Around the splintered tables and over the mangled chairs, ten Colonial Marines and one ordinary adolescent did their best not to slip on rotting food as they neared the gaping entryway. Stephens took the lead, followed by Kara, the Pack Mule, and the rest of the men. Their shoulder lights had kicked back on, dimly piercing the darkness and illuminating the metal flights as they spiraled downwards. Kara took notice of how the walls began to change. The smooth metal panels were now covered with lumps of a shiny grey substance. There were some parts where the lumps looked like ribbed tubes, appearing from the walls and then then dissolving back into them. The walls also seemed to be closing in on them as they descended, the grey stuff now reaching from the walls and clinging to the railing. Besides the hushed breathing of the Marines and the thumping of her own heart in her ears, Kara could hear a wet crackling, popping sound. She stifled a disgusted "ugh" when she saw that it was the walls, floor, and ceiling, all overtaken with the grey mass, that was making that sound. It was oozing and dripping a gross clear slime that reminded her of ungodly thick saliva. It felt like the staircase would never end and they would be tortured by the sound of the slimy walls for all eternity, but they eventually came to a small grated platform (also coated in slime).
More stairs descended to their right. To their left, the platform led into a large open room with more branching hallways. It was impossible to distinguish what the room once was, as it was completely overtaken with the grey mass. In some parts, it reached down from the ceiling and created a lumpy pillar. And the sound, that wet popping sound, only intensified and it made Kara's skin crawl.
Stephens quietly addressed the Pack Mule and his iPad. They both made a few hand gestures, exchanged head nods, and then Stephens beckoned for everyone to gather around him.
"We're on the upper level of the hive. The target is two floors below us."
He spared a quick glance at Kara. "We're going to check each level for survivors on our way- better to do it now before shit hits the fan," he directed it towards a few men who shifted uneasily. "We do it thoroughly but as quickly as possible."
"And if we find any?" Kara asked hesitantly.
"We'll send you and two others back to the surface with them," he said. "Get them to safety and stay there."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. He searched her eyes, hoping to find that spark he had seen back at the hotel. That fierce, albeit slightly irrational, courage and unyielding devotion. He hoped that what they had already seen and the idea of what lay ahead hadn't extinguished it. But when he looked, he saw it. Though fear had eaten some of it away, it was there, still burning in those green irises. And that gave him hope; hope that they would find her family, that they would be able to complete their mission, and that she would make it out of this alive.
"That's your duty, soldier. Get survivors to safety."
Kara straightened, jaw set and eyes sharpened, though still tainted with uncertainty. My duty.
Stephens nodded, as if hearing her thoughts. This is it, kid. I believe in you. I know you're willing to go in there and kick ass until you drop, but PLEASE don't do anything stupid. This is a make or break situation. You better not break us, or so help me god, I'll find you in the fucking afterlife and wring your neck.
Everyone turned towards the large room and its slimy corridors. Their steps squished unsettlingly as they started to cross the wet, uneven floor. Ahead of them were four separate hallways leading into darkness, still and silent save for fain drips of slime. A quick scan from another piece of the Pack Mule's equipment show that the four halls eventually met up and led to another staircase. Stephens split the group up into three groups of three and one group of two… himself and Kara. Even though he felt that she would be fine with any of his men, he wanted to keep tabs on her. He supposed that he felt responsible for protecting her.
Without a word, the group split up, Kara and Stephens taking the right-most hall. Looking behind her, Kara gulped as she saw the lights from the other men slowly disappearing down the other halls. She prayed that she'd see them again at the convergence.
The two crept down the hall, which was rounding out and looked more like a tunnel the farther they went. Kara kept her gun low, arms tense, occasionally wiping the cold sweat from her shaking hands. Her eyes darted over the walls, following Stephens' flashlight as he looked. She felt as if they were pressing in on her, wrapping their slimy tendrils around her lungs and her head and squeezing. Though she had never experienced claustrophobia before, she imagined that this is what it felt like.
