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2009.01.30 19:41 Dividend Investing
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2024.05.21 06:12 RLOclen A Hike to Remember
I want to thank Meatcanyon and Wendigoon for starting Creepcast. I've played around with writing horror, and here is my first short story. I will post it for free in a few other places to see what people think. Please enjoy!
A Hike to Remember
By R.L. Oclen
Chapter 1
A woman sits with hastily pulled-up fire-red hair in the waiting room of the state patrol station. The procedurally sterile off-white walls and decade-old magazines do little for comfort. With her head hanging low, her shoulders pushing forward, and her boots rapidly tapping on the floor, something has to give.
"Please just let her be okay." The woman growls as a pair of officers come in from the field. The officers' demeanors quickly change when they see the familiar face.
"Tabitha, did Officer Nichols call you?" one of the state patrol officers asked sympathetically.
"Yes, he asked me to come in and pick up a few things," Tabitha said, shooting back a muted look.
" I'll let them know you're here." The officer said, nodding to Tabitha as they passed the security door. Tabitha leaned back against the hard plastic chair, staring blankly into the fluorescent light. She had done this dance in the macabre repeatedly over the past month. The last image of her younger sister, Lisa, still burned in her mind. Tabitha had always been protective over her younger sister after their parents died. A pang of guilt shoots through her chest as she thinks about her and Lisa's argument.
"Tabitha Hymm, Officer Nichols is ready for you."
"Okay," she stood up, shaking off her guilt, and followed the officer back. The familiar surroundings of the state patrol station blurred as Tabitha stared forward. She followed the officer as they came to a rustic wooden office door, which was embossed with "Officer Nichols."
The escorting officer turns the old brass door knob. "Sir, I have Tabitha Hymm here." A grizzled West Virginia Highway State Patrol veteran sits behind the desk and nods. The escorting officer steps aside, pushing the door open as Tabitha pushes past him and slumps in the awaiting chair like so many times before. An uncomfortable relationship had formed between the two, born out of necessity and duty.
"Cup of coffee?"
"No thanks. Let's just cut to the chase. You don't have anything new?"
The worn laugh lines and Officer Nichols's face flattens. His eyebrows contour sympathetically as he shakes his head.
"Tabitha, I don't have anything else new for you. I wanted to give you the clothes returned from the lab." Her face darkened at the same response she had heard many times.
"As we discussed two weeks ago, there is nothing new and no signs of struggle or foul play," Officer Nichols said while placing a box marked evidence on the table and sliding it forward. Tabitha began to weep at the realization of Lisa's clothes in front of her. In a coordinated queue, Officer Nichols brought out a box of tissues. Reluctantly, Tabitha took a few moments to unblur her vision.
"How does someone stop their car in the middle of the Remington West Virginia State Park, lock it, and then walk into the woods?" Officer Nichols clasped his hands together and sighed at her worn question.
"Tabitha, I wish I had an answer for why your sister stopped her car in the woods and simply walked off. We're still going through her cell phone, but no signs exist that anyone forced her. On that Tuesday morning, she pulled over to the side of the road, secured her car, and walked away." Officer Nichols said empathetically.
Tabitha became stoic at the same explanation she had heard many times before. " So what next?"
"You should go back to Ohio, and I'll contact you as soon as I have more information." She winced at Officer Nichols's words. Reality began to pull at her that bills and work wouldn't wait much longer.
"If I leave, she's gone for good."
" You staying won't bring her back." Officer Nichols said sympathetically.
" So is that it? She's just gone?"
" Tabitha, I'll be honest with you. In cases like this… when people do things like this. Recovery is harder in the spring due to the weather and the animals. You know her mental condition better than I do. I can't explain why she did what she did. But until I find a solution, a suicide note, some intention, or body. She's not here. Tabitha, I'm-"
" Don't you fucking say sorry!" Tabitha stood up, screaming at Officer Nichols, throwing the plastic chair backward against the wall. " I should just look for myself."
"No!" Officer Nichols said momentarily, gripping the desk as his face hardened, then relaxed. Tabitha was caught off guard by Officer Nichols, who was normally composed. "Tabitha, I know this is unbearable. I've sat on this side of the desk and had these conversations. Trust me; I need you to be safe if I need your help later."
Tabitha nods, knowing Officer Nichols is right. She reaches down, picks up the evidence box of her sister's belongings, and leaves.
" Tabitha, if you're heading home, don't stop your car; just keep driving." Tabitha stops to look at Officer Nichols, feeling an eeriness to his words.
" Goodbye, Officer Nichols," Tabitha said as she closed the rustic wooden door behind her. She counted the tiles as she exited the West Virginia State Patrol Station. Placing her sister's belongings carefully in the back seat of her Jeep, Tabitha then sat momentarily behind the steering wheel, staring at the emblem. The familiar numbness washed over Tabitha as she pushed the start button. She pulled onto the highway, driving to the motel that had been home for the last month or so. Muted pop music accented the drive back as her mind raced with questions. Once inside the two-and-a-half-star motel room, Tabitha sat her sister's belongings on the corner table, crumbled onto the bed, and cried.
***
Tabitha wiped the steam from the slightly spotted mirror above the bathroom sink. The hot water from the shower felt good and loosened some of the stress from her body. Looking back at her, Tabitha's face was framed by damp curls around her shoulders. Her face marked the stress of the past month. Frowning, she examined the bags under her eyes; sleep had to come tonight. Walking into the living area, She changed into her favorite gym shorts and oversized sleep shirt. The alarm on her phone flashed "7:00 am," so she could drive home five hours after breakfast.
Tabitha hated feeling comfortable in this once strange room, but falling asleep was getting easier now. Her eyes closed slowly as the ceiling fan droned evenly. At first, nothing came in her dreams, but she let her guard down and slipped further into sleep.
As she dreamed of floating overhead like a bird of prey, Tabitha soared over the vast Remington National Park. The high noon sun bore down on the crisp woods, perfectly contrasting sky and forest. The heat of the sun felt good on her feathers. Distant cries rang out through the dream-like forest, catching her attention. Tabitha tilted her wings toward the screams, feeling a sense of familiar curiosity.
She now recognized the sobs and cries for help as she flew closer, her sharp eyes locked on her sister leaning against a large oak tree. She glided overhead without care, examining the situation below. Lisa clung to the tree, her eyes darting back and forth, scanning upwards. Lisa's face reflected desperation, looking for help in any direction. Tabitha lazily circles Lisa several times before perching on a sturdy branch higher in one of the oak trees. She watched Lisa intently with hunger. She bellowed deeply, hearing the unnatural sound she made, catching Lisa's eyes. Lisa's expression changed; she became calm, almost uncaring, as she stared back at Tabitha's form. Hunger grew exponentially in Tabitha as she spread her large wings. Her large eyes gaze down at Lisa before diving straight for her sister.
Tabitha jolts awake to the alarm on her phone flashing "7:23 AM." She breathes in sharply, shaking off the last horrible thoughts from the reoccurring nightmare. The strange details become more vivid each time. The lingering memories of folk stories her mother told sat in the back of her mind. In those stories, the dead would reach out in dreams as a matter of warning. Leaning back on the headboard, she searched for the advice her psychologist gave her. During their last session, Dr. Ryland explained dreams are a form of self-actualization of guilt. He told Tabitha that it was natural to feel responsible when losing a loved one in this manner.
Tabitha grumbled, lightly running her hands through her red hair; she pushed everything to the back of her mind. "Get it together!" She grumbled to herself. She pushed herself off the bed and got ready to leave. It was going to be a long trip home, and the only thing she could do now was leave things in the authorities' hands. Packing up was pretty easy since she only cycled through the outfits she brought. The local laundromat must have made a small fortune off her. Tabitha took one last look at the box of Lisa's belongings before throwing them in her duffle bag. She was thankful she didn't have to spend another night in this room.
***
Tabitha sat behind the wheel, waiting for the 90's model minivan to finish their order so she could grab a breakfast burrito on the way out. Considering the situation, the Deer Stop Family Restaurant did have a good breakfast. Finally, pulling up to the 70-style drive-in board, Tabitha rolled off the order she had been accustomed to. " I'll take a large iced tea with the double breakfast burrito meal and hash browns, please."
" Would you like some happy hot sauce with that?"
" That's fine, and a few ketchup packets as well."
" Your total is $8.79. Please pull around."
She pulled around to her window, flashed her debit card, got the receipt, and waited for her food. Luckily, the young woman serving her wasn't very talkative in the morning. The last thing she wanted was a conversation about the weather or meaningless small talk.
" Here's your large iced tea and breakfast meal. Ketchup and happy hot sauce are inside."
" Thanks," Tabitha said while mustering her best fake smile. The woman only smiled and nodded as the service window automatically closed. She pulled into the parking lot and dug into breakfast. Turning the radio to the weather, Tabitha sat back and enjoyed her meal. The local DJ read through the headlines, making nonpartisan comments about politics and grumbling about improving the economy. Tabitha powered through the updates of the "out-of-state woman" who'd gone missing. It was nice that the local radio station gave Lisa's name, description, and a missing person's number for sightings or leads. Tabitha even interviewed with the local news and radio stations, hoping it would bring Lisa home. But she soon found all it brought was a sorrowful look from the locals as she interacted with them in her day-to-day life.
Finishing the last of her hash browns, Lisa wadded up everything in the paper bag and threw it in the back seat. The 9 AM weather report said it was nothing but clear skies and sun the rest of the week. Tabitha flipped the radio over to the greatest hit station, pulled out of the parking lot, and began her trip home. She memorized the roads, every bend and turn in the early weeks as she frantically looked for Lisa. There's something hypnotic about the trees: the way they flow together. The trees' green tops and the oak trees' wide trunks were a relaxing view. Tabitha enjoyed the lazy s-curves of the road, bending and winding around the hills and the trees. The occasional farmhouse or field dotted the sides of the road as she made her way to the main highway.
The blur of a semi-truck snapped Tabitha's attention as she pulled up to the mouth of the highway. She had four and a half hours ahead of her, which would be a long ride. Tabitha pulled onto the highway and picked up speed, noting sparse traffic. She relaxed into her seat, letting her gaze gloss over the blur of green foliage. Without warning, Tabitha caught a large shadow from the corner of her left eye. When she registered the black feathery form, Tabitha tensed up and slammed on the brakes as it swooped across the vehicle's hood. Quickly, she pulled the car safely off the road. She couldn't determine exactly what it was, but it was bigger than any bird she'd seen. It was a bird, right? Tabitha turned off her Jeep and grabbed the keys and cell phone. Standing before the Jeep, she looked over the grill to see if she made contact with the entity.
Bewildered, she scanned the tree line, spotting something in the distance. Sitting in the clearing of the large oak forest was an enormous black owl. It stared intently at Tabitha with bright, shiny yellow eyes. She pushed the lock button on her keys, causing the jeep to beep securely. She turned, looking across the open field, an enormous black owl perched in the upper branches of an old oak tree. Each step she took away from the road piqued her curiosity. Soon, Tabitha stood in the middle of the open field, staring intently into the eyes of the enormous owl.
The horn of a passing semi-truck blared, pulling Tabitha's attention away from the mysterious large creature. She looked back and saw that she had walked farther away from the Jeep than she had thought. She glanced back to the forest line only to see the enormous owl was deeper into the woods than before. She narrowed her vision to find the two large, bright yellow eyes staring back. Had it moved? The day's stress, care, and worry suddenly poured out of Tabitha. It was replaced by only curiosity and overbearing tranquility. She warmly smiled for the first time in months as her feet pulled her further into the woods.
Chapter 2
The tug of gravity pulls Tabitha to her senses as her body reacts, falling forward. Her arms thrust forward, bracing for impact. Water rushes around her face as she struggles to get her bearings. Quickly, Tabitha pushed herself up in the ankle-high stream she fell in. The haze slowly clears from her mind as she stares at the muddy water. The dull ache throbs up her legs. Tabitha can smell the sweat from her clothes. Her face contorted in panic as she quickly stood up in the water, looking for her cell. Thankfully, the device was still in her pocket, dry and unscathed.
"One o'clock. How can that be?" Tabitha says, slowly looking up from the screen to see the vast, dense West Virginia forest encompassing her view. She shakes her head back and forth with disbelief. A smile gently spreads across her face, with the last bit of tranquility leaving her body. How did I get out here? Her breathing becomes faster as her pulse begins to quicken. I'm in the forest. I'm all alone—just like Lisa!
"NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS FUCKING CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!" Tabitha screams into the void of trees. Her eyes well up with tears as she crumbles to her knees, gripping her phone tightly to her chest. Her sobs ring out through the thick oak trees. Her breath slows a little as she regains her composure. She begins to search her mind for anything. What is the last thing I can remember? The image of the black shadow crossing her vision while driving flashes into her mind.
"Okay, I got out of the Jeep, the…then what?" Tabitha says, trying to refresh her memories. She thinks her memory is not just gone; it's a black void in her mind. Complete blackness fills her mind right after remembering locking the Jeep and then turning to see the…
"Fuck I saw something. What was it!" Tabitha says, frustrated with her mind. She knew there must be a logical reason she was out here. Officer Nichols warned her not to go looking for her sister. She wasn't stupid; she just said that as a last-ditch effort to get him to do anything. Now I'm here.
"Run!" Tabitha heard Lisa's voice in her ear. Before she could turn around, she heard a loud bellowing coming from overhead. Fear shot down her back, reminding her of the nightmares she had over the past month. She shot forward full bore as something crashed to the ground behind her. Glancing back as she ran, a black mass of feathers convulsed between the broken branches of the trees. Its slick black feathers rippled across its surface as its bones crackled and flesh tore. Its body contorted and twisted from the shape of an owl to something bigger.
"Run, Tabby! Don't let it catch you!" Tabitha pushed forward, hearing Lisa's scream beside her face. Her breath burned in her chest, and she moved past the old oak trees bent over the creek bed. Her feet slammed rapidly, splashing along the side of the creek. Another loud bellow comes from behind as the trees bend and break to the force behind her. A small opening in the rocky creek bed catches her sight from the left. She dives into the crevasses, not caring where the fathoms lead. Tabitha tumbles in the pitch black, taking scrapes and sharp jabs from the rocks as she tumbles further into the void.
She finally tumbles to a stop on the sandy, wet floor of the cave. Her body aches from the sudden burst of exhaustion. The cool water running around her body from the creek is soothing despite her bumps and bruises. Pushing herself up, she scoots out of the water. Feeling her way forward, she finds a dry spot to collect herself. Quickly pushing her hand into her pocket, she finds her phone undamaged.
The sound of footsteps pushing against the creek fills the void around Tabitha as the light steps move closer to each other up the underground creekbed. She slowly removes her cell from her pocket and then shines the camera light toward the sound. A pair of scratched and bruised pale bare legs hold up a frail form in front of her in the creek. She wears the darkness as a shroud with nothing else to clothe her. Tabitha froze, not wanting to shine the light further in the pale form before her.
"Tabby, turn your light off. You need to save your battery." Tabitha turned off the light and then rushed forward, embracing Lisa—the how or why didn't matter, only the now. The pale form hugged her tightly. Tabitha felt her cold, bare skin. The darkness couldn't hide the feeling of the marks across her back and torso.
"Lisa, I'm-"
"Hush! I don't have much time. This wasn't your fault! I'm with Mom and Dad now. You have to survive, Tabby! Listen. Wait until the sun shines through the cracks, making a trail out. Follow it down the creek until you come to the opening. You'll see a large hill you hike up for a cell signal. And remember…If you can't see it… It can't hurt you. I love you-"
Tabitha stumbled forward before catching herself. The void in front of her arms was only filled by cool air. She looked up and noticed a faint glimmer of light pushing through the ceiling. She sat down, relaxing against the limestone wall of the cave, waiting for the trail of light to form.
***
After a few hours, the light shining through the cracks of the cave ceiling was bright enough to lead Tabitha to the other side. She stepped onto the creek bed, thankful for the sun hanging lower in the sky. Scanning the sky, Tabitha saw only a few clouds. The foothills of Appalachia backdropped the forest as she scanned for the hill. Her eyes found the trail leading up the steady slope of an impressive hill. The top of the hill was bare. Part of the hill must have sheared off in a landslide, leaving the top void of trees and a jagged cliff face. Tabitha started her hike up the back of the hill. She was careful to stay under the heavy canopy of the old trees, hopefully avoiding the creature's eyes.
She did her best to quiet her mind while hiking up the trail. Come on, almost to the top, then I can call 911, she replayed repeatedly in her mind. Her adrenaline made up for the lack of food since morning. She drank some water from a clean spot in the creek. She was placing her bet on rescue rather than worrying about the water.
Leaning against one of the trees, Tabitha took out her cell and measured the signal.
"Damn it, nothing!" She swore under her breath. She listened nervously and cautiously peered her head out from the tree line. Standing at the tree line, the cell phone still had a low signal. She pushed her anxiety down with a swallow and slowly stepped forward onto the bare rock. Tabitha was now out in the open. She walked with the cell phone pointed upwards, measuring the signal. Within three feet of the cliff face, her signal bar punched up to full. Tabitha began to punch in the numbers just as a pair of large yellow eyes appeared. She felt her legs become weak, and her vision blurred as the creature snared her in its gaze.
Tabitha ducked, missing the giant owl's claws as it swooped for her. She squinted her eyes shut, momentarily breaking the hold of the infernal beast as it crashed to the ground, tumbling down the path of old trees. On her hands and knees, she tucked the dialed phone back into her pocket. She heard the creature's loud bellowing, followed by the snapping of bone and flesh ripping. It was changing its shape to finish her off.
Tabitha tried to get up, but the flash of its eyes did something to her. Her legs were numb, her stomach was in knots, and she could barely put a few thoughts together.
"If you can't see it, it can't hurt you." Tabitha heard clearly in her left ear. She quickly pushed herself into a sitting position and fumbled for the key chain in her right pocket. Pulling the long chain of keys, luck charms, and keepsakes, her father's Swiss army knife dangled at the end. She slowly opened the half-inch blade. Her body wholeheartedly rejected her plan and tried to fight her. Every internal warning system sounded as her body fought against her as she brought the blade against the corner of her left eye.
She didn't know if she could do it until the creature bellowed in her direction. With one quick motion, the half-inch blade sliced across her left eye. The world dimmed and then went black on her left side. Behind her, the beast's thundering gallop was getting closer. Tabitha plunged herself into total darkness with the last bit of her strength. Her hand gripped tightly around the bloody knife as she folded forward onto the ground. She could feel herself weeping blood. She squinted, doing her best to stem the tide of blood loss.
A large feathered paw drove into Tabitha's right side, flipping her onto her back. She lay still as the hulking creature stood over her. It remained motionless, and Tabitha was confused about why it didn't move or bite her. Then she started to giggle, just a little at first. Then, laughing madly into the creature's face as it growled back at her. She could not see it; she couldn't see anything. Her mind couldn't be eaten!
The creature roared into Tabitha's face while plunging one of its sharp claws into her shoulder. Tabitha screamed in pain, slashing the knife downward. The blade hit something soft, and she ripped the blade down, rending whatever she had hit on the abomination. A bright yellow, foul-smelling liquid gushed in a torrent over Tabitha's face. She turned to cough, having swallowed a portion of it. The creature reared back, squealing in pain. Its hind leg came down hard on Tabitha's leg, snapping her tibia. She jerked her leg up, causing the creature to tumble forward and fall over the edge of the cliff side.
Tabitha heard the creature crash below at the base of the hill. A large dead tree speared the creature through its chest. Tabitha could hear the labored whines of the creature as its cries became weak and slowed. A wave of sickness hit her as she rolled over and vomited. The foul smell drenched her. She did her best to focus, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the phone. By memory, she typed in the unlock pin. She held her breath and placed her thumb where the call button should be.
She could hear the call being made then, "911. What is your emergency?"
"Please help me! A bear has attacked me, and I can't see. I think I am on a hill."
"Ok, ma'am, stay with me! Do you know where you are located?"
"No, I'm lost. Please send help."
"It's okay. Stay with me on the phone, and I'll use the cell signal to try to find you."
"I'm on top of one of the hills. I think I am lying on a bare roc-" Tabitha slipped unconscious with the cell still tightly in her hand. Her body began to tremble and convulse.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! Stay with me. I have help on the way."
Chapter 3
A young man in military fatigues frantically compiles images and reconnaissance data from his drone feed. Confirming his hunch, he commands the winged surveillance drone to make a hard left and send a live video feed. His eyes widened as he saw a large owl-shaped shadow crash onto the top of a hill. He watches in awe as the sleek black owl twists and shifts into something much larger, like a grizzly. As the drone turns, he sees a woman at the cliff's edge trying to steady yourself on her hands and knees.
He bolts up from the command module, jotting down the drone's coordinates on one of the printouts. The drab government-issued office motif for the watch station blurs in the corner of his eye as he rushes down the hallway to the watch commander's office.
"Sir, recon has eyes on AMOS! And it's feeding!" the man said, swinging the heavy wooden door open. He took the hastily compiled file and pushed it forward to the commanding officer.
An older, tanned man quickly stands, reaching for the files. His brow furls, seeing his charge is awake. "Keep eyes on it! Go Adams!" The young man nods, turning on his heel and bolting for the drone command module. As his office door slams shut from the subordinate officer, he grabs his headset and frantically dials the closest military outpost to the coordinates.
"Hello, Sergeant Klein; this is Agent Smith of Black Watch outpost 7948! Shadow is active, code Alpha, Mike, Oscar, Sierra. The coordinates and data package have been sent. A civilian is on the ground; deploy strike-and-rescue ASAP.
"We'll be up in five, Agent Smith! The line cuts as Agent Smith closes out the call on his headset and rushes to the door. The normally quiet watch station buzzes alive, with personnel flooding the central command station. The background echoes resource allocation calls, frantic typing, and the hum of cold computers warming up.
"Adams, get our eyes back on Amos!"
"Coming back around in 30 seconds." Thirty sets of eyes stare at the three giant screens, anxiously waiting for the drone feed to clear the bank of trees. The camera clears the tre top to see the giant feathered grizzly rear back slinging its massive head away from its prey. Its large yellow right eye spews bright yellow liquid all over the red-haired woman and the cliff face. The giant feathered grizzly missteps, crushing the woman's leg and causing the creature to tumble over the cliff face.
"Fuck!" Agent Smith yells in horror as he watches AMOS fall four stories, impaling a sharp, 3-meter-tall log lodged in the boulders. The command center freezes wide-eyed at the flailing dying creature on screen. Agent Smith pulls his cell out quickly and dials.
"Klein, Scrub the current request! AMOS is down! Switch to rescue and harvest now!
"What, someone took out AMOS?"
"YES! It's at the bottom of the cliff, bleeding out essence! The woman is covered in it as well. Clean as much of it off her as possible before you take her to the ER.
"Understood!"
Agent Smith, in a rage, slings his phone straight forward, connecting with Private Adams's skull. Adams flinches at the sudden impact of the hard plastic and covers his head. Agent Smith grabs the table in front of him and flips it over, sending the computer equipment crashing to the government-issued tiled floor.
"A two-year cycle gone! All that essence is gone! Now I have to wait another 24 months for AMOS to resurrect!" Agent Smith screams, causing the rest of the staff to recoil away in fear.
"Jones!" Agent Smith says sternly, turning to a petite woman on his left. She stares at him, pleading.
"Yes Sir?'
"Get Officer Nichols on my office line. That fuck up has some explaining. He should have told us AMOS was awake."
"Right away!" Jones quickly sits back down and begins dialing Nichols, thankful she doesn't have to deal with Agent Smith further. The command center quickly shifts gears as Agent Smith returns to his office.
***
Two Weeks later…
"Tabitha… Tabitha… This is Doctor Wilhelm. Wake up." The kind older gentleman said as they gently nudged Tabitha in her hospital bed.
"Where am I?" Tabitha asked, waking from what felt like years of sleep. She sat up, the world still pitch black, but an odd sense of the world around her seemed to hum just behind her eyes.
"You're in the hospital, dear; you scared us. Do you remember anything?" He said as he sat down on the side of her bed.
Tabitha thought for a moment the last parts after she slashed her eyes were a blur. She remembers people yelling and the sound of two or three helicopters over her. " No, it's really all just a blur."
"Well, it's probably for the best. You had some very serious injuries. The first night, we honestly didn't think you would make it. Then…" The doctor trailed off with a concerned expression, not knowing how to explain things further.
Tabitha felt his pulse quicken somehow. She didn't understand it but fully felt or sensed the doctor beside her. She sensed the two other nurses standing at the end of the bed. Her body didn't hurt. She felt great. She felt hungry.
"Doctor, you said had. What happened to my injuries?" She said calmly, trying not to startle the old doctor further.
"Well, Tabitha, it's the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. You had violent seizures from the minute you hit the entrance of the ER. We couldn't even set your leg. The medications we gave you had a minimal effect, and you thrashed so much that we had to restrain you. Then, the early morning check-in found you in a deep sleep. All but your eyes were completely healed. So we switched gears to support care and treated your eyes the best we could." He said, watching her reaction.
Tabitha leaned back in her bed, taking in the wild account. "Do you know how I healed so quickly?"
"What happened to you is beyond all scientific reason. A miracle is the only way the staff and I can explain it. I know you have been through a lot, but I want to check your eyes."
"Thank you for all your help, Doctor Wilhelm." She said, sitting up in bed.
"You are most welcome, dear. Now I am going to unwrap your eye-dressing. Hold still, please." he said as he reached up and pulled on the bandage tape. Tabitha felt a quick tug and felt the bandages loosen from around her head. The doctor slowly unwrapped the bandages. The doctor's brow wrinkled as he examined the two large black scabs covering Tabitha's eyes.
"Tell me if this hurts at all, ok?"
"Yes, doctor." She relaxes as the doctor's gloved fingers pass over the scab. He pushes and gently tugs at the side of one, and it starts to lift. He pulls on the scab more, and Tabitha begins to sense the light as it hits her eyelid.
"Oh, I can sense the light, Doctor Wilhelm!" She said, smiling.
"Wonderful! Nurse Allen, please hand me some saline solution. I think a little water will loosen these right up. Hold still; this may feel cold," he said as he reached for the solution. She felt the cool liquid flush over the left eye, then the right. The scabs fell away with a gentle tug from the doctor. She could see the light shine through her eyelids. She grinned widely, happy to have some form of sight left.
"Please open your eyes for me," he said as he sat back on the bed. Tabitha slowly opened her eyes. The flood of light was almost too much, causing her to squint. After a few moments, she adjusted to the fluorescent lights. Three figures began to take shape in front of her. First, the distinguished older features of Doctor Wilhelm came into view quickly, followed by the brunette and blonde younger nurses standing at the end of the bed. Suddenly, her vision snapped into place, crisp and clear.
"I can see perfectly! This is amazing! Thank you, Doctor Wilhem!" she said, turning to look directly into his eyes, but he stared back at her unmovingly.
"Doctor Wilhelm?" she said as her expression became more worried. Doctor Wilhelm just sat staring, intensely focused on her eyes. His expression was overbearingly calm. She glanced at the nurses, rigidly staring back at her with trapped, calm expressions. Doctor Wilhelm began to twitch slightly. It traveled from the base of his spine out to his limbs, finally convulsing.
"Doctor Wilhelm, are you okay?" Tabitha yelled as the doctor began to have a seizure and fell on top of her bed.
"Help Him!" She screamed at the two nurses only to see both of them crumble to the tiled floor. One of them bashed her head off the bed frame. Tabitha recoils back from Doctor Wilhelm in terror as he starts foaming at the mouth. She climbs over the bed rail and hits the tiled concrete floor with a thud. Her adrenaline surges as she bolts for the door, looking for help.
At the entrance of her hospital room, she sees another nurse leaving the adjacent room. "Please, my doctor and staff need help!" As the male nurse turns to see Tabitha, he suddenly goes stiff before collapsing into a violent seizure, spilling his cart over with him.
"What's happening!" Tabitha screams, thinking something is in the air, or everyone has come down with something. A pair of security guards round the corner, hearing the screams and commotion.
"Ma'am, are yo-" The guard freezes mid-stride as he makes eye contact with Tabitha. Both men start to convulse and topple over, thrashing violently on the hard tile.
"No, no, no, no!" Tabitha yells as she darts into the women's bathroom, a few doors up the hall. She runs in, terrified of the situation. She approaches one of the sinks, bracing herself against the cool porcelain. Her stomach turns, and she dry heaves in the sink. She steadies herself while turning on the cold water. Leaning in, she takes a drink. As she looks up, a glint of two yellow eyes catches her. Tabitha stumbles backward on reflex. Then, she sees her reflection in the mirror. Two completely bright yellow eyes stare back at Tabitha. She screams at herself in the mirror, not feeling hungry anymore.
The end.
I will
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A Hike to Remember
By R.L. Oclen
Chapter 1
A woman sits with hastily pulled-up fire-red hair in the waiting room of the state patrol station. The procedurally sterile off-white walls and decade-old magazines do little for comfort. With her head hanging low, her shoulders pushing forward, and her boots rapidly tapping on the floor, something has to give.
"Please just let her be okay." The woman growls as a pair of officers come in from the field. The officers' demeanors quickly change when they see the familiar face.
"Tabitha, did Officer Nichols call you?" one of the state patrol officers asked sympathetically.
"Yes, he asked me to come in and pick up a few things," Tabitha said, shooting back a muted look.
" I'll let them know you're here." The officer said, nodding to Tabitha as they passed the security door. Tabitha leaned back against the hard plastic chair, staring blankly into the fluorescent light. She had done this dance in the macabre repeatedly over the past month. The last image of her younger sister, Lisa, still burned in her mind. Tabitha had always been protective over her younger sister after their parents died. A pang of guilt shoots through her chest as she thinks about her and Lisa's argument.
"Tabitha Hymm, Officer Nichols is ready for you."
"Okay," she stood up, shaking off her guilt, and followed the officer back. The familiar surroundings of the state patrol station blurred as Tabitha stared forward. She followed the officer as they came to a rustic wooden office door, which was embossed with "Officer Nichols."
The escorting officer turns the old brass door knob. "Sir, I have Tabitha Hymm here." A grizzled West Virginia Highway State Patrol veteran sits behind the desk and nods. The escorting officer steps aside, pushing the door open as Tabitha pushes past him and slumps in the awaiting chair like so many times before. An uncomfortable relationship had formed between the two, born out of necessity and duty.
"Cup of coffee?"
"No thanks. Let's just cut to the chase. You don't have anything new?"
The worn laugh lines and Officer Nichols's face flattens. His eyebrows contour sympathetically as he shakes his head.
"Tabitha, I don't have anything else new for you. I wanted to give you the clothes returned from the lab." Her face darkened at the same response she had heard many times.
"As we discussed two weeks ago, there is nothing new and no signs of struggle or foul play," Officer Nichols said while placing a box marked evidence on the table and sliding it forward. Tabitha began to weep at the realization of Lisa's clothes in front of her. In a coordinated queue, Officer Nichols brought out a box of tissues. Reluctantly, Tabitha took a few moments to unblur her vision.
"How does someone stop their car in the middle of the Remington West Virginia State Park, lock it, and then walk into the woods?" Officer Nichols clasped his hands together and sighed at her worn question.
"Tabitha, I wish I had an answer for why your sister stopped her car in the woods and simply walked off. We're still going through her cell phone, but no signs exist that anyone forced her. On that Tuesday morning, she pulled over to the side of the road, secured her car, and walked away." Officer Nichols said empathetically.
Tabitha became stoic at the same explanation she had heard many times before. " So what next?"
"You should go back to Ohio, and I'll contact you as soon as I have more information." She winced at Officer Nichols's words. Reality began to pull at her that bills and work wouldn't wait much longer.
"If I leave, she's gone for good."
" You staying won't bring her back." Officer Nichols said sympathetically.
" So is that it? She's just gone?"
" Tabitha, I'll be honest with you. In cases like this… when people do things like this. Recovery is harder in the spring due to the weather and the animals. You know her mental condition better than I do. I can't explain why she did what she did. But until I find a solution, a suicide note, some intention, or body. She's not here. Tabitha, I'm-"
" Don't you fucking say sorry!" Tabitha stood up, screaming at Officer Nichols, throwing the plastic chair backward against the wall. " I should just look for myself."
"No!" Officer Nichols said momentarily, gripping the desk as his face hardened, then relaxed. Tabitha was caught off guard by Officer Nichols, who was normally composed. "Tabitha, I know this is unbearable. I've sat on this side of the desk and had these conversations. Trust me; I need you to be safe if I need your help later."
Tabitha nods, knowing Officer Nichols is right. She reaches down, picks up the evidence box of her sister's belongings, and leaves.
" Tabitha, if you're heading home, don't stop your car; just keep driving." Tabitha stops to look at Officer Nichols, feeling an eeriness to his words.
" Goodbye, Officer Nichols," Tabitha said as she closed the rustic wooden door behind her. She counted the tiles as she exited the West Virginia State Patrol Station. Placing her sister's belongings carefully in the back seat of her Jeep, Tabitha then sat momentarily behind the steering wheel, staring at the emblem. The familiar numbness washed over Tabitha as she pushed the start button. She pulled onto the highway, driving to the motel that had been home for the last month or so. Muted pop music accented the drive back as her mind raced with questions. Once inside the two-and-a-half-star motel room, Tabitha sat her sister's belongings on the corner table, crumbled onto the bed, and cried.
***
Tabitha wiped the steam from the slightly spotted mirror above the bathroom sink. The hot water from the shower felt good and loosened some of the stress from her body. Looking back at her, Tabitha's face was framed by damp curls around her shoulders. Her face marked the stress of the past month. Frowning, she examined the bags under her eyes; sleep had to come tonight. Walking into the living area, She changed into her favorite gym shorts and oversized sleep shirt. The alarm on her phone flashed "7:00 am," so she could drive home five hours after breakfast.
Tabitha hated feeling comfortable in this once strange room, but falling asleep was getting easier now. Her eyes closed slowly as the ceiling fan droned evenly. At first, nothing came in her dreams, but she let her guard down and slipped further into sleep.
As she dreamed of floating overhead like a bird of prey, Tabitha soared over the vast Remington National Park. The high noon sun bore down on the crisp woods, perfectly contrasting sky and forest. The heat of the sun felt good on her feathers. Distant cries rang out through the dream-like forest, catching her attention. Tabitha tilted her wings toward the screams, feeling a sense of familiar curiosity.
She now recognized the sobs and cries for help as she flew closer, her sharp eyes locked on her sister leaning against a large oak tree. She glided overhead without care, examining the situation below. Lisa clung to the tree, her eyes darting back and forth, scanning upwards. Lisa's face reflected desperation, looking for help in any direction. Tabitha lazily circles Lisa several times before perching on a sturdy branch higher in one of the oak trees. She watched Lisa intently with hunger. She bellowed deeply, hearing the unnatural sound she made, catching Lisa's eyes. Lisa's expression changed; she became calm, almost uncaring, as she stared back at Tabitha's form. Hunger grew exponentially in Tabitha as she spread her large wings. Her large eyes gaze down at Lisa before diving straight for her sister.
Tabitha jolts awake to the alarm on her phone flashing "7:23 AM." She breathes in sharply, shaking off the last horrible thoughts from the reoccurring nightmare. The strange details become more vivid each time. The lingering memories of folk stories her mother told sat in the back of her mind. In those stories, the dead would reach out in dreams as a matter of warning. Leaning back on the headboard, she searched for the advice her psychologist gave her. During their last session, Dr. Ryland explained dreams are a form of self-actualization of guilt. He told Tabitha that it was natural to feel responsible when losing a loved one in this manner.
Tabitha grumbled, lightly running her hands through her red hair; she pushed everything to the back of her mind. "Get it together!" She grumbled to herself. She pushed herself off the bed and got ready to leave. It was going to be a long trip home, and the only thing she could do now was leave things in the authorities' hands. Packing up was pretty easy since she only cycled through the outfits she brought. The local laundromat must have made a small fortune off her. Tabitha took one last look at the box of Lisa's belongings before throwing them in her duffle bag. She was thankful she didn't have to spend another night in this room.
***
Tabitha sat behind the wheel, waiting for the 90's model minivan to finish their order so she could grab a breakfast burrito on the way out. Considering the situation, the Deer Stop Family Restaurant did have a good breakfast. Finally, pulling up to the 70-style drive-in board, Tabitha rolled off the order she had been accustomed to. " I'll take a large iced tea with the double breakfast burrito meal and hash browns, please."
" Would you like some happy hot sauce with that?"
" That's fine, and a few ketchup packets as well."
" Your total is $8.79. Please pull around."
She pulled around to her window, flashed her debit card, got the receipt, and waited for her food. Luckily, the young woman serving her wasn't very talkative in the morning. The last thing she wanted was a conversation about the weather or meaningless small talk.
" Here's your large iced tea and breakfast meal. Ketchup and happy hot sauce are inside."
" Thanks," Tabitha said while mustering her best fake smile. The woman only smiled and nodded as the service window automatically closed. She pulled into the parking lot and dug into breakfast. Turning the radio to the weather, Tabitha sat back and enjoyed her meal. The local DJ read through the headlines, making nonpartisan comments about politics and grumbling about improving the economy. Tabitha powered through the updates of the "out-of-state woman" who'd gone missing. It was nice that the local radio station gave Lisa's name, description, and a missing person's number for sightings or leads. Tabitha even interviewed with the local news and radio stations, hoping it would bring Lisa home. But she soon found all it brought was a sorrowful look from the locals as she interacted with them in her day-to-day life.
Finishing the last of her hash browns, Lisa wadded up everything in the paper bag and threw it in the back seat. The 9 AM weather report said it was nothing but clear skies and sun the rest of the week. Tabitha flipped the radio over to the greatest hit station, pulled out of the parking lot, and began her trip home. She memorized the roads, every bend and turn in the early weeks as she frantically looked for Lisa. There's something hypnotic about the trees: the way they flow together. The trees' green tops and the oak trees' wide trunks were a relaxing view. Tabitha enjoyed the lazy s-curves of the road, bending and winding around the hills and the trees. The occasional farmhouse or field dotted the sides of the road as she made her way to the main highway.
The blur of a semi-truck snapped Tabitha's attention as she pulled up to the mouth of the highway. She had four and a half hours ahead of her, which would be a long ride. Tabitha pulled onto the highway and picked up speed, noting sparse traffic. She relaxed into her seat, letting her gaze gloss over the blur of green foliage. Without warning, Tabitha caught a large shadow from the corner of her left eye. When she registered the black feathery form, Tabitha tensed up and slammed on the brakes as it swooped across the vehicle's hood. Quickly, she pulled the car safely off the road. She couldn't determine exactly what it was, but it was bigger than any bird she'd seen. It was a bird, right? Tabitha turned off her Jeep and grabbed the keys and cell phone. Standing before the Jeep, she looked over the grill to see if she made contact with the entity.
Bewildered, she scanned the tree line, spotting something in the distance. Sitting in the clearing of the large oak forest was an enormous black owl. It stared intently at Tabitha with bright, shiny yellow eyes. She pushed the lock button on her keys, causing the jeep to beep securely. She turned, looking across the open field, an enormous black owl perched in the upper branches of an old oak tree. Each step she took away from the road piqued her curiosity. Soon, Tabitha stood in the middle of the open field, staring intently into the eyes of the enormous owl.
The horn of a passing semi-truck blared, pulling Tabitha's attention away from the mysterious large creature. She looked back and saw that she had walked farther away from the Jeep than she had thought. She glanced back to the forest line only to see the enormous owl was deeper into the woods than before. She narrowed her vision to find the two large, bright yellow eyes staring back. Had it moved? The day's stress, care, and worry suddenly poured out of Tabitha. It was replaced by only curiosity and overbearing tranquility. She warmly smiled for the first time in months as her feet pulled her further into the woods.
Chapter 2
The tug of gravity pulls Tabitha to her senses as her body reacts, falling forward. Her arms thrust forward, bracing for impact. Water rushes around her face as she struggles to get her bearings. Quickly, Tabitha pushed herself up in the ankle-high stream she fell in. The haze slowly clears from her mind as she stares at the muddy water. The dull ache throbs up her legs. Tabitha can smell the sweat from her clothes. Her face contorted in panic as she quickly stood up in the water, looking for her cell. Thankfully, the device was still in her pocket, dry and unscathed.
"One o'clock. How can that be?" Tabitha says, slowly looking up from the screen to see the vast, dense West Virginia forest encompassing her view. She shakes her head back and forth with disbelief. A smile gently spreads across her face, with the last bit of tranquility leaving her body. How did I get out here? Her breathing becomes faster as her pulse begins to quicken. I'm in the forest. I'm all alone—just like Lisa!
"NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS FUCKING CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!" Tabitha screams into the void of trees. Her eyes well up with tears as she crumbles to her knees, gripping her phone tightly to her chest. Her sobs ring out through the thick oak trees. Her breath slows a little as she regains her composure. She begins to search her mind for anything. What is the last thing I can remember? The image of the black shadow crossing her vision while driving flashes into her mind.
"Okay, I got out of the Jeep, the…then what?" Tabitha says, trying to refresh her memories. She thinks her memory is not just gone; it's a black void in her mind. Complete blackness fills her mind right after remembering locking the Jeep and then turning to see the…
"Fuck I saw something. What was it!" Tabitha says, frustrated with her mind. She knew there must be a logical reason she was out here. Officer Nichols warned her not to go looking for her sister. She wasn't stupid; she just said that as a last-ditch effort to get him to do anything. Now I'm here.
"Run!" Tabitha heard Lisa's voice in her ear. Before she could turn around, she heard a loud bellowing coming from overhead. Fear shot down her back, reminding her of the nightmares she had over the past month. She shot forward full bore as something crashed to the ground behind her. Glancing back as she ran, a black mass of feathers convulsed between the broken branches of the trees. Its slick black feathers rippled across its surface as its bones crackled and flesh tore. Its body contorted and twisted from the shape of an owl to something bigger.
"Run, Tabby! Don't let it catch you!" Tabitha pushed forward, hearing Lisa's scream beside her face. Her breath burned in her chest, and she moved past the old oak trees bent over the creek bed. Her feet slammed rapidly, splashing along the side of the creek. Another loud bellow comes from behind as the trees bend and break to the force behind her. A small opening in the rocky creek bed catches her sight from the left. She dives into the crevasses, not caring where the fathoms lead. Tabitha tumbles in the pitch black, taking scrapes and sharp jabs from the rocks as she tumbles further into the void.
She finally tumbles to a stop on the sandy, wet floor of the cave. Her body aches from the sudden burst of exhaustion. The cool water running around her body from the creek is soothing despite her bumps and bruises. Pushing herself up, she scoots out of the water. Feeling her way forward, she finds a dry spot to collect herself. Quickly pushing her hand into her pocket, she finds her phone undamaged.
The sound of footsteps pushing against the creek fills the void around Tabitha as the light steps move closer to each other up the underground creekbed. She slowly removes her cell from her pocket and then shines the camera light toward the sound. A pair of scratched and bruised pale bare legs hold up a frail form in front of her in the creek. She wears the darkness as a shroud with nothing else to clothe her. Tabitha froze, not wanting to shine the light further in the pale form before her.
"Tabby, turn your light off. You need to save your battery." Tabitha turned off the light and then rushed forward, embracing Lisa—the how or why didn't matter, only the now. The pale form hugged her tightly. Tabitha felt her cold, bare skin. The darkness couldn't hide the feeling of the marks across her back and torso.
"Lisa, I'm-"
"Hush! I don't have much time. This wasn't your fault! I'm with Mom and Dad now. You have to survive, Tabby! Listen. Wait until the sun shines through the cracks, making a trail out. Follow it down the creek until you come to the opening. You'll see a large hill you hike up for a cell signal. And remember…If you can't see it… It can't hurt you. I love you-"
Tabitha stumbled forward before catching herself. The void in front of her arms was only filled by cool air. She looked up and noticed a faint glimmer of light pushing through the ceiling. She sat down, relaxing against the limestone wall of the cave, waiting for the trail of light to form.
***
After a few hours, the light shining through the cracks of the cave ceiling was bright enough to lead Tabitha to the other side. She stepped onto the creek bed, thankful for the sun hanging lower in the sky. Scanning the sky, Tabitha saw only a few clouds. The foothills of Appalachia backdropped the forest as she scanned for the hill. Her eyes found the trail leading up the steady slope of an impressive hill. The top of the hill was bare. Part of the hill must have sheared off in a landslide, leaving the top void of trees and a jagged cliff face. Tabitha started her hike up the back of the hill. She was careful to stay under the heavy canopy of the old trees, hopefully avoiding the creature's eyes.
She did her best to quiet her mind while hiking up the trail. Come on, almost to the top, then I can call 911, she replayed repeatedly in her mind. Her adrenaline made up for the lack of food since morning. She drank some water from a clean spot in the creek. She was placing her bet on rescue rather than worrying about the water.
Leaning against one of the trees, Tabitha took out her cell and measured the signal.
"Damn it, nothing!" She swore under her breath. She listened nervously and cautiously peered her head out from the tree line. Standing at the tree line, the cell phone still had a low signal. She pushed her anxiety down with a swallow and slowly stepped forward onto the bare rock. Tabitha was now out in the open. She walked with the cell phone pointed upwards, measuring the signal. Within three feet of the cliff face, her signal bar punched up to full. Tabitha began to punch in the numbers just as a pair of large yellow eyes appeared. She felt her legs become weak, and her vision blurred as the creature snared her in its gaze.
Tabitha ducked, missing the giant owl's claws as it swooped for her. She squinted her eyes shut, momentarily breaking the hold of the infernal beast as it crashed to the ground, tumbling down the path of old trees. On her hands and knees, she tucked the dialed phone back into her pocket. She heard the creature's loud bellowing, followed by the snapping of bone and flesh ripping. It was changing its shape to finish her off.
Tabitha tried to get up, but the flash of its eyes did something to her. Her legs were numb, her stomach was in knots, and she could barely put a few thoughts together.
"If you can't see it, it can't hurt you." Tabitha heard clearly in her left ear. She quickly pushed herself into a sitting position and fumbled for the key chain in her right pocket. Pulling the long chain of keys, luck charms, and keepsakes, her father's Swiss army knife dangled at the end. She slowly opened the half-inch blade. Her body wholeheartedly rejected her plan and tried to fight her. Every internal warning system sounded as her body fought against her as she brought the blade against the corner of her left eye.
She didn't know if she could do it until the creature bellowed in her direction. With one quick motion, the half-inch blade sliced across her left eye. The world dimmed and then went black on her left side. Behind her, the beast's thundering gallop was getting closer. Tabitha plunged herself into total darkness with the last bit of her strength. Her hand gripped tightly around the bloody knife as she folded forward onto the ground. She could feel herself weeping blood. She squinted, doing her best to stem the tide of blood loss.
A large feathered paw drove into Tabitha's right side, flipping her onto her back. She lay still as the hulking creature stood over her. It remained motionless, and Tabitha was confused about why it didn't move or bite her. Then she started to giggle, just a little at first. Then, laughing madly into the creature's face as it growled back at her. She could not see it; she couldn't see anything. Her mind couldn't be eaten!
The creature roared into Tabitha's face while plunging one of its sharp claws into her shoulder. Tabitha screamed in pain, slashing the knife downward. The blade hit something soft, and she ripped the blade down, rending whatever she had hit on the abomination. A bright yellow, foul-smelling liquid gushed in a torrent over Tabitha's face. She turned to cough, having swallowed a portion of it. The creature reared back, squealing in pain. Its hind leg came down hard on Tabitha's leg, snapping her tibia. She jerked her leg up, causing the creature to tumble forward and fall over the edge of the cliff side.
Tabitha heard the creature crash below at the base of the hill. A large dead tree speared the creature through its chest. Tabitha could hear the labored whines of the creature as its cries became weak and slowed. A wave of sickness hit her as she rolled over and vomited. The foul smell drenched her. She did her best to focus, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the phone. By memory, she typed in the unlock pin. She held her breath and placed her thumb where the call button should be.
She could hear the call being made then, "911. What is your emergency?"
"Please help me! A bear has attacked me, and I can't see. I think I am on a hill."
"Ok, ma'am, stay with me! Do you know where you are located?"
"No, I'm lost. Please send help."
"It's okay. Stay with me on the phone, and I'll use the cell signal to try to find you."
"I'm on top of one of the hills. I think I am lying on a bare roc-" Tabitha slipped unconscious with the cell still tightly in her hand. Her body began to tremble and convulse.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! Stay with me. I have help on the way."
Chapter 3
A young man in military fatigues frantically compiles images and reconnaissance data from his drone feed. Confirming his hunch, he commands the winged surveillance drone to make a hard left and send a live video feed. His eyes widened as he saw a large owl-shaped shadow crash onto the top of a hill. He watches in awe as the sleek black owl twists and shifts into something much larger, like a grizzly. As the drone turns, he sees a woman at the cliff's edge trying to steady yourself on her hands and knees.
He bolts up from the command module, jotting down the drone's coordinates on one of the printouts. The drab government-issued office motif for the watch station blurs in the corner of his eye as he rushes down the hallway to the watch commander's office.
"Sir, recon has eyes on AMOS! And it's feeding!" the man said, swinging the heavy wooden door open. He took the hastily compiled file and pushed it forward to the commanding officer.
An older, tanned man quickly stands, reaching for the files. His brow furls, seeing his charge is awake. "Keep eyes on it! Go Adams!" The young man nods, turning on his heel and bolting for the drone command module. As his office door slams shut from the subordinate officer, he grabs his headset and frantically dials the closest military outpost to the coordinates.
"Hello, Sergeant Klein; this is Agent Smith of Black Watch outpost 7948! Shadow is active, code Alpha, Mike, Oscar, Sierra. The coordinates and data package have been sent. A civilian is on the ground; deploy strike-and-rescue ASAP.
"We'll be up in five, Agent Smith! The line cuts as Agent Smith closes out the call on his headset and rushes to the door. The normally quiet watch station buzzes alive, with personnel flooding the central command station. The background echoes resource allocation calls, frantic typing, and the hum of cold computers warming up.
"Adams, get our eyes back on Amos!"
