Chapter Eight: Into Hell
Isaac and Hammond were both tense as they rode the tram over to Engineering. Isaac even more so, as he might actually have to use his weapons against humans. The prospect made him feel ill, but they had little choice. They needed Kyne's knowledge, and besides that, they weren't about to leave their friends behind.
"Now arriving at Engineering," the Ishimura computer stated as the tram came to a halt. Hammond looked at Isaac.
"You know this deck better than me. Lead the way," said Hammond. Isaac nodded.
"First, let's get you a RIG, in case. There were a few decompressed areas. Not that these things mind," Isaac mused as they stepped off onto the tram station. Hammond nodded. Isaac tapped his RIG. "Kendra? Do you have a fix on Kyne and Chen's location?" Isaac asked.
"Just a sec . . . yeah. Looks like they're both down in Reactor Maintenance," she said, sounding confused. Isaac looked at Hammond.
"I never did check the reactor, but with those things on my tail, I was only too happy to get out of here," Isaac admitted. Hammond nodded.
"Don't blame you. All right, where's the best way there?" Hammond asked.
"Only two ways: Through the engine room, or through the north Centrifuge Control Room," said Kendra. Isaac's head perked up at this.
"Wait . . . the north control room," he mused, recalling. "The doors were unresponsive, but I found some tools and gear outside. I might be able to cut through the doors with the ion torch. I can safely say the engine room is out. Half the room was filled with that organic stuff they make," said Isaac. Hammond frowned at this.
"All right, we'll try those doors first," said Hammond. Isaac nodded and they headed in.
They stopped at the Prep room, and got Hammond a Miner's RIG, not too different to Isaac's. They then turned and headed down the elevator to the decontamination room.
"This close to the Ishimura's engines and centrifuge, let's try not to shoot them with bullets if we don't have to," said Isaac, hefting his flamethrower. Hammond chuckled.
"Okay, you can take point," Hammond joked, motioning for Isaac to go first. The engineer was not amused as they stepped off the elevator, careful and cautious as they made their way into the decontamination room. Once again, Isaac pressed the hologram, and the room activated. This time, though, Isaac heard something. He glanced up as the sprinklers sprayed them down. Hammond brought up his rifle. "Uh, Isaac? Did it do that last time?" Hammond asked. Isaac primed his flamethrower.
"No," he replied. The two backed up and stood facing opposite ways. One of the vents burst open, a tall, skeletal, grinning form slithering out. Isaac fired a gout of flame, the alien screeching and retreating. Another vent across the room burst open. Isaac gave another burst, another screech and quick retreat. Hammond saw where one was behind a vent, gave a short burst. He may not have hit it, but made it scrabble back. The decontamination chamber completed its cycle, and they fled as soon as the doors would open. Isaac peeked his head out the next door, looked around, led Hammond down the long, curving corridor. They found the abandoned workbag and tools where Isaac had found them.
"What do you think's the problem?" Hammond asked. Isaac looked, pulled open a wall panel, but the wiring and circuits looked fine.
"Not sure, but we'll find out," said Isaac as he brought out the torch and began to cut the doors open. Hammond watched his back while Isaac cut. Once he was done, he was surprised the doors hadn't fallen in. He pushed, and was surprised when the door moved a bit, with a soft squishing sound. He grunted and pushed again. Hammond helped, pushing the other one. Isaac shoved his shoulder against the door, and it fell in, Isaac almost tumbling in.
"Isaac!" Hammond exclaimed, catching him. Isaac steadied himself and looked up. What he saw made his and Hammond's jaws drop.
The whole room was encrusted with the strange alien formation. It was everywhere. It ran along the ceiling, the walls, over consoles. "Holy shit," said Hammond. Isaac nodded as they carefully stepped in over the downed doors.
"Yeah, and half the engine room looks like this," said Isaac. Hammond touched some of it, pulled long strings of clear mucus away, and shook his hand. "Now we know why Temple's teams never fixed anything down here," Isaac said as they wound their way through, their boots squishing in the wet substance. Isaac was very glad he was wearing a full-body RIG suit.
"Ugh, what is this stuff?" Hammond asked.
