Chapter 2 – Gateway Station

Hicks was restless. He hated being confined in this sterile white room, in this sterile white bed. It made him think too much and his thoughts always went there. To that planet. Always seeing his team, his friends, being attacked in his mind's eye. Always seeing that alien splatter when he shot the hell out of it and its acid blood spraying him, eating through his chest armor.

Hicks closed his eyes at the memory of seeing the dead colonists hanging from the walls, held in place by secreted alien resin, their chest cavities blown open by the creatures that had burst through. He prayed those of his team that had gotten captured, and not instantly killed, didn't have to go through that kind of death, that the colony's atmosphere processor had exploded before that, sparing them the agony.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door chime. "Yeah, come in." When the door slid open, he was surprised to see two people he didn't think he'd ever see again.

Ripley and Newt stepped in. "Hey there," said Ripley as she approached the side of Hicks' bed. "How're you feeling?"

"I dunno. How do I look?" he asked.

"Not too bad. For someone who's gone through hell and back. How's your eye?"

"It's okay. They fixed it. I have to put these god-awful drops in it every four hours. I swear I can taste the stuff when it goes in my eye."

"But we made it out alive."

Hicks nodded his head and looked down.

"Hicks, I never got a chance to say this, but I'm sorry about your team."

"Yeah, so am I," he said slowly, still looking down.

"What're you going to do when you get out of here?" asked Ripley, trying to lighten the somber mood in the room.

He looked back up at her. "I've been promoted to Sergeant. I get my own team."

"Congratulations," said Ripley with a smile. She was unsure if he was happy about the promotion or not. "I'm glad for you."

"So what're you going to be doing?" he wanted to know.

"I'm going home. Maybe start growing vegetables."

When she laughed, Hicks realized she was joking. He couldn't picture her being a farmer. Newt had been standing slightly behind Ripley the whole time and she tugged on Ripley's shirt several times.

"Oh, Newt wanted to say hello." Ripley lifted her up to sit on the side of the bed.

"Hey, kid," said Hicks as Newt turned to face him, her blue eyes wide and bewildered. He smiled at her and she reluctantly returned it. "How's Travis?"

"He's okay. They wouldn't let me bring him in here," she said sadly. Then she held her hand open.

Hicks looked down at a silver chain with a pendant on it. The pendant was also made of silver and was shaped like a small lizard. "What's this?"

"It's my good luck charm. It's a newt, just like me. You can have it so you can have good luck, too."

Hicks looked up at her, deeply into her blue eyes. "I can't take your good luck charm, kid. It came in handy for you. You should keep it."

"But I want you to have it."

Hicks glanced up at Ripley, who raised her eyebrows and motioned for him to take it. "Okay. I'll take it." He took the chain and slipped it over his head so the pendant rested on his bandaged chest. "Thanks. I'll wear it all the time."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." The kid smiled at him and reached over to give him a hug. He hugged her back, even though his shoulder was on fire from the movement. Then she pulled away and hopped off the bed. Hicks had a feeling that he wasn't going to see her again. He didn't think he was ever going to see Ripley either. He was going to miss seeing them both. But the memories were painful and seeing them would only bring back the memories, the bad ones, at least.

Ripley moved closer and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "Take care of yourself, Dwayne."

"Yeah, Ellen, you too."

Ripley held her hand out to the girl. "Let's go Newt. We have a shuttle to catch."

Newt turned back to Hicks and waved with a smile. "Bye."

"Bye," he said, holding his hand up in response.

After they left and the door slid closed, Hicks lifted the charm hanging on the end of the chain and inspected it curiously. "Good luck charm, huh? We'll see about that."