Xeno Love

Chapter 3: Sudden Death

Mission Time: 00:46

Jacob groaned and stirred slightly in Tara’s hands. His eyes drifted open.

“Tara...?” he mumbled. “Where are –” With a terrifying noise similar to nails being drawn across a chalkboard, the vent beneath them was ripped open. Jacob and Tara tumbled into the room below, Jacob smashing his head against the floor, which would have been fatal had it not been for his helmet. Tara screamed as she was dragged away and Jacob managed to stumble to his feet. The way he ran made him look like he was drunk; his head injury the Xenomorph prevented him from walking in straight lines. He tripped and fell, his vision was fuzzy.

It was hard to stay awake.
A hiss... right behind him.
A wave of static ran down his visor, probably because of the giant crack that split across it horizontally.
Footsteps, almost silent, padding beside him.
He stared blankly at his Pulse Rifle lying on the floor metres away from him.
The noises stop suddenly.
A face, terrifying, right in front of his. It’s not human, it’s something else...
The sound of a tail, whooshing from side to side in annoyance.
He groaned and let his head fall to the floor in defeat. He felt himself being dragged backwards, into the chamber he had come from. He couldn’t move his head, so he was forced to stare at the dead body of Dutch. His Sergeant was holding something in his hands, something important, but Jacob was too dizzy to remember what it was. There was blood seeping slowly down the African-American’s head, making Jacob believe he was dead, but something told him that his Sarge was just unconscious. Even worse. Jacob felt himself being propped up against the wall. Then he was left there. The Xenomorphs just walked off and left him. He looked down at his chest, groaning in distraught.

“I... have one inside me,” he moaned to himself. He felt it squirm slightly, as if to confirm his suspicions for him. He sighed to himself. “I’m gonna die.” He slid down the wall slowly, until he was lying down. He patted his chest. “Not the worst way to go out,” he decided. “I’d rather give life to something with my death than give death to something with my death. Makes everything a bit happier.” He didn’t even know who he was talking to. Maybe the creature inside his chest? Or maybe he was just going insane because of his impending death. He slowly forced himself to his feet. Gradually, his vision started to sharpen up. He waddled over to Dutch’s body and yanked off his Dog Tags. He didn’t have the strength to carry the large man anywhere. He walked over to a room with a large window in it. He sat down next to this window and watched the sun rise. Jacob let his helmet fall to the ground. He frowned as he saw a shadow on the ground outside. The dropship he had got there in descended in front of him. Before he had time to react, the glass shattered and Jacob was sucked into the safety of the hangar by a perfectly executed manoeuvre on the pilot’s part. Jacob sat up slowly. “You’ve got to leave me,” he told the pilot. “I’ve got one of them inside me.” He saw the pilot shake his head.

“That’s not going to happen. We have a cryobay on board the main ship. We can take you to a Weyland Industries station to get that thing removed. Just hang in there.” Jacob gasped as he felt the creature inside him flail about slightly.

Mission Time: Suspended due to MIA and KIA Colonial Marines

Jacob was gently lowered into the cryo pod by a helpful nurse. He closed his eyes as he felt the Alien inside him squirm and heard the cover shut, freezing him in that moment. What felt like seconds later, he heard it open again. His watch beeped as the time was synced. He had been in there for two weeks. A Marine hauled him to his feet and escorted him down a clean white hallway and all the way to a medical lab. He was laid down on the table and anesthetised.

“Are you sure the embryo has had sufficient time to develop?” a scientist asked once he was sure Jacob was unconscious. He got a nod from another scientist.

“Yes. We half-thawed him so that he and the embryo would age, but neither would notice.” The first scientist nodded and prepared his tools. He made an incision down Jacob’s chest. After ten minute’s careful work he was finally able to grab the Alien with a pair of tongs. The creature screeched and struggled, trying to get back to its host.

“It must think it hasn’t fully developed yet,” the second scientist remarked. The first one shrugged and put the Alien in a small glass tube. Then he set to sealing up the hole in Jacob. “He’s still alive? You must be going soft,” the second snickered. Number one grinned.

“Well, the more of these grunts we have, the more specimens they can bring back. And with the scar that’s gonna leave, it’ll be a lot easier to extract it the second time.” They laughed as they exited the room with their prize, abandoning Jacob to recover on his own or die.

 

1500 hours, Weyland Industries Standard Time

Jacob awoke to find himself in a small room. The only furniture it had was the bed he was on and a small chest of drawers for clothes. He yawned, wincing as he stretched his wound. He lifted off his shirt to examine it, and was horrified with what he saw. It was a crude cut, not even straight. It was like a child trying to draw a line. It was red and raw and didn’t look like anyone had cared in the slightest if he lived or died.

Help me...

Jacob jumped and did a quick 360. There was no one in the room with him. Had he just imagined that faint whisper? He shook his head and wandered over to the bathroom that adjoined his room. He splashed some water on his face and scratched his stubble. When had he gotten that? His body wasn’t supposed to change during cryosleep. He wandered out of his room to find someone to talk to. He knocked on the door he had remembered being taken to to get his surgery done. A frail man with whispy pale brown hair and square glasses stepped out.

“Oh, hello Jacob,” he greeted him.

“You can call me Jake,” Jacob said, sticking out his hand. The scientist shook it.

“So, what brings you here today Jake?”

“What happened to the Xenomorph? Did you kill it?”

“Yes we did Jake, don’t worry.” Jake didn’t know why, but he felt a little sad to hear this. He was the first person to survive an implantation and was wondering what had hatched from him. He shook the thoughts away.

“How... how long is this going to take to heal?” he asked, pointing to his chest.

“Ah yes, that will leave a scar, but with the medication we gave you, it should be healed as much as possible in a few days. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m being called.” The scientist ducked back into his office. Jake frowned. He had actually wanted to ask a few more questions, but he had to just walk away and try to find something else to do. He passed a room with ‘Authorised Personnel Only’. The door was open slightly, the mechanism jammed. Jake let his curiosity take the better of him and he pushed it open enough so he could fit inside. What he found inside startled him.