"Don't know, but it's not good," replied the engineer. They made their way through a door that was stuck open, and into a hub room. Isaac was very unsettled by how the tunnels of the stuff now resembled bones, ribbed tubing, and even spinal columns. They way they curved made him imagine them going inside of some giant living thing. They could see more such openings, leading to who knew where.
An access ladder led down, also encrusted by the alien substance. Isaac shined his light down, checking, just in case. Isaac went first, but Hammond was close behind. They climbed down the ladder, and Isaac turned around, shining his light, flamethrower at the ready. Hammond stood next to him, rifle ready, but his body language showed he was as tense as Isaac was.
"Kendra, you got a reading on Kyne? Or Chen?" Hammond asked. Their radios hissed with static.
"Hard to tell, can't get an exact location," said Kendra.
"Maybe this is why," said Isaac, showing her video.
"Oh my god . . ." she said, clearly in awe at what she was seeing.
"Yeah. Looks like they made some kind of . . . nest around the reactor," said Isaac. The radio hissed again, harsher.
"Isaac, Hammond? You're breaking up," she said, and the transmission cut in and out. Isaac looked at Hammond. They looked at the three passages. Isaac chose the front path, flamethrower ready. Hammond followed.
"Jeez, this is unbelievable," said Hammond as they passed under a very large section that looked too much like a spine for his tastes.
"Yeah, and I saw something like it inside that rock. Older, not wet, but the same stuff," said Isaac as they made their way inwards. It was alarming how narrow some of the passages were. At times, Isaac's head barely had any clearance. It was also very disorienting, and Isaac wondered if maybe that was the point? Isaac made notes on his RIG map where they turned. He wished he had some flares or something to mark their way. Isaac noticed the substance was thicker, denser, harder, the shapes more elaborate. Most of it was a dark gray bordering on black. Some reminded him of obsidian rock. Some parts were semi-transparent, revealing a complex inner structure. The passages twisted for what felt like miles and miles. Isaac checked his RIG, and it showed the environment was very warm and humid. Again, he was glad he was in his RIG, same with Hammond.
"Something up ahead," said Hammond. Isaac saw light reflected off the substance. They followed the curve around, the tunnel opening up into a wider room. They came out, got a look, and Isaac almost dropped his flamethrower in shock.
All along the walls, the ceiling, stuck in the alien substance, were people. Faces twisted in horrific masks of agony. Arms and legs almost melded into the resin. Every chest was burst open, ribs white and gleaming. At the feet of almost each one of them was an open pod, along with a dead spider-creature. Isaac retched, but Hammond stared in horror at the psychotic nightmare they had stumbled upon. Isaac composed himself, taking point, but his hands shaking as they entered the embryo chamber.
"So . . . this is what they do," said Isaac. All along the walls, tortured human bodies were lined, some almost on the ceiling. One poor soul was stuck to what they thought was an overhead pipe, one arm outstretched, mouth opened in an eternal scream. As they moved through, they could see bodies that seemed to be decaying, but not in the normal way. One cluster of unfortunate souls seemed to be almost melting into the alien substance, skin seeming to turn to slime and melt off. Bones gradually melting and reshaping into more of the strange shapes.
That was when they heard a sound in the eerie stillness. A sound like . . . labored breathing. They followed the sound down one of the side tunnels, more bodies of the crew stuck in the alien substance, some seemingly being consumed by the alien structure. Rounding a bend, they shined their lights up, and they fell on a familiar face.
"Oh my god. Chen!" Hammond gasped as he ran forward, slinging his rifle.
The pilot of the USG Kellion was stuck in the alien resin, covered almost to his hips and shoulders. "Chen! Chen, wake up!" said Hammond as he removed his helmet and patted the man's face. The cocooned man groaned and looked up weakly. His skin was ghostly pale, his hair wet and sticky.
"Hey, bro," Chen weakly said, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Isaac shined his light down, and his heart sank when he saw both an opened egg, and a dead spider-creature at Chen's feet.
"Listen, I'm going to get you out of here. Just hold on. Isaac, get over here! Maybe that torch will-" said Hammond. Chen coughed, sounding like he was having trouble breathing.
"No . . . good," Chen weezed. Hammond looked at him. Chen motioned to something behind them. They looked at the body of a woman across from them, head thrown back in a look of agony, chest torn open, blood still wet and congealing. "I can . . . feel it," Chen gasped. Hammond was shaking. "Please, bro. I . . . don't wanna die like that," Chen groaned, voice beginning to sound pained. Hammond reached down, pulled up his pistol in a shaking hand. Chen nodded.
