WAR_Philosophical short story

WAR

By Patrick Wood

INTERSECTION

                I’m not sure how this all came about.  Just this morning I was all by myself scouring a small abandoned city for supplies when I came across a man lying on the side of the road.  I wasn’t sure what to do.

                I mean, not ten years ago I wouldn’t have hesitated to help in some way or another.  But this is now, not then.  Things are different.

                I stood there for…I’m not sure how long.  To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if he was dead or not.  I was just about to walk away when he gave a weak cough.  I bent down and stared at the man’s face.  Eventually he opened his eyes and stared back.  I could see he wasn’t fully conscious.  It looked like he was staring through me into…nothing.

                I tapped him on the shoulder.  “You alright?”  That was a stupid question.  I just hadn’t seen anyone else in so long I wasn’t sure what else to say.

                I could see his eyes start to focus and his brow wrinkle in confusion.  He tried to talk but his lips and throat were dry.  I pulled a canteen from by pack and handed it to him.  Slowly, he sat up and took a few sips and finally spoke, “Where am I?”

                “Yuma.”

                The man looked around very confused.  “…Yuma?”

                He sat up slowly still taking small sips from the canteen.  “When did I…”  He took one last mouthful and handed the canteen back.  “I was in San Diego.  Someone, someone must have left me here.”

                I wasn’t sure what to say; so I said nothing.  He didn’t seem to mind.  “You have somewhere to stay?”

                “I’m staying in an old hotel for now.  That suit you?”

                The man nodded and offered me his hand.  I considered the implications.  Taking him meant caring, feeding him, giving him a bed, and risking my life.  But leaving him…  I finally did take his hand and helped him to his feet.  And that’s how I got to where I am now.  Just hours ago I was doing things the way I normally did; alone with no responsibilities.  And now I am shuffling through the streets with a half awake, injured man resting heavily on my shoulder.  We are almost back to the hotel now.  Suddenly a woman comes out of an alley way up ahead and turns to face us.

                The injured man instantly raises his empty hands in the air.  I just stand here and stare, waiting to see what she will do.  She pulls the edge of her jacket back slowly and places her hand on the hilt of a pistol.  However, she doesn’t draw.  We all stand here a minute seeing who is going to make the first move.

                Finally I decide to say something: “I’m taking this guy to the hotel down the street for some meds and rest.  You can come if you want.”  What am I thinking?  I just took on a second person!

                The woman doesn’t seem to ease up or speak.  The man beside me does: “I have no intention of harming anyone.  And as for this man,” he nods toward me, “if he was the bandit type he would have killed me a half hour ago when I was lying unconscious in the street.”  She keeps staring at us but her focus is now specifically directed towards me.  She has a curious look on her face.  I don’t think either of us quite understands the other.  Finally she speaks: “You lead.  I’ll walk behind.”

                I’m not sure what would posses this woman to follow two men into a hotel in this day and age.  On the other hand, it doesn’t really concern me.  If she can handle herself then it’s her decision.

                We walk the rest of the way in silence.  I can feel the woman’s eyes behind me watching intently.  I don’t bother looking back.  I’m just keeping my eyes forward, marching on as if no one else is there.  I’ve never cared if anyone was there before, and I’m trying not to care even now that there is.

                As we reach to hotel I check the entrance for foreign footprints to make sure no one entered while I was gone.  I signal for the others to enter.  The woman stares at the man, waiting for him to lead.  He trudges in slowly.  The woman follows a few steps behind.

                We spend most of the time in silence, moving slowly, keeping an eye on each other.  Eventually we do get used to each other enough to begin small conversations.  We all make sure we have enough supplies to last a few weeks and make plans to move out the following morning.

                It’s just before nightfall so we start cooking a small meal from some scraps of food that were left in the kitchen of the hotel.  The woman goes outside to relieve herself as I start serving up dinner to the other man and me.  Just as I sit down, a third man barges into the room with a rifle up against his shoulder.  I can tell from his eyes that he’s killed many times before and won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.  I slowly raise my hands above my head.  “I’ve got food and ammunition to last a while.  You can have it all and be on your way.”

                The man gives a raspy laugh and looks down his sights.  “That’s not the way I play, fool.”  There is a small click of a gun loading as the woman steps out from behind him with a pistol planted firmly behind his head.  “Drop it!”

                The man’s eyes move slowly across the room measuring up the situation.  Fearing the worst, I start moving my hand slowly toward my shotgun lying beside me.  All of a sudden the man drops his rifle and puts both hands up in the air casually.  “Looks like I’m outnumbered here,” he says with a small grin.  He eyes the plate of food in front of me.  “Got enough for one more?”

                The woman wastes no time in pulling several assorted weapons from the man’s pockets and boots.  She pushes them off to the side of the room with her foot, keeping her pistol on him at all times.  The man doesn’t seem bothered at all.

                “What makes you think we’d be stupid enough to feed you?” the woman asks.  She is still removing the man’s knives and energy based pistols.

                Suddenly, the man grabs her arm and spins around.  By the time I grab my shotgun, he has her left arm wrenched behind her back and a knife to her throat.  For a moment I can see the crazed look of a cornered animal in his eyes.

                “You’ll feed me,” he breathes heavily, “because I could have killed you by now.  But I didn’t.  ‘Cause I don’t wanna get shot!”  He eases his grip slightly.

                Before I can react the woman turns the tables on him.  The man is on the ground, doubled over, hands between his legs with blood dripping from his nose.  The woman is standing over him with a large pistol pointed directly at his head.  It is a tense moment.  The woman lowers her weapon and spits on the man who forces an airy laugh, then groans.

                “We’ll feed him.  But just for tonight.  And if he acts up,” she leans down close to the man’s face, “I’ll break your other one.”

ACTIONS

                “So, what do we call each other?”  The gruff man is speaking with his mouth half full of stew.  He’s still bent over and has strips of cloth stuffed up his nose.  We all glance at each other questioningly.  “Well, I figure we’re gonna be here all night.  And seeing how the sun’s not quite down I figured we’d get bored just sitting here not talking.  And not much use talking without names of some sort.”

