Alien: Isolation

Chapter Thirty Two: Goodbye Sevastopol

The base and two remaining towers that made up Sevastopol station soon began to burn up as the whole thing entered the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. First the metal heated up until it turned red, and then flames began to shoot out from the hottest spots, leaving trails like comets that quickly spread to nearby areas. The last two towers broke apart from the base just before becoming completely consumed by fire, and all three quickly vanished into the swirling brown and yellow mist before finally exploding in a brilliant flash of light.

The shockwave from this blast disturbed the pattern of the gas giant's colors for a few seconds, and then Sevastopol station was gone as if it had never existed in the first place. Marlow's wish that no one would ever know the whole story of what happened there, appeared to have come true; the creatures, Apollo and its murderous Working Joes, along with any of the deranged survivors that might have somehow been still alive… just gone.

As for Ripley, she tumbled through space, seeing the Torrens getting a little closer each time that she spun so that she was facing it for a second. Somehow her aim was spot-on, allowing her to crash right into the side of the airlock door. Well, maybe not exactly spot-on, but she was quick enough to grab the safety handle, which prevented her from bouncing off of the ship and sharing the station's fate. From there, she was able to watch the final destruction of Sevastopol, shielding her eyes for a second when that final flash occurred, and then she pulled herself into the airlock.

Not wanting to crash to the floor this time, like every other instance where she had used an airlock lately, Ripley maneuvered so that her feet were already on the floor when she hit the button to repressurize. The outer door slid closed, and there was a hiss as oxygen was flooded into the room. Gravity reasserted itself a few moments later, and she couldn't help but laugh a little to herself when it dawned on her that she had survived. She had survived… and those creatures had not.

It was painful to think about all of the people who had lost their lives in the process; Axel… Kuhlman… Waits… Samuels… Marlow… Taylor… and Ricardo. None of them had deserved what happened on Sevastopol… no one deserved anything like that, and Ripley was sure as hell going to have some serious words with the company when she got back home. The only good news about this whole trip was that she had at least learned something about what happened to her mother, and hopefully this evidence would be enough for a new search to be put together.

"Verlaine, I made it." She said into the radio, still trying to catch her breath. "I'm gonna get out of this suit, and then I'll come up to the bridge."

There was no response from the Torrens' Captain as the repressurizing sequence completed, and then the airlock's inner door opened, allowing Ripley access to the last hallway before she would be able to actually enter the Torrens and truly relax. The first thing she was going to do, after removing the EVA suit, that is, was take an incredibly long shower. Then she was going to have a nice, hot meal, and finally get some sleep. Except for her bouts of unconsciousness, she hadn't slept a wink since boarding Sevastopol, but then again, as hard as it was to believe… this whole crazy nightmare had only lasted a little over a day.

"Verlaine?" She called again as she reached the door. "Hello?"

Thinking that something must've damaged the comm system during that final escape, Ripley pushed the button to open the door, but then immediately realized that there was nothing wrong with the comms. At first she thought that it was Verlaine or one of the others waiting for her when the door slid open to reveal a figure standing there, but then it looked at her, and she couldn't even manage to scream as the creature stepped through the doorway.

Nearly tripping over her own two feet while trying to back away, the creature smiled at her while keeping pace, and Ripley realized that it must've somehow climbed onboard the Torrens while everyone was distracted. But if it was already in there, and no one was answering the comms… did that mean… did that mean that it had already killed Verlaine and the others? But that wasn't how it was supposed to happen, she thought as she kept backing away… she had bene through hell and survived, and now everyone was supposed to get to go home… it just wasn't fair.

Not that this creature or any of its kind gave a damn about fairness, but now Ripley was literally out of options. She had no weapons or tools, and there was nowhere left to run or hide… all she could do was keep backing up. A few steps later her back was against the wall, and she couldn't help starting to cry when the creature's full height towered over her. No longer thinking rationally, she rushed forward, desperately attempting to knock the creature off balance, but its powerful body was barely moved at all. Instead it simply put its large hand on the front of her suit, and effortlessly shoved her back up against the wall, holding her there as it moved its head closer.

Ripley was glad that she was still wearing the suit, although the helmet was unlikely to be able to protect her from what was about to happen. The creature seemed to smile again as it opened its mouth, and she shrieked when the inner mouth shot forward, although it stopped just short of hitting the helmet. Then it shot out again, making Ripley scream and try to get away, but there was nothing she could do. The creature appeared to be playing with her, as if it were amused by her fear and torment… but then her hand touched something on the wall.

Taking a quick look to the side, she saw that it was the emergency override panel for the outer airlock door that she was currently pinned against, and this gave her a way out… but she couldn't quite get her hand on the button. Ripley tried to slide sideways, only needing an inch or two, but as she felt for the button, she looked back up at the creature. It's sort of smile was gone, slowly being replaced by an angry scowl as it moved its head so close that its Human-like teeth were touching her helmet as it very slowly opened its mouth.

She knew that she wouldn't survive the next stab from its inner mouth, so with all of her strength, Ripley scooted sideways just enough to reach the button. Slamming her hand down onto it, both she and the creature were catapulted into space just like when she had done this to escape the detached science module. The good news was that the creature lost its grip on her, and they flew off in different directions, but as for the bad news… she was in space. For all she knew, everyone on the Torrens had bene killed, and now she was spiraling away from the ship, with no way to contact anyone for help.

At least she had managed to not be shot into the gas giant's atmosphere, but now Ripley was just kind of floating there, and even though there was plenty of air in the suit's tanks, it wouldn't last forever. So she kept on floating, and at some point she must've fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, there was a bright beam of light passing over her face. Everything was kind of blurry when she opened her eyes, but it was really there… maybe a searchlight from a ship… so did that mean she was saved?