Dark Blood

Chapter 12

Numb.

Why was numbness always the feeling that accompanied shock? Whether it was jumping into a cold pool or turning around to find your fiancé on their knee with a ring in their hand, one always felt numb. Just for a few moments, your skin prickling while your nerves figure out what signals to send, and then the emotions sort themselves out and rush over you. Yes, numbness was usually followed by a powerful rush of emotion.

But today, a day of days, on a lower floor in a laboratory overrun by an alien hive, one person broke the norm. Kara Morgan felt nothing, and thought that she would continue to feel nothing forever.

She didn't feel the impact when her knees met the ground. She didn't feel the gun slip from her hand and plop down into the gunk beside her. She didn't feel when her hands slipped behind her head and grabbed fistfuls of hair. She didn't feel her eyelids trying furiously to blink away reality, which they eventually gave up. There was no point. Kara had already broke. Her nerves, her heart, her emotional comprehension, all of it shattered by the reality before her; she was too late.

The wet dripping of slim was accompanied by drips of blood. Their faces... the faces of her family... stared at her. Some had their eyes closed, but others had died with their eyes open. Some head hung limply forwards while others were thrown back, supported by their shoulders. She saw mother, her loving bosom now crimson and torn apart. Her father was next to her, and she realized that their heads were inclined towards each other. They had died together, eyes open, uttering one final "I love you" before their hearts ruptured.

She saw her cousins, her aunts, her uncles, her grandparents, her college friends from the band, as well as Kayla's friends and family. Her parents had died together, too. Every single one of them, no matter if their eyes were closed or open, seemed to be staring at her. Pleading, asking one single question: Why didn't you save us?

A scream was starting to build in her chest. No, not a scream, a wail. A bloodcurdling, heart-wrenching wail that would rip through the tunnels and send the aliens running to greet her. But Kara didn't know if she cared or not. Looking at her family, she decided that she would welcome death. What else did this world have for her? She would be alone, completely and utterly alone if she survived. Yes, why not welcome death?

Kara closed her eyes and inclined her head, a sick smile twitching on the edge of her lips. Let's call in the cavalry, shall we? However, the wail died in her throat when she heard something to her left. Her eyes snapped open and she whirled to face where it had come from. What was it? She had barely heard it, but she knew something was there. Eyes roaming the wall, they caught movement in the grey mass. Then she heard that sound again, coming from that spot, and realized that it was a moan. Someone was alive.

Kara scrambled to her feet and sprinted to the wall. Whoever it was was buried deeper than the others. As she yanked and broke away slimy chunks, she ran through her head everyone she had seen. Mom...Dad...Nana...Papa...cousins.... She glanced to her right and saw Kayla, so small and barely visible, dark hair clumped and falling over her face. Kayla...Kayla's parents...Oh my god.... Kara feverishly ripped away one last chunk.

"Lukas..."

His face was pale and gaunt underneath the slime. She could see his eyes rolling around behind his lids, his breathing shallow and haggard. Kara released a shaky breath herself as she reached up and cupped his cheeks.

"Oh god, Lukas," she smiled in relief. "You're alive."

Her bother moaned again and opened his eyes barely a crack. "Kara...?"

"Yes! Yes, Lukas, it's me! I'm going to get you out of here."

She spun around at the sound of footsteps. Stephens and the rest of the men had finally arrived. After she had taken off, they had hesitated for a few moments, waiting to hear if she had sprinted into the maws of death. When they didn't hear anything (specifically no screaming), they slowly made their way down after her. Now here they were, ten Colonial Marines looking at a room full of fresh bodies and one frantic girl with her brother trapped in the wall.

"Stephens!" Kara's eyes lit up with hope. "Lukas- my brother is alive! Come on and help me get him out."

She turned back to her brother and started to yank at more of the grey mass that held him captive. Her brother started to moan again, his face twisting in pain.

"Kara..."

Her tugging got more frantic and her face twisted with panic. "It's okay, buddy. You're going to be okay. You're-"

Kara was violently yanked away from her brother. She whirled to face her assailant, a mixture of fury and confusion in her eyes. It was Stephens, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the small, spidery corpse lying on the ground in front of her brother.

"What the FUCK, Stephens!?" She started raising her voice, forgetting about the danger that lurked all around them. Stephens' hand quickly clamped over her mouth and his eyes locked onto hers.

"Shut up," he whisper-shouted. "Shut up and listen. Your brother is dead! He's infected."

His hand was slapped away. "Yeah, so? You can save him." She pointed to the Pack Mule. "You've got something in that pack that can get it out of him, don't you?"

Stephens looked to the Pack Mule, to her brother, then back to her. Something changed in his expression. His eyes were softer than they had been a moment ago, filled with a twinge of pain and pleading for forgiveness. "Kara..."

She staggered away from him, horror and despair overcoming her features. "No."

"Kara," his shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, eyes wild. "No. No, you're full of shit!"

Running back to her brother, she ran her hands over his face and through his hair. "Lukas- hey Lukas, look at me buddy."

His eyelids only fluttered and he moaned in pain again. "Kara... it hurts."

"It'll be ok, buddy. I'm here. I'm gonna get you out of this, just hold on." As she pulled, fingers slipping and fumbling on the slimy substance, her brother started to writhe.

"Kara," Stephens and his men took a few steps back. "Come away from him."

She didn't listen. She just kept pulling and dropping the chunks at her feet. She almost had him free. Her brother started to shake, face twisting as he started yelling out in pure agony.

"Lukas! Lukas!" Kara called to him frantically, but it was drowned out by his screams. He started coughing feverishly and blood spew from his mouth, splattering on Kara's face. She heard a sickening crunch and his screams died, head dropping limply to his chest. She took a stumbling step back, hands trembling and reaching for her brother.

"Lukas...?"

Her brother's body jerked violently as there was another crunch, blood starting to pool darkly under his shirt. Kara had retreated back to Stephens, never taking her eye off of the scene playing out before her. She clutched at the Marine as if her life depended on it. With a final crunch, her brother's chest exploded. Gore and blood flew everywhere, and in its wake, a squirming snake-like creature reared its head from her brother's corpse. It opened its mouth and released a high-pitched shriek.

At this point, Kara couldn't help it.

She screamed.