                I’m sure what to do.  I haven’t used my name in so long I have to take a moment to remember it.

                “No names!” the woman says.  All eyes turn to her.  “Names make an automatic attachment.  We’re all leaving in the morning and we’re all better off on our own.  We shouldn’t use our real names.”

                The loud man gives a sarcastic grunt.  “‘Aight then, what’ll we call each other?”

                The shy man gestures to me, “You, this was your safe house so you’ll be Alpha.  I’m Bravo since I was the second person here.  The woman is Charlie,” the other man gives an amused snort, “and you’re Delta.”

                “Fine by me.  Alpha, pass the…drink.  Whatever it is.”  I hand him the makeshift pitcher in front of me.  “Yeah, I guess I can get used to that.  So, what’re we gonna chat about?”  Delta looks around the table with a kind of curious excitement.

                Charlie speaks first, “Well I’m curious about how we all got here.”  All eyes turn toward me.  I just stare back.

                “What?” I ask trying to avoid the obvious.

                “Well seeing as how you’re the master of the house, I s’pose you should go first,” Delta replies.

                I clear my throat.  “Well…I’ve always lived here in Yuma.  And after everything went to pot I couldn’t really think of anywhere else to go so I just stayed here.”

                “You haven’t wandered?” Bravo asks, astonished.

                “No.  I’ve always had enough here so I figured there was no point in traveling.  I was over in the hospital until a couple weeks ago before the water tanks ran dry.”

                Delta whistles in amazement.  “Think I’d go crazy if I stayed in one place more than a couple days!”

                I shove a stale piece of bread in my mouth.  “What about you?” I glance toward Bravo.

                “No, no.  Not so fast,” Charlie breaks in.  “How have you made it this long without traveling?  What’s your secret?”

                I pause as if I’m waiting for the question to answer itself.  “I don’t know,” another dumb response, “I guess I stay put until supplies run out and then I walk until I find a better place to stay.  And so far that hasn’t brought me outside city limits.”

                “Ok, but I thought all supplies were gathered and people evaced out of towns with populations over a couple thousand.”

                “Yeah, that’s true.  But a lot of stuff was left behind.  People were moving so fast they just weren’t thorough.”

                “So why didn’t you evac?”  Delta is eyeing me suspiciously.

                “I guess I panicked and missed the opportunity.”

                I am met with blank stares.  “They gave everyone a twenty-four hour evac window!”

                “I know.  I just couldn’t figure what to pack or…something.  I don’t know; it’s all kind of a blur now.”

                Delta starts chuckling.  “Whadya know: through indecision and dumb luck this s.o.b. survived E-Day!”

                Charlie ignores him and continues on, “So what about you Bravo?”

                Bravo hangs his head.  “I’m not sure how I ended up here exactly,” he says slowly.

                “How do you mean?”

                “I was with my family in San Diego.  We managed to stay held up in a church for some time and didn’t have any problems.  People passed through and we would barter food and supplies as we needed.  Occasionally we had to roam around but we never strayed far from the church.”

                “Ever have problems with raiders?”

                Bravo falls silent.  “Not until last week,” he whispers.  Delta’s eyebrows rise curiously.

                Bravo starts wringing his hands nervously and clears his throat a couple times.  “We, *cough* we were fine until last Thursday.”  His eyes are looking around the room like they were searching for a place to hide.  “We thought they were just another small group of travelers.  They came inside looking for things to barter but they started getting aggressive.  They started asking for absurd trades and…using obscene language.  One of them even grabbed at my daughter and…” he starts getting choked up.  “It all happened so fast…I’m not sure what happened.”  He pauses.  Charlie and I sit still and quiet as Delta keeps eating away.

                Finally Bravo starts again, “I killed them…”  Delta grunts.  “I killed them all.  They killed my wife and daughter but didn’t get to me.”  Bravo is staring blankly at the table.  “I swore to them we would be ok; that we would make it.  And I swore I would do it without killing anyone.”

                Delta’s eyes widen in disbelief.  “Without killing anyone?” he repeats.

                “I lied to them…they didn’t make it.  And I…I killed them!”

                “Wait, wait, wait,” Delta interrupts.  “You thought you could make it out of this God-forsaken wasteland without killing anybody?!  When was the last time you looked out the window?  That shaz doesn’t work here, Bravo.”

                “That may be your belief, Delta.  But it is not mine.  Who am I to take the life of another man?  Who am I to put myself above anyone else?”  Bravo reaches inside his shirt and clutches a small crucifix hanging by a chain around his neck.  “The sixth,” he mutters to himself.

                “The wha’?”

                “The sixth commandment,” Charlie butts in.  “‘Thou shall not kill.’”

                Delta just stares back and forth between the two of them.  “Yeah…bad plan.”  He leans back in his chair confidently. 

                “We all pay for our sins, Delta.”  Bravo’s voice is resolute now.

                “Come again?”

                “This whole, ‘God-forsaken wasteland’, as you call it, is our fault.”

                “Really?  Cuz I’m pretty certain none of us here dropped the bomb on D.C., or New York, or Chicago, or…”

                “Have you really forgotten the atrocities of World War Three?!  People created new ways of killing each other the likes of which this world has never seen before.  And humanity used them without a moment’s hesitation.  Well humanity has received its due payment.  And I will have nothing to do with it!”

                Bravo has a firm grip on his crucifix.

                Delta just stares for a moment.  “Yeah…ok.  So, what ‘bout you, Charlie?  You anything like this Religious?”

                “Not exactly, I only kill when I need to.”

                “Ah, right.  And how do you define that?”

                “When either myself or someone else is in harm’s way,” she replied quickly.

                Satisfied, Delta just nods his head and says nothing.

                “So then, what’s your story?” I ask Charlie.

                “Honestly there’s not much to tell up until the other day.”  She sits back in her chair.  “I was with a small caravan; about a dozen people.  We were up near what used to be Buckskin Mountain State Park when we saw a raider party of nearly thirty people.  I’m a sniper and we had a couple other people who were excellent shots but we figured it would be more worth our time to move around.”

                “What, you didn’t have a good position on the raiders?” Delta asks.

                “No, we could see them fine.  We were up on a small ridge with a clear shot.”

