Twenty-four: Armed

Sunghoon is a diabetic, and without the insulin pump his blood sugar will drop to a dangerous degree. Pastora's plan all made sense now. But how long would she keep his pump away from him?

I stare down at the pump in her hand that was trembling. The thin tube attached to the pump dangled by her arm, I spotted the tiny needle at the end of the tube and then I slowly looked at Sunghoon. Out of everything we've seen and done today, this is the most shocked I have ever seen him.

"P-Pooch…" Sunghoon sputtered looking at her in disbelief.

"Sunghoon, you're sick." Pastora said, her voice was shaky as if she were trying to fight back sobs. I noticed her other hand slowly reaching behind her into her thin hospital bag for her gun.

"Pastora…. give that to me…you know I'll die without it." Sunghoon replied, his voice starting to rise with anger. He stepped closer to Pastora and held out his hand.

Pastora bit her lower lip as I watched her eyes fill up with tears.

��I love you, Sunghoon." She whimpered before she smashed the handle of her gun into the side of his head.

Sunghoon grunted and stumbled back from the impact. A thick trail of blood started to trail down the side of his head as he collapsed to the floor unconscious.

"P-Pastora! Oh my gosh!" Chelsea cried.

"Quick! Find something to tie his hands with!" Pastora cried, as tears fell down her cheeks.

I looked at her completely baffled.

"NOW!" She screamed, causing me to jump.

It was the first time I've ever heard her raise her voice.

"We have some spare rope in here somewhere." David replied, taking out a key from his pocket.

"Is he going to be okay!?" I asked Pastora, my eyes falling down on Sunghoon's limp body.

"I know how to replace his insulin tube for him." Pastora replied in a shaky voice. "I just needed to do something that could stop him and this was the only thing that came to mind…I-I'm going to be sick!"

Chelsea walked over to her side and pulled Pastora in for a hug.

"He's going to forgive you, when we get out of this….I promise…" She reassured, stroking Pastora's hair gently.

I looked over at David who was browsing through some filing cabinets.

"You kids have bags right? I suggest you load them up with as much as you can carry."

"What do you have?" I asked, walking over to David.

"Weapons." David responded, shoving an assault rifle in my arms.

"How on earth did you get these!? This Is property of the marine corps!" I cried, eyeing the gun I was now cradling.

"You're looking at one." David replied, as he took out a bolt gun from another drawer and walked over to Chelsea. "Do you shoot, kid?"

"I've never used a gun before in my life!" Chelsea cried, eyeing the gun nervously.

"Well, It's time to learn." David replied, before handing her the gun. "That weapon may not kill those….xenomorphs, but I know that android are super vulnerable to them. One shot to their head and they're toast."

"You're telling me that you used to be in the marine's!?" I asked, watching David dig around in the drawers for more weapons. He tossed a yard of rope towards Pastora.

"Used to is the word." David replied, pulling out a pulse rifle. "I keep thinking of how much of a hero I am, but I really need to stop living in the past. My days are done and I know it."

"That's not true…" Chelsea said, handling the bolt gun awkwardly. "Look what you're doing for us. To me, that's a true hero."

"She's right." I agreed with a nod. "You trust us with your weapons, you've brought us here…you're a hero, David."

"I didn't have much of a choice." David replied. "Your friend here was holding a gun to my head."

"But you could have easily killed us all by now if you wanted to." I added. "But you didn't."

"You guys are good kids and I underestimated you. I was arrogant and I was afraid, Jane and I both were. I'm sorry for that."

"We're sorry about Jane." Pastora said. "She was a great teacher."

"And an excellent wife." David added with a small smile. "But she lost her mind, there was no way of stopping her….and I'm afraid that your friend has too." David replied, pointing at Sunghoon. "In a way…. you kind of did Jane a favor…. she kept telling me that she wanted to kill herself once everyone else on this station was dead…and I thought…that if I went along with it maybe I could help her in some way but…" David paused and laughed drily. "I failed…. I failed as a husband to protect her."

