Chapter 1: Time for School!

Chapter 1: "Time for School!" is the first chapter of Dead Space 2: Break-Fast: Squat to the Top.
==Description==
High school student and main protagonist Josh Childress awakens during the beginning hours of the Necromorph outbreak on Titan Station. He soon discovers that all is not as it seems.
==Story==
Dead Space 2: Break-Fast: Squat to the Top
"Chapter One: Time for School!"
Written by AFriendlyNecromorph
With the help of Squattop
PART ONE:
"Infinite Dismissal"
: The screen flickers to a static-filled video as the face of a man comes into view.
: Man (Video Log): "Hello...? Son? Are you up?"
: Another video displays onto the screen, showing a teenaged kid resting in bed.
: Kid: "Hmm? Ughhhh...!"
: Man: "Come on, Kiddo..."
: Kid: "Dad?"
: Man: "Yeah... It's me, Son."
: Kid: "What do you want?"
: Man: "You have school in the morning?"
: Kid: "Yeah. Tonight's a school night."
: Man: "I want you to get up bright and early."
: The kid grabs his head and visibly rubs it in pain.
: Kid: "Oww... I don't know, Dad. I haven't been feeling so hot."
: Man: "I know. Your mom told me."
: Kid: "Do I have to go?"
: Man: "Yes. Early."
: Kid: "Dad?"
: Man: "What's troubling you, boy?"
: Saddened, the boy looks away from the screen for a moment before looking back.
: Kid: "When are you coming home?"
: Man: "Soon."
: Kid: "That's what you said last time!"
: Man: "I know, but I promise things will be different this time."
: Kid: "Okay... Fine. Good night, Dad."
: Man: "Good night."
: Kid: "I love you, Dad."
: Man: "...Bye, Son..."
: The man ends the video call and the video goes to static.
BREAKTRONIC ARTS PRESENTS
a Viscereal Games production
DEAD SPACE 2: BREAK-FAST: SQUAT TO THE TOP
: The screen fades to the tranquil scene of a green, grassy valley. The same unnamed kid from the opening video log is seen walking alone through the endless field of grass.
Kid: "Dad?!"
: He quiets down as he listens for a response, only hearing the resounding echo of his previous call.
Kid: "Where are you?!"
: He listens again, and hears nothing but his own echo.
Kid: "Hello?! Is anybody here...?! Is there anybody out there?!"
: Again, no answer.
Kid: "DAD?!"
: Giving up, he sits down to rest when suddenly, he hears his father calling for him.
Man: "Son?! Is that you?!"
Kid: "Yeah!"
Man: "Where are you?!"
Kid: "I'm over here! Come over here, Dad!"
Man: "I can't—I can't move! I need your help!"
Kid: "Where are you?! I can't see you!"
Man: "Just follow the sound of my voice! This way!"
Kid: "Okay...I think I know where you are! I'm coming!"
: The kid makes a dash toward his father's voice, flattening the tall grass as he tramples through it.
Man: "You're getting closer! I'm in the clearing!"
: The kid looks further on ahead and can vaguely make out a furtive clearing through the tall grass as he reaches its border.
Kid: "I see it! I'm almost there!"
Man: "You have to hurry!"
Kid: "I am!"
: Running faster, the kid can now see the clearing, just a few feet in front of him.
Kid: "Almost there..."
: He finally glides out of the field and lands in the clearing.
Kid: "Dad! I'm here!"
: Out of breath, he bends over and holds himself up by placing his hands on his knees. He looks back up and eagerly looks around the clearing at the heart of the valley and finds himself to be alone.
Kid: "Dad...?"
: Nobody answers.
Kid: "Where are you?"
: The only thing he can hear is the sound of his own pleading breath. He stops panting and the clearing becomes eerily quiet; not even the wind sounds. The kid then hears the snap of a twig and quickly turns around, and sees that the tall grass that was there a moment ago has been replaced by a massive wall of corn.
Kid: "What the hell? Where did that come from?"
: He hears a whispering voice behind him and whisks himself around to look for its source.
Kid: "Who's there?"