"Coming back around in 30 seconds." Thirty sets of eyes stare at the three giant screens, anxiously waiting for the drone feed to clear the bank of trees. The camera clears the tre top to see the giant feathered grizzly rear back slinging its massive head away from its prey. Its large yellow right eye spews bright yellow liquid all over the red-haired woman and the cliff face. The giant feathered grizzly missteps, crushing the woman's leg and causing the creature to tumble over the cliff face.
"Fuck!" Agent Smith yells in horror as he watches AMOS fall four stories, impaling a sharp, 3-meter-tall log lodged in the boulders. The command center freezes wide-eyed at the flailing dying creature on screen. Agent Smith pulls his cell out quickly and dials.
"Klein, Scrub the current request! AMOS is down! Switch to rescue and harvest now!
"What, someone took out AMOS?"
"YES! It's at the bottom of the cliff, bleeding out essence! The woman is covered in it as well. Clean as much of it off her as possible before you take her to the ER.
"Understood!"
Agent Smith, in a rage, slings his phone straight forward, connecting with Private Adams's skull. Adams flinches at the sudden impact of the hard plastic and covers his head. Agent Smith grabs the table in front of him and flips it over, sending the computer equipment crashing to the government-issued tiled floor.
"A two-year cycle gone! All that essence is gone! Now I have to wait another 24 months for AMOS to resurrect!" Agent Smith screams, causing the rest of the staff to recoil away in fear.
"Jones!" Agent Smith says sternly, turning to a petite woman on his left. She stares at him, pleading.
"Yes Sir?'
"Get Officer Nichols on my office line. That fuck up has some explaining. He should have told us AMOS was awake."
"Right away!" Jones quickly sits back down and begins dialing Nichols, thankful she doesn't have to deal with Agent Smith further. The command center quickly shifts gears as Agent Smith returns to his office.
***
Two Weeks later…
"Tabitha… Tabitha… This is Doctor Wilhelm. Wake up." The kind older gentleman said as they gently nudged Tabitha in her hospital bed.
"Where am I?" Tabitha asked, waking from what felt like years of sleep. She sat up, the world still pitch black, but an odd sense of the world around her seemed to hum just behind her eyes.
"You're in the hospital, dear; you scared us. Do you remember anything?" He said as he sat down on the side of her bed.
Tabitha thought for a moment the last parts after she slashed her eyes were a blur. She remembers people yelling and the sound of two or three helicopters over her. " No, it's really all just a blur."
"Well, it's probably for the best. You had some very serious injuries. The first night, we honestly didn't think you would make it. Then…" The doctor trailed off with a concerned expression, not knowing how to explain things further.
Tabitha felt his pulse quicken somehow. She didn't understand it but fully felt or sensed the doctor beside her. She sensed the two other nurses standing at the end of the bed. Her body didn't hurt. She felt great. She felt hungry.
"Doctor, you said had. What happened to my injuries?" She said calmly, trying not to startle the old doctor further.
"Well, Tabitha, it's the closest thing to a miracle I've ever seen. You had violent seizures from the minute you hit the entrance of the ER. We couldn't even set your leg. The medications we gave you had a minimal effect, and you thrashed so much that we had to restrain you. Then, the early morning check-in found you in a deep sleep. All but your eyes were completely healed. So we switched gears to support care and treated your eyes the best we could." He said, watching her reaction.
Tabitha leaned back in her bed, taking in the wild account. "Do you know how I healed so quickly?"
"What happened to you is beyond all scientific reason. A miracle is the only way the staff and I can explain it. I know you have been through a lot, but I want to check your eyes."
"Thank you for all your help, Doctor Wilhelm." She said, sitting up in bed.
"You are most welcome, dear. Now I am going to unwrap your eye-dressing. Hold still, please." he said as he reached up and pulled on the bandage tape. Tabitha felt a quick tug and felt the bandages loosen from around her head. The doctor slowly unwrapped the bandages. The doctor's brow wrinkled as he examined the two large black scabs covering Tabitha's eyes.
"Tell me if this hurts at all, ok?"
"Yes, doctor." She relaxes as the doctor's gloved fingers pass over the scab. He pushes and gently tugs at the side of one, and it starts to lift. He pulls on the scab more, and Tabitha begins to sense the light as it hits her eyelid.
"Oh, I can sense the light, Doctor Wilhelm!" She said, smiling.
"Wonderful! Nurse Allen, please hand me some saline solution. I think a little water will loosen these right up. Hold still; this may feel cold," he said as he reached for the solution. She felt the cool liquid flush over the left eye, then the right. The scabs fell away with a gentle tug from the doctor. She could see the light shine through her eyelids. She grinned widely, happy to have some form of sight left.
"Please open your eyes for me," he said as he sat back on the bed. Tabitha slowly opened her eyes. The flood of light was almost too much, causing her to squint. After a few moments, she adjusted to the fluorescent lights. Three figures began to take shape in front of her. First, the distinguished older features of Doctor Wilhelm came into view quickly, followed by the brunette and blonde younger nurses standing at the end of the bed. Suddenly, her vision snapped into place, crisp and clear.
"I can see perfectly! This is amazing! Thank you, Doctor Wilhem!" she said, turning to look directly into his eyes, but he stared back at her unmovingly.
"Doctor Wilhelm?" she said as her expression became more worried. Doctor Wilhelm just sat staring, intensely focused on her eyes. His expression was overbearingly calm. She glanced at the nurses, rigidly staring back at her with trapped, calm expressions. Doctor Wilhelm began to twitch slightly. It traveled from the base of his spine out to his limbs, finally convulsing.
"Doctor Wilhelm, are you okay?" Tabitha yelled as the doctor began to have a seizure and fell on top of her bed.
"Help Him!" She screamed at the two nurses only to see both of them crumble to the tiled floor. One of them bashed her head off the bed frame. Tabitha recoils back from Doctor Wilhelm in terror as he starts foaming at the mouth. She climbs over the bed rail and hits the tiled concrete floor with a thud. Her adrenaline surges as she bolts for the door, looking for help.
At the entrance of her hospital room, she sees another nurse leaving the adjacent room. "Please, my doctor and staff need help!" As the male nurse turns to see Tabitha, he suddenly goes stiff before collapsing into a violent seizure, spilling his cart over with him.
"What's happening!" Tabitha screams, thinking something is in the air, or everyone has come down with something. A pair of security guards round the corner, hearing the screams and commotion.
"Ma'am, are yo-" The guard freezes mid-stride as he makes eye contact with Tabitha. Both men start to convulse and topple over, thrashing violently on the hard tile.
"No, no, no, no!" Tabitha yells as she darts into the women's bathroom, a few doors up the hall. She runs in, terrified of the situation. She approaches one of the sinks, bracing herself against the cool porcelain. Her stomach turns, and she dry heaves in the sink. She steadies herself while turning on the cold water. Leaning in, she takes a drink. As she looks up, a glint of two yellow eyes catches her. Tabitha stumbles backward on reflex. Then, she sees her reflection in the mirror. Two completely bright yellow eyes stare back at Tabitha. She screams at herself in the mirror, not feeling hungry anymore.
The end.
I will
2024.05.16 22:00 hoggersbridge Engines of Arachnea: The Bug Planet (Chapter 21: Kryptus)
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
Having said his piece, Rene had expected the woman to accept her role as a prisoner of the Fleet. But no sooner had he taken his knee of her back than she was at him again, rolling over and cursing as she tried to spit him on her claws. Training kicked in and Rene applied the wrestling component of his hand-to-hand combat course. He secured underhooks with his arms, locking them together with his hands and hugging her tight from behind. Zildiz bucked and twisted around in a futile attempt to make room for her blades, even managing to get one of her knees beneath her and push off the ground. Rene allowed her to gain her feet, cunningly using the opening to slip the loop of his encircling arms around her waist. Now in complete control of her center of gravity, Rene swung his leg out and arched his back, heaving her up and over like a sack of turnips in a textbook suplex. A fraction of a second before he smashed the top of her skull into the hard ground, he remembered that he was supposed to keep prisoners alive and preferably not in a vegetative state, and so he cushioned the fall with his own body, falling on his side to increase surface area and dissipate the force.
Zildiz was caught totally by surprise. Unlike Rene she had neglected to tuck in her chin before the moment of impact, a vital detail which was one of the first things a recruit was taught to do on the mats.
“Oof!” she said as all the breath slammed out of her by the throw. Rene felt her body go limp as her dazed senses tried to adjust to the violent change of orientation. He took advantage of this moment of weakness and looped his legs around her body, locking his ankles together to form a full body triangle. His left forearm punched up and took her neck in a rear naked choke, a suffocating vise formed by the insides of his elbow crushing her windpipe and carotid arteries.
“I warned you,” he told her. His choking hand grabbed the inside of his other elbow, right forearm sneaking behind her neck and under his armpit, tightening the garrote even further.
“Had enough?”
“Hrrnnkk…” Zildiz choked. She lifted an arm and slid back the blade until it was the length of a finger, deliberately giving Rene the universal gesture to go and fornicate with himself, before sheathing the claw entirely and aiming her fist at him over her shoulder.
Rene ducked as the blade shot out again, only just avoiding it going through his eye socket and into his brain. As it was, it only nicked his temple, sending warm lines of blood trickling down his visor. Rene hugged her even tighter, constricting the chokehold until he heard her breathing reduced to an agonized wheeze. He throttled her until she stopped moving, her struggles weakening until she went completely lax. Then he held the choke for exactly three seconds longer, counting carefully to avoid giving her lasting brain damage. He let go and was relieved to hear her snoring faintly. Gently rolling her onto her back so she didn’t suffocate in the dirt, Rene cast about for a means to secure his prisoner. He had only a few seconds before she regained consciousness. Quickly he cut some vines from the surrounding trees and knotted them into a crude rope. He flipped her back over again and tied her hands at the wrists and elbows. He had no illusions that it would hold her for long. He tied her wings together at their bases for good measure. She had two sets of them, but the larger pair was missing one of its partners that had been torn off at the socket to reveal a gaping wound. They were wondrously tough membranes considering how thin and flexible they were, as sturdy as ultrapod leather. Rene looked over his work and loosened it a bit so as not to cut off the circulation in her arms. It wasn’t bad for something done on the fly. Then again, he’d been playing this whole thing by ear ever since the ambush that had cut his unit to pieces. Ye gods, but that whole experience felt like a lifetime ago. He had not expected to ever use that component of his hand-to-hand training designed for fighting human opponents. Of course, he’d helped put down a fair share of civil unrest in his time, but even during the worst of the food riots in Mound Ulysses he’d never so much as given a person a light shove. The civilians knew better than to antagonize a battalion of the Fleet’s finest over something as routine and reoccurring as a government rationing in the face of crop failure.
He felt quite bad about having to roughhouse the woman, that is, until she sat up awake and glowered hatefully at him, coughing and retching.
“Don’t,” he pleaded with her in exasperation as she gave him the old stink eye, “I don’t want to fight you again.”
“Why?” she spat defiantly, “Afraid you’d lose?”
“Uh huh,” Rene grunted, amused and even a little impressed by her spunk. She couldn’t have weighed more than sixty kilos soaking wet and was at least half a foot shorter than him even with that exomorph of hers, but this woman was all fight and no quit. She would have to be, living on the surface world and facing these abominations day after day. Rene looked at the dismembered corpses of the black-furred devils and had a sudden jolt of inspiration. As Zildiz tested the strength of her restraints Rene went over to the monster he had chopped to bits and poked the misshapen hump on its back, which had excreted thick ribbons of silk at the moment of death. Feeling more than a little squeamish, Rene pulled on the threads of silk. He had only meant to collect two or three meters of the material, but more and more of the stuff kept unwinding out its glands like a handkerchief from a magician’s pocket. Eventually his hands became enmeshed in the horrid stuff and he had to struggle like the dickens to unstick himself and scrape it off onto a bush where it stuck like a lumpy hammock. Remembering how his enemy had plugged the stab wound in its gut, Rene snapped off a twig and curled it into the white mess like those vendors at the fairs did with candy cloud treats, ending up with a spool of silk. He applied it to the cut on his temple by winding it around his head like a bandage, and was gratified when it stopped the bleeding almost immediately. He heard the rustle of dead leaves and turned around to find Zildiz furtively attempting to sidle away from him.
“Don’t even try it,” he told her, “Or I’ll run you down and knock you senseless. I’m taking you back to civilization. The Fleet needs to know what it’s up against out here, and you’re a veritable trove of information.”
Zildiz squatted back down and stared at him, simmering with resentment. Rene shook his head and continued his work, moving on to the monster that had been the first to die at the woman’s hands. Cutting open its hump, Rene was rewarded with a dense lump of thread still packed inside its spinneret. He took another twig and spooled it in, then wrapped the bundle of silk in a large leaf.
A leg twitched of its own accord. Rene nearly dropped the bundle as he sprang back, sword upraised. The devil’s limbs began doing a tap dance and Rene relaxed a bit, recognizing it as the onset of rigor mortis. The side of its face was split open and hanging loosely by a strap of flesh. Struck by a nagging suspicion, Rene stooped down and peeled off the segments of its head, holding the edge of his sword against its neck to decapitate it in the event that it proved too lively for his liking.
The musculature and armor tore away just like it had with Zildiz’s helm, and for the second time that night he found himself staring into the face of another living human being. Only this time it was a man whose face was utterly disfigured, a perversion of the basic form. In the place of his lower jaw were fingerlike protrusions of gummy tissue and exposed nerve endings. His nose cartilage was likewise missing, leaving only a pair of holes dribbling with snot. The man blinked, and glassy eyes with almost no whites at their edges fixed Rene in their gaze.
“Kill…me…” the man whispered.
Rene began to shake uncontrollably, wiping a trembling hand across his mouth as he was forced to consider the carnage he’d just wrought in a new and horrifying light. These weren’t three dead monsters littering the jungle floor; these were three dead men, and some of them he had killed himself.
“Kill me!” the man begged him. He was young, barely Rene’s age, his smooth skin untroubled by the wrinkles of age and worry. He had clear brown pupils and dark, expressive brows. If it weren’t for all the rest of him, Rene might’ve mistaken him for a fresh-faced recruit at the academy, or a paperboy climbing up the terraced apartments of inner hive to deliver news of the Fleet’s latest victory.
On unsteady legs Rene staggered back to Zildiz’s side and away from the awful truth he had uncovered.
“Something the matter?” Zildiz asked in a gleeful tone, “Feeling a little worse for wear, are we?”
“Shut it,” Rene said distantly. He dragged Zildiz to her feet and began winding the silk around her wrists, layering them over thick and tying them off with a simple knot. He kept the vines on her for added insurance and told her to start walking.
“Where to?” she demanded.
“I’m not feeding you to my children, if that’s what you’re asking,” he muttered, “I don’t have any to begin with, and even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t raise them to be cannibals.”
Zildiz didn’t move, so Rene grabbed her and frog marched her away. He had no real destination in mind—he just had to get away from this place and the bodies he’d made. Zildiz rounded on Rene, saying:
“Aren’t you going to deal with him? I only severed his neural connection to paralyze his exomorph. He’s still very much alive.”
“No!” Rene yelled, “That’s not how I—how people do things. Almighty ancestors, is that so hard for you to grasp?”
“Yes,” Zildiz replied quite candidly.
“He’s a living, breathing human being. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but those are pretty rare on Arachnea and worth keeping around.”
“No. He is a Leaper. After extracting your gilt helix, he and his packmates would devoured you right then and there.”
“That’s why you saved me, isn’t it? So they couldn’t obtain this shiny helix thing?”
Zildiz ignored his question, continuing:
“If you leave him here, at best he will die of exposure. At worst, his tribe will come looking for him, and if they find him, they will run us down and kill us anyway.”
Rene bit his lip. She spoke the truth and they both knew it. But after all this world had already taken from him, there remained one thing which he refused to part with. And Rene knew that if he gave in now and took the expedient option—the sensible option—he would be surrendering it forever.
“Sorry,” he said finally, “That’s against the rules.”
He dragged Zildiz over to the Leaper and spoke to him, saying:
“I won’t kill you. I’m not about to eat you either, so you can stop begging for a quick death. As long as you tell me what I want to know, we’ll leave you here and go our separate ways. I might even patch your wounds if you’re cooperative. Does that strike you as a fair bargain?”
The Leaper met this pronouncement with a look of utter perplexity that mirrored the one on Zildiz’s face.
“I’ll take that silence as a yes,” Rene said impatiently, “You’ll begin by telling me your name.”
“Kryptusshh,” the Leaper said slowly, as if not daring to hope.
“Very good. Are there any more of your people out there, Kryptus?”
“Why sshhould I trusht you? I would only be dooming more of my kindred, and there issh no certainty you would not kill me afterwardssh.”
“It’s a chance you have to take,” Rene shrugged, “Either that, or I’ll let this woman do as she pleases with you. And just between you and me,” he said in a loud stage whisper, “She doesn’t seem all that fond of your sort.”
Zildiz and Kryptus locked eyes with each other. Rene could almost feel the waves of hatred coming off her as she bristled, every tendon in her body tensing expectantly. Kryptus must have seen something he didn’t like, for he looked away and said:
“I am a warrior of the Weeping Vipersh. We are roughly eleven hundred sshtrong. One tenth of that number are bravesshh like me.”
“He lies,” Zildiz said, baring her teeth in a snarl, “That is less than half their true strength. He does not count the adolescents and the old loom-mothers, who are the deadliest of their kind.”
“Three hundred, then, if they are consshidered,” Kryptman quickly admitted, “Your pardon, merciful one.”
“I’ll excuse your forgetfulness just this once,” Rene warned, “But your memory better not fail you again.”
He questioned the Leaper closely. Kryptus claimed that only he and his pack had seen the safety pod’s crash landing, and that they had told no one else as they wished to claim the great prize all for themselves. The Weeping Vipers were the largest tribe in the rainforest and were always looking for an advantage over their numerous and belligerent neighbors. Apparently Kryptus had hoped to gain a modicum of the Divine Engine’s power by extracting something called a ‘gilt helix’ from Rene’s blood.
“Jussht one sample would have shatishfied uss,” Kryptus swore, “Then we would have taken you back to the Loom alive.”
“I’m sure nothing would’ve pleased you better,” Rene said wryly, all too cognizant of Zildiz’s earlier assumption that he planned to feed her to the Fleet’s youth.
Rene learned from Kryptus that the Divine Engine had ignited a blazing wildfire that was swiftly spreading north and west. The tribes would likely have noticed it by now, and would all be sending braves in a joint effort to douse the flames. For some reason all the Leapers felt collectively responsible for the wellbeing of the region, and could not allow it to come to harm for fear of dire repercussions.
“Last question. Is anyone going to come looking for you?”
“Not till the morning.”
“Good!” said Zildiz, breaking out of Rene’s grip and aiming a vicious kick at the side of the Leaper’s head. Rene barely caught her and yanked her back, shouting:
“Blood and thunder, woman! Is there nothing you won’t do to piss me off?”
“Are you insane? You cannot possibly mean to leave him alive!” the Gallivant hissed.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Now come here!”
Rene took her by the elbow and pulled her forward, leaving Kryptus where he lay.
“You promished you would tend to my woundssh!” the Leaper cried after them.
“Don’t push your luck!” Rene said over his shoulder, “Anyone who follows us will meet the same end as your friends.”
He and his prisoner went tramping off into the night, Zildiz raging at him all the while.
“Fool! We will both come to regret that decision!”
“You’re probably right,” Rene had to agree.
“Then why did you do it?”
“For the same reason I’m letting you strut around and screech into my ear. What can I say? I’m a conversationalist.”
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
submitted by hoggersbridge to HFY [link] [comments]
Having said his piece, Rene had expected the woman to accept her role as a prisoner of the Fleet. But no sooner had he taken his knee of her back than she was at him again, rolling over and cursing as she tried to spit him on her claws. Training kicked in and Rene applied the wrestling component of his hand-to-hand combat course. He secured underhooks with his arms, locking them together with his hands and hugging her tight from behind. Zildiz bucked and twisted around in a futile attempt to make room for her blades, even managing to get one of her knees beneath her and push off the ground. Rene allowed her to gain her feet, cunningly using the opening to slip the loop of his encircling arms around her waist. Now in complete control of her center of gravity, Rene swung his leg out and arched his back, heaving her up and over like a sack of turnips in a textbook suplex. A fraction of a second before he smashed the top of her skull into the hard ground, he remembered that he was supposed to keep prisoners alive and preferably not in a vegetative state, and so he cushioned the fall with his own body, falling on his side to increase surface area and dissipate the force.
Zildiz was caught totally by surprise. Unlike Rene she had neglected to tuck in her chin before the moment of impact, a vital detail which was one of the first things a recruit was taught to do on the mats.
“Oof!” she said as all the breath slammed out of her by the throw. Rene felt her body go limp as her dazed senses tried to adjust to the violent change of orientation. He took advantage of this moment of weakness and looped his legs around her body, locking his ankles together to form a full body triangle. His left forearm punched up and took her neck in a rear naked choke, a suffocating vise formed by the insides of his elbow crushing her windpipe and carotid arteries.
“I warned you,” he told her. His choking hand grabbed the inside of his other elbow, right forearm sneaking behind her neck and under his armpit, tightening the garrote even further.
“Had enough?”
“Hrrnnkk…” Zildiz choked. She lifted an arm and slid back the blade until it was the length of a finger, deliberately giving Rene the universal gesture to go and fornicate with himself, before sheathing the claw entirely and aiming her fist at him over her shoulder.
Rene ducked as the blade shot out again, only just avoiding it going through his eye socket and into his brain. As it was, it only nicked his temple, sending warm lines of blood trickling down his visor. Rene hugged her even tighter, constricting the chokehold until he heard her breathing reduced to an agonized wheeze. He throttled her until she stopped moving, her struggles weakening until she went completely lax. Then he held the choke for exactly three seconds longer, counting carefully to avoid giving her lasting brain damage. He let go and was relieved to hear her snoring faintly. Gently rolling her onto her back so she didn’t suffocate in the dirt, Rene cast about for a means to secure his prisoner. He had only a few seconds before she regained consciousness. Quickly he cut some vines from the surrounding trees and knotted them into a crude rope. He flipped her back over again and tied her hands at the wrists and elbows. He had no illusions that it would hold her for long. He tied her wings together at their bases for good measure. She had two sets of them, but the larger pair was missing one of its partners that had been torn off at the socket to reveal a gaping wound. They were wondrously tough membranes considering how thin and flexible they were, as sturdy as ultrapod leather. Rene looked over his work and loosened it a bit so as not to cut off the circulation in her arms. It wasn’t bad for something done on the fly. Then again, he’d been playing this whole thing by ear ever since the ambush that had cut his unit to pieces. Ye gods, but that whole experience felt like a lifetime ago. He had not expected to ever use that component of his hand-to-hand training designed for fighting human opponents. Of course, he’d helped put down a fair share of civil unrest in his time, but even during the worst of the food riots in Mound Ulysses he’d never so much as given a person a light shove. The civilians knew better than to antagonize a battalion of the Fleet’s finest over something as routine and reoccurring as a government rationing in the face of crop failure.
He felt quite bad about having to roughhouse the woman, that is, until she sat up awake and glowered hatefully at him, coughing and retching.
“Don’t,” he pleaded with her in exasperation as she gave him the old stink eye, “I don’t want to fight you again.”
“Why?” she spat defiantly, “Afraid you’d lose?”
“Uh huh,” Rene grunted, amused and even a little impressed by her spunk. She couldn’t have weighed more than sixty kilos soaking wet and was at least half a foot shorter than him even with that exomorph of hers, but this woman was all fight and no quit. She would have to be, living on the surface world and facing these abominations day after day. Rene looked at the dismembered corpses of the black-furred devils and had a sudden jolt of inspiration. As Zildiz tested the strength of her restraints Rene went over to the monster he had chopped to bits and poked the misshapen hump on its back, which had excreted thick ribbons of silk at the moment of death. Feeling more than a little squeamish, Rene pulled on the threads of silk. He had only meant to collect two or three meters of the material, but more and more of the stuff kept unwinding out its glands like a handkerchief from a magician’s pocket. Eventually his hands became enmeshed in the horrid stuff and he had to struggle like the dickens to unstick himself and scrape it off onto a bush where it stuck like a lumpy hammock. Remembering how his enemy had plugged the stab wound in its gut, Rene snapped off a twig and curled it into the white mess like those vendors at the fairs did with candy cloud treats, ending up with a spool of silk. He applied it to the cut on his temple by winding it around his head like a bandage, and was gratified when it stopped the bleeding almost immediately. He heard the rustle of dead leaves and turned around to find Zildiz furtively attempting to sidle away from him.
“Don’t even try it,” he told her, “Or I’ll run you down and knock you senseless. I’m taking you back to civilization. The Fleet needs to know what it’s up against out here, and you’re a veritable trove of information.”
Zildiz squatted back down and stared at him, simmering with resentment. Rene shook his head and continued his work, moving on to the monster that had been the first to die at the woman’s hands. Cutting open its hump, Rene was rewarded with a dense lump of thread still packed inside its spinneret. He took another twig and spooled it in, then wrapped the bundle of silk in a large leaf.
A leg twitched of its own accord. Rene nearly dropped the bundle as he sprang back, sword upraised. The devil’s limbs began doing a tap dance and Rene relaxed a bit, recognizing it as the onset of rigor mortis. The side of its face was split open and hanging loosely by a strap of flesh. Struck by a nagging suspicion, Rene stooped down and peeled off the segments of its head, holding the edge of his sword against its neck to decapitate it in the event that it proved too lively for his liking.
The musculature and armor tore away just like it had with Zildiz’s helm, and for the second time that night he found himself staring into the face of another living human being. Only this time it was a man whose face was utterly disfigured, a perversion of the basic form. In the place of his lower jaw were fingerlike protrusions of gummy tissue and exposed nerve endings. His nose cartilage was likewise missing, leaving only a pair of holes dribbling with snot. The man blinked, and glassy eyes with almost no whites at their edges fixed Rene in their gaze.
“Kill…me…” the man whispered.
Rene began to shake uncontrollably, wiping a trembling hand across his mouth as he was forced to consider the carnage he’d just wrought in a new and horrifying light. These weren’t three dead monsters littering the jungle floor; these were three dead men, and some of them he had killed himself.
“Kill me!” the man begged him. He was young, barely Rene’s age, his smooth skin untroubled by the wrinkles of age and worry. He had clear brown pupils and dark, expressive brows. If it weren’t for all the rest of him, Rene might’ve mistaken him for a fresh-faced recruit at the academy, or a paperboy climbing up the terraced apartments of inner hive to deliver news of the Fleet’s latest victory.
On unsteady legs Rene staggered back to Zildiz’s side and away from the awful truth he had uncovered.
“Something the matter?” Zildiz asked in a gleeful tone, “Feeling a little worse for wear, are we?”
“Shut it,” Rene said distantly. He dragged Zildiz to her feet and began winding the silk around her wrists, layering them over thick and tying them off with a simple knot. He kept the vines on her for added insurance and told her to start walking.
“Where to?” she demanded.
“I’m not feeding you to my children, if that’s what you’re asking,” he muttered, “I don’t have any to begin with, and even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t raise them to be cannibals.”
Zildiz didn’t move, so Rene grabbed her and frog marched her away. He had no real destination in mind—he just had to get away from this place and the bodies he’d made. Zildiz rounded on Rene, saying:
“Aren’t you going to deal with him? I only severed his neural connection to paralyze his exomorph. He’s still very much alive.”
“No!” Rene yelled, “That’s not how I—how people do things. Almighty ancestors, is that so hard for you to grasp?”
“Yes,” Zildiz replied quite candidly.
“He’s a living, breathing human being. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but those are pretty rare on Arachnea and worth keeping around.”
“No. He is a Leaper. After extracting your gilt helix, he and his packmates would devoured you right then and there.”
“That’s why you saved me, isn’t it? So they couldn’t obtain this shiny helix thing?”
Zildiz ignored his question, continuing:
“If you leave him here, at best he will die of exposure. At worst, his tribe will come looking for him, and if they find him, they will run us down and kill us anyway.”
Rene bit his lip. She spoke the truth and they both knew it. But after all this world had already taken from him, there remained one thing which he refused to part with. And Rene knew that if he gave in now and took the expedient option—the sensible option—he would be surrendering it forever.
“Sorry,” he said finally, “That’s against the rules.”
He dragged Zildiz over to the Leaper and spoke to him, saying:
“I won’t kill you. I’m not about to eat you either, so you can stop begging for a quick death. As long as you tell me what I want to know, we’ll leave you here and go our separate ways. I might even patch your wounds if you’re cooperative. Does that strike you as a fair bargain?”
The Leaper met this pronouncement with a look of utter perplexity that mirrored the one on Zildiz’s face.
“I’ll take that silence as a yes,” Rene said impatiently, “You’ll begin by telling me your name.”
“Kryptusshh,” the Leaper said slowly, as if not daring to hope.
“Very good. Are there any more of your people out there, Kryptus?”
“Why sshhould I trusht you? I would only be dooming more of my kindred, and there issh no certainty you would not kill me afterwardssh.”
“It’s a chance you have to take,” Rene shrugged, “Either that, or I’ll let this woman do as she pleases with you. And just between you and me,” he said in a loud stage whisper, “She doesn’t seem all that fond of your sort.”
Zildiz and Kryptus locked eyes with each other. Rene could almost feel the waves of hatred coming off her as she bristled, every tendon in her body tensing expectantly. Kryptus must have seen something he didn’t like, for he looked away and said:
“I am a warrior of the Weeping Vipersh. We are roughly eleven hundred sshtrong. One tenth of that number are bravesshh like me.”
“He lies,” Zildiz said, baring her teeth in a snarl, “That is less than half their true strength. He does not count the adolescents and the old loom-mothers, who are the deadliest of their kind.”
“Three hundred, then, if they are consshidered,” Kryptman quickly admitted, “Your pardon, merciful one.”
“I’ll excuse your forgetfulness just this once,” Rene warned, “But your memory better not fail you again.”
He questioned the Leaper closely. Kryptus claimed that only he and his pack had seen the safety pod’s crash landing, and that they had told no one else as they wished to claim the great prize all for themselves. The Weeping Vipers were the largest tribe in the rainforest and were always looking for an advantage over their numerous and belligerent neighbors. Apparently Kryptus had hoped to gain a modicum of the Divine Engine’s power by extracting something called a ‘gilt helix’ from Rene’s blood.
“Jussht one sample would have shatishfied uss,” Kryptus swore, “Then we would have taken you back to the Loom alive.”
“I’m sure nothing would’ve pleased you better,” Rene said wryly, all too cognizant of Zildiz’s earlier assumption that he planned to feed her to the Fleet’s youth.
Rene learned from Kryptus that the Divine Engine had ignited a blazing wildfire that was swiftly spreading north and west. The tribes would likely have noticed it by now, and would all be sending braves in a joint effort to douse the flames. For some reason all the Leapers felt collectively responsible for the wellbeing of the region, and could not allow it to come to harm for fear of dire repercussions.
“Last question. Is anyone going to come looking for you?”
“Not till the morning.”
“Good!” said Zildiz, breaking out of Rene’s grip and aiming a vicious kick at the side of the Leaper’s head. Rene barely caught her and yanked her back, shouting:
“Blood and thunder, woman! Is there nothing you won’t do to piss me off?”
“Are you insane? You cannot possibly mean to leave him alive!” the Gallivant hissed.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Now come here!”
Rene took her by the elbow and pulled her forward, leaving Kryptus where he lay.
“You promished you would tend to my woundssh!” the Leaper cried after them.
“Don’t push your luck!” Rene said over his shoulder, “Anyone who follows us will meet the same end as your friends.”
He and his prisoner went tramping off into the night, Zildiz raging at him all the while.
“Fool! We will both come to regret that decision!”
“You’re probably right,” Rene had to agree.
“Then why did you do it?”
“For the same reason I’m letting you strut around and screech into my ear. What can I say? I’m a conversationalist.”
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
2024.05.16 06:56 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus
I think there’s something off about my campus
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
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Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
2024.05.16 06:55 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus
I think there’s something off about my campus
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
submitted by Krayzfrog to LazyMasquerade [link] [comments]
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
2024.05.16 06:53 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus (full story)
I think there’s something off about my campus
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
submitted by Krayzfrog to BeingScaredStories [link] [comments]
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker
2024.05.16 05:15 AllenXeno122 Her Little Light… story be me
“…. Hmm….” The thing ponders the sight before him. A world in flame, icons of chaos destroyed and their followers laying dead before them. The souls of the damned cling to the earth, their whispers hanging in the wind. He can hear them, all of them, and he listens to them all, taking in their hatred into his own being. He can feel his power grow ever so slightly with their hatred, and it serves to bolster his own, forging it into a weapon to use against Them.
“My Lord…” A voice sounds behind him, he turns to see a Astartes, his armor half black and half white, with horns adorning his armor. He wields a power axe in one hand and the other is encased within a power fist.
“…. Speak Asher.” The thing says, turning to look at the Astartes. The thing stands about ten feet tall, his body covered in what looks like fur, but upon a closer look appears to be a mass of countless individual tendrils. He has a massive tail with a gaping maw of teeth at the end, and his face was an elongated skull-like visage, with four hours adorning it.
“We have gathered up the individuals you requested, the sorcerer and his retinue.” Asher said, brushing some ash off his shoulder. “Zion was injured but other then that there were no casualties, they were already quite injured from our initial bombardment on this planet, our Librarians are keeping the sorcerer in check at the moment.”
The thing gave a nod to Asher, his face unemotive. They walked into the ruined Chaos fortress, the iconography of the ruinous powers lay defiled and defaced throughout the fortress, and symbols of a half black half white skull now stood in their place. When the thing and Asher made their way to the dungeons, the Chaos sorcerer was being held down by two librarians using psychic chains, his red armor and hooded helm shaking in pain. “You may stop. Leave us.” Without a word, the librarians dismiss their psychic chains and leave with Asher, leaving just the Sorcerer and the thing in the cold stone room. “…. So, how’ve you been?” The thing asked, just as a blast of warp fire was shot into his face by the sorcerer.
“You blasphemous fool! Who do you think you are?! Do you know who I am?!! I-“ the sorcerer is interrupted by the thing gripping the hand casting the warp fire, his mind barely having time to register the movement before the pain of his arm being torn from his body sears through his body. The sorcerer yells in agony, as the thing stands before him, the last of the warp fire wisping away from his unharmed head.
“I see you are still impulsive as always Serviel…” the sorcerer almost froze at the mention of his name, and in the voice of the thing before him he felt a twinge of familiarity. “It’s why you lost your arm that one time, you told me it was from a duel with an ork, but every knew you got hit by a rocket. Looks like you got that arm thing fixed though…” The thing dangles the arm he just tore off, tendrils sticking out from the stub and wiggling around, trying to find its host. He tosses the arm onto the ground and snaps his finger, igniting the arm in black flames, burning the thing into ash as it slowly dies. “… Now, I have a question for you Serviel…”
“Y-You… who are-“ the tail of the thing slams into Serviel, collapsing one of his three lungs and making him cough up blood.
“You’ll get your chance to speak, for now, shut up and answer me…” the Thing’s tail opens it’s maw and picks up Serviel, sitting him upright as the Thing gets up close to Serviel’s face, looking him in the eyes. “Where is Vashtorr heading?”
Serviel looked surprised, like he expected maybe something else to be asked, but he grit his teeth through the pain and answered, “Ghh! I… I don’t know… we were sent here to gather resources for the Wyrmwood… we… we weren’t told anything else….”
The Thing lets out a growl of frustration, another dead end. Either he isn’t acting on leads fast enough or Vashtorr is actively messing with him. As he thinks about his next steps, Serviel looks at him questioningly. The Thing notices and looks at him. “… Well? Out with it.”
“… So you’re alive…” Serviel says, and the Thing just shrugs.
“Sort of.” He says, putting a hand around the nape of Serviel’s neck. He has had this conversation many times, this is the part where they insult him and belittle him. He used to pull them apart slowly and painfully before but he just wanted to kill him quickly and be done with it.
“You… you know she’s still looking for you…” Those words make the Thing stop for a moment, his hands loosening slightly around Serviel’s neck. The memories of her are still bright in his mind, her voice was that of an angel’s, her beauty was nothing but serine, and her kindness knew no bounds…. That’s how it was long ago, the woman she was is now long gone….
“… Yea… I know she is…” the Thing breaks Serviel’s neck with a flick of his wrist, too fast for Serviel to have felt it. He drinks in his soul, absorbing it into his being, where the ruinous powers will have hold of him no more… The Thing leaves the dungeon and makes it to the command room of the fortress, where Asher and his second in command wait for him. “Asher. Argal.” The Thing says, addressing them both. “This planet is ours now, I can assume you’ve already pacified the local populace?”
Argal Tal steps up to the Thing, he is more mutated than most of his brothers but other than that he wears untainted armor custom made to fit his bulkier form, and he stands almost eight feet tall, with every bit of the nobility he had during the great crusade. “It is done my lord, we have successfully convinced them we are servants of the emperor, the indoctrination plans are already in place, we suspect within a few generations this planet will be devoted entirely to you.”
“On top of all that…” Asher says, “We have collected any and all equipment usable to us. Our ammo stockpiles are at maximum capacity, as are most of our other requirements.”
The Thing looks at Asher, nodding in approval. “Good. Even if we aren’t any closer to Vashtorr, we are at least better off now than before.”
“No luck with the sorcerer then, eh my lord?” Asher ask, his voice unsurprised.
“Nope.” The Thing says flatly, slightly annoyed by Asher’s tone but knows he’s just being the sarcastic individual that he is. “Now, leave me. Take care of what needs taking care of out there…” He orders as he steps out onto the balcony of the command room, the sound of ceremite armor clinking and then stomping off soon growing distant and leaving only silence. A few minutes of this pass by, the Thing thinking back too a time before all this madness. A time when humanity was on the upswing, when things like daemons and the gods were the furthest things from the people’s mind, a time when… when he had her.“….. Still here Argal?” He says, aware that Argal Tal hasn’t left the room.
“…. Your thinking about Mother again, aren’t you?” Argal ask, and the twitch from the Thing’s shoulders tells him he’s right. “…. We will save her Little Light, we will free her from the forces that have broken her.” Argal says, walking up next to the Thing he called Little Light, a title of endearment that his Gene-Mother gave to him. “And you are the key to that, you are the reason why I am here and able to aid you in this mission… all of us, we are your sons now, and we stand with you.”
“… I know… I know…” Little Light says, appreciating Argal Tal’s faith in him and his goals. “… We have much to do, and I fear time may be running out… make sure your brothers are ready for when the time comes for us to move…”
Argal Tal bows, “It will be done… Lord Malal….”
submitted by AllenXeno122 to PrimarchGFs [link] [comments]
“My Lord…” A voice sounds behind him, he turns to see a Astartes, his armor half black and half white, with horns adorning his armor. He wields a power axe in one hand and the other is encased within a power fist.
“…. Speak Asher.” The thing says, turning to look at the Astartes. The thing stands about ten feet tall, his body covered in what looks like fur, but upon a closer look appears to be a mass of countless individual tendrils. He has a massive tail with a gaping maw of teeth at the end, and his face was an elongated skull-like visage, with four hours adorning it.
“We have gathered up the individuals you requested, the sorcerer and his retinue.” Asher said, brushing some ash off his shoulder. “Zion was injured but other then that there were no casualties, they were already quite injured from our initial bombardment on this planet, our Librarians are keeping the sorcerer in check at the moment.”
The thing gave a nod to Asher, his face unemotive. They walked into the ruined Chaos fortress, the iconography of the ruinous powers lay defiled and defaced throughout the fortress, and symbols of a half black half white skull now stood in their place. When the thing and Asher made their way to the dungeons, the Chaos sorcerer was being held down by two librarians using psychic chains, his red armor and hooded helm shaking in pain. “You may stop. Leave us.” Without a word, the librarians dismiss their psychic chains and leave with Asher, leaving just the Sorcerer and the thing in the cold stone room. “…. So, how’ve you been?” The thing asked, just as a blast of warp fire was shot into his face by the sorcerer.
“You blasphemous fool! Who do you think you are?! Do you know who I am?!! I-“ the sorcerer is interrupted by the thing gripping the hand casting the warp fire, his mind barely having time to register the movement before the pain of his arm being torn from his body sears through his body. The sorcerer yells in agony, as the thing stands before him, the last of the warp fire wisping away from his unharmed head.
“I see you are still impulsive as always Serviel…” the sorcerer almost froze at the mention of his name, and in the voice of the thing before him he felt a twinge of familiarity. “It’s why you lost your arm that one time, you told me it was from a duel with an ork, but every knew you got hit by a rocket. Looks like you got that arm thing fixed though…” The thing dangles the arm he just tore off, tendrils sticking out from the stub and wiggling around, trying to find its host. He tosses the arm onto the ground and snaps his finger, igniting the arm in black flames, burning the thing into ash as it slowly dies. “… Now, I have a question for you Serviel…”
“Y-You… who are-“ the tail of the thing slams into Serviel, collapsing one of his three lungs and making him cough up blood.
“You’ll get your chance to speak, for now, shut up and answer me…” the Thing’s tail opens it’s maw and picks up Serviel, sitting him upright as the Thing gets up close to Serviel’s face, looking him in the eyes. “Where is Vashtorr heading?”
Serviel looked surprised, like he expected maybe something else to be asked, but he grit his teeth through the pain and answered, “Ghh! I… I don’t know… we were sent here to gather resources for the Wyrmwood… we… we weren’t told anything else….”
The Thing lets out a growl of frustration, another dead end. Either he isn’t acting on leads fast enough or Vashtorr is actively messing with him. As he thinks about his next steps, Serviel looks at him questioningly. The Thing notices and looks at him. “… Well? Out with it.”
“… So you’re alive…” Serviel says, and the Thing just shrugs.
“Sort of.” He says, putting a hand around the nape of Serviel’s neck. He has had this conversation many times, this is the part where they insult him and belittle him. He used to pull them apart slowly and painfully before but he just wanted to kill him quickly and be done with it.
“You… you know she’s still looking for you…” Those words make the Thing stop for a moment, his hands loosening slightly around Serviel’s neck. The memories of her are still bright in his mind, her voice was that of an angel’s, her beauty was nothing but serine, and her kindness knew no bounds…. That’s how it was long ago, the woman she was is now long gone….
“… Yea… I know she is…” the Thing breaks Serviel’s neck with a flick of his wrist, too fast for Serviel to have felt it. He drinks in his soul, absorbing it into his being, where the ruinous powers will have hold of him no more… The Thing leaves the dungeon and makes it to the command room of the fortress, where Asher and his second in command wait for him. “Asher. Argal.” The Thing says, addressing them both. “This planet is ours now, I can assume you’ve already pacified the local populace?”
Argal Tal steps up to the Thing, he is more mutated than most of his brothers but other than that he wears untainted armor custom made to fit his bulkier form, and he stands almost eight feet tall, with every bit of the nobility he had during the great crusade. “It is done my lord, we have successfully convinced them we are servants of the emperor, the indoctrination plans are already in place, we suspect within a few generations this planet will be devoted entirely to you.”
“On top of all that…” Asher says, “We have collected any and all equipment usable to us. Our ammo stockpiles are at maximum capacity, as are most of our other requirements.”
The Thing looks at Asher, nodding in approval. “Good. Even if we aren’t any closer to Vashtorr, we are at least better off now than before.”
“No luck with the sorcerer then, eh my lord?” Asher ask, his voice unsurprised.
“Nope.” The Thing says flatly, slightly annoyed by Asher’s tone but knows he’s just being the sarcastic individual that he is. “Now, leave me. Take care of what needs taking care of out there…” He orders as he steps out onto the balcony of the command room, the sound of ceremite armor clinking and then stomping off soon growing distant and leaving only silence. A few minutes of this pass by, the Thing thinking back too a time before all this madness. A time when humanity was on the upswing, when things like daemons and the gods were the furthest things from the people’s mind, a time when… when he had her.“….. Still here Argal?” He says, aware that Argal Tal hasn’t left the room.
“…. Your thinking about Mother again, aren’t you?” Argal ask, and the twitch from the Thing’s shoulders tells him he’s right. “…. We will save her Little Light, we will free her from the forces that have broken her.” Argal says, walking up next to the Thing he called Little Light, a title of endearment that his Gene-Mother gave to him. “And you are the key to that, you are the reason why I am here and able to aid you in this mission… all of us, we are your sons now, and we stand with you.”
“… I know… I know…” Little Light says, appreciating Argal Tal’s faith in him and his goals. “… We have much to do, and I fear time may be running out… make sure your brothers are ready for when the time comes for us to move…”
Argal Tal bows, “It will be done… Lord Malal….”
2024.05.14 10:47 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus (Full story)
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
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To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
2024.05.14 10:47 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus (Full story)
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
submitted by Krayzfrog to DrCreepensVault [link] [comments]
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
2024.05.14 10:46 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on Campus (Complete Story)
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
submitted by Krayzfrog to TheDarkGathering [link] [comments]
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
2024.05.14 10:45 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus (Complete Story)
Hey everyone, I’m typing this on my phone so I apologize if there is weird formatting. Anyways, to get to the point, there’s something really off with some people on my campus. I have come seeking answers.I noticed it first walking home from my 7pm class last Wednesday.
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
submitted by Krayzfrog to NaturesTemper [link] [comments]
To set the scene, most of the campus is tucked back into the woods a little, and my 7pm class is in the farthest building from the parking lot (further into the woods). I get out from that 7pm class around 9pm, so on cloudy nights like last Wednesday, the only lights on that long sidewalk are the lights radiating from the other buildings. Usually, there’s roughly 30 feet where it’s pitch black because the foliage is pretty dense. I usually walk back to my apartment with some classmates that live in the same complex as me, but I told them to go ahead of me while I finished the rest of the project.
After packing my laptop away, I started heading back home. It was roughly 9:30 at this point, and my brain was slowly shutting down preparing for the deep sleep that has yet to come.Walking down the sidewalk, I heard somebody not too far into the woods laughing like they’ve just heard the funniest joke ever. I immediately thought, “probably some Freshman walking the trails with their friends smoking weed”. Chuckling to myself, I put in my AirPods and picked a playlist for my journey back home.
When I looked up from my phone, there was the silhouette of somebody walking towards me. I have no idea how I missed them before, but honestly, it’s very possible they were just in a spot where the light wasn’t quite reaching them. A little unnerved, I shifted over to the left side of the sidewalk.
(Now I’m usually fine walking alone at night; I’m a 6’2 man who’s dabbled in the world of MMA. But something about this person gave me a primal feeling of unrest.)
When they shifted over to the left mirroring me, I felt my blood run cold. But alas, I had to keep walking because this was my only way back home. As I neared closer to the figure, I almost laughed at myself when I realized it was just some harmless girl walking towards the Murphy building. If anything, I’m the intimidating one to her.
This is where it really gets weird. She stopped as I was passing her and turned to me. Thinking she needed to ask me something, I took an AirPod out and asked “what’s up?”. After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, she opened her mouth, and I kid you not, mimicked the laugh I heard moments before perfectly. Before I could chalk it up to it just being her in the trails earlier, I noticed something. Her mouth wasn’t moving at all. If I had left my AirPods in, it would just look like she was just opening her mouth and staring at me. She then shifted into a deep raspy laugh. She did all of this without moving her mouth at all; I couldn’t even see her throat moving as you would expect if someone was laughing. It was almost like she was some fucked up human-shaped gramophone. The feeling of absolute horror that came over me is something I’ve only experienced in my imagination. Before I could think to do anything next, My body began to run off some sort of primal instinct. With my legs burning, it took me about 10 minutes to get all the way back to my apartment and lock myself in relative safety.
I’m coming on here now to ask if anybody knows what I experienced? I have been hearing that same laughter outside my window every night since that night, I am too terrified to sleep well and have refused to go to any of my classes. Please I just want answers, I don’t want to keep living in fear.
Part 2:
Hey everyone, I’ve gotten some DMs telling me what it may be. I’ve heard everything from banshee to skinwalker. After further research I pray to god it was neither of them. I’m praying it was just some girl with a speaker playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean yes there are people who don’t like me on campus, I’ve made some enemies over the past 4 years. But, I just don’t understand what could’ve brought it to this point. I had to stop hiding in fear and go to my classes before my grades plummet, I’m almost done with my degree and only have a few more weeks. If I let some sort of stupid prank ruin my career, It would be everything I swore against to my parents.
A lot of you guys in the DMs were also asking what college I go to and what my name is. First I want to say sorry for not providing that information in the first post, I’m sure you can understand where my head was at typing that. So let me introduce myself, my name is Nick and In order to keep my privacy, I will only provide that I go to a midwest university.
I’m sure you may be wondering, “so did it just stop?”. I would love to say yes, but really things have just gotten weirder. Though, I am pleased to say that there is no longer laughing out my window every night.
Ever since that night, I’ve been noticing more things off with the people on campus. Now you may just think it’s paranoia, but just be patient and listen.
Yesterday, I decided to muster up all of my courage and go to class. Luckily my first class is at 10AM, when the sun is well in the sky, so walking across campus seemed much less threatening. When I sat down in my first class, I noticed something off with the girl that sits in front of me. Usually she’s chatty and excited to be in class, but today she just stared blankly ahead. I tried to say good morning and ask about her weekend, as we do every Monday, but she continued to have that blank stare. She did turn her head towards be, but her eyes read “lights on, but nobody is home”.
Thinking to myself, she may just be hungover, or going through the bout of college student depression. I decided to shrug it off and turn to the front of the class and get my notes ready. But the moment I turned around, I could feel it. Her eyes burrowing deep into the back of my head. When I flipped around to see if I was just being irrational, I quickly learned I wasn’t. Her eyes went from the blank glare, to the most enthusiastic face I’ve seen on her. It was horrible, it almost seemed like she was trying so hard to pretend she was thrilled to be in class and to speak to me. It was inhuman.
I’ve been on the internet long enough to catch on to the term “Uncanny valley”, and what I witnessed In my first hour gives me that same gut feeling I got when I saw that girl last Wednesday.
I was right to be uncomfortable though, I texted her after class to make sure she was doing alright. But her response only reignited the flames of deep fear burning in my soul.