                “Were they low on supplies?” I ask.

                “Again, no.  It looked like they had recently taken another caravan.  They were inspecting what looked like new supplies and cleaning their weapons.”

                Delta’s mouth drops open.  “And you didn’t just frakin’ wipe ‘em out?”

                “No.  We were far enough away we figured we could spare the ammo and still make it past.”

                “Uh-huh.  Something’s tellin’ me it didn’t go as expected.”

                Charlie’s eyes sadden.  “They took us by surprise that night.  We thought they had so many supplies there was no way they would go mobile that soon.  We were wrong.”  She pauses and rubs the back of her neck.  “Only a few of us made it out of the camp alive.  But we all scattered so I have no idea where the others are or if they’ve even survived this long.”

                “Sounds like you shoulda wasted ‘em.”

                “In hind sight, of course.  But there’s no way of knowing beforehand, is there?  Making blind decisions like that can lead to huge mistakes.”

                “Like?”

                “You never know until it happens I guess.”  There is a look of resolve in her eyes.  However, I can’t help but notice a hint of sorrow.  Charlie looks up and catches my eye.  I can tell she knows I understand.

                “And what about you, Delta?”  Bravo finally speaks again.  “What’s your story?”

                Delta leans forward.  His almost constant smirk vanishes from his face.  “‘My story’?” he repeats.  “My story starts in hell.  I was one of almost two hundred orphans up in south Detroit years before the war.  Let me tell you, I learned from a young age that this world consists of two kinds of people: those who survive, and those who die.  Only question is: what will you do to survive.  In my years at the orphanage I killed three other kids just to make sure I wasn’t beaten to death by the bullies.  Still, there were several nights I fell asleep on a basketball court with a bleeding face and broken bones just hoping I would wake up the next morning.  So, by the time the war hit, I was ready.  I left and joined up with a raider group by the end of the first week.”

                “Well that does explain a few things,” Charlie interrupts.  She puts her hand back on her pistol.

                “Oh, honey, don’t be too quick to throw me in with those goons,” Delta continues.  “It didn’t take me long to realize there was a big difference ‘tween them and me.  We’d go around from town to town burnin’ down buildings, stealing food and supplies, killing men and raping women.  Suddenly it hit me:  all these frakers had already given themselves over to the grave.  The only thing that kept them going was to get one more hit before they took a bullet to the brain.”  Delta’s sly grin returns.  “But I wasn’t gonna give up that easily.  No, no, no, no!  I want to survive!  So one night before a big raid I decided to act.  I took my pistol and knife and killed all thirty-two of those studs.  Then I took whatever food, weapons, supplies, and fuel I needed and started drivin’.  I’ve been on the road taking care of myself ever since.”

                There is a moment before Bravo breaks the silence.  “So that’s it then, huh?  Whatever happens to anyone else doesn’t matter as long as you come out on top?”  We all look at Delta.

                “Yeah…that pretty much sums it up.”

                “All the things you must have done…all the people you’ve killed…how can you live with yourself?”

                Delta takes another sip of his drink and leans back in his chair with a grin, “Pretty well so far.”

                It looks like Bravo and Delta are about to get into something but Charlie speaks up.  “Sun’s down, we should rest.  I take it we’re all moving out in the morning?”  She glances over at me.  I just shrug.

                We each find a place around the room to lie down.  Bravo says a quick prayer before burying himself under a pile of old papers.  He keeps tossing and turning and his brow is furled.   Charlie pulls a small tattered blanket out of her pack and lies down on a bench.  Delta takes a faded sleeping bag from his pouch.  He folds his arms on top of him a knife in one hand and a pistol in the other.  I just sit against the wall on the far side of the room.  I slowly nod off into another restless night of sleep.

CONSEQUENCES

                I wake up just after sunrise to the sound of a gunshot.  My head jolts up despite the stiffness in my neck.  Charlie and Delta are both alert and armed, scanning their surroundings.  Charlie is the first to see it.

                To the side along the wall is Bravo’s body.  There is a bloody mess on the wall behind him and a still smoking pistol in his right hand.  In his left is a crumpled piece of paper.  I sit there staring at the scene as Charlie and Delta walk over to inspect.

                Charlie opens the note and starts reading to herself.  Delta grabs Bravo’s pistol and starts going through his pockets.

                “What does it say?” I ask Charlie.

                She finishes reading and then starts back from the top.

Alpha, Charlie, Delta,

                I am sorry to leave you with this mess.  The sun has just now started to come over the horizon and I have been lying here all night unable to sleep.  Delta may be able to live with what he has done but I cannot.  There is only one more life I will take and it is my own.  Hopefully it will atone for the others.

God forgive me,

Bravo

                “Shaz!”  Delta is staring out a window.  “Sorry to break up the funeral but we have some company.”

                A small band of raiders is coming up the street shouting and waving their weapons in the air.  Charlie and Delta flip a table on its side and push it up against the front door.  I pick up my shotgun and squat behind the two.

                “Must have heard him shoot,” Delta spits.  “Stupid little…”

                “Shut it!”  Charlie braces herself with a long rifle on top of the table.  She takes the first shot.  One of the raider’s heads snaps back violently as he falls from his motorcycle.  The rest continue undaunted.  Charlie takes another shot and another raider goes down.  By this time they are close enough that Delta starts shooting with his pistol.  However the raiders start shooting as well.

                Parts of the table start breaking off.  I can hear bullets fly past my head.  I crouch down and wait until it sounds like they are right outside the door.  Without looking, I pointed my gun over the table and fire a few shots.  Everything is so loud I feel like I have already gone deaf.  I’m barely able to hear Delta shout, “Smoke!” but it is too late to do anything about it.  One of the raiders tosses a smoke grenade into the building.  It lands right in front of me and blows up in my face.

                I get up and try to run but the smoke gets in my eyes and I can’t see where I am going.  It is in my nose and lungs as well so it’s hard enough to just breathe.  I feel a sharp pain in my chest as I stumble forward into the back wall.  After a few seconds the smoke clears and my eyes stop watering.  The room is littered with dead raider bodies and weapons.  Charlie is off in the corner applying a tourniquet to her leg and Delta is walking around whistling to himself.  He is collecting items off the dead bodies and, besides a small cut on his cheek, seems to be unharmed.