: The voice quickly starts traveling in a circle around the clearing, and as the kid turns in a circle trying to follow the voice, he realizes that all of the grass has been replaced by countless stalks of corn; the circular clearing is now in the heart of a cornfield.
Kid: "None of this was here a minute ago..."
: Noticing a strange low-light emanating from the ground in the center of the clearing, the kid slowly walks toward it.
Kid: "What...?"
: He reaches the source of the light and squats down to get a better look at it.
Kid: "What is this?"
: The kid sees two points jutting out of the ground and reaches down to feel them.
Kid: "This is weird..."
: Just as he is about to touch the points, he hears his father hollering from the cornfield, and jumps to his feet.
Man: "Don't touch it!"
Kid: "What are you doing in there?!"
: Instead of hearing a verbal response, all he hears is the sound of something rustling through the cornfield behind him, so he turns around.
Kid: "Who's there?!"
: Again, he hears something rustling through the cornfield behind him and turns around to see nothing.
Kid: "Dad, if this is a joke...it's not funny!"
: He hears the repeated snapping of twigs in front of him, and feeling as if he's being watched, he slowly steps back. He begins to hear whispers all around him. Horrified, he makes a mad dash to escape from his unseen observers.
Kid: "I'm getting out of here!"
: Just as he makes it back into the cornfield, he runs into one of his observers and is knocked to the ground. He looks up to the face of his observer and recognizes it.
Kid: "Dad! What's happening?! How—?! Why'd you disappear?!"
Man: "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
Kid: "Let's just get out of here! Please!"
Man: "I should have protected you..."
Kid: "What are you talking about...? Come on, Dad. Let's go!"
Man: "Josh..."
: The man puts his hands over his heart and collapses to his knees as blood begins to leak through his shirt. The man's son, now identified as Josh, gets on his knees to inspect the wound.
Kid: "Are you okay?!"
Man: "Josh!"
Kid: "No! We have to stop the bleeding!"
: The man's son takes a cloth out of his pocket to stop the bleeding, but as he looks up to the face of his father, he sees blood pouring from his face. Stunned, the kid takes a step back.
Kid: "Dad, what's happening to you?"
Man: "It's not your fault... You can't stop it..."
Kid: "No!"
Man: "It's time."
Kid: "What...?"
Man: "It's time."
Kid: "No!"
Man: "Josh!"
Kid: "No, Dad!"
Man: "Do you hear me?!"
Kid: "Dad!"
Man: "JOSH!"
Kid: "I LOVE YOU, DADDY!"
: Josh opens his eyes, bolting up from his seat, and looks around, realizing he has just awoken from a nightmare. He looks at the shocked and smirking faces of his classmates, further realizing that he is in class, and looks up to the face of his teacher, Mr. Altrol.
Mr. Altrol: "Josh Childress! Take a seat! It’s time for roll call! Should I mark you down as present or absent?! Which do you prefer?!"
: Josh slowly sits back down at his desk and rubs his eyes.
Josh Childress: "...Present."
Mr. Altrol: "It's a little early for nap time don't you think? Even for you..."
: Some of the other students burst into laughter as the embarrassed Josh covers his head with his sweater's hood.
Josh: "Fuck my life..."
Jamie Canon: "Does little Joshie want his daddy?"
Noelle Stanhope: "Jamie..." >:/
Richard Poor: "I bet he's gonna cry!"
Timothy Davis: "Quick! Someone get his blankey!"
David Kingston: "Not cool, guys."
Marcy DeWitt: "Yeah. Knock it off."
Laura Pratt: "And shut up!"
Laura and Marcy: "LOL! OMG!"
Jamie: "Who's gonna make me?!"
Noelle: "Me! Stop it, Jamie!"
Jamie: "Okay! Fine."
Mr. Altrol: "Settle down, class."
: Josh lifts his head up and removes his hood, and then looks over to Noelle, seated two seats to his right and one seat up, and silently mouths to her.
Josh: "Thanks." <:)
: Noelle simply smiles, nods her head, and silently mouths back to Josh.