I’ll copy and paste the messages here:
Me: Hey Is everything good? You seemed off in class today.
Steph SCI 101: Uh yeah, I’m fine. but I was not in class today, I’m severely hungover from Tanner’s party last night.
Me: Haha, good one.
Steph SCI 101: No I’m so Fr, are you okay?
Steph SCI 101: Are you trying to fuck with me or something?
Me: Nevermind, I’m sorry to bother you.
(End Of Texts)
Okay so I’m sure that this gives you all the same feeling of dread that it gave me but I’m sure scaled down a bit. This is where I have started to doubt that it’s a prank, because me and Stephanie are cool. There’s no level of hate for either of us, and even if it was some joke, we don’t know each other on that type of level.
Not only did this seem to happen in my first class, but in between classes while I was walking across campus as well. I walk past hundreds of faces in my many treks across campus, and I swear to you, at least 1/4th of the people I walked past had that same dead stare look. And the way they walked, god I hate even thinking of it. It was like they were an alien trying out their new body suits for the first time. The steps and the bends of their legs just seem so meticulous, dramaticized, and puppeteered.
I’m going to try to investigate further, because at this point my fear for my life is more of a reason to try and figure out what it is so I can try to stop it.
I’m no hero, and I’m sure as hell nothing special, but If I can know what to expect for another encounter, maybe I can avoid meeting the demise I have imagined.
Part 3
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
2024.05.14 10:42 Krayzfrog There’s something off with the people on campus (Final Part)
First off I would like to apologize for my 20-day hiatus. For those who were worried that curiosity killed the cat so to speak, I appreciate your concern. On top of my investigation, I have also had to go through finals and work for a boss who didn't believe in life outside of work. So let's start where we left off. I had a feeling that this task was left for me to solve. it may sound stupid, but let me explain why. That night, after my last post, I had a dream that further solidified my need to solve the mystery. I tried to write all that I remembered down the morning after so here is what I wrote.
April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
submitted by Krayzfrog to NaturesTemper [link] [comments]
April 4th, 2024
I had a strange dream last night, stranger than usual at least. I awoke in the woods, laying face down in the grass with someone looming over me. I heard their footsteps flee rapidly before I flipped over. I found myself just off the trail where the “incident” happened, on the trail laid a girl, bloodied and motionless. When I got up to approach her, she was quickly dragged into the parallel section of the woods. Seeing this I turned and ran into the section of woods I was in. When my legs gave out I found myself near an old supply shed, worn and long abandoned. Searching for cover, I tried the door, which luckily gave after a quick pull. There I found a trapdoor which emanated a blue hue through the cracks. The only thought on my mind, survival brought me to throw it open and climb down. I clattered down the ladder and right before my feet touched the ground, I was pulled backwards by my shirt. That’s where I woke up.
I have always trusted my gut and having a dream that vivid gave me a sense of courage I did not previously have. I know where to start my search now. I have decided my best course of action will be to record my findings on a tape recorder app. After I finish each entry it will be uploaded to a cloud that will ensure if anything happens to me, the story will get out. I am packing my backpack now with a flashlight, glow sticks to mark my trail, and a machete I was gifted by a local in Mexico. All of my recordings will be uploaded below and auto posted after 10 days. Wish me luck everyone, I’m going to need it.
Entry 1: I have started at the only place that makes sense, the trail. It is currently 1:45 PM and I have plenty of sun left in the sky. I just needed to find exactly where to start my journey into the woods. Strangely it was very easy to find. I recall one of the trees having a funky twist near the middle of the trunk. Probably just some two lovebirds trying to carve their name into the tree and realizing there were softer trees to carve into. Anyways hiking further into the woods I believe I can see the shape of the shed through the branches. I wish you guys could see how dense these trees are so you can understand my struggle.
Entry 2: I made it to the shed, but unfortunately the floor in here is concrete. This really sucks for me because I have absolutely no idea where to go from here. It’s identical on the outside but I just don’t understand. Maybe I’m just delusional, which in that case what a waste of time and energy. I’m going to head back home and just start packing for summer. Maybe it’ll be best if I just forget about all of this and leave it behind me. I am graduating after all. Wait hold on what is this?? there’s a button behind one of these shelves. I am going to press it, but idk how it would work because this floor is seamless. I’m just going to leave this recording so if anything does happen I don’t have to worry about holding the phone the whole time. Holy shit, the entire floor is lowering. It’s a fucking elevator.
Entry 3: Okay so I’ve been going down this elevator for like 30 seconds, how far down am I going?.. Oh wait hold on, Im stopped… There’s a metal door with a padlock. Ig since I have the machete there’s only one thing to do, break it. Im going to use the blunt side so I don’t ruin this thing, I like it too much. the lock clatters to the ground after 3 solid hits. Well ig there’s only one way to go now, there’s no button to get back up so I pray there’s another way up. The metal door creaks loudly. Fuck I regret this, It’s dark and I can tell it’s a big area because it’s so echoey in here. I’m currently praising my past self for thinking about the flashlight and glow sticks. I need to find out what in the hell this place is and most importantly, if there’s a damn light switch.
Entry 4: God this place is terrifying I’ve been walking around the sterile white halls of this place for like 10 minutes and have found nothing, no doors, no light switch. I feel like a rat in a maze. Also scratch what I said about being glad I packed glow sticks, because my stupid ass only brought like 20 of these things and I’m already down to 5. Also I feel like I’m not alone, every now and then I’ll turn a corner and the glow from the previous glow stick quickly vanishes. I feel like it might just be because the darkness seems to envelop everything like a blanket. But I have that feeling that I’m being followed. You know the one, where you know somethings wrong you just can’t pin point what it is. Oh shit no way, there’s light, I think there’s a door or something up ahead.
Entry 5: Holy shit… It’s a lab, and worse, there’s people strapped too tables, completely naked and unconscious. I know they are alive because each of them are hooked up with a million different cords, and one of those are plugged into a heart monitor. This place is huge, there has to be at least 50 people on these tables.
“Hey you, you’re not supposed to be in here” yelled a man adorned in a lab coat.
“What are you doing to these kids you sick fucks.” I yelled back at the man across the lab.
In a haste the scientist rushes towards a red button, setting off a loud alarm, turning the lights to a flashing red. With no exit behind me, I could only do one thing... Rush towards him. My training kicked in as I launched into a flurry of calculated strikes. My first hit connected, a right overhand clean under his eye. The doctor stumbled back, but I didn't give him a chance to recover. I pressed the attack, keeping him off balance with a relentless barrage of punches and kicks. He fought back ferociously, but I was one step ahead, anticipating his moves and countering with swift, efficient strikes. We wrestled, the room around us becoming a blur of pain and adrenaline. I used the environment to my advantage, improvising weapons from the scattered medical equipment and turning the empty tables on my opponent. Pinning him to the ground, I laid down a harsh barrage of final blows. His face was a bloody pulp, unrecognizable. But I didn’t walk away unscathed, somewhere in the tussle, the scientist buried a scalpel deep into my stomach. With my adrenaline wearing off, the pain overtook me, sending me into darkness as I fainted from the blood loss and adrenaline dump. I awoke with my arms and legs strapped to the cold metal operating table. Before I could try to struggle, a face overtook my field of vision.
“Quite a fight you put up, you turned poor Dr.Samson into a soup” the looming face said with a chuckle. “You are the first person to put the pieces together and for that I am thoroughly impressed Mr. Hayes”
“Who are you?!” I said fighting at my binds. “Let me go!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr.Hayes. You have seen far too much, and I definitely can’t have you running around telling the world what you saw here. Although nobody would believe you.” “And to answer your other question, I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… really take a moment and look at me” He said pulling down his face mask.
“Dr.Blackwood?” I said as I looked back on my freshman year biology class.
“Ding ding ding ding. We have a winner!” He said in a maniac joy.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked.
“Well Mr.Hayes, first I’m going to sew you up from your little tussle you had with my late assistant and then I will put you under and cut into that skull of yours and take out a small piece of what we call in the science world your hippocampus. Then I will draw from that all of the necessary memories to create the perfect clone of you.” He responded.
“Why? Why would you need a clone of any of us. Why can’t you just clone someone willing to be apart of this?” I asked
“Because that’s no fun Mr.Hayes, the hunt excites me. Actually you’re lucky I didn’t get you the first night. Unfortunately my creation had a little bit of a malfunction and formed a wee bit of an attachment to you. I’m sure you remember the ruckus outside your window? Anyways I digress, I do this because everyone of you lowly students will go onto do mediocre jobs where you waste away at a desk. I must also add that with having a clone of you under my control, I can do anything and get away with clean hands. My plan with you originally was to have you go into the admissions office and steal every last cent all for me. On top of that I like the power, because one day I will have a clone of every student on this campus and eventually I will cause a revolt against our comedy of a government. Who will stop me, when I won’t even be on the front lines?” Dr.Blackwood explained.
“I will” I said freeing my last hand from the binds.
What he didn’t realize is that with all of this monologue and the questions I had been feeding him, I was slowly loosening my binds with each wiggle and movement in retaliation.
Lurching forward I grab onto his collar, pulling him into a vicious headbutt. The impact sent Dr. Blackwood reeling backward, his grip on consciousness loosening as he staggered. Seizing the moment, I lunged off the table, adrenaline coursing through my veins despite the searing pain in my abdomen. With a swift motion, I grabbed a nearby surgical instrument, holding it in a defensive stance as I faced my adversary. Dr. Blackwood, recovering from the blow, snarled with rage, his once calm demeanor now replaced by a feral intensity. The room seemed to shrink around us, the tension thickening with each passing second. This was my chance to stop Blackwood's twisted plans. As he lunged forward, I met his attack head-on, the clang of metal reverberating through the room. Blow after blow, we fought with an intensity born of desperation and determination. Despite my injuries, I refused to yield, driven by a fire burnt under me to protect myself and others from Blackwood's actions . In a final, swift move, I delivered a powerful front kick, sending Blackwood crashing to the ground. The room fell silent, the echoes of our struggle fading into the darkness. Coughing he sat in the corner laughing with blood spilling down his face. “You know that it’s too late to save any of these one lying on the tables. I would’ve released you, you know that right? I would’ve simply taken your memory from today out of your brain and leaving you in your bed to wake up thinking you had a fun night” he said with final resolve as he watched me grab the scalpel from the ground taking slow steps near him.
Looking down over him, It was my turn to laugh. Kneeling down to eye level with him I grabbed him by his hair and delivered a final message to him “Fuck you and your little science experiment” as I sliced deep into his throat watching the life fade from his eyes.
I eventually found an exit door, which lead me to a storm drain deep in the woods far from my campus. It took me 2 hours to limp my way onto a main road and flag down a passing car. Pulling over I was rushed to the hospital and later interrogated by some men in suits, my guess is CIA. Here I am now, writing my final entrance. I think I heard them say something about trying a new medical process on me to help me heal quicker.
2024.05.14 10:36 TheCradledDM Athos 36: The Other Side
be me; ex LizarDM
be also me; Adonis Valintellis (Tiefling Paladin), Thalia Milakos (Human Ranger) and Zaahir Kehmet (Earth Genasi Wizard)
the soldier stifled a yawn as he patrolled the sandy beaches of Kalikos
clouds hid the island from the moon’s spectral glow, casting the land into darkness and turning the often silver seas black as coal
his shift had been a long one and just as boring as expected
where once his mind had been sharp and alert, it now lingered on thoughts of a cold drink and a warm bed
his eyes scanned the shore superficially, passing over the same stones and grassy knolls he’d seen a hundred times before
on any other night, he may have noticed the discrepancies in the shoreline
the new rock that appeared almost boat-like on second glance
but alas, his mind was a thousand miles away, and the javelin hit him without warning
the soldier collapsed to his knees, gasping for air like a fish on land
his armour had spared him from the worst of the damage, but the javelin had done its job
stunned and winded, he was rendered defenceless against the four figures that emerged from the darkness
a thought crossed his mind to sound the alarm; but his limbs refused to move and his lungs pleaded for breath
one member of the pack split from the rest. A stout dwarf with a full beard and a grim expression
they approached the helpless man, drawing a sharply curved short sword from their belt
the soldier tried to move
tried to yell
but the dwarf closed the distance between them and cut his throat, putting a violent end to his struggles
wiping the blood clean from his weapon, Oryk hauled the body behind cover before jogging to catch up with his companions
the Order of the Twins moved like shadows in the night. Their passage muffled by the spells woven about their feet
that said, their infiltration still proved easier than expected
skirting the edges of the island, the party avoided common paths and watchful eyes; slipping between gaps in the meagre defences they encountered
their route took them just below the peak of the island; where a lavish home stared out across the ocean
in the distance, tiny twinkling lights just barely outlined the Athosi mainland
the house itself was lit up like a beacon in the night, and roaming globules of fire identified the few guards on rotation. Six or seven at most
less than a third of what they had anticipated
counting their blessings, the small band of adventurers navigated the narrow pathways around the house and approached the island’s southern side, where a lonely dirt road wound its way towards a grove of trees
they moved swiftly and silently through the long grass that grew on either side, but they needn’t have bothered
the road was unguarded, and the entrance to the grove lay bare
“this is too easy,” Cyrene whispered; fidgeting nervously with an iron band around her wrist. “Where are the rest of the guards?”
she, like the rest of her companions, had a dishevelled look to her appearance
a thinness to her features that implied more than a couple missed meals
Oryk shot her a stern look, and the half orc immediately shut her mouth
turning his gaze to the two half elves to his rear, he was answered with obedient silence
Maia had always been thin, but now she was practically gaunt
her eyes carried a weight, and an ugly scar split her lip on the left side
Iris, her sister, had once identified herself with long curly hair
now, it was cut short, and crudely so. As if done with an altogether uncaring hand
both twins wore the same iron band as Cyrene around their left wrist
a thin piece of metal that coiled around their limb like a snake
with a commanding wave of his hand, Oryk led the party through the grove’s northern entrance and into the trees beyond
moving like ghosts between the thin trunks and shallow underbrush, the group made good progress before they heard the sudden snap of a twig in the darkness
Oryk raised a fist and the advance came to an abrupt stop, scanning their surroundings with tense expressions
a series of soft whispers drifted between the trees, accompanied by the rustling of leaves and groaning of branches
the dwarven fighter drew his sica and his companions complied, unsheathing their weapons in response
they began to spot lithe, feminine figures peering out at them from behind the trees. Staring at the strangers with bright, emerald eyes
the women had skin like mottled bark, and hair that plumed about them like foliage
“dryads,” Cyrene declared, lowering her rhomphaia with the faintest hint of relief
Iris and Maia exchanged a look before lowering their own weapons, albeit keeping them close at hand
Oryk, however, raised his short sword threateningly, and pointed it at the nearest nature spirit
“get back in your trees and stay there. Interfere, and we will not hesitate to kill you”
the dryad in question retreated, but the others stood their ground as a frantic whispering filled the trees around them
something dangerous glimmered in Oryk’s eyes, and his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sica
“NOW!” he suddenly bellowed, his voice deep and commanding
the drayds scattered into the trees, leaving a myriad of foul curses and even fouler odours in their wake
Oryk gave a satisfied grunt and turned to leave, only to nearly walk into the dryad that now stood in his way
a spirit with speckled, ashy skin and a stern, stubborn expression
Oryk approached them with his weapon raised
“get out of my way,” he growled. “I won’t ask a third time”
the dryad stared down at him like a disapproving adult would a petulant child, and when it spoke, it did so with a voice like wind through a canopy
“if you were wise, you would return to your masters. You will not find what you seek here”
its eyes lifted to the party, as if directing its words to them
with a snarl, Oryk swiped at the dryad, only to be met by a cloud of pollen and stinging nettles
cursing aloud between bouts of frantic coughing, the dwarf fled the swarm and started rubbing his eyes, which had already begun streaming with tears
muttering under her breath, Cyrene approached his side and laid a hand on his shoulder
“come now, let me see”
lowering his hands to his side, Oryk turned to face her with a grimace, his eyes puffy and red
“Archons above, Oryk,” Cyrene cursed. “You should know better than to taunt a dryad”
as the words left her mouth, the band on her wrist suddenly tightened and the half orc gave a small yelp of pain
glaring at her through bloodshot eyes, Oryk gave the cleric a venomous look
“and you should know better than to speak out of line”
Cyrene’s hands fumbled at the metal around her wrist, refusing to meet the dwarf’s cruel gaze
the cuff continued to coil and squeeze; writhing like a living being as Cyrene frantically whispered a foreign chant beneath her breath
the words seemed to appease the magic item, and it loosened its grip in response
witnessing this cruel display of discipline, the twins began unconsciously massaging the band around their own wrists; as if reminiscing on a similar experience
shaking the pain from her arm, Cyrene set to work curing Oryk’s ailment, uttering a slew of healing spells
with his eyesight restored, Oryk sheathed his weapon and pushed past Cyrene, wandering into the trees
with little other choice other than to follow, the group set off after him
the party walked for some time before a sound other than buzzing insects and murmured curses reached their ears
a low, rumbling that echoed through the trees. Like a dull droning that came in ebbs and flows
once more the group came to a stop, and before Oryk could even turn to look towards the twins, they had already begun to move
creeping forward with the lightest of footsteps, Maia and Iris stealthily approached the sound, deftly avoiding any stray branches or betraying stones
the droning grew louder and louder, until the pair had stopped just shy of its source
peering around a trunk with sharp blue eyes, Maia scanned what lay ahead
the trees parted around an ancient oak, its roots deep and its branches tall
a hollow sat about half way up the trunk. A small opening just wide enough to put a hand or two inside
but the tree was not so interesting as what lay beneath
coiled around the trunk was a creature with a long, serpentine body
its scales, green and flecked with brown, were hard and interlocked like shields in a phalanx
its head, immense and filled with razor sharp teeth, lay curled just below the hollow of the tree
the low rumbling emanated from the monster’s chest, as it uttered a long, prolonged snore
Maia’s jaw tightened and her eyes flitted over to her sister
Iris’ face had gone pale, and her hand had instinctively dropped to grab at the empty sheath on her belt
a prize taken by their employer
the twins locked eyes, and shared a moment of profound fear
wetting her suddenly very dry lips, Maia gestured back towards the trees and Iris nodded in silent agreement
the two stealthily retreated, keeping their footsteps light all the way back to their comrades
Oryk almost jumped when the twins materialised beside him, emerging from the darkness without warning
“well?” he hissed, his voice rising above the droning snores. “What did you find?”
Iris frantically gestured for the dwarf to quiet down, as Maia shot a terrified glance back in the direction of the oak tree
only when they heard the low droning of the monster’s snores did the pair relax enough to answer
“dragon”
the word held in the air like a curse
Cyrene’s eyes widened, and had it not been for the band on her wrist, she most certainly would have uttered a prayer
even Oryk’s permanently affixed scowl faded as the blood drained from his face
when he finally spoke, he did so with no semblance of his usual condescension
“...how big?”
“8 meters,” Iris answered. “No more than 12”
Oryk nodded, his brow knitting together as he dropped into a crouch
“a juvenile,” he thought aloud. “Hasn’t reached full adulthood. Scorch marks?”
“none that we could see”
“good. Then either it’s too young to breathe fire, or it spits poison”
his eyes narrowed to points as he mulled things over in his head
the group kept quiet, forced to listen to the distant, droning snores as their leader considered their options
after a long stretch of time, Oryk took a sharp inhale and straightened his posture
“it’s asleep?”
his eyes shifted to Maia, and the half elf tensed
“we think so but…”
“we don’t know for certain,” Iris quickly interrupted. “We’ve never encountered a dragon before. We should call off the mission and come back more prepared”
a deadly silence fell over the group as the dwarf went still
“call off the mission?” he repeated
his voice was calm, but the words held a distinct edge to them
like the blade of a meticulously sharpened knife
“and since when did you make the calls in this party?”
Maia shot her sister a look, and Iris lowered her eyes
“never,” she answered
“that’s right. Never,” Oryk reiterated, holding the half elf in his steely gaze. “We do things my way, as we always have”
Iris’ clamped her mouth shut and the dwarvish fighter turned to look at his other companions
“unless you have all forgotten what awaits us if we fail? What will happen if we come back empty handed?”
he was met with silence and a slow shake of Cyrene’s head
“failure isn’t an option,” he continued. “If the drakon is asleep, we need to act now”
his gaze shifted to Maia
“so can you do what I need you to?”
the half elf swallowed and tried to slow her racing heartbeat
“I think so,” she meekly answered
“good. The rest of us will wait in position. We’ll flank the tree from three sides and-”
“-I’ll do it,” Iris suddenly interjected
Oryk’s teeth flashed in a grimace before he turned to face her
“I’ll retrieve the objective,” Iris clarified, meeting the dwarf’s gaze
“Maia is quieter,” Oryk bluntly retorted. “She stands a better chance of getting to the tree than you do”
“but with my magic-”
“-your magic that we need for the escape,” he interrupted. “We have a plan, stick to it”
he turned back to the front and began drawing out a rough plan in the dirt with his sica
“-while Maia sneaks in, we hold here to provide support. Once we have what we came for, we leave back through the northern exit”
Iris’ eye twitched, and Maia reached out to drop a hand on her sister’s arm
“Iris-” she quietly started
but her warning went unheeded, and Iris spoke up again
“what’s the point of saving my magic if we don’t get what we came for?” she argued
Oryk spun with a stormy expression, pointing his blade to her chest
“because I said so!” he snapped. “And you will do what you’re told!”
he may have stood half a head shorter than Iris, but in that moment, Oryk felt like a giant, and in the silence of the trees, his voice sounded like a clap of thunder
Iris’ face paled and Oryk realised what he had done
instinctively, the party held their breath; anticipating a monstrous roar, or the crash of falling trees
but after a few tense seconds, all they heard was the rhythmic rumbling of distant snores
the group letting out a collective sigh of relief that cut through the tension like a knife
tension that returned the moment Oryk opened his mouth
“do you want to be sent across the Chronaean?” he hissed. “Do you want to leave your sister alone?”
Iris’ eyes shifted to Cyrene, searching for some glimmer of support
instead, the half orc looked away, leaving the half elf to face their leader alone
“of course I don’t,” Iris mumbled
“exactly,” Oryk spat. “Stay in line, do what you’re told, and keep your mouth shut”
he turned to Maia with an expression that encouraged absolute obedience
“get the objective, and get out. Nod if you understand”
Maia gave a slight jerk of her head
“good. Now get moving”
the dwarf stormed off into the trees, and Cyrene quickly shot up to follow him
Maia and Iris exchanged a look of resignation before joining their trusted comrades
Maia stood in position by the edge of the clearing, mentally projecting her path to and from the hollowFirst Post: https://www.reddit.com/CradledDnDStories/comments/x8zwpv/athos_1_a_new_world_of_opportunity/
it was a simple job, really
dart across the open ground
jump up to the low branch on the left side
climb over to the main trunk
grab the objective
and do it all again
simple
if it weren’t for the dragon in the way
Maia's heart began to pound in her chest until she felt a hand fall gently across her arm
she turned, meeting Iris' concerned gaze
“you don’t have to do this,” her sister whispered; practically breathing the words into Maia’s ear
“yes I do,” Maia answered, keeping her voice just as quiet. “You heard Oryk. We can’t go back empty handed”
“f*ck Oryk,” Iris cursed. “We’re only here because of him”
in spite of herself, a grim smile lifted the corner of Maia’s lips
it was a rare thing to hear Iris curse
“we could run, you know. Make a break for the mainland”
Maia’s smile dropped in an instant
“Iris, no”
“why not?” Iris replied earnestly. “We can make it. I know we can”
“they’ll catch us. And even if they don’t, what then? We’ve got nowhere to hide. No friends to help us. We’d be on our own”
“we’ve been alone before. We survived, didn’t we?”
Iris’ words were hopeful, but they couldn’t hide the desperation beneath
when Maia didn’t seem convinced, Iris took her sister’s face into her hands
“please don’t do this. I can’t lose you”
Maia’s eyes softened, and she placed her hands atop Iris’
“that’s why I have to do this”
she took a deep breath and tried to put on a half convincing smile
“you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve got this. I promise”
Iris’ thumb traced the scar across her sister’s lip
“I’m older. It’s my job to worry about you”
a frown fell across Maia’s face
“older by 10 minutes”
“and I’ll never let you forget it”
Iris pulled her sister into a tight hug
“don’t you dare get yourself caught”
“when have I ever?”
the two reluctantly parted, and Iris held her sister at an arm’s length
“remember. Once you have it-”
“-run like the Hounds of Chaon are after me”
a smile touched Iris’ lips, and the shadows rose up to swallow her
when they parted, the monk was gone
inhaling a slow, shaky breath, Maia composed herself, and refocused on the tree
30ft to the centre
branch on the left side
over the dragon
down to the hollow
reverse and get out
she exhaled slowly, letting the shake fade from her breath
she had this
Maia broke from the tree line, moving in a swift but stealthy manner
every step carefully laid. Every movement intentional
the dragon’s snores rumbled like thunder, growing louder with each step
before she knew it, she was beneath the low branch
taking a quick stutter step to gain momentum, she threw herself upwards, catching the branch with both hands
thankfully, the branch held firm, and Maia swung her legs up and around it
shimmying along inch by inch, she drew closer to the trunk itself, inadvertently holding her breath as she passed over the sleeping body of the dragon
its breath reeked up close. Like spoiled fruit and vinegar
it took all her strength not to gag
before she knew it, she was at the trunk of the tree and at the next step of her plan
hoisting herself up to a crouched position, she flattened her body against the side of the trunk and began sliding her foot along its length
eventually, she found a suitable foothold and began clambering across to a more central position
the hollow was just beneath her now
and beneath that, the massive head of the dragon
this close, she realised just how easily such a creature could snap her up
with her small frame, she’d be gone in one or two bites
pushing such morbid thoughts out of her mind, she leaned down until her head and arm were low enough to reach inside the hollow
her lungs were beginning to burn from holding her breath for so long, but she dared not exhale
she wasn't sure how good a dragon's senses were, but she wasn't keen to find out either
reaching her arm into the hollow, her fingers touched loose leaves and knotted wood
she pushed a little deeper, searching for any sign of her prize
something cold
something metal
but instead, she felt the hard back of the hollow
frowning, she pressed again, but still felt only the rear of the hollow
had she somehow missed it?
her fingers scrambled around, but continued to feel only wood and leaves
her lungs were really burning now, and she could feel her face flushing with colour from being upside down
regardless, she removed her arm and leaned her head down further, trying to peer inside
in the black gloom of a moonless night, a human wouldn’t have been able to see a thing
but even with her enhanced elvish sight, Maia was granted only the slightest advantage
just enough to make out the shape of the interior and the contents within
dried leaves
knotted wood
a couple insect husks
and nothing else
sure she had somehow made a mistake, she looked again and again
but with each scan, the truth became undeniable
“you will not find what you seek, here”
the dryad’s words echoed in Maia’s head, and with a cold sense of dread, she realised that the spirit hadn’t been speaking rhetorically
the amulet wasn’t here
and with that realisation, Maia’s lungs could hold on no longer
her breath escaped all at once, her awkward position driving the air out in an undignified huff
she clamped a hand over her mouth, but the damage had been done
she had made a sound, however small, and already her breath was mixing with the cool air
time slowed to a crawl as the dragon’s snores came to a stop
she watched in terror as its head, mere inches below her, began to stir
its nostrils flared; drawing breath with a deep, rasping inhale, and its eyes rolled in their sockets
the dragon’s jaws cracked open, revealing a black, forked tongue and rows of fetid teeth
rancid breath assaulted Maia’s senses, making her stomach turn and her head spin
she waited for the creature to open its eyes
to see the tiny morsel dangling helplessly above it
but they never did
to her greatest relief, the dragon remained asleep and blissfully unaware of her presence
relief swiftly turned to dismay, however, as the dragon proceeded to shift; its scales rippling like water across its long, serpentine body
the tree shook violently as the monster scraped against its surface, shearing away bark and causing branches to groan and sway
wrapping her arms around whatever she could find, Maia clung desperately as the shaking threatened to throw her loose
after what felt like an eternity, the vibrations mercifully ended, and the dragon returned to its snoring
but even after the tree had long fallen still, Maia found herself unable move; as if every single muscle in her body had frozen solid
in a moment of clarity, she realised that her hand had found her dagger in the chaos, and that the weapon was now clutched in an iron grip at her side
she almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation
as if a dagger would keep her safe if the dragon had actually awoken
nonetheless, she kept it in her hand, unwilling to relinquish the one defence she had
lifting her gaze to scan the surrounding treeline, she spotted the pale faces of her companions waiting in position. Intently following her progress with their eyes
Iris looked just as high sprung as she was. All but ready to throw herself into the open in order to save her sister
Maia silently prayed that her twin could keep her composure for just a little longer
wetting her incredibly dry lips, the rogue began scaling the tree; taking care to avoid any of the small twigs and leaves that had been shaken loose by the dragon’s shifting
upon reaching her chosen branch she paused, taking a moment to slow her racing heart beat
in spite of everything telling her otherwise, she needed to calm down
stress would lead to mistakes
and mistakes would lead to her death
feeling her muscles relax ever so slightly, Maia continued, stretching her body out to reach the low branch
her feet found purchase, and the rogue began creeping along its length
a few more steps and she’d be home free
“Maia!”
a single word
muffled and distorted, and yet agonisingly loud
Maia’s eyes dropped to the bronze surface of her dagger and saw a young woman’s face staring back at her, their eyes grey and piercing
there was a flash of familiarity in the half elf’s mind, but in that moment, she could barely recall her own name
a million thoughts raced through her mind as her heart pounded like a drum in her ears
one thought, however, screamed louder than the rest
run
Maia’s feet moved before the thought had even finished forming, propelling her from the branch a split second before it detonated into an explosion of jagged splinters
she hit the ground hard, feeling something give in her shoulder
she didn’t have time to dwell on it, as an earth shattering roar tore the world asunder
her feet were under her in an instant, and she broke into a sprint, not daring to look behind her
she knew that if she turned, all she would see is a flash of green scales and a mouth full of fangs closing in to end her life
the air began to reek of rotten fruit and then a body collided with her, throwing her aside
a cloud of noxious fumes ripped through the space she had just occupied, causing grass to shrivel and trees to wither
she felt hands on her arms and shoulders, and then Iris was yelling at her, hauling her to her feet amidst pained racking coughs
they didn’t have time to stop, barrelling through the trees in a mad dash to get away
as furious roars filled the air behind them, Iris stumbled through the underbrush, her legs unsteady beneath her
Maia looped an arm under her shoulder, and now the twins were supporting each other in a tangle of limbs
minutes passed. Or maybe just seconds. And then the two broke from the tree line onto an open road
sea winds rushed up to meet them, and Iris' legs fully gave out as she began greedily sucking in gasps of fresh air
“come on!” Maia urged, trying to drag her sister to her feet
but Iris was of no use now, her eyes bulging and her face flushed with colour
something ripped its way out of the underbrush and Maia turned sharply, instinctively raising the dagger that was still clutched in a death grip
instead of the dragon she was expecting, she found Cyrene and her rhomphaia, halfway through a cut that would have cleaved her in two
recognising each other at the same time, the pair lowered their weapons and turned to the wheezing half elf at their feet
concern flashing across her face, Cyrene dropped to her knees in preparation to cast a spell
before she could begin, however, Oryk emerged from the grove, blood splattered across his hands
“we don’t have time for that. Get her up!”
he raced past them, leading the charge back towards the beach
with a grunt of exertion, Cyrene lifted Iris into her arms like a baby, shoving her rhomphaia into Maia's hands
keeping a wary eye on her sister, Maia followed the half orc as she began jogging after their leader
as they ran, Oryk settled into pace beside Maia, shooting her a questioning look between grunts of breath
“do you have it?”
the half elf's shoulders fell, and she quietly shook her head
“it wasn’t there”
Oryk’s face turned a dark shade of red, and a vein bulged in his head
“what do you mean it wasn’t there?!”
“the amulet is gone. We missed it”
a stream of vile curses flowed from Oryk’s lips, and Maia wisely chose to keep her eyes forward and mouth shut
they reached the beach in record time, and Cyrene carefully laid Iris down into their waiting boat
as Oryk and Maia began pushing the vessel into the rolling surf, the dwarf gave her a hateful glare
“hells spare you when they find out we failed”
“we...haven’t...failed...yet”
Oryk turned his ire on Iris, who lay curled across the edge of the boat trying her best to suck in what air she could
“we...know...where...its...going,” she continued between strained, wheezing breaths. “We...still...have...time...”
leaping into the boat with a splash of water, Oryk waited just long enough for his companions to get in before heaving away with the oars
“we’d better. For all our sakes”
he sliced through the water with powerful strokes, driving them into deeper and darker waters
Maia slunk down beside Iris, taking her sister’s hand into her own
Iris dropped her head onto Maia’s shoulder, and the twins watched as the shores of Kalikos drifted further and further away
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2024.05.13 16:47 OttoVonBlastoid Nature Of A Homeless Musician: FINALE: Part 7: Sins Of A Father
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating the NoP universe.
I'd also like to thank u/xskipy10 for their awesome fanart of the main cast as well as their recent Tohba meme and their fanart of Michael baysitting. You're work is a treasure!
Thank you as well to u/Accomplished-Golf-59 for his take on Michael, Teylim, and Tohba in his submission for the Banner Art Contest, and u/Spacer_Catgirl4969 for their awesome music video featuring a pixel-art Dohkar in his bar. Be sure to give ALL of these awesome creators your love and support.
And let's not forget u/Guywhoexists2812 who has been an awesome source of memes as well as sick pixel art, such as THIS and THIS!!!! And even THIS!!!!!! And how could I forget THIS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
Today, we join Dohkar and Davids as they continue the hunt for Albiel, and we have the final confrontation between father and son. And Bennic finally decides what side he's on. LETTUCE...continue...
First
Previous
Songs Mentioned/Used: Fire by Barns Courtney
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient T-143, Yotul Refugee Sponsor Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
That was Michael! It HAD to be!
There was no mistaking it. That was my joey’s voice. And it tore a swath through this building. I couldn’t hear the guards outside my cell anymore. Either they ran off, or the sheer sound alone was enough to knock them unconscious. Either way, it gave me hope. And as I began hearing gunfire in the distance, slowly getting closer, my heart surged.
This was it. This was my chance. Whoever these attackers were, there was no way Michael, Khornel, and Tohba coming over the loudspeakers at the same time as the attack was a coincidence. This was a raid! They were here to clear the place out and save the patients here! They were here to save me…
I hopped up and grabbed onto the barred window of my holding cell. I wasn’t even close to strong enough to get this door open, but perhaps one of the raiders were.
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
I listened as my voice echoed down the halls and corridors, waiting for a response. When none came, I waited for the sound to completely dissipate, and tried again.
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
Once again, I listened to my voice bounce from wall to wall, echoing through the building, waiting for any kind of response…
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
My heart soared as tears of relief built in my eyes. It was faint from just how far away it was, I knew that voice anywhere!
Dohkar…
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
I began hearing footsteps echoing through the halls, getting closer to my cell. He was so close. Dohkar found me. He’d get me out, and then we could leave this place and find my joeys. It was almost over.
The footsteps were so close now. I could barely contain my excitement as I let go of the bars and landed back on the ground. I waited with baited breath as the steps arrived just outside. But…something was wrong… Those footsteps sounded a lot…heavier than a Venlil’s should…
The door opened, and the first thing I noticed…was the tall, menacing figure’s singular, sharpened, horn…
“Y-you’re not Dohkar…”
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Yeesh, the kid’s got some pipes, I’ll give him that.”
Davids and I were the only ones remaining from Squad 1. Chavez and our medic were the only others, and they were on their way back to the APC. We were on our own now, but seeing the complete and utter devastation of the Guild’s forces didn’t make that much of an issue. Occasionally we’d find one that was still conscious, but they were completely deaf from not getting their headset off quick enough.
“Yeah. Let’s keep moving. We still have a job to finish. Is there still interference keeping us from contacting Squad 2?”
Davids held a finger to his earpiece.
“Squad 2, this is 1-1 Sargent Davids, over.”
I listened in on my own ear piece. We were getting nothing but static.
Come on, Tevis.
“Squad 2, respond! This is 1-1 Sargent Davids. We are two men down and require assistance, over.”
For a moment, there was still nothing but static, until a haggered, pained, voice crackled through.
“This is Tevis. I read you Squad 1…”
“What the hell happened?! We lost contact with you as soon as we began the attack!”
“We were hit right away. Lost half my squad in the initial confrontation.”
“What’s your status?”
“Alive, but I’m the only one left. I found my original team…or…what’s left of them… But I’ve got the data we needed. Objective Complete.”
The grim tone in his voice said it all. They must’ve found something they REALLY weren’t supposed to.
“I’m aborting the mission. Even if we do manage to capture Albiel, there’s no way we’d be able to clear the facility with just the three of us. Meet back at the staging area where I’ll get back in contact with Magistrate Intellegence and request reinforcements.”
“We can’t just leave! Not when we’re so close!”
“We’re retreating. That’s an order, Dohkar.”
My free paw clenched itself into a fist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Everywhere around us, the defenses were crumbling. Anyone who could possibly have gotten in our way was either dead, unconscious, or deaf. We had this! There was no reason NOT to continue.
Davids gave me a sympathetic look. He was a soldier, and he knew orders were orders. Still, I made a promise! I promised those pups, those pups who managed to wipe out an entire Guild Office’s worth of exterminators from half a town away, that I’d return and bring back Clem and-
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
“Teylim?”
Protect the herd!
My ears perked up, and my senses were brought up to full alert.
“Dohkar, what did you say?”
“I…I thought I heard-“
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
“TEYLIM!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
My ears were on swivels, desperately trying to pinpoint the direction the voice was coming from. Once I’d narrowed it down, I took a few steps and cupped my paws around my snout as I shouted back.
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
“Dohkar, what are you doin-“
“Quiet!”
I focused on my hearing as much as I could. Odds are, I’d probably get a decent chewing out for talking back to a superior officer, but if I found Teylim, it would be worth it. I listened as hard as I could.
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
Protect the herd!!!
My mind immediately raced, trying to remember what was in that direction. My mind slowly formed a layout of the building until-
THE TEMPORARY HOLDING CELLS!!
“Davids! Hostage located! It’s Teylim!”
“You’re sure?!”
“Positive! She’s that way!”
“Dohkar! Davids! What are you-?”
“We’ve got a location on one of the hostages. We’re going after her!”
“Negative! I gave you direct orders to-“
Before I could respond, Davids did it for me.
“All due respect sir, the UN doesn’t follow YOUR orders.”
“Why you filthy pre-“
The signal cut off and Davids shouldered his rifle.
“Come on. We’ve still got hostages to save.”
I gave a thankful nod and we sprinted towards the holding cells. Tevis could run all he wanted, but WE still have a job to do.
Hang tight, Teylim…
Passing several other squads of downed exterminators on the way, we eventually made it to the holding cells. These were where we’d temporarily hold suspects until they were ready to be screened. I immediately spotted a pair of officers outside one of the cells, it’s door was wide open.
“Teylim?”
I jogged over to the open cell.
“Teylim?!”
Nothing. It was completely empty. The only thing that showed that anyone had been here…was a streak of green on the floor…
[Warning!: Anger Response Spiking Rapidly: Attempting To Compensate…]
I knelt down and ran a finger across the streak. It was fresh. She was here…and someone had hurt her…enough to draw blood. The only other clue I found were a few white hairs speckled with blue blood. Fissan fur…
Albiel…
I didn’t need to look anymore. I knew exactly who did this, and exactly where he would go.
“It’s your call, Sarge…”
“We finish the mission…and save the hostages.”
I led the way. The Chief’s office wasn’t far. A right turn here. A left turn there. And then a long hallway with the office at the very end.
Once the door to his office was inside, Davids and I both picked up the pace. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was waiting for us. I knew my father. This was a test. He knew I’d go after Teylim. He wanted me to chase him.
“This is probably a trap!”
“Definitely!”
Once we made it to the door, we stacked up, both taking a side. Davids raised his hand and began silently counting down.
Five…
Four…
Three-
BANG!!!
The door flew open and an arm holding a sidearm shot out fired at Davids. Before I could even see what became of him, that same arm ripped me inside the room before I could react.
SLAM!!!
Before I could catch my bearings, I was yanked into the air and flung across the room, slamming over the desktop and landing roughly on the floor behind it.
Getting ragdolled like that brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories, but I did my best to shake myself loose from them. Disarmed, I went for the human pistol holstered to my hip and stood to aim at my attacker.
“Oh, I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“Dohkar!”
Albiel…
My grip on my weapon tightened and I could feel my teeth chipping as they ground against each other in rage.
There he was, the symbol of everything wrong with The Guild. The Chief. My father. Albiel. In one paw, he held Teylim, beaten, green dripping from the side of her mouth, and a patient shock collar around her neck. In the other paw, he held the remote for it.
“Let. Her. Go.”
“You never fail to disappoint me, Dohkar. You AND those failures of a squad you called your brothers.”
Bennic?
Did he hurt them too?
“Every time I think the bar couldn’t be any lower, you still somehow manage.”
His fur was matted and disheveled, and there was an outright manic look in his eyes. The only thing about him that was still prim and orderly was that damned horn, still and shiny and sharp as ever. Bennic was right. He really had lost it.
“ALL of this could’ve been yours one paw, Dohkar! Everything I’ve done! EVERYTHING I’ve built! I did so in the name of finding someone worthy enough to pass it all on to. I found you, along with the rest of your incompetent squad in a damned GUTTER! I gave you a home, a purpose, and THIS is how you all repay me?! Failure! Betrayal! Disappointment! And for WHAT?! ‘People’ like THIS?!”
His grip around Teylim’s neck tightened. I felt myself breaking apart as she shrieked in his grip.
“Dohkar, plea-“
“SILENCE, SAVAGE!!”
I tried aiming my weapon once he was distracted, but he quickly noticed and held up the remote. With a chuff, he regained a facsimile of his usual self, the mask he kept on to hide the madness I always knew was there.
“Even after you left, you continue to disappoint me at every turn: Cavorting about with primitives and predators far below your station, opening up that filthy excuse of a watering hole, so you could spend even MORE time with the mindless gutter trash that INFESTS this town?! Even when my expectations for you could not have been any lower, ALL you had to do…was STAY. AWAY Just look good for the ‘people’, continue on being the former ‘legend’ that everyone moron in this town believed you to be, and keep your noseless shout OUT of our business. But you couldn’t even do THAT, could you?! How I saw ANY potential in you in the first place continues to elude me.”
I didn’t respond, continuing to let him talk himself to death. Any moment now, David’s would break through that door, and I’d have my chance. I continued to just stare, only taking the occasional glance towards Teylim.
“Buuuut no matter. I’ll just have to start again. I’ll find a new backwater town, with just as neglectful management. I’ll find other downtrodden youths more than willing to stay loyal if it means a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. I’ll build it all up again. And you…well…maybe you’ll surprise me and survive long enough to see it.”
“No. It stops here. I won’t let you take advantage of anyone else.”
“Oh? What are you going to do? Shoot me with your primitive space ape gun? We BOTH know you won’t risk hitting HER.”
He lifted Teylim closer to him, using her as a shield. My paws began to shake.
“Now here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to stand by and watch as I take my leave. And if you try to stop me, I’ll not only reunite this wretch with her mate, but I’ll be sure to find their tainted SPAWN as well, and take extra time in coming up with a creative end for him. Who knows? He might make for a decent recruit after all.”
“Dohkar!”
“Teylim…”
My mind went from plan to plan, idea to idea, finding no solution that wouldn’t end with Teylim getting killed. Even if I adjusted my aim, he’d just activate the collar before I could pull the trigger. I was also out of time for stalling.
“Dohkar! I need…you…to promise me…”
My eyes focused back on Teylim. Trails of tears flowed down her cheeks as her teeth clenched. At that moment, I knew exactly what she’d say. This was it. These were Lohrek’s last moments, before Albiel killed him… He made me make a promise, too.
No. Not again.
“Promise me… Whatever happens…watch over my joeys… Michael… Tohba… Protect them…”
No. No. No. Not again. Please not again.
“I…I…”
“PLEASE, DOHKAR! They’re all I have… Please… Promise me…that you’ll protect them…”
Every last part of me shook and shivered. I couldn’t find words to express the horror I was feeling, watching the death of my best friend play in front of me again, almost verbatim. So instead, I said what I wish I could’ve said to Loh.
“Like they were my very own pups.”
She forced a pained smile as Albiel’s grip loosened for just a moment.
“Well isn’t that precious? A mother’s love truly does run eternal. …Perhaps THAT was the missing piece. How might YOU all have turned out if you’d had a mother as well. Food for thought-“
“GYYYYAAAARRRGH!!!!!”
Albiel’s speech was interrupted as the Yotul he was holding shrieked out, twisting her head to the side and clamping her jaws onto his arm, causing blue to spurt out from around her teeth.
“GAAAAAHHH!!! VICIOUS BEAST!!!”
I watched in shock as with one massive swing of his arm, he shook Teylim off and sent her slamming into the wall with a sickening slap.
“TEYLIM!!!!!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
I raised my weapon. While I could’ve ended him right then and there, my only concern was the remote in his paw that he was pointing in her direction.
BANG!!!
Another splatter of blue, another shriek of pain from Albiel, and the remote was sent, sparking and nonfunctional, to the ground.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him make a break for it through the door, but my focus was entirely on Teylim. I slid down to the ground beside her and cradled her in my arms.
“Teylim! TEYLIM!!”
She was unresponsive. One of her legs had definitely been broken from the hit and while I could feel a pulse, it was weak
I turned on my ear piece and hoped it still worked.
“Medic!!! I need a medic in the Chief’s office! One soldier and one hostage critically injured!!! Medic!!!”
While I waited for a response, I went back to trying to rouse Teylim.
“Teylim! Wake up! Please!”
Still…nothing… She was getting weaker. I could feel it.
“Please, Teylim… You can’t leave us yet. We still need you. Your pups NEED you, you hear me? BOTH of them! Michael… Tohba… They need their mother. And…”
For the first time in a long time…I felt the old sting of tears build up in my eyes. They flowed down my face is thin streaks as I held one of the only friends I had left in my arms, pressing my head against hers.
“I need you, too… So please… Wake up…”
There was a moment of nothing but silence, before she took in a faint, raspy, gasp of air.
I reeled back in shock as her limbs finally moved, clinging onto me. Her chest convulsed as she coughed and sputtered, before finally, her eyes winced open, meeting mine.
“Doh..kar…?”
I couldn’t speak. My mind refused to create the right words for the relief I felt as I pulled her in, holding her close.
“Wow… Hehe… Never thought…I’d see the day YOU cried… HeheOH stars, it hurts to laugh…”
I pulled back and wiped at my face.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
Finally, right on queue, I heard multiple people enter the room. I turned and saw a pair of UN medics come in with a stretcher.
“We heard your request for a medic!”
“Here! Help her!”
“On it!”
As we got to work getting Teylim on the stretcher, I noticed there were only two.
“What about Davids?”
One of the medics gave me a sympathetic look before shaking his head.
Damnit…
Suddenly, I realized something. These medics… They weren’t ones that we’d left at the staging area…
“Wait. Aren’t you two supposed to still be at the bar?”
“We were needed to help care for the rescued patients. The staging area’s already being turned into a field hospital for all of them.”
I was…confused… We didn’t get to clearing out the facility yet. And as far as I knew, Tevis had already retreated back outside.
“What? But we didn’t-“
“That would be my handiwork, Dohkar.”
A voice crackled through the radio. It wasn’t Tevis, Mike, or anyone else I’d have expected to hear. It was…
“Ben?”
Memory Transcript Subject: Officer Bennic, Senior Extermination Officer Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
Madness…
Pointless, directionless madness…
I slowly made my way down the hall to just one of the many treatment rooms in the facility, my squad mates at my side, doing my best to not let what I saw in Chief’s office get to me.
Though, now that I thought about it, it made perfect sense. How willing he was to stand by in his code little room in the back of the building while the rest of us fought and died.
The perfect shields and distractions…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
We believed in The Guild. We believed in HIM. That’s how we were raised, after all. It’s how we all were. Albiel always DID prefer to recruit young. All the easier to mold into what he wanted.
Obedient little soldiers…just like me…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I walked through the door. I remembered when we were shown these rooms the first time. “A necessary evil”, it was called. We didn’t like it, especially Dohkar. He was always stronger than us. Sometimes I wonder…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
There are two chairs in the room. The door to the rest of the facility, particularly the holding cells, had a line out the door of prisoners and patients. All waiting for the inevitable.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
The door was guarded. Two of the younger officers who’d been assigned this post for a while now. One remained focused, while the other constantly kept glancing at the rears of any female patient he could see. Even now, after we found out what he would do in his spare time, he never received punishment.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I looked to the two patients already strapped to their chairs. In the left one, an elderly Venlil, a soldier if I remember right. He served this planet, and served it proudly, and paid the price with his eyesight. Is THIS what all those years of service has earned him?
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
In the right, a Gojid female. She was only a pup when she was first brought here. She was adorned with two large burn scars. One that covered her entire forearm from a flamer burning her. The other wrapped around her neck, a permanent reminder of the collar that had been placed around it. What does a child do to deserve a life like this, I wonder.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
“Mr. Clem…?”
“It will be alright, child. I promise.”
“I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna get hurt again!”
The elder faces in my direction, his glassy eyes filled with nothing but hatred. I have a clue about who he is, but just to be sure…
“You’re Clem? You’re the one that helped Dohkar when he left The Guild, right?”
“Why are you doing this?’ What did we do?! You can’t just punish us without giving us a reason!”
If only he knew…
“This…isn’t a punishment… The Guild is under attack. Under direct orders by Extermination Chief Albiel, I am to oversee the scuttling of the facility, including the evacuation of staff, deletion of data…and termination of prisoners…”
The glassy eyes of the blind old man, glared white-hot daggers into my very being.
“You monsters! Dohkar really was right about you lot! You’re not protectors! You’re just murderers!”