They walked a few more feet down the tunnel, noticing nothing out of the ordinary (or, as ordinary as you can get in a fucking alien hive). The walls hadn't changed significantly, but the tunnel itself was starting to curve to the left. They were getting closer to the convergence. Kara felt a small wave of relief wash over her. During their trek (which must have lasted only 10 or 15 minutes) she had not heard a single scream, hiss, growl, gunshot, or ominous footstep ahead or behind them. For once, the silence was welcoming. At least, it was for a few seconds. That was until Kara's eyes froze and she suddenly clutched Stephens' arm, yanking him to a halt. He spun his head to look at her, training his flashlight on her face. Her features had grown taunt and pale, eyes wide and staring, lips pursed, nose flared. Her breathing was coming short and rapid, and her fingers dug into his arm even through his thick uniform.
"What?" he whispered frantically. He hadn't heard anything before she stopped him. She must have seen something. "What is it?"
She said nothing, eyes unwavering. She picked her arm up slowly, hand still clenching her pistol. A trembling finger pointed ahead. Stephens followed her finger with his flashlight, illuminating the curve in the wall just ahead of them. His blood froze. "Oh God…"
It was a face. Sunken, drooping, and as grey and lifeless as the walls surrounding it. Its eyes were closed but there was a white, pussy liquid flowing from under the lids and running down its hollow cheeks. Its jaw hung slack in an eternal moan of pain, exposing a spongy-looking black tongue framed by once pristine white teeth. The skin looked slightly puffy and swollen from being surrounded by constant moisture, but it wasn't bloated. It just looked like it was slowly melting away under the slime. Besides the face, the only other part of this corpse that was exposed was its chest. Rather, what was left of it. The flesh and ribs were mangled, as were a majority of the visible internal organs. The wound, though just bigger than Stephens' fist, looked like the gaping maw of some vicious monster. All of the inner organic material was just as spongy and puffy as the face had been. A few pieces of lung even dangled from the opening.
Stephens swallowed the bile that was rising in the throat. "Oh… God." He felt Kara trembling beside him as his flashlight roamed over the body. He caught a glint of something rectangular poking out of the mass that clung to the body like webbing. It took nearly all of his fucking courage to take those three steps forward to get a better look. Kara's grip tightened in protest, not wanting to look at the horrific sight any longer. Using the tip of his gun, Stephens moved a bit of the slime away from what he discovered to be a name tag.
"Goddammit," he breathed. "It's one of the scientists. Poor bastard…"
He looked down at Kara. That spark in her eye was nearly depleted, replaced by pure fear and terror. Her heart was pounding faster than she thought it ever could, the furious rush of blood making her skin tingle. Her gut was churning not only at the sight of the corpse, but at the thought of the indescribable agony this poor person must have experienced. It was pretty easy to figure out that this is the result of the birthing process Stephens had mentioned in the hotel, and looking down, she saw the rotting remains of a skeletal, spidery-lookin' bitch. She nearly cried thinking of her family having to go through this torture. If they didn't make it in time…
Stephens recognized the look of hopelessness glazing over her features. Oh no you don't. You're not losing that spunk while I'm around. He started walking, pulling her away from nightmare plastered to the wall. Her legs were stiff and protested at the movement, but she followed him like a zombie.
"Come on, Kara. We've got to move," he wrapped an arm around her back and pushed her to walk faster. "I need you. I need that courage. Don't fall short on me now, it'll only get worse-" They rounded the corner and had just about entered the convergence. Fuck. Speak of the Devil.
All of the fucking laboratory staff was there waiting to greet them. Stephens pulled Kara's head into his chest, muffling the cry that escaped her. She had hoped she'd never see anything so horrific as that first corpse ever again, but now the image of slimy grey bodies and spongy innards hanging from the walls would forever be seared into her mind. She scrunched her eyes against the tears that wanted to flow. Get it together. For fucks sake… Mom, Dad, Lukas… Oh God please… please let them be alive.
