Chapter Seven

Cerberus Station

Quietus Star System

Colt stared at lower half of Shanti's corpse. Shanti lay on the floor mutilated, the bits of brown flesh was enough for him. Blood was everywhere around the shaft. His lips were flat and stern. His eyes were expressionless. He was numb. Seeing friends die tend to make a marine numb over time. He sighed and looked away. He didn't want to look at her anymore. "Cole anything on the second level?" Colt called out.

"Nothing, just a shit load of blood. Clearly Shanti's upper half left without the other end." Cole shouted back.

"Can you guys show a bit more respect?" Jesus said.

Colt looked at the doctor. He wouldn't understand. A person who dances with death and spends time with death, slowly loses there humanity around the dead. "She's dead Jesus. There's nothing we can do for her but find out what made her that way." Colt spoke softly.

Jesus looked at Colt. He opened his mouth to protest but he nodded instead. The doctor seemed to understand Cole and Colt. "Very well, Colt." Jesus whispered and kneeled by Shanti's remains.

Colt watched Cole slide down the blood soaked ladder. He nodded to the man. Blood seemed not to bother Cole in the slightest. He saw Cole stare down at Shanti and saw a flare of rage in his eyes. Colt knew that feeling too well. When death comes like it had to Shanti, a man either feels numb or rage. Grief will come later but right now, Colt knew they both just wanted to find out what happened. "She was ripped in half. Her flesh is torn, as if she was attacked by something with claws. There is some other tearing as well, as if someone were pulling on her legs." Jesus said and looked up at the ladder.

Colt watched the man point toward the threshold at the deck above them. "She was suspended between decks. Something was pulling her up. Also there's a boot print on the underside of the deck." Jesus spoke. "Chris was below her, trying to pull her back down. Whatever was above her had to be what cut her in half."

Colt wondered what the hell could do that to a person. He looked up at Chris's bloody boot print. The print was only partial. That would mean Chris was literally upside down trying to save Shanti. "Whatever had Shanti, pulled up Chris as well. Whatever it is, it's incredibly strong." Colt said.

Jesus nodded. "Yeah are correct. Its strength had to be monstrous. It was a game of tug-of-war with Shanti in the middle. Chris lost." Jesus whispered.

Colt nodded his head. "So where's Chris?" Cole asked.

Colt looked down at the deck. He looked around and froze. Behind them he noticed bloody boot prints. "He ran back toward us, apparently."

"So he's still alive? Why didn't we run into him?" Cole asked.

Colt noticed a second set of tracks. They weren't human in the slightest. They appeared to be long and narrow. Colt kneeled by a set of prints. They were bare foot prints. The toes were considerably longer than a human. He saw light scratch marks on the steel just ahead of the print. Whatever chased after Chris had clawed feet. "Whatever got Shanti, chased Chris." Colt stated.

"By the saints." Jesus whispered.

"Sam come in." Sandra spoke over the comm.

"What's up Captain?" Colt replied.

"Katarina ran back to the control center covered in blood. She said she saw something kill Chris." Sandra sounded disturbed. "She was on B level when it happened and she said it had a long bladed tail and an elongated head."

Colt's eye widened. He didn't like the sound of that, not one single bit. When he was still in corps there were rumors about that the lost crew of the Sulaco encountered a hostile alien at Hadley's Hope that had an elongated head. He shook his head his head from side to side. Couldn't be possible, no way in hell those rumors could be true. "Well guys, looks like whatever got Shanti, got Chris." Colt spoke. "I think its best we get everyone to the control center."

Cole nodded his head. "Good idea, we'll be better in a group. Let's head back and get Sara."

Jesus smiled weakly. "Yeah that would be best, and I don't want to stick around here any longer than I have to."

Colt nodded. "Ok then let's-" Colt stopped and looked at a wall of piping, he caught movement.

Colt glared at a pipe and pulled up his pulse rifle. The alien shot clear out of the maze of pipes with its elongated head first as if the whole alien was spring propelled. The head nailed Colt directly in the chest pushing him back into the bulkhead with a thud. He groaned and slid down to his rear. His mind was reeling from the impact. He looked up and saw the alien standing over him. The stories were true, elongated head, black as night and all fifty shades of nasty. The alien loomed over him and it slobbered over his face. Colt cringed. He knew what that gunk was now. "Shoot the fucking thing!" Colt barked and tried to pull up his rifle only to have the alien step on his arm, pinning his rifle to the deck.

Colt cried out. He could feel the bones in his arm on the verge of cracking. The strength of the alien was mind blowing. Damn thing was going to shatter his bones if he didn't get it off him. He looked up at the alien and saw its jaw open. Colt smirked and spat at its face. The alien hissed and brought its head down. Colt heard the loud crack of a pulse rifle. The alien cried out in pain and was knocked to the side from impact. The ten millimeter rounds deflected off its hardened hide and ricochet around Colt and his group. Colt cursed as he felt a round tear into the side of his arm. "Fuck me." He groaned and fell to the side clutching his wounded arm.

Colt looked back at his group. He stared Cole dead in the face. "Keep firing!" Colt barked.