He’s right…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
Those are my orders. While my fellow officers fight and die just to buy time, while my Chief, my father hides away in his office, making deals and planning HIS escape, I cover up what we should never have been doing in the first place.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
One of the doctors begins charging the machine. It whirs to life, sending the Gojid into hysterics. She knows what these chairs do, as do I…
Don’t think…
It’ll kill them…
Just do…
Just like it killed so many others before…
Follow orders…
…
Unfortunately…I don’t feel like following orders.
Without even NEEDING to think. I pull a sidearm from my holster, followed by my squad: Abra, Canuck, and Ento. My brothers. Among all the other officers in our branch, We were all recruited together, with Dohkar as our leader. When he left, we all stayed, but I did my best to fill his place.
So when I draw my weapon, the others do as well.
BANG!! BABANG!!! BANG!! BANG!!!
The doctor falls. The two guards fall. And the generator fueling the chairs sparks and dies. We unstrap the two from the chair and do our best to calm the patients.
“Wha-? What are you-?”
“For the first time in my life, doing my job. Now then, would an old soldier be willing to help me get these people organized and out of here?”
With more than a little hesitation, especially from the young Gojid girl, the two walked over to the other patients and began talking them down.
So, with me leading the way, letting the soldier and his cellmate ride in my back, we began to lead the line of patients toward the emergency exit, opening every cell along the way.
Don’t think… Just do…
It wasn’t easy. Many didn’t trust me, others were simply too out of it or just plain damaged to come out on their own, but with the coaxing of more of true or own, we’d add them to our long caravan.
There was only one we didn’t find…
Jerrik…
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Ben?”
“You’re clear, Dohkar. The patients are already at the staging area getting triaged and sorted by Canuck. The other UN soldiers here have already called for the medics and volunteers to come and help.”
I felt my heart warm as I heard Ben’s speaking. This wasn’t the old, beaten, Surulian still subservient to Albiel. This was my brother, my brother who is not truly seen for a long, long time. And he wasn’t alone.
“Canuck? Does that mean that Ento and Abra are there, too?”
“Copy that, commander!”
“Yeah…we’re here…I guess…”
Guys…
My brothers. My whole damn squad from training. My brothers who were taken with me. They were all there, helping how they could.
“How does it feel being on the right side again?”
“Like we’ve still got a LOT of work to do. And so do YOU. Go, Dohkar. We’ll handle things out here… Take. Him. Down…for all of us…”
…For all of us…
Protect the herd!
The signal cut out. I gave one last look to my friend on the stretcher. I didn’t need to look at the two medics.
“Tell me you have her.”
“We have her.”
Teylim gave me a weak smile and a nod.
“Go. Finish this.”
I turned, and ran. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. And then, a familiar tune came to my mind. A promise I’d made the last time I left this wretched building.
A promise to burn everything my father built.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I ran.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I chased.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I raced to finally put his madness to an end.
BURN!!!! BURN!!!! BURN!!!!
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient J-902, Nevok Predator Disease Patient Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
I hid. I saw the others get let out and huddled together in a line. I knew the room they were being led to, so I hid.
I heard the roar of the predator through the speaker in my cell. I heard the screams of the guards. I heard the shots being fired.
My door opens. Many of the other ones opened, too. I peek around the doorway to make sure it’s safe. And it is.
**Nowhere is safe.**It’s so much brighter now. Now that I’m finally out of the cell. I can think clearly again. And with clarity, came pretty much everything I wished had stayed forgotten.
I failed. I couldn’t go through with it. And as punishment, I was locked away.
Father…
I fell to my knees and cried. Cried like a damn pup, just like I did when I begged him not to lock me in here.
Father…
I did EVERYTHING else right! I followed the training. I followed the beliefs. I did everything he told me to do! But still, he…
Father…
[Warning!: Anger Response Rising Steadily…]
I looked up. Above the cells, above the walkways, above all of this damned facility, was one window. HIS office…
Father…
“This way everyone! Stay together!”
I snap my attention towards a large group approaching my direction. I COULD go with them. I COULD go back outside…but…there’s something I have to do first.
As I make my way to the electroshock chamber, I spot the dead guards and doctor. I spot one of their weapons on the ground, and pick it up.
Just like my training, just as HE instructed me. The predator has been smoked out, fleeing from his hole out into the open. All that was left…
Was for someone to take the shot…
Next
submitted by OttoVonBlastoid to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
I'd also like to thank u/xskipy10 for their awesome fanart of the main cast as well as their recent Tohba meme and their fanart of Michael baysitting. You're work is a treasure!
Thank you as well to u/Accomplished-Golf-59 for his take on Michael, Teylim, and Tohba in his submission for the Banner Art Contest, and u/Spacer_Catgirl4969 for their awesome music video featuring a pixel-art Dohkar in his bar. Be sure to give ALL of these awesome creators your love and support.
And let's not forget u/Guywhoexists2812 who has been an awesome source of memes as well as sick pixel art, such as THIS and THIS!!!! And even THIS!!!!!! And how could I forget THIS!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
Today, we join Dohkar and Davids as they continue the hunt for Albiel, and we have the final confrontation between father and son. And Bennic finally decides what side he's on. LETTUCE...continue...
First
Previous
Songs Mentioned/Used: Fire by Barns Courtney
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient T-143, Yotul Refugee Sponsor Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
That was Michael! It HAD to be!
There was no mistaking it. That was my joey’s voice. And it tore a swath through this building. I couldn’t hear the guards outside my cell anymore. Either they ran off, or the sheer sound alone was enough to knock them unconscious. Either way, it gave me hope. And as I began hearing gunfire in the distance, slowly getting closer, my heart surged.
This was it. This was my chance. Whoever these attackers were, there was no way Michael, Khornel, and Tohba coming over the loudspeakers at the same time as the attack was a coincidence. This was a raid! They were here to clear the place out and save the patients here! They were here to save me…
I hopped up and grabbed onto the barred window of my holding cell. I wasn’t even close to strong enough to get this door open, but perhaps one of the raiders were.
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
I listened as my voice echoed down the halls and corridors, waiting for a response. When none came, I waited for the sound to completely dissipate, and tried again.
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
Once again, I listened to my voice bounce from wall to wall, echoing through the building, waiting for any kind of response…
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
My heart soared as tears of relief built in my eyes. It was faint from just how far away it was, I knew that voice anywhere!
Dohkar…
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
I began hearing footsteps echoing through the halls, getting closer to my cell. He was so close. Dohkar found me. He’d get me out, and then we could leave this place and find my joeys. It was almost over.
The footsteps were so close now. I could barely contain my excitement as I let go of the bars and landed back on the ground. I waited with baited breath as the steps arrived just outside. But…something was wrong… Those footsteps sounded a lot…heavier than a Venlil’s should…
The door opened, and the first thing I noticed…was the tall, menacing figure’s singular, sharpened, horn…
“Y-you’re not Dohkar…”
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Yeesh, the kid’s got some pipes, I’ll give him that.”
Davids and I were the only ones remaining from Squad 1. Chavez and our medic were the only others, and they were on their way back to the APC. We were on our own now, but seeing the complete and utter devastation of the Guild’s forces didn’t make that much of an issue. Occasionally we’d find one that was still conscious, but they were completely deaf from not getting their headset off quick enough.
“Yeah. Let’s keep moving. We still have a job to finish. Is there still interference keeping us from contacting Squad 2?”
Davids held a finger to his earpiece.
“Squad 2, this is 1-1 Sargent Davids, over.”
I listened in on my own ear piece. We were getting nothing but static.
Come on, Tevis.
“Squad 2, respond! This is 1-1 Sargent Davids. We are two men down and require assistance, over.”
For a moment, there was still nothing but static, until a haggered, pained, voice crackled through.
“This is Tevis. I read you Squad 1…”
“What the hell happened?! We lost contact with you as soon as we began the attack!”
“We were hit right away. Lost half my squad in the initial confrontation.”
“What’s your status?”
“Alive, but I’m the only one left. I found my original team…or…what’s left of them… But I’ve got the data we needed. Objective Complete.”
The grim tone in his voice said it all. They must’ve found something they REALLY weren’t supposed to.
“I’m aborting the mission. Even if we do manage to capture Albiel, there’s no way we’d be able to clear the facility with just the three of us. Meet back at the staging area where I’ll get back in contact with Magistrate Intellegence and request reinforcements.”
“We can’t just leave! Not when we’re so close!”
“We’re retreating. That’s an order, Dohkar.”
My free paw clenched itself into a fist. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Everywhere around us, the defenses were crumbling. Anyone who could possibly have gotten in our way was either dead, unconscious, or deaf. We had this! There was no reason NOT to continue.
Davids gave me a sympathetic look. He was a soldier, and he knew orders were orders. Still, I made a promise! I promised those pups, those pups who managed to wipe out an entire Guild Office’s worth of exterminators from half a town away, that I’d return and bring back Clem and-
“HEEEEEYYYYY!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!! OVER HEEERRRREEE!!!!”
“Teylim?”
Protect the herd!
My ears perked up, and my senses were brought up to full alert.
“Dohkar, what did you say?”
“I…I thought I heard-“
“HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! PLEASE!!! ANYONE!!!!! HEEEEEELLLPPP!!!!”
“TEYLIM!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
My ears were on swivels, desperately trying to pinpoint the direction the voice was coming from. Once I’d narrowed it down, I took a few steps and cupped my paws around my snout as I shouted back.
“TEYLIM?!” TEYLIM, IS THAT YOU?!”
“Dohkar, what are you doin-“
“Quiet!”
I focused on my hearing as much as I could. Odds are, I’d probably get a decent chewing out for talking back to a superior officer, but if I found Teylim, it would be worth it. I listened as hard as I could.
“YES!!!! DOHKAR, IT’S ME!!! I’M HERE!!!”
Protect the herd!!!
My mind immediately raced, trying to remember what was in that direction. My mind slowly formed a layout of the building until-
THE TEMPORARY HOLDING CELLS!!
“Davids! Hostage located! It’s Teylim!”
“You’re sure?!”
“Positive! She’s that way!”
“Dohkar! Davids! What are you-?”
“We’ve got a location on one of the hostages. We’re going after her!”
“Negative! I gave you direct orders to-“
Before I could respond, Davids did it for me.
“All due respect sir, the UN doesn’t follow YOUR orders.”
“Why you filthy pre-“
The signal cut off and Davids shouldered his rifle.
“Come on. We’ve still got hostages to save.”
I gave a thankful nod and we sprinted towards the holding cells. Tevis could run all he wanted, but WE still have a job to do.
Hang tight, Teylim…
Passing several other squads of downed exterminators on the way, we eventually made it to the holding cells. These were where we’d temporarily hold suspects until they were ready to be screened. I immediately spotted a pair of officers outside one of the cells, it’s door was wide open.
“Teylim?”
I jogged over to the open cell.
“Teylim?!”
Nothing. It was completely empty. The only thing that showed that anyone had been here…was a streak of green on the floor…
[Warning!: Anger Response Spiking Rapidly: Attempting To Compensate…]
I knelt down and ran a finger across the streak. It was fresh. She was here…and someone had hurt her…enough to draw blood. The only other clue I found were a few white hairs speckled with blue blood. Fissan fur…
Albiel…
I didn’t need to look anymore. I knew exactly who did this, and exactly where he would go.
“It’s your call, Sarge…”
“We finish the mission…and save the hostages.”
I led the way. The Chief’s office wasn’t far. A right turn here. A left turn there. And then a long hallway with the office at the very end.
Once the door to his office was inside, Davids and I both picked up the pace. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he was waiting for us. I knew my father. This was a test. He knew I’d go after Teylim. He wanted me to chase him.
“This is probably a trap!”
“Definitely!”
Once we made it to the door, we stacked up, both taking a side. Davids raised his hand and began silently counting down.
Five…
Four…
Three-
BANG!!!
The door flew open and an arm holding a sidearm shot out fired at Davids. Before I could even see what became of him, that same arm ripped me inside the room before I could react.
SLAM!!!
Before I could catch my bearings, I was yanked into the air and flung across the room, slamming over the desktop and landing roughly on the floor behind it.
Getting ragdolled like that brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories, but I did my best to shake myself loose from them. Disarmed, I went for the human pistol holstered to my hip and stood to aim at my attacker.
“Oh, I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“Dohkar!”
Albiel…
My grip on my weapon tightened and I could feel my teeth chipping as they ground against each other in rage.
There he was, the symbol of everything wrong with The Guild. The Chief. My father. Albiel. In one paw, he held Teylim, beaten, green dripping from the side of her mouth, and a patient shock collar around her neck. In the other paw, he held the remote for it.
“Let. Her. Go.”
“You never fail to disappoint me, Dohkar. You AND those failures of a squad you called your brothers.”
Bennic?
Did he hurt them too?
“Every time I think the bar couldn’t be any lower, you still somehow manage.”
His fur was matted and disheveled, and there was an outright manic look in his eyes. The only thing about him that was still prim and orderly was that damned horn, still and shiny and sharp as ever. Bennic was right. He really had lost it.
“ALL of this could’ve been yours one paw, Dohkar! Everything I’ve done! EVERYTHING I’ve built! I did so in the name of finding someone worthy enough to pass it all on to. I found you, along with the rest of your incompetent squad in a damned GUTTER! I gave you a home, a purpose, and THIS is how you all repay me?! Failure! Betrayal! Disappointment! And for WHAT?! ‘People’ like THIS?!”
His grip around Teylim’s neck tightened. I felt myself breaking apart as she shrieked in his grip.
“Dohkar, plea-“
“SILENCE, SAVAGE!!”
I tried aiming my weapon once he was distracted, but he quickly noticed and held up the remote. With a chuff, he regained a facsimile of his usual self, the mask he kept on to hide the madness I always knew was there.
“Even after you left, you continue to disappoint me at every turn: Cavorting about with primitives and predators far below your station, opening up that filthy excuse of a watering hole, so you could spend even MORE time with the mindless gutter trash that INFESTS this town?! Even when my expectations for you could not have been any lower, ALL you had to do…was STAY. AWAY Just look good for the ‘people’, continue on being the former ‘legend’ that everyone moron in this town believed you to be, and keep your noseless shout OUT of our business. But you couldn’t even do THAT, could you?! How I saw ANY potential in you in the first place continues to elude me.”
I didn’t respond, continuing to let him talk himself to death. Any moment now, David’s would break through that door, and I’d have my chance. I continued to just stare, only taking the occasional glance towards Teylim.
“Buuuut no matter. I’ll just have to start again. I’ll find a new backwater town, with just as neglectful management. I’ll find other downtrodden youths more than willing to stay loyal if it means a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. I’ll build it all up again. And you…well…maybe you’ll surprise me and survive long enough to see it.”
“No. It stops here. I won’t let you take advantage of anyone else.”
“Oh? What are you going to do? Shoot me with your primitive space ape gun? We BOTH know you won’t risk hitting HER.”
He lifted Teylim closer to him, using her as a shield. My paws began to shake.
“Now here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to stand by and watch as I take my leave. And if you try to stop me, I’ll not only reunite this wretch with her mate, but I’ll be sure to find their tainted SPAWN as well, and take extra time in coming up with a creative end for him. Who knows? He might make for a decent recruit after all.”
“Dohkar!”
“Teylim…”
My mind went from plan to plan, idea to idea, finding no solution that wouldn’t end with Teylim getting killed. Even if I adjusted my aim, he’d just activate the collar before I could pull the trigger. I was also out of time for stalling.
“Dohkar! I need…you…to promise me…”
My eyes focused back on Teylim. Trails of tears flowed down her cheeks as her teeth clenched. At that moment, I knew exactly what she’d say. This was it. These were Lohrek’s last moments, before Albiel killed him… He made me make a promise, too.
No. Not again.
“Promise me… Whatever happens…watch over my joeys… Michael… Tohba… Protect them…”
No. No. No. Not again. Please not again.
“I…I…”
“PLEASE, DOHKAR! They’re all I have… Please… Promise me…that you’ll protect them…”
Every last part of me shook and shivered. I couldn’t find words to express the horror I was feeling, watching the death of my best friend play in front of me again, almost verbatim. So instead, I said what I wish I could’ve said to Loh.
“Like they were my very own pups.”
She forced a pained smile as Albiel’s grip loosened for just a moment.
“Well isn’t that precious? A mother’s love truly does run eternal. …Perhaps THAT was the missing piece. How might YOU all have turned out if you’d had a mother as well. Food for thought-“
“GYYYYAAAARRRGH!!!!!”
Albiel’s speech was interrupted as the Yotul he was holding shrieked out, twisting her head to the side and clamping her jaws onto his arm, causing blue to spurt out from around her teeth.
“GAAAAAHHH!!! VICIOUS BEAST!!!”
I watched in shock as with one massive swing of his arm, he shook Teylim off and sent her slamming into the wall with a sickening slap.
“TEYLIM!!!!!”
PROTECT THE HERD!!!
I raised my weapon. While I could’ve ended him right then and there, my only concern was the remote in his paw that he was pointing in her direction.
BANG!!!
Another splatter of blue, another shriek of pain from Albiel, and the remote was sent, sparking and nonfunctional, to the ground.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him make a break for it through the door, but my focus was entirely on Teylim. I slid down to the ground beside her and cradled her in my arms.
“Teylim! TEYLIM!!”
She was unresponsive. One of her legs had definitely been broken from the hit and while I could feel a pulse, it was weak
I turned on my ear piece and hoped it still worked.
“Medic!!! I need a medic in the Chief’s office! One soldier and one hostage critically injured!!! Medic!!!”
While I waited for a response, I went back to trying to rouse Teylim.
“Teylim! Wake up! Please!”
Still…nothing… She was getting weaker. I could feel it.
“Please, Teylim… You can’t leave us yet. We still need you. Your pups NEED you, you hear me? BOTH of them! Michael… Tohba… They need their mother. And…”
For the first time in a long time…I felt the old sting of tears build up in my eyes. They flowed down my face is thin streaks as I held one of the only friends I had left in my arms, pressing my head against hers.
“I need you, too… So please… Wake up…”
There was a moment of nothing but silence, before she took in a faint, raspy, gasp of air.
I reeled back in shock as her limbs finally moved, clinging onto me. Her chest convulsed as she coughed and sputtered, before finally, her eyes winced open, meeting mine.
“Doh..kar…?”
I couldn’t speak. My mind refused to create the right words for the relief I felt as I pulled her in, holding her close.
“Wow… Hehe… Never thought…I’d see the day YOU cried… HeheOH stars, it hurts to laugh…”
I pulled back and wiped at my face.
“I’m getting you out of here.”
Finally, right on queue, I heard multiple people enter the room. I turned and saw a pair of UN medics come in with a stretcher.
“We heard your request for a medic!”
“Here! Help her!”
“On it!”
As we got to work getting Teylim on the stretcher, I noticed there were only two.
“What about Davids?”
One of the medics gave me a sympathetic look before shaking his head.
Damnit…
Suddenly, I realized something. These medics… They weren’t ones that we’d left at the staging area…
“Wait. Aren’t you two supposed to still be at the bar?”
“We were needed to help care for the rescued patients. The staging area’s already being turned into a field hospital for all of them.”
I was…confused… We didn’t get to clearing out the facility yet. And as far as I knew, Tevis had already retreated back outside.
“What? But we didn’t-“
“That would be my handiwork, Dohkar.”
A voice crackled through the radio. It wasn’t Tevis, Mike, or anyone else I’d have expected to hear. It was…
“Ben?”
Memory Transcript Subject: Officer Bennic, Senior Extermination Officer Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
Madness…
Pointless, directionless madness…
I slowly made my way down the hall to just one of the many treatment rooms in the facility, my squad mates at my side, doing my best to not let what I saw in Chief’s office get to me.
Though, now that I thought about it, it made perfect sense. How willing he was to stand by in his code little room in the back of the building while the rest of us fought and died.
The perfect shields and distractions…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
We believed in The Guild. We believed in HIM. That’s how we were raised, after all. It’s how we all were. Albiel always DID prefer to recruit young. All the easier to mold into what he wanted.
Obedient little soldiers…just like me…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I walked through the door. I remembered when we were shown these rooms the first time. “A necessary evil”, it was called. We didn’t like it, especially Dohkar. He was always stronger than us. Sometimes I wonder…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
There are two chairs in the room. The door to the rest of the facility, particularly the holding cells, had a line out the door of prisoners and patients. All waiting for the inevitable.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
The door was guarded. Two of the younger officers who’d been assigned this post for a while now. One remained focused, while the other constantly kept glancing at the rears of any female patient he could see. Even now, after we found out what he would do in his spare time, he never received punishment.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
I looked to the two patients already strapped to their chairs. In the left one, an elderly Venlil, a soldier if I remember right. He served this planet, and served it proudly, and paid the price with his eyesight. Is THIS what all those years of service has earned him?
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
In the right, a Gojid female. She was only a pup when she was first brought here. She was adorned with two large burn scars. One that covered her entire forearm from a flamer burning her. The other wrapped around her neck, a permanent reminder of the collar that had been placed around it. What does a child do to deserve a life like this, I wonder.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
“Mr. Clem…?”
“It will be alright, child. I promise.”
“I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna get hurt again!”
The elder faces in my direction, his glassy eyes filled with nothing but hatred. I have a clue about who he is, but just to be sure…
“You’re Clem? You’re the one that helped Dohkar when he left The Guild, right?”
“Why are you doing this?’ What did we do?! You can’t just punish us without giving us a reason!”
If only he knew…
“This…isn’t a punishment… The Guild is under attack. Under direct orders by Extermination Chief Albiel, I am to oversee the scuttling of the facility, including the evacuation of staff, deletion of data…and termination of prisoners…”
The glassy eyes of the blind old man, glared white-hot daggers into my very being.
“You monsters! Dohkar really was right about you lot! You’re not protectors! You’re just murderers!”
He’s right…
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
Those are my orders. While my fellow officers fight and die just to buy time, while my Chief, my father hides away in his office, making deals and planning HIS escape, I cover up what we should never have been doing in the first place.
Don’t think… Just do… Follow orders…
One of the doctors begins charging the machine. It whirs to life, sending the Gojid into hysterics. She knows what these chairs do, as do I…
Don’t think…
It’ll kill them…
Just do…
Just like it killed so many others before…
Follow orders…
…
Unfortunately…I don’t feel like following orders.
Without even NEEDING to think. I pull a sidearm from my holster, followed by my squad: Abra, Canuck, and Ento. My brothers. Among all the other officers in our branch, We were all recruited together, with Dohkar as our leader. When he left, we all stayed, but I did my best to fill his place.
So when I draw my weapon, the others do as well.
BANG!! BABANG!!! BANG!! BANG!!!
The doctor falls. The two guards fall. And the generator fueling the chairs sparks and dies. We unstrap the two from the chair and do our best to calm the patients.
“Wha-? What are you-?”
“For the first time in my life, doing my job. Now then, would an old soldier be willing to help me get these people organized and out of here?”
With more than a little hesitation, especially from the young Gojid girl, the two walked over to the other patients and began talking them down.
So, with me leading the way, letting the soldier and his cellmate ride in my back, we began to lead the line of patients toward the emergency exit, opening every cell along the way.
Don’t think… Just do…
It wasn’t easy. Many didn’t trust me, others were simply too out of it or just plain damaged to come out on their own, but with the coaxing of more of true or own, we’d add them to our long caravan.
There was only one we didn’t find…
Jerrik…
Memory Transcript Subject: Dohkar, Venlil Bartender Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
“Ben?”
“You’re clear, Dohkar. The patients are already at the staging area getting triaged and sorted by Canuck. The other UN soldiers here have already called for the medics and volunteers to come and help.”
I felt my heart warm as I heard Ben’s speaking. This wasn’t the old, beaten, Surulian still subservient to Albiel. This was my brother, my brother who is not truly seen for a long, long time. And he wasn’t alone.
“Canuck? Does that mean that Ento and Abra are there, too?”
“Copy that, commander!”
“Yeah…we’re here…I guess…”
Guys…
My brothers. My whole damn squad from training. My brothers who were taken with me. They were all there, helping how they could.
“How does it feel being on the right side again?”
“Like we’ve still got a LOT of work to do. And so do YOU. Go, Dohkar. We’ll handle things out here… Take. Him. Down…for all of us…”
…For all of us…
Protect the herd!
The signal cut out. I gave one last look to my friend on the stretcher. I didn’t need to look at the two medics.
“Tell me you have her.”
“We have her.”
Teylim gave me a weak smile and a nod.
“Go. Finish this.”
I turned, and ran. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. And then, a familiar tune came to my mind. A promise I’d made the last time I left this wretched building.
A promise to burn everything my father built.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I ran.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I chased.
LORD, GIMME THAT FIRE!!!!
I raced to finally put his madness to an end.
BURN!!!! BURN!!!! BURN!!!!
Memory Transcript Subject: Patient J-902, Nevok Predator Disease Patient Date:[Standardized Human Time] January 16, 2137
I hid. I saw the others get let out and huddled together in a line. I knew the room they were being led to, so I hid.
I heard the roar of the predator through the speaker in my cell. I heard the screams of the guards. I heard the shots being fired.
My door opens. Many of the other ones opened, too. I peek around the doorway to make sure it’s safe. And it is.
**Nowhere is safe.**It’s so much brighter now. Now that I’m finally out of the cell. I can think clearly again. And with clarity, came pretty much everything I wished had stayed forgotten.
I failed. I couldn’t go through with it. And as punishment, I was locked away.
Father…
I fell to my knees and cried. Cried like a damn pup, just like I did when I begged him not to lock me in here.
Father…
I did EVERYTHING else right! I followed the training. I followed the beliefs. I did everything he told me to do! But still, he…
Father…
[Warning!: Anger Response Rising Steadily…]
I looked up. Above the cells, above the walkways, above all of this damned facility, was one window. HIS office…
Father…
“This way everyone! Stay together!”
I snap my attention towards a large group approaching my direction. I COULD go with them. I COULD go back outside…but…there’s something I have to do first.
As I make my way to the electroshock chamber, I spot the dead guards and doctor. I spot one of their weapons on the ground, and pick it up.
Just like my training, just as HE instructed me. The predator has been smoked out, fleeing from his hole out into the open. All that was left…
Was for someone to take the shot…
Next
2024.05.11 20:08 mullighanisdog Interviews from the Zone - The Ecologist - Part 2
*Serhii breaks out into a deep coughing fit. He apologizes and we continue\*
Ostap was now starting to get on my nerves. The Captain had sent him to retrieve me, he was raving mad, threatening me with all sorts of disciplinary action. Apparently I didn’t hear him yelling for me from the sidewalk outside. It was already getting dark at this point, and the Captain was extra paranoid about spending a night this far deep in The Zone.
Ostap already had the container in his hands. He opened it, and I carefully placed The Cue inside its four lead-lined walls. The container was heavy, but a necessary piece of equipment. Without it, the radiation from the artifact would kill us all.
The Captain wanted an immediate report. I delayed for as long as possible, trying to think of how I should articulate what the hell I just saw in a way that would also gain the Captain’s cooperation. You see, the Captain had full command over our mission's transportation. I knew that I needed our vehicle if I had any hope of getting the artifact back to the laboratory. This also means that the Captain could at any point deny me this transportation if he felt that the risk of transporting the artifact was too dangerous. This was standard protocol, standard life-saving protocol. I knew it was important, but I also knew that The Cue needed to get back, at any cost.
So what did you do?
I carefully downplayed the situation.
I instructed Ostap not to say a word to anyone about what he saw. I told the Captain directly, in private. I told him that The Cue had been disarmed, and that Stanislavs injuries were a result of his sloppy handling of the artifact. I told the Captain that I had conducted thorough tests and determined that The Cue was now safe. I threw some random numbers and measurements at the Captain that I knew would just cause him confusion, but would help to make my findings seem legitimate and trustworthy.
Without giving the Captain time to think, I told him as confidently as I could that we needed to secure the container inside of the BTR, as far from the driver as possible. We would secure the container with straps and I would personally sit next to it, to ensure it’s safe transport. With the container in hand, I then started marching towards the BTR.
The Captain bought every word, and began giving orders to his men to hurry up and help me. I felt glorious, and for that brief moment everything seemed like it was going to be okay.
The container was secured with straps to the floor, under my seat. When no one was looking, I carefully slipped off my soft kevlar vest and placed it over the container. I had to be careful not to get caught, because I knew this would raise suspicion. I didn’t want it known that I still had legitimate concerns of The Cue exploding during transport. I was nervous, I kept running the tests through my head over and over. Telling myself that if it was going to explode here, it would have exploded during the tests. As long as the artifact remains in the container, we are safe, we will be fine.
Stanislav was then loaded up. He was sedated heavily and coming in and out of consciousness. I could see now that his injuries extended up past his left hand, and that most of his left forearm was also wrapped in a deeply-soaked bloodied bandage. I pitied him, if he survives the radiation, surely his arm will need to be amputated. The medical officer had applied a tourniquet above the elbow, dating the time of application in the little white rectangle at the top of the apparatus. I remember looking at the time on the tourniquet, then checking my watch. It had been four hours. Four hours.
*Serhii breaks into a sudden and uncomfortable laugh, broken quickly by another coughing fit\*
My heart sank into my chest, and I could feel my anxiety spiking. I thought that was impossible, surely I misread his writing. I thought to myself, I had only been in the department store for forty minutes, perhaps fifty at most. I then checked my test records to confirm. The first three tests were conducted at 4:05pm, 4:11pm, and 4:18pm. Then I knew that I had to wait thirty minutes before conducting my second set of tests. I checked the log, expecting the times to be around the 5pm mark. The three times read: 6:46pm, 6:51pm, 6:56pm. How is that even possible? I was stumped, baffled. I looked down at my feet, at the container beneath me, and I swear on my life, I felt the thing inside breathing. By the time the true horror set in, the vehicle was already set in motion and we were on our way home.
We traveled for a brief while, uninterrupted. I didn’t know where exactly we were, I couldn’t keep my eye or mind off the container. I just remember being suddenly alerted by Stanislav. He had suddenly regained full consciousness. The medical officer was holding him down, I didn’t know why at first but then I saw that Stanislav kept trying to sit up. He appeared to be confused - like he awoke from a deep sleep, I didn’t know how long he had been unconscious for. My concept of time was gone to say the least.
Ostap went to assist the medical officer, they were holding Stanislav down to the stretcher. He was panicking and started calling out for us to let him go. He tried to forcefully push Ostap off of him, first with his good arm, and then afterwards with his injured arm. Stanislav pushed until his bandages started to unravel, revealing his open wound for the rest of us. I could see his injured arm bending, twisting, muscles tearing. It didn’t phase him. It didn’t seem like he had any concept of his injuries. The pushing turned into punching, which turned into biting. Ostap had to yank his hand away quickly to stop Stanislav from taking a chunk out of his wrist. This in turn freed Stanislav’s right arm, and he reached across the stretcher for the medical officer. The young officer started to squeal, and yelled for help, “he’s choking me, he’s choking me!” Stanislav had his hand around the poor boy's throat, and was squeezing with ferocious strength. I grabbed Stanislav’s arm with both of my hands and jerked it back into place on the stretcher. I felt his wrist break in my hands. Stanislav hadn’t noticed, he was still trying to pull away. The medical officer then got on top of the stretcher, placing his knee over Stanislavs chest, pinning him down. Stanislav was gasping for air, not really screaming, just gasping and strange animalistic grunting. Ostap started yelling this time, screaming at Stanislav to stop, to please stop. There was blood everywhere. I saw that Stanislav was bleeding again, and I noticed that the tourniquet had come undone. I switched off with Ostap and went around to the other side of the stretcher to reapply it. I think the medical officer noticed at the same time because he promptly ordered the BTR to halt. The Captain wasn’t in the back with us, he was at the front and could only hear what was going on.
He opened the rear door with a mighty fury, unleashing all his built up anger on poor Stanislav. The Captain stood with one foot on his chest, long enough to leave his boot impressions on the front of Stanislav’s blood soaked hazardous material suit. We each then took an arm, and Ostap held Stanislav’s head to the back of the stretcher. His mouth continued to open and close, and he was still trying to bite. The medical officer gave an injection and we re-tightened the tourniquet. We held on for another short while, until the medication kicked in and we felt Stanislav’s grip loosen up.
The Captain then roared in anger, the loudest I have ever heard him, “everybody out! I am calling a helicopter and we are being evacuated!”.
At that point was your mission completely abandoned?
Oh yes, and there was nothing I could do this time. After our fight with Stanislav, morale on the team was very low. Everyone was scared and just wanted to go home, and I didn’t blame them. Our driver, a young boy whom I learned was named Stepan, drove us to a nearby soviet-era gas station. There was a parking lot, big enough for the helicopter and we could take shelter inside of the derelict structure. The Captain didn’t want anyone inside the BTR, he was starting to become superstitious about the artifact. Now that he made it clear that we would be leaving it behind, he strictly ordered nobody to go near it.
There were issues we had with getting an air-evacuation. The Air Force was getting readings of an isolated emission way south of our location and refused to fly over it to come and get us. We were advised to take shelter at our current location and that a team would get to us as soon as they could.
Stanislav was on the floor of the gas station, tied to the stretcher with a rope. The medical officer was ordered to keep a rifle pointed at him until our rescue could arrive. Ostap was instructed to remove all the scientific equipment from the BTR and prepare it for flight. Stepan and I were instructed to take guard positions outside, watching over the BTR and securing our landing zone. I was especially given strict instructions not to go anywhere near The Cue. I think the Captain had come to his senses and I felt that I had lost his trust. I agreed with him, I knew that pushing him further would only result in irrational decision making and I just wanted to get back safely. I thought that maybe once the helicopter arrived, I could see exactly where we were and return another day with a field kit and conduct further testing here. I held hope, but barely.
We held that position for close to four hours, and I made sure to check my watch every thirty minutes to make sure. It was 3am and the Captain was growing obsessive. He would try the radio every fifteen minutes, seeing if the flight team had left the hangar. He was met with the same automated message each time, “Negative, continue to hold your position”. It was clear that we would be holding at that gas station until morning.
I had relieved Stepan of his duties and replaced him with Ostap. Stepan was obviously tired and I felt like Ostap kept better company anyways. The Captain didn’t care, I think his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. I asked Ostap innocently how long he thought the collection took. He shrugged his shoulders, and provided an estimation of about an hour, maybe less. I then explained what I saw in my log book. Ostap hadn’t noticed until now. We both agreed to not say a word. No one but us appeared to notice, and we had no explanation for the rest of the team. We didn’t want to cause any further concern. Stanislav continued to rest, motionless on his stretcher. Ostap and I debriefed the situation further and decided on what we would write in our reports when we got back to The Institute. We were agreeable on what to put in our notes, as to avoid discrepancies and any unwanted attention. Our conversations then turned elsewhere, and then to nothing at all.
At 4:30am, I awoke to Stepan kicking me in the shoulder. I was sitting on my ass, leaning up against the wall. I didn’t remember falling asleep, or even sitting down. I don’t remember if I even felt tired. My adrenaline had been going non-stop since we first arrived at the department store. Stepan asked me how long I was asleep for, and I couldn’t give him an answer. I was waiting for some reprimand, some sort of punishment. I fell asleep on guard duty, even the most loose-headed recruit knew not to do that. But the punishment never came, Stepan didn’t have time to alert the Captain. He was transfixed on Ostap’s position. This alerted my attention and I looked as well. We both saw at the same time that Ostap wasn’t at his post.
Stepan gave me a brief look, I couldn’t tell if his face resembled anger towards me or fear towards the situation, then he went into the building to alert the Captain. I grabbed my rifle, and shouldered it. I then looked towards the BTR, and my heart stopped beating.
The rear hatch was open, and I saw a faint white light emanating from within. Every survival instinct I had left was screaming for me to just turn around and run away, let the military deal with this, my job is over. But I found myself actually walking towards the opened hatch. One step after the other, rifle down range. I felt so heavy, so tired. I was terrified. The faint moonlight illuminated the path in front of me and the asphalt I walked on glowed with a slight bluish hue. I could barely make out a shape on the asphalt. Rectangular and misshapen, but as I got closer, I saw that it was actually my kevlar vest. It had been tossed out of the hatch and onto the ground outside. I rounded the back of the BTR, staring now into the open hatch, and the source of that faint white light.
I found Ostap. He was on his knees on the floor of the cabin, with his back facing me. His elbows were bent at a 90 degree angle and held inwards. I couldn’t see his hands. I saw that he had partially undone his hazardous material suit, which was now tied sloppily around his waist like a sweatshirt. The lead-lined container was at his feet, closed, but resting on its side. I stared blankly at Ostap for what felt like two minutes, but in reality was only a couple seconds. He wasn’t moving. At first I thought he might have been dead but then I saw his sides expanding and I knew he was breathing. Ostap had not been alerted to my presence and I felt that I had the jump on him. I slowly reached for the container, I had to know. I opened it slightly, revealing a hollow, empty interior. Ostap must have heard me, because when I looked up again we were staring at each other. I still couldn’t see his hands, but I knew, and he knew that I knew. I greeted him as gently as I could, trying to mask my excitement. I asked him what he was doing. He looked at me with a puzzling expression, “I'm doing what you told me to do”. He then turned his shoulders to face me and raised his hands up slightly and I saw what I already knew. Gripped in both of his bare hands was The Cue. I gently put the container on the floor of the cabin and pushed it towards him. I opened my mouth to speak but I could not get a clear word out. I stuttered relentlessly, and questioned Ostap about what I had told him to do. Ostap was catching on and replied to me, “you ordered me to take out the artifact”. I didn’t say anything and we just stared at each other. He repeated again, “you ordered me”. “I did not do such a thing Ostap”, I replied as calmly as I could, “it is not possible, I had fallen asleep”. I thought about lying at first, to tell him that Stepan had relieved me so I could sleep. I was still embarrassed about my neglection, but I thought, what was the point?
Ostap looked down at his hands in puzzling confusion. He tried to reason with me, to justify what he had done. I believed that he had heard something, but it certainly wasn’t from me. I could see that Ostap was starting to panic. He was finally starting to realize the danger that he was in. I tried to calm him, I told him that it was okay, that he just needed to put the artifact back in the container. I only met his blank stare, I could tell that he was thinking, his mind was spinning. I slid the container closer to him, “Ostap, the container”, I told him. He instinctively and quickly pulled back, pulling his hands away from the container and up over his head. I cringed and stepped back instinctually. I could see his hands vibrating, The Cue was changing its density. He needed to stop shaking it, but I didn’t know how to tell him. “Ostap, listen, it’s going to be okay, I believe you, okay? I just need you to put the artifact in the container right now, okay?” I managed to catch him, he looked to me and then to the container. I stepped forwards towards the open hatch, sliding the container closer and rotating the opening towards him. I then retreated back to my position, and gave the same instructions I did before. Ostap slowly leaned forward, now over the open container. He reached for it with his left hand, his right still holding the artifact. I continued to coach him, “Slow Ostap, slow. You can’t rush”.
Ostap was in full panic now and he started hyperventilating. He had his left hand now on the opening. His right hand was moving towards the container. I saw that Stepan was approaching me from my left, followed by Cpt. Lytvyn. The Captain was angry, he stomped towards us, shouting all sorts of profanities. Ostap now had his right hand at the mouth of the opening, he was set to put it in the container. The Captain was closer now and he pushed Stepan to the side and overtook him, he started to yell towards me. Ordering me to get away from the vehicle and back to my post. I tried telling him to stop, to stand back. We almost have it, I yelled. Ostap had heard him also, he was now staring towards the sound of his voice, his mouth was agape and I could see that he was crying. Ostap had now stopped, holding the artifact just above the container. I was inpatient now with Ostap, “Ostap, put the artifact in the container, do it, please”. He wasn’t listening to me anymore. The Captain was coming. The Captain was coming and he was going to doom us all.
In an instant he was standing behind me, and raised his Makarov at Ostap. He commanded, “Son, put that down right now, or I will shoot you!”. Ostap screamed, pulled his hands away from the container, and threw The Cue against the floor.
There was a blinding flash, and that is all I remember.
submitted by mullighanisdog to TheZoneStories [link] [comments]
Ostap was now starting to get on my nerves. The Captain had sent him to retrieve me, he was raving mad, threatening me with all sorts of disciplinary action. Apparently I didn’t hear him yelling for me from the sidewalk outside. It was already getting dark at this point, and the Captain was extra paranoid about spending a night this far deep in The Zone.
Ostap already had the container in his hands. He opened it, and I carefully placed The Cue inside its four lead-lined walls. The container was heavy, but a necessary piece of equipment. Without it, the radiation from the artifact would kill us all.
The Captain wanted an immediate report. I delayed for as long as possible, trying to think of how I should articulate what the hell I just saw in a way that would also gain the Captain’s cooperation. You see, the Captain had full command over our mission's transportation. I knew that I needed our vehicle if I had any hope of getting the artifact back to the laboratory. This also means that the Captain could at any point deny me this transportation if he felt that the risk of transporting the artifact was too dangerous. This was standard protocol, standard life-saving protocol. I knew it was important, but I also knew that The Cue needed to get back, at any cost.
So what did you do?
I carefully downplayed the situation.
I instructed Ostap not to say a word to anyone about what he saw. I told the Captain directly, in private. I told him that The Cue had been disarmed, and that Stanislavs injuries were a result of his sloppy handling of the artifact. I told the Captain that I had conducted thorough tests and determined that The Cue was now safe. I threw some random numbers and measurements at the Captain that I knew would just cause him confusion, but would help to make my findings seem legitimate and trustworthy.
Without giving the Captain time to think, I told him as confidently as I could that we needed to secure the container inside of the BTR, as far from the driver as possible. We would secure the container with straps and I would personally sit next to it, to ensure it’s safe transport. With the container in hand, I then started marching towards the BTR.
The Captain bought every word, and began giving orders to his men to hurry up and help me. I felt glorious, and for that brief moment everything seemed like it was going to be okay.
The container was secured with straps to the floor, under my seat. When no one was looking, I carefully slipped off my soft kevlar vest and placed it over the container. I had to be careful not to get caught, because I knew this would raise suspicion. I didn’t want it known that I still had legitimate concerns of The Cue exploding during transport. I was nervous, I kept running the tests through my head over and over. Telling myself that if it was going to explode here, it would have exploded during the tests. As long as the artifact remains in the container, we are safe, we will be fine.
Stanislav was then loaded up. He was sedated heavily and coming in and out of consciousness. I could see now that his injuries extended up past his left hand, and that most of his left forearm was also wrapped in a deeply-soaked bloodied bandage. I pitied him, if he survives the radiation, surely his arm will need to be amputated. The medical officer had applied a tourniquet above the elbow, dating the time of application in the little white rectangle at the top of the apparatus. I remember looking at the time on the tourniquet, then checking my watch. It had been four hours. Four hours.
*Serhii breaks into a sudden and uncomfortable laugh, broken quickly by another coughing fit\*
My heart sank into my chest, and I could feel my anxiety spiking. I thought that was impossible, surely I misread his writing. I thought to myself, I had only been in the department store for forty minutes, perhaps fifty at most. I then checked my test records to confirm. The first three tests were conducted at 4:05pm, 4:11pm, and 4:18pm. Then I knew that I had to wait thirty minutes before conducting my second set of tests. I checked the log, expecting the times to be around the 5pm mark. The three times read: 6:46pm, 6:51pm, 6:56pm. How is that even possible? I was stumped, baffled. I looked down at my feet, at the container beneath me, and I swear on my life, I felt the thing inside breathing. By the time the true horror set in, the vehicle was already set in motion and we were on our way home.
We traveled for a brief while, uninterrupted. I didn’t know where exactly we were, I couldn’t keep my eye or mind off the container. I just remember being suddenly alerted by Stanislav. He had suddenly regained full consciousness. The medical officer was holding him down, I didn’t know why at first but then I saw that Stanislav kept trying to sit up. He appeared to be confused - like he awoke from a deep sleep, I didn’t know how long he had been unconscious for. My concept of time was gone to say the least.
Ostap went to assist the medical officer, they were holding Stanislav down to the stretcher. He was panicking and started calling out for us to let him go. He tried to forcefully push Ostap off of him, first with his good arm, and then afterwards with his injured arm. Stanislav pushed until his bandages started to unravel, revealing his open wound for the rest of us. I could see his injured arm bending, twisting, muscles tearing. It didn’t phase him. It didn’t seem like he had any concept of his injuries. The pushing turned into punching, which turned into biting. Ostap had to yank his hand away quickly to stop Stanislav from taking a chunk out of his wrist. This in turn freed Stanislav’s right arm, and he reached across the stretcher for the medical officer. The young officer started to squeal, and yelled for help, “he’s choking me, he’s choking me!” Stanislav had his hand around the poor boy's throat, and was squeezing with ferocious strength. I grabbed Stanislav’s arm with both of my hands and jerked it back into place on the stretcher. I felt his wrist break in my hands. Stanislav hadn’t noticed, he was still trying to pull away. The medical officer then got on top of the stretcher, placing his knee over Stanislavs chest, pinning him down. Stanislav was gasping for air, not really screaming, just gasping and strange animalistic grunting. Ostap started yelling this time, screaming at Stanislav to stop, to please stop. There was blood everywhere. I saw that Stanislav was bleeding again, and I noticed that the tourniquet had come undone. I switched off with Ostap and went around to the other side of the stretcher to reapply it. I think the medical officer noticed at the same time because he promptly ordered the BTR to halt. The Captain wasn’t in the back with us, he was at the front and could only hear what was going on.
He opened the rear door with a mighty fury, unleashing all his built up anger on poor Stanislav. The Captain stood with one foot on his chest, long enough to leave his boot impressions on the front of Stanislav’s blood soaked hazardous material suit. We each then took an arm, and Ostap held Stanislav’s head to the back of the stretcher. His mouth continued to open and close, and he was still trying to bite. The medical officer gave an injection and we re-tightened the tourniquet. We held on for another short while, until the medication kicked in and we felt Stanislav’s grip loosen up.
The Captain then roared in anger, the loudest I have ever heard him, “everybody out! I am calling a helicopter and we are being evacuated!”.
At that point was your mission completely abandoned?
Oh yes, and there was nothing I could do this time. After our fight with Stanislav, morale on the team was very low. Everyone was scared and just wanted to go home, and I didn’t blame them. Our driver, a young boy whom I learned was named Stepan, drove us to a nearby soviet-era gas station. There was a parking lot, big enough for the helicopter and we could take shelter inside of the derelict structure. The Captain didn’t want anyone inside the BTR, he was starting to become superstitious about the artifact. Now that he made it clear that we would be leaving it behind, he strictly ordered nobody to go near it.
There were issues we had with getting an air-evacuation. The Air Force was getting readings of an isolated emission way south of our location and refused to fly over it to come and get us. We were advised to take shelter at our current location and that a team would get to us as soon as they could.
Stanislav was on the floor of the gas station, tied to the stretcher with a rope. The medical officer was ordered to keep a rifle pointed at him until our rescue could arrive. Ostap was instructed to remove all the scientific equipment from the BTR and prepare it for flight. Stepan and I were instructed to take guard positions outside, watching over the BTR and securing our landing zone. I was especially given strict instructions not to go anywhere near The Cue. I think the Captain had come to his senses and I felt that I had lost his trust. I agreed with him, I knew that pushing him further would only result in irrational decision making and I just wanted to get back safely. I thought that maybe once the helicopter arrived, I could see exactly where we were and return another day with a field kit and conduct further testing here. I held hope, but barely.
We held that position for close to four hours, and I made sure to check my watch every thirty minutes to make sure. It was 3am and the Captain was growing obsessive. He would try the radio every fifteen minutes, seeing if the flight team had left the hangar. He was met with the same automated message each time, “Negative, continue to hold your position”. It was clear that we would be holding at that gas station until morning.
I had relieved Stepan of his duties and replaced him with Ostap. Stepan was obviously tired and I felt like Ostap kept better company anyways. The Captain didn’t care, I think his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. I asked Ostap innocently how long he thought the collection took. He shrugged his shoulders, and provided an estimation of about an hour, maybe less. I then explained what I saw in my log book. Ostap hadn’t noticed until now. We both agreed to not say a word. No one but us appeared to notice, and we had no explanation for the rest of the team. We didn’t want to cause any further concern. Stanislav continued to rest, motionless on his stretcher. Ostap and I debriefed the situation further and decided on what we would write in our reports when we got back to The Institute. We were agreeable on what to put in our notes, as to avoid discrepancies and any unwanted attention. Our conversations then turned elsewhere, and then to nothing at all.
At 4:30am, I awoke to Stepan kicking me in the shoulder. I was sitting on my ass, leaning up against the wall. I didn’t remember falling asleep, or even sitting down. I don’t remember if I even felt tired. My adrenaline had been going non-stop since we first arrived at the department store. Stepan asked me how long I was asleep for, and I couldn’t give him an answer. I was waiting for some reprimand, some sort of punishment. I fell asleep on guard duty, even the most loose-headed recruit knew not to do that. But the punishment never came, Stepan didn’t have time to alert the Captain. He was transfixed on Ostap’s position. This alerted my attention and I looked as well. We both saw at the same time that Ostap wasn’t at his post.
Stepan gave me a brief look, I couldn’t tell if his face resembled anger towards me or fear towards the situation, then he went into the building to alert the Captain. I grabbed my rifle, and shouldered it. I then looked towards the BTR, and my heart stopped beating.
The rear hatch was open, and I saw a faint white light emanating from within. Every survival instinct I had left was screaming for me to just turn around and run away, let the military deal with this, my job is over. But I found myself actually walking towards the opened hatch. One step after the other, rifle down range. I felt so heavy, so tired. I was terrified. The faint moonlight illuminated the path in front of me and the asphalt I walked on glowed with a slight bluish hue. I could barely make out a shape on the asphalt. Rectangular and misshapen, but as I got closer, I saw that it was actually my kevlar vest. It had been tossed out of the hatch and onto the ground outside. I rounded the back of the BTR, staring now into the open hatch, and the source of that faint white light.
