Alien: Isolation (1st POV Ripley Edition)

#19

- Verlaine, I'm arriving at the bridge! - I said, successfully entering Torrens through the nearest airlock and heading to my destination.

For some reason, I didn't change out of my spacesuit (adrenaline, and maybe some bad feeling?) and continued straight. I don't know why, but the astronaut suit gave me a sense of security, which I needed after everything I had survived in Sevastopol.

The corridors of Torrens were as deserted and empty as the day (two or two ago, at most) when I woke up from a hyper-sleep before we reached Sevastopol. However, heavy thoughts began to swarm my head as I walked towards the deck.

The Torrens ship was connected to Sevastopol for a while, and those horrible creatures can survive in the vacuum of space. Is it possible that one of them transferred, and maybe somehow boarded the Torrens? Maybe even use the airlock system like I did? That seemed unlikely to me, but not impossible. Apostlejta, the stovors have big heads and I have no doubt that they are very, very (too!) intelligent!

I finally arrived at the corridor with three forks. One led to the one from which I arrived. Another led into a tunnel with an emergency airlock (what emergencies? I couldn't imagine what they could possibly be), and the third, opposite the airlock, led straight to the bridge.

- Verlaine? - I asked, without an answer. But this time I was more impatient than usual and pressed the button to manually open the door. At the same time, I realized what a mistake I had made. If the door was locked, why would it be locked? Maybe Verlaine, if something went wrong, activated the automatic locking system on Torrens in case I got there because...

The door opens and a huge oblong gray head of a horrible monster emerges in front of me.

Less than a meter away from me! He was so tall that he straightened up, and maybe he crouched for a while in the hallway, listening to my movements and hoping that I would open the door, which, of course, I did.

I started to back away with the panicked movements of someone whose end must be near.

My arrival on the Torrens killed them all! Verlaine, her pilot Connor! And they all died; Taylor, Samuels, and everyone at the station. And now...it seems the same is happening to me.

Amazingly, the creature didn't lunge at me right away. He moved elegantly, and one could almost say, in slow motion, towards me. It was drooling, as always, and I got the unpleasant feeling that it was preparing a painful end for me, but that it was enjoying my fear and terror immensely.

His eyeless head "stared" at me, while I slowly, as if in slow motion in gelatin, moved backwards. Where to? By some chance (because it was right opposite the corridor leading to the bridge) I headed to the corridor leading to the manually activated emergency airlock (ah, now I see that it can actually be useful!).

Luckily I didn't trip and fall in the suit because the creature probably didn't have that much patience.

Another step two...

As the creature was enjoying my helplessness, it didn't even notice (or did it?!) that I was looking at the big red button that was almost within my reach. Moreover, he even slowed down his approach and now he just started entering the corridor where I was already.

Seven fingers on each superhumanly slender and terrifying hand, I noticed for the first time in my life. No, focus, Amanda!

That! The button was within my reach! I looked at him, then at the creature. He noticed my hope and just got even more salty. Or did it look too much like a grin? It doesn't matter.

Push the button. Once, twice. Thank God, he reacted. All eyes began to whistle warning sounds. Damn it! I hoped that he would react immediately, without delay.