Colt kicked his legs and forced himself to crawl back to the group. He heard Cole spray at the alien on full auto. The sound of the rifle firing was deafening as the shots echoed through the corridor. Colt could feel the rounds race over him with deadly velocity. Colt reached Jesus' feet and turned over to see the alien flail around as it was hammered by Cole's automatic fire. The damn thing just wouldn't go down. The alien hissed and screamed and fell to its knees. Colt stared at it its unmoving form. He could smell the burnt gunpowder in the air and another smell. His eyes widened as he saw the alien's wounds were spilling yellow blood. He watched as it fell to the deck and the deck began to smoke. It had acid for blood.

Colt unzipped his suit and pulled out his sidearm. He pulled back the hammer and got to his knees. "Careful Colt." Cole whispered.

Colt nodded and moved slowly toward the unmoving kneeling alien. He kneeled a few inches in front of it. He kept his pistol trained on it as he reached over to grab his rifle. The alien stayed motionless. Colt sighed and holstered his pistol. He stood up and lifted his rifle. He cringed and looked at his right arm. With all of the excitement he forgot he was hit. "Colt!" Jesus ran to him. "Let me look."

Colt shook his head. "No, you can look at it when we get back. " Colt muttered as he placed his gun strap over his shoulder. "I'm just going to have to deal with firing from the hip, until then."

Jesus shook his head. "Idiot, but it's your call." Jesus stared at the alien.

Cole walked past them and turned back. "I'll take point. Let's get Sara and get back to the captain."

Colt nodded his head. "Good idea."

Colt walked next to Cole. Colt noticed the man seemed relieved to see that he was alright. "Hey guys, I don't see any clear penetration on this thing?" Colt turned around and looked at Jesus.

Colt's jaw dropped as he saw the alien leap toward Jesus. The alien was so fast it was like a blur. To think the thing still had enough strength left to move, yet alone jump. The alien brought Jesus crashing to the deck. It lay on top of the good doctor. Jesus screamed out in horror. Colt ran toward the couple. The alien's tail swept around and knocked Colt's feet out from under him. He felt his head slam against the deck. He saw stars and could barely make out the faint sound of Jesus' screams.

Colt barely heard the single shot of Cole's pulse rifle. The sound was faint, like as if Colt was underwater. He must have taken a good blow to his head. Colt sat up and looked. He saw the alien still on top of Jesus the both of them struggling. Cole missed apparently. Colt opened his mouth to tell Cole to stop firing but he couldn't get his voice to work yet. Another shot ran out and the alien stilled. The back of its head exploded in a fountain of yellow blood. Colt screamed. "No!" The corridor was filled with Jesus' dying screams as he was drenched in acid.

Colt stared as he watched Jesus dissolved into the deck. He stood up and walked back to Cole. Colt looked at the man. He noticed Cole's eyes were distant and his face was covered in sweat. His lips were parted. Cole didn't realize what just happened. "I didn't know…" Cole whispered as he continued to stare at Jesus.

Colt bowed his head. "Let's get going, just remember they have acid for blood." Hitting or yelling at Cole wasn't going to help anything.

"There's more of them?" Cole asked. "How do you know?"

Colt stared at the man, the man who accidently killed there doctor. Colt felt like hitting Cole square in his jaw but he realized Jesus was most likely a dead man anyways. There wasn't a way they'd be able to pry that thing off of Jesus. Colt looked back down toward the corridor. "Chris got it too remember. That means there are at least two of these things running around here."

Cole swallowed and nodded. Colt sighed. "Let's go." Colt said and started walking down the corridor, refusing to look back at Jesus.

Colt walked the dead corridors of the station. The place was infested with hostile aliens and they've already lost four people. He figured Eric was already dead, after all where could he have gone? Colt felt furious. He knew there was something in that electrical room and he knew there was something strange about the pipe and that transparent slime. Colt was so upset he couldn't even feel the pain in his arm anymore. On top of everything else though, Colt felt like total shit. He lost people, saw something he didn't believe was possible and he got the crap beat out of him. He took another step and stumbled. He was dizzy.

Colt felt himself falling. He groaned as he came to a stop. He looked to his left and saw Cole. The man caught him. Colt gazed at his arm and saw that he was leaving behind a trail of blood. He smiled. His wound was worse than he thought. "We should get that looked at." Cole said. "It's bleeding pretty good."

Colt smiled. "It was your shitty shooting."

Cole chuckled. Colt laughed weakly. It was good to laugh a little. "We'll fix it when we get to Sara, that place is secure, I don't want to do it in this corridor. There has to be more of those ugly bastards around here."

Colt looked up and his eyes widened. His vision was slightly blurred but he saw it, a black form at Cole's flank. "Cole behind you!"

Colt saw Cole freeze. Colt felt a tug and he fell to his knees. Cole was ripped from his grasp. Colt watched as the alien lifted Cole up and slammed the man on his back against the deck. The alien lay on top of Cole. Colt couldn't do anything for him. Colt whispered that he was sorry and forced his legs under him. He had to save himself; it was all that he could do now. Colt froze as he heard Cole cry out to him. "Colt help me!"

Colt stopped and turned around. What could he do? He could barely lift his arm, he couldn't aim a weapon. The alien had acid blood and it was stronger than any man. Colt turned around and ran as best as he could down the corridor away from Cole's pleas for help. There was nothing he could do but use Cole's sacrifice to get away. He felt ashamed of himself, but it was the only thing he could do. So he did the one thing that went against everything he believed in. He left a man behind.