I found Ostap. He was on his knees on the floor of the cabin, with his back facing me. His elbows were bent at a 90 degree angle and held inwards. I couldn’t see his hands. I saw that he had partially undone his hazardous material suit, which was now tied sloppily around his waist like a sweatshirt. The lead-lined container was at his feet, closed, but resting on its side. I stared blankly at Ostap for what felt like two minutes, but in reality was only a couple seconds. He wasn’t moving. At first I thought he might have been dead but then I saw his sides expanding and I knew he was breathing. Ostap had not been alerted to my presence and I felt that I had the jump on him. I slowly reached for the container, I had to know. I opened it slightly, revealing a hollow, empty interior. Ostap must have heard me, because when I looked up again we were staring at each other. I still couldn’t see his hands, but I knew, and he knew that I knew. I greeted him as gently as I could, trying to mask my excitement. I asked him what he was doing. He looked at me with a puzzling expression, “I'm doing what you told me to do”. He then turned his shoulders to face me and raised his hands up slightly and I saw what I already knew. Gripped in both of his bare hands was The Cue. I gently put the container on the floor of the cabin and pushed it towards him. I opened my mouth to speak but I could not get a clear word out. I stuttered relentlessly, and questioned Ostap about what I had told him to do. Ostap was catching on and replied to me, “you ordered me to take out the artifact”. I didn’t say anything and we just stared at each other. He repeated again, “you ordered me”. “I did not do such a thing Ostap”, I replied as calmly as I could, “it is not possible, I had fallen asleep”. I thought about lying at first, to tell him that Stepan had relieved me so I could sleep. I was still embarrassed about my neglection, but I thought, what was the point?
Ostap looked down at his hands in puzzling confusion. He tried to reason with me, to justify what he had done. I believed that he had heard something, but it certainly wasn’t from me. I could see that Ostap was starting to panic. He was finally starting to realize the danger that he was in. I tried to calm him, I told him that it was okay, that he just needed to put the artifact back in the container. I only met his blank stare, I could tell that he was thinking, his mind was spinning. I slid the container closer to him, “Ostap, the container”, I told him. He instinctively and quickly pulled back, pulling his hands away from the container and up over his head. I cringed and stepped back instinctually. I could see his hands vibrating, The Cue was changing its density. He needed to stop shaking it, but I didn’t know how to tell him. “Ostap, listen, it’s going to be okay, I believe you, okay? I just need you to put the artifact in the container right now, okay?” I managed to catch him, he looked to me and then to the container. I stepped forwards towards the open hatch, sliding the container closer and rotating the opening towards him. I then retreated back to my position, and gave the same instructions I did before. Ostap slowly leaned forward, now over the open container. He reached for it with his left hand, his right still holding the artifact. I continued to coach him, “Slow Ostap, slow. You can’t rush”.
Ostap was in full panic now and he started hyperventilating. He had his left hand now on the opening. His right hand was moving towards the container. I saw that Stepan was approaching me from my left, followed by Cpt. Lytvyn. The Captain was angry, he stomped towards us, shouting all sorts of profanities. Ostap now had his right hand at the mouth of the opening, he was set to put it in the container. The Captain was closer now and he pushed Stepan to the side and overtook him, he started to yell towards me. Ordering me to get away from the vehicle and back to my post. I tried telling him to stop, to stand back. We almost have it, I yelled. Ostap had heard him also, he was now staring towards the sound of his voice, his mouth was agape and I could see that he was crying. Ostap had now stopped, holding the artifact just above the container. I was inpatient now with Ostap, “Ostap, put the artifact in the container, do it, please”. He wasn’t listening to me anymore. The Captain was coming. The Captain was coming and he was going to doom us all.
In an instant he was standing behind me, and raised his Makarov at Ostap. He commanded, “Son, put that down right now, or I will shoot you!”. Ostap screamed, pulled his hands away from the container, and threw The Cue against the floor.
There was a blinding flash, and that is all I remember.
2024.05.07 23:48 ralo_ramone An Otherworldly Scholar [LitRPG, Isekai] - Chapter 116
The size of my mana pool used to be a point of pride until I had to spend an hour tinkering with four rune enchantments. Then, I realized how shallow it was. Four rune enchantments required twice as much mana as three rune enchantments, and after a few tries, I was sweating cold. I couldn’t even imagine how much mana the creator of Firana’s fluttering cape had to pour into the enchantment to make seven runes work.
I reexamined my notes.
The cape creates a small wind current.
The cape recognizes its user.
The cape recognizes movement.
The cape recognizes direction.
The cape recognizes the user’s intent to activate the effect.
Finding the Wind and User runes wasn’t particularly difficult. As soon as Astrid failed to activate the wind pebble in my hand, the entries were added to the Rune Encyclopedia, which piqued my interest. To learn a new rune, I had to engrave it successfully and know its particular function inside the circuit. The Encyclopedia would not index any rune I randomly added to the mix.
I sighed. The remaining three runes played hard to get.
I considered the best way to decode the remaining tunes. I could always ask Loki to assist me. The Rune Debugger would help me outline the enchantments, and Loki would help me test them without spending massive quantities of mana. Convincing Loki wouldn’t be easy. He preferred to doze off near the stove and play with the kids. Elincia and Ginz ignored if the long sleeping schedule was normal Changeling behavior.
I left the desk and sat on the bed with my legs crossed. I focused on my mana pool. The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the circular room with walls covered in runes. Most of the runes were still unknown, but I noticed the User rune repeated every few lines. I decided to ignore the implications and focus on the bottom of my mana pool, where the walls were still shattered by Corruption.
The fight against the group of assassins didn’t do any favors for the patch of black Corruption on my chest. Still, it was a small fraction of the initial wound. It would disappear eventually, as long as I were a good enough teacher to get more [Favorite Teacher] stacks.
I focused on the Fountain, grabbing small strands of golden mana and adding them to my mana pool. Suddenly, the walls of my mana pool came to life, and the Fountain mana slowly turned blue as I assimilated it into my reserves. The patch of Corruption blocking a bigger patch of the runes slowed the process.
I only recharged a fraction of my mana pool before someone opened the bedroom door.
“Mister Clarke, blonde Firana wants to talk with you!” Nokti said with a big smile on her snake-like face.
“Blonde Firana?” I asked, just to realize who the snake girl was referring to. “Oh. Corin. Thanks, Nokti. I’ll be there in a second.”
The snake girl waited for me in the doorway and offered me her hand. I gladly accepted it, and we walked down the corridor to the kitchen. Looking through the windows, I saw my class sparring under the gray sky. I had to stop to take a second look. Was Risha blocking their swords with his bare hands?
I sighed. So much for the safety measures I had been engraving in the kids’ heads.
“What do you think of Risha?” I asked Nokti now that we were alone. It hadn’t passed a week, but Risha and Astrid seemed to fit well into the manor’s life—at least with the orphans. Elincia didn’t seem entirely on board with having them around. Some wounds took time to heal completely.
The snake girl thought for a moment before answering.
“Risha is like Wolf but funnier, and his breakfast is good. I wonder if he likes potatoes,” Nokti happily replied.
“Yeah, I wonder,” I replied. The seven-year-old me would’ve pissed his pants at the sight of Risha, but the kids seemed accustomed to half-orcs. “It would be strange if he didn’t like potatoes, right?”
“Right,” Nokti nodded as we reached the kitchen. “I have to go back to play. Bye.”
I opened the door to find Elincia arguing with Astrid about the preserved fruits on Wolf’s birthday cake. I decided to ignore them. As much as they didn’t like each other, they had to find peace for themselves. In the corner of the table, Corin swiftly ate a bowl of gruel.
“You know you can chew, right?” I greeted her.
Corin jumped to her feet and swallowed without chewing.
“I have a message from Prince Adrien. It’s about the tournament,” she said. “I was told to inform you about a small change in the duel format. Prince Adrien decided to drop the point system and adopt the old imperial duel system to improve spectator attendance. That’s all.”
I blinked, confused.
“What is the old imperial duel system?” I asked, not sure if I would like the answer. Usually, there was an inverse correlation between the participants' safety and the audience's enjoyment.
Elincia stopped scolding Astrid and joined the conversation.
“The point system requires a referee, while the old imperial duel requires a Fortifier to set a certain amount of barriers around the participants,” she explained, biting her nails. “I’m afraid the change would disfavor the teams that can’t afford a Fortifier and haven’t trained under this ruleset.”
“Like us,” I pointed out. Only Ilya had fought with the Fortifier’s barrier around his body, which had happened once.
Elincia gave me a nervous look.
A smile crept onto my face. The secret technique I had taught Wolf and Zaon would be especially effective with the Fortifier barrier as a point system, but that wasn’t the main issue. I couldn’t help but smell foul play. As Elincia had pointed out, such a change in the rules would favor the richer families to the detriment of those who couldn’t afford a Fortifier.
“What’s the deal with that creepy smile?” Elincia asked.
“Don’t worry about it. The kids are ready,” I said. The changes in the rules weren’t drastic enough to worry about. “Corin, can you relay a message for me?”
The girl nodded.
“I need you to relay a message to Lady Lyra Jorn. She is currently staying at the Great Hall. Tell her we are worried about her delay, and she can turn to us if she needs anything,” I said.
I wasn’t really worried about Lyra’s well-being; she was the daughter of a duke and a guest of the Marquis at the end of the day. However, I couldn’t help but think that whoever held her back knew about the attack. It was one thing to attack an orphanage of commoners, and a completely different one was attacking the residence of a duke’s daughter.
I put a few bronze coins in Corin’s hand, a couple more than the usual rate, and excused myself, saying I needed to return to my workshop. Corin shoved a couple more spoonfuls of gruel into her mouth before speeding through the door into the backyard and around the manor.
Elincia grabbed my arm before I could leave.
“Do you think they changed the rules to reduce our possibilities of winning?” She asked.
Despite being a kid’s tournament, there was much at stake. Credibility, after all, was a heavy coin in politics.
“They are trying to improve their chances,” I replied.
Without us knowing, the tournament had already started.
It took me a couple of hours, Loki’s begrudging help, and a lot of Fountain Mana to figure out the rest of the runes. The three remaining runes were hard to grasp because they lacked an effect by themselves. Just as I had theorized, they worked as modifiers and conditions for the main effects.
The easiest to discover of the three was the Direction rune.
A Light-Direction-Gradual-Recharge circuit transformed a light stone into a flashlight. If I exchanged the Light rune for the Wind rune, I would have a hair dryer. I made a note to add a Fire rune to the mix to enchant a hair dryer that used warm air. Elincia would love to dry the kids’ hair in winter.
The last two runes were harder to decipher because they worked like logic gates. The Rune Encyclopedia tagged the first as Activation, which was nothing but an ‘if’ statement. The second rune was Movement, which was the condition for activation. It made perfect sense, considering how Firana’s cape worked. If there was movement, the effects activated.
I couldn’t yet comprehend how the Activation rune discriminated between regular movements, like walking or signaling, and the movements Firana made to activate the cape deliberately, let alone how it modified the Direction rune. I sighed, worried. If the System could read my memories, then it wouldn’t be surprising if it could determine people’s intent. As far as I understood, skills were activated by intent alone.
I stretched my back, and a wave of pleasure traveled through my body. A long day of work at the law firm never felt this good. My job at the orphanage was completely different. It had meaning.
Loki slept belly up on the desk, his whiskers and little feet moving as if he were having a bad dream. Much like the runeweaving process, Loki’s transformation also required a lot of energy. After several dozen failed attempts, Loki was exhausted, but we had a working prototype.
The cape’s circuit was Wind, User, Activation, Movement, Direction, Instantaneous, and Recharge. In other words, 'If the user activates the effect with a movement, create a wind current in the direction of the movement'. My prototype for the sling was Wind, User, Direction, Gradual, and Recharge. For starters, I didn’t think I could enchant more than five Runes simultaneously. Then came the problem of the ‘feel’ of the sling. As much as I wanted to power the shot, I also had to avoid making it uncontrollable.
“You did good work, buddy,” I said, scratching Loki’s belly.
He slapped my hand away with his little rat paw and grumbled something that sounded like his usual ‘damn beast’.
The excitement of the rune discovery slowly disappeared, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The Encyclopedia indexed the runes, yet the whole process still felt esoteric. In the worst case, I could delay Wolf’s gift and try the enchantment again tomorrow when I had more mana.
I grabbed my notes, put Loki inside my pocket, and exited the room.
Ginz was inclined over his workshop table, working on a piece of leather.
“The Ginz I used to know would have the order ready by now,” I taunted him from the doorway.
Ginz grunted.
“Knowing the idiot who commissioned this sling, I decided to make it as sturdy as possible,” he replied, applying a coat of dark liquid all over the leather. “It’s Skeeth oil. It will make the Laughing Fox leather even more resistant.”
“Sounds good, I guess,” I said.
As socially inept Ginz was, he knew craftsmanship backward and forwards.
“You should start respecting me, Robbo. My inventions have become so popular among nobles that I got an invitation to see the tournament from the VIP section,” Ginz added with a huge grin.
“Do you mean my inventions?” I laughed.
“Our inventions,” Ginz pointed out with a laugh.
I smiled back, and I sat by the sideline. Just like watching Elincia brewing potions, watching Ginz work was soothing.
“Corin brought the payments for the last shipment,” Ginz said, vaguely pointing toward the cabinet near the door with his brush. “Most of the nobles already commissioned their decks of cards, so we can move to phase two. Use crap materials and expand the market to commoners.”
On top of the cabinet was a leather pouch full of gold and silver. With that amount, Ginz could’ve been considered the breadwinner of the orphanage, but I avoided saying it not to overfeed his ego. I had to admit, Ginz had a good nose for business.
“I took some of it to pay my debt to the Odrac-Aias loan sharks,” Ginz added. “I thought cutting all ties with them would be best.”
“Good call,” I said.
Our alliance with the royalist faction had dissuaded Kellaren from attempting anything against the orphanage so far. Despite being the most obvious suspect, I was starting to doubt his participation in the last attack. If Kellaren were allied with the Osgirians, a direct attack on royalist allies would be too dangerous for the kingdom's cohesion. Whether I liked it or not, Osgirians needed the rest of the noble houses to fill their pockets with money. Without a seller and a buyer, there were no trade routes.
Ginz summoned a high-intensity white flame from the tip of his finger and passed it over the Skeeth oil-impregnated piece of leather. A pungent, acrid smell filled the room. My eyes teared up, and I had to cover my nose and mouth with my shirt.
“The fumes are toxic. I recommend you get to the window,” Ginz said, unfazed by the stench.
I opened the guillotine-style window and threw the entire top half of my body out of the workshop. Outside, the older kids were still training with Risha while the smaller ones ran near the farm plot. Elincia had loosened the rules about playing outside as the days became warmer.
The little ones waved at me, and I did my best to hide my tears.
After a minute, Ginz said, “We need a development fund. I want to start experimenting with magical materials. Maybe that way, we could bring your crazy ideas to life.”
“I’ll make sure to put some money aside when I review our books,” I coughed.
Ginz continued working in silence, unfazed by the putrid fumes, until, half an hour later, he announced the sling was ready. I left my position near the window and approached the working bench. I was left without words.
“The rope is made with braided Shrewmouse Flax, and the pouch is made of Laughing Fox leather treated with Skeeth Oil. You can probably tie up a Wendigo with it,” Ginz said, proud of his work. “I branded a wolf on the pouch. It’s Wolf’s name and his tribe’s guardian animal. I thought it was fitting for the occasion.”
Ginz craftsmanship was astonishing.
“I guess it’s my turn now,” I said. Elincia wouldn’t be happy when she knew Ginz was aware of my enchanting powers.
I grabbed the sling and hoped for the best.
I inscribed the runes' outline on the pouch's outer side, aiming the Direction rune in the opposite direction of the spin so it would speed the sling up instead of slowing it down. Then, I opened my mana reserves and poured a wave of magic into the circuit. The runes drank the mana like desert sand, and for a moment, I thought I wouldn’t have enough to complete the enchantment. I tapped into the Fountain to slowly replenish my reserves as the circuit continued to ask for more.
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Minor). Temporary
I brushed the prompt off, knowing a minor mana depletion stack would be gone by morning. A moment later, without announcement or fanfare, the circuit closed.
“Did it work?” Ginz asked, his eyes shining with amazement.
“I don’t know,” I replied. The runes were there, but the actual effect might vary from what I had in mind. “Do you know how to use a sling?”
“Please,” he raised an eyebrow and snatched the sling from my hands.
Ginz examined our creation as if he were trying to detect any difference in the materials. Then, he pulled a small metal ball from one of the drawers and put it in the pouch. As much as I wanted to keep the present a secret until the last moment, I wasn’t entirely on board with testing it indoors.
“What now?” Ginz asked.
“Make it spin and channel a little mana,” I said.
The sling started spinning, slowly at first, then faster and faster. I moved out of the way and crouched behind the desk. I noticed a small problem. The enchantment would have benefited from an abort mechanism, but I lacked the knowledge or the mana to implement it. Once in movement, one had to shoot.
The sling slipped through Ginz’s fingers, and the metal bullet flew across the room. A vase of wine that rested on top of the shelf burst into thousands of pieces, and the bullet ended up embedded in the wood. We exchanged a knowing look just to burst into laughter.
The wind-powered sling was a success.
New recipe achieved! Updating Rune Encyclopedia. Robert’s Wind Sling added to the recipes tab.
That looked good, but it will have to wait.
“I guess I’m going. I haven’t even greeted Wolf today,” I said, grabbing the sling and walking to the door.
Ginz gave me a quizzical look.
“You will help me clean up the wine, right?” He asked. “Right? Rob?”
I smiled, hoping that would help teach Ginz to warn me before gassing me out with toxic fumes. I closed the door behind me and whistled through the eastern wing and into the backyard. The enchantment, although crude in some respects, had been a success.
“Happy Birthday, Wolf!” I yelled across the backyard.
The kids stopped the light sparring session and came to greet me.
“Shouldn’t we be celebrating Wolf’s birthday instead of sparring?” I asked. During Ilya and Firana’s birthdays, we spent most of the time inside, eating, dancing, and chatting. Even if it was the day before the tournament, I didn’t see why we couldn’t have a lovely, relaxed celebration.
Firana jumped forward because anyone could reply. Her face told me she was discontent with the day's activities. “Wolf said he wanted to spar like any other day, so here we are. This is by far the lamest birthday ever!”
“It is,” Ilya nodded.
The sudden attack made Wolf all flustered.
“What?! I enjoy our regular training schedule. There’s nothing better than training the body and the mind to become stronger,” he muttered.
It was the first time I had seen Wolf so flushed, but that wasn’t enough for the girls to stop their attack.
“And here I thought Zaon was the teacher’s pet,” Firana sighed.
“I thought it was Ilya,” Zaon jokingly said just to earn a murderous glance from the girls.
“Enough of that. Firana, you are in charge of sorting today's training material. The sparring is over. You need to be well rested for tomorrow.” I interrupted the conversation. “If you don’t mind us, I would like to chat with Wolf. Just the two of us.”
Firana grumbled but ultimately obeyed. Before she could convince Zaon to help her, Ilya grabbed the elf boy and dragged him to the farm plot where the small kids were playing. Even Risha turned a deaf ear and walked away, leaving his wooden shield on the big stump.
“Alright, I understand; I’m sorry,” Firana grumbled as she grabbed the equipment.
I looked at Wolf and signaled the grove with my head. We both walked in silence until we reached the tree line. There, Wolf leaned against a tree and let out a long sigh.
“Not used to the attention?” I asked with a sympathetic smile.
Wolf shook his head. “I haven’t told them I plan to leave the orphanage after the tournament. They are talking about giving the Imperial Academy a try. Firana, more than anyone, wants us to stay together.”
“I’m sure Firana will understand if you explain it to her,” I said. “She might be an airhead sometimes, but she wants the best for every one of us.”
“I hope so. I don’t want to make anyone sad, but I probably will,” Wolf replied, defeated.
I remember the time I left my home to go to college. It wasn’t that far, but the goodbye was hard, even with cell phones and video calls being a thing. In retrospect, it was probably even harder for my dad.
“Wolf, listen. If returning to the tribes is what you want, we will be thrilled to help you. It’s your life we are talking about, and only you can make the final decision,” I said. “Of course, Elincia and I will try to give you the best advice possible. You are strong and smart, and the orcs will be fortunate to have you among their ranks, but the Imperial Academy is also a good option. The rank of Knight opens up many avenues. In the end, it’s your call. We will always be here for you.”
“Thanks,” Wolf muttered. “It means a lot coming from you, Mister Clarke.”
This day looked more like a funeral than a birthday, and it wasn’t the slate gray sky over our heads. I hoped the enchanted sling was enough to light up Wolf’s day.
“I saw your relatives using these, so we thought it would be a good present,” I said, offering Wolf the enchanted sling. “Happy birthday.”
Wolf extended his arms and grabbed the sling. He carefully examined the craftsmanship, and the more he looked at it, the more his lips curved up.
“It’s beautiful, thanks,” Wolf said. “Can I try it?”
“Be my guest.”
Wolf grabbed a stone the size of a tennis ball, and for a moment, I thought the leather pouch would be too small. Ginz, however, had gotten ahead of the problem, and the projectile fit perfectly. With their size and strength, it was no surprise orcs preferred bigger bullets.
The sling spun over Wolf’s head.
“Give it a bit of mana,” I said, stepping to the side.
“I don’t have a lot of mana. I’m not Ilya,” Wolf replied.
“Just do it! We have been working on meditation for months now!” I said.
Wolf’s eyes suddenly shot wide open as the sling gained more velocity. He pushed the little mana a classless person could muster into the sling and aimed for a low branch. He let go, and the stone hit right in the middle, splitting the branch from the tree. Unlike Ginz, Wolf was a great shot.
I smiled, not because of the enchantment's success but because of Wolf's gleeful expression. The young half-orc laughed to his heart's content as he prepared a second shot. With his arm, he could knock down a deer.
Loki peeked out of my pocket, looking as angry as a sleepy rat could be.
“Damn beast!”
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I reexamined my notes.
The cape creates a small wind current.
The cape recognizes its user.
The cape recognizes movement.
The cape recognizes direction.
The cape recognizes the user’s intent to activate the effect.
Finding the Wind and User runes wasn’t particularly difficult. As soon as Astrid failed to activate the wind pebble in my hand, the entries were added to the Rune Encyclopedia, which piqued my interest. To learn a new rune, I had to engrave it successfully and know its particular function inside the circuit. The Encyclopedia would not index any rune I randomly added to the mix.
I sighed. The remaining three runes played hard to get.
I considered the best way to decode the remaining tunes. I could always ask Loki to assist me. The Rune Debugger would help me outline the enchantments, and Loki would help me test them without spending massive quantities of mana. Convincing Loki wouldn’t be easy. He preferred to doze off near the stove and play with the kids. Elincia and Ginz ignored if the long sleeping schedule was normal Changeling behavior.
I left the desk and sat on the bed with my legs crossed. I focused on my mana pool. The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the circular room with walls covered in runes. Most of the runes were still unknown, but I noticed the User rune repeated every few lines. I decided to ignore the implications and focus on the bottom of my mana pool, where the walls were still shattered by Corruption.
The fight against the group of assassins didn’t do any favors for the patch of black Corruption on my chest. Still, it was a small fraction of the initial wound. It would disappear eventually, as long as I were a good enough teacher to get more [Favorite Teacher] stacks.
I focused on the Fountain, grabbing small strands of golden mana and adding them to my mana pool. Suddenly, the walls of my mana pool came to life, and the Fountain mana slowly turned blue as I assimilated it into my reserves. The patch of Corruption blocking a bigger patch of the runes slowed the process.
I only recharged a fraction of my mana pool before someone opened the bedroom door.
“Mister Clarke, blonde Firana wants to talk with you!” Nokti said with a big smile on her snake-like face.
“Blonde Firana?” I asked, just to realize who the snake girl was referring to. “Oh. Corin. Thanks, Nokti. I’ll be there in a second.”
The snake girl waited for me in the doorway and offered me her hand. I gladly accepted it, and we walked down the corridor to the kitchen. Looking through the windows, I saw my class sparring under the gray sky. I had to stop to take a second look. Was Risha blocking their swords with his bare hands?
I sighed. So much for the safety measures I had been engraving in the kids’ heads.
“What do you think of Risha?” I asked Nokti now that we were alone. It hadn’t passed a week, but Risha and Astrid seemed to fit well into the manor’s life—at least with the orphans. Elincia didn’t seem entirely on board with having them around. Some wounds took time to heal completely.
The snake girl thought for a moment before answering.
“Risha is like Wolf but funnier, and his breakfast is good. I wonder if he likes potatoes,” Nokti happily replied.
“Yeah, I wonder,” I replied. The seven-year-old me would’ve pissed his pants at the sight of Risha, but the kids seemed accustomed to half-orcs. “It would be strange if he didn’t like potatoes, right?”
“Right,” Nokti nodded as we reached the kitchen. “I have to go back to play. Bye.”
I opened the door to find Elincia arguing with Astrid about the preserved fruits on Wolf’s birthday cake. I decided to ignore them. As much as they didn’t like each other, they had to find peace for themselves. In the corner of the table, Corin swiftly ate a bowl of gruel.
“You know you can chew, right?” I greeted her.
Corin jumped to her feet and swallowed without chewing.
“I have a message from Prince Adrien. It’s about the tournament,” she said. “I was told to inform you about a small change in the duel format. Prince Adrien decided to drop the point system and adopt the old imperial duel system to improve spectator attendance. That’s all.”
I blinked, confused.
“What is the old imperial duel system?” I asked, not sure if I would like the answer. Usually, there was an inverse correlation between the participants' safety and the audience's enjoyment.
Elincia stopped scolding Astrid and joined the conversation.
“The point system requires a referee, while the old imperial duel requires a Fortifier to set a certain amount of barriers around the participants,” she explained, biting her nails. “I’m afraid the change would disfavor the teams that can’t afford a Fortifier and haven’t trained under this ruleset.”
“Like us,” I pointed out. Only Ilya had fought with the Fortifier’s barrier around his body, which had happened once.
Elincia gave me a nervous look.
A smile crept onto my face. The secret technique I had taught Wolf and Zaon would be especially effective with the Fortifier barrier as a point system, but that wasn’t the main issue. I couldn’t help but smell foul play. As Elincia had pointed out, such a change in the rules would favor the richer families to the detriment of those who couldn’t afford a Fortifier.
“What’s the deal with that creepy smile?” Elincia asked.
“Don’t worry about it. The kids are ready,” I said. The changes in the rules weren’t drastic enough to worry about. “Corin, can you relay a message for me?”
The girl nodded.
“I need you to relay a message to Lady Lyra Jorn. She is currently staying at the Great Hall. Tell her we are worried about her delay, and she can turn to us if she needs anything,” I said.
I wasn’t really worried about Lyra’s well-being; she was the daughter of a duke and a guest of the Marquis at the end of the day. However, I couldn’t help but think that whoever held her back knew about the attack. It was one thing to attack an orphanage of commoners, and a completely different one was attacking the residence of a duke’s daughter.
I put a few bronze coins in Corin’s hand, a couple more than the usual rate, and excused myself, saying I needed to return to my workshop. Corin shoved a couple more spoonfuls of gruel into her mouth before speeding through the door into the backyard and around the manor.
Elincia grabbed my arm before I could leave.
“Do you think they changed the rules to reduce our possibilities of winning?” She asked.
Despite being a kid’s tournament, there was much at stake. Credibility, after all, was a heavy coin in politics.
“They are trying to improve their chances,” I replied.
Without us knowing, the tournament had already started.
The easiest to discover of the three was the Direction rune.
A Light-Direction-Gradual-Recharge circuit transformed a light stone into a flashlight. If I exchanged the Light rune for the Wind rune, I would have a hair dryer. I made a note to add a Fire rune to the mix to enchant a hair dryer that used warm air. Elincia would love to dry the kids’ hair in winter.
The last two runes were harder to decipher because they worked like logic gates. The Rune Encyclopedia tagged the first as Activation, which was nothing but an ‘if’ statement. The second rune was Movement, which was the condition for activation. It made perfect sense, considering how Firana’s cape worked. If there was movement, the effects activated.
I couldn’t yet comprehend how the Activation rune discriminated between regular movements, like walking or signaling, and the movements Firana made to activate the cape deliberately, let alone how it modified the Direction rune. I sighed, worried. If the System could read my memories, then it wouldn’t be surprising if it could determine people’s intent. As far as I understood, skills were activated by intent alone.
I stretched my back, and a wave of pleasure traveled through my body. A long day of work at the law firm never felt this good. My job at the orphanage was completely different. It had meaning.
Loki slept belly up on the desk, his whiskers and little feet moving as if he were having a bad dream. Much like the runeweaving process, Loki’s transformation also required a lot of energy. After several dozen failed attempts, Loki was exhausted, but we had a working prototype.
The cape’s circuit was Wind, User, Activation, Movement, Direction, Instantaneous, and Recharge. In other words, 'If the user activates the effect with a movement, create a wind current in the direction of the movement'. My prototype for the sling was Wind, User, Direction, Gradual, and Recharge. For starters, I didn’t think I could enchant more than five Runes simultaneously. Then came the problem of the ‘feel’ of the sling. As much as I wanted to power the shot, I also had to avoid making it uncontrollable.
“You did good work, buddy,” I said, scratching Loki’s belly.
He slapped my hand away with his little rat paw and grumbled something that sounded like his usual ‘damn beast’.
The excitement of the rune discovery slowly disappeared, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The Encyclopedia indexed the runes, yet the whole process still felt esoteric. In the worst case, I could delay Wolf’s gift and try the enchantment again tomorrow when I had more mana.
I grabbed my notes, put Loki inside my pocket, and exited the room.
Ginz was inclined over his workshop table, working on a piece of leather.
“The Ginz I used to know would have the order ready by now,” I taunted him from the doorway.
Ginz grunted.
“Knowing the idiot who commissioned this sling, I decided to make it as sturdy as possible,” he replied, applying a coat of dark liquid all over the leather. “It’s Skeeth oil. It will make the Laughing Fox leather even more resistant.”
“Sounds good, I guess,” I said.
As socially inept Ginz was, he knew craftsmanship backward and forwards.
“You should start respecting me, Robbo. My inventions have become so popular among nobles that I got an invitation to see the tournament from the VIP section,” Ginz added with a huge grin.
“Do you mean my inventions?” I laughed.
“Our inventions,” Ginz pointed out with a laugh.
I smiled back, and I sat by the sideline. Just like watching Elincia brewing potions, watching Ginz work was soothing.
“Corin brought the payments for the last shipment,” Ginz said, vaguely pointing toward the cabinet near the door with his brush. “Most of the nobles already commissioned their decks of cards, so we can move to phase two. Use crap materials and expand the market to commoners.”
On top of the cabinet was a leather pouch full of gold and silver. With that amount, Ginz could’ve been considered the breadwinner of the orphanage, but I avoided saying it not to overfeed his ego. I had to admit, Ginz had a good nose for business.
“I took some of it to pay my debt to the Odrac-Aias loan sharks,” Ginz added. “I thought cutting all ties with them would be best.”
“Good call,” I said.
Our alliance with the royalist faction had dissuaded Kellaren from attempting anything against the orphanage so far. Despite being the most obvious suspect, I was starting to doubt his participation in the last attack. If Kellaren were allied with the Osgirians, a direct attack on royalist allies would be too dangerous for the kingdom's cohesion. Whether I liked it or not, Osgirians needed the rest of the noble houses to fill their pockets with money. Without a seller and a buyer, there were no trade routes.
Ginz summoned a high-intensity white flame from the tip of his finger and passed it over the Skeeth oil-impregnated piece of leather. A pungent, acrid smell filled the room. My eyes teared up, and I had to cover my nose and mouth with my shirt.
“The fumes are toxic. I recommend you get to the window,” Ginz said, unfazed by the stench.
I opened the guillotine-style window and threw the entire top half of my body out of the workshop. Outside, the older kids were still training with Risha while the smaller ones ran near the farm plot. Elincia had loosened the rules about playing outside as the days became warmer.
The little ones waved at me, and I did my best to hide my tears.
After a minute, Ginz said, “We need a development fund. I want to start experimenting with magical materials. Maybe that way, we could bring your crazy ideas to life.”
“I’ll make sure to put some money aside when I review our books,” I coughed.
Ginz continued working in silence, unfazed by the putrid fumes, until, half an hour later, he announced the sling was ready. I left my position near the window and approached the working bench. I was left without words.
“The rope is made with braided Shrewmouse Flax, and the pouch is made of Laughing Fox leather treated with Skeeth Oil. You can probably tie up a Wendigo with it,” Ginz said, proud of his work. “I branded a wolf on the pouch. It’s Wolf’s name and his tribe’s guardian animal. I thought it was fitting for the occasion.”
Ginz craftsmanship was astonishing.
“I guess it’s my turn now,” I said. Elincia wouldn’t be happy when she knew Ginz was aware of my enchanting powers.
I grabbed the sling and hoped for the best.
I inscribed the runes' outline on the pouch's outer side, aiming the Direction rune in the opposite direction of the spin so it would speed the sling up instead of slowing it down. Then, I opened my mana reserves and poured a wave of magic into the circuit. The runes drank the mana like desert sand, and for a moment, I thought I wouldn’t have enough to complete the enchantment. I tapped into the Fountain to slowly replenish my reserves as the circuit continued to ask for more.
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Minor). Temporary
I brushed the prompt off, knowing a minor mana depletion stack would be gone by morning. A moment later, without announcement or fanfare, the circuit closed.
“Did it work?” Ginz asked, his eyes shining with amazement.
“I don’t know,” I replied. The runes were there, but the actual effect might vary from what I had in mind. “Do you know how to use a sling?”
“Please,” he raised an eyebrow and snatched the sling from my hands.
Ginz examined our creation as if he were trying to detect any difference in the materials. Then, he pulled a small metal ball from one of the drawers and put it in the pouch. As much as I wanted to keep the present a secret until the last moment, I wasn’t entirely on board with testing it indoors.
“What now?” Ginz asked.
“Make it spin and channel a little mana,” I said.
The sling started spinning, slowly at first, then faster and faster. I moved out of the way and crouched behind the desk. I noticed a small problem. The enchantment would have benefited from an abort mechanism, but I lacked the knowledge or the mana to implement it. Once in movement, one had to shoot.
The sling slipped through Ginz’s fingers, and the metal bullet flew across the room. A vase of wine that rested on top of the shelf burst into thousands of pieces, and the bullet ended up embedded in the wood. We exchanged a knowing look just to burst into laughter.
The wind-powered sling was a success.
New recipe achieved! Updating Rune Encyclopedia. Robert’s Wind Sling added to the recipes tab.
That looked good, but it will have to wait.
“I guess I’m going. I haven’t even greeted Wolf today,” I said, grabbing the sling and walking to the door.
Ginz gave me a quizzical look.
“You will help me clean up the wine, right?” He asked. “Right? Rob?”
I smiled, hoping that would help teach Ginz to warn me before gassing me out with toxic fumes. I closed the door behind me and whistled through the eastern wing and into the backyard. The enchantment, although crude in some respects, had been a success.
“Happy Birthday, Wolf!” I yelled across the backyard.
The kids stopped the light sparring session and came to greet me.
“Shouldn’t we be celebrating Wolf’s birthday instead of sparring?” I asked. During Ilya and Firana’s birthdays, we spent most of the time inside, eating, dancing, and chatting. Even if it was the day before the tournament, I didn’t see why we couldn’t have a lovely, relaxed celebration.
Firana jumped forward because anyone could reply. Her face told me she was discontent with the day's activities. “Wolf said he wanted to spar like any other day, so here we are. This is by far the lamest birthday ever!”
“It is,” Ilya nodded.
The sudden attack made Wolf all flustered.
“What?! I enjoy our regular training schedule. There’s nothing better than training the body and the mind to become stronger,” he muttered.
It was the first time I had seen Wolf so flushed, but that wasn’t enough for the girls to stop their attack.
“And here I thought Zaon was the teacher’s pet,” Firana sighed.
“I thought it was Ilya,” Zaon jokingly said just to earn a murderous glance from the girls.
“Enough of that. Firana, you are in charge of sorting today's training material. The sparring is over. You need to be well rested for tomorrow.” I interrupted the conversation. “If you don’t mind us, I would like to chat with Wolf. Just the two of us.”
Firana grumbled but ultimately obeyed. Before she could convince Zaon to help her, Ilya grabbed the elf boy and dragged him to the farm plot where the small kids were playing. Even Risha turned a deaf ear and walked away, leaving his wooden shield on the big stump.
“Alright, I understand; I’m sorry,” Firana grumbled as she grabbed the equipment.
I looked at Wolf and signaled the grove with my head. We both walked in silence until we reached the tree line. There, Wolf leaned against a tree and let out a long sigh.
“Not used to the attention?” I asked with a sympathetic smile.
Wolf shook his head. “I haven’t told them I plan to leave the orphanage after the tournament. They are talking about giving the Imperial Academy a try. Firana, more than anyone, wants us to stay together.”
“I’m sure Firana will understand if you explain it to her,” I said. “She might be an airhead sometimes, but she wants the best for every one of us.”
“I hope so. I don’t want to make anyone sad, but I probably will,” Wolf replied, defeated.
I remember the time I left my home to go to college. It wasn’t that far, but the goodbye was hard, even with cell phones and video calls being a thing. In retrospect, it was probably even harder for my dad.
“Wolf, listen. If returning to the tribes is what you want, we will be thrilled to help you. It’s your life we are talking about, and only you can make the final decision,” I said. “Of course, Elincia and I will try to give you the best advice possible. You are strong and smart, and the orcs will be fortunate to have you among their ranks, but the Imperial Academy is also a good option. The rank of Knight opens up many avenues. In the end, it’s your call. We will always be here for you.”
“Thanks,” Wolf muttered. “It means a lot coming from you, Mister Clarke.”
This day looked more like a funeral than a birthday, and it wasn’t the slate gray sky over our heads. I hoped the enchanted sling was enough to light up Wolf’s day.
“I saw your relatives using these, so we thought it would be a good present,” I said, offering Wolf the enchanted sling. “Happy birthday.”
Wolf extended his arms and grabbed the sling. He carefully examined the craftsmanship, and the more he looked at it, the more his lips curved up.
“It’s beautiful, thanks,” Wolf said. “Can I try it?”
“Be my guest.”
Wolf grabbed a stone the size of a tennis ball, and for a moment, I thought the leather pouch would be too small. Ginz, however, had gotten ahead of the problem, and the projectile fit perfectly. With their size and strength, it was no surprise orcs preferred bigger bullets.
The sling spun over Wolf’s head.
“Give it a bit of mana,” I said, stepping to the side.
“I don’t have a lot of mana. I’m not Ilya,” Wolf replied.
“Just do it! We have been working on meditation for months now!” I said.
Wolf’s eyes suddenly shot wide open as the sling gained more velocity. He pushed the little mana a classless person could muster into the sling and aimed for a low branch. He let go, and the stone hit right in the middle, splitting the branch from the tree. Unlike Ginz, Wolf was a great shot.
I smiled, not because of the enchantment's success but because of Wolf's gleeful expression. The young half-orc laughed to his heart's content as he prepared a second shot. With his arm, he could knock down a deer.
Loki peeked out of my pocket, looking as angry as a sleepy rat could be.
“Damn beast!”
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2024.05.07 21:52 Frostdraken The Void Warden: Episode 3 -Pulling at Threads- [Part 4]
Welcome to The Oblivion Cycle universe, a vast setting spanning all of time and space and so much more. While many stories may shed perspective on this grand cosmic vista, there are also tales of adventure and sacrifice, romance and terror, grimdark corruption and scientific progress. To become immersed in the setting is to let the chaos of creativity flow through you, to let go of what is probable to discover what’s possible. I have created TOC for one reason, to inspire and entertain any who will listen. So please feel free to join me on this great adventure as I push the boundaries of what is possible and expand the limits of our creativity together. For more information on the setting and its lore there is a subreddit for TOC at TheOblivionCycle and a Discord server dedicated to it here [https://discord.gg/uGsYHfdjYf] called ‘The Oblivion Cycle Community Server’. I hope you find the following story entertaining and once more, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.
+ E1:P1 + E3:P1 + Previous + Next +
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Continued From E3:P3
Balinski took a few steps down the hall towards the distant exit but stopped as he realised Daryon wasn’t following. He looked at her and the police woman seemed to shrink slightly. “What? What is it? We need to get moving, Daryon.”
He waited another second as she put her weapon away and compiled. She seemed strangely subdued now all of the sudden, as if she were embarrassed to be around him. They walked down the hall, thuds coming from behind them as the barred doors did their job. He reached out towards her but she flinched away slightly. “Okay, what is going on? What’s the issue?”
She walked a few more meters in silence and then spoke softly, “I jusst.. I didn't want you to have to ssee anything like that. Who I usssed to be.”
Balinski shook his head, he didn't care who she used to be in her past. He cared about who she was now. And who she was, was a friend. “Daryon, I don't give a znot’s ass about that asshole or what he said. You are my friend, and I promised that I would watch your back.” he had made the promise in order to calm her down, he didn't mention that he hadn't actually expected to have to cash in on it so soon.
She made a gesture of dejected misery, “I know you did. But you didn’t know who I used to be. What I did.. to ssurvive.” She looked at him and her tone became pleading. “Please don’t think less of me becausse I used to.. do things.”
Balinski shook his head. “Why would I think any less of you, Daryon?” She seemed to look at him in mild confusion, her faceplates cracking open to reveal the pink flesh of her lipless mouth. “I mean it. I have known you for a few months now, but we have been working together on this case for Siyel together for a few weeks now. I feel like we can trust each other with our secrets..” he trailed off, he was about to take a big step in trusting her.
He started hesitantly, now the large insectoid woman’s turn to hear something he didn’t like others to know. “Daryon..” he hesitated again and then took a deep breath. “I am not the hero that people make me out to be. I am simply the one that survived. And not even by being brave.” She looked at him, her head cocking slightly as he spoke. “I was placed on perimeter watch, I never even entered the complex before the destruction. Ima fraud, I never even fired a single shot at the rebels that day.” he stopped talking and slumped slightly himself.
It felt strangely liberating to get it off his chest, even if it was not the whole truth of what had happened in actuality. No, the whole truth was far too dangerous to share. “So now you know. I’m not the war hero who took out the enemies of the Union single handedly. I'm just the scared little boy that the commander of my unit did not trust enough to take into battle. And I have to live with that, the images still haunt me. My comrades shattered bodies, the blood.. The fire..”
He felt a wave of pain crashed through his mind, the memories once more causing the psychic anguish to overwhelm him. He raised his hands to his head and groaned quietly, he felt himself backslide towards that dark personal oblivion that was the pit of his past trauma. He stopped, or rather something stopped him.
He looked up as a voice brought him back to the present, “..can’t help you if I don’t know what’ss wrong, Balinski.”
He shook his head and stood. “I.. sorry. I have an.. a condition.” He finished lamely.
Daryon seemed to look him over without moving. Her bright blue compound eyes were able to see so much without her having to turn her head. She reached out and gave his shoulder a pat. “I get it. I think I do at leasst.”
He had a thousand things he could have said in response ranging from cruel to straight up flirtatious. But he never got to explore any of the options as just then a mighty crash echoed through the hall. This was soon followed up by the sound of distant screams and angry yelling.
He looked at Daryon briefly and then began running down the hall again. They skidded around the corner into the final stretch and up the slight incline towards the exit. Next to the door stood Dunmec and a slightly battered looking Terri, the yeown woman looked to be bleeding from several cuts across her forearms. They looked like they had been made by some manner of sharp objects.
Despite her oozing injuries the woman was beaming, her long pointed ears and wide predatory grin as gleeful as he had ever seen one of the big werewolf-like aliens. As they made their mad dash up towards the exit he also noticed that the tall umraghj was bandaging her wounds, the soft buzz of their synthetic voice echoing through the enclosed space.
“..andeged like this tightly or you may get infected. I don’t know why you had to go and do something like that Terri.” Balinski was able to pick up on the tail end of their muted conversation. “What’s that? Hey, it’s you two! You won’t believe what happened..”
Balinski skidded to a halt, breathing hard. Daryon was only centimeters behind. He saw Terri bristle, her mantle hair standing on end as she stood and whirled to face them. In her haste she scattered the small first aid kit that Dunmec had been using.
As she looked back and forth between them a gleam of recognition flashed in her eyes and she glanced at the umraghj who was busy trying to pick up the scattered debris of her suspicion. “This is the ones?” She seemed at once curious and skeptical.
He gave her a nod and a synthetic grunt as he stood with some difficulty despite the exosuit he wore. The gravity of the planet was nearly a perfect standard G, but the umraghj had evolved on a planet with much lower gravity and thusly had trouble standing unaided under standard gravity.
Balinski nodded to her as he reached them and then gestured towards the door. “We need to get out of here, like right now.”
“Too late, look out!” Daryon yelled as she dodged into the small alcove to the side of the chamber. Balinski twitched as he meant to follow, but in that second of hesitation he realised that Dunmec was entirely out in the open, and the approaching henchmen had drawn their guns.
The fool had gone for the exit, in a second he would likely be riddled with bullets and dead. Balinski stepped towards the man just as the thugs opened fire at him with an AP-6 submachine gun. He threw up an arm to shield his face as he felt a series of impacts against his chest and legs. He grunted in pain as he was thrown backwards by the force of the absorbed impacts. He swore internally as he slammed into the door right next to the cowering Dunmec, that was going to hurt like a bitch in the morning.
Dunmec lowed in fear, the electronic tone of the sound magnified by the distortion of his suit. Balinski coughed as he reached up and grabbed the man right as another flurry of shots flew their way. The umraghj jerked in either fear or pain as Balinski used his body to shield the man while simultaneously dragging him towards cover. He tried to send a mental alert to Caesar for backup but didn’t feel the transmission go. He couldn't be sure that the message had been sent, much less been received.
It looked like they were on their own. A bullet nicked his neck, causing him to jerk. With a last herculean effort he hauled the tall alien into the cover of the alcove while the other three tried to shelter in place. “Daryon, waste these fucks.” he shouted to her, unholstering his ThunderEagle and tossing it to her.
She grabbed it out of the air deftly and gave a grim looking nod, her antennae pressed down her back as she leaned out from cover and fired a shot off. He didn’t see if she hit anything as he was preoccupied with the whimpering Dunmec.
Terri was hovering nearby, her bloody wounds forgotten as the unfinished bandages hung from her arms. “Oh no! Oh-oh no.” the woman muttered as Balinski looked the suited man over. He had a small puncture in the shoulder of his suit, a thick green liquid seeped from the wound. The man’s chlorine based blood stained the fabric of the suit as Balinski checked him for patches.
He pointed to Terri, the woman still looking a little freaked out. “Hey, you.” Her chatoyant blue eyes snapped to his face. “First aid kit, now. I can help him if you help me!” He told her loudly as Daryon fired another two shots.
“Two down!” The vinarfel shouted. “I never sshould have let myssself get dragged in here.” He heard her mutter, as if anything he said or did would have stopped her from entering the building. She opened the revolver’s chamber and asked, “You got reloads?”
Balinski nodded and handed her a handful of bullets, AP, HE and others. He hadn’t looked, he had just grabbed some from his pockets as he lay on the ground wheezing slightly through the pain in his chest. Tarri had grabbed the first aid kit that Dunmec had been rummaging around in and he flung open the lid to see what he was working with. His own medkit he wore on his waist would come in handy if he couldn't find what he needed.
He looked through it as more gunfire erupted from down the hall, it sounded as if the gunmen in the hall had been reinforced. Balinski ignored it, instead focusing on the injured alien. Dunmec was breathing heavy, his eyes just visible through the HUD visor he wore. Balinski placed a hand on the man’s injured shoulder causing him to moan in pain.
“Hey, stay with me kid. This might hurt a bit, but I need to seal the wound. It looks like the bullet is still inside, I am going to have to get it out.” He watched as the man nodded, his breathing taking in a more fearful pitch.
Terri hovered by his side, dancing from foot to foot as she mumbled in some manner of near incoherent babble. He gave her a look, pausing in his work. “Terri, I need space. Most importantly I need you to watch my partner’s back. Here, take this.” He undid his ammo belt, handing it to her he gave her a small smile, “I got this. Don’t worry. I'm a professional.”
The yeown rushed off to help Daryon, now alone with the injured man he reached for the kit and located a small vitatector. He switched the portable MRI detector on and scanned over the wound. The small device beeped and showed an interior scan of the man’s injury. The bullet had been slowed by his suit, it looked like and embedded itself in the bone just next to his shoulder joint. It would be a difficult fix, but he had done this before on the battlefield on several occasions when a designated medic wasn’t available.
Balinski grabbed a small pair of packaged forceps from his own medical pouch. They had been stored in antiseptic fluid that he used to sterilise the wound as he ripped the package open. Dunmec once more cried out in pain as the liquid seeped into the open wound but Balinski sat him up against the wall and held him still with his free hand.
He looked at the man and asked him, “This is going to hurt. I don’t have any anesthetic that will work on you, I recommend that you hold onto my arm and squeeze as hard as you feel the need to.”
The umraghj nodded, their long double jointed arms reached out and his suited hands gripped his free arm. Balinski breathed deep and then pushed the tool into the wound to where the vitatector had told him to. It took a few seconds to find the bullet, in that time the man’s hands tightened down hard enough on his arm to make the allow creak concerningly. He felt the tool slip of the bullet and he swore.
“Luck damned thing! Come one!” He fished for it again and succeeded in getting a grip on it the second time. He had to work it back and forth a few times to loosen the projectile from its death grip. As soon as the projectile was free he dropped the forceps to grab some sterile gauze, he needed to stop the bleeding and didn't have a QTube handy. He needed to requisition more from the precinct when he got the chance.
He checked the man’s waist pouches quickly and found a patch kit. He squirted some basic medical foam into the wound, it would swell and keep pressure on the wound internally. It didn’t have the healing properties of a QTube, but it would keep the man from bleeding out. Balinski used a sterile bandage to clean the suit as best he could before applying the patch to it. Oxygen wasn’t harmful to the man, but it might not be good if the pressurised chlorinated atmosphere from inside the suit got out.
He reached for the first aid kit and closed it before patting the man on his shoulder. He was still lucid, impressive as most non-combat oriented species of the Union would quickly succumb to shocksleep when injured. Dunmec must be tougher than his lanky frame looked at a glance.
