Hollow - Alien Skin Contest

Hollow - Alien Skin Contest skin description

The virus. It spreads through your body. It eats its way through you, savoring every bit of the supple flesh that composes your insides. It devours all that it can, and then it leaves you empty, hollow. It uses that husk left behind, the empty shell of a person that once was, and manipulates it. It moves it through the crowds, luring its victims close with a gentle smile and the wave of an arm. They study us, they mimic us. Somehow they understand. God knows how their miniscule minds manage to comprehend human interaction but there's no debating it. They know us. It's like they've been here all along. We came here, to this chunk of metal floating in space. It's an abandoned cruiser, belonged to scientists and their mercenaries most likely. Defiant-class. We came to check for survivors, no human should have to rot out here, alone, in the vast expanse of the universe. I went with the scouting crews. That's when I saw it. The bodies, their chests burst open in a morbid display of crimson shades lay strewn about over the ground. They were puppets once, but their strings had long been detached. Their mouths hung open, loosely hanging by rotten jaws. A festering stench bubbled out of the room and nearly overcame us. We tried to leave, but our ship had been sabotaged. The engines sat, battered and broken. Fuel lines throughout had been cut. The work was quickly and shoddily performed but served its purpose effectively. The crew was stranded out here, no one could leave. We'll all die out here, those things will find us. No one could have guessed this is where it would all end. It was just a simple scouting mission. The ship filled with a palpable silence. Occasional sobs split the quiet, dampening the already miserable atmosphere. Here we are. Here we will wait for the agonizing death that is assured. Already the shapes of their mangled bodies started to appear from the shadows surrounding our vessel. I'm not like the others, they accept that death is inevitable. I won't stand idly by while some alien takes my body from me. I'm escaping. The rest of them can stay, but I won't die here. I'm going home. I pushed past those who I called friends, shoved them out of my way. Headed for the door, never looking back. I slid the massive thing open along it's steel rail, and ran past the creatures in the dark. My legs grew weary as my body continued to push itself to its limits. I kept going, running, until I could find something to get me out of here. In the distance, I could see it. There was one escape pod left. The others were either missing or damaged. With this glimmering beacon of hope in the distance, I could feel myself going faster than I ever thought possible. Neglecting to slow down once I got there, my body slammed into the front of the pod. The pain didn't register, too much adrenaline was pumping through my veins. My hand shot out and grabbed at the control panel, with the press of a button the pod opened. I lunged inside and shut the door behind me. I set the coordinates for Earth and leaned back into the chair. My lungs suddenly started to ache as I sat back up. My arms felt like they were on fire, my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I reached for my laser pistol, but it was too late. The virus had become me.