Dani's breath caught in her throat at the sound. The scratching, the clicking. The heavy thumping of clawed feet on metal.
The sound of Death.
"Over here," Danny hissed, pointing to a row of lockers. "Hide, hide! It'll see you!"
Dani scrambled into the locker, slamming it shut. Her fingertips were trembling and she leaned back, peering through the grating. "Is it here?"
"Be quiet – it can hear you!"
"Seriously?!" Dani clamped her hands over her mouth as it passed by. The elongated head, sharp drooling teeth, long scorpion tail. The Xenomorph, Danny called it.
The alien paused right in front of Dani. The girl swallowed a whimper, pulling back as far from it as possible. If that thing found her...
She'd seen it before – the second set of jaws that burst through human flesh, the claws that rent others apart. She'd be damned if it got her before she completed her mission!
It huffed and clicked, slowly vanishing from view. For a long time, Dani heard it shuffling about the corridor, snorting and looking for its vanished prey. Then, the mechanical hiss of the pneumatic doors. Then...
Silence.
Am I safe? she mouthed at Danny, still too terrified to speak.
He held up one hand, listening intently. But the Xenomorph's heavy stomping was gone. He braved a whisper, "I think it's gone... Check the radar."
Dani swallowed hard. She hated checking the radar. The once comforting peep was now a shrill siren, one that called the alien ever closer.
But the static-filled screen was gloriously empty.
"Ok, ok, ok." She couldn't help it – she was more terrified than she had ever been in her life. Nothing – not even the threat of destabilization – had ever scared her this much. "It's just down the hall, right? We grab the ID and check the log and we can leave, right?"
"Yeah – hurry before it comes back!"
Dani ran down the corridor, stumbling over a blood splattered chair. It clattered loudly and the girl whimpered, knowing that making such a racket would only lure the alien to her. She could see the medical bay not even three doors down. She just had to run in, and check the logs. Then she could escape this damn ship, and go home.
Right there, right there! The code for this door was the same as every other, thank god. She put her tongue between her teeth and furrowed her brow.
1...
7...
0...
2!
The door hissed and Dani took a step back. She was ready to bolt inside, grab the file, and bolt back out! She was so close to completing her mission, she could taste it!
"Mrr!"
Dani screamed as a white blur jumped into her lap, eyes flaring solid green. The alien, alerted to her terror, dropped on top of her from an overhead vent, opening its jaws wide, second mouth gnashing.
Danny fell back onto the couch, chest heaving with laughter as Amanda Ripley was devoured by the Xenomorph. Dani threw off the PS4 headset and hurled the controller to the floor, shoving Maddie out of her lap.
"You guys are jerks," Dani whined, pouting at the Game Over screen. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she could still hear her cousin's wheezing laughter. "Seriously – I thought Maddie was a facehugger! I almost blasted the crap out of her!"
"Aw man," Danny gasped, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We haven't even reached the facehuggers yet. You gonna flip out at them, too?"
"Wha-at? You mean there are facehuggers in this game?!" Dani ran her fingers through her ponytail, taking deep, calming breaths. She glared at the cat that was sitting at her feet, grooming her whiskers as though she hadn't just cost Dani her turn at Danny's game. "Alright, you fluffy jerk. You want attention? Come here."
Dani reached out to grab the cat, but Maddie sauntered out of her grasp. With a flick of her tail, Maddie stalked out of the room.
"Oh, come on!" Dani flopped back into her chair, back aching from being so tense. "You dumb cat – you knew that would get me killed! Danny – that doesn't count as my turn, does it?"
"C'mon, Dani. Hand over the controller – let me show you how a pro escapes a Xenomorph."