One group of three was already there, but Kara had hardly noticed them. The other groups entered the convergence soon after, the squish of their steps the only sound besides Kara's soft whimpers. All of them looked wide-eyed and pale. Stephens, thankful they had survived thus far, mouthed "Survivors?" All of his men shook their heads. He grimaced. The stairway was just to their right, coated in a thick layer of gray shit, and it looked like more bodies were lining the walls on the way down.
He glanced at the brown head buried in his chest. She had stopped shaking, but he felt her heart hammering. In this moment, a moment where she let her walls fall down, he realized just how small she was. In the hotel and on the beach, she had held herself tall with such strength that he hardly noticed her miniature frame, but now she had crumpled under terror and a growing sense of despair.
He sighed and bent his neck down to whisper closer to her ear. "Listen, Kara. I know that this is horrible and terrifying and you're feeling way out of your league (which she kinda was). But you can't let this stop you. You've got to power through this for yourself and your family."
Stephens started carefully walking towards the stairs, making sure to note trip her. "Keep your eyes closed until you're ready. You've got until the bottom of the stairs to be ready, though."
Kara nodded and removed her head from his chest. However, she did keep her eyes firmly shut. Stephens kept a hand on her shoulder to support and guide her, so both of her hands had returned to her pistol. Her feet firmly squished on each step, and in her darkness, it seemed that she kept spinning round and round. It was a very disorientating feeling, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes yet. Ready? There's no way in hell I'll ever be ready by the end of the stairs. Come on, girl. Suck it up. You've got to be ready. Be ready!
Her foot hit the ground again, but this time Stephens stopped her. "We made it to the next level… there are-" She heard him swallow. "There are more bodies here. It looks like the hotel staff."
The gruesome sight that met her eyes when they snapped open was worse than the one from the floor above. This level consisted of just three large tunnels that led straight ahead to the adjacent staircase. Every wall was lined with the bodies evenly spaced every few feet, like twisted wall decorations. These ones were not as old; though they were coated in slime and trapped by grey tendrils, their skin still held the fading tint of life. The flesh of their chest wounds weren't as puffy and were a sickly punkish hue. But Stephens had been right. She did recognize them as members of the hotel staff.
Steeling herself against a shudder, Kara looked to Stephens. Her face was cold and stern, but hope was starting to burn in her eyes again. Perhaps her family was still alive, and if they were infected, maybe the Pack Mule had something to save them. Please don't be infected.
"I'm as ready as I'm going to get. Let's hurry up and get through this shit," she whispered. Stephens almost smiled. She's back.
The group split up again, two groups of three and one of four, containing Stephens and Kara. The larger group took the center tunnel, huddled close together and moving quickly so not to have to look at the semi-fresh emaciated bodies for long. One glance at each told them that no one was alive. When they all met back up, the other groups had the same news: not a single living soul. Two whole floors filled with nothing but corpses. This discovery made Kara's blood run cold and her adrenaline spike. Her family…
She practically dragged Stephens down the stairs. "Come on, we've got to move," she said. "My family is running out of time."
Stephens grabbed her forearm and slowed her pace. "Ease up and get your head out of your ass! We've been lucky to not have encountered any Xenos so far. My guess, they'll be on the lower floors with the target and-"
He stopped when she spun to face him. "The fresh meat," she whispered. Her eyes widened. Oh God.
She took off down the stairs as quietly as she could, leaving the men behind. She had to hurry. Her family was running out of time. The pistol was aimed ahead into the darkness. She didn't stop to think about needing light, as she was starting to see a faint glow below her. Some of the lights were still working. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Mom, Dad, Lukas! I'm almost there!
She hit the bottom the stairs, the platform faintly illuminated by the overhead lights covered by grey slime. Before her lay one large room, empty except for the overhanging lights, the ribbed tubes protruding from the walls, and…
"No…"