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*