"You did everything you could, and you were afraid." I said gently. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes…. we can't help others, and I think that's what we beat ourselves up most about, because we think that we can and that we should."

David offered me a small smile.

"You're a smart kid, Chaeyoung. Just like your father."

My father…

"David…can you tell me what Sunghoon meant earlier about my dad allowing the station to be this way?"

David sighed and grabbed a pack of bullets from the desk. "Now's not the time, kid. You need to stay focused."

"Were you the one that made the captain say all those bad things about my father and I to the entire station!?" I asked, trying to keep my cool but it was starting to become more difficult. I just wanted answers. I wanted to know if my father was alive and I wanted to know what his intentions were.

"Whatever it is my father has done…there must be a reason behind it. My father is a good man and I know that he wouldn't wish this upon anyone!" I say.

"I'm sure he is, Chaeyoung." Pastora responds as she ties Sunghoon's hands together from behind his back. She swallows hard and squeezes her eyes shut.

"I'm disgusted with myself…. I can't believe I'm doing this to my own boyfriend."

"You're going to have to just focus on yourself right now, Pastora." David replies as he finishes loading up his gun. "If what you said about a Queen being on the station is true…..then we're going to have to focus and come up with a plan to kill it, and anymore of those aliens."

"Drones." Pastora corrected, sitting Sunghoon up and propping him against the wall.

"And the android's…." Chelsea adds. "Tell me…how do I…you know, use this?"

"I'll show you in a second." David responds before looking back at me. "Chaeyoung, why don't you use the flamethrower and hand the assault rifle to Pastora?"

"You want me to use it? I've never used a flamethrower before in my life." I reply. "I'm just starting to get used to handling guns."

"I think you should use it, David." Pastora replies as she reinserts Sunghoon's insulin pump.

"I'll stick with the pulse rifle, thank you." David replies with a sigh. "Look, we don't have much time, Chaeyoung."

"But why is it up to me to use the flamethrower!?" I demand.

"You're the most trustworthy, that's why." David responds. "The flamethrower is legal in most states except for California, however....it is extremely dangerous…."

"Do you think that it will destroy these aliens!?" I ask.

"It's likely…. but if not, it's better than nothing." Pastora responds, as she stands up to her feet and holds out her hands, which I hand her the assault refile.

I nod and slowly and let out a shaky breath before picking the flamethrower up from the desk. It's heavy, like super heavy.

"I guess I have no choice…" I say, thinking that I trust myself with the flamethrower much more than Sunghoon..I brush my fingers over the fuel storage, it was hard and cool. Probably because nobody had a chance to use it yet.

"Let's just hope this thing has enough fuel in it to take out an entire arm of aliens." Chelsea adds as David gives her a brief tutorial on the bolt gun she was holding.

"It should. I have extra flame fuel in the cabinets, Chaeyoung, It can take up to ninety gallons of gas."

"NINETY?" I cry, looking over at David with big eyes. "David, if you knew that all these weapons were down here in the first place, why didn't come here and take them already!?"

"I was trying to." David confessed with a sigh. "But it's kind of hard to get to things when you're trying to stay alive. Not to mention that this tower in the station is forbidden."

"Not to you." Pastora replied, as she checked for Sunghoon's pulse. And that made me nervous. Did she accidentally kill him!?

"Is he alright?" I blurt out. Despite the fact that we never got along, I didn't want anything to happen to him. He deserves to live just like the rest of us. I've seen enough people die today, I don't think that I could handle it if I saw someone else go.

"He's going to be fine." Pastora replies and I sigh with relief.

"We should give him some water for when he wakes up." I set the flamethrower down on the desk and search around in my bag for a water.

"We don't have time for that guys, we have to get going!" David hissed.

"We're safe for now, it'll only take a few minutes." Chelsea added.