Daryon shouted as he stood. “Alright, they just got rushed by club staff it looks like. They are laying down their arms!” She scuttled back into the cover of the alcove as shouting replaced the sound of gunfire in the distance. She handed him his .50 calibre revolver and he replaced it into his shoulder holster as Terri rushed to Dunmec’s side.
She spoke quickly, “Oh.. oh Dunmec.. I’m so sorry. Are you alright? You got shot!” She added, a bit obviously.
The downed alien just coughed lightly and shook his helmeted head while reaching up towards the muscular alien woman. “I feel bad. But not as bad as I did before I met you.” He said the lines in an almost practised way, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity to use them for a while.
Balinski snorted slightly under his breath at the cheesy line causing Daryon to punch him in the shoulder. He gave her a glance as Terri lifted the nearly three meter tall man to his feet. He leaned heavily on her much shorter frame, but she didn't seem to mind. Her powerful muscles easily compensated for the additional strain as she replied to him, “Well, that was before. Now you don’t have to feel bad or scared. I will protect you now. I won't let anyone else hurt you, I promise.” Dunmec just chuckled and then groaned in discomfort.
Balinski stood straight as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, his hand flashed inside of his trench coat. His fingers finding the handgrip of his gun as a quartet of heavily armed people rounded the corner with MR-12s raised.
Daryon automatically raised her hands and after a moment he did as well, relinquishing his grip on the gun reluctantly. A tattooed nerivith female stepped forwards, her face taken up on one side by a flowing vine-like pattern that disappeared into the collar of her suit. She wore a bullet resistant vest over the top of it, very much business-combat attire.
She nodded her horned head to them and shouted loudly, “You two, get on the ground! No funny business or you will find out just how much I care about problem brewers in my establishment.” She stopped as Terri rushed forwards.
The yeown woman’s arms were still wrapped up in the bandages from earlier and spots of bright red blood dripped slowly from at least one of the deep cuts. “Stop! These two saved us, literally. The human took some bullets to save Dunmec, he got shot by those packbreakers.” She spat the last word with considerable venom. Her disdain for the submachine gun wielding men was obvious.
The nerivith woman looked from Terri to Dunmec a few times before stepping closer to Balinski with a suspicious look. “Hands all the way up, move and I’ll give you another orifice to breathe through.” She stepped close and opened his coat, her hand feeling his ballistic vest that had stopped the first burst of automatic fire. She nodded and then stepped back before lowering her gun.
“Don't touch that hand cannon in your shoulder holster, but I think I trust you. Who are you two and what the smeg are you doing antagonising these jerkoffs?” The pink skinned alien demanded as she looked between him and Daryon.
Balinski gave Daryon a glance and she nodded before raising one of her middle arms. “I can ansswer that for you.” She pulled out a physical badge from her back pocket and handed it to the woman.
The club workers' tufted tail flicked as she took it and Balinski watched as her raven colored eyebrows rose. “CPD? What the hel are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Daryon spoke again, the nerivith woman frowning as she laid out the tale in as accurate a fashion as she could without compromising their true agenda. “Well, we were following a lead to a persson of interessst when we were accossted by these men for ssome unfathomable reason. We tried to run and when that didn’t work we defended ourselves to the full legal extent of the law. You may notice that I didn't shoot to kill, at least not on purposse.” She added with a slightly guilty hiss.
Terri let out a small noise as she said it. The woman likely still in some manner of mild shock, despite her species violent natures, death was not always so easy to grasp. The gun-wielding woman turned to the few other club workers that had come with her and commanded, “Tell the boss what happened, call the police. I want this wrapped up as soon as possible. I’m not taking the fall for this one.” She turned back to Balinski and punched him in the chest, not hard enough to be aggressive but still with considerable force. “I think I like you, big man. You got some horns on you, I guess I don't have to ask you to wait for the police to arrive to give a statement do I?”
Balinski chuckled and glanced towards Terri and Dunmec. “No, you don't have to worry. I will be submitting a full report of the events..” He wasn't able to finish as a loud thud echoed from the main door followed by a series of loud percussive noises. Everyone immediately went on high alert but Balinski raised a hand. “No, it's okay, that’s my backup. Fashionably late as usual. Here, let me get the door so she knows it alright.” He looked towards Terri who nodded.
The nerivith woman’s gun was still raised but she nodded too. “Be my guest.” She gestured for him to go ahead. He walked to the door and unlatched it before swinging it open slightly. Before he could say anything, Caesar burst through it as she pushed it out of his grip. He grunted in mild discomfort as she slammed into his legs and landed in a stunned heap.
Chuckling as the embarrassed looking dog stood to her feet, he watched as she shook her triangular head. “You big oaf. Everything is fine now girl, thanks for coming though.” he reached down and gave her head a scrub that made her grumble in annoyance like a put upon teenager.
Daryon scuttled over on her short, pointed legs and Caesar perked up a little. “Oh you brave warrior, you would have ssaved usss for ssure if Balinsski had just taken you with uss.” She gave him a look, her faceplates cracked in her version of a grin. He could only shake his head as the nerivith woman walked up to him once more.
“Alright, I need to get this mess cleaned up. I beg your pardon if I ask you not to come back here on official business again?” He nodded.
He pointed to the door. “It wasn’t my plan to cause such a disruption when I came in here.”
She shook her raven haired head. “It’s all over now. No sense worrying about what did and didn't happen. It just so happens that we have had trouble with these individuals before. So as far as I see it you did us a favour because we now have cause to bar them from ever coming back.” She nodded again as she said it, her smile flashing at him. As she did he noticed that she had several gold teeth.
She turned and stalked away, her tail lashing behind her. Balinski rubbed his chest and then glanced down at Caesar. “Yeah, you did good in coming. If we hadn’t been able to make it out your backup would have been the thing we needed.” She just gave him a little bark and then headbutted his thigh affectionately.
Daryon was talking to Terri and the still slouching Dunmec. Balinski got the feeling he didn’t need the support as much as he was simply enjoying being physically close to the brawny furred alien.
Balinski decided to walk over to them to hear what they were whispering about. He picked up on the conversation as he neared. Terri was speaking, “Yes. She likely will keep trying to force her ideas on me, but I already beat her once and she won't ever be able to forget that. It is an exploitable weakness if we should ever lock claws again. Thank you for your concern.”
The woman looked over at him as he approached, her eyes settling on Caesar. “Oh, what’s that?” She exclaimed.
Caesar tossed her little head and gave him a look as if to say, ‘What? Another one?’ He chuckled and gave her a pat on the head. “This is my erstwhile companion and oldest living friend, Caesar. She is a cybernetically enhanced dog, a Jureillion husky to be precise. She’s got cognitive implants, you can talk to her if you want.” He prompted.
The yeown woman gave him a look that seemed as if she was unsure of herself. Finally she reached out and spoke softly, “Wow, look at you. You kind of look a little like my grandmother, it's uncanny.” Caesar snorted at the comment and then walked over for free head scritches, grumbling contentedly as she received them. “Ok she is so.. I mean, you are so soft. I love her.”
Caesar seemed to be enjoying the attention. Dunmec spoke now, the suited alien’s robotic sounding voice wheezing out from his helmet’s speakers. “I just wanted to thank you again for saving my life, man. Here, take this.” the man handed him something, it was a datachip card. An old style one too. “If you ever want to get a hold of me..” he glanced at Terri and she nodded, “..or Terri. Just call me with the number on that card.”
Balinski had to nod as he heard the faint sound of sirens coming from the still open door. “I will do that. You two take care of each other.”
Terry gave a wide grin, her teeth clinting in the light. “Oh, we will.” Daryon gave her a pat on the back as she followed Balinski out the door. Caesar hot on her tail.
He took a few steps out into the night and then patted his pockets. He grunted in mild delight as he found what he was looking for. It was a small shiny package of pibbles, the small candies one of his favorites. He poured a few out into his open mouth and jerked as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced over, it was Daryon.
“Pibble?” he asked her with his mouth full. She seemed to smile slightly and offered a hand into which he poured a few of the colorful candies.
He chewed vigorously on the fruity sugar orbs as he contemplated the massive shitstorm they had just managed to walk out of. Daryon must have been thinking the same thing as she gave a loud sigh, “Wow.. that was. Well, it wassn't good.”
He just nodded silently. They stayed that way for another few seconds before he turned to her. “What did we actually get out of that old skorp? Anything that we can use to track down the one’s behind the attack?”
Daryon walked a few paces away and then returned quickly, the side-to-side scuttling motion of her pacing threw him off a little. “I really don’t know. The trail hasss gone cold, without another major lead I am fearful that we will losse them. That ssimply isn't acceptable to me.” He nodded, she was right.
He would have liked to respond but it was about that time that a series of screeching vehicles covered in flashing lights skidded into view at the end of the alley. He sighed and fished around in his trench coat for his credentials. “Here we go..” He muttered to which Daryon gave an amused hiss.
A series of officers rushed down the alley with guns drawn, shouts directed their way. It took only a few minutes of back and forth with them to convince them that they were in fact officers, or in Balinski’s case, employed by the CPD.
When it was over he gave a statement and almost a whole hour after they had walked down the alley he found himself leaving it. A bit the worse for wear but secure in the knowledge that they had at least put down a dangerous criminal for their trouble.
Daryon scuttled along beside him, “Gee, I ssure hope the club doesn't get into any ssort of trouble for thisss.”
The comment caught him off guard and he chuckled. “Yeah, they seemed like downright decent folk for running a burlesque underground club.” She gave him a pointed look, her antennae shooting up as she looked like she was about to rebuke him. He raised his arms in mock surrender before she could though, “Oh hey, not saying I didn’t like the place. Just that they likely were not excited to see the boys in blue.”
It was a fair point and she conceded. “Yeah, I ssuppose. But I think we sstill got out of there with a halfway decent lead.”
Now it was his turn to look shocked as they crossed the street, weaving between emergency vehicles to get to the opposite side of the gloomy street. The flashing of emergency lights was behind her and it made her eyes glitter like gemstones, he frowned. “What do you mean? That crusty old skorp didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already suspect.”
She raised an arm and pointed to the wall. He looked and noticed the graffiti for the first time. The one in particular she was gesturing to was a gang affiliated symbol for the Sunstarters. “I can ssay with sssome measure of certainty that we might be able to look around for ssome additional cluesss.”
The Sunstarters were known distributors for the Psychosis Division. It stood to reason that if the Pit Vipers had gotten involved with the Psychs then they were likely also involved with the Sunstarters. Balinski clapped his hands together and smiled, they might just have a lead indeed. What had the old skorp said? To follow the source?
They walked into the large parking garage and to his big blue truck, as they climbed back inside he leaned his head back. “That was a bit of a fuckfest. Are you hungry, I’m hungry.” Indeed almost as he said it he felt a small grumble from his middle.
Daryon made an affirmative gesture, her antennae moving excitedly. “Oh yess, where do you want to go for lunch? Ullnek’ss Hut maybe? McDoinkss?”
He folded his arms. He wasn’t really in the mood for greasy burgers or razah’voolian seafood. No, he would have to think about it. “Why don’t we just drive around till we find something interesting? We need to keep an eye out for any good leads too.”
He started the truck as the large insectoid woman gave Caesar a head pat while nodding. “Okay. But if you see a TFDs then we are sstopping immediately, isss that fair?”
Balinski shrugged. He liked fried drebble as much as anything else. Caesar however seemed very excited by the idea of crispy breaded arthropod as she woofed happily. He shook his head and looked back out the window. He would have to keep his eyes peeled for one of the yellow and black spotted stores.
**********
Balinski smacked his lips happily as he took another great bite out of the steaming fried drebbleloaf sandwich. The snallke was fresh and the pickles were crispy, just the way he liked them. Glancing over at the other two revealed similar scenes of personal enjoyment. Caesar was snacking on some popcorn drebble and Daryon was cleaning out a six-piece bucket of BBQ drebble graspers. Her long radula snaked from her lipless mouth between her opened faceplates as he watched, mildly intrigued to watch the alien woman eat.
He took another bite of his sandwich as Daryon sucked the meat off another fried and breaded grasper. Lacking a jaw she was unable to chew but her radula and powerful cheek muscles made up for her lack as she deftly disassembled the meat with the skill of a surgeon.
She waved the de-meated shell and gave a small hissing sigh as another of her ten arms reached out for the Smarkus grape soda sitting in the dash drink-holder. “Ahhh… Yeah, that'ss the sstuff. How’sss your ssandwich?” She looked at him without moving her head, her compound eyes making her constantly aware of her surroundings in a manner that some might describe as unsettling.
He got the feeling she was watching him eat too, his mastication of the sandwich as inherently alien to him as her own strange method of ingestion was to him. As he took another bite her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. He saw her head cock a little as she asked, “Sso, can you feel with your teeth? I know that you can’t tasste with them. I read that much on the hyperweb at leassst.”
He finished chewing and swallowed before giving her a wide smile. She froze, her fascination with his teeth obvious. “Yeah, kind of. I was lucky that I didn't lose them. It's not uncommon for people who go through.. what I did, to have their teeth shatter. And when they go they don’t come back.”
She nodded slightly as she took a loud slurp of her soda. “Yeah, I read that humanss only get a sssingle sset of adult teeth in their life. No wonder they are so hard, you have to keep using them for a hundred yearss.”
He looked out the window, they were driving slowly around the entertainment district looking for anything that might point them in the right direction. He wasn’t really too sure what he was looking for to be honest, but Daryon insisted that she knew what to look for. He nodded towards a distant structure, it rose so high it went out of sight. “What’s that there?”
Daryon made a loud noise as she cleared her throat. “That’ss one of the upper-city sspires. It connectss the people up there to the ones down here, think of it as a vertical metro..” She trailed off before pointing to something in the near distance. Her BBQ bucket forgotten. “Hey.. hey right there.. Sstop. Pull over.” She tapped him on the shoulder with one of her lower arms rapidly and he obliged.
He looked forwards and saw nothing out of the ordinary, a few people walking along the edge of the street. There was a tall human woman leaning against one of the street signs at the corner, she was dressed in some tight fitting dress and high heels but other than that looked as normal as the rest of them.
Daryon put her yellow and black spotted grasper bucket on the dash and cleaned her hands at the same time she undid her seatbelt and straightened her clothing. She stopped fussing after a moment and then pulled a soft cloth out of one of the inner pockets of her overcoat and used it to polish her eyes. She replaced it and then held out her arms, “Well, how do I look?”
Balinski took the opportunity to give her a completely unabashed once over. He shrugged, “You look like you. What can I say?”
She seemed to smirk. “Alright, good enough. You know you have a way with words Balinski, any girl would just swoon to hear such things.” He frowned but didn't get to reply as she continued, “I’ll be right back. Sstay there and try not to look too harmlesss. This will only take a ssecond.
She slithered out of the truck and he kept his eyes firmly forwards this time as she closed it and sauntered off, well as much as the fifty-two legged alien was able too. He noticed that she had once more adopted that somewhat provocative side to side sway in her stride as she walked away from him. He just shook his head, she was doing it again.
Continued In E3:P5
==End of transmission==
submitted by Frostdraken to HFY [link] [comments]
+ E1:P1 + E3:P1 + Previous + Next +
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Continued From E3:P3
Balinski took a few steps down the hall towards the distant exit but stopped as he realised Daryon wasn’t following. He looked at her and the police woman seemed to shrink slightly. “What? What is it? We need to get moving, Daryon.”
He waited another second as she put her weapon away and compiled. She seemed strangely subdued now all of the sudden, as if she were embarrassed to be around him. They walked down the hall, thuds coming from behind them as the barred doors did their job. He reached out towards her but she flinched away slightly. “Okay, what is going on? What’s the issue?”
She walked a few more meters in silence and then spoke softly, “I jusst.. I didn't want you to have to ssee anything like that. Who I usssed to be.”
Balinski shook his head, he didn't care who she used to be in her past. He cared about who she was now. And who she was, was a friend. “Daryon, I don't give a znot’s ass about that asshole or what he said. You are my friend, and I promised that I would watch your back.” he had made the promise in order to calm her down, he didn't mention that he hadn't actually expected to have to cash in on it so soon.
She made a gesture of dejected misery, “I know you did. But you didn’t know who I used to be. What I did.. to ssurvive.” She looked at him and her tone became pleading. “Please don’t think less of me becausse I used to.. do things.”
Balinski shook his head. “Why would I think any less of you, Daryon?” She seemed to look at him in mild confusion, her faceplates cracking open to reveal the pink flesh of her lipless mouth. “I mean it. I have known you for a few months now, but we have been working together on this case for Siyel together for a few weeks now. I feel like we can trust each other with our secrets..” he trailed off, he was about to take a big step in trusting her.
He started hesitantly, now the large insectoid woman’s turn to hear something he didn’t like others to know. “Daryon..” he hesitated again and then took a deep breath. “I am not the hero that people make me out to be. I am simply the one that survived. And not even by being brave.” She looked at him, her head cocking slightly as he spoke. “I was placed on perimeter watch, I never even entered the complex before the destruction. Ima fraud, I never even fired a single shot at the rebels that day.” he stopped talking and slumped slightly himself.
It felt strangely liberating to get it off his chest, even if it was not the whole truth of what had happened in actuality. No, the whole truth was far too dangerous to share. “So now you know. I’m not the war hero who took out the enemies of the Union single handedly. I'm just the scared little boy that the commander of my unit did not trust enough to take into battle. And I have to live with that, the images still haunt me. My comrades shattered bodies, the blood.. The fire..”
He felt a wave of pain crashed through his mind, the memories once more causing the psychic anguish to overwhelm him. He raised his hands to his head and groaned quietly, he felt himself backslide towards that dark personal oblivion that was the pit of his past trauma. He stopped, or rather something stopped him.
He looked up as a voice brought him back to the present, “..can’t help you if I don’t know what’ss wrong, Balinski.”
He shook his head and stood. “I.. sorry. I have an.. a condition.” He finished lamely.
Daryon seemed to look him over without moving. Her bright blue compound eyes were able to see so much without her having to turn her head. She reached out and gave his shoulder a pat. “I get it. I think I do at leasst.”
He had a thousand things he could have said in response ranging from cruel to straight up flirtatious. But he never got to explore any of the options as just then a mighty crash echoed through the hall. This was soon followed up by the sound of distant screams and angry yelling.
He looked at Daryon briefly and then began running down the hall again. They skidded around the corner into the final stretch and up the slight incline towards the exit. Next to the door stood Dunmec and a slightly battered looking Terri, the yeown woman looked to be bleeding from several cuts across her forearms. They looked like they had been made by some manner of sharp objects.
Despite her oozing injuries the woman was beaming, her long pointed ears and wide predatory grin as gleeful as he had ever seen one of the big werewolf-like aliens. As they made their mad dash up towards the exit he also noticed that the tall umraghj was bandaging her wounds, the soft buzz of their synthetic voice echoing through the enclosed space.
“..andeged like this tightly or you may get infected. I don’t know why you had to go and do something like that Terri.” Balinski was able to pick up on the tail end of their muted conversation. “What’s that? Hey, it’s you two! You won’t believe what happened..”
Balinski skidded to a halt, breathing hard. Daryon was only centimeters behind. He saw Terri bristle, her mantle hair standing on end as she stood and whirled to face them. In her haste she scattered the small first aid kit that Dunmec had been using.
As she looked back and forth between them a gleam of recognition flashed in her eyes and she glanced at the umraghj who was busy trying to pick up the scattered debris of her suspicion. “This is the ones?” She seemed at once curious and skeptical.
He gave her a nod and a synthetic grunt as he stood with some difficulty despite the exosuit he wore. The gravity of the planet was nearly a perfect standard G, but the umraghj had evolved on a planet with much lower gravity and thusly had trouble standing unaided under standard gravity.
Balinski nodded to her as he reached them and then gestured towards the door. “We need to get out of here, like right now.”
“Too late, look out!” Daryon yelled as she dodged into the small alcove to the side of the chamber. Balinski twitched as he meant to follow, but in that second of hesitation he realised that Dunmec was entirely out in the open, and the approaching henchmen had drawn their guns.
The fool had gone for the exit, in a second he would likely be riddled with bullets and dead. Balinski stepped towards the man just as the thugs opened fire at him with an AP-6 submachine gun. He threw up an arm to shield his face as he felt a series of impacts against his chest and legs. He grunted in pain as he was thrown backwards by the force of the absorbed impacts. He swore internally as he slammed into the door right next to the cowering Dunmec, that was going to hurt like a bitch in the morning.
Dunmec lowed in fear, the electronic tone of the sound magnified by the distortion of his suit. Balinski coughed as he reached up and grabbed the man right as another flurry of shots flew their way. The umraghj jerked in either fear or pain as Balinski used his body to shield the man while simultaneously dragging him towards cover. He tried to send a mental alert to Caesar for backup but didn’t feel the transmission go. He couldn't be sure that the message had been sent, much less been received.
It looked like they were on their own. A bullet nicked his neck, causing him to jerk. With a last herculean effort he hauled the tall alien into the cover of the alcove while the other three tried to shelter in place. “Daryon, waste these fucks.” he shouted to her, unholstering his ThunderEagle and tossing it to her.
She grabbed it out of the air deftly and gave a grim looking nod, her antennae pressed down her back as she leaned out from cover and fired a shot off. He didn’t see if she hit anything as he was preoccupied with the whimpering Dunmec.
Terri was hovering nearby, her bloody wounds forgotten as the unfinished bandages hung from her arms. “Oh no! Oh-oh no.” the woman muttered as Balinski looked the suited man over. He had a small puncture in the shoulder of his suit, a thick green liquid seeped from the wound. The man’s chlorine based blood stained the fabric of the suit as Balinski checked him for patches.
He pointed to Terri, the woman still looking a little freaked out. “Hey, you.” Her chatoyant blue eyes snapped to his face. “First aid kit, now. I can help him if you help me!” He told her loudly as Daryon fired another two shots.
“Two down!” The vinarfel shouted. “I never sshould have let myssself get dragged in here.” He heard her mutter, as if anything he said or did would have stopped her from entering the building. She opened the revolver’s chamber and asked, “You got reloads?”
Balinski nodded and handed her a handful of bullets, AP, HE and others. He hadn’t looked, he had just grabbed some from his pockets as he lay on the ground wheezing slightly through the pain in his chest. Tarri had grabbed the first aid kit that Dunmec had been rummaging around in and he flung open the lid to see what he was working with. His own medkit he wore on his waist would come in handy if he couldn't find what he needed.
He looked through it as more gunfire erupted from down the hall, it sounded as if the gunmen in the hall had been reinforced. Balinski ignored it, instead focusing on the injured alien. Dunmec was breathing heavy, his eyes just visible through the HUD visor he wore. Balinski placed a hand on the man’s injured shoulder causing him to moan in pain.
“Hey, stay with me kid. This might hurt a bit, but I need to seal the wound. It looks like the bullet is still inside, I am going to have to get it out.” He watched as the man nodded, his breathing taking in a more fearful pitch.
Terri hovered by his side, dancing from foot to foot as she mumbled in some manner of near incoherent babble. He gave her a look, pausing in his work. “Terri, I need space. Most importantly I need you to watch my partner’s back. Here, take this.” He undid his ammo belt, handing it to her he gave her a small smile, “I got this. Don’t worry. I'm a professional.”
The yeown rushed off to help Daryon, now alone with the injured man he reached for the kit and located a small vitatector. He switched the portable MRI detector on and scanned over the wound. The small device beeped and showed an interior scan of the man’s injury. The bullet had been slowed by his suit, it looked like and embedded itself in the bone just next to his shoulder joint. It would be a difficult fix, but he had done this before on the battlefield on several occasions when a designated medic wasn’t available.
Balinski grabbed a small pair of packaged forceps from his own medical pouch. They had been stored in antiseptic fluid that he used to sterilise the wound as he ripped the package open. Dunmec once more cried out in pain as the liquid seeped into the open wound but Balinski sat him up against the wall and held him still with his free hand.
He looked at the man and asked him, “This is going to hurt. I don’t have any anesthetic that will work on you, I recommend that you hold onto my arm and squeeze as hard as you feel the need to.”
The umraghj nodded, their long double jointed arms reached out and his suited hands gripped his free arm. Balinski breathed deep and then pushed the tool into the wound to where the vitatector had told him to. It took a few seconds to find the bullet, in that time the man’s hands tightened down hard enough on his arm to make the allow creak concerningly. He felt the tool slip of the bullet and he swore.
“Luck damned thing! Come one!” He fished for it again and succeeded in getting a grip on it the second time. He had to work it back and forth a few times to loosen the projectile from its death grip. As soon as the projectile was free he dropped the forceps to grab some sterile gauze, he needed to stop the bleeding and didn't have a QTube handy. He needed to requisition more from the precinct when he got the chance.
He checked the man’s waist pouches quickly and found a patch kit. He squirted some basic medical foam into the wound, it would swell and keep pressure on the wound internally. It didn’t have the healing properties of a QTube, but it would keep the man from bleeding out. Balinski used a sterile bandage to clean the suit as best he could before applying the patch to it. Oxygen wasn’t harmful to the man, but it might not be good if the pressurised chlorinated atmosphere from inside the suit got out.
He reached for the first aid kit and closed it before patting the man on his shoulder. He was still lucid, impressive as most non-combat oriented species of the Union would quickly succumb to shocksleep when injured. Dunmec must be tougher than his lanky frame looked at a glance.
Daryon shouted as he stood. “Alright, they just got rushed by club staff it looks like. They are laying down their arms!” She scuttled back into the cover of the alcove as shouting replaced the sound of gunfire in the distance. She handed him his .50 calibre revolver and he replaced it into his shoulder holster as Terri rushed to Dunmec’s side.
She spoke quickly, “Oh.. oh Dunmec.. I’m so sorry. Are you alright? You got shot!” She added, a bit obviously.
The downed alien just coughed lightly and shook his helmeted head while reaching up towards the muscular alien woman. “I feel bad. But not as bad as I did before I met you.” He said the lines in an almost practised way, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity to use them for a while.
Balinski snorted slightly under his breath at the cheesy line causing Daryon to punch him in the shoulder. He gave her a glance as Terri lifted the nearly three meter tall man to his feet. He leaned heavily on her much shorter frame, but she didn't seem to mind. Her powerful muscles easily compensated for the additional strain as she replied to him, “Well, that was before. Now you don’t have to feel bad or scared. I will protect you now. I won't let anyone else hurt you, I promise.” Dunmec just chuckled and then groaned in discomfort.
Balinski stood straight as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, his hand flashed inside of his trench coat. His fingers finding the handgrip of his gun as a quartet of heavily armed people rounded the corner with MR-12s raised.
Daryon automatically raised her hands and after a moment he did as well, relinquishing his grip on the gun reluctantly. A tattooed nerivith female stepped forwards, her face taken up on one side by a flowing vine-like pattern that disappeared into the collar of her suit. She wore a bullet resistant vest over the top of it, very much business-combat attire.
She nodded her horned head to them and shouted loudly, “You two, get on the ground! No funny business or you will find out just how much I care about problem brewers in my establishment.” She stopped as Terri rushed forwards.
The yeown woman’s arms were still wrapped up in the bandages from earlier and spots of bright red blood dripped slowly from at least one of the deep cuts. “Stop! These two saved us, literally. The human took some bullets to save Dunmec, he got shot by those packbreakers.” She spat the last word with considerable venom. Her disdain for the submachine gun wielding men was obvious.
The nerivith woman looked from Terri to Dunmec a few times before stepping closer to Balinski with a suspicious look. “Hands all the way up, move and I’ll give you another orifice to breathe through.” She stepped close and opened his coat, her hand feeling his ballistic vest that had stopped the first burst of automatic fire. She nodded and then stepped back before lowering her gun.
“Don't touch that hand cannon in your shoulder holster, but I think I trust you. Who are you two and what the smeg are you doing antagonising these jerkoffs?” The pink skinned alien demanded as she looked between him and Daryon.
Balinski gave Daryon a glance and she nodded before raising one of her middle arms. “I can ansswer that for you.” She pulled out a physical badge from her back pocket and handed it to the woman.
The club workers' tufted tail flicked as she took it and Balinski watched as her raven colored eyebrows rose. “CPD? What the hel are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Daryon spoke again, the nerivith woman frowning as she laid out the tale in as accurate a fashion as she could without compromising their true agenda. “Well, we were following a lead to a persson of interessst when we were accossted by these men for ssome unfathomable reason. We tried to run and when that didn’t work we defended ourselves to the full legal extent of the law. You may notice that I didn't shoot to kill, at least not on purposse.” She added with a slightly guilty hiss.
Terri let out a small noise as she said it. The woman likely still in some manner of mild shock, despite her species violent natures, death was not always so easy to grasp. The gun-wielding woman turned to the few other club workers that had come with her and commanded, “Tell the boss what happened, call the police. I want this wrapped up as soon as possible. I’m not taking the fall for this one.” She turned back to Balinski and punched him in the chest, not hard enough to be aggressive but still with considerable force. “I think I like you, big man. You got some horns on you, I guess I don't have to ask you to wait for the police to arrive to give a statement do I?”
Balinski chuckled and glanced towards Terri and Dunmec. “No, you don't have to worry. I will be submitting a full report of the events..” He wasn't able to finish as a loud thud echoed from the main door followed by a series of loud percussive noises. Everyone immediately went on high alert but Balinski raised a hand. “No, it's okay, that’s my backup. Fashionably late as usual. Here, let me get the door so she knows it alright.” He looked towards Terri who nodded.
The nerivith woman’s gun was still raised but she nodded too. “Be my guest.” She gestured for him to go ahead. He walked to the door and unlatched it before swinging it open slightly. Before he could say anything, Caesar burst through it as she pushed it out of his grip. He grunted in mild discomfort as she slammed into his legs and landed in a stunned heap.
Chuckling as the embarrassed looking dog stood to her feet, he watched as she shook her triangular head. “You big oaf. Everything is fine now girl, thanks for coming though.” he reached down and gave her head a scrub that made her grumble in annoyance like a put upon teenager.
Daryon scuttled over on her short, pointed legs and Caesar perked up a little. “Oh you brave warrior, you would have ssaved usss for ssure if Balinsski had just taken you with uss.” She gave him a look, her faceplates cracked in her version of a grin. He could only shake his head as the nerivith woman walked up to him once more.
“Alright, I need to get this mess cleaned up. I beg your pardon if I ask you not to come back here on official business again?” He nodded.
He pointed to the door. “It wasn’t my plan to cause such a disruption when I came in here.”
She shook her raven haired head. “It’s all over now. No sense worrying about what did and didn't happen. It just so happens that we have had trouble with these individuals before. So as far as I see it you did us a favour because we now have cause to bar them from ever coming back.” She nodded again as she said it, her smile flashing at him. As she did he noticed that she had several gold teeth.
She turned and stalked away, her tail lashing behind her. Balinski rubbed his chest and then glanced down at Caesar. “Yeah, you did good in coming. If we hadn’t been able to make it out your backup would have been the thing we needed.” She just gave him a little bark and then headbutted his thigh affectionately.
Daryon was talking to Terri and the still slouching Dunmec. Balinski got the feeling he didn’t need the support as much as he was simply enjoying being physically close to the brawny furred alien.
Balinski decided to walk over to them to hear what they were whispering about. He picked up on the conversation as he neared. Terri was speaking, “Yes. She likely will keep trying to force her ideas on me, but I already beat her once and she won't ever be able to forget that. It is an exploitable weakness if we should ever lock claws again. Thank you for your concern.”
The woman looked over at him as he approached, her eyes settling on Caesar. “Oh, what’s that?” She exclaimed.
Caesar tossed her little head and gave him a look as if to say, ‘What? Another one?’ He chuckled and gave her a pat on the head. “This is my erstwhile companion and oldest living friend, Caesar. She is a cybernetically enhanced dog, a Jureillion husky to be precise. She’s got cognitive implants, you can talk to her if you want.” He prompted.
The yeown woman gave him a look that seemed as if she was unsure of herself. Finally she reached out and spoke softly, “Wow, look at you. You kind of look a little like my grandmother, it's uncanny.” Caesar snorted at the comment and then walked over for free head scritches, grumbling contentedly as she received them. “Ok she is so.. I mean, you are so soft. I love her.”
Caesar seemed to be enjoying the attention. Dunmec spoke now, the suited alien’s robotic sounding voice wheezing out from his helmet’s speakers. “I just wanted to thank you again for saving my life, man. Here, take this.” the man handed him something, it was a datachip card. An old style one too. “If you ever want to get a hold of me..” he glanced at Terri and she nodded, “..or Terri. Just call me with the number on that card.”
Balinski had to nod as he heard the faint sound of sirens coming from the still open door. “I will do that. You two take care of each other.”
Terry gave a wide grin, her teeth clinting in the light. “Oh, we will.” Daryon gave her a pat on the back as she followed Balinski out the door. Caesar hot on her tail.
He took a few steps out into the night and then patted his pockets. He grunted in mild delight as he found what he was looking for. It was a small shiny package of pibbles, the small candies one of his favorites. He poured a few out into his open mouth and jerked as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He glanced over, it was Daryon.
“Pibble?” he asked her with his mouth full. She seemed to smile slightly and offered a hand into which he poured a few of the colorful candies.
He chewed vigorously on the fruity sugar orbs as he contemplated the massive shitstorm they had just managed to walk out of. Daryon must have been thinking the same thing as she gave a loud sigh, “Wow.. that was. Well, it wassn't good.”
He just nodded silently. They stayed that way for another few seconds before he turned to her. “What did we actually get out of that old skorp? Anything that we can use to track down the one’s behind the attack?”
Daryon walked a few paces away and then returned quickly, the side-to-side scuttling motion of her pacing threw him off a little. “I really don’t know. The trail hasss gone cold, without another major lead I am fearful that we will losse them. That ssimply isn't acceptable to me.” He nodded, she was right.
He would have liked to respond but it was about that time that a series of screeching vehicles covered in flashing lights skidded into view at the end of the alley. He sighed and fished around in his trench coat for his credentials. “Here we go..” He muttered to which Daryon gave an amused hiss.
A series of officers rushed down the alley with guns drawn, shouts directed their way. It took only a few minutes of back and forth with them to convince them that they were in fact officers, or in Balinski’s case, employed by the CPD.
When it was over he gave a statement and almost a whole hour after they had walked down the alley he found himself leaving it. A bit the worse for wear but secure in the knowledge that they had at least put down a dangerous criminal for their trouble.
Daryon scuttled along beside him, “Gee, I ssure hope the club doesn't get into any ssort of trouble for thisss.”
The comment caught him off guard and he chuckled. “Yeah, they seemed like downright decent folk for running a burlesque underground club.” She gave him a pointed look, her antennae shooting up as she looked like she was about to rebuke him. He raised his arms in mock surrender before she could though, “Oh hey, not saying I didn’t like the place. Just that they likely were not excited to see the boys in blue.”
It was a fair point and she conceded. “Yeah, I ssuppose. But I think we sstill got out of there with a halfway decent lead.”
Now it was his turn to look shocked as they crossed the street, weaving between emergency vehicles to get to the opposite side of the gloomy street. The flashing of emergency lights was behind her and it made her eyes glitter like gemstones, he frowned. “What do you mean? That crusty old skorp didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already suspect.”
She raised an arm and pointed to the wall. He looked and noticed the graffiti for the first time. The one in particular she was gesturing to was a gang affiliated symbol for the Sunstarters. “I can ssay with sssome measure of certainty that we might be able to look around for ssome additional cluesss.”
The Sunstarters were known distributors for the Psychosis Division. It stood to reason that if the Pit Vipers had gotten involved with the Psychs then they were likely also involved with the Sunstarters. Balinski clapped his hands together and smiled, they might just have a lead indeed. What had the old skorp said? To follow the source?
They walked into the large parking garage and to his big blue truck, as they climbed back inside he leaned his head back. “That was a bit of a fuckfest. Are you hungry, I’m hungry.” Indeed almost as he said it he felt a small grumble from his middle.
Daryon made an affirmative gesture, her antennae moving excitedly. “Oh yess, where do you want to go for lunch? Ullnek’ss Hut maybe? McDoinkss?”
He folded his arms. He wasn’t really in the mood for greasy burgers or razah’voolian seafood. No, he would have to think about it. “Why don’t we just drive around till we find something interesting? We need to keep an eye out for any good leads too.”
He started the truck as the large insectoid woman gave Caesar a head pat while nodding. “Okay. But if you see a TFDs then we are sstopping immediately, isss that fair?”
Balinski shrugged. He liked fried drebble as much as anything else. Caesar however seemed very excited by the idea of crispy breaded arthropod as she woofed happily. He shook his head and looked back out the window. He would have to keep his eyes peeled for one of the yellow and black spotted stores.
**********
Balinski smacked his lips happily as he took another great bite out of the steaming fried drebbleloaf sandwich. The snallke was fresh and the pickles were crispy, just the way he liked them. Glancing over at the other two revealed similar scenes of personal enjoyment. Caesar was snacking on some popcorn drebble and Daryon was cleaning out a six-piece bucket of BBQ drebble graspers. Her long radula snaked from her lipless mouth between her opened faceplates as he watched, mildly intrigued to watch the alien woman eat.
He took another bite of his sandwich as Daryon sucked the meat off another fried and breaded grasper. Lacking a jaw she was unable to chew but her radula and powerful cheek muscles made up for her lack as she deftly disassembled the meat with the skill of a surgeon.
She waved the de-meated shell and gave a small hissing sigh as another of her ten arms reached out for the Smarkus grape soda sitting in the dash drink-holder. “Ahhh… Yeah, that'ss the sstuff. How’sss your ssandwich?” She looked at him without moving her head, her compound eyes making her constantly aware of her surroundings in a manner that some might describe as unsettling.
He got the feeling she was watching him eat too, his mastication of the sandwich as inherently alien to him as her own strange method of ingestion was to him. As he took another bite her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. He saw her head cock a little as she asked, “Sso, can you feel with your teeth? I know that you can’t tasste with them. I read that much on the hyperweb at leassst.”
He finished chewing and swallowed before giving her a wide smile. She froze, her fascination with his teeth obvious. “Yeah, kind of. I was lucky that I didn't lose them. It's not uncommon for people who go through.. what I did, to have their teeth shatter. And when they go they don’t come back.”
She nodded slightly as she took a loud slurp of her soda. “Yeah, I read that humanss only get a sssingle sset of adult teeth in their life. No wonder they are so hard, you have to keep using them for a hundred yearss.”
He looked out the window, they were driving slowly around the entertainment district looking for anything that might point them in the right direction. He wasn’t really too sure what he was looking for to be honest, but Daryon insisted that she knew what to look for. He nodded towards a distant structure, it rose so high it went out of sight. “What’s that there?”
Daryon made a loud noise as she cleared her throat. “That’ss one of the upper-city sspires. It connectss the people up there to the ones down here, think of it as a vertical metro..” She trailed off before pointing to something in the near distance. Her BBQ bucket forgotten. “Hey.. hey right there.. Sstop. Pull over.” She tapped him on the shoulder with one of her lower arms rapidly and he obliged.
He looked forwards and saw nothing out of the ordinary, a few people walking along the edge of the street. There was a tall human woman leaning against one of the street signs at the corner, she was dressed in some tight fitting dress and high heels but other than that looked as normal as the rest of them.
Daryon put her yellow and black spotted grasper bucket on the dash and cleaned her hands at the same time she undid her seatbelt and straightened her clothing. She stopped fussing after a moment and then pulled a soft cloth out of one of the inner pockets of her overcoat and used it to polish her eyes. She replaced it and then held out her arms, “Well, how do I look?”
Balinski took the opportunity to give her a completely unabashed once over. He shrugged, “You look like you. What can I say?”
She seemed to smirk. “Alright, good enough. You know you have a way with words Balinski, any girl would just swoon to hear such things.” He frowned but didn't get to reply as she continued, “I’ll be right back. Sstay there and try not to look too harmlesss. This will only take a ssecond.
She slithered out of the truck and he kept his eyes firmly forwards this time as she closed it and sauntered off, well as much as the fifty-two legged alien was able too. He noticed that she had once more adopted that somewhat provocative side to side sway in her stride as she walked away from him. He just shook his head, she was doing it again.
Continued In E3:P5
==End of transmission==
2024.05.07 03:05 carter Colorado Marathon: BQ on Antibiotics
Race Information
- Name: Colorado Marathon
- Date: May 5, 2024
- Distance: 26.2 miles
- Location: Fort Collins, CO
- Website: https://comarathon.com/
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11339817128/overview
- Time: 2:53:21 ### Goals Goal Description Completed? ------------------------------- A 2:55 Yes B Sub 3 Yes C Have Fun Yes ### Splits Mile Time ------------ 1 6:23 2 6:19 3 6:21 4 6:26 5 6:27 6 6:29 7 6:33 8 6:27 9 6:31 10 6:29 11 6:33 12 6:35 13 6:24 14 6:32 15 6:36 16 6:43 17 6:41 18 6:36 19 6:52 20 6:37 21 6:40 22 6:45 23 6:43 24 6:46 25 6:46 26 7:06 ### Training Last fall I had a fun run NYC Marathon (3:17) just 4 weeks after finishing my first 100 mile race. I rolled right out of this into maintaining a 50-60mpw base and started working with a personal trainer to learn how to lift twice a week. I paired lifting (in the PM) with speed work (in the AM). Did a block of VO2 workouts (alternating between flat and hill rep 3min active/3min recovery). Did a block of tempo workouts and then finished with a block of steady state. I did lots of 20mi+ long runs (coming off my ultra base and using this as an early season intro towards more ultras it was easy). I was wrapping up a 85mpw week when I decided to go play on the trails and tripped over a rock smashing my knee. It seemed fine until I noticed the pain worsening. I eased up on the rest of the run and had my wife meet me at a trailhead. Next day was rough and I effectively took 3 weeks off for this to heal. I tried to maintain my aerobic fitness with swimming and I was fortunately able to continue my strength training. I figured I'd get injured from overtraining but nope! Just not paying attention. Ripped right into a 70 mile week and then got sick. Ran just a little here and there. Tuesday before the race I tried a little tempo shake out and went right to urgent care for a sinus infection. 36 hours later I felt 400% better. Got one good VO2max workout to remind my legs how to move fast and headed down to Fort Collins for the race. ### Pre-race Woke up at 4:30am to make way back home to Laramie from Sheridan, WY. Got 6hr with my kids before I kept heading south to Fort Collins. Got my packet, a bagel and banana for the morning and had a super chill evening at the Elizabeth hotel a block from the bus pickup. Set the alarm for 4am. Made some coffee which rapidly did its business. On the bus at 4am after a short wait. Enjoyed the ride up the canyon with some friendly conversation. Once we got to the start the portapotty lines started getting crazy but there were urinals with no lines. Took care of my business, dropped by bag off, and started doing a warmup. ### Race Found my way near the front of the pack between the 3:15 pacer and the front. Gun went off and made my way down the canyon towards Fort Collins. The downhill was easy. Race plan was to maintain 355W on my Stryd. I came up with this using Stryd's race calculator. Not based on what it predicted but what I knew I'd need 100cal gel every 20min. My goal was to either qualify for Boston or blow up and survive the race. I knew given my state of imperfect training and my lingering cold, blowing up was possible. I paired this race plan with trying to prolong the inevitable implosion as far into the race as possible. Fortunately the downhill miles went easy. I did start to notice stress on the ball of my right foot. In hindsight I think the Altra Vanish Carbon 2s are a bit smaller than that I'm used to and my right foot is larger than my left which was causing the to scrunch and put extra stress on the ball of my foot. I did do both a 20mi long run and a 15mi steady state run in them prior to the race. Other than that the shoes were great despite being much more cushioned than my usual Altra Escalante Racers. After coming out of the canyon the miles got harder and harder to maintain my power goals but the wheels stayed on the bus. As expected once I got on the Poudre River Trail, the steady downhill started to feel like a steady uphill but I kept to my plan only loosening up on pace slightly. I tried my best to cheer on the back of the pack half marathon runners I was catching up with but I too started struggling more and more. Eventually I made my way off the trail onto the streets of downtown Fort Collins zig zagging my way to the finish at Washington Park. I was surprised to come in at 2:52 on a race I would have given myself a 25% chance of going sub-3 on. ### Post-race I walked it off to my drop bag and sat down to enjoy a banana and some water. Then I coughed up $30 for a 15min massage and realized I got 3rd in my Age Group. Grabbed some breakfast at Snooze while I waited for the awards. The day after (today) has been rough. Feeling a mild stress reaction in my right foot and general soreness. Took today off but I think I'll be back to it in a day or two (Big Horn 52 is only 6 weeks away). All in all, this race couldn't have gone better especially giving a rough final training block. I learned that base is far and away the most important thing to have going into any race. I'll take a solid base over a big peak any day. The race was spectacularly organized with as many portapotties at the start as there could be, happy volunteers, ample aid stations, a well marked course, and a fun after party. The net downhill race lent itself to being my ideal place to BQ.
2024.05.06 15:51 ronlynne Strays, Episode 3 - The List
To hear me read this story click here
-Sixteen Months Ago, 2099-
“Step forward Commander.” Admiral Price reached out to now Captain Gardner, pinning his rank pin to his collar. He saluted and she returned his salute. Normally these things were far less ceremonial, and almost never broadcast on the web, but Captain Gardner was now the face of the STRAYS Project, so ceremony was warranted. They shook hands, smiled for a photo op, then walked out of the camera view. Admiral Price unbuttoned her top shirt button, loosened her tie and took off her hat. “I hate wearing the dress unis. So old school military.”
Captain Gardner smiled, leaving his formal look in place. “Amanda, you are definitely not old school military.” She patted his shoulder as they entered the command center. Across the room in a simulator Commander Klein was directing a newly assembled crew through a simulation. A red light began flashing and an alarm sounded. A flurry of activity as the simulator shook and swayed, then, the light and alarm went off, and the simulator stabilized. Gardner and Price took notice. The pilot was a new addition to the team, Lieutenant Isabella Jeffries. She took a deep steadying breath and looked up, seeing Gardner and Price for the first time, before grinning.
“That was fun!”
Klein looked serious for a moment then smiled. “Not dying in space is fun.” He stepped out of the simulator and greeted Gardner, saluting the Admiral, who waved him off.
“Not necessary in here James.”
Klein turned to Gardner, saluting. “How about you Captain? You finally outrank me.” Gardner returned his salute. Klein laughed, “I feel like you’ve already been ordering me around for months anyway.” He turned to Admiral Price. “As have you, although marrying my uncle does give you a little authority, even without the stars.”
Admiral Price swatted at him. “Careful Commander. You might get busted down to pilot again!”
Gardner pointed to Jeffries, “She seems good, which scenario was that?”
Klein replied, “Rogue asteroid.”
Price looked at Jeffries then back to the Captain, “Maybe you have your pilot?” Gardner nodded as the crew received briefings from the scientists monitoring the simulation.
A cadet entered the room and approached Gardner, saluting. “Captain, I have a message for you. I normally would have filed it away, especially today--” His eyes looked to the Captain’s new rank insignias, ‘--But he said it was regarding your family? Something from the past?”
Gardner took the note and stuffed it in his pocket as the cadet left. He turned back to Klein, “Smart, good pilot, dodged the asteroid, is she the one Commander?” Klein nodded, Gardner continued. “Good, that was taking too long. We launch in a few months, I want a command crew in place.” Gardner turned to the Admiral, “Amanda, I’m going home. Too much ceremony makes me hungry.” He pulled out the note as he left the room.
Gardner shifted in his desk chair. He picked at the remaining food on his plate, trying to decide if he wanted to call the person on the note sitting in front of him. Finally he sat up straight, pushed his empty plate to the side, and fired up his communication center. He entered the email address and hit send. On the computer screen in front of him he looked at the small image of himself as the ‘waiting’ animation looped. Finally the call connected and a young man appeared onscreen.
The young man spoke. “Captain Gardner, thank you for responding.”
Gardner was polite but quick. “Yes, of course, what can I do for you Mister…” Gardner looked at the note, “Mr. Allen?”
“Jeremy Allen. Yes sir. I saw you on TV and it clicked.” Gardner waited impatiently, his association with the STRAYS program made him a celebrity. It was the most hopeful some people had been in years. Jeremy continued, “My Grandfather left Earth before I was born. Four years ago my mother died of cancer.”
Gardner frowned, sadly, a pretty common family tree these days. "I’m sorry Mr. Allen.”
Jeremy smiled, and held up a sheet of paper with handwriting. “My Grandfather was a list maker. Apparently he was borderline obsessed with lists and documenting everything.” He smiled a moment, “My mother passed this on to me. Grandpa made this list of people who were leaving Earth, but hadn’t been able to contact any family. He got it to my mother before he left.” Gardner sat up. Maybe Jeremy had something. Jeremy read from the list. “Was your mother’s name Sophie?” Gardner nodded. “And your mother’s parents were Larry and Kit?”
“Katherine… yes, Kit” Gardner was fully involved now. He waited.
Jeremy continued. “From Minnesota?” Gardner nodded as Jeremy read, “Larry and Kit Jennings, daughter Sophie Gardner, grandson Alex Gardner. They were scheduled to leave on a ship in March of 2065.” Jeremy made a note on his paper. He looked up again at Gardner. “Captain, this has been my life for the past four years. I’m sorry that is all the information I have. I have 26 more to go. I plan to find them all.”
Gardner was in minor shock at the information. He sputtered as he tried to form a thought. “Mr. Allen, can you send me a copy of your list?” Jeremy nodded, Gardner continued. “If it’s all right, I’d like to pass this on to my colleague, Admiral Price. She will contact you and find a way to help. This information may be useful in our program.”
Jeremy sat up, as a weight lifted from his shoulders. In this society people could determine what they spent their time on, although most found a way to work at something they enjoyed. Jeremy had been going through a meticulously collected handwritten list, over 30 years old. It was a nearly impossible task for one man, especially with the lack of historical records, but for the Space Program it could be done easily. Jeremy smiled a tired smile, “Captain, that would be amazing.” His eyes ringed with tears, “I would be so happy to finish this list. It's my family’s small legacy.”