Noelle: "Welcome." :)
: Feeling something poking his arm, Josh looks to his left at his friend, Kote.
Kote Freezak: "Dude, what was that all about? You were freaking out!"
Josh: "I know. Just another bad dream."
: Josh winces in pain as he grabs his head.
Josh: "Ow... My head hurts."
Kote: "You're still having those?"
Josh: "Apparently..."
: The headache subsides and Josh shakes his head a bit.
Kote: "Here, you dropped this when you jumped out of your seat."
: Kote hands Josh a book, and Josh looks at it and reads the title aloud.
Josh: " 'What Lies in the Heart?' ...Nightmares. Last time I fall asleep reading this... Lol!"
Kote: "Yeah!"
Mr. Altrol: "Childress, Freezak! Do you two want referrals? I will dismiss you from class, if that's what you want!"
Josh and Kote: "No, Mr. Altrol."
Mr. Altrol: "Then I suggest you keep it down and pay attention. As for you, Mr. Childress, you stay awake."
Josh: "I don't know if I can do that. I've been taking these sleeping pills to help me with my headaches... I think I've been taking too many... They're getting worse."
Mr. Altrol: "Headaches?"
Josh: "Yeah."
Mr. Altrol: "I've been having headaches of my own lately. Fine... I'll let you rest during class, but this time only! The next time you're not feeling well enough to function in school...stay home!"
Josh: "Will do. Thanks, Mr. Altrol."
Mr. Altrol: "You're welcome, Josh. You have 48 minutes. Rest."
Josh: "Hey, Kote? Will you wake me when class is over?"
Kote: "Sure thing, man. I hope you feel better."
Josh: "Thanks. I can't wait 'til school's over..."
: Josh rests his head on his desk and blinks his eyes as his vision begins to fade. Slowly, his vision fades to black as he is further lulled into sleep.
Josh: "I just can't wait..."
: Suddenly, he finds himself floating in an impossibly-endless dark void.
Josh: "Where am I?"
: Strange symbols slowly begin to flash all around Josh.
Josh: "I've seen those before..."
: The symbols begin to flash harder, faster and stronger. They then move around erratically, mixing with flashes of Josh's various memories, and produce an extremely loud, high-pitched ringing noise accompanied by countless horrified screams, giving Josh an excruciatingly intense headache.
Josh: "Ahhh! GGAAAAAHHHHHHAAAAHHAAA! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
: Josh grabs his head and squeezes it tightly, and blood begins to pour from his nose.
Josh: "Please stop! I CAN'T TAKE IT!"
: Without any warning, the headache disappears with a final surge of pain, but the pain is replaced by a faint, whispering voice.
Whisper: "Can you hear me?"
Josh: "Who is that?!"
: The whisper is joined by several other voices, their source unknown.
Whispers: "Wake up..."
Josh: "What...?"
Whispers: "It's time."
Josh: "Not this again..."
Whispers: "Make us whole, Josh. It's time to make us whole."
Josh: "What are you talking about?!"
Whispers: "Make. Us. Whole."
Josh: "No! Shut up!"
Whispers: "Please..."
Josh: "Why?! How?!"
Whispers: "You need to wake up now. It's time for you to go."
Josh: "I don't understand!"
Whispers: "You're in terrible danger. Get out of here now."
Josh: "No, I'm not! This is just a dream! I am dreaming! Any moment now, Kote's gonna wake me up, and we're gonna leave to fifth period!"
Whispers: "You still don't understand..."
Josh: "Understand WHAT?!"
Whispers: "WAKE UP, JOSH!"
PART TWO:
"Always the First One to Leave, but the Last One to Fight, I Am"
: Titan Station High School student, Josh Childress, his head throbbing, awakens to the sound of a digital school bell in a deserted classroom. With a pounding headache, Josh opens his eyes to near total-darkness. For a moment, he simultaneously hears nothing around him, yet everything inside of him; the sounds of whispering voices in his head, his blood flowing, and his heart beating at a marathon-pace. Disoriented, he slowly recognizes his surroundings, and even worse...his nightmares.
