with Hansen.
Author's Notes: And this was chapter eleven. So, is Yellow Bill dead? Will the station be consumed by an electrical fire? Will Burns finally let Bowman tap her sweet, sweet ass?
The answers to all of these questions will be answered... in the next and final chapter of ALIEN BALL Z! I mean, ALIEN: HARD-HEADS!
My next story after this one will be another ALIEN story, this time involving the United States Colonial Army. I know that it's traditional to use the Colonial Marines, but I think they get more coverage than any other group in the ALIEN universe, you know? The Colonial Army, however, has gotten almost no coverage in any films or ALIEN literature, aside from a few bits of text from the ALIENS: Colonial Marines Technical Manual. Granted, it's referred to as the United States Army, but it still exists. Anyway, more information about the plot of the story is available on my profile page.
Anyhow, be sure to let me know what you guys think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.