                Suddenly everything becomes blurry.  I try to wipe my eyes but as I bring my hand up, I see it is covered in blood.  I look down to see that my whole shirt is stained red.  Now the pain in my chest returns and is accompanied by a deep cold.

                I can barely make out Charlie staring at me.  “I’m sorry,” she says.  “There’s no way to stop the bleeding.”

                She raises a pistol toward me but Delta cuts in, “It’s not worth it.  He’ll be dead in a few seconds anyway.  Might as well save your ammo.”

                I try to raise my hand to stop Charlie but it is getting too heavy and not responding.  The best I can manage is to nod my head a few times in agreement.

                Reluctantly, Charlie lowers her weapon and rises to her feet.  She stands there a moment before limping away.  Delta is already a good ways off still collecting things from the raider’s bodies.  I just sit there against the wall feeling my chest rise and fall with each labored breath.  Slowly everything fades to black.

Dead Space: Outbreak_Chapter 5

Dead Space: Outbreak

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Dead Space.  This is purely for non-profit, fan fiction based off the Dead Space series.

"Come on, we have to move!  Union Square is close by," Turner called back to Captain West and Jacob.  At that moment one of the creatures fell from the ceiling and attacked Turner.  West and Jacob both raised their pistols and blew the creature apart but they were too late.  Turner's stomach was torn open and blood was collecting around him rapidly.  West walked calmly up to Turner's twitching body and, glancing away, put a bullet threw Turner's head.  The twitching stopped and everything fell silent.
It was just then that West and Jacob could hear voices close by.

"Captain, what do you mean there's isn't an Officer Jeffereys?" Jacob tried to ask.

"That's enough!" West replied strongly.  Jacob took a half step back in surprise.  "We don't have time for this right now.  We have to focus on getting to Union Square and getting off this planet before one of those things kills us.  After that I will conduct a full search of the entire surviving population of this colony and look for your friend but for now, we have to move!"  With that the Captain grabbed Jacob by the arm and took off down the hallway toward the voices.

                As they ran Jacob looked down corridors and saw countless bodies strewn about the floor.  There were limbs lying in pools of blood everywhere he looked.  As they passed a conference room Jacob saw past the body keeping the door from sliding shut.  Inside were massive amounts of that terrible smelling slime he found in his vent.  But this was a hundred times worse: it was covering entire walls and even absorbing some of the dead bodies.  It looked like a slimy plant of decaying flesh had taken over the room.

Finally they arrived at the square.  It was crammed with people all waiting for emergency transports to evacuate them to the Ishimura orbiting overhead.  It seemed that the pilot of the transport was trying to keep people from boarding.  The shuttle was already overloaded and could barely take off as it was.  To the right of the crowd Jacob could see security officer Neumann and his partner Marla approaching.  Neumann automatically attempted to calm the crowd and get them into some kind of an order but there was just too much noise.  Jacob, who was trying to listen to Neumann instructions, could not make anything out over all the commotion.  Eventually Marla got Neumann's attention and apparently suggested another plan because Neumann settled on the idea of talking to a few nearby colonists and walking away.  Those he had talked to turned, said something to the nearest person and started following Neumann.

                "Captain," Jacob grabbed West's shoulder, "Where are they going?"
                "The only thing in that direction that would make any sense at this point would be the shuttle bay."
                "Do you think we should follow?"
                "Seems like it may be our only option.  Neumann is a good man, I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
                The two started off after Neumann when Jacob heard a familiar voice shouting to him from the midst of the tumult.
                "Jake?  Jake!  Wait up!"  It was Matthew.  He was pushing and shoving past everyone trying to follow.  "Jake, what's going on?  Where are you going?"  His eyes were bloodshot and wide with fright.
                "We're following Officer Neumann.  He seems to have a plan to..."
                "What is going on Here?!" Matthew started sputtering and swearing madly.  "These things are coming out of nowhere and slaughtering us all!"
                "Shut up and calm down, Sir," West ordered.  "Your antics aren't gonna get us anywhere."
                Matthew seemed to calm down a little and return more to his normal self.  "Fine, as long as this Neumann knows what he's doing I guess I...what the..."
                The three men glanced back toward the rising sound of terror as the transport shuttle started to rock back and forth losing control.  It appeared as though one of the more impatient passengers had climbed onto the hull of the ship.
                "Dear God, no..." West was the first to realize what was truly happening.  A second later Jacob and Matthew realized the passenger was one of those creatures and was attacking and massacring the entire shuttle.  Just then the things came out of nowhere and started slaughtering the people left in the square waiting for the transports.
                From the front of the moving crowd Jacob could hear Neumann calling out for everyone to follow him.  Everything became even more chaotic as people started running after Neumann trying to get away from the oncoming attack.
                They were able to evade the attack at Union Square but after a short while the group came to a sealed door.  As Marla tried to figure out how to open the door one of the colonists debated with Neumann about another possible way around.
                "That's not a good idea," West whispered to Jacob.  "The only other way would take at least two hours with a group like this.  We'll all be dead by then."
                Soon after Marla was able to get the door to open however what it revealed was not much of a better idea.  Inside was a long room littered with dozens of dead bodies.  Through the dim light Jacob could just make out the shapes of small flying creatures with short, stubby wings flying around from body to body.  They had long limbs that would jut out and attach to one of the dead bodies making it shake violently before flying off to another.
                Matthew started shaking slightly and mumbling to himself under his breath as his eyes darted nervously back and forth across the room.  Neumann encouraged the group to head through as long as they moved quickly and quietly.
                For a minute there was very little sound other than the horrid squishing and thrashing of the dead bodies being attacked by the flying aliens.  The air was thick with anxiety and fear as everyone moved through the room.
                Suddenly Matthew gave a shout and started running toward one of the closer bodies.  "Brian!  No, no, no, Brian!  Get off him you sick piece of..."  He ran wildly at the creature trying to get it off the body.
                Jacob called out, "Matt, get back here!"
                Matthew gave the creature a solid kick and sent it flying back.  As Matthew turned back the body reached up and impaled Matthew threw the chest with a long spike protruding from the middle of its hand.  The creature roared as it threw Matthew's twitching body aside and started tearing it apart.
                Jacob heard Marla call out from the front of the group for everyone to run, and they did.  But at the same time all the infected bodies rose up and started pursuing.  In every direction mutilated crew members were sprouting grotesque limbs, spitting blood and massacring the crowd.