Josh: "What the hell...?"
: Still seated in his desk, the only light in the room is shining down from the light panel above him. He sits up and rubs his eyes with his left hand while rubbing the temples of his forehead with his other hand.
Josh: "Crap. I must have over-slept in class again."
: He looks up and remembers that the lights aren't supposed to be turned off while school is still in session; not to mention while a student is still in class...
Josh: "How late is it?"
: Josh looks up to the classroom's clock; it reads "12:00."
Josh: "Strange... Why didn't anybody wake me? Kote...?"
: Josh looks over to Kote's desk, but there are no signs of his presence.
Josh: "Shit! Mom and Dad are gonna KILL me!"
: Josh rushes out of his seat, picks up a spork from his desk and attaches it to his belt, packs his other stuff into his bookbag and puts it on, and then heads for the exit out of class.
Josh: "I gotta get home!"
: He stops moving as he hears several commotions outside the class and stumbles to the door to investigate.
Josh: "What the hell...? Maybe that's just the janitor..."
: Upon reaching the door, he warily opens it and finds that the hallway is now quiet, dark, and deserted as well.
Josh: "What the cereal?"
: He starts to hear a girl's whimper, slowly inching closer to him. Taking out a flashlight, he shines it in the direction of the whimpering.
Josh: "Hello? Is anybody there?"
: It sounds again.
Josh: "Who's there?"
: He shines it at the floor and sees a bloody hand reaching for his leg.
Josh: "Oh shit!"
: Josh stumbles back and bumps into something that's hanging out of a ceiling vent. He turns around and shines his light on it to see what it is.
Josh: "Ahhhh! What the FUCK?!"
: It's the corpse of Laura Pratt, hanging by her feet, attached to some fleshy mass of tissue, her frozen expression drenched with sheer terror.
Josh: "Laura?! What the hell happened?!"
: Feeling the hand tugging at his pants below, Josh looks back down to the hand and shines his light toward its owner's face, recognizing it.
Josh: "Marcy...?! Are you okay?!"
: He bends down to check on her when suddenly, Marcy screams and grabs Josh's hands.
Marcy: "Josh, help me!"
Josh: "What's wrong?!"
: Marcy is unable to answer as she is jerked out of Josh's grasp and dragged away from him.
Marcy: "AAAHHHHH!"
Josh: "MARCY!"
: Josh runs towards Marcy and grabs her hands before she is pulled into the hole in the wall by the large tentacle. Still being dragged, Josh manages to position his feet on the outer edges of the hole, stopping the tentacle from dragging them through it.
Josh: "Hold on! I'm gonna try to pull you out!"
Marcy: "It's still pulling! Make it stop! Make it stop!"
: Josh hopelessly tugs on Marcy's hands, unable to win the tragic game of tug-of-war.
Marcy: "Help me!"
: Marcy finally slips out of Josh’s hands and is pulled further into the hole. Refusing to die, Marcy grabs the edges of the hole and attempts to pull herself out. Josh lunges forward to grab her, but is too late as the tentacle pulls even harder on Marcy. It pulls so hard on her that Josh is able hear the tearing of Marcy's muscles and the sound of the bones in her arms violently snapping.
Marcy: "GAHHHH!!!"
Josh: "OH GOD, I'M SORRY!"
: Horrified and still on the floor, Josh backs away from the hole until he stops at the feet of several wall lockers.
Josh: "I TRIED!"
: He is unable to do anything else as he can only hear the sounds of Marcy being violently slaughtered. Marcy's piercing screams slowly fade to quiet shrieks, and then Josh hears a loud crash to his right and abruptly looks over to investigate.
Josh: "Hello?"
: All he is able to make out is a dark figure, slowly getting to its feet.
Josh: "Who are—?"
: Josh stops speaking as he realizes the figure before him is not human. It lifts its head up, revealing a pair of glowing, yellow eyes.
Josh: "No..."
: The creature makes a disturbing gagging sound as it arches its shoulders as it prepares to vomit on a defenseless Josh.
Josh: "No!"