Gardner examined the list as it printed out in from of him. Around 60 lines, with names and years. Many checked, but the remaining 26 Jeremy mentioned still waiting. “Jeremy, this is amazing. You have no idea what this is worth. Don’t be surprised if people are moved by your story.” Jeremy sat up straighter and wiped his eyes. Gardner talked as he read, “I will keep all these people in mind while we’re out there, maybe we’ll find them all and reunite some families.”
-Present Day, 2100-
Captain Gardner smiled as he approached the Captain of the Starlight. It was the seventh ship they had found, small, only 24 passengers, and barely enough fuel and supplies to succeed. “Captain, do you have a passenger manifest?”
The Starlight Captain pointed at a wall near the cockpit where a clipboard hung. “On the clipboard, such as it was. It’s just names and pod numbers.”
Gardner smiled and thanked him as he walked over. He pulled down the clipboard and scrolled through, he stopped, smiled, and replaced the clipboard. Turning back to the storage area he scanned for Chen, spotting her near a bank of pods. “Lieutenant!” He walked over to her. “Everything good?” She nodded. He continued, “I’m looking for pods 17 and 19?”
Chen looked at him curiously. “We haven’t gotten to them yet. These are homemade sleeper units, and it’s a bit tricky reviving them. 17 and 19, probably in about 90 minutes.”
Gardner smiled. “Great, call me when you get to them!” With that he nearly skipped away. Chen watched him stop for a quick word with Klein, who seemed just as excited.
Chen spoke before Klein could ask for a progress report. “Commander, what’s all that about?”
Klein answered excitedly. “He found some people on his list.”
“His list?”
Klein hesitated, “Oh, he didn’t tell you? Well, I guess I can. Right before we launched a guy named Jeremy Allen sent the Captain a list. It had the names of people who had left Earth without being able to contact their families, to let them know they’d made it onto a ship. As they investigated, the list grew to over a hundred names between the first list and another that turned up right after.”
Chen recalled something, “That’s why he checks the manifest of every ship we find.”
Klein nodded, “Yep, he’s checking to see if he can cross any names off. This is the first.”
Chen furrowed her brow, “But I watched him look at the last one, he didn’t have a list with him, he just looked it over and shook his head.”
Klein smiled, “He memorized the names, the people who had shipped off planet, their families, any other details. They’re in his head.”
Chen whispered, “Amazing.” Klein turned but Chen stopped him. “Commander, we’ll need radiation scrubbers and treatment for the passengers. This ship is heavily irradiated. Our inoculations should protect us, but I’ll need everyone to get tested when we leave.”
Klein answered, “Are we taking any supplies?
Chen shook her head. “Personal items only, and limited at that.”
“Which pods?”
“Sir?”
“Which pods did the Captain ask about?”
“Oh, right, 17 and 19. Probably in a bit over an hour”
Klein walked over to pods 17 and 19 to see who the Captain’s first names were off the list.
As people come out of hibernation a few things always happen. First is a brain fog, confusion, then the coughing starts. Once that shakes off they blink, realizing their vision is blurred. A few moments later and they’re ready to stand, although it’s not easy at first, much like a baby giraffe, off balance, unable to control your knees. Fortunately if the pods weren’t equipped with an automatic shot, the medical team can provide the adrenalin. It’s not just adrenalin, there are a variety of medications and they work very well, but it still takes around 10-15 minutes before a person really knows what is happening.
As Steve Brennan came around his first look was for his wife Melissa, who was just a few moments behind him in recovery. He made his way to her carefully and they embraced. Both for love and balance. Captain Gardner approached them. “Hello, I am Captain Alex Gardner. You’ve just come out of hibernation. The year is 2100 and we are from Earth. You will certainly have many questions, but please be patient, we want to make sure you’re in good shape, then we can explain what is happening.”
A doctor came up to them, and gave them a quick look over. Gardner spoke, “You are Steve and Melissa Brennan?” They both nodded, Steve still coughing a little. “Do you recall meeting a man who was keeping a list of people who wanted to contact their families before they left?”
Melissa looked thoughtful. She turned to her husband, “We did, what was his name, Alan or something?”
Steve cleared his throat, “Dan Allen.” He paused, “Captain, we certainly haven’t made it to Proxima 2. Not this quickly.”
Gardner nodded, “That is correct, and I promise we’ll explain soon. Right now we’re getting everyone up and awake. We are trying to move quickly because this ship is heavily irradiated. But don’t worry, we have the medications now to clean that up.”
Steve and Melissa nodded OK, as people moved around them, quickly, but not rushing. Captain Gardner spoke again. “I am sorry to say I was only able to find one person on your list, your nephew Carl. But, he and his wife Deanna are looking forward to seeing you. If you’ll come with me, I can take you to the medical bay, and answer a few questions. There’s a lot to tell.”
Back in his quarters, Captain Gardner opened a communication window to send a message to Earth. He spoke into the transcriber. “From Captain Alex Gardner, UEF Shepherd. “To Carl and Deanna Brennan. “Dear Carl, I am happy to say I have located your Aunt and Uncle. They will be sending a message shortly, once they have been checked out by our medical team. If you’d like to send a message please go ahead. Admiral Price will be in contact as well to confirm.” Gardner checked the message and sent it. He sat back, looking up at the list, hanging on his wall.
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“Step forward Commander.” Admiral Price reached out to now Captain Gardner, pinning his rank pin to his collar. He saluted and she returned his salute. Normally these things were far less ceremonial, and almost never broadcast on the web, but Captain Gardner was now the face of the STRAYS Project, so ceremony was warranted. They shook hands, smiled for a photo op, then walked out of the camera view. Admiral Price unbuttoned her top shirt button, loosened her tie and took off her hat. “I hate wearing the dress unis. So old school military.”
Captain Gardner smiled, leaving his formal look in place. “Amanda, you are definitely not old school military.” She patted his shoulder as they entered the command center. Across the room in a simulator Commander Klein was directing a newly assembled crew through a simulation. A red light began flashing and an alarm sounded. A flurry of activity as the simulator shook and swayed, then, the light and alarm went off, and the simulator stabilized. Gardner and Price took notice. The pilot was a new addition to the team, Lieutenant Isabella Jeffries. She took a deep steadying breath and looked up, seeing Gardner and Price for the first time, before grinning.
“That was fun!”
Klein looked serious for a moment then smiled. “Not dying in space is fun.” He stepped out of the simulator and greeted Gardner, saluting the Admiral, who waved him off.
“Not necessary in here James.”
Klein turned to Gardner, saluting. “How about you Captain? You finally outrank me.” Gardner returned his salute. Klein laughed, “I feel like you’ve already been ordering me around for months anyway.” He turned to Admiral Price. “As have you, although marrying my uncle does give you a little authority, even without the stars.”
Admiral Price swatted at him. “Careful Commander. You might get busted down to pilot again!”
Gardner pointed to Jeffries, “She seems good, which scenario was that?”
Klein replied, “Rogue asteroid.”
Price looked at Jeffries then back to the Captain, “Maybe you have your pilot?” Gardner nodded as the crew received briefings from the scientists monitoring the simulation.
A cadet entered the room and approached Gardner, saluting. “Captain, I have a message for you. I normally would have filed it away, especially today--” His eyes looked to the Captain’s new rank insignias, ‘--But he said it was regarding your family? Something from the past?”
Gardner took the note and stuffed it in his pocket as the cadet left. He turned back to Klein, “Smart, good pilot, dodged the asteroid, is she the one Commander?” Klein nodded, Gardner continued. “Good, that was taking too long. We launch in a few months, I want a command crew in place.” Gardner turned to the Admiral, “Amanda, I’m going home. Too much ceremony makes me hungry.” He pulled out the note as he left the room.
Gardner shifted in his desk chair. He picked at the remaining food on his plate, trying to decide if he wanted to call the person on the note sitting in front of him. Finally he sat up straight, pushed his empty plate to the side, and fired up his communication center. He entered the email address and hit send. On the computer screen in front of him he looked at the small image of himself as the ‘waiting’ animation looped. Finally the call connected and a young man appeared onscreen.
The young man spoke. “Captain Gardner, thank you for responding.”
Gardner was polite but quick. “Yes, of course, what can I do for you Mister…” Gardner looked at the note, “Mr. Allen?”
“Jeremy Allen. Yes sir. I saw you on TV and it clicked.” Gardner waited impatiently, his association with the STRAYS program made him a celebrity. It was the most hopeful some people had been in years. Jeremy continued, “My Grandfather left Earth before I was born. Four years ago my mother died of cancer.”
Gardner frowned, sadly, a pretty common family tree these days. "I’m sorry Mr. Allen.”
Jeremy smiled, and held up a sheet of paper with handwriting. “My Grandfather was a list maker. Apparently he was borderline obsessed with lists and documenting everything.” He smiled a moment, “My mother passed this on to me. Grandpa made this list of people who were leaving Earth, but hadn’t been able to contact any family. He got it to my mother before he left.” Gardner sat up. Maybe Jeremy had something. Jeremy read from the list. “Was your mother’s name Sophie?” Gardner nodded. “And your mother’s parents were Larry and Kit?”
“Katherine… yes, Kit” Gardner was fully involved now. He waited.
Jeremy continued. “From Minnesota?” Gardner nodded as Jeremy read, “Larry and Kit Jennings, daughter Sophie Gardner, grandson Alex Gardner. They were scheduled to leave on a ship in March of 2065.” Jeremy made a note on his paper. He looked up again at Gardner. “Captain, this has been my life for the past four years. I’m sorry that is all the information I have. I have 26 more to go. I plan to find them all.”
Gardner was in minor shock at the information. He sputtered as he tried to form a thought. “Mr. Allen, can you send me a copy of your list?” Jeremy nodded, Gardner continued. “If it’s all right, I’d like to pass this on to my colleague, Admiral Price. She will contact you and find a way to help. This information may be useful in our program.”
Jeremy sat up, as a weight lifted from his shoulders. In this society people could determine what they spent their time on, although most found a way to work at something they enjoyed. Jeremy had been going through a meticulously collected handwritten list, over 30 years old. It was a nearly impossible task for one man, especially with the lack of historical records, but for the Space Program it could be done easily. Jeremy smiled a tired smile, “Captain, that would be amazing.” His eyes ringed with tears, “I would be so happy to finish this list. It's my family’s small legacy.”
Gardner examined the list as it printed out in from of him. Around 60 lines, with names and years. Many checked, but the remaining 26 Jeremy mentioned still waiting. “Jeremy, this is amazing. You have no idea what this is worth. Don’t be surprised if people are moved by your story.” Jeremy sat up straighter and wiped his eyes. Gardner talked as he read, “I will keep all these people in mind while we’re out there, maybe we’ll find them all and reunite some families.”
-Present Day, 2100-
Captain Gardner smiled as he approached the Captain of the Starlight. It was the seventh ship they had found, small, only 24 passengers, and barely enough fuel and supplies to succeed. “Captain, do you have a passenger manifest?”
The Starlight Captain pointed at a wall near the cockpit where a clipboard hung. “On the clipboard, such as it was. It’s just names and pod numbers.”
Gardner smiled and thanked him as he walked over. He pulled down the clipboard and scrolled through, he stopped, smiled, and replaced the clipboard. Turning back to the storage area he scanned for Chen, spotting her near a bank of pods. “Lieutenant!” He walked over to her. “Everything good?” She nodded. He continued, “I’m looking for pods 17 and 19?”
Chen looked at him curiously. “We haven’t gotten to them yet. These are homemade sleeper units, and it’s a bit tricky reviving them. 17 and 19, probably in about 90 minutes.”
Gardner smiled. “Great, call me when you get to them!” With that he nearly skipped away. Chen watched him stop for a quick word with Klein, who seemed just as excited.
Chen spoke before Klein could ask for a progress report. “Commander, what’s all that about?”
Klein answered excitedly. “He found some people on his list.”
“His list?”
Klein hesitated, “Oh, he didn’t tell you? Well, I guess I can. Right before we launched a guy named Jeremy Allen sent the Captain a list. It had the names of people who had left Earth without being able to contact their families, to let them know they’d made it onto a ship. As they investigated, the list grew to over a hundred names between the first list and another that turned up right after.”
Chen recalled something, “That’s why he checks the manifest of every ship we find.”
Klein nodded, “Yep, he’s checking to see if he can cross any names off. This is the first.”
Chen furrowed her brow, “But I watched him look at the last one, he didn’t have a list with him, he just looked it over and shook his head.”
Klein smiled, “He memorized the names, the people who had shipped off planet, their families, any other details. They’re in his head.”
Chen whispered, “Amazing.” Klein turned but Chen stopped him. “Commander, we’ll need radiation scrubbers and treatment for the passengers. This ship is heavily irradiated. Our inoculations should protect us, but I’ll need everyone to get tested when we leave.”
Klein answered, “Are we taking any supplies?
Chen shook her head. “Personal items only, and limited at that.”
“Which pods?”
“Sir?”
“Which pods did the Captain ask about?”
“Oh, right, 17 and 19. Probably in a bit over an hour”
Klein walked over to pods 17 and 19 to see who the Captain’s first names were off the list.
As people come out of hibernation a few things always happen. First is a brain fog, confusion, then the coughing starts. Once that shakes off they blink, realizing their vision is blurred. A few moments later and they’re ready to stand, although it’s not easy at first, much like a baby giraffe, off balance, unable to control your knees. Fortunately if the pods weren’t equipped with an automatic shot, the medical team can provide the adrenalin. It’s not just adrenalin, there are a variety of medications and they work very well, but it still takes around 10-15 minutes before a person really knows what is happening.
As Steve Brennan came around his first look was for his wife Melissa, who was just a few moments behind him in recovery. He made his way to her carefully and they embraced. Both for love and balance. Captain Gardner approached them. “Hello, I am Captain Alex Gardner. You’ve just come out of hibernation. The year is 2100 and we are from Earth. You will certainly have many questions, but please be patient, we want to make sure you’re in good shape, then we can explain what is happening.”
A doctor came up to them, and gave them a quick look over. Gardner spoke, “You are Steve and Melissa Brennan?” They both nodded, Steve still coughing a little. “Do you recall meeting a man who was keeping a list of people who wanted to contact their families before they left?”
Melissa looked thoughtful. She turned to her husband, “We did, what was his name, Alan or something?”
Steve cleared his throat, “Dan Allen.” He paused, “Captain, we certainly haven’t made it to Proxima 2. Not this quickly.”
Gardner nodded, “That is correct, and I promise we’ll explain soon. Right now we’re getting everyone up and awake. We are trying to move quickly because this ship is heavily irradiated. But don’t worry, we have the medications now to clean that up.”
Steve and Melissa nodded OK, as people moved around them, quickly, but not rushing. Captain Gardner spoke again. “I am sorry to say I was only able to find one person on your list, your nephew Carl. But, he and his wife Deanna are looking forward to seeing you. If you’ll come with me, I can take you to the medical bay, and answer a few questions. There’s a lot to tell.”
Back in his quarters, Captain Gardner opened a communication window to send a message to Earth. He spoke into the transcriber. “From Captain Alex Gardner, UEF Shepherd. “To Carl and Deanna Brennan. “Dear Carl, I am happy to say I have located your Aunt and Uncle. They will be sending a message shortly, once they have been checked out by our medical team. If you’d like to send a message please go ahead. Admiral Price will be in contact as well to confirm.” Gardner checked the message and sent it. He sat back, looking up at the list, hanging on his wall.
2024.05.04 02:08 Trash_Tia There is something wrong with the Setori family.
There is something wrong with my family.
When I walked through the door after spending two days at a slumber party, the house smelled of… bacon.
Holy shit.
Mom was actually cooking dinner.
Which was crazy because Mom never cooked dinner.
She was either at work, locked in her home office on the ground floor, or in her room complaining of a migraine.
We never ate Mom’s cooking because she never cooked for us.
My brother Fitz once joked she would cook us an Excel spreadsheet, or throw her iPhone in the air fryer to make a stew.
He was almost right.
A few months ago, Mom microwaved her iPad.
We weren't really an eating together type of family. Sure, we had the white picket fence and family SUV.
We greeted our neighbours every day with nuclear family smiles. Mom was the head of her book club on her days off, and Dad worked in an office. From the outside, we were your average Brady Bunch. My best friend had even commented on it. “Ruby, your family is so close! I wish mine were like yours!”
Close couldn't have been further from the truth.
Keeping up appearances is all we had to do in front of the locals.
I smiled my biggest smile and wore my hair in a perfect ponytail.
Fitz and Cassie followed suit, playing their part as nuclear children.
That is what Mom wanted us to be. However, our dollhouse wasn't as perfect as perceived. Inside our so-called forever home, we were a disconnected group of lodgers.
Mom barely spoke to us, and when she did, she was enforcing yet another rule.
Don't go into the living room unsupervised. Don't go into the basement. Don't eat food outside of the kitchen. Don't wear your shoes inside.
Mom had different rules tailored to each of us.
For me, I wasn't allowed electronics after 8pm.
Fitz, who was one year older, had a set curfew of 9pm.
Cassie could only eat fruit and vegetables on Wednesday.
Snacks, candy, and chocolate were banned for all of us.
We weren't even allowed to sit on the living room couch. Mom was terrified of us ruining it, so we had beanbags.
When I first got a whiff of bacon, I was convinced either our house was burning down, or my brother had finally gotten tired of his Uber Eats diet.
Fitz wasn't a cook, though.
Christmas 2019, his turkey dinner gave us all food poisoning.
I was slipping out of my shoes and hanging up my jacket, when a familiar voice tinkered from the kitchen.
“Ruby, sweetie? I’m making dinner if you're hungry!”
It smelled amazing, whatever it was.
I was in disbelief, walking into the kitchen to find my Mom standing over a bubbling pan.
“Can you set the table, honey?”
Fitz and Cassie joined us, followed by Dad.
“Smells good, Mom!” Fitz jumped into his seat with a grin.
Which was definitely odd for him. Normally, the guy took 5 working days to sit down.
Cassie slid past me, ruffling my hair. “Hey, sis!”
My family were acting different in general. Cassie was unusually smiley, not the bratty teenager she usually was, while my brother dropped his patronising smirk and I'm better than you attitude, for a more laid back vibe.
Usually, my brother and sister were insufferable.
Cassie always had to bring up how much she hated all of us.
Fitz wouldn't rest until he had the last word, and Dad’s face was beet red.
Now, it was like they'd had a personality purge.
Fitz caught my eye, his lips curling into a smile.
“Yo.” He saluted me with two fingers, which was not my brother.
Fitz Setori greeted me with a scowl or a pretentious movie quote.
Before I left for the slumber party, he wouldn't shut up about a black and white French movie only he had seen. If Cassie and I liked a movie, he hated it. If he liked something, Fitz made sure we didn't like it.
My brother’s wardrobe was like he was trying to cosplay Sherlock Holmes, and I still didn't understand how he had friends at school. The thing with my siblings was, I missed them. It used to be the three of us versus the world (and our dictator-like mother). But since starting high school, Fitz had turned into this pretentious film freak with an obsession with being right, and Cassie was sixteen going on twenty one.
Presently, my brother’s demeanour was more relaxed, not the stiff uptight bullshit he usually was, always trying to get ahead of the conversation and prove himself right. In the corner of my eye, I could have sworn something flashed, a bright light filling the edges of my vision, like a polaroid was being taken.
Fitz didn't notice. Leaning over the table, he stabbed his fork into my steak, speaking through a mouthful of mashed potato. “Are you eating this?”
I shook my head, watching in disbelief as he took my whole plate, inhaling my food too.
Cassie, who was always glued to her phone, gave him a playful shove.
Well, that was weird.
The two of them couldn't go one day without trying to rip each other's heads off. I don't know what baffled me more.
Seeing my siblings sitting together, shoulder to shoulder instead of avoiding each other like the plague, or the fact that Cassie was yet to announce that she hated all of us, and couldn't wait until college. Which usually followed with Fitz saying, “What college?” and ending up with a face full of food.
But it didn't end there.
Because, when they were sent to their rooms, they continued, snapping at each other with passive aggressive remarks until they were physically trying to murder one another. The craziest part is, the two of them used to be so close.
If Cassie didn't throw a death threat at Fitz, it wasn't a normal Seteri dinner.
Now, I was watching them nudge each other like they knew something I didn't.
“Okay, what happened while I was away?” I spoke up, toying with my fork.
“Hmm?” Mom settled me with a smile. “What do you mean?”
I bit my tongue, waiting for Dad to intervene with a cough.
When we did eat together, which was rare, Dad wasn't a fan of talking at the table. When I risked a look at him, though, Dad was happily chewing through his meal. He caught my eye, grinning through steak juices running down his chin. “Isn't it a wonderful day?”
He nodded for me to continue, a crunching noise twisting my gut.
Dad was grinding through the steak bones.
He stopped, slowly inclining his head. “Ruby, are you okay, darling?”
I felt my fingers tighten around my fork.
Dad never called me darling.
He made it clear I wasn't the favorite child, making little effort with me when I was a kid in favour of Fitz and Cassie.
It was always those two who he spent time with. I remember sitting outside the basement door with cookies, waiting for Cassie and Fitz to come back up the stairs. They were down there for hours, sometimes a whole day.
The only bonding I did with my father was when I snuck down there myself.
Dsd was always working, so I stuck around, usually spinning around in his chair or poking things I shouldn't poke.
I was still struggling to process darling, mashed potato creeping back up my throat, when Fitz kicked me under the table. His smile was unnerving me, the way he and Cassie kept grinning at each other, like they knew something I didn't.
It was just like when we were kids.
Fitz was trembling, trying and failing to hold in laughter.
“What's going on, Ruby?” He choked, before bursting into childlike giggles.
Cassie joined in, her smile stretching wider and wider.
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
Too many teeth.
“We never have dinner together,” I said pointedly, glancing at Mom. “Unless you're impressing a work colleague.”
I turned to Fitz. “You barely come out of your room, and when you do you're insufferable.” Fitz only smirked, and I moved onto Cassie, who wasn't fooling me with her innocent smile with far too many teeth. “And you only come downstairs when you want something.”
There was a pause, before Fitz exploded into laughter.
Cassie started giggling, and to my confusion, even Mom was trying to hide her smile.
My rule obsessed, fun-hating mother was barely holding in her own hysterics.
Dad wasn't laughing.
Dad was still fucking grinding bones between his teeth.
I stood up, which made my brother howl harder.
“What's so funny?”
My family didn't respond, snorting like middle schoolers.
I snatched my plate up from Fitz.
“You're all fucking sociopaths.”
I waited for the inevitable chastising for swearing. I stubbed my toe a few weeks ago, accidentally saying, fuck and Mom almost had a nervous breakdown.
She said my vulgar language was a problem that would be solved by taking away my phone for a week. But this time, Mom didn't even notice. She was still eating, stifling her own snickers.
I was planning on heading to my room, but I couldn't help it, making a detour down the hallway.
Dad always told me to look at the teeth.
Too many teeth was bad.
Too many teeth meant something was wrong.
Mom immediately noticed, her shadow following me.
Another flash of light behind me, and this time I could hear a shutter sound.
“Ruby, where are you going?”
Twisting around, my mother was smiling at me. I blinked, and the hallway I had known my whole life suddenly appeared warped, like it wasn't real, like it was slowly closing in on me, and my destination was getting further away.
With panic rising in my chest, my hands searched for a door that was no longer there, bleeding into the wallpaper. Another flash. This time it was brighter, filling the dark with light that didn't make sense, a blinding white blur fraying the edges of my vision.
But where was the camera?
“Ruby.”
I blinked again.
Mom was standing closer, her smile wider.
“Is there something wrong?”
I found my voice. “What was that light?”
Mom did a slow head incline, mimicking my brother. “What light?”
I was growing progressively more paranoid, my hands shaking.
“Is someone taking photos of me?” I whispered.
Mom’s plastic grin didn't waver. “Photos? What do you mean, sweetie?”
I managed to shake my head, pushing past her.
“Nothing.” I said, “I'm okay. I'm just tired.”
Mom nodded, and I could hear Fitz giggling behind me.
When I looked, however, there was nobody there.
Still, my brother’s shrieks of laughter followed me all the way to my room.
Only stopping when I slammed the door.
4:01am.
There was a figure standing in my doorway. I thought it was a trick of the mind, but no, there was someone standing inside my room, peeking through their hands. For a disorienting moment, I was frozen. I couldn't move.
“Fitz?”
When I sat up, I was blinded by that same light, the unmistakable sound of a camera shutter filling the silence.
The figure didn't have a face, a shadow hanging over my bed. But looking closer, it did have wide, laughing eyes peeking through its fingers. Keeping my gaze glued to the figure, who was very slowly uncovering its eyes like playing a game of peek-a-boo, I reached to switch on the light.
The shadow ran away, though I definitely saw my brother’s dark red hair.
I didn't sleep well that night. I kept waking up.
The laughing had stopped, but I could still see Fitz’s unmoving shadow.
His feet under the door.
All night.
Obviously, I called him out on it the next morning.
“What were you doing last night?” I demanded, trying to force down toast.
Fitz acted oblivious, because of course he did.
“What did I do?” he teased, wearing that smirk I wanted to carve off of his face.
“You stood outside my door all night!”
Fitz chuckled into his glass of juice. “You caaaaaaan’t prove it.”
Mom was yet to get ready for work, eating cereal from the box.
She was halfway through a bottle of wine when I came down for breakfast, laughing hysterically at a refrigerator commercial.
Usually, my mother was gone before I woke up. Not to mention, we weren't allowed to eat cereal for breakfast.
It was always health food crap.
“Mom.” I gritted out.
Cassie was making coffee behind us, joining in with the theatrics.
My sister hated coffee.
“Mom!” I yelled, when my brother winked at me.
Mom ignored my complaints, kissing the rim of her glass. “Be a doll, and go get Mommy’s favorite vino from the basement,” she downed the rest of her wine, tipping her head back and blowing strands of hair from her eyes.
“You know,” she sighed, “The expensive one.”
“Don't you have a job to go to?” I glanced at my phone. “It's almost eight.”
“Mmm.” Mom rolled her eyes. “Maybe later.”
My workaholic mother who went to work with gastritis, and had even forced Fitz to go to school with the flu, was acting like a drunken teenage girl.
Mom’s whole life revolved around perfect attendance.
She scanned our report cards for tardies, threatening our phone privileges if we were a minute late for class.
Suddenly, I was the one who felt like a mother.
“Mom, you need to go to work.”
“Yeah, Mom!” Fitz mocked my voice, leaning his chin on his fist. “You need to go to work!”
Mom settled me with a patient smile. I thought she would get mad, though she seemed amused. “Mommy wants a drink, darling. Fetch me the wine.”
I nodded, standing up.
Anything to get away from these psychopaths.
My siblings' laughter followed me, once again, out of the kitchen.
Down the hallway.
Before stopping abruptly, when I stepped in front of the basement door.
Reaching out with shaking hands, I grasped the handle.
I hadn't been down to the basement in a while for a number of reasons.
Heading down stone cold steps, I used my phone light to navigate the darkness. I remembered the exact way I used to jump down them as a kid, two at a time, squeezing the handrail tightly.
Sometimes, Cassie joined me, the two of us holding hands.
I recalled the time we used to run up and down the Miller family stairs.
Cassie and I would sing a song, the two of us giggling nervously.
One step, two step, three step, four.
I can hear a human knocking on the floor!
There was no sign of my mother’s expensive vino when I stepped inside the Setori family basement. It was exactly how I remembered it, a single observation bed, my Dad’s desk filled with research. I wasn't supposed to look at them, because it was dangerous.
Instead, I focused on the strange looking machines and rows of metal shelves filled with an assortment of jars.
When he was fifteen, Fitz opened one up.
He didn't tell me what was in it, but he was violently sick for days.
Further into the basement, I could sense their shuddering breaths.
”Do not look, Ruby.” Dad always told me.
But I couldn't help it, risking a glance, the breath catching in my throat.
Five slumped figures, each of them brutally tied back to back under a single buzzing bulb.
My parents’ prisoners.
Riley and Connor Setori with their teenage children Fitz and Cassie, and then of course, the girl who made me.
The reason why I was alive and breathing.
Ruby Setori.
I want to preface this by saying it was never my choice that I became Ruby.
Dad was insistent, and as a kid, I followed my parents.
My family and I were born in a lab as Mimics.
There were three Mimic families, though we were the only survivors. I've only ever known mimicking, and being forced from person to person. It's kind of like shape shifting, but we need human bodies and voices to survive.
Human voices make us real.
My siblings were born after me, but something was wrong with them.
I don't really remember it, but I used to live in a white room with sponge walls.
Fitz and Cassie were in the room next to me. The people in white spoke of failures and more tests, and my brother was so weak, while my sister was spitting up blood. They concluded that their original forms were dying.
A default body for a mimic is a faceless being with no discernable features, a shadow you swear you see in the corner of your vision, what you think is a trick of the mind. With my old body, I could explore the darkness and creep into the corner of any human’s eye. I started to get better. Voices were hard at first.
You have to get the exact tone, and once you have that, you can latch onto the body and brain. My first successful mimic was a scientist named Doctor Carlisle.
His voice didn't make sense to me, but I was able to replicate it and use it to my advantage. When we escaped the lab, my father broke into the Miller house.
I was too young to really understand, but my Mom urged me to mimic their youngest daughter.
Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was a lot more comfortable to mimic.
I spent 8 years being Elizabeth Miller, before we were forced to relocate.
The family we were impersonating were growing suspicious of us, and my brother was getting progressively sicker. He couldn't acclimatise to a body. The Miller son almost killed him, and he only embodied the kid’s voice.
The Setori household is where we struck gold.
Fitz Setori, sitting in front of me, blindfolded, was my brother’s saving grace.
When I was twelve years old, my parents kidnapped the Setori family and forced them into their own basement, immediately stealing their faces.
I remember Ruby Setori sitting cross legged on the floor, her wide eyes filled with tears.
Dad said I had to talk to her to form the connection. When she refused to talk back, my father was forceful.
Our first conversation was me mimicking her sobs, her throaty cries for me to get away from her.
With Ruby’s voice, I asked her questions.
Mom told me I had to talk to her, before the bond was severed.
“What's your favorite color?” I asked, swirling her voice around my mouth.
“What did you do to my family?” Ruby squeaked.
I looked at my dad for help, and he shook his head.
“Ask her again.”
I took a deep breath. “What is your favorite color?”
“Pink.” She whispered.
“Pink.” I repeated, leaning closer.
“Please.” Ruby said. “Please don't hurt me.”
“Please.” I said, clinging onto her tone, the exact indentation in her speech.
She cocked her head, and I did too.
“Please don't hurt me.”
“I'm not going to.” I told her, when the invisible ribbon binding us together tightened, entangling. This time I was speaking over her. My face became Ruby Setori. Thick brown hair and wide eyes, lips parted in a silent cry.
“I promise I'm not going to hurt you.”
Ruby stared at me like I was a monster.
She shrieked, stumbling back, only to be forced back into place by my mother.
Dad told me mimicking had three stages.
Voice.
Body.
Mind.
I already had Ruby’s voice, and I was wearing her face.
Her memories hit me like a tidal wave, warm and cosy.
I saw her perfect family, all of her friends, growing up behind a white picket fence and a fluffy dog called Cosmo. Ruby liked orange soda and ice cream. She was smart at math, but got her words mixed up. She loved elephant plushies and the Disney channel.
The human girl was scared of the dark, scared of what lurked in the dark.
Scared of me.
I wanted to tell her I wasn't a monster.
“Ruby.” I whispered, “I'm sorry.”
She didn't move, and something slimy erupted up my throat.
Ruby’s expression was frozen in terror, her mouth slightly open, eyes wide.
“Ru… by.” The girl’s voice was a strangled cry. “I’m… s… ooooorry.”
I lurched back, swallowing a cry.
Ruby Setori was mimicking me.
Which was the final stage.
I went through it as a little kid, but I was too young to remember assimilating with Elizabeth Miller.
My brother's assimilation was different, and a lot more brutal.
Fitz Setori did not want to have his face and voice stolen.
He escaped four times, attacking my mother, despite her wearing his own Mom’s face. My brother was gentle, kneeling in front of him and speaking in soft tones. My sister and I watched from the corner of the room, too scared to go near the unpredictable human boy.
“Hello.” My brother was too sick to stand. “Can you… tell me your name?”
Fitz spat at him.
“Fuck you.” The fourteen year old hissed, “You're not taking my voice.”
“Fuck… you.” My brother mimicked, already taking hold of the boy’s tone.
Fitz shuffled back. “Get away from me!”
“Get… away… from me.” My brother copied.
His nose wasn't bleeding this time, and very slowly, he adapted Fitz’s face.
It took a while, and a lot of screaming and crying.
I didn't want to watch, but I was also curious about how human children were supposed to act. I was never in a stable body enough to fully adapt to emotions. Fitz was feeling panic and fear and anger, all of which I decided to copy.
But my brother did manage to mimic Fitz Setori.
Mr and Mrs Setori begged my parents to let their children go.
But my dad needed the Setori kids. For our survival.
Cassie and I sang another song, this time to block out the screaming.
My family took over the Setori household, and slid into our roles as the not quite perfect family on the quiet suburban street. Growing up, Dad insisted on daily tests to make sure our bonds with the Setori siblings were still intact. We were forbidden from talking to them.
Presently, I couldn't stop myself.
There was something wrong with my family.
And I had zero doubts the family had something to do with it.
Dad had drawn a line on the basement floor.
We were acquired to stay behind the line, unless we wanted to be grounded until college.
Stepping over it, I shivered, my bare feet grazing warm blood pooling across the floor. Mom and Dad were always protective over the basement. They told us the Setori family were safe and unharmed. But that was hard to believe even my parents resented humans for creating them, and torturing them.
What my parents did to the human was a whole other level of torture.
Especially the adults.
Mr and Mrs Setoti had been in a medically induced coma for almost four years. Their heads were bowed, plastic tubes sticking directly into their skull.
Cassie Setori was awake. I could hear her breathing.
She was pretending to be out of it.
Fitz Setori had been fixed by my father a year ago.
Dad said his behavior was too ‘dangerous’.
One minute the boy was screaming and threatening, and the next, he was silent, drool seeping down his chin, head tipped back, blinking at the ceiling.
The fixing was in case Fitz ever managed to gain control of my brother.
When I crouched in front of the Setori siblings, I felt a deep, twisting guilt eating me up inside.
They were barely human anymore, stripped of their terrestrial bodies, atoms and static and a shadow of what once was. The blood made me nauseous, splattering their arms and legs and clothes they were growing out of.
Ruby’s hair was almost at a Rupunzal length. I wanted to see the good in that, maybe call her a princess, though maybe she was more of a Sleeping Beauty, forced into slumber.
Fitz had aged way beyond his age, bearded like his father.
Cassie’s pigtails were touching the floor.
I pretended not to see the restraints cruelly binding their wrists, the burn marks branding them as ours.
The three were skeletal, pale and malnourished.
Humans who were anything but.
My stomach twisted when I peeked under Cassie’s blindfold.
Her right eye was gone, scooped out of its socket.
Dad didn't have to hurt them.
He didn't have to tie them up.
But I know what humans are like.
They are scary and unpredictable and will murder their own kind.
I did try to talk to them before Dad fixed the Setori son.
Fitz, Cassie and me.
The Setori siblings told us we were dead.
That they were going to kill us slowly, an painfully.
By slicing their own throats.
Fitz tried to argue that it wasn't us who did this.
Only for his original to call him a piece of shit.
Ever since then, Mom put a lock on the basement door.
I was trying to loosen Ruby’s ropes, ignoring my father’s earlier warning, when a familiar light filled the room.
A camera flash.
When I stumbled to my feet, I was alone.
A giggle caught me off guard.
It was Ruby Setori herself, her lips split into a grin.
“Can we play a game?” She asked.
Her voice was made of static, barely a whisper.
The girl wasn't supposed to have her voice.
My voice.
I held my breath. I had to be tactical with my speech.
“What did you do to my family?”
“I have a better question,” she said, growing stronger. She lifted her head. I could hear her straining against the ropes. “What's your favorite color?”
“Pink.” I said. “What did you do to my family?”
In the corner of my eye, I detected movement.
There was something at the other end of the room.
Twitching.
“What about your favorite TV show?” Ruby asked, leaning forward. “You must have one. Maybe it's even mine!”
It was hers, and she knew that.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I said, my mouth filling with blood.
Just like Dad said, our bond was severing.
If I continued to talk to her, I risked detaching from her completely.
Ruby Setori wanted her voice back.
“I love Buffy!” The girl’s smile was, dare I think, genuine.
“How about we talk about your brother? Is he doing okay, Ruby? Is he acting…“
She paused, sucking her teeth. “Kinda weird?”
Upstairs, I could hear Fitz’s laughter getting louder and louder.
“Please.” Ruby was mimicking her younger self.
Even blindfolded, I could see the gleam in her eyes.
“What did you do to my family?”
Her words forced me into action.
I prodded Fitz Setori, only for his head to hang.
Unconscious.
There was dried blood under his nose, a slimy ooze of black.
Prying open his mouth, I checked his teeth.
Too many.
Just like Cassie, a whole new row of spiky incisors were pushing through.
Dad was hurting them.
He was torturing them.
Turning them into something.
My quivering hands found a needle sticking into the back of his head, colorful wires protruding into his skin.
There was a clear fluid being pumped into the three of them.
If Dad was experimenting on the Setori family, was it affecting us too?
“Well?” Ruby demanded, her voice twisting, contorting into that of a monster.
“What did you DO to my FAMILY?”
Instead of answering her, I forced my legs to move toward the movement on the other side of the room. There was something piled on the floor, jerking in sharp movements, a slimy mess of inside out flesh. It hit me when I was closer.
The bodies entangled with each other, some of them headless, others missing arms and distinct facial features, were me. Dozens of Ruby Setori’s both made of buzzing static and terrestrial flesh, covered in a slimy, blood tinged substance, like these things were being born. Not made.
I think I was sick. All over myself.
Another blinding flash hit the corner of my eye, and in front of me, another thing was slowly forming, first static, growing into skin, a body moulded and sculpted into existence.
This Ruby had no eyes, no arms, her limbs contorted like doll pieces. I was aware I was staggering back, slipping in what looked and felt like part of a placenta.
The Setori siblings were making copies of me.
My gaze found one singular version of me who was almost perfect.
Except her enlarged brain expanding Through the skull.
And these replicas were getting better by the minute.
“Ruby!”
Mom shouted from upstairs. “Did you get my wine?”
I left the basement, my heart in my throat.
Upstairs, my brother and sister were giggling.
And downstairs in the basement, the Setori siblings were laughing harder.
Three nights since I spoke to Ruby, and the copies of me are getting better.
One of them managed to walk upstairs yesterday.
I think the siblings are slowly making another version of their sister.
I want to talk to her. I want to know what she's doing to my family.
But I can't talk to her.
If I do, I lose Ruby Setori.
Mom and Dad play peek-a-boo with me every night.
They're behind every door, their hands covering their faces.
Cassie is eating meat raw from the refrigerator.
Fitz is getting better at crawling under my door.
And the laughter in the basement is getting louder.
Please help me. I'm so scared of my own family.
I don't think the Setori’s were my parent’s best choice after all.
submitted by Trash_Tia to nosleep [link] [comments]
When I walked through the door after spending two days at a slumber party, the house smelled of… bacon.
Holy shit.
Mom was actually cooking dinner.
Which was crazy because Mom never cooked dinner.
She was either at work, locked in her home office on the ground floor, or in her room complaining of a migraine.
We never ate Mom’s cooking because she never cooked for us.
My brother Fitz once joked she would cook us an Excel spreadsheet, or throw her iPhone in the air fryer to make a stew.
He was almost right.
A few months ago, Mom microwaved her iPad.
We weren't really an eating together type of family. Sure, we had the white picket fence and family SUV.
We greeted our neighbours every day with nuclear family smiles. Mom was the head of her book club on her days off, and Dad worked in an office. From the outside, we were your average Brady Bunch. My best friend had even commented on it. “Ruby, your family is so close! I wish mine were like yours!”
Close couldn't have been further from the truth.
Keeping up appearances is all we had to do in front of the locals.
I smiled my biggest smile and wore my hair in a perfect ponytail.
Fitz and Cassie followed suit, playing their part as nuclear children.
That is what Mom wanted us to be. However, our dollhouse wasn't as perfect as perceived. Inside our so-called forever home, we were a disconnected group of lodgers.
Mom barely spoke to us, and when she did, she was enforcing yet another rule.
Don't go into the living room unsupervised. Don't go into the basement. Don't eat food outside of the kitchen. Don't wear your shoes inside.
Mom had different rules tailored to each of us.
For me, I wasn't allowed electronics after 8pm.
Fitz, who was one year older, had a set curfew of 9pm.
Cassie could only eat fruit and vegetables on Wednesday.
Snacks, candy, and chocolate were banned for all of us.
We weren't even allowed to sit on the living room couch. Mom was terrified of us ruining it, so we had beanbags.
When I first got a whiff of bacon, I was convinced either our house was burning down, or my brother had finally gotten tired of his Uber Eats diet.
Fitz wasn't a cook, though.
Christmas 2019, his turkey dinner gave us all food poisoning.
I was slipping out of my shoes and hanging up my jacket, when a familiar voice tinkered from the kitchen.
“Ruby, sweetie? I’m making dinner if you're hungry!”
It smelled amazing, whatever it was.
I was in disbelief, walking into the kitchen to find my Mom standing over a bubbling pan.
“Can you set the table, honey?”
Fitz and Cassie joined us, followed by Dad.
“Smells good, Mom!” Fitz jumped into his seat with a grin.
Which was definitely odd for him. Normally, the guy took 5 working days to sit down.
Cassie slid past me, ruffling my hair. “Hey, sis!”
My family were acting different in general. Cassie was unusually smiley, not the bratty teenager she usually was, while my brother dropped his patronising smirk and I'm better than you attitude, for a more laid back vibe.
Usually, my brother and sister were insufferable.
Cassie always had to bring up how much she hated all of us.
Fitz wouldn't rest until he had the last word, and Dad’s face was beet red.
Now, it was like they'd had a personality purge.
Fitz caught my eye, his lips curling into a smile.
“Yo.” He saluted me with two fingers, which was not my brother.
Fitz Setori greeted me with a scowl or a pretentious movie quote.
Before I left for the slumber party, he wouldn't shut up about a black and white French movie only he had seen. If Cassie and I liked a movie, he hated it. If he liked something, Fitz made sure we didn't like it.
My brother’s wardrobe was like he was trying to cosplay Sherlock Holmes, and I still didn't understand how he had friends at school. The thing with my siblings was, I missed them. It used to be the three of us versus the world (and our dictator-like mother). But since starting high school, Fitz had turned into this pretentious film freak with an obsession with being right, and Cassie was sixteen going on twenty one.
Presently, my brother’s demeanour was more relaxed, not the stiff uptight bullshit he usually was, always trying to get ahead of the conversation and prove himself right. In the corner of my eye, I could have sworn something flashed, a bright light filling the edges of my vision, like a polaroid was being taken.
Fitz didn't notice. Leaning over the table, he stabbed his fork into my steak, speaking through a mouthful of mashed potato. “Are you eating this?”
I shook my head, watching in disbelief as he took my whole plate, inhaling my food too.
Cassie, who was always glued to her phone, gave him a playful shove.
Well, that was weird.
The two of them couldn't go one day without trying to rip each other's heads off. I don't know what baffled me more.
Seeing my siblings sitting together, shoulder to shoulder instead of avoiding each other like the plague, or the fact that Cassie was yet to announce that she hated all of us, and couldn't wait until college. Which usually followed with Fitz saying, “What college?” and ending up with a face full of food.
But it didn't end there.
Because, when they were sent to their rooms, they continued, snapping at each other with passive aggressive remarks until they were physically trying to murder one another. The craziest part is, the two of them used to be so close.
If Cassie didn't throw a death threat at Fitz, it wasn't a normal Seteri dinner.
Now, I was watching them nudge each other like they knew something I didn't.
“Okay, what happened while I was away?” I spoke up, toying with my fork.
“Hmm?” Mom settled me with a smile. “What do you mean?”
I bit my tongue, waiting for Dad to intervene with a cough.
When we did eat together, which was rare, Dad wasn't a fan of talking at the table. When I risked a look at him, though, Dad was happily chewing through his meal. He caught my eye, grinning through steak juices running down his chin. “Isn't it a wonderful day?”
He nodded for me to continue, a crunching noise twisting my gut.
Dad was grinding through the steak bones.
He stopped, slowly inclining his head. “Ruby, are you okay, darling?”
I felt my fingers tighten around my fork.
Dad never called me darling.
He made it clear I wasn't the favorite child, making little effort with me when I was a kid in favour of Fitz and Cassie.
It was always those two who he spent time with. I remember sitting outside the basement door with cookies, waiting for Cassie and Fitz to come back up the stairs. They were down there for hours, sometimes a whole day.
The only bonding I did with my father was when I snuck down there myself.
Dsd was always working, so I stuck around, usually spinning around in his chair or poking things I shouldn't poke.
I was still struggling to process darling, mashed potato creeping back up my throat, when Fitz kicked me under the table. His smile was unnerving me, the way he and Cassie kept grinning at each other, like they knew something I didn't.
It was just like when we were kids.
Fitz was trembling, trying and failing to hold in laughter.
“What's going on, Ruby?” He choked, before bursting into childlike giggles.
Cassie joined in, her smile stretching wider and wider.
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
Too many teeth.
“We never have dinner together,” I said pointedly, glancing at Mom. “Unless you're impressing a work colleague.”
I turned to Fitz. “You barely come out of your room, and when you do you're insufferable.” Fitz only smirked, and I moved onto Cassie, who wasn't fooling me with her innocent smile with far too many teeth. “And you only come downstairs when you want something.”
There was a pause, before Fitz exploded into laughter.
Cassie started giggling, and to my confusion, even Mom was trying to hide her smile.
My rule obsessed, fun-hating mother was barely holding in her own hysterics.
Dad wasn't laughing.
Dad was still fucking grinding bones between his teeth.
I stood up, which made my brother howl harder.
“What's so funny?”
My family didn't respond, snorting like middle schoolers.
I snatched my plate up from Fitz.
“You're all fucking sociopaths.”
I waited for the inevitable chastising for swearing. I stubbed my toe a few weeks ago, accidentally saying, fuck and Mom almost had a nervous breakdown.
She said my vulgar language was a problem that would be solved by taking away my phone for a week. But this time, Mom didn't even notice. She was still eating, stifling her own snickers.
I was planning on heading to my room, but I couldn't help it, making a detour down the hallway.
Dad always told me to look at the teeth.
Too many teeth was bad.
Too many teeth meant something was wrong.
Mom immediately noticed, her shadow following me.
Another flash of light behind me, and this time I could hear a shutter sound.
“Ruby, where are you going?”
Twisting around, my mother was smiling at me. I blinked, and the hallway I had known my whole life suddenly appeared warped, like it wasn't real, like it was slowly closing in on me, and my destination was getting further away.
With panic rising in my chest, my hands searched for a door that was no longer there, bleeding into the wallpaper. Another flash. This time it was brighter, filling the dark with light that didn't make sense, a blinding white blur fraying the edges of my vision.
But where was the camera?
“Ruby.”
I blinked again.
Mom was standing closer, her smile wider.
“Is there something wrong?”
I found my voice. “What was that light?”
Mom did a slow head incline, mimicking my brother. “What light?”
I was growing progressively more paranoid, my hands shaking.
“Is someone taking photos of me?” I whispered.
Mom’s plastic grin didn't waver. “Photos? What do you mean, sweetie?”
I managed to shake my head, pushing past her.
“Nothing.” I said, “I'm okay. I'm just tired.”
Mom nodded, and I could hear Fitz giggling behind me.
When I looked, however, there was nobody there.
Still, my brother’s shrieks of laughter followed me all the way to my room.
Only stopping when I slammed the door.
4:01am.
There was a figure standing in my doorway. I thought it was a trick of the mind, but no, there was someone standing inside my room, peeking through their hands. For a disorienting moment, I was frozen. I couldn't move.
“Fitz?”
When I sat up, I was blinded by that same light, the unmistakable sound of a camera shutter filling the silence.
The figure didn't have a face, a shadow hanging over my bed. But looking closer, it did have wide, laughing eyes peeking through its fingers. Keeping my gaze glued to the figure, who was very slowly uncovering its eyes like playing a game of peek-a-boo, I reached to switch on the light.
The shadow ran away, though I definitely saw my brother’s dark red hair.
I didn't sleep well that night. I kept waking up.
The laughing had stopped, but I could still see Fitz’s unmoving shadow.
His feet under the door.
All night.
Obviously, I called him out on it the next morning.
“What were you doing last night?” I demanded, trying to force down toast.
Fitz acted oblivious, because of course he did.
“What did I do?” he teased, wearing that smirk I wanted to carve off of his face.
“You stood outside my door all night!”
Fitz chuckled into his glass of juice. “You caaaaaaan’t prove it.”
Mom was yet to get ready for work, eating cereal from the box.
She was halfway through a bottle of wine when I came down for breakfast, laughing hysterically at a refrigerator commercial.
Usually, my mother was gone before I woke up. Not to mention, we weren't allowed to eat cereal for breakfast.
It was always health food crap.
“Mom.” I gritted out.
Cassie was making coffee behind us, joining in with the theatrics.
My sister hated coffee.
“Mom!” I yelled, when my brother winked at me.
Mom ignored my complaints, kissing the rim of her glass. “Be a doll, and go get Mommy’s favorite vino from the basement,” she downed the rest of her wine, tipping her head back and blowing strands of hair from her eyes.
“You know,” she sighed, “The expensive one.”
“Don't you have a job to go to?” I glanced at my phone. “It's almost eight.”
“Mmm.” Mom rolled her eyes. “Maybe later.”
My workaholic mother who went to work with gastritis, and had even forced Fitz to go to school with the flu, was acting like a drunken teenage girl.
Mom’s whole life revolved around perfect attendance.
She scanned our report cards for tardies, threatening our phone privileges if we were a minute late for class.
Suddenly, I was the one who felt like a mother.
“Mom, you need to go to work.”
“Yeah, Mom!” Fitz mocked my voice, leaning his chin on his fist. “You need to go to work!”