"I-I . . . can't . . ." Hammond stuttered, and Chen groaned, sounding more in pain.
"P-please, Zach!" Chen pleaded. Hammond shook, fighting a losing battle with tears. Hammond placed the pistol between Chen's eyebrows.
"W-when we get to the other side . . . drinks are on me," Hammond smiled as tears ran down his cheeks. Chen smiled as best he could.
"I'll be there," Chen replied as blood ran from his nose. Hammond turned his head, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. He turned away, not able to look, hurrying to put his helmet back on.
That was when they heard a wet crack.
"Hammond, get back!" Isaac yelled. Hammond jumped away, turning as Chen's chest bulged. Ribs cracked, cloth tore, as a pale, fanged, eyeless skull emerged and hissed viciously. Isaac torched the cocoon, the infant alien screeching loudly as it was burned alive. Isaac grabbed Hammond's shoulder. "Come on!" said the engineer, pulling Hammond with him. They rounded a corner and hid in an alcove that had once been a storeroom. They thought they heard movement, something rushing past. Isaac glanced up, and couldn't help wondering if the aliens had molded the substance, or, and far more disturbing, it had grown this way. Given what he had seen thus far, he was more likely to assume the latter. "We gotta find Kyne and get out of here," said Isaac quietly. Hammond nodded his agreement. They peeked out, and went down the tunnel to the right, past more bodies, some of which were almost totally absorbed into the alien material. Isaac casually touched an exposed bone, was shocked it was now squishy and soft. Skin and muscle was seeming to turn to gray or transparent gel, slowly reforming into more of the alien substance. Shining his light down the tunnel, it reminded of ribs and long columns like spines along the wall, as if they were inside of some giant creature. Isaac wondered if that wasn't far from the truth. The stuff seemed to be alive in some way.
As they wound their way through, they saw something different. There was a body cocooned to the wall, but there was another laying at their feet. They slowly approached. Isaac recognized the face of the man. It was Jacob Temple, acting Chief Engineer. However, his face looked peaceful. At his feet was a woman in a Medical uniform. In her hands was a holopad, and an empty syringe. Isaac stooped and picked up the holopad and played an audio message.
"Jacob!" said a woman's voice.
"E-Elizabeth?" said Jacob's voice, sounding tired.
"Stay still, I'll get you out of here!" she said.
"Beth . . . I can feel it inside me," he said softly.
"No . . . no. I-I'll get you to Medical! If we're quick, they can remove it!" she said in a shaky, scared voice. Jacob coughed.
"I . . . don't think we have the time," he said. She sobbed quietly.
"Oh, Jacob. I'm so sorry," she sobbed. Jacob chuckled softly.
"Please don't cry, Beth. This wasn't your fault." She sniffled.
"I-I have these. Morphine. You'll . . . just go to sleep," she said in a quivering voice.
"Please, Beth. I don't want to go like this. I'd rather go, and wake up with you, wherever it is," she said softly, and they both could hear the love in his voice. They heard the soft smack of lips on skin, a tender, final farewell.
"I love you, Jacob. I'll be right behind you," she said softly, not fighting the tears or sobs.
"I love you, too, Elizabeth," Jacob said softly. Elizabeth sobbed for several long moments.
"Rest in peace, Jacob Temple. I'll be with you soon, sweetheart," she said softly, they heard her flick the needle. The recording ended. Isaac set the pad down and looked at them. Their final expressions were ones of peace. He also noticed Jacob's chest was not torn open. It looked like she gave him peace early enough to also kill the parasite inside. Isaac numbly stared at the bodies, thinking about Nicole. Hammond seemed to pick up on this, gently patting his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm sure Nicole is still alive. We'll find her. After we save Kyne, she's our next priority," said Hammond. Isaac looked at him, slowly nodded.
"Thanks," Isaac sighed, hoping he was right as they continued deeper into the xenopsychotic nightmare that was the alien nest.