: Josh quickly runs the other direction, narrowly dodging the Puker’s stream of deadly vomit. He looks back and sees the Puker hobbling over to him.
Josh: "No! Get away from me!"
: Josh stops at a door, but finds that the lock is broken.
Josh: "Shit! Are you serious?! Open! Please open!"
: Repeatedly pounding on the door to no avail, Josh turns around as the Puker launches a projectile of puke that hits the door, sizzling as it dissolves a layer of paint off the door.
Josh: "Acid?! No... Not me! Not that way!"
: The Puker readies itself for another puke-projectile.
Josh: "Shit!"
: The Puker launches its ball of puke, but Josh ducks, causing the projectile to destroy a circuit-panel. The door suddenly unlocks and Josh opens it and runs through it.
Josh: "That was close!"
: Halfway through the hallway, Josh can see the door labeled "Exit To The Tram Station."
Josh: "I'm gonna make it!"
: Before he can make it to the door, an Enhanced Slasher falls down from a vent and lets out a "roar" at Josh.
Josh: "Aw, no!"
: Josh looks behind him and sees that the Puker is not too far away from him.
Josh: "I'm surrounded... There has to be a way through..."
: Noticing the clumsy movements of the Puker, Josh does the only thing he can think to do.
Josh: "I gotta go through!"
: Running towards the Puker, Josh quickly slides under its legs. Making it through, the Puker is too slow to do anything to him. He continues running through the halls until he reaches the hole where Marcy was dragged to her doom. Josh recalls the horrid screams emanating from the hole moments before. Just as he walks away from the hole, he hears the same whimpering he heard when he found Marcy.
Josh: "Marcy...? Are you still in there?"
: Josh steps closer to the hole and peers inside, and as he does so, Marcy's bloody, mutilated face pops out and screams at Josh.
Marcy: "You did this to me!"
Josh: "No!"
: Josh steps away from the hole, stumbling over his feet and falling to the floor, and shuts his eyes as he grabs his throbbing head. He feels his brain pulsate one more time as Marcy disappears with a bright flash. With his headache gone, Josh opens his eyes and looks around for Marcy.
Josh: "What the hell? She wasn't real..."
: Hearing the pair of Necromorphs quickly approaching, Josh continues on and enters the Gymnasium when suddenly, a pair of bright lights are shined upon him.
Security Guard #1: "Freeze!"
Josh: "Don't shoot me!"
Security Guard #2: "Get on your knees!"
Josh: "Why?! I'm just trying to get out of here!"
Security Guard #1: "This is a security checkpoint. You need to be searched for weapons and any signs of infection."
Josh: "Infection? What are you talking about? What's happening?!"
Security Guard #2: "Is he carrying any weapons?"
Josh: "Why would I be carrying weapons? I'm just a kid!"
: Security Guard #1 takes Josh's bookbag inspects it then tosses it aside.
Josh: "Hey! My stuff's in there!"
: Next, the Security Guard scans Josh with some type of small, handheld scanner. It lets out a quick, loud "beep" as the Security Guard waves it across Josh's frame.
Security Guard #1: "He's clean."
Security Guard #2: "This looks like the last one. That makes seven. Time to leave this place."
Josh: "Leave where?"
Security Guard #1: "Titan Station."
Josh: "Why?! What's happening?!"
Security Guard #2: "Haven't you heard any of the announcements?"
Josh: "No! I just woke up!"
Security Guard #1: "Heh! That's the public education system for you."
Josh: "Fuck you!"
Security Guard #2: "Enough! Our orders are clear. Time to move out."
Josh: "What orders?!"
Security Guard #2: "Evac the school and escort survivors to an evac shuttle."
Josh: "Well then, let's go!"
PART THREE:
"Man, I Hate Gym!"
