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Catalyst

Running.

Frank's footsteps hit the cold, metal floor of the corridor.

The emergency pod was in sight and he was closing in on it fast. The man's eyes widened at the sight of freedom.

_ _

I just have to keep running!

With a renewed sense of hope and adrenaline running through his veins, Lieutenant Frank Alvarez pushed his body forward with as much speed as his legs could muster.

_ _

"I am already with you, Frank. There is no point in running." The deep, soothing voice that seemed to whisper in his ear almost caused Frank to trip. The frightened man shook his head slightly as he continued to run, ignoring the foreign presence in his mind. The emergency pod door was only twenty feet away.

_ _

"Why do you ignore me Frank? Do I frighten you that much? I promise I will not hurt you. I'm still myself, Frank. I'm still the man you know. I'm still Andrew, your friend. I only want to help you." The voice held no sarcasm or cruelty in it, only empathy and question. However, this did nothing to soothe the terrified Frank Alvarez. He knew what he saw. After what seemed like hours to Frank, the man finally reached the control panel to the left of the emergency pod.

"Open emergency pod one!"

"Please verify." A pre-recorded woman's voice commanded. Frank silently cursed at the shuttle for not going into emergency protocol once the monster got to Kristina Smith, the pilot. If it was on he wouldn't have to put in any verification code.

"Dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot!" Frank all but screamed into the control panel's speaker.

"Code verified," the thick metal doors slid open quickly, "SOS sent." Frank was already in the vessel before the speaker went silent. At least now they'll know that something went wrong if... An image of Helen, Frank's wife, and his daughter Lizzie taunted him.

"I know you're still afraid and you still have a human's touch, but please, let me help you." The voice whispered softly, even kindly, to Frank. Frank shook his head violently. "Get out of my head!" Frank's hand found the "Launch" button next to the doors to the emergency pod and started mashing his pointer finger into its red light. Immediately the craft lurched and sent Frank tumbling towards the closed metal door.

_ _

"Frank! Damn you! You humans are so... so closed off!" The voice sounded angry, desperate, and sad. Frank's breathing started to stabilize as he slid against the door towards the ground, exhausted. The bow of the shuttle gave a brilliant view of the blackness of space and the unlimited amount of stars it held. Frank didn't even glance at the always enchanting spectacle.

_ _

"It's sad, really. You humans close yourselves off to everything, especially other presences. Your natural barrier opposes any comfort you would find in others." The voice was growing more distant, although the comfort and sadness it portrayed was immense. Frank brought his hand up to feel his face. To his surprise, he felt hot tears streaming down it.

"Please... Please shut up..." Frank mumbled pathetically, clutching his head with his hands as the tears continued to fall.

_ _

"You strive for something you can never have. True companionship." The voice was like a slight breeze. Frank tried to take solace in the slowly dissipating voice.

_ _

"I promise you, Frank. I will give you what you cannot have. Soon... Soon we will give you what you need-" Finally, the voice was gone.