I woke up today.

[KEY]

I woke up today.

The cool jets of the cyro pod blowing on my skin as my feet touched the cold surface of the Sulaco floor. My name? It's Joseph Queen. I work as a combat engineer for Delta Squad. Walking through the massive crowd of others who had just gotten out of cyro sleep. My friends, my brothers and sisters in arms. After choking down some USCM brand Pizza, i made my way into prep and geared up with plenty of plastel, metal and webbing to lock up fort Knox. My squad leader told me to report to briefing, and after stopping for a quick Cherry Souta at the drinks machine, I was leaning back in briefing. Waiting for life to get on with itself.

The commanding officer came onto the platform and spoke, giving us the orders. We were to head to Nexus and set up an FoB while the Rasputin used the landing area to the east to come and go, carrying marines and supply's on and off world with it.

On the Rasputin, things were loud. The Military Police walked up and down the aisles, yelling at the marines to settle down and the Pilot Officer looked like he was struggling to stay away, clearly not someone who had a decent sleep this morning. Cyro was like that, am I right?

The world was dark when we got off the rasp. Walking forward with my fellow Delta brothers, I got to work quickly turning tables over and fortifying the FoB. There were reports of strange red dogs and big black bugs, but my squad didn't have to worry about that. We were at the FoB and until command gave the orders, that is where we would remain. Even though at times, we would see a small red dog lurking out in the darkness, as if trying to bait us outside.

I was afraid of them. Afraid of just how, strange and alien they were. Lurking in the darkness. Waiting for me. Watching. A few Delta marines would always run towards the north entrance and fire off bullets into the darkness, and sometimes it even sounded like it would strike them. But they always returned. They always lurked.

Communications always blew up across the board, squad leader telling us assignments we heard the Bridge Officers give moments before. It as mundane, and it felt strange to have such chattering and disussion like this was a casual situation. However, I worked hard to stay busy with busy work. I didn't want to think about the things lurking out there.

After some time, reports stopped coming in from Alpha. then Bravo. Sounds of gunfire and the roars of beast could be heard out in the darkness. It wasn't long before I could see them from behind my safe wall in center nexus. They had pushed us back, and most likely slaughtered all of my brothers in arms. Charlie merged with Delta, and I held my hands on the shotgun in my hands as I breathed slowly. We had lost communications with command, and there was no telling when the rasputin would make it's next flight available. Big red beast, claws sharp enough to cut through the griders I had placed there to keep us safe. Like it was nothing. Rhinos, dark blue in color charging forward and smashing through boxes and tables. An giant screecher in the background, charging forth and emitting an ear-splitting screech that made my brothers fall to their knees. They pushed in through northen nexus.

Fear ran through my heart.
My name as Joseph Queen.
I was the combat engineer for Delta squad.

The beast didn't care about any of that though. I watched John Kerr, my good friend and Delta brother in arms, have his head cut off in an arc in one clean motion by the red beast. It must have happend about teen feet away from me. Frozen in fear, I twitched my finger as hard as I could to fire the bullets fro my shotgun. Slugs went out, and struck the beast in the chest. It only seemed to anger it. Charging forward, it gave me no time to reload or pump my shotgun again as I felt it's hellish claws inside of my stomach, ripping out my innards and guts.
The pain was real. The hell was real. I could feel myself dying as the momentum of the strike sent me reeling back, my eyes losing their vision as the last thing I saw was the ceiling of Nexus above me, as I was soaring through the air.

It was supposed to be a simple op. Just investigate a Weyland-Yutani colony that had sent out a distress beacon. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal, maybe we would have found a mutiny here if anything. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
It wasn't supposed to be our absolute annihliation, putting us through this fear and hell....

But atleast, now as I lay here dying. I, Joseph Queen can rest. I won't have to be afraid anymore. Feeling my heart slowing, my guts out of my stomach, unable to speak....I was going to die.
And in death, I would find peace.

My conscience drifted, and as I heard the mumbled roars and destruction around me as the beast continued to rampage and kill, I let go of life and surrendered to the bleak peace that death offered.

.....
There was a light.
.....
....Where am I?
.........I...I'm forgetting something, aren't I?
I...I...
....

....I woke up today.

My name is Joseph Queen. I had just stepped out of cyro sleep. The cool jets of the tank making me shiver as my feet touched the cold surface of the Sulaco's floor.
My job, ah what was my job? I had been in cyro sleep so long I forgot--oh that's right.

....I'm a standard marine for Bravo squad.

[KEY]

*surrendered to the bleak peace

fixed

[YungCuz]

I feel like this is a story about how normal CM rounds go but with a deeper meaning
Pretty cool story

[Karmac]

kinda spooks me thinking about it really

[Kerek]

I really like this. Freaky in a way, made me think of the people who say, "This seems oddly familiar..."

[notasyndie]

This is really cool...and scary

[James5734]

REE HE'S GONNA META!

[Butterrobber202]

It's all a experiment by WY to see how we handle stress, the controllers slowly adding and removing features from the Marines and their own biological monsters. With the game masters watching from above, punishing foolish marines