: Not noticing the other survivors during the commotion, Josh looks to his right and immediately recognizes and carefully notes the conditions of the six other survivors of Titan Station High School: Kote Freezak, now with a stitched-up cut across his left cheek and wielding a Rivet Gun; Noelle Stanhope, initially sad-looking, but now putting on a slight smile—she's otherwise physically healthy, safe, and sound; Jamie "Jim" Canon, his hands and shirt covered with dried blood; Richard "Dick" Poor, bruised and scraped knees visible through shredded pants; Mr. Altrol, his glasses in shambles, lacking the right lens; and David "Dave" Kingston, a few drops of blood on his shirt, but still harmlessly plain-looking as usual. Each individual gives the appearance of looking stressed and fatigued, compared to the evidently well-composed Josh.
Josh: "Kote!"
Kote: "Josh! Hey, man! You're still alive!"
Josh: "Of course I'm still alive! It's me we're talking about!"
Kote: "Shit, man! I thought you were dead!"
: Noelle shyly walks up to Josh and gently waves at him.
Noelle: "Hi, Josh."
: Josh looks down at the floor, then looks back up and bashfully responds.
Josh: "Hi, Noelle."
Noelle: "Glad to see you're alright."
Josh: "Yeah. Same here."
: Jamie quickly approaches the trio.
Jamie: "Why is this loser still alive?! He should be dead!"
: Jamie shoves Josh to the floor with a hard push.
Josh: "Hey!"
: Josh gets back up and punches Jamie in the face.
Josh: "How do you like that, douche?!"
Jamie: "What'd you call me?!"
Josh: "You heard me!"
: Jamie prepares to sock Josh, but he is stopped as he is blocked by Dick.
Dick: "Come on, man! Quit it already!"
Kote: "Yeah! Josh hasn't done anything to you!"
Mr. Altrol: "Students!"
Dave: "I'm sick of this guy..."
Jamie: "I'm not kidding around!"
Noelle: "Jim, please..."
Jamie: "Seriously! Fuck him!"
: Noelle slaps Jamie across his face, effectively shutting him up.
Noelle: "Jamie! Be quiet! Stop being a jerk!"
Security Guard #2: "All right! The last thing we need is to lose any more survivors! Settle down or stay behind!"
Josh: "Sounds good to me." >:]
: Josh glares at Jamie and diabolically smirks at him.
Jamie: "...Loser..."
: The Security Guards lead the seven survivors to an exit when they are interrupted by the roar of a large creature.
Security Guard #2: "What the hell was that?"
Josh: "We should leave... NOW!"
: They rush to an exit from the Gymnasium as the door is crushed from the impact of the creature on the other side.
Kote: "Shit!"
Josh: "What is it?!"
Noelle: "They're back!"
Josh: "What are they?!"
Kote: "We're gonna die..."
Josh: "Wait! Look!"
Kote: "What is it?"
Josh: "Come on! This way!"
: The six survivors follow Josh as he stops at a vent in the floor and opens it.
Josh: "The vents! We can escape through the vents!"
Kote: "Are you serious?!"
Jamie: "We'll get killed down there, dumbass!"
Josh: "Do you have a better idea?"
Jamie: "No."
Josh: "Then listen to me."
: The six other survivors descend into the vent while the creature pounds on the door again.
Security Guard #2: "Are you ready?"
Security Guard #1: "Ready."
: As the Security Guards point their weapons at the door, the creature smashes it open, sending a large chunk of the door flying towards Security Guard #2. The door splatters the Security Guard and sends his Pulse Rifle flying toward Josh's head.
Security Guard #1: "Schwartz!"
: Josh throws himself to the ground, narrowly avoiding what would have been a fatal blow to the head by the forcefully-propelled weapon.
Josh: "Holy cereal!"
: The large creature enters the Gymnasium and reveals itself to be an Enhanced Brute.
Josh: "Shoot it!"
: Josh quickly stands back up.
Security Guard #1: "Is he dead?! I think he's dead!"
Josh: "Do your FUCKING job!"
Security Guard #1: "No! I can't take this shit anymore!"
: The remaining Security Guard runs away from the Brute and exits into the hallway Josh initially came from.
Josh: "Where are you going?!"
: Josh runs to the door after the Security Guard, but he locks it from his end.
Josh: "Hey! Open the door! Don't leave me here!"
Security Guard #1: "I'm sorry!"