"A lot can happen in a few minutes' kids! You all should know that by now!"

A low grunt came from Sunghoon causing us all to look over at him.

"S-Sunghoon…." Pastora whispered, stroking his damp bangs from his forehead gently.

"My pump…" He rasped, struggling and wriggling his arms from under the rope. "Why am I tied up!?"

"I'm so sorry, it was the only way I could stop you." Pastora said, placing her hand gently over his. "I placed it back in for you…

"Why did you-" Sunghoon paused when his eyes caught a hold of the flamethrower on the desk.

Quickly I snatched it and backed away from him, he narrowed his eyes at me.

"That belongs to me." He growled, scrambling clumsily to get up to his feet. Pastora was right behind him, She grabbed a hold of his arms and held him close to her.

"David wants him to have it." She explained gently.

"He's not in charge! I AM!" Sunghoon shouted. "Let go of me! Untie me NOW! You're my girlfriend!? He turned to glare down at her.

She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears. "Sunghoon, you're not well."

"Let's go guys." David said, I could hear the impatience in his voice.

"We haven't even thought of a plan yet…." I said, keeping my eyes on Sunghoon who was giving me a look of death.

"It's alright kid…. your father has one…" David responded, his eyes on me.

"You know where my father is!?"

"…I have an idea…." David replied.

"What are you playing at!?" Sunghoon snarled, glaring at David. "You all think I'm crazy!? Look at him!! HE'S the crazy one!! Tie him up!"

"All I'm asking is for some trust." David said, adjusting the gun in his hand. "You've kids given it to me earlier…. can I ask for it for a bit longer??" He looked at me. "You want to see your father don't you?"

"More than anything." I reply without thinking.

"Then we better get going."

I looked over at Chelsea, Sunghoon, and Pastora.

"If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it by now." I say, adjusting my hold on the flamethrower. I seriously has no idea how I was going to lug this thing around.

"What was that?" a deep monotone voice boomed from outside the room.

Cold chills prickled up my spine and I could feel my entire body tense up. I kept forgetting that the andriods have been activated! I really hope that Jiyong left so he could deactivate them.

"Oh no…" Chelsea whispered, looking up at me, her eyes were filled with fear.

"It's going to be okay, Chelsea. You're in control now." I gesture to her bolt gun with my chin. "Just aim for their heads and fire."

"But be quick about it," David added, as he leads us out of the room. "Your ammo is limited."

Chelsea swallows hard. "I'm afraid."

"HA! Imagine being the one tied up!" Sunghoon growls, following behind Pastora. "This is absolutely ridiculous! Untie me!! All you're doing is pissing me off!"

"Please calm down…you're only making this difficult for yourself." Pastora replies gently.

"I've found you."

The five of us whirled around to see an android marching robotically over to us. It's bright blue eyes glowering in the dim light. I was so focused I hardly realized that the lights stopped flickering. The room could have been a lot brighter, yes. But I preferred the gloom over the strobe lights.

"Now, Chelsea." David ordered.

I watched Chelsea as she aimed the bolt gun In the andriod's direction, her arms were shaky and all over the place.

"HURRY UP!" Sunghoon barked.

"I-I can't keep my arms straight!!!!" Chelsea cried, lifting one of her hands off the handle of the gun to hold the little lever to release the bolt.

"You got this Chelsea! It's okay!��� I cried. Watching the android as it got closer and closer. I was tempted to blast it, but I wanted to save as much fuel as I could, I didn't know how many aliens we were facing.

"There is no need for this." The android said, only a few feet away now.

"SHOOT IT ALREADY!" David shouted, causing Chelsea to jump.

"DON'T YELL AT HER, SHE'S SCARED!" I shouted.

Chelsea cried out and released her grip from the lever, the gun made a loud BANG! As the bolt was released, striking the android right in the throat.

