Chromium

Chapter 16.3

First draft

The alien before her eyes was strangely human-like. There was a vague resemblance to the monster she'd faced shortly before. They were both muscular, hairless, green-skinned and tall, though the creature in the hologram was at least two feet shorter. Just like Gibson's monster, the alien had vertical pupils but no tail. Moreover, its limbs were in proportion and its skin looked soft not scaly. But the biggest difference was that Dia could see the intelligence in the alien's eyes. 

This isn't a dumb monster.

No matter how much she looked at it, it was obviously clear that Gibson's lizard was just a knockoff, and the creature before her eyes was the real deal.

"Fascinating creatures, aren't they?" Gibson's creepy voice woke her from her reverie. "Regrettably, we know so little of them."

"Are you..." She started to speak, cleared her throat and swallowed hard before she could find her voice again." ...are you trying to say that's how they look like?"

"Correct."     

Dia was too stunned to speak. She tried to compose herself and calmly analyze the situation. Except for the children's bodies, the olo-pictures, her medical records - everything she had seen so far - could be forged.

Yes, it's all fake. It has to be!

Clinging to the hope that everything he'd said was a lie, Dia said, "No, I don't believe you."

"I knew you wouldn't, but that's alright. I came prepared." He said and once again his image flickered when the remote started projecting a new hologram.

"What's this?" Dia asked, her voice full of suspicion.

"Just look."

Dia felt a wave of unease, a pinching sensation in her chest warning her to run away, leave the place without turning back, and yet, she didn't. She stood there and looked. She saw two men, both in lab coats, standing close to a monitor.  The one on the left, the older of them, was in his fifties, his hair stranded with white, but in good physical shape, while the other was at least fifteen years younger and twice as fat.

"...breached our defenses." The younger man said, his voice betraying his agitated stated of mind. "They have started boarding the station!"

"I think they are here for him." A female voice said. "But how did they find out?"

Whoever was speaking was outside the frame, but Dia would have recognized that voice anywhere.

"That's cheap, Gibson." Dia hissed, her voice trembling with barely contained rage. "If that's all you got..."

"Keep looking."

Dia released a snort and turned back toward the hologram.

"I don't know, Doctor Weir." The older man continued in a considering sort of tone. "They must have localized him somehow."

"Director, it doesn't matter how they did it!" The younger man looked frantic, exhausted, and really scared. "we must evacuate immediately!"

"We can't leave, Stevenson." The director said calmly.

Dismay flicked in Stevenson's brown eyes. "What?"

The director breathed deeply, then repeated, "We can't leave. Their sensors are much more precise than ours. They will locate us the minute we try to escape."

"Then, what do you want to do?"  Stevenson crossed his arms, a touch of defiance in his voice, "We just wait here for the mechs to kill us?"

"Of course not." Stevenson replied calmly as if he was used to the other man's sarcastic remarks. "We need a diversion."

"A diversion?" The so-called "Doctor Weir" asked.