Josh: "Please!"
: Josh hears the Brute let out a "roar," and he turns around to see it charging at him.
Josh: "Aw, hell!"
: Just as the Brute is about to ram into Josh, he dives underneath it and nearly gets trampled to death.
Josh: "Shit! I almost got turned into a floor mat!"
: As Josh stands up, the Brute stands up and moves to swat Josh with its left arm. He quickly ducks and dodges it.
Josh: "Get this thing away from me!"
: The Brute swings its right arm at Josh, and as he dives to the floor, it grabs his left leg and lifts him into the air, holding him up to its face. The Brute then curiously stares at him as it holds the struggling Josh above its face.
Josh: "Let me go! Put me down!"
: As if following his command, the Brute lets out a loud, wet "bellow" in Josh's face before dropping him to the floor.
Josh: "Ughhh! Sick! Nasty!"
: Josh is temporarily blinded as he wipes the Brute's saliva from his eyes.
Josh: "Not cool!"
: Before Josh can attempt to run away, the Brute grabs his leg again and swings him in a circle before throwing him through the air, sending him crashing into a wall and falling to the floor with a hard "thud."
Josh: "OWW-HA-AHHH!"
: Now lying on his chest and his head ringing, Josh lifts up his head, noticing the gleam of something a few feet away from him.
Josh: "What the hell...? Pulse Rifle!"
: Josh recognizes the discarded Pulse Rifle from the deceased Security Guard.
Josh: "It's mine!"
: Josh clumsily scrambles to retrieve the weapon, pushing himself up and scurrying his feet against the floor before breaking into a run.
Josh: "I got it!"
: Josh picks up the weapon and aims it at the Brute as it proceeds to charge at him again.
Josh: "Say 'hello' to my little friend!"
: Josh pulls the trigger, but all he hears is a "click."
Josh: "What?! NO!"
: After realizing the Pulse Rifle is jammed, Josh shouts obscenities and angrily pounds on it in an attempt to fix it.
Josh: "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
: With the Brute five feet in front of him, Josh desperately whacks the Pulse Rifle one last time, and is rewarded as a shiny grenade is launched from the weapon, exploding in the creature's face.
Josh: "WOOO! Shit yeah!"
: The Brute momentarily rears up and shakes its head in anger. Swinging its arms in the air, the Brute finally brings itself down into a ball on the floor.
Josh: "Uhh... Did I do it? Is it dead?"
: Josh cautiously takes a few steps toward the inert Brute, and it still does not move.
Josh: "What the hell is this thing?"
: Josh curiously nudges the creature with his right foot and it does nothing.
Josh: "Huh... That was easy."
: He notices glowing, yellow patches of flesh around the creature's shoulder joints.
Josh: "Ewww..."
: Josh removes a spork from his belt and pokes the glowing flesh of the creature's right shoulder with a squishy "squish-squish."
Josh: "That is just nasty. Smells like ass too!"
: Angering the Brute, it quickly springs up and literally surprises the shit out of Josh. Okay, well not literally, but it does scare the word "shit" out of him...
Josh: "SHIT!" <:O
: The Brute sweeps its right arm under Josh's legs and knocks him onto his back, sending his spork flying under the bleachers.
Josh: "Oww!"
: Preparing to smash its fists into Josh, it brings them high into the air, but he lifts up his Pulse Rifle and launches another grenade at it, this time hitting its glowing shoulder-joint.
Josh: "Take it!"
: Josh pushes down on the hardwood floor of the Gym with his legs and launches himself into the air, successfully performing a backflip, and retreats to the safety underneath the bleachers.
Josh: "You can't get me if I'm down here!"
: The Brute rushes to the opening under the bleachers and forces its massive frame inside.
Josh: "AAHHHH! Goddammit!"
: Trying to kill the Brute, Josh slams his trigger finger on the Pulse Rifle's trigger and madly fires at the Brute's shoulder, severing its right arm.
Josh: "Yeah!"
: He continues to fire at the Brute until he hears a repeated "click," signaling the weapons now diminished ammunition clip.