It started to gag and jerk its hands around as it fell to its knees. White goo poured from its mouth as it collapsed to the floor twitching from head to toe until the light from its eyes went out.

"You did it." I said, smiling down at Chelsea. "I knew you could."

"I should have been faster…. I-" Chelsea started but cut herself short as a loud CLANG! Right across from us echoed throughout the hallway. The sound came from a loud grate from a vent in the ceiling which could only mean….

"Get ready…" Pastora whispered, aiming her assault rifle by the grate

My stomach churned uneasily as a xenomorph crawled out from the vent and landed on its large clawed feet to the floor. It's first move was to look up at us, giving us a large smirk.

My hands shook as I fumbled and fingered the flamethrower, terrified that I'd end up roasting myself instead of the alien. The sound of the bolt gun must have alerted the xenomorph.

A loud hissing came from above the vents just before two more xenomorphs dropped from the open vent.

"FIRE!" David shouted as he shot for the first Xenomorph causing it to scream as acidic blood poured from its wound, burning a hole in the deck.

"STAY CLEAR OF THEIR BLOOD!" I cried, cowardly backing away from the xenomorphs. I see them before and this time I had a weapon, but why did I feel more afraid!?

Pastora started to fire at the first one as well, shooting It in the neck and arms. The xenomorph let out a high pitched shriek and stumbled back as larger amounts of acidic blood poured out from its open wounds and spilling onto the floor like a waterfall.

"CHAEYOUNG! WE NEED YOUR HELP!" David shouted as he started to fire at the other xenomorphs.

Chelsea hid behind me, crying loudly. I hated hearing her so frightened, but it was all I needed. I pulled the trigger, engulfing the three xenomorphs into massive flames.

They're shrieking got louder and they backed off, swinging their long thin tails and thick heads around. I narrowed my eyes and kept releasing fire, watching the light flame cling to their oily bodies.

They continued to scream as the flames spread throughout their bodies, and they noticed. The longer they stayed, the more fire they'd get. And with that the three of them jumped back into the ceiling vents for refuge.

I released the trigger and sucked in a deep breath, never feeling so relieved in my entire life.

"It worked…" David said, lowering his gun.

"But now there is a huge hole in the deck…" Pastora said, walking towards the enormous opening in the floor that was created by the xenomorphs blood. "It really is incredible if you think about it…. they have extremely good defense mechanisms."

"We're going to have to take the long way round." David said, ignoring Pastora's comment. "Thankfully there aren't many dead ends in this station…"

Pastora fired her gun causing us all to jump.

"POOCH! GET AWAY!" Sunghoon shouted.

I turned to see in horror as a Xenomorph was crawling out from the hole and heading straight for Pastora.

Pastora backed away slowly as the xenomorph rose from the hole, growling deeply at her.

"D-David!" Chelsea cried as I watched in shock.

"BLAST IT CHAEYOUNG! NOW!" I heard Sunghoon shout but he sounded so far away.

I watched a bulled fly into the alien's shoulder, it only seemed to anger it as is growling got louder.

Pastora cried out and tripped over her own foot as she fell to the ground, dropping her assault rifle.

The xenomorph smirked as it lunged forward and grabbed her ankle.

"NO!!" Sunghoon shouted, pulling and tugging at the ropes that held his hands together. "LET HER GO! LET HER GO!" I watched as tears streamed down his cheeks. "NOOO!!!"

I held up the flamethrower aiming for the xenomorphs head. "HANG ON, PASTORA!"

"PLEASE HELP ME! ITS GOT ME!!" She cried, as she began to hyperventilate.

The xenomorph looked up at me. I watched as its mouth curled back in a wicked smile as it picked Pastora up and held her over its face, using her as a shield. It KNEW. That if I fired now, I would catch her on fire.

There's no way….no way it could be that smart…

I cried out in frustration and threw the flamethrower to the ground as the xenomorph dragged a screaming Pastora into the hole with it.