CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Danny nearly shot Walter who had rounded the corner. In his left hand was the decapitated head of an alien. The acidic blood left a trail of smoke in its wake.
Even knowing it was Walter, she still wasn't sure if she shouldn't shoot him. How could she trust any synthetic anymore? They could all turn on her! Not only that, she had a feeling Walter knew exactly who David was.
"You must leave, Danny," he quietly told her. "The Covenant is no longer safe. You have to take an escape pod and go."
"No! I can't leave everyone else behind. How could I when - ?" She never finished as Walter interrupted her to break the devastating news.
"No one else is alive," he stated. "David had planted Ovomorphs - eggs - in every room. Anyone who has gone in are dead and have been used as breeding vessels for more Xenomorphs. Leave, Danny. I do not wish for you to perish with everyone else."
She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "How could you say that after all you've done? Why didn't you tell me that David was among us? You knew how he was!"
Walter smiles guiltily back at her. "Perhaps there is something inherently wrong with me or perhaps David had changed me after bringing me back onto the ship, but I felt…. happy doing as he ordered. I know I cannot ask this of you, but I hope that one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me."
Danny shook her head in despair. How could she when he was part of the reason why she lost everything?
"That is only to be expected. You must flee as soon as possible. I will protect you the best I can, but there is not much time to spare." Walter knew that there were baby Xenomorphs everywhere by now. He could do his best to protect Danny, but even that wouldn't be enough. They could easily overwhelm him and just by killing one, he had managed to melt off the back of his arm. He had changed into a new uniform to hide it, but his functionality was no longer optimal. There weren't many uses left for him. "Please, Danny. You just survive."
"Why does it even matter so much to you?" she cried. Even knowing that he might betray her, she still had memories of them together. He had always been there to support her no matter what.
He looked away from her. The look of vulnerability looked so out of place on his perfectly sculpted face. "I do not wish to burden you further with the reasons behind my intentions."
What nonsense was he spouting now? "Tell me, Walter. Give me a reason to believe you because right now, it feels like you'll stab me in the back as soon as I turn around."
"Danny…"
The way he said her name…. all the emotions that were supposed to be impossible for a synthetic like him, almost consumed her. His intentions were clear just by the utterance of her name.
"Walter, why…? When?!" How was she supposed to process this? This was the last thing she wanted to deal with while her life was constantly on the line.
"It no longer matters. It has happened. We must make haste. There is no more time to lose." He turned away and began to walk towards the emergency escape door.
Danny clenched her hands. All this time? Was this even before Jake died?
She recalled all the times Walter dotes on her and wondered how she could've missed the signs. Perhaps she had been too biased thinking synthetics could never feel human emotions. They had clearly proved her wrong. And although she would never be able to reciprocate his feelings, she wondered if things could've been different had she only been more attentive instead of treating him as just another tool to use.
"Walter, I'm sorry…" she whispered once she caught up to him.
He kept his gaze in front of him. "There is no need to apologise. I could never assume that anything would ever come out of such foolish dreams."
Still, Danny was the one to feel like a fool. "We'll get out of here together, okay?"
He nodded.
There was a long bang to the door right beside Danny, startling her and causing her to point her gun at the door. Several echoing bangs came from other rooms. The aliens were all awake. She couldn't tell how big they are, but she wasn't going to stay around to find out.
They ran down the hall, trying their best to ignore the sound of impending danger. Were they able to outrun these things? Unlikely, but they had to try. The escape room was close.
Just a little more…
Just a little more…
*Bang!*
Walter sharply turned to stop one of the aliens from pouncing on her. When he tossed it to the side, she shot it in the chest several times. The creature twitched on the metal floor, but never got up again. Its blood oozed out and melted straight through, causing it to creak in protest.
"Hurry! Go in!" He beckoned for her to enter the room and practically pushed her into the escape pod and closed the door in one fluid motion.
Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that he wasn't going to come with her. "Walter! Walter!" She babes uselessly against the circular window.
He gave her a small smile, placing his hand on the thick glass. He couldn't join her, but that was for the best.
She shook her head at him, tears streaming down her face. Again, she was going to lose someone close to him and this time, she was truly going to be alone.
With her heart at the pit of her stomach, she watched him prepare for the launch.
Her eyes drifted to the side where a dark body was lurking in the shadows almost out of sight, poised to strike at any moment.
Her shouting regained vigour as she tried her best to inform Walter of the impending danger, but there was a series of loud beeps.
"Launching escape pod in 10… 9…"
Her vision blurred from tears.
The creature drew closer and closer.
"8… 7… 6…"
Walter turned to her, his face peaceful as if he had long since accepted his fate, but that wasn't fair! Why did he have to leave her, too?
"5… 4… 3…"
"Please… I don't want to be alone…" she sobbed, banging weakly at the window as the last of her energy seeped out of her.
"2…"
"... 1…"
"Launching escape pod."
"WALTER!"
The world outside was a streak of blended colours as she was shot straight into the sky."
The pressure had her pressed against the wall, unable to move until she was back in space and was able to sit herself down.
She felt sick…
Surely, this has to be a terrible nightmare right? There was no one everyone was dead and she was the only one left.
Just days ago, they had been happy - finally making progress. Their colony was thriving. Where had she gone wrong?
Could David really have orchestrated everything on his own without being detected? It was hard to say what synthetics were truly capable of.
What was she to do now? Where was she to go?
It barely seemed worth it to keep going.
What was she fighting for?
She was desolate light years away from home with no one.
*Creaaaaaaak!*
Her heart stopped.
What was that?
*Creaaaaaak!*
A sinking feeling filled her stomach.
She was alone, wasn't she?
Then who or what was making that sound?
Grabbing her gun, she slowly turned around to face the darkness behind her. Every once in a while, the lights would flash, illuminating what appeared to be a perfectly normal space of essential equipment.
"It's fine, Danny. You're imagining things because of stress. It's perfectly normal," she mumbled to herself. "Probably the most normal thing that could happen to you at a time like this, so stop being a wimp and - "
*Tap…. Tap…. Tap…"
The sound was coming from behind her now, but there was nothing behind her except for the control panel and the large window with a view of the vast universe ahead of her.
Looking one more time to make sure there was nothing in the locker area, she swirled back around in her chair and froze as a strange beige, crab-like creature with a long tail greeted her on top of the lit up plastic buttons.
She slowly moved to point her gun at it, but realized it was too close, so she gently pushed herself away.
That was all it took for the facehugger to launch itself at her.
The legs wrapped around the side of her face and the belly pushed down against her nose, making it difficult to breathe. The moment she opened her mouth, a tube thrust in. She gagged at the intrusion, struggling futilely to get it off her, but it was hopeless.
The gun clattered uselessly on to the floor as she tried to claw it off her face. The hard exoskeleton only served to rip her nails off. The pain was nothing compared to her need for survival.
She couldn't let it end like this…
Not like this…
Her vision wavered, darkening around the edges as she couldn't seem to get any oxygen into her lungs.
All those lives…
Tennessee…
Walter…
Jake…
What had they died for…?
…
Walter turned to see that his dark companion had slinked in.
"Hello."
He smiled.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry this was so short! I thought it'd be a good place to stop. Haha!
Please don't kill me!
Even though I uuh… Kinda killed everyone else?
Oops…
Anyone you're particularly upset about?
Hah…
Anyway! Thank you nanabeastie273, BrySt1, MageVicky, Larita1976, NICOLE1408, acetwolf94, an guest (Sarah) for reviewing!
Thank you as well to everyone who has favourite and followed this story.
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Also, stay safe!