They wound their way through the tunnels, twisting this way and that. Some of the lights still shone through the resin. In some places, it followed pipes and conduits, almost as if the machinery had come alive and begun to grow into something organic. They froze when they heard something, a sound like someone struggling. They looked at each other, Hammond bringing up his rifle and Isaac readied his flamethrower. They moved as quickly as they could over the soft, sticky surface, and as fast as they dared for fear of drawing attention. After all, they were now in the Xenomorphs' home. They followed the sound down the tunnels, stopping to listen, turned. They were against a wall when they heard a voice, down and around a corner, echoing.
"I really wish you could see the truth, and not be so pigheaded," said a familiar voice. It was Mercer. They looked at each other, then moved. They peeked around a corner, saw Mercer standing over Kyne, who was tied up on the floor. Even worse, there was an unopened alien egg right in front of Kyne. Isaac turned to Hammond.
"You take the egg, I got Mercer," said Isaac, bringing up his plasma cutter. Hammond nodded.
The two lunged around the corner, just as the egg began to open. Hammond opened fire on the egg, blasting it and the emerging spider-creature to pieces. Mercer reached for a weapon, but Isaac fired first, severing the doctor's right hand. Mercer screamed, tried to run, but Isaac shot off his left leg just below the knee. The man screamed anew as he fell. Hammond ran up and quickly untied Kyne while Isaac stormed up and stomped his heavy boot down on Mercer's severed stump as he tried to crawl away. Isaac reached down and turned Mercer over.
"Where's Nicole?" Isaac demanded. Despite the pain, Mercer smiled at him.
"Why should I tell you, Mr. Clarke?" he asked. Isaac pointed the plasma cutter at his other hand.
"Because I'll start cutting off more of you if you don't tell me," the engineer hissed. To his surprise, Mercer chuckled.
"Go ahead, Mr. Clarke. The flesh is fleeting. You can kill the man . . . but not the god," he said as he coughed and gurgled. Mercer's ribs cracked as Isaac backed up. Hammond shielded Kyne as Mercer's chest erupted in a shower of blood. The baby alien screeched at them. Isaac aimed the plasma cutter and blasted it, the plasma severing the eyeless head from the wormlike body. It thrashed, acid blood burning the human body around it, a small cloud of vaporized acid burning away Mercer's uniform and face, his final look an obscene grin that was quickly melted away. Isaac quickly and warily pulled off Mercer's RIG, feeling they might need it.
Kyne sighed as Hammond helped him to stand.
"Thank you, gentlemen. Not a moment too soon," he commented dryly.
"Good. All right, doc, let's get you out of here," said Isaac. Hammond nodded. Hammond had Kyne walk in front of him, sandwiched between Isaac and Hammond.
"I never would have thought Challus was capable of such atrocities. Then again, I'm sure they thought the same of Hitler as well," said Kyne.
"There's all kinds of crazy in this world. I know," Isaac replied. Kyne looked at him, but didn't ask.
"Speaking of, be careful, both of you. Mercer had plenty of followers, and they seem to be offering themselves to the Xenomorphs willingly. If they are that deranged, there's no telling what else they might do," Kyne warned.
"Right. Well, let's focus on getting out of here first, then we can worry about that," said Hammond.
As they knelt to get under a low resin column, Kyne marveled.
"While horrific, it's also quite amazing. How fast the substance has spread," Kyne mused.
"Yeah, and looks like they use the bodies of leftover hosts for material. Like it absorbs them and makes them into the stuff," said Isaac. Kyne nodded.
"Yes, it would seem they use available organic material to produce it, in addition to producing it themselves," said Kyne. "Some kind of transmutation I can hardly guess at." Hammond glanced around.
"Isaac, if this stuff is growing this fast, it'll eventually take over the whole ship," said Hammond as they ducked down and carefully navigated down another tunnel.
"Yeah, that's what's got me worried. Half the engine room was filled with the stuff. If it keeps growing, it could get into critical systems, gum up the engine or maybe even compromise the reactor," said the engineer.
"If that's the case, we should really consider abandoning ship. Let the CEC clean up their own mess," said Hammond.
"I had considered that," said Kyne, making them look at him. "There actually is one shuttle left, but it's in maintenance, and has no Singularity Core." They almost drooped at this. Hammond tapped his RIG.
"Kendra? We found Kyne. Do you read?" said Hammond. Their radios hissed with static.
"I believe the substance may interfere with radio signals. Since I can't even guess at the composition, it's entirely possible it is scrambling the frequencies," said Kyne.