Josh: "Need! Ammo!"
: Still after Josh, the Brute continues to drag itself toward him. As it pulls its body through the steel frames, it gets stuck in between two beams and wildly struggles to get free.
Josh: "Hell, it's gonna tear these things apart!"
: As he squats under the bleachers to the other end, he notices the gleam of something shiny and stops to pick it up.
Josh: "Sporky!"
: Josh picks up his spork then runs out from under the bleachers and turns around, staring at the Brute. He notices that the bleachers are becoming unstable as the Brute struggles to free itself.
Josh: "If I leave it here, it'll just get free and find me again..."
: Looking down at his useless weapon, Josh tries to think of a way to kill the Brute. He looks to the other end of the Gym and spots the bleachers' control panel on the wall.
Josh: "By the time I get over there, it'll break out... A gun with no ammo? How am I supposed to—? Wait! My spork!"
: Loading his spork into his Pulse Rifle's grenade launcher, Josh aims it at the control panel as the Brute opens a cavity in its chest.
Josh: "NOW!"
: Just as the Brute fires a projectile out of its chest cavity, Josh fires his spork at the control panel and scores a direct hit, completely destroying the panel. The bleachers then whir to life as they begin to retreat into the wall. Josh immediately ducks as the Brute Pod is launched his way, dodging it entirely.
Josh: "Sweet!"
: Josh gets back up and takes a few steps away from the bleachers as the continue to retract. Weakened, the Brute is unable to do anything to prevent its demise at the hands of the bleachers.
Josh: "All right! These are what I call courtside seats! Whoo!" :D
: The Brute lets out a final bellow as it's crushed between the bleachers and the wall. Blood creeps across the floor from under the bleachers, forming a large pool of dark blood.
Josh: "I do not envy the guy who's gotta clean up this mess... Too bad Janitor Chroug isn't here to mop this up..."
: Josh walks away from the mess and heads for the vent his fellow survivors ventured into moments earlier, and abruptly turns around, hearing the buckling of the bleachers as they forcefully retract into the wall a final time, completely smashing the remnants of the Brute into a bloody mess. Josh notices something shiny that pops into the air from a crack in the bleachers. It bounces off the floor once and then rolls toward him and stops at his feet, and Josh squats down to pick it up.
Josh: "Holy cereal! A Power Node! Sweet!"
: Josh picks up the Power Node and stuffs into a pocket on his belt. As he heads for the vent, he walks over to an adjacent wall, leans against it, and then slides down to the floor. He takes a deep breath, leans his head back, and then tilts it back upright. He proceeds to activate his RIG's holoscreen and initiates the recording of a video log.
: Josh (Video Log): "Video log, RIG number 624475. I have a feeling I might not make it too far out of this place, but I'm gonna try... I'm about to head into the vents to find the others."
: Looking distraught, Josh looks away for a moment and then looks back at the screen.
: Josh: "My name was... No, I am Josh Childress, and this... This is my story."
: He looks away from the screen again then looks back.
: Josh: "If anyone finds this log—find me. Please? Who knows, maybe I could use your help, right...? Hehe." :D
: Josh clears his throat, stands up, and walks to the center of the Gym.
: Josh: "Alright, time to head out. Wish me luck... Oh, and you're welcome...! ...For that!" :]
: As if answering the viewer's question, Josh points his finger to the Enhanced Brute's grave and turns the camera around to face it, and then he points it back at his face. :P
: Josh: "I refuse to die. End recording."
: Josh ends the video recording, makes a copy of the recording, and leaves the log on the floor in the center of the Gymnasium.
Josh: "Here we go."
: Josh looks at the camera.
Josh: "I won't end up like that thing."
: He points at the dead Brute over his shoulder with his thumb and laughs.
Josh: "Nope. I'm just too awesome!" ;D
: The picture quickly fades to black as the theme and intro to the installment blasts onto the screen.
:::::left|Theme and intro for Dead Space 2: Squat to the Top.
==Trivia==
==Sources==
Category:Dead Space 2: Break-Fast: Squat to the Top Chapters