                Someone on Jacob’s right tripped as one of the things caught a hold of his ankle and started gnawing on his leg.  The man screamed and tried to pull away but another came from behind and pinned his body to the floor.  Another woman directly in front of Jacob was lifted into the air from the shadows and smashed violently into the wall.  She was then thrown across the room and broke both her legs before she was surrounded and devoured by the beasts.

                Jacob caught sight of a young woman trip just behind him.  He turned and saw one of the aliens heading toward her with blood from its last victim still dripping from its mouth.  In a sudden burst of adrenaline Jacob grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at the creature just before it attacked the woman.  He then ran up and kicked in the thing’s face before it could get back to its feet.

                Jacob quickly turned to the woman and helped her to up.  Her ankle was twisted so he put her arm around his shoulder and helped her toward the exit.  They were so close.  Marla and Neumann were already there helping the colonists through.

                Just then Jacob saw Michael walking toward him slowly and against the crowd.

                “Michael!” Jacob called out.  “You’re alive!  Hurry we gotta get…”  Michael was not responding.  His face was calm and his eyes were cold, as if he was unaware of what was going on around him.  “Michael, what’s…are you…”  Michael continued forward.  One of the creatures ran right past Michael and slaughtered a colonist directly behind him.

                Jacob took a step back, “You’re not real…are you?” he asked tentatively.  Michael reached out his arms toward him and spoke; but it wasn’t Michael’s voice.

                “It’s ok, Jake.  You don’t have to worry anymore.”  It was Rachel.

                Suddenly Michael’s face turned into Rachel’s.  She was walking toward him with a pistol in one hand and a plasma cutter the other.  Jacob took another step back.

                All of a sudden the dark thought came back into Jacob’s mind.  But this time it was stronger, darker, and more evil than ever.  Almost all the light in the room disappeared and everything became blurry.  He could just barely make out Rachel’s form walking toward him with shining, blood red eyes.  She activated the plasma cutter and a high pitched, mechanical shriek filled Jacob’s ears.  Jacob tried to run but suddenly his whole body felt heavy and he could barely breathe.  He could hear as if a thousand voices were all screaming at once; shouting the same phrase over and over again: “Kill!  Fear!  Death!”

Rachel’s footsteps got closer and echoed in Jacob’s mind.  Her form became more clear and he could see she was in fact one of those creatures. 

                It raised its spiked arms into the air ready to come down on Jacob and tear into his flesh.  Everything went silent and seemed to move in slow motion.  He could sense those three words filling his mind.  They were as clear as anything but he knew he was not actually hearing them.  “Kill…”  The creature took a step forward.  “Fear…”  Its arms came closer to Jacob’s face.  “DEATH!”

                Jacob felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he fell on his side.  He looked up to see that the woman had shoved him out of the way just before he was killed.  She kicked the creature over and held out her hand to Jacob.

                “Come on!” she screamed.  “They’re going to close the doors!”  Jacob reached up and took her hand.

                Just as the two ran outside the exit Neumann fired a few shots at some oxygen tanks inside the room.  They exploded and sent pieces of the aliens flying in all directions.  The doors slammed shut sealing everything inside.

                The woman started shaking violently, buried her head into Jacob’s shoulder and started crying.  Jacob was a bit unnerved himself.  West calmly walked over and put his hand firmly on the woman’s arm.

                “Ma’am,” he started softly, “I know what we just went through, but I need you to calm down a little.  This is a very dangerous situation and if we’re all going to make it out alive I need to know you can stay with me.”  The woman stopped crying and turned to look at the Captain.  “There you go,” he said soothingly.  “Now, what’s your name?”

                The woman blinked her swollen, red eyes a few times before answering shakily, “Hernandez.  Officer Maria Hernandez.”

                “Alright then, Officer Hernandez, I’m Captain West.  I know your leg is hurt but do you think you can still stand on it?”

                Maria nodded timidly as Jacob slowly let her stand on her own.  She had a strong limp but she could still walk.

                “Good,” West commented, “I don’t think it’s broken.  If it hurts too much…your friend call you Jake, correct,” West gestured to Jacob.

                “Yes sir,” he replied.

                West turned back to Maria.  “If it hurts too much I’m sure Jake will help.”

                A short walk brought the survivors to the shuttle bay.  There was already a large crowd of people gathered there cramming into the last of the shuttles heading up to the Ishimura.  Jacob overheard Marla explaining to another colonist that these were the last five shuttles.

                Jacob turned to Maria and West.  “Did you hear that?”

                “Yeah, I heard,” West replied.  “We’ll be lucky to make it out.  There’s too many people here for the shuttles and it’s a thirty minute round trip.  Those things will get here before then.”  Maria clutched Jacob’s arm a little tighter, her eyes wide with panic.

                Out of the corner of his eye Jacob saw Neumann and Marla leave the bay.

                “Where could they possibly be going?” Jacob asked aloud.

                “I don’t know, but I sure hope they do,” West replied with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

                “Oh no…” Maria whispered.

                Jacob and West turned to see what had caught Maria’s attention.  To their horror they saw the shuttle that had just taken off lose control and crash into the other four shuttles in the bay.  There was a deafening crash that destroyed their last chance of escape.

                Maria started sobbing hysterically and broke free from Jacob’s grip.  Jacob called after her as she ran towards the burning shuttles; West ran after him.  Maria came to the edge of the debris and fell to her knees with her head in her hands.  Just as Jacob arrived at her side many of the creatures started pouring in from every direction drawn by the sound of the crash.  West helped Jacob lift Maria and carry her deeper into the flaming maze of scrap metal to hide but it was too late.  Several of the aliens had already caught sight of them and were in pursuit.