Mom settled me with a patient smile. I thought she would get mad, though she seemed amused. “Mommy wants a drink, darling. Fetch me the wine.”
I nodded, standing up.
Anything to get away from these psychopaths.
My siblings' laughter followed me, once again, out of the kitchen.
Down the hallway.
Before stopping abruptly, when I stepped in front of the basement door.
Reaching out with shaking hands, I grasped the handle.
I hadn't been down to the basement in a while for a number of reasons.
Heading down stone cold steps, I used my phone light to navigate the darkness. I remembered the exact way I used to jump down them as a kid, two at a time, squeezing the handrail tightly.
Sometimes, Cassie joined me, the two of us holding hands.
I recalled the time we used to run up and down the Miller family stairs.
Cassie and I would sing a song, the two of us giggling nervously.
One step, two step, three step, four.
I can hear a human knocking on the floor!
There was no sign of my mother’s expensive vino when I stepped inside the Setori family basement. It was exactly how I remembered it, a single observation bed, my Dad’s desk filled with research. I wasn't supposed to look at them, because it was dangerous.
Instead, I focused on the strange looking machines and rows of metal shelves filled with an assortment of jars.
When he was fifteen, Fitz opened one up.
He didn't tell me what was in it, but he was violently sick for days.
Further into the basement, I could sense their shuddering breaths.
”Do not look, Ruby.” Dad always told me.
But I couldn't help it, risking a glance, the breath catching in my throat.
Five slumped figures, each of them brutally tied back to back under a single buzzing bulb.
My parents’ prisoners.
Riley and Connor Setori with their teenage children Fitz and Cassie, and then of course, the girl who made me.
The reason why I was alive and breathing.
Ruby Setori.
I want to preface this by saying it was never my choice that I became Ruby.
Dad was insistent, and as a kid, I followed my parents.
My family and I were born in a lab as Mimics.
There were three Mimic families, though we were the only survivors. I've only ever known mimicking, and being forced from person to person. It's kind of like shape shifting, but we need human bodies and voices to survive.
Human voices make us real.
My siblings were born after me, but something was wrong with them.
I don't really remember it, but I used to live in a white room with sponge walls.
Fitz and Cassie were in the room next to me. The people in white spoke of failures and more tests, and my brother was so weak, while my sister was spitting up blood. They concluded that their original forms were dying.
A default body for a mimic is a faceless being with no discernable features, a shadow you swear you see in the corner of your vision, what you think is a trick of the mind. With my old body, I could explore the darkness and creep into the corner of any human’s eye. I started to get better. Voices were hard at first.
You have to get the exact tone, and once you have that, you can latch onto the body and brain. My first successful mimic was a scientist named Doctor Carlisle.
His voice didn't make sense to me, but I was able to replicate it and use it to my advantage. When we escaped the lab, my father broke into the Miller house.
I was too young to really understand, but my Mom urged me to mimic their youngest daughter.
Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was a lot more comfortable to mimic.
I spent 8 years being Elizabeth Miller, before we were forced to relocate.
The family we were impersonating were growing suspicious of us, and my brother was getting progressively sicker. He couldn't acclimatise to a body. The Miller son almost killed him, and he only embodied the kid’s voice.
The Setori household is where we struck gold.
Fitz Setori, sitting in front of me, blindfolded, was my brother’s saving grace.
When I was twelve years old, my parents kidnapped the Setori family and forced them into their own basement, immediately stealing their faces.
I remember Ruby Setori sitting cross legged on the floor, her wide eyes filled with tears.
Dad said I had to talk to her to form the connection. When she refused to talk back, my father was forceful.
Our first conversation was me mimicking her sobs, her throaty cries for me to get away from her.
With Ruby’s voice, I asked her questions.
Mom told me I had to talk to her, before the bond was severed.
“What's your favorite color?” I asked, swirling her voice around my mouth.
“What did you do to my family?” Ruby squeaked.
I looked at my dad for help, and he shook his head.
“Ask her again.”
I took a deep breath. “What is your favorite color?”
“Pink.” She whispered.
“Pink.” I repeated, leaning closer.
“Please.” Ruby said. “Please don't hurt me.”
“Please.” I said, clinging onto her tone, the exact indentation in her speech.
She cocked her head, and I did too.
“Please don't hurt me.”
“I'm not going to.” I told her, when the invisible ribbon binding us together tightened, entangling. This time I was speaking over her. My face became Ruby Setori. Thick brown hair and wide eyes, lips parted in a silent cry.
“I promise I'm not going to hurt you.”
Ruby stared at me like I was a monster.
She shrieked, stumbling back, only to be forced back into place by my mother.
Dad told me mimicking had three stages.
Voice.
Body.
Mind.
I already had Ruby’s voice, and I was wearing her face.
Her memories hit me like a tidal wave, warm and cosy.
I saw her perfect family, all of her friends, growing up behind a white picket fence and a fluffy dog called Cosmo. Ruby liked orange soda and ice cream. She was smart at math, but got her words mixed up. She loved elephant plushies and the Disney channel.
The human girl was scared of the dark, scared of what lurked in the dark.
Scared of me.
I wanted to tell her I wasn't a monster.
“Ruby.” I whispered, “I'm sorry.”
She didn't move, and something slimy erupted up my throat.
Ruby’s expression was frozen in terror, her mouth slightly open, eyes wide.
“Ru… by.” The girl’s voice was a strangled cry. “I’m… s… ooooorry.”
I lurched back, swallowing a cry.
Ruby Setori was mimicking me.
Which was the final stage.
I went through it as a little kid, but I was too young to remember assimilating with Elizabeth Miller.
My brother's assimilation was different, and a lot more brutal.
Fitz Setori did not want to have his face and voice stolen.
He escaped four times, attacking my mother, despite her wearing his own Mom’s face. My brother was gentle, kneeling in front of him and speaking in soft tones. My sister and I watched from the corner of the room, too scared to go near the unpredictable human boy.
“Hello.” My brother was too sick to stand. “Can you… tell me your name?”
Fitz spat at him.
“Fuck you.” The fourteen year old hissed, “You're not taking my voice.”
“Fuck… you.” My brother mimicked, already taking hold of the boy’s tone.
Fitz shuffled back. “Get away from me!”
“Get… away… from me.” My brother copied.
His nose wasn't bleeding this time, and very slowly, he adapted Fitz’s face.
It took a while, and a lot of screaming and crying.
I didn't want to watch, but I was also curious about how human children were supposed to act. I was never in a stable body enough to fully adapt to emotions. Fitz was feeling panic and fear and anger, all of which I decided to copy.
But my brother did manage to mimic Fitz Setori.
Mr and Mrs Setori begged my parents to let their children go.
But my dad needed the Setori kids. For our survival.
Cassie and I sang another song, this time to block out the screaming.
My family took over the Setori household, and slid into our roles as the not quite perfect family on the quiet suburban street. Growing up, Dad insisted on daily tests to make sure our bonds with the Setori siblings were still intact. We were forbidden from talking to them.
Presently, I couldn't stop myself.
There was something wrong with my family.
And I had zero doubts the family had something to do with it.
Dad had drawn a line on the basement floor.
We were acquired to stay behind the line, unless we wanted to be grounded until college.
Stepping over it, I shivered, my bare feet grazing warm blood pooling across the floor. Mom and Dad were always protective over the basement. They told us the Setori family were safe and unharmed. But that was hard to believe even my parents resented humans for creating them, and torturing them.
What my parents did to the human was a whole other level of torture.
Especially the adults.
Mr and Mrs Setoti had been in a medically induced coma for almost four years. Their heads were bowed, plastic tubes sticking directly into their skull.
Cassie Setori was awake. I could hear her breathing.
She was pretending to be out of it.
Fitz Setori had been fixed by my father a year ago.
Dad said his behavior was too ‘dangerous’.
One minute the boy was screaming and threatening, and the next, he was silent, drool seeping down his chin, head tipped back, blinking at the ceiling.
The fixing was in case Fitz ever managed to gain control of my brother.
When I crouched in front of the Setori siblings, I felt a deep, twisting guilt eating me up inside.
They were barely human anymore, stripped of their terrestrial bodies, atoms and static and a shadow of what once was. The blood made me nauseous, splattering their arms and legs and clothes they were growing out of.
Ruby’s hair was almost at a Rupunzal length. I wanted to see the good in that, maybe call her a princess, though maybe she was more of a Sleeping Beauty, forced into slumber.
Fitz had aged way beyond his age, bearded like his father.
Cassie’s pigtails were touching the floor.
I pretended not to see the restraints cruelly binding their wrists, the burn marks branding them as ours.
The three were skeletal, pale and malnourished.
Humans who were anything but.
My stomach twisted when I peeked under Cassie’s blindfold.
Her right eye was gone, scooped out of its socket.
Dad didn't have to hurt them.
He didn't have to tie them up.
But I know what humans are like.
They are scary and unpredictable and will murder their own kind.
I did try to talk to them before Dad fixed the Setori son.
Fitz, Cassie and me.
The Setori siblings told us we were dead.
That they were going to kill us slowly, an painfully.
By slicing their own throats.
Fitz tried to argue that it wasn't us who did this.
Only for his original to call him a piece of shit.
Ever since then, Mom put a lock on the basement door.
I was trying to loosen Ruby’s ropes, ignoring my father’s earlier warning, when a familiar light filled the room.
A camera flash.
When I stumbled to my feet, I was alone.
A giggle caught me off guard.
It was Ruby Setori herself, her lips split into a grin.
“Can we play a game?” She asked.
Her voice was made of static, barely a whisper.
The girl wasn't supposed to have her voice.
My voice.
I held my breath. I had to be tactical with my speech.
“What did you do to my family?”
“I have a better question,” she said, growing stronger. She lifted her head. I could hear her straining against the ropes. “What's your favorite color?”
“Pink.” I said. “What did you do to my family?”
In the corner of my eye, I detected movement.
There was something at the other end of the room.
Twitching.
“What about your favorite TV show?” Ruby asked, leaning forward. “You must have one. Maybe it's even mine!”
It was hers, and she knew that.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I said, my mouth filling with blood.
Just like Dad said, our bond was severing.
If I continued to talk to her, I risked detaching from her completely.
Ruby Setori wanted her voice back.
“I love Buffy!” The girl’s smile was, dare I think, genuine.
“How about we talk about your brother? Is he doing okay, Ruby? Is he acting…“
She paused, sucking her teeth. “Kinda weird?”
Upstairs, I could hear Fitz’s laughter getting louder and louder.
“Please.” Ruby was mimicking her younger self.
Even blindfolded, I could see the gleam in her eyes.
“What did you do to my family?”
Her words forced me into action.
I prodded Fitz Setori, only for his head to hang.
Unconscious.
There was dried blood under his nose, a slimy ooze of black.
Prying open his mouth, I checked his teeth.
Too many.
Just like Cassie, a whole new row of spiky incisors were pushing through.
Dad was hurting them.
He was torturing them.
Turning them into something.
My quivering hands found a needle sticking into the back of his head, colorful wires protruding into his skin.
There was a clear fluid being pumped into the three of them.
If Dad was experimenting on the Setori family, was it affecting us too?
“Well?” Ruby demanded, her voice twisting, contorting into that of a monster.
“What did you DO to my FAMILY?”
Instead of answering her, I forced my legs to move toward the movement on the other side of the room. There was something piled on the floor, jerking in sharp movements, a slimy mess of inside out flesh. It hit me when I was closer.
The bodies entangled with each other, some of them headless, others missing arms and distinct facial features, were me. Dozens of Ruby Setori’s both made of buzzing static and terrestrial flesh, covered in a slimy, blood tinged substance, like these things were being born. Not made.
I think I was sick. All over myself.
Another blinding flash hit the corner of my eye, and in front of me, another thing was slowly forming, first static, growing into skin, a body moulded and sculpted into existence.
This Ruby had no eyes, no arms, her limbs contorted like doll pieces. I was aware I was staggering back, slipping in what looked and felt like part of a placenta.
The Setori siblings were making copies of me.
My gaze found one singular version of me who was almost perfect.
Except her enlarged brain expanding Through the skull.
And these replicas were getting better by the minute.
“Ruby!”
Mom shouted from upstairs. “Did you get my wine?”
I left the basement, my heart in my throat.
Upstairs, my brother and sister were giggling.
And downstairs in the basement, the Setori siblings were laughing harder.
Three nights since I spoke to Ruby, and the copies of me are getting better.
One of them managed to walk upstairs yesterday.
I think the siblings are slowly making another version of their sister.
I want to talk to her. I want to know what she's doing to my family.
But I can't talk to her.
If I do, I lose Ruby Setori.
Mom and Dad play peek-a-boo with me every night.
They're behind every door, their hands covering their faces.
Cassie is eating meat raw from the refrigerator.
Fitz is getting better at crawling under my door.
And the laughter in the basement is getting louder.
Please help me. I'm so scared of my own family.
I don't think the Setori’s were my parent’s best choice after all.
2024.05.02 04:41 MajorParadox Superman #96 - Zod, Baby
Superman #96 - Zod, Baby
<< < > Coming June 1stAuthor: MajorParadox
Book: Superman
Arc: Heritage
Set: 96
Line of Fire
“Don’t,” said Clark just before Zod launched toward him, smashing through the window to Lois’ hospital room.
Clark grabbed Zod’s arms to veer his trajectory from hitting anyone on his way through, but it caused them both to fly through the wall into the next room.
Lois and her nurse, Linda were okay. Clark didn’t leave them out of his field of vision as he tried to get the area clear.
“We don’t have to do this,” said Clark, muffled as Zod wrapped his arms around his neck. Clark swung his head back into Zod’s nose, but it didn’t loosen his grip.
Alarms started blaring. Someone must have hit the fire alarm.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt,” Clark pleaded.
“You’re right,” Zod agreed, tightening his grip.
The Man of Steel flew backward, sending the pair crashing into the wall behind them. With Zod’s grip loosened, Clark took his arm and flipped him over to the ground, pinning him down.
But he didn’t stay down long. Zod flew up toward the ceiling crashing through to the next floor. He tossed Clark away and fired off a beam of heat vision that kept Clark from recovering. Clark lifted his arms to direct the blasts away from his chest and returned with a heat vision blast of his own, finally throwing the Phantom Zone escapee off balance.
The opening didn’t last long. Clark tried to get closer, desperate to get a hold of Zod and move the fight away from the hospital. But Zod didn’t let it happen. Instead, he let a punch fly, sending Clark through several more walls.
Clark pulled himself up, keeping an eye on Lois’ room. They were wheeling her bed out to the hall quickly slowed by all the other patients being evacuated. He moved his attention back to Zod who was looking back toward Lois too.
“No,” said Clark to himself, realizing his attacker was more attentive than he thought.
“You were in the room with that one earlier,” said Zod from the other room. “She must mean something to you.”
Zod crashed back down through walls and ceiling to the hallway and zoomed in front of Lois’ bed.
“Can I help you?” asked Lois dryly, after the initial shock left her.
Linda tried to wheel the bed back the way they came, but Zod grabbed hold of it, keeping it in place.
“You are with child,” he said.
“Nothing gets by you,” said Lois, her arms on her stomach. “Must be those supersenses, huh?”
“I can see why he likes you,” Zod smiled. “You are fearless.” His eyes started heating up and Lois’ heart jumped a beat.
“Stay away from her!” yelled Clark as he grabbed Zod and flew him down the hall.
Zod managed to break free before Clark could get him outside.
Finally having a moment free, Clark tapped his belt. “Superman to–”
But Zod quickly destroyed the belt communication with a narrow burst of heat vision.
“No calling for help,” he said, motioning back in Lois’ direction. “That wouldn’t be your child the human is carrying, would it?” he asked. “Perhaps I should send them both to the Phantom Zone so you could understand how it feels.”
“I do understand,” said Clark, listening to his wife enter the elevator. “I never would have sent your son back there if he could survive out here. And I’ve never stopped looking for a cure or somewhere for your people to live free from that hellscape.”
“My people?” Zod repeated, gritting his teeth. “They are our people. They may not be Kryptonian, but we’re all of the same origin.“
“Maybe I misspoke,” said Clark. “But the point stands.”
Zod stepped closer. “You could have released them here on this planet.”
“We tried,” Clark answered. “But it’s not my decision to make.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kal-El,” said Zod, firing off heat vision again. “Like your father on Krypton, you let them decide when it was within your powers to decide for yourself.”
Memories flooded back of Jax-Ur escaping the Phantom Zone through Jor-El’s hologram. The escapee took control of the fortress and deactivated him and the other robots.
Kelex finished his diagnostics and ran a scan of the fortress operations. Jax-Ur still appeared to be active, but his access was severely limited. The failsafe from Watchtower must have been activated, which also explained how he could power back up. Kal-El and Kara had ensured Kelex worked as another failsafe during any intrusions.
Jax-Ur was still a threat so Kelex made sure not to draw attention. Instead, he monitored the intruder, who was trying to narrow down the source of the lockout. That not ideal. If Jax-Ur successfully traced it to Watchtower, anyone up there could be in danger and Kelex could lose control again.
The building kept shaking as the two Kryptonians were locked in battle. Lois knew Clark’s first instinct would be to move him away, so the fact they were still there didn’t bode well.
Lois’ eyes moved to the elevator readout, indicating they had three more flights down to the lobby. But then red energy cut through and sliced up the top half of the carriage.
“Hold on!” yelled Linda as the elevator shook in place. Luckily the emergency locks kept them from falling.
Lois pulled herself off the bed with an exhale of desperation.
“Lois–” Linda warned.
“We can’t stay here,” said Lois, trying to pull the door apart.
Linda grabbed Lois’ IV pole and stuck it in the elevator’s crevice, using leverage to pry the doors open.
Lois gave a thumbs up and reached for the floor, which didn’t quite line up with the elevator. They would have to climb. “Give me a boost, will you?”
As Linda kneeled, Lois felt a surge of pain that made her legs go numb.
“You’re having another contraction,” Linda said, helping her patient down.
Lois tried to make a sarcastic remark about the situation, but all she could do was hold onto Linda’s hand and yell.
Before Zod could move in for another hit, Clark shot back up and blasted freeze breath, which Zod quickly avoided, but the move left him open to a flying punch to the chest. Clark dropped down with an elbow to Zod’s face and grabbed him by the arms, swinging him around until the general went flying through a nearby window.
Finally, he got the fight outside. He needeed to keep the momentum going, Clark couldn’t leave Lois yet. He turned toward the elevator but found Lois and her nurse had managed their escape on their own.
“Resourceful as always,” Clark said under his breath, moving as quickly as he could outside.
“Stand down!” yelled Maggie Sawyer from the street.
The SCU had arrived, and several vans were parked out front. Several office had rifles aimed upward at Zod while a few mech battlesuits exited the other vans.
Clark had read about their new tech but hadn’t seen it in action yet. Hopefully, they could withstand the likes of Zod.
Zod couldn’t help but let a smile cross his faith, even for a moment. That wasn’t a good sign.
The general dove down and the SCU opened fire, but he quickly dodged their shots. Clark dropped down after him.
Hopefully the added firepower would help him get Zod away.
Not According to Plan
—
Kelex approached Jax-Ur slowly, falling to the ground intermittently. He didn’t want the intruder to realize he was functional again. But time was running out. The sooner Jax found the source of the fortress failsafe, the sooner General Zod could free more reinforcements from the Phantom Zone.
“Watchtower,” Jax said to himself aloud, reading through some files. “That robot mentioned it before… Whatever it is caused the disruption.”
Scratch that, perhaps time was already up.
Kelex raised himself again and floated quickly toward Jax’s hologram.
Jax saw the incoming robot and didn’t waste a moment.
“General,” Jax called into Zod’s communication system. “I found the source of the interference. It–“
Kelex reached him and waved his robotic hand through the holographic light. A surge of electricity sparked as Jax finished his statement: ”Is coming from a satellite around the planet.“
Jax’s hologram fizzled with static and morphed back into a depiction of Kal-El’s birth father Jor-El.
“Good job, Kelex,” said Jor-El. “I’m finally free from Jax-Ur’s influence. The threat is over.”
“Maybe one threat is over,” said Kelex.”But if Jax’s full message reached General Zod, Watchtower may be in danger.”
Minutes Earlier
The mech suits approached, firing more powerful blasts than the traditional SCU rifles. Zod tried to avoid those too, but one of them hit him in the arm, interrupting his path.
Clark caught up, making contac with Zod, but the general spun around and hit him with heat vision, followed by a punch to the stomach.
Zod adjusted his course and moved back down toward the mech suits, delivering powerful blows to each before any of them could react.
Clark hoped Zod wasn’t going for blood, or at least the armor protected them enough to prevent permanent damage. Either way, he had to stop his onslaught against them and move him toward that abandoned office building where he fought Metallo and the S.T.A.R. Labs escapees. They had kryptonite there and it could come in handy.
“Leave them alone,” Clark ordered as he flew back to Zod to kick him away.
“You should be working with me, Kal-El!” Zod yelled. “But all you do is fight against the best interests of our people! Maybe you didn’t mispeak before. My people.”
“It’s true,” Clark started. “I used to have a hard time connecting with my heritage. But the closer I got to my cousin. And the more I learned in the Fortress from my birth parents–æ
“You can’t connect to holograms,” Zod interjected.
“You’re right,” Clark agreed. “Even though I do see them as real people, it’s not quite the same as meeting them before they died. But I do have memories of a whole other life where I grew up on Earth with my mother, Lara.” (See Superman #91). I’m still trying to make sense of that, but the connection was definitely there.
“It’s still not the same,” said Zod, jumping over, with a fist to Clark’s face. He kicked Clark away, landing beside one of the SCU vans.
Dan Turpin dropped down to help him up, aiming his rifle at the general.
“Try to draw him away from the building,” Clark told him. “I have a plan.”
“Hold on, Big Blue,” said Dan, reaching into his pocket. “Does your plan involve these, which we picked up from your last battle today?” He pulled out three small cylindrical containers and handed them over.
Clark couldn’t see through them, which indicated lead, perfect for transporting the kryptonite without it affecting him. “Thanks, Dan,” said Clark, taking them and stuffing them inside his belt.
He turned back toward Zod to find him hovering in place. A device was extended over his eyes and Clark could hear a voice speaking to him through it.
“I found the source of the interference,” said Jax-Ur on the other end.
“Oh no,” said Clark, speeding toward him as fast as he could.
Clark tried to fry the communication device with his heat vision, but Zod ducked and kicked Clark away.
The rest of the message played before Jax’s voice broke apart and Zod looked up into the sky. He quickly zeroed in on Watchtower’s location and disappeared from the area in a burst of speed.
Clark flew off after him.
“We have a woman in labor,” Linda called, trying to cut through.
“Over here,” a paramedic called, rushing over to help. “How far along?” he asked, wheeling the bed into the emergency vehicle.
“Hopefully not far enough to deliver the baby right here,” said Lois, before another contraction started.
“She’s almost fully dilated,” Linda explained.
“Better in an ambulance than in the middle of a superhero fight,” the paramedic in the driver’s seat said, as he rolled away, sirens blaring.
There were cracks in the road that didn’t look quite normal, but the driver didn’t think anything of them. A beam of red energy cut across the road, which revealed the source. The road was being cut into by stray heat vision.
The ground began shaking under the ambulance, rocking them back and forth as they drove.
“What’s happening?!” cried Lois.
The driver watched as the asphalt cracked ahead of them, trying to veer out of the way. “Hold on!” he yelled.
“Arghhhhhhhh!” cried Lois. “I’m trying! But you’re not making it any easier!”
One of the cracks widened and the road broke apart. The ambulance dropped down into a mini-sinkhole.
Arrival
A beeping from the computer broke Ollie out of his daze.
“Don’t worry about it,’” he said, mimicking Dinah. “‘You won’t have to do anything.’”
Ollie tapped a button that was lighting up and a message appeared on the screen with a video feed outside the satellite. It showed a figure approaching while the message read, “Object detected, trajectory approaching.”
Someone was coming up the long way. Ollie figured he would skip the transporter too if he could fly. He looked closer but couldn’t quite make out who it was yet.
No green meant it wasn’t a Lantern or Martian Manhunter. No red or blue meant it wasn’t Superman. As the figure got closer, it was clearer he was a man wearing black.
“Batman?” Ollie asked aloud. He was sure the Dark Knight had to use transporters like the rest of the mere ‘mortals.’ But with Batman, you never really knew what to expect.
As the man reached the window, Ollie stood up and they met eyes.
Definitely not Batman. It was a man with black hair and a beard. And there was a silver Z-shape on his chest. The man pulled his arm back and Ollie’s heart jumped a beat.
The Z-man punched a hole through the glass and alarms started blaring as the oxygen rushed out. Ollie held onto the chair as the man entered and some emergency protocol was activated, blocking the windows with steel walls, and returning the room to a breathable state.
Ollie didn’t waste a minute and shot off an arrow that bounced right off the man’s shoulder.
“I am General Zod,” he said. “How do I disable the interference to the Fortress?”
“I’m going to assume that’s a bad idea,” said Ollie.
General Zod moved in close and grabbed the archer by the throat.
“Sorry, bud,” Ollie struggled, his voice hoarse. “It’s my first day. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Zod dropped Ollie to the ground and studied the computer tech around them. “No matter,” he said, his eyes turning red. “I’ll take care of it myself.”
The computer started beeping again. That was a good sign. Someone else was probably approaching.
“That sounds like a way to go,” said Ollie, taking his time with each word. “But have you considered there could be a fail-safe if Watchtower gets destroyed?”
He had no idea if it was true, but it sounded logical enough.
Zod’s eyes returned to normal, but his face was still just as menacing. “If you’re toying with me–“ he started.
“Stand down, Zod,” said Clark from the entryway.
“Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes,” said Ollie, followed by a deep exhale.
Zod sped over to Clark, trying to grab a hold of him, but the Man of Steel sidestepped, letting a punch fly against the general. Clark reached toward his belt and tossed one of the metal containers toward Ollie.
“This should level the playing field,” Clark said, before getting a punch of his own across the face.
Ollie didn’t waste any time and opened his gift to find the green glow of kryptonite. “Oh boy,” he said, pulling an arrow from his quiver. He quickly affixed the kryptonite to the point, nocked the makeshift arrow, and let it fly, piercing Zod in the back.
The general barely flinched and continued his attack on Clark, who could feel the sting of the kryptonite too. It wouldn’t compare to how Zod felt, whether he showed it or not.
Clark dodged another hit from Zod and kicked him back against the chair. His response time was noticeably slowing, but Clark was feeling sluggish too as he fought through the pain.
“Down!” Ollie yelled as he fired off another arrow, which exploded as it made contact with Zod’s left shoulder.
The detonation sent Zod and Clark flying back in opposite directions.
“You okay, big guy?” asked Ollie, reaching his side.
“I will be when we get Zod contained,” said Clark, reaching for another container from his belt. He opened it up and pulled out the blue kryptonite.
“Whoa,” said Ollie, mesmerized by the glow. “What’s that do?”
“This will level the playing field even more,” Clark explained, jumping forward to Zod before he could rise to his feet. He let a punch fly and followed it up with a kick to the general’s stomach, but it caught in Zod’s arms.
“You’re full of surprises today, son of Jor-El,” he said as he flipped Clark over. “But I’m better than you in every way, powers or not.”
Ollie smiled and leaped into the fight, throwing punches of his own, which Zod blocked, but his retaliatory hits weren’t super-powered anymore. Superman wasn’t kidding about leveling the field.
“Stay down, General,” said Ollie as he finally connected a punch.
But Zod took the impact and returned with a slap across the face which sent Ollie to the ground. He proceeded toward Clark and kicked him down too. The blue k fell out of his hand and rolled to the other side of the room.
Ollie jumped back toward Zod, but he grabbed and tossed him away with such ease it indicated the blue kryptonite’s power-draining effects had worn off from that distance.
Clark was still too close, so he rushed over and bottled it up before Zod could fire a blast of heat vision toward him. A moment sooner and Clark’s skin would have been scorched.
Zod moved his heat vision toward Ollie, but Clark zoomed over, crashing Zod through the emergency covering of the windows. The impact pushed the green kryptonite arrow deeper into Zod’s back, causing him to lose his balance in the vacuum of space.
Clark used the distraction to repair the hole in Watchtower before Ollie could be sucked out. He turned back to Zod and grabbed hold, pulling him back toward the planet.
Ollie stood up, taking a deep breath, and said, “At least it didn’t stay boring up here.”
Lois coughed as the dust from the crash cleared. It was dark, except for some light gleaming from the back window. She was able to make out the two paramedics unconscious.
Before she could answer, she cried out in pain.
“This is it, Lois,” said Linda. “You’re going to have to start pushing.”
“Of course I am,” said Lois tensing up all her muscles.
Moments Later
The closer they got, the more Zod resisted against Clark’s hold. That was a good sign. It meant what Clark had planned wouldn’t kill him. He held strong, aiming for an empty area near Metropolis General Hospital. His first instinct was to bring them back down as far away from civilization as possible, but he wanted to be as close to Lois as possible when it was over.
Between being in space and being exposed to kryptonite, Clark had lost sight and sound of his wife. Last he heard, she was being evacuated. He’d focus on finding her again as soon he was done with Zod.
Flames surrounded the two as they picked up speed on reentry. Clark held tight, making sure Zod would take the impact of their crash landing.
“You have promise,” said Zod, his voice less labored than Clark expected it’d be. “But you will never get the upper hand on me again.”
Zod shifted his weight and spun Clark around just before they collided with the ground below, the Man of Steel taking the brunt of the impact.
The two formed a crater as a loud bang echoed all around and clouds of dirt and debris went flying in all directions.
Zod stood over Clark, reaching down to his belt to grasp the one container Clark hadn’t tried t use yet.
“You’ve piqued my curiosity,” said Zod, examining it. “You went for blue and green kryptonite, but never once touched whatever’s in this one.”
“Don’t,” said Clark, straining all his muscles to get up.
But Zod opened it up, revealing a luminous red glow. The scowl on his face dropped as he felt a wave of relaxation flow through his entire body.
Clark had a different reaction. His mind went to one place. “Lois,” he said, scanning the city for any sign of her. His powers were still weakened, but he had to find her.
“I don’t understand,” said Zod. “What does this one do?”
Clark fought through the pain and finally made it to his feet. He hovered to get a better vantage point, but Zod grabbed his feet.
“No,” said Clark without even looking down. He took the last remaining container from his belt and popped it open, immediately dropping with it to the ground.
“You were right before,” said Zod, placing a hand on Clark’s shoulder. “We don’t have to fight. We can–”
Clark flipped around and stabbed the blue k into Zod’s shoulder, following it up with a kick to the stomach.
“I don’t have time for this,” said Clark, climbing out of the crater and running as fast as he could. Once he was far enough, he picked up into the air, finally zeroing in on Lois’ whereabouts. He disappeared in a burst of speed.
Zod got up and put a hand on the crystal stuck into his right arm.
“Don’t move!” a voice ordered from the top of the crater.
Several SCU members surrounded him with their rifles trained.
“It’s over,” said Dan. “You’re under arrest.”
“It’s too late,” said Linda. “We’re pushing.”
Lois breathed heavily as Clark moved to her side. He watched Linda eye the paramedics.
“They’ll be okay,” said Clark after scanning them.
“Push!” Linda ordered.
“Congratulations, Lois,” said Linda, lying against the side of the truck with her hands over her head.
The paramedics had since woken up and were outside coordinating with emergency responders at the top of the sinkhole.
“Sorry your husband couldn’t be here,” Linda added.
Lois and Clark shared a smile.
“Does she have a name yet?” Linda asked.
“We–” Clark started before he caught himself. “We’d love to know,” he course-corrected.
“Clark and I went through a few options when we found out we were having a girl,” said Lois. “At one point we were even thinking we should name her after someone from my side of the family since we named our son after Clark’s father. But a name shouldn’t be a competition, it should be what’s right.”
Lois met Clark’s eyes and he nodded and Lois lifted the baby.
“Everyone, meet Lara Ella Kent.”
2024.05.02 01:40 Ordinary_Fig1896 The Sound of Thunder
On a drizzling Monday afternoon in April, I lay in bed, a cold, wet cloth pressed to my forehead, and a wastepaper bin overflowing with tissues beside me, as I listened to the droplets of rain clink against my bedroom window. What had begun as sunshine a moment ago had quickly turned to rain, pattering on the rooftop above like television static. A cool breeze blew in through a crack in my window, blowing in the smell of wet cement, noticeable only when I breathed in deeply through my stuffed-up nose.
My bedroom was one of four in a dumpy, old, brick house on Belleview Street. The wooden floorboards creaked when you walked on them, and the plaster in the walls was beginning to crumble, revealing in places the brick wall underlayer beneath. A small, iron radiator purred gently in the corner, slowly losing its fight with the growing coldness of the outside.
I coughed violently, the force tearing at my throat. I took a lozenge and a sip of water and drew my blanket close. Beneath the warm buzz of the heater, I could hear one of the other tenants talking downstairs. The man spoke gruffly, and his footsteps clopped as he paced around the room. His guest hardly spoke, and I might’ve thought the man was talking to himself, if it weren’t for the odd, soft response I would catch from time to time.
I had lived at Belleview Place a little over a year now and knew everyone in the house but the man downstairs. He kept to himself, coming and going at all hours in the night. I didn’t know his name or what he did. The few times I had seen him, he hadn’t smiled to me or said a word, and from what I’d heard from the others, he had been much the same with them. A part of me didn’t mind listening in to this conversation, if only to get a glimpse into this life that I knew so little about.
The more I listened, the more I sensed an unpleasantness in the man's tone. Though the sounds were just muffles through the floorboards, I could still hear the deliberate way in which he spoke, as though it took him great effort just to speak at a normal volume. His guest took longer and longer in responding with anything at all, the silence between them at times stretching into the uncomfortable.
Cutlery and dishes rattled in the kitchen below as thunder bellowed on the outskirts of town and downstairs I could hear the voices getting louder. The two men were really getting into it now. Or was one pleading, I wondered*.* Now that I listened, I did notice a whining in the guest’s voice, a pitifully high-pitched noise that made me want to wince. I wondered if I should really be listening in, and I reconsidered just how much about this man I really needed to know.
The tenants voice grew only louder, roaring above the storm. I could feel the anger through my mattress and tried my best not to listen. As soon as I was better, I would have a word with the landlord. Even if this man thought he was alone, this was still no way to treat a guest, who could in no way be deserving of such a tirade. I could hear the guest’s sobs and only imagine what an ordeal this was for him. And still the shouts and the pleas persisted, clambering to a fever pitch with the growing madness of the storm outside.
Thunder shook the house as a sound like a canon erupted from the night. And as the last of the rumbles faded, I heard a second bang shortly follow.
I was upright in a second. The sound was gone as quickly, and in the aftermath, the house had become eerily quiet. The argument downstairs had suddenly resolved itself, as if in the time it took for the house to settle.
I sat as still as I could, straining my ears to hear for the slightest of noise in the silence downstairs, but the rainfall was too loud for me to pick out anything. As quietly as I could, I lowered my torso to the floor and pressed my ear into the carpet.
I could just hear a creak, as though someone were walking around softly. There was a click, and a muffled ring, and suddenly I could hear the tenant’s voice, oddly now much calmer. He said only a sentence or two to a person on the other end, before there was a beep and the crunch of the phone being returned to its stand. And from then on, it was just silence once more.
I could feel my heart inside my chest. My shirt was damp with sweat. But I knew what I’d heard, and I needed to hear more. I didn’t dare make a move for the phone at my desk and risk making a sound on the rickety floorboards. Rather, I would pay as much attention as I could to what was to follow, so I could give as detailed an account as I could for when I next got the chance to share. If I were to bring this to the police, I didn’t want to act too hastily, and risk not giving them enough to go on.
For the next twenty or so minutes, there was little but the odd creak. I became aware of the smell of a cigar and wondered if the man wasn’t waiting as much as I was. At last, I got my answer, as there came a knock at the door. The chair squeaked as the man got up, his footsteps moving towards the front of the house before returning a moment later, a second set of footsteps with him now, as he spoke in a measured tone with someone else in the room.
I could make out the word, “Jesus,” from a voice I didn’t recognize.
A short conversation followed, and though I couldn’t make out a word of it, I strained my ears to the edge of their ability to try to catch even a passing phrase. But the words of the men were always frustratingly out of reach.
I listened for any sounds that might give away what they were doing. And sure enough, as I listened, there came a rustling from down below, as though someone were moving the sheets of their bed. With it came grunts as well, as though whatever they were doing were causing the two men to strain themselves.
Someone spoke, and a set of footsteps retreated to the front entry. There was the distant thud of a car door, before the man returned to a chorus of crinkling paper.
For the next hour, a horrible scrapping sound escaped the room, like the sawing of a shop room. My stomach churned at the noise. My arms by now were beginning to hurt from holding my neck upright, and I felt lightheaded from being upside down for so long. But I couldn’t bring myself to even adjust my position, for fear that the men could hear the squeaking of my mattress as well as I could hear the noises downstairs.
There were sounds of cracks and of zipping, occasionally a pop or the dripping of something wet. At times, I could catch something slap stickily against the paper. And all the while I became more and more convinced that what I was listening to was the sound of a murder being attended to by men who were more skilled in the act than I would’ve otherwise liked to admit.
My arm trembled. I winced as my wrists were beginning to hurt, and my palms had become sore from the carpet fibers pressing into them. I tried to readjust my arm so that I was resting on my forearms. But as I did, I heard the floorboard beneath me creak. Suddenly, the sawing down below ceased.
I held my breath. The men were now whispering.
Thunder crashed overhead, and in the dying rumbles I became aware of a thudding from outside my wall, and with a sickening twist in my gut, I realized that it was the sound of someone storming up the stairs.
With a jolt, I leapt from my bed. The footsteps on the stairs doubled their pace, and I sprung for the door and flipped the two locks shut just as the thudding of their boots reached the second-floor landing.
The door shuddered in its frame.
“Are you in there?” the man shouted.
I tried not to make a sound as my breaths came out in ragged whimpers. The wind outside shrieked like the angry wails of a banshee.
“Hey! Did you hear me?”
I could feel the handle try to turn.
There came a flash of light, and another crash of thunder shook the house, and for a brief moment, I could see my room in all its detail, as normal as it had ever looked before, before it faded as quickly into the night.
“I asked if you’re in there, you little worm!” the man’s voice screamed inside my head.
Just keep quiet, I kept telling myself. Don’t make a sound. Perhaps they hadn’t heard me lock the door over the noise they’d made thundering up the hall. The rain was like machine gun fire now. It was entirely possible.
But then I heard the other man say, “We could always break it down.”
I inched away from the door in time to see it shudder in place. I nearly let out a cry. A second followed and I saw a crack splinter across the wood.
Without thinking, I felt for a lighter in my jacket that hung from its hanger as a third sent splinters flying across the room. I reached for the tissues by my bed, and as the door rattled again, this time the deadbolt plate loosening from its screws, I lit the clump of tissues and held them up to my smoke detector. Yellow flames sputtered from my hand. It took a second for the alarm to trip, but when it did, I heard it be accompanied by the others in the house, as a light flashed from the device.
Just like that, the door was still once more. I couldn’t hear for the siren whether they’d truly gone, but all the same, I took the phone from my desk and fell to the floor, sitting in the roar of the alarms as I waited for someone on the other side to pick up.
The winds died down by the time the call wrapped up, over as quickly as it had started.
When the police arrived, we found a pile of bloody, scrunched-up newspapers in the trash, but the body was nowhere to be discovered. To this day, we never heard of what happened to the tenant or who his guest had been that night. None of the other tenants were in the house at the time or knew a thing about it when I saw them again. All anyone had to talk about was how violent the storm from that day had been, and how it had came and went so unexpectedly.
submitted by Ordinary_Fig1896 to nosleep [link] [comments]
My bedroom was one of four in a dumpy, old, brick house on Belleview Street. The wooden floorboards creaked when you walked on them, and the plaster in the walls was beginning to crumble, revealing in places the brick wall underlayer beneath. A small, iron radiator purred gently in the corner, slowly losing its fight with the growing coldness of the outside.
I coughed violently, the force tearing at my throat. I took a lozenge and a sip of water and drew my blanket close. Beneath the warm buzz of the heater, I could hear one of the other tenants talking downstairs. The man spoke gruffly, and his footsteps clopped as he paced around the room. His guest hardly spoke, and I might’ve thought the man was talking to himself, if it weren’t for the odd, soft response I would catch from time to time.
I had lived at Belleview Place a little over a year now and knew everyone in the house but the man downstairs. He kept to himself, coming and going at all hours in the night. I didn’t know his name or what he did. The few times I had seen him, he hadn’t smiled to me or said a word, and from what I’d heard from the others, he had been much the same with them. A part of me didn’t mind listening in to this conversation, if only to get a glimpse into this life that I knew so little about.
The more I listened, the more I sensed an unpleasantness in the man's tone. Though the sounds were just muffles through the floorboards, I could still hear the deliberate way in which he spoke, as though it took him great effort just to speak at a normal volume. His guest took longer and longer in responding with anything at all, the silence between them at times stretching into the uncomfortable.
Cutlery and dishes rattled in the kitchen below as thunder bellowed on the outskirts of town and downstairs I could hear the voices getting louder. The two men were really getting into it now. Or was one pleading, I wondered*.* Now that I listened, I did notice a whining in the guest’s voice, a pitifully high-pitched noise that made me want to wince. I wondered if I should really be listening in, and I reconsidered just how much about this man I really needed to know.
The tenants voice grew only louder, roaring above the storm. I could feel the anger through my mattress and tried my best not to listen. As soon as I was better, I would have a word with the landlord. Even if this man thought he was alone, this was still no way to treat a guest, who could in no way be deserving of such a tirade. I could hear the guest’s sobs and only imagine what an ordeal this was for him. And still the shouts and the pleas persisted, clambering to a fever pitch with the growing madness of the storm outside.
Thunder shook the house as a sound like a canon erupted from the night. And as the last of the rumbles faded, I heard a second bang shortly follow.
I was upright in a second. The sound was gone as quickly, and in the aftermath, the house had become eerily quiet. The argument downstairs had suddenly resolved itself, as if in the time it took for the house to settle.
I sat as still as I could, straining my ears to hear for the slightest of noise in the silence downstairs, but the rainfall was too loud for me to pick out anything. As quietly as I could, I lowered my torso to the floor and pressed my ear into the carpet.
I could just hear a creak, as though someone were walking around softly. There was a click, and a muffled ring, and suddenly I could hear the tenant’s voice, oddly now much calmer. He said only a sentence or two to a person on the other end, before there was a beep and the crunch of the phone being returned to its stand. And from then on, it was just silence once more.
I could feel my heart inside my chest. My shirt was damp with sweat. But I knew what I’d heard, and I needed to hear more. I didn’t dare make a move for the phone at my desk and risk making a sound on the rickety floorboards. Rather, I would pay as much attention as I could to what was to follow, so I could give as detailed an account as I could for when I next got the chance to share. If I were to bring this to the police, I didn’t want to act too hastily, and risk not giving them enough to go on.
For the next twenty or so minutes, there was little but the odd creak. I became aware of the smell of a cigar and wondered if the man wasn’t waiting as much as I was. At last, I got my answer, as there came a knock at the door. The chair squeaked as the man got up, his footsteps moving towards the front of the house before returning a moment later, a second set of footsteps with him now, as he spoke in a measured tone with someone else in the room.
I could make out the word, “Jesus,” from a voice I didn’t recognize.
A short conversation followed, and though I couldn’t make out a word of it, I strained my ears to the edge of their ability to try to catch even a passing phrase. But the words of the men were always frustratingly out of reach.
I listened for any sounds that might give away what they were doing. And sure enough, as I listened, there came a rustling from down below, as though someone were moving the sheets of their bed. With it came grunts as well, as though whatever they were doing were causing the two men to strain themselves.
Someone spoke, and a set of footsteps retreated to the front entry. There was the distant thud of a car door, before the man returned to a chorus of crinkling paper.
For the next hour, a horrible scrapping sound escaped the room, like the sawing of a shop room. My stomach churned at the noise. My arms by now were beginning to hurt from holding my neck upright, and I felt lightheaded from being upside down for so long. But I couldn’t bring myself to even adjust my position, for fear that the men could hear the squeaking of my mattress as well as I could hear the noises downstairs.
There were sounds of cracks and of zipping, occasionally a pop or the dripping of something wet. At times, I could catch something slap stickily against the paper. And all the while I became more and more convinced that what I was listening to was the sound of a murder being attended to by men who were more skilled in the act than I would’ve otherwise liked to admit.
My arm trembled. I winced as my wrists were beginning to hurt, and my palms had become sore from the carpet fibers pressing into them. I tried to readjust my arm so that I was resting on my forearms. But as I did, I heard the floorboard beneath me creak. Suddenly, the sawing down below ceased.
I held my breath. The men were now whispering.
Thunder crashed overhead, and in the dying rumbles I became aware of a thudding from outside my wall, and with a sickening twist in my gut, I realized that it was the sound of someone storming up the stairs.
With a jolt, I leapt from my bed. The footsteps on the stairs doubled their pace, and I sprung for the door and flipped the two locks shut just as the thudding of their boots reached the second-floor landing.
The door shuddered in its frame.
“Are you in there?” the man shouted.
I tried not to make a sound as my breaths came out in ragged whimpers. The wind outside shrieked like the angry wails of a banshee.
“Hey! Did you hear me?”
I could feel the handle try to turn.
There came a flash of light, and another crash of thunder shook the house, and for a brief moment, I could see my room in all its detail, as normal as it had ever looked before, before it faded as quickly into the night.
“I asked if you’re in there, you little worm!” the man’s voice screamed inside my head.
Just keep quiet, I kept telling myself. Don’t make a sound. Perhaps they hadn’t heard me lock the door over the noise they’d made thundering up the hall. The rain was like machine gun fire now. It was entirely possible.
But then I heard the other man say, “We could always break it down.”
I inched away from the door in time to see it shudder in place. I nearly let out a cry. A second followed and I saw a crack splinter across the wood.
Without thinking, I felt for a lighter in my jacket that hung from its hanger as a third sent splinters flying across the room. I reached for the tissues by my bed, and as the door rattled again, this time the deadbolt plate loosening from its screws, I lit the clump of tissues and held them up to my smoke detector. Yellow flames sputtered from my hand. It took a second for the alarm to trip, but when it did, I heard it be accompanied by the others in the house, as a light flashed from the device.
Just like that, the door was still once more. I couldn’t hear for the siren whether they’d truly gone, but all the same, I took the phone from my desk and fell to the floor, sitting in the roar of the alarms as I waited for someone on the other side to pick up.
The winds died down by the time the call wrapped up, over as quickly as it had started.
When the police arrived, we found a pile of bloody, scrunched-up newspapers in the trash, but the body was nowhere to be discovered. To this day, we never heard of what happened to the tenant or who his guest had been that night. None of the other tenants were in the house at the time or knew a thing about it when I saw them again. All anyone had to talk about was how violent the storm from that day had been, and how it had came and went so unexpectedly.
2024.05.01 18:48 Ahddha Unclog your points
For those who do the work by actually pulling these entities out of their bodies, this will propel u further...for those who dont, this should still help u.
Steam room: three times a week take a steam room session and when inside focus on breathing..u will notice certain parts of your throat will either feel blocked from oxygen or body part, focus on allowing the water in and YES u will cough and when u do, push whatever is blocking u out and trust me, fear will try and scare u...keep coughing.
Sauna: three times a week and even more complete with steam room. stretch and pull things out in the sauna. I advise using mentol crystal water on the machine and it should expose the part of ur throat u just opened up. Essential oil for when u are done and ready to relax. (88 degrees is recommended so blood pumps faster to expose faster.)
Cold showers: stay relaxed under cold showers, this should be your go to...ive stopped using hot water.
Hot stone: boil water with the stone inside, when its really hot i put it ontop of my clothes, as it cools down i put it directly on the skin and i feel my points activating...i love it How stones look
Cupping: i do a at home hot cup, i imsgine the point i want unclogged then i use maskin tape and fold it 3 times then i bend the edge and tape it on my body, this should act like a candle stick (if u have a candle, its better) i light the top and take a glass cuponce the fire is really burning and quickly place it on body part (there should be no space or it wont work) slowly but surely i watch the fire fizzle out and the cup starts sucking my skin inwards and i focus on relaxing that part. once done (it would loosen up by itself) pull cup off & imagine whatever came out, is on fire and gone.
Sofa position: Your head hanging off sofa with leg stretched upwards...u feel energy rush downwards..then u feel queezy, fight it off. The longer u can do it with no queeziness the less entities that have taken host in body, your chakra points should b unclogging. sofa position
submitted by Ahddha to spirituality [link] [comments]
Steam room: three times a week take a steam room session and when inside focus on breathing..u will notice certain parts of your throat will either feel blocked from oxygen or body part, focus on allowing the water in and YES u will cough and when u do, push whatever is blocking u out and trust me, fear will try and scare u...keep coughing.
Sauna: three times a week and even more complete with steam room. stretch and pull things out in the sauna. I advise using mentol crystal water on the machine and it should expose the part of ur throat u just opened up. Essential oil for when u are done and ready to relax. (88 degrees is recommended so blood pumps faster to expose faster.)
Cold showers: stay relaxed under cold showers, this should be your go to...ive stopped using hot water.
Hot stone: boil water with the stone inside, when its really hot i put it ontop of my clothes, as it cools down i put it directly on the skin and i feel my points activating...i love it How stones look
Cupping: i do a at home hot cup, i imsgine the point i want unclogged then i use maskin tape and fold it 3 times then i bend the edge and tape it on my body, this should act like a candle stick (if u have a candle, its better) i light the top and take a glass cuponce the fire is really burning and quickly place it on body part (there should be no space or it wont work) slowly but surely i watch the fire fizzle out and the cup starts sucking my skin inwards and i focus on relaxing that part. once done (it would loosen up by itself) pull cup off & imagine whatever came out, is on fire and gone.
Sofa position: Your head hanging off sofa with leg stretched upwards...u feel energy rush downwards..then u feel queezy, fight it off. The longer u can do it with no queeziness the less entities that have taken host in body, your chakra points should b unclogging. sofa position