"That would explain why we're having trouble with transmissions. But if that's the case, it really is spreading, and we need to find a way to get the hell out of here right-" said Isaac, stopping when they heard something. They turned, and saw a man almost stagger around the corner, dressed in a simple miner's RIG, unarmored. He held a heavy hammer in his hands.
"Die, heathens!" he yelled as he charged.
"Isaac!" Hammond yelled as he raised his rifle and fired a burst. The man stumbled and fell, hammer tumbling from his grip. As he hit the ground, he began to thrash. To their horror, he turned over and his chest cracked, blood staining his dirty white shirt. "Aw, fuck!" Hammond swore as he opened fire on the dying man's chest before the little nightmare could emerge. They heard screeches, and ran. "Which way?!" Hammond yelled as they rounded a corner, found a junction.
"This place is a warren. The tunnels twist so much we'll never find our way blindly," said Kyne. Isaac looked around, checked his RIG map.
"This way!" he said as they headed left. To their shock, they encountered two more crazed crew members. One was armed with a plasma saw, another with a pipe. Hammond gunned them down and they ran past, the now-dead humans' chests cracking open like eggs as the three hurried past. They arrived at a junction, and Isaac checked his map again, they headed left. They heard screeched behind them, whirled, and saw, to their horror, the aliens were actually coming out of the substance in the walls. They were hiding in plain view! Isaac fired his flamethrower, laying down a fire wall while they turned and ran. Isaac glanced down at the map projected up from his chest, turned right then left, Hammond and Kyne staying close. To their shock, they found themselves back at the ladder, down from one of the other tunnels. "Asses up!" Isaac said as Hammond went first, Isaac covering them, then Kyne. Isaac saw movement, rolled a spare fuel canister and lit it before he climbed the ladder. The blast and screeches told him it worked. They hurried back through the encrusted control room, back down the centrifuge hallway and through decontamination. Isaac could hear the aliens hot on their heels, turned and welded the door shut behind them. He knew it would not buy much time, but better than a few scant seconds. They ran from decontamination, and were confronted by no less than five armed humans.
"Infidels!" they screamed as some charged with knives or pipes. Hammond opened fire, and so did Isaac. One man's head tumbled from his shoulders from Isaac's unerring aim with his plasma cutter, while several more were shredded by Hammond's rifle fire. They ran past as soon as it was clear, all three crowding into the elevator and taking it back up to the control room. They all were breathing hard.
"Let's not do that again . . .," Isaac panted.
"I agree. I'm getting too old for these things," said Kyne. Hammond chuckled at this.
"When we get out of here, I say we all retire," he joked. Suddenly, a RIGLINK video appeared, making them jump.
"Hammond! Isaac!" said Kendra as her face appeared.
"Kendra, you have no idea how glad we are to see you," said Isaac, surprising her.
"I've been trying to reach you, but all I got was static." Isaac nodded.
"Ms. Daniels, we believe the alien substance of their nest somehow scrambles radio waves," said Kyne. She looked at him, surprised.
"Good, you found him. What about Chen?" she asked. Hammond looked pained.
"He's . . . gone," he said shakily.
"Even worse, Mercer's indoctrinated a bunch of the crew into some kind of xeno-worshipping cult! Some of the freaks even had aliens put in them willingly!" said Isaac. Kendra gasped.
"Holy shit," she replied. Hammond grinned though.
"But, Mercer's no longer a problem. He got very up close with his 'angels'," said Hammond with some grim satisfaction. She smiled, despite herself.
"Well, we got even more good news. A ship just shocked in. The USM Valor. They must have heard our SOS" said Kendra, pleased. They looked at each other as the elevator arrived at the control room and warily moved out.
"That fast? What's a military ship doing this far out?" Isaac asked.
"I don't know, but right now I'd take a rescue from a fucking Magpie," she crowed. They couldn't argue that.
"Well, better than staying here with the bugs," said Hammond.
"Yeah, but I can't hail them yet, since the Comms Array is offline. I need Isaac to fix it so we can hail them," she said. Isaac looked at Hammond and Kyne and nodded.
"All right. We're heading back. I'll drop Kyne and Hammond off at the Captain's Nest, and go check out the Comms Array," said Isaac as they boarded the tram and headed for the Bridge.