                Everywhere Jacob looked people were either being torn apart by the creatures or they had decided to spare themselves and commit suicide.  He could hear roaring, screaming, moaning and burning all around him.  Everything was in utter chaos.

                As the creatures closed in Jacob and West grabbed sharp shards of metal from the wreckage.  For what seemed like hours the two of them hacked off the limbs of dozens of beasts.  But it was no use; they just kept coming.  West’s legs were shaking with fatigue and Jacob could barely hold on to his makeshift weapon any longer.

                A creature came running through the flames and Jacob took off its legs followed by its arms and head.  Another leapt over a pile and he crushed its head and tore off its arms.  Another came crawling toward him dragging its disfigured lower half on the ground.  Jacob pulled up a still burning sharpened poll and pinned its head to the floor.

                Jacob’s hands were rubbed raw and were now bleeding in several places.  Without his consent the metal piece fell from his hands.  As he wiped the sweat and blood from his eyes he could clearly make out Rachel walking through the shuttle bay towards him.  He stopped and just stared at her.  She had no expression on her face.  She continued completely oblivious to the hellish nightmare Jacob was watching so vividly.

                Rachel walked calmly in front of Jacob and finally smiled.  It was a pleasant smile that Jacob had not seen in a long time.  She reached up and put her hand on Jacob’s cheek and spoke softly, “It’s ok, Jake.”  She moved her hand to Jacob’s eyes and closed them slowly as she whispered, “You don’t have to worry anymore…”

Epilogue

The following is a transcription of an audio clip found in the data banks of the ruined mining colony on Aegis VII

*static* “This is Mining Engineer Jacob Fuller.  I’m reporting from the mining colony on Aegis VII.  I am one of the very few survivors of an attack *static*(inaudible) unknown alien life form.  I survived along with Shuttle Engineer Maria Hernandez.  It’s been at least 7 hours since we’ve seen anyone else.  The only reason we’re still here is because of P-SEC Officer, Captain Jonathan West.  He gave his life so we could survive.  *static* not be forgotten.  Maria and I were able to find a shuttle that wasn’t too badly damaged and were able to fix it.  *static* We’re heading up to the USS Ishimura *distortion* (inaudible).  If we die *static* if anyone hears this recording: know that the Marker must not…reach…earth…” *static*

*End transmission*

Dead Space: Outbreak_Chapter 4

Dead Space: Outbreak

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Dead Space.  This is purely for non-profit, fan fiction based off the Dead Space series.

Jacob filled his glass with orange juice and took a sip.  He was waiting for Michael to come over when he suddenly smelled something foul.  He set his cup down and started wandering around the kitchen searching for the source.  He eventually followed the smell up to an air vent near the ceiling.  Jacob pulled a chair to the wall and removed the grate to look inside.  He squinted and saw a small ball of something just out of arm's reach.  He was about to search for something long enough to clean it out when he heard Michael's voice call him.  Jacob walked to the door and let Michael in.

"How have you been?"  Michael started.

"Surprisingly well actually.  I finally slept well last night."

"Yeah, that's good!"

Jacob and Michael walked to the table and sat down.  Michael took a bite out of his toast as Jacob asked, "So did you have something specific you wanted to talk about this morning?  It's not often you ask to get together this early."

Michael swallowed his bite.  "Well I'm working the rest of the day and pretty much until tomorrow morning so I wanted to let you know a few things before I went in."  He took a sip of juice before continuing, "First of all, do you remember the P-SEC gal down by the Marker, Natalia?  Well Dr. Sciarello just released her and..."

"Wait, she killed someone right?  They let her back out?"

"Calm down, Jake.  Dr. Sciarello says she isn't dangerous anymore.  She's definitely not cured, but she shouldn't be a problem.  Also, those bodies of the suicide victims you saw in the loading bay; they moved them back to the morgue for holding but they are eventually going up to the Ishimura along with the Marker and a few other bodies from the past few weeks."

"Why?  What could they want with those bodies?"

"I don't know.  All I've heard is that the order came from the captain of the Ishimura, Matthias, but of course he didn't say why he wanted them.  Oh, and the last thing: I'm sure you've heard about the planet crack tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I finally got called back to work to help out with that."

"That's what I figured.  Well, just be careful, alright?  I'm glad you've been feeling better but I wouldn't want something to happen while you're out there.  And I’ve never really been comfortable with the idea of breaking off such a large section of a planet’s crust just for the sake of mining."

"Thanks Mike, I'll be careful."

Jacob and Michael ate for a few minutes in silence before Michael contorted his face and looked around.  "What is that smell?"

"I don't know.  I found something up in my air vent but I couldn't see it very well."

"Well it stinks whatever it is.  You say it's up here?" Michael asked gesturing to the vent up in the corner.

"Yeah, I stood on a chair but I just couldn't reach it."

"Let me take a look," Michael said stuffing the rest of his breakfast into his mouth.  He pulled out a flashlight and stepped up onto the chair in the corner.  After a few seconds Michael stepped down and looked at Jacob.  "Well, I can't tell what it is, but it isn't pretty."

"What do you mean?  What could you see?"

"I'm not really sure.  I mean, it looked like a small, dead animal or something but it was all clumped up so I couldn't make it out too well.  It didn't have any fur or anything on it though.  It doesn't make much sense."

"How could it have gotten there?  No one has been in this apartment but me and it's not alive right?  So it couldn't have come from the vents."

"I really don't know.  I'll report this when I get to work today and make a request that you be moved to a new apartment.  Until that happens just keep an eye on it and let me know if anything happens."

"Alright, that sounds fine to me.  Just make sure it's quick; this smell is gonna start bothering me."

"Will do, Jake.  By the way, I should get going."  Michael picked up his plate and cup and put it in the kitchen.  "Thanks for the meal."

"Thanks for the info.  I like knowing what's going on; it helps clear my head."

Later that day Jacob was called in to work at the planet crack site to oversee the gravity tether placement.  He was walking from point to point checking the integrity and strength of each of the tethers but his mind was definitely not on his work.  "The Marker is gone...why don't this feel right?" he kept thinking to himself.  Everything at the site was going well; it seemed to be in complete contrast to the past couple weeks.  At each tether workers were showing all functions were well within regulation standards.  It just did not feel right that everything would be going so smoothly with such a delicate procedure.  Eventually Jacob found Matthew working at one of the tethers.

"Bridges, can I see you for a second," Jacob called out.

"Site Manager Fuller!  They said you'd be checking on things today."

"I guess so.  I hadn't been to work in a while so it was a shock when they called me in at such short notice.  I've been inside the colony so long it's strange to be outside again.  It's taking a while for me to get used to this RIG suit again.  Anyway, everything working over here?"

"That's affirmative, Sir.  It's one of the easiest cracks I've set up."

"Let me see the specs."

Matthew handed Jacob a small pad with the technical performance of the tether.

"Sure enough, everything checks out."

"If everything's going so well then why do you look upset?" Matthew asked as he took the pad back from Jacob.

"It's just...I don't know.  You said this is one of the easier preps for you right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well doesn't it seem a little odd that a crack this big would go so well; especially when we're dealing with the Marker?"

"Now that you mention it I guess it is a little odd.  I suppose I've just been trying to stay optimistic since that thing left."

"I just have a hard time accepting that everything would go back to normal so fast and so easily."

"Come on; everything started suddenly because we discovered this 'Marker' thing.  Doesn't it make sense that everything would go back once it left?  I thought you were the one that wanted it gone anyway."

"I did...I just thought there would be more to it. I suppose you're right, it makes..."

Just then Jacob thought he saw someone with short blond hair duck behind one of the far gravity tethers.

"Rachel..." Jacob whispered to himself.  He closed his eyes tight and shook his head swearing under his breath.

"Everything ok, Jake?"

"Yeah...no.  I don't..." he glanced around again but did not see her.  "Sorry, I gotta check the rest of the tethers."  Jacob walked off and left Matthew alone and confused.  "I knew it.  Even though the Marker is gone it's still messing with me.  This isn't good."  Jacob checked the rest of the tethers quickly and left the site as soon as he could.

Jacob was almost back to his room when he saw Rachel again out of the corner of his eye.  She glanced at him longingly and she walked around a corner.  He did not know why, but Jacob decided to follow her.  He turned the corner but Rachel was not there.  He glanced over his shoulder and turned back but could not see her anywhere.  Finally he heard her voice calling his name very faintly down the hallway in front of him.  Jacob broke into a run glancing down each intersection.  He heard Rachel's voice again off to his left and followed it.  Jacob eventually found himself back in Union Square.

He tripped on something and fell into a puddle of blood.  Jacob quickly jumped to his feet and saw he had tripped over Deacon Abbott's arm.  He was surrounded by the bodies of all the suicide victims from that day.  In horror Jacob stepped back and kept tripping over more and more bodies.  Blood was splashing all over his face and arms as he struggled through the massacre.  Jacob looked around only to realize he was now in the middle of the Square with bodies spread out in all directions.  Back towards the entrance in front of him Rachel was standing with her finger held up to her mouth as if hushing him.  Jacob froze in fear as he heard something crack and shift behind him.  He turned quickly to see Rachel standing directly in front of him within arm’s reach.  Her head was bowed and her blood stained hair was hanging in front of her face.  Again, Jacob heard something behind him.  He turned slowly to see that all the bodies were now standing with their heads hanging limp.  Suddenly something grabbed Jacob's shoulder and turned him around.  He was staring right into an evil face.  It was Rachel's face but her jaw was missing and sharp teeth were jutting out in all directions.  Jacob heard the same high pitched shriek from the day of the mass suicide as all the creatures closed in around him.  Rachel raised her arm as a long fleshy spike grew from the middle of her hand.  Rachel thrust her arm down on Jacob as he heard an ominous cold voice whisper, "Fear...".

"Jake!  Jake!"  Michael was paging him through the comm. link.

Jacob jolted awake and sat straight up in his bed.  He did not remember how he got there.  "Mike, what's going on?  Why are you..."

"Jake?  Good you're awake!  Stay in your room; I'm on my way."

"What is going on, Mike?!"

"Don't open your door unless it's me.  There's something going..."

At that moment there was a loud rumble and Jacob's room shook.  The lights then blacked out and Jacob was left in complete darkness.  For just a brief moment the dark though flashed in Jacob's mind.

"Mike...Mike, are you there?"  Jacob tapped on his comm. link and fumbled around for his flashlight swearing to himself.  After a few second he found it and looked around his room.  Several things had fallen off shelves and his desk.  "Mike, can you hear me?" Jacob tried the comm. link again.  "Lights are out and comm. is down..." Jacob thought to himself.  "Is that what Mike was warning me about?"

Jacob forced open the door to his dining area to wait for Michael.  As soon as he stepped out of his room he caught a stench as if something was rotting.  He glanced up to the vent he and Michael had search earlier only to see that the blob they found had grown and was now oozing down the wall.  Jacob took a step back and braced himself on the table.  He heard a small crash and felt his hand in something warm and wet.  "What the..."  Jacob stepped back and realized he had knocked over a glass of orange juice onto a plate of toast.  "Wasn't that Mike's?"  Jacob thought to himself.  Just then he heard someone just outside pounding on his door and yelling.

"Mike, is that you?"

"Someone please, please let me in!"  The voice sounded manic with fear.

Jacob felt the dark thought whisper to him, "Kill..."

Jacob tried to shake it off and respond to the man outside, "Who are you?  What's going..."

"Just open the door!"  Jacob heard him scratching the door.  "It's coming...it's coming!  Open the door!  I can't...Oh God, NO!"

The man started swearing and screaming inaudibly.  Soon his screams changed from fear to pain as they were drown out by an inhuman bellow.  It sounded like the man started wrestling with something outside as his cries became muffled and eventually fell silent.  Jacob heard some shuffling and the sounds of footsteps in a puddle but eventually even that disappeared.  Jacob was breathing heavily but tried to keep as quiet as possible.  He could feel the dark thought in his mind as if it were there in the room with him.  After a few minutes that felt like hours, Jacob finally heard Michael's voice calling to him from the other side of the door, "Jake, are you in there?  Please tell me you're still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here.  What in the world is going on?"

Jacob opened the door and froze in terror as a man's hand loosely flopped through the entrance.  Jacob stared as a pool of blood slowly grew around the grotesquely dismembered body at the entrance to his apartment.  Again he could hear the thought in the back of his mind, "Death...". 

"What...what is..." Jacob started breathing heavily unable to speak.

"Come on, let's get out of here."  Michael reached out and grabbed Jacob's arm pulling him away from the apartment.  "Whatever did that may still be close by."

"What do you mean?  What happened?"

"Something just massacred that man and we need to leave before it comes back.  Now keep your voice down."

"What it?  What are you talking about?"

"I don't know!  Just follow me and keep quiet.  We need to make our way to P-SEC Head Quarters."

Jacob and Michael walked quickly but quietly through corridors and plazas.  The only thing that could be seen was the glow from their flashlights.  The only thing that could be heard was their footsteps echoing through the empty colony.

"Where is everyone?" Jacob finally asked.

"I don't know.  I haven't seen anyone in a while," Michael whispered glancing back and forth.

Soon they heard the sound of shouting and gunfire up ahead.  Michael swore to himself, "Sounds like they're already here."  He handed Jacob his pistol, "Take this and find Captain West.  He'll take care of you."  With that Michael ran off ahead and disappeared around a corner.

Jacob slowed down unsure of what to do.  He knew there was something ahead of him that he did not want to encounter but he did not want to be alone either.  He stood still for a moment trying to collect himself when he heard a low growl behind him.  Without turning to look Jacob ran off toward the fighting.  Before long Jacob saw P-SEC guards running his way glancing behind their shoulders in fear.

"Captain West?  Where is Captain West?" Jacob kept asking the passing guards.  Most of the guards just ran past without even looking at him.  One of the men finally stopped and grabbed Jacob by the arm, "Come on we have to get out of here!"

Jacob fought back, "Where's Captain West?"

"He's back there.  But you'd do better to come with us; they're closing in."

"I have to see him!"  Jacob broke free from the guard and took a step back.  The guard just swore and ran off leaving Jacob in the chaos.

Jacob turned around and started toward the growing noise.  Before long he came upon a small group of guards crouching down behind a make-shift barricade.  There was one man in particular shouting orders to the rest.  Everyone else kept calling him Captain so Jacob assumed this was the man Michael told him to see.

"Captain West?" Jacob shouted out approaching the man.

West glanced quickly over his shoulder before giving another order, "What are you doing here?  This area is off limits to civilians!"

"I was told by a P-SEC officer to come see you."

"Sorry kid but I don't have time...get down!"

There was a loud crash as a piece of the barricade broke free and pinned Jacob down.  Another guard came to help Jacob life the desk off his leg but something shot out of the rubble and impaled the officer through the head.  Jacob recognized the object as one of the fleshy spikes from his dream, except this time it was attached to a vulgar creature.  The spike came from one of two arms growing out of its deformed shoulders.  Two other arms came from the middle of its abdomen.  With these the creature started lifting itself over the rubble.  Jacob lifted his pistol and started firing madly into the creatures vivisected chest.  The beast stumbled back slightly before continuing forward.  In a panic Jacob grabbed the pistol of the dead officer and shot at the creatures head.  There was a short moment of relief as it exploded but somehow its limbs continued thrashing blindly.  Fortunately it smashed the desk and Jacob was able to crawl away as another officer shot off the alien's arms and legs.  Jacob stood up shakily gripping his bruised leg.  He did not have much time to reload as three more of the creatures started crawling over the barricade.

Captain West called out in a hoarse voice for everyone to fall back and regroup.  Jacob and the four soldiers turned in retreat.  One of the men screamed as he was stabbed through the stomach and lifted into the air.  West took several more shots to hold off the creatures as his men ran past.  He turned and ran alongside Jacob at the back of the group down the nearest corridor.  Jacob could hear one of the things closing in behind them.  Just up ahead he saw several of the guards run into a room off to the right.  West and Jacob dove through the entrance as one of the guards closed the door on the creature behind them.  Captain West calmly stepped forward and shot off its arms.  He then crushed its head with the back of his pistol.  One of the guards was shaking violently and mumbling to himself.  The other two were more collected but still visibly shaken.  There were still several creatures outside pounding on the door.

Jacob turned to West, "Captain, one of my friends is out there.  We have to..."

"I'm sorry but there's very little chance anyone else is still alive."  West turned to his other men and started giving orders.  "We have to try to contact someone, anyone else in the colony.  We need to see if this situation is...look out!"

Another beast dropped out of a ceiling vent and started tearing into one of the officers.  Everyone else drew their weapons and unloaded their clips into it.  The shaky officer dropped to his knees and crawled back into a corner breathing heavily and sputtering, "fear, kill, death...kill...fear, death...".  He fumbled around and put his last clip into his pistol and raised it to his head.

"Come on, Daniels.  Don't do it.  I need you on this team.  We're gonna get..."

Crack

Daniels’ body slumped to the floor smearing blood on the wall.

West cursed quietly and sighed.  "Turner, grab that chair next to you and put it here under this vent.  We're gonna use it to get out of here."

"The same vent that thing came out of?" Turner questioned.

West turned toward the door where the beasts were still pounding.  "We don't really have a lot of options do we?"

Turner positioned the chair and jumped up into the vent.  He helped West who, in turn, helped Jacob.

"The friend that I mentioned earlier is a P-SEC officer," Jacob mentioned to West as they crawled, "is there any way you could try and contact him?"

"It depends on whether the comm. system is still down or not but I can certainly try."  They turned a tight corner.  "What's his name?"

"Jeffereys, Officer Michael Jeffereys."

West glanced back with a concerned look on his face.  "We don't have anyone stationed here by that name."

"Here we are," Turner shouted back to the others as he kicked out a grate.

"That can't be...he was transferred here a year ago," Jacob replied.

Turner helped both West and Jacob out of the vent. 

 "That's not possible, son.  I'm one of the men in charge of background checks of all the officers that are assigned to this colony.  I would know if there was a Jeffereys